– Transcript 209
R: Om shanti shanti shanti om peace, peace. Good evening. (Students: Good evening Robert.) It is good to be with you again. It is wonderful to see ugly pusses once more. It’s a pleasure being with you. I love you with all my heart, unconditionally, totally.
When I say, “I love you,” I really mean I love you, totally unconditionally. It is not like the love that some of you give people when things are going your way. When most people love someone they love them because they’re getting something from the person or like the way they do things. But I don’t care what you do I love you anyway. What you want to do is up to you and that will not change the love I have for you. Simply because I love my Self, not Robert. Robert doesn’t exist. But love exists all by itself and I am that. It is all pervading consciousness. Consequently I can only love you because that is the only feeling I’ve got.
Makes no difference if you shoot me, stab me, cut me to pieces, I can only love you. That is all I can do. I can’t do anything else. For there is only one and that one is I-am that I-am. There is only one consciousness, one reality, one truth, one love, they are all synonymous and there is nothing else, nothing else.
Therefore when you feel something else, when you feel doubt, apprehension, suspicion, fear, ask yourself who feels this? Where does this feeling come from? Why do I feel this? Of course you can only do this when you understand that there is only one power. There is no other feeling but the one power in all your emotion. Only one. That one is I-am. There is nothing else.
So when some of you have various feelings all day long. You feel happy, you feel sad, you feel frightened, you feel like you’re going to succeed, you feel like a failure, you have all of these feelings all during the day. Inquire, “To whom do these feelings come?
Who has all these feelings? Where did they come from?” You don’t exist. For I have explained to you that only love exists, only the one. Where do the others come from? Where do they come from all these apprehensions, these fears? There is virtually no place where they can come from. For love again is the only power. It is all pervading consciousness, it is self-contained and there is nothing else. That’s it! This is the truth about you whether you like it or not! That’s right, you are a wonderful being whether you accept this or not.
You are a God. Accept this.
If you will watch yourself, some of you, you will notice that when things don’t go your way, when certain things come into your life you begin to pray to God. But you should catch yourself when you do this. Remember you are an Advaitist, you are an Advaitist, a non-duality person. So to whom are you praying when you pray to God? To whom do you pray? Where does this God live that you pray to? Who is this God that you’re praying to? I know some people can tell me, “Oh when I pray to God I feel much better.” It’s really the same as going to a psychiatrist. When you tell a psychiatrist all of your problems you feel much better. It has nothing to do with God. When you talk to someone and tell that person all your problems, when you’re praying to God or some psychiatrist or somebody else you’re letting go of all of these things and certainly you’re going to feel much better.
But again you are an Advaitist, a believer in oneness. You should catch yourself and begin to laugh at yourself and ask yourself, “To whom am I praying? Where does this God live that I’m praying to?” You’ll then realize that you’re praying to yourself. God is yourself, where else could God be but in yourself. But the whole truth is when I use the word self I mean the big Self with a big “S.” The big daddy, the Self. You don’t even exist.
So you’re not praying to your little self.
Remember in non-duality there is only one. If there is only one there is no room for you. What are you doing here? Where did you come from? It’s funny how some people say they are Advaitists and they believe in themselves as something else. That’s duality, that’s two, how can that be?
I will reiterate again. Advaita means non-duality and there is only one power and there is no power in effect. There is only one. That one is you. It is not your body or your mind or your affairs or the world or the universe. It is one reality, one consciousness, one truth. That one is divine grace. The ultimate reality. The bliss consciousness, the love. It is all in oneness and you are that. If you can only accept this you would be the happiest person in this universe. For you will realize that you have no responsibilities to mold your life in any direction, to shape your life or do anything with your life. For you have no life.
Only the ultimate truth has a life, has its own life. It has nothing to do with you whatsoever.
It is beyond words and thoughts, beyond your feelings and emotions. Beyond what you think or don’t think. Beyond what you believe or don’t believe. Beyond your concepts. It is so beautiful that if you felt it right now you would probably blow up. You probably would be blown to pieces, it’s so powerful. For it contains the entire universal expression. You are that! You are that God. You are that bliss. You are that nirvana, the Brahman, the absolute reality. That is all you are and there is nothing else. What else can there be after that?
But some of you are saying, “But Robert I feel this and I see this and I hear that.”
