– Transcript 224
R: Om shanti shanti shanti om peace. Good evening. (Students: Good evening Robert.) You must always remember that silence is the greatest teacher. Quietness, silence, total stillness, it is the greatest teacher. Reality shines through where there is silence. If you want to experience reality just keep quiet. That is all you have to do. Shut up. Stop talking.
Stop thinking. Stop imagining. Leave it all alone.
There is a power that will take care of everything for you. This is the truth. If you leave it all alone, if you stop worrying, you stop fretting, if you stop imagining what is going to happen, everything will work out. It has to. It has to because we live in a universe of bliss. Bliss is your very nature. Joy, happiness, harmony, this in truth is what you really are but when you start to think you spoil it. When you start to talk you mess it up. When you start to worry you will fail.
You are where you are because that is where you’re supposed to be right now. This is why I always say you’re in your right place, right now at this moment. There are no mistakes. If you do not like where you are do not try to run from it, hide, go somewhere else, dive deeper within yourself and you will see the true reality which is harmony.
Where there appears to be disharmony if you dive deep enough you will see harmony, you will feel harmony, you will feel joy, happiness, you have to. Because the happiness and the harmony are the substratum of the universe, of all existence. That’s what really is.
If you’re not experiencing joy you’re living in an illusion.
One of the questions most frequently asked me is, “How do I solve my problems?”
No matter how many times I tell you this people still ask me the same question. I’ve got problems you say, “How do I solve them?”
Well, there are many ways to solve your problems. It depends on your maturity.
How mature you are. First of all you have to ask yourself, “To whom is there a problem?
Who has this problem? To whom does this problem come?” and separate from it immediately. Separate yourself from the problem immediately. Do not carry it along with you by thinking about it. Because as most of you know by now that when you think about a problem that you think you have, the problem seems to expand, to enlarge. It brings you more thoughts about the problem that makes it sound impossible to ever get rid of it. In other words you must turn away from the problem, totally, completely, absolutely. No matter how serious a problem may look. No matter what other people think. You have to turn away from it.This doesn’t mean that you do nothing. It simply means that you are not functioning on that problem any longer. And when you’re not functioning any longer the solution arises. There can only be a correct solution when the mind is not functioning on the problem. As long as the mind is functioning on the problem you may come up with solutions, they will be the wrong solutions. It will be the wrong reactions. Why because you’re at the level of the problem. But if you turn away from the problem totally and completely then you have risen to a higher degree. And when you have risen you will know what to do. It’ll come to you as a…like a flash. You will know exactly what to do.
But when you worry, when you mope, when you feel sorry for yourself, when you keep pondering the problem over and over and over again, it will become relatively worse because again it will expand in your mind. This is how the mind tricks you. This is how the mind plays games with you. First it makes you believe something is wrong someplace, with your life, somebody else’s life somewhere, then it gives you all the ammunition to make it happen. In other words you will do things that will make the problem worse and you will worry and you will fret to no avail. And the problem goes away for a while as it usually does but doesn’t lasts long, it has simply gone into the mind deeper and deeper, taking a rest, taking a nap. It will come up in full force soon, again, perhaps in a different way.
As an example: Let’s say a lady is a secretary, she is an executive secretary, she has a good job in a big company. She can’t get along with anybody at work. She blames people for her errors. Always finds fault in everything, with herself, with people. Always feels that somebody is cheating her, somebody is doing something to her, someone is trying to hurt her. So she says, “I’m going to get out of LA I’m going to go to Tucson.” When she decides to move the problem goes to sleep. It’s in abeyance, because you’re making a physical change.
When she gets to Tucson she gets another job same problem all over again. The problem comes out again. Different people, different environment, different places, same problem. Unless you nip the problem in the bud it’ll keep haunting you again and again and again in different ways. Because you’re at that level, at the problem level. You have to rise above it not change it or stop it. And you rise above it by knowing the truth about yourself. This is the only way to alleviate the problem forever. This is the only way to transcend the problem forever. You rise above it. You can inquire, “To whom does this problem come? Who has this problem?” And realize the I has the problem, not you, but the I. Of course when you ask and you inquire, “Who has the problem,” you’ll say, “I do, I has the problem, I worry about this problem, this problem is terrible.” But you say, “I have it,” all of the time don’t you? Not you but I. Not you but I. I has the problem. Then you must separate yourself from the I, the I is not you. The I that has the problem is not you at all.
