SILENCE IS I, DEATH IS A THOUGHT - LIVING BY THE WORDS OF BHAGAVAN - Annamalai Swami conversations

many people find self-inquiry very difficult even most of bhagavan's devotees seem to follow a bhakti path if one cannot do inquiry successfully

should one first purify the mind with japa no if you have some interest in the path of self-inquiry you should follow it even if you feel that you're not very good at it

if you want to do self-inquiry effectively and properly you should stick to that method alone other methods may be good in their own

right but they are not good as preparations for self-inquiry if you are serious about becoming a good violin player you take lessons from a good

teacher and practice as much as you can if you encounter some difficulties you don't switch to the clarinet for a few months you stay with your chosen instrument and keep practicing till you

get it right the best preparation for self-inquiry is self-inquiry I have had some Tibetan initiations I have been given various mantras and

rituals to do should I pursue them the best Mantra is I am the self everything is myself everything is one

if you keep this in mind all the time the self will eventually reveal itself to you don't be satisfied with rituals and other kindergarten techniques

if you are serious head directly for the self hold on to it as tenaciously as you can and don't let anything or anyone loosen your grip

the mind is always flowing like an Unstoppable River most of the time I am not even capable of reaching this self how can I hold on to something that I can't even get near

when it rises the Mind automatically goes out to the world if you do self-inquiry you can train it to flow towards the shelf

in deep Sleep the Mind automatically goes to the self but you are not aware of it do the steady practice of self-inquiry the mind can be trained in

such a way that it automatically flows towards the self in the waking andream States it is very difficult at first but with practice it can be done repeated

self-inquiry makes the mind go back into the self other methods May produce good experiences but the good experiences will not make the mind go back into the

shelf and stay there how much meditation is good how many hours a day meditation must be continuous the current of meditation

must be present in all your activities with practice meditation and work can go on simultaneously

I do japa I was initiated by a Bengali Saint I do it as bhagavan suggests and I try to trace the source of the sound your practice will be more effective if

you try to find out who is doing the japa can desires be eradicated by meditation or must they be fulfilled before they finally subside

all desires are the ego and the ego is dissolved by steadily abiding in the self if you succumb to your desires you identify with your ego

if you put the mind in the self and keep it there you identify with the self if the mind is firmly rooted in the self most desires will not arise the few that

do will not trouble you in any way because there will be no impulse to act on them is it good to devote some time to staying healthy should we do hata yoga for example to keep the body in good

condition it is difficult to do sadhana the body is not in good condition Hatha Yoga is one way of staying healthy bhagavan used

to say however that out of all the different asanas nidhaya Sana is the best he would then add that is means

abidance in the self don't pay too much attention to the body if you worry about the well-being of your body you identify with it more and

more look on it as a useful vehicle maintain it fuel it properly and repair it if it breaks down but don't become attached to it if you can keep your

attention on the self without being distracted by unpleasant bodily Sensations you're healthy enough to do sadhana if you do your meditation earnestly and

continuously you'll begin to find that health problems will not distract you when your abidance in the self is firm and strong you cease to be aware of the

body and its pains bhagavan once said to correct oneself is to correct the whole world when one has corrected oneself completely one finds

that there is no one other than oneself to correct one becomes quiet and peaceful within and one spontaneously radiates happiness to all beings

if a powerful light is shining it need not say to the darkness please go away in the presence of such a powerful light all Darkness immediately vanishes

similarly the nyani spontaneously radiates a spiritual light which automatically dispels the darkness of spiritual ignorance why did God make this world so

imperfectly what is the purpose of a world in which everyone is continually suffering why is there Darkness for the nanny to dispel

the ultimate purpose of life is to inquire about the nature of the self and to stabilize firmly there of all births this human birth is the

most precious because in this earth we have been given the faculty of inquiry through this faculty we are able to inquire about the true nature of the

self this precious birth is not given to us to be wasted in central Pleasures it is given to us only to know our true self

in one verse I came to this world just to realize myself but I forgot the purpose for which I came my mind became deluded by accumulating riches and by

indulging in central pleasures I was deluded lost in this Maya searching for the transient pleasures of wealth in women to kill this delusion my Guru gave

me the beautiful sword of nyana how long should we stay with the guru until the eye of wisdom is open one

needs association with sadhus who have realized the self so that one can become aware of one's own self one should also study and practice the

teachings of the guru if you associate with bad or worldly people your meditation will be disturbed by their thought currents it is best to

avoid their company one should not hate or dislike them one should just stay out of their way should one avoid worldly things until one is attained some degree of Mind

