– Transcript 102
R: Om, shanti, shanti, shanti, Om, peace. Good afternoon. It’s good to be with you again. It’s good seeing you, being with you, listening to you, listening to all your problems. Before we get into the questions, I’ll make some opening remarks.
There’s only one way to become liberated, and that is to awaken, just to awaken, just wake up, just as you do in the morning when you wake up from sleep. You were in a dream world and you woke up. In the same way you awaken to your Self. The way to do this is to be at satsang, to surrender to the Self. When you surrender to the Self you’re surrendering to life. You’re no longer thinking “This has to work out this way. This has to work out that way. This has to be improved. I’ve got to read this book. I’ve got to go see this teacher.” True surrender is allowing your heart, your spiritual heart, to take over and you have nothing to do and nothing to say.
All of the practices are incidental. Sadhana is important to make you come to the realization that you have to wake up. That’s all sadhana is for. It’s for no other reason.
Sadhana, spiritual practices, do not wake you up by themselves. They have no awakening powers. But they put your mind to rest. When your mind is at rest you awaken.
Why do you want to be liberated? Of course you’re already liberated. That’s your real nature. The one who wishes to become liberated, to awaken, looks at this world.
They’ve been through many vicissitudes, they’ve been through many problems, through many rituals, they’ve had good times and bad times, and they’ve come to the conclusion that there is something else more beautiful and grand than they can ever imagine.
In other words they realize that the finite mind can never, never bring them to that place. There is nothing in this world or any other world or in any other state, that can bring them eternal happiness and eternal joy, bliss consciousness. The only way to get there is to awaken. They become interested in awakening.
When you become interested in awakening you do not run around adding things to yourself. It is ludicrous to me to see people adding more book knowledge, learning things like the Kabbalah, the ancient scriptures, the Vedas. Every time a new book comes out they read it, searching for different teachers, looking for the answers outside themselves. There is no thing outside yourself that can give this to you. Therefore these people have wisdom, they’ve got Jnana and they begin to see that awakening is the only way to get there. The world has fooled them long enough. They therefore begin to let go, not to add.If they love a tree and they love roses they begin to see that’s an attachment that’s holding them back from total realization, from awakening. The tree and the rose are an emanation of your mind. You have created it. The source is yourself. This is a new revelation to most people. The beauty out there does not come by itself and you behold it. That’s the way it appears. But in truth, in reality, the beauty you behold is your own beauty, your own joy, your own love. You are that. And the manifestation of the tree, or the rose, or the mountain, or the ocean, the sky. What if you were able to pull those feelings that you have toward these things deep within yourself, and become that. You will then discover the truth that you have always been that.
There is nothing outside that is not within you. This is something that should be remembered all of the time. You should always be aware of this. There is nothing out there that is not within here. If you understand this totally where do you have to go? Whom do you have to see? What do you have to read? What is there to do? You can simply sit and be the universe and bask in glory and total love, total joy.
Think of all the things you’re doing to try to get enlightened. The worst thing you can do is to speak too many words. Words lead to other words, and they lead to other words, and you become a talking encyclopedia. The process is simply to let go, to get rid of the talking, talking, talking. To get rid of the wanting, the desires, to believe that something is out there that can do something to you.
This is why satsang is so important. When you come here you put your mind to rest for a while. As you begin to feel the power of satsang your mind becomes pulled. The mind is pulled in, to the spiritual heart center. Deeper and deeper it goes. As you empty yourself, as you no longer desire anything, you begin to live spontaneously. You live in the moment. That moment is filled with bliss, filled with absolute reality. There’s nothing to say. There’s nothing to do. And yet you will find the body doing whatever it came to this earth to do. It’s a beautiful way to live.
You are not the doer. You are not doing a thing, mentally. Your mind is quiescent, calm like a motionless lake. And yet your body is doing whatever it’s supposed to do. If you’re supposed to be a bank manager you become one, but yet your mind is not active. If you’re supposed to be a garbage collector you become that, there’s no difference, it’s all the same. Your mind is not working but the Self is. And just like the tree, it does not think, “Will I grow new leaves next year?” or if it’s an apple tree, “Will I bloom apples, will I grow apples next year or will I die? The wind is strong. Looks like a hurricane coming, I’d better prepare myself.” The apple tree does not think like this. It cannot. By it’s very nature it produces apples every year.
Your nature is to be in glory, in bliss. Your nature is to be totally enlightened. Your nature is consciousness. Your nature is to cause the I of yourself to disappear, to annihilate the mind and the ego and become totally free and liberated. Remember the important points. You have to let go, not add on.