Do you? Why do you do this? Who told you to do this? You’ve been hypnotized, mesmerized, to the grand illusion, the Maya. Awaken to yourself. Awaken to the truth that you are free and you’re nothing but freedom. Total absolute freedom from every conceivable thing you can imagine. Like boundless space you are totally free. Free of all so-called karmas,
samskaras, samsaras, past mistakes, everything. You no longer have to suffer. You no longer have to be afraid of anything.
How can God be afraid of anything? Does God have to pray to somebody? Does God have to meditate? Does God have to perform rituals, appease the gods and goddesses? Only so-called human beings do these things. But God is absolute freedom and you are that. You are the absolute freedom yourself. Why do you insist on believing something else? Even while I’m talking to you some of you are thinking about something else.
Let go of the thoughts, let go of the mind, let go of everything. Let go! Drop it! Drop everything. Hold onto nothing.
It’s virtually impossible for you to be hurt. What you see cannot hurt you. For what you see is an illusion. What you feel cannot hurt you for the feelings are illusory. So what can hurt you? Nothing. When did you first believe that you’re hurtable? That something can hurt you, make you upset? Where do these feelings come from? They’re not the truth. They’re not the ultimate reality. But yet they appear so strong in most people. When these things happen to you and you feel upset, when you feel something is wrong think about the snake in the rope. When a rope looks like a snake and you become frightened but you see that it’s a rope not a snake at all. Or the water in the mirage. When you see water in a desert and try to grab it, it’s sand. It never was water.
So it is with everything that happens in your life, everything. You want to grab onto this, you want to hold onto that. You’re afraid somebody is hurting you, somebody is doing something to you, somebody wants something from you. What can possibly happen to you? What? Nothing. Stop being afraid. Stand up tall, be counted, know who you are.
When you know who you are the whole universe comes before you and bows to you.
When you understand your true reality all the Gods and Goddesses will bow to you, pay homage to you. Awaken! Awaken! Awaken!
What else is there to say? This is the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Remind yourself of this everyday. There is only one power, one! Not two, one! This power is love. It is pure awareness. Nothing else exists, except in your false imagination. So be happy, rejoice!
Some of you don’t look too happy. Some of you look like you’re carrying the whole world on your shoulder. Drop the world. You were not asked to carry the world or carry anything. You’re doing this of your own accord, of your own self. There is nothing you have to carry. You are free. Totally, absolutely free. Right now you are free, not tomorrow or the next day but right now. And you don’t have to earn it.
Do not believe you have to be a good little boy or good little girl and appease God somehow and God will love you and send you a blessing. For in truth you were never a boy or a girl, you were God himself or herself or itself. You are that personality of God.
You’re not a human being. Just the way you are you’re free. Just the way you are.
There are no good deeds you have to do or bad deeds or anything. There are no sacrifices you have to perform. You do not have to mortify the body or stand on hot coals or stand on one leg with your arms raised in the air for two years. There is nothing you have to do to be free, nothing. Can you accept this? There is nothing you have to do to be free. There is nothing required of you for you’ve always been free, always. There never was a time when you were not free. Happiness is your real nature. Love is your essence.
Feel it. Accept it. Be it.
Do not try to analyze what I’m saying to you. Do not try to come to any conclusions. For you’re using your mind to do this and it is the mind that has made you believe all of these things for all these years. Stop using your mind. Use your heart. Stop judging, condemning, coming to your own conclusions. For you are doing this in your own mind.
Everything is alright just the way it is. Everything is perfect just the way it is. And now you know why? Because there is only one! One power! So everything has to be perfect.
The one has no competition. There is not God and the devil. There is only God.
So when you begin to pray to God catch yourself. When you look at anything in this world externally from you catch yourself. Realize that it is all happening from you, it’s all in you, it’s all you, it’s always you. There is nothing else but you. When you want to change something in the external world catch yourself. There is no external world. It’s only you. It’s always been you.
Remember the world only exists because you were born. If you were not born would there be a world? Would there be a God? Would there be anything? The only reason anything exists is because you were born. You are the creator of this whole universe it all came out of you. You are responsible for everything, everything you see. Therefore ask yourself, “What do I see?” I see Dale coming in late. Who sees? Who sees this and who sees that? Who experiences this and who experiences that? Who goes through this and who goes through that? It’s all happening from you. Try to understand this thoroughly. Nothing external can ever happen to you because there is no external world. There is only you.