The I that has the problem is the ego. Not you!
Then you further inquire, “Then who am I?” Which simply means, what is the source of the I? If I’m not this I then what is its source? Where does the I that has the problem come from? If it isn’t me where does it come from? How did it arise? At this point you keep still. If you keep still in the right way, then you’re in the silence we were discussing previously. You have entered the silence. In that silence there is total bliss and joy. And you’re able to see that the problems are a product of the mind, the ego, not of you. To the extent that you’re able to see this, to that extent will your problem be totally resolved. You will find that all is well.
Now why does this happen? It happens because the universe in which you live is the absolute reality, Brahman. In other words you are not Brahman but Brahman is you.
For as long as you’re thinking and you have to analyze it and inquire, “Who am I?” You can never be Brahman. So you keep affirming, “I am Brahman. I am the absolute reality,”
you’re making a fool out of yourself. Does Brahman who is all pervading say, “I am Brahman?” Since Brahman is omnipresent and is everything to begin with, there is nothing but Brahman, it would be pretty silly for Brahman to keep saying, “I am Brahman?” Because there is nothing else. There is only Brahman. But Brahman can never say, “I am Brahman,”
or God could never say, “I am God,” but you can. Which shows you that you are not that.
Anyone ever tells you that I am God be careful of that person. What you are can never be God. What you are doesn’t even exist, a mirage, an hallucination. Only Brahman exists. When I say Brahman exists as you, I’m not referring to your body. I am not referring to your affairs or your world or your universe. I mean that Brahman exists as I-am. See it’s the other way around. You see it’s not, “I am Brahman. It is Brahman, I-am.” Which leaves no place for your body or your mind or your thoughts or anything else. You’re free. How can Brahman have a problem? It’s ridiculous. The absolute reality cannot have problems.
The pure awareness cannot feel hurt.
Some of you have told me, whenever you feel upset, whenever you feel depressed, you say to yourself, “I am God. I am Brahman,” is this the right procedure? This is the wrong procedure. We’re only confounding a problem. You have to get yourself out of the way in its entirety. You have to get totally out of the way and allow Brahman to function as Brahman. There is only Brahman. There is no world, there is no body, there are no problems, there is no universe, there is only Brahman. If you can only get this far in the thinking, by the time you get this far your problem would be resolved and gone. You will start laughing at yourself. To think that you had a problem, that’s an insult.
When you believe you have a problem you are insulting God, blasphemy, think about this. For how can you say there is something wrong? What you’re really saying is God or Brahman doesn’t know what he’s doing and there is something wrong, I’m hurting. God made a mistake, that’s what you’re saying. As you know it’s virtually impossible for Brahman or God to make a mistake. There is no such thing in Brahman. Again Brahman occupies every corner of the universe, every nick and every cranny. Brahman is every thing and everywhere and this world is only a dream in Brahman. That’s all the world is.
This so-called world is a dream in Brahman. So when you’re fearful, when you think something is wrong, something is not going your way, you feel hurtable, this is blasphemy. This is why you can’t get rid of your problem because you keep insisting this problem is for real. Whereas in truth the only reality is Brahman.
So do you see what you’ve been doing all of your life? You’ve been reacting to TV, to the newspapers, to the dastardly things you see happening in this world, the things in your own life that are going on, you have been reacting to these things. No wonder you suffer.
Some people who are new here may ask, “Why does Brahman allow this to happen in this world? Why does God allow all these dastardly things to take place? Wars, man’s inhumanity to man.” The answer again depends on your maturity. To the average person I will say to them, “This is God’s Leela, God’s sport, Brahmans play. Brahmans playing with himself and creates all these conditions,” and this satisfies the people who are at this level of thinking. To others I’ll say of a more mature nature, “First find out who you are then see if Brahman brings these conditions to you. In other words forget about everything. Forget about the world, your problems and find out who you are. How you relate to all of this, then see if anything matters.” To a further mature person I will say, “Brahman only knows himself and nothing else exists,” so the answer is determined by where you’re coming from. What you can comprehend this time. And you have to be very careful how you talk to people.
