Chakras - your pathway to bliss

 

There are seven chakras or seven nerve/energy centers connected with different glands in the body — thyroid gland, the adrenalin glands, pituitary gland, pineal gland, etc. Science also agrees that these glands are responsible for our experiencing various emotions. Our ancient Rishis knew this fact thousands of years ago and mentioned it in the scriptures. 

The Rishis depicted each of the seven chakras in the forms of a lotus or different flowers. This is because when you go deeper in meditation, the consciousness becomes very subtle, and your mind becomes fresh like a flower. It becomes fresh, alive and soft. In such a delicate state of consciousness, you experience the rise of energy in the system. 

Lightness is connected with subtlety. Grossness is connected with inertia and negative sensations; negative feelings. When you are negative, when you are rude or rough in your behavior, there is a certain inertia, a certain heaviness in the system. 

When you feel all the positive sensations, you feel a sense of lightness. When the energy moves upwards, then the inertia transforms into enthusiasm and then next to creativity. From creativity wells up joy. When you are happy, you are naturally generous. Then the energy moves up further into the heart chakra where you only feel love for everybody around you. When you feel immense love, you feel an equal amount of gratitude and from this gratitude stems awareness. Awareness leads you to bliss.

Recognize duality to see unity

 

Some people misuse yoga for the fulfilment of their carnal instincts; this is wrong. It should be the other way around. Whenever there is a carnal instinct, it should be transformed into a divine inner experience. There is a beautiful word in Sanskrit called atma rati, union with one’s being, rejoicing in one's self. 

There are two things, prakriti (nature) and purusha (consciousness). There is an interplay of nature and consciousness all the time. The union of your body and soul — your body is female (prakriti), and your soul is male (purusha) — is happening all the time. And, seeing that union within oneself is samadhi. 

That is why samadhi is considered to be a thousand times more joyful than carnal desires. Whatever joy sex gives, samadhi offers a thousand times more because there is no effort and no action there. It is only being and just being. When just the being, the play and display of consciousness come to one’s awareness, it becomes one’s experience — exquisite and beautiful! 

Don’t keep any corner of your existence away from divinity. The divine should be interwoven into every aspect of your life, and this is called brahmacharya, which means moving with the infinity, uniting with the infinity. In India, you find both aspects — Shiva and Parvati who symbolize prakriti and purusha, consciousness and matter — everywhere. First recognize the duality and then see the unity. They are not two, they are not different but two sides of the same coin.

You are complete. You are both man and woman. Getting rid of this label, ‘I am man’, ‘I am woman’ — getting out of your limited identity, this is the highest philosophy of the universe. We keep identifying ourselves, ‘I am a man’, ‘I am a woman’, ‘I am old’, ‘I am young’, ‘I am educated’, and ‘I am illiterate’. Throw away all these labels. What remains is pure consciousness. Just know that you are the consciousness.

Don’t go around saying I am nothing. Adi Shankaracharya once said, ‘One who labels himself as something is a fool and one who labels himself as nothing is a bigger fool.’ One who is nothing does not talk, so just keep quiet. How can you say, ‘I am nothing’, when you are saying something! There cannot be somebody there saying, ‘I am nothing.’ 

When you consider the basic necessities of food and sex as sacred, then aggression in you disappears and surrender, gratefulness and love dawn in you. That is when the devotee and the divine have become one. They have blissfully merged into one. But there is a difference between bliss and sex. Sex is energy consuming and draining while bliss is energy conserving. All emotions that you experience are nothing but energy moving through you, through the chakras in the body.

Sex is not a sin

 

Sex is a manifestation of kama or desire. ‘Sex is the original sin,’ this is what people have been made to believe in the past. Sex is not a sin. It is the basis of all life on the planet. There are two basic instincts in human beings, and these have been with you in all your lifetimes — food and sex. These have been with you in all your lives, even when you were an animal and now as a human being. You are born out of food and sex. 

It is so beautiful that in India we connect both of these to divinity. In the Upanishads, it is said ‘Food is God.’ When you consider food as God, you will not overeat. You won’t simply stuff yourself with food, but you will eat with honour. No festival in India is celebrated without delicacies, associated with that festival, being prepared in every household. When you go to a temple, the first thing the priest gives you is some prasad. Prasad is just a little bit of food that is given to the devotees. Without prasad, there is no pilgrimage and no festival. Food and God are connected. 

Similarly, sex and God are also connected. One often tends to keep sex separate from God. Sex is often thought of as part of material life. But here in India, the ancient people linked sex to God so that no aspect in us, even an instinct as basic as sex, remained away from God. When you honour sex and consider it as part of the divinity, then your obsession disappears, lust disappears and sacredness dawns. Also, the basic instinct of lust transforms into love. This is the ancient thought. 

The four principles - dharma, artha, kama, moksha

 

For spiritual blossoming in life, four principles have to be kept in mind — dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. These are the four aspects of Purushartha. Dharma is the nature, artha is the means, kama is the desire and moksha is the release from desire. 

The body has its nature. If the body wants to sleep, you have to provide it with rest. But, in reality what do we do when the body wants to sleep? We turn on the television to watch an interesting movie. We are going against the body’s dharma. Suppose the body has a desire to eat and even though you have eaten, the desire has not vanished. Your stomach is full, but the desire to eat still remains. This is where moksha comes in.

Moksha means release from the desire. Dropping of the desire is moksha. If there is no coordination between these four faculties, then life will be utter chaos; a misery. For example, you have a desire to go to the moon or to fly but your desire and means don’t coordinate with each other, then sheer dissatisfaction sets in. When desire and nature are coordinated, then the means and fulfillment are also coordinated. Fulfillment can also be taken to mean liberation. 

Once, there was a potter. He took a long time in making pots — spending long hours to make each pot artistic and even painting some of them. He put all the pots he made in a basket to take them to the market. The market was some distance away. The potter started daydreaming as he was walking along. He began to make various plans about what he would do with the money that he would earn by selling the pots. He imagined that he would become a millionaire, that his friends would respect him a lot. He would be able to relax and do nothing. While thus dreaming of relaxing on a chair, his hands let go of the basket and all the pots fell and were shattered. He did not even reach the marketplace! No coordination between the four — fulfillment, desire, means and one’s very nature, creates problems. 

Both artha (wealth and material comforts) and kama (desire or passion) arise in life from time to time, according to one’s needs. Fulfilling those needs to sustain one’s life, yet not getting entangled in too much greed or lust is the responsibility of dharma (righteous action) and moksha (liberation from suffering). 

In the course of our life, from time to time, we have to engage ourselves in the pursuit of artha and kama. Enjoy them but at the same time do not get caught up in them. That is why we should engage in actions that are aligned with our dharma and refrain from those actions that go against it. The same goes for artha too. 

Life cannot function smoothly if any one of the four aspects of Purushartha is missing. As life progresses, we must have moksha as our supreme aim; adhere to and uphold dharma at all times, and we will see that our pursuits for both artha and kama will also bear fruit in due course of time.

Why should one be on the spiritual path?

 

Spirituality for me is very basic to life. We are made of both matter and spirit. While the building blocks of our body are proteins, carbohydrates, etc., our consciousness or spirit is made of compassion, joy, energy, enthusiasm, peace, happiness and all such beautiful qualities. Anything that uplifts the spirit, anything that brings more happiness, love, creativity, compassion, and enthusiasm in life is spirituality. 

For thousands of years, spirituality has been the guiding force behind humanity. Now is the time when we need to move from religion to spirituality. Religion is like the peel and spirituality the fruit inside. Wars have been fought and nations divided in the name of religion but spirituality has united humanity irrespective of religion, race, caste, creed, gender, colour and age. The rituals that you go through from birth to death are all religion. 

Spirituality is personal. Unfortunately, the world over, we have thrown out the essence and are holding on to the dry fruit peel. Spirituality gives you the much-needed self-esteem, confidence and fearlessness. Some religions don’t believe in God — like Buddhism and Jainism. 