It is true when you find a new environment, when you see a new teacher, when you read a new book, the novelty is very strong, it’s great, because everything is new, and human beings love change. Change is the ego. It is the ego that pushes you around the world and wants you to do this and do that, and see this, and change jobs, and go change teachers, and change clothes, and change, change. The ego does all these things for you.
When you remember this you will remember who your Master is. The more active you become mentally, the greater the ego, the greater the mind. And the mind is your Master, the mind is your God, for you’re following your mind. If you learn to control your mind you will have less desires, less needs and less wants. And you will find eternal bliss, eternal peace, eternal happiness.
No one can really interfere in your life. It is your life. You came to this earth specifically to transcend the body and become eternally free. Consequently see what you’re doing with your life, how you act every day, the things that disturb you, the things that annoy you, the things that frighten you, the things that you love, the things that you want, the things that you enjoy. They’re all impostors. They’re all lies.
The truth is that you’re eternal Sat-Chit-Ananda, Parabrahman, absolute reality, pure intelligence, ultimate oneness, nirvana, emptiness. You are that, stay like that and be happy.
Mary would you pass me the question box. We’re starting a new thing today.
Rather than I continue talking you all have some question and you have something that is on your mind that you don’t like to speak of in public. So when you write it out, you do not have to sign it. Therefore you can say anything you like. You can call me names and do whatever you like.
So here is question number one: It’s typed!
Q: (Robert Reads) I have started to pray and it feels as if I am trying to walk with two left feet. One of them turned backward. How can I increase devotion forever? Anonymous Fred. (laugh) SF: You’re not supposed to read the last one. (laughs)
R: If it’s on there I read it. So the question is, you can make a book out of the question. (laughter) The questions is how do I really pray and increase devotion?
Do not believe that you have to do this yourself. Feel as if there is somebody within you that knows how to pray. There is a power and a presence that already knows how to pray and is already devoted. You start by thinking of a few words. You realize that what you call God is universal. And as long as you believe that you are an ego or separate or the body then you are finite. Therefore the finite prays to the universal.
What you do is simply say, “Not my will but thine.” You can always start a prayer like that. You’re saying I don’t need anything myself but whatever you know is right for me, I surrender myself to you. There is a being that appears to be apart from you and you call that being God, infinite.
God knows what is right for you and what is good for you and what your needs are. True prayer is again surrendering to this God. As you keep surrendering everyday by saying, “Not my will but thine.” That is very powerful. You develop humility, you develop humbleness, you become very humble. You no longer are proud and cynical and arrogant.
As you keep saying, “Not my will but thine.”
And pretty soon after you do this for a couple of months or so, something happens to you. You begin to feel that this deity that you’ve been praying to or giving yourself up is none other than yourself. You’ve been praying to yourself and not the self which is Fred but the Self which is God as you. And then you begin to sit in the silence recognizing that you are not the body or the doer but that you are greater than this, and even if you do not know yet what it is or feel it. You do begin to feel peaceful.
As you continue this for a while you find that Fred begins to disappear or Fred gets smaller and smaller. And the deity you’ve been praying to which is yourself becomes greater and greater. When this happens to you all words stop. You become aware. Your prayer consists of sitting in the silence. There are no needs there are no desires. You merely spend time sitting in the silence contemplating the Self which is you. You are no longer human at this point. You are no longer a human being. Your prayer has led you towards liberation.
So prayer is very important but not to pray for things but to know God’s will. Thy will be done. That’s the extent of your prayer. And God’s will is always goodwill. You get a job at goodwill. (laughter) You drive their truck. It all turns out beautiful, whether you’re working for goodwill whatever you do. But you have learnt that you are not yourself with a small “s.” As a human being. And prayer has led you to oneness. Therefore the right kind of prayer is “Thy will be done,” that’s it. This makes you devotional, this makes you go higher in consciousness and ultimately sets you free.
Fred (SF): Excuse me I have a question with that. I have tried using the words,“Thy will be done,“and as soon as I say that I feel a hypocrite because it’s I you’re telling God your will be done?
R: You’re not really doing that. When you say, “Thy will be done,” you’re not telling God his will is going to be done your way. What you are really doing is surrendering yourself to God. Thy will not my will.
Question number two. (Robert reads) When will we again meet three hours every satsang, two to three long sessions of silence?
R: Everything we do is spontaneous. (SM: Okay.) Somebody wants to spend three hours at satsang with two or three long sessions of silence. We usually do this on Thursdays and some of it on Sunday. I really have no idea how long we take but we will start having maybe special meetings on Saturdays where we can spend two or three hours just in silence and do nothing.
