– Transcript 205
R: Om, shanti, shanti, shanti, om, peace, peace, peace. Good evening. (Students: Good evening Robert) Greetings and salutations. It is good to be with you again this Thursday evening.
When you sit in the silence in satsang, you are not really sitting in the silence to be quiet. It is much more than that. You are sitting in eternity, in the absolute reality. When you speak words you spoil it. Words have meaning. They have different meanings to different people. Therefore words are very limited. The infinite reality can never be expressed through words. The infinite reality is beyond words and thoughts, beyond concepts, beyond dogma, beyond the body or the mind.
Your mind has been conditioned for thousands of years to be what you are today.
In stead of realizing that you are the ultimate reality, that you are pure awareness you believe your self to be limited to a body. Limited to an environment. Limited to a world.
Limited to a universe. In other words you have created your own jail, your own cell. Yet what are we to do? How do we free ourselves?
We free ourselves by not freeing ourselves. When you try to do something to be free you’re merely adding on to what you know already. To be free you have to become silent, quiet, peaceful. You have to have compassion, loving kindness. To be free one must give up all of their doubts, their fears, their dogmas, everything. One has to surrender totally and completely, total surrender if you would be free.
Surrender to whom?
If you are a bhakta you would surrender to your guru, to a deity of your choice. If you were a christian you would surrender to Jesus. If you were a Buddhist you would surrender to Buddha. If you were of the Jewish persuasion you would surrender to Abraham or Moses. If you were a Hindu you would surrender to Krishna or Shiva or anyone of a thousand deities. Surrender purifies the mind, removes the impurities and ultimately sets you free.
Yet this cannot be done by the average person for the average person is very egotistical, very egocentric. You do not realize it’s the conditioning that you had for many centuries is what has caused you to react the way you do toward life today. This conditioning you did not ask for. This conditioning appears to be very real to you, yet in truth it does not really exist, it doesn’t exist at all. In truth there is no conditioning whatsoever. But when you speak of it in a relative way in a relative plane you are totally absolutely conditioned.
By surrendering your stuff to your deity of your choice you open your mind for higher knowledge. You begin to feel a peace, a happiness, a joy that you never felt before.
It makes no difference what kind of problem you have in your life, what’s going on in your life, how you feel limited. You are to turn away from all of this. You are to turn away from all of your problems, all the stuff that has held you back for centuries. You must turn completely away from it. Do not consider it at all. Do not try to heal it, change it, rectify it, do absolutely nothing to it.
Just turn your mind inwardly to the Self or to the guru or to the teacher or to the deity of your choice and become still! No words are exchanged. You’re not praying to God or to a deity of your choice. You simply turn to your heart center where your deity resides — which by the way is none other than yourself. You are that deity. You are that God to whom you are turning for help. You are that. But yet you turn within and you let go of everything else.
This does not…does not mean that you become passive. Many people believe that spiritual people become very passive. They do absolutely nothing. This is not necessarily true. As you turn within you will come to realize that your whole life has been mapped out for you before you came on this earth. Everything is preordained, predestined. When you look at it in the right way, it’s beautiful. For it means that you are not responsible for anything in your life at all. If your life has been mapped out what have you got to do?
Whatever has to be done will be done by itself. Wherever you have to be you will be. With whom you will have to be you will be with that person. The work you have to do will be done. It’s wonderful when you think about this.
That you have not come to this earth to struggle, to fight, to become anything, to hurt anyone, to be hurt, you are here merely to be. Not to be this or to be that just to be.
You allow this beingness to function properly when you get yourself out the way, that is your thoughts, your preconceived ideas. When you keep the mind still, perfectly still and calm then you will always find that you are in the right place going through those experiences that are necessary for your unfoldment and your fulfillment.
Do not worry about the future or the past. Do not concern yourself with events in the present. Just be! Be the Self that you are. You will be satisfied. Everything will be okay.
There is nothing that wants to hurt you, cause you pain or give you any problems. It is only because you keep thinking continuously, constantly that you have this belief that somebody wants to hurt you, cause you problems, upset you. There is only one. There are not two or three. There is only one Self and you are that.
So where would the problems come from? For where would the hurt come from?
The Self is omnipresent, self contained absolute reality. And you are that!
There is no room for anything else. The Self is bliss, consciousness. This is your nature, this is your Self, this is what you are. But there is only one, all pervading, ever-present, no beginning, no end, pure being. If you can understand what I’m saying what have you got to fear? What can trouble you? You are in good hands with all things.
