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I never said neglect your food-body. This is the media through which you can identify yourself. There are so many concepts from childhood till today: ‘I am born’, ‘I am a man or woman’, so many concepts are there, social concepts, religious concepts. And within this circle we are living our life. After perfectly identifying (yourself) there will be dramatic changes within you, called signs of Realization. Spiritual science says there are six symptoms of Realization. There is the question: ‘How can I identify whether I’m Realized or not? What is the sign of Realization, what is the sign of Enlightenment?’ After having Conviction, after absorbing the knowledge of Reality, some changes are taking place. ‘Shama’ means to forgive and forget. (inaudible) petty matters are giving irritation. After having the Conviction you’ll be calm and quiet, just like Gautama Buddha or Jesus Christ, you know them? There’s no irritation. ‘Shama’ means forgive and forget. If anything happens against your mind, you’re not getting irritated, no anger is there. And ‘Dama’ means tolerance or patience. Tolerance comes spontaneously within you. Where petty matters would irritate us, there may be some violence inside, patience will appear. You will feel it. If any incidents happen against your mind, you’re not getting irritation. There’s tolerance, patience, ‘Shama’, ‘Dama’. ‘Titiksha’ means just to know the Reality, anxious to know the Reality: who am I? And then ‘Uparati’ means there is no attraction of the world. There are so many attractions to the world: publicity, money, sex, there are so many attractions to the world. No greediness, no attraction to the world. You’re living in the world, but there’s complete calm and quiet. And then ‘Bhakti’ means devotion, total devotion. After knowing the Reality there is total devotion. And ‘Shraddha’ means full trust and faith. These are the six symptoms given in spiritual science. You can measure yourself. And after having the Spontaneous Conviction about the Reality, these changes are taking place. What you are prior to beingness, how you will be after leaving the body, at that time there was no anger, nothing is there. And these symptoms will appear spontaneously within you. You’ll be calm and quiet.

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Q: In ‘I Am That’, Nisargadatta says “A quiet mind is all you need. When the mind is quiet, all else happens as it should.” Does it matter, therefore, how one quiets one’s mind?

Maharaj: It happens, but after knowing your Selfless Self the mind will not remain. The existence of mind appeared upon your Presence. The existence of mind, ego, intellect appeared upon your Presence.  Presence does not have any mind, ego, intellect. And therefore, try to identify  yourself in a real sense. These are the words, through words I am conveying. After having Conviction, mind, ego, intellect never remains. Where was the mind prior to beingness and after leaving the body? Mind does not have it’s own identity. You have given birth to the mind, ego, intellect. Without your Presence, how can you identify ego, intellect, mind?  It was not there prior to beingness, and not after leaving the body also. And therefore I am insisting on meditation. Through meditation you can control your mind, mind will be controlled spontaneously. Mind means flow of thoughts, continuous thoughts are there, which you define as ‘the mind’. Thoughts are entering the mind, they go to the intellect and make a decision, and through ego you are implementing that decision. It’s a process, functioning. You are separate from that.

So all questions will be solved within you. You do not need to go anywhere or to any Master also, I’ll tell you. Because the Masterly essence is within you. My Master said: “I’m not making you a disciple, I’m making you a Master”. Nisargadatta Maharaj says that “I’m not making you a disciple, I’m making you a Master”. You’re already Master, but you forgot your identity.

You know the story of the lion? Famous story, spiritual story. One lion got brought up with the goats and sheep and started considering: “I am a goat or sheep” and was afraid of the dogs and foxes, etc., etc. It’s a famous story, you know? So far we have association with this body, even though body is not our identity, and therefore we are considering ourself in body-form. You are formless. There’s no shape, no form, it’s fact. And to absorb this fact, you are to undergo the meditation, again I am repeating the same thing. You may read books, you may listen to the various Masters, but not to neglect your Inner Master.

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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.

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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”.

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Q: I’m confused about when the best time to activate the inner Master and do the self-enquiry.  Should that…

Maharaj: See, I said that ‘inner Master’ and ‘outer Master’ are concepts. There’s no difference between the internal Master and the external Master. Just for understanding we are saying ‘internal Master’, ‘external Master’, there’s no difference between any ‘internal Master’ and ‘external Master’. It’s just for understanding. Master is Master, there’s no inner and no outer, no external.

Q: Thank you.

Maharaj: Yes?

Q: Who is eligible to have the Naam Mantra?

Maharaj: Everybody!

Q: (inaudible)..requirement for that?

Maharaj: Yes, yes, I told John. If you are willing to have the Naam Mantra, spare some time for Naam Mantra. But it should be sincere. I’m not accepting anything from you, but you should be sincere to accept it, your involvement is most important. Because what happens, is that things we get free of charge have no value. I’m not expecting anything from you except your involvement, which is most important, not anything else. To give the Naam Mantra is not difficult for me. But there should not be some ill-faith or something. Be serious about the Naam Mantra.

Q: How to practice it?

Maharaj: (Inaudible), (I’ll guide you). You are to recite the Mantra according to the breathing. At the initial stage we are giving some discipline, just like when you are learning some language, how to write a-b-c-d and all these things.

Q7: Because sometimes it feels we are torturing ourself.

Maharaj: It’s not necessary to torture yourself. It’s a very simple thing. No torturing, no special exercise. Why to torture the body? It’s a simple thing, it’s your knowledge, not the knowledge of ‘Brahman’, ‘Atman’, ‘Paramatman’. The Invisible Listener within you is Ultimate Truth, it is called Ultimate Truth. But you are neglecting it, you are underestimating yourself. You say “God is great”, “Oh God bless me”, okay, it’s not bad. But if your Presence is not there, how can you identify God?