Everything that I do is spontaneous and something that does what I do observes the students and does what is necessary for the people who come here. Consequently sometimes we sit for longer periods in silence, sometimes we sit for shorter periods. But the truth of the matter is that everything that takes place in satsang is the silence. Everything is silence.
What are you seeing? You want certain formal ways of doing things, you want two hours of silence, twenty five minutes of talking, a half hour of asking questions. When you come to satsang do not think how things should be or how they want to be or how you think they should be.
Rather put yourself into satsang and let your mind be silent and not think of anything at all and let everything take care of itself. Then you will grow and you will see results. In other words what I’m saying is don’t be the type of person that comes to satsang and start thinking, “I hope we have two hours of silence and twenty minutes of talking.”
Do not think of anything at all and just get involved in the satsang. Try to be open and empty and let your heart listen to what is going on. Everything will take care of itself.
Question number three: (Robert reads) When will we incorporate Ramana Maharshi’s name in our chants before Sunday satsang?
R: Oh I see what you mean. When we sing the song “Kindle My Light” we use Muktananda’s name because that is the song. We can’t change that because that is a Muktananda’s song and it’s a beautiful song. But it would be a good idea to sing a song that has Ramana’s name in it.
SH: Why can’t you change it and substitute Ramana’s name. There is no copyright on it?
R: I don’t know if it’s legal or not?
SE: I checked with Indira she knows the person who wrote the song and she said there would be no objection.
R: Okay so lets change the name then. Good we’ll do that.
Question number four: (Robert reads) Would you please speak on the subject of the grace of the guru. How does a student come under the influence grace?
R: That’s a good question. By surrender and by devotion. Grace flows by itself.
When there is absolutely nothing in your mind holding you back. When you come here and you give yourself away you’re totally devoted, you have total service, you totally surrender. Then and only then do you pick up the grace that is already flowing. There never was a time when the grace was not flowing. Grace is always here. But you have to make yourself available to it.
And you do so by surrendering yourself to the Self, to the guru, to the consciousness. When you do this you are not surrendering yourself to Robert. Robert does not exist.
You are surrendering yourself to omnipresence, to omniscience which is all pervading.
This is hard for a person with a big ego. It’s sort of hard for most westerners but that is exactly what you have to do. You have to have trust and faith and those are the people who make the most progress.
But when you come here and you think of yourself as a human being and I am another human being that you came to see, you stop the grace from flowing because you’re involved in materialism. You’re thinking of two separate human beings. But when you come to see me and you realize that I am none other than your Self, there is only one Self. And that Self is I-am. And that Self is all pervading. Then that is a whole new ball game. And then grace automatically flows. You pick it up. You become it.
Grace is another name for the Self. It all has to do with your attitude. This is why I talk so much about seeing so many teachers because all these different teachers have a name. And you are building up your ego when you go and say, “I am going to see this teacher - by name, I’m going to see that teacher tomorrow - by name. I’m going to this teacher - by name.” You forget that there is only consciousness and the teacher has no name. But you get lost in the shuffle. When you read so many books by so many authors and you see so many teachers with so many names.
Find the teacher that appeals to you most. Stay with that one. Surrender to that one. Give yourself to that one. Become that one. And you will see yourself what happens.
But again I admit that this is most difficult with most westerners. They’re not used to something like this. They are mainly used to going to lectures, to churches, to see what this person has to say, what that person has to say. If somebody will speak the magic word and you will become enlightened, which is very funny. The true devotee forgets about enlightenment. They simply keep surrendering and letting go and then grace becomes evident.
Next case: It looks like the same person is writing all these questions.
(Robert reads) Can the guru discern the state of awareness of the student? Can he tell how close to full realization a student is? Can he discern the blocks to realization?
(Robert answers) The answer is yes. This is the reason why many times you tell me that you’re predicament became much worse since you’ve met me, sometimes. This is why all of a sudden certain changes come into your life. Things are moving. All the karma you’ve had inside of you for many centuries is coming to the surface and being completely wiped out. You therefore experience newness. The newness may not be to your liking in the beginning. But the more faith and the more trust you have in the Self the faster you snap out of it and become totally free.
I’m more aware of you than you can ever imagine. I watch, I do not say much, I allow the unfoldment to come by itself. But what do you do? How do you think? What is your reaction? That’s important.
