1. isbn 979-8-88572-247-6

Content: VOL 3 CHAPTERS 13 - 18 BhagavadGita demystified by NITHYANANDA

Chapter Number:

Content: om home > om Rome

Chapter Number: A

Content: a fun Q ṭa touch

Chapter Number: Ā

Content: ā car R tha ant-hill

Chapter Number: B

Content: i pin S da duck

Chapter Number: B

Content: ī feen T dha godhook

Chapter Number: C

Content: u put U ṇa thunder

Chapter Number: D

Content: ū pool V ṭa (close to) think

Chapter Number: F

Content: r rig W ṭha (close to) pathetic

Chapter Number: F

Content: ṛ (long r) X da (close to) father

Chapter Number: b

Content: ḷ * Y dha (close to) breathe hard

Chapter Number: E

Content: c play Z na numb

Chapter Number: E

Content: ai high n pa purse

Chapter Number: A

Content: o over v pha sapphire

Chapter Number: A

Content: au cow ~ ba but

Chapter Number: A

Content: aṃ ** ^ bha abhor

Chapter Number: A

Content: aḥ *** = ma mother

Chapter Number: H

Content: ka kind , ya young

Chapter Number: I

Content: kha blockhead a ra run

Chapter Number: J

Content: ga gate b la luck

Chapter Number: K

Content: gha log-hut d va virtue

Chapter Number: L

Content: ṇa sing e śa shove

Chapter Number: M

Content: ca chunk f ṣa bushel

Chapter Number: N

Content: cha match g sa sir

Chapter Number: O

Content: ja jug h ha house

Chapter Number: P

Content: jha hedgehog i (Note 1) (close to) world

Chapter Number: A

Content: ña bunch j kṣa worksheet

Chapter Number: I

Content: tra three k jña *

Chapter Number: @

Content: unpronounced (a) @ " Unpronounced (ā)

Chapter Number: Note 1:

Content: "" itself is sometimes used. * No English Equivalent.

Chapter Number: **

Content: Nasalisation of the preceding vowel.

Chapter Number:

Content: Aspiration of preceding vowel

Content: Bhagavad Gita is a sacred scripture of the vedic culture. As with all scriptures, it was knowledge that was transmitted verbally. It was called śruti in Sanskrit, meaning something that is heard.

Content: Gita, as Bhagavad Gita is generally called, translates literally from Sanskrit as ‘Sacred Song’. Unlike Vedas and Upaniṣads, which are stand alone expressions, Gita is written into the Hindu epic Mahabharata, called a purana, an ancient tale. It is part of a story, so to speak.

Content: As a scripture, Gita is part of the ancient knowledge base of the vedic tradition, which is the expression of the experiences of great sages.

Content: Vedas and Upaniṣads, the foundation of śruti literature, arose from the insight and awareness of these great sages when they went into a no-mind state. These are as old as humanity and the first and truest expressions in the journey of man’s search for truth.

Content: Unlike Vedas, which were revealed to the great sages, or Upaniṣads, which were the teachings of these great sages, Gita is part of a story narrated by Vyasa, one of these great sages. It is narrated as the direct expression of the Divine.

Content: No other epic, or part of an epic, has the special status of Gita. As a consequence of the presence of Gita, the Mahabharata epic itself is considered a sacred Hindu scripture. Gita arose from the super-consciousness of Krishna, the supreme god, and is therefore considered a scripture.

Content: Mahabharata, literally meaning the great Bharata, is a narration about the nation and civilization, which is now known as India. It was then a nation ruled by king Bharata and his descendants.

Content: Duryodhana persuaded Yudhishtira to join a gambling session, where his cunning uncle Shakuni defeated the Pandava king. Yudhishtira lost all that he owned - his kingdom, his brothers, his wife and himself, to Duryodhana. Dusshasana shamed Draupadi in public by trying to disrobe her. The Pandava brothers and Draupadi were forced to go into exile for fourteen years, with the condition that in the last year they should live incognito.

Content: At the end of the fourteen years, the Pandava brothers tried to reclaim their kingdom. In this effort they were helped by Krishna, the king of the Yadava clan, who is considered the eighth divine incarnation of Vishnu. However, Duryodhana refused to yield even a needlepoint of land, and as a result, the Great War, the War of Mahabharata ensued. In this war, various rulers of the entire nation that is modern India aligned with one or the other of these two clans, the Kauravas or the Pandavas.

Content: Krishna offered to join with either of the two clans. He said, 'One of you may have me unarmed. I will not take any part in the battle. The other may have my entire Yadava army.' The first offer was made to Duryodhana, who predictably chose the large and well-armed Yadava army, in preference to the unarmed Krishna. Arjuna joyfully and gratefully chose his friend and mentor Krishna to be his unarmed charioteer!

Content: The armies assembled in the vast field of Kurukshetra, now in the state of Haryana in modern day India. All the kings and princes were related to one another, and were often on opposite sides. Facing the Kaurava army and his friends, relatives and teachers, Arjuna was overcome by remorse and guilt, and wanted to walk away from the battle.

Content: Krishna's dialogue with Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra is the content of Bhagavad Gita. Krishna persuaded Arjuna to take up arms and vanquish his enemies. 'They are already dead,' says Krishna, 'All those who are facing you have been already killed by Me. Go ahead and do what you have to do. That is your duty. Do not worry about the outcome. Leave that to Me.'

Content: Gita is the ultimate practical teaching on the inner science of spirituality. It is not as some scholars incorrectly claim, a promotion of violence. It is about the impermanence of the mind and body, and the need to go beyond the mind, ego and logic.

Content: Being blind, king Dhritarashtra does not participate in the war. His minister Sanjaya uses his powers of clairvoyance to 'see' and relate to king Dhritarashtra the goings on on the battlefield. It is in Sanjaya's voice that we hear Gita, the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna.

Content: All the Kaurava princes as well as all their commanders such as Bhishma, Drona and Karna were killed in battle. The five Pandava brothers survived as winners and became the rulers of the combined kingdom.

Content: This dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna is a dialogue between man and God or nara and Narayana as they are termed in Sanskrit. Arjuna’s questions and doubts are those of each one of us. The answers of the Divine, Krishna, transcend time and space. Krishna’s message is as valid today as it was on that fateful battlefield some thousands of years ago.

Content: Nithyananda explains the inner metaphorical meaning of Mahabharata thus:

Content: ‘The Great War of Mahabharata is the fight between the positive and negative thoughts of the mind, called the saṁskāras. The positive thoughts are the Pandava princes and the negative thoughts are the Kaurava princes. Kurukshetra or the battlefield is the body. Arjuna is the individual consciousness and Krishna is the enlightened master.

Content: The various commanders who led the Kaurava army represent the major blocks that the individual consciousness faces in its journey to enlightenment. Bhishma, the grand patriarch of the Guru clan, represents parental and societal conditioning. Drona, the teacher of both the Kauravas and the Pandavas, represents the conditioning from teachers who provide knowledge including spiritual guidance. Karna represents the restrictive influence of good deeds such as charity and compassion, and finally Duryodhana represents the ego, which is the last to fall.

Content: Parental and societal conditioning has to be overcome by rebelling against conventions. This is why, traditionally, those seeking the path of enlightenment are required to renounce the world as sanyāsin and move away from civilization. This conditioning does not die as long as the body lives, but its influence drops.

Content: Drona represents all the knowledge one imbibes and the teachers one encounters, who guide us but are unable to take us through to the ultimate flowering of enlightenment. It is difficult to give them up since one feels grateful to them. This is where the enlightened master steps in and guides us.

Content: Karna is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own enlightenment. Krishna has to take the load of Karna’s puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The enlightened master guides one to drop one’s attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate act of compassion that one can offer to the world.

Content: Finally one reaches Duryodhana, one's ego, the most difficult to conquer. One needs the full help of the master here. It is subtle work and even the master's help may not be obvious, since at this point, sometimes the ego makes us disconnect from the master as well.

Content: The Great War was between one hundred and eighty million people - one hundred and ten million on the Kaurava side representing our negative saṁskāras (stored memories) and seventy million on the Pandaya side representing our positive saṁskāras and it lasted eighteen days and nights. The number eighteen has a great mystical significance. It essentially signifies our ten senses that are made up of five jñānendriya - the sensses of perception like taste, sight, smell, hearing and touch, and five karmendriya - the senses initiating action like speech, bodily movements, etc., added to our eight kinds of thoughts like lust, greed, etc. All eighteen need to be dropped for Self-realization!

Content: Mahabharata is not just an epic story. It is not merely the fight between good and evil. It is the dissolution of both positive and negative saṁskāras that reside in our body-mind system, which must happen for the ultimate liberation. It is a tale of the process of enlightenment.

Content: Mahabharata is a living legend. Bhagavad Gita is the manual for enlightenment.

Content: Like Arjuna many thousand years ago, you are here in a dialogue with a living enlightened master in this book. This is a tremendous opportunity to resolve all questions and clear all doubts with the master's words.

Content: In this series, enlightened master, Paramahamsa Nithyananda comments on Bhagavad Gita.

Content: Many hundreds of commentaries on Gita have been written over the years. The earliest commentaries were by the great spiritual masters such as Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanuja and Madhva, some thousand years ago. In recent times, great masters such as Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharshi have spoken from Gita extensively. Many others have written volumes on this great scripture.

Content: Nithyananda's commentary on Bhagavad Gita is not just a literary translation and a simple explanation of that translation. He takes the reader through a world tour while talking about each verse. It is believed that each verse of Gita has seven levels of meaning. What is commonly rendered is the first-level meaning. Here, an enlightened master takes us beyond the common into the uncommon, with equal ease and simplicity.

Content: To read Nithyananda's commentary on Gita is to obtain an insight that is rare. It is not mere reading; it is an experience; it is meditation.

Content: Shankara, the great master and philosopher said:

Content: 'A little reading of Gita, a drop of Ganga water to drink, remembering Krishna once in a while, all this will ensure that you have no problems with the god of death.'

Content: Editors of these volumes of Bhagavad Gita have expanded upon the original discourses delivered by Nithyananda through further discussions with Him. For ease of understanding for English speaking readers, and in their academic interest, the original Sanskrit verses and their English translation have been included as an appendix to this book.

Content: This reading is meant to help every individual in daily life as well as in the endeavour to realize the ultimate Truth. It creates every possibility to attain nityānanda, eternal bliss!

Chapter Number: 13

Content: BhagavadGita The Field And The Knower Of The Field Chapter 13 You are a wave in the ocean of Existence. When the wave understands that it is not separate from the ocean, its resistance drops and it merges with the ocean.

Content: You have spoken about the need to be in the present moment so that one is aware. What does that mean? How do I know I am in the present? Will others know I am in the present?

Content: Swamiji, is the difference between religion and spirituality the difference between conscience and consciousness?

Content: If you say that the attributes listed by Krishna can only be reached through enlightenment, what hope is there for us to be enlightened? Even if the master guides us how do we move?

Content: Swamiji, I am confused by what I have read about puruṣa and prakṛti. You said puruṣa is the water of the ocean and prakṛti is the waves. It is so simple. Why are other explanations so complicated?

Content: Swamiji, are we talking about an intellectual understanding here? I understand that none of my material possessions are permanent. In any case, when I die I cannot take anything with me. But as long as I live in this body, I need sustenance and I need to work for material benefits. This work is reality, not an illusion. What is the answer?

Content: From what you have said, it appears that acquisition of knowledge is not helpful in spiritual progress. All my life I have been advised to read one scripture or another or listen to one guru or another. In fact, I started coming to your discourses after reading your books. How can this be bad or unhelpful?

Content: You talked about the vedic system of education, the gurukul. How practical is it to have a system where children can move about without wearing clothes?

Content: Swamiji, why do your disciples and people in your ashram communities wear white? What is the qualification for them to wear the saffron cloth?

Content: The Field And The Knower Of The Field

Content: In this chapter, Krishna speaks to Arjuna about kṣetra (Field) and kṣetrajña (Knower of the Field). This chapter is known as the kṣetra kṣetrajña vibhāga yoga, or the yoga of discrimination of the kṣetra, the field, and kṣetrajña, the knower of the field.

Content: Krishna clearly talks about the physical matter in which we exist, as well as the consciousness that stays in the matter. In some way or other all of us are related to this whole universe, whether we understand it or not, whether we experience it or not. The consciousness is the root cause. It is not only the origin, but also the cause. It is the source from which we come and in which we stay. The whole universe, the universal consciousness, is the space in which we all happen.

Content: Krishna uses the wave and the ocean as an analogy. The ocean is the universal consciousness or god, ātma or whatever we may call it. Buddhists use the word nirvāna, vedantis say brahman and Muslims say Allah. Whatever names we may use, we mean the same thing meaning the cosmic energy or universal consciousness. Krishna reveals the secret that we are like the waves, and the whole is the ocean. He explains how we can experience oneness with the ocean.

Content: Our only problem in life is that somehow we have forgotten that we are a part of the ocean. We forgot that we belong to the ocean. We forgot that we belong to the kṣetrajña. The word kṣetrajña means consciousness, which is the cause for the field to function. Kṣetra means field and kṣetrajña means knower of the field. Kṣetra means body and kṣetrajña means the consciousness that knows it has a body. Our consciousness is kṣetrajña and our body or matter is kṣetra.

Content: In this chapter, Krishna reveals the secrets of kṣetra and kṣetrajñya. If we don’t know the secrets of kṣetrajñya, the kṣetra acts as if it is the owner.

Content: A small example: You buy a new car. You sit in the car and start driving. Suddenly, after ten minutes you realize that you do not know how to stop it. If you don't know how to stop the car, you are not driving the car, the car is driving you. In the same way, we get into this mind and into this body and start living. Suddenly at one point, we find that we are unable to stop the body or mind. It goes on as it wants and it is uncontrollable. If we have the habit of drinking coffee at seven in the morning, we don't need to remember to do it by checking our watch. The moment it becomes seven, a 'coffee bell' will ring inside the mind. If we are addicted to smoking, the moment the craving for smoking happens, or any situation triggers the craving, immediately we feel like smoking. Throughout our life, our whole system is not under our control. The body and the mind are controlling us instead of us controlling them. It is similar to the car driving us instead of us driving the car. At this point, we are not the owner of the body and mind, the body and mind own us.

Content: Bring the body and mind under your conscious awareness. The body and mind are good servants but not good masters. As servants, they are great. Of course, without the body and mind you cannot live life, you cannot enjoy life. They are needed. But, unless they are under your control, they wil become your masters. Only two options are possible: Either you enjoy them or they enjoy you. In the beginning you may start smoking. After some time, you may not really be enjoying the smoke, but the smoke will be enjoying you. Similarly, in the beginning you may start drinking alcohol. After some time, the alcohol will be drinking you. In the beginning you start a habit and after some time that habit takes over your life. The habit will be enjoying your life. Then you are no longer a person with choices: You are a set of habits that is continuously repeated without your control.

Content: When we start using a car without reading the owner's manual, suddenly we realize that we do not know where the hand brake is. We don't know how to turn left or right. When we enter into the body and mind without knowing how to handle them, we are in the same situation. Bring the body and mind under your control before you are brought under their control. Whether it is a material life or a spiritual life, unless the body and mind are under our control, whatever we may think or whatever we want to do is of no

Content: use. Suppose we sit down in the morning and draw out a big plan for the day, analyzing all the data, 'I must do this,' 'I must do that,' but at the end of the day, beyond our control, we spontaneously indulge in drink and sleep or other things, what is the use of the whole day's plan? Nothing! We go on creating what we want to do in our mind, but at the end of the day, the body behaves the way it wants to. Even the mind behaves as it wants to. We get nowhere!

Content: Naturally, your whole life moves in a 'logic-less' way. You work so much to elevate your life. Yet your body and mind do what they want. Then you end up in suffering. 'Life,' the very word 'life,' can happen only when the body and mind are under your control. As long as the body and mind are not under your control, you will not even experience the word 'life.' Until the body and mind are under your control, you are not living. The engraved memories are living you.

Content: Until we experience the kṣetrajña, the knower of the field, the real life never begins. This is why the vedic system considers a person to be born only when his individual consciousness is awakened. Until then his physical birth is not accepted, nor is he considered a human being or a manuṣya. According to the Vedas, when someone's inner consciousness is awakened he is considered a human being or a person who has taken birth. Until then he is one among the animals.

Content: The Sanskrit word manuṣya has two meanings. One is 'descendant of Manu,' and the other is 'the man who can handle the mind or one who has gone beyond the mind.' Manu is supposed to be our first forefather. Only when we can handle the mind, we become manuṣya. In Sanskrit they say, 'pratyagāatma caitanya jāgratam.' It means that only when the individual consciousness is awakened is one considered to be a person.

Content: In the Indian vedic system, when a child turns seven he is initiated into the Gayatri, a sacred mantra or chant. You should understand one important thing here. The vedic religion, or Hinduism, or the Sanātana Dharma, is the only religion in which there is no baptism, no initiation. You are not given any faith, you are not given any concept and you are not given any philosophy. You are not asked to believe in anything. You are just given a technique to control your body and mind. That's all. The Gayatri mantra is a mere technique with no reference to any deity, taught to the child when he turns six or seven years of age. The Gayatri mantra means 'Let me meditate on the energy which awakens the consciousness in me, and let that consciousness help me to meditate on it.' That's all.

Content: Om bhūr bhuva suvaḥ

Content: tat savitur vareṇyam |

Content: bhargo devasya dhīmahi

Content: dhiyo yonah prachodayāt ||

Content: This mantra does not have any other meaning. There is no mention of Gayatri Devi (a Hindu Goddess) or any deity with five faces and such things. No. This mantra means 'Let me meditate on that consciousness which awakens my intelligence, and let that consciousness help me to meditate on it.' That's all.

Content: The first thing that our ṛṣis or ancient Indian enlightened masters want us to do is to bring our body and mind under our control. They want us to learn how to live with our body and mind. The Gayatri mantra is like an owner's manual for the body and mind. If we have a car, an owner's manual is a basic need. Without reading the owner's manual, if we start driving a car, then whose mistake is it?

Content: In all vehicles we can see important instructions and warnings on the airbags. 'Airbags may cause serious injury.' 'Kids under the age of twelve should not sit in the front seat.' 'Please read the owner's manual to know more about the airbag.' In the same way, only at around the age of seven do we start to handle our body. Until the age of seven, we live at the instinct level. After the age of seven the intellect starts working and we start making decisions. The moment we start making decisions, we should first know how to bring the body and mind under control. That is why the vedic masters teach the technique to awaken the inner intelligence and to master the consciousness. It is similar to reading the owner's manual before using the car.

Content: Q: Swamiji, you said that unless a person has the spark of enlightenment within him, he would not be attracted to an enlightened master. You have also said that all of us are enlightened but we are not aware of it. So, why is it that all of us are not attracted in the same way to you or other enlightened masters?

Content: An excellent question!

Content: Yes, it is true that all human beings have the potential to be enlightened. Every person carries that spark of divinity within. There is no sinner amongst humans. There is no doubt about that.

Content: You have free will as a human being to work through your senses. By and large, most people choose to be led by the senses rather than to lead their senses. Senses

Content: create desires for the outer world. Many times you may enjoy them. But these desires are never fulfilled unless you are in control of the senses.The senses will simply bring you back to the same scene again and again, like how an animal returns instinctively to what it considers its home.

Content: These unfulfilled desires are called saṁskāras, the baggage of experiences and memories that build up within you. These saṁskāras leave deep grooves in your brain and control you unconsciously. What you originally thought was free will is not really free will at all. You are like an ox that follows the same ploughed groove in the field. You are caught. You are addicted.

Content: Without exception, all your sensory pleasures are of this nature. Whether you call that pleasure lust or love, it makes no difference. These are just words from your own dictionary. These are words you use to justify the moral standards of your society and religion. Any attachment that you form that arises out of emotions or sensory pleasures is bondage, be it the love for your children, parents, spouse or any other person. The object of attention does not change the bondage of attachment.

Content: Even the attachment to God or master is a form of bondage. Only when the relationship develops without attachment, when it becomes a relationship that is not based on give-and-take or pleasure and enjoyment, does it become a devotional relationship. In such a relationship, one identifies oneself with the object and surrenders. This is what renunciation is about. It is total surrender with no expectation.

Content: It takes many births to reach this state of surrender. There are those of you who have come to me in many of your earlier lifetimes! There is no guarantee that you will stay with me in this lifetime also! It is your choice.

Content: When a person does not choose to stay with the master, the spirit experiences pangs of regret as it leaves the field, the body-mind. At death, when the spirit crosses the seven energy layers around the body, the entire life experience is played back to it. The spirit witnesses all those material pleasures with no joy. During life, those scenes gave a lot of joy to the senses. During life, those scenes were in glorious color and four dimensions. During the transition to death, these scenes are colorless, one-dimensional and hold no attraction any more.

Content: However, if we have had even one or two spiritual experiences in our lifetime, such as time spent with an enlightened master, or a spiritual book like the Gita in deep awareness, such a scene will be played back to the spirit in glorious multi-dimensional color. The spirit then longs to return to such an experience.

Content: Then at the time of death, as the spirit crosses the causal layer of energy (one of the seven energy bodies within us), the entire body-mind system goes into a deep coma, forgetting all that happened in the previous lifetime. The next birth takes place in an unconscious state, unconscious of the experiences, memories and desires of the past lives. The cycle repeats.

Content: At some point in time, the longing of the spirit for the spiritual experience that it keeps missing is so intense that it resolves to reach it at whatever cost! Such a spirit is born in a body with a deep desire and a deep need to reach an enlightened master so that it can seek its release from unfulfilled desires. Such a person may even choose a body that will have a disease that no medical system can cure. That is why many who come to the master for healing become his disciples. That is how their spirit leads them to him.

Content: Do not think it is an accident that you are with me, or reading these books, listening to these tapes or watching these videos. There is no accident in this universe. Everything happens with a cause and for a reason. However, it is your choice whether you wish to follow it up in this lifetime or let your spirit yearn for the experience for many more births.

Chapter Number: 13.1

Content: Arjuna said: O Krishna, I wish to know and understand about prakṛti and puruṣa, passive and active energies,

Content: The field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and of the end of knowledge.

Chapter Number: 13.2

Content: Lord Krishna replied to Arjuna saying: This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field,

Content: Anyone who knows this body is called the knower of the field.

Chapter Number: 13.3

Content: O Bharata, we should understand that I am the Knower in all bodies, the Creator.

Content: In my opinion knowledge means to understand this body or the field of creation as well as the Creator, one who knows this field.

Content: Krishna explains, 'O Kaunteya (son of Kunti), O Arjuna, this body is called the field; the person who knows this body is called the knower of the field or kṣetrajña.'

Content: Whatever you know is not you. If you know something, it is not you. For instance, you can read this book because it is separate and apart from you. Similarly, if you can know your body, then it is not you. If you can know your mind, then it is not you. Whatever you know is not you. You are separate from that or above that. That is why you are able to know it. Whether it is the body, thoughts or emotions, whatever you know is not you.

Content: Now we need to separate these two, the field from the knower of the field. Once we separate these two, the body will be blissful and joyful! Consciousness will be liberated. When these two join, that is where the problem starts.

Content: A one-liner that I read somewhere said:

Content: A man tells his friend, 'My sign is earth and my wife's sign is water. Together we make mud!'

Content: Water and earth are beautiful as they are. Only when they are mixed do we get mud!

Content: Similarly, consciousness, as it is, is beautiful and so is the body. When the two meet, that is where the trouble starts. All we need to do is understand the field and the knower, that is, what we are and what we are not. The problem in our lives is that when we identify ourselves with something, we believe we are that. Instead of understanding that we possess a mind, we believe we are the mind. The mind then becomes 'I'.

Content: As long as I think this table is mine, there is no problem. If I start thinking that I am this table, the problem starts! As long as we think that our body and mind are ours, there is no problem. But the problem appears the moment we identify with them. Krishna says, 'We must understand that whatever we know is not us.' Inch by inch He starts to explain the difference between kṣetra and kṣetrajñya.

Content: One more thing, when we understand that something is separate from us, we never feel that we must renounce it. We simply need to renounce the idea that we are that particular thing, that's all. In fact, we don't even need to renounce; we will simply know that there is nothing to renounce just by being aware of the way in which our body or mind works. Neither will we feel tortured by them, nor will we feel like torturing them. The people who are tortured by the body and mind are caught in this world and its troubles. Another group of people continuously torture the body and mind in the name of tapas, penance.

Content: I have seen people in India practicing yoga by sitting or standing on nails for five years! There are people who torture the body by standing on one leg, rolling on the ground or walking on fire. There is no need to torture the body in such ways. Actually we torture the body because we think that it is torturing us. We take revenge. At one extreme, people are caught in pleasures of the senses and killing themselves. At the other extreme, people torture the body in the name of penance. Neither knows how to handle the body and mind.

Content: A person who knows how to handle his body and mind enjoys the whole thing. He is totally at ease with himself. He feels completely relaxed with his body and mind. He intensely enjoys all pleasures and comforts and he never abuses the body.

Content: Enjoying and abusing are two different things. Enjoying is when the mind and the body are in tune with each other. We feel ease, comfort, a deep sense of relaxation and a feeling of being at home with ourselves.

Content: Many times we think we are enjoying, but the body and mind are not in tune with each other. For example, we watch a late-night movie or a soccer match on television until 2 am. Our eyes would be burning, our body would be begging, 'Please, give me some rest.' Our eyes would close by themselves during a commercial break and we would want to go to sleep. Still we say, 'No, I will sit and watch this.' Don't think these are pleasures and enjoyment. It only means that we are not using our body, we are abusing it. A person who knows his body and mind and can keep them under control never abuses the body.

Content: Why do we sit and watch television until 2 am? Our mind is not under our control. The mind tempts us to do something, and for the sake of the mind, we abuse the body. Abusing the body for the sake of the mind is pleasure at its extreme. There is nothing wrong in real pleasure in the right amount, but going against our body for the sake of the mind is going behind too much pleasure. This is one category of people.

Content: Another category of people tortures the body for the sake of the mind, in the name of penance or tapas. These people are in search of peace. They have not experienced peace or bliss. They go on disrespecting and torturing the body: going without food for months together, standing on one leg, standing on nails, or walking on fire. They continuously abuse the body or mind in one way or the other.

Content: Sadists are always masochists and masochists are always sadists. Torturing others happens when we torture ourselves. If we torture ourselves, naturally we will torture others. Please understand that we torture others when we do not feel comfortable within ourselves. We torture others when we are not at ease with ourselves because we are in a low or depressed mood. Torturing others is directly related to torturing ourselves.

Content: If we think that we are the mind, we torture our body; and if we think we are the body, we torture our mind. The person who knows the secrets of the body and mind neither tortures nor abuses them. He knows how to use them and live

Content: blissfully with them. His inner space overflows with bliss, and his outer space enjoys comforts and real pleasures. Krishna reveals the secrets of how to keep the body and mind in beautiful and blissful energy, and the inner space flowing in blissful consciousness.

Content: Krishna says further, ‘O Bharata, I am also the Knower in all bodies. To understand this body and the knower is called knowledge.’

Content: Beautiful! Here, He makes two statements. He says, ‘I am the Knower in all the bodies, and to understand the knower and the body is knowledge.’ He says that understanding the field or the body-mind and the consciousness is knowledge. He says, ‘I myself reside as the consciousness inside the beings.’

Content: Our consciousness is God and there is no separate thing as God. The problem arises when we start thinking that we are the body and the mind. A person who understands that he is consciousness liberates himself. He is enlightened. He becomes the Buddha. Consciousness is God.

Content: The Equation is:

Content: God + body mind = man

Content: man - body mind = God!

Content: Whether we believe it or not, we are consciousness. Let us see how we miss it, how we miss and mess our life!

Content: Here is a beautiful story about knowing the body and the mind and how we miss realizing that we are consciousness.

Content: A pregnant lioness was hunting for food one day when she came across a flock of sheep. She tried to attack the flock but the effort was too much for her. She fell on the ground, giving birth to a cub and also died due to the pressure she exerted.

Content: The flock of sheep saw the newborn lion cub. They started playing with him. They felt that they should take care of this cub, as one species often does for a newborn of another species. They just took pity on him and adopted him. The sheep started taking care of the cub in the same way they care for their young ones, feeding him with goat milk and grass!

Content: The cub started behaving like a sheep and grew up along with the sheep. He lived happily amongst them, not knowing that they were different from him.

Content: After some time the problem started slowly. It had to. The mother sheep started receiving complaints about the behavior of the cub, 'He is too arrogant,' 'He is too strong and rough,' 'He is not playing properly with us.' Naturally the cub was sidelined. Whenever any argument arose, they decided to punish him.

Content: After a few days, the lion cub started to wonder, 'What is this? I don't feel that I am really living. Is this all a lie? Is this all that there is to life - eating grass, jumping around and bleating, just going around the grasslands? I don't feel I am leading a full life.' He felt that he was unlike the others, that somehow he was different. He did not feel that he was being himself.

Content: Whenever he saw a forest, he was tempted to go and explore the forest. But his sheep mother had warned him that it was the one thing he should not do. She forbade him from straying away from the flock, obviously now considering him to be one of the sheep. She cautioned him that if he did so, the lions inside the forest would kill him.

Content: This whole story is actually about the spiritual seeker! It is about how a person takes birth, starts seeking and how he achieves fulfillment. It's a wonderful story. I love this story. That is why I repeat this story whenever I can!

Content: The mother sheep said, 'You cannot go there, there are lions out there.' The cub somehow managed to suppress his search or feeling of emptiness even though he felt drawn in and was tempted to go into the forest to explore. After some time he decided, 'I think this life is not for me.' But somehow the mother sheep managed to pressurize and control him. She played a big drama - weeping, crying, convincing, and finally she got this lion married!

Content: A small story within this story:

Content: There was a big marriage going on in the forest. The king lion and a lioness were getting married. All the animals of the forest gathered for the ceremony and were celebrating. At the center, there was a dance floor where a big party was going on, but only the lions were dancing and enjoying. The rest of the animals were scared to join them, so they were standing outside and watching. Amidst this celebration, suddenly a rat jumped onto the dance floor and started dancing.

Content: A lion caught the rat and roared, 'How dare you come onto the dance floor? Don't you see that all the animals are standing outside? Only lions dance here!'

Content: The rat sternly said, 'Keep quiet! I was also a lion before I married!'

Content: Now, coming back to the sheep-lion story, the lion cub got married and a few years passed by. After some years he again started thinking and analyzing, 'What is going on? I am leading the same old life, eating, bleating and jumping around! I feel something is seriously missing! I have found whatever best one can get - a good mother, good wife, nice life - but deep inside me, there is only emptiness. I don't feel fulfilled. What is happening to me?'

Content: Again he started searching. The seeking started.

Content: Then suddenly one day, a lion from the nearby forest attacked the flock of sheep. When this happened all the sheep ran away. This sheep-lion neither felt like running away, nor did he have the courage to stand and face the lion. He knew the lion was trying to attack, but he thought, 'He looks so graceful. Something about him is different.' He had never seen such a majestic beast before. So, slowly, somehow, unconsciously this sheep-lion felt attracted and drawn towards the lion. Because of the attraction, neither did he run away, nor did he have the courage to face the lion, because he thought he was a sheep under attack.

Content: He started walking away slowly but kept his face and gaze fixed on the lion. The lion straightaway came near him and caught him. The sheep-lion started bleating, 'Oh, please leave me alone and do not kill me!' The lion said, 'Fool, I have not come to kill you! You are a lion, why are you bleating and shouting for help? Why do you think I will kill you?'

Content: 'Lion?' the sheep-lion suspected that the lion was trying to cheat him and take him to the forest. He became frightened and cried, 'No, leave me.' The lion again said, 'Fool! You are a lion, why don't you understand that?' The sheep-lion refused to believe the lion. He escaped and ran away.

Content: Even though he ran away, the sheep-lion was unable to forget the lion. For a week he was afraid. Fear is usually there after the first glimpse, after the first experience. He had had the first glimpse of the lion! This is how Arjuna felt after his first experience of the Divine, his first glimpse of Krishna. It is an experience that evokes fear as well as a blissful attraction.

Content: A week passed by and the fear slowly subsided. He felt drawn to the lion once again. The sheep-lion felt like meeting the lion. 'I think I should meet the lion once more,' he thought. One part of his mind was saying, 'No, no, no, I

Content: am afraid that he may kill me,' while another part was saying, 'No, it was such a blissful experience with him. He is so graceful and I want to meet him again!' Please be very clear that unless you have enlightenment within yourself, you will not feel attracted towards an enlightened person. If we feel attached or connected to an enlightened person and feel we are in tune with him in some way, understand that it is a sign that we have enlightenment within us already. However, if we have not matured or grown to the level of feeling the enlightenment within us, we may not feel even a slight connection with an enlightened person. There are millions of people living in this city. Why are only a few hundred sitting here for these lectures? Not only that, thousands came at least once and have not come back the second time. Why do only a few come regularly? The moment you feel attracted to an enlightened master's teachings, be very clear that the enlightenment in you has started expressing or flowering! That is the reason why the sheep-lion remembered the lion and felt attracted to it. He felt the intense urge to see the lion again and finally decided to meet him. But how would he meet him? The lion never sent out flyers saying, 'In such and such a place, I am doing a program! You can meet me here.' The sheep-lion came to the edge of the meadow where the forest started, and waited expectantly every day for the lion to appear. After a few months the lion appeared. The moment the sheep-lion saw him, his fear surfaced and he was caught in the dilemma once again despite having waited for months to see him. This time the lion came towards him and asked, 'How are you doing?' The sheep-lion started bleating again, 'I am, I am, I am....' He was unable to answer, but did not run away, as he had done earlier. The lion said, 'Don't worry. If you are afraid, I will go away. I am not going to eat you because you are a lion. And because I can't eat you, I won't kill you. Also since I see no use in you, there is no reason for me to stay here if you are afraid.' Saying this, the lion started walking back towards the forest. The sheep-lion immediately pleaded with the lion to stay and spend a few moments with him. He also added, 'Don't come too close. You can stand at a distance and talk. Please stand ten feet away and I will stand here. But please spend some time with me.' The sheep-lion was now neither able to forget the lion and escape, nor did he have the courage to go near him!

Content: This is the next phase of growth for a seeker.

Content: With around ten or fifteen feet between them they stood and talked. However, again and again the lion said, 'You are a lion. Fool! You think you are a sheep! You are not like the friends you live with. This is not the way you are supposed to live.'

Content: The sheep-lion started to think about what the lion said. Slowly the doubt he had that the lion was going to take him to the forest and eat him disappeared. Now the sheep-lion was convinced that the lion did not have an ulterior motive. He understood that the lion did not benefit in any way because of him. He thought, 'I have nothing to offer him and I am of no use to him.'

Content: Only when this confidence comes into the mind of the disciple, he starts trusting the words of the master!

Content: That is why in the vedic system spiritual knowledge is free. We start trusting the master only when we realize that we cannot contribute to the master in any way, that the master has nothing to gain from us, that he is not missing us. The trust between the master and disciple starts when the disciple understands that he has nothing to add to what the master already has in his being. The master has everything and is overflowing. The master is sharing because he is overflowing. He is not giving in order to take something from us. His very being is overflowing. Only when you understand that, will you start trusting the master's words.

Content: The sheep-lion developed that much trust on the lion. He thought, 'The lion is not going to kill and eat me. If he wanted to do that, he would have done it long ago. One thing is certain. He is not going to gain anything from me. So why does he say I am a lion?'

Content: Then, the sheep-lion thought about what the lion had said. When we understand that we have nothing to give the master, that he is overflowing out of his ecstasy and he is only sharing the joy and bliss, we start experimenting with things more deeply. Until we understand that whatever the master says is only for our own benefit, we never try to experiment with his words.

Content: The sheep-lion thought about the lion, 'He looks so courageous, so graceful, so bold, and he is radiating so much confidence. It doesn't look like he is lying.' We can clearly tell whether someone is lying or not by seeing the eyes of a person. We don't need a lie detector! All we need to do is look into his eyes. So the sheep-lion thought, 'He doesn't look like a liar. Then why is he again and again telling me that I am a lion? I know I am a sheep.'

Content: The lion then said, 'I think you are not interested in believing me. Anyhow, I am not interested in wasting my time. I am going.' But the sheep-lion begged, 'No, no, no! Please, at least give me an appointment.'

Content: The lion asked why he wanted the appointment. The sheep-lion replied, 'I will go home and think about whatever you have told me. Then I will come back and clear my doubts with you.' The lion agreed, saying he would meet him at the same place in one month's time.

Content: The sheep-lion then started to contemplate, 'How can I be a lion? I know for sure I am a sheep. I eat grass. I bleat like a sheep and go around with sheep. So, how can I be a lion?' He thought and thought. He considered all the great philosophical questions, the very same questions that I have been answering all these days!

Content: There must have been some books: 'sheep-philosophy,' 'sheep-bible,' 'sheep-gita.' The sheep-lion read all of them and thought of all the possible questions. He made a big list of questions that his mother and father never answered. One important thing though is that he never told his mother that he met the lion because if she knew, she would stop him! She would not have allowed him to go to the edge of the forest. She would have told him, 'Never go there! You must stay in the meadows. You cannot go to the other side into the forest.'

Content: Parents are afraid for their young ones. They send their children to the temples but never to a Swami, never to a spiritual master! To them there is always a danger. See, Swami Vivekananda is great as long as he takes birth in the neighbor's house, not in our house!

Content: Anyhow, finally after one month, the appointment date arrived. The sheep-lion collected the best grass, whatever he thought was best, as an offering to the lion. He gave it to the lion saying, 'Please have all these things. I preserved them carefully for you.' Seeing the love of the sheep-lion, the lion also acted as if he was eating and enjoying the grass, just so that he could please the sheep-lion and make him feel more connected. He was zeroing down the distance. He wanted the sheep-lion to feel comfortable and connected in his presence. Only then could any transformation or transmission of knowledge happen. Just to make the sheep-lion comfortable, the lion acted like he was eating the grass.

Content: Naturally, the sheep-lion asked, 'Is it good? Is it tasty?' The lion said, 'Yes, yes, it is tasty. I am happy. You cook well. You have done a great job.' Some compliment is given!

Content: accustomed to the life of a sheep. But if I understand that I am a lion, the whole thing must be dropped. I must renounce the whole thing. I must take a big jump. It's difficult.' That fear came up and he simply ran away; he escaped one more time.

Content: After a few months, the lion came in search of the sheep-lion. This time the sheep-lion did not have any grass offerings. Instead the lion brought an offering of meat for the sheep-lion! When he saw the sheep-lion, he didn't talk. There were no intellectual discourses, philosophical discussions or question-and-answer sessions. Straightaway, he caught hold of the sheep-lion, opened his mouth, and put the meat inside.

Content: The moment the sheep-lion tasted the blood, the moment he tasted the meat, something reeled inside him. Something happened to his being. Something happened to his consciousness. Suddenly he swallowed the meat and roared!

Content: The roaring is what we call enlightenment! Most importantly, the sheep-lion realized that he had been a lion from the beginning, from day one!

Content: The same thing happens in our lives. Again and again, we think we are sheep. At some point, we start suspecting, 'I am not feeling satisfied with this life. What is happening?' And after some time, suddenly we see a horn that teaches us, 'You are God. You are that energy. You are consciousness.' We get scared and run away. At home we start thinking, 'I think he has some plans. He wants to build an ashram and he needs me for it. That is why he says these things.'

Content: After a few days we realize that he already has an ashram; we don't need to build one for him or contribute to his ashram. We realize that he has everything and doesn't need anything. Then slowly we start analyzing, 'Why is he coming everyday and saying the same thing? Everyday he comes and for two or three hours he says the same thing in a loud voice. Why?' After a few days we think, 'One thing is certain, whatever I think about me is wrong. But I don't know whether whatever he says is right or not.'

Content: During meditation, one glimpse of consciousness happens. When that happens we again run away with the fear, 'No, no, no. This is not for me. If the same thing happens again, I may leave everything and go after him.' At this stage, the master suddenly catches hold of us and puts the meat of solid spiritual experience into our mouth. Something happens in our system, in our consciousness. Suddenly we open our eyes and roar, declaring the experience that happened in our being. We realize that from day one, from the beginning, we have been That. The sheep-lion has always been a lion.

Content: But it requires another lion to make a sheep-lion realize that he is indeed a lion.

Content: From day one, we are the knower or the kṣetrajñya, the consciousness. But by mistake we start thinking that we are the body-mind, in the same way that the sheep-lion thought that he was a sheep. Suddenly a person who has already experienced that he is consciousness guides us saying, ‘This is consciousness and that is body-mind. Understand that you are consciousness.’

Content: Here, the same story is happening between Krishna and Arjuna. Krishna explains kṣetra and kṣetrajñya. He tells Arjuna that he is not a sheep but a lion; he is not merely the field; he is the knower of the field.

Content: Q: You have spoken about the need to be in the present moment so that one is aware. What does that mean? How do I know I am in the present? Will others know I am in the present?

Content: To be completely immersed in whatever you do at any particular moment without bothering about what is going to happen is being in the present.

Content: As I have often said, focus on the food when you eat. Do not talk, do not read, do not watch television, do not do anything else when you eat. You neglect the food. You disrespect the food. So it turns into garbage. If you focus on the food when you eat, you would probably eat half as much and stay healthy also. When you eat unconsciously, you become obese.

Content: It is as simple as that.

Content: Numerous masters have spoken of being in the present. They teach various ways to be in the present. Many of you have ideas of what it is to be in the present.

Content: When you are in the present, there is no need to announce that you are in the now or in the present. If that need arises, be sure that you are not in the present. If you make a loud effort to be in the present, your presence will disturb, confuse and threaten others. Your inner chatter will be so loud that though you cannot hear it, others will want to run away from you!

Content: You will become like the people who insist that everything around them should be silent and undisturbed when they meditate. They create chaos so that they can be centered. You need to bring your own mind to order, not the minds of others.

Content: People will automatically catch your fragrance if you are in the present. They will smell the fragrance and feel your presence automatically. If they don't, you are not in the present. When you are in the present moment, your presence centers, calms, and moves others into the present moment. You will have no need to advertise it.

Content: If you constantly tell people how much you are in the present moment, you are not where you think you are. You are caught in your own inner chatter, that's all.

Content: Presence and being in the present do not happen through seeking. They happen when you stop seeking, when you stop trying, when you relax into it and when you let go. Understand that your thoughts are not logical or connected. One thought does not lead to another. Each is independent. We connect one thought with another and create shafts of pain and pleasure or shafts of fear and greed. Instead of witnessing the thought in the present moment and letting it go, we extend it to the past or future.

Content: Once you understand this truth, you move naturally into the present. I call this being in the 'uncluttered' state, the state of nityānanda, eternal bliss.

Chapter Number: 13.4

Content: Understand my summary of this field of activity and how it is constituted; what its changes are, how it is produced, Who that knower of the field of activities is, and what his influences are.

Chapter Number: 13.5

Content: That knowledge of the field of activities and of the knower of activities is described by various sages in the scriptures. It is presented with all reasoning as to cause and effect.

Chapter Number: 13.6,7

Content: The field of activities and its interactions are said to be: the five elements of nature, false ego, intelligence, the mind, the formless, the ten senses of perception and action, as well as The five objects of senses and desire, hatred, happiness, distress, the aggregate, the life symptoms, and convictions.

Content: Krishna asks Arjuna to listen carefully to His explanation of what constitutes kṣetra - body-mind, and its activities, its changes, and how they are produced. These truths have been explained by many ṛṣis, sages, from time to time. The vedic scriptures, the Brahma Sutras for example, express these truths with clarity, using sharp reasoning.

Content: Thousands of years of research done by millions of inner scientists, ṛṣis, in millions of inner science laboratories have led to the same truth: The true nature of man is pure consciousness, kṣetrajñya, and man is the knower or witness of the field, kṣetra, the body-mind.

Content: Again and again throughout this chapter, Krishna cautions Arjuna not to confuse the body with the knower of the body and not to confuse the mind with the knower of the mind. The whole problem arises when we mix the knower of the field with the field itself.

Content: We have forgotten that we have taken this body and mind for a purpose and that is to live our desires, saṁskāras. We have forgotten that we have only rented this body-mind costume for this birth and we gradually associate ourselves with it! After a while, this costume becomes more important and dear to us than anything else. Once the costume begins to wear out, we start to worry.

Content: Actually it is not our fault. Society has applied layers of conditioning on us and has fooled us into believing that we are this body and mind. From childhood, we are told that we are this body-mind entity. This body and mind is given a name also. After a few years, we start to relate with that name as well. We identify ourselves with that name, with our profession, with our friends and with our relatives, 'My name is so-and-so, I am the son of so-and-so, and I am a doctor.'

Content: It is like a parcel with many stamps on it. If I sent a parcel from here to Tiruvannamalai, a town in South India, it gets stamped at the post office before it is sent out. Similarly, it gets a stamp at all the stops along the way. By the time it reaches Tiruvannamalai it is full of these stamps. Now the parcel thinks it is the stamps on the outside cover. It has forgotten that it is the stuff inside!

Content: This is what happens when we associate ourselves with the body and mind, instead of associating with the consciousness that runs it. We have forgotten that we are the stuff, kṣetrajña. We are not the stamps, kṣetra. We confuse kṣetrajñya with kṣetra. Naturally, all the problems that arise at the body-mind level start to affect us. The activities that happen to the body-mind appear to be having a direct influence on our lives.

Content: In the next few verses, Krishna takes Arjuna step-by-step into what these activities are and how they interact with each other.

Content: Krishna talks about the five great elements, the false ego, the intelligence or the mind that makes decisions and all ten senses. Please understand, He says, 'ten senses,' indriyāṇi daśakam ca. We think we have five senses. No. We have five karmendriya and five jñānendriya. karmendriya are the senses or organs responsible for actions such as talking, walking etc and they are the mouth, hands and feet, organs of excretion and reproduction. jñānendriya are our five senses that receive knowledge such as smell, taste, sight, touch, and hearing and they are the nose,

Content: tongue, eyes, skin and ear. So, all the ten senses, plus attachment, aversion, joy, sorrow, the body, mutual attraction and the consciousness contribute to the field of activities.

Content: Actually the word 'consciousness' cannot be used. When our consciousness becomes rigid, it becomes conscience. There's a difference between conscience and consciousness.

Content: For example, we do something based upon what we think is right or wrong according to our conscience. If we give these same teachings to the next generation, it will not work because something else may be right or wrong for them. When we force them to follow the same thing that we did, we are giving it as just a morality, as just a conscience. We are giving them a law without the spirit. On the other hand, when we give them understanding about life, when we give our next generation an understanding about life, we give them consciousness.

Content: Please be very clear that a person with only conscience always suffers. He can never be happy, whether he enjoys or renounces. If he enjoys, he suffers from guilt. If he renounces, he feels the lack of it. He suffers either way. Never give conscience to the next generation. Always give them an understanding about life, what I call consciousness. Let them experience and explore.

Content: I do not believe in morality. I believe in conscious experience.

Content: I do not believe in conscientiousness. I believe in consciousness.

Content: Conscience is given to us by society. Consciousness is given to us by God.

Content: Conscience is social conditioning. Consciousness is our very nature.

Content: Conscience naturally makes our whole life into a ritual. We should know what we are doing before doing anything. Only then will we do it intensely. If we do not know the logic behind what we are doing, we will not put ourselves completely into it and dedicate ourselves to it.

Content: Krishna says that the rigid sense of conscience, all the rules that form the kṣetra, are also the field. They are matter. They are not energy. They are not your being. They are not you. Whatever is mentioned here is not you. We should understand we are liberated the moment we know what we are not. We are liberated even if we live with what is not us. Even if we live with our body-mind, if we know that we are not the body and the mind, then we are not their slaves to it!

Content: Please understand that the word 'slavery' can be used as long as something goes against your will. With awareness, even if you live with the body-mind, you are not their slave.

Content: Let me tell you a small story about the life of a Greek sage named Diogenes.

Content: Diogenes was an enlightened master. A group of people plotted against him and attacked him. He did not react as they had expected. They went prepared to capture him and expected him to retaliate. They were shocked at his response.

Content: He maintained his composure and asked his attackers, 'What do you want?' He asked them like a master.

Content: The attackers were shaken. One of them said that they wanted to capture him and sell him in the slave market.

Content: Diogenes replied, 'Oh, you should have told me that straightaway. Why did you waste your time making plans and discussing? Come, put on the handcuffs. Where are they?'

Content: The attackers were completely taken aback. For the first time they saw a man ordering them to handcuff him! He spoke like a master when he asked them to put the handcuffs on. Finally, they somehow took out the handcuffs, cuffed his wrist on one side, and locked their own hands on the other side.

Content: Diogenes said, 'Fools, why are you tying up yourselves? Don't you believe me? I was the one who gave the order to handcuff me. Come, let us go wherever you want to take me and sell me. But be very clear, don't run away from me.'

Content: The people who caught him were now slightly frightened. They couldn't understand what was going on. Slowly, they started feeling small and inadequate themselves. Diogenes said, 'Fools, I know the technique of freedom. I constantly experience tremendous inner freedom. Nothing can bind me. Try your best to play your game and let's see where it leads.'

Content: Saying thus, he walked onto the road like a king. His captors followed behind like slaves.

Content: He told the people who were standing on the road and looking at the curious sight, 'They are my slaves because they cannot leave me.' They retorted that Diogenes was the slave.

Content: He replied, 'See, even now if you leave me, I will run away. But now I am letting you go. Can you run away? I am setting you free from this handcuff. Will you run away?' He continued, 'You won't. You need something from me and that makes you my slaves, whereas I want nothing from you. Therefore, I am the master! I am liberated.'

Content: You may not be handcuffed physically but still you can be a slave by attitude. Slavery is related to the being and not the body.

Content: They took him to the market. Straightaway, he walked to the table where slaves are sold. The auction began. The auctioneer called out, 'Here is a slave. Bidders are welcome and the highest bidder can claim him.'

Content: Diogenes at that point said, 'Stop! Don't say, Here is a slave. Say instead, Here is a master. If you can afford to bid on him, come.' Nobody dared to bid for a master and therefore nobody bought him. After three days his captors felt burdened that they had to unnecessarily feed him, knowing that nobody would buy him. They felt, 'If we continue to sit here he may sell us. We don't know what he is capable of.'

Content: So they set him free.

Content: This may be a story. Yet the truth behind the story is that nothing can enslave us once we understand that we are not body and mind. We can never become a slave to anything. Even slavery cannot enslave us. Slavery can enslave us as long as we are not ready to cooperate with slavery. This is a subtle point. When we understand that we are beyond body and mind, we will feel no need to resist when somebody tries to enslave us. We know that we can never be slaves.

Content: Only that which goes against our will can enslave us. Here we are in a totally different space, a totally different consciousness, and nothing can go against our will. And we will never have a will that would make us feel like a slave. We will be flowing with the river, flowing with the current. We will disappear into the Divine. So slavery cannot happen to us. Our consciousness is beyond any form of slavery.

Content: That is why Krishna teaches the secret of understanding the body-mind and consciousness, kṣetra and kṣetrajñya. In ancient times, man was only subjected to physical slavery. In the present day, man is subjected to psychological slavery. Understand, we are the psychological slaves of countless things.

Content: When some product is advertised on television, straightaway it sits in our head. Within a few days, we somehow get money and buy that product. We live in a world of psychological slavery. Once we understand that we are not the body-mind, that we are beyond it, we will be totally free from physical and psychological slavery.

Content: See, it is like this. When we badly want a particular object or event to happen, our happiness is in the hands of that object or event. That external object or event has the power to control our happiness. We feel depressed when things turn out other than the way we desired. We feel the world is unfair. Many people ask me, 'Why has God been so unfair to me? Why is it that only I face these difficulties?' Please understand, the moment you place your happiness in the hands of something or someone, you have become their slave. They can exploit you.

Content: One more thing is that even the thought of wanting freedom can exploit us if we allow it. Many times we chase freedom in the name of spiritual seeking. Freedom happens only when we realize that there is no need to chase. We must drop the idea of wanting freedom and just trust the freedom. We will then experience it. Otherwise, craving for freedom can enslave us. We realize the futility of this struggle and experience freedom only when we become aware that we are already free.

Content: The minute we accept whatever we have, we start flowing and stop resisting. We stop giving someone or something the power to control our happiness. Nothing will enslave us. We will experience the consciousness of freedom.

Content: Q: Swamiji, is the difference between religion and spirituality the difference between conscience and consciousness?

Content: You have got it! That is exactly it!

Content: Please understand that when Moses met his master, the Ten Commandments came out as the metaphorical explanation of his spiritual experience. With his spiritual transformation, he became aware of nonviolence, non-covetousness, and the other points of the commandments. They were not mere words or instructions; they were the beautiful outpouring and expression of how an enlightened being lives. These became his consciousness as a result of merging with his master.

Content: Because these truths became his conviction following his experience, Moses could follow them. A few people close to him understood what he had experienced and were also able to follow these truths. Therefore, for them as well, these were expressions of their consciousness.

