Desire vs intention

 

There is a difference between a desire and an intention. All work happens through intention. Your intend is - I want to go somewhere and you go. All life moves with intentions.

If I don’t have an intention to raise my hand, it will not raise. If I don’t have an intention to take the rose, I will not take it. All work happens through intention. Desire is that intention turning into a feverish thought in you. A desire is a thought with feverishness coming in you again and again, again and again, again and again.

That shakes the whole nervous system. Desire brings a dis-ease in the mind, an obsession in the mind. It clouds the clarity of mind. It brings feverishness and it burns you. It leaves you with scars and wounds. Every frustration, every desire has caused scars in the nervous system, and you are not even aware of it. 

The first time you become aware of it, you say "Oh, there are a lot of thing here I have done to myself" then you clear it up. When Buddha said, “Desire is the cause of sorrow”, He meant have nothing but good intention.

There's always, God

 

The color of wall depends on the wall. In the same manner, the existence of creatures depends on the love of God. Separate the color from the wall and the color would cease to be. So all creation would cease to exist if separated from the love that God is. 

Words are inadequate to express truth. Language is always found to be limited. Whenever one has to talk about God. This limitation of words and language becomes very evident. Truth cannot be captured by words. The words you use to indicate a connection to God also indicate a separation from God.

If you say you are always connected to God, it indicates in some way that you have been separate, independent, outside God. This is not so. The moment a fish comes out of the water, life also comes out of the water. Simultaneously life leaves the ocean as well as the fish. A corpse of a fish comes out of the water. A shell of a life you call fish comes out of the water, not the fish itself. The life of the fish is synonymous with the ocean. The life of a fish cannot exist outside of the ocean. In other words, the ocean is the fish.

The ocean itself, manifesting in a particular shell in a particular moment, you call fish. It is strange, but very true. For a fish life is inseparable from the ocean. Life is the ocean. The ocean is life. The fish cannot exist outside the ocean, away from the ocean, as waves cannot exist apart from the ocean. Waves are part of the ocean. You can think of a fish as a solidified wave of the ocean, an expression of the ocean.

Water is not a dead thing. Water is alive. Water is life, in fact. 90% of your body is water. If the water from your body is drained out, you will collapse that very moment. Life is synonymous with water. If some is undergoing dehydration, nothing in them functions. The pulse goes and they die. 

The water in you is the same as that in the ocean. It has the same % of saline. It has the same contents. You are an encapsulated ocean living outside the ocean. You could be a sweeter ocean and the sweetness in you blossoms when you realise that you are part of the whole, a part of existence.

You may say “always connected to God”, but the two words always and connected do not go together. Connected implies that two things were once not connected. This was separate.

Now they are connected. If you say “always” and then “connected”, the word connected loses its meaning. You are always God. Wherever you are, whatever you are, you are in God. A fish may sometimes go up in the water, go down in the water, turn upside down, wag its tail, eat or Sleep. Still it remains within the ocean.

Whenever Buddha was asked to speak about God, he kept silent. It was not that he didn’t know. Many people thought that Buddha was an atheist because he never spoke of God. He was not an atheist. He Knew the profundity of truth and the inadequacy of words. 

The existence of God is beyond time. To indicate that, you can use the word always. God is always. But when you say you are always God, you make yourself separate from God. That is why I say language is inadequate to express God.

Attaining perfection in one's actions

 

Buddha was enlightened under the Bodhi tree. He then stood up and watched the tree from a distance for seven days. He took sixteen steps towards the tree and under each step blossomed a lotus flower. This is the legend. 

The Bodhi tree is symbolic of both sansara (the world) and dharma. The lotus flower symbolizes clarity, dispassion, love, beauty and purity. 

It is only when you are detached in life that you can watch the sansara and all of its plays. When you witness the sansara, every step you take is benevolent and impeccable. 

When every action of yours is preceded by witnessing, then every move you make in this sansara becomes perfect and significant.

Was Buddha an atheist?

 

A pure atheist is impossible to find. An atheist is one who believes only in the concrete and tangible, but life is not all concrete and tangible, nor is this universe. 

Whether it is business, science or art, all involve a certain amount of guesswork, assumptions, imagination and intuition. All of them have some aspects that are abstract in nature and are not tangible. The moment an atheist accepts, even remotely, something that is unexplainable, he ceases to be an atheist. 

An intelligent person cannot rule out all the mysteries in life and the universe, and hence cannot honestly be an atheist. So-called atheists are perhaps only denouncing certain concepts of God. 

Was Buddha an atheist? No, in one sense, because he professed emptiness, which is very hard for an atheist to accept, and yes in another sense because he did not profess concepts of God. An atheist believes only what he can see, but Buddha said all that you see is not real. If only all present-day atheists could be Buddhas!