Q: (Robert reads) Does the guru have personal knowledge of the efforts of grace on his students? Is grace an impersonal force, or financial or spiritual? Do physical healings come as a result of grace?
A: (Robert answers) Grace itself is Brahman. It has nothing to do with physical, financial or anything else. Everything unfolds in your life the way it’s supposed to. When you surrender. When you let go. Yes the guru does have personal knowledge of what is going on in your life but the guru keeps silent most of the time, and observes and watches.
For the understanding is that most of the people are not ready to be told anything else at this time for it will have an adverse effect.
So the Self watches and waits, watches and waits. As you go through many trials and tribulations so-called and experiences in life, the guru waits and sees whether you’re
going to survive and still come back or whether you will become angry and go somewhere else. The Jnani is aware of these things but just watches and waits.
A good example is the class today. We usually have half of the students or we have half of the students that we usually have. And that is great as far as I’m concerned because that is the way I like it. But the people who are here have come to listen to this particular message. This message that is being spoken today it’s most important for those of you who are here so that’s why you are here today.
Everything is preordained, there are no accidents. Nothing just transpires by itself.
That is why your attitude should always be, “All is well and everything unfolding as it should.” Always feel this. You have absolutely nothing to do with it. Do not allow yourself to become ruffled by the world or by situations or by anything else. What we call God loves you and knows how to take care of you. Again your duty is to surrender and allow it to happen.
Q: (Robert reads) Faith, satsangs, self-inquiry, teachings for what purpose, isn’t self-realization teachings a matter of faith? Grace? And anything the ego does is pointless, just transient?
A: Yes. Faith is very important. Satsang is very important. Self-inquiry is very important. But to whom? It’s important to you because you think you are a body. You will become lost, for you will become another human being. You will become one of the multitudes that is why self-inquiry, satsang all these things we do are very important. But yet you do not become realized because of them. They’re very important because it quiets your mind. It makes you one pointed. It causes you to become calm and relaxed and peaceful. And then you’re able to go upward. You let go of everything and you become self-realized.
This is the purpose of teachings. A person leaves their home and they go to sit in a cave or they go to a monastery, to a Zen Buddhist monastery, a catholic monastery, why?
To get away from the world. So they can have time in which to practice certain disciplines, spiritual disciplines. Why do they want to practice the spiritual disciplines? To quieten the mind and to become one pointed. When that happens grace and faith, everything takes care of itself. Therefore do not think that sadhana is not important.
I’ve explained to you that sadhana can never make you self-realized. But it brings you to the point where you can surrender and totally give up the body. By realizing you are not the doer and you become free.
Q: (Robert reads) In as much as I don’t see, feel changes in me, in my life. I feel disorganized. (repeats) In as much, I don’t see, feel changes in my life. I feel discontented, disorganized?
Whatever that word is?
A: If you don’t feel anything happening to you ask yourself, “What am I doing with my life? How much time am I spending practicing sadhana? Practicing self-inquiry?”
When you get on a spiritual path never look for results. Do not look for anything. Simplydo the work whatever it is you have to do and leave it alone. Do not compare yourself with anyone. Do not look at time. Just do the work. It will take care of itself.
If you think it’s taking a long time - you’ve been practicing for two whole days and nothing has happened, even if you’ve been practicing for fifty years and you think nothing has happened you’re making a mistake. Just by you being here something is happening. If you just came here and never practiced at all something is happening within yourself.
You’re way ahead of the game. Remember do not look at time.
There are those people in the world which is most of the world that do no practice whatsoever. They just go along with the world. Think how much ahead you are than them. You cannot judge your own self. Practice, be happy do not look for a time. Do not think about becoming self-realized. Develop humility, love and see what happens.
Q: (Robert reads) Is it possible to being in a fairly high state of awareness but due to karmic action one has been thrust back into a lesser state? Or is it because self-inquiry feels so natural and instinctively knows this way is the right way?
A: Every state that you go into is of the mind. The mind can play tricks on you. It can make you feel peaceful sometimes and feel high and feel that you’re really up there.
And then you’ll feel as if you’ve been thrown away into the world again and left alone.
The truth is you have to get rid of the mind that thinks that way. That is why self-inquiry is about the best sadhana on earth for it goes right to the crux of the matter. It realizes that I is the culprit. The I-thought is responsible for the problems and you inquire, “To whom does the I-thought come.” Following it back to the source.
Therefore whatever has happened to you in your life whether you’ve gone up high and you fell back again, you become aware this is of the mind. Don’t look at your state of consciousness. Do not look at the external things because that is the mind. Rather get rid of the mind. Do you see the difference. Work on annihilating the mind. Never mind high or low states or falling out of grace or returning to zero.