Content: Until the experience happens, the expressions remain mere rules. Instead of being liberating truths that they had been for the one who expressed them, they become bondages for those who follow them. They become rules of conscience. They degenerate from spiritual truths to religious dogma.

Content: The Hindu culture, Sanātana dharma, the eternal path of righteousness, clearly differentiates between expressions of spirituality and the rules and regulations of religion and society. Truths are the śruti and rules are smṛti. Sruti are experienced truths of great masters and smṛti are the regulators of conscience. There is a clear injunction that smṛti can be changed based upon time and space.

Content: Krishna tells Arjuna elsewhere in the Bhagavad Gita that the mere reading of the scriptures does not lead to Him, i.e., to enlightenment. The scriptures, the Vedas, Upaniṣads and Gita need to be experienced in the inner space. They need to become the truths of the individual. Then and only then, can they become your consciousness, your own spiritual truths.

Content: Otherwise they remain no better than any other rule and regulation. Men and women are conditioned to break rules and regulations. They will break rules whenever they get the chance. However, when it becomes a part of one's experience, one's inner spiritual experience, living by these truths will become blissful.

Content: 13.8-12 Humility, absence of pride, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, service to an enlightened spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification; absence of ego, the perception of the pain of the cycle of birth and death, old age and disease; Nonattachment to children, wife, home and the rest, and even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self realization, and philosophical search for the absolute truth: All these I thus declare to be knowledge and anything contrary to these is ignorance.

Content: In these five verses, Krishna gives a beautiful technique. Until this point He gave us an intellectual understanding. Now He gives the technique and technology to realize and experience what He says. I call these five verses the inner science technology to liberate our inner space! It is a precise technique to liberate oneself from the kṣetra. It talks about how to be liberated from the body-mind and how to bring them under our control.

Content: First, the moment we understand that we are more powerful than the body-mind, we are liberated from the body and the mind. Here, He beautifully gives the technique to liberate us from the body-mind and therefore, how to experience the consciousness.

Content: Let me first give the translation of the verses:

Content: Humility, non-violence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching the bonafide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadfastness, self-control, renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of all egos, perception of all the evils of birth and death, old

Content: age and diseases, detachment, freedom from all entanglements, even-mindedness amidst pleasant and unpleasant events, constant devotion, aspiring to live in a spiritual way, giving importance to the ultimate truth, and detachment. All these I declare to be knowledge and besides these, whatever there may be, is ignorance.

Content: Krishna mentions a long list of things in these verses with many instructions. Let me be very clear that if we straightaway try to practice all the qualities He has given here, we will feel we are going mad! We cannot really practice these qualities. All we can do is help the consciousness to happen in us so that we start radiating these qualities. These qualities simply happen in us.

Content: By way of comparison, let us say we want to remove the dirt from a muddy water tank. If we put our hands into the tank and try to take away the mud, what happens? We make it muddier, that's all. All the dirt that is settled below will come up to the surface. Instead, if we sprinkle a handful of lime powder inside the tank, it will absorb the dirt and we can have clean water in the tank.

Content: Our mind is also like a muddy tank. If we try to suppress it and fight with it, we will create more trouble. Instead just add a little meditation which is like the lime powder, and relax. Just put in your awareness and relax. Automatically the impurities will settle down. The moment we become aware and the witnessing consciousness starts operating, the whole thing settles down. The witnessing consciousness is the lime powder that purifies our being.

Content: Usually when we read scriptures and books, we start executing them straightaway! For example, if it says, 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself,' we start executing it without understanding. The first difficulty is that we don't understand that we don't love ourselves. And we don't understand that we cannot love somebody unless we first love ourselves. Next, we must have the mood or consciousness from which the loving happens naturally. Love happens as an automatic process.

Content: The minute we impose love on others, it becomes a business transaction. We only know the contaminated version of love. Pure love is not about loving for security or with some other expectation of return. Pure love is an expression of the being. It just happens. If we are true to our being, true to our core, that is enough. Straightaway we will be liberated.

Content: Ramakrishna says that if the straight line of honesty connects your mouth and mind, you will be liberated. We cheat ourselves if we engage in an activity because it is appreciated by society and not because we feel it from within. This constant mismatch of internal and external, of what we feel deep within and what we do, creates problems.

Content: Instead of creating consciousness, we start creating the activity. Instead of working on our being, we work on our doing. Our doing is in no way going to help us. Only our being is going to help us. So work on the being and not on the doing. A person who works on his doing may continuously chisel, chisel and chisel and fighting. Instead, if we work on our being, we will flower and automatically radiate the right energy, the right consciousness!

Content: Patanjali, a great, enlightened master from India spoke on Ashtanga Yoga, the eight limbs that come together for yoga to happen, for the ultimate consciousness to flower. One limb talks about practices like non-violence and truthfulness. If we practice these qualities just because Patanjali or Krishna say that we should, the qualities will never really develop in us. They will remain skin deep. When true non-violence happens, our very being will radiate love, no matter what. Even if an enemy were to stand in front of us, no other emotion but love would remain in us, and that is what Krishna really wants.

Content: If we visit Sringeri, a temple in South India, we will see a stone statue of a snake protecting a frog with its hood. A beautiful sight! It depicts that emotion of divine love that is unconditional. Divine love does not consider whether a person is a friend or enemy. If we are centered in our being, qualities of love and non-violence happen. It is an expression of our being. All the things that Krishna has mentioned in these five verses are an outcome of the flowering of that consciousness, and not things to be practiced. If we practice them to please somebody else, we would become slaves to the people around us.

Content: In the story of Diogenes, we notice that he never became a slave even though people thought that by handcuffing him he would become their slave. He radiated his inner energy, the pure consciousness. If we live like that, expressing our inner energy, we can never become a slave even if others think we are one.

Content: Normally we believe others' opinions about us. We accept their scale as a standard for measuring ourselves. Then we get into trouble. This is what I call 'guilt'. Guilt is reviewing our past decisions with updated intelligence. If we use our present intelligence to review our past decisions, we create guilt and suffering.

Content: Please be very clear that we are updated every second. We are not the same as what we were a few hours ago. Our intelligence is continuously updated. So naturally when we look back and analyze what happened in the past we feel certain things could have been avoided. The problem is that we think we are responsible for everything. We think we run the show. We take everything upon

Content: our shoulders and allow emotions like guilt and worry to come in. If we remember that the universe is pure Intelligence that knows how to take care of our lives, we will simply relax. Also, when we allow the cosmic intelligence to operate, we spontaneously express the beautiful qualities that Krishna enumerates. The same cannot be achieved by doing anything.

Content: Krishna first talks about humility or amānitvam. Humility can never be achieved by effort. If it is attempted through effort, it looks ugly. Humility happens when we feel that every being is unique. It does not come by thinking that everyone is equal. There are no equals! If we deeply understand that every being is unique, we automatically respect everyone. Every being has something that he contributes to Existence, to life.

Content: One important thing that you must know is that even our enemy contributes to our growth! He may do it indirectly but nevertheless, he contributes to our growth. Never think that a person is useless. If he were, he would have been removed from planet earth long ago. We are removed from planet earth the moment we stop contributing to Existence in some way or other. We are here as long as we contribute.

Content: Normally we evaluate whether a person is worthy of our respect. We have our own scales to measure this. We will see how well qualified he is, how much society respects him. Then we will decide, 'Okay, I think I can show him some respect.' It is as though our respect is so precious and the world continues to run because of that! When we understand that every being is a unique creation of the universe, that the same divinity that is in us is in them also, we automatically radiate humility and the absence of pride. All these qualities that are supposed to be radiated by a seeker should simply happen from within. This is what Krishna explains.

Content: Another important thing: How should we approach a bona fide spiritual master or ācāryopāsana? He talks about this in another verse also:

Content: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā

Content: It means that we should approach the master with questions and request him to answer the questions. Why? Why does Krishna say that? What is the need? Again and again, spiritual literature repeatedly emphasizes the master. It is not only in the Bhagavad Gita. Whether it is Zen Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, Islam or Christianity, again and again the master plays an important role. Why? Especially in Vedānta, the vedic system, the master plays a major role. Why?

Content: Unless we see someone continuously living in the consciousness and continuously expressing that consciousness, our unconscious refuses to believe it is possible. Whenever we read about these truths and hear about them, our conscious mind believes in them, but the unconscious says, 'All these things are old theories! Some crazy person might have written all these things!' Our unconscious mind won't accept the truth and possibility of enlightenment. Our head and heart fight with each other because of this. Our intellect says, 'No, no, no! These are all truths.' Logically we are convinced but emotionally we are unable to experience it.

Content: When we see a living master, our emotions also automatically start experiencing it. Our unconscious, which continuously questions, becomes silent when we see a living master. With books we learn through verbal language; with a master we learn through his body language. He is a living example that proves the truth. He proves that these things can become a reality for us in our life. When they say this, we don't need to believe at a superficial level; it becomes a solid experience that touches us deeply.

Content: Three things happen when we meet an enlightened master:

Content: First, we see in front of our own eyes that it is possible to live in eternal bliss or in bliss consciousness all 24 hours of the day. The assurance and inspiration to achieve that state is there. We understand the possibility. Next we ask, 'All right, it is possible for the master. But is it possible for me?' That assurance is also given when we reach the master.

Content: The master instills the confidence in us by showing us, 'If I can achieve, why not you?'

Content: It is like this: the seed is afraid to sprout and thinks, 'I may die if I rupture and sprout.' But the tree says, 'No, you must break open. Only when you break open can I happen.' The tree within the seed is waiting for the seed to break so that it can come out, but the seed is waiting for the tree to happen! The seed thinks, 'Who knows whether the tree will happen?' The tree says, 'Open, only then can I happen,' and the seed tells the tree, 'No, let me see you happen and only then will I open.'

Content: A master represents the tree in the analogy. In our life too, we are afraid to jump because we look for a guarantee that enlightenment is possible if we take the jump. We are afraid of being caught in an 'in-between situation'! Then neither would we become enlightened nor would we be able to return to our normal lives. We are afraid of the insecurity and uncertainty. But the master offers this guarantee.

Content: A small story: A journalist interviews a candidate for the presidential election. While delivering his speech earlier, the candidate had claimed that he could see that his future was bright. So the journalist asked him during the interview, 'If that is so, why do you look worried?' The candidate said, 'My certainty doesn't come with a warranty. I am optimistic but it is not a guarantee!' We too are stuck in this way! We are optimistic that we may have the experience. At the same time we are afraid to take the risk. The master has already become a tree. He gives confidence to the disciple. He says, 'Don't worry. I also struggled like you. Look at me, I have flowered. I have not died. I have become a tree. If you open, you will also become a tree.' He sits with us and assures us that he will take care. He creates the energy and gives confidence to open and become a tree. He reminds us, 'When I have achieved, why not you?' Third, the master creates the right space or technology for the tree to happen. He creates the right conditions, the right soil, water, etc. All that we need to do is trust the master and break open. That is why masters create ashrams. An ashram is a space that allows us to break open. The seed can open and the tree can happen. It is similar to an operation theatre where you go, open, become a tree and start radiating the experience. The ashram is a space where the conditions are controlled, and in a secure and safe way we can enter into the consciousness. The master calls the master makes us experience the truth which is in our very being. So first, he assures us of the possibility through his body language. Next, he makes us understand that it is possible for us also. Third, he creates a space in which it can happen. Fourth, he ensures that we are established in that consciousness. These are the responsibilities of a master. That is why the vedic system, the vedic way of life, insists again and again that we reach a living enlightened master. This is what Krishna calls ācāryopāsana. He gives the important guidelines for us to experiment with the technology.

Content: Q: If you say that the attributes listed by Krishna can only be reached through enlightenment, what hope is there for us to be enlightened? Even if the master guides us how do we move?

Content: Krishna says that these qualities outlined in earlier verses comprise true knowledge; the rest is ignorance. These qualities are not goals and cannot be treated as goals. The path to travel for the spontaneous unfolding of these qualities is what is important, not any perception of where you are on that path and what standard you have achieved.

Content: If you are caught in the game of 'I am more humble than that person,' or 'That person knows more about life and death than me,' and so on, you will be caught in comparison. You will not move forward.

Content: You do not need to achieve anything to be enlightened. Enlightenment is your natural state. You cannot work towards it as if it is an external object. Enlightenment needs to be realized. This realization comes about as you disengage from negativities and move towards positive attributes. These negativities include many aspects of your ego that project themselves as attachments, desires, regrets, guilt, etc. The positive attributes are those that Krishna has outlined.

Content: Let us take a real-life case. You have a friend who has become successful in business and is now very wealthy. Your first response is envy. You wonder, 'Why has he become wealthy, why not me?' One more consideration is 'How can I benefit from his success?' At the back of your mind you feel guilty, thinking you should not have these thoughts and feelings.

Content: All these emotions that force your actions arise out of one basic thing: You borrow desires from others because you think they get pleasure from their possessions or status. Even if others enjoy what they have, those possessions and status may not be right for you and may not give you the same pleasure. But still you compare and desire and make yourself and others suffer. You need to understand what your own essential needs are in order to become free of negativities such as comparison, fear and greed.

Content: Krishna says that fulfillment of these genuine needs must be carried out without attachment to the results. You need to focus on the path of fulfillment, not the end result or outcome. As you move with this understanding, these positive qualities that Krishna has outlined happen automatically.

Content: Guidance from a living master makes your path smoother and shorter. With courage and determination you can travel this path alone, without a master. That has been done. But, why do you want to torment yourself unnecessarily?

Content: One disciple said to me, 'See how much smarter we are than you! You had to struggle alone, not being smart enough to follow a master. We have you and our lives are so much simpler!'

Chapter Number: 13.13

Content: 13.13 I shall give you the full understanding about the knowable, with which one can taste eternal bliss or the being or the consciousness that has no beginning.

Content: A life beyond the law of cause, effect and the material world.

Chapter Number: 13.14

Content: 13.14 With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, He exists in the worlds, enveloping all.

Content: The Paramātman (supreme spirit) is all pervading. He exists everywhere.

Chapter Number: 13.15

Content: 13.15 The Paramātman is the original source of all the senses. Yet, He is beyond all the senses. He is unattached.

Content: Although the consciousness is the maintainer of all the living beings, yet He transcends the modes of nature and at the same time He is the master of the modes of our material nature.

Chapter Number: 13.16

Content: 13.16 The supreme Truth exists both internally and externally, in the moving and nonmoving. It is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know Him.

Content: Although far, far away, He is also near to all.

Chapter Number: 13.17

Content: 13.17 Although the Paramātman appears to be divided, He is never divided. He is situated as one.

Content: Although He is the maintainer of every living entity, it is to be understood that He consumes and creates all.

Chapter Number: 13.18

Content: 13.18 He is the source of light in all luminous objects. He is beyond the darkness of matter and is formless.

Content: He is knowledge, He is the object of knowledge, and He is the goal of knowledge. He is situated in everyone's heart.

Content: Krishna says, 'I shall explain the knowable, knowing which, you will taste the eternal Being, the beginning-less consciousness that lies beyond the causes and effects of this material world.' In the previous verses, Krishna talks about the qualities that happen with the flowering of the divine consciousness within. Now He reveals to Arjuna that this consciousness is eternal.

Content: Please understand that our mind associates a time and space with every incident or event. The mind can only think chronologically. It is like an inner reference chart and all incidents are placed in this chart of time and space. Modern science asks questions like, 'How did this happen? What was there before this? What came after this? What triggered this?' When they asked about the creation of this universe, they explained it with the Big Bang theory.

Content: They said that a tiny mass of fire exploded and gave rise to our universe. What they could not answer was, 'What existed before that?' Krishna says that this universal energy, the ultimate consciousness, always existed. It manifested in various forms as planets, as humans and so on, but it is eternal. It will continue to manifest itself and return to the Source and it will always exist.

Content: The concept of time and space that we have is based on our mind and senses. Whatever we perceive is a projection of our mind. This understanding of time is different from an enlightened master's understanding. He measures time in terms of kṣaṇa. Kṣaṇa is the time between two thoughts. It is the space between two thoughts. Buddha referred to this time and space as śūnya. Adi Shankaracharya referred to it as pūrṇa. It is the no-mind zone, the mindful zone, in which we touch base with ourselves. It is the present moment, in which we come face to face with the divinity within, by which we recognize the cosmic energy that is our essential nature.

Content: When we are caught in chasing one material pleasure after another we have so much stress, tension and worry bombarding our heads every second. Our kṣaṇa is very small because of the high number of thoughts inside us. This is why we get a suffocated, panicking feeling. We are running in a rat race. We constantly feel time is running out. We are greedy for more and more experiences before this body dies and we are afraid that we might lose whatever we have come to possess.

Content: We feel this way because we associate ourselves with the kṣetra, the temporary body and mind. Please understand that the body and mind are made up of the five elements and they return to their source once they have served their purpose.

Content: On the other hand, an enlightened master knows he is kṣetrajñya. He knows that he is not the body-mind system. He has realized that he is the ultimate consciousness. He has no urgency to run in the rat race because he knows that life goes on, even if this body perishes. He has become a witness to the mind. Any thought that springs up will be only an action-oriented thought, never an unproductive thought. The moment the thought happens, it will immediately expresses itself as an action. No thoughts accumulate inside him. He experiences eternity because of this thoughtless zone that he stays in.

Content: This is the beginninglessness of the consciousness that Krishna explains here.

Content: When we are in front of an enlightened master, one who is in a no-mind state, the number of thoughts in us also comes down and our kṣaṇa becomes longer. The gaps between thoughts increase. So without even trying, we become calmer, more peaceful, and more aware!

Content: Our logical mind tries to reason everything out. We rationally want to convince ourselves all the time about why each thing is in a particular way. But all our logical understanding and all our knowledge through books only gives information about the changing world around us. The knowable that Krishna explains is beyond these changes. It is eternal because it does not follow the laws of creation and destruction like other objects around us. It has always been there and will always continue to exist.

Content: Whatever physical matter we see around us follows a particular cause-effect relationship. However, our deepest core is untouched by these changes. Please understand that every thought inside us affects the functioning of the whole cosmos. Whether we want to accept it or not, we do not operate as separate islands. Thoughts that are present in the space that we live in affect our mental setup, that is the way we think and operate.

Content: If you search on the internet for the book title 'The Hidden Messages in Water,' you can read the research findings of Masuru Emoto, a Japanese scientist, on samples of water. He took many samples from the same water source and started talking to each sample with a different emotion. He labeled one sample 'love' and spoke words of love to it. Similarly, he labeled another sample 'hate' and spoke with vengeance and violence to it. He later crystallized these samples and observed them under an electron microscope. The sample labeled 'love' showed beautiful crystals that sparkled. The one labeled 'hate' was ugly and repelling.

Content: If one man's thoughts could have so much impact on a small sample of water, can you imagine what impact the collective emotions of humanity have on the

Content: universe? Today there is a rise in the collective unconscious, the collective negativity. The universe responds to that. People ask me, 'Swamiji, why did the tsunami kill so many innocent people?' Please understand that these natural disasters are a projection of our collective unconscious, in the form of earthquakes, tsunami, wars and other forms of mass destruction.

Content: In exactly the same way, collective consciousness does mass-purifying. It is not to say that those who were killed were impure. It is that the total collective negativity must get expressed somehow, somewhere, through these natural events. That is why sages and yogis started the concept of Kumbh Mela where the energy of millions of enlightened beings comes together in the waters of the sacred rivers Ganga and Yamuna. Imagine the purification process that occurs when the enlightened energy of millions of masters touches the waters of these rivers. It has a counter-balancing effect. That is why taking a dip in the Ganga during Kumbh Mela bears so much significance.

Content: Last year, on September 21st, the United Nations World Peace Day, the worldwide centers of the Nithyananda Mission organized twenty-four hour meditation rallies for world peace. The concept is the same: When thoughts with the intention of peace and harmony come together, it results in a sweet mood of peace and adds to the collective positive consciousness of planet Earth.

Content: This positivity and negativity, creation and destruction, are all properties of the changing world around us, of the kṣetra that we live in. The minute we know that we are not this changing kṣetra but the eternal and unmoving kṣetrajñya (the consciousness that runs the kṣetra), we are liberated.

Content: Krishna calls this eternal bliss jñeya, knowable (jñeya), knower (jñātā), and the knowledge (jñāna) merge. In this experience, the knower, known, and knowledge become one. No separate experience, experiencer or object of experience exists. It is called triputī, where no difference between the three entities exists.

Content: It is like this: Imagine that you love driving and are sitting in a nice new car with all automatic systems and you are driving on a highway at full speed. You are so immersed in that joy of driving the car that you forget yourself. After some time you suddenly realize you are not even driving; the driving is simply happening. You have become the experience of driving and there is no more a sense of you doing the driving. The car is moving forward on its own and you have become the experience. Similarly, if you are immersed and involved deeply in any other passion, the experience, experiencer and object of experience suddenly merge into the eternal consciousness. You call it being 'in the Zone.'

Content: Krishna explained that His eternal nature, the eternal Self, is not bound by time. Now He says that He exists everywhere and He is not bound by space. Normally we understand the presence or absence of an object or person in terms of physical attributes. We function in our lives based upon what we see, smell, touch, taste and hear. If our pañca indriya, five senses, cannot sense anything, we think nothing exists.

Content: One important and surprising thing is that an enlightened master is more present in his absence than in his physical presence. This means that his energy never dies nor does it know any barriers. Many disciples in different parts of the world tell me, 'Swamiji, we wish to be with you more often, please visit us.' I tell them, 'Truly, sixty six percent of Nithyananda is in the mission and the message; only thirty three percent is in this body.' If we limit an enlightened master to his form, we miss him completely. His energy transcends time and space and is always available everywhere forever!

Content: When you are in the energy field of an enlightened master who is no longer in his body, as in a jīva samādhi, the final resting place of the master's body, without even making an effort, you become calmer and experience that space of peace within. Many great temples such as Tirupati, Tiruvannamalai, Mantralaya and Pazhani in India are built around the final resting places of enlightened masters. That is why these places serve as powerful energy centers today, drawing millions of people every year.

Content: Although physically the master is no longer in the body, we feel his presence. Why? Because he is not bound in space by the body. The cosmic energy that he manifests transcends space and time. Only we know physical barriers. Here, Krishna uses the phrase, 'eyes everywhere.'

Content: During my parivrājaka (monastic wandering), I had a wonderful opportunity to stay and learn with a great mystic in the Himalayas, a Naga Baba. Naga Baba refers to those from the Naga sect. Those belonging to this sect would not wear any clothing. This baba had a unique method of teaching. Whenever people came to learn from him, he would stick his trident (a weapon with three prongs believed to be used by Lord Shiva), in the ground and ask them to look at all three tips of the trident simultaneously. Sometimes his students would sit for three months staring at the trident all day, trying to perfect themselves. It is much harder than it appears to be! For one moment you can see one tip in your vision, and the next moment the next tip, and the next moment the third tip. It is very difficult to see all three tips at the same time! I first thought it would be easy! But when I started practicing, I was shocked. I thought, 'Oh God, I can't even see this small trident

Content: entirely, all at once!' Only then did I understand that without moving the eyeballs, without shifting the gaze, we couldn't see more than one point.

Content: The trident is a great weapon to create awareness of the third eye (the energy centre between the eyebrows). It is a tool to expand our awareness. Right now, your field of vision is 120 degrees. If you start concentrating on one particular point, it will slowly become 30 degrees. The more you concentrate, the narrower the field of vision becomes. However, if you center yourself on the third eye, your awareness will slowly expand beyond 120 degrees, and you will first see 180 degrees, then 240 degrees, and ultimately 360 degrees! To create awareness by centering yourself on the third eye means awakening your consciousness.

Content: When Krishna says, 'Hands and feet everywhere, eyes, head, ears and mouths everywhere,' what does He mean?

Content: This is beyond the comprehension of the human mind and needs a little bit of internalization. We understand only one body - the physical body - because we associate ourselves with it completely. Let me explain with a small diagram:

Content: This diagram shows the seven energy bodies or layers that we have in us. The outermost layer is the physical layer, with which we associate ourselves all the time. We know this body as having a pair of eyes, hands, legs, one nose, head, etc. Now let us take a few points on that layer. Let us call them 'you', 'me', 'your neighbor', 'Krishna', 'Buddha' etc. So, at the gross layer, you are different from your neighbor; your neighbor is different from me and different from the various

Content: forms of God. You can see each point being distinct from the others. We are so rooted in this physical gross layer and so we see many barriers between us and everything around us, because everything appears to be different from the other in this layer.

Content: Now, for each point, if we follow the corresponding points in the inner layers, as we go deeper and deeper, we suddenly realize that we all merge in the nirvanic layer. It is here that the universal energy connects every being. There is no difference in this space between you and me. This is the space of consciousness that Krishna talks about. Here, Krishna and Buddha are no different. All are various forms of God, all are manifestations of the same divinity.

Content: The women who used to look after the cowherds during Krishna's time, that is the gopīs, were great devotees of Krishna. Despite their other household chores, they were soaked in devotion for Krishna all the time. It is said in the rās līlā - the divine play of Krishna wherein he gave the experience of universal consciousness to the gopīs - that Krishna danced with each of the hundred thousand gopīs in Brindavan. Krishna manifested a form for each of the gopīs in order to dance with them individually. It was not merely one form, one body of Krishna, but one hundred thousand forms manifesting simultaneously.

Content: Please understand the deeper meaning in this. Each gopī was so deeply connected with that divine consciousness, the Krishna consciousness, that each one felt His presence. When we go within, into our core, we see divinity in everything. The gopīs saw Krishna everywhere and in everything they did. This universal consciousness knows no physical barriers. That is why Krishna says He is 'all pervading'. He is all enveloping. He is omnipresent.

Content: That is why I say, 'All those who I ordain as healers are my hands, all our ācāryas (teachers) are my vāk (energy of verbal expression), and all our organizers are my mind.' I can only heal a limited number of people with these two physical hands. I can only conduct a limited number of discourses and programs with this one mouth, and I can only organize a limited number of events with this one brain. That is why I operate through my healers, teachers and organizers. The cosmic Nithyananda operates through them!

Content: For a phone connection to happen from one country to another, we need to have the infrastructure: all the cables installed below the sea and so forth. But for this cosmic connection to happen, nothing is needed. If we simply connect to the Self within, suddenly there will be no barriers. We will simply fly!

Content: Krishna goes on to give further qualities of the Self. But understand that all this is said only to inspire us to experience it first hand ourselves. If somebody asks us, 'What does sugar taste like?' and if he has never tasted anything sweet before, how will you explain to him? You may tell him, 'It will be in the form of white cubes, transparent, very sweet.' When he asks, 'What does 'sweet' mean?', what will you say? You can continue to tell him other things about it, 'Sugar is made from sugar cane. Sugar cane is full of sugary syrup, it is fibrous, you can chew on it.' What is the use?

Content: Instead if he puts a handful of sugar in his mouth, he will automatically say, 'This is how sugar tastes! This is how something sweet tastes!' Unless he experiences what 'sweet' means, things will remain a theory for him, although the conviction about sugar might grow in him.

Content: But the problem for intellectuals is that they are clouded with doubts and skepticism so a theoretical explanation is important. We want to measure everything based on what we know. Krishna is compassionate. He is patient.

Content: In Chapter 11, He revealed to Arjuna His cosmic form, the viśvarūpa darśan. But soon after that, Arjuna feels intimidated and cannot handle the energy. He pleads with Krishna, 'I cannot understand You. I cannot withstand Your glory.' But Arjuna wants to know what Krishna is talking about. So once again Krishna gives all kinds of descriptions to penetrate Arjuna's doubts and fears.

Content: The compassion of an enlightened master is so great. In spite of the doubts and skepticism, he quietly and patiently sits with the disciple until, one by one, all doubts are washed away. You see, our doubts and questions arise from our mind, forming a thick layer over us. A master's grace gently dissolves this layer.

Content: Let me narrate an incident that happened in Buddha's life:

Content: A blind man argued with everyone that there is no such thing as light. If someone said that there was light, he would ask that person to catch hold of it and give it to him. He said, 'If there is something called light, I want to touch it, taste it, go around it, play with it. Only then will I believe that there is light.' He argued with everyone until they gave up and accepted that he was right.

Content: One day he went to Buddha. Buddha did not argue with him. Without a word, Buddha asked a doctor to examine and treat him. The blind man received his vision. As soon as he could see, the blind man's joy knew no bounds.

Content: bounds. He enjoyed seeing all the colors. Then he brought some flowers and fruits and offered them at the feet of Buddha and prostrated.

Content: The blind man spoke from the depths of his heart, ‘O Lord Buddha! Blindly I have been arguing with everybody. Others also argued with me and destroyed me. It is good that you have not argued with me. If you also had argued, I would have been ruined. But now I understand that light exists’

Content: Out of the same compassion that Buddha had for the blind man, Krishna explains to Arjuna the same truth in many ways so that something might trigger the spark inside. In this verse, He says that He is responsible for the functioning of all senses but is beyond them. He is responsible for any life that happens, but is detached from it. He is the one who causes the three main qualities of aggression, laziness and goodness to happen, but is beyond all three of them.

Content: Krishna says all life happens because of the thread of the universal energy flowing through. You see, so many things are happening around us, on their own, beyond our awareness. When we put a piece of bread in our mouth, we chew and swallow it. After that, the whole process of converting this to energy happens without our giving instructions. Forget giving instructions, we don’t even know what is happening inside. Today, scientists may understand the chemical reactions, but they still don’t know what differentiates a dead cell from a living cell. How then can one understand the universe and all the millions of stars and planets in the galaxies, running in perfect synchronization? Is there any policeman sitting in space and controlling them? No!

Content: Please understand that the life force that conducts the whole show, that controls every breath we take, the same energy that maintains an order in the chaos of the universe, is pure intelligence. In Sanskrit, there is a saying that means not even a blade of grass can move without the will of the Divine.

Content: Krishna is sending a message to us about how much we depend on Him, who is the cosmic intelligence, for anything to happen. At the same time, without getting involved, the universal energy is a witness to all activities and all life forms.

Content: If we look deeper, we realize that whatever we see and perceive as objects, are creations of the mind along with the senses. We create a world of our own. Deep down, the true Self watches the whole thing without getting involved. Our mind reacts to a particular situation, causing pain or happiness. The mind projects some people as good, some as bad, some incident as painful, others as joyful, etc. and then runs after or away from the people and experiences.

Content: Earlier Krishna explained about the three qualities: Tamas (lethargy), rajas (activity) and satva (harmony). These form the triguna, the three qualities. Any food that we eat, or action, or object can be classified as belonging to one of these categories. As long as we identify ourselves with this body and see everything in terms of names or forms, we keep classifying them, for example, we say, meditation is good, overeating is bad, etc.

Content: For an enlightened being, a knower of the truth, everything is the same. He stops labeling because he has moved beyond names and forms, and beyond the dualities of good and bad.

Content: Ramakrishna, an enlightened master from West Bengal, India, gives a beautiful analogy. When we stand in a valley, we see pits and depressions on the ground if we look down, and mountain cliffs when we look up. But when we climb up to the summit, we observe that all the ups and downs below no longer matter. We have transcended the ups and downs that we saw when we were on the ground.

Content: How to climb to the summit? How to fly into the sky above all the ups and downs? You must relax. You must realize that you are already on the summit. You are beyond the ups and downs. You are beyond the three nirgunas. But no, we don't want to believe it. Our mind tells us, 'No. What is he saying? I have important things to do in life. How can I relax?' We love our tensions and problems too much. We like to clutch onto our lives. We do not want to let go because we think this is all there is. We do not relax. We do not realize that if we relax, we can fly. We can become the nirgunas - beyond the three qualities - that Krishna speaks about.

Content: A small story:

Content: A hunter in a forest came across a clearing where there were many birds. He took a twig and tied a rope at the center of the twig. Then he took the two ends of the rope and tied them firmly to a pole on each side. Now the twig was hanging by the rope. He sprinkled a few grains around the setup. He was a clever hunter. Happily, he went away for a nap.

Content: After some time, a bird was attracted by the grains and sat on the twig. The minute it sat on one side of the twig, the whole twig turned upside down due to the bird's weight. The bird now saw the whole world upside down and became frightened. It thought it was trapped! It clasped to the twig harder than ever and prayed to God to be set free.

Content: After an hour, the hunter returned leisurely and caught hold of the bird. After that, you know what happened.

Content: This is what we do in our lives. The bird did not realize that it was always free! All it needed to do was let go of the twig and fly away. Instead, what did it do? It held onto the twig tighter and tighter, thinking it was trapped. We do the same thing. We grasp and clutch onto our past. We clutch onto the pains and joys and keep missing the point. We keep missing the present moment. We miss eternity. We miss our consciousness inside.

Content: The supreme truth is inside and outside all living entities. It is moving and non-moving on account of being subtle. It is near and far. Krishna uses all these terms and concepts such as moving, non-moving, near, far, inside and outside because these are the only terms we can understand and comprehend. He is giving us an idea to tell us that supreme consciousness is beyond these concepts and terms that we know.

Content: We always evaluate whatever we see with a fixed frame of reference, based upon a physical reference such as near, far, inside, outside, etc. Please understand that these adjectives are relative. They happen when we use a fixed set of references to compare against. What is near for somebody may be far for somebody else. What is inside of something can be outside of something else. For example, we can say that the television is inside the house and the tree is outside. However at the same time, we can say that the tree is inside that town or city. With relation to the house the tree is outside, and with relation to the city the tree is inside. So it is relative to which objects, spaces or locations we use as our reference.

Content: You see the world full of objects with different qualifiers because you associate yourself with a fixed entity. You think you are this body with a fixed boundary that is watching the rest of the world. When you cut yourself off from the rest of the objects around you, you label everything else based on this reference you have created. You say something is far or near based on the physical boundaries, with respect to the coordinates of your body. You have created a reference point. Whatever you do, what you think, is based on this reference point. You live in this space enclosed by your physical boundary called ghaṭākāśa.

Content: You see, there are three spaces we can live in: The space that is covered by the body, the space that is covered by the mind, and the space that cannot be covered by body and mind. The first is ghaṭākāśa, or the space enclosed by this physical body. This space exists inside our physical body. Most of us live in this space nearly all the time. The next is cidākāśa, the space that you are aware and conscious of. Right now, if you are aware of this hall it is your cidākāśa. This is the space of the thoughts and mind. The third is mahākāśa. This is the whole space, cosmos, everything put together.

Content: The ghaṭākās̄a is made up of the five elements that are: earth, water, fire, air and ether. These elements become subtler as we move up, from earth, to water, to fire, to air, to ether. None of the first four reflect consciousness. Ether, the subtlest element, connects with consciousness. It reflects consciousness. And that is the reason why we are alive. The problem is, we think consciousness is bound by ghaṭākās̄a. We think it is limited to this body.

Content: That is why we make this body the reference when we view the outer world. We think this body is the 'I' that sees the rest of the world. You see, all science had this as its basic foundation: we are separate entities defined by physical boundaries. Enlightened masters who have moved beyond ghaṭākās̄a into mahākās̄a understand that all this division of space is due to our ignorance.

Content: Please understand that space can never be divided. Yet we divide it into boundaries and associate terms: within, inside, outside, near, far, etc. because of our limited understanding. This is the cause for our suffering. First of all, we divide the space because of our ignorance. Second, we try to possess the space that we think is in our control. And third, we fear that the space might be taken from us. All fears, including the fear of death, happen because we constantly try to protect the space covered by our body and mind.

Content: We must understand the basic truth that space cannot be divided. When we understand that we are mahākās̄a, we transcend all boundaries. When the jump from ghaṭākās̄a to cidākās̄a, and from cidākās̄a to mahākās̄a happens, we realize that there is no such thing as inside, outside, near or far.

Content: Whatever space we may be in, the possibility of achieving a higher space is available to every one of us. Man, as such, is only potentiality. He is not actuality. He is not what he is supposed to be. As of now we are in seed form and have not expressed our potential fully. We have not become trees yet. But that does not mean we cannot grow and become trees. When we transcend these relative boundaries we will understand through experience what Krishna says.

Content: Krishna says that the supreme truth is inside and outside all living entities. It is moving and non-moving on account of being subtle. This is the space of mahākās̄a, which includes the space of everything. This space is absolute. Everything is included in this space. When there is no 'two,' how can we compare? How can we say something is near or far when there is only one? The truth is absolute and one.

Content: Although the supreme spirit appears to be divided as the cosmic and individual entities, it is never divided. It is to be known that this is the basis of generation,

Content: maintenance and destruction of life. The same universal energy that has no name or form manifests itself in this world as various shapes, names and forms. What is integrated and one appears as many.

Content: When we pour water into containers of different shapes and sizes, it takes on their shapes. Water in each of the jars appears to be different from the others. If we carefully examine their contents, all of them contain the same water. Similarly, the world of many forms and shapes, so many species of plants and animals, appears as though there is so much variety. Underlying them all is the same energy. The prāṇa śakti, life force, running in each of them is the same.

Content: In the Upaniṣads there is the analogy of the waves and the ocean that I spoke of earlier. Each wave rises from the same mass of water and falls back into it. In this brief period of time, from the time it rises until the time it falls, it thinks that it is different from the rest of the ocean. Similarly, each wave thinks it is independent and disconnected. The baby wave that is just born is given a name by the other waves, which are already present. Not only that, after a while this wave starts to define for itself an identity: ‘This is my father wave,’ ‘This my mother wave,’ ‘These are my friends,’ ‘These are my teachers,’ ‘These are my enemies,’ and so on.

Content: After a while, the wave forgets that it has risen from the ocean. It gets busy in carving this false identity for itself. And before it realizes, it falls back into the ocean! Whether the wave likes it or not, whether it wants to believe it or not, it must fall back into the ocean because that is where it came from. It has no choice. It came from the ocean and it must go back into the ocean. All problems arise when the wave thinks it is different from the ocean and resists it. Different waves start to compare themselves with each other about which one is better, and even fight wars with each other.

Content: If the wave understands that once it falls back it will emerge elsewhere as another wave, then there is no need to resist the fall. It will relax and enjoy. The wave will suddenly start to enjoy its play in the ocean. If the wave understands that other waves present in that vast mighty ocean are the same water, the wave will suddenly feel a deep connection with other waves because it knows that at the core, they are all one.

Content: If we understand this simple theory of life - that we came from the same Source and we return to it - we will realize that we are connected to something much greater than our individual self.

Content: A small story: Once a boy saw a truck being hauled by another truck with the help of a rope. Both the trucks were moving slowly and causing a traffic jam. The boy saw this and started laughing loudly. The truck driver didn't understand what was happening and asked the boy why he laughed. The boy replied, 'You are using two trucks to carry a rope. That is why I am laughing.'

Content: This is how our life is now. When we are in ignorance, we are fooled by everything in the world and we miss what it really is. The blind men fought with each other because they did not understand that the different things they perceived belonged to the same elephant. If we don't catch the thread that connects the entire universe, we miss the beauty and the bliss. It's only when we realize that each of us is a manifestation of the same divine energy that we feel a deep connection with everything and everyone.

Content: The universal consciousness manifests in numerous ways and is also responsible for destruction. When the same universal energy is unmanifest, unexpressed, it exists in potential form. This is referred to as puruṣa in the scriptures. When this energy manifests itself in this world, taking various names, forms, and shapes, it expresses itself as prakṛti. Prakṛti is the creative expression of puruṣa.

Content: Puruṣa, or the unmanifest energy, is beyond Brahma - the Creator, Vishnu - the Maintainer, and Shiva - the Rejuvenator. The universal consciousness that runs in all beings is beyond names and forms. However, this same universal consciousness in manifestation becomes Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The creation, maintenance and destruction happen when this very same energy manifests as prakṛti.

Content: The life force that caused us to be born also maintains us. Every little thing happening within us is carried out by the same intelligence that brought us into this world. Similarly, the same intelligence accompanies us when we leave the body.

Content: The water of the ocean is the puruṣa and the waves that dance and play are prakṛti. The water appears to be divided in the form of waves of many shapes and sizes. In reality it is one mass of the same water. Similarly, Krishna reminds Arjuna that the supreme spirit appears to be divided into puruṣa and prakṛti because of the different creations and expressions of prakṛti. However, He is beyond all this and exists undivided. At their core, all are creations of the universal energy.

Content: Krishna says that He is the supreme Self, or witnessing consciousness that is the source of all light in all luminous objects.

Content: na tatra sūryo bhāti na candra tārakaṁ nemā vidyato bhānti kuto yāmāgni । tameva bhāntamanu bhāti sarvam் tasya bhāsā sarvamidam் vibhāti ॥

Content: overloaded with high-resolution images. What happens? It can't process whatever information is passed to it. Similarly, we use a filter of past emotions, ideas and memories to see the world. As a result we stop seeing things as they are. When we operate from our ego, we live in a fantasy world of our own without knowing what truly exists.

Content: The ego is like darkness; it has no positive existence. Just as darkness is the absence of light, the ego is the absence of awareness. To struggle to kill the ego is like struggling to push darkness out of the room.

Content: So how do we see things as they are and experience the truth? To expel the darkness, what you need to do is to forget about dealing with the darkness. Focus your energy on light instead. Bring a small lamp into the room and the darkness will leave on its own! This lamp of consciousness and awareness is available to all of us. It lies within us.

Content: Forget all about the ego. Instead, focus on bringing a lamp of awareness into your being. When your entire consciousness has become a flame, the ego is no more.

Content: Q: Swamiji, I am confused by what I have read about puruṣa and prakṛti. You said puruṣa is the water of the ocean and prakṛti is the waves. It is so simple. Why are other explanations so complicated?

Content: All truths are simple. We complicate them because we do not understand the truths ourselves. We are full of self-doubts so we wish to cover all possibilities of it. We want the reader and the listener confused so that they do not ask more questions. The objective of all philosophers is to confuse others so that they cannot make out how confused they themselves are!

Content: Don't get tied up in knots trying to understand these words. There is no need. Scholars and philosophers can worry about them. What you need to know is that there is one energy source. It is the same source that runs this universe and each of us. The absence of this awareness causes our problems and suffering.

Content: This energy source is what Krishna calls Paramātman, which when loosely translated means 'the supreme spirit'. This is Krishna consciousness, God, or whatever else you wish to call it. It pervades everything and everyone, and

Content: without this energy nothing can work. This energy is intelligent. It is buddhi and śakti, intelligence and power, or powerful intelligence.

Content: The Sāñkhya philosophers, such as Kapila, dissected this concept further. They termed puruṣa as the unmoving part of this intelligent energy. This is the base, the foundation, the unseen, unmanifest energy. As an analogy, this is the ether of the space, the water of the ocean and the soil of the earth. Prakṛti is the manifestation of this potential energy. Puruṣa is pure energy; prakṛti is its manifestation as matter, so to speak. Prakṛti represents the waves in the ocean and the plants in the soil.

Content: Understanding that it is all the same undifferentiated puruṣa is Self-realization, nothing else. Enlightenment is directly experiencing that you are one with that intelligent energy, the Paramātman. That is why there is no need to achieve enlightenment. You only need to be aware that you are that. You need to understand that you are not the separated wave, different from the waters of the ocean. You are the ocean. You are the wave and the ocean.

Content: This is all there is to it. Let the philosophers worry about all the attributes of prakṛti and so on. You relax!

Chapter Number: 13.19

Content: 13.19 Thus the field of activities, knowledge and the knowable has been summarily described by Me. It is only when we can understand the true nature of our supreme Self and the material world with which we have created false identities that we can go beyond this and attain the supreme Self itself.

Chapter Number: 13.20

Content: 13.20 Prakrti or the field and its attributes and purusa or the knower or the supreme consciousness are both without beginning. All the transformations of nature that we see are produced by the field or prakrti.

Chapter Number: 13.21

Content: 13.21 In the production of the body and the senses, prakrti is said to be the cause; In the experience of pleasure and pain, purusa is said to be the cause.

Chapter Number: 13.22

Content: 13.22 The living entity in the material nature follows the way of life, enjoying the moods of nature. Due to association with the material nature, it meets the good or evil among various species.

Chapter Number: 13.23

Content: 13.23 Yet, in this body there is a transcendental energy. He who is divine, who exists as an owner or the witness, supporter, enjoyer and the pure witnessing consciousness, is known as the Paramātman.

Chapter Number: 13.24

Content: 13.24 One who understands this philosophy concerning material nature, the living entity and the interaction of the modes of nature is sure to attain liberation. He will not take birth here again, regardless of his present position.

Content: In the same way, we think this life is real. If I tell you now that the life that you are leading is nothing but a creation of your mind, will you believe me? No! You are so immersed in this dream that you think is real.

Content: See, when we wake up from a dream, why do we suddenly understand that it was not real? It is because suddenly we perceive a separation between the dream and us. The understanding that it was merely a dream, puts us into reality. Similarly, the understanding that this world is nothing but a projection of the mind, the understanding that this is not our real identity, will put us into reality.

Content: A small story:

Content: A Zen master woke up crying one morning. His disciples rushed to him. They enquired, 'What happened, master?' The master said, 'In my dream last night, I was a butterfly.'

Content: The disciples did not understand. They asked, 'So what, master? It was a dream and it is over. What bothers you?'

Content: The master replied, 'You do not understand my problem. I am unable to tell whether I am a Zen master who dreamed that I was a butterfly, or whether I am actually a butterfly who is dreaming that I am a Zen master.'

Content: When we are dreaming, we are unaware of who we are because the dream is so real when it happens. For that reason, what makes us assume that the so-called real world that we are living in is real? It could well be another dream. When we dream we create the whole world inside, don't we? The whole setting is created by our mind. We are not creating just our identity, but we create everything that surrounds us also.

Content: Let us say we dream of winning some award in front of thousands of people. The mind is so powerful that it can create the entire picture including every detail of the auditorium, all the thousand people sitting and clapping, the speeches, everything that we would normally see in an auditorium. The mind is so powerful to be able to give life to the scene around us and not just to our identity in the dream.

Content: This is what the mind does in the so-called real world also. The only difference is that we wake up easily from our night dreams. However, we do not know how to wake up from this bigger day dream that we now think is reality. As long as we think this world is real, we suffer. The minute we realize this world is not real, we create a distance between the suffering and us. Only an enlightened master who has experienced the truth can awaken us to reality. Out of their compassion,

Content: these masters descend on planet Earth to tell us that everything we see around us is a projection of our minds. The understanding of the kṣetra, the illusory world created by our minds, is important in helping us to differentiate between reality and non-reality. Krishna says that we need to understand what kṣetra and kṣetrajña are in order to realize the truth. Until then we blindly believe that the projection of our mind, the drama, is reality. We have created our own drama and are acting in it. By and by, we forget that we created the drama. We forget that we are not the roles or characters we enact onstage. We start judging and reacting to everything about it.

Content: We are so engrossed in the material world that we have no awareness of our true self. This is also due to our upbringing. Parents and teachers don’t tell us that we are divine beings having a human experience and that everything around us is a drama. The environment where we are brought up, our families and societal setup, do not encourage us in pursuing the path of Self-realization. This is because they are also caught in the false identities. They do not tell us that we are the ksetrajña because they do not know that themselves.

Content: If a child is constantly reminded about the divinity within right from birth, it grows up to be a jīvan mukta, liberated while still in the body. This is how children were brought up in the vedic tradition. That is why the level of consciousness was so high.

Content: Prakṛti, the material world that we see, is without beginning. Puruṣa or supreme consciousness is also without beginning. All changes and transformations are produced by prakṛti.

Content: In a movie theatre, different movies are projected on the same white screen. The screen remains unaffected by the happenings in the movies that are played on it. It remains white and blank before and after the movie. In one scene, there may be happiness, with everyone celebrating. In the next, there may be sadness. Yet the screen is always the same, totally unclutched from the joys and sorrows of the movie. It remains completely unaffected by the different moods that are projected. In the same way, deep down, our core is completely unclutched. This is the puruṣa that Krishna refers to here. All changing, transient things around us are the play of prakṛti.

Content: All the transformations that we see, such as the change in seasons, concepts of time and space, our body, mind or anything that changes are different attributes of prakṛti. It is like the ebb and flow of the waves in an ocean. These attributes rise and fall. The time and space of the rise and fall is totally relative. The duration of

Content: the rise and fall of these attributes is also highly relative because it is purely a concept created by our senses. Our senses perceive time as moving. Our senses perceive the motion of time with respect to the material world, with relation to the speed of the planets, etc. We have created this concept of time for our sensory perceptions. We have created the space and location also with the concept of comparative reality.

Content: The more we attach ourselves to the outer world and the play of prakṛti with respect to events, emotions, ego, body and mind, the more we get entangled in the world of time and space.

Content: Albert Einstein said, 'Time and space are modes by which we think and not conditions in which we live.' This illustrates that modern science is proving and agreeing with what the mystics and ṛṣis have said for thousands of years. Time and space are relative concepts created in our mind. The movement of time and the movement of the mind are directly related to each other.

Content: For example, if we are sitting with someone we love, no matter how much time passes, we feel as if we were with that person for a short duration. We will not be aware how time passed so quickly. On the other hand, if we are sitting with a person who bores us or bothers us, we will feel like looking at our watch constantly. We would feel that time is not moving at all.

Content: As long as our mind moves, time moves. When we look deeply, we realize that the mind is a constant movement between past and future. The mind is a dilemma; it is constantly reviewing the past and planning for the future. We are constantly pulled towards the past or future and are never in the present moment.

Content: We can try a small experiment. For three days decide to completely stay in the present moment without bothering about the past or future. Surely, if we live in the present for three days, we will not lose all our belongings and attachments. So let's decide to stay in the present moment for three days. We can simply fall into the present moment. When we fall into the present moment, the time shaft becomes a servant to us. We can penetrate the time shaft. This means we will have complete access to the entire past and the entire future. Deciding to stay in the present moment for three days means that we must accept whatever we have in the outer and inner worlds.

Content: Whether it is the outer world or the inner world, any craving is a craving. Any craving means that we are being pulled into the future. A craving for enlightenment is also a craving and a hope for the future. The moment we drop all cravings and

Content: all reviews about the past, we fall into the present moment and penetrate the time shaft. Falling into the present moment is called falling into the gap. This is the gap between two thoughts, the kṣaṇa.

Content: When we fall into the present moment, we fall into eternity and that eternity is a combination of past, present and future. There is no distinction. In this state we become the witness of all time and space-related happenings. We become the witnessing consciousness. We become the knower and we witness the field or kṣetra with complete detachment. We realize that everything in the outer world is a drama or a dream, and anything that we attempt to do in our lives is housekeeping in this dream.

Content: Any effort that we make is another act in this dream. The whole idea is to not become entangled or emotionally attached to the housekeeping in this dream. The idea is to enjoy it and watch it by becoming one with our true self.

Content: Knowledge about the material world is necessary to help us step back from the dream and realize that we are unnecessarily attached and entangled in the field, kṣetra. All transformations in the field are related to time and space, which are in turn related to our mind. When we penetrate the time shaft, time becomes our servant. We also see that the whole time shaft is our projection. When we penetrate the time shaft and become witnessing consciousness, we completely control our past and future. The past and the future are transformations of the material world. All transformations are the play of prakṛti or the field. Mind is a part of prakṛti.

Content: Becoming the watcher and having complete awareness to become the watcher of prakṛti means dropping preconceived notions, ideas, concepts, ego, attachments of the mind and the mind itself. We become the watcher when we are completely aware of what is happening inside us whenever we perceive information through our senses. We watch the process of how it happens. The moment we put our attention on it, the mind ceases. The moment we decide to put our attention on it, we have decided to become the watcher. It then depends on how long we can remain the watcher without becoming entangled in what is being watched. The more we practice this, the longer we experience being the watcher. We realize that we are puruṣa.

Content: 'Nature is the source of all material causes and their effects, whereas the living entity is the source of things such as sukha (pleasure), duḥkha (pain) and everything that is of the world.'

Content: Krishna puts us back into our consciousness through these words. This contains the gist of what He has been saying in the previous verses. He makes a clear statement that whatever we see is not us.

Content: He says, 'Go beyond and beyond and beyond and beyond. When you are able to see the body, move beyond. If you are able to witness your thoughts, go further beyond. If you are able to see your moods, go further beyond. If you are able to witness your emotions, go further beyond. You are not that either.'

Content: At one point we cannot go further. We will realize that there's nothing beyond. We are not what we witness. Suddenly, at that moment, pure consciousness starts happening in us.

Content: Ramana Maharshi, an enlightened master who lived in Tiruvannamalai, says beautifully, 'Whatever can be dropped, drop it. At some point we will not be able to drop anything. There will be nothing to drop. Then hold that, that's all.'

Content: Witness the consciousness that is witnessing. When you watch, detach from the thoughts, sit back, relax and watch. Do not try to create, nourish or destroy the thoughts. The ultimate consciousness that witnesses is beyond Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Sustainer) or Shiva (Rejuvenator). When we learn to welcome thoughts, they merely come and go.

Content: It is like watching clouds in the sky. The next time you sit by a window with clouds passing by, try this exercise. Watch the clouds without giving qualifiers to them. Normally, when we watch clouds, we think, 'Oh, that cloud looks like an animal, that cloud resembles a face, the color of that cloud reminds me of those mountains,' and so on. If we can watch them without giving them any attributes, in a completely detached manner, only one thought remains in the end: the thought that you are watching clouds. Even this thought should dissolve for you to be a complete witness.