Control as long as the body is alive it needs food clothing and shelter it is not a hindrance to niana to earn money to meet

one's basic needs some people have the freedom to give up worldly things others do not they have to live and work with worldly people all the time

before we came into this world all the incidents of our life were predestined where we have to live would actually have to perform Etc if we desire

anything other than our prarabda that which was already destined for us we cannot attain it so there is no point in planning future projects it is better to live with what

comes day by day according to one's the efforts which are necessary and which have to happen will arise in one's mind

so we only think that we have choices the sense of choice is not real correct all the difficulties that we experience in life have been given to us

by bhagavan in order to turn our minds towards the self a man once asked bhagavan why did God choose this way of giving Grace only

through misery why did he not choose some other way bhagaland replied it is his way who are you to question him

on another occasion a devotee asked why does God not appear before me bhagavan answered if he appears before you in person you will not leave him in

peace he is not appearing because he is afraid of you he is afraid of manifesting in a form that you can see because he knows that if he does you'll just give him a long list of things that

you want is it desirable to want to see God said in one of his songs God is not a

person nor is he any particular thing yet without God there is nothing because he alone is everything to see oneself and to see this same self

and all that is that is seeing God so it is better to want only the form of the self I once heard bhagavan say to Paul

Brunton if you do upasana meditation on the all-pervading self you will get infinite energy all beings all things or people in the

world are your own self they're all indivisibly part of you if you can say all as yourself how can you do harm to anyone else when you have

that Clear Vision whatever you do to others you know that it is done to yourself only to like one thing instead of another is

samsara to like and love all things is wisdom if one sees from this realization that all people are one's own self one enjoys the same peace that one enjoys in

the Deep Sleep state the difference is one enjoys it here and now while one is awake are there no bricks at all in the

niani's awareness of the self for example if he is engrossed in reading a good book will his full attention be always on the book will he simultaneously be aware that he is the self

if there are breaks in his self-awareness this means that he is not yet a niani before one becomes established in this state without any

breaks without changes one has to contact and enjoy this state many times by Steady meditation it finally becomes permanent

it is very difficult to attain self-abidance but once it is attained it is retained effortlessly and never lost it is a

little like putting a rocket into space a great effort and great energy are required to escape the Earth's gravitational field if the rocket is not going fast enough

gravity will pull it back to Earth but once it has escaped the pull of gravity it can stay out in space quite effortlessly without falling back to Earth

I've read many accounts of gurus and Saints giving blessings I cannot quite understand what this blessing is is it that the saint gives out or releases some energy from within himself

does he make an agreement for something to happen within Consciousness how does it work to have love towards another human being is a blessing and to have anger towards

him is a curse does this mean that when we love a guru we are attracting His blessings is it one's Karma that wanted me to Guru and love him

one only comes into contact with the sage when one's good karmas bear fruit only those who have accumulated Good Karma from many lives get the chance to

meet and love a sage is the blessing that one receives from a sage part of one's destiny can the sage give a blessing that will take away part of one's Karma or change

it in some way the blessing of a niani reduces the intensity of one's Prada comma the comma which must be experienced in the present

life even though it does not change the karma it reduces its intensity being under the protection of the guru is a little like being under the shade

of a big tree when a person who has been out in the sun rests under a tree his discomfort is slightly alleviated this is the last time that we shall be

able to come and see you we are returning to France tomorrow we would like to thank you for all the helpful advice you have given us if you have any more doubts when you

return to France inquire and reflect to whom have these doubts come if you challenge them in this way they will soon disappear here in this place the feeling of the

self is very clear in France it will not be so easy to stay in contact with this feeling if there is constant meditation doubts like these will not be able to enter

your mind these visits to Swami have been the highlights of our trip to India if you have benefited from them it is all bhagavan's Grace

when I read the Ramana asaram Publications bhagavan often appears to be very strict and stern was Bachmann as kind to you as you have been to us

different people elicited different responses from him in my case he was always very kind inconsiderate but you should not judge bhagavan by his behavior

if he got angry with people or ignored them it was always for their own good he was transmitting grace through his anger as well as through his kindness

bhagavan's body is gone now I know intellectually that he is the self and that he is everywhere but I sometimes wish I could have the Good Fortune of sitting in his physical presence