It is the mind that confuses you or confounds you and makes you think of these things. By inquiring, “For whom is there a mind?” You one day will realize that there is only consciousness, absolute reality and there is no mind and then you’ll be free.
Q: (Robert reads) You say that the realization of the Self is already part of our experience?
When we realize Self we will laugh? What part of our present experience is Self? Silence, somethingness, something else?
A: The truth is that your present experience is the Self. The part of you that thinks that you are the body is really the Self. There is only the Self. There is not you and the Self or you becoming the Self. Or anything you have to do to become the Self. The Self is your very nature. You really have no body. The body that appears is an optical illusion. There is no mind. There is no doer. There is no person who has to become realized. You are that.
This is an important point for you to remember. What appears to be your body is the Self. You have always been the Self. The body is like the tree, the sky, the mountain, the wars, man’s inhumanity to man. They’re all the same but they do not exist. Creation never
began. There is no one who created anything. The appearance is that your mind created everything. Again that’s an appearance, that is a high state to be in. To be aware that your mind is responsible for creation.
But then again there is no mind. Therefore who is responsible for creation? There is no creation. There never was a creation and there will never be a creation. This is what I mean when I say to wake up. When you wake up to the Self all this becomes very evident to you. It becomes real. That’s why I say you laugh at yourself. Because all these years you’ve been trying to become something and do something and acquire something when you have been that all along. Therefore ask yourself, “To whom do these false thoughts come? To whom does the mind come?” And you will see there is no mind.
Q: (Robert reads) Would you please repeat your suggestions about reading the transcripts before going to bed and arriving in the morning? Is there anything to be gained by being in the company of someone who seeks you out and whom you cannot bare being around? (laughter) A: Well number one about the transcripts. We see each other about five-six hours a week. The world has you more than I do. The pull of the world appears strong to some people and gets you confounded and causes all kinds of conflicts and nonsense. When you’re here you feel wonderful. When you walk out the door and the world has a hold on you begin to think about worldly things. You forget about you are consciousness and you are the Self and you are the only one in existence and there are no others. You begin to think of yourself as a human being and you’ve got to do this and you’ve got to do that.
You’ve got to do all sorts of things.
Therefore the transcripts are an extension of the Self. If you read the transcripts correctly you will not have time to read a dozen books a week. For everything you need to know is in the transcripts. Books may say it in different ways. So I suggest that you read one transcript a week. The proper way to do this is when you go to sleep before you retire at night. Go over the entire transcript. Then go from paragraph to paragraph, pondering each paragraph. It’s very simple the transcript is. I make sure that they are simple and are not in a way too profound so you can’t understand what’s happening. You ponder each paragraph, the next day you do the same thing.
If you’re able to read part of it in the morning, a paragraph. You ponder that. As you go to work or wherever you go you remember the paragraph that you read. You ask yourself, “What does this mean to me?” You assimilate it, you digest it, you carry it with you during the day. This answers many question also for many people who say, “I cannot do sadhana. I cannot do self-inquiry. I cannot practice any kind of meditation.” Well if you just read a paragraph of the lesson, the transcript and carry it with you during the day, what you read. Then read the same paragraph before you go to sleep. Ponder it, digest it, assimilate it. Go to a new paragraph tomorrow. You should spend a week on each transcript. Do not be like most people who just read them through and put them down and say, “Where is the next one?” You can read a transcript for five minutes if you desire but it will not do you any good. It will just be a bunch of words. Spend time on it, be quiet.
Jay (SJ): Robert what about the parts of the transcripts that tells you to relate to the… (R: To relate to what?) What if you can’t relate to any certain paragraph do you just skip that or… (R: Skip that, sure. Go to the next one.)
So the next is there anything to be gained by being in the company of someone who seeks you out and admires you and whom you cannot bare being around.
Well if you cannot bare being around someone why should you be around them?
That is simple. The person may admire you. May think great things of you but if you can’t be around them, if can’t bare being around them by all means do not be around them.
Why should you torture yourself. You shouldn’t be with people that you can’t bare to be around. But then this is a dual question and answer.
Where are you coming from that you can’t bare to be around a certain person? Is there something inside of you that has a problem that way? You cannot run away from situations either. You’ve got to face them and not to react to them and then you transcend them and become free. But just generally if you cannot bare to be around someone why should you be around them, leave and go forth into the night.
Q: (Robert reads) How do you not react to something or someone who upsets you? (SJ: Can you repeat that question?) How do you not react to something or someone who upsets you?