Religion, mainly talks about rituals, symbols, a style of life, whereas spirituality attends to the core values of empowering oneself, and realizing that there are many faculties and dimensions lying dormant within us. For example, all of us have ten fingers, but not everyone knows how to play the sitar. With a little training, the fingers can play music. In the same way, with a little training of our minds, talent can be exhibited, confidence levels can rise, honesty, integrity – qualities that we expect from others will start showing up within us. 

Spirituality is getting in touch with yourself, the core of your being. The goal of the spiritual path is to understand the spiritual dimension of life and live all the values that the spirit represents — peace, love, joy, beauty, unlimited knowledge, and the capacity to understand both mind and matter. At any moment, in any place, you can just sit and let go, knowing that inside you there is a pure, clear space that’s vast and deep. 

That inner space is what you are. Feeling this inner space is knowing your spiritual dimension. Spiritual blossoming simply means blossoming in life in all dimensions — being happy, at ease with yourself and with everybody around you. Worrying doesn’t make any difference, but working does, and spirituality gives one the strength to work.

Go beyond yourself, to find God

 

Who is God? You and me and all that is. The totality. Love is God and everything is love. The whole creation is filled with love. Now the question that is rising in your mind is, "Are hatred, anger and negativity also love? I would say yes. 

If you are angry, go to the root of your anger. Why are you angry? Because you love someone in some way. That anger is a by-product of love. Do you see that? Hatred is a byproduct of love. Love is what you are made up of. The consciousness in you is love. 

Love is not just an emotion. It is the very state of your being. It is the pulse in you. You may call it God. You may call it pure consciousness. You may call it the supreme or unseen power which nobody knows. It is the basis of creation.

A scientist may call it the vacuum state of matter or existence. A person who practices yoga says it is that which is beyond the mind, beyond the self. The word God in India is Paramatman. Atman means the self, the I. Para means beyond. Whatever is beyond the I, is God. 

So how do you go beyond the I? When you become love. You dissolve. You go beyond.

Getting to see God

 

People were told in ancient days "God is your mother, God is your father, and thirdly, God is your teacher". See God as your mother, as your father and as your master. 

Don't divide and say, "This is different, that is different, God is somewhere else". Then you will experience disconnection. Though you are not disconnected, you will experience disconnection.

You can never be disconnected, but you can be in illusion, you can be in ignorance, believing that you are not connected. That is painful. Pain is the feeling of disconnectedness when it is not so.

I met a very beautiful Catholic nun who happened to come into one of the courses. She said, "If you don't see Christ in the first person you meet, you are never going to see Him". If you are able to see divinity in everyone, then all your relationships are relationships with God. You can't be related to anything else, because whatever you related to, you will see God in it.

If you have a brother, you will see God in the brother. If you have a sister, you will see God in the sister. If you have a husband, you will see God in the husband. You have parents, you see God in your parents. You have friends, you see God in your friends. In every relation you will see only God. God is coming to you in the form of an enemy.

God is making you stronger somewhere, pulling out all your weak points, contributing to your life. This is my understanding. With this understanding, the bliss, the joy remains eternal, unshakable.

To let love happen, know your Self

 

Can you love with your effort? Is it possible? No. A million times you have heard people telling you to love everything. Love the flower, love the sun, love the moon.

How Is possible? Can you love with your effort or does it just happen? Love is spontaneous inner happening. You have no control over love. It is the other way around Love controls you. When there is love, you are pulled. Even if you don't want to go , you are pulled. When there is love, you are drawn towards it. Love governs your life. You can't govern love.

You are very small. You are tinier than love. Love is a phenomenon. It happens to you. It is beyond your manipulation. You cannot manipulate your mind and bring love into it. It is impossible.

What can you do? You can drop the stresses, tension and all that is blocking the flow of love and being natural. If you are natural, you are allowing love to flow through you.

Anything you do that is unnatural blocks the flow of love. What is distress? Distress is something which blocks the flow of love. When there is love, there is no distress. Can there be distress in love? No. Can there be fear when there is love? No. Eliminate the root cause of tension, and love dawns and flowers in its natural way. The real cause of tension is unawareness of love. It goes in circles.

You think if you don't love yourself, if you can't accept yourself, you're limited in loving anybody else. But who said you don't love yourself? The trouble is you do love yourself. Not as your Self, but as your thoughts, your ideas and your ego. Ignorance of your Self is the lack today, not lack of love for oneself. Do you see that difference?

An obstacle to enlightenment

 

You are asking me, “Can a Christian or a Westerner be enlightened?”. If he thinks he is a Christian, he is a Hindu, he is a Muslim, he is somebody, and then he cannot be enlightened.

As long as anyone takes such a position, then enlightenment is far away. A human being can be enlightened, not a Christian, not a Hindu, not a Muslim. See the difference? 

If you know you are just a human being and if you know you are just being, you are already enlightened.

Understanding the "self"

 

Many people, when they get this spiritual knowledge, say, “Oh, Gurudev, while I’ve been waiting for this, so much time has gone by. I’ve wasted 20 years. How nice it would have been if you had come years ago”. 

I say don’t regret the past. Nothing is ever a waste. All the past, all you have gone through has built the foundation, has brought the walls up. Now we are here to put on the roof, to complete it. It is not a waste. What is it about the individual self that makes it different from another individual self?

My answer will not help you. You look into it. That is a question in your mouth like food in your mouth. Someone can bring food up to your mouth with a spoon, but you have to chew it. Someone else cannot chew it for you and put it in your stomach. This is such a question. You work it out. This much we can say, the self is not thoughts, it is not feeling, it is not emotions.

A scholar who has studied such things would answer this question. The answer to such a question is more harmful than good. It will only place more concepts in your mind. The other day a lady asked me a question. When I did not answer it, she became angry. She felt insulted. She said, “Why are you so unkind to me? You answer everybody else’s questions, but you don’t answer mine”.

I said, “I was kind to you, that’s why I did not answer your question. It’s the other way around. You have a bundle of knowledge. You think you know a lot already and you are chewing it like chewing gum.

It is not fulfilling your belly. All this knowledge is just like chewing gum in the mouth. Your jaws are aching and you are hungry. And you want more chewing gum in your mouth”.

Moving out of the cycle of karma

 

Grace and knowledge can cut the bondage of Karma. Otherwise there is no end to it. Good karmas will produce good karmas. Bad karmas will produce bad karmas, bad actions. 

Due to bad karma you are engaged in bad actions, and these bad actions will in turn create bad karma, and that bad karma will create bad action and its results, action and its results. It will continue forever.

From where does longing arise

 

Longing can come out of gratefulness and gratitude. Longing does not come out of complaint or frustration. Complaints and frustration will bring anger, hatred. Only gratefulness can bring longing.

Know that you've nothing, then you'll have everything

 

Give up everything and have everything. Even the sense of giving up something is thinking you have something. You don’t have anything. What do you have to give up? The struggle is that you think that you have, and then that you have to give it up. 

In the light of this knowledge you wake up and ask what is it that is yours. You don’t exist. ‘Yours’ doesn’t exist. What is yours? If something is there, it is there. If something is not there, it is not there. So what? If you trying to give something up, you are holding on to it more. Wake up and see nothing is yours or everything is yours. 

It becomes so easy. Yours needs will be met. Relax. When you have relaxed so completely, not possessing anything in the head or wanting to possess anything in the head, you will see the substance comes before the need for it arises. Fear arises with the thought, I may require something and then who will give it to me? This is a strain.

When the need is there, what is needed will come. This body belongs to the world. The world will take care of this body. You belong to God and God will take care of you.

The beginning of our spiritual journey

The spiritual journey begins with gratitude, which energizes and sweetens life. As it deepens, the journey leads to a state of oneness, where all distinctions fade. Gratitude also makes us more aware of the natural flow of life – its rhythm of giving and receiving.

