– Transcript 151
R: Good evening. I welcome you with all my heart. It is good to be with you again this Thursday after the riots, and the plundering, and the pilferage, and all the other good things taking place in LA
Many of you simply come here to hear me talk. You wait until I talk and say something, for you still believe there is something that can be said with words, that if you catch the right word, something will happen to you. You will become enlightened. This is not necessarily so. Eloquence is in the silence. It is in the silence that things happen to you, wonderful things, beautiful things.
Has anyone ever been realized while they were talking or while listening to a speech? Most of you here understand that it is the space between the words, the space between the words, that are important.
It is the same like the space between, “Who am I?” When you inquire, “Who am I?”
you have become silent and keep still, before you repeat, “Who am I?” again. That space is consciousness. When you are silent, you are abiding in the self. The only reason you do not become the Self, or feel you are the Self, is due to the fact that your mind is moving.
Thoughts are moving in your mind. As you learn to become still, the mind becomes still and consciousness presents itself, for consciousness is already here, and you are That. It is not really in the words, for the words are the same as the body, the same as the world, the same as the universe. Words are Maya. It is only in silence that truth is revealed to you.
The perennial question arises again and again. Can a person become realized without a teacher? Or must one have a teacher or a guru to become realized? This question is asked of me at least twice a week by some people. Does one really need a teacher or can one become self-realized by themselves? The answer is, “Yes and no.”
Of course you must remember that you are always self-realized already. Your nature is pure awareness, absolute reality. If you start from that point of view, it will be easier for you. Never begin with the fact that you are a human being, having experiences, trying to become self-realized, but rather feel in your heart that you’re already self-realized trying to awaken to that fact.
Everyone who has ever awakened, who has ever experienced moksha, liberation, has had a guru at one time or another. When Ramana Maharshi was asked this question, “You became self-realized by yourself?” he immediately answered, “I did the work in a previous life. I must have had a teacher in a previous existence.“This is only natural. Can you become a lawyer by yourself? You can, but you’ll be a bum lawyer. Can you become a doctor by yourself? Can you become a nurse, or anything, by yourself? You have to go to school, you have to study, you have to have a teacher.
When you really want self-realization, you develop a great humility. The humility will lead you towards the right teacher. Yet if you’re arrogant, obnoxious and you want to be realized, you will be led to a teacher that is arrogant and obnoxious also. (laughter) Like begets like.
This is why I always say to you, you are in your right place, going through those experiences that are necessary for you at the moment. There are no mistakes. Learn to love the place you’re in, no matter how it looks, regardless of what you seem to be going through, regardless of the experiences in your life. Be grateful for them. Be thankful for you and the experiences you’re going through. Never feel sorry for yourself. Never believe you’re not worthy or that you’re a sinner, because you made mistakes in the past. The truth is there is no past. There never was a past. As you begin to realize this, you will see you never were a sinner. You never made a mistake, for the past doesn’t exist.
You can only go a certain way by yourself. You can only reach a certain level by yourself. After this you need a teacher, a teacher who’s been there, who’s gone through all these experiences before, and who can easily lead you across the river of samsara to illumination.
Most of us also do not understand the relationship to your guru or to your teacher.
Some of you are seekers, who run to one guru after the other, see many teachers, can never have a guru-disciple relationship, for you go through many teachers.
I’m not trying to say this so you should stay with me. As most of you know I don’t care where you go or what you do. It’s up to you. But for your own sake, for your own evolvement, if you find the right teacher, you should hold on to that teacher. Take care of that teacher, love that teacher. That’s all you have to do.
Every being who has awakened to the Self has had that experience. For the teacher is not who you think he is. The teacher is none other than your Self. There’s only one Self, one reality, and the teacher is an extension of your Self. You have been drawn to this teacher because of your years of practice, because you deserve it.
Many times I contradict myself when I tell you there’s no reason why some people are enlightened. They may be rotten, and they’re doing all kinds of vile things in this world, and they become enlightened. Yet these people have gone through what they’re supposed to go through, these people are doing what they’re supposed to be doing, and these people are all where they’re supposed to be. This is why I tell you again, “There are no mistakes. Do not be judgmental. Do not try to understand this. It is beyond words and thoughts. You are not who you think you are, and the teacher you are attracted to is not who you think he or she is.”
This is why again you have to develop a great humility. Without humility you will become proud, egotistical, and you will make plenty of mistakes. The greatest Jnani is the servant of all. Not the Master of all, but the servant of all. The greatest Jnani is a friend of everybody. The greatest Jnani is a natural person, no pretense, not trying to impress anyone, looking for nothing. Students are drawn to this Jnani like bees to the honey.
But a Jnani is not necessarily a yogi, and does not have eloquent speeches. There are certain yogis who draw thousands of people to them. A true Jnani does not look for people or crowds, but rather shuns these things and tries to run away from these things and has few devotees.
With this in mind ask yourself, “What am I really looking for?” And you will say, “I’m looking for moksha, liberation.” Then ask yourself, “What am I doing to attain this?”
Take a look at your life. Satsang is one of the most important things that you can ever do to awaken. Yet most Americans come to a satsang maybe four times, five times, and do not enlighten. They go looking for another teacher.
The truth is you must have patience, lots and lots of patience, and not run all over the world looking for teachers. But find the right teacher that you identify with spiritually.