Content: Even if there is a thought saying that you are witnessing, watch that thought also. Watch the witnessing until that thought also disappears. Go beyond and beyond, deep into your being. Please be very clear that as long as you think in your mind that you are witnessing, you are not witnessing. When the thought that you are witnessing exists, you are not witnessing. You are now caught in the thought, 'I am witnessing.' Drop that!

Content: This last thought that you are witnessing is like a bridge between you and God, between you and the thoughtless zone. Initially, when you try to witness your actions and your thoughts, it is natural to think that you are watching. Let it be. Having this thought is better than having a hundred thoughts bombarding your inner space.

Content: But go beyond. Do not stop there. Witness the thought that you are witnessing. Then the pure, uncorrupted and untouched inner space happens in you. It is only in the uncorrupted and pure inner space that God manifests and the divine consciousness is perceived.

Content: This is the secret or true meaning of the story of Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus. Understand, when we make our inner space pure like a virgin, we give birth to Christ or the Christ consciousness! We become divine.

Content: Normally, the space in which thoughts happen in us is filled with conditionings and past memories, what we call engraved memories or engrams. If the Divine is like 24-carat gold in our inner space, copper is added to the pure 24-carat gold in the form of all the conditioning, making it 18-carat or less. Sometimes there is so much conditioning that what comes out is only pure copper! If we flood this space with awareness, if we flood this space with consciousness, it gets cleansed. When we cleanse our inner space, we allow 24-carat gold to happen again within.

Content: Then, whatever we think, speak or do is directly in alignment with the will of the universal consciousness. Then we fall in tune with the Divine. We become a hollow bamboo and allow the Divine to flow through us.

Content: Here Krishna gives us a technique. As of now, we are like 18-carat gold, copper and gold mixed together. When we repeatedly put the 18-carat gold into the fire of witnessing consciousness, eventually it becomes 22-carat gold. If we continue to put that gold into the fire, the 22-carat gold becomes pure 24-carat gold. In the same way, if we put ourselves into the fire of witnessing consciousness, we become purified to a certain extent. Again and again, if we constantly put ourselves into this fire of witnessing consciousness, our inner space eventually becomes completely pure, like 24-carat gold.

Content: Let me narrate to you a real incident that happened when I was in the Himalayas:

Content: I met an elderly Naga sadhu, a person belonging to a sect of wandering monks who wear no clothes and have no possessions. He was sitting on the banks of the sacred river Ganga in the forest. He was calm and serene, so I felt I should go and spend some time just staying around him. He had a pipe with which he smoked ganja.

Content: He said, 'Baithiye, baithiye,' ('sit, sit' in Hindi). Before smoking the pipe, he put a few copper coins inside it. Then he added the ganja, lit it and started smoking. After smoking, he emptied the pipe. Gold coins fell out of the pipe!

Chapter Number: 13

Content: The Field and the Knower of the Field

Content: I couldn’t believe my eyes. He sold the gold coins and purchased more ganja. Then, again he showed me that ordinary copper coins were being turned into pure gold coins. I stayed with him for one or two days. I saw him do this more than ten times.

Content: The turning of the copper coins into gold is called alchemy i.e., changing base metals into higher metals. I asked him, ‘Baba, how do you do this?’ I had never told him that I was from South India and I was also speaking in broken Hindi, not in Tamil, my native language.

Content: The baba suddenly replied in Tamil, ‘Angam pazzhuthaal, thangam pazzhukkum.’ It means, ‘If your being ripens, gold can be made to appear.’ I was shocked to hear him reply in Tamil!

Content: His words mean that when we fill our inner space with witnessing consciousness, our lower energy gets transformed into spiritual energy. This inner alchemy makes the outer alchemy possible. Your inner space starts radiating by witnessing the witnessing consciousness.

Content: The essence of all religions and all spirituality, the whole thing is contained in this single verse that Krishna presents here. Krishna presents the master key that opens all locks, in this chapter: witnessing the body and the mind, witnessing your being. Witnessing is the master key.

Content: If we can enter the witnessing technique and experience the witnessing mode for at least a few minutes, we will get a taste of it. However much we hear about witnessing, however much we talk about witnessing or however much we analyze the art of witnessing, unless we experience it ourselves, it is of no use.

Content: A small story:

Content: A man was driving on a highway around midnight. A cop stopped and asked him, ‘Sir, I think you are drunk. Have you been drinking?’

Content: The man replied, ‘Yes, I have just had six drinks. Do you want the names? A few cans of beer, a few brandies…’ He started listing the drinks.

Content: The cop said, ‘Stop, I need to take a breath analyzer test. Please get out of the car.’

Content: The man asked, ‘Why do you need a test? Don’t you believe me?’

Content: The cop was required to do the test whether he believed the driver or not.

Content: Similarly, you cannot just take my word for it. You must do the test. You must test it on yourself. You must test it with your being. Reading or listening will not transform you. Reading or listening is like reading the menu and leaving the restaurant without tasting the food on the menu! If you listen to what I say without testing, it is like going away from a restaurant without eating.

Content: So now since we have read the menu card, it is time to taste the preparation.

Content: Krishna goes one step further. All along He told us how to cleanse our inner space and how to realize the divine consciousness within. Now, in the last verse He says that one who does so attains liberation, regardless of his present position.

Content: Every being is moving towards the Divine, whether or not the being is aware of it. We take on this body to fulfill certain desires. If we truly put our energies into dissolving these desires, we have no reason to take another birth to fulfill these desires. The problem happens when we start to lead somebody else's life and forget we are here to live our desires and not others' desires. We constantly borrow other people's desires and accumulate them in us.

Content: Then, before we start realizing our true nature, it becomes time to leave this body. We take with us the entire baggage of unfulfilled desires and take another body again. The universe again and again tries to help us dissolve our desires so that we become free of them. But we resist by not accepting what happens within and around us.

Content: Krishna says that an understanding of kṣetra or prakṛti straightaway liberates us. We are caught up in pursuing sense pleasures and accumulating desires as long as we associate ourselves with this body. The minute we understand that we are beyond the body and mind, we suddenly realize, 'What stupidity to run in this rat race!'

Content: All our problems arise due to the ignorance of our true nature. The understanding that we are beyond all petty things like fighting for name, fame, money or power liberates us from them. A cognitive shift happens and frees us from the bondage of material things. When the understanding happens about the futility of acquiring material possessions and relationships, a sudden shift happens in the inner consciousness.

Content: It can happen at any time, to anyone. It is not necessary that you be brought up in an ashram, listening to God's name all the time. You could be anywhere, doing anything. The cognitive shift can happen to anyone at any time. And when it happens, it is a quantum jump in the level of consciousness. It does not happen gradually. It is like pressing a switch and the whole room is lit up in one shot.

Content: There are a number of saints in India in whom this cognitive shift has happened. Before enlightenment, the great South Indian saint Purandara Dasa used to be a goldsmith by profession. He was immersed day and night in counting how much he had earned. He was so miserly that he never bothered to share his wealth with the needy.

Content: On the other hand, his wife was generous. She never hesitated to give anything that she had to someone who needed it more than her. However, she did so secretly because her husband objected.

Content: One day she gave her diamond nose ring to someone who asked for money. Purandara Dasa somehow found out about this incident. He did not like the fact that such a precious ring had been given away. He went home angrily to express his disapproval to his wife.

Content: In the meantime his wife, not knowing what to do, pleaded with God to help her. By the time Purandara Dasa arrived home, his wife had her ring intact. It was a play of the Divine.

Content: Her husband could not understand what was going on. Suddenly, deep down, a shift happened within him. He realized how much he had wasted his energies going after money. It had brought him nowhere. He realized the futility of his life until then. And he set out on a deep quest for self-realization.

Content: So, irrespective of our profession or the level at which we may be spiritually, just an understanding of the play of Existence is enough to heal us. Just an understanding that we are beyond material pursuits is enough to liberate us.

Content: Q: Swamiji, are we talking about an intellectual understanding here? I understand that none of my material possessions are permanent. In any case, when I die I cannot take anything with me. But as long as I live in this body, I need sustenance and I need to work for material benefits. This work is reality, not an illusion. What is the answer?

Content: You have provided the answer yourself. You are aware that you cannot carry anything with you when you die. You know that nothing you acquire is permanent. This is a good understanding.

Content: All you must work on now is your intellect. Develop this understanding further. It will penetrate you sooner or later.

Content: There are different ways to look at material acquisition. Most of us keep acquiring whether we need the material possessions or not. We do it because it seems to give us status and name and fame since society respects you based on what you have. There is no end to this. This is a competition, a rat race. Even if you win the rat race, you will still be a rat!

Content: You do not enjoy what you work for because you are so caught up in acquiring more. There is always someone else who has more than you, so you cannot stop. You are a robot with the stop button removed!

Content: Another way to look at it is with logic, as you are doing now. This is good. You do not acquire for the sake of acquiring but because you need it to survive. The problem however, is that each of us has our own definition for 'survival'. One person can walk to work; another person must drive; a third person must be driven!

Content: You are still working towards a result and you are still attached to an outcome. If the outcome is in your favor, you are happy. If not, you are in misery. You are still in bondage.

Content: There is a third way of looking at this. You have been brought into this world by an intelligent energy. You can trust that energy to take care of you. When you pray to God, you pray with an objective. You know that God can give; however, you do not believe that God knows what to give you. So, you make a petition that God can listen to. Why? When the Divine has the power to give, don't you think it has intelligence to know what to give?

Content: I agree you need to work; no one can remain idle for long. However, you can work without becoming attached to the outcome of work. When you do this, you are in a witnessing mode. You work and yet, you are not attached to the outcome of the work. You know that whatever happens, it will be okay. You know deep within, that the intelligent energy will take care of you.

Chapter Number: 13.25

Content: Some perceive the Paramātman in their inner psyche through mind and intellect that have been purified by meditation Or by metaphysical knowledge or by karma yoga.

Chapter Number: 13.26

Content: There are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the supreme personality upon hearing about Him from others. Through the process of hearing about the Supreme Self, they also transcend the path of birth and death.

Chapter Number: 13.27

Content: Bharata, know that whatever is born whether movable or immovable, It comes into existence by the combination of kṣetra and kṣetrajñya.

Content: In this verse, Krishna gives various techniques for the path to Self-realization. He says various methods or paths may be used to realize our true Self. People say 'As many masters, so many paths.' Actually it should be 'As many disciples, so many paths!' Each disciple can have his own path. This is what Krishna says. We can attain the ultimate consciousness through different paths.

Content: Krishna says that through meditation or yoga or knowledge or contemplation or surrendering to the Divine, you can attain liberation. All the different methods lead to the same goal. Each chapter of the Bhagavad Gita gives a different technique to realize the Self. Krishna talks about jñāna yoga, union through knowledge, in Chapter 4. Then He talks about bhakti yoga, union through devotion, in Chapter 12.

Content: Whatever be the path, the ultimate goal is the same. Ramakrishna proved this truth by practicing different religions and different techniques. If you read his biography, you will see that he practiced Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Tantra.

Content: He concluded that all these paths lead to the same ultimate consciousness. He also preached different paths to different disciples. He asked Vivekananda to read books on advaita, non-duality. He asked other disciples to be immersed in devotion to Devi (Divine Mother). He suggested different paths depending on what kind of a person the disciple was. If someone was logical, if someone had lots of questions like Vivekananda did, he asked them to read books. If someone was devoted, he suggested the path of bhakti or devotion.

Content: After our second-level meditation program, Nithyananda Spurana Program, I give spiritual names to those who ask for it. I give the names based on the energies of the devotees. The names depend on how they connect to the cosmic Nithyananda. If I see that individuals act at an emotional level like devotion, I give names that suit that particular energy. The second category is intellectual people. Intellectual people are those who connect at a mental level. They need logical explanations for everything. The third category is of those who connect at the being level.

Content: When I ask for their names, I meditate on their energies and give them the spiritual names. The spiritual name gives them a path, and the path is different for each one. The name has significance. The name reminds you of your path. We generally associate ourselves with our name. So whenever you utter your name or when somebody calls you by your spiritual name, it rings a bell in your head. It guides you to the destination.

Content: Krishna tells Arjuna about the paths. He gives options. Krishna gives alternatives: meditation, yoga, chanting mantra, learning and acquiring knowledge and surrendering to the cosmos.

Content: One important thing is that you should know which path is good for you. Lots of people take up a spiritual path without knowing what it is. You should understand what your path is. Many people attend meditation courses in the ashram. They enjoy those few days in the ashram being around me and they decide to join the ashram. They don't know what their path is or if ashram life is their path. They just want to join, that's all. They ask me, 'Swamiji, I want to join the ashram. Please tell me what I should do.'

Content: There are other people who simply follow what others are doing. If the parents are followers of a particular guru, the children also follow that guru. There is nothing wrong in following someone for a start. You can have a starting point but you should find out if you are on the right path. You should not blindly follow someone because someone you know is following that guru.

Content: A small story: On a dark night, a man discovered that the headlights of his car had failed. He decided to follow the car in front of him. It was dark outside and he could not see anything. If the car in front took a turn, he also took that turn. He managed quite well using the light from the car ahead of him. After some time, the lights of the lead car switched off and came to a sudden halt. The second driver bumped into the car and shouted at the driver of the first car, 'Why did you stop?' 'I've reached my house. What do you expect me to do?' replied the other driver. You see, if you follow something or someone blindly, you will not reach the correct destination. You must know your own path. There are lots of people who go to meditation programs offered by one guru. Then they go to another guru and attend all his courses as well. They keep hopping. Like island hopping, they do guru hopping. Actually nowadays this has become a fashion. People ask each other, 'How many courses have you attended?' You start collecting certificates from all the gurus. There are different paths to realize the truth. However, we must understand what our path is. This is where a true enlightened master can help. He knows exactly what the path is for you. He corrects you when you are on the wrong path. He corrects your mistakes and your techniques according to what your path is. In our Advanced Healers Program, disciples sit on the stage and answer the audience's questions. When they answer the questions, I know what mistakes they are making and I correct them. In this verse Krishna gives different techniques, like meditation, yoga, knowledge. Lots of people do these things. Some people ask, 'Swamiji, I am meditating daily for 21 minutes. I am still unable to feel anything. Why is it?' I ask them, 'Tell me honestly, are you meditating with full intensity and full awareness? When you are meditating, is your mind with your body or are you thinking about the office?' Naturally, they do not say anything after that. You see, all the techniques must be done in the correct manner. If you fall asleep while meditating, even if you sit for 21 minutes for 21 days, there will be no proper result. Let me tell you something that happened in one of our meditation classes. This meditation technique is meant for the anāhata cakra - the energy center

Content: located in the heart region. At the end of this meditation, we keep our focus on the anāhata or heart. One person sat straight and started the meditation very well. Then towards the end, he started feeling sleepy and started dropping to one side. During the last 10 minutes, I called to him and asked, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'I am doing anāhata meditation, Swamiji.'

Content: I asked him, 'Are you doing the meditation on your anāhata or on your neighbor's anāhata?'

Content: You see, meditation must be done with awareness. Everything you do can be meditation if you do it with awareness and intensity. Lots of people chant mantras. Daily they wake up early, take a bath and sit in the prayer room and chant. If they chant with awareness it is fine. But what do they often do?

Content: If the milkman calls from outside the house at that time, they shout back, 'Okay, put the milk near the door. I will take it later.' Then they resume chanting! Next, the maid comes and starts gossiping about the neighbors. Immediately, though they continue to chant, they will be hearing the gossip! Sometimes they will even give their expert opinions on whatever they are hearing!

Content: This is not meditation. In the same way, there are lots of misconceptions about yoga. People go to yoga classes for exercises. Today yoga has become a fashion. There are so many types of yoga: Power yoga, Deluxe yoga and Super-deluxe yoga. A yoga studio is like a fashion-shopping complex. If someone says, 'I am doing yoga,' it is like saying, 'I have a Mercedes car.' That is what yoga has become now. Yoga was meant to be much more than a body and status building exercise. Krishna gives it as a path to attain the ultimate consciousness.

Content: In this verse Krishna talks about sāṅkhyena, through knowledge or philosophical discussion. You should understand one thing. Gathering knowledge and philosophical discussions can be done in two ways. Many people read lots of books. They have a big library with philosophical books, religious books, spiritual books and biographies of masters. They collect books and knowledge. When someone says something, they quote from the books and have long discussions.

Content: These people are the intellectuals. They collect knowledge like others collect stamps or coins. But if you look deeper, the knowledge will be just another manifestation of their ego. They would just show off their superiority in front of others. They would not have really assimilated the knowledge. They would have not really internalized it for themselves.

Content: Krishna says you can attain the goal using knowledge. We must understand that reading and collecting knowledge alone is not enough. We must experience in

Content: order to know. As long as we are collecting different philosophies, we are basically only collecting. We are not adding value to ourselves. We must practice and internalize the great truths. When we internalize them, transformation happens in us. If we discuss for the sake of showing our knowledge and ego, we have made no use of that knowledge. Knowledge and discussions can be a powerful tool only if we know how to use them for our growth.

Content: At the end of the verse, Krishna gives a wonderful technique. He gives the ultimate technique, the technique of surrendering. He says, 'Surrender the outcome of your actions to Me.' This is the most effective technique. He talks about it throughout the Gita.

Content: Just surrender the fruits of your actions to Him, the universal consciousness. Most often, we take responsibility for our actions. That is when our tensions and problems start. Just surrender everything to the cosmic energy of Krishna. Once we do, we will feel liberated. We will feel free. This is the easiest path to reach the truth.

Content: Are there any prerequisites to attain the truth or to start on a spiritual path? Krishna tries to answer this question. So many people attend one meditation course and think they have become enlightened. They can feel happy about doing something like meditation, but the problem is they start preaching to others without really experiencing it themselves. They start looking down upon or even intimidating others who do not meditate. Krishna answers this question. A person need not have any spiritual knowledge to start on a particular path. There is no prerequisite. Even if the person is totally new to spirituality, he can follow a spiritual path.

Content: Only a cognitive shift must happen. It is like this. A man who is blind from birth does not know what light is. He does not know what colors are. He has never seen them. He does not have any prior experience of light. If he is left to himself where there is no one else living, he will think darkness is all that there is in the world. If somehow the sight energy or cakṣu is activated in him, he sees everything in front of him. He enjoys light and colors. He did not know what they were before he got his eyesight, yet immediately, he can enjoy them.

Content: That shift must happen. That's all. So many enlightened masters did not have any prior knowledge about spirituality. Let me tell you about the enlightened master Valmiki from India who wrote the great epic Ramayana.

Content: Before enlightenment, he was a highway robber. He waited by the roads in the jungles. Whenever wealthy people crossed that jungle, he robbed them.

Content: One day the sage Narada was passing through that jungle. Narada is known for his devotion to Vishnu, one of the Hindu trinity. All Narada had was a small stringed instrument that he played while constantly singing the praises of Vishnu. When Valmiki saw him, he stopped him and said, 'Give me everything you have, otherwise I will kill you!' Narada told him, 'I don't have anything with me except this small instrument and God's name. So I can't give you anything.' Valmiki thought he was bluffing. He asked Narada, 'How can you not have anything?'

Content: Narada smiled and asked, 'What do you do with all these things that you rob from others?' Valmiki told him, 'These are for my family, my children, my wife and my parents.'

Content: Narada asked, 'You do all this for your children, wife and parents. Do you think they will stay with you forever?'

Content: Valmiki told Narada, 'Yes, of course, they will be with me. I get them wealth. I provide them with food to survive. They will always be with me.'

Content: Narada once again asked him, 'Are you sure they will always be there for you?'

Content: Valmiki became irritated. He replied, 'Can't you understand? I am sure that they will always be there for me.'

Content: Actually Narada was only buying time asking him such questions. He kept Valmiki engaged in a conversation and made him look at life from a different perspective.

Content: Finally Narada asked, 'Okay, you have lots of trust that your family will always support you; they will always be there for you. Will they be there when you die? If you ask them to die with you, will they agree?'

Content: Valmiki confidently answered, 'I am sure at least one of them will come if I ask them. I am robbing people only to support them. They are surviving because I get them this wealth. I am sure if I ask, they will die with me.'

Content: Narada said, 'Okay, if you think they will do that for you, go and ask them and come back to me. If any one of them agrees, you can kill me. I will not go anywhere. I will stay here.'

Content: Valmiki agreed and went home. He asked his wife first if she would die with him. His wife said, 'Dear, it is true that I am your other half, but I don't

Content: think it is fair to ask me to die with you. When it comes to your death, it is your death only.'

Content: Valmiki was shocked. Anyway, he thought his children would surely go with him, as they loved him very much. He asked his children, and they said, 'Father, we are young. We haven't seen the world yet. You have seen everything but we haven't. How can we die with you?'

Content: Valmiki became depressed. His wife and children were saying they wouldn't be there with him when he died. He then thought his parents would surely go with him as they had taken care of him and had raised him. So he went up to them and asked them the same question. But to his surprise, they said, 'Why should we die with you? We are enjoying our life with our grandchildren. Why should we die with you?'

Content: This shocked him. He went back to Narada and told him what had happened. Narada listened and told him, 'The only person who can be with you always is God.'

Content: This statement changed the whole life of Valmiki. He realized the futility of what he was doing. He sat in the forest and meditated so deeply and for so long that an anthill formed on top of him. That is how he got his name Valmiki, which means 'born from an anthill'. When he came out of meditation, he was enlightened!

Content: Valmiki did not have any knowledge about spirituality. He was a robber. That one statement by Narada made all the difference. He started looking inward after that, and became enlightened.

Content: One important thing to note is that just because someone has spiritual knowledge, it does not mean that he is actually a seeker. I have seen people read lots of books and discuss spirituality even when it is not needed. They think they have great spiritual knowledge. They think they are superior.

Content: Actually, all they have is intellectual knowledge, not spiritual knowledge. When they speak, they do not speak out of experience. That is the difference between an enlightened master and a normal person. When an enlightened master speaks about spirituality, he speaks from his experience of the truth. He has experienced the truth. When a normal person speaks, it is his ego that is speaking. His so-called spiritual knowledge comes from the intellect, from the ego.

Content: People ask me, 'Swamiji, do you think I should attend this course? Do you think I am capable of doing this course?' I tell them, 'If you are stable and available, I

Content: shall make you able.' That is the only prerequisite. If you are stable and available, you are capable of attaining the ultimate truth.

Content: There are two requirements: be stable and be available. You must be stable first. If you are restless, if your mind continuously jumps here and there like a monkey, you will not be able to focus on the path. You will not be able to spend time with yourself. That is the first thing you must have, stability. Next you must be available. This does not mean simply being physically present. You should be present in mind, body and being. You should be available to learn. You should be open.

Content: Many people think they know everything about spirituality. When they attend my courses, they ask scores of questions. I immediately know why they ask so many questions. Their cup is already full. There is no space for anything new to enter. They are not available. Simple! Actually, the best thing that can happen to anyone is to not know anything about spirituality. Then when they hear something, they immediately catch it. That is really the best thing because then, no unlearning needs to be done.

Content: That is what Krishna says. You do not need prior knowledge about spirituality to embark on a path. Even if someone simply tells you about it and you start following a path, it is enough. But be very clear, you should know what you are doing. Don't do anything blindly. In the previous verse, we have talked about it. We should understand what our path is. That's all.

Content: Whatever you see is a combination of matter and energy. The whole universe is seen as kṣetra and kṣetrajña, māyā and ātman, prakṛti and puruṣa, matter and energy, body-mind and consciousness. Existence as we see it cannot be with only one of them. If we believe that what we see is simply matter, we are in illusion or māyā.

Content: Kṣetra is the body that we associate ourselves with and kṣetrajña is the consciousness. What we see as a human body is a combination of both. If there is no consciousness, the body is useless. The matter that we call a body comes to life because of consciousness. Both must be there.

Content: Prakṛti is the manifest and puruṣa is the unmanifest. Kṣetra is like prakṛti. It is the manifested, that which we can see. Along with what you see, there is something behind its existence. It is puruṣa or the unmanifest, the energy behind the matter, which we do not normally see.

Content: We have seen in the earlier verses that all the millions of stars, planets and other celestial bodies exist in perfect harmony. There are so many galaxies. They are

Content: moving in space that has no bounds. How are they moving in such order? Look at our solar system. All the planets move in perfect paths. If we think they are rocks, dust or ice, if we think they are simply matter, how is such an order maintained in the universe?

Content: They are not solely matter. There is something behind the existence of that matter. There is so much chaos; yet there is a beautiful order in that chaos. Order is present because of kṣetrajñya. If it were solely matter or kṣetra, there would not be any intelligence. There is intelligence in that matter. That intelligence or consciousness creates this existence. So the combination of kṣetra and kṣetrajñya is necessary.

Content: Modern science has shown that matter and energy are the same. They are interchangeable. The outer-world scientists proved this recently. However, the inner-world scientists proved it thousands of years ago. Matter and energy coexist to create existence.

Content: I mentioned earlier how every cell of our body has intelligence. Science has proven that every cell in our system has embedded intelligence. Each cell is not made up of simply some chemicals. Each cell also has intelligence or energy. This combination creates the body-mind system.

Content: We should understand that kṣetra and kṣetrajñya are not separate entities when we analyze them at a deeper level. Kṣetra and kṣetrajñya are comprised of the same thing. Kṣetra is the gross form of the energy that also makes up the subtle form of the kṣetrajñya. For existence to happen, both the subtle and gross forms must be there.

Content: How we look at things around us defines our lifestyle. We again and again look at things as only matter. When we see only this gross level, fear and greed creep into us. We then want to get more and more of this matter. We live a materialistic life when we think that all we see is solely matter. When we live at the kṣetra level, we live in an illusion or māyā. That is the problem. When we live in this illusion, we define ourselves based on all these things which we think of only as matter. Because of this, we run after matter and want to acquire more.

Content: We want to possess the matter. We want to get more and more. But when we realize that it is energy also, we think, 'How can I possess energy? Is it possible to possess it?' No. We can't hold energy in a bag. When this realization happens, we recognize the futility of running after different things that we think are only matter.

Chapter Number: 13.28

Content: One who sees the supreme spirit accompanying the individual soul in all bodies, Who understands that neither the individual soul nor the supreme spirit is ever destroyed, he actually sees.

Chapter Number: 13.29

Content: When one does not get degraded or influenced by the mind and when he can see the supreme spirit in all living and non-living things, One reaches the transcendental destination.

Chapter Number: 13.30

Content: One who can see that all activities are performed by the body, which is created of material nature, Sees that the Self does nothing, he actually sees.

Chapter Number: 13.31

Content: When a person can see the supreme Self in all living entities, then he will cease to see the separateness among the living entities. He will see that the whole universe is an expansion and expression of the same truth.

Content: As I tell everyone, 'I am not here to prove that I am God, I am here to prove that you are God.' This is the truth. When I say this, people say, 'No, no, Swamiji. How can we be God? We have done many sins. We agree that you are God because you have healing powers. But how can we be God?' Please understand one thing. It is not that you are not God because you have committed sins. Understand that you do not become a devil if you commit a sin. You are still God. Sins do not qualify or disqualify you from being a God. Your nature is Godliness. Sin is a concept developed by society to control people. The soul of a robber has the same qualification to reach the truth as that of a priest in a temple. We create a barrier between God and us. We are not ready to believe that what we call God is inside us also. We happily accept someone else standing in front of us as God; however, we cannot accept that the same God is inside us. Society would find it difficult to keep us under control if we were to call ourselves Gods! Let me tell you an incident from my own life: I left home at seventeen with nothing, nothing at all, and traveled northwards in India. As I had vowed to carry no money I traveled without a ticket on train. In the northern part of India, my saffron robe was a passport to free travel. No one bothered me. However, once when I was traveling towards Kolkata, a ticket examiner asked for my ticket. In my broken Hindi mixed with the local language of Bengali, I asked him, 'What ticket? I am Brahman (universal energy). This train is Brahman. You are Brahman. Why ticket?' He was a good man. Not only did he let me travel without a ticket, he also bought food for me! Yes, we are all Brahman. God is everywhere. Divine energy fills and overflows in all places. The only problem is we do not see this. We see God as someone different and powerful. We create a big gap between God and us. People in the West call Hindus 'idol worshippers'. They make fun of them. Actually there are people in India too who make fun of idol worship. All the so-called intellectuals and scientific people look down upon people who worship idols.

Content: Some so-called neo-vedantis preach Vedānta but consider idol worship unscientific. The same is true about performing rituals like homa (fire rituals) or abhiṣekha (water rituals).

Content: We should understand there is more than an idol in front of us when we worship. When we worship, we worship through the idol. We do not worship the idol itself. When we see the energy behind the idol and worship that energy, that worship has value. That is the science also. If we blindly worship the stone without feeling the energy behind the stone, there is no point in it.

Content: Let me ask you, why do we feel a great sense of relief after we pray to God sincerely? Why do we feel a sense of satisfaction when we come out of the temple after prayers? Why do we feel light? When we see the energy behind the idol and worship that energy, we connect to that energy.

Content: When I say we connect to that energy, we create a channel for the soul that is inside us to connect to the supreme Self. This brief time of connection relieves us from our burdens of responsibility. We see the supreme spirit in the idol and pour out our problems in the form of prayers.

Content: We feel relieved because we have full faith in the supreme spirit. We have full confidence that the supreme spirit will take care of us. We believe in the supreme spirit but we do not believe that the soul that we see in us is also the supreme spirit! We are not able to internalize this truth.

Content: Krishna says the soul that is in us and the soul that is in others is the supreme spirit and the supreme soul. But what do we do? We isolate our soul. We define a boundary for our soul and separate it from the supreme spirit. It is like this. There are ten pots of water and there is the reflection of the sun in all the ten pots. Each pot thinks that it holds the sun. All ten pots think that each one is holding a different sun.

Content: In the same way, we think the soul inside us is different from the soul outside us. When we see the same soul everywhere in everything, when we break the pots, we see what the supreme Self is.

Content: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says beautifully, 'What is there in the microcosm is there in the macrocosm.' The same energy inside the microcosm or the gross matter that we see is inside the macrocosm or the subtle matter that we can't comprehend. Krishna says that only when we see this energy in everything around us do we actually see.

Content: Krishna says, 'When we see that the soul that resides in us and in everything around us is indestructible, we see the truth.' The only thing that lives forever is the soul. We should understand that. Everything else must die one day. When we realize this truth, when we understand that only the soul can remain forever, our whole race to get more and more becomes worthless. We realize, 'What is the use of running after things that we know are not going to be with us forever?'

Content: When this is realized, we see the truth.

Content: The mind is the only obstacle on the path to reach the ultimate goal. In the previous verse, Krishna tells us how we can see the truth. Here Krishna talks about the hurdle that we must cross. He says that when we are not degraded or influenced by the mind, we can see the supreme spirit in everything. Only when we can do that, can we reach the final destination.

Content: The only thing that prevents us from seeing the truth is our mind. Even if I say that the soul that is inside each of us is the same soul, the supreme Self, our mind will not agree. It will influence us to disbelieve this. As long as the mind comes into the path of our decision, we will not see the correct picture.

Content: You should first understand what the mind is. When people are sitting idle and we ask them, 'What is the matter?' they will say all kinds of things related to the mind. They will say, 'I am not feeling well mentally.' Some will say, 'Oh, lots of things are happening. It is too much to even think about!'

Content: We talk about the mind as separate from ourselves. We say, 'It is thinking a lot.' We do not understand what the mind is and we start talking about it. What is the mind actually? It is only an organized structure gifted by God as a tool. The mind is man's servant that helps satisfy his needs and necessities in order to lead a happy life.

Content: The reason for the problems is that the mind, which should be under the control of man, has become a structure that controls man. If a servant behaves like a master, what will happen? An immature servant becoming a master is like catching a monkey and putting it on the throne. That is why enlightened masters compare the mind to a monkey and even call it as the 'monkey mind' sometimes. Until the monkey is removed from the throne, problems and worries are bound to be there.

Content: Here Krishna tells how the mind can influence or degrade our perception. In the Yoga Sutras, Sage Patanjali writes about the mind and perception. Yoga Sutras is a beautiful book written with so much clarity. The aphorisms or sūtras in this book are relevant even today and will be relevant to future generations as well.

Content: Patanjali talks about how our mind is deceived by wrong perceptions and wrong comprehension. Patanjali talks about incorrect comprehension or avidya, which our mind uses to decide or draw conclusions. Our perception of what we see or feel is based on these conclusions. There are four branches of incorrect comprehension - avidya. The first branch is ego or asmita, which always says, 'I am better than others.' If our mind decides based on ego, if it thinks only of 'I', all our decisions will be biased. We will not see the complete picture.

Content: The next branch of avidya is rāga, attachment. This branch demands something based upon our past experience. If the past experience has been good, our mind wants that more and more. Even if we do not need it, our mind asks for more. For example, let us say we had a heavy meal, we are already full; our body cannot take in any more. However, if we had a particular sweet ten days ago and liked it, now the mind will ask for that sweet, 'I enjoyed it before, I want more. Please give me more.' You see, this is the play of the mind. Just based on past experience, the mind wants to have more and more.

Content: The third branch of avidya is dveṣa, dislike. This is the exact opposite of rāga, wherein the mind rejects based upon the past experience. We did not like something in the past. When we see it now, the mind decides, 'It was not good last time. I did not have a good experience earlier. So it is better not to take it.' Several times we do this. Just because we had a bad experience earlier, we completely boycott it next time.

Content: The fourth branch is abhiniveśa, or fear, that creates doubts in us. We wonder whether others will accept what we are doing. We start having doubts. So many people, especially women, want to look young. They claim they are thirty when they are actually fifty. They want to appear young to others. This is based on the fear of not being accepted by others.

Content: When our mind acts based on incorrect comprehension or influences, our decisions are degraded. During the first-level meditation program, we discuss how the mind works. We see something and we react to it. The reaction is generally based upon past experiences called saṁskāras. If the past experiences were good, the mind decides, 'Okay, good, I can continue.' Otherwise, it rejects it.

Content: Krishna says, if our mind comes in the way of seeing what the truth is, our decisions are based on incorrect comprehension. When we are influenced by our mind, we fail to see the supreme soul in everything around us.

Content: If we can keep the mind aside for a while, we see the truth as it is. Our mind cannot accept that the supreme soul is in everything around us. The soul inside us

Content: knows the truth. Our soul inside us knows that the supreme soul is everywhere. But our mind creates a strong sheath around it. Our mind takes control over us. It harbours past memories (saṁskāras) and creates an illusion that leads to wrong comprehension.

Content: When we were children, the mind did not have much power. When we were children, we did not build new saṁskāras. The conditioning by society builds layers and layers of these saṁskāras that give power to the mind. Actually when people say that a child is growing up, it only implies that the child is growing smaller and smaller, only the mind is growing up. The soul is being pushed into a corner and the mind is given more and more power.

Content: This mind prevents us from seeing the truth. It stops us from seeing the supreme soul in everything around us. Be very clear, if we are out of the clutches of the mind, we see reality.

Content: We are safe as long as we can separate the Self from the body and watch as the body reacts to materialistic things. As long as we know that the soul is supreme and the body is a means to fulfill our worldly desires, we are safe. We are on the right path. However, when we place the body over the soul, the problem starts.

Content: We give so much importance to this body, but we don't really respect it. Instead we make use of it. We abuse our body. We watch television for long hours in the night. Our eyes call for rest, but we don't listen because our eyes give us the pleasure of watching programs on the television. Just because there is food in front of us, we continue eating. We may be full, yet we eat because we like the taste. We want to enjoy the taste. So we eat and eat, even if the body rejects it.

Content: So many people go to beauty parlors and spas. That is the fashion these days. Women go to beauty parlors and do their makeup. They put on layers and layers of makeup and artificial nails in an attempt to appear beautiful to others.

Content: A small story:

Content: A newly married couple visited the husband's village for the first time. The wife was from the city and had never been to a village earlier. They decided to go to the temple at seven o'clock in the morning. Generally in India, people visit the temple early before starting their daily activities. So they wanted to be at the temple at seven o'clock. The wife started applying her makeup at five o'clock in the morning.

Content: Anyhow, she finished her makeup and they went to the temple. In Indian temples, especially village temples, you can see monkeys, peacocks, rabbits and

Content: other animals. This was the first time the wife saw such a temple. She was amused to see all these animals. She commented to her husband about the monkeys.

Content: The husband told her with a smile on his face, 'Yes, I see one big monkey beside me.'

Content: Women compete with the amount of makeup they apply. They think they are taking care of their body by going to beauty parlors and spas. Actually, they only abuse the body. They apply so many chemicals on their skin.

Content: Why do we abuse our body in this fashion? It is because, through the senses of the body, we experience some pleasures. These are sense pleasures. These sense pleasures make us happy. So we hold onto those sense pleasures that we experience through our body.

Content: But we fail to realize that they are momentary. Please be clear, all sense pleasures are momentary. If we feel happy through sense pleasures, the very same senses put you in sadness the next day. It is like those rotating doors. We stand and push one side while the other side pushes us outside the door! If we stay near the door too long, the door will rotate and push us back inside.

Content: We consider our body to be a tool to experience the sense pleasures. We use our body to feel the pleasures from the outside world. We want to feel those sense pleasures again and again. That is why we take care of our body. We want our body to be safe so that we can enjoy. We want our body to look good all the time.

Content: We must understand why we assume this human body form and come to planet Earth. Only then will we know the correct way to use the body. Only then we will know our body the right way. First, understand that the body that we have now is one of the many bodies that our soul has assumed. Whether we believe it or not, accept it or not, like it or not, that is the truth. We have taken many births before this life. We have possessed many bodies before this birth. Whether we take another birth, whether we have another body, depends upon how we lead our current life.

Content: This birth that we have taken is to fulfill the carried-over desires of our previous births. These desires are called prārabdha karma. Our soul has taken this body to fulfill our prārabdha karma. When we die, our last thought decides our next birth. Our soul chooses the body that can fulfill the desires of our last birth. This is the truth.

Content: Understand that we assume a body to fulfill the desires carried over from our previous life. However, what happens is that we create new desires in this life as well. We use our body to experience the sense pleasures and we create more and more desires. Because of this, we fall into the cycle of birth and death. Once we realize that our soul takes this body to complete a mission that it left unfinished in our previous birth, our attitude towards our whole body will change.

Content: Our body is like a cloth. When we wake up early morning, we discard what we were wearing and put on fresh clothes, is it not? In the same way, when we die, we discard this body and take a new body to fulfill our unfulfilled desires, that's all.

Content: People ask me, 'Swamiji, why do enlightened masters take human birth? Why do they need a body if they are already enlightened, if they have fulfilled all their desires?'

Content: There is a beautiful incident from Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's life. Sri Ramakrishna was an enlightened master. He had regular discussions with his close disciples. He told his disciples, 'Once when I was returning from my village in an ox cart, some robbers stopped us. I started repeating all the names of Gods so that at least one would work.'

Content: He then explains why even enlightened masters hold onto their body.

Content: He says beautifully, 'A little of my mind is attached to the body so that it can enjoy the love of God and the company of the devotees.'

Content: See how beautifully he says it. Please be very clear, an enlightened master holds onto his body out of pure compassion for others. An enlightened master wants to see transformation in others and he can do it more effectively when he is in the body. He does not have any other desire. He can leave his body any time. He holds his body through a thin thread of ego for the benefit of others.

Content: We always want to get more and more out of our body. We want our eyes to see more television; we want our stomach to hold more food; we want our ears to hear louder music. We do all this out of greed. We want to experience more and more sense pleasures.

Content: Instead, if we look at our body with gratitude, when we thank our body every moment for the support it has given us, we connect with our body at a deeper level.

Content: Our body is the temple of our soul. We should respect our body. We should look at our body with gratitude, not greed. We should thank our body for holding our spirit, our soul. Then, we will see a different dimension of our body.

Content: In our yoga course, there is a beautiful meditation that we do at the end of the class. It is called body gratitude meditation. You just lie down on the ground and relax every part of your body from your toes to your head. At the same time, you thank every part of your body. You pay gratitude to your body for letting you do what you have been doing till then. It is a beautiful meditation. At the end of the meditation, the truth strikes you. You realize what your body really is.

Content: Here Krishna says, whatever we think we are enjoying, actually it is the body that is enjoying. Our body enjoys all the material comforts. Our soul can live without them. Our soul is pure consciousness. It does not need anything external to keep it happy.

Content: Actually our soul is always in a state of bliss. It is always ecstatic. Our body is an embodiment of bliss. Whatever material things we think we need, whatever material comforts we think we enjoy, they are needed and enjoyed only by our body. Our soul does not need any of them.

Content: The problem starts when we think that our soul needs these material things. We associate the happiness from the external materials with our soul. This is where the problem begins. We think the happiness that we gain from material comforts is because our soul feels happy to have them. That is when we accumulate more and more of these material comforts. We run after them.

Content: Krishna gives us a technique here. He says, when we watch our body enjoying the sense pleasures, when we watch only our body being associated with the external material comforts and not our soul, we see the truth. Just witness the body. Be aware of your body. Observe the body when it reacts to external things. You will notice a sense of separation from the body. You will see what your body is. You will see that your soul has nothing to do with the pleasures you are enjoying.

Content: When you do this, you witness your body and mind as if you are an outsider. It is like watching a movie. When you watch a movie, you watch what happens on the screen. In the same way, when you watch your body and mind, you understand what Krishna says. Only when you witness that the body experiences material pleasures and it is the body that does everything and the soul does not need anything, you see the truth.

Content: Krishna gives a great truth in this verse. He talks about collective consciousness. He says when we see the supreme soul in all living beings, we no longer see the separateness. We see everything as one single entity. We see the whole universe as one single body, as one entity expressing the same truth.

Content: Please be very clear, we are all connected. Each and every living entity is connected to the other. Your thoughts affect the thoughts of the person sitting beside you. Whether or not you believe it, this is the truth.

Content: We think we are individual consciousness. We think we are separate islands. We think our thoughts are limited to us. We think nobody watches our thoughts. Please understand that the whole universe constantly responds to your thoughts. The whole universe is made up of the same universal consciousness.

Content: Actually there is nothing but universal consciousness. Individual consciousness is a piece of the hologram of the universal collective consciousness. Have you seen a hologram? What happens when you break a hologram into five pieces? Each piece becomes a hologram again. Each piece shows the same thing as the whole piece showed you before.

Content: Our individual consciousness is like that hologram. The universal consciousness hologram is broken into many small holograms or individual living things. But each one of us has the same consciousness as the universal consciousness.

Content: All of us are connected by this universal consciousness. This is what I call collective consciousness. All living entities in this universe is interlinked. Any of your thoughts can influence me. Any of my thoughts can influence you.

Content: Not only at the thought or mental level is this true; the deeper you go, the deeper you are connected to each other. We have seen the different layers or energy bodies in our system - physical layer, pranic layer, mental layer, etheric layer, causal layer, cosmic layer and nirvanic layer. At the physical layer, we see ourselves as different individuals. As we go to deeper layers, we see that each of us is connected to the other. The deeper we go, the deeper the connection becomes.

Content: You see, in the seven energy layers surrounding the body, at the level of pranic and mental layers, the thoughts of one person affect the other. Even when a person does not say anything, the thought structure of the other person influences your thoughts. When you go to the office, just by looking at your boss, by knowing your boss's thought structure, your thoughts and energy will be influenced. Your boss need not say anything. He need not do anything physical. His thoughts are enough to affect your thoughts and energy. So as we go further to a deeper layer,

Content: we connect at a slightly deeper level. When we go to the nirvanic layer, all of us connect at the consciousness level. The distance between you, God and me becomes zero.

Content: The problem is that we associate ourselves with the physical layer. We think we are this body. We believe that what we see is the only truth. Naturally we think we are different from one another. We create boundaries between others and us. When we are stuck at this level, we miss the greatest truth. When we break these boundaries created by our mind and when we see that all of us are connected, that all of the separate entities are one and the same, we realize what we are.

Content: You see, your individual consciousness is like an onion. Each one of us is an onion. What do you see in an onion? There are layers over layers of skin. When you peel the onion layer by layer, what is there inside? Nothing! You are just like that onion. You think the onion is solid. Only when you peel, you see that there is nothing inside it. In the same manner, if you peel all the seven layers, you experience that you are the collective consciousness. Once you remove all the layers, you see that every entity around you has the same consciousness. Everything is the same.

Content: From the beginning, from your birth, society starts creating new layers on you. In the process, the innocent, childlike nature that sees the Self in everything is slowly lost in us. As a child you do lots of things through which you connect to the Self. You do not know you are different from soil or earth. That is why you play with mud. But what do parents do? They scold you. 'Don’t do this. Don’t do that.' They say, 'You will get dirty. Your clothes will become dirty.'

Content: We continuously impose societal conditions on the child. The child does not know what is dirty or what is clean. The child sees the soil just the same as the floor. He does not see any difference. He connects to the same energy when he plays on the dusty road or inside a clean house. Adults condition children to see a difference.

Content: Let me tell you about the gurukul system as it existed in ancient India. The gurukul system helped children connect to all the entities. There were no barriers put on children. At a very young age, children were handed over to masters for further education. The master took care of the children. There were no parents or relatives. All the children lived in a gurukul similar to modern hostels.

Content: Until the age of seven, the children did not wear anything. They were allowed to express themselves in a natural way. They were allowed to connect to their surroundings in the best possible way. Easily they could apply Krishna’s teachings.

Content: They were allowed to connect to the universe at deep levels without barriers of shame or gender.

Content: If a child is conditioned about gender or shame, it will not express itself fully. It will start creating rules for itself. It will start thinking, 'If I am a boy I should not do this. If I am a girl, I should not do that.' This conditioning did not exist in the gurukul. Children could express themselves completely. They were allowed to connect fully.

Content: At the age of seven, children were given a meditation technique to keep them connected to the ultimate consciousness. If an idea came to them that they were different from others, this meditation technique diluted that idea. This meditation kept them free from ideas that took them away from the consciousness. The meditation technique is chanting a simple yet powerful Gayatri mantra. The children continuously related with the collective consciousness through this mantra. By the age of fourteen, they had a glimpse of collective consciousness, a glimpse of enlightenment or satori.

Content: What do we do today? We buy shorts and a T-shirt for a boy child, and we buy a dress for a girl child. We buy blue colour clothes for boys and pink for girls. We create the layer of gender when the child is barely one year old, or sometimes sooner. We again and again pull them away from themselves. We do not allow them to be themselves.

Content: When we remove these conditionings, we see that everything is pure consciousness. Only then we see that we are all the same. That is what Krishna says here. When we see that the supreme soul resides in each of us, we see that all of us are connected to each other. When we see this, we see the truth. We see that the whole universe is the expansion of the same consciousness. The whole universe is the expression of the same truth.

Content: Q: You talked about the vedic system of education, the gurukul. How practical is it to have a system where children can move about without wearing clothes?

Content: A: These days, there are nudist colonies. But the purpose there is sensual pleasure, not getting back in touch with nature.

Content: Children have no inhibitions until the age of six or seven. They have no understanding of gender differentiation. They are absorbed in their own selves until that age. Their interest in the external world is one of learning.

Content: It is possible that within your home atleast, you allow the child to grow up freely. For example, you might have seen that children after a bath decide to walk out of the bathroom without clothes. Don't condemn them at that point in time. Or, you might have seen that the child plays freely with its own body, sometimes with its genitals. At that time, don't pluck its fingers away. These are the few things you can do today.

Content: Imagine the society that will arise, the generation that will grow up, when children are brought up this way. They will grow up unafraid and completely balanced. They will be the most sensual people on earth without being sexually driven by lust. As of now our educational system brings children down instead of bringing them up. They grow up with inhibitions, fear, greed, jealousy and a host of negative elements.

Content: If you observe young children who have been brought up by wise parents who do not control and inhibit them, all their energy centers will be beautifully open. They will not have fear of anything. They ask for what they want at that moment and they do not have unfulfilled desires. They are not stressed by being suppressed. They do not compare themselves with others and accumulate borrowed desires.

Content: In the gurukul education, they are not taught anything formally until the age of seven. At this age they are taught the Gayatri mantra. This mantra awakens the inner intelligence. The children are then taught various life skills along with scriptural truths. The education is well rounded.

Content: The children are supported based upon aptitudes. They are not rated based on intelligence tests that measure knowledge. They are allowed to progress based on their own aptitude, at their own pace, and choose what they are good at. There is no compulsion to perform based on someone else's expectation. Again, you may ask, 'How practical is this? These kids need to earn a living.'

Content: Please understand and reflect on your own lives. How many people here have been pushed into doing things that you hate doing? How many of you dislike your work? If you are honest, the vast majority of you will say 'Yes'. You have been pushed into doing what you are doing by your elders based on their concept of what you must do. You never had a choice to do what you wanted to do.

Content: I meet youngsters who say, 'I wanted to be an athlete, but my parents wanted me to be an engineer. I hate my studies.' Don't think this happens only in India or

Content: Asia. Even in the USA where children pay for their own education, they are often pushed into studies based on peer pressure or what others influence them to do. They end up hating what they are forced into. We then develop a generation that tends to break away from society.

Content: When you do something you like, that passion shows in the outcome. What you deliver and how you perform is a reflection of your passion. You are automatically successful in what you do.

Content: Without understanding and accepting, if you follow the rules of society out of fear and greed you will get nowhere. Understand what your passion is and follow it. Teach your children to follow their passion. Don’t limit them with the conditioning that limited you.

Chapter Number: 13.32

Content: Those with the vision of eternity can see that the soul is transcendental, eternal, and beyond the modes of nature. Despite contact with the material body, O Arjuna, the soul neither does anything nor is attached.

Chapter Number: 13.33

Content: The sky, due to its subtle nature, does not mix with anything, although it is all pervading. Similarly, the soul, situated in Brahman, does not mix with the body, though situated in that body.

Chapter Number: 13.34

Content: O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates the entire universe, so does the living entity, One within the body, illuminate the entire consciousness.

Chapter Number: 13.35

Content: Those who see with the eyes of knowledge, the difference between the body-mind and the Knower of the body-mind, who can understand the process, Are liberated from the bondages of material nature and attain Paramatman.

Content: Krishna again and again talks about the true nature of the Self. He tells Arjuna that the soul is free from all entanglements. It is eternal and transcendental. Krishna says that though the soul has come into contact with the material body, it still is free. In the previous verses, we talked about how the body is the temple of our soul. We saw how the soul takes this body to fulfill the desires of our past birth. The soul actually does nothing. It does not entangle itself in the web of greed and fear. It is the mind that continuously adds new desires to the list and keeps the body running after them. Internally, the soul is always free. It has no bondage.

Content: It is like the lotus plant in a lake. Water droplets that fall on the lotus leaves do not get attached to the leaves. They simply roll off and merge with the water again.

Content: In the same way, the soul that rests inside this body is completely free from worldly joys and sorrows. It is like the drops of water. The soul can simply merge into the supreme soul. Only the body is related to the worldly happenings. The soul is not involved at all.

Content: Krishna uses the word nirguṇa meaning beyond the three attributes. The three attributes of calmness, passion and inactivity are related to the mind and body. The soul is free from these attributes. It is neither restless nor is it lazy. It is pure. Actually it is beyond purity. When we use the word pure, then it means that the soul can be associated with the attribute of calmness. But the soul is even beyond calmness. That is why I say it is beyond purity. Nothing can circumscribe it.

Content: One important thing we should know. Only when something is seen by the mind, do words come out. Words are an expression of the chatter that happens in our mind. When there is no mind, there are no words. When you go to the Himalayas surrounded by mountains, the first thing that happens is awe. No words come out. We are silent. Our being enjoys the beauty. Our being does not try to relate it to anything. Our mind has not yet associated any word to it. After a few seconds we experience the 'wow' feeling; it cannot be expressed.

Content: In the same way, enlightenment cannot be expressed in words. There is no enlightened master who can adequately explain what enlightenment is, in words.

Content: Associating the soul with even the word calmness, requires the mind. But the soul is beyond this also. No word can describe it. It just IS, that's all. All enlightened masters are triguna rahita meaning residing in a state that is beyond the three attributes. They have gone beyond the three attributes. They know that the soul is free from everything. They know that the body is the temple of the soul.

Content: Krishna gives an example to make this point clear. He says the space that is everywhere is unaffected by anything that is in that space. The subtle energy, space or ether, is present everywhere. Every molecule and atom has this subtle energy. Though it is present in everything that we see, it does not inherit the properties of what it resides in. Even if it is in a flower, it does not take up the scent of the flower.

Content: yathā prakāśayatyekaḥ kṛtsnaṁ lokam imaṁ raviḥ / yadā nāham் tadā mokṣo yadāham் bandhanam் tadā || 13.34

Content: The sun lights up everything that is around. There is no partiality. It does not discriminate. Whatever comes its way, it removes the darkness from it. In the same way, the supreme Self present in us illuminates everything in the universe. Our ignorance separates the soul from the supreme soul.

Content: Actually to even use two different words — soul and supreme soul — is not correct.