In life, there’s always a give and take. But when we recognize that we’ve been taking more than we’ve been giving, and feel we have nothing left to offer, that’s when the spiritual journey truly begins.

Realise that we are here to give and not to take

At a deeper level, we come to realize that while we may feel we have nothing material to give, we are here to offer ourselves – our presence, our love, our service. There’s nothing we’re meant to take from this world. 

This shift marks the turning point from a material to a spiritual life. Realizing you are here to give, and not to take, uplifts the spirit.

Recognizing your own limitations makes you humble, while knowing your purpose (to give selflessly), lifts your spirit. This eventually leads to a stillness where duality dissolves, and only oneness remains. And this oneness transcends time. 

Much of our restlessness stems from being bound by time. We want everything immediately. But why must it happen on our timeline? Let life unfold at its own pace. Shifting your vision by seeing beyond the limits of time brings peace, stillness, and fulfillment. This is the wisdom passed down through generations. But in truth, it is all one. 

The rishis, the sages from ancient times, are not just figures of the past. Their presence is timeless and always accessible. The Guru is ever-present. All the rishis have affirmed this.

On the surface, you may see different personalities and qualities. But within, it’s the same light and spirit shining through the ages. Realizing you are a part of that eternal light is a celebration in itself.

Wisdom lies within each one of us

 

Here’s a truth to hold onto - you carry wisdom within you. The light of wisdom that’s been planted in you will never die or be blown away. It’s there, steady and alive.

You have a purpose; it is to spread that light. In this world, you are the hope, you are the light, you’re carrying the flame of wisdom. Never forget this.

Naturally, when you realize this, you want to start sharing it right away. But when others don’t listen, you may feel frustrated. You might think, “I have so much potential, but it’s not being used. Nobody understands me. Nobody is listening…”

That frustration arises because you’re in a hurry. Let go of the urgency. Just trust. Your potential will be used, if not in this life, then in another. And suddenly, that thought will dissolve your frustration and bring peace. The more peaceful you become, the more effortlessly things begin to happen. Isn’t that true?

When you’re centered and quiet, everything starts to flow. But when you’re agitated or rushing, things just don’t work.

Patience, dynamism, and presence

Life teaches us - patience pays off. If you have both wisdom and patience, nothing can shake you. Be patient. Watch your children change, your in-laws change, your spouse change. Everything begins to align when you hold steady.

Haven’t you experienced this already? Yes – it works. Wisdom gives rise to patience. But when you want to do something meaningful and it doesn’t happen right away, time becomes the challenge.

Remember, patience isn’t laziness or inaction. You must remain dynamic. That’s the paradox. Dynamic people are often seen as impatient, and patient people are mistaken for being passive. But being on this path, you begin to embody the rare combination of both – patience and dynamism. This is the key you must hold.

There are many layers to being with a Guru, but it begins with closeness – and that starts with you. No one else can create that connection for you. You must feel, “I am close to the Guru.”

From there arises presence – the experience of the Guru’s presence in your life. That presence brings miracles – not just for you, but for those around you. When you truly feel it, you begin to radiate it. You yourself become a blesser.

You’re close to me

This Guru Purnima, take one message with you: the Guru is close to you, and you are close to the Guru.

Never doubt that I love you. Don’t think I’m distant, or closer to someone else. From your side, you must feel – I am very close to the Guru. Period. No questions, no comparisons. 

The moment you start doubting that you invite misery. Do you want to be miserable? No. Then just know – I am close to the Guru.

That’s it. It’s done. Sealed. No more debate.

Don’t say, “Oh, Gurudev looked at someone else. He held their hand. He didn’t even look at me.” Let go of that thought.

You may think, “That person is struggling more, so Gurudev is guiding them closely to bring them back on track. I’m already on track!”

It’s like an engineer scanning a machine. The scanner focuses only on the screws that are loose. If a screw says, “The scanner didn’t come to me,” it simply means that screw is already perfectly fine.

"Who am I becoming?"

 

What follows is a summary of message delivered at the Journey Within event in Mississauga Canada on July 11, 2026. 

Key thoughts:

1. Focus on who you’re becoming, not just what you’re achieving.

• Don’t measure life only by your possessions, job title, or success.
• Ask yourself: “Who am I becoming?”
• Character is more important than accomplishments.

2. Your energy shapes your experience.

• High energy → optimism, creativity, and opportunities.
• Low energy → doubt, fear, and negativity.
• The circumstances may be the same, but your inner state changes how you experience them.

3. Prayer and meditation complement each other.

• Prayer is when we speak to the Divine.
• Meditation is when we become quiet enough to listen.
• Both are important for spiritual growth.

4. Technology cannot replace humanity.

• AI and technology can increase productivity.
• But they cannot replace, love, kindness, presence, genuine human connection. These remain our greatest strengths.

5. Happiness comes from contribution, not accumulation.

• A turning point in life is moving from “What can I get?” to “What can I give?”
• Service (seva) naturally brings fulfillment.

6. Don’t only build your career—build yourself.

• Many people spend years building businesses, wealth, and careers.
• We often neglect building:

                * Wisdom

                * Compassion

                * Peace

                * Inner strength

7. The greatest success is becoming a better human being.

Some lessons won’t make you richer. They make you kinder, calmer, and wiser. Those lessons often have the greatest value.

These thoughts fit into one simple philosophy:

Live with high energy, meditate regularly, serve others, cultivate human values, and measure your life by the person you are becoming rather than by what you own or achieve.

“Who am I becoming?”

It’s a question that goes beyond career success or financial independence. You're asking whether each year you’re becoming more peaceful, more compassionate, and more joyful.

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.

Your innocence is your own experience

 

There is a value of innocence in life. Remember those moments as a child when you were very happy? Then you were innocent.

In those moments when you were in deep love, you were innocent. In those moments when you felt very good, relaxed, you were innocent. It is a quality in you.

Love, beauty, truth are all beyond proof. Nobody can prove them. Nobody can prove God is. If someone tries to prove that God is, they are doing something disastrous.

Whatever you can prove, you can disprove also. God is beyond our proof and disproof. God is an experience. Your God only you can know. Your beauty only you can see.

Can anyone else have your experience of beauty? Impossible. It is the same with innocence. Your innocence is your innate experience.

Walking the path from intimacy to dispassion

 

When true intimacy, the feeling of wanting to love more, give more, gets turned around, then it says, “I have loved enough. What did I get in return? I have loved so much what did I get? I have not been cared for”. These demands will start. 

When you switch your direction, the struggle begins. True intimacy is recognising the flow of the current and joyfully floating with it. The current is there. You don’t have to stroke. You don’t have to move your hand and feet. It carries you and you float. Effortlessly. Taking everything for granted is true intimacy.

Observe your mind. What is happening in there? Constantly likes and dislikes. Wanting and not wanting, I want this, I don’t want this. Constant debate, fluctuation, cynicism, criticism, apathy, dejection. Do you see all these fluctuations? Are you aware of these things happening in the mind? For a while, throw off everything. Just sit. What is happening?

That is dispassion, centering. In true intimacy there is dispassion. Have you observed after laughing a lot and being very excited that excitement cannot be held in your mind? It feels awful. You want to throw off the excitement and just be quiet for a while. Have you had this experience? Wisdom dawns the day you recognise that joy is painful.

 

Your dispassion begins on that day when you notice joy is disturbing, exciting. You want to be a little quiet and calm. We have lost that sensitivity. That is why there is so much craving for joy, for something bigger”. Something must be better for me, something must give me more happiness”.

This is feverishness. We move from one feverishness to another. The pain of sorrow is feverishness. The pain of joy is feverishness. So you move from this feverishness to that feverishness and from that feverishness to this feverishness. It is a constant struggle.