You have more going for you than you can ever imagine. You are the entire universe so how can you be in need? How can you be worried or hurried? When you understand that you are the universe you rejoice, happiness comes by itself. Love comes by itself. Joy comes by itself. Not from others or from things, it’s your unfoldment, it’s the truth about you. You are a happy courageous individual filled with love and compassion and joy. This is who you really are. Leave the world alone, leave yourself alone, leave everything alone. You will know what to do, always. You will always do the right thing if you stop fighting life by trying to make things happen. Do not take yourself too seriously.
There is one who is looking out for you. There is one who is guiding you, directing you to your ultimate victory. That one is the Self. It is you. The body is not yourself. The mind is not yourself. They’re only temporary conditionings. They’re there for a while then they’re gone. Like bubbles on the ocean. Bubbles come bubbles go every second. Yet the ocean always remains the same. And so it is with life on this planet. People come, people go, things come, things go everything changes, changes, changes but you are the ocean of bliss. You have absolutely nothing to do with these changes whatsoever.
Know yourself for who you are. Never put yourself down. Never compare yourself with anyone else. Never be judgmental. Learn to leave everything alone. Do not come to a conclusion about anything. There is no ultimate answer. Do not search for reality. Do not search for answers. You will be searching for eternity.
See how many people read books one after the other. Most of you here have read every book on earth till there is nothing left to read and you’re still in the same place you’ve always been. Most of you have gone to many lectures, heard many speakers. Yet there is hardly any change in you. You have to awaken to the point one of these days in your life that you are the answer. The answer is you, the answer that you’re looking for.
What is the meaning of life? Who am I? You are the very answer to these questions.
Make your life very simple. Do not be too profound. Do not go looking to teachers and thinking they have a special answer for you. There is no special answer, there is no special teachings. Everything you’re looking for is within yourself. Where else would it be?
What you are today is a result of all your thinking, throughout the years, through many lifetimes. Your belief system has created the body that you need right now for your next step in evolution. This is why I always say, “You are in your right place. There are no mistakes. You are exactly where you’re supposed to be.” If you don’t like where you are, look within yourself. No one can really give you anything for you are the power. There is no power apart from you.
Be happy always. Feel the freedom. Feel the bliss.
Inquire who you are. The answer will come by itself. Inquire, “What am I doing here? Where did I come from? What am I?“Do not be disturbed by events in this world. Do not take life so seriously. Be of service to humanity. When you see people suffering, help. Come to the aid of the homeless, the poor, the sick. When you realize there is only one who are you helping but yourself. To whom are you giving service but yourself, who is benefiting but yourself.
Be kind, be loving, everything else will take of itself. You are the one, the holy one, the mighty one, the true one, the loving one. Go within your heart right now. Dive deep within the heart center and lose yourself entirely. The spiritual heart center is on the right side of the chest. See a sphere of golden light in the heart center, a sphere of beautiful golden light, throbbing. See this globe of white light, golden light expanding, expanding throughout the whole universe. Where all of the planets, galaxies, everything are superimpositions on this golden globe of light. Everything is an image on this light. Like the image on the screen. This light is like boundless space. It accommodates the whole universe. Everything is in this light. Nothing is left out.
Understand that you are the light. The light is you, the Self. The imperishable Brahman. The ultimate reality, nirvana. The I-am that I-am, that is the nature of this golden light. See all the images disappearing and only the light remains. Feel this light as yourself. You are filled with joy, filled with bliss, with happiness. You are now the true Self and there are no others. Feel this deeply. Feel this bliss, this love, this joy, pulsating within, without you. All of your past has been wiped out. There never was any room for a past or a present or a future. There is just the one mighty Self, expressing itself as consciousness and you are that! Peace.
(silence)
…shanti, shanti, peace. Feel free to ask questions if you will.
Fred (SF): I have one. It seems clear to me that if there is one thing that will stop me dead in my tracks is spiritual pride. If I think I’m more spiritual than someone else, what it boils down to is I think I’m feeling superior to my own creation and that is going to cause confusion. (R: Of course.) Thank you.
R: And all the time I thought you were God. ( SF: You thought I was…? (laughs) Well we’re all God aren’t we? That’s what you’re telling us. Of course what does the word God mean, that is another item to consider.) So you’re not God? (SF: Are you asking me?) Umm. (SF: I don’t feel like commenting at this point in time.)
SH: (laughs) Cop out!
R: Why is it a cop out? (SF: Sir?) Why is it a cop out? (SF: Yeah?) No you’re right.