Content: There are no two separate entities called soul and supreme soul. There is only soul. There is only one. Everything in this universe has the supreme soul. We can't even say, 'Everything has the same supreme soul,' because when we use the word same, it means there are copies of the supreme soul in all of us.

Content: No, it is not like that. There is just supreme soul and nothing else. Everything in this universe has the supreme soul. Our mind draws boundaries. It is like creating borders between two countries. So many countries fight over boundaries. One country fights with the other to acquire more land. They are drawing and erasing boundaries all the time.

Content: We think we can draw boundaries between the Self, which is present in us, and the supreme Self. We try to put our soul in a tight container made of greed and fear. We close the lid and are afraid to open it. Actually, we fear losing our identity. We associate ourselves with our individual ego. We want to show others how different we are.

Content: Our mind knows that if it opens the lid, the soul and the supreme soul will become one. Our mind knows that the soul in this body and the supreme soul are one and the same; there is no difference between the two. So our mind fears that if it opens the lid, our whole identity will be lost and we will become the same as everyone else. Our mind does not want this to happen.

Content: So we continuously hold onto our individual ego. Only when we realize that we are all connected, that everything in this universe is the same universal consciousness, will we break open the container and merge with the supreme Soul.

Content: Here Krishna ends by saying, 'If we can witness as pure consciousness, we will be liberated from the bondages of the body-mind and achieve the eternal consciousness.' Krishna gives a technique to realize the eternal consciousness.

Content: Please know that becoming the witness of the kṣetra is the only way to keep us away from the bondages of the body-mind. We must witness as the kṣetrajña, consciousness. When we do that we will see the separation of the Self from the body and mind.

Content: Understand that all our movements, reactions and emotions are related to the body-mind system. The way we move our body is a reaction by our body-mind system. Our emotions like anger, laughter, sadness and happiness are reactions of our mind. All of them are movements created by our body-mind system.

Content: When we witness these movements happening in our system, we separate ourselves from the body-mind system. When we watch them like a movie on a screen, without getting attached, we see the truth.

Content: Even the thought of witnessing our thoughts and our emotions is a thought that is controlled by our mind. Even that is our thought and implies that mind is still acting. Only when we go beyond that thought, do we experience the eternal consciousness.

Content: Let me explain the technique. The technique may take at least ten minutes.

Content: You are going to witness your body movements, breath movements and mind movements: movements of your body, movements of your breath and movements of your mind. You may ask what kind of body movements do we have? Understand that by inhaling and exhaling, your belly will be moving continuously up and down. There will be a slight movement of your belly during your breathing.

Content: Witness that movement.

Content: Next, watch the flow of your breath during inhaling and exhaling, without any attempt to control it.

Content: Third, watch your mind. Thoughts will be going on. Please do not judge your thoughts as right or wrong. For a few minutes, sit next to your mind, like a close friend. Let it tell you whatever it wants to. Let it speak about whatever it wants.

Content: Witness all these with no attachment. Do not stop, control or go behind anything.

Content: We continuously fight with our body and mind. We cannot get rid of the body and mind by constantly fighting with them. We can only go beyond them through friendliness. Only if we feel deeply friendly towards them, will we be able to go beyond body and mind. If we have a negative emotion towards the body-mind, we will naturally abuse and only have a violent relationship with it. Accept the body and the mind. Witness the mind like a friend. Let whatever is inside come out. There’s nothing wrong. Neither support nor suppress. If we support, we will go

Content: after the garbage. If we suppress, we will end up analyzing the garbage and pushing it aside. Neither approach is going to work. Just witness.

Content: Witnessing acts like fire. All the thoughts are burned away. Understand, neither suppressing nor supporting your thoughts will work. Only witnessing works.

Content: When we go deep into our being, the witnessing consciousness automatically creates intelligence. Understand that we don’t need to be in that mood all twenty-four hours of each day. Even if we get a few glimpses, that is enough. That energy will guide our whole life. If we understand the silence that happens to us when we are witnessing, even for a few seconds, we will taste it and start acting on it. Only out of these few moments does the energy of great achievement happen.

Content: All great things are achieved from the consciousness and intuition that is beyond the body-mind, whether it is Einstein’s Theory of Relativity or some other great scientific discovery. They are products of the witnessing consciousness. This is true not only in the field of science but in the arts, spirituality or any field. When we are beyond the body and mind, we bring the maximum out of our being. The ultimate expression of our being happens when we are whole. Whenever we are whole, we are holy. Understand that witnessing is the only path to wholeness or holiness.

Content: Let us pray to the Parabrahman, Lord Krishna, the ultimate universal consciousness, to give us the inner space or the pure witnessing consciousness; to give us the ultimate experience and establish us in eternal bliss, nityānanda.

Content: Q: Swamiji, why do your disciples and people in your ashram communities wear white? What is the qualification for them to wear the saffron cloth?

Content: Different colors have different physiological and emotional effects. Different colors affect your energy in different ways.

Content: White calms you. White allows you to absorb positive energy easily and retain it. We are not talking about the commonly understood principle of white reflecting light and heat. When you meditate upon the cosmic energy or upon the master who is a manifestation of it, you will find that when you wear white, your ability to center and focus is higher. That is the reason we recommend that people wear white during these meditation programs.

Content: On a lighter note, when they wear white, it is easier to see who has washed their clothes properly!

Content: Pastel colors are better for calmness, a calm (satvic) state of mind. Brighter colors bring out aggression and passion in you, the aggressive and restless (rajasic) state of mind. Dark colors such as black enhance passive qualities like lethargy (tamas) in you. Depending on what you plan to do, you can choose the color that will help you reach that state of mind needed.

Content: Similar principles apply with music and sound, with aroma and smells, with food and taste. That is why devotional songs follow a particular rhythm and meter, while rock music follows another. Music such as techno has been tested to be detrimental to mental health, as well as to the hearing.

Content: Saffron is a special color. I doubt if this color is popular anywhere except in India. It is the color of renunciation. It indicates that you have surrendered yourself to the cosmic energy and have lost your identity. It means that you have lost your mind!

Content: At various levels of renunciation, I give disciples saffron-colored clothing to indicate their levels of renunciation and to remind them of the need to commit to the path that they have undertaken. When energized and given with the blessings of the master, the saffron takes on a higher and more sacred significance.

Content: This color has its own majesty. This color is far more regal and majestic when worn by the right individual than the purple color associated with royalty! This color makes you one with the universe.

Chapter Number: 13

Content: Thus ends the 13th chapter named Kṣetra-Kṣetrajñya vibhāga yogah of the Upaniṣad of Bhagavad Gita, the scripture of Yoga dealing with the science of the Absolute in the form of the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna.

Chapter Number: 14

Content: BhagavadGita Drop Your Conditioning Chapter 14 Human beings have the choice of being ignorant or enlightened. Most often we exercise our freewill and choose to stay ignorant. Krishna explains how to choose to be enlightened!

Content: Swamiji, I am not clear how the conscious and unconscious minds work. And can you please explain how the master helps in creating awareness?

Content: Swamiji, you mentioned that meditation is the way to the Being and Krishna consciousness. Meditation appears complex and difficult. How can we become succesful in meditation?

Content: Swamiji, is there scientific evidence to support saṁskāras formation?

Content: Swamiji, how can society exist without rules? There will be anarchy. If everyone does what he or she feels like, how can others survive?

Content: What Krishna says can be accepted if one believes in rebirth. What about those whose religious beliefs do not allow them to believe in rebirth?

Content: How do we develop spiritually? You said we are eccentric, that we try to keep moving inwards and are dragged outwards. What is the way to keep going inwards?

Content: You always speak of ānanda, bliss; you also talk about the state of grace. Are they the same?

Content: Drop Your Conditioning

Content: A small story:

Content: On the last day of the school term, students brought gifts to their teacher. The first student presented the teacher with a nicely wrapped gift. The student's father owned the local bakery. The teacher looked at the package, shook it and asked, 'Is this a box of pastries?' The child said, 'Yes.'

Content: Next, a student, whose father was the owner of a clothing store, presented a beautifully decorated gift and again the teacher shook it close to her ears. She then asked, 'Is it a dress?' The child said, 'Yes.'

Content: Another girl came up with a nicely wrapped box. Her father owned a liquor store. The teacher shook the box. She noticed that the package was leaking. She dipped her finger in the leaking fluid and asked the girl curiously, 'Is this some kind of beer?' The child said, 'No.'

Content: The teacher dipped her finger again in the fluid, tasted it carefully and asked, 'Ah, this tastes quite exotic. What is it? Is it some kind of wine?' The child again said, 'No.'

Content: Then the teacher said, 'Alright, I give up. Please tell me, what is it?'

Content: The child said in a worried tone, 'It is a puppy.'

Content: The moral of this story is simple: Please don't put anything in your mouth unless you know what it is! What it really means is, don't make major decisions in your life based on your past experiences. Our past experiences are stored in our unconscious as engraved memories or engrams. They will only mislead you. In Sanskrit, these engraved memories are called saṁskāras.

Content: We make faulty decisions when we make major decisions through engraved memories or saṁskāras. The teacher thought that the gift was a bottle of beer or wine since the student's father sold alcohol. In the same way, time and again, we make decisions driven by our engraved memories. The first two guesses of the teacher were correct. The first girl's father was in the business of selling sweets and the teacher guessed that the gift was a box of sweets. The second child's father owned a clothing store and the teacher guessed that the gift was a dress. Since the third child's father owned a liquor store, the teacher assumed that the gift was a bottle of alcohol!

Content: Before we put anything into our mouth, we should be sure to know what it is, else it can lead to a lot of trouble.

Content: This whole chapter of Bhagavad Gita is about engraved memories in our mind.

Content: Engraved memories or engrams are the memories stored in our unconscious that drive almost all our actions. Even though we act upon them, we rarely know or understand where these decisions come from. They actually come from memories that are deeply embedded in our unconscious mind.

Content: We tend to think that our actions are based on a logical sequence of thoughts. However, almost all our decisions have neither logic nor awareness.

Content: Modern psychology tells us that almost 90% of our mind is unconscious. This means that we typically use 10% of our conscious mind. In other words, our conscious mind drives only 10% of our thoughts, words and actions. The rest is driven by the unconscious.

Content: We have no control over how our unconscious mind functions since we are unaware of what happens there. Many unconscious memories are based on fear and pain. They rise up in moments of trauma or difficult situations. They influence decisions with no awareness on our part.

Content: Scientists say that only a small fraction of what we perceive through our senses gets consciously recorded. Science says that we are only aware of 5%, perhaps less, of what we see or hear.

Content: A real incident:

Content: Our Bidadi ashram is located at about an hour's drive from Bangalore city. In the early days of this ashram, I traveled almost everyday from Bidadi to Bangalore. One day I told the driver to take me to a particular place along the way. I explained to him that it was near a mosque, a Muslim house of prayer.

Content: The driver was confused. He insisted that there was no mosque on the route that we normally took everyday. I tried to explain that there was one, but it was of no avail. Finally, I mentioned another landmark, a Hindu Hanuman temple. He immediately understood and his face lit up with joy and understanding.

Content: 'Swamiji, why didn't you tell me that earlier?' he exclaimed, 'Of course I know where you want to go now!'

Content: This Hindu temple was only a small structure compared to the mosque. We traveled past both buildings everyday. Yet, this person was aware of only the Hanuman temple because of his personal preferences; he had no memory of the mosque.

Content: All that we perceive is not true; all that we do not perceive is not unreal. It is a simple truth that what sinks in is only a fraction of what our five senses perceive. The rest goes directly into the unconscious. Yet this does not mean that these perceptions and the memories of these perceptions are forgotten.

Content: Many memories of experiences are recorded even though we are unconscious of them. And these memories strongly drive our actions. Surgeons have recently understood that patients on the operating table under anesthesia actually record whatever happens around them. This is not fiction. Famous doctors have written books about this. They caution others to be careful about what they say or do in an operating theatre since the patient may not be unconscious as they believe.

Content: As an example, doctors discovered the source of an accident victim's problem, years after the incident. The man had crashed his car into a tree and became unconscious. Some witnesses called paramedics rescued him from the damaged car and he was transported by ambulance to the hospital. As they lifted him out of the car, the paramedics talked about their day-to-day problems. One guy said that he had just left his girlfriend because she was trying to push him into a committed relationship. The words he used were, 'Life is too short to waste it this way.'

Content: The accident victim heard this remark while he was unconscious and it deeply embedded itself in his memory. This caused him serious trouble in his relationships for years. He typically broke away from commitments without knowing why. This problem caused him serious trouble in his career as well. Finally, he sought treatment and was cured when the memory of this experience surfaced. The source of his troubles was a conversation that entered his memory space though he was technically unconscious.

Content: In fact, many powerful memories do not remain at the conscious level. They go directly into the unconscious. We do not recall that memory. Yet, it powerfully impacts us and influences our decisions and actions. The influence is based on the emotional perception at the time of the experience. What we term perception is not the experience we perceive through the senses; perception is how we respond emotionally to the experience. This response is a conditioned response.

Content: In this chapter, Krishna explains how we respond to perceptions. In this chapter, called Guṇatraya Vibhāga yoga, Krishna explains the three different guṇas (attributes) to Arjuna. How we act... actually I can’t say we ‘act’, I should say how we ‘react’ to every situation... is based on these three guṇas. This is how we create more and more s (bondages arising from our actions), which results in more and more trouble for ourselves.

Content: Q: Swamiji, I am not clear how the conscious and unconscious minds work. And can you please explain how the master helps in creating awareness?

Content: There are two things in you: hardware and software. Your mind is the software and your brain is the hardware. Within the mind, within your software, there are two parts: conscious zone and unconscious zone. Conscious zone is what you normally call the waking state, though 90% of the time your thoughts and actions in this state are ruled by your unconscious! We shall look at these in detail later.

Content: The conscious zone is the software; the unconscious zone is the virus! The conscious zone can be cleansed by teachings. The unconscious zone can be cleansed by meditation. Now, the hardware, the brain, needs to be tuned to hold the changes in the software, the new experience that is created through the changed software. This can happen by the blessings of the master, by dīkṣā (initiation) from him.

Content: When you clean the conscious and the unconscious and create an effect, the hardware may not be able to hold and sustain that effect from day one. If the master’s initiation happens, the hardware also changes to hold that effect. In the absence of a living master, constant meditation and teaching can change the hardware. Hardware is like grooves created out of saṃskāra (stored memories) in the brain. Once the new software happens, the hardware slowly changes. However if you wish to immediately change the hardware, the master’s presence is the right thing. Straightaway it changes the hardware.

Content: Sometimes, without even changing the software, the hardware can be changed and the person will immediately radiate the correct software's quality! This happens when a disciple is completely open to the master or if he is in love with the master for no reason. Sometimes a disciple falls in love with the master for no reason. He may not be attracted to his teachings or meditation techniques; he simply falls in love. In that case, without delay, the hardware can be changed. Those kinds of disciples radiate the quality of the teachings and meditation without going through all of them. They do not have to go through all these things, yet straightaway the result will be seen.

Content: As of now, your hardware and software are 'outgoing' tuned to the outer world. If you do the cakra meditation camp, the Life Bliss Program or Ananda Spurana Program, the software suddenly becomes 'ingoing'. It will go in towards spirituality, towards a cleansing process. The cleansing of the conscious portion happens through the teachings and the cleansing of the unconscious portion happens through meditation.

Content: However, even if the software turns inside, the hardware will not be able to handle it. Then the hardware tries its best to retain its grooves. If the software is strong and stays in the same tune, the hardware slowly changes. However, if the dīkṣa, the energy blessing from the master, is given immediately after the teaching and meditation, the hardware changes and holds the new software. It gets prepared to hold onto the new experience. This concept must be understood so that you bring in enough awareness to allow the transformation to happen in you.

Chapter Number: 14.1

Content: Krishna says, 'I will declare to you again the supreme wisdom, The knowledge of which has helped all sages attain supreme perfection.'

Chapter Number: 14.2

Content: By becoming fixed in this knowledge, one can attain the transcendental nature, like My own, And establish in his eternal consciousness, that one is not born at the time of creation, or destroyed at the time of dissolution.

Chapter Number: 14.3

Content: The total material substance, called Brahman, is the source of birth, It is that Brahman that I impregnate, making possible the births of all living beings, O son of Bharata.

Chapter Number: 14.4

Content: Arjuna, understand that all species of life are made possible by birth in this material nature, and I am the seed-giving father.

Content: No! Again and again, He repeats himself because He wants to create a memory of His teachings in Arjuna's mind. He does this so that even if Arjuna misses a teaching the first time, perhaps he will get it the next time. By creating an engraved memory in Arjuna's mind He wants Arjuna to follow it. That is why He repeats the truth again.

Content: He says, 'I shall declare once more, I will speak to you about the truth, through the knowledge of which all the sages have attained supreme perfection.'

Content: Whether we believe it or not, man by nature is a machine. He is a mechanism. Not only at the body level, he is a mechanism even at the level of the mind. At most, we can call it a bio-mechanism, yet he is still a mechanism. He works based on engraved memories or what we call saṁskāras in Sanskrit. He is continuously caught in the web of engraved memories in his mind and his being, because he works based on engraved memories that have been stored in his unconscious zone.

Content: I repeat certain words and sentences, not because I have nothing else to do. These words and sentences have the power to go deep within you. If you allow them, they will help you transform. All you need to do is be open and allow these words to sink into you. As you hear these words, let the words penetrate you. These words carry energy to uplift you, to transform you.

Content: Many religious rituals are designed to build good saṁskāras in us. Going to a temple, a church, prayer groups or satsangs (spiritual gatherings) reinforces our desire to move forward spiritually. They create the environment, the mood for the right decision to happen. These actions cannot liberate or enlighten us. However, they can condition us and program our unconscious mind to work in a particular way. They can rewire us.

Content: People who have read a little about other religions and faiths feel intellectually superior and question the practices of their own culture. They call this rationalism. Rationalism in their dictionary means that all religious practices, especially Hindu rituals, are foolish and superstitious. They make no effort to understand the underlying truth of these practices. Because of their intellectual understanding and superficial knowledge based on what others say, they decide that it is foolish. This is especially true when other scholars, who have an equally limited awareness of their own culture, criticize the vedic culture.

Content: India has been full of such scholars. Many of these scholars had Western education, whose main tenet is to deride anything that is not 'scientific'. They have very little understanding of the vedic culture. Like their role models, the foreign scholars before them, these Indian scholars learn Sanskrit just to read the vedic

Content: scriptures. Their purpose is not to create any inner awareness, which is what these scriptures are meant for. They simply want to analyze them logically and find fault where logic does not fit in with the scriptural truth.

Content: Science is about facts that can be recorded. Spirituality is about the truth that needs to be experienced. That is why our scriptures never bothered about historical accuracy and factual details. They dealt with issues that affected our consciousness. To understand our scriptures, we cannot use logic. We need to use meditation. Truth has nothing to do with our head. It has everything to do with our being.

Content: People ask me, 'Can you prove the existence of God?'

Content: Before his enlightenment, Vivekananda, upon meeting his guru Ramakrishna, asked whether Ramakrishna could show him God. Vivekananda asked this question not to embarrass Ramakrishna but because he felt deeply attracted to this master and wanted help in finding out the truth that had eluded him.

Content: A young man who had read about Vivekananda came to one of my discourses in India. I asked him, 'So you read about Vivekananda?' Unlike Vivekananda, this young man had no intention of finding the truth. He wanted to show how smart he was.

Content: He proudly said, 'Yes, and I ask you the same question.' Perhaps he thought I would be as humble as Ramakrishna was!

Content: I caught him by his shirt collar and told him, 'I have not only seen God but I can show Him to you also. Vivekananda was prepared to follow Ramakrishna. Now, you too prepare yourself to come with me, and I will show you God!'

Content: He struggled free of my grip and ran away. He was so scared that he didn't even look back!

Content: God can only be experienced when we drop our mind. He is beyond our mind. How can we prove His existence through the logic of our mind? How can we comprehend the One who is beyond our mind through the powers of our mind? If we can comprehend Him through our mind, our logic, how can He be in any way superior to us? How can He then be God?

Content: When we talk of divinity or God, we struggle with a concept, a theory, with our limited mind-power. We are doing nothing more than that. Because it is only a concept, we can prove or disprove that concept. So we become a devotee or an atheist.

Content: It requires more courage to be an atheist than a believer. Believers accept God and ignore Him. They frame his picture and hang him in a corner of their house. A few people hung Jesus from the cross, we hang Krishna from a nail. There is no real difference! At least to hang Jesus, they needed to hate him and fear him. To hang Krishna all we need to do is to pretend to believe in Him and then ignore Him! Pretending to worship a master is the best way to escape from him.

Content: To be an atheist, we need courage. An atheist probably thinks about God more often than the believer who believes and ignores. When we actively disbelieve we will automatically be more aware. An atheist is more aware of God than a believer.

Content: God can only be experienced. He cannot be proved or disproved. He cannot be believed or disbelieved. If you wish to experience God, come to me and be open. If you have courage, drop your mind and I will show you God. You will experience Him in you.

Content: Krishna wants to take Arjuna there. In fact, He already took him there when He revealed His cosmic form to Arjuna. Now, Krishna wants to take the rest of humanity to the same level. So again and again He repeats the techniques so we may realize our divinity. In His deep compassion He gives us a chance to catch the lifeline He is throwing us so that we can be saved.

Content: For the first time, Krishna says that we will reach His state. So far He said, 'Worship Me. Surrender unto Me.' Now He says, 'You will achieve the same state in which I am. Anyone can attain the transcendental nature like My own.'

Content: We can achieve the state in which He is. Krishna was the first master courageous and bold enough to declare that enlightenment is available to everybody; anybody can achieve it. Enlightenment is not an accident. It is an incident that we can create.

Content: Until the time of Sri Krishna, the Upaniṣads, Brahma Sutra and other scriptures spoke as if enlightenment was an accident. Some people became enlightened; however, nobody knew why. Nor did they know why others could not get it or how exactly to get it. Nobody knew. They merely knew that some people were blessed, almost as if God was sitting up there and reviewing applications, and to some, He said, 'Alright, yes, granted' and immediately that person became enlightened!

Content: Krishna was the first master who showed how to write the application or present the resume for enlightenment! He showed how to achieve enlightenment, which is not an accident but an incident. We can experience it through our conscious decision. He says that by being fixed in this knowledge, 'One can attain.'

Content: He doesn't say, 'You can attain it,' indicating only Arjuna. He says one can attain it, meaning that anybody can attain it.

Content: After the viśvarūpa darśan or vision of the cosmic form of Krishna, whatever Krishna shares with Arjuna is meant for the whole world. Arjuna already achieved what he had to achieve. After that, there was nothing else to say. Arjuna had the vision of Krishna's cosmic form. In the eleventh chapter, he experienced viśvarūpa darśan and from the twelfth chapter onwards, the teachings were recorded for the benefit of the whole world.

Content: A scientist creates a formula to reproduce things in the outer world. A spiritual master creates a formula to reproduce the experiences of the inner world. Krishna says, 'By establishing yourself in this knowledge, you can achieve the experience, or you can establish yourself in the same state in which I am, like My own.' 'Mama' means 'My own'. Krishna declares, 'This truth will directly lead you to the state in which I am established.'

Content: Krishna talks about the truth that one is eternal, and not limited by birth and death. The state of being eternal transcends creation and dissolution. It transcends the past and future. Eternal is to be here and now. Eternal is the present moment.

Content: Brahma is the Lord of creation. Creation is of the past. To exist in the physical plane, we need to have been created. To maintain is the job of Vishnu. Maintenance is about the future. It is about how we wish to be, what we wish to have, our desires, our expectations and everything related to the future. Shiva is the Lord of the present. He is the Destroyer of the future, making it flow into the past, by way of the present. He is the master of the here and now.

Content: Shiva is the Rejuvenator, not just the Destroyer. The present always rejuvenates. In Sanskrit, Shiva means 'causeless auspiciousness'. The present is the most auspicious; whatever happens in the present is auspicious. We should develop the attitude of accepting what happens in the present as auspicious.

Content: There are two kinds of people. The first type looks at everything suspiciously. They find everything unsatisfactory. These people say, 'All very well, but...' They cannot say anything without 'butting'. Such people can never be happy. They live with an idea of what life should be, rather than accepting it as it is. They are purely materialistic.

Content: The second type finds everything to be auspicious! Whatever happens is as it should be. They welcome life as it is. These people are spiritual. These are the people who Krishna says transcend creation and dissolution, past and future. They live in the present moment and in Krishna consciousness.

Content: Krishna is trying to answer philosophical questions that can never really be answered: How is the whole universe created? If everything is God, why is the universe created? How are we born? Whoever tried to answer these questions just created another philosophy.

Content: Out of frustration, someone once asked me such questions, 'Why are we born? Why should we take birth at all? Why this whole drama of taking birth, meditating, then achieving enlightenment? Why? For whose sake is this drama? If we must end up working out our karma, why do we create karma in the first place? What is the reason for this? Why does this cycle go on and on?'

Content: Krishna tries to answer these questions. However, this answer is not the ultimate Truth. He says, 'Please wait until the teachings are over.' Normally when we don't receive an answer for our philosophical question, we will be stuck with that question and not be able to enter into meditation. Again and again we will think of the question. We will come back to that question. Here, Arjuna also comes back to the same question again and again and gets stuck.

Content: For the sake of meditation or just for the sake of giving him an understanding, Krishna gives an answer.

Content: The other day I was sharing the same example using a mathematical formula. Let's say there is a formula 'X + 2 = 4'. In the beginning, the teacher will make an assumption by saying, 'Let us assume that X = 2', then she replaces X with 2 and goes on to show that 2 + 2 = 4. The problem is solved. Then the teacher says, 'Because the problem is solved, we know that our hypothesis that X = 2 is correct.' But until we come to that conclusion through a process, we can only assume that X = 2.

Content: If we argue about the hypothesis when we make the assumption that X = 2, saying, 'Why should X be equal to 2, why not 3, why don't we assume X = 4?', we will not be able to solve the problem. Once we solve the problem, we know that X is 2. We understand it logically. But before solving, when we start, we must assume that X = 2. Some assumption must be made so that we can proceed to solve the problem.

Content: Krishna also makes a small assumption and proceeds to solve the problem. Once He solves the problem, we will understand that what was assumed is the truth. What the teacher assumed was not wrong, but it was still an assumption. Similarly, Krishna gives an idea that it is not the ultimate Truth but a comparative reality. It

Content: is a comparative truth. He says, 'I am the father, the pita, I am the root cause for everything.'

Content: However, Krishna's words can be fully understood only when we experience the consciousness of Krishna. Until we experience the consciousness of Krishna, it is an assumption.

Content: Even if it is an assumption, it is okay. Proceed with this assumption into the next chapters, into the next verse. Suddenly, when we see the result, we will understand that whatever we have assumed is the truth. Once the problem is solved, all the assumptions that we have made will be understood as the truth. Krishna makes this assumption so that we can understand the truth.

Content: Q: Swamiji, you mentioned that meditation is the way to the Being and Krishna consciousness. Meditation appears complex and difficult. How can we become successful in meditation?

Content: Yes, meditation is the key to self-awareness. There is no other way that you can reach Krishna or Shiva consciousness, and the state of Causeless Auspiciousness. Meditation is being in the present. It is not complex or difficult.

Content: Meditation is a simple process. It is dropping the mind, moving away from the mind, seeing the mind as separate from you, watching it, witnessing it, and remembering, 'I am not the mind.' This is what I call 'unclutching.'

Content: It is not suppressing the mind or senses or thoughts. It is breaking the connection between thoughts. Thoughts by themselves are unconnected. They are irrational, illogical and unconnected. We connect them and by connecting them we create shafts of pain and pleasure. Either way we suffer.

Content: By disconnecting thoughts, by unclutching, we drop the mind and keep remembering that we are not the mind. Slowly the remembrance becomes stronger. The distance between you and the mind becomes bigger. One day you absolutely know that the mind is a mechanism with which you had become identified by mistake. You had become 'clutched' and now it is time to wake up from that sleep, that illusion, and 'unclutch'.

Content: To become awakened means to know, 'I am not the mind; I am the master.' Then you can have control over the mind, and you will not be used by the mind

Content: anymore. When you are free from the bondage of the mind, you are liberated, free and in bliss!

Content: Any skill is acquired with practice. And it is the same with meditation. You spend years acquiring other skills and information. You attend courses and pay heavy amounts for bits of information that you never use again. Meditation is a life-saver. It helps you understand yourself. Unfortunately, it is not diversion of the mind; it is centering the mind. It is about giving up the mind. Naturally the mind does not care to lose itself. It does not like losing control. So it resists meditation.

Content: The purpose of meditation is to bring you out of the clutches of your mind and out of the bondage of your thoughts. While it is not as easy as being a couch potato and watching television, it is not difficult either. All you need is the discipline to sit for a few days looking inwards. Once you discover the joy of being in control of your mind, you will never want to lose control again. This control leads to liberation.

Content: Once in a while someone tells me, 'Swamiji, I am fine as long as someone is not talking within my hearing range. I can meditate well. But I get disturbed by sound.'

Content: Meditation does not make you deaf. You can hear when you meditate. In fact, awareness increases and you hear better than normal. The point is to witness what is going on outside without becoming involved in it. You cannot shut off your senses. Even when you close your eyes, you have an inner television playing inside you.

Content: Watch your thoughts as if they are clouds floating in the sky. Do not become part of the cloud. With practice you can meditate sitting in a noisy mall. You can meditate with eyes open. All this comes with practice and sincerity. The only difficulty is the assumption that it is difficult.

Chapter Number: 14.5

Content: 14.5 Material nature consists of the three modes: goodness, passion and ignorance. When the living entity comes in contact with nature, it becomes conditioned by these modes.

Chapter Number: 14.6

Content: 14.6 O Sinless One, the mode of goodness, satva, being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode develop knowledge, but they become conditioned by the concept of happiness.

Chapter Number: 14.7

Content: 14.7 Arjuna, know that the mode of passion, rajas, is characterized by intense craving and is the source of desire and attachment. Rajas binds the living entity by attachment to work.

Chapter Number: 14.8

Content: 14.8 Know, O Arjuna, that the mode of ignorance, tamas, the deluder of the living entity, is born of inertia. Tamas binds the living entity by carelessness, laziness, and excessive sleep.

Content: Material nature consists of three modes or attributes: goodness, passion and ignorance. These are called gunas in Sanskrit. This translation is incomplete because there are no relevant English words for satva, rajas and tamas. We do not have the right English word for guna either. We cannot aptly translate these words into English. When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, He becomes conditioned by these modes. We may say that these are the different ways people behave; as the phrase goes, it is the good, the bad and the ugly.

Content: Krishna explains how we are caught in three different mental setups. We operate through three different types of engraved memories. One is satva, the other is rajas and the third is tamas. These are translated as goodness, passion and ignorance; however, these are not exact translations.

Content: Let me explain these concepts: Satva refers to the engrams or engraved memories or saṁskāras that lead us to bliss. These engraved memories lead us to joy and ecstasy. Rajas refers to the engraved memories that lead us to restlessness, excitement and to work intensely. They make us active and materially productive. The third attribute, tamas, refers to the engraved memories that lead us to depression, laziness and to dullness. Engraved memories that lead to ecstasy and bliss form satva. Engraved memories that lead to restlessness, anger and emotional imbalance form rajas. Engraved memories that lead to depression, dullness and low moods form tamas.

Content: A small example:

Content: We are like passengers riding in a car. Slowly we become lost in thoughts. After a while, we suddenly recall a person or place that disturbs us. The moment the mind feels disturbed, we come back to awareness. And we might say, 'I should not think about it; let me think of something else.' Sometimes we even speak these words aloud or make some gestures trying to ward off the thought.

Content: The driver may look back and wonder, 'What has happened? What is he doing?'

Content: When we are lost in thoughts and a memory arises that makes us depressed, dull or disturbed, we suddenly come back to awareness. We ask ourselves, 'What am I thinking?'

Content: Sometimes we say it aloud, 'I should not think about this. Oh God, what am I doing? I should think of something else.'

Content: Those engraved memories that automatically arise and lead to depression are called tamas.

Content: Sometimes a thought suddenly comes up, 'I will not let him off so easily. I will see that he learns a lesson. I will not let him go.' We may unexpectedly make an angry gesture with our hands while engrossed in this thought.

Content: Engrams that make us active or cause anger or violence and imbalance are called rajas. We are normally caught between rajas and tamas. Very rarely do we get satvic engrams. Satvic engrams do not disturb us. They give rise to a memory of deep bliss or joy that we have experienced. For example, if we come here

Content: everyday, the moment it is 4:30 pm, an engram like this may come up, 'Oh, yesterday the discourse was wonderful. The meditation was beautiful. I should go today as well.'

Content: However, if it is 4.30 pm, instead of that satvic engram, we typically get the engram to eat a snack or drink a cup of coffee!

Content: If we are pulled inwards, if we are made to do something good that leads to bliss, ecstasy and peace of mind, it is due to engraved memories of satva, satvic memories or satvic engrams. If we go to the Himalayas for a few days, we may experience joy and peace. Then later when we see pictures of a mountain, the memory of the Himalayan experience suddenly comes up and we think, 'Oh, I should spend a couple of months in the Himalayas again. It was so peaceful.' Engrams that lead us to peace, bliss and ecstasy are satvic engrams.

Content: These three different types of engraved memories or saṃskāras rule our entire life. Knowledge of these engraved memories is the basic knowledge that must be possessed by anyone who wants to live successfully. The vedic science of health and wellness, Ayurveda, is structured around the concept of guṇas and their effect on our body-mind system.

Content: It is like an owner's manual for using the mind. Without an owner's manual, when we use a product, either we miss the whole thing, or we miss the knowledge of many of the product's applications and features.

Content: There are so many uses and features of a computer. Even the humble calculator has hundreds of applications that we are unaware of. We may use the calculator for basic features like addition and subtraction; however, we may not take advantage of its other applications. In the same way, if we don't have and don't know the owner's manual for the mind, we do not use it the way we ought to, or to its full potential.

Content: Understanding the three different engraved memories or saṃskāras is the operating manual for the mind. Krishna calls it Gunatraya Vibhāga yoga. When we don't comprehend this manual, we are not able to catch the whole understanding of life. We miss so many opportunities. Because we have never learned or understood about the guṇas, we live only a very small fraction of what's possible in life. We miss the beauty and potential of life when we don't have the owner's manual.

Content: At the outset, saṃskāras are not dead memories. Here once again we don't have the correct translation of saṃskāras in English.

Content: We can never understand or fully appreciate Shakespeare's work in another language. If we read the translations of Shakespeare, at the most we will understand what Shakespeare was trying to express. However, we will never understand how he expressed it or the depths that he reached. If we want to enjoy Shakespeare, we must read it in the original language and not in today's spoken English. In the same way, if we want to understand these great truths, we must know a little Sanskrit.

Content: When I ask people to learn a bit of Sanskrit they think I'm trying to spread the language. I say, 'No, for spirituality, a little knowledge of Sanskrit helps you understand many technical terms.'

Content: Let me give the exact meaning or the idea expressed by the word saṁskāra.

Content: Saṁskāra is not any dead engraved memory. It is an engraved memory that is alive and active. It has the power to pull us down and make us travel the same path again and again. Usually the word memory is understood as a dead record; however, saṁskāra is not a dead record. It is not a dead memory. It is not like the memory of a computer where pictures and Word documents are stored. No. Saṁskāras have the power to pull us down repeatedly and to make us walk the same path over and over. We end up going in dead-end circles.

Content: Saṁskāras automatically attract us, call us and make us travel the same path. Then, when we do walk down the same path, the engraving becomes even deeper and those memories get further entrenched. Modern science understands this fact. Experiments have shown that repeated emotional experiences create more receptors for that emotion being developed in the brain. Physically, physiologically, the more anger outbursts you have, the more anger receptors your brain develops. This is a horrifying thought but it's true. The great ṛṣis, the inner scientists have known this for thousands of years.

Content: If certain emotions are not expressed, the corresponding brain parts or receptors degenerate and die. So, the more we manage to stay out of negative emotions, the less they bother us. On the contrary, the more we indulge, the more our brain demands the same indulgence. This is the cause of addictions. Our entire life is ruled by saṁskāras.

Content: Saṁskāras are living memories, not dead memories. The more we travel with these memories, the more we live with these memories, the more they become a part of our being. They take up residence in deeper levels of our consciousness. They get embedded. They get engraved into our brain structure.

Content: Krishna explains step-by-step how we become caught in these three levels of memories and how, again and again, we are pulled and pushed by these memories. It is almost like having three wives. If we have one woman in our life, enlightenment is a luxury. If we have three women in our life, enlightenment is compulsory! With three wives or husbands, one cannot live without enlightenment.

Content: Someone asked me, 'Why did Krishna have so many girlfriends?' I answered, 'This is solid proof that He is enlightened! The fact that He survived despite having so many girlfriends is evidence of enlightenment. No doubt, that is also solid proof that He is God!'

Content: Here, He gives us an understanding of how to live with these engraved memories. Another important point is that becausue these memories are living energies, they can be used for bad deeds or good deeds.

Content: When a person has energies to do bad deeds, we can tap into those energies and make him do good deeds. From my experiences of conducting meditation programs in prisons, no one puts in as much effort and goes into such deep meditation as a prisoner. We conduct meditation programs in prisons. They are so involved and go into meditation more deeply in comparison to people outside. When prisoners take up meditation, they really take it up. They are intense. They don't do anything half-heartedly. When they are transformed, their whole life is transformed!

Content: If we look at the lives of Indian ṛṣis like Valmiki or the great saint Arunagirinathar, they and many others were sinners. However, a dramatic change happened and a cognitive shift took place in their being. The shift usually happens in the way that our mind receives data, processes it and delivers the result. Once the cognitive shift takes place, we receive data, process it and go inside instead of outside. As long as we react externally, we are working towards depression. However, once we go in, we move into bliss.

Content: For example, the death of someone close to us, our near and dear ones, can lead us to the spiritual path or to frustration. We can think, 'Anyway, I am also going to die, so I should do what I want to.' Or we can decide, 'I too will die some day. Let me learn what I can and grow.'

Content: A small story:

Content: A person was about to be hanged. The officer on duty asked him if he had any last wishes. The prisoner said, 'No.' The officer said, 'You can pray to God. You can ask forgiveness and ask for His blessing. We can bring in a priest.'

Content: The prisoner said, 'I want to remember God, but not in the way you suggest. Had I known earlier I would be executed for these crimes, I would have committed a few more sins.'

Content: The prisoner continued, 'If I had known that I was going to be hanged, I would have committed more sins. So if I pray, I will ask God why He didn't let me know earlier that I was going to be hanged. I don't need a priest for that.'

Content: When some people understand that death is the ultimate, they think, 'Death is the ultimate so let me work towards the Divine, achieve God, or realize ātman.' Others react differently, 'Anyway we are going to die. Let us do whatever we want and live the way we want to.' One group takes the path of meditation and the other takes the path of the outer world. The path we choose is up to us.

Content: Engrams are living energies. Through engrams we can choose to either suffer and torture ourselves again and again or make our life a blissful experience. If we know the science of how these engraved memories happen in our being and how they can transform our being, we can take the help of these engraved memories to achieve eternal consciousness, eternal bliss in our being.

Content: Krishna explains how engraved memories disturb our mind and through this understanding, we can transform our being.

Content: Before explaining these verses, let me present a small diagram through which we can understand how engrams affect our decisions and how to come out of the influence of engrams. I have given a basic understanding of this diagram elsewhere, but let me repeat it so that we can connect with saṁskāras.

Content: Please understand how we receive information or data from the outer world, how we process it and how we make decisions. First, we see something through the eyes. I have taken the example of sight but we can replace it with any other sense: like hearing, smelling, tasting or touching. Among these five jñānendriya (senses of perception), any one can be used here.

Content: There are five jñānendriya and five karmendriya (senses of action) that are the means of communication between the external world and us. Jñānendriya are the senses of perception, the five senses of smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing. The karmendriya are five actions of elimination, procreation, locomotion, grasping and speaking. Each sense is related to one of the energy centers (cakras) in our body-mind system. For instance, locomotion is related to the manipūraka cakra (energy center located in the stomach region), and the energy of fire.

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: LBP Techniques help in removing negative engraved memories and add positive energy using meditation techniques

Content: We can take any of the five jñānendriya to replace the eyes in this example. Through the eyes we see a scene. Let us say we see this scene of this discourse happening. You see me talking to you. First your eye captures this whole scene like a picture and this picture goes to the cakṣu (the energy behind the eyes). Understand, we don't see with the eye, we see through the eye. There is an energy that is inside or behind the eye that actually sees. There is an energy inside or behind the ears that hears. The ears by themselves cannot hear. That is why when we are engrossed in a book, we may not hear the alarm or doorbell ring. If we are reading, we may not know if our spouse walks into the room. Of course if it is late at night, all wives know when their husbands sneak into the house, that is a different matter!

Content: A small story:

Content: A man goes to the police station to meet a thief who had burgled his home the previous night and taken all the cash. The officer on duty refuses to allow him to meet the thief saying, 'You cannot talk to him now. You can meet him in court tomorrow.' The man pleads, 'I don't want to disturb him. All I want to know is how he entered my home without waking up my wife. I have been trying to do this for years and have not been able to do it! How did he manage it?'

Content: 116

Content: So there is an energy inside the eyes that sees. We call this energy cakṣu. The whole scene is converted into a file like in a digital signal processor in a computer so that our mind can process the data.

Content: The cakṣu is almost like the digital signal processor or the DSP in electronic systems. If we are to work on sound or light or a photograph, it must be first converted into a digital file. In a computer, whether it is an audio or visual file, it must be converted into a digital file. In the same way in our system, whatever we see or hear is converted into a bio-signal file like a digital file. This conversion happens in this cakṣu area.

Content: Then the file starts moving up, step-by-step. The file goes to the part of the mind called citta (memory). If we understand this, our whole life can be transformed. We will know where and how we react. We will realize how we make big decisions based upon our assumptions, and consequently suffer.

Content: This is what happened in the story where the teacher imagined that alcohol was the liquid leaking from her gift and tasted it without thinking. We can understand how these mistakes happen by analyzing this diagram.

Content: The file goes to citta, the place where past memories are collected. This area is where the work of excluding happens. When the file reaches this place, the excluding process starts - Na iti, Na iti - this is not, this is not. The process of neti (this is not, this is not) takes place in this area. Upon seeing this file, our citta starts eliminating whatever the object is not.

Content: Take the example of this scene: First you see me, the whole scene is photographed. It goes to cakṣu and becomes a bio-signal file. The file is then taken to citta. Citta says, 'This is not a tree. This is not an animal. This is not a plant. This is not this. This is not that.' The excluding process happens in citta.

Content: It is like searching for the word 'cow' in a dictionary. You first eliminate all other letters to reach 'c'. Then you search for 'o' and eliminate all other letters. Then you reach 'w' by eliminating all other letters. In this manner, you reach the word 'cow'. This is how citta works.

Content: Next, the file goes to manas, another part of the mind. The manas tries to positively identify, 'This is a human being. He is wearing a saffron robe. He is standing on a stage.' The identification process, 'iti, iti' (this is it, this is it) identification process happens in manas. In citta, 'neti, neti' or the 'not this, not this' elimination happens.

Content: Once this positive identification happens, the file goes to a third part of the mind called buddhi or intelligence. Buddhi is where the trouble starts. Here the analysis starts, 'How am I related to this file? How am I connected to this scene? How is it relevant to me? How should I respond to this scene?'

Content: If past memories about me have been good or pleasant according to your intelligence, you respond in a positive way. You immediately refer to those past memories and review, 'It was so good at yesterday's discourse.' Your intelligence refers to the past memory and makes a decision based upon these experiences. If past experiences with me have been positive, your intelligence tells you to stay and listen. If past experiences have been unpleasant and you felt bored, your intelligence tells you that this is not the place for you and that you should leave. These are logical decisions based on conscious memories retained by your mind.

Content: Up to this point, transmission of what is perceived by the senses and what is registered by the mind is relatively straightforward. It is a conscious process. I explained earlier about conscious and unconscious minds. Psychologists talk about a subconscious mind as well. This does not exist. This is a term used to further confuse you.

Content: Mind specialists know that ninety percent of all that we sense goes into an unknown, unconscious zone and we are unaware of what we sense. It is a leap into an abyss. It is a quantum leap into our dark unconscious mind. There is no logic to this leap. This is shocking, but true. As a corollary, ninety percent of what we process mentally happens in an unaware state of the unconscious. The conscious mind is just the tip of the iceberg. Ninety percent is below the surface. We do not see it. We do not sense it and we do not use it.

Content: The good news in this is that we have a great potential in this area. Even if we awaken another ten percent of this unconscious mind, the power of our mind can be doubled. Then just imagine what can happen. Everyone will be an Einstein! We can also learn to put that extra mind capacity to good use.

Content: If the processing of sensory data is stopped at this conscious level, at the intelligence level, we make decisions at the conscious level by using our intellect. This is alright, however, it is limiting because the conscious mind is still only ten percent of the total mind capacity. This is what we call intellect-based decision-making. These decisions are based on logic and rationale. We are proud of this achievement. The French philosopher Descartes said, 'I think therefore I am.' He didn't realize that he limited his potential to only ten percent. What a sad state!

Content: Because of the limited capacity of our conscious mind, nature wires us to use our unconscious mind to decide many things. Unfortunately this unconscious mind is a conditioned mind. It is full of engraved memories, beliefs and value systems drilled into us from childhood. All that parents and elders have taught us plus all that we have been force-fed by religion and society from a deeply impressionable age are stored in this vault that is never open to us. It opens on its own when it chooses to, especially in moments of stress and trauma. Just as viruses and bacteria attack when our immune system is down, the virus of engrams and saṁskāras influence us when our emotional systems are weakened.

Content: Saṁskāras do not accumulate only during this lifetime. The mental attitudes are carried over from previous births. Neural scientists tell us about the part of our brain called the reptilian brain that stores memories of our evolution from marine and amphibian creatures. Religions may not accept this, yet science does.

Content: From the conscious mind, the information is passed to the unconscious region of the mind, the ego.

Content: I call this unconscious region of the mind ego not because it is arrogant, but because it provides you the identity of who you are. The word ‘ego’ is derived from a Greek word that means ‘a mask’. Your identity is a mask that you wear. It is not you.

Content: Your identity stems from your unconscious. You project who you wish to be, never who you are. You do not even know who you are. Who you are is deeply buried in your unconscious. All the major decisions that shape your life are consigned to this unconscious zone. This is the repository of all those emotionally-filled memories and beliefs about yourself, which constitute what you are and therefore, create your identity. This is what I call the ego.

Content: The conscious mind does not make important decisions. It makes a few decisions that can be reached by its limited intellect. Anything important moves to the unconscious ego. Our unconscious handles all life-threatening situations, the so-called fight-or-flight decisions. Our conscious mind is too slow to handle them.

Content: Let us go back to the incident of you watching me here. The problem arises if your conscious mind does not make a direct decision. If you have had past experiences with other persons wearing saffron robes, you will have engrams about that experience. You will not bother to see who this person is. You decide based on that memory that says, ‘No, with that master I suffered like this; with some other master, I suffered like that.’ It will be a generalized memory. You make a decision based on your past collected saṁskāras.

Content: That is where we create trouble. When decisions are made with a straight understanding, there is no major problem. However, most of the time we collect and react based on engrams that are unrelated to each other.

Content: For example, you see someone wearing a white dress. You may have been hurt in the past by someone wearing a white dress. The moment you see a white dress, the memory comes back even if you don’t want it to.

Content: In the same way, if we are abused or disrespected in a house, the memory comes up automatically the next time we visit that house, even if the person who did it is not there. We experience the same feeling, feel depressed and go into a low mood.

Content: We connect and associate things with places, with triggers, with memories, and put them into memory files. We are not able to work spontaneously. We must rely on some technique, some method to reduce our processing work. Naturally, we opt for some kind of arrangement in our memory. Consequently, we miss out on real life.

Content: Only in the first few days of marriage do we respond spontaneously to our spouse. Within the first few months of living with our spouse, we form a clear idea about him or her. After that, we don’t really live with him or her. We live with our imagination of him or her. We live with that, whatever our spouse does is wrong. We come to a predetermined conclusion that the spouse is always wrong. If our spouse does something right, we say that it happened by mistake!

Content: So after a few months, we come to a conclusion about the other persons in our life. We create an engram related to them based on our judgment. After that, we judge whatever he or she does through the filter of the engram, or engraved memory. Sometimes we create engraved memories in our system based on experiences that others have or from media influences.

Content: A small story:

Content: One day, a funeral procession slowly made its way down the road. A man was walking two bulldogs as he moved along ahead of the body of the dead woman. There was a long queue of people following slowly behind him.

Content: An onlooker observed the number of people in the procession and thought, 'She must have been a famous woman.' He approached the man with the bulldogs and asked, 'Who is the dead lady?'

Content: The man replied, 'She is my mother-in-law.'

Content: The onlooker asked if the two dogs were the dead woman's pets. The man replied, 'No. They attacked and killed her.'

Content: 'Killed her?' the onlooker asked. 'Yes,' said the man. The onlooker asked, 'Can I borrow the dogs for two days?'

Content: The man pointed to the people following him and said, 'Join the queue.'

Content: When we enter into relationships with preconceived notions, this is what happens! We collect so many memories that we never relate to people as they are. We only relate with the preconceived memory we have of the person.

Content: People ask me, 'Swamiji, is our life pre-destined or open to free will?' Understand, the more engrams we have, the more our life is pre-destined. This is because we will go along the same route repeatedly. The fewer engrams we have, the more freedom we enjoy.

Content: The number of saṁskāras determines whether we have free will or if our life is pre-destined. For example, the file travels to the ego, and the ego gives the decision, and we execute it. If there are more engrams, the file travels to every table like in a bureaucratic office. Each engram stamps, puts its signature and writes its opinion.

Content: Take the example of attending this discourse and seeing me. One engram says, 'I had a master in my life. He was a blessing. He helped me a lot. I think I should sit here.' So this engram signs, 'Yes, I will sit here.' The next engram says, 'I read in the newspapers that these masters do this or do that.' There is enough written in the press, especially in South India, where being abusive to masters is fashionable. So, the second engram signs off saying, 'doubt'. Then the file goes to the next table, and the third engram says, 'I attended his discourse yesterday. What he says makes sense, I think I should stay.' This engram signs, 'yes'.

Content: The file reaches the ego. The ego comes to a conclusion based on all the 'yes' responses and all the 'no' responses. Yes or no is not a problem; however, we have wasted so much time and energy on this small decision. For example, when we sit in our office, not doing anything, just sitting and worrying, we become stressed. Within fifteen minutes, we have pain in our shoulders. Worrying about simple decision-making leads to shoulder pain. The more engrams, the more restless and rajasik we will be.

Content: People with many engrams never relax. People with stress cannot sit quietly. So much physical movement and physical restlessness is due to many decisions taking place inside their unconscious. This space between the buddhi (intelligence) and ego is the unconscious mind. Because we do not know what happens here, we don't know how many blocks are there. It is like an Indian Government office. There may be three hundred tables occupied by people who must sign as a bureaucrat to approve a decision. The file must move through three hundred tables to get approved. When it will move, who will sign what, and what the final result will be, neither we know nor God knows!

Content: The conscious zone is like an honest office. I don't know what example to give of such an office! I don't think there are any relevant examples.

Content: Take the example of smoking: According to the data collected at the conscious level, we know smoking is injurious to health. According to simple, straightforward data that we have assimilated, we know smoking is injurious to health; however, when the time comes, suddenly we decide to smoke.

Content: How does the file take such a quantum leap? How is the decision totally changed? When the file travels to the unconscious area, engrams say, 'No, no! The last time I smoked, I felt really good, I felt relieved from all the stress.'

Content: If we want to eliminate stress, wear a tight shoe instead of smoking. When we wear a tight shoe, we forget other worries. Smoking and wearing a tight shoe are the same. By smoking, we try to forget. By creating bigger problems, we try to forget the smaller problems. The same applies to wearing tight shoes. If we wear tight shoes, we automatically forget smaller worries.

Content: Here, in the unconscious area, all the past memories reside: 'I smoked. I felt good. I felt relieved. All the stress disappeared.' We suddenly make a decision that we did not want to make, because of these unconscious memories.

Content: We make countless decisions based upon engraved memories. We repent and suffer later on. Suddenly we shout and after ten minutes, we repent, 'Why did I shout? I always wanted to keep a smiling face. I wanted people to acknowledge that I have a smiling face. Why did I shout?' We repent. We made a sudden decision. We reacted suddenly due to these engrams.

Content: We will see later how engraved memories disturb, torture and twist our decisions. Krishna says that we should ask our being how we missed reality. Why are we deluded by engraved memories?

Content: Krishna speaks of satva guna saṁskāras that lead us to bliss and peace, rajasic guna saṁskāras that lead to restlessness and violence and tamasic saṁskāras that lead to depression. He further explains how these saṁskāras influence our decision-making process.