Connection between love and authority - II

 

Usually, where there is aishwarya – lordship – there is no madhurya – sweetness – and where there is madhurya, there is no aishwarya. Where life has blossomed fully, there is both. Aishwarya means ishwaratva – lordship of that which “Is.” Wealth is also referred to as aishwarya, because wealth commands a certain amount of authority. 

Can love and authority co-exist? Only in a fully blossomed Being is there both lordship and sweetness. There was aishwarya in Sri Rama, but only glimpses of madhurya. In Parshuram’s life there was only lordship, but no madhurya. Buddha manifested more madhurya – the sweetness – and less authority. 

But Krishna manifested both and so did Jesus. There was lordship when they said, “I am the way,” and there was sweetness in their expressions of prayer and love. I am the valentine of the whole world and I reside in every heart. If you are my valentine, you will see me everywhere. Have the same love for everyone, but with different flavors. You cannot behave the same way with everyone, but you can love all of them the same. Love transcends behavior and etiquette. 

In a congregation, when asked, “How many of you feel strong?”, many people raised their hands. When asked, “Why?” they responded “Because you are with us.” Only those who feel weak can surrender. All those who were feeling strong were taken aback; suddenly they felt weak! If you are in love, you feel weak because love makes you weak. Yet there is no power stronger than love. Love is strength. Love is the greatest power on earth. You feel absolutely powerful when you are with the Divine.

Yet we keep alternating between strength and weakness. That is the fluctuation in life. When you feel weak – surrender. When you feel strong – do seva.

Finding one's identity

 

You have many faces, only you do not face them. From time to time in different phases, different faces appear. When you come face to face with your faces then conflicts, confusion and chaos arise in you. As you come close to your being, all the faces melt and leave you as the space that you are. 

At the gross level, you identify yourself as someone. As you move to more subtle levels, you may identify yourself as some energy or as an incarnation of some angel, saint or prophet. When you go beyond even this identity, you are whole, holy, Brahman Purna Brahman Narayana.

Shiva is called Chandrashekhara, which means “that mind which is in Shiva and is always above the peak”. 

Buddha is not on the peak, rather the peak is beneath Buddha. One who goes up to the peak comes down, but the peak seeks the one who is stationed higher, in the inner space. People run after parties and celebrations, but for the one who does not run after them, parties and celebrations follow him wherever he goes. If you run after parties, loneliness comes to you. If you are in the solitude of the self, parties surround you. 

Why and how of achieving emptiness

 

Bliss cannot be understood and it is extremely difficult to achieve. After many lifetimes you finally achieve bliss, but once achieved, it is even more difficult to lose. All that you seek in your life is bliss, that divine union with your source, and everything else in the world distracts you from that goal. 

There are a million things to distract you from that goal in so many ways, so many inexplicable, incomprehensible ways of not coming home. The mind is kept alive by cravings and aversions. Only when the mind dies does bliss dawn. 

Bliss is the abode of all divinity, all devas. It is only possible to comprehend bliss, to uphold it in this human body. And having had a human life and having known this path, if you still do not realize this, you are at the greatest loss. Cravings and aversions make your heart hard. There is no use being polite in your behaviour if you are rough in your heart. If your behaviour is rude it is acceptable, but not if you are rough in your heart. 

The world does not care how you are inside. It will only see your behaviour. The Divine does not care how you are outside. He only looks within. Never let even a small amount of dislike or craving reside in your heart. Let it be fresh, soft and fragrant like a rose. It is such an illusion you dislike someone or something, and this only makes you hard and your hardness takes a long time to soften, to disappear.

It is such a trap for keeping you away from the treasure. Nothing in this material world can give you contentment. An outer-looking mind seeking for contentment gets more discontented and the discontentment grows, and complaints and negativity start hardening the brain, clouding the awareness, the aura, and forming a huge cloud of negative approach. When the negativity reaches its peak, like an over-inflated balloon, it bursts and comes back to the Divinity. 

You can never escape the Divine, the long route of negativity, or the instantaneous positive approach. When Divinity dawns, in no time, the shift happens from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from dull inert matter to sparkling spirit. 

When the heart is hard, there is no fun. You cannot experience fun. Stretching sound is music. Stretching movement is dance. Stretching the smile is laughter. Stretching the mind is meditation. Stretching life is celebration. Stretching the devotee is God. Stretching feeling is ecstasy. Stretching emptiness is bliss. 

Emptiness is the doorway between the material and spiritual worlds. It is where you come to understand the nature of the spirit. If you do not know emptiness, then you cannot know the joy of the being. The knack for experiencing the being causes emptiness. From the emptiness begins the fullness. On one side of emptiness is misery and on the other Side is joy. That is what Buddha meant when he said, “The whole world is misery and what is to be achieved is emptiness”.

Connection between Buddha, sangha and dharma

 

The Buddha or master is a doorway. When you are out in the street in hot sun or if you are stuck in rain and thunder, you feel the need for a shelter or a doorway. Have you noticed that then the doorway is so inviting and charming? It is more joyful than anything else in the world. 