Dispassion is that delicate balance that is beyond both joy and sorrow. In dispassion any great joy can come up and it will not shake you. That is enlightenment. Even if you are offered the heavens, you won’t move an inch from your seat. That is attainment. Dispassion is the secret. You can lean techniques and you can learn to meditate.

You can learn many things, but dispassion you cannot learn. It can only blossom in your life in time or with the presence of your teacher, your master. There is no other way dispassion can blossom. You cannot get in books. Only experience will teach you. The highest wisdom that can ever be achieved on this planet is dispassion. Anything can be shaken, but not dispassion.

Anything can be bought, but not dispassion. If you are dispassionate, if you are centered, nothing whatsoever can shake you. The only rich one is the one who is dispassionate. Otherwise you can be tempted, you can be shaken.

If someone offers you two million dollars and tells you, “Do this, do that” you will move from your position. But that person can’t move one who is dispassionate. Suppose someone comes and says to you, “You tell this lie and I’ll give you 2 million dollars”. Just imagine what you would do. Think of it. Your mind will put forward hundred and one justifications for whatever you will do.

 

You’ll say, “Okay, So what. I’ll say this and it may be for good and if I get two million dollars, I’ll use it for the benefit of the whole humankind. I don’t want it for myself, but I can do some good work for the whole world”. 

A prostitute was once asked by a priest to tell some lies about Kabir, the saint in India. She was a very conscientious woman and she wouldn’t speak a lie. They told her, “You do nothing. When Kabir gives satsang, you go to him and hug him. Say, “Oh, my dear, it have not met you in all these days’. You just say this”. So people tempted her and made her say this for 2 gold coins. When she did that, Kabir said, “Oh, I have been waiting for you. I have been here all the time. Where have you been?” Now this threw many people off their balance.

Kabir was a man who gave sermons, satsangs every night, so beautiful, so wonderful. The Brahma jnana knowledge was dawning on earth in a weaver, someone who was not literate, an innocent man. Many people left Kabir after this incident because their intimacy was just with the words, it was not true intimacy and had arisen because of passion.

Your passion is the cause of your rebellious mood and disinterestedness. The moment you become dispassionate, there is nothing but love. There is nothing but intimacy.

Many flavours of love, intimacy

 

In true intimacy all modes and all moods are involved, are included. What I mean by love is not always goody-goody and saying nice things. It is sometimes saying unpleasant things too. That is also love.

Getting angry sometimes is also love. Love is fighting, too. It is all modes. Many years back, when I was travelling abroad, I got a phone call from India. They said, “Come back quickly. When you return, we will lock you up and not let you go”. They were literally fighting with me on the phone. They wanted me home in the months of April, May, all the months. That is also out of love. Demand, with awareness, is also out of love.

You are trying to swim against the current. Still, the current is so huge, so big, you float in the same direction. You are struggling in the opposite direction, but you are moving in the same direction.

Do you see that? Everything in you is arising out of love only, because love is there. Intimacy is recognising this direction and being with the direction, feeling that you are totally loved.

If you doubt whether you are being loved or not, your capacity to love goes down. You will stop loving. You demand love, but how much have you been giving, contributing?

If you feel you have been contributing enough, loving enough, then you are not loving enough, because in love you always feel inadequacy. Any amount you do, you feel that it is inadequate. True intimacy always feels “I have not loved enough. I have not done enough”.

The biggest obstacle to true intimacy - your mind

 

Take it for granted that everybody in creation, everything in creation loves you, because everything has come out of love and goes back to love and remains in love.

Then you are with the flow of current. You are with the flow of river. If you don’t see that, then you are against the current. The you will not be loving. When somebody is swimming against the current, what does it mean? The whole creation is moving towards love. It is in love. But the one who is swimming against the current is not in love.

You are already intimate. How intimate can you be? You cannot be any more intimate. Your wanting to be intimate, wanting to have more intimacy, is the block. In looking out there for intimacy, you are swimming against the current. That brings you strain, frustration, anger. In creation everything is intimate, everything feels experiences intimacy.

Everything other than human beings, that is. The human mind which is stressed and tense only judges, discriminates, love this, doesn’t love that. The mind makes a hundred boundaries, ifs and buts, doubts, and then removes itself from existence. This removal from the flow of existence is called separation. Oneness with existences is intimacy.

What is true intimacy?

 

True intimacy is one-sided and non-judgmental. It starts from inside. The test for truth is to kick it. What is true will come back to you. If it comes back to you, it is yours. What goes away with a kick was never yours. 

The nature of everything in creation is to come back home. Everything goes back to its origin. A plant comes from the soil and it goes back to the soil. Water comes up from the ocean and it goes back to the ocean. Coming back to the source is the nature of everything in creation. We are innocent when we are born. When we become very old, we become like that again, innocent.

A child has little capacity to comprehend and communicate. When it goes through life and becomes an old man, it completes the circle, whether by choice or not by choice. Those who live long enough become like a child again. If you have ever spoken to people who are 95 or 100 years old, you will feel that they are like children now. They can’t understand or communicate. Like children they get stuck on one thing.

They say something and they stick to it. Children say, “Pa, pa, pa, pa”. In same way old people also repeat. When children do it, it is more joyful, although sometimes the mother gets angry at the children. But when old people do it you feel frustrated because your way of looking at a child and an old man is totally different. Your expectation from both of them is totally different.

So your own expectations cause irritations in you. Your own judgements cause irritations in you. True intimacy is non-judgmental. It is not looking at whether the old person loves you or not, whether the other person loves you or not, whether the other person treats you well or not. That is none of your business. If I want to be intimate with somebody, I take it for granted that they feel they love me. When you doubt whether the other person loves you or not, then your love for the other person goes down.

There is no way you can know the love of another person. If you base your perception only on the expression of love, you are mis-lead. Someone may say, “Oh, you are so wonderful, I love you so much”. And if you think that they mean that, or if you think someone who doesn’t say, “Oh I love you so much”, doesn’t love you, then you are mistaken. Action does not always represent the truth of the state of being.

In true intimacy you stop looking at the act and you Start being in love. So if you have determined to love somebody, do not even think whether they love you are not. You love them. That is enough. If they kick you to see whether the love in you is true or not, then you should have more happiness. Then, also you give love back. True love is coming back to the self. That is true intimacy.

Understanding aversions and cravings

 

I wouldn't say you are always connected to the earth, I would say you are part of this earth. Have you ever thought, as you sat at your dining table and took a loaf of bread in your hand, "This is my body? This bread that is going inside me will become the cells in my body. This bread is my future body. It is just a matter of some time?" 

You have a cup of milk in front of you. Have you ever thought, "This is part of my body? This milk is going to be my blood? Is it not true? When Jesus started the mass, he told people This is my flesh. This is my blood".

He meant, "This entire creation is my body". Feel one with everything. The food you eat, you are part of already! Before eating it, you are part of it. That is your flesh already. Jesus told them, "Don't lament. Don't think I am just in this body. This bread is my body. All the food in the world is my body because this food becomes my body".

What is the big thing about the body? When this body goes, another body will come because the food is there always. The food creates the body. If you eat food with all awareness, I am you. This consciousness, awareness that is me, that you feel is so beautiful is in you too. You don't lack a thing that I have.

This body is not my flesh. This bread is my flesh. This flesh is this bread. Know the difference between physical body and the flesh, and this entire world becomes your body.

That is cosmic consciousness. All are mine. It is all like my own finger. Everybody is part of me. When you know everyone is part of you, then all your cravings disappear, all your aversions disappear. Your cravings come because you think you don't have. Your aversions come because you don't want to have what you think you have. 

Do you see the irony of it? When you know everything already belongs to you, your cravings subside. When you know whatever you are averse to is part of you, then aversion disappears. And total synthesis happens and unity dawns. Even the word unity is not the right word. That also indicates a duality. If you can say one, there have to be two. 