Content: Let us say our radio suddenly stops working properly and we simultaneously connect with frequencies from three channels: One channel is playing an advertisement for a cosmetic product. The second channel gives instructions for farming. The third channel is playing a comedy drama. The result will sound like this to us, 'Please spray a little bit of pesticide. After that wipe your face clean. Now brush your teeth properly and put on a little more pesticide. Finally jump up and down and laugh flailing your arms and legs!'

Content: If we try to execute decisions based on these mixed, cross-wired instructions, just imagine what our plight would be! Similarly when we try to work with different types of engrams, satva, rajas and tamas and all three cross each other, they create hell in our lives. Please understand that intelligent people collect arguments to arrive at a judgment while most of us collect arguments to support a pre-existing judgment.

Content: If we look into our life we will know: how many times have we accepted our mistakes? Of course, to even look into our lives and see how many times we have erred needs intelligence. We usually react out of arrogance or guilt. We say, 'So what if I made a mistake?' We brush it aside. This is one kind of attitude, the attitude of might is right. The other attitude is that of suffering from guilt.

Content: Please understand that an unintelligent man never feels guilty. Of course I tell you to drop your guilt as well. That is in a different context. Only an intelligent man who thinks of dharma (righteousness) suffers from guilt. Only he feels guilt. A person who only lives and feels at the instinct level never feels guilty. An Arjuna or a Yudhishtira feels guilty. A Duryodhana will not feel guilty.

Content: A person at the intellect level suffers guilt. Someone at the level of intuition goes beyond guilt. He understands the truth as it is. Krishna speaks of how to handle these three gunas properly and use them to the maximum. Getting the maximum out of them is an intelligent process.

Content: A small story:

Content: A young child swallowed a coin and was taken to the doctor. The doctor used different methods to no avail. The nurse also tried, still the coin didn't

Content: come out. A friend standing nearby made an attempt without success. A passerby observed this and offered his assistance. The doctor asked, 'What can you do?' The passerby said, 'Give me one moment.' He spoke to the child and came back smiling with the coin. The surprised doctor asked, 'I am a doctor. I could not take the coin out. How did you do it?'

Content: The passerby said, 'I am a con artist. I can extract money out of anybody.'

Content: Krishna gives tips and techniques to get the maximum out of all the three guṇas! Before entering into these three layers of engrams, saṁskāras related to satva, rajas and tamas, let me illustrate how we are caught in these and how these engrams work. Then, we will enter into each technique.

Content: These are the seven energy layers of our body-mind system. These are seven parts of our being.

Content: The first is the physical body, our flesh and bones. Next is the pranic layer, the energies of prāṇa, vyāna, udāna, apāna and samāna, or the five air movements that take place in our body-mind system. The third is the mental body. This is where our mental inner chattering continuously takes place. A continuous recorder goes on as inner chatter inside us whether we are standing, sitting or doing nothing. Sometimes we open our mouth and chatter. At other times, we close our mouth and continue to chatter. Whether we open our mouth or not, talking continues. This is inner chattering or the mental body or cancala, which means inner movement.

Content: The fourth is the etheric body. This is the space where our intense emotions and painful experiences are stored. Usually intense emotions are of pain and suffering. We do not know any other intense emotion. If we do, we are a spiritual person.

Content: When we look into life, we see that pain gives such an intense feeling. When we are depressed or in pain, we become intense and our whole mind is centered. Our mind does not move towards anything else.

Content: Have you experienced bliss to the same extent or depth that you have experienced pain? No. All we know is pain.

Content: We cannot intellectually understand the three bodies beyond the etheric body. They can only be experienced spiritually through meditation.

Content: The pranic layer is the body filled with desires. The mental body is filled with 'I should have' or guilt feelings. The etheric body is pain. Understand these three. Desire, guilt and pain are the feelings or the experiences stored in these layers.

Content: When emotions, desires and feelings arising out of these three attributes are pure, they are called satva, rajas and tamas depending on the quality of the emotion. Usually, they are impure. They are mixed with each other. We should know how to purify them. If we can purify our desires, we will be liberated.

Content: Please understand that we cannot live without desires. We can only cleanse and purify the desires, directing them towards the right path. Without desires, we can't breathe. Even inhaling and exhaling cannot happen without desires. We cannot live without desires. Desires must be handled properly. Desires must be straightened. That's what we need to work towards, satva.

Content: Next comes guilt or rajas. Our restlessness is created by thoughts like, 'I should have done that', 'I should have lived like that', 'Because I did not do it then, let me do it now', 'I should have reacted in a certain manner; however, at that time, I did not have the intelligence. Let me teach him a lesson, I know what to do now.' This is how restlessness or rajas operates.

Content: The third is pain. Whether we do right or wrong, we know how to make it painful. Whatever it is, we know how to create suffering through tamas.

Content: The first four body-mind layers are influenced by the three gunas. The mind cannot experience the remaining three layers beyond the fourth layer. They can be experienced only through meditation. In the fifth layer, the causal body, we sleep soundly without dreams. It is called kāraṇa śarīra, the energy layer that we experience during deep sleep. The sixth layer is the cosmic layer, filled with joyful memories, and the seventh is the nirvanic layer or the bliss body.

Content: Just remember the first four layers of physical, pranic, mental and etheric energy. That's enough, because we will work only on these now. Krishna has already spoken about the physical layer. Now He works on the other three gunas of satva, rajas and tamas. Satva is related to the second layer that is the pranic layer, rajas is related to the third layer that is the mental body, and the fourth layer is the etheric layer of tamas. In the next chapter when Krishna explains about the other layers we will understand those.

Content: As I was saying, satva is related to desires and the prāṇa śarīra. When our desires change, our prāṇa flow or our airflow changes. Prāṇa is the life giving energy that we inhale alongwith the air that we take in. Air is only a medium to take in prāṇa. It is prāṇa that sustains life in us. This prāṇa is affected by the changing desires in us. For example, if we are caught in lust or an intense desire, our inhaling and exhaling becomes intense. The prāṇa going in and coming out increases. With any desire, the prāṇa flow totally changes. If we are in a silent, peaceful mood, the prāṇa flow will be so mild, we will not know prāṇa is flowing.

Content: Understand that this pranic layer is filled with desires. What should we learn about satva, about this pranic layer? Let me explain.

Content: Whether we believe it or not, we are God. We are pure consciousness. Whatever thoughts we create in our pure consciousness gain power. This space exists in all of us and is called Self, ātman, or inner divinity. Whatever thoughts we create in this space, the deeper they are, the more power they get from this consciousness. It is like placing a slide in front of the bulb in a slide projector. That slide becomes reality on the screen. This inner Self is also light and any slide we create in this area becomes reality in the outer world.

Content: But, the problem is we create self-contradictory desires. We suffer with our desires because of this. Whether our desires are fulfilled or not, the resulting suffering is inevitable. If the desires are fulfilled, there will be emptiness and if they are unfulfilled, there will be restlessness. In both cases, we move towards tamas. Why?

Content: Why should we suffer because of desires? First, understand self-contradicting desires. For instance, if we want to get rid of a headache, normally we create an engram that continuously says, 'I should get rid of this headache. I should get rid of this headache.' We repeat the same words constantly in our unconscious. By continuously thinking that we want to get rid of the headache, we will never be able to get rid of it. When we repeat a word, in this case 'headache', we actually give power to it. The headache intensifies instead of disappearing.

Content: It is a subtle understanding. Whatever words we repeat unconsciously become reality in our body, mind and in our world. It is because we have the power to give life to any word. If the words 'Let me get up and go', come to our mind, with those words, immediately our body will move, we will stand up and start going.

Content: One word can make us do whatever we want. Words that appear in our mind are important. Words that appear in our mind are mantra (sacred sounds). When put together, all the words that appear in our mind form our life, especially the words that we repeat unconsciously.

Content: For example, if we observe what happens when we brush our teeth in the morning, we see that our mind is somewhere else. For example, when we are in the shower, the mind is elsewhere. Especially when we take a cold water shower, we sometimes even sing to divert our mind. Cold showers and singing are closely connected! Since nobody is watching us in the bathroom, we talk or sing freely. Sometimes people even argue with themselves loudly in the bathroom.

Content: A man was standing near the bathroom when his wife came out. He asked, 'Who were you arguing with inside the bathroom?'

Content: She said, 'I was talking to myself.'

Content: He asked, 'Why were you arguing?'

Content: She said, 'I know what I was doing, so stay out of it.'

Content: He continued, 'I can understand that you were talking to yourself, but why were you arguing with yourself?'

Content: She said, 'You know me. I don't accept stupid logic. That is why I was arguing with myself!'

Content: We play games all the time! We continuously talk without coming to reality. We utter the same words when brushing our teeth every day of the week. The moment we start brushing our teeth, we will have the same trend of thoughts. Every time we shower, we have the same type of thoughts too. If we observe ourselves closely, we will realize these things.

Content: Thoughts that we repeat unconsciously are more powerful than words we use consciously. We create many thoughts, so many saṁskāras that are self-contradictory. 'I should get rid of this headache' is a self-contradictory thought. When we repeat those words we remember the headache as well. By remembering

Content: the word 'headache' again and again, we bring back that memory and we bring back that headache into our mind. How do we expect to get rid of the headache then?

Content: If we constantly repeat, 'I should get rid of this headache,' we bring that memory back every time we utter the word 'headache'. We bring that whole file of suffering back to our mind. How can we get rid of the headache then? Instead of using the word headache, create a saṃskāra such as, 'I should become healthy' again and again. Then we can remember the idea of health!

Content: Whatever mantra or word we use, that dhyāna or meditation automatically happens in our unconscious. If we use the word 'headache' again and again, we will be meditating on the headache again and again. If we use the word 'health', again and again, we will be meditating on health again and again.

Content: That is why when we start to meditate upon god, we start with a dhyāna śloka - meditation verse. Before meditating, we recite the dhyāna śloka. It is like the invocation verses that invoke god with the right words. In these verses we verbalize what good things we wish to visualize in our lives.

Content: Verbalization of visualization is the dhyāna śloka. Now, if again and again we verbalize the word headache, headache, headache, what will we visualize? We will visualize the person who gives us a headache, or what we feel like when we get a headache. We will continuously visualize the headache scene and that mood.

Content: Whatever we visualize again and again will be inscribed or engraved in our memory, in our inner space, in our inner being. If we have a disease, please never create and repeat a word that carries the name of the disease. For example, never say, 'Let me get rid of this heart problem. Let me get rid of this diabetes. Let me get rid of this high blood pressure' Use straight words, not self-contradictory words. If we have pain or an illness, use words like 'Let me become healthy.' Words create a visualization and energy of what we want to happen.

Content: Always use these words, 'Let me become healthy.' Never use words like, 'Let me get rid of this back pain.'

Content: Never use self-contradicting engrams. The more we use self-contradicting engrams, the more we engrave that disease into our inner space. The more we engrave, the more powerful they become. Please do not abuse the inner space or icchā śakti (power of creation). The pranic layer is our icchā śakti. It has the energy to make things happen. It has the energy to fulfill our desires. Do not waste icchā śakti by creating self-contradicting thoughts or self-contradicting engrams.

Content: Self-contradicting thoughts corrupt our whole satva space. When you go home today, spend just ten minutes to do this exercise. Sit for ten minutes with yourself and write down the thoughts that come to your mind regularly. Then see where you are creating self-contradicting engrams and edit them, clear them. Don't bring self-contradicting thoughts into your mind.

Content: The latest research shows that when psychiatric diseases are analyzed and publicized, millions of people across the world immediately start suffering from that disease. As long as we don't name the disease, people don't suffer from that disease even if they have it. The moment we inform them that these are the symptoms of the disease, this is what the disease is called, everybody thinks, 'I am suffering from this disease,' and they somehow contact the disease also!

Content: Many people in good health experience symptoms of illness described by medical studies. Almost all of us feel giddy at one time or another, more often if we tend to get angry easily. This does not mean that every attack of giddiness relates to a blood pressure problem. Many people wake up sweating in the night. It does not mean that they are experiencing heart attacks. Yet once it is drilled into them that these are symptoms of dangerous diseases, they become neurotic. They turn into hypochondriacs. They become nervous wrecks.

Content: This is a dangerous game. We should not let words created by pharmaceutical research companies about various diseases create doubts in us. This idea, 'I think I also have this problem,' gets created when we listen to disease reports and commercials. Immediately we create an engram that says, 'I have this problem; I should get rid of it.' By the time we finish repeating these words ten times, we will have the problem.

Content: We continuously allow ourselves to be exploited by what we hear and see. People who don't know the truth of the mind and consciousness influence us. All these problems arise because we don't know that pure joy of inner space is possible.

Content: Let me make a bold statement that no medicine or chemical can help our mind. All anti-anxiety medicines, all anti-depression medicines are consolations. First, we visualized that we suffered from depression and now we visualize that we have taken some medicine, that's all.

Content: Let me share another important secret. It is a business secret! Many people say, 'Swamiji, that person has done some black magic on me. He has laid a spell on me. Someone has put an evil spirit behind me. Some evil being possesses me.' There are

Content: many people who exploit this kind of fear in others, cashing in on this fear. Understand: All such negativity has only one power, our faith in it.

Content: All negativity such as black magic or evil or demonic acts, has only one power and that is our faith in them. Our faith in them gives them power. Because we believe in them, we connect all the incidents and make trouble for ourselves. And then we struggle to free ourselves.

Content: When people come to me with these fears, I say, ‘There is nothing, don’t worry. There is no problem.’ Then they think, ‘This master is young. He doesn’t know much. Let’s go to an older person who will give us some counter-spells, some talisman, someone who will do some exorcism and remove this negativity and blockage.’

Content: They think I don’t know anything. Then what do I do to help them? I give them some talisman and say, ‘You don’t have to pay. Just put this under your pillow and you will be healed. You will be cured.’ The talisman, the yantra, has nothing in it. I am clear that the yantra has nothing in it. The person has created an idea within himself. He has this negativity. By giving him the yantra, I create an idea in him that he doesn’t have any negativity. It is like using one thorn to remove another thorn. There is nothing else in this.

Content: I tell people, ‘Don’t think that by having these yantras something will shower from your roof. Nothing can shower from your house except rats!’ These yantras are antidotes for their negative faith. They already created the faith that they have certain problems. I just tell them honestly, ‘You created this trouble and now I am your help to undo it.’ So understand: All negativity has only one power: our faith in it.

Content: If the person who exploits these fears only takes money for it, that’s fine, we can earn back that money. The danger is that he also creates an engram in us. He creates a saṁskāra that continuously haunts us. For anything and everything, we run to him like slaves. It is better to be caught in the hands of the ghost than in the hands of a sorcerer! At least, the ghost will trouble us only once in a while; however, this person will exploit us completely.

Content: With the ghost, we have only mental suffering. With this person, we have mental and economic suffering! The big problem is that not only does he take our money; he also creates an engraved memory in the form of fear in us. With every small sound we hear at night, we think, ‘I think that the effects of that talisman is over. Now I must get a new talisman.’

Content: People in this business also give out talismans that need to be recharged! After a couple of months, we must take it back to be recharged. I was surprised when I heard about a rechargeable talisman!

Content: All we need is an advertisement! I saw an advertisement in a newspaper. A man was standing in a pose as if he is granting blessings and he claims to be an Atharvana Veda scholar. I was surprised because this scripture of Atharvana Veda is not about such things. This scripture is a pure science to improve our life. It is a pure science to handle our mind blissfully. No scripture teaches exploitation of others.

Content: In fact, the first Jyotisha Sutra (vedic astrology) states that intuition happens only to a person whose inner space is pure, who does not expect benefit or return in the form of money, good name or goodwill. So never go to people who engage in these mantra and yantra, spells and talismans. Also understand that evil entities have only one power, that is our faith in them.

Content: Now, when we create self-contradicting thoughts, we start believing them. Especially when they name a disease in psychoanalysis, it is like the fashion business. In the fashion business, every week they launch a new dress. Similarly here, every month they invent a new disease.

Content: By repeating that negative idea, by meditating on the symptom, we start creating that symptom in us. It is a dangerous game. Don't be caught in that game. We disturb the satva, the pure space of our being, by creating self-contradicting thoughts. So write down your major thoughts and desires and analyze them. Observe how many thoughts are self-contradicting. This is the first step.

Content: Next, let us see how two desires contradict one another. We want to lead a peaceful life and we want wealth. With wealth comes responsibility as well. Either decide to take responsibility and be happy with that responsibility, or decide to relax and accept whatever happens.

Content: Only one thought should be strengthened when two desires conflict. When we have both, we have a self-contradicting mental setup. In the satva space, in the satva energy, when we create self-contradicting engraved memories, we are automatically thrown into rajas.

Content: Let me describe what Krishna says about rajas. The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings. This is a beautiful verse.

Content: Krishna says, because of this, the embodied living entity is bound to doing result-oriented actions.

Content: He talks about desires and longings. What is the difference? Desires and longings - rāga means desire; tṛṣnā means craving, longing. What is the difference? Some memories have our emotional support whereas some memories have been inserted into our being by advertisements.

Content: Advertisements are not only on the television or in a movie theatre. If our father repeats something time and again, that is an advertisement. If our mother says again and again, 'This is right, this is right. This is for us, this is for you,' that becomes an advertisement. Some desires have our mental support. We feel these will give us fulfillment; we feel these are our genuine needs. Some desires have been sold to us by someone else. That is the difference between desires and longings.

Content: Desires are ours and longings have been given to us by society. They are a social conditioning. Desires are inborn. They are our nature. If we fulfill desires, we feel fulfilled and relaxed. With longings, the moment we fulfill them, we feel empty. This is the difference between desire and longing. Desire gives us fulfillment. Longing gives us emptiness.

Content: Krishna shows us how self-contradicting desires lead us to rajas. When desires contradict each other, we get confused. We fall into rajas, restlessness. When the information about an object comes into our system, it passes through cakṣu, citta, buddhi and then goes to the ego. On its way, before this file reaches ego, it passes through the unconscious space of engrams that write their opinions on this file.

Content: Let us say ten engrams write a decision saying, 'I want to sit and listen to the discourse' and another ten engrams write, 'No, let us go watch a movie, it is the weekend.' Ten engrams write similar decisions on the file, and another ten engrams write another kind of decision on the file. By the time the file reaches the ego, we are confused. As a result of these contradicting opinions from our engrams, we have inner restlessness.

Content: The more engrams, the more time it takes to make a decision. We will suffer and be in a dilemma. Man is a dilemma. Continuously we think, 'I should have done this' or 'I should have done that.' Dilemma is due to too many engrams.

Content: Dilemma is what Krishna calls rajas and restlessness. In rajas, we have tremendous anger, violence and inner restlessness. A person caught in rajas shouts at others and experiences an irritable mood. He has a poisonous tongue. He waits to vomit out his irritation and anger on others.

Content: Once we remove the rajas engrams, we can make one thousand decisions without getting stressed. The file will go straight to the ego without interruption.

Content: To make a decision we don't need to cross three hundred tables like an Indian government office. There will be two or three tables. One says, 'Yes', the other says, 'Okay'. By the time the file reaches the ego, there will not be many differing opinions. It can decide instantly and send the file back for action. The process will be easy. Making decisions will be easy and our time and energy will not be wasted.

Content: That is why Krishna says that when we don't expect the result, when we don't think of karma phala (result of the work done), we can do the work intensely.

Content: When we don't expect or worry about the result, we work beautifully because there are fewer engrams. We will not suffer or be tortured by engraved memories.

Content: In the next verse Krishna talks about tamas.

Content: He addresses Arjuna, 'Oh son of Bharata, know that the mode of darkness, tamas, is born out of ignorance. It is the delusion of all embodied living entities. The results of this mode are madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul.' This is a beautiful explanation of tamas.

Content: If there are more saṁskāras or engrams, the file does not reach the ego easily. In fact, the file may not reach the ego fully. A powerful engram may make the decision on the way. It is similar to a 'non application of mind' in legal terminology.

Content: Why does this happen? Why do you decide unconsciously and regret later?

Content: This unconscious zone is filled with negative memories and restlessness. All our past memories and past thought patterns, saṁskāras or engrams, are stored in this zone as files. So many files are stored in this zone without any logical connection between them.

Content: This is what happens. When the file takes a quantum leap to this zone, it does not reach the ego properly for a decision because this zone is where all the data that causes restlessness in you is stored. It is as if your computer hard disk is loaded with high-resolution photographs and there is no further scope to work on your hard disk. Like that, when your unconscious is loaded with past thought patterns and memories, it becomes inefficient and makes superficial, illogical decisions.

Content: Take this example: According to data that you have collected, smoking is injurious to health. It is not good for your body or mind. You can hold onto this

Content: decision as long as you are at the conscious level. But once the mind takes the leap to the ego, the engrams instruct you to smoke; you simply decide to smoke! The conscious process says, 'No, it is not good for health.' Yet the unconscious process just makes the decision and you execute it! It is a pure instinct-level decision.

Content: When we have more engrams, we don't know what decision will come out. It is like a Pandora's box. We don't know what will come out since the inner space is full of engrams and saṁskāras. We are at the level of an animal. We act on instinct.

Content: When there are only a few engrams, it is like not having three hundred tables for the file to have to move through. There are only a few tables, similar to a private corporation. This is the human level or the level of intellect.

Content: When there are no engrams, there will be no need for the file to drop into the unconscious zone for a decision. It straightaway meets the buddhi and ego after the mind. There are no blocks. The time taken for the unconscious process will be less than the conscious process. We will be intuitive or at the level of God.

Content: The level of an animal is the level of instinct; the level of man is the level of intellect; the level of God is the level of intuition. The level of instinct is the level of tamas; the level of intellect is the level of rajas; the level of intuition is the level of satva.

Content: In satva, our mind works continuously and we make decisions, yet we do not become tired. We can be active twenty-four hours and yet remain peaceful. This is what I call action in inaction and inaction in action. Krishna says we will be centered when we are in satva. Though lots of activity go on around us, we will remain utterly relaxed.

Content: The whole thing is dependent on one thing: our engrams or engraved memories. The number of engraved memories determines whether we are caught in satva, rajas or tamas. These three are not enlightened states. Enlightenment is beyond these three.

Content: If we are caught in tamas, we need to move towards rajas. If we are caught in rajas, make the move towards satva. If we are caught in satva, it will automatically lead us to enlightenment. How do we do this?

Content: Krishna speaks of tamas. 'Know that the mode of darkness, born of ignorance, is the delusion of all embodied, living entities. The results of this mode are madness, indolence and sleep which bind the conditioned soul.'

Content: For example, we create a self-contradicting desire at the satva level. Because of that we create restlessness in the rajas level. When we feel too restless, we drop

Content: everything. We decide not to take any responsibility and we sleep instead. We fall into tamas.

Content: Tamas is not only sleep or depression. Not taking enough responsibility is also tamas. For example, we are in tamas if we studied to become a doctor and we do not practice our profession out of laziness. If we don't practice for some other reason, that is fine. However, if we are avoiding because of laziness, we are in tamas. Don't drop out from anything due to tamas. If we drop out because of a spiritual reason, that is different. Some people drop out to meditate, go on a pilgrimage or to do spiritual work. That is fine. However, we are caught in tamas when we drop out due to laziness or for no reason at all.

Content: Dropping out due to tamas means that we don't have enough energy and we cannot make a responsible decision. Why? Too many engrams block our decision process. By the time we make one decision, we feel tired and want to sleep. That is why we attempt to escape from life. Escapists are tamasic people.

Content: Q: Swamiji, is there scientific evidence to support sanskāra formation?

Content: Good question. Surprisingly, the answer is yes. It is surprising because this is not an area that science has been interested in, especially medical science. Western medical science has focused on treating the body independent of the mind and whatever has been studied about the mind has been based on disabled minds.

Content: A few path-breaking scientists have established that our genes do not determine our behavior; rather it is the other way around. In his seminal book, Biology of Belief, Dr. Bruce Lipton, a celebrated molecular biologist, established that our conditioning determines our biology. He studied living beings at the cellular level to establish their behavior, the positive and negative influences of the environment and conditioning and how they changed the very cellular structure.

Content: It is also well-known that our brain functions differently at various stages of our growth. We have different brain wave patterns based on frequency levels. It has been established scientifically that in early childhood our brain operates at low frequency levels of delta and theta waves. As we grow up, they shift to alpha mode until about adolescence. Adult brains operate at beta wave patterns at over 14 hertz.

Content: Low frequency waves imply a high degree of being influenced. Young children accept anything said by adults as gospel truth. They do not reason and discriminate. Authority figures influence them to a greater degree than commonly understood. This is the origin of saṁskāras in this lifetime.

Content: If we extend the work of Bruce Lipton, behavioral changes that affect our genes and DNA will influence our progeny as well. Saṁskāras then carry on through generations. As I mentioned earlier, the presence of the reptilian brain indicates the continuance of evolutionary saṁskāras created before this lifetime.

Content: The vedic system believes in the imperishability of the Self. The body may die and disappear; however, the Self or soul lives on. Matter perishes. Energy lives on. At death, the essence of one's lifestyle in that life carries over as vāsana into the next birth. This vāsana is the seed of one's saṁskāras. This is truth as I know it and as I have experienced it. Science will catch up with this truth one day.

Content: The Life Bliss Programs and Ananda Spurana Programs are based on this truth. Our saṁskāras drive our actions. When the Upaniṣad scriptures say that our thoughts determine our actions and therefore our destiny, they refer to the saṁskāras that create and influence thoughts. It is possible to dissolve the emotional blocks created by the saṁskāras and eventually dissolve the saṁskāras.

Content: At the first-level Life Bliss Program (LBP level 1), we teach methods to dissolve emotional blocks so that we can lead a productive life free of emotional disabilities. At the next level program - LBP Level 2 or Nithyananda Spurana Program, we teach how to work through saṁskāras at various energy levels in order to relieve them. Finally, when people take initiation to become Nithya Spiritual Healers, they are initiated into a meditative process that constantly removes saṁskāras. This meditation, called the Ananda Gandha meditation, takes one beyond the three guṇas. Guṇas are what generate saṁskāras and karmas. This meditation has the ability to make us a triguna rahita, one who is beyond the bondages of the. It is a meditation for enlightenment.

Chapter Number: 14.9

Content: The mode of goodness conditions one to happiness, Passion conditions him to fruits of action, and ignorance to madness.

Chapter Number: 14.10

Content: Sometimes the mode of passion becomes prominent, defeating the mode of goodness, O son of Bharata. And sometimes the mode of goodness defeats passion, and at other times the mode of ignorance defeats goodness and passion. In this way there is always competition for supremacy.

Chapter Number: 14.11

Content: When the light of Self-knowledge illuminates all the senses (or gates) in the body, Then it should be known that goodness is predominant.

Chapter Number: 14.12

Content: O chief of Bharata, when there is an increase in the mode of passion, the symptoms of great attachment, uncontrollable desire, hankering, and intense endeavor develop. Krishna further explains the three modes. 'O Bharata, sometimes the mode of goodness, satva, becomes prominent, defeating the modes of passion and ignorance, and at other times, ignorance defeats goodness and passion, in this way, there is always competition for supremacy.' All of us are not completely caught in satva or rajas or tamas. We swing between satva, rajas and tamas. We go from this end to that end, and from that end to this end. Sometimes we get up in the morning and feel fresh. We feel as if all our questions are answered; we are fresh, alive and we think we have become almost

Content: enlightened! Everything goes beautifully until evening. Suddenly we become restless. The very next day, we are in tamas. We don't want to do anything. These mood swings take place continuously.

Content: Obesity and mood swings are closely related. When we allow these mood swings to happen, we torture ourselves. Sometimes we are restless, sometimes we are peaceful and sometimes we are in tamas. When we are in tamas we don't want to do anything; we want to escape from everything; we want to dump everything and run away. We are caught in these three modes of nature: sometimes in instinct, sometimes in intellect and sometimes in intelligence.

Content: Why? Why do we have mood swings?

Content: This happens if we have collected too many saṁskāras about something over many years. For example, we have many engrams about drinking, if from a young age, we were repeatedly taught not to drink and that drinking is a sin. This raises our curiosity and we are tempted to taste alcohol at least once. Never give a law to children. Instead give them understanding and the spirit behind the law.

Content: If we want to bring up children blissfully, we need to bring them up without guilt. Following rules without understanding them leads to breaking the rules. Breaking rules creates guilt. Guilt is the worst imaginable sin. To give understanding, we need two things. First we need to be intelligent enough to understand the meaning behind the rules we are trying to enforce. Next we need patience to explain it all to them. Even though it takes more time and energy, focus on giving them understanding.

Content: Never give rules if you want people to follow them! If we give a rule, they will do the opposite of the rule. Furthermore, we can't even predict that they will do the exact opposite. Even though it requires time and energy, take time and raise children with understanding.

Content: People complain to me, 'Swamiji, in these modern times, there is no time. My daughter goes to school. I have a job. How do we find time to make her understand?' I say, 'Why did you give birth to your child if you don't have time to bring her up? You should have become a sanyāsi like me! You should have decided earlier in life.'

Content: A mother brought her child to me and said, 'Swamiji, please advise him. Please ask him to obey me.'

Content: I was not keen on giving that advice because I myself didn't listen to or obey my mother when I was young! How could I give that advice? But I could

Content: not say that to the woman. So I decided to make her happy by advising her son.

Content: She continued, 'Swamiji, you must advise him.'

Content: I tried to escape two or three times, but to no avail. Finally I called the boy and gently said, 'Why don't you obey your mother? I am also obeying her right now! Why don't you listen to what she says?'

Content: You will be surprised to hear the boy's reply. He explained, 'Swamiji, she is not happy. If I listen to her advice I will become like her. Why are you asking me to listen to her?'

Content: I was taken aback. He was speaking the truth.

Content: I somehow convinced him and sent him away; however, I was not convinced. He said the truth. If the mother was unhappy how could the son follow her advice?

Content: In the near future, children will sue parents if they don't bring them up properly. They have already started doing it. Kids who are depressed or in prison claim their problems are due to their parents raising them improperly. Instead of bringing them up, they brought them down.

Content: Before deciding to have children, become enlightened. That is the only qualification we need. Unless we are clear as to how to guide them, we should not plan to have children. The world is populated enough. We have brought many billions of people to planet earth. If we can't provide food, medicine and shelter to those already here, why bring in more people? Where is the place? Where are the resources?

Content: If you decide to have children, have the intelligence to give them the understanding behind all that you tell them. Whatever you give in the form of understanding gets recorded in the satva layer. This understanding becomes intelligence. Whatever you give as a rule and command sits in the rajas and tamas layers. Even if it is good advice, don't give it as a rule. If good advice is given as a rule, it creates an aversion in them.

Content: When parents bring their kids to me, they force them to touch my feet. I say, 'Never do that. This is your greed.' These parents think that they and their children get punya or good credits by touching my feet. They impose this idea on their kids, an idea based on their greed.

Content: By forcing the kids, they make the kids hate me. Some parents push their kids’ heads down to my feet, as if they will receive positive current from my feet! I ask these parents not to force them. Namaskār (joining your hands in respect) is more than enough. By forcing them, they make the kids hate me. The next time these kids see the orange robe, they will grumble, ‘Oh, now we must do that exercise.’

Content: Never enforce rules on kids. We are suffering from rules given to us by our parents. The rules given by our parents are in our rajas and tamas layers. They lead us to restlessness and deep depression again and again. They create more and more trouble for us.

Content: Desire and guilt are two forms of the same energy. One is related to the future. The other is related to the past. Desire is related to the future. Guilt is related to the past. ‘I should have done that’ plays a major role in our ‘I should do this.’ ‘I should do this’ is determined by ‘I should have done that.’

Content: Guilt that is created by rules handed down to us by our elders creates hell in our life and leads us to tamas. Krishna says we are led to antaḥa (the end). We fall into ignorance or into the end.

Content: Krishna says the manifestations of the modes of goodness can be experienced when all the gates of the body are illuminated by knowledge. This is the technique. The gates of the body are the gates through which we receive knowledge or information: eyes, ears, nose, tongue and the sense of touch or physical pleasure. These are the files through which we receive information from outside. He says that we should keep these five carefully guarded by prakāśa (illuminated knowledge). We should ensure security at these gates and knowledge is that security.

Content: We should have knowledge about what should be taken in and what should not be taken in. Knowing this, we will reside in satva forever. We will reside in bliss forever. He says we should appoint a guard for the gates of our body. There is no security system for our body. We have security for our home. If someone breaks in, automatically the call goes to 911. Every neighborhood posts notices saying, ‘This neighborhood is being watched by this detective or security system.’ In the USA, there are many security systems for a home where people spend only ten or twelve hours per day inside their homes. People spend a maximum of twelve hours at their home and they spend the remaining twelve hours outside the home. We reside twenty-four hours every day in this house called our body, yet we don’t have a security system!

Content: Ramana Maharshi sings in beautiful homage to the sacred Arunachala Hill in Tiruvannamalai in his famous song ‘Arunachala Aksharamanamalai’, ‘When these thieves, the five senses, have entered into the house, Oh Arunachala, were you not at home? How did they enter?’ He asks Shiva, ‘When these five senses entered the house (body-mind), were you not there? Why did you let them enter?’

Content: Krishna says, let us have the security, the protection of knowledge at the five gates, and we will reside in continuous bliss.

Content: This means that we should not allow thoughts that create suffering to enter our mind through the eyes and other senses. This means, avoid the television. At least do not watch programs that create depression. We should only watch programs that give joy and make us blissful. We should never watch anything that makes us cunning, that gives us suffering or makes us feel violent.

Content: When we protect our senses with satva, we will not allow negative engrams to come in. People immediately ask me, ‘If we don’t know what is happening in society, how can we live?’

Content: Don’t worry about those things. Any important or urgent news will reach us through somebody in some way. We are not living on an island. Moreover, by gaining knowledge of criminal activities through media, there is nothing much we can do. Newspapers carry the same news everyday. Most of it is about murder, rape, theft, and accidents. The only difference is in the city or country where it takes place. Instead of reading the news everyday, we can predict what is going to happen and where! Why do we want to read and verify this? Only the place and numbers vary anyway.

Content: What difference will it make to our life? If the people who handle the situation know about it, that is enough. When we imbibe continuous information of this kind, we create engrams. We create fear strokes and suffering. If we continuously read about kidnapping, if our husband or kid is late by a few minutes, we start worrying. We become restless. If something wrong really happens, we will suffer only on the day when it happens. However, when we create engrams that generate anxiety, we suffer everyday. Can we stop it from happening, and if we can, how?

Content: If we can stop it, no problem; then it is intelligence. Whatever can stop this worry from materializing is intelligence. But most of the time we collect these engrams that we can neither stop nor do anything with. We simply suffer. We put ourselves into rajas and tamas again and again.

Content: As of now, cognition happens in our mind based upon our negative engrams. If we change the input, if we move our mental setup into a different energy zone or vibration, the cognitive shift happens. We process data with positive engrams, with a positive base.

Content: Krishna gives one technique, one suggestion: Protect the five senses from negative ideas and infuse positive ideas through the five senses. Whatever we feed upon becomes our being and we radiate that energy. Spend sandhyā time in a good way. Meditate at home during this time. If you don't meditate, go to a temple or church and do something spiritual at this time. Recite a verse, say prayers or do some good work instead of wasting time and adding negative engrams. The more negative engrams we put inside, the more we move towards depression.

Content: The more money we deposit into the bank, the higher our bank balance. The more negative engrams we have, the more our depression. Our masters knew where man would collect positive engrams and where man would collect negative engrams. They created many spaces where man could collect positive engrams and protect himself. Please understand this one suggestion from Krishna and save the body with pure satvic security, and experience bliss.

Content: Krishna explained earlier that when one is aware, one is in satva. Now He explains what happens to someone in rajas.

Content: Krishna says that attachment, greed, craving and restless action are indications of rajasic behavior. This fits most people, but it fits most aptly anyone in business or a corporate career.

Content: Greed is the corporate creed. Every employee will be told that the sky is the limit, even if they spend their entire life behind one small table in a dark and dingy room. They may not even have a window to look out at the sky. People who recruit and train employees use motivation as their only tool. What is motivation?

Content: The whole idea of motivating someone is ill-motivated. To motivate someone, we must hold a carrot in front of him or her. Then the carrot becomes the goal. If we are donkeys, we follow the carrot. If we have any intelligence, we will realize that the carrot will always be dangled in front of us just out of reach!

Content: Even if the carrot is within reach and is eaten by the donkey, will it be satisfied by one carrot? Never. It will ask for more carrots. That is why the man who drives the donkey is clever enough to keep it out of reach.

Content: The donkey runs after the carrot in restless action. It cannot stay still. The carrot is so near and yet so far. So how can it stay still? This is the story of the

Content: corporate people. Business people complain, 'Swamiji, business is so tough. No one is honest these days. Everyone is a cheat. I cannot trust anyone. I am experiencing financial losses. I do not know how long I can afford to continue. Please advise me.'

Content: They are smart. They do not say, 'Please help me.' They say, 'Please advise me.' Then I am caught! If I advise them to do something, they can hold me responsible later. They can come back and say, 'Swamiji, you told me to do that. It did not work. Now please help me out.'

Content: I tell them, 'If business is difficult, and you cannot trust anybody and you are making no money, what is the point? Stop doing business. Close your business. Relax.'

Content: They explode, 'Oh my God, Swamiji, how can you say that? What will I do then? How will I live?'

Content: On the one hand, they say that they are losing money. On the other hand, when I tell them how to stop the losses, they ask how they will live! What kind of a drama is this? We may laugh, yet each of us is in this kind of a drama, a psychodrama of our own making.

Content: We are like a wind-up toy. We have been fully wound and each time the spring relaxes, something inside winds us up again. We are like that battery bunny in television advertisements. We move continuously. We cannot rest. We think this movement is the purpose of our life.

Content: Our life has no purpose. There is no goal to life. Living itself is the path and the goal. If we are aware, in satva, we enjoy the path; we enjoy the journey. We do not care where we are going, so long as the path is enjoyable. So long as we enjoy the path, it is the right path and our destination will be right.

Content: But instead of enjoying the path, we worry about the goal. We worry about when we will reach, where we will reach. In the process, we do not notice how we are traveling. We miss the beauty of the path.

Content: When we torture ourselves with worrying about quarterly results, how can we enjoy work? If we do not enjoy work and work becomes a chore and a torture, how can we perform? How can results be achieved?

Content: On the other hand, whatever needs to happen will happen if we stop worrying about the carrot or the goal, and enjoy what we do. When we enjoy our path, we will enjoy our work. Whatever destination we reach will be the right destination.

Content: That is why people who are successful are passionate about what they do. They do not care what happens in the end as long as what they do is enjoyable. If we are passionate about what we do, we will enjoy what we do. Whatever we do will be wonderful and successful.

Content: However, as long as we struggle, we suffer even if we make money. The goal that we are chasing will be a mirage, an illusion. As soon as we reach that goal, we will be forced to chase another goal. We will not have a minute to pause, to rest and enjoy what we have achieved. Acquisition becomes the goal, not enjoyment.

Content: We can never be happy in rajas. It drives us like a donkey until we are exhausted and we collapse. We need to decide whether or not this is the way we want to live. Ask: Do I wish to be a donkey driven by a carrot dangling in front of me all my life? When we decide, 'No, this is not what I want,' it is time to break away from rajas and move towards bliss.

Content: Q: Swamiji, how can society exist without rules? There will be anarchy. If everyone does what he or she feels like, how can others survive?

Content: This is the argument society uses in order to make rules. Who is an anarchist? A person who does not abide by rules laid down by society is an anarchist. One who opposes the blind rules that are laid down with no effort in communicating their understanding is an anarchist.

Content: All great spiritual masters have been anarchists. They never accepted the rules of society. They broke away from their conditioning and efforts to condition them. The expression of their liberation was to help others reach that experience. Yet when these masters left their bodies, the experience behind these expressions was eventually forgotten and the expressions became dogma. Society and religion used them as dogma to make rules and regulations.

Content: Anarchy is an expression of freedom. It is living in and with Nature. We think it means the end of the world. Why?

Content: Rules and regulations create bondage. They create restrictions based on fear or greed. One way or another, they bind you. These rules and regulations are employed by society and institutions created by society to control you, to keep you in line.

Content: There are two ways to maintain harmony and peace. One is to create awareness and make everyone feel that they are part of a whole. The other way is to create rules and regulations for proper behavior and establish a system of punishments and rewards based on fear and greed to persuade them to fall in line.

Content: The vedic era and truly civilized cultures followed the first path of creating awareness, that of satva. Over time we lost patience to instill that awareness into people. Society fast-forwarded into rajas, into aggression. It created rules and regulations and commandments. We descended further into collective tamas, the collective unconscious. Even rules and regulations do not work anymore.

Content: We forgot the reasons behind the rules and regulations. The spirit was lost. Only the blind implementation of the structure remains. What remains is fear and greed, and therefore guilt and suffering. We need to break away from this bondage and move into freedom.

Content: This is why awareness needs to happen. With awareness you do not need rules and regulations. You do not need to be controlled. You are free. And that is what society fears. Society fears that you will no longer fear. That is the only hold society has on you. If you want to be part of society as it is set up now, you will have fear. When you decide to break free out of awareness, you are in eternal bliss, nityānanda.

Chapter Number: 14.13

Content: O son of Kuru, when there is an increase in the mode of ignorance, Madness, illusion, inertia and darkness are manifested.

Chapter Number: 14.14

Content: When one dies in the mode of goodness, He goes where the realized souls are.

Chapter Number: 14.15

Content: When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in activities. When he dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the space of the ignorant.

Chapter Number: 14.16

Content: By acting in the mode of goodness, one becomes purified. Work done in the mode of passion result in distress, and actions performed in the mode of ignorance result in foolishness.

Chapter Number: 14.17

Content: From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, greed develops; From the mode of ignorance develops foolishness, madness and illusion.

Content: We act like a wind-up toy when we are steeped in rajas, and like a battery-operated toy with a dead battery when we are in tamas. Krishna uses powerful words to drive home how desperate that state is: ignorance, madness, illusion, inertia and darkness. It is surprising how quickly one can slip from rajas to tamas. To slip from restless activity into inactivity and inertia is simple. Activity without meaning, activity with tension and stress and activity totally focused on sensual satisfaction quickly leads

Content: to deep fatigue. The activity without any meaning that we find in tamas is not the same as activity without a purpose and goal that we experience in satva. Please do not confuse the two.

Content: I mentioned earlier that the real danger of rajas is that we are constantly focused on a goal and we forget to enjoy the path as we pursue a meaningless purpose. Life has no purpose. It only has meaning. The meaning of life is to be aware, to be conscious, and to realize our inner divinity. That is why I say that I am here not to prove my divinity, but to prove your divinity.

Content: To be divine and to realize that inner divinity is our true meaning in life. Anything less than that is meaningless. Being aggressive, being restlessly active, or being constantly on the move does not help us understand or realize this meaning. We will be running after one thing or another. We are just plain greedy. Ramana Maharshi says that a mustard seed looks like a mountain when we want it desperately; however, even a mountain becomes insignificant like a mustard seed once we achieve it.

Content: If we are driven by mere possessive obsession, we are bound to become tired sooner or later. Aggression results in deep depression. This is what I call the 'depression of success'. I see this often in countries like the USA. People struggle to increase their material wealth, disregarding everything else. People change cars every year, houses every third year and their spouses every fifth year!

Content: People run after material possessions and trophies without knowing why. One day when they have acquired and reacquired so many things and still feel unhappy, uneasy and listless, they wonder why they acquired the things that they struggled for. They go into deep depression, what we call tamas.

Content: In poor countries like India, people have little and are desperate to acquire minimal comforts. Just to have three meals a day, wear footwear or go to school is a great luxury for many. For those who miss out on essentials, their suffering arises out of the depression of failure. That is relatively easy to cure. All they need is some success and they are happy.

Content: The depression of success is more difficult to address. To experience failure when we have been always successful and we have worked so hard is difficult to accept. What results then is depression, tamas.

Content: Tamas is generally born out of the ignorance of our true self. This is the original sin. The original sin of Adam and Eve was not listening to the snake or having sex, rather, it was the lack of understanding of their own inner divinity.

Content: Sometimes tamas can arise out of an effort to move out of that ignorance. A highly rajasic person, one who has been aggressively pursuing material gains, when moving into a spiritual path can easily move into tamas for a while. I see this in our ashram. When a person accustomed to restless and meaningless activity is becoming centered, the body-mind system initially rejects activity and sinks deep into inactivity, into tamas.

Content: People literally sleep day and night, not wanting to do anything. However, this does not last long. The negativities get worked out and they settle into a satvic mode of meaningful activity, which does not pursue goals.

Content: I talked about corporate and business people exemplifying rajas earlier. There are corporate and political leaders who can get into deep tamas. They get into dangerously mad and deluded behavior. All dictators who caused suffering on this planet, from Genghis Khan and Aurangazeb to Hitler, were not merely rajasic, they were dangerously tamasic as well. They were filled with ignorance, delusion, madness and darkness even though they may not have been inactive.

Content: Many corporate and professional people tell me how they are driven by fear. In discussing rajas, I talked about being driven by greed and motivation. The stick drives many donkeys. Either they do not respond to carrots or the drivers believe that the stick works better. So many corporate leaders drive people through fear. They find it the ideal weapon because they themselves are filled with fear. They are insecure people. They are driven by tamas. Tamas creates tamas.

Content: The only way to deal with such people is to face them. Fear disappears when faced. It is like our shadow. When we turn around, we do not see the shadow. Insecure leaders derive their energy from our fear. When we stand up and face them, they have no energy to face us. It is the same with the fear of spirit and ghosts. Our fear and belief that they can harm us gives them power to hurt and harm us. Once we face them, they run away.

Content: Tamas is darkness. It is negative. We can only remove darkness by bringing in light. In the same way, we dispel ignorance by bringing in awareness. The Upanisad says tamaso mā jyotirgamaya meaning, let my darkness be removed by light.

Content: Let the light and wisdom of Krishna, the Jagatguru, dispel your darkness and tamas.

Content: In these verses, Krishna tells us where the person goes after death when steeped in these attributes of satva, rajas and tamas. A satvic person becomes divine. A tamasic person chooses a lower life. A rajasic person continues to suffer due to greed.

Content: In another verse in the Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that a person is reborn based on the last thought before death. Here Krishna explains how that last thought is not an accident. It is based on one's guṇa, nature.

Content: People tell me, 'Oh Swamiji, why should we worry about spiritual stuff now? This is the time to enjoy. When we get old, we can think about spirituality. After all, Krishna declared that our last thought redeems us. All we have to say is Ram or Krishna as we take our last breath.'

Content: If only it were that easy, then all of us would never be reborn! If throughout life you run after money and material possessions, do you think your last thought will be about anything other than money? If throughout life you were obsessed with wine, women and song, only those thoughts fill your mind when you die.

Content: The saṁskāras that have driven us throughout our lives have etched deep grooves into our mind space. The attitude with which we have lived not only follows us at death, it follows us after death as well. This is the mental setup, the conditioning, the vāsana with which we led life and with which we leave our life as well. When we are reborn, our spirit finds another body to occupy. This same mindset, same vāsana, reappears in the form of prārabdha karma, unfulfilled desires of our past life. These become the basis of our conditioning in this life. They are our seed saṁskāras.

Content: In our second level program, the Nithyananda Spurana Program (NSP), the LBP 2, we study saṁskāras in great detail. In one sense, the NSP takes us through a death experience. This program, now conducted by teachers personally trained and ordained by me, deals with the seven energy layers surrounding the body. The spirit passes through these seven layers at death and relives the experiences that you went through in life.

Content: In another sense, LBP 2 is about dissolution of our conditioning. Many superficial and deep saṁskāras will be burnt out during the meditations participants go through in this program. Therefore, symbolically, I gave them the option to take a new spiritual name at the end of LBP 2, signifying a rebirth. This program allows everyone to glimpse the ultimate Truth. What keeps us separated from this truth is our conditioning, our saṁskāras.

Content: People who complete the LBP 2 don't harbor enmity against others who have wronged them in the past. They become less judgmental and their approach is no longer negative. Their entire attitude towards others changes as a result of the inner experience of de-conditioning and the dissolution of saṁskāras.

Content: How we live life now determines how we will be reborn. There is enough scientifically validated evidence to prove that we are reborn. Whether we are a Christian or Muslim, whether or not our religion allows us to believe in reincarnation, a trained psychologist or psychiatrist can take us into past life regression. While I don't fully agree with how this process is carried out, there is no doubt it is real. People benefit if it is carried out properly.

Content: When our belief system allows us the option of rebirth, life is less stressful. We do not live or die once. We live and die, again and again. Therefore, Eastern religions that allow us the luxury of belief in rebirth are more tolerant of our own self and others. We are allowed to enjoy our path. We may wander here and there. Eventually we hope that we will arrive at the truth.

Content: Heaven and hell are not as stark in Eastern religions that believe in rebirth. They are flexible concepts, not rigid. On the contrary, in religions that deny rebirth, hell and heaven are eternal. We burn forever in hell if we don't do well this life. So life becomes driven by fear and greed.

Content: In reality, there is no hell or heaven. These are just in our mind. They have been force-fed into our mind, conditioned into our system by our religious beliefs for the purpose of controlling us.

Content: We live in hell when we live a totally material life, focused upon ourselves, to the exclusion of everyone else. We constantly fear others, feel jealous of others, express anger towards others and are never happy. No matter how much wealth we accumulate, we suffer. We may be rich, but we are in hell. Heaven and hell are mind spaces that we occupy in this life, not locations we visit when we die.

Content: Krishna says that a person living in satva goes to higher spaces, the abodes of the realized sages. He becomes divine. When we are steeped in satva, we live in awareness. We live in the present moment. We are no longer obsessed with the results of our action and we are no longer controlled by fear and greed. We stop thinking about ourselves and we start living for others. It is no longer me and me alone, but me and you, and eventually just you that includes me as well. All transactions become unconditional.

Content: The present state is eternal. That is the state of the higher planets, of the heaven that one talks about. We can be in heaven even when we are alive. When our spirit moves beyond the body, it has the potential to move beyond its saṁskāras, the conditioning, into its true potential of self-realization.

Content: When one is in tamas, in deep ignorance and darkness, one sinks lower in rebirth. Krishna says such a person is reborn as an animal. The lowest energy center of a human being is the mūlādhāra cakra, the root center at the base of the spine which is the sex center. And this is the highest center at which animal energy operates. All animals operate out of pure survival instinct. Their nature is conditioned for that. There is nothing wrong or inferior about that. That is their nature.

Content: Human beings are provided with intelligence to move upward in consciousness. We have the freedom to make mistakes and we do make mistakes. When Krishna talks about being reborn in ignorance and as animals, it is not to denigrate animals. He means, a human being who behaves instinctively, out of a blocked mūlādhāra cakra, and out of an animalistic nature, is ignorant of his potential as a human.

Content: We are not human beings striving for a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings enjoying a human experience. That is the truth.

Content: We can be in this state only when we are in satva. When we are in tamas, we forget our spiritual nature. When we are in rajas, we have a vague idea; however, even that spiritual experience becomes an attachment, another goal and desire. We become attached to something that is beyond attachment. Krishna says that we are reborn into this human form, back into this cycle of life and death, this cycle of samsara, with all its suffering.

Content: It is our choice to be instinctive and unconscious, in deep tamas, like an animal, or to be logical and chasing objects out of rajas. The third choice is to be beyond attachments, in a superconscious state, in an intuitive state, in tune with our sublime satva nature. This choice determines our next birth. In fact, it determines whether we will even be born again.

Content: Krishna, the master psychologist is right on the mark: Purification and knowledge from satva, distress and greed from rajas, and foolishness, madness and illusion from tamas!

Content: Let us start with madness, illusion and delusion. That is where most people are. The great philosopher and poet saint from India, Adi Shankaracharya says that life as we lead it is māyā, illusion. Māyā is that which is not real, yet appears real. We cannot argue with someone and prove that life as we experience it is not real as it seems. We act in all possible ways that give us the feeling that this life is real, permanent. We talk, walk, cry, laugh, and do everything else to prove this. So how can all this not be permanent?

Content: With modern technology, we can create dolls that do all this. We can put on goggles, headphones, sit on a wired chair and experience 4D reality. They can release smells to add to our mood. If we open our mouth, they will pop something in our mouth also. We can have a virtual experience that excites our five senses.

Content: Virtual life including virtual sex is not in the realm of science fiction any more. It is an illusion. We argue that it is for frustrated individuals who have no access to the 'real' stuff, whatever that means.

Content: What is 'normal' and what is not? To Shankara, the life that we lead is not normal. To us, virtual life may not be normal. To someone who is fully satisfied with virtual life, that is normal. What is fantasy to one is reality to another.

Content: In the 1970s, when the hippy culture ruled, a few well-known teachers advocated hallucinatory drugs to induce spiritual experiences. Marijuana, LSD, exotic cacti, multicolored mushrooms and other substances were recommended to make people experience the 'bliss' that one could not experience through meditation. Instant nirvāna, it was called. The problem was that even if those drugs simulated the pineal gland functionalities and released dopamine, they were in no way spiritual. It is true that in some spiritual experiences, dopamine release has been documented. Yet the logic does not work in reverse. Dopamine release does not prove a spiritual experience. It is an imitation.