I know that the body is ultimately not important but I would feel so happy and secure if I knew that I could go and talk or just sit with bhagavan every

time I had a problem everything you see is bhagavan's body The Guiding presence that you desire is shining through all these forms and

animating them don't be attached to bhagavan's formal body the real bhagavan is beyond form and Beyond Death the water flows through the mouth of a

stone tagus can't you everyone knows that it is not coming from the tiger we all know that it is coming from the reservoir similarly bhagavan now speaks

to everyone who knows and experiences him as he really is waking dreaming and deep sleep or like a long dream happening in

consciousness if we see a dream and are involved in that dream all the events that we see will seem real for the duration of the dream

but when we awake the dream disappears and we realize that nothing ever really happened except in our minds when you awake to real Consciousness the

whole process of waking dreaming and sleeping disappears like last night's dream you immediately understand that it was never real right now because we are

ignorant of the self we are dreaming this world and imagining that it is real we're so engrossed in the dream we believe that it is the only reality

this Waking Life is Just a long dream which keeps our attention away from what we really are if you take the attitude that all the happenings in this world are Dream

Events your mind becomes tranquil it is only when you take the dream world to be real that you get agitated I feel strongly that life is a long

dream but I cannot see through the dream for many years it has been like this if you really believe that all life was a dream nothing in the world would ever

trouble you if you still have problems and worries like not being able to see through the dream it means that you have still not completely ceased to identify

with what temporarily appears in your consciousness you should inquire who is not able to penetrate through the dream

the true I is not identified with the dream if you don't forget your real self waking dreaming and sleeping do not affect you the things around you are always

changing but what we really are remains changeless pure existence I am without anything predicated or attached to it is common

to all no one can deny his existence in this I am there are no limitations but when we

wrongly identify this I am with the body and the mind and create a limited identity for ourselves misery begins

only in this human birth are the three states of waking dreaming and deep sleep provided along with the sense of something that is beyond them something

that can be experienced and lived we see a dream yet on waking up the dream disappears and we exist in the waking state I'm going to sleep the whole world

disappears by observing these three states we come to understand that it is their nature to appear and disappear if we investigate the matter further by

carefully scrutinizing the nature of this thing called mine we can have the direct experience that Consciousness alone is what we really are when we

cease to identify with the body and the mind we become aware that this pure Consciousness is unaffected by any of the changes and events that appear to

take place within it the only purpose of life is to learn how to abide in that Consciousness we have

to learn how to rest in turia the fourth and Primal state which is the witness of the other three states doing any form of Sarah now without

first understanding that the individual self is non-existent is self-indulgence it is a form of spiritual entertainment in which the illusory Eye plays games

with itself once said why all these Maha yogas great yogas all these yogas are Maya if you try to meditate without

understanding that your real nature is self and self alone your meditation practice will only lead you to more mental bondage

bhagavan once said to keep the mind in the self all you have to do is remain still to realize the self you don't actually

have to do anything except be still just give up identifying with the mind and hold on to the self that is enough

be still and cultivate the awareness I am the self the self is all what difficulties arise from doing a simple practice like this

the mind doesn't want to be ignored it wants to spend round and round forever I came to you because I thought that you might be able to help me to gain some control over my wayward thoughts

who came for help find out who that person is don't automatically assume that he exists and that he needs help with his problems if you think like this

your problems will increase not decrease identifying oneself with the body and the mind results in ignorance of the self that is how the ego takes birth

detaching ourselves and disengaging from the body and mind results in the death of the eagle bhagavan once said to me the one who limits the self by believing himself to

be the body and the mind has killed his own self for killing the self he has to be punished the punishment is birth and death and continuous misery

is the ending a misery determined by prarab the karma or can we bring it near by personal effort the misery comes to an end only by realizing the self not by any other

means can this happen at any time here and now you are already the self you don't need time to realize the self

all you need is correct understanding each moment you identify yourself with the body and the mind you are going in the direction of ego in Misery the

moment you give up that identification you are moving towards your real self towards happiness we are accustomed to making distinctions

between things you say meditate that you are the self if I try to generate this feeling I am the self it will not be the real thing it would just be another idea in the mind can thinking about this idea

really help me when I say meditate on the cell I am asking you to be the self not think

about it be aware of what remains when thoughts stop be aware of the Consciousness that is the origin of all

your thoughts be the consciousness feel that that is what you really are if you do this you are meditating on the cell but if you cannot stabilize in that