So I say, language is inadequate to express any truth about existence. It is better to keep silent. This understanding of cravings and aversions applied to the situation of daily life becomes a valuable spiritual practice.

Exploring the nature of our connection to God

 

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. If you subtract one portion of a circle, the circle is not complete. If you subtract one thing from God, God no longer remains. The completeness comes because it is total, it is full. But the nature of your mind is to dissect, bisect, cut things, and divide. The moment you divide, duality happens.

A word appears. Two appear. And the two becomes many. In many, you are lost. In Sanskrit fear means two. How does fear come? Because of some division. Because of some recognition and separateness. Division means taking one thing in and separating something out. Accepting and rejecting.

Your rejecting, your separateness causes fear, and fear is unbearable to life. Separation does not exist. You cannot separate. It is an illusion in the mind. In recognizing the oneness, fear vanishes.

Either you are part of God or you are God - these are your two options. You may feel you are part of God, part of the master, part of existence, but if you feel you are existence, you are God, you are the master, then laughter, dance, smiles, and joy dawns in life. But for a long, long time you have taken the first option feeling that you are separate, you are somebody.

This is a hypnotism that you have undergone, thinking that you are separate from the whole existence. So you have to de-hypnotize yourself and know that you are part of the truth. You are part of this whole. Have you sat on a rock and thought, “I’m a part of this earth?” 

This body has come out of the substance of this earth. What is this body? Proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates, minerals, salt. It is all part of this earth. And this body is going to go back into this earth one day. And this earth is as lively as you think you are.

You know you are alive because you are lively. You act, you react to situations and people. The trees are also alive. You do not see that they react, but they are as much alive as you are. Plants are alive. For some time people haven’t known that there is life in plants, that they also feel emotions. Many people don’t know that trees can have emotions.

But recently botanists have discovered that trees express fear and are sensitive, although the degree of their expression is less than yours. The earth also has its life. This earth holds millions of bacteria. Billions of different species' “me, me” transforms into a big I or no.

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.

Confused? You're blessed

 

Blessed are those who are confused. Confusion means your previous knowledge has broken down. Your belief has broken down. That is a step in Knowledge. You are fused to yourself. Space is created. The mind goes blank. This is what is important. Whatever I say, whether you agree or disagree, it doesn't matter.

If you agree, it doesn't matter. If you disagree, then also it doesn't matter. But are you aware of what is happening in your own mind? That is sufficient. This moment some judgment is happening. A certain thing is stirring in the mind. You are agreeing, disagreeing. You like this. You don't like this. Awareness of what is happening within you that is self-study.

If you observe more and more, with a little practice you will see that every emotion, every thought creates a particular sensation in your system, in a particular place in your body.

And the mind becomes like a mirror. The mind becomes so hollow, so empty. Through that empty space truth dawns. That is why "I don't know" is beautiful. The moment you think "I know", then the mind is not yet hollow and empty. Knowledge, labeling things, comes into play. In India you don't find signboards everywhere. If you ask for directions, people will tell you which way to go whether they know or not.

They will tell you to go left or right. It may be completely the opposite direction, but they don't feel comfortable saying "I don't know". So you may travel for hours and discover that you have gone in just the opposite direction from where you wanted to be. The beautiful "I don't know". That is what is needed today. Innocence. And that is love.

Two ways of listening

 

Today what our world needs is not intelligence. There is enough intelligence in this country, in every country. What the world is missing is innocence. The value of innocence is being destroyed. And that innocence is egolessness, naturalness. 

Now what is happening? What is happening in your mind? Are you aware of yourself listening to me, following me? No. You simply went with me. Whatever concept I drew, you went with me. Or there was a tape going on simultaneously, "Yes, no, yes, no".

There was a debate happening within you. Are you aware of that? Do you see that? With this tape in your head, you know what you already know. You will agree with me on what you already know. You will say, "Yes, yes, yes, I agree". And to what you don't know you will say, "No, no, no how it could be?" So you are not listening to me then. Do you see that?

There are two categories - one is you are listening to me with a debate - "Yes, no, yes, no" - in which case you are listening to your own self. In the other case you are simply listening to everything I am saying. It is like listening to music. You just listen to music and forget about it. Do you see that?

Maintaining one's innocence on the path to enlightenment

 

Being in that state of consciousness, which allows knowledge to flow through, without actually knowing, that ability is within every one of us. All intuitions that arise in you arise from an area which you don't know. You cannot call it an intuition if you have already known it. As our intelligence grows, we tend to become crooked. Maintaining innocence in spite of intelligence, is wisdom, is enlightenment.

If our innocence is maintained in spite of intelligence, it has great value, naturalness. You have heard from many books and many people that ego is bad, ego is an obstruction to spiritual growth, ego is an obstruction to knowledge. Ego is nothing but being unnatural. Naturalness is being at home, feeling one, and feeling close to everyone. Distance is ego. Ego means I don't consider you as a part of me sol keep distance.

When I have to show off to you or have to behave a certain way, there is no cordiality there, no love, no connection. Then the ego comes into play. Being like a child, feeling at home, making everybody one's own, dropping all defenses and boundaries, destroying all the walls in between, that is being natural. You can call it being crazy, a little bit crazy. People may think you are a little crazy. It doesn't matter. You feel light, wonderful within you. Your mind is saved.

At any cost you need to save your mind. Just meditating, doing some practices, all these will not help unless you really want to save your mind. Guard the mind from the dust which flies in from the world.

If a person who has a lot of responsibility says, "I do nothing" that has great value. Someone who is very lazy says, "I do nothing", and it has no value. If someone who IS doing all the time and has great responsibility can say, "I do nothing", then that person’s consciousness has taken a shift. An important person being a celebrity has no value.

So an ignorant person being innocent has no value. When intelligence and innocence go together, a beauty dawns - very profound, very essential.

Benefit of feeling helpless

 

Every parent is a door for a new soul to enter into the world. Nothing more than a door. Every artist is a door for some work of art to flow through them. All your virtues, all beauty, all that is truth spring from the same source - one source.

Love is something that is very fresh. It can’t be stale. You can't practice love. No practice can bring love in you. Love is spontaneous. It is the same with beauty. Beauty can't be practiced. You can't practice appreciation.

That is why I say "I don't know what I speak". Knowing, knowledgeability, limits. The highest knowledge is called the end of knowledge. Vedanta means the end of knowledge, truth. 

It is the same with truth as with beauty, truth cannot be practiced. It can be cognized, recognized, felt, experienced and lived moment to moment, moment to moment. Observing the unpredictability of life, the unpredictability of the world creates an awe in you, a sense of wonder in you.

Every person on this earth feels helpless, completely handicapped, at some time or other whether he is John F. Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi or someone on the street. Everyone feels helplessness, feels that things are ruled by something other than what one can logically conceive. Whatever possible conclusions we make, we still feel things happen beyond that. 

When we feel helpless, we tend to become frustrated, cynical. This is the junction point. The feeling of helplessness can turn into prayer, or it can turn into frustration. Divinity can be perceived in the prayerfulness. In frustration we become more and more disheartened, dejected. Do you see that?

Prayer is not a practice, it is a happening. When from the very core of your heart, your mind, you feel helplessness that is prayer. When you are successful, you Know it. A sense of doership comes.

But when the feeling of helplessness arises, prayer can be very authentic. This authentic prayer can transform life, can bring such a force or power within us. I don't mean that we should all be miserable in order to pray. Gratefulness is very essential. 

When we recognise our helplessness, we need to put a distance between ourselves and what is happening, a distance from every action. I'm talking and yet I am watching myself talk. I'm sitting here, yet I'm not just sitting here. I have entered all the things here-the cushions, the carpet, the walls, the photograph. All over it is me, an expanded awareness living life from that area beyond calculations.