A: Simply by working on yourself doing self-inquiry. By asking yourself, “Who is upset? Who feels this? Who is going through this?” As you inquire this way one or two things will happen.
One: You will get to the stage where you will become powerful enough not to react to the person and you will not have any feelings like that any longer. You will feel free. You will feel totally liberated from that.
Number two: If you practice self-inquiry and sadhana you will find that sooner or later that that person will get out of your life and will not be in your life again.
SH: Guaranteed? (Students laugh)
R: A hundred percent. So one of two things will happen. You will either become so strong mentally that you will not be upset over it, what someone else is doing. You will be able to look at the person and laugh and it will not matter who is around you or who is not around you. You have risen. You have transcended. You have become… you have risen above it, you have risen higher to a higher state of consciousness.
Then again number two the person will get out of your life. The answer is not to look at the world. Not to judge by the standards of the world. But rather to know who you are. To realize the truth about yourself. To lift yourself higher and understand your true nature. You become like this by practicing sadhana, by doing spiritual practices. Especially self-inquiry. Then automatically the changes will come.
But if you do not do this and you’re like most people. When they have a problem or they’re with a person they don’t like, they leave and run to another person. That person will be worse than the first person they were with. They will find many problems.
It’s like you have a job you can’t get along with your fellow workers and you say, “I’m going to move to Denver and get away from all this.” That is the human way to do it.
You move to Denver and you get a new job. The novelty is new. New friends, new people.
Within six months Denver becomes Los Angeles. You find the same problems with different people.
Jay (SJ): When you look close enough those people are really the same. (R: Sure. They are the same people, different faces.) Different languages possibly.
R: Or whatever. That’s an escape that you think that you’re getting away. You cannot escape your karma. But as you remain calm and peaceful and you work on yourself diligently, you inquire, “To whom does this come? Who is having this problem?” And you realize it’s the I-thought that has this problem. You get rid of the I-thought by following it to the source. The source is consciousness, God, reality. You merge into reality. You’re no longer the body and you no longer have that problem. Your free.
Boy we have a lot of questions, don’t we? What do you think of this method?
SU: I think it’s wonderful. (SM: I think it’s pretty good Robert.) R: Rather than my just talking about something. (SJ: Yeah.) We have the questions that you wanted answered.
SH: But people would bring those up anyway, it just wouldn’t be written it would be verbalized. (R: Not always because some people are embarrassed to ask a question like that.) Oh. Well that is true.
R: So we had about 12 questions. (SE: Thirteen.) Thirteen?
SL: Robert I have a question too. It’s not written down, anyway the question is what is better? In the past you’ve talked about different things that we should say to ourselves before we go to sleep. Should we do the “I-am” thought or should we do the memorizing or memorizing a paragraph or throughout the day we should do the “I am” thought, self-inquiry or is it just a combination of all of them?
R: All of the things I shared for you, with you rather. What you ought to do is to pick out the one that appeals to you mostly. Part of it should always be reading the transcripts because the transcripts somehow set you off on the right path. And then the method you’ve got to use, whether it’s self-inquiry or chanting or becoming the witness that will come to you easier. In other words you will know what to do by reading the paragraph from the transcripts and pondering the paragraph.
SL: But then self-inquiry is more important than saying, “I-am, I-am?”
R: Yes. As far as I am concerned self-inquiry is the easiest method to become realized, to awaken. (SL: So what does the “I-am” do?) I am is your real Self. (SL: When you just keep saying “I-am?”) With your breath. It’s a form of meditation. When you become tired of self-inquiry after a while. If it becomes boring or you become burnt out. You can go practice the meditation. Inhale and say, “I,” exhale and say, “am.”
SL: Instead of doing that just all the time almost everything you’re doing is just kicking back and…?
R: It depends how you feel. It depends where you are coming from. It depends on what’s going on inside yourself. Use the method that is gentle to you. That does not irk you. That feels right for you. There are many ways to practice self-inquiry. Self-inquiry merely means, “inquiring.” And you can inquire whatever happens to you. For instance if you want to know what method to use, inquire. Ask yourself. You can ask yourself, “What shall I do to get closer to awakening?” Ask yourself that question.
And all of a sudden like a flash something may come and respond and say, “I-am.”
Then you can practice the “I-am” meditation. Sometimes nothing comes and you’re silent.
That means you should rest in the silence and be silent for a while. But go with the flow.