Similarly, the closer you go to the master, the more charm, more newness and more love you feel. Nothing in the world could give that peace, joy and pleasure. You will never be tired of the enlightened one. It’s like a depth without a bottom. This is a sign that you have come to the master.

Once you come to the doorway and enter the door, the world looks so much more beautiful; it is a place filled with love, joy, co-operation, compassion and all virtues. Looking through the doorway there is no fear. From inside your home, you can look at the thunder, you can look at the storm and the bright sun too; yet be relaxed as you are in the shelter. Such a sense of security, fullness and joy comes. That is the purpose of having a master.

The second factor is sangha, the group. The group is very charming from a distance, but the closer you get, it brings out all the unwanted elements from within you. If you think a group is very good or very bad then that means you are not yet completely with the group. When you are totally part of that group, you will find that some bickering will come up. But you are the one who makes the group – so if you are good, your group will also be good. 

Sangha has a reverse nature to Buddha. Buddha makes your mind one-pointed; sangha, because it is of so many people, can scatter your mind, fragment it. Once you are used to it, it loses its charm. This is the nature of sangha. 

Still it is very supportive. If it were repulsive all the time, then nobody would be part of the sangha. Do not crave or be averse. Often you crave for Buddha and are averse to the sangha, and you try to change; but by changing sangha or Buddha, you are not going to change.

The main purpose is to come to the centre deep within you, which means to find your dharma. This is the third factor. What is dharma? Dharma is to be in the middle. Not going to the extremes is your nature. 

Your nature is to be in balance, to smile from the depth of your heart, to accept this entire existence totally as it is. Knowing that this moment is what has been offered to me, and that is how I take it. A sense of deep acceptance for this moment, for every moment, is dharma.

Highest form of forgiveness

 

A restless businessman once came into Buddha’s assembly, walked straight to him and spat at Buddha. He was furious that his children who could have spent their time earning money, sat with Buddha instead, with their eyes closed. Buddha merely smiled at him. There was no word, no reaction. The man walked away in a huff, shocked. He could not sleep all night. For the first time in his life, he met someone who smiled when he was spat at. His whole world had turned upside down.

The next day he went back to Buddha, fell at his feet and said, “Please forgive me! I didn’t know what I did.” But Buddha said, “No! I cannot excuse you!” Everyone in his assembly was taken aback! Buddha said, “Why should I forgive you when you have done nothing wrong?”

The businessman reminded him of what he did on the previous day. Buddha simply replied, “Oh that person is not here now. If I ever meet the person you spat on, I’ll tell him to excuse you. To this person here, you’ve not done any wrong.”

Compassion is not saying, “I forgive you.” Your forgiveness should be such that the person who is forgiven, does not even know that you are forgiving them. They should not even feel guilty about their mistake. This is real compassion.

Tradition of seeking forgiveness

Each year during this time, many cultures around the world celebrate a day of forgiveness, a day when you ask people around you, those you know and those you don’t, to forgive you. The Jewish community celebrates Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, while the Jain community in India celebrate Kshamavani, a beautiful tradition where each person greets the other with Michhami Dukkadam which means seeking forgiveness for deeds or words spoken that may have hurt someone consciously or subconsciously.

It’s a beautiful tradition to not harbour hatred towards anyone.  Even Muhammad Ghori who waged many wars against India was forgiven when he asked for forgiveness. Today, there is so much hatred, tension, and violence in the world. There is domestic violence at home, violence between communities, and conflicts between countries. In such a world, observing a day of forgiveness is of great significance.

If everyone in the world could practice forgiveness—both asking and giving—many of the world’s conflicts could be solved. Many of the conflicts in families, and in relationships would be solved.

Is it easy to forgive?

Forgiving is easy when you look at the bigger context. When you see from a wider perspective, you see that a culprit is also a victim. When you see that victim inside the culprit, you don’t need to forgive, forgiveness happens. In fact, compassion spontaneously arises in your heart.

Forgiving someone shows one’s compassion. Asking for forgiveness shows that you recognise your mistakes, and that you resolve not to repeat them in the future.

Why make mistakes at all?

Mistakes happen due to lack of understanding, wrong education, wrong indoctrination, emotional outbursts as we don’t know how to control our rage, anger and frustrations. When uncontrolled emotions spring into action, it becomes a mistake.

It is wisdom which checks these uncontrolled emotions; wisdom which makes you think before you act. People commit mistakes because of lack of wisdom, lack of happiness or lack of the inner connection with the divine. Someone who is happy, content and in love will not harm anyone. It’s impossible. If someone harms another, it is because there is a deep wound or scar inside of them which needs to be healed.

The highest form of forgiveness is to realise that the other committed a mistake out of ignorance and having a sense of compassion for them. Forgiving others with a sense of compassion is the best form of forgiveness.