You will know when you find the teacher, the intuitive part of you will let you know, and be with that teacher all you can. This comes first in your life.
I’m always amused by all the holidays that come along. We have Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Mother’s day, Father’s day, Fourth of July, and people call me and apologize and say, “Robert, I can’t come to satsang because I’ve got to be with my mother.”
“I’ve got to be with my family.” “I’m going out to the park with my family for a picnic.”
“I’m going here.” “I’m going there.” This is all very well and good. But where will you go when you drop dead? Will you have a family then? You’ll be all by yourself, and you’ll have to go through certain experiences before you come back again into another body.
What I’m trying to say is your family is important, there is no question about this.
But you have to adjust things in the right way, where you can come to satsang, where you can be with the teacher, where you can sit in the silence, where you can develop humility and peace, and then you will awaken.
This is why I always say to look at your life. Look at yourself, truthfully. How often do you think of God? How often do you think of spiritual things during the day? Do you always catch yourself, when some experiences come into your life, and realize that these are only images on the screen, or do you become involved in the images, and you have hurt feelings and anger, all kinds of emotional things going on in your head? Or do you immediately catch yourself and smile and say these are just images, what have I got to do with images? I am pure consciousness, pure Sat-Chit-Ananda, nirvana. What have I got to do with situations and conditions?
A good time to test yourself was during the riots, during the looting that was going on. What did you feel? What went on inside of you? If you understood that this is a world of Maya, and in Maya all these things are necessary. Remember Maya does not go smoothly all the time. Maya means duality, as if two powers are at work, good and evil, and you have to experience both. So when a city in a country is very prosperous, everybody is working, and has jobs, making good money, everyone is happy, something has to happen to change that. This is the way Maya works.
This is why I laugh at people who are trying to change bad for good. Trying to live what they call a good human life. There is no good human life. There’s only a spiritual life.
When you’re living in a spiritual life, good and bad are both impostors. They can no longer fool you. You have overcome and you rest in Brahman, as Brahman.
The universe is a cosmic joke. It will show you all kinds of things, make all kinds of things happen in your life. Yet you must hold on fast. And you must also let go fast.
Always remember who you are. Forget about the name that was given to you at birth. You are not that. Forget about your environment. You are not that. Forget about the experiences in your life. You are not that. You have to stay centered in the here and now. You have to live spontaneously, in the present. The future will take care of itself. The past is already dead. And here you are.
(long silence)
Shanti, shanti, om, peace.
Feel free to ask questions.
Fred (SF): I have an observation. On Thursday night before dark I was standing at a place high enough up so we could see the eruptions of smoke and fire in Korea town especially. It was very strange the way they erupted, great clouds of black smoke and they came up very rapidly. And it was a very weird feeling, it was a different kind of fire than I experienced before.
And I had strong feeling, this is like a dream. And I had an awareness if there was someone there in the know they/she would corroborate that it was a dream. In addition to that, the person observing the riots and the fire and experiencing a great deal of fear is as much part of the dream as are the fires and the eruptions and sirens and noises. Is that an accurate appraisal?
R: It’s your appraisal. It’s what you went through. That’s the thing you felt. Ask yourself, “Who is the dreamer? Who is the witness to all this? Who witnesses all this?” (SF: I do.) Then who are you? What I am trying to say, it’s the ego that witnesses all this and sees all this. If there is no ego there is nobody to see. Even though it’s happening you will not see this. This will be going on, you will be looking at it but there will be no seer. (SF: Had you been there you would’ve been aware of what was transpiring, would you not?) I’m aware only of the Self. I see everything you see. I watch everything, I look at everything, I partake of things, but I see the Self. (SF: And realize that all the others has no reality or meaning?) None whatsoever, it’s like watching a movie. I look at the movie but I’m always aware of the screen. In other words the world of Maya cannot fool me any longer. I always see the substratum of all existence which is none other than myself. (SF: And nothing outside?) And nothing outside. What I’m trying to say is that I am not separate from anything. Everything is going on inside of me, inside of myself. I am the Self of all. (SF: And that is what love is, no separation of any kind at any point.) Exactly, and love is all there is. When you feel
fear, when you feel something is wrong, that is separation. When you are one with all there is, who is there to fear? The person who fears is gone. There is only God.
Fred (SF): I was thinking of the Mahavakya, “Thou Art That,” that involves two people or two entities as would be the case with “I am Brahman.” I am Brahman and that would throw us back to what Sri Bhagvan said, he had to reach the I - I.
R: The I-am, same thing. (SF: Yeah, and that’s all, right?) And that’s it, there is nothing else. (SF: No Brahman or Shiva or anything else?) There is only that which has always been and which will always be and you are That.
(silence)
R: Anyone else like to say something or share something. (pause) Sri Glen do you have a reading for us? (SG: I’m going to pass Robert.) You’re going to pass Robert?
SH: He’s just left you in the dry.
R: Who is the witness that watches and sees everything? That observes the breath, observes the feelings, who is this witness? The answer comes, “I am!”
With your respiration as you inhale you say, “I,” as you exhale you say, “am.”
Breath normally and naturally. Inhale say, “I,” exhale and say, “am.” If your mind wanders gently bring it up to “I am.”
(silence)
Om shanti, shanti, shanti, shanti, peace, peace.
We have prashad.
(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.