– Transcript 192
R: Om shanti, shanti, shanti, om, peace.
Good afternoon. (S: Good afternoon, Robert.) I welcome you with all my heart. All of my heart not a piece of it. It is good to see you once again.
As most of you know I receive many phone calls. One of the questions I’m frequently asked is about the world. People can’t understand when I say the world is false.
We’ll discuss this for a little bit.
The world as it appears is false but the world as Brahman, as the absolute reality is real. What does this mean? It means that if you just look at the world as a world it has no substance, no validity. It changes continuously, it’s never the same. It has no substratum, no foundation. How can anything that keeps changing, changing, changing, be real? But when one understands Brahman, which means absolute reality, Brahman is the substratum, the foundation. And the images of the world appear on Brahman. So we say Brahman is the world. If you look at it that way then the world is real.
As an example. If you go to a movie and there is no screen and there is no screen.
The projectionist shows the movie with no screen. What would you get? Total distorted images, chaos, confusion. You will not be able to understand anything you see. But when somebody puts the screen up and the images go on the screen you forget all about the screen where the images are now filling up the screen and clarity and you believe the images are real. Yet if you get up and try to grab the image you’ll grab the screen. Brahman is the screen. All-pervading Brahman the absolute reality is the screen. It is invisible to most of us we can’t see it.
All of the images that you do see are only here because the screen is here. But like the images that have taken over the screen totally and completely the average person is enmeshed in the materiality, the relative world and can only believe and see the relative world. The Jnani, the Sage, the person who has tasted a bit of enlightenment knows and understands that everything is Brahman. Everything is the absolute reality.
And when they say, “Well if I grab someone or if I grab you I’m actually holding onto someone whereas in the movie if you grab the screen you know that the images are on the screen. But yet when I grab someone I still grab them I do not grab the screen or Brahman?” This is what you say. This is what you see. This is because in the delusion you think you’re grabbing something or somebody, you’re doing some work or you’re the doer or you believe you are the body and you believe that this is real for you. It’s like a dream. In the dream you grab somebody also. But you can’t say the dream is real because you wake up and you see the dream is not real.
Therefore all is Brahman. This is why it is written in scripture that the ground upon which I stand is holy ground. Because everything is Brahman, everything is God.
Everything is the absolute reality.
Now scientifically how do we prove this?
We know that if we take anything on this earth, anything in this world, take the radio for instance. And we put it under an electronic microscope we will see molecules.
Molecules floating in space. Space is the glue that holds the world together. It holds all the whole universe together or you can say the space is absolute reality, Brahman, pure awareness.
Again if we take an atomic microscope and we put molecules in an atomic microscope we will see atoms. It takes millions of atoms to make a molecule. So you can imagine how small an atom is. Yet the atoms will be floating in space also. There will be space between the atoms which is equivalent of the space between the planets. When you look at the world you see the images. You don’t look at the space you forget about the space. The space is the screen. The space is Brahman. The space is the absolute reality. But we’ve been bound by our body to look at the image. We’re interested in the image. The tree, the mountain, the person. We do not understand that it’s been held in space. Like the planet it’s floating in space like the atom.
Nothing is as it appears to be. Nothing is as it appears to be. Everything is totally different from what you can believe or see or imagine, it’s all different. If you think of yourself as composed of trillions and trillions of atoms you will see that you are in a state of flux. Nothing is solid. Nothing appears as it appears to be.
And here is another illustration of this. I’ll tell you a story about it: A lady is praying to God for quite a while and she says, “Oh God, you are so huge and I am so little do you see things like I do? I bet you see things differently from the way I do.” And God says, “Yes my daughter I see everything different from what you see.” So the lady asks God, “How does a hundred thousand years seem to you?” And God says, “My daughter a hundred thousand years seem like a second to me.” The girl says, “Wow, far out! How does ten million dollars my appear to you God?” And God says, “Ten million dollars my daughter appears to me like ten cents.” The lady thinks about this and she says, “God can you loan me a dime?” And God says, “Yes my daughter in a second.” (students laugh) When you believe that the world is real, when you believe that things are real, your body is real you have to have problems and you have to suffer. You have to. Simply because everything changes continuously. So you suffer because you’re not holding on to what you want. Things come and go. Change is the only reality of this world. So the person who has been kicked around by life a while will see this world as a threat begins to consider there must be something else and starts to search for the truth. Unfortunately most people who have things going good for them, who have things going their way because of karmic experiences do not care to pursue spiritual life. Not everyone but most people. It appears when you have troubles that you start to search for spiritual life. This has always been true. Yet everyone will go through problems as long as they believe that they’re a body, they have to. You may be enjoying life when a catastrophe hits you. You may get hit by a car, hit by a train, hit by a flying saucer, anything may happen to you.