Content: That which we experience in the present is real. The present moment is the only real moment. The present moment is eternal. Neither the past nor the future can be eternal. They are not real since neither exists in the now. They don't have a positive existence in the present moment. We can't reach out and hold the past or future in our hands. They are just thoughts that occupy us in the present moment. If we feel that we are happy now, but we become depressed one hour later, we cannot be in bliss or eternal happiness. That is not bliss. That is temporary pleasure.

Content: Many drugs, simulated experiences and fantasies can put us into that the realm of temporary pleasure. The simple scale of measure to know that this is no good is: We will need more and more of those inputs to stay happy. We will feel less and less happy even with more and more of what we think gives us happiness. This is how dangerously drugs work. That is how people become addicted. The heroin or cocaine user needs more and more of it to make them feel 'happy'. Finally they stop working. The user overdoses and dies. That is the vicious cycle of tamas.

Content: We can daydream and feel happy while we daydream. What happens when we stop daydreaming? Life is as bleak as it was before. If life were interesting, we would have been immersed in it. Then why would we daydream? Our fantasies are

Content: like that. We look at the picture of a movie star and we want to have that movie star or be like that movie star. The first impulse, the first fantasy, arises out of lust. People know for sure that it is a fantasy, but it feels good while they have that fantasy. They wallow in it like a buffalo in mud. At least the buffalo is in the present; it is not in fantasy. Once people realize that they are wasting time, that they are degrading themselves with such fantasies, they must regain awareness and regain control of their life. Otherwise their whole life will be a madhouse.

Content: The second impulse, wanting to be like the movie star, is probably more dangerous. It is born out of envy, comparison and is a pure waste of energies. This is rajas. It is no longer tamas. These people aren’t satisfied with themselves, with their body or their mind and want to be someone else. Today they imitate this actor or actress. What happens when that actor or actress becomes less popular or old? Worse still, what happens when they meet that person in real life and find that they themselves are better looking than the actor or actress? After all, movies are the ultimate in fantasy. Everything and everybody is made-up.

Content: This is what Krishna means by greed, envy and jealousy that ends in anger, fear, guilt and a hundred other negative emotions. We are either in attachment or aversion. We are either driven towards or away from something or some condition. We are goaded by greed or tortured by fear. Whichever it is, we suffer. This suffering results in distress, depression and loss of self-esteem. We have lost our center.

Content: Our center is our true nature. Our true nature is divine. We are one with the universal energy, God, Parāśakti or whatever we want to call it. We cannot describe it. We can just experience it. We experience bliss when our focus is in that central core and not out at the edges of our personality.

Content: Throughout life we run away from that center, that core of bliss. Our senses lead us towards the periphery where material objects are. Our inner core is empty: it is śūnya. But it is also pūrṇa, complete by itself with nothing else needed to top off the bliss. However, the outer periphery is forever changing. Nothing is eternal about it. Even when objects are the same, our perceptions keep changing. This periphery is māyā, illusion and tamas, ignorance.

Content: Our rajasic nature, the restless activity that strives to introduce purpose into something that is essentially without purpose, keeps driving us away from the center into this peripheral darkness of tamas and māyā. Rajas always drives us into tamas. Aggression, passion, attachment and aversion eventually take us into delusion and ignorance.

Content: But from time to time we get that spark of intelligence that says life does not need to be this way. There is more meaning to life than fantasies. We start searching. When we seek our true nature, we move towards our center, the core of bliss. Then something in the external space attracts us and we move out to the periphery. We keep moving in and out, from center to periphery, from periphery back to center.

Content: That is why I call human beings eccentric! They can neither be in the center nor in the periphery. They settle in between and keep oscillating. They are eccentric. They are neither in complete madness nor centered in their divine consciousness.

Content: The movement towards our core, our true self, is driven by satva. The movement outwards is driven by rajas. When we are fully settled in the periphery, we are caught in tamas. We are no longer human. When we settle into the center, we go beyond the three guṇas. We become the triguna rahita, the divine one who is beyond the three attributes.

Content: Q: What Krishna says can be accepted if one believes in rebirth. What about those whose religious beliefs do not allow them to believe in rebirth?

Content: In the Gita, Krishna does not speak to Hindus alone. This universal master, does not exclude other religious believers. He speaks spiritual truth, universal truth.

Content: First of all, we should be careful not to reduce these truths to facts. Satva means I will be reborn as God, rajas means I will be reborn a human and tamas means I will be reborn an animal. These are metaphorical truths, not scientific facts. Krishna says that the tendency, the vāsana, which is an outcome of your guṇa, your nature, gets carried forward. You can be divine or animal in the human body. You do not have to sprout wings or become a pig.

Content: Secondly, religions that deny rebirth do not follow the teachings of their founding masters. They reinterpret the spiritual teachings of the founders to exercise control.

Content: All religious organizations promote hell and heaven so that they can earn money. When I lead devotees to the Himalayan Mountains every year, we visit sacred shrines at Kedarnath and Badrinath. They allow me into the inner sanctum. The priests do not like it because it spoils their income. I tell the people, 'Please give money to the poor who line the streets; most of these priests only grab money in the name of God.'

Content: These priests charge people 10,000 rupees (200 USD), not a small sum in India, to offer a cow to the temple in order to redeem the person's ancestors. They start the worship process and then ask you to pay. If you don't pay, they curse you. They tell you that your ancestors will go to hell, you will go to hell and your children will go to hell. You can stop this by paying 200 USD. The main thing here is that it is a virtual cow, not even a real cow! Even if they show you a cow, be assured that the same cow is offered a thousand times behind your back! These people understand corporate accounting better than Wall Street specialists!

Content: Religions exercise control because people fear death. Some are afraid of the pain, but mostly they fear what lies beyond. They are afraid because they do not know what lies ahead. They feel comforted when someone tells them that if you do this, you will go to a happy place, and if you do that, you will go to an unhappy place. They have no clue as to where they will finally go. However, they have this deep-rooted need to believe. And their religion becomes the only way.

Chapter Number: 14.18

Content: Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planes; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the worlds below.

Chapter Number: 14.19

Content: When we see that there is nothing beyond these modes of nature in all activities and that the supreme Lord is transcendental to all these modes, then we can know My spiritual nature.

Chapter Number: 14.20

Content: When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes, he can become free from birth, death, old age and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life.

Content: Krishna provides the key to liberation here. Those who go beyond the three gunas, beyond the activity-producing attributes, become free of bondages and enjoy bliss in this world. This is the assurance of the master. This is a guarantee.

Content: These words are a great technique. Step one is when we realize that each of our activities arises from one of the three gunas: satva, rajas and tamas. Step two is the understanding about which guna it is and exactly what that guna is doing to us. Step three is to move out of that guna into the satva guna. Finally we transcend satva guna and enter into nirguna or 'no guna state'.

Content: Whatever we are doing, whatever is happening to us, we need to become aware of the attribute, the guna that is driving us. If it is a fantasy, we work out of tamas. If it is fear and greed, we work out of rajas. And if we are unattached and undisturbed by all that is happening around us, we act out of satva.

Content: Many psychological systems are offered as solutions to relationship problems. In one of these, people are supposed to act out of one of three modes: adult, child or parent. The adult is nonjudgmental, the parent is critical and the child is defensive. The training teaches which role we act out of most of the time and shifts us into the adult frame that is considered to be the right role.

Content: In theory this is a reasonable system and takes into account the influence of conditioning upon us. If brought up by critical parents, one remains a child all one's life. One would constantly look for appreciation, or at the least, a lack of criticism. Just because some people express in the critical parental fashion doesn't mean they are being good parents at that time. In fact, their parent mask hides the defensive child in them. The control freak aspect of being a parent is a powerful response to being controlled as a child. So one becomes a 'parent' part of the time, trying to control those that they can control. At other times, one becomes a defensive child.

Content: Moving out of either role requires de-conditioning from saṁskāras, the embedded memories in our unconscious. This is difficult to do at the conscious level and dangerous to do at the unconscious level. It needs to be done at the superconscious level through meditative practices such as we have in our NSP courses.

Content: What do I mean by this? We have talked about the saṁskāras that are engraved memories buried in our unconscious. They drive us through one of these attributes (guṇas). We think and act out of one attribute or a mixture of attributes. These thoughts and actions when repeated again and again furrow the saṁskāras, or its subtler mindset, vāsanās, deep into our psyche. Conscious, logical and analytical procedures cannot easily identify them, let alone remove or repair them. That is why so-called catharsis processes that aim to rid us of negative emotions give only temporary relief. The basic negativity remains buried.

Content: Unconscious, or what is mistakenly called subconscious processes, can open up and reveal the saṁskāras. However, after that, we have no control over the process. It is a Pandora's box, and once opened, what happens is out of our control. Processes such as creative visualization, hypnotic regression and self-hypnotic suggestions can be extremely dangerous. It is not that they do not work; they do. However, we have no control over what happens. This is why the proverb: Be careful of what you wish for, you may get it; and who knows, you may regret it.

Content: We get more than what we bargained for. It is like the customer who walks into a restaurant and orders everything on the menu. When he is about to walk out, they give him the bill. Can he justify that he did not order the bill? When we

Content: order the food, we ought to know we will get the bill. Yet in the case of unconscious processes, we do not think about the bill. We go on ordering. When the bill comes, we are in for a deep, unpleasant experience.

Content: A few people I knew even used these processes and even taught them to others. They did not understand why these processes were dangerous until they went through a few meditation programs. Then they realised how dangerous these are. They knew bad experiences had resulted, yet did not know why. When we discussed these cases, they understood what had happened.

Content: Visualizing consciously or unconsciously does not take us out of rajas and tamas. We can be dragged deeper into the fantasyl and of tamas. The only way to move into satva and dissolve saṁskāras is to move into a superconscious state through meditation. There is no other way that we can achieve it ourselves. Superconscious visualization carried out in a systematic way can dissolve saṁskāras, the engraved memories, and burn out our vāsanās, the mindset that is developed through these saṁskāras. It is the only way. All other techniques do only one thing; they make money for those who promote them and put those who are seeking help into deeper trouble.

Content: So first become aware of your thoughts and actions. Identify which guṇa they come from. If it is a fantasy, rooted in tamas, drop the fantasy and move into the present reality. The problem that you face is that fantasies are more interesting than the way you lead your lives! That is why you prefer to stay in fantasy and out of touch with reality. You need to realize that you are operating out of sheer ignorance and that this will not help you in any way. This realization and awareness that will help you move out of the zone of fantasies, can only come as a result of meditation, which leads to self-awareness.

Content: Similarly, we are driven by rajas when we run after something that attracts us or run away from something that disturbs us. We need to realize that this is a vicious cycle: this cycle of attachment and aversion, of greed and fear. More and more of what we desire will give us less and less happiness. Unless we turn and face what we are afraid of, the fear remains rooted. Again, meditation is the key. It leads to the awareness of this vicious cycle and helps us stay detached.

Content: Through repeated practice of meditation techniques, we can burn out our saṁskāras and shift out of the guṇas that we are currently rooted in. We can move into a state of non-attachment by dropping the emotional load of our memories. We can be cleansed of negativities and unblock and energize our cakras through meditation. That is the key.

Content: In our first level meditation programs, called Ananda Spurana Program in India and LBP or Life Bliss Program - Level 1 overseas, we teach meditation techniques to energize the seven cakras, our energy centers. The first session focuses on the heart center, anāhata cakra. The meditation used for anāhata cakra, the Mahāmantra meditation, is an extremely powerful meditation. When practiced regularly, this meditation helps us radiate unconditional love through the energized anāhata.

Content: Whenever anyone interacts with us and we interact with others, it is from one of the energy centers. Each cakra has its emotional basis, which is either blocked or energized depending on its level of awakening. The anāhata is blocked when we go around seeking attention from others in the name of love. Most of the time we desperately seek attention from others. We are unhappy when we don’t get approval from others. When the anāhata is energized, we radiate love unconditionally. We are no longer dependent on others to approve us. We do not need a smile from someone to make our day. We have our reservoir of smiles to sustain us and to give others as well to enhance their lives.

Content: Irrespective of which emotional state someone approaches us with, whether anger, greed, fear, worry, attention-need, jealousy, ego or discontentment, respond with an open anāhata. Respond with unconditional love. That is all we need to do. We will soon find others responding to us from their anāhata.

Content: This is not easy at first. It is especially difficult with those whom we really love, ones we are close to. It is easy to put on a mask and a smile and pretend to radiate love to those whom we hardly know. It is easy to love the world since the world does not have a face. It is difficult to love our neighbor who has a face. It is more difficult to open up unconditionally to our spouse. Yet that is where the payoff is.

Content: Our mūlādhāra cakra, the root center, is all about survival instincts. It is the root of all our fantasies, our tamas. Greed, lust, anger and guilt arise from a blocked mūlādhāra. When the mūlādhāra is energized and unblocked, we move out of tamas. We move into reality. When someone approaches us from a blocked mūlādhāra, it is with greed, anger or lust. We can still respond with unconditional love from our anāhata.

Content: When the svādiṣṭhāna cakra is blocked, it is the root of all our fears and insecurities. The maṇipūraka cakra is the seat of worries and stress. Anāhata is blocked by attention-need, the desperate need for approval. The viśuddhi cakra is blocked by jealousy, the ājñā cakra is blocked by ego and the sahasrāra cakra is blocked by discontentment. We can recognize which energy center is blocked in the

Content: other person the moment they approach us. But irrespective of which emotion they approach us with, we have the choice to respond with our awakened anāhata!

Content: Someone in the Hollywood film industry told me that all movie plots are based upon one of these cakra emotional blocks. It is not merely our real life that is affected, even our fantasy life revolves around the cakras! To understand the cakras and their emotional blocks is to understand our guṇas. And to understand our guṇas is to find the way and open the door to bliss.

Content: Q: How do we develop spiritually? You said we are eccentric, that we try to keep moving inwards and are dragged outwards. What is the way to keep going inwards?

Content: This question is important. This realization that you need to go inwards and that you have a problem when you move outwards is enough to keep you going inwards. The sheer awareness that the outward journey will not fulfill you and that it will only mire you in ignorance and drag you into depression will keep you moving towards the center.

Content: We can talk about how the move to the center can be accelerated via techniques; but this is unnecessary. The realization to move to the center is more important. The grace, guidance and influence of a master will make the journey effective. The journey of a disciple is the safest possible journey to the center.

Content: Man is born as a seed. The fragrance is there, although it is hidden, unmanifest. The seed must grow and become a tree. The seed must wait for spring, the awakening. One day, suddenly the seed becomes a tree and flowers, and the fragrance is released.

Content: To be a disciple means that you are falling as a seed into the soil of the master. You are dissolving yourself in the soil. To be a disciple requires enough trust so that one is ready to die. The seed must die before it can grow into a tree. So the first need is trust in the master, trust in Existence.

Content: The second need is to continuously grow in every possible way. People remain stuck. They go so far and think, ‘This is the end. There could be no more to life.’ There is no end; life is an eternal pilgrimage. The deeper you go into it, the more you will encounter mysteries. The more you know, the more you will be wonderstruck. Much more has to be known. It is an unending process.

Content: So the second thing to remember is: Keep growing. Grow in love, bliss, and in meditation. Grow in all possible ways - in sensitivity, awareness and creativity.

Content: The third thing is the waiting. Impatience is a hindrance. Make every effort to grow; however, let the expansion and flowering happen in its own time. Nothing happens before the right time and one never knows when the right time will come. Wait for the spring. Flowers cannot be forced to come out of the trees. They come when they come. Spiritual flowering is not a process that can be forced. It requires patience.

Content: If these three things are fulfilled, the day when your fragrance will be released is not far away.

Content: Let this sink deep into the heart; this is fundamental to spiritual progress. Once we feel that God cares for us, our anxieties disappear and anguish simply dissolves. The deeper we feel God's love, the more and more open we become. Fear makes us closed; love makes us open. God's love means that the whole of Existence loves you: the sun, moon, stars, trees, and people. From all directions love is showered upon you.

Content: Entering into the path is a divine decision. It is not yours. It is God's. There is an ancient saying: Before a man decides to seek God, God has already decided to seek him. Without His decision, our decisions are impotent.

Content: Only when He decides, our decisions have power enough to become fulfilled. Our decisions are always wavering, always divided. Our decision is at the most a majority decision, a parliamentary decision. However, that which is in the minority may become the majority tomorrow; and that which is in the majority today may not be in the majority tomorrow. Our decisions are unreliable; they are not total.

Content: When God decides in our innermost core, the decision and commitment are total. The involvement is irrevocable. We cannot go back. The decision is bigger than us. It possesses us and we become overwhelmed by it. Only then is true discipleship born. Without God deciding for us, our decisions are of little value.

Content: Remember that this is God's decision on your behalf. You are a medium, a vehicle for His decision to be fulfilled in life. Then things will start happening with such intensity, depth, and speed, that one remains constantly in surprise at what is happening and why it is happening, because we don't feel ourselves worthy enough and yet it happens anyway.

Content: Blissful effort is needed for growth. Ordinary effort won't do. It must be blissful. The moment effort becomes blissful it is almost effortless. It is effortless

Content: effort when it is blissful. When it is not blissful, it is a strain. And one can enter into the world of God only in a deep, restful mood. Hence, the seeker must fulfill a paradox. He must make efforts, certainly; he must be industrious. But his effort must be a special kind of effort. It must be effortless. There should be no strain or tension in it. It should be more like play than work.

Content: One should enjoy it. One should not do it like a duty. One should make it a joy unto itself, as if one is unconcerned about the result. The result comes whenever we are ripe. There is no need to think about it.

Content: It comes of its own accord. Existence is fair and just. It gives what you deserve. There is not a moment’s delay. If you don’t deserve it, it doesn’t happen no matter how much effort you make.

Content: Right effort is effort that is not an effort. It is joy, play, love and bliss. Then miracles start happening. We are entitled to miracles, yet we never fulfill the basic condition. This is the basic condition. Then miracles are as ordinary as everything else.

Content: The master appearing is a summons. It is God calling you. It is good that you heard it!

Content: Seeking is a call from God. And everybody is called! Sufis say that if one hundred people are called, only ten hear the call. Ninety never hear it. Only ten percent act and respond. Ninety percent never respond. That’s why there are so few people whose existence can become a proof of God. So few people are full of the light and perfume that is beyond this worldly life.

Content: All beauty is rooted in the truth. Without truth, beauty is false. Unless it is part of the truth, it is a dream, a fantasy or a projection. The poet lives in dreams. His vision of beauty is not that of truth. He creates his beauty. He is inventive. The seer does not create the truth. The truth cannot be created. We can only discover it. It is already there. But the moment we discover truth, great beauty explodes within and without. The experience of truth makes us beautiful and transforms the whole experience into splendor.

Content: That is the difference between the poet and the seer. The poet dreams about beauty. The seer experiences it. The poet remains far, far away. He speaks about beauty; however, it is only about beauty. The seer speaks beauty; it is not about beauty. He talks the truth. And truth is beautiful and good.

Content: Meditation is a way to discover truth. Then beauty is discovered automatically. Beauty follows truth like a shadow.

Content: Existence can be lived in two ways: as prose or as poetry. These are the two possible approaches. We can live it as logic. Then it is prose. Or we can live it as love. Then it is poetry. We can live it as mathematics. Then it is prose. We can live it as magic. Then it is poetry. Only if we live life as poetry, do we discover God.

Content: You cannot realize God with logic. And without God, there is no meaning or significance in life. Life becomes a burden. One lives because one must live. One lives because it doesn’t feel right to commit suicide. One lives because one cannot gather courage to commit suicide.

Content: One drags. One does not really live. One slowly dies because there isn’t any thrill in the heart without poetry. There are no adventures. All is mundane. Nothing is sacred. Temples disappear from our life. There are only shopping malls. The bank balance and power and prestige are there but something in the deepest core of our being remains unfulfilled and empty. Life becomes a wound that becomes bigger and bigger everyday.

Content: We want to drown it in work, constant worry, alcohol, shopping or sex. We want to drown the memory and feeling that something is missing. Yet we cannot drown it. It keeps knocking on our door and haunting us. It is something so essential that it must be fulfilled.

Content: Carl Jung, the famous psychiatrist used to say, ‘In my whole life’s practice I have observed that the patients who came to me after their fortieth year were not in need of psychological treatment. They needed some sort of religion. They needed some sort of meaning in their life.’

Content: However, psychology cannot provide meaning. It can provide a certain adjustment to society, but society itself is neurotic. To be adjusted to society is to be neurotic. It is to be acceptably mad. Einstein has said that a genius is one who has escaped society’s conditionings. This is the truth!

Content: Psychology can help us accept the drudgery of life, the routine and the dullness. However, it cannot help us transform it. Jung’s insight is correct. In Eastern scriptures, the need for spirituality arises at age forty-two. Just as at fourteen, the need for sex arises, at forty-two the need for spirituality arises. If it is not fulfilled, we feel uprooted. It can only be fulfilled by spirituality.

Content: There is no need to argue for spirituality. For example, we don’t argue for music: either we like it or not. Nobody can prove the beauty of music to anyone. Similarly, you either like a rose or not. The rose appears either beautiful or not. Just because the rose isn’t beautiful to someone doesn’t mean the rose loses something.

Content: But by denying the need for spirituality, a person loses a great chance to be in communion with nature, with God and their own divinity.

Content: Ordinarily man is a slave to his unconscious instincts, a slave of his biology, a slave of his mind: it is a multi-dimensional slavery. This whole slavery must be destroyed from the roots. Only then will the consciousness rise in all its beauty and glory, in all its light and fragrance.

Content: All the awakened ones followed the path of meditation. When you meditate, you are watchful. By being watchful, the territory of the unconscious, tamas, is reduced everyday. The more conscious we become, lesser the territory of our being that is in the unconscious zone, and lesser the tamas. One day when we are one hundred per cent conscious, the unconsciousness will disappear. And with that disappearance, biological, physiological and psychological slavery will disappear. All kinds of slavery exist in the unconscious. By cutting the unconscious, we cut the very root. The key to self-mastery is meditation.

Chapter Number: 14.21

Content: Arjuna inquired: O my Lord, by what symptoms is one known who is transcendental to those modes? What is his behavior? And how does he transcend the modes of nature?

Chapter Number: 14.22,23,24,25

Content: The Blessed Lord said: He who does not hate illumination, attachment and delusion when they are present, nor longs for them when they disappear; who is seated like one unconcerned, being situated beyond these material reactions of the modes of nature, who remains firm, knowing that the modes alone are active;

Content: He who regards alike pleasure and pain, and looks on a lump of earth, a stone and a piece of gold with an equal eye; who is wise and holds praise and blame to be the same; who is unchanged in honor and dishonor, who treats friend and foe alike, who has abandoned all result-based undertakings - such a man is said to have transcended the modes of nature.

Content: With great clarity the master tells us what to do. He uses specific terms that cannot be misunderstood or misinterpreted. Krishna explains the nature of one who has transcended the three gunas, one who has gone beyond his natural attributes. He explains what we need to do to become a triguna rahita, to become liberated from the influence of the three gunas.

Content: One who is beyond the three gunas is unaffected by their play. He is beyond the play of emotions. Whatever happens is right for him. Success and failure mean the same. Friend and foe make no difference. Poverty or richness has no influence.

Content: Such an attitude of total detachment requires one thing: complete trust. When we trust that whatever happens is what needs to happen and we accept whatever happens as it arises, we are totally detached. Then whatever happens will be right. Such trust can only come from surrender.

Content: I tell my disciples that because I have no home, every home that I visit is my home. Anywhere and everywhere I stay, whether it is under a tree or out in the open, is my home. Four walls, a door and a lock do not create a home for me. People ask why I wear jewelry or different kind of clothing. What difference does it make? This body itself is not mine. This skin is not mine. What difference would it make if I wore this or that?

Content: There is neither attraction nor aversion. Just as people admire the clothes or accessories on a mannequin, I admire the clothes and jewelery on this body. They have no connection to me.

Content: Every movement I make is at the order of Existence. I cannot move a finger without the permission of that universal energy. Usually when people talk about God, it is a concept to them, a theory to prove or disprove. For enlightened beings, it is reality; it is the reality of their existence every moment. When people look at themselves, the 'I', the identity, drives them. For enlightened beings, that identity is not real. 'I' does not exist.

Content: When we are one with Existence, one with nature, nothing affects us. I walked tens of thousands of miles barefoot across the length and breadth of India. People ask, 'How is it your feet are so soft, not calloused and broken as ours would be if we walked barefoot even ten miles?' I tell you: If we trust nature, nature looks after us.

Content: When I lived in Tapovan at approximately 17,000 feet in the Himalayan Mountains above the source of the sacred river Ganga, I wore only this two-piece clothing even in freezing winter. When we trust nature, cold and heat do not bother us. There are documentaries recorded by scientists showing how Tibetan Lamas pass an initiation test. They wrap themselves in wet clothes and sit in the freezing snow. They pass their test if they are able to dry their wet clothing by the heat generated through their meditation! They use meditation techniques to accomplish this; however, that is only part of the reason. The major reason is their trust in nature.

Content: Pain and pleasure are part of our conditioning. During my parivrājaka (monastic wandering) days, I happened to visit a village in Central India. I came across a strange characteristic in the lives of women there: painless delivery of babies. The women used to enter huts specially built for that purpose. There were no cries and no shrieks. They went in alone, needed no help and simply came out smiling with a baby. I was surprised! When I asked an elder how it was that they had no pain and did not need a doctor or midwife, he did not understand my question. 'Pain?' he asked, 'What pain? Why should women feel pain at childbirth? It is a celebration!'

Content: We create pain and pleasure through association, through conditioning. We create greed and fear through association. Our saṁskāras, our conditioned memories, create pain and pleasure.

Content: Light and darkness, good and bad, right and wrong are based on conditioning. Our conditioning, the civilized education and refinement tells us that a person dressed in a particular manner is acceptable in society and another dressed differently is not. When such a statement is made by a global figure, such as Churchill calling Gandhi a 'half-naked fakir', many people take exception. But most people go by it and behave the same way. We may not say it as strongly or as impolitely as Churchill, but we start discriminating based on our upbringing. Otherwise we would not have a system of the untouchables in India. This has nothing to do with religion or vedic culture. No scripture ever said one person is inferior to another. All scriptures affirm that every human being is a spiritual being; all of us carry the seed of divinity in us.

Content: So how can anyone quote scriptures to justify the unfair treatment of another person? When Krishna says, Vasudaiva kuṭuṁbaha, 'Let the world be your family,' there is no exclusion, none at all. When He says all, He means ALL!

Content: Our conditioning, our upbringing, should be called 'down-bringing' since it drags us down and does not raise us up. Our conditioning inculcates these negativities in us. This is how society ensures its survival through controlling us with fear and greed.

Content: Our NSP meditations are designed to dissolve our conditioning, our embedded memories. At the end of the four-day course in India (which is a two-day course overseas), people prostrate at each other's feet with no differentiation of age, gender, wealth or class. Their negativities disappear and, at that heightened energy level, all that one can see is the divinity in others. I have seen fathers-in-law prostrate at the feet of their daughters-in-law, something nobody would believe in the context of Indian culture!

Content: Q: You always speak of ānanda, bliss; you also talk about the state of grace. Are they the same?

Content: Bliss is an inner phenomenon. Grace is its outer expression. Bliss is the flower. Grace is the perfume. Bliss is the experience. Grace is the expression.

Content: Grace can only be blissful. It cannot be sad or serious. It can only be cheerful and laughing. Bliss cannot be anything other than graceful. It can’t be ugly. It has tremendous beauty. It is the spirit of beauty. They are two sides of the same coin.

Content: People ordinarily think of bliss as a peak, never as a valley, but bliss has both sides. No peak can exist without a valley. No valley can exist without a peak. They are one phenomenon, inseparable. One must learn to be blissful in both situations. When you are on the sunlit peak, it is easy to be blissful. The altitude, silence, sun, open sky and the freedom of that openness helps to make you blissful. You are far away from the world and its problems and anxieties. But you cannot live on the peak; you must come back to the valley.

Content: The peak can only be a holiday. One cannot exist there longer than that; hence one must learn how to be blissful in the valley, in the turmoil of the world, in the darkness, in the dismal world of the valley, in the struggle, competition and in all that the valley contains. One must learn to be silent and blissful even when the situation is just not conducive to it, when in fact, the situation is against it.

Content: Unless you can be blissful in a situation that ordinarily creates misery, you are not a blissful person yet. Unless you can be in heaven even in hell, you have not arrived home. Much more still needs to be done.

Content: There is an ancient parable:

Content: An enlightened master arrives at the gate of heaven and he is asked, ‘Where would you like to go?’ He immediately says, ‘To hell.’

Content: The gatekeeper is puzzled and confused. He says, ‘You are the first person in millions of years who has asked to go to hell. Are you crazy? Why do you want to go to hell?’

Content: The master said, ‘I know that I can be in heaven anywhere. Heaven is in my heart. I have lived in the world. I was always in heaven. I have not lived in hell. Send me anywhere and I will still be in heaven. Wherever I am, heaven is there.’

Content: This is a true, authentic achievement. Otherwise, you only live cheerfully and blissfully when the situation permits, allows, helps and nourishes you.

Content: Live in the world, in the valley, with a song in your heart. Live in the valleys of the world but remain unaffected, untouched and uncontaminated by all that exists there. It is possible. It is the greatest miracle and joy when it happens because then you have transcended all outer situations. And transcendence is the ultimate goal of seekers.

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: Bliss is also love and love is another name for life, another name for Existence, another name for God. The more the understanding grows, the higher love soars. Love moves higher on the wings of understanding, on the wings of awareness and meditation.

Content: Love plus meditation equals the true seeker's path. Make your love more and more meditative, wherever it is, and meditation will take it upwards.

Content: A small story:

Content: Two beggars lived in a forest. One man had no legs and the other man had no eyes. One day a great fire broke out. The man without the legs could see; however, he could not move. He could see how to escape, but he could not escape. The other man could move, but he was unable to escape without seeing where to go.

Content: Both men would have died if they had tried to escape on their own. They joined together. The blind man took the other beggar on his shoulders. Collectively, they had two eyes and two legs.

Content: That's exactly the situation of man: without love you don't have energy to move. Without meditation you don't have a vision or any insight. With love plus meditation, you have both: you have energy to soar and you know where, how and when to go.

Content: Our bodies die. However, we are neither born nor can we die. We are eternal. To know this is to be free from fear. It cannot be just a belief. Millions of people believe that they are immortal. But they believe out of fear. They fear death. They want to be immortal. Hence they believe in it. But they don't know, and the fear and doubt persist deep down inside. At the moment of death, belief won't help them. Doubt will explode. They will die in doubt, and to die in doubt is to miss the whole point. So it is not a question of belief. It must be an understanding.

Content: Meditation is the way to know it. It opens the doors of eternity, timelessness. In the beginning of our meditation practice, time disappears for a few moments. Then we experience more and more of 'time disappearing'. One day suddenly we are surprised: Hours have passed; yet it is as if the inner clock has stopped. There is no time movement inside. When we can transcend time, we have transcended death. Time brings death. It is time that brings birth.

Content: There is a Sanskrit word for both time and death: kāla. Going beyond time is to go beyond death. This is a great understanding. Meditation leads us beyond time.

Content: 170

Content: Let it become our experience. We don't need to believe. There are enough believers in the world. We need people who know. These are the people who will be the harbingers of a new humanity. These are the people with understanding. They don't believe in God. They understand and know God.

Content: Bliss is a phenomenon that cannot be hidden. It is fire. It is flame. We cannot hide it. Bliss shines forth. It is impossible to hide it.

Content: Secret traditions advise people to 'hide it'. This is because if our bliss is known in some cultures, countries or traditions, we will be in danger. These cultures killed people because they were joyous. These people, in their utter joy and divine madness, they said things that opposed the religious interpretation of the scriptures. They went against tradition and conformity.

Content: In great joy a Sufi master declared, 'I am God.' He wanted to share it. His master warned him to keep his mouth shut and not to utter a word. This man promised, yet moments came when he would shout, 'I am God.' And not only would he shout, his whole being would shout. Each fiber of his body would shout! He was so full of light. He was killed, murdered.

Content: Miserable people cannot tolerate a blissful person. It hurts to see somebody blissful. It creates jealousy. It hurts their ego. So Sufis learned to hide it. So have others. Ultimately it is impossible to hide it. Bliss is a luminous phenomenon.

Content: Misery is dark; bliss is bright. Misery is a light unmanifest, a candle unlit; bliss is a candle lit. How can we hide it? It is impossible. Of course we have not yet created a society that loves these masters without judgment. We have not been able to create a society that appreciates blissful people. However, even if we lose our life letting our whole being declare the ultimate Truth and joy of Existence, it is worth it.

Content: Man looks small. He is not. He is like a small seed that can grow into a big tree. And a single seed can fill the whole earth with greenery. A single seed contains infinity. Like that, man is a seed of divine love and that seed can become a vast continent. And unless it does, we are never contented. Unless we become pure love with no desire to gain anything except the joy of sharing, we are unfulfilled. Only by becoming total and absolute love, does life come to its ultimate peak. That peak is called God, paradise, and nirvāṇa.

Content: We must grow towards more and more love. No other prayer is needed, no other scripture is needed and no other discipline is needed. Love is more than any scripture or discipline. It brings its own order; it turns our chaos into a cosmos.

Content: Trust in love because love is the foundation of all transformation. Love is the innermost core of alchemy. Love makes us content. People live in discontentment. To live in discontentment is to live in complaints, grumbling and always asking for more and more. To live a discontented life means to live in desire, and desires are unquenchable. One's life becomes a long tragedy. It is a long series of failures and frustrations, a desert where nothing grows and nothing flowers.

Content: Man can live in desire or in no-desire. Seeking means starting and it is a path of no-desire. Seeking means, whatever is, is more than enough. One is thankful for whatever is. One does not ask for more. On the contrary, one is grateful because so much has been given. When we see what has already been given to us, we are surprised.

Content: So much has been given, unasked. Feel grateful for it. That is the way of contentment. Contentment is being thankful towards Existence and in that thankfulness much more keeps coming to us. It is a paradox of life, that when we desire, nothing happens except frustration and when we don't desire, everything happens and we become entitled to miracles!

Content: Remember that this single word 'contentment' contains the whole of spirituality. It comes out of wisdom. Contentment does not come out of knowledge. It comes out of knowing and experiencing. It is not based upon other authorities. It is rooted in our own vision and direct experience.

Content: Knowledge is cheap. We can collect as much as we want of it. All we need is a good memory. This is not difficult. Memory can be trained and made more skillful. However memory will not transform us. It has its use in day-to-day affairs and in scientific work. Yet it is useless as far as our subjectivity is concerned.

Content: The inner journey needs to be without any burden of knowledge. One must go inwards like an innocent child. The less we know the better. If we don't know anything, that's the best. That's what Socrates says, 'I know only one thing: I know nothing.'

Content: The moment one turns in, is the turning point. That is the moment one becomes wise. That is the moment one starts experiencing life. Otherwise words, theories, and philosophies go on interpreting life for us and don't allow us direct, immediate contact with life. They are not bridges. They are walls.

Content: Innocence is the bridge and when innocence blooms it is wisdom. The ultimate wisdom is bliss and its expression is grace. Then a man becomes a child again. Then the circle is complete, the circle is perfect. This is the perfection of life. If we die knowledgeable, we miss the point; the circle is incomplete. We will be born again to complete it. When we die in bliss, we die in grace, never to return.

Chapter Number: 14.26

Content: One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.

Chapter Number: 14.27

Content: And I am the basis of impersonal Brahman, which is the rightful state of ultimate happiness, and which is immortal, imperishable and eternal.

Content: Krishna concludes the chapter by saying that the transcendental state beyond the three attributes of nature, the gunas, is Brahman, the ultimate cosmic consciousness. He says you reach this through devotion. He says that He is that Brahman, the Source of eternal bliss.

Content: Krishna speaks as Parabrahma Krishna, the supreme energy and not as Vasudeva Krishna, the individual. He is in the expanded consciousness of Brahman, and beyond the three gunas. He is the Source of the gunas.

Content: What is the difference between Parabrahma Krishna (ultimate consciousness) and Vasudeva Krishna (the physical person, the son of Vasudeva)? In the case of an ordinary human being, even though he has the potential of divinity, he has not realized it. So he is different. That is the difference between you and an enlightened master. Both of you are divine to the same extent. Yet you are unaware of your divinity, whereas the enlightened master is fully aware of it.

Content: In the case of Krishna, he is the master. Why then the difference? The difference is not to do with Him. It is to do with us. The frequency of Parabrahma Krishna is not visible to and approachable by mortals. That is why Arjuna had to be given the divine vision to perceive Parabrahma rūpa or viśvarūpa, the cosmic form of Krishna. Even Arjuna, His closest mortal friend, His mirror as the human, could not perceive Him in that cosmic form until he was permitted.

Content: In order for humans to perceive Him and interact with Him, Parabrahma Krishna must become Vasudeva Krishna. To a certain extent He must subject Himself to the play of the gunas.

Content: When an enlightened being has merged with the universal energy and incarnates in human form, that incarnation must have some guna injected into it. Let us use an analogy here. We cannot make jewelry out of gold when it is completely pure, of 24-carat purity. We must add some impurity such as copper to reduce it to 22 or 18 carat. Then we can make jewelry out of it. Similarly when an enlightened being enters planet earth he must be infused with some satva guna in order to take human form. Within some time, this satva guna also disappears, leaving the being beyond the three gunas and once again in an enlightened state.

Content: Each enlightened master is unique in his expression of his experience as the Divine. Some express experiences and some don’t. Our scriptures say that if two enlightened masters say the same thing, one is a fake! Each master is unique in his or her expression. The experience is the same, yet the expression is different.

Content: Krishna is different from Buddha and Christ. Each has the same theme of compassion, yet the way the compassion is expressed is different. Buddha expressed it as contemplation and Krishna in joyous abandon. So we choose a master based upon how we vibrate to his expression. If our path is devotion, we gravitate to Krishna; He is lovable. If we are the meditative type, we go to Shiva, the master who taught in silence.

Content: It does not matter who our master is. What matters is our faith, trust and the attitude of surrender. Our master can be an unenlightened being. If we trust him, we can become enlightened, even though he may not be. What matters more is our attitude and approach, our guna, and not the master’s state. Even if we worship a stone and surrender to it, imagining it to be our ultimate savior, we will be liberated. It is true.

Content: The faith and the surrender help us transcend the nature of all activities. We surrender the result of our actions to that master, whomsoever he may be, whomsoever it may be. We do everything contemplating that master and surrender it all at his feet. That attitude alone liberates us. This is what Krishna means by devotion. Nothing more is needed. Krishna is not talking about the flute-playing, yellow-robed Krishna. Anyone that we surrender to totally is Krishna and we then fall into Krishna consciousness.

Content: Let us pray to Parabrahma Krishna, the universal consciousness, the ultimate energy, to give us all this understanding in our life, to make us experience the truth that He teaches and to establish us in and make us radiate eternal bliss, nityānanda.

Content: Q: You referred to biological evidence that links our behavior with our cellular formation. Can you please elaborate this point?

Content: Modern science knows there is constant regeneration of cells within our body-mind system. We die everyday. Our body-mind system is estimated to have over 60 trillion cells. Billions of cells die everyday and new cells are born. This process goes on as long as we live. Within two years or so, all the cells in our body get replaced by new cells. This means that every two years we are completely reborn.

Content: Since this is a scientifically established fact, why is it that the miseries of our old cells get carried into the new cells? Why do our diseases continue after the cells die? What is the connecting link? Science does not have an answer. Yet interesting experiments show the path.

Content: Let us say that you take a blood sample and you separate out some cells. From those cells, you extracted the DNA and keep it outside your body. Experiments have shown that when you react with emotions and release hormones, the DNA in the dish that is separate from your body releases the same hormones. If you become angry and release adrenalin inside you, the DNA outside releases the same adrenalin. If you become fearful, your DNA that is outside releases the same fear hormones. These dishes with the DNA were placed a few miles away and the same results happened.

Content: In another set of experiments, scientists exposed the DNA samples to various emotions. I have spoken elsewhere about Dr. Masaru Emoto’s book, The Hidden Messages from Water. This Japanese scientist showed that water samples showed significant change in their molecular structure when exposed to different types of human emotions. These experiments are also shown in the movie, ‘What the Bleep Do We Know?’

Content: Here, DNA samples were exposed to emotions. Scientists found that positive emotions made the DNA grow and negative emotions made it shrink. When treated with love, even the DNA of people affected with HIV and cancer showed improvement and resistance to further deterioration.

Content: Another set of experiments involved fundamental light particles called photons. A photon placed in a vacuum chamber tended to move around randomly. When a DNA sample was introduced into that chamber, the photon started revolving around the DNA. It was as if this elemental particle detected another element of higher consciousness and obeyed it by rotating around it, in the same manner as planets rotate around the sun.

Content: Even stranger was that when the DNA sample was removed from the vacuum chamber, the photon continued to rotate in the same orbit that it followed when the DNA was inside the chamber. It was as if the energy of the DNA stayed on even though the DNA was physically removed.

Content: Scientists are taking baby steps in understanding what the vedic scriptures established five thousand years ago. The Vedas speak about the energy field that is imperishable even when matter is destroyed. They describe the mindset as an energy form that continues across death into a new body. They explain how this energy influences our behavior beyond time and space.

Content: Samskāras or these engraved memories, are energy. They can be positive or negative energy. As long as the saṁskāras continue, they influence the material nature of the body-mind system. Even if the cells die and new cells are born, as long as the energy of the old cells is not transformed, the new cells will be influenced and affected. Cancers and ailments continue.

Content: This is why we place so much emphasis in training you to understand saṁskāras and in teaching techniques that help dissolve saṁskāras in our Life Bliss Programs. You may think it is a tall claim, but these techniques transform your very DNA. They transform the energy behind your genes so that new cells are no longer affected by the negativities of the old cells.

Content: Thus ends the fourteenth chapter named Guṇatraya Vibhāga Yogah of the Upaniṣad of Bhagavad Gita, the scripture of Yoga, dealing with the science of the Absolute in the form of the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna.

Chapter Number: 15

Content: BhagavadGita No Questions, Only Doubts Chapter 15 When we question, we reveal our arrogance and aggression. When we doubt, we exhibit our ignorance and seek clarity.

Content: You say that Arjuna has fallen silent. You imply Arjuna still has doubts. How does one differentiate whether one has doubts or questions? If we suppress doubts thinking they are questions, won't it create more confusion?

Content: We have been told that charitable activity is good. I am confused when you say charity is not always good. Please explain.

Content: You say that your use of the term 'ego' is synonymous to Freud's usage but not the same. Please explain.

Content: Can Near-Death-Experiences lead to enlightenment?

Content: Swamiji, you say conditioning makes us do what we do. Isn't there a built-in programming of the human body-mind system that dictates what we do?

Content: Swamiji, you talked about the importance of ashram communities in spiritual development. What about people who cannot live in such communities? Can they progress?

Content: Swamiji, you talked about yoga. Modern people practice yoga as a form of exercise for wellness. Is this wrong?

Content: Swamiji, you have explained so well about how the mind works. How can we use this in our daily activities?

Content: Swamiji, if we are interconnected at the level of the mind and higher levels, why don't we feel this connection? How do we get connected?

Content: No Questions, Only Doubts

Content: Only Krishna speaks in Chapter 15 of Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna does not utter a word. Arjuna's inner chatter has been silenced. As a result, his questions have disappeared.

Content: Krishna expounds upon who He is and what He is. This chapter is traditionally titled Puruṣottama Yoga, yoga of the supreme Self. Krishna unveils the reasons why He is Puruṣottama, supreme amongst Beings and explains that what He has imparted to Arjuna is the most profound secret. Krishna is convinced that Arjuna is ready to receive the Truth.

Content: Arjuna has settled into his Self. His confusions have disappeared; questions have dissolved due to his cosmic experience in Viśvarūpa Darśana Yoga - having the Vision of Krishna's cosmic form - and his direct spiritual experience. He has achieved the depth of knowledge and clear understanding required to internalize whatever Krishna has taught him so far. He has achieved the intensity of spiritual experience. He is a new being.

Content: With the revelation of Krishna's cosmic form, Arjuna has awareness of his own part in the collective consciousness. This experience has put him in a devotional mood. This devotion is not merely towards Krishna, but through Krishna, to all of humanity. Arjuna speaks and listens on behalf of humanity and not for himself.

Content: Arjuna doesn't have any more intellectual questions. He has reached a point where he is totally ready to receive Krishna. He has moved forward from a state of thoughtfulness, where he is confused and full of questions, to a no-thought state, a no-mind state where questions disappear.

Content: As long as we have questions, we will not receive the answer. Questions are about defending our prejudice and defending our limited understanding. Questions act as a barrier between knowledge and us, between the master and us. All great masters, including Buddha and Lao Tse, had an aversion to questions.

Content: Masters convey their experience. It is an energy transmission that occurs. To convey an experience in words denies the experience. Once verbalized, the experience loses meaning. Lao Tse says, 'If it is really truth that was experienced, it cannot be communicated. If it can be communicated, it is not the truth.' A Tamil saint once said, 'That which is known cannot be communicated; that which is communicated is not known.'

Content: Krishna is different. He is engaged in a dialogue with Arjuna for the benefit of mankind to resolve those conflicts and doubts that arise in all humans. As the super-conscious Godhead, He takes responsibility of resolving Arjuna's confusion.

Content: Arjuna's questions arose out of confusion. As a warrior, a kṣatriya, Arjuna was accustomed to killing. His confusion on that battlefield of Kurukṣetra was not about killing per se; rather it was about killing kinsmen, teachers and friends. Arjuna's confusion did not arise from a principle of non-violence; if it had, it is doubtful that Krishna would have persuaded him to fight.

Content: Arjuna's confusion, depression, doubts and questions arose from his ego, his feeling of 'I' and 'mine'. The warriors assembled in front of him, those men whom he had to fight and kill or be killed by were kith and kin. They were not strangers. It was possessiveness, not non-violence that created confusion in Arjuna's mind.

Content: Arjuna's illusion caused confusion. His view that these warriors assembled in front of him were relatives, teachers and friends meant that he had no societal right to kill them. As a warrior, Arjuna had no qualms or moral issues about killing people. Therefore, the violence of his ego, the violence born out of possession acted as a barrier; it was not a moral principle of non-violence.

Content: One at a time, Krishna answered Arjuna's questions. The power of a master is such that an answer to one question effectively silences many others that would have normally followed. Arjuna's inner chatter slows down and almost completely stops at the point of his divine visionary experience of the cosmic form of Krishna described in Chapter 11.

Content: What remains with Arjuna are not questions that he has for himself, but doubts that he would like to clear on behalf of mankind. These questions now have a completely different focus. They do not pertain to what he should do or not do. After seeing Krishna's cosmic form, his questions are about the nature of the divine Krishna and how to approach Him. Krishna now explains to Arjuna what He is and how to reach Him. Krishna is convinced that Arjuna is through with his intellectual questions. What remain are only doubts.

Content: Doubt means a person is ready to digest the master, receive the master, and imbibe the master. Whatever word comes out of the master clears doubt. Doubt makes the master express himself. Questions make the master close himself. Almost all questions are violence.

Content: Words can be categorized into two streams. One stream consists of questions, another of doubts. A question means violence; it is arrogance to express that we know something or to defend what we know as truth. Most of the time we ask questions to show that we know something. People often ask me big questions.

Content: A person asked me, 'Swamiji, the Brahma Sutra says Brahman is beyond comprehension. He is beyond understanding and beyond intellect. Is that right?'

Content: The purpose of this statement is to show that he has read Brahma Sutra. This is not a question. There is no quest in it.

Content: Doubt without quest is question. Question with quest is doubt. Questions do not seek truth; doubts do.

Content: Man cannot handle too much truth. He can handle half-truths. Beyond that, truth starts transforming him. He feels that the ground he is standing on is slipping away. None of us wants to know the truth. If truth is given honestly, only a few will be willing to listen. People become frightened the moment honest truths are given. Truth frightens them. So, they question the truth.

Content: One western philosopher wrote beautifully, 'Please don't take lies away; let man live on them, live with them.'

Content: To have one's lies taken away is too much to bear. These lies are the fundamentals upon which one lives. Lies are the basis upon which we are living and dying. Lies comfort us; truth threatens us.

Content: Why do we wear makeup, dye our hair and dress up? We do not want to see the truth, to face the fact that we have become old. We cannot accept the truth of our ageing; we pretend, fantasize and lie. Why do we dress up in a colorful way, when we know that we are hiding the true Self within ourselves? We know that we are not what we show ourselves to be.

Content: We hide the truth in numerous ways. Why do we have so many social courtesies? We respect each other. For social courtesies, we do many formalities. We are taught from childhood to say 'please' and 'thank you,' irrespective of whether we mean it, irrespective of whether the situation demands it, rather because social etiquette says so. Whenever we meet someone, we say 'It's nice to meet you,' even though we may not feel so nice!

Content: Even I am sometimes forced to play this game. When people initially meet me, when they do not know me well, it is best for me to be socially polite to them. Otherwise they get hurt. They are not ready to face the truth. Whatever words they might express to me, their mind is not ready to accept the truth. It will be too harsh. So I offer them brain candy. Why disturb them from their socially comfortable situation when they are not yet ready?

Content: If we really feel ‘nice,’ our whole body, our being shows it. Must we say ‘It’s nice to meet you,’ for the other person to understand that we are happy to meet him? Our whole body language, our smile, our sheer pleasure at meeting that person makes that obvious. We don’t need to use words.

Content: The more civilized a country or people believe themselves to be, the less they express the truth of their feelings naturally. When someone smiles, the smile comes from the lips. It is plastic. The smile never touches the eyes. The eyes never smile, nor does the heart. Laughter emanates from and stops at the mouth. Understand: True laughter comes from the belly. But when a person truly laughs with the feeling coming from his stomach, people stare as if he is guilty of misconduct, guilty of expressing the truth of his feelings. Laughter also disturbs people, just like truth.

Content: We know that the truth is something else. We dare not face the truth. We feel that we cannot afford to be truthful in verbal language as well as body language. The truth straightaway gives us enlightenment. It transforms us.

Content: The moment someone honestly imbibes or catches a single point of truth or a single dimension of truth, it does wonders.

Content: Vivekananda says beautifully, ‘Even if you memorize each book in all the libraries of the world, it will not help you except to increase your ego about the bookish knowledge you acquire. Take one idea and imbibe it in your being, experience it. Your life will be transformed by a single idea, just one idea!’

Content: A book from Tamilnadu, South India describes the life of sixty-three enlightened masters. The name of this Tamil book is Periapuranam, meaning ‘Great Epic’.

Content: If we study this book, we find masters who apparently haven’t done anything worthwhile, nothing at all. Nothing happened in their lives. Some masters just picked flowers and offered them to God, nothing else. Yet, they achieved enlightenment. What we do is unimportant. How honest we are with our action matters. When they offered flowers, they were true and honest to the action.

Content: We may also offer flowers everyday and do everything to please God, yet we aren’t enlightened. We only incur an added expense of maintaining a garden or

Content: buying flowers! The problem is, we are not honest. When these masters pick flowers to offer to God, they continuously think about the deity to whom they are offering the flowers. They are totally devoted to the thought of the deity. Nothing distracts them.

Content: When we pick flowers to offer to a favorite deity, we think of something else, somebody else. I have seen people do rituals regularly. But their thoughts are on office work or something else in their life.

Content: I have observed people daily chanting the Vishnu Sahasranama and Lalitha Sahasranama that contain 1000 names of the gods and goddesses, as a ritual. They are proud that they do not eat a morsel until they finish the chanting, which if done completely may take more than an hour. Soon after these people start chanting, they look to see which verse number they have reached! They are desperate to see how many verses remain to complete the chanting. They are bored, tired. It is a chore that they are engaged in.

Content: When our heart is not in it, worship becomes a chore. When our heart is in it, even hard work becomes joyful worship.

Content: These people cannot focus on the chanting or the spirit of the prayer. They don't have the honesty. These enlightened masters did not chant or pray out of fear or greed, or as a ritual; they wanted to do it. They had an urge to do it. They did this out of their Being, from the depths of their hearts, in love and in tune with nature, with God.

Content: If we scan our day from the moment we get out of bed until the end of the day, it is filled with lies. Our smiles are false. When we smile, we don't want the other person to know what is in our mind; so we don't look into each other's eyes. Why? We fear that the other person will read our mind. We can present a big smile on our lips when our heart boils; however, in our eyes, we cannot hide anything.

Content: Nothing can be hidden in our eyes. Eyes are the doorway to the soul. Straightaway we see the being in another person's eyes. We don't look into someone's eyes because we often say and do something that we do not want them to know.

Content: A great philosopher and professor attended a few of my discourses. He asked me, 'Swamiji, for a fifteen minute lecture I must prepare for at least an hour, even if I have been teaching the same subject for years. I notice that you give discourses everyday with no preparation. And each day the discourse is on a new subject!'