Consciousness because your vasanas are too strong and active it is beneficial to hold on to the thought I am the self I am everything

if you meditate in this way you will not be cooperating with the basanas that are blocking your self-awareness if you don't cooperate with your vasanas

sooner or later they are bound to leave you if this method doesn't appeal to you then just watch the mind with full attention whenever the mind wanders become aware

of it see our thoughts connect with each other and watch how this ghost called Mind catches all of all your thoughts and says this is my thought watch the ways of the mind without

identifying with them in any way if you give your mind full detention attention you begin to understand the futility of all mental activities

watch the mine wandering here and there seeking out useless or unnecessary things or ideas which will ultimately only create misery for itself

watching the Mind gives us a knowledge of its inner processes it gives us an incentive to stay detach from all our thoughts ultimately if we try hard

enough it gives us the ability to remain as Consciousness unaffected by transient thoughts is it better to meditate like this alone or is there some advantage in meditating

with other people if shakers are always in the company of worldly people who take the mind and body to be I they will be affected by their mind currents

self-ignorance can be contagious don't associate with worldly people either do meditation alone or do it with people who are also striving to give up

their mental attachments I think that this is very helpful advice but in the west it is very difficult to practice with other like-minded people

spiritual people are few and far between what you say may be true if you make your meditation strong and constant no one can disturb it if it is our destiny

to live with unspiritual people outwardly we should act just as they do but inwardly our total attention should flow towards the self

this practice you speak of is a totally new way of living this is the real life all other lies are Maya don't take the Maya life to be real

Saint Monica once said Lord Shiva gave me the Boon of not being able to give reality to this Maya life

we are so accustomed to Maya that is why it is so difficult for us to make progress again inquire for whom is this

difficulty don't give reality to the very thing that is causing you all your trouble do we have no other function in the world other than this discovering of our

own self is it not our duty to show a little love and compassion to other people if you discover yourself you will be able to give love and compassion to the

whole world it will flow automatically from you the sun is full of Light which gives to the world without any partiality if you become full of spiritual light by

relaxing yourself that light overflows everywhere that overflowing of yourself is love and compassion for the whole universe

when may try to do some good to others but not much real good will result unless you know yourself how can a blind man help other people

I can understand what you say that we are not the body and the mind and that this truth has to be experienced more and more but we have to take care of this body in

this mind also we must do something in the world we cannot just sit and meditate all the time if we do that we will be a burden on others we must take care of the body by giving

it food shelter and clothing this is necessary because the journey to the self is only easy when the body is healthy if a ship is not in need of

repair if it is in good condition we can easily use it to go on a journey but we should not forget the purpose for which we have been given this body we should

not get sidetracked by thinking too much about good health or worrying about other people's problems our purpose in life is to realize the

self it is an easy matter to get a little food and find somewhere congenial to live and meditate once we have achieved this we should have no further

interest in the world and its problems some people in this country seem to worship many different gods who are these different deities and why is it necessary to have so many

there is only one God but his manifestations are many when the one God is creating he is called Brahma while protecting and preserving he is called

Vishnu while destroying his God Shiva it is just like the different functions of one government or the different functions of the body there are many different organs doing

different things but the body is one I went to skondashram yesterday as I sat there for no reason at all Terry started to come I cried and cried

um I'm a little puzzled by this why should something like this happen a similar thing happened to me once when I was very young I went to the town and the temple where Shiva first appeared to

Monica gar when I sat in the temple tears flowed down my face Tears like this are often a sign of Grace

when your tears are forgotten rather than for worldly things the mind and heart are purified if you want God so much that you cry

when you call on him he will surely come to you when a baby cries its mother comes defeated when a devotee cries because he is hungry for Grace God sends

the grace to nourish him I am repeating om Namo bhagavate SRI ramanaya om obeisance to bhagavan Sri