Do not force yourself. If you force yourself to do something you’ll hate it and you’ll say this doesn’t work and you’ll give it all up. There is so many methods I share with you, you can either practice them all or practice one, the important thing is, is to always be doing something. Never allow the world to get to you. To grab a hold of you and make you worldly.
As I explained before you came, you came late. Whenever you get up in the morning and you behold the trees and the mountains and the sky and people become aware that these things come out of you. You are responsible for this creation. This alone makes you feel good. For you realize that nothing is happening without my knowledge. I am the one. Who am I? Who am I that has caused the creation to be as it is? Is there really a creation? Is there really a mind that has caused the creation to be? Am I that mind? Where did that mind come from? Keep asking, keep inquiring and then keep still. The answers will be forthcoming.
Are there any questions about the questions?
Glen (SG): What should we do if someone asks us about…can you say that whatever practice one follows is probably the right practice for them? Because I can’t say that when people talk about their ways that self-inquiry is the best because whatever they’re following may be best for them? (R: Again what do you got to do with them?) Well if they come and ask me or they talk to me about their practicing something?
R: You can only give them your experience. Where you’re at and what you’re going to do, what you’re doing. See you can explain to them what has helped you. This is as far as you go with people. But do not think too much of people. Go deep within yourself.
Dive within yourself. And just by being yourself you will be an asset to others. You see what I mean? (SG: Yeah.) If you try to talk up a storm to people and say, “No this is like this, you should do this. You should be doing it this way, this is the way to do it. I’ve been doing it for years, I’ve read many books I know what to do.” (laughter) (SG: Yeah.) It’s better to keep silent. To become an example… (SG: Yeah.) …yourself. And the further you go
the less you talk. You no longer have to try to make people feel as if you know something important. You’re going to help them. You simply be yourself and everything will happen by itself.
Glen (SG): That’s how I feel because I feel about self-inquiry that it’s the practice that I like the most but I don’t want to get into a superiority kind of egotistical state about anything that I do. (R: Umm.) Because in the groups that I follow each person thinks that their teacher is the most superior. That their practice is the most superior. (R: Umm.) And I don’t want to end up in the same place saying that you’re the superior… (R: Umm.) …and self-inquiry is the superior. (R: Right.) Because I’ve never liked that about any of the spiritual…
R: You’re right about this, you’re absolutely true.
Glen (SG): And so it’s like for me whatever people feel drawn to is right for them… (R: Yes.) …And I can only share how I personally feel about something and I can’t assess - I don’t have the omniscience to assess what is better or worse for anybody else except for myself.
R: True, but don’t go into long spiels with people about spiritual practice. If you want to talk about self-inquiry, explain it, be succinct… (SG: Um-hm.) …two or three sentences and say, “go do it!”
Glen (SG): But sometimes I like to serve people by advising them about some of the things that you say, but I know that I haven’t realized that in my own experience, so I sort of move sometimes just to be silent about it rather than speak it because you say that self-inquiry is superior to yoga in some ways and many people practice yoga. (R: Umm.) In a way I can’t say that it is superior because I don’t know. See what I mean? (R: I’m sharing this with you.) Right, that’s from your experience?
R: Yes. I do not go around and tell people what to practice and what not to practice. (SG: Right.) If someone comes to you and asks you then you can be succinct and give them a couple of answers… (SG: Right.) …that you’ve experienced yourself.
Glen (SG): But only from what I’ve experienced and not necessarily… because like in Advaita I notice that people sort of know too much yet far beyond their own experience and they like to talk about levels beyond what they’ve experienced because they’ve read and listened… does that make sense what I’m saying? (R: Yes of course.) In my experience I don’t as much and I try to share what I know right or wrong…
R: Well don’t share too much. The less you say the better off you are. It’s like the people who used to come here from Santa Cruz and they used to phone me about three times a day. And then one day they told me that they were all enlightened. (laughter) They are in reality but now I hear they’re enlightened with another teacher and it will go on like this being enlightened with different teachers. So that’s good. There is nothing wrong with this at all.
“Be a lamp unto thyself,” as Buddha said. Leave everybody alone. The more you run around the more confused you get. You and I both know many people who have been running around for twenty, thirty, forty years and they’re very confused. They’ve had so many teachings they don’t know what is right and what is wrong. So they get to the point where they believe, “If I only find the right teacher. They’ll push the button in my brain and I’ll be free.” (SG: Well that’s what’s true for them…) That’s very difficult. (SG: …and there is nothing that can be said.) There is nothing that can be said. ( SG: Because maybe that is their way and maybe for them that is their path of realization and I can’t compare myself to them.) This is true. (SG: Do you understand what I’m saying?) Of course. (SG: Otherwise we get into a whole posture of I know better than you and…) Yes. (SG: …let them do what they want to do.) That is what I’m saying leave them alone.