Wow that is a load off my back. (laughter)
There is nothing happening, nothing is happening, but you’re in charge of this. It’s your ball game. Don’t you understand you can see anything you like. You can become anything you want. But you’re doing it out of yourself it’s all coming from you. When you look at this world and you see good and you see bad it doesn’t exist by itself. It has no existence of its own. It only exists because you exist. Therefore find out who exists. Who really exists? Rather than try changing things in the world or changing people or changing conditions. Find out who is experiencing these conditions. Where are all these changes taking place? Externally? No, internally. It is all taking place from you in you. You are the one.
It’s a relief when you understand this. You feel so relieved. That you don’t have to fix anything, change anybody, change your circumstances, change the people around you.
For you realize now that they’re all coming from you. It’s all you, you you you you you.
Therefore when you feel something you don’t like, when you see something you don’t like, do not react to it, close your eyes and take a deep breath and ask yourself, “Who sees
these things? Who feels these things? How did these things arrive? Where did they come from?” I am the one therefore I have created them, but now you uncreate them. You see the reality, you see the truth, you see the love, you see the peace, you see the joy and then when you open your eyes you will see that kind of a world. You are what you see.
That’s it. There is nothing else. Ask questions.
Fred (SF): Would you agree that what you’re sharing with us is the same thing as Lord Krishna shared with Arjuna? (R: Yes of course.) He was a player in the show… (R: Umm.) …he had no independent existence. (R: Exactly.) His role was that of a warrior he had no choice… (R: Umm.) …it was possible to get to a ??? where he knew that the actions of that entity were not his own and he… (R: Yes.) …needn’t feel bad about it.
R: Of course. Arjuna had gone through with that he could have realized he was Krishna. (SF: Sir?) Arjuna could have realized he was Krishna. (SF: So he did?) He could’ve, no he didn’t he took his place as a warrior but if he realized he was Krishna he wouldn’t have to fight at all. He went one step that’s all. (SF: Short of…?) If he went another step he would have been free totally. You know what I mean? (SF: Because his actions were not real.) He came to the realization because of Krishna that he was not the doer. That he was an actor on the stage, playing a part. This is a good place to be but if he went another step higher he would realize that he is nothing, he’s Krishna the absolute reality. (SF: He and Krishna are one?) Of course. Then he wouldn’t have to fight at all.
SK: But he was identifying with the warrior… (R: Yes.) …rather than the true Self?
R: Exactly.
SI: In that lifetime he was born with chakriya… (R: Yes.) …that was his Dharma? (R: Exactly) Maybe in another lifetime ???
R: But there is no other lifetime. There was a lifetime for him because he believed that. But if he realized he is Krishna right now, there is only Krishna, only Krishna exists nothing else. The whole universe is Krishna. So there are no lifetimes. (SI: If one accepts their Dharma ones karma whatever it is there is a release within.) Yes of course. When you accept your Dharma it is very good it’s a high step. But another step is when you understand there is no Dharma. There is no one to experience any Dharma.
Fred (SF): Everything is nothing? (R: The absolute reality, Brahman.) SK: Deny it all? (R: Of course. And when there is nothing left you are that.) SP: Robert how do you silence the mind?
R: By keeping still. By observing it, by watching it, by inquiring, “To whom does the mind come? Who has a mind? Where did it come from?” Ask yourself. “What is the mind? It’s only a bunch of thoughts, so to whom do these thoughts come? To the I. I have these thoughts. Who am I then?” Use any one of those methods.
Fred (SF): If I use, “I am Brahman,” as an affirmation. There is an implication that there are two, there is an I and Brahman there are two, so the real truth would be I-am. When Christ said that the father and I are one what he is saying is I am Brahman. Not as an object of thought but he was Brahman itself or the ultimate reality or the pure awareness or whatever else we may call it?
R: He was really saying, “I am is Brahman.” (SF: Yeah same thing. Is that not so?) Yes of course. When some say it right but when some people say, “I am Brahman,” they think their body is Brahman. (SF: They need to seek some help.) Their small self is Brahman and that is not so because the body doesn’t exist. There is no small self. I-am is Brahman. Never think I-am God. That’s very egotistical. What you think you are can never be God. What is God is beyond words, beyond thoughts, beyond the body, beyond anything you can ever imagine. (SF: So I-am is Brahman?) Exactly. Same thing. I-am is Brahman. I-am is God. I-am is Krishna. I-am is the Christ. It has nothing to do with you as a body. When you start to think about it this way you will notice, you ask yourself, “Then where did the body come from?” And when you ask a question like that the whole body will disappear totally and completely for it never existed to begin with.
SH: Then why does it seem to exist? Appear to exist?
R: For whom does it appear to exist? (SH: To you.) Not to me, don’t blame me.
(laughter) I’m not guilty. I didn’t tell you to believe you are a body. Why does the sky seem blue? Same thing. You’ll swear up and down the sky is blue. (SH: That’s the way it appears?) That’s the way it appears. But for whom does it appear that way? To the senses. Who has any sense.
SP: What do you have against the sky?
R: I think the sky is beautiful there is nothing. But go up into the sky and you’ll see there is only empty space, its black. There is no blue, the blue is a mirage.
Fred (SF): In this life we’re dealing with what’s called the relative plane, that the relative plane exists, but at this point we don’t have to bother with, and they’re equally unreal as this plane like the astral plane, causal plane. (R: Exactly.) They’re all no more or less real than this one.
R: They all come from the mind. (SF: And that is why we get the psychedelic drugs or delirium tremors.) Are you delirious? (SF: Sir?) Are you delirious? (SF: Yes. (laughter) It’s the same as when you’re in the hypnotic state on this plane.) So wake up! (SF: I’ll try. (laughter) Still there is a will but whatever is involved in the flesh, when the play comes to an end.) There is no play to come to an end. There never was a play. (SF: Sir?) There never was a play. The play is going on in your mind. Get rid of your mind and there’s no play. Again there is nothing to get rid of. Who gets rid of what? There is no who and there is no what. (SF: Who is what?) (laughter) There is no who, there is no what. (SF: No words really.) SI: I think you mentioned a playfulness in Leela.
R: Did I mention a playfulness? Yes, it is. The Leela and the Maya can be used for good. This is what I’m talking about. See only the good. Being only the good. Attract only the good. (SI: What about Brahman is without qualities. Why can there be this quality of playfulness?) In reality there isn’t. There appears to be. When you awaken there is no playfulness, there is no Maya, there is no Leela. It’s like stages. When you awaken partially you think there is a Leela, there is a Maya and you take sort of control of it but as you go higher and
higher the Leela and the Maya all comes from you, part of your mind. You have created it.
Does it exist when you sleep? When you’re in deep sleep nothing exists. There is no Leela no Maya. It’s only when you awake to this world that you say its Maya or Leela. But when you awaken from this world it’s like awakening from sleep, there is no Maya, there is no Leela. It’s all different levels. And when you finally awaken you will realize there have never been any levels. So all is well just the way it is. Be happy.
Listen to the pitter patter of the rain. Pitter patter, pitter patter.
Mary would you like to read the Jnani?
Mary (SM): Yes Robert.
(Mary reads the Jnani refer to the beginning of this book or text) R: Thank you Mary. (SM: Thank you Robert.)
R: Do we have announcements?
Mary (SM): Yes there will be satsang on Wednesday night not Thursday night next week. And those of you who have not got the book yet, please do so, it’s beautiful. And it will make a nice, very nice gift, that last minute thought or idea this is it. Andy still has a few more isn’t there Andy?
(SA: Um-hm.) Or is there…did you get some more? (SA: Yes.) Oh good. See Andy about the book afterwards.
R: Also next Wednesday we’re here also, Wednesday night.
Mary (SM): Oh yes also on new years but we have Wednesday night instead of on Thursday evening. Oh don’t forget the pot luck, coming up the bhandara on the last Sunday of this month, Sue do you have something to say?
(Announcements continue)
R: Anyone else have anything to say or forever hold your peace.
It’s prashad time. Wow look at this. Wonderful junk food. It looks delicious. I have nuts, all kinds of good things. We have some biscuits topped with orange marmalade and dark chocolate. Imagine that.
(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.