Posts in Category: Captions
How do you practice devotion?
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Anybody want to ask any questions, you can ask it. Yes? Okay, welcome.
Q: Maharaj, what is devotion, how do you practice devotion?
Maharaj: Yes, good question.
You have to involve yourself. After knowing the Reality, you have to involve yourself, you have to concentrate. Concentrate on the Concentrator, the Invisible Concentrator within you, the Invisible Listener within you.
Through words we are trying to identify ourself. We have created language, and through this language we are trying to identify ourself. Through devotion you can identify the Deity within you. Your Spontaneous Presence is a Deity, it is God, Ultimate Truth, Brahman, Atman, Paramatman, God, not separate from you. This happens because we are all the time measuring: ‘I am somebody else’, ‘I am man or woman’, or something else. You are not man or woman you are Brahman, Atman, Paramatman, God, Master. It’s fact, but you are not accepting the facts.
So many questions appear upon your Presence, body-based questions. So all questions will be solved the moment you identify yourself in a real sense. It’s open fact, forget about spirituality. Even if you think intellectually, body is not your identity at all. After leaving the body what remains? What is knowledge? Who requires knowledge? Who wants knowledge? Who wants peacefulness? What is peacefulness, what is happiness? Body-knowledge is not tolerable, therefore we want happiness.
There are three concepts for happiness: publicity, money, and sex. We are trying to extract happiness through these three elements. These things are not there prior to beingness. After leaving the body, who wants all these things?
There are so many concepts! ‘Karma’, ‘dharma’, ‘religion’, so many things. ‘Destiny’, ‘earlier birth’, ‘future birth’ – nothing is there, absolutely it is illusion. But since childhood, because of long association with the body we’ve accepted so many concepts, body-related concepts. “I am somebody else”. That ‘I am somebody else’ is supposed to be dissolved.
You’re nobody, you’re everybody. You’re Presence is everywhere just like space or sky. After having Spontaneous Conviction, all concepts will be dissolved, all questions will be solved within you. I said to you: You’re not a beggar, you’re a multimillionaire. We’re begging “Oh God bless me, Oh, somebody bless me”, “Put your hand on my head”, why? Because you’re always neglecting your Selfless Self. Accepting some happiness or blessing from somebody else. Okay, you respect everybody. But there should be Spontaneous Conviction: I was not the body, I’m not the body, I’m not going to remain the body. It’s Reality, but you’re not accepting that Reality because ego is there, so-called mind is there, intellect is there. These are functional organs. Where was that mind prior to beingness? After leaving the body mind remains? Nothing. Any ego is there? No. Any intellect? No. Mind, ego, intellect, needs, requirements came along with the body only, and dissolve along with the body.
Spiritual Knowledge
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We are here to identity oneself in a real sense. Spiritual knowledge is just to identity oneself in a real sense. We are identifying ourselves in body-form, and that is illusion. And everybody knows it, the body is not your identity at all. The body was not your identity, the body’s not going to remain your identity. Just glimpses of ‘I’ is there, that appears upon your Spontaneous Presence. If Presence is not there, where is ‘I’? So, ‘I’ appears upon your Presence. It is called God or Master, Brahman, Atman, Paramatman, name is given to that Unidentified Identity within you.
See, what happens is from childhood till today we are measuring ourselves in body-form, and as you know body is not our identity at all. What is the purpose behind spiritual knowledge? We are reading so many books, we approach so many Masters. What is the purpose, what do we want exactly? The basic thing is we want happiness, peacefulness, tension-free life, fearless life. Because human body is not tolerable. We’ve accepted the human body as ‘I am’. The ‘I am’ appeared upon your Presence. Presence does not know ‘I am Presence’. It is subtler than sky, space. If there is no Presence what is the value of this body?