Guru Purnima celebrates love and devotion

 

What is the significance of Guru Purnima? Guru Purnima is called the day of the Master. Actually, it is the day of the devotee. 

As a student you probably went to primary, middle and senior school. You collected information; you learned about the mind, about computers, mathematics, how two plus one is three. A student collects information. Information, however, is not knowledge; it is not wisdom.

Then there is the disciple who follows the example of the Master. But a disciple is with the Master to imbibe wisdom to help improve his life, for the sake of attaining enlightenment. He has a purpose, a cause, so he is not just collecting information. He goes a little deeper. He is trying to bring about transformation in his life. He wants to make sense of his life. That is a disciple. A disciple is still centered on himself, so he grows gradually and one day might get enlightened.

Then, there is the devotee. A devotee is not there for wisdom only. He is simply rejoicing in love. He has fallen deeply in love with the Master, with Infinity, with God. He doesn’t care as to whether he gets enlightened or not. He doesn’t care as to whether he acquires a lot of wisdom or not because every moment he is immersed in divine love: That is enough for him. A devotee is difficult to find. Students, there are in abundance, disciples are a few, but devotees are rare.

Everything is God, who is present in everything, so it is great to become a devotee. Do you see this? Everything, whether you want it or not, is already God, but when love and devotion has flowered in you totally, you become a devotee. Attraction is everywhere, love is somewhere, but devotion is rare. Devotion is beautiful. A student comes to the Master with tears in his eyes. There is so much pain and when he leaves, he is carrying the same tears, but the quality of the tears is different, they are of gratitude, of love. Entire creation is longing for only one thing, the transformation from salty tears to sweet tears.

The Buddha’s disciple Sariputra, got enlightened. The Buddha told him, “Now go ahead, go into the world and preach, teach and do the same work I do. Carry on my work”. Now Sariputra left, but he was crying and people asked him, “Why are you crying when you are enlightened?” He said, “Who cares about enlightenment, it could have waited, I would have waited. I didn’t even bother about it or ask for it because the joy of being at the feet of the Buddha was so great. Being a devotee was so great, now I am missing it. I would have preferred that to enlightenment”.

When Krishna was leaving his body, he spoke to his friend Uddhava with tears in his eyes. “These Gopis are so beautiful and I cannot bear the amount of devotion they have for me. Go and tell my devotees that only they can free me of their gratitude and of their love”. He rejoices, “Go tell them that where my devotees sing, I am right there”. Love is something that even the Divine rejoices in. Infinity longs for you as much as you long for it. It is waiting to receive you. God is as anxious as you are to be close. So when a devotee flowers on this planet, God is happy. That is why Guru Purnima is the day of the devotee.

Buddha is the manifestation of silence

 

When Buddha got enlightened on that full moon day in the month of May, it is said that he maintained silence for the whole week. He did not say a word. Mythology says that all the angels in the heaven were frightened. They knew that it was only once in a millennium that someone blossoms like Buddha. Now he was silent!

The angels then requested him to say something. He said, “Those who know, they know even without me saying it and those who do not know, will not know even if I say it. Any description of light to a blind man is of no use. There is no point in talking to those who have not tasted the ambrosia of life, and therefore I am silent. How can you convey something so intimate and personal? Words cannot convey it. And, as many scriptures in the past have revealed, words end where truth begins.”

The angels said, “What you say is right. But consider those who are on the borderline, who are neither fully enlightened nor totally ignorant. For them, a few words will give a push, for their sake you speak and every word of yours will create that silence.”

The purpose of words is to create silence. If words create more noise, then they have not reached their goal. Buddha’s words would definitely create silence, because Buddha is the manifestation of silence. Silence is the source of life and is the cure for diseases. When people are angry, they maintain silence. First they shout and then silence dawns. When one is sad, they ask to be left alone and retreat into silence. Similarly, silence is the recourse one takes to if ashamed. If one is wise too, there’s silence.

Look at the noise in your mind. What is it about? Money? Fame? Recognition? Fulfillment? Relationships? The noise is about something; silence is about nothing. Silence is the basis; noise is the surface. From the very beginning, Buddha lived a very satisfied life. Any pleasure was at his feet the moment he wanted it. One day he said, “I would like to go and see what the world is.”

Buddha set out in the quest for truth, all by himself, leaving his palace, his wife and son. The stronger the silence, the more powerful will be the questions that arise from such a silence. Nothing could stop him. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get away during the day, so he quietly escaped at night and his search continued for several years. He did all that people told him to do, he went from place to place, fasted, and he walked many paths, before discovering four truths.

At a time when there was so much prosperity, Buddha gave a begging bowl to his main disciples and asked them to go and beg! He made kings take off their royal robes and take a bowl in their hand! Not that they were in need of food but he wanted to teach them the lesson of becoming ‘nobody’ from being ‘somebody’. You are nobody; you are insignificant in this Universe. When kings and geniuses of that time were asked to beg, they became embodiments of compassion.