To say ‘God’ your Presence is required. If there’s no Presence in the body, who will talk about the God? Who will talk about this world? At the initial stage I’m insisting on meditation because we forgot our identity. You might have read so many books, you might have listened to so many Masters. But you’re not reading, not listening as if it’s the listener’s story, the readers story, “It’s my story”. If somebody writes your biography, you“It’s my biography”.

Yes?

Q: You can also recite with an ‘Om Nama Sivaya’ or (other) mantra also?

Maharaj: You can recite one mantra, any one mantra. Not to take one mantra from one Master, go to another Master for some other mantra.  Have some loyalty or faith with your mantra, any mantra will do. Not to encourage wavering mind: “Today one Master gives this mantra then that Master gives a different Mantra”.

Q: No, in the morning you have a habit of (inaudible), ten minutes…

Maharaj: Okay, no problem. With full faith, full involvement. Any mantra will do: ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ is okay, ‘Sivoham’, any mantra.  But be faithful with full trust.

Q: I’m kind of confused. When you say something comes…nothing comes from something, and then something becomes nothing?

Maharaj: I said that ‘everything came out of nothing, and everything dissolves back into nothing’. Everything came out of nothing and everything dissolves within nothing.

Q: But how can something become nothing? And nothing become something, I mean…

Maharaj: We are playing with the words. Try to identify yourself so this question will not arise in your mind. These are the words, I repeat, this is language through which you are conveying yourself. We have created language: ‘something’, ‘nothing’, ‘everything’, these are words. The basic principle behind that is that you have to try to identify yourself, try to identify the Invisible Listener within you. Instead of analyzing so many words, spiritual words, try to identify: who is the analyzer? Who wants this knowledge? What is the purpose of this knowledge?  To what extent is this knowledge helpful? Suppose somebody has lots of knowledge. Will that knowledge help at the time of leaving the body? Lots of knowledge, so many books you are reading, fifty years of sadhana, seventy years of sadhana, or something. Just question yourself: “After reading so many books, after having approached so many Masters, after having a lot of knowledge, will this knowledge help me at the time of leaving the body?” You should be fearless. That fearless life should be there. That moment should be a happy moment: “I am not dying, no death is there. I am unborn.”

You’ll get spontaneous courage out of spirituality to approach any problem. Thoughts are coming and going, negative thoughts are coming and going, depressions are there. But after having Conviction you’ll neglect all these depressive thoughts. It is momentary, just like clouds, black clouds coming and going. You are there and there only.

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Q: Is love a concept as well?

Maharaj: Of course, when did you come across the ‘love’? ‘Love’, ‘affection’, these are concepts which appeared upon your Presence. When the Spirit clicked with the body, the love, affection, appeared before you. What is the love? Prior to beingness no love is there.  After leaving the body any love is there? So far we’re measuring ourselves in body-form, ‘love’, ‘affection’, so many things are there, so many relations are there: ‘my father’, ‘my sister’, ‘my brother’, ‘my Master’, ‘my God’, thousands of concepts are there. The moment the body dissolves nothing is there, no relations. All relations are body-based relations, and you are not the body at all, you were not the body at all, you’re not going to remain the body at all, because you’re Ultimate Truth, you’re Final Truth, Final Reality.

And to absorb this Reality, again I am repeating, you are to undergo the meditation, it’s the only source. Only reading, only talking, only listening, no. And you can do it! Nothing is impossible. Because except your Selfless Self nothing is there.

Be practical. Not to neglect your family life. If you’re doing a job, do your job, you’re doing duties, do your duties. So “I’m Brahman”, or “I’m spiritual man, how can I do all these things”, no restrictions at all. What you’re reading, what you’re doing, has nothing to do with it. There’s no deed, there’s no doer! Because we are measuring ourself in body-form therefore we are saying “I did something, bad thing, good thing”. What is a ‘good thing’ what is a ‘bad thing’? That which is tolerable is a ‘good thing’, that which is not tolerable is a ‘bad thing’.

Yes?

Q: I think of bliss, and then I think of impersonal love as sort of the same, and to me, when I’m there, it’s a fact to me.  Then other times, I forget that fact.  So is the bliss, the bliss and love…

Maharaj: Not to measure yourself in body-form.  What blessing is there?

Q: Bliss, bliss…

Maharaj: Ah, acha, acha (I  understand), blissfulness.

Q: So,when I experience that it’s a fact for me…

Maharaj: It’s okay, it’s okay…

Q: …but then I forget it, and then it’s no longer a fact.

Maharaj: Don’t underestimate you. Nothing forgotten, nothing remembered. That so-called ‘I’ is supposed to dissolve.

Q: When you meditate do you have to repeat a certain Mantra?

Maharaj: Yes, of course, of course. Therefore I told you, our lineage is having a different mantra. ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ is one, ‘Soham’ mantra is there, ‘Sivoham’ mantra is there, ‘I am Brahman, Brahman I am’.  Various mantra’s, various words are there.  It is an indication, some key-words. Through those words you  are to identify, you are hammering yourself.  You’re not only sitting for one hour, two hours. You can sit for meditation, but all the time involvement is required.

Yes?

Q: When I do the meditation I can’t help but have thoughts coming through. What do I have to do to stop the thoughts?

Maharaj: It’s the nature of the mind. Mind means flow of thoughts. You are witnessing thoughts, you are different from thoughts.  You are witnessing thoughts, good thoughts, bad thoughts, you are witnessing.  Not to try to control the thoughts, let them be there. Suppose you are sitting here and outside something happens, you’re neglecting it. Thoughts are flowing all the time. Which thoughts to be accepted and which thoughts not to be accepted is up to you.