Through the human body we can identity ourself in a real sense. What is knowledge, spiritual knowledge? It means just to identify oneself in a real sense. It does not mean neglect your body, neglect your family responsibility. It is practical spirituality, it is not a dry spirituality, not a dry discussion on spirituality. Be practical. It’s not difficult at all. I’ve already told you: except your Selfless Self there is no God, no Brahman, no Atman, no Paramatman, no Master. But all the time we are measuring ourselves in body form, and that is illusion. And that illusory concept is supposed to be dissolved. ‘I am somebody else’, mind, ego, intellect, appeared along with the body. We are living within the circle of the mind, ego, intellect. Where was the mind, ego, intellect prior to beingness? Prior to beingness we were not having any happiness or peacefulness. After leaving the body, who wants happiness, who wants peacefulness? These are the words. Body-knowledge is not tolerable, ‘I am somebody else’ is not tolerable. So once it is identified perfectly, it means ‘I’m not the body, I was not the body, I’m not going to remain the body’.
Basically you are unborn. There is no birth and death. Birth and death are connected with the body-knowledge only. I’m not saying to neglect your body. Body is the media through which you can identity. If Presence is not there, what is the value of this body? So be practical, it’s not impossible.
What is practical? To identify oneself in a real sense you are to undergo the discipline of meditation, it is most important. We are insisting Nama Mantra, mantra, these are the words. ‘Soham’ is a word, ‘Aham Brahmasmi’, ‘Sivoham’, these are the words through which you can identify, through which you are hammering yourself all the time.
So, that is the only source. I’m telling you that meditation is also illusion at the advanced stage. But, to dissolve all body-based concepts, meditation is most important, the foundation. In other words, I am saying it is the anti-virus software, meditation is the anti-virus software. You have to go through this, without which you can’t identity. Only dry spiritual knowledge, “I’ve read so many books”, these are temporary reliefs, they’re painkillers. So this is a golden opportunity. Your Presence is invaluable Presence. Presence does not know ‘I am Presence’. I have given the name ‘Presence’, ‘Spirit’, or ‘Energy’, you can say anything. It’s just like space: space does not know ‘I am space’ or sky does not know ‘I am sky’. Then what to do? Try to identify yourself in a real sense. “I am somebody else” is supposed to be dissolved. You’re everybody. You’re beyond sky. Sky is everywhere. You go anywhere in the world, sky is there. But sky does not know ‘I am sky’. Likewise, your Anonymous, Invisible Presence, the Invisible Listener within you is everywhere just like sky – not limited to the body. The body is having some limitations, some stages. You’re a child, then grown up as young man, then old man, and some or other day, willingly or unwillingly, we have to leave this body.
Casual spirituality will not help you.
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Casual spirituality will not help you. “Oh, I’ve seen a good lecture, a Master is giving good lectures”, no. Who is listening to those lectures? Try to concentrate on the Invisible Concentrator within you. It is called Brahman, Atman. Therefore I have told you, besides your Selfless Self there is no Brahman, Atman. You are having so many concepts: ‘last birth’, ‘future birth’, ‘last destiny’, ‘karma’, ‘dharma’. What is ‘karma’? Who’s karma? Who’s birth? No birth, you are unborn. Forget about last birth, do you know anything about this birth, present birth? No.
So many illusory concepts are wrapped up on us. Be free. This human body is an opportunity for you. And therefore, not to depend upon literal knowledge. Okay, literal knowledge is okay, bookish knowledge is okay. I’m not saying don’t approach any Masters, approach so many Masters, but approach your own Master within you. You are neglecting your own Master. “Oh, this Master, that Master, that Master”,why? Approach your own Master. Because you are Ultimate Truth, there’s nothing ultimate except your Selfless Self.
You’re strong involvement is required. Not to sit like this “Oh…” (Maharaj pretends to meditate). It’s okay, in the beginning we are advising you sit like this. Just like we say “a-b-c-d” when we are learning a language, using some alphabets.
So, not to depend upon anybody else, you can stand on your own feet. The purpose of spirituality is to stand on your own feet. In the beginning, it’s okay, the Master is there. Until you identify your own Master. Bodies are different, Presence is one. Houses are different, sky is one. Why is all this required, again I am repeating. You’ve got a lot of fear of the death, always living under tension. No peacefulness. Everything is there, because we are neglecting our own identity. In some way or another we are depending upon somebody else. Directly or indirectly we are protecting our illusory concepts. Forget about it.
Q: Can you give some instruction by which meditation can be made incessant?
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Yes? Anybody having any question? Yes, yes, welcome.
Q: Can you give some instruction by which meditation can be made incessant?
Maharaj: Meditation…?