(SF: Yeah I think that I was. (laughter) But for you to tell me that I’m not makes you feel good.) Whenever you think you’re somebody there has to be a thinker, an object and a subject. As long as there is an object, a subject and a thinker, you’ve got a problem. They all have to be destroyed. And then there is nobody to think anything like this. So there will be no one left to think I am superior or inferior, I am great or small, I am happy or sad. Those things only come up when you believe you are a person. (SF: And a thinker.) And the thinker, of course the person always thinks. But when there is no thinker who is to say those things. There is
no one left to be anything. Then you’ll discover that you’re nothing and you’ll be home safe. (SF: Everything is nothing?) And nothing is everything.
R: Feel free to make a comment, statement, an address, speech. Say something.
SV: Baa baa black sheep. (laughter) (R: Good.)
SP: If everything is predestined. If there is so much suffering in this world why is all that predestined by the universe.
R: It’s not predestined by the universe. It is predestined by the image of the self, the small self, the ego. It is the ego that suffers, no one else. But when you find yourself, you’ll understand yourself and you see yourself the way you really are in truth, then you understand that you are the entire universe yourself. And this is all a play in consciousness. In other words it really doesn’t exist. It appears to exist but it doesn’t exist. (SP: You mean the suffering doesn’t exist?) The suffering doesn’t exist like the body doesn’t exist so the good doesn’t exist. Everything that you believe is real, is false. (SP: But if I stick a needle in my arm it hurts.) Yes of course it does. (SP: So that is not real?) It’s your view because you’re living in the dream. If you’re having a dream and in that dream you stick a needle in your arm doesn’t it hurt? (SP: If I’m in the dream and I stick and needle in my arm? Oh I haven’t done that yet.) Yes. Well When I have a dream all kinds of things happen doesn’t it?
In the dream you’re going through experiences, getting married, getting divorced, taking a trip around the world, breaking your leg…
SP: Well it seems to me that from now I can say to myself that they are not the body…
(question cannot be heard clearly as others are talking over the recording. It starts again when able to hear clearer) …if everything is predestined like why do I …unclear…all predestined and everything is already all laid out I just need to sit back and let all be done. Who predestined it?
R: You don’t have to sit back at all. You will never sit back. (SP: Huh?) The idea that you’re going to sit back is erroneous. (SP: Oh okay.) You will always be doing something. See look at it this way. When you go to sleep tonight and you have a dream. In that dream we’re talking like we are now in a class like this and you tell me everything that you told me just now and I say to you, “You’re dreaming this,” and you tell me, “no I’m not. I can stick a needle in your hand and you’ll holler, you’ll say ouch. I can break a leg, I can do this, I can do that,” and yet it’s all happening in the dream. But when you wake up the dream is gone. And so it is with this world. This world appears to be real. It appears to be something important, something going on. But yet sometime you will wake up. And when you awaken you will realize this is also a dream. So it’s up to you to discover this, to realize this. You shouldn’t really believe a word I’m saying. (SP: I should or shouldn’t.) Shouldn’t. (student laughs) Why should you believe anything I say? (students laugh) Find out for yourself. I’m just sitting here talking to myself. Never accept anything anybody tells you. Just listen and check it out yourself, find out yourself, do what is necessary to find out for yourself, what is real and what is not.
Mary will you read the Jnani? (SM: Yes Robert.)
(Mary reads the Jnani refer to the beginning of this book for text)R: Thank you Mary. Do we have announcements?
Mary (SM): Yes. I have two announcements here. The first is satsang will be on Wednesday, December twenty-third instead of Thursday because of Christmas. And of course you know at the end of December the last Sunday we will have another bhandara. But meanwhile that is the most important one, don’t come on Thursday.
Jorge (SR): Maybe you should say there is no satsang on Saturday.
Mary (SM): Oh yes thank you George, there will be no satsang on Saturday until further notice.
And I have five new transcripts that’s out. If you will make ten copies of these and return them please. And the latest number is ninety-four. And it’s “Stop What You Are Doing And Be Still.”
(Handing out of transcripts)
R: Do you want to talk about the book?
Mary (SM): Oh thank you Robert, Amelio do you have any more books? (SA: Oh yes we still have some.) Alright, we do have Robert’s talks from 1990 put into a volume, first volume and we have them here? (SA: Yes if you can come and talk to me?) Alright. The pricing of it is twenty dollars and its well worth every penny of it and Andy will take care of that. And they do make really nice Christmas gifts. (R: That’s it.) That’s it. I want to thank everyone for contributing to the bhandara Sunday. The food was wonderful.
R: The turkey was delicious. (laughter)
It is now time for prashad, the real reason why you came here. We have oatmeal cookies. Here Henry do the honors. We have some more interesting cookies here don’t know what they are. Enjoy, eat, be happy.
Remember to love yourself, to worship yourself, to bow to yourself, for God dwells in you as you. Peace. Have a good life. Go forth into the night…
(Prashad continues as 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.