Ramana I'm also doing some Zen meditation should I continue with both without Guru bhakti there can be no niana but it is better to practice

bhagavan's teachings rather than merely repeat his name the best Tapas is to walk along the path that has been illuminated by the guru

if you understand bhagavan's teachings and practice them by always abiding in the self you become one with bhagavan

this is the real Guru bhakti it is said of the crores of past to realize the self the best is bhakti

but shankara then goes on to Define bhakti by saying the highest bhakti is steady Devotion to the self always abiding in the cell

many people feel an urge to worship something which is apart from themselves they are not very attracted to the self instead they want to worship an external Guru or a god

worshiping forms of the deity or of the guru is a useful aid for as long as one is not mature enough to know the formless reality

these forms are just signals which point to the unmanifest reality if you want to point out a particular star to someone you might say you see

the tip of that leaf on the tree the star is just to the left of it belief is only a signal which helps you to shift your attention to what you really want

to see the form of the guru is a similar signpost he exists with the form as a Perpetual reminder to us that our attention should always be on the

formless reality I am following the path of devotion and surrender I like to do Puja and other ritual acts because they help me to keep my attention on God

is it good to restrict our concept of God to a particular form s and different aspects of God are for those who want worldly things

as God is present in all forms the best Puja is to worship Him in all forms the whole universe is a manifestation of God

if you can love all beings in this universe equally you are performing the highest and greatest Puja I'm trying to surrender to the guru how

can I tell if I am succeeding it is very easy to say I surrender but this is only a verbal statement it doesn't mean that real surrender has taken place

I think that I have achieved some success with my practice but how can I be sure if you have really surrendered to the guru you will see the guru and all forms

wherever you go you will only see the guru if your mind is not steady it means that Your Surrender is not complete your Guru may take several forms if your

destiny is to go to several different places your Guru may take the form of different Saints but even if he does there is still only one Guru because the

guru is the formless self you must learn to see the guru and all things you must learn to see the guru everywhere

kunju Swami once visited Quillon mat and returning he told bhagavan that he had not done namaskaram to the guru of the month bhagavan told him why do you limit

bhagavan to this form the guru is one not many seshadri Swami was once seen doing namaskaram to a donkey when he was asked

why he replied this is not a donkey it is Brahman on another occasion when somebody asked him why he was staring in a buffalo he replied I don't see any Buffalo I only

see brahmana sometimes God Appears to devotees in a physical form is the form of God real or is it just imagination

if you see names and forms you are looking at your imagination if you only see the self you're looking at reality Nam Dev and tukaram had great Devotion

to Krishna they thought of him so much that he often appeared before them and talked to them I once asked bhagavan how did these Saints see Krishna was the form they saw

a real form bhagavan answered how did they see him in just the same way as I see you and you see me they would have seen a physical form in just the way

that Ordinary People see ordinary forms these words and such a powerful effect on me that I immediately entered a blissful state in which all my hair

stood on in when devotees told bhagavan that they had had visions of Rama or Krishna he would sometimes reply oh really and where is Rama now

when the devotee admitted that he could no longer see the vision bhagavan would say Visions come and go they are not permanent find out who is having the vision

the formless self is the only reality it is the real nature of God in his real form God never appears or disappears he is always present if you turn your

attention towards the self and keep it there you will experience him as he really is Swami sometimes I feel tremendous Grace and have a great sense of well-being

this feeling is steady for a few days and then it goes away why is this if the awareness of Grace does not last it means that Your Surrender is only

partial don't be attached to your problems and don't worry about them let all your problems go and put them in the hands of bhagavan cultivate the feeling

this is God's problem not mine when you surrender to bhagavan you should not worry about any of your problems and needs you should have faith that bhagavan is going to take care of everything if you

still find yourself worrying about anything you have not fully surrendered tayu manovar once asked Shiva to give him a boon you who carry All the Troubles of the

world please take all my troubles too take from me all sense that I am the doer you alone act you do everything through me surrender completely and accept that

everything that happens to you and the world is God's will how to distinguish between acts which occur as God's will in Acts which are brought about by the ego this is very

simple when surrender is complete everything is God everything that happens is then his action in that state there is peace Harmony and an absence of

thoughts until that stage is reached all action by the eagle you talk a lot effort but rarely speak about Grace don't you attach much importance to Grace

Grace is important in fact it is essential it is even more important than effort realization of the self comes about to both effort and Grace

when one makes a steady effort to abide in the self one receives the guru's grace and abundance the grace comes not only through the form of one's Guru

when you meditate earnestly all the jivan muktas of the past and present respond to your efforts by sending you blessings of light should one have a strong desire for

realization is such a desire necessary if we want to do Ernest Sardina or should we surrender even this desire and just get on with our meditation

once esnarada was going to vacunta he met two sados who are doing Tapas they asked him where he was going and he replied they both wanted to know how

their Tapas was progressing so they asked Narada to ask Vishnu when they would attain Liberation Narada went to pekunta and returned with the

information to the first sadhu he said you are very close after four or five more births you will get liberation the shadow was rather annoyed by this

prediction because he felt that he was almost enlightened I have been doing Tapas since my birth he said and I know that I have done Tapas in previous verse

why do I have to wait for four or five more births this prediction cannot be correct naranda said to the second sadhu you have been doing Tapas under a