Glen (SG): Because who knows if they meet the right person that might be their path and for me it might be different.
R: Anything is possible. (SG: Anything is possible, that’s right. Well that’s what I say.) Leave everybody alone. (SG: Live and let live and just do your own thing.) And let’s party.
(SG: Right.) (laughter) Party.
SN: At times you’ve talked about confusion, being confused and you have said that, that can be good because it’s a not knowing. Claiming that I don’t know anything. Is confusion good or is confusion more like… is the being lost is that good or is the being lost mean going further from it?
R: In the beginning stages confusion is good. When you’re first learning, when you first get on a spiritual path, you studied this and you read that and you go through many teachers and you’re trying to find out what is what and you become totally confused. So to an extent that is good at that point in your life. But then you have to realize what do I do now. And something within you should tell you, you’ve got to become sort of steady.
You’ve got to sort of find the one path and practice that path. Get involved in that particular path. Give it your all in all and see what happens. But to go through the years, year after year after year and still be confused because you’re into so many teachings is sort of a waste of time.
SN: Well if you go to one teacher and he always contradicts himself and because of that you’re confused is that confusion good for your growth or does that just keep you in ignorance.
R: It depends on the faith that you have in the teacher. If you know the teacher is a self-realized being and is not just an ordinary teacher then everything that comes out of that teachers mouth is important and it’s for your benefit. And even if it seems contradictory, it’s for your growth and for your well being.
But if the teacher is just a yogi or a ordinary philosopher then you have to look for the Satguru or the teacher that you need and the teacher that you can surrender to. That you can give up all of your material thoughts and all of your hurts and all of your desires and merge with the teacher. Then whatever the teacher says is for your benefit and there is no confusion. And if you feel confusion you should realize that it is the ego that feels this and inquire, “Who is confused?”
SN: The purpose of self-inquiry is to quiet the mind? (R: Yes.) Yet if the mind is active…
can the mind be active yet if you’re not attached to that activity can it be quiet at the same time as being active because of the non-attachment?
R: No if you’re not attached it means your mind is quiet. It’s virtually impossible to be attached to something or someone and have a quiet mind. You can’t do both.
SN: I’m talking about activity like if you’re at work throughout the day, right but of course the purpose of self-inquiry is to quiet the mind. So could the mind be active in what you’re doing but if you’re not attached to it it’s like, “Well I’m doing this but I’m not identifying with it, is that a state of being quiet?”
R: As the mind becomes quiet you will do your work and be very active… (SN: That’s what I’m asking.) …but it has nothing to do with the mind. The mind has been transcended.
Jay (SJ): Well what is it then?
R: It is the Self! (SJ: Huh?) There is only the Self! The Self is doing your work. The Self is functioning as the world, as the universe. The appearance is there is a world, there is work but there is only the Self. So when you’re doing the work it is not the mind any longer when you’re an advanced person that does the work. But it is the Self that is functioning and you have no thought. ( SJ: But it takes the form of occasional thoughts?) Does what? (SJ: It takes the form of what might be considered thoughts?) You do things spontaneously. You do your work well. Everything is done. (SJ: Even when you’re learning?) Even when you’re learning. (SJ: But the process is going I mean you’re not spontaneous you’ve already had a look at the system…?) Even when you’re learning. (SJ: Yeah.) The doer has been destroyed. (SJ: Yeah.) But everything gets done by itself.
SN: So quieting the mind has nothing to do with activity or lack of it?
R: No. The mind will be quiet and you will still be able to do your work. But you will be in bliss, you’ll be in peace.
SN: I’m talking about the process, not the end I’m saying the process. Can you be active and still be non-attached? (R: Yes.) So the mind is seen to be working… (R: Yes.) …but you don’t identify with it then it’s almost like while you’re active you could still be doing self-inquiry…
(tape ends)
Absätze ohne Sprecherpräfix gehören dem zuletzt genannten Sprecher — so steht es im Buch, wo der Präfix nur den Anfang einer Rede markiert. Die Zuordnung ist eine Folgerung dieser Ausgabe. Namen in Klammern sind aus dem Text erschlossen: sicher belegt sind SM = Mary, SF = Fred, SJ = Jay, SC = Nate, wahrscheinlich SG = Glen, SR = Jorge. Alle anderen Kürzel bleiben stehen, weil der Beleg nicht trägt.