The first truth is, there is misery in the world. In life, there are only two possibilities:

1. one is to observe the world around us and know from others’ sufferings,
2. the second is to experience it and find that it is misery.

The second truth is there is a cause for misery. You can be happy without a reason, but misery has a cause. The third is that it is possible to eliminate misery. And the fourth truth is that there is a path to be out of misery.

Observe your true nature. What is your true nature? It is peace, compassion, love, friendliness and joy and it is silence that gives birth to all this. Silence swallows the sadness, guilt, and misery and gives birth to joy, compassion and love. In this way, everyone can enjoy and cross the ocean of misery.

Buddha is the manifestation of silence

 

When Buddha got enlightened on that full moon day in the month of May, it is said that he maintained silence for the whole week. He did not say a word. Mythology says that all the angels in the heaven were frightened. They knew that it was only once in a millennium that someone blossoms like Buddha. Now he was silent!

The angels then requested him to say something. He said, “Those who know, they know even without me saying it and those who do not know, will not know even if I say it. Any description of light to a blind man is of no use. There is no point in talking to those who have not tasted the ambrosia of life, and therefore I am silent. How can you convey something so intimate and personal? Words cannot convey it. And, as many scriptures in the past have revealed, words end where truth begins.”

The angels said, “What you say is right. But consider those who are on the borderline, who are neither fully enlightened nor totally ignorant. For them, a few words will give a push, for their sake you speak, and every word of yours will create that silence.”

The purpose of words is to create silence. If words create more noise, then they have not reached their goal. Buddha’s words would definitely create silence, because Buddha is the manifestation of silence. Silence is the source of life and is the cure for diseases. When people are angry, they maintain silence. First they shout and then silence dawns. When one is sad, they ask to be left alone and retreat into silence. Similarly, silence is the recourse one takes to if ashamed. If one is wise too, there’s silence.

Look at the noise in your mind. What is it about? Money? Fame? Recognition? Fulfillment? Relationships? The noise is about something; silence is about nothing. Silence is the basis; noise is the surface. From the very beginning, Buddha lived a very satisfied life. Any pleasure was at his feet the moment he wanted it. One day he said, “I would like to go and see what the world is.”

Buddha set out in the quest for truth, all by himself, leaving his palace, his wife and son. The stronger the silence, the more powerful will be the questions that arise from such a silence. Nothing could stop him. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get away during the day, so he quietly escaped at night and his search continued for several years. He did all that people told him to do, he went from place to place, fasted, and he walked many paths, before discovering four truths.

At a time when there was so much prosperity, Buddha gave a begging bowl to his main disciples and asked them to go and beg! He made kings take off their royal robes and take a bowl in their hand! Not that they were in need of food but he wanted to teach them the lesson of becoming ‘nobody’ from being ‘somebody’. You are nobody; you are insignificant in this Universe. When kings and geniuses of that time were asked to beg, they became embodiments of compassion.

The first truth is, there is misery in the world. In life, there are only two possibilities. One is to observe the world around us and know from others’ sufferings. The other is to experience it and find that it is misery.

The second truth is there is a cause for misery. You can be happy without a reason, but misery has a cause. The third is that it is possible to eliminate misery. And the fourth truth is that there is a path to be out of misery.

Observe your true nature. What is your true nature? It is peace, compassion, love, friendliness and joy and it is silence that gives birth to all this. Silence swallows the sadness, guilt, and misery and gives birth to joy, compassion and love. In this way, everyone can enjoy and cross the ocean of misery.

Technique for cultivating self love

See, self is love. You think you don’t love yourself and then you try to love yourself and that is the biggest blunder.

Who says you don’t love yourself? It is just a concept when you think you don’t love yourself, and it seems to be very real. Just relax, drop this whole concept of self love and love for others. Love is not just an emotion, so just relax and be at ease yes.

Don’t judge your actions too much. When you go on analyzing and judging your actions too much, this is where you’ll end up. Either you’ll feel guilty or you feel upset and then you feel angry and all this paraphernalia comes along.

That’s why the concept of surrender is so useful. The concept of belonging to the Divine, belonging to a tradition or a master is so useful. The devotee can say, "If I have some lack, then it is for the Guru to make me right, that’s not my business."

It’s like you’re on a massage table and if there is some twist in your muscle somewhere, it is not your job, it is the job of the masseuse to straighten your knots. You don’t do anything about it. In this way, you’re on the table and trying to do something with yourself, you get so stuck.

So trying to repair the emotions, correct the emotions, this is all a useless phenomenon and it only makes it worse. Do you see what I’m saying?

There is a saying in Sanskrit; suppose you have a wound and you go on scratching the wound, it’s not going to get better. Every time you scratch it you make it worse. This is exactly what we’re doing, you try to get rid of this thing or that thing or feel better about yourself, love yourself or not love yourself. All this is useless. What you are doing here is the best, do yoga, meditate, become hallow and empty and everything else gets taken care of.