We measure and talk. We calculate, we prepare and we talk. But when we talk of something which we don't know, it is very adventurous. I have never read the Bible, but I can speak on the Bible. Nor have I ever read Buddha, but I can speak about Buddha.

Letting words flow through you when you speak

 

What is the difference between a question and wonder? For a question we seek an answer, in wonder we don’t seek an answer. A question is related to sorrow; wonder is related to joy.

No one ever asks, ‘Why am I happy?’ When we become miserable, we ask ‘Why has this misery come to me?’ No one ever questions why there is so much beauty in the world, in creation. But why there is dishonesty?’

This ‘Why’ comes from that area of our mind that seeks to know, that seeks knowledgeability. Knowledgeability is labeling things. I don’t know what I am speaking. What you know you speak from your intellect, you speak from your knowledge. But the purpose of knowledge is to make you aware of how ignorant you are. The more you know, the more unknown remains. So, in fact, the unknown grows. What we don’t know grows.

We are born in ignorance. When we mature and we go through the process of acquiring knowledge, we again become ignorant. But there is this difference – this second “I don’t know” becomes a beautiful “I don’t know”. It is wonder. “Why this creation?” “I don’t know” “What is happening?” “I don’t know”.

An ignorant person talks and he doesn't know what he says. So also an enlightened person talks and he doesn’t know what he says. If he knows and talks, it is coming from limitation. If he doesn’t know and talks, he allows the words to flow through. He's open. He remains available to that are of the self, the consciousness, from which the words will come. An enlightened person can speak on any subject which he doesn’t know. He can sit and talk, but only if he doesn’t start thinking about it.

If you ask an enlightened person to prepare a thesis, he would fail to do it. Kabir or St. Francis would be unable to write a thesis or to write a poem, but they could sit and let the poetry flow through.

What you have known and you speak is stale. It is not fresh. But when you speak something that you don’t know, it is something fresh, it is something new. It is the most creative thing.

Talking about what you know may be creative, but definitely less creative than when you talk about something that you don’t know. In that very moment that is being created, you allow yourself to be a doorway for the creative process to spring through you. We are all just doors.

Transforming gratitude into grace

 

A drop of water on a hot plate takes little time to disappear. It makes some noise and it evaporates. Gratitude in our life seems to disappear even faster.

We seem to forget how much we have grown, how much we have received. The mind seeks more and more. And in every wanting of more and more, it forgets the past very easily.

So gratitude rises in everybody but disappears very soon. Today we cannot say that no one is grateful. Everyone is grateful, but for the moment and then it is finished. Grace is that gratitude which can remain all the time.

If gratitude remains around the year like the evergreen, you call it grace. It is grace. It is like the snow in the Himalayas that stays throughout the year. It doesn’t just fall and disappear. Whatever falls on the highest peak stays. When there is gratitude, complaints disappear. When complaints arise, gratitude disappears, gratefulness disappears.

When there is a complaint in the mind, there is discontent, frustration, dejection, depression. All that follows. If you are not grateful, if there is no gratefulness, no gratitude, then you will start complaining.

You will find fault. Even if there is none, you will try to see it. You will find it. Your mind will do it for you. You won’t even need to try hard. Your mind can easily pick it up. So and so did not show all his teeth. It was less than a full smile.

This is the lower journey. Gratitude is the plateau, the middle. And as you rise above that, there is grace. When gratitude in you stays, that very gratitude flows out from you as grace. Wherever you see divine grace flowing, there you will find gratitude.

Opening yourself to love

 

There was a beggar who sat all his life on a particular spot. When he died, people said that he had spoiled the piece of land, that he made it dirty. “He has lived all his life here”, they said to each other. “Let us dig the mud from here and throw it out”.

When they started taking down his small hut and digging the mud out of the place where he lived, they found an enormous hole filled with wealth. The people laughed. They said, “This man lived in poverty all his life and he was sitting on this hole filled with wealth”.

“If he had dug down one foot right where he was, he could have been a millionaire”. Everybody pitied him. 

Bang on the door. Where you are, you are on the door step. Do not delay a moment. Bang on the door. All the wealth is within you.

Each one of us is the total sun, the full sun. We have come into this world, everyone of us, to contribute, to give light and love. But all of our life we remain unaware of our wealth, unaware of what we are. So don’t delay. Bang on the door with full force.

Just knocking will not help. Humanity has swung to the extreme today, so it is high time we get back to our selves with all speed. We have been shivering outside the door long enough. How are you to get back to your self, to get home without any delay? The intensity of your wanting to get back is the first thing. If you have been shivering in the cold, you won’t simply sit there and knock.

When you have recognized this truth, that you need to get through the door, the very first step, is passion to get to the center. When you close one door, another door opens. When you close your outside door, then your inner door opens.

When you keep thinking about outside people, situations, circumstances, you are lost completely in that. For a moment shut the outside door. Think only one thing, everybody is one - one person, one life. Then your outer door is closed. Don’t think of people in terms of personalities.

Don’t think this person is good, this person is bad and that person said this, the other one said that. Then you are lost. Your opinions about people are temporary, momentary. When we form opinions about people, we keep worrying our head about it. So we shut the door towards these things and our inner door opens and one day there is just love. More innocence, good and love.

Opening your inner door

 

Our doors need to be banged on for us to be able to recognise life. 5000 years ago people were living in a state of consciousness which enabled them to see life everywhere. It was then they named their trees. There was no word it. Even trees were addressed as 'he' or 'she'. Stones were addressed as 'he' or 'she'. Many of the ancient languages have only two genders, masculine and feminine. The sun, moon and stars were taken to be alive.

Life was more predominant. Mind was more predominant. Consciousness was more predominant. Matter was just a wick for its expression. The glow of a candle surrounds the wick. What is prominent, the wick or the glow?

Shut those doors through which dust comes in and open those doors through which fragments of light and love comes in. When you shut one door, another door opens all by itself.

You are filled with light, filled with fragments, filled with love. We know only two things. With our eyes open we are lost in the world, with our doors open we are lost in the dust. With our doors closed we fall asleep. Bang on your inner door. See that there is no dearth of love in you, there is no lack of anything whatsoever inside you.

Feeling real beauty

 

Our feelings have simply become words. Many times our feelings are not authentic, are not real. They are not coming from the source. When you look at a flower, you don't really feel that it is beautiful. But the mind says, "Oh, this is beautiful". The beauty becomes just a concept rather than a sensation happening within you, an explosion of wonder, and an explosion of beauty within you.

That innocent person of long ago simply had to observe creation to feel and experience beauty. The inner chamber could open very easily. Gratefulness and gratitude could flow rapidly, trust and faith could flower and bloom with not much effort.

Today our door in our innermost chamber is so tightly closed, we have to bang it down. Even when we trust, we trust with a doubt in it. We doubt ourselves. We do not know our own minds. We do not know how we are feeling, what is happening to us. And we have no trust or faith that the whole universe is governed by an unseen consciousness, an unseen power.

An unseen power is maintaining the orderliness in this flower, is maintaining the orderliness in the clouds, the trees, the sun, the moon and the stars. This universe is filled with life, every inch and bit of it. We are living and we see life all around us, but our trust in life is not there. It is simply not there. We don't see the Universe as a living thing.

We see only matter everywhere, objects everywhere. We want to possess more and more objects, we want every object that we don't have. In our eyes only objects appear. We don't see life, the living entity, everywhere.

It's time to enter

 

Several thousand years ago someone said, “Knock and it shall be opened unto you”. The human mind two thousand years was simple, natural, closer to the source. One needed only to knock on the door and it would open. Today the mind has become more complex, more confused. Knocking will not help. One has to bang on the door.

5000 years ago a person would not have needed to knock. He would have found an automatic door. The moment he went near the door, it would have opened. You see that in the airport. If you go near the door, it opens and makes way for you. You need not even touch the door. The state of humankind five thousand years ago was much simpler than it is now.