Then you’ll become totally disillusioned you will not know what to think.
This is the reason why the smart person, the wise person begins to pursue spiritual life even when things are going well. They do not wait until something goes wrong.
They start to feel that life is more meaningful then they can ever imagine and when they start to search within themselves. All the answers are within themselves. Not without, not in the world for remember the world is not real as it appears. So when you search for something in the world it’ll fool you. You want to search for reality. How do we do this?
How to search for reality?
We begin to search for reality by keeping quiet. By becoming still. By quieting the mind. By making our life simple. By not getting involved in too many things in this world.
We begin to slow down our activities. So we have more time to be with ourselves. We look for moments of solitude. When the TV isn’t playing, when the radio isn’t playing, when the phone is not ringing, we’re not talking to friends or neighbors you enjoy those moments more and more and more and you fond happiness in those moments. Real happiness. Happiness that comes from within, from reality. Not the happiness that is fleeting that is here today and gone tomorrow. But true happiness, it is everlasting. Unalloyed happiness which never changes.
Because we can begin to search for these things something in us, you can call it God’s grace may lead you to the right book or to the right teacher or to the right environment where we will be able to go further. Where we get to the point where nothing can disturb us any longer. Whether there is conflict in the family, problems at work, cataclysms in the world, we no longer react to these things. We just watch and we leave them alone.
You acquire a feeling of invincibility you’re invincible. A feeling of being alive forever and ever and nothing can ever hurt you or destroy you. You’ve always been, you’ll always be. You sort of feel this. And from then on you’re always happy and peaceful and nothing can ever bother you again. You have done this to yourself. Nobody can do it for you.
I have summarized the whole thing for you but actually you go through many experiences before you get to that state. You go through many doubts apprehensions, suspicions. Many times in spiritual life you want to chuck the whole thing out, you want to throw it away. You feel it’s not working for you. You think it’s a lie it doesn’t exist there is no spiritual life, everyone’s gone through this stage. It’s called the dark night of the soul.
When you feel like committing suicide. You feel so terrible. All the dark forces attack you from all directions. And you want to chuck it all out, throw it all away, forget about it. But as you hold on to something within in reality, a spark of light the darkness will ultimately 1949leave you and again you will find peace. Again you will find harmony. And again something may happen to you. You may develop cancer, AIDS. You may have to go into bankruptcy. So again you say to yourself, “If this is what spiritual life is all about I don’t want it at all. I don’t need this.” You say this because you do not know what is happening.
In order for you to grow and become your real self all of the stuff that has been inside of you has to be totally transcended. All the stuff that is in us and we have a lot of stuff in us. There is stuff completely to the top. There is stuff of images, beliefs, concepts, dogma, fears doubts, suspicions this is our stuffing. In order to empty yourself it may appear that you’re getting worse. The fears multiply themselves. The doubts become more terrible than they’ve ever been before. This is the change that is coming into your life.
In other words if you want self-realization you’ve got to get rid of everything.
Everything that you’ve been holding onto. Everything that you’ve been holding onto, everything. I mean give it up mentally. If things happen physically you just don’t react to it. But mentally you give up all the stuff that has been bothering you for all these years.
You surrender everything to God. Empty yourself out completely, totally. Again you do this by not reacting to anything. Not allowing the world to get to you, show you anything.
You keep holding on and holding on. Holding on to nothing. Becoming nothing more and more. No longer worrying.
Then all of a sudden you see a light inside of you. The light brings you untold happiness and peace. The light grows steadily. The lights in your heart. The light of a thousand suns. To give everything up to this light. You’re no longer afraid. You are free.
Many of you can feel this freedom now. How wonderful it feels. Another name for this freedom is stillness, quietness, silence. As long as the mind is active and you’re thinking and thinking you can never understand the deep silence of freedom. But you learn not to think. Not to analyze anything or to figure anything out. You are perfect just the way you are. You are no longer alone. You begin to feel the whole universe emanating out of you. Creation emanates out of your mind. All the creation that you see comes out of your self. Yo have discovered that you are the creator. You are the self, the absolute reality, nirvana, the absolute oneness. Nothing else can exist for you.
All is well. There are no mistakes. The world is Brahman ad has always been your self. You are that!
There never was a world and you. The universe the world is inside of you. You are all pervading, absolute reality, everywhere present. You are I-am. I-am-that-I-am.
Let us practice the I-am meditation. Close your eyes and focus your attention on your breath. Become aware of your respiration. Become the witness to your breath. Breath naturally and normally. Ask yourself, “Who is this witness? Who observes the breath?” And the answer comes, “I am.” With your respiration inhale and say, “I,” exhale say, “am.” Inhale and say, “I,” exhale and say, “am.”
With every breath, with every I-am feel yourself going deeper and deeper within.