Tamarind Tree for you too Liberation will eventually come but first you will have to take as many more bursts as there are leaves on this tree the second Shadow was very happy to hear this

Moksha is certain for me he exclaimed it will come one day Vishnu himself has guaranteed it at that moment a big win came and blew

all the leaves of the tree as the last Leaf touched the ground he realized the self the sadhu who is patient and contented showed that he had truly surrendered the

other Shadow showed his immaturity through his frustration and his impatience if you have truly surrendered you don't demand realization from God you are

content with whatever he gives you it seems that so much time is needed to realize the self many lifetimes in fact for me realization always seems to be an

event in the distant future you don't need hundreds of lies to realize the self in fact you don't need any time at all the idea of time is one

of the things that is holding you in bondage time is one of the properties of the Mind Liberation does not come after a period of time because there is no time in the

self Liberation comes when you fully understand and experience that there is no one who needs liberation that understanding and that experience

only arise when the mind and its inbuilt ideas of time has seek to function if you think about time and start to worry about how much longer it will be

before you realize the self your attention will be on the mind and not on the self you can only make progress while the mind is on the self

you often say that satyan is important can I asking of bhagavan even though he is now dead I am asking this because I once had a very powerful experience of his presence

what I was in Switzerland at that time bhagavan had been dead for many years agavan is at all times and in all places

since he is the self and not any particular physical form it is of little importance that the body that we took to be bhagavan is now dead

radio waves can be received anywhere if you tune yourself to bhagavan's wavelength which means abiding in the self you can be aware of him broadcasting his

grace Wherever You Are there is never any separation from bhagavan every atom in the material universe is

bhagavan Every Act which happens in the world is done by bhagavan alone every being every form is bhagavan's form

when you are clearly attuned to bhagavan you will experience Clarity and peace you will receive guidance Wherever You Are

I am convinced that I am but I am not convinced of what I am intellectually I know that I am the self but I don't experience this I have to make a lot of effort

to experience the self you have to dive deep into the Consciousness I am you mean I should keep the mind there yes when you see the Rope as a rope

there is no snake you also know that there never was a snake when you cease to imagine that you are a body and a mind reality shines of its own accord

if you stabilize in this state you can see that the mind didn't go anywhere you understand that it never really existed keeping the mind in its source is just

another way of saying understanding that it never existed but how is one to awaken from Perpetual body Consciousness for Consciousness to

manifest one must have a body if there is the constant meditation that Consciousness is your own reality in which all phenomena are appearing and

disappearing that meditation is the activity of the scientific mind it is this activity which erases and dissolves the tamas and rajas which

cover the reality the human body is the only vehicle in which it is very convenient to realize the unmanifest self with the body and the mind we can

investigate and discover the reality which remains unaffected by the body and the mind with a good car we can travel fast and reach our destination we know that the

car is not the person the person is in the car we should regard the body in the same way that we regard a car we should not think I am the body we

should thank this body is a useful vehicle if I maintain it and give it proper fuel I can use it to take me to my destination

no matter how quiet I get or how still my mind is I never get to see the world as an indivisible hole even when the mind is completely still if I open my eyes I still see a world of separate

objects when the one who sees vanishes the world of Multiplicity goes with it when the

person who sees vanishes you don't see the unity and indivisibility you are that Unity you can never see the self of Brahman you can only be it

there are many pearls and a necklace but inside them all is one connecting thread similarly there is only when Consciousness which manifests in all

forms in all bodies we don't see it that way we think I am this one Pearl therefore all the other pearls are different from me by thinking in this way we deliberately

ignore the Common Thread which connects them all if we examine each individual Pearl there may seem to be a lot of differences but the threat inside all of

them is one the threat that connects and binds the whole universe into a single entity is your own self bodies appear different on the outside

but the Consciousness which animates them all is one and the same in all bodies this is not an exact analogy because

from the standpoint of the cell there is no difference between the pearls and the thread they're all the one reality body mind and world are all manifestations of

the one reality well making a big mistake we take the body and the mind to be the self and forget the infinite imminent Consciousness which is the truth of our

existence the niani is aware that all bodies minds and this world exist within his own self but one who has not realized the truth