You have never seen the door. You are struck outside the door. You are locked out of your own home. You need to bang on your door to get into your own home.

You seem to be closing your eyes, but you have never really shut your eyes all that you are made of is from outside. Even in sleep, even in dreams, the world moves in your head because you are so deeply steeped in phenomena. Complexities have kept you away from your self, from your home. Your communication with the world is through several doors. This very body is a mansion that has many doors.

Through each door you receive and you send out. The world comes into your mind through this door and goes out through that one. Through this very pair of eyes, you see the whole world. You take the world inside you. Look at a flower. What is happening? The flower is out there, but you are capturing that inside.

When you look at people, you bring all the impressions of those people inside. You are not just sitting there in front of me. As you are, you are present in my consciousness, in my mind. It becomes imprinted.

All that you see you take in, Eyes are those doors through which the world enters into you. Ears are those doors through which the whole world enters by means of speech. The sound of a word, mango, banana, food, donkey, madness, brings all those forms through your ears into your mind. The five senses are the five doors through which the world enters into you.

Doors are beautiful. Doors are filters that we want and need. Sometimes we welcome in and sometimes we close out. In one sense our doors never close. They have no utility, serve no purpose. It is like living in open space, living beyond protection. In another sense our doors have never opened. They have never opened to our innermost self.

Our rationality has kept us out. People, when they were simple and uncomplicated, could feel things. They could feel a flower.

Know yourself

 

This is just a moment, a fleeting moment, a passing moment. A mood comes and goes, thoughts come and go. And opinions change, jobs change, relationships change, friends change, things all around us are changing.

Whether we want it or we don’t want it, whether we like it or we don't like it, things go on changing. Yet you can hold on to that one thing which does not change in you. Be with that. That is you. The body has changed, you have not changed.

Some centered point in you has not changed. It is the same principle that is beneath the whole existence that is beneath the orderliness of this flower. That same principle is responsible for the colors in this flower, the shape of these leaves. The same intelligence is in the entire creation.

When we realize this, a grand unification happens in the consciousness. Our perception changes. Anything we look at, we look at sharply. When we hear, we hear sharply. We merge with what we see and hear.

There is a very big difference in the way a child watches television and the way we watch television. Have you observed that? If there is a story and somebody is crying, the child will also cry. We can see this in third world countries where villagers are not very well educated. If they get angry at the hero or heroine when they watch television, they go and smash the television set. They are so involved, they identify themselves with the television. 

There was a cricket match happening between Pakistan and another country. The newspapers reported that the television company did a very good business after that show, because when their country lost, people banged their television sets.

There's a definite difference in the quality perception that brings unification with the object of perception. That is why saints through all of time have spoken of uniting with the ultimate, uniting with the source, uniting with the rhythm.

There are two successes, being successful in life and being successful in the world. One can be successful in the world without necessarily being successful in life. Success in life is attending to this source, inquiry of the source and living in that joy and unconditional love.

Why we should review our lives in the time gone past

 

As we flip the calendar, we need to keep flipping our mind as well. Often, our diaries are filled with memories. See that you don't fill your future dates with past events. Allow the space for creativity to unlearn from the past and move on.

In the past year (and many of us rang in a new year just a few weeks back), how many days were you in sanyas? How many days were you struggling, being caught in maya? Turn back and remember the whole year.

Do not run away from anything. Do not reject anything. Do not go away from anything. At the same time, let your attention be on the self. This is a delicate balance. That balance is yoga.  

A poor man celebrates New Year once a year. A rich man celebrates each day. But the richest man celebrates every moment. How rich are you? If you celebrate every moment, you are the Lord of Creation.

Review the year while you celebrate. This is your homework. Compare your performance in the year before last and smile. This year is fortunate because you are living at this time. When you are living for the sake of the world, the world is fortunate.  

Let time celebrate your presence. You keep smiling as ever. When you let time celebrate you, you are witness amid celebration.  

The heart always longs for the old, the mind for the new. Life is a combination of both. Let the New Year bring into our life ancient wisdom and modernity, as life is incomplete without either of them.  

Don't feel shy to speak about human and spiritual values. The time has come now to call the whole world. Be ever new, happy you.

Who are you?

 

I’m the first and the last. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. How do you introduce yourself? Do you know who you are? When someone asks, “Who are you?” 

Do you often end up saying what you do and what you are in relation to someone else? “I’m so and so’s son”, or “I’m a doctor”, or “I work in such and such a place, I do this”. 

You could be doing anything, but who are you? Are you what you are doing? Is that all? You could be a tailor today. Tomorrow you could be a cook. The next day you could be a teacher. You are a parent. You have been a child. You are a student. You are a patient in bed. You have many roles to play in life. But the sum total of all the roles cannot equal you. You are more than all the roles that you play in your life. When a person identifies himself with a role he is playing, all parts of his personality are not united. 

He is in so many fragments, It is like living in compartments, not being aware of the total potential that he is. Essentially this question - Who are we? What is our nature? Is the beginning of the spiritual journey.

The human nervous system has the capacity to inquire about itself, about the nature of living and the nature of being. This very quest is the beginning of humanness. The process of identification, I’m somebody, I’m an American or I am Mexican, I’m Canadian, I’m English, I’m German serves some purpose. But it is not the final truth, it is not the absolute. The spiritual journey is the search for the source. From where have I come? What is the source of this life? 

All the major religions of the world move toward this, the search for the source. But in the process people have gotten stuck in their positions. Today the wars and the fights all over the world are in the name of religion. One takes his position, I’m a Muslim or I’m Christian, I’m Hindu or I’m Sikh, I am Buddhist stand those who are not that, they are not mine. They don’t belong to me. So in the process of identifying with this position, that I am a Christian or a Muslim or a Hindu, I don’t even mind losing my life. Even if I die it doesn’t matter, but I’m a Muslim or I’m a Hindu or I’m a Christian. 

This must be me. That is what is happening, isn’t it? Is it not sheer madness?  We call it patriotism when it comes to the question of nationality, I’m a Canadian or I’m an American. There is no difference between Canada and the United States, just a line on the map. There is no border, nothing has been drawn on the earth. The land does not speak. It doesn’t say, ‘I’m Canada. I am America’.

Don't move an inch!

 

Don't move an inch. The journey has begun. If you move, you are light years away Neither east nor west, Nor north nor south. Between earth and the sky. 

Here the goal dawns on you. Don't move an inch. Worms move through books and birds sing His songs. Fill the lobbies of logic.

With the smoke of Her presence. Don't move an inch. The roof is on. With a billion stars, sun and moon. Moving around you. So that waves of love may rise in your heart and rock the life in total bliss. I'm the path, the goal and the seeker. Don't move an inch!

Starting our spiritual journey

 

In divine creation the whole world is united, the earth is united. It is oneness. In the whole human race there is unity. The search for this unity, the unifying factor, is the real spiritual journey. Unfortunately, the so-called spiritual journey has divided human beings and torn apart the whole society. The distinction between religion and spirituality should first become clear in our minds.

I normally give this example of a banana and banana skin, religion is like the banana skin and spirituality is the banana. People have thrown away the banana and are holding on to the skin.

Religion is outer ritual and habits, a way of life. Spirituality is the quest for the source of life, going back to the source, knowing deep within us we are part of the divinity.

When this distinction become clear in the mind, it is then that our journey towards the source begins. It is when we become human beings. It is then that we become united to that principle which is beneath all existence, which is beneath every happening and has enormous intelligence and orderliness.

In this path everybody has to walk alone. There is no proxy walking. You cannot share someone else’s walk and say, "Oh yes, I have walked". Someone else cannot eat for you or drink tea for you. "I have drunk tea for you, just relax". That doesn’t happen. The quest is the need of the soul, of every growing soul. When a thought comes to us, we don't know from where it comes. Thought comes from some unknown corner, some unknown area of ourselves. 