There is a story about Lord Buddha. One disciple came to Buddha and said, ‘my mind is all so much turmoil. I feel so guilty, I feel so bad, I feel so this and that’, and he just said a lot of things. And Buddha just told him to go and get some water from a pond.

So he went there and saw the pond was so muddy. He said, ‘Lord the water is so muddy, I can’t get it.’

So Buddha just smiled and so this man went on and on again. A little while later Buddha told him again to go get some water. He said, ‘But it was all muddy’. Buddha said, ‘No, go and get the water.’

So when Buddha insisted he had no other choice but to just go. When he went there, by that time the water had already settled and it was clear. He brought the glass of water and gave Buddha. Buddha looked at the disciple and smiled away and the disciple got the answer.

So when your mind is muddled, don’t try to do anything more. Just give it some time, leave it alone and it will settle, it will become clear.

Unfortunately we have so many books written, so many concepts on how to love yourself and make this mind and make the guilt go away and blah, blah, blah. I don’t think it will help in the long run, even if it has for a short time. I would say do Sudarshan Kriya, pranayama, and meditation. And keep doing it. Other than that, don’t try to love yourself.

Can agnostic or atheist become an Art of Living teacher?

Definitely, don’t worry as long as you acknowledge there is form and there is formless and the world is an interplay of form and formless.

When you meditate you don’t have to see God with a nose, with hair, with a beard sitting somewhere up in heaven, there is no such God. If you believe in Godliness then that is good enough.

If you think God is an energy that is good enough. You don’t have to see God as a person, telling you or talking to you or something. Like there is an electric field, biometric field there is also a field of love. If you acknowledge that then that is good enough. And the highest goal of a human life is to grow and feel connected with the entire cosmos.

That is why Lord Buddha never talked about God. Also Pantanjali, when he described Yoga, in only one place he mentioned God, other than that he only talked about the consciousness, the mind. You know the Jains, they only talk about the self. They didn’t say there is a God up there somewhere. So even those who talked about God they said God is love. Jesus said God is love and love is God.

Why do we worship Buddha, even though he shirked his responsibilities and ran away from his family

When Buddha ran away he was ignorant. He was seeking, he was depressed and upset. Without knowing the reality of life he felt life is meaningless. 

In that state of low energy, depression, he went on seeking. 

Once he found, he returned back. He took great responsibility not just of his family, but for the entire world, the whole society. When Siddhartha became Buddha he came back to the society and for 40 years he traveled around and did great work.

Did Lord Buddha, King Janaka and Arjuna attain different levels of enlightenment?

Not at all! If there is a difference then it is not enlightenment at all. The mind does not depend on what clothes you wear. Whatever you wear on the outside, you will still remain the same inside. So self-realization is the inner awakening, it has no relation to the outer appearance or make up. In this regard, a king, pauper or monk, all are the same. 

Buddha became a monk, and made everyone a monk. 

In those days, India had reached the helm of its prosperity, and there were no beggars. This is the reason why Buddha encouraged people to become monks. He encouraged people to become monks and beg for their food as there is no better way to tackle the ego of the egoistic.

When a beggar begs for food, it is natural. But just imagine if a wealthy person has to beg for his food, it is like doing the impossible, and it hurts the ego. So, to hurt the ego, Buddha made all the wealthy people become monks, to make them dispassionate. 

King Janaka’s story was different. Janaka was already established in dispassion. Being in dispassion, being enlightened and then ruling the kingdom was also a kind of tapasya (austerity). 

Arjuna also wanted to become a monk and go into the forest; he did not want to fight the war. Lord Krishna said, ‘No, sit, don’t become an escapist.’ 

Yogastha kuru karmani sangam thyakthva dhananjaya, make yourself centered on the Self and then do action, then work in the society. 

Do not think that there is a low or high level of enlightenment.

Maharishi Sukhdev, who was a renunciate went to King Janaka, and he waited for three days at the door of King Janaka to obtain knowledge from him. So, being in an Ashram does not mean that one has more knowledge. 

One cannot assume that brahmachari (celibate) is less knowledgeable when compared to a saint. The greatest of saints can learn even from a child or a brahmachari (celibate). In fact sometimes you have to learn. 

Once a person is established on the Self, the outer circumstances or situations do not make any difference.

Is There One God Or Many?

All religions say that there is only one God. Judaism says there is only one God. Christianity speaks of only one God. Hinduism speaks of only one God. It is said, ‘Ekam Sat Vipra’, there is only one God but manifested in many forms. You can adore him in whatever form you want.

There is only one light, but light has seven colors. In the same way, Islam says that there is only one God, but 99 names. Hinduism speaks of the 108 names and 108 forms of God, because all forms belong to one God only. The same God is in every form.