Content: 'I know you do not prepare because you are busy; you have no time. I have seen that you do not prepare for the speeches. Yet how can you speak continuously? I need hours of preparation.' The answer is this: If what you are expressing is your honest experience, there is no need for preparation. Just open up, whatever comes out is your experience. For example, if someone asks our name, do we prepare? Do we need to carry clues for that? Of course not! It's our experience. If something has not become our experience, we need to prepare to deliver a lecture. If we must prepare to deliver a lecture, or if we fear public speaking, this means we are filled with lies. Our whole being is a lie; our life is a lie. Why do people fear public speaking? We fear that whatever is going on inside might spill out. We know that there is so much dirt inside that something might erupt, some garbage might tumble out and we are scared. That is why we prepare what and how we speak. We must be certain that we don't speak something else; we need to remember the points one by one. If we forget, we are afraid that we may say something that is really in our mind. Preparation is done to ensure that we don't say something else. Preparation is nothing but trying to hide our true inner chatter. If a professional speaker must prepare all his talks, whatever he says is a lie. It has not become his experience. It has not become a part of his being, it has not been internalized as a part of his being. It has just been memorized and delivered. Why do we prepare so many courteous words? We say, 'Nice to meet you, it feels so nice to be around you.' After a while we say, 'I need to go; I must take care of some work.' Why say such things? If we really feel nice, our whole being will show it. Joy will be expressed by our body language. We need not verbalize it. A small story: A teacher takes a guest on a tour of the school. Students pass by and greet her. The teacher nods her head curtly and mutters under her breath, 'Same to you.' The guest asks, 'Why do you never wish them back? Why do you say, 'Same to you?'

Content: The teacher smiles and says, 'I have been a student myself and I know what is really going on in their minds.' So, whenever you greet someone, be aware of your thoughts underneath your greeting. Be a little aware! Many times we need to edit when and what we speak. However, if we are established in the truth, our inner chatter will disappear. Our thinking will disappear. If we are completely truthful, we never need to think, we just need to speak and relax. Why do we need to continuously think?

Content: Not only for public speaking or discourses, even when we meet friends or we are with our spouse, we plan and rehearse words. We rehearse how we will start, what we will begin with and how we will continue the topic. We do a full dress rehearsal. If the other person starts talking on a different topic, we are lost; we have no idea what to say. We have done a complete rehearsal only of what we know and want to talk about.

Content: If we need to be prepared in order to speak to our boss that is okay. We must be courteous; otherwise we may lose our job. That is at least a basic need and part of the social game. Let us accept it, forget about it and move on. But the situation is much worse than that. We continuously prepare dialogues for friends and family. If we must always prepare, whatever we prepare is a lie. Even if we say it as if it is a fact, it is not the truth. Stating a fact is not being truthful.

Content: We can state facts with many connotations and most of it will be lies. A lie can be dressed up with a little cosmetic alteration to look like truth.

Content: In the Mahabharata, there is a revealing incident. Drona was the General of the Kauravas, the clan of a hundred brothers who battled their cousins, the five Pandava brothers. Krishna, the divine incarnation of Lord Vishnu, helped the Pandavas and planned to destabilize Drona so that he could be killed.

Content: Krishna knew that Drona could not be killed unless his mind was disturbed. And unless Drona was out of the way, the Kaurava army that he led could not be defeated. The only way to upset Drona was to kill his son.

Content: Drona's entire energy was focused on his son Ashwatthama. Krishna wanted someone to tell Drona that his son was dead. Drona was not attached to anyone except his son and Krishna knew that this was the only way he could upset Drona in order to kill him.

Content: Krishna was also aware that Drona would not believe just anyone who said that his son had been killed. Krishna knew that Yudhishti­ra, the Pandava prince, would

Content: be the best person to announce Ashwatthama's death. Yudhishtira was known to be perfectly truthful; he would never lie. Everyone believed and trusted him.

Content: Krishna asked Yudhishtira to tell Drona that his son Ashwatthama was dead. Yudhishtira refused and said that he could not lie. He said, 'Ashwatthama is alive; how can I say he is dead?'

Content: Krishna said, 'That's okay, there is an elephant named Ashwatthama. Bheema, your brother, will kill this elephant. You say, 'Ashwatthama, the elephant, is dead.' When you say the word 'elephant,' I will blow my conch to drown out your words. This will take care of your not lying and get the job done.'

Content: Yudhishtira agreed since he was only going to be stating a fact. He said, 'Ashwatthama, the elephant, has fallen and he is dead.' When he said the word 'elephant,' Krishna blew the conch. Blowing a conch signifies victory.

Content: Drona believed Yudhishtira and fell into deep depression. He lost all his energy, laid down his arms and entered meditation. A Pandava warrior then killed Drona, who refused to offer a fight.

Content: The death of a son is painful. When a son dies, a part of the being dies. It was too much to handle, even for Drona. This is how Krishna had Drona killed, which then led to the defeat of the Kauravas.

Content: In this incident, though Yudhishtira wasn't lying, though he was being factual, he was not truthful either. There is a clear distinction between being truthful and being factual. Everything factual is not truthful.

Content: Though Yudhishtira, who was also known as Dharmaraja, the King of righteousness, did not lie, he did not speak the actual truth. The next part of the story goes as follows.

Content: It is said that Dharmaraja usually walked above the earth; he was free from its bondage because of his truthful nature, and even his chariot never touched the ground. Now, this is not a literal truth.

Content: Please understand that when someone is in ecstasy and bliss, he feels light, as if he is flying. Physically Dharmaraja walked on the ground, however he felt so light it was as if he was flying above the earth. It was a feeling of total boundary-less consciousness.

Content: The moment he made the statement about Ashwatthama's death, even though it was a fact, he came down to earth. His chariot that had been flying above the

Content: ground touched the ground. He lost his boundary-less consciousness and touched the earth. Truth was lost. His honesty was lost.

Content: In real life, why do we lie so much? Why does a husband always tell his wife that he loves her? If he loves her, his body language should show that. But when he verbalises it, he actually reminds himself. He must remind himself that he is supposed to love her. When we speak too many words, we are lying. We are not speaking the truth. We are covering a lie with a lot of decorations.

Content: Speaking the truth is dangerous. If we speak the truth, we have space among enlightened people but not other folks. It is so dangerous.

Content: Truth endures logical questions and arguments. It withstands the test of logical analysis. If someone needs to verify whether something is pure gold, we must put it in acid to test it. An acid test is required to test the truth of gold. In the same manner, if we wish to know whether something is pure truth, we must put it to an acid test of logical analysis. Our logic will simply fall and fail.

Content: When our logic falls before it, you can be sure it's the truth. Anything that is truth destroys our logic; it means that our logic will become so tired that it will fall by itself. If it is the ultimate Truth, it must stand the test of logical analysis. It must withstand all the logical acid tests that it is put through.

Content: If the disciple is in the questioning mood, the master must prove his words. He must be prepared to go through the acid tests demanded by the questioning disciple. It is a big load.

Content: If the disciple is in doubt, the master will open up with the truth. He will not cover the truth with words. He will not play with words. The naked truth will be told directly. Any truth can be served and explained to a mind with doubt. To a questioning mind, nothing can be explained.

Content: The disciple's mood decides whether the master's words will be advice or a powerful transformational technique. If the disciple is completely tuned, the master can help him. The master need not even be enlightened.

Content: A small story:

Content: A scholar lived on the banks of the Yamuna river. Daily he offered ritual worship to Krishna. A milkmaid brought milk for the scholar on a regular basis. One day, she did not come because it had rained heavily the previous night and the river had flooded.

Content: The following day when she arrived at the scholar's home, he asked, 'Why didn't you bring my milk yesterday?' She replied, 'The river was flooded and I was unable to cross it.'

Content: The scholar told her, 'Many have crossed the saṃsāra sāgara (ocean of worldly life) by chanting Krishna's name. Yet you can't cross a small river. Chant His name and cross!'

Content: Like a typical scholar, he showed off his dry knowledge to impress the poor milkmaid while simultaneously scolding her for missing a day of service. The milkmaid received his words as absolute truth. From that day onwards, the milkmaid was on time.

Content: Sometime later, the river flooded again. The milkmaid shocked the scholar by arriving at the usual hour. He asked her, 'How did you manage to cross the river?'

Content: The milkmaid replied, 'Due to your guidance, master. I chanted Krishna's name and walked upon the water as you told me.'

Content: The scholar could not digest it. He demanded proof. The milkmaid agreed. They went down to the riverbank. The milkmaid chanted Krishna's name and walked upon the water. She just floated and crossed the river.

Content: The scholar could not believe what was happening. He thought, 'If an ignorant milkmaid can walk on water based on my teachings, why can't I, a great scholar?'

Content: He started chanting Krishna's name. However, as he approached the water, he lifted his waistcloth so as not to wet it. He stepped into the water and sank.

Content: He didn't actually have any belief in what he told the milkmaid. He just spoke those words to show off his knowledge.

Content: But if the disciple is in a receptive mood, even casual words of the master can be techniques for his growth; it will benefit him. Even if the master is unenlightened or if the master has no belief or experience of his own words, the disciple's belief surmounts any obstacle.

Content: Doubt and faith are two sides of the same coin. We cannot have faith without doubt. That is why, however much people wish to believe my words, they have doubts. I tell them it is okay to have doubts. They are going through a process, a cycle of faith and doubt. As doubt is cleared, a greater faith develops. Then, the

Content: next level of doubt occurs. A new layer of understanding is revealed and faith is restored.

Content: Ultimately, the disciple, the devotee, transcends doubt and faith. He reaches the truth. Until such time, it is normal to have recurring doubt and faith.

Content: Now, Arjuna has come to an understanding. Because of his firsthand spiritual experience, he has come to the level of doubt. No more questions. He does not ask what is beneficial for him. Those self-serving calculations have gone. No more questions like kim tad brahma kimadhyātmaṁ kim karma puruṣottama (Ch.8, verse 1). (What is Brahman? Which is duty? etc)

Content: He was playing with words then. Now everything has disappeared. In the first chapter, Krishna was totally silent. Arjuna spoke at length. He quoted on righteousness and from ancient scriptures. In this chapter, Arjuna is completely silent.

Content: This is a problem faced by every master descending on planet earth. An innocent disciple is better than an ignorant disciple.

Content: A small story:

Content: A man approached a music teacher and asked, 'Master, I have studied music for four years. Now I want to learn from you. How long will it take?'

Content: Master replied, 'It may take six years.'

Content: Another guy came and asked, 'I have studied music for two years. How long it will take for me to learn?'

Content: The master said, 'Two years.'

Content: A third guy came, 'Master, I know nothing about music. How long must I spend to learn music?'

Content: The master replied, 'No time. You can pick it up from me in no time at all.'

Content: A fresh, innocent disciple immediately imbibes the master. He just picks up from the master. He directly absorbs the master into his own being. However, for those with partial knowledge, the master must do something to undo what they have learned.

Content: All masters descending on planet earth bring the same śāstra, the knowledge that is written down. But they also bring the life that is infused in this knowledge.

Content: What we read in books are just words. They never bring transformation for the reader. No book can give us the truth. They are not designed for that.

Content: A small incident:

Content: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa dictated a book while a disciple took notes. At one point, the disciple asked, 'Master, please repeat that.' The master repeated the statement.

Content: The disciple stopped writing and said, 'Master, this statement contradicts your statement in the previous chapter. This is confusing.'

Content: Ramakrishna told him, 'Don't worry. Write down what I dictate.'

Content: The disciple was unconvinced. Ramakrishna explained, 'The purpose of the book is not to present facts, but to state the truth and bring about transformation. It is to inspire people to move towards a living master.'

Content: The master's words are not related to facts; they are truth. Facts record; truth resonates.

Content: This is true regarding all scriptures and books. No book can give the ultimate Truth. The problem is that some people take books as the ultimate authority. They take their intellect as authority. Instead of living the truth, they take books as authority. They demand proof for the masters' words based on books and scriptures they have read.

Content: The main problem is the meaning of words. For example, if a master utters the word 'ātman,' he says it from the Sanskrit dictionary. But we look for 'ātman' in our own Oxford dictionary! Naturally the problem starts.

Content: When we are in the presence of a living master, we can seek clarification. We can immediately clear doubts. A master knows by seeing our faces that we are unable to understand. He explains further till things fit together.

Content: When we read books we are playing with our mind. That is why many feel more comfortable with books than listening to a living master. This is the difference between real seekers and pseudo seekers.

Content: If our search is real, if it is an urge, we will be seeking a living master. On the other hand, if our search is an entertainment, just passing time, we feel comfortable with books and old masters' photographs.

Content: If our search is intense, we feel deeply connected with a living master.

Content: Sukha Brahma, the great sage and young son of Vyasa, author of Mahabharata, the Hindu epic, taught great sages older than himself. He narrated the Bhagavatam, the story of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, and specifically His incarnation as Krishna.

Content: At the end of the narration, one of the assembled ṛṣis was moved to tears and fell at Sukha Brahma's feet. He said passionately, 'Please do not put this in writing. Once set in words, the deep truth, the intense beauty that can never be expressed in words will be lost. No one will know what happened here. By reading the words, no one will experience the energy play that happened during the narration, the spirit behind the words and the experience of our souls in listening to you. The facts will completely belittle the truth and energy in the whole thing.'

Content: Sukha said, 'I agree; yet we must write this down. Just reading it may inspire future generations. The words will be a great source of inspiration and a driving force for every soul who reads it. It will drive them to experience the truth behind the words.'

Content: Facts are chronological details found in history. The West has always been interested in facts, in chronology, in history and in what can be verified through some means. Western science needs to prove things with the intellect. It must prove things with logic in order to present them to the world.

Content: The East is more focused on the truth. The truth is metaphorical, not factual. It transcends time and space and cannot be proved by straight logic. If logic can prove truth, it means logic must be greater than the truth, which thankfully, can never be the case!

Content: Ramayana is the great Hindu epic that the sage Valmiki wrote about King Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In this story, a demon king, Ravana, kidnaps Rama's wife Sita. Rama seeks the help of the monkeys who lived in the forest kingdom of Kishkindha (while on his pursuit of Ravana). This kingdom was ruled by the monkey brothers, Vali and Sugriva, assisted by Hanuman, who is worshipped as the monkey god all over India.

Content: Valmiki described the size of the monkey population in Kishkindha. If taken literally, Kishkindha could not have held that many millions of monkeys.

Content: Valmiki referred to such a large number in a sense of the truth, a metaphorical representation of the truth. Valmiki conveyed the power of the monkeys through that number. The number shows the strength he was talking about. Valmiki's

Content: visualization was truth-oriented. Through the number, Valmiki referred to the energy of the monkeys, not the exact number of monkeys. Valmiki’s focus was on the truth of the energy rather than factual representation.

Content: Science prefers everything to be verified and quantified. This does not mean that what science has not verified and quantified is untrue. The law of gravity has operated ever since creation. It has been in existence since Existence. Otherwise the sun and planets would not move as they have always moved.

Content: Yet, Newton discovered gravity only a few centuries ago. Society and religion didn’t accept this fact until then. The Earth has always been round. That is the truth. Yet this truth was bitterly contested with people being put to death over the argument. It’s only in the last millennium that some agreement was finally reached.

Content: Science is limited in perception. It is like exploring a dense and dark forest with a tiny lamp. The lamp illumines only a few feet ahead and science proposes a theory based on what it sees within that limited space. Next, science advances forward with the light and sees a few more feet ahead. What they see is quite different from what they saw earlier. So they propose a new theory and discard the former one. This is how science operates.

Content: Imagine if the whole forest was visible in one flash of lightning! This is how enlightened masters see the whole truth! This is the difference between science and mysticism.

Content: Truth is like lightning. It is instantaneous; it is quantum. It is not evolutionary. Facts are logical, step-by-step, evolutionary. Each part must be understood before the next is understood. With truth, absorption is total, instantaneous and holistic. That’s why it is difficult to grasp the truth through the intellect. It does not seem logical; it is not rational.

Content: Throughout the centuries people have suffered misgivings because the truth they saw within their beings did not match the truth accepted by society and organized religion. Society and religion have established rules and regulations that have nothing to do with truth since it is difficult to interpret and regulate truth. Rules and regulations are based only upon facts.

Content: Facts and truth do not always go together. Facts are one-dimensional, relating only to time, whereas the truth is space and time; it is multidimensional.

Content: Here Arjuna has come to a level of maturity that is no longer satisfied with factual information. His quest is for truth. His confusions have disappeared. He has

Content: no more questions. Only doubts. Doubts are great. They are clear indicators that the disciple is ready to receive and imbibe the master. Doubts are green signals whereas questions are red signals.

Content: Questions prevent the master from opening up further. They interrupt the master and demand His reply to our words. Furthermore, when we are unable to follow, we question the authority of the living master, the living energy itself. We measure Him with our limited intellect. We limit Him with the limitations of our intellect and we use our intellect as the benchmark to judge Him.

Content: A small story:

Content: A young man approached an elderly person sitting under a tree near his village and told him that he was in search of a guru. The old man replied that he knew of a guru. He described him in detail, how he looked, where to locate him and so forth. The young man thanked him and moved on. For thirty years, he searched. Unable to find the guru, he gave up and headed back to his hometown.

Content: Before reaching home, he saw an old man who exactly matched the description of the guru. Approaching closer, the young man realized that he was none other than the old man with whom he started his search. The young man asked, ‘Why did you allow me to waste thirty years looking for you?’

Content: The old man replied, ‘Those years were not wasted. They molded you. When you came to me thirty years ago, I described myself, including the tree under which I sat. You were unable to recognize me. You were in a hurry to travel, wander and satisfy your ego. Your searching was necessary in order to dissolve questions that arose from your ego. Now you are ripe and ready to receive me.’

Content: If the disciple is not in a receptive state, he is even unable to recognize his guru. Questions arise from ego. Doubts arise from consciousness.

Content: Arjuna did everything. In the second chapter, when Krishna spoke about ātma, saying nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pavakaḥ (Ch.2, verse 23) (The soul cannot be touched by any weapon or be burned by fire), Arjuna immediately asks: How will an enlightened man speak?

Content: Why? Why did he ask that question? It was out of pure ego, to judge Krishna, to see whether Krishna was enlightened. Arjuna was checking the authority of the master. It started with violence, with questions.

Content: Gradually, by Chapter 9 when Krishna revealed rājavidyā rāja guhyam, royal knowledge and royal secret, that Existence is intelligence, that the cosmic energy is intelligence, Arjuna's questions very slowly settle down.

Content: When he heard the glory of Krishna, love started flowering in him. When Krishna revealed His cosmic form, the viśvarūpa, Arjuna experienced the ultimate consciousness.

Content: In Chapter 9, with the revelation of divine knowledge and secrets, intelligence happened. In Chapter 10, with Vibhūti Yoga, divine manifestation, devotion started flowering. In Chapter 11, with viśvarūpa darśan, Arjuna had the experience. Now all questions are over.

Content: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says beautifully, 'In a party, until the food is served, conversations and noise happen. Once the food is served, only the noise of serving and eating will be heard! Till the ultimate experience, questions will be there. After that, the expression of that experience alone will be there. All other noise will disappear.'

Content: Arjuna first questioned the authority of Krishna. Then he moved into calculation of his own benefits. Now it is acceptance. First it was resistance, then indifference and finally acceptance.

Content: Creative energy is different from accounting. Only God can create. If anybody creates anything, he experiences divinity at that moment. That is why pregnant ladies were worshipped in India during vedic times. It was believed that they healed people, just by their touch. Architects are creators. Engineers make good money, but architects have the satisfaction. They are creative. Without creativity, we miss life.

Content: Here, Arjuna has finished everything. His calculations are over. He has come down to the level of doubts. With questions, the tone is different. Questions demand proof from the master. Doubts are not like that. They are just asking for some tips. Arjuna has come to the level of complete acceptance of the master. That is why, throughout this chapter, Arjuna is silent. He is ready to imbibe the master. He is ready to take everything thrown to him.

Content: Q: You say that Arjuna has fallen silent. You imply Arjuna still has doubts. How does one differentiate whether one has doubts or questions? If we suppress doubts thinking they are questions, won't it create more confusion?

Content: Surely. Suppression is never the solution. If what one has are doubts, these need to be cleared. How does one differentiate between doubts and questions?

Content: Most of the time we do not listen to what someone says to us. The moment the other person opens his mouth, we wait impatiently for the opportunity to start talking. The space of listening is a preparation for us to rebut and refuse. It is not listening. It is preparation for war.

Content: If we care to listen, if we are going to listen, we must respect the other person. Only then can we pay attention to what he is saying. We must accept that the other person has something valuable to say. If you do not believe that whatever the other person has to say will be valuable, then don't waste your time listening. Do something more productive.

Content: If we care and if we listen without mental or physical interruption, we will internalize whatever is said. If internalization happens, even if we do not agree with what has been said, there will be no violence inside. Therefore, there will be no questions.

Content: You may wonder why the person says something different from what you have experienced or feel. There will be curiosity to learn, to understand. You will want to know the other's perspective. You will not judge and condemn.

Content: You may doubt. When you doubt, you emerge with a desire to learn. When you question, you emerge with a desire to teach. When you doubt, you have an open mind. When you question, you have a closed mind.

Content: In my early days of teaching, a board outside the discourse hall read: 'Please leave your shoes and minds outside.' When you bring a full mind inside, a mind that overflows with the arrogance of your knowledge, what results is intellectual violence. Nothing will be allowed inside. What is the point of coming in?

Content: When you sit in front of me with an open mind, my energy senses your questions and if you are aware you will find answers. When your mind is closed, you prepare questions without paying attention to what I say. When you truly listen, questions dissolve.

Content: There may still be curiosity to learn why I say what I say without the violence to disprove what I am saying. You have digested what I said and you are hungry for more. You have doubts. These doubts seem to arise from your inner self. The truth is that the answers are also present in your inner self. You just need to seek. The answer to all your questions is within you.

Chapter Number: 15.1

Content: Bhagavān says, 'It is said that there is an imperishable banyan tree whose roots are on the outside; leaves and branches are under the earth. The leaves are said to be the vedic hymns. He who knows this tree knows the Vedas.'

Chapter Number: 15.2

Content: The branches of this tree extend below and above the earth, nourished by the three human attributes, guṇas. Its buds are the sense objects. This tree also has roots going down and these are bound to the resultant actions of humans.

Content: Krishna refers to the causal body as the banyan tree. This is a continuation of the previous chapter. Chapters 14 to 17 are interconnected. They are connected discourses. In Chapter 14, Guṇatraya Vibhāga Yoga, yoga of the division of the three guṇa (attributes), Krishna speaks about the first four layers of our being. In this chapter, Puruṣottama Yoga, yoga of the supreme Self, He refers to the fifth layer.

Content: Seven energy layers surround us. I talk about this in great detail in the Nithyananda Spurana Program (NSP) also called Life Bliss Program - Level 2. In this four-day course, the participants are taken through the experience that they will face at the time of death. At this time, the spirit traverses seven layers of energy that surround it before it leaves the body-mind complex. The seven layers are: physical, pranic, mental, subtle, causal, cosmic and nirvanic layers.

Content: The first layer is our physical body, the body with flesh and bones. The other layers are components of our being. The totality of the seven layers is our body-mind-spirit system. The second layer is the pranic body, the body that controls air

Content: movements inside our physical body. It controls prāṇa, apāna, udāna, vyāna and samāna (various air movements inside the body).

Content: In the previous chapter, Krishna explains that this layer is filled with desires. He further explains how we create contradicting desires and suffer. Self-contradicting desires leave us in rajas (restlessness). They make us suffer and force us into tamas (inactivity or depression).

Content: The fifth layer is the causal body. It is where all saṁskāras, our embedded memories, are stored in seed form.

Content: Every night we enter the causal body in deep sleep. We take saṁskāras out from this layer and create the world.

Content: In this chapter Krishna reveals the secrets of this layer. In the previous chapter, Krishna explained how to use the power of desire energy. Desire is also energy. That energy is abused by creating self-contradicting desires. Self-contradicting desires put us into restlessness. After that, if we don't correct ourselves, we fall into depression. He gave techniques to clear self-contradicting desires.

Content: A few desires are our own. These are desires born out of our vāsanās, the mindset that we carry over from previous births. These are also referred to as prārabdha karma, karma we are born into this body with. These desires carry their own energy for fulfillment, as they are the basic needs and purpose with which we were born.

Content: The universe blesses us with the power to meet all our real needs. As Mahavira, the founder of the Jain religion says, when we are born on this planet we are sent with all that we need. However, once here, we accumulate other desires. These desires are the wants that we borrow from others by comparing, copying and envying others.

Content: Ramana Maharshi says, 'This universe can fulfill the needs of all its inhabitants; but it cannot fulfill the wants of even a single person.' How true!

Content: When desires are borrowed, when they are based on coveting other people's belongings, there will be a serious contradiction between our wants and needs. Fulfillment of our needs gives happiness, true joy. That is why a poor man eats his simple meal of roti and dal (bread and curry) with such gusto.

Content: Chasing wants, borrowed desires, causes sorrow. Have you ever seen a rich man eat with true happiness? His accumulated wealth invariably gives him ulcers,

Content: diabetes, heart disease and many other problems so that he needs to have a designer diet. He needs personal trainers and dieticians to keep him fit and healthy.

Content: Desires are caused by saṁskāras, deeply embedded memories of experiences and sense perceptions. Saṁskāras are stored in our unconscious mind layer. Over ninety percent of what we perceive through our senses is stored in the unconscious. Our mind finds it difficult to cope with even the remaining ten percent of sensory inputs that are fed into its conscious realm. Imagine what would happen if it were one hundred percent!

Content: Embedded memories, saṁskāras, drive our actions. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says, ‘We are our desires. Desires shape our will. Our will shapes our actions. Actions make us what we are.’

Content: We do not realize that these desires are not the true desires that carry energy to be fulfilled. They are simply picked up from others based jealousy and comparison. But for the most part, our saṁskāras define us.

Content: Now Krishna moves on to the next layer, where saṁskāras are stored in the seed form. Even if we move beyond the three layers of desire, restlessness and depression, these saṁskāras in seed form (called bīja saṁskāra, bīja meaning seed) need to be cleared.

Content: Krishna speaks of techniques to destroy these saṁskāras. These may not express themselves in us right now. Yet if they are allowed to be there in seed form, at one time or another, they will exploit us.

Content: In an office, some files are on the table, some are in the archives, while others are in the safety vault. The previous three layers are like the office table and archived material. This causal layer is the office safety vault. The next two layers are the external vaults. In the previous chapter, Krishna explains techniques to clear the table. Now He gives techniques to empty the office safety vault.

Content: Krishna says, ‘The roots of the tree are on the outside; the branches are inside.’ From the causal body, if the roots are taken to be outside, it should be in the earlier three layers ending with the physical body. In a tree, the roots feed nutrients to the tree. The tree takes water and minerals through the roots. The roots decide the condition and growth of a tree. That is why Krishna says the roots of the tree are in the physical body. The tree of saṁskāra is watered by the five senses of the physical body and our actions. The saṁskāras in seed form in the causal body are formed and watered by the five senses of the physical body.

Content: Krishna further says that the leaves are the vedic hymns and one who knows the tree is knower of the Vedas. He says saṁskāras are the vedic hymns, the mantras. Mantras are defined as manasasya sthiraha iti mantraḥ, whatever controls or stabilizes the mind, or manaḥ trāyate iti mantraḥ, that which redeems the life of man.

Content: Words that are settled in our inner selves pave our road. Words expressed or coming out when we are alone, are the saṁskāras printed in the causal body. Our lives revolve them.

Content: Words are double-edged swords. Whatever words we use to offend others settle in our inner self. They emerge whenever they find a chance to push out of our inner self. No man is intelligent enough to use harsh words on others and smooth words inside. It is an unconscious action. That is why, in ancient Indian society, the usage of harsh words was controlled by various customs.

Content: Our mind is constantly occupied in inner chatter. Eventually we express part of this chatter in words. Part of it we suppress for fear of societal repercussions. We do not express what we fear would hurt others or what might be unacceptable to others. All these words settle deep inside our manipūraka cakra, the navel energy center, which is the seat of words.

Content: There are words we feel comfortable using based on our position relative to the listener. We may say harsh things to subordinates, spouses, children and others whom we think we control. We dare not dream of saying those words to superiors and strangers. Words that are harsh, whether expressed externally or internally, settle down within us. What goes out also goes in. These settle within our navel energy center. Both expressed and unexpressed words build our bank of saṁskāras.

Content: I have mentioned before about the book, The Hidden Messages in Water. In it the Japanese scientist Dr. Masaru Emoto, talks about experiments with water. Emoto filled several bottles with ordinary tap water. He placed labels on the bottles with words such as love, hate, fear, worry, trust, faith, surrender, children, enemies, Koran, Bible, etc. He spoke to each bottle several minutes a day on the subject written on the label. For example, he spoke of love and with love to the bottle with the 'love' label. To the bottle labeled 'fear', he spoke of fear and with fear.

Content: After a month or so, he froze the water in these bottles. He looked at these ice crystals through powerful microscopes. To his amazement, the crystals reflected whatever he had spoken to that particular water sample.

Content: Ice crystals from the water labeled 'love' shone brilliantly as if they were diamonds. Ones from the bottles labeled 'fear' looked ghostly and misshapen.

Content: Amazingly, the crystals from the bottle labeled 'Koran', to which he spoke from the Holy Koran, seemed to contain the image of the Holy Kaaba shrine at Mecca.

Content: Emoto then froze polluted industrial water and studied the crystals. As expected, these looked terrible. He invited Buddhist monks to direct their prayer energy to these bottles. When he analyzed the crystals of the energized water, these crystals looked like diamonds, exquisite and sparkling.

Content: Emoto concluded that words and thoughts influence natural elements such as water. Our scriptures support his findings. There is an important corollary to his findings. The human body is made up of nearly eighty percent water. Therefore, every word we speak affects us and affects those who listen to them or at whom they are directed. The same effect happens with thoughts.

Content: One who understands this can influence other people through his thoughts and words, perhaps more effectively than through his actions. Even we do not know how our thoughts and words influence and affect other people; they may not be as focused and effective, but they will still affect others and us.

Content: For those in business and corporate life, communication is the key to success. Communication is not about our facility with language. It is not about the accent we cultivate. It is not about how fluently we speak. Communication is expressing what we feel. If our feelings and thoughts are negative, however much we try to hide these, our words or body language reveal the inner feelings and motives.

Content: Someone who practices and masters the art of using only positive words automatically develops positive thoughts. These two are interconnected. Sometimes it is difficult to develop positive thoughts about certain people and situations. However, if we constantly change the negative words that we use to express our feelings into positive ones, our attitude towards others changes.

Content: In business, this leads to money. When practiced sincerely in personal relations, this brings happiness. The basis of this is simple. We cannot say a word without visualizing the object. The moment we say 'cow', our mind visualizes the animal that we call a cow. Try saying 'cow' while thinking about an elephant. Even if it is not impossible, it makes us definitely uncomfortable.

Content: Similarly, when we use negative adjectives to describe a person or situation, a picture crops up on our mental screen. With practice and awareness, we can erase that word before it surfaces with respect to that particular person and situation. As the word changes, our mental image changes.

Content: In this area, we have good news as well as bad news. The good news is that at any time we can reorganize our causal body. The bad news is that our present negativity is responsible for any suffering that we go through.

Content: A woman telephoned her husband at his office. Her husband explained that he was too busy to talk. The wife said, 'It won't take long. I have one piece of good news and one bit of bad news.'

Content: Her husband replied, 'Tell me the good news because the bad news can be handled later.'

Content: She said, 'I have just discovered that the airbag in our car is working perfectly.'

Content: The bad news was obviously that she had had an accident; that is why the airbag in the car went into operation!

Content: Every piece of good news has hidden bad news. So we have good news and bad news about the causal body.

Content: Krishna further states that one who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas. He says one who has the knowledge that saṁskāras, which constitute the causal body, are the result of the five senses, knows the Vedas or has the knowledge of life's guiding force.

Content: The water a tree receives through its roots mainly decides the condition of the tree. If good water and manure are available, the tree flourishes. The leaves will be green. If poison is poured on it, the tree sheds its leaves and slowly dies.

Content: This tree of saṁskāras, which is in the causal body, lives mainly due to the five senses. Krishna uses the word aśvattha which also means that which is transient, that which is not today as it was yesterday and which will not be tomorrow as it is today. It refers to material life where nothing is what it seems to be. Everything is temporary; as Buddha says 'aniccha,' impermanent.

Content: Life, as people say, is not unreal. If it were truly unreal, we would not be able to experience it. The fact that we experience material life and seem to enjoy it, even if temporarily, means it is real. It is unreal to the extent that whatever we experience is transient and impermanent.

Content: Unreal does not mean nonexistent. If something is nonexistent, we cannot perceive it or experience it, even temporarily. Even a dream is real. We say dreams are unreal, but we cannot deny that we experience dreams. People recollect some dreams vividly. How can dreams be unreal? However, it is a fact that we do not have self-awareness while dreaming.

Content: Once we become aware, we wake up from the dream. It has never happened that a lion or a murderer chasing a person has caught that person in a dream. It may happen in a movie, but not in real life. As soon as we are threatened, as soon as we become aware of ourselves, we wake up and the dream ends.

Content: Dreams are not unreal in the sense that they are nonexistent; they are unreal to the extent that we are unaware. In the same manner, sages tell us that we are unaware even when we are awake. 'Jagrat, jagrat,' they say, 'wake up, wake up.' They do not ask us to wake up from sleep. They ask us to wake up from our unaware wakefulness into an aware wakefulness.

Content: Aśvattha signifies this state of unawareness. To understand this unawareness produced by our senses and directed by our saṁskāras, is to gain knowledge, the Vedas. Krishna goes on to explain more about this state of unawareness.

Content: Krishna says the roots go upwards as well as downwards. He says the leaves of the tree are decided by the tricks of the five senses and the resultant action of mankind. The roots are not only in the physical body, but also in the action. Krishna says the tree is deeply rooted because the action of the entire mankind is always result-oriented. It is always guided by greed and fear.

Content: The aśvattha tree, the banyan tree, is like a human body. Its roots, like in a human being, are above, like our hair. The hair is said to be a channel to draw in cosmic energy. Our limbs, hands and legs are like branches of the banyan tree. The human system is truly upside down!

Content: Krishna gives a beautiful tip to clear the saṁskāras. If we are not guided by greed and fear, if our actions are not result-oriented, no saṁskāras will be created. If you serve selflessly for at least half an hour a day, it will do you a lot of good.

Content: While doing service, don't plan anything. Don't even plan to have a group of volunteers do the service. Just do any work that you can do. It may seem silly and a waste of time. But at a later date, this time alone will be felt as purposeful. If your service is fueled by greed or fear, you may end up in a mess and be a nuisance to others, too.

Content: There are three interlinked elements in the karmic cycle. Vāsanās are the mental attitudes, the essence that the human spirit carries with it as it moves from body to body. Imagine for a moment that we are all bubbles on a white space. Let us imagine that these bubbles are circles drawn with a colored pen on a white paper. The colored circumferential lines are our body-minds, our boundaries.

Content: The space inside the circles, or the bubbles, is the same as the white space that is outside. This white space is energy. Outside, it is the cosmic energy; inside, it is our life energy.

Content: When we die, the colored lines are erased. The energy inside becomes one with the energy outside. Matter perishes into energy. This is death. It is the shift from one state to another.

Content: One small difference exists though. Each individual white space is slightly colored by its vāsanā, its mindset. When the spirit goes into the cosmic space, it remains separated from the cosmic space by this shade or essence of vāsanā; the spirit then seeks a body-mind to suit the particular mindset with which it left the previous body. This is how rebirths are determined.

Content: Vāsanā is like a seed. It is subtle. If we have insight, we can see the potential plant inside a seed. In fact, British scientists were shocked when they photographed a rose plant without flowers and found that the photograph contained impressions of flowers yet to come!

Content: There is no vāsanā in an enlightened person. Consequently, when he leaves the body-mind system at death he fully merges into the cosmic energy without any separation. Thus, he has no rebirth.

Content: For the rest of humanity, vāsanās carry over into a new body. This mindset creates the saṁskāras as the new body-mind develops. Experiences of the new body-mind allow carried-over vāsanās to bloom into saṁskāras. If vāsanā is a seed, saṁskāra is a plant. Finally, saṁskāras drive us into action. This action is karma.

Content: No Questions, Only Doubts

Content: 203

Content: BRAHMAN

Content: ATMAN

Content: Karma is the fully-grown tree born out of the seed of vāsana, which first grew into the plant called saṁskāra. Vāsanas are also called ‘bīja karma’ or karmic seeds.

Content: To understand, imagine that a woman sees a pair of shoes in a store window while shopping in a mall. At first, it may be a curious glance. However, if she is attracted to it, she will look a few more times. A seed is sown in her mind to possess that pair of shoes. That is vāsana, the seed.

Content: After a few looks, her mind tells her how elegant she will look in those shoes and how she will be a hit at next weekend’s party. A picture forms in her mind. She has now developed a strong desire. This is the saṁskāra working. The plant has grown from the seed.

Content: Finally, she buys the shoes. She is convinced she cannot do without them. This is action; this is karma, the tree.

Content: The first week after the party, she wears the shoes on all occasions. Over the next two weeks the attraction wears off and she wears them less often. Soon, the shoes are discarded under the stairs, not to be looked at again. Then she sees another pair of shoes!

Content: The saṁskāra cycle and karmic cycle go on and on. As long as the desires are unfulfilled, they reappear. The saṁskāras remain to reappear again. If all we can afford is one pair of shoes, our desire will be fulfilled with one pair; that will be our mindset. Our saṁskāras for shoes will not bother us. We enjoy what we get. We do not hanker after the getting, without ever enjoying it fully.

Content: This is why business tycoons are never satisfied no matter how much they achieve. How big is big? Business theory says that that which does not grow will shrink and die. Therefore, there is this constant struggle to expand. As long as the business objective is selfish, be it of benefit to the owner or the shareholders, final satisfaction in terms of achievement is elusive. The greed to acquire and build generates attitudes and behavior that are selfish and harmful to others. That is why corporations have earned notoriety for their disregard for public welfare and environment.

Content: If corporate goals were to become more open, inclusive and of greater benefit to society and the world, corporate saṁskāras would dissolve, just as selflessness benefits an individual in dissolving saṁskāras!

Content: Selfish desires when met can never give fulfillment. They are food for our ego and they serve no universal cause.

Content: A small story: The boy scouts in a school were required to do one act of social service daily and report it to their scoutmaster. Three boys jointly said that they helped an elderly lady cross the street. The master was not able to understand. 'Helping an old lady cross the road is a good service, but it does not require three boys. One is sufficient. Why three of you?' The master was puzzled. The boys said, 'No sir, it was a job for three of us, because the old lady did not want to cross the street. We had to carry her!' Systemized service often leads to such a situation. So don't plan anything. Just do service anywhere. Then the service you do will infuse enormous power into your being. For at least half an hour a day do something selflessly. I tell my devotees to contribute service to the mission for at least half an hour a day. This service is meditation. It inculcates the spirit of collective consciousness and lays the path to realizing the divinity underlying the service. Bhagavan says, 'karmānubandhīni manuṣya loke.' All our actions revolve around results. So, at least in this service, don't think of dollars or fame. Don't plan to impress. Don't plan to make your presence felt. Do the work for its own sake. Even when we do so-called philanthropic or charitable work, we must be careful not to bind ourselves to the results of our actions. People ask, 'What is the point in meditation when the rest of the world suffers?' If we can genuinely feel the suffering of humanity and wish to do work to help that suffering, that is good. However, we must have the sense of this extended consciousness to feel this compassion. Mostly we do charitable work based on notions of earning brownie points that will do us good in our afterlife, whether we believe in rebirth or not. Or we would like to see ourselves in the media and feel good. It fulfills our need for attention either in this world or in another world after death. There is no concept of sin or merit on the spiritual path. No one, neither a Chitragupta nor a Saint Peter stands at the Pearly Gates enquiring whether you have done your necessary quota of charity work down below. When you work, whether it is charitable as you and society define it, or commercial and mercenary, as long you do it with no expectation of results, your actions will be selfless. These actions are not motivated by fear and greed. They will not result in the hangover of saṁskāras.

Content: This may seem difficult for the intellect to accept. When individuals and corporations embark upon philanthropic activities, they measure the success of their input, whether in terms of money or effort, by what has been achieved. Objectives need to be well defined, budgets need to be created, results need to be analyzed and the course must be corrected.

Content: Yet, there is a way in which the process is defined and not the results. When a defined process is followed, results naturally follow. If we follow the right path, we reach the right destination. It takes courage to believe and implement this. It takes courage to say that we will work without expecting rewards. It takes a truly confident person to accept that what is important is 'doing' and not 'doership' and that status is not as important as the state of doing.

Content: If we are able to accept this, we will find a true liberation within ourselves. A load will be lifted from our shoulders. The anxiety of constantly looking over our shoulder to peep into the future will be gone. We look at past results to define what needs to be done for the future. This so-called course correction is of no value since conditions in the future may be different from what prevailed in the past.

Content: What needs to be done is focus on the present, define a path and a process and ensure that the process is followed. If this is done with awareness, results will follow.

Content: Q: We have been told that charitable activity is good. I am confused when you say charity is not always good. Please explain.

Content: Understand the meaning of charity. Charity must arise from selfless causes. In Sanskrit the word for wealth is dān and for charity dān. Giving up wealth and material possessions is charity.

Content: Charity cannot be giving up what you can afford to give up. That is not charity. It is a matter of convenience. Charity cannot be for tax deductions. It is then business. Charity cannot be for getting your name and face in newspapers. That is pure ego boosting. Charity needs to be unselfish and anonymous. Charity cannot arise from feelings of 'mine' and 'I'.

Content: Charity is something that you cannot afford to give and yet you give. Charity is treating the next person and the person after him as yourself and sharing what you

Content: have with them. True charity arises from expanded consciousness. It happens when you believe that the world is your family, Vasudaiva kutumbakam.

Content: A beautiful story from the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata:

Content: A mongoose went to check out Yudhishtira's rājasūya yāga - a celebrative fire ritual. This was the celebration ritual after the Pandava princes won the war. The mongoose was golden in half its body. After rolling over the ashes of the fireplace, the mongoose declared the ritual to be useless.

Content: The startled princes asked why. The mongoose said that half its body had become golden when it rolled over sprinkled flour on the floor at the house of a poor brāhmaṇa family. The family had given all their food to a guest and starved to death.

Content: Ever since, the mongoose had been visiting sacrificial sites hoping to make the rest of its body golden.

Content: The greatest ritual of the greatest ruler on earth could not do this. It did not match the simple sacrifice of the poor brāhmaṇa family that gave away what it had at the cost of the life of its members.

Content: This is charity. Charity can have no expectations. When you can walk away from all that is precious to you so that it benefits someone in greater need, you are charitable. When you get nothing in return and yet you are happy, you are charitable. Otherwise, whatever you do is just another business deal.

Chapter Number: 15.3

Content: 15.3 The real form of this tree cannot be perceived. No one can understand where it ends, where it begins, or where its foundation is. But with determination one must cut down this strongly rooted tree with the weapon of detachment.

Chapter Number: 15.4

Content: 15.4 One must then seek that place from which having gone, one never returns, and surrender to the supreme Being from whom all activities started in ancient times.

Content: Krishna speaks further about the causal body where saṁskāras are stored. He is an extraordinary scientist. A scientist can honestly search for the truth; he can give up his own faith and belief for the cause of this search and is courageous enough to express the secrets, which he discovers step-by-step.

Content: We see these qualities in Krishna. He is honest in His expression or search. He is ready to give up His small understandings for the bigger truth. He is ready to give up yesterday's truth for today's updated intelligence.

Content: We can't wait for a train by looking at last year's timetable. Krishna continuously updates Himself. Lastly, He is courageous to open up the secrets in public. He is not worried about copyright and intellectual property rights.

Content: The ancient vedic society in India believed that knowledge was free. The idea of copyright did not exist. Krishna is courageous enough to open up all the secrets.

Content: He beautifully says, 'narūpamasyeha tatopalabhyate.' No one can perceive the real form of this tree. No one can understand where it begins, where it ends or where its foundation is. However, with determination one should cut down this tree with the weapon of strong will and detachment.

Content: No one can see what one has stored in one's causal body. It is like Pandora's Box. All the saṁskāras stored in the causal layer reveal themselves one by one. When we erase four of them, ten will surface. What is inside nobody knows. Only one thing is possible. All the saṁskāras can be cut by a strong will of detachment. With a strong will, with intelligence, the entire causal layer can be cleared.

Content: People ask a master to show them how to get rid of saṁskāras. Only strong will and intelligence can do that. Do we ask the master's help to take our hands out of the fire? No! We know fire burns. So we withdraw our hands immediately. We ask the master only because the understanding is not there.

Content: If the understanding is present, right action follows. If right action does not happen, be very clear that the understanding has not happened. Similarly, saṁskāras are dangerous. All that is needed is intelligence and a strong will of detachment.

Content: Krishna explains that after cutting the tree of saṁskāras, surrender to the space of eternal silence, from where there is no coming back. This is the space in which the whole of Existence is established.

Content: Freud and Jung based a lot of analytical work on the concept of identity or ego, parts of the brain and the body-mind system. I use these terms differently from psychologists and as synonyms. Identity is a collection of memories that define your belief of who you are. Identity or ego shapes your personality. All our decisions are driven by our personality, which in turn is the collection of memories, beliefs and values.

Content: Almost all the information stored by the identity is in the unconscious regions of the mind. We do not know what is stored here. Ninety percent or more of our sensory perceptions are stored in our unconscious mind. We will go mad if all this information is grasped by our conscious brain.

Content: One's identity is the collection of one's saṁskāras, past memories and desires that are stored in the unconscious mind. This is in the causal layer of our energy. Through deep and focused meditation, we can access this unconscious causal layer and dissolve the saṁskāras stored here. Once done, we no longer return as the same person. We are free of saṁskāras and liberated.

Content: During the Nithyananda Spurana Program, the LBP Level 2, we meditate upon this causal layer using darkness as the guiding force. Metaphorically, this represents the unconscious that we are normally unaware of.

Content: The spirit that leaves the body goes through a comatose state when it passes through this causal body layer. As long as the spirit has not crossed this layer, it can return to the body. This is the power of saṁskāras. These engraved memories or desires can pull the spirit back. That is why sometimes after many years in a coma, people return to consciousness. They are pulled back by unfulfilled desires. However, once the spirit crosses the causal layer, it cannot return to the body. It must move on to the next layer, the cosmic layer.

Content: Once we access this point of dissolution of saṁskāras and move on to the cosmic layer, we no longer operate unconsciously at the behest of our stored memories. We move into a state of intuition, as opposed to our earlier state of instinct. We are no longer in an ignorant wakeful state, but in the truly awakened state of consciousness.

Content: Numerous techniques are used to unlock the unconscious: hypnosis, mind control, visualization and so on. When we play with the unconscious, or subconscious as it is also termed, we are truly playing with the unknown. When we explore in this region without the support and awareness of meditation, we often experience results that we didn’t expect and are not equipped to manage. That is why it is said, be careful what you wish for, it may come true.

Content: Subconscious or unconscious activation of the mind without awareness has disturbing results. When studying the alarming increase of adults blaming parents for childhood sexual trauma, many accusations were found to be untrue; they were the result of psychiatrists planting these ideas into clients while treating them. Hypnosis may or may not discover hidden truths; however, in the wrong hands, it can plant harmful memories in the unconscious.

Content: Bringing awareness into the unconscious through the super-conscious meditative route is the only correct way to dissolve accumulated saṁskāras.

Content: Q: You say that your use of the term 'ego' is synonymous to Freud's usage but not the same. Please explain.

Content: I am no expert on Freud. He studied many mentally ill people and formed conclusions which he applied to everyone. His theories have misled a lot of people. I wish he had studied enlightened people to arrive at a balance instead of basing his conclusions upon disturbed individuals.

Content: Freud and his contemporary, Carl Jung, talk about id, ego and superego. Originally these were referred to as 'It,' 'I' and the 'Over-I' in German. These words 'id' and 'ego' are not Freud's words. They are the words of translators.

Content: According to Freud, 'id' or 'It' was about instinct-based pleasures. It was about the primal emotions of fear and greed. It is mostly the unconscious. Superego or 'Over-I' is the conscience based upon societal, religious and political conditioning and conditioning, a sort of controlling father figure. It is the societal morality that governs us. Ego or 'I' is the self, the identity that mediates between the id and the superego. Ego according to Freud is partly conscious and partly unconscious. This is a simple explanation.

Content: Actually, the expression of ego may be conscious, but what drives this expression is the unconscious. You can use any word you want, but the master uses 'ego' to represent not merely the 'I' but also the 'mine'. Together they form what you think you are. Many of us think that the concept of 'mine' arises from the realization of 'I'. No. Your first needs are the survival and pleasure needs that define your 'mine'. These arise from the mūlādhāra cakra - the base energy center.

Content: Based on what you see as your possessions, you define your identity. You decide what you wish to be. The expression of 'I' starts from your svādiṣṭhāna cakra. So 'Mine' is about greed, arising from mūlādhāra. 'I' is about fear and insecurity, arising from svādiṣṭhāna.

Content: A master refers to 'ego' as a combination of 'mine' and 'I'. Ego has two faces, the outer face and the inner face; ahaṅkāra and mamakāra. What you project to others as to who you are is who you wish to be for the outer world. This is ahaṅkāra. This is projected as more than what you are. You are yourself an illusion. Ahaṅkāra is a greater illusion.

Content: Mamakāra is who you inwardly think you are. You always underestimate yourself. You may say, 'That is not true, I have high self-esteem.' That self-esteem, is most of the time born out of insecurity. It is a defensive wall against society. You become a prisoner behind that wall. It starts to breed only subtle violence.

Content: If you truly had high self-esteem, wouldn't you accept that you are God? Why not? I say that you are divine. My mission is to prove to you that you are God, not to establish that I am God.

Content: Instead you believe your religion that calls you a sinner. Do you understand what sin is? Sin is ignorance. It is ignorance of the truth that you are divine, that you are God. Society and religion don't allow you to realize that because if you do, they cannot have much control over you.

Content: Religions wish to rule you through fear and greed. Fear of hell and greed of heaven are the tools of stick and carrot that they use to manipulate you. Society likes that because without such controls, you will be unmanageable. You will be too free.

Content: So they condition you from birth. They are the superego, the Over-I, the Big Brother watching over you so that you are under their control. The conditioning that they impose on you through parents, elders and environment, create saṁskāras in you. You are kept in bondage by these saṁskāras.

Content: In this chapter Krishna explains the nature of this bondage and how you can break away and become liberated.

Chapter Number: 15.5

Content: 15.5 Those who are free from pride, delusion, and attachment, those who dwell in the Self, who are done with lust, who are free from the dualities of joy and sorrow, who are not confused, and who know how to surrender to the supreme person, attain the eternal consciousness.

Chapter Number: 15.6

Content: 15. 6 That supreme space of eternal consciousness, My consciousness, is not illuminated by the Sun or the Moon, or by fire. Those who enter that space never return to this material world.

Content: Krishna explains the same truth again at a deeper level. He had expressed the same idea in earlier chapters. But Arjuna was unable to understand. At that time, Arjuna was in the questioning mood. In the questioning mood, we miss the whole subject and are busy preparing questions. Now that mood has gone and there are only doubts, no questions. With doubt, the disciple is open. He is open with his being waiting for the master to flow into him. Arjuna is ready to imbibe Krishna. He is waiting for the master's words. His inner chatter has ceased so there are no more questions. He now has the inner space and awareness to receive Krishna. That is why he is now able to understand.

Content: Zen Buddhism calls it a koan, a riddle of sorts. Just one word is given. One famous Zen koan goes like this: 'What is the sound of one hand clapping?' Another says: 'What was your face before your mother and father were born?' Disciples meditate upon these koans and return to the master with answers. The master gives them a whack on their back and sends them on their way. Ultimately they experience the sound of one hand clapping. There is no expressed answer to a koan, only an experience.

Content: Here Krishna says, 'Those who are free from pride, delusion, and attachment, those who dwell in the Self, who are done with lust, who are free from the dualities of joy and sorrow, who are not confused, and who know how to surrender to the supreme person, attain the eternal consciousness.'

Content: What wonderful usage of words!

Content: He does not say who have 'renounced' lust. No, because renunciation won't do. Vairāgya means beyond attachment and detachment. Rāga means attachment. Arāga means detachment. Virāga or vairāgya means beyond attachment and detachment. It is nonattachment.

Content: Till the age of seven, we are attached to toys. By age eight or nine we are forced to be detached from these. By twenty, most people are beyond attachment or detachment to children's toys. With detachment, we might have renounced it externally. But the inner urge for it prevails.

Content: That is why Krishna uses fitting words: Those who are 'done' with lust. In this state, we know what we can afford. We know it is there. We can use it or throw it away based on the need. Life is also like a toy. If this is fully understood, you will live like a king, not an ordinary materialistic king, but an enlightened king, a rājarṣi.