If I visited a patient in a hospital dying of cancer and who was not aware of the ultimate truth. He’s not aware of the ultimate truth that Brahman is Brahman, nothing else exists. I wouldn’t tell him that while he’s dying of cancer. He wants compassion, love, kindness, nice words, not an advanced advaitan philosophy. They wouldn’t understand.
Think how you answer people. Some of you have read the books but you have not had the experience. You’ve never had the direct experience of the truth. Therefore you get into debates, arguments about who is right, who is wrong. What exists, what doesn’t exist and try to be smart and say, “Brahman is everything. Nothing exists, everything is a dream.” Wanting these people to respect you and say, “Boy he knows everything, he’s smart.” You’re only fooling yourself. If you’re not demonstrating a lot, keep silent. This is how you will grow spiritually. You will stunt your spiritual growth when you start telling people how much you know or trying to impress them with your knowledge of Advaita.
The most advanced advaitan is a fool and knows nothing. There is no knowledge in Brahman. Can’t you see that now? To have knowledge there has to be someone to receive it. And if there is no one left, who has knowledge? Knowledge of what? Knowledge of whom? All of the so-called knowledge is head knowledge. It’s what you don’t know that sets you free, not what you know!
This is complete in reverse from going to school. In school they jam all kinds of knowledge into your head and look what’s become of you. Look at our politicians and great souls, so-called, who have knowledge. They create great problems in the world.
Knowledge creates problems. So you really don’t want knowledge.
And other people they ask me, “Robert, if I only knew this I’d be so happy.” I say, “Wrong, if you didn’t know this you’d be happy. Remember it’s how much you know, it is how much you don’t know.” This is very important to understand. Can you see now that most people who have become self-realized did so before they read a book. If they would have read a book before they would be complete idiots and joined a debating team. I will not say most I will say just about everybody, for centuries who have become self-realized, never read a book. Take the Rishis of old. The Rishis didn’t read books. They sat under the trees in the silence, in quietness and everything was revealed to them.
Now take yourself. What’s revealed to you everyday, problems, situations? Stop thinking this way. Start to feel in your bones that there is only Brahman, nothing else, period, end. And do not qualify that statement. It’s even better if you say one word, if you say, “Brahman,” nothing else. Sit in the silence and say, “Brahman.” Let’s do this right now.
Close your eyes. Drop everything. Say, “Brahman,” to yourself, nothing else. Wait a few seconds and say it again, “Brahman.” Wait a few seconds and say it again, “Brahman.”
Feel how happy you’re becoming, just by uttering the name of Brahman. What joy you’re beginning to feel. You feel uplifted. Your so-called problems vanish without a trace for they never existed to begin with. “Brahman!”
For those of you whose mind starts to work and thoughts begin to come. Ask yourself, inquire, “To whom do these thoughts come? I think these thoughts. What is the source of the I?” Keep still and say, “Brahman,” again. Sit in the silence. Be in a state of no thought.
(silence)
Om shanti shanti shanti om, peace.
Feel free to ask any questions.
Fred (SF): When you were talking that Brahman, God and pure awareness is all one, everything is one, that’s correct isn’t it? (R: Exactly, even you’re one.) I’m one, one what?
SH: One without a second.
Fred (SF): (Student describes experience when he was accused of stealing from a store) R: Where did you say I’m going to find this guy?
Fred (SF): He didn’t say anything. Who would want to put two light bulbs in his pocket? But it really made me sore but it occurred to me that had I handled it in any other way all kinds of karma would have ensued, the police and lawsuits and all kinds of things. And it kind of follows that when the bible says, “Turn the other cheek,” it means it literally. It means if someone slapped you in the face I’m supposed to turn the other cheek and let him slap the other one otherwise, as you said, there is going to be a whole slew of karma coming at you. Do you want to comment on that please?
R: Of course. When we read about turning the other cheek it is referring to renunciates, to monks. The way to live in this world is not to react, mentally. Sometimes you have to slug somebody, you have to slug them, but don’t react to it, mentally. In other words you’re very calm in your mind, but you have to do what you have to do. The way to react is mentally. (SF: And whether it’s anything physical or not is besides the point.) If somebody came in here right now and tried to shoot me, if someone did. I probably wouldn’t sit down and let him shoot me, I would try to wrestle him and get the gun out of his hands, but my mind will not change. I will still be filled with love and compassion and happiness. (SF: What happens to your physical world is another world from which you live in.) The only time when karma accrues is when you live in your mind. Karma comes from your mind. So when you’re doing something in this world physically, there will be no karma attached to it, you do not think about it mentally. (SF: If I hit him that would be another Leela.) You could say that, all right. Again this is what it means in the bible when it tells you to keep your feet on the ground and your head in the clouds.
SY: The end of the world term.
R: You’re living in the world, you’re working in this world. You’re not in a monastery, you’re in the world. As long as you feel worldly you have to take action or people will step all over you, so-it-appears, but mentally you can be at peace and at rest. Mentally you can know it’s all a mirage, all a dream, and these things are happening to you because of where you’re at, what’s going on in your life, when you try to do things.
SH: Are the mental and the physical so disparate, are they not connected or are they not related?
R: It’s all in the mind. Everything begins mentally. You have to have a certain attitude of mind and you attract situations to you. It is your attitude of mind that attracts situations that gets you.
SH: That will teach you to steal light bulbs. (students laugh) SI: Robert talking about someones reaction, Rama Krishna had this story of this king cobra that eats children. (R: Oh yes, yes) Finally they called upon a holy man and the holy man went up to the cobra and told the cobra not to bite anymore. Months later the holy man passed by the same village and he heard some movements from the forest and there was this bloody blackened beaten cobra, and the holy man said to the cobra, “What happened to you?” and he said, “I listened to you and I stopped biting people,” and the holy man said, “You fool I didn’t say don’t hiss.” (laughter) R: Exactly, really true, make your noise, whatever you have to do, but don’t take it seriously. (pause) Anyone else like hissing?
SK: (student asks how a person with a lot of anger and hostility and be totally at peace?) R: Like keeping peaceful? Like being peaceful? If your mind can be peaceful, really at peace, these people will feel it and change their attitude.
SK: (students continues about anger and hostility)
It will happen. It will happen because peace is the nature of the universe. When your mind becomes peaceful, you’re identifying with the nature of the universe, then the nature of the universe will affect all the people around you and you will find peace wherever you look.
SK: (students continues about anger and hostility)
R: Umm. This is why you have to work on yourselves now. Not wait until you’re confronted by a situation. If you work on yourself now and you become a total embodiment of compassion, peace and kind heartedness then when you’re confronted by a situation, what you’ve become, you will alleviate the situation. You will cause the situation to turn into total harmony. It’s just like when you’re dying, it’s a matter of what you think about before you die that’s where you go. So most people say, “Well I’ll wait till I die and think of going to heaven or going to a nice place where there is gold and silver and everything will be okay.” But when you die you won’t be able to do that. You will be in total fear when you’re dying. You will not be able to think of some place where you want to go. This is the reason why you have to work on yourself now, all of the time, and make yourself that way. When you are about to give up the body so-to-speak, you’ll be able to think of Brahman and you’ll go directly to Brahman. You’ll be absorbed.
But if you do not work on yourself and you keep fooling around with this world and working too much in this world. When it comes time for you to drop the body you will not be able to do anything, you will be full of fear, you will be frightened, totally frightened. Then you’ll go back to Henry’s house. (laughter) SH: I’m locking the door. (laughs)
R: So if you don’t want to come back to Henry’s house next lifetime, work on yourself or you will have to put up with Henry’s jokes forever. (laughter) It’s really a pleasure being here Henry.
SH: Yeah.
R: I said it’s a pleasure being here and it starts.
(talking about the rain pouring down hard)
SH: Yeah, you, you did that.
(students laugh 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.