God is space, he is not a person – he is not an object, it is energy. And what is that energy? Jesus called it love. Love is God. And that is what is said in the Upanishads, and in the ancient Vedic Scriptures – God is love, God is energy, He is in you as you, and He is in everybody. Somewhere He shines more, somewhere He is shining less.

In Spain, the sun shines more, and in Berlin it shines a little less. Like that, in some places he is more visible as love and in another place, he is more visible as something else. So, God is energy, and that is what we are all made up of, and everybody is made up of. There is only one God everywhere.

But the difficulty is when one says, ‘My God is the only God. Your God is a false God.’ This is the problem.

‘Only if you believe in this book of mine, you will go to heaven; otherwise you will go to hell.’ That is why this world is suffering today with terrorism because some people think only they have the key to heaven, and not the others. This is not correct.

You have no difficulty in eating Danish pastry, no difficulty eating Chinese food. Just by eating Chinese food, you don’t become Chinese. Tomorrow you don’t start speaking Chinese. You eat Chinese food and you like it. In the same way, we should accept knowledge also. If it is Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Islam, Christianity or Judaism, anything that uplifts human life should be welcome.

Don’t think if you read Buddha’s scriptures or if you read Hinduism, then Jesus will be angry at you, or you have betrayed Jesus. Not at all! This narrow-minded division that people have created is out of ignorance, or fear, or wanting to control. Ignorance mainly.

So we need to bring that big awareness in people. It is so necessary.

I see so many heated arguments, fights, killing and inhuman behaviour. That is why we don’t talk about any religion, just come and breathe. When they breathe, then they realize, ‘Oh, yes, I can feel very good inside’. When you become hollow and empty, you feel good.

Is Buddhism a Part of Hinduism

The answer to this question depends on one’s personal opinion. In India, Buddhism is considered a part of Hindu tradition because Buddha never said I am starting a new religion—he only reformed what was already in existence.

Buddha became a monk in the Hindu tradition and then he shared the path to monkhood with everybody. He never discarded the Gods or Goddesses. He put the Buddha (the enlightened) first, which was already how it was.

The Guru Comes First

In Hinduism, we chant, Guru Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwaraha, Guru Saakshat Para Brahma, Tasmai Sree Gurave Namaha.
When translated, this means, first is the Guru. Buddha reestablished the same thing. Instead of Guru, he said Buddha. Buddha means a totally blossomed enlightened person.

In Karnataka, India, all Gurus were called Buddhi. If you go to any ashram and say Buddhi, you will be addressing a Guru. Buddhi also means “heightened intellect” or “the great enlightened one”. So, at that time, enlightened people were called Buddha.  

May All People Be Happy

Another line of text in Buddhism is, "Rakhantu sabba devta, bhavtu sabba Mangalam.” This means, let auspiciousness and peace happen to everybody.
In the Vedas, it is said, "Sarve jana sukhino Bhavantu", which means, let all the people of the world be happy.

Whatever is said in Upanishad, the same thing Buddha spoke! Buddha never said that all the Rishis or saints were wrong. He said, there have been so many Buddhas before me and many will come after me. Take refuge in Buddha. And there is a Buddha hiding inside of you. Take refuge in the Buddha nature inside you.

Hinduism is the Mother of Buddhism

There is virtually no difference between Hinduism and Buddhism. Even His Holiness the Dalai Lama is constantly heard saying that Hinduism is our mother. Hinduism is the mother of Buddhism.

In earlier days, people would do animal sacrifices, and Buddha condemned all that. He said you should not do this sacrifice. In any religion, there is always some such interpolation. Though it was not the original practice of the religion, later on, these things get into the religion. And then people think this is the religion. They leave the philosophy and hold on to the practices. These become causes of contention and then sects develop.

Even in Buddhism, there are Hinayana and Mahayana. Buddha never created Hinayana and Mahayana. There are 32 sects of Buddhism, all mushroomed later on. Which is the one Buddha created? He did not create them at all. He just reformed what was already in practice. Monks were wearing saffron in this country; he wore the same thing. Monks were shaving their heads; he asked all his monks to shave their head. So everything in Hinduism—like begging alms, asking for food, letting go of the ego—Buddha followed the same thing.

Excerpts from Keynote Address at the World Happiness Summit

Do you want to listen to a story? When Buddha got enlightened, he became silent and angels asked him to talk.

He said “People who are happy they don’t need to listen to anything. They are happy. They are happy with everything around, they don’t need to listen to anything. And people who are unhappy they don’t listen to anything.  If you try to put some sense into people who are unhappy, they are not there. They are so embroiled in their own misery. They have closed their ears. Those who are miserable don’t listen to me anyway and those who are happy don’t need me.” So the angels requested him that there are some people who are on the border line. That’s when Buddha started talking.