Q: …becomes incessant. Meaning, you can meditate for a few hours but after that…
Maharaj: See, meditation doesn’t mean sitting like this, meditation means involvement, total involvement. I am giving some small example: somebody abuses you in very bad language. You always think “Oh, I will take revenge of that person!”, twenty-four hours a day you are thinking of that person. Someone says “Oh, forget it” – “No, I will not forget! I must take revenge of that person!”. This is called meditation. Master abuses you: ‘You are Brahman’, you take it that way. Master abuses you: ‘You are Brahman’, take it that way. You’ve got to think it twenty-four hours. ‘Brahman’ is a word, we say ‘donkey’ – “Ohh”. If somebody calls you a donkey you are slapping him, but if he says “You are Brahman”– “Oh, how can I be Brahman?”
Your involvement is most important: “Yes, Master says “You are Brahman”, spiritual science says “You are Brahman””. In the light of that, you find out: ‘So that I, I am That’. Brahman, Atman are not separate from you, it’s fact, open fact.
Q: You say it’s not difficult to achieve this ultimate truth?
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Q: Maharaj?
Maharaj: Yes?
Q: You say it’s not difficult to achieve this ultimate truth…
Maharaj: Of course.
Q: But yet it takes time for most people…
Maharaj: Why? Suppose in a cave it is dark for five hundred years. If you take a light, will you say “I’m here and after five hundred years it has gone away”? If it is dark in a cave for five hundred years, and you take a torch, will you say “Oh, I’m here after five hundred years, where did it go”? So like that, after having Conviction, nothing is impossible. It is open fact, even if you think intellectually, body is not your identity at all. What is the value of this body? If there is no Presence, what is the value of this body? The body is having value because of your invisible Presence. Why ego is required, why mind? When did you come across mind, ego, intellect? “My mind, my mind” what mind? Mind is the flow of thoughts. They are functions, mind, ego, intellect, through which you are functioning through the body. Where was mind, ego, intellect prior to beingness? After leaving the body, any mind remains? You are giving so much importance: “my mind, my ego”. They are basic concepts, this is basic Reality. After accepting the Reality, as I told you, you’ll be Master of the mind. We’ve become slaves through mind, ego, intellect. Thoughts are entering, then directed to the intellect, and are implemented through the ego. You are beyond that.
Your Presence does not know ‘I am Presence’. It is beyond imagination. We are trying to guess at how we are Brahman – not to guess. It’s fact, it’s open fact. And therefore, it is not difficult at all. You can hold your body, no problem, do all activities. Not to take the touch of any concepts. Suppose in a dream you have done something wrong, “Oh, it is a bad dream”. Are you taking ego? Are you repenting for that act? There is no deed, there’s no doer! Because we are measuring ourselves in body form therefore we say “I’ve done something”. Basically you are formless, there’s no shape, it’s fact. Birth and death are related to the body only.
So you are subtler than sky, subtler than space. Be spiritually strong, have some courage! What happens is we’ve got lack of courage. Everybody knows ‘I am Brahman’. Everybody has knowledge, spiritual knowledge, but a lack of Conviction. You have to absorb it, implement the knowledge within you. What is knowledge, spiritual knowledge? Just to identify oneself in a real sense. Then all concepts will dissolve. No fear of death. Because of long association with the body, you’ve accepted body as your identity, that is the problem. So respect yourself!
Q: Why Spirit forgot himself?
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Q: Why Spirit forgot Himself?
Maharaj: There’s no reason at all – Spirit does not know ‘I am Spirit’. Spirit does not know ‘I am Spirit’. Spirit is the name given to the Presence, Invisible Presence, Power, Energy. Does electricity know that ‘I am lighting all these things’? There’s no reason ‘why Spirit’. Because we are trying to guess with the intellect. Your Presence in the world is Spontaneous Presence. Everyday you see dreams, you know? Are you planning ‘I will see this dream today, this dream tomorrow’? And who is acting in that dream? Who is watching that dream? And you are acting in that dream as somebody else. You see the sun, moon, and everything, you see narrating. How is that dream world projected? You are sleeping. And who is taking the video-shooting of all the dreams? Likewise, this is a long dream: ‘I am somebody else”.