Allow your body to dissolve completely where only I-am exists and nothing else.
(long silence)
It is now time to play stump the guru. We have a box where you write a question down and then we see what happens.
(Q - Mary reads, A - Robert answers)
Q: Dear Robert what kind of things can a person do to be of service to you?
A: Be yourself and become enlightened. Wake up! Awaken! You’ve been asleep long enough. Awaken and be free. That is the service you can do for me. Do it now! Next case.
Q: Do you think it is important for your devotees to maintain a social life or group meditations with other devotees or is being completely a loner and a devotee who sits in silence alone only in addition to working in ones career excellent?
A: Both are necessary. You can do both. There is a time to sit in silence by yourself and there is a time to mix with others. There is a time to work, there is a time to play, there is a time for everything. But if you work on yourself and begin to understand the truth about yourself then you will know what to do. Everything will be done that is supposed to be done. We do not become fanatics and think we have to sit by ourselves continuously and not talk to anybody, on the contrary. Mix with people, enjoy life, do wonderful things.
Find time to be by yourself also. Share with others. Help the homeless. Give of yourself and forget about yourself at the same time.
If you’re living in the moment, like you’re supposed to be living spontaneously everything will take care of itself. You will know what to do. You will do the right thing.
But if you have to think about it that means you have to go within more and get to the place where you’re sure of yourself and there is nothing to think about. And you become a very positive person you just do things that are necessary to do without thinking about them and you are just living your life rightly, fully, completely. (pause) Go ahead Mary.
Q: Dear Robert I think I do the things you suggest my mind gets cleaner and cleaner. I get closer and closer to being with the Self but never make it with awareness. How many incarnations did you have just like this before it just happened?
A: Isn’t that a question left over from last week? Never mind how many incarnations I’ve had. (SR: Are you embarrassed to let us know?) To whom are incarnations? You always forget that. For whom is karma? For whom is incarnations? Who has the incarnations? The body. Therefore if you’re not the body how can you have incarnations? Think about that. So when a person becomes awakened the first realization they have is they were never a body. There never was a time they were a body so there is nobody to incarnate. Only the body incarnates. So to answer this correctly. I always was there never was a time when I was not and I will always be pure awareness, absolute reality, perfect freedom, total joy and bliss. This is the all pervading Brahman and this is your real nature and my real nature. We’re all one. So do not think about being incarnated. Thinking of reincarnation is like thinking of being in jail. You can say, “When am I going to go back to jail?” or “How many times were you in jail before?” Incarnation is bondage. Why aren’t you this 1951body which you believe is real. So remember that you have no body to be reincarnated.
Reincarnation is for the ajnani. For the ignorant one who believes in that stuff. Your belief is in the self in absolute reality. In perfect freedom. This is who you are. Remember this.
Q: In thursdays talk it came to me that we must allow everything and everyone to evolve as it appears best on doing. Including our own body. Hence we may try to stop someones behavior if we are consciously aware of our body’s efforts in that direction hence we can be aware of another’s tendency and our own which may agree or disagree and confront. Do I understand you right? It sounds okay to me.
A: It sounds okay to me too.(laughter)
Q: Dear Robert sometimes after a very high experience in sitting in silence I go out into the world and watch myself get very angry over something. If we go very high must we also go very low and balance out during this process of evolving?
A: There is nothing to balance. Balancing is a word for a human being who goes up and down all the time. If you do not react to person, place or thing there will be nothing you would have to balance. It is only because you react to life’s environment, life’s situations, life’s experiences that you think you have to balance yourself out. There is no one to be balanced. Be free be yourself. Do not think about being balanced or unbalanced. It’s better to be unbalanced than balanced because when you’re unbalanced you’re living in a different world. When you’re balanced you’re sort of normal, status quo, e-pluribus-unum. Next question.
Q: Is consciousness neutral or is it only loving and nurturing? Or can it be either positive or negative with no long term goal?
A: When we’re speaking of the ultimate reality which is consciousness it has no qualities. If it had qualities it wouldn’t be consciousness. We have qualities. We appear to have qualities. But consciousness is perfect awareness. Consciousness is that which is beyond qualities. There is no description for it. It is the absolute reality the self. It is self contained and is beyond qualities. So when you’re experiencing consciousness you’re experiencing oneness. Total oneness. Not two but one. And that is total freedom and peace.
Q: In a fight between two people is consciousness affected or involved in any way?
A: In a fight between two people your ignorance is involved. What has consciousness have to do with a fight? Consciousness is beyond all of these things. That’s it Robert.
There are two hungry people on the couch.
Remember that all is well that everything is unfolding as it should there are no mistakes. Don’t worry about the future or the past. Be yourself be happy, rejoice and that is all I have to say. Until we meet again peace. Until we meet again peace, om shanti. Feel free to go forward.
(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.