of his self sees himself and others as different entities such a person lives in and among differences we are so used to seeing differences it

is impossible to stop this habit of making distinctions of seeing differences can be given up only when we realize the self

as long as we remain at the body mind level it is not possible to give it up so go to the source of this manifestation there are no differences there

giving up the identity with the body and the mind is tapas samadhi Diana and nishta abiding in and as the self

spiritual Seekers have a very strange habit they are always looking for a way to reach attain discover experience or realize the self they try so many things because they

cannot comprehend that they are already the Shelf this is like running around looking for one's eyes with one's own eyes

why should you imagine that it is in some new experience to be discovered or found you are the self right now and you

are aware of it right now do you need a new experience to prove that you exist the feeling I am existing is the self you pretend that you are not

experiencing it or cover it up with all kinds of false ideas and then you run around looking for it as if it was something external to be reached or found

there's a story about someone like this once it can imagine that he was a poverty-stricken peasant he thought if I go and meet the king he may be able to

help me by giving me some money he searched for the king in many places but he couldn't find him anywhere ultimately he became very depressed because his search was not yielding any

results one day he met a man on the road who asked him why he was so depressed he answered I am searching for the king I

think that he can solve all my problems and make me happy but I can't find him anywhere the man who had already recognized him said with some astonishment but you

yourself are the king the king came to his senses and remembered who he was his problems all ended the moment he remembered his real identity

you may think that this King was fairly stupid but he had at least enough sense to recognize the truth when it was told to him the guru may tell his disciples a

thousand times you are the cell you are not what you imagine yourself to be but none of them ever believes him they'll keep asking the guru for methods and

routes to reach the place where they already are why don't we give up our false ideas as soon as we are told that they are false we have identified with our false ideas

for many previous lifetimes The Habit is very strong but not so strong that it cannot be dissolved through constant meditation the Seneca spiritual Seeker has many

ideas I am ajiva I am bound I have to do sarana I have to attain realization should we forget all these ideas are they all obstacles to True understanding

yes forget them all I am the self I am all hold on to this awareness all other pants are round about

bhagavan said that repeating I am the self or I am not this body is an aid to inquiry but it does not constitute the inquiry itself

the meditation I am not the body or the mind I am the imminent cell is a great aid for as long as one is not able to do

self-inquiry properly or constantly bhagavan said keeping the mind in the heart is self-inquiry if you cannot do

this by asking who am I or by taking the I thought back to its source then meditation on the awareness I am the all-pervasive self is a great Aid

bhagavan often said that we should read and study the rebu Gita regularly in the rebu Gita it is said that bhavana mental

attitude I am not the body I am not the mind I am Brahman I am everything is to be repeated again and again until this becomes the natural state

bhagavan sat with us every day while we chanted extracts from the rebu Kita which affirms the reality of the self it is true that he said that these

repetitions are only an aid to self-inquiry but they are a very powerful Aid by practicing this way the Mind becomes

more and more attuned with the reality with a mind has become purified by this practice it is easier to take it back to its source and keep it there

when one is able to abide in the self directly one doesn't need AIDS like this but if this is not possible these practices can definitely help one

I have a sister who believes that the world is about to end in a nuclear Holocaust many people feel the same way does Swami have any views on this

I do not think the world will be destroyed in the near future but even if it is about to be destroyed it is not something that you should think about or

worry about keep your attention in the present keep it on the cell if you establish yourself in the self you need not worry about the future of the world

if you realize their self nothing can touch you you can destroy anyone's body you can destroy the world that he lives in but you cannot touch or change his

self-awareness The Disappearance of the entire universe will not affect the niani because Yana is indestructible

Consciousness the substratum of the universe cannot be changed in any way when the world appears in Consciousness Consciousness itself does not undergo

any change so when the universe disappears Consciousness is unaffected everything that appears will one day disappear there is no permanence in the

world of forms but that unchangeable Consciousness in which all forms appear can never be diminished destroyed or altered in any way

if you learn to be that Consciousness you come to understand that nothing can touch or destroy you If instead you identify with some

transient form you will always be worrying about the possible Extinction of that form ignorance causes us to worry about the possible destruction of the body

if you make your well-being dependent on the well-being of the body you'll always be worrying and suffering when you know from direct experience that you are the

self you realize that there is no birth and no death you realize that you are deathless and immortal self-realization is sometimes called the