Those who are happy you can feel the vibrations. You don’t need words to express yourselves. They are so sensitive. They can catch you. Kids exuberate happiness. They radiate joy. If you ask me, I will tell you that there are those who are happy and they want to share happiness. Nature of happiness is to share. Nobody can say I am so happy leave me alone. When you are happy you want to share happiness. It’s simple, if you see a nice movie you pick up the phone and call your friend. Nature of happiness is to share. Those who are happy,  they share. This is the first category. There is another category of people who are seeking happiness. So they seek in changing jobs, places, cars, gadgets,  trying to find happiness. There is a third category who have no hopes of happiness. For them happiness does not even exist. And if they see someone happy, they feel more irritated. Have you seen such people around? If one of them is happier the other is irritated.

Happiness is not something which has left anyone untouched. We all know what happiness is. So there’s no need to define happiness. It’s really a blunder to define the basics of life. Because you can’t define it in words. You can’t water it down in definitions. They are much vaster, much bigger, much greater.

You know feelings can never be captured in words. Haven’t you felt that there’s so much you want to express but the words are not sufficient enough? It’s the same with happiness. Happiness cannot be conveyed in words or in gestures.  Our being is much much much larger than our expressions.

Happiness is something that everyone has experienced. But it is very fragile. Now you are happy. Just one nasty phone call,  are you still able to keep your happiness? One nasty phone call and your happiness is gone. Your happiness is fragile.

What is that that can make our happiness stronger? I call that Wisdom. Wisdom brings a different context to our life. It expands our context. Anyone who is not happy, you make them see life from a different context and you can bring a smile back to their face. As the context of life expands the problems and issues appear smaller and insignificant. So to make your feeling of togetherness, feeling of worthiness become stronger the first thing is expand the context of life. If someone doesn’t get this take them to the planetarium. When they see the light and how insignificant the little earth is in the context of bigger universe, the multiverse, something happens.

Second is commitment.  If you are committed to doing something, you don’t care. Whatever obstacles that come on the way, you don’t care.  Unpleasant remarks may come from people, but nothing detracts you. That is commitment. So strengthening commitment is the second thing.

The third thing is compassion.  We are more disturbed by others behaviour towards us. That is why we feel our happiness depends on many other factors.

Someone who is stressed – is unhappy, spreads unhappiness. Why do you have to succumb to it?  Instead of getting succumbed to someone else spreading unhappiness say to yourself “I can be in control of myself. I can spread happiness. I can be the source of happiness when I have compassion for others.”

What do you say?

Does it make sense?

Let me review.

First is expand your context, broaden your vision and then have purpose in life. Focusing your energy on something which you find useful, find your purpose. To me the most meaningful thing is bringing happiness in the lives of people, Instead of running after happiness.. You know it runs further away from you. If you stay put, happiness chases you.

Most of the people who are running after happiness, I would say, stay where you are. Just be. You will find that happiness surrounds you. It must comes to you. If you follow joy,  misery follows you. If you follow wisdom, joy follows you.

Second is commitment. Commitment to the greater goals in life. Then you will be really happy.

And the third is compassion. It’s compassion which keeps us in a state of unconditional love, unconditional happiness.

Everyone is seeking happiness – a happiness which doesn’t turn into misery, a love which doesn’t turn into hatred. The perfect action that doesn’t turn into anger and frustration. And that which brings the stability within us, which makes our happiness strong, that I call wisdom. Wisdom for life. No wisdom. No happiness.

Need for spirituality courses and techniques

Buddha said, be your inner light, so why are the spirituality courses and techniques needed?

You have to listen to Buddha. Buddha had to come and tell you, be light unto yourself. Right? So that is a technique.

Once in Rishikesh, they built a four story building and there were mounds around because Rishikesh is a hilly area. So after the completion of the four story building, they cleared the mound that was around. When that was cleared, suddenly they realized there no steps to the first floor. Because of the mound, everyone was going through the mound all the materials was carried through the mound. When the mound was cleared, from the ground floor there were no steps to the first floor. There were steps from there onwards.

Like that, I was thinking when people say no need of technique, no need of Guru and all that, then there was no need of this question also. Right? Where is the need for an answer? 

If you were a bird, you don’t need the steps to go, but even a bird needs wings and should know how to flutter its wings. They learn how they should fly. And they need training. If a bird had no other bird around it, if they had just seen cats and kittens around, they would think they were one of them, they would not flutter their wings and fly.

We have a horse in the ashram, and the horse is in the cowshed. It is so friendly with all the cows, it will go and lick them. And somebody brought another horse, and they got very upset looking at each other. It looked like the horse thought it is a cow, when for the first time it saw another horse it became very wild. So you need a mirror to look at yourself, and the mirror is the technique. It’s needed.

To drink coffee you need a cup, right? You don’t drink the cup, but without the cup also, you can’t drink the coffee. You need a straw to have juice, but nobody eats the straw. But there is a connection between the cup and the lip through the straw.