If our nervous system is stressed, distressed then the thought that comes we call negative. It is distorted. If the nervous system is clear, joyful, pure, smooth, healthy, then that comes we call positive, creative, life supporting. Thought is a spontaneous phenomenon springing from that area. Somebody gets the intuitive thought, "Do this, do this, do this". Every scientific discovery has come from that area.

Every work of art that sprung from that area. Every poem has come out of that area. And that particular area or avenue is in every one of us. That is what we are. That is the true introduction.

All that there, is change. Our body has undergone so many changes. If you look at your own childhood photographs, many times you will have to say, "This is me". Your friends will not recognise you as the same person. You looked very different when you were young. Your appearance has changed. The body has changed in size and shape. Your thoughts have undergone many, many changes. The way you feel has changed, hasn't it?

About a particular thing you felt good some days ago and then you didn’t feel so good and then again you felt good. Your opinions and your ideas, your feelings, your emotions all have changed. You identify yourself by things that change. Probing a little beyond that, when we say, "Oh, I am a very angry person", we usually justify our position of being angry. In doing that, we are hanging on to the past.

Dream the impossible to make it happen

 

Unless you have a dream, you cannot realise it. Every invention has come out of a dream. Dream the impossible. Obviously, dreaming employs something which is beyond your perceived capacity.  

Consider the faculty which is the perceptor of the dream. Some dreams have impacted your daily living and others have not. Some dreams you remember, and others you have forgotten.  

We are all born in this world to do something wonderful and unique; don't let this opportunity pass by. Give yourself the freedom to dream and think big.

Have the courage and determination to achieve those dreams that are dear to you. Many a time people who dreamt big were ridiculed, but they remained strong to achieve their goals.  

Do something creative. Not a year should pass without doing something creative.

Everyone is your teacher

 

Know that you are a student forever. Do not underestimate anybody. Knowledge may come to you from any corner. Remember the ancient saying – let knowledge flow to me from all the sides.  

Each occasion teaches you and each person teaches you. The world is your teacher. When you are always looking to learn, you will stop underestimating others. Humility will dawn in your life.  

There is a nice story. A man earned a lot of money and then gave all his property to his son. The son then built a small house behind his big house and told his parents, “Now you have to stay there.” So the old couple stayed there, while the son and his family lived in the bungalow.  

One day, while playing, the grandchild came to his grandfather's home, where everything was in a pathetic condition. The grandchild said, “Grandpa, be careful with your plate and chair. Don't break them.”  

When he asked why, the child said, “Because tomorrow, my father will need them.” One does not realise this fact. You are also going to be old one day.

Random acts of kindness

 

Abiding in the self you become the valentine for the whole world. Spirit is the valentine of matter, and matter is the valentine of spirit. They are made for each other. They uphold each other.  

If you do not respect the spirit, then matter is not pleased. If you honor the spirit, you care for the world, and when you care for the world it will take care of you.

You are the Christmas tree. At the time of year when no tree bears anything, it has many gifts to offer. A Christmas tree bears the gifts and the lights not for itself. Similarly, all the gifts you are carrying in your life are for others. Anyone who comes to you, you offer them your gifts.

When you show kindness, your true nature comes into play. Have you ever done acts of kindness without expecting anything out of it? Our service should not be mechanical.

Once some boy scouts were at a Sunday service, when the priest said, “You should serve.” They asked, “What is this service? Could you give us some example?” He said, “Suppose an old lady wants to cross a road, go and help her cross the road.”  

So the boys went and looked for a whole week, but there was no old woman trying to cross the road. Finally four of them found a woman walking on a footpath. One of the boys went and asked her, “Madam, would you like to cross the road?” She turned and said, “No.” He was disappointed.  

So another boy went and asked her again, thinking, perhaps, that the first boy hadn't asked properly. The woman was now a little bit confused. She wondered why she was being asked this. So, she said it was all right for him to take her across the road.  

Once they had reached the other side, a third boy came and asked her, “Would you like to cross the road?” Now it really bothered her. When the fourth one approached her, she almost screamed and ran away.  

You don't have to plan acts of kindness. Just do it spontaneously. When you do random acts of kindness, you come in touch with your true nature.

What "success" really means

 

There is so much talk about success. Have you ever thought what success is? Success is simply ignorance about one's capabilities. Success is ignorance about the power of the self, because you assume you can do only this much.  

If there are obstacles, you are clear about your objective. With a calm and serene mind, think of many possibilities. Know that failures are steppingstones for greater success. Actually, there are no failures in life. All the seeming failures are only steppingstones for greater success.  

If you feel the obstacle is too much, deep prayer can work miracles. The feeling that “I am blessed” can help you overcome any failure. Once you realise that you are blessed, then all the complaints disappear, all the grumbling disappears, all the insecurities disappear, a sense of not being loved disappears, wanting love disappears.  

Ego is always ambitious and wants to do tough jobs like climbing Mount Everest, whereas a simple act like watching a butterfly, watering one's garden, watching the birds or the sky can bring deep relaxation, and relaxation connects you with your source. Seemingly trivial actions open a new dimension and bring in immense peace and rest. Just come out of your little shell and feel free. 

There is a saying: “Behind every successful man is a woman.” I will modify this: Behind every success there is the Divine saying, “I am behind you.”

Overcoming prejudice

 

Your prejudice against gender, religion, caste and class does not allow you to mingle with everyone around you. Often, you don't sit with people who are not economically or socially at par with you. You have to learn to break that barrier.  

Also, there is age prejudice. Teenagers don't like to have fun with elderly people and vice versa. Gender prejudice is more prevalent in rural areas. Caste system is present even among the royalties of Europe, the UK and Japan. Religious prejudice is well known. 

There are good people and bad people in every community, religion and every section of society. Don't be prejudiced against them. At the same time don't be shy about your identity.  

When you overcome prejudice, you will be very natural, and your quality of life will improve.

Innocent mistakes

 

Whenever a boundary is broken, it creates some fear. The fear creates dislike. This dislike puts us back in the boundary; you put forth defenses.

When you try to defend your position, it is such a stress. Every time you try to defend your position, it makes you more and more weak. Drop all your defenses. When you are totally defenseless, that's when you'll be strong.

Your knowledge of a mistake comes to you when you are innocent. Whatever mistake has happened, do not consider yourself a sinner because in the present moment you are again new, pure and clear. Mistakes of the past are past. When this knowledge comes, you are again perfect.

Often, mothers scold their children and afterwards feel so guilty. Okay, you got angry at your kid once or twice. Why? Because of the lack of awareness. Awareness was missing so anger came up. Knowledge of the self, truth and skill can bring out the best in you.

So, don't be afraid to make mistakes, but not the same mistakes.

It's funny, how useful humour can be

 

You are endowed with certain naughtiness as a child. Keep it alive. Humour will grease all tough situations. One who has humour can sail through any conflict.  

Humour is the buffer that saves you from humiliation. If you refuse to be humiliated, you become invincible. Humour brings everyone together, while humiliation tears them apart. In a society torn with humiliation and insult, humour is like a breath of fresh air.  

Humour should be coupled with care and concern. Humour can keep the spirit high, yet if overdone it leaves a bad taste. Humour without wisdom is shallow. Humour without sensitivity is satire – it comes back to you with more problems.  

The wise use humour to bring wisdom and to lighten situations. The intelligent use humour as a shield against humiliation. The cruel use humour as a sword to insult others. The irresponsible use humour to escape from responsibility. And fools take humour too seriously.  

How does one cultivate a sense of humour? Humour is not just words, it is lightness of your being. You do not have to read and repeat jokes.  You can start by:

• Taking life not too seriously (because you will never come out of it alive)
• Having a sense of belongingness with everybody, including those who are not friendly
• Practicing yoga and meditation
• Having unshakable faith in the Divine and in the laws of karma
• Being in the company of those who live in knowledge and are humorous, and
• A willingness to be a clown.