immortal State because it never ends and because it is never destroyed or even altered if you keep your attention on the self

you can attain this immortality if you attain it in that ultimate state of being you will find that there is no birth no death

no desires no fears no worries no mind and no world to keep the mind in the South one must have no desires for anything other than the self

this is a very difficult state to attain the desire to seek Pleasures in the outside world always seem to be stronger than the desires to seek pleasure in the

self why is this so all happiness ultimately comes from the self it does not come from the mind the

body or from external objects if you have a great desire for a mango when you finally eat one there is a great feeling of pleasure

when a desire like this is fulfilled the Mind Shanks a little way into the self and enjoys some of the Bliss that is always present there then it rises again it remembers the

happiness and tries to repeat the experience by eating more mangoes or by gratifying other desires most people are completely unaware that

pleasure and happiness come from the self not from the mind or the body because most people have only experienced the Peace of the self when a

great desire has been fulfilled to come to the conclusion that the pursuit of desires is the only way to get an experience of happiness or peace to try to follow this standard route to

happiness you will end up with a lot of frustration and a lot of suffering you may occasionally experience a few brief moments of pleasure but for the rest of

their time you will be experiencing the pain of frustrated desires of desires which don't seem to produce any pleasure when they are fulfilled

if you try to repeat Pleasures again and again the novelty soon wears off a mango which you have been looking forward to for days may give you a few

seconds of Happiness when you eat it but your pleasure will not be prolonged by eating five or six more prologue Indulgence is more likely to

produce pain than pleasure most people in the world spend their whole lives self-indulgently pursuing goals which they think will produce happiness for them

most of these people never stop to do their mental accounts properly if they did they would realize that each 10 seconds of happiness is funneled by

hours or days when there is no happiness at all some people do realize this but instead of giving up this way of life they indulge in it even more they think that

with a little more effort and a little more Century mental or emotional Indulgence they can expand the short periods of happiness and contract the longer intervening periods when

happiness is not experienced this approach never works if there are many strong Desires in the mind the Mind cannot sink completely into the self and

experience the full peace endless that is there the Mind may experience a little of that peace if a great desire is suddenly fulfilled but it will only be a brief

temporary experience the Mind cannot stay in the self while it is full of desires and activities it will rise again after a few seconds

and begin to pursue its next external goal the desire filled mind only experiences the Bliss of the self in a very deluded form if you want the full Bliss of the self

and if you want to experience it permanently you will have to give up all your desires and attachments there is no other way the Mind cannot risk quietly

in the depths of the self until it has learned to ignore all the impulses that try to make it look for pleasure and satisfaction in the outside world

all desires can cause you trouble even spiritual ones sometimes even a desire to meditate can be a hindrance when I once wanted to do meditation in

solitude in a cave on arunachilla bhagavan saw that this was not part of my prarabda and advised me to give up this desire he said that this was a sankalpa desire

which it pursued would cause a future birth do meditation itself he said be still there and don't

go to any other place before that when I first came to political too I told bhagavan that my only wishes were to cook and eat rice kanji and to live here

and do meditation and solitude bhagavan replied what is to be has already been determined be still be without desire and let whatever it is to

be come to be the core of both bhagavans and Swami's teaching seems to be I am not the body or the mind I am the self it seems that all desires arise only because we

identify with the body and the mind from this it follows logically that if one could drunt this habit one would automatically be in a desireless state

is this true it is true if one gives up the idea that one is the body and mine one is already living on a higher plane

this matter of higher planes interest me I have read somewhere that bhagavan once said that it is very difficult to realize the self in this life he also apparently said that if one has

tried and failed one may be given birth in another form on a higher plane I want to know if this is true and if it is true how it works if there are such

planes are all the people there at the same level do they all achieve Liberation in the same amount of time it is very difficult to be free of desires here on Earth because there are

so many distractions is life on these higher planes just as difficult or is it more easy do people on these higher planes ever have to take a human birth again

such ripe Souls who have failed to realize the cell may take birth on a higher plane to take birth in such a world one must

be very pure one must have no worldly desires only those who have dedicated their whole lives to the pursuit of niana can hope for such a rebirth

such people sometimes take their last birth on a higher plane and attain realization there the devotees who have not extinguished all desires except the desire for nyana

will be reborn on Earth the Earth is a training ground for bairagya detachment that is why life

here is so treacherous and deceptive one must learn dispassion here on Earth before one can think about getting nyana or a rebirth on a higher plane