Content: This is a Zen koan. This is not for understanding. This is to be meditated upon. On meditating upon this technique, these characteristics will start flowering in you and give you a clear-cut idea about the causal body.

Content: Earlier, Krishna explained ways to erase saṁskāras. Now He speaks on the construction of a proper layer. It is about re-programming your causal layer.

Content: Krishna gives techniques for construction of the causal body.

Content: Krishna's words are like Zen koans. Actually Krishna uses the same words again. Not only words and expressions, He uses the same letters again. Earlier He used these words as advice. Now He uses same words as programming techniques. This chapter is about programming our causal layer; programming our saṁskāras. This program creates positive saṁskāras in our causal layer. As long as Arjuna was in the questioning mood, these same words were spelt out as advice. When he enters into the mood of doubts, he receives the same words as techniques. When the disciple is in a questioning mood, the master's words will be taken as advice. Only when the disciple stops questioning and starts listening, these same words will be techniques.

Content: With advice, you need keys to open the door. Techniques are the keys themselves. They are ready to open the door.

Content: Arjuna receives the gist of earlier chapters. He receives the juice in this chapter. In North Indian monasteries, this chapter is chanted before every meal. This 15th chapter must be chanted before meals, since this chapter is a programming tool of the inner space. The mere words of this chapter can do wonders in re-programming your causal layer.

Content: It takes less than five minutes to chant it. Anybody can do it. Don't worry about the meaning. If you understand the meaning, it is good. Yet, it is highly useful even if chanted without understanding. Repeating these words can program your causal layer. Especially, when you chant them in a mood of surrender, with due respect to the master, it directly touches the causal layer.

Content: Arjuna is completely in a receiving mood. He is fully tuned to the master. If the disciple is completely tuned to the master, Existence helps him through the master. Arjuna needs no explanations, no logic. He is ready to imbibe the master.

Content: Hence, Krishna utters the following words to program the causal layer. He gives techniques to create positive saṁskāras.

Content: He says:

Content: 'Those who are free from pride, delusion, and attachment, those who dwell in the Self, who are done with lust, who are free from the dualities of joy and sorrow, who are not confused, and who know how to surrender to the supreme person, attain eternal consciousness.'

Content: Lust is difficult for a man to shed. Even the greatest of sages have succumbed to lust. Lust is of the body and as long as body consciousness remains, lust will stay. Only a person who has gone beyond body consciousness can drop lust.

Content: A small story:

Content: A small boy went to a kids' movie with his parents. It was about a lion cub and other animals in a jungle. The boy was thoroughly enjoying it. Suddenly there was a scene where the lion cub was trapped by a hunter and became terrified.

Content: The boy was not able to bear this scene. He just jumped from his seat and ran down the hall towards the movie screen. He started throwing up his hands and legs as if in a fight with the hunter in the movie who was about to cage the

Content: lion cub. Soon the other animals in the jungle joined together and drove away the hunter and rescued the cub.

Content: The boy came back to his seat and proudly told his mother, 'See how I went first and all the animals followed me and we saved the cub!'

Content: Just as the boy thought that the movie was real, we believe that the input perceived by our senses is also real. We are caught in the māyā or illusion created by our senses. The most powerful illusion is the lust within us.

Content: Adi Shankaracharya says in the verses of Bhaja Govindam:

Content: nārī sthana bhara nābhī deśam dṛṣṭva mā kā mohāveśam etan māmsa vaśādī vikāram manasi vicintaya vāram vāram

Content: Bhaja Govindam is considered the essence of Vedānta, the end of knowledge. Here Shankara says: 'Do not be overcome by furious desires of delusion by looking at the breasts and the navel of women. Realize again and again that these are only flesh and will deteriorate.'

Content: Suppressing lust externally and not indulging in sex does not and will not make one enlightened. It only turns one insane. Celibacy of the body, without eliminating the fantasies of the mind, creates greater suffering than indulging in lust and sex. Enlightenment helps one transcend lust and sex by transcending the senses and attaining a no-mind state.

Content: The Sanskrit word brahmacari is often misunderstood and wrongly translated. This word comes from two words, Brahma and carya. Brahma is the Ultimate and true reality; carya means to walk or follow the path. One who follows the path of reality is a brahmacari.

Content: Time and again, this word has been taken to mean being a celibate because the first stage of one's life in the vedic period was brahmacarya. This was the period when a young boy or girl around the age of seven was placed in the care of a spiritual master, a guru. The master decided how the child should be educated based upon the child's aptitude.

Content: At seven, they were taught Gayatri mantra to stabilize their mind and focus it on the inner Self. Children stayed with the master through adolescence. Given the nature of their training and upbringing, they remained celibate. Thus the term brahmacarya acquired the meaning of celibacy.

Content: Based on their aptitude, these children followed different studies. Those who exhibited strong spiritual inclinations were taught śruti, the Veda, the Upanisad, the Brahma Sutra, etc. Those who were not so spiritually inclined, were trained to be householders and were taught the Kama Sutra.

Content: Kama Sutra is not and was not a sex manual. Vatsyayana, the author, was an enlightened master who wrote it when he was sixteen. Vatsyayana was enlightened at a young age and went to his mother and told her that he was enlightened. To his mother, he was still a child.

Content: She asked, ‘What do you mean you are enlightened?’

Content: Vatsyayana said, ‘Now I know everything.’

Content: His mother countered, ‘You are just a child. If you know so much, tell me about love and sex.’

Content: Vatsayana’s teaching to his mother about love and sex when he had no direct material experience of either is the Kama Sutra, the Bible for householders.

Content: An enlightened master transcends sex. He is genderless. He becomes an ardhanārīśvara, a man-woman, a person who expresses both traditionally male and female qualities or attributes. One key attribute of enlightenment is genderlessness.

Content: Krishna is direct. He does not believe in giving brain candy to keep you happy. He is brutally direct. He says, ‘He who has conquered lust.’ Lust is a primal emotion provided by nature for continuation of the species. Going beyond lust, conquering lust, is the first major step in realizing super-consciousness.

Content: Humans are forever confused between love and lust. They think only animals are lustful. Actually, only animals are capable of pure lust when they mate. Humans, with their rationalization, can neither be lustful nor loving. So, they are forever in the twilight zone, dissatisfied and unfulfilled.

Content: When a man and woman are capable of indulging in sex one hundred percent driven by pure lust, they will find that this lust will turn into love. For that, each needs to be immersed in the other. The act will then be an experience that expresses love.

Content: In ancient times, lust and sex left the householder around the age of forty because they had enjoyed these fully. When a desire is fully experienced it leaves your system. Do you know the mantras chanted at marriage? These days only the priests who conduct marriages get married, because only they understand the meaning! No one else does.

Content: In Saptapadi, the seven steps that the couple takes together after tying the wedding knot in Hindu marriage ceremonies, sacred mantras are chanted in front of the fire-witness wherein the wife says to the husband, 'Become my eleventh son' and the husband says to the wife, 'Become my eleventh daughter.' It means that in the eleventh year of marriage, their intimacy would be so great that they become each other's child! There is a deep intimacy; there is a wonderful relationship. These words were not poems. They were the guidelines for living.

Content: Now marital relationship has become a business for security or material benefits. You may live in the same home, but not in a homely way. You have to remove the imagination and dreams from your lust, both about your partner's body and your own body.

Content: Many of us are ashamed of our body. We hate it. All body pains and chronic skin diseases arise out of low self-esteem and disrespect to our body. We would like to be someone else. We stop staying within the boundary of our own skin, and fantasize about being someone else.

Content: Whenever we hear our name we think of our face, not our whole body, because we are not comfortable with our body. When we do not accept ourselves fully and copy someone else artificially, we can be beautiful at best, but never graceful. Grace comes from within.

Content: For the next few days, after bathing, watch your body with love. Feel comfortable. Our body oozes bliss all the time. Yet we feel only the pain. If we are relaxed with our body, our mind will not wander. Usually, when we are at home, our mind is in the office and when we are working, we wish we were at a party. Where our body is, our mind will not be.

Content: Also, we love someone as long as that person does what we say, as long he obeys us. A mother says, 'I loved my daughter deeply till she married someone not of my choice.' Is this love? It is slavery to our ego. As long as the daughter was an extension of the mother's ideology and personality, she felt love.

Content: Add friendliness to love. As of now, our love and lust are deep-rooted violence, to own the other person, to conquer the other person while he or she resists. It's a war. Instead, add friendliness to relationships. Welcome the partner as he or she is; do not just accept him or her. Welcome and accept the mind, body and being as it is.

Content: Are we friendly even to our own body? No, we are not. If we watch carefully, we disrespect and abuse our body. We stay up late and watch television even if our body cries out for sleep. We gorge ourselves on food even if our stomach is full. We smoke even if our lungs cry out. We drink ourselves to unconsciousness. We treat our body like a garbage dump. We are like the pig that shoves its nose into filth thinking it can escape the smell of the filth. We torture our body for what we feel is enjoyment.

Content: We are bothered about terrorism around the globe. Yet we ignore violence at home and violence against our own body. Sadism and masochism do not bother us, terrorism does. But we torture ourselves with guilt and others with our perfectionism. This is also violence, a subtle form of terrorism.

Content: A man once told me, 'My wife is a lawyer.' I asked, 'Does she go to court?' He replied, 'No, she argues at home.'

Content: Drop your imagination and dreams. Add friendliness towards yourself and others, towards their body, mind and being. Carry words that heal others. Carry your body in a way that heals others. Carry friendliness with you always. This is a spiritual process. Carry the grace and goodwill of Lakshmi instead of observing fasts and pūjā.

Content: The first time you approach others with friendliness, they may not receive you openly because of your past behavior. Persist and persevere. Don't stop even if others do not reciprocate. Carry on till others believe and reciprocate.

Content: Drop all imagination about your body, mind and being and those of others. Add friendliness towards yourself and others and persevere. Lust will turn to love. Your being will be in eternal bliss.

Content: Krishna says, 'That supreme space of eternal consciousness, My consciousness, is not illuminated by the sun or the moon, or by fire. Those who enter that space never return to this material world.'

Content: These words are not advice. They are for contemplation. Advice is the only thing everybody gives and nobody takes! Krishna gives these words to program our causal layer. These are words to contemplate, to meditate upon. They are the hymns to be meditated upon.

Content: In the Nithyananda Spurana Program, LBP Level 2, participants are guided through a meditation upon darkness while working on the causal layer. This darkness is not mere absence of light. It is energy.

Content: The causal layer of energy is the passage through which the spirit passes on its last leg before it leaves the material world. When the spirit is stuck in this causal layer, one is in coma. One can be stuck in this layer for a long time.

Content: When the physical body cannot bear the pain of the process of death, it escapes into coma. As long as the person is in coma, the spirit is in the causal layer of energy. This means that the spirit can return to its physical body from this causal layer at any time. That's why we come across people who have returned to life after years of being in coma.

Content: All near-death experiences, NDEs, are of people who return from the causal layer of energy. For various reasons, the spirit returns to the body it had left, before it reaches the no-return zone. Unlike a coma, this is a quicker journey and return.

Content: Those who go past the causal layer, this layer of energetic darkness, where neither the sun nor the moon shines, nor fire warms, progress onwards to the cosmic layer and then to the nirvanic layer, which signifies true liberation.

Content: One can meditate upon this technique, upon this truth expounded by Krishna, through the darkness meditation that teachers teach in some of our meditation programs. This meditation, which focuses on darkness, liberates one from the fear of death and the fear of loss of identity that causes the fear of death.

Content: Death is not an option. Death of the body is certain. Separation of the spirit from the body-mind is painful. Vivekananda says it is like a thousand scorpions stinging at once.

Content: At death the spirit leaves the body shell and merges into infinite energy. It then reappears in another shell, another body. As discussed earlier, it is like drawing circles on a whiteboard. The background is universal energy and the perimeters of the circles drawn are the bodies that envelop the individual spirit or self from universal energy or Self.

Content: When we erase these circles, the whiteness within the circles merges into the whiteness of the background. Individual self merges with universal Self. When the spirit is such that it has gone beyond attachment and lust and is constantly focused on the Self, then there is no return for that spirit into another body-mind complex. Else it returns.

Content: Krishna points out that the death of the body is a certainty, however, the death of the spirit is impossible. The spirit lives on. When the spirit is evolved it doesn't revert to a mental setup that it transcended in the previous birth, that's all.

Content: Q: Can Near-Death-Experiences lead to enlightenment?

Content: Near-Death-Experiences, NDEs, can be highly spiritual experiences, but they are not enlightenment experiences. You do not have to die or nearly die to become enlightened! On the other hand, when you become enlightened, you die in a different sense since you lose your past identity.

Content: Many people have such powerful NDEs, which are so different and shocking to their logical minds, that they go through a cognitive shift. This leads to a transformation in the way they think and act.

Content: Most NDEs follow a pattern. These people who have experienced them say that they float away from the body. They see themselves dying. If in an operating theatre, they see and hear what the doctors and nurses do and say. They see what they normally cannot from their position on the bed. Typically, they go through a dark space at the end of which they see light. The light is comforting. They experience no fear, just peace.

Content: Especially if they are medically trained, some see the gradual cessation of their body-mind functions. They may seek help if they are able to, but not out of any fear. They are happy to move towards whatever there is at the end of the dark tunnel.

Content: Depending on cultural and religious beliefs, they may see figures that seem to beckon them. Finally, they are told to go back. Or they are sent back. They feel themselves back in the body and they wake up.

Content: People lose their fear of death when they have NDE. Whatever they experienced gives them the faith that there is something more to life than mere material benefits. Many start believing in rebirth and reincarnation. The awareness develops that one is not bound by this body and mind and that we are all interconnected beyond body and mind. People develop more tolerance and pay more attention to relationships. They develop a greater belief in a superior being, a God.

Content: In our Life Bliss Programs, we take participants through meditations that replicate the death experience. Without having to go through an uncontrolled NDE, one can shed the fear of death through these meditations under safe and controlled conditions. Participants also go through identity dissolution experiences. They learn that there is more to life than possessions and acquisitions. They discover who they are and what they need to do in this life.

Content: Enlightenment is your natural state. You become enlightened when you understand who you truly are. In that sense, a NDE can direct a person towards the realization of one's Self and therefore, enlightenment.

Chapter Number: 15.7

Content: 15.7 The living entities in this conditioned material world are a portion of My eternal Self. In this conditioned material world they are attracted by the six senses, which include the mind, dwelling in prakrti, the active energy principle.

Chapter Number: 15.8

Content: 15.8 The spirit in the body-mind living in this material world moves from one body to another carrying these just as wind carries fragrance.

Content: Krishna uses a new word, 'conditioning'.

Content: Recent research tells us that human beings walk on two legs due to conditioning. A group of scientists recently found a seventeen-year-old boy in a forest. Wolves had raised him. The scientists tried to teach him how to walk on two legs and speak a few words. They were unable to do this and he died within a year.

Content: Man walking on two legs is due to conditioning. Everything we consider as human nature is nothing but conditioning.

Content: Zen Buddhism has a beautiful technique for de-conditioning. For twenty-one days, the aspirant has to remain in a room. He can eat and sleep. But he must throw away everything he has seen or heard from his mind. Nothing he has seen or heard should enter his mind. They say within twenty-one days he will be enlightened. It is a tough job. It is tough to be in such a position even for twenty-one minutes.

Content: Here Krishna says, 'conditioned world'. Everything is conditioning. Right and wrong, honor and dishonor, are all conditioning. We think of honor or dishonor because we are taught that way.

Content: We are conditioned. If a group of people give us a certificate and clap their hands, we take it as an honor. That is the way we are taught. But never judge yourself by others' applause. This idea of honor drives many people mad. Never accept the judgment of the crowd.

Content: A small story:

Content: Winston Churchill was delivering a lecture. About 10,000 people were listening. A press person asked Churchill what he felt about such a huge gathering. Churchill replied, 'Never judge my importance by the crowd. Today there are 10,000 persons. If you announce that I will be hung in public tomorrow, there will be 100,000 people. It will be a scene to be seen.'

Content: The crowd cannot decide right and wrong or honor and dishonor. Your integrity, your honesty to the truth, your depth of self-awareness alone can decide your worth.

Content: Here Krishna gives these meditation hymns to re-program your causal layer, your saṃskāra.

Content: Another small story:

Content: A Sufi mystic begged a king for a meal. The king shouted at him, 'Nobody here knows you.'

Content: The mystic laughed and said, 'Yes. I agree. Nobody here knows me. Yet I know myself. In your case, everybody knows you. However, you don't know yourself.'

Content: Only those who don't know themselves worry about others knowing them.

Content: After crossing the three layers and going beyond the causal layer, you enter a space where you are free from conditioning. May you be free from all conditioning!

Content: Krishna says:

Content: 'They are attracted by the six senses that include the mind.'

Content: There are five physical senses and the sixth sense is the mind. However, according to me, the mind is the only sense and the so-called five physical senses are slaves to it. The mind jumps around. If the mind can be handled, all the other five can be handled.

Content: A small story: Queen Madalasa gave birth to seven children. Each child became enlightened by the age of seven and moved out of the kingdom. Their father, the king, was puzzled. How did seven children in a row become enlightened? He probed into the issue and found that Madalasa had taught them one phrase, tat tvam asi (You are That). Just by internalizing tat tvam asi, their mental setup changed. They were cleared of saṃskāras in the causal layer. They became enlightened. Enlightenment is the removal of saṃskāras, the elimination of embedded memories, and the dissolution of conditioning. We return to our pure original state. This is why enlightenment is referred to as samādhi. The Sanskrit word samādhi means 'returning to the original state'. The spirit in the body-mind living in this material world, moves from one body to another carrying these saṃskāras just as the wind carries fragrance. saṃskāras in one body quit that body and take shelter in another. This continuous vicious cycle of movement of saṃskāras is what Krishna refers to as saṃsāra, the life-and-death cycle. Krishna says 'taking these'. What does He mean by 'these'? In the previous verse, Krishna talked about the six senses, including the mind. He refers to them here. When the spirit leaves one body and moves to another body, it carries the six senses, the five physical senses and the mind, in the same way as the wind carries fragrances. Just as the wind carries fragrances, consciousness carries saṃskāras, causal level imprints, from body to body. Krishna answers a frequently asked question about sin. People ask whether sins come with them from one birth to another. Sins never follow. Only imprints travel. For example, if a man commits one hundred murders, the quantity will not follow, but the basic mentality of violence accompanies and tortures him. Only the mental setup is carried. The concept of karma is often used to justify actions, by saying, 'It is our karma,' 'It is our fate,' 'It is our destiny, what can be done?,' 'Whatever had to happen has happened.' This is pure fabrication and justification of our negative deeds. We have the freedom to act: the free will to decide and act. Ironically, only an enlightened master has no freedom. Enlightened masters are driven by Parāśakti's will; they are guided by Her, that universal power, into doing what they must do.

Content: Understand: I cannot take a single step on my own. My limbs move in accordance with Her wishes.

Content: The ordinary human being is in control of his destiny. All that nature provides are paths in our lives and we choose the path we travel by. We decide the path. What drives us into taking one fork or another is vāsana, the 'smell' that the spirit carries. It is the subtle imprint of our past actions, saṁskāras and karmas. It is not definitive or predestined.

Content: We have the choice to redefine that vāsana, that smell, into either a stink or a wonderful fragrance. It is in our hands only. Whether we wish to travel in the same merry-go-round or decide to break out and walk free is our decision.

Content: Ramakrishna beautifully says that the soul travels from one body to another like we move from one room to another. When He left His physical body, His wife Sarada Devi was about to remove her jewelry. (Traditional Hindu families never allow a widow to wear jewels, especially the sacred thread signifying marital status, and bracelets.)

Content: Just as she was about to remove the sacred thread, Ramakrishna appeared and told her not to remove it. He said, 'Where have I gone? Just to another room. Don't remove your jewelry.'

Content: From that time till her end, Sarada Devi followed His words. This may seem easier today. But in those days, in an orthodox Hindu family in a small village, it was not so. She was highly courageous.

Content: Someone who leaves all social conditioning, who sheds all saṁskāras in his causal layer, moves from body to body as easily as moving from one room to another.

Content: We create big buildings. We accumulate a good bank balance. We have friends. Just as we start enjoying life, suddenly death appears before us. We fear death only because it takes everything away from us. If we are unattached, if our causal layer is not filled with saṁskāras, if we are not gripped by social conditioning, we will not fear death. We know it is like moving from one room to another.

Content: As Krishna says elsewhere, 'It is like changing one dress for another.'

Content: In one of his parables, Ramakrishna says:

Content: An ascetic who was deep into tantric practices went into a forest to worship the divine Mother. He placed all the ritualistic instruments around him and

Content: started worship. A tiger roaming that forest attacked and killed him. A passerby saw this and quickly climbed a tree to save himself.

Content: Once the tiger had left, this man climbed down and out of curiosity sat near the corpse and started praying. Suddenly the divine Mother appeared and told him that she was pleased with his spiritual practice, and that he could ask for any boon.

Content: The surprised man asked, 'Mother, the other man was working hard on his worship. Yet, You allowed him to be killed. I just came by and sat down where he had left, and prayed to You. You have now blessed me. Why?'

Content: Devi said to him, 'For many births before this you have been my devotee and you came here not by accident, but by the saṁskāras and vāsanas of your past. I appeared before you as a result.'

Content: The saṁskāras of this life are the result of prārabdha karma, the mindset, along with the spirit from the vāsanas of the past birth that are carried into this birth. It is always a mix of pain and pleasure.

Content: Q: Swamiji, you say conditioning makes us do what we do. Isn't there a built-in programming of the human body-mind system that dictates what we do?

Content: This question needs to be answered at many levels. Let me be brief.

Content: Science earlier believed that the brain developed on its own as the body grew. They assumed that as far as normal physiological factors were concerned, a person grew the same way whether he was brought up in one environment or another.

Content: Some years ago they uncovered a teenager in a Los Angeles suburb locked up in a room. Her parents, for whatever reasons, brought her up in seclusion and never let her out. When released, she would not walk, talk, nor understand anyone. I believe she finally died ten years later. Neurosurgeons who performed the autopsy found that many parts of her brain had withered away.

Content: It is now understood that the synaptic connections (the connection between brain cells), depends upon how that part of the brain is used. The brain comes with millions, possibly billions, of potential connections. These connections are made if that part of the brain is used. Walking and movements activate some connections.

Content: Speaking, hearing and other sensory inputs activate some of these connections. In the case of this girl, many connections were never used and therefore never activated.

Content: Science recognizes that whatever the innate potential of the body-mind is, conditioning allows that potential to be exploited. Whether it is done in what we consider a positive or negative way depends upon local culture and upbringing. The body-mind system as it exists at birth takes care of some autonomous activities, yet even these depend upon factors of nurture, such as food, shelter, care, etc.

Content: That is why there is nothing predetermined. Yes, the last desire of our previous body dictates the environment in which our next body is born. Beyond that, it is a matter of probability, not certainty, as to how the evolution of that body turns out.

Content: Quantum physicists understand and agree with this. Science today knows that all events are probabilistic, and not determined by so-called laws of nature. Nature just is. It has no laws. It is beyond laws.

Chapter Number: 15.9

Content: 15.9 The living entity, the spirit, leaves one body, takes another body and gets new eyes, ears, nose, tongue and sensing body according to the saṁskāras it had in its causal layer and enjoys the new mental setup.

Chapter Number: 15.10

Content: 15.10 Fools can neither understand how a living entity can quit his body nor what sort of a body he enjoys under the spell of gunas, the attributes and moods of nature. Only those whose eyes are trained by knowledge can see these things.

Content: 'The living entity, the spirit, leaves one body, takes another body and gets new eyes, ears, nose, tongue and sensing body according to the saṁskāras it had in its causal layer and enjoys the new mental setup.'

Content: Here Krishna reveals another secret. He says, 'You create a body according to the saṁskāras in the causal layer.'

Content: There is an Indian science called sāmudrikā lakṣaṇa śāstra, the technique of studying body features. By observing our physical body structure, experts can read and reveal our mental setup. They know the relationship between mind and body.

Content: Krishna says that we create our sensory organs, according to saṁskāras in our causal layer. Krishna says that living entities create all five senses through the mind or mental setup. This happens not only when we take another body. Everyday when we wake up from deep sleep, our senses are recreated. If we change our mental setup, within a short time, our face changes.

Content: Our 'mind' is the intelligence spread all over our body. It is the intelligence that resides in our cells. Each cell carries genetic intelligence. Body and mind are not separate entities. It is just body-mind or mind-body, one system. Within this body-mind system, scientists say that every moment of your life thousands of cells die

Content: and thousands of new cells are created. This is a constant process that Nature, the universal intelligence, dictates. It does not happen because of us; it happens in spite of us.

Content: In a period of a little under two years, every part of our body, every cell in our body, gets renewed. Our body as it was a year ago is not the body it is today. Our present body is not the body it will be a year from now. This is not fiction; it is a proven scientific fact.

Content: Then why do we behave the same way as we have for years? Why do illnesses plague us for years, even though the cells are no longer the same?

Content: Each cell as it dies, leaves behind a memory that the newly created cell follows. That is the saṃskāras within us. The saṃskāras ensures the continuation of a pattern despite complete changes in the body-mind system. This saṃskāras are more powerful than the rest of the body-mind system. It decides and drives.

Content: The deep sleep we go into everyday is a rehearsal of our death process. We die and are reborn. Our subtle body leaves the gross body and returns reenergized if we allow it to. It is in our hands to maximize this process of rejuvenation that happens automatically everyday.

Content: Through meditation we can clear our saṃskāras and be reborn. We can change our features, our character and behavior, all by reprogramming our saṃskāras.

Content: That is why people radiate grace after they start meditation. Beauty is created by make-up. Grace is radiated by meditation. Grace makes the occupant feel at home. It soothes the atmosphere. Beauty creates excitement. Beauty moves the other person into rajas (restlessness). Grace creates calmness, satva. Grace puts the other person in energy.

Content: People reminisce about great masters like Ramana Maharshi and say that He imparted wisdom through silence. It is the enlightened master's grace that penetrates the other person's energy and changes that person's saṃskāras.

Content: All that we need to do in an enlightened master's presence is just be, be open and silent and allow the master's grace to penetrate us. There is nothing that we need to do. The master's grace does whatever is needed.

Content: One version of the great Indian epic Ramayana says that when princess Sita, the leading lady of the epic, entered the court of King Janaka, her father, all the great kings, monks and mystics stood up automatically. This was not protocol. The grace

Content: she radiated caused this response in them. Beauty can create only temptation in the other person. Only grace can create respect. The grace radiating from Sita's being made everybody stand up.

Content: Zen Buddhism says that if we can walk on a lawn without killing the grass or creating a path with our footsteps, we are eligible for sanyās. I doubted this. I thought it was impossible. After all, the whole body weight is there. How can grass bear such a load and not leave imprints?

Content: Once I went on a safari in South India. I sat on an elephant and the caretaker came along with me. It was evening. It became dark. The caretaker had no torch or light. I asked him how he would find his way back home. He replied, 'I have created a path by my daily walk that I can follow even in darkness.'

Content: I asked about the elephant because it traveled with him everyday. He said, 'The elephant's feet do not create a path. The elephant and other animals do not destroy grass as they walk over it.' I started calculating the load exerted by one foot of the elephant. At the least, it works out to four times that of an average man. However, it did not create a path. It did not kill a single blade of grass. In spite of the physical mass, there was no damage to the environment.

Content: That is why Zen Buddhism says we are eligible for sanyas only when we can walk on the lawn without killing a blade of grass. The negativity, arrogance, violence, negative saṁskāras in our causal layer, makes us feel heavy on earth. If we feel heavy around our navel area, we carry negative saṁskāras. The feeling of heaviness is not connected to our weight. It is due to imprints in our inner space. A person who feels light radiates grace from his being and he never creates a path on a lawn. He never kills a blade of grass by his walk.

Content: Zen says we are spiritually evolved souls only when our feet do not create a path, when we float while we walk, when we do not go against nature.

Content: Man is the only animal who has gone against nature.

Content: A small story:

Content: A man wanted to do away with his wife and her pet cat. In India, there used to be no way to divorce one's wife. So he decided to get rid of atleast the cat. He took the cat ten miles away in his car, dropped it off and returned home. Just as he entered his house, the cat also arrived. He was shocked.

Content: The next day he took the cat and traveled forty minutes away. He reached a thick forest he had never seen before. He abandoned the cat there.

Content: He started his return trip and reached home. To his utter amazement, the cat was standing at the doorway.

Content: The third day, he took the cat, blindfolded it, put it in a sack, drove a very circuitous route, left it in a certain spot and started driving back. He drove for one hour and then called up his wife and asked, 'Dear, is the cat at home by any chance?' The wife replied that the cat had just returned. The man said, 'Please can you somehow find out how to get home. I have lost my way.'

Content: Animals are one with Nature. It is human beings who have gone against Nature, who have lost their way.

Content: Here Krishna says, we create our senses according to our saṁskāras. This happens not only when we die and take birth; we redesign our senses to suit our saṁskāras everyday, when we wake up too. If we wake up with the right mental setup, we will have our senses accordingly and for the whole day we can enjoy it. If on the other hand, we get up with negativity, we suffer.

Content: The few moments immediately after we wake up are crucial. Whatever we feel will be reflected the rest of the day. If we radiate joy, our whole day will be joyful. If we are irritable, our whole day will be irritable.

Content: Sufi masters practice a beautiful meditation everyday. Just as they wake up, when their subtle body is settling into their gross body, they practice this meditation:

Content: While still lying down and with eyes closed, run your hands over your head saying with great awareness and belief, 'I love my head and hair. They are so beautiful. I am so grateful to the universe for having given me such a beautiful head and hair.'

Content: Continue throughout the rest of your body. Touch each limb, each part of your body with great love. Express love to that part, express appreciation to that part, to its beauty and grace and express gratitude to the universe for giving you such a beautiful body-mind.

Content: Continue throughout your body down to your feet and toes. Finish by touching your toes with great love and feeling, 'I love my toes. They are so beautiful. I am grateful to the universe for giving me such beautiful toes.'

Content: Do this with awareness everyday at least for twenty-one days. You will be amazed at the changes that happen within your body-mind. You will develop grace

Content: and equally important, you will learn to love yourself, which means that you can love others without difficulty.

Content: Krishna further says, the type of senses we create determines the type of sensory objects we enjoy. If we create positive senses, we enjoy a positive life. If we create negative senses, we suffer a negative life. The type of senses we create determines what type of objects or pleasures attract us, and we experience that.

Content: Our senses, intelligence and our body-mind system create the energy field around us. This energy field attracts similar energy fields. If we are negative, if our perceptions are negative, we attract people with negative mindsets and descend into a vicious cycle. However, if we convert negativity into positive emotions and positive perceptions, we attract like-minded, positive people.

Content: This is extremely important in spiritual progress. It is easy to make progress and evolve when we are with a master. However, when we get into the company of people who are not following the path, it is easy to slip from our path.

Content: Shankara says, 'satsangatve nissangatvam.' Good company, the company of like-minded people who seek the truth, helps us become unattached. This is the starting point and it is crucial. That is why Buddha created the sangha, the institution, and Christ created the group of disciples, to carry the torch. The master's institution is as important as the teachings of the master. The institution is the fuel that keeps the Truth burning and alive.

Content: That is why I am keen to create ashrams or communities where like-minded people can live together and grow in spirituality. The energy created in this process cannot be created in the external world. We can be idealistic and say that we can meditate anywhere; however, in reality, spirituality thrives either in aloneness or in like-minded communities. Like energies attract one another and enhance one another.

Content: Krishna provides a wonderful punchline in the middle of this chapter.

Content: 'Fools,' He says. Krishna uses the Sanskrit word mūḍhaḥ that means 'fool'. Fools can neither understand how a living entity can quit his body nor what sort of a body he enjoys under the spell of guṇa, the attributes and moods of nature. Only those whose eyes are trained by knowledge can see these things.

Content: The first thought with which we get up from our bed plays a major role in our enjoyment throughout the day. What is our first thought usually? First we feel awake. We feel our body. Then it may be the fear that we must go to our office or

Content: it may be the greed to finish some work. At the stroke of the thought, fear or greed, our body jumps out of bed. We connect to our body through fear or greed.

Content: Krishna says that if we catch our body with fear or greed, we attract more and more fear or greed throughout the day.

Content: There are many gates to enter the body. Never enter through the fear or greed gate. Get up with a spiritual thought. Remember your master or favorite God. Practice it consciously for a few days. Then it will become your routine. Don’t connect to your body with fear or greed; you will attract more and more greed or fear.

Content: Let your first thought be spiritual. Remember your master or God or anyone divine and thank Him. Thank Him for the extended life. Everyday that you wake up is an extension to your life on planet earth. Thank divinity for the grace, for the extension.

Content: Waking up from bed is not our birthright. Of course, birth itself is not our right. It is a pure gift from Existence. Be grateful to the Divine for this day and extension here.

Content: If we wake up from bed with spiritual thoughts, that consciousness stays with us the whole day. If we are made to get up from bed by material thoughts, we start our day with irritation. The entire day we carry the same irritated mood.

Content: When we are in deep sleep, we are in touch with the causal layer. While waking up, we travel along the other three layers and reach the physical body. The three layers are like a shopping mall with various saṁskāras. According to our causal layer, we pick up the related saṁskāras and contact our physical body and design our senses accordingly.

Content: Just for twenty-one days, wake up with a spiritual thought and check your face. It will be changed. Your eyes will have a new look.

Content: I am not putting forward a theory. I have experienced this. A few hundred thousand people around the world practice these words. From that authority, I tell you, this is a vibrant technique.

Content: Don’t contact the body with tamas or rajas (depression or restlessness). If you get up with greed or fear, you design a body that radiates greed or fear and thereby attracts incidents that put you in greed or fear.

Content: When you travel from the causal layer to the physical body, pick up satva (peaceful or blissful) saṁskāras. Have a spiritual thought as the first thought. Think of your master or God or anything that gives you a spiritual memory. That is why in India, ancient mystics tell us to meditate early in the morning. At least for a few seconds be in a blissful mood. Your inner space will be fresh and new.

Content: Krishna says, ‘Only those whose eyes are trained by knowledge can see the truth of this science.’ The whole thing is before you. He says fools cannot understand and only those with eyes of knowledge, can see. The choice of being a fool or a man with eyes of knowledge is left to us. The choice is completely ours.

Content: Q: Swamiji, you talked about the importance of ashram communities in spiritual development. What about people who cannot live in such communities? Can they progress?

Content: Not everyone in ashrams becomes enlightened. Conversely, there is no condition that one must live in an ashram to become enlightened. Enlightenment is our natural state. We just need to understand and accept it.

Content: It is therefore important to understand what stands in the way of this realization. If we are enlightened, why don’t we feel that? Why don’t we feel we are God? Why don’t we feel that we are a part of this universe? Why don’t we feel the universe will take care of us without any effort on our part?

Content: We create a barrier between ourselves and the universe. We feel we are separate. We are like the wave that thinks that it is not part of the ocean. Time and again, the wave is consumed into the ocean and rises again; yet it feels separate. We rise from this universe and we return to this universe and yet we feel separate.

Content: We reinforce this feeling of separation by forming attachments. We form attachments to people, objects and events and build walls between us and others, as well as between us and our true nature. As long as we live in the world of materialism, which is built on the foundations of such attachment, it is difficult to break away. We create reasons for these attachments. A mother says, ‘I need to care for my children’; an employer says, ‘I need to look after my employees’; a leader says, ‘I need to direct my followers.’ These are games we play to postpone

Content: the reality. All these happen automatically within the groups that we define as well as all around in the extended world around us.

Content: An ashram, a spiritual community, allows us to let go of these attachments. The presence of a master and the company of like-minded people direct us away from external sense-based attachments. We move from attachment to the external world to attachment to the master. With the master's guidance, we learn to let go of that attachment as well.

Content: An ashram does not insulate us from the realities of the world. The ashamites deal with many responsibilities to do with the outer world. They learn to be financially savvy and they are trained in skills ranging from photography and computers, to writing and sculpting. Yet, all these are underpinned by the understanding of learning to live without expectations of results and without attachments.

Content: This is what Shankara means when he says that good company focused on the ultimate reality, leads to nonattachment; nonattachment leads to a state of no desires; such a state of no desires leads to an undisturbed mind; and an undisturbed mind leads to liberation.

Content: The ashram community is a good place to start the journey.

Chapter Number: 15.11

Content: 15.11 The serious practitioner of yoga, with an understanding of his Self, can see all this clearly. But those who do not have an understanding of the Self, however much they try, cannot see.

Chapter Number: 15.12

Content: 15.12 The light of the Sun, the light of the Moon and the light of fire, all their radiance is also from Me.

Chapter Number: 15.13

Content: 15.13 Entering into earth, I support all beings with My energy; becoming the watery Moon, I nourish all plant life.

Chapter Number: 15.14

Content: 15.14 I am the fire of digestion in every living body and I am the breath of life, exhaled and inhaled, with which I digest the four-fold food.

Content: Krishna uses the word ' yoginah' in this verse. It is important to understand what He means by this. Yoga has become a buzzword; a trendy, fashionable word for cool people. I recently read an advertisement offering super-deluxe Kundalini Yoga that provides instant liberation! I have never read about super-deluxe yogic practices in the scriptures. There is no instant liberation yoga mentioned in the scriptures.

Content: Yoga is the link, the union, between the individual self, ātman, and universal Self, cosmic consciousness, Brahman. Awareness of this link, awareness that the self is the same as the Self, leads to liberation. The understanding happens in an instant; however, the practice leading to it requires a disciplined approach.

Content: Patanjali, the great scientist sage of ancient India, describes the yogic path in his Yoga Sutra. Patanjali lays down eight paths to this union, the liberation, the

Content: awareness that we are divine. These eight paths, the Ashtanga Yoga paths, are not eight sequential steps. These are eight parts, not eight steps.

Content: The first path is yama, the spiritual laws of conduct. These are five: satya, truth in thought, word and action; ahimsa: nonviolence in thought, word and action; āsteya: not coveting what does not belong to oneself; aparigraha: living a simple life and brahmacarya: living in Reality.

Content: In the Hindu tradition, when an ascetic is ordained in a particular lineage, he must take these five vows of spirituality and follow them rigorously.

Content: In fact, each year I go with devotees on a Himalayan pilgrimage to spiritual centers known as the cār dhām. At the starting point in Rishikesh, on the banks of the holy river Ganga, each of them takes these five vows. For the duration of the journey, they are yogic practitioners, ascetics engaged in a sincere spiritual journey.

Content: The second path is niyama, a set of day-to-day practices to keep one physically, mentally and spiritually clean and pure.

Content: The third path is āsana, or body postures to facilitate meditation; today these have become synonymous with yoga. Āsana, also referred to as Hatha Yoga, is one of the eight paths of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga.

Content: The fourth path is prānāyāma, control of breath or the life force. Again this focuses the body-mind upon the inner self. The fifth path is pratyāhāra, disconnecting from the senses, sense objects and sensory pleasures; again this enables focus on the inner self.

Content: The sixth path is dhāraṇa, complete focus on a chosen object, to control the mind. Once someone can concentrate the mind on one object, the mind becomes laser sharp and can shift attention to any other object.

Content: The seventh path is dhyāna, meditation upon the inner self.

Content: The eighth and final path is samādhi; this is when awareness happens and union is complete. Through a sustained and serious application of these methods of yoga, a practitioner, a yogi, reaches the awareness that he is one with the universe. There are highly evolved beings who reach samādhi without any intervening process; these are rare cases.

Content: In today’s world, my opinion is that dhyāna, meditation, is best suited for spiritual progress and for the realization that one’s self is part of that cosmic Self.

Content: Krishna says that until that awareness happens, however much one may strive, one will not reach Him.

Content: Understand, here we are talking about awareness, not achievement. The truth is that our individual self is an integral part of the universal consciousness, the Self. This truth is not something that we need to work towards. It exists. It is. We are blinded by individual ego, māyā, the illusion of our individual identity, in forgetting that we are part of the collective consciousness.

Content: Yogis, sincere spiritual practitioners, lift this veil of māyā, destroy the illusion, to see beyond into the truth of their oneness with the Divine. Meditation is the path and technique to lift this veil. Meditation enables the practitioner to go deeper and deeper into himself. Meditation brings about awareness of what is.

Content: Light is awareness. Light is the sustainer of life. The Bible says, ‘God said, Let there be light and there was light.’ Light is one of the first manifestations of the Divine in creation. Without light and heat from the sun, life as we know it would be impossible. Everything in this world revolves around energy received from the sun in the form of light and heat.

Content: The sun is also the dispeller of darkness. Not only does Krishna establish that He is the creator of this universe - the solar system, sun, moon and the fire which sustain our lives, but He also tells us that He is the Dispeller of darkness.

Content: Krishna, as the master, as the guru, is the Dispeller of darkness. Guru means one who dispels darkness. As the sun, moon and the fire, Krishna is the ultimate master who leads us into awareness.

Content: Krishna is the destroyer of our saṁskāras. Saṁskāras are products of darkness, our unconscious. Darkness is not a positive entity. It cannot be shifted from point to point. However, it can be destroyed by light. The presence of light dissolves darkness. The presence of awareness destroys saṁskāras. Darkness has no existence of its own. It only exists when there is no light. We cannot create darkness. It is the absence of something.

Content: When someone cannot see, he is not bothered by darkness. To a blind man, darkness is his nature. A blind man will not say that he sees ghosts and spirits in darkness. Darkness is the state that he exists in.

Content: A truly courageous man is also not disturbed by darkness. Someone who is not afraid of anything does not fear the loss of ego, loss of identity and death. To him, darkness poses no fear as well. He can equally handle darkness and light, without fear or attraction.

Content: Other than these two classes of people, darkness poses problems and presents fears for everyone else. In the Ananda Spurana or Life Bliss Program, as well as in our Nithyananda Spurana Program, we have sessions where participants meditate upon darkness. This is a highly energizing meditation. It may seem surprising, but darkness is energy.

Content: People have powerful experiences when they go into this meditation with deep awareness. One gradually loses the ability to sense: one loses all one's sensory powers, those of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. One loses awareness of one's boundaries of the body. Effectively the body disappears. Then thoughts stop and the mind comes to rest.

Content: Focusing and meditating upon darkness can enable one to reach a state of awareness where the spirit is perceived. One realizes that body and mind as well as the senses can be lost, yet the spirit remains.

Content: Some people, especially those who have lived in countries where darkness is more common than light during certain periods of the year, do not even see the darkness when they go into this meditation. People living near the Arctic or Antarctic regions, where there is no sun during winter, become accustomed to this darkness and have no fear. Such people, when asked to meditate upon darkness as a means to eliminate fears associated with darkness, do not perceive darkness as something to be afraid of.

Content: In this sense, Krishna is not only the Lord of light, but of darkness as well.

Content: Krishna further expands on His pervasiveness. In the form of light and heat, He is the Sustainer of all beings within this universe. He, as we have seen, is the dispeller of darkness, the dissolver of saṁskāras.

Content: He says that He is the energy of the watery moon and through this energy He is the life energy within plant life.

Content: The Taittreya Upanishad says:

Content: 'Those who realize Brahman, the cosmic consciousness, as the ultimate Truth, see the Divine in their hearts. They are granted all the blessings of life. From this ultimate Truth, the etheric space materialized. From etheric space, air emerged. From air, came fire. From fire, came water. From water, earth emerged. And from the earth, plants were produced. The plants gave food. From food was created the human body, head, arms, legs and heart.'

Content: Krishna affirms that He is Brahman and through His manifestation of the various natural elements of space, air, fire, water and earth, He is responsible for plant life and therefore for food and human beings.

Content: Without plant life, there is no food. Without food, there is no body and mind. Body and mind become food for others after death. Food is an expression of divinity. The energy behind food is both the creator and destroyer of saṁskāras.

Content: Most of us treat food as a basic necessity or an object of sensual pleasure. We ignore it or become addicted to it. We need to be aware of what we eat.

Content: A disciple asked a Zen master, 'Master, what changed in you when you became enlightened?'

Content: The master said, 'Now that I have become enlightened, I eat when I eat and sleep when I sleep.'

Content: This may sound confusing. How many of us eat when we eat? How many of us focus on the food that we eat? While eating, we focus on everything except food. We talk, dream, read, watch television, fight and do everything except be aware of the food.

Content: We treat food as garbage and it turns into garbage inside us. Once we treat food as energy, the life energy that it is, we experience a transformation inside us. Saying grace before meals as Christians do is a wonderful custom.

Content: Before eating, offer gratitude to the universe for what you have received and meditate upon the food. Traditionally Hindus offer oblations to the Divine and chant prayers before eating. Major changes happen when you follow these customs with awareness.

Content: To focus on what we eat while we eat is to be in the present moment. In the present moment, everything happens for the first time, afresh.

Content: A master was instructed by his physician to eat bland food. The master's cook became fed up after a while and complained, 'I don't know how you can eat the same food everyday without complaining. I am bored cooking the same food everyday.'

Content: The master said, 'It is not the same food. What I ate yesterday is different from what I am eating now. What I am eating now is not the same food that I shall eat tomorrow.'

Content: A person who can be so settled in the present is one who is aware. He is one with Krishna.

Content: The role of the sun as the giver of light and heat energies is obvious. It is also obvious that without the sun, all life forms will cease to exist. However, the fact that the moon is a nourishing energy providing life energy to plants and therefore to humans is not that well appreciated.

Content: The moon controls our behavior, moods and minds. Soma, the name for the moon, refers to its fluidity and the transient nature of waxing and waning.

Content: Krishna then talks about vaiśvānara, prāṇa and apāna.

Content: The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says:

Content: 'This fire that is within the human being and which digests the food that he eats is vaiśvānara. The sound of this fire vaiśvānara is that which one hears by closing the ears. When death nears and the spirit is about to leave the body, he no longer hears this sound.'

Content: This Upaniṣad goes on to say that neither āhāra (food), nor prāṇa (breath), can function alone, one without the other. Food will decay without breath and breath will dry up without food. Together, when the awareness of their union happens, true consciousness results.

Content: Food is classified into four parts: Food that is chewed and eaten as with solids, food that is swallowed straightaway as with air, food that is sucked and consumed as liquids, and food that is licked and consumed. Food is also related to the four elements other than space: air, fire, water and earth.

Content: The ancient Hindu traditional medicine system Ayurveda, works on this principle of vaiśvānara. The quality of this inner fire determines our state of hunger or lack of hunger as well as the state of health.

Content: What Krishna implies here as well is that food is divine since it has His imprint on it. We tend to take food for granted. Only when food is scarce, is it appreciated and enjoyed.

Content: Look around us; look at yourselves. How often do we value the food that we consume? A poor man eats his meager meal with great relish and awareness. The wealthier we become, the less aware and caring we are of what we eat. The underlying cause of most illnesses can be traced to this disrespect for food.

Content: In traditional homes in rural India, even today, some food is offered to a crow or animal before the household eats. Often the household will not eat till a wandering mendicant or ascetic is fed. Offering food to others, other living beings, has been considered a form of worship in Hindu tradition. Food has always been considered the repository of the Divine.

Content: A small story:

Content: A teacher was teaching a little boy good habits at nursery school: how to sit properly at the table, fold the napkin on his lap, pick up the fork and spoon and so on.

Content: As the boy was about to gulp down what was set in front of him, she asked, 'Haven't we forgotten something?'

Content: The boy replied, 'What now?'

Content: The teacher said, 'Don't you pray before you start eating?'

Content: 'No,' said the boy. 'My mom's a good cook!'

Content: Q: Swamiji, you talked about yoga. Modern people practice yoga as a form of exercise for wellness. Is this wrong?

Content: If someone wants to 'work up a sweat,' yoga is not the way. Yoga was not meant to produce a sweat or to be practiced in a hot and humid room. These are perversions.

Content: Yoga trains the body so that the body and mind can unite at the being level. That is the only purpose of yoga. Yoga means 'uniting'. It is not even union. Yoga is a verb that signifies action and the process. It is not a noun referring to a goal or end result.

Content: The physical part of yoga is one of the eight paths that help in this process. I was trained by a great yoga master starting from the age of three for several years. He was an instrument to prepare my body to hold the energy of enlightenment. It prepared my body for the rigors that I chose to subject it to in my spiritual quest.

Chapter Number: 15

Content: 15.15 I am seated in everyone's heart and from Me came memory, knowledge and their loss. I am known by the Vedas; indeed, I am the creator of vedānta and I am the knower of the Vedas.

Chapter Number: 15

Content: 15.16 There are two things, the perishable and the imperishable, in this world. There are the living beings who are perishable while there is the unchangeable, the imperishable.

Content: Krishna says that He is memory and He is knowledge. What does this mean?

Content: How does our mind work? How does it invent beliefs? We don't even know where our mind is. If I ask you where your mind is, you will point to your head. That's not your mind.

Content: Every cell in our body has inbuilt intelligence. These cells constantly regenerate themselves. Therefore, our intelligence is always fresh, updated. It is not ancient. These cells make up our body-mind system. They are everywhere in our body. Therefore, there is no one place where our mind is definitely located; certainly it is not in our head!

Content: How does this mind work? How does this collective intelligence of the cellular system of our body-mind complex function? Science has no clue even today. Science has no idea how senses perceive what they do. Scientists, neurologists, psychologists and others in the field can explain the physical pathways through which they think thoughts travel and say that this is the route our thought process takes. They have no proof.

Content: The sages of ancient India described the process. They described it not in physical terms but in conceptual terms. Their description enables us to understand how the mind functions.

Content: Let me show a diagram to illustrate how information that enters the eye is processed; actually, not just information entering through the eye, but information entering through any of the five senses, i.e., through the nose, ears, tongue, skin and eyes. As an example, we are using the eye.

Content: How the Mind works

Content: Let us take the process of seeing, which is almost eighty percent of our total sensory perception. Your eyes see me now. In Sanskrit, we call this seeing power cakṣu. It is the energy behind the physical eyes; however, it is not a physical organ. Cakṣu is a virtual digital signal processor. Its output goes into our memory, called chitta in Sanskrit, as a bio-signal file. Memory starts analyzing the facts of the case. It compares the input it has received against its database.

Content: Chitta acts as a filter. It excludes first. It responds based upon comparison and elimination, 'What I see is not an animal, it is not a rock.' 'Na iti, na iti,' 'not this, not this,' it says. The partly processed, filtered file then goes to manas, our mind. Manas makes a positive identification of what is seen, again by referring the file to its huge database. The mind then says, 'What you see is a human being talking to you.'

Content: A computer is still not capable of performing this process of recognition of an object. The capacity required, even with today's huge computing powers and parallel computing networks, would be so massive and complicated that no real operating system exists that can duplicate even this one process of our body-mind system.

Content: The object identified by the mind, manas, then takes a quantum leap to our ego as a file. This ego is similar to what Sigmund Freud and others described as the identity of the individual, where all experiential data is stored. However, it may not be the same definition that I use here that you will find in western psychology.

Content: 246

Content: Our ego associates the file with similar memories from the past and decides what to do in the given situation. If we have had a good experience listening to the person we see, we stay and listen. If the data shows that our experience with such a person or someone similar has been negative, we leave.

Content: The ego decides for us whether to listen to this person or not. We express that decision and act upon that decision. This zone of the ego is not under the control of our conscious, logical and rational mind. The ego continuously stores impressions, past memories, unfulfilled desires and various emotive reactions, whether we are conscious of these experiences or not. The ego never sleeps.

Content: The unconscious zone is filled with negative memories and restlessness. All our past memories, which we call saṁskāras in Sanskrit, all our past thought patterns are stored in this zone as files. Psychology uses the word engrams or engraved memories to denote these stored memories. There are many files stored in this zone. Without any logical connection between them, these memories or incidents are stored here, in random order. And because of so many engrams we are restless.

Content: What happens is that when the file takes a quantum leap to this zone where so much data is stored, the file does not even reach the ego properly for a decision. It is as if our hard disk is loaded with high-resolution photographs and there is only a little space left. There is no space available to work further on our hard disk. The computer stalls; it stops. In the same way, when our unconscious is loaded with past thought patterns and memories, it becomes inefficient and makes superficial and illogical decisions.

Content: For example, according to data that we have collected, we know smoking is injurious to health; it is not good for our body. We hold onto this decision as long as we are on the conscious level. However once the mind takes the leap to the ego, the engrams just instruct us to smoke; we decide to smoke. The conscious process says, 'No, it is not good for health.' However, the unconscious process says, actually it doesn't even say, it just makes the decision and we execute it. It is a pure instinct-level decision.

Content: This unconscious area is powerful. It can be used in three ways: at the instinct level, intellect level or intuition level. As long as the unconscious is overloaded with negative memories and restlessness, it works at the instinct level. We decide instinctively, unconsciously, just like an animal does. We make hasty decisions. When we are at the instinct level, we end up regretting most decisions.

Content: Next is the intellect level. Here, we are conscious; we make decisions logically, but we don't have extra enthusiasm or energy. We are not creative or innovative;

Content: we don't take big steps; we don't grow. We make decisions in a logical and conscious way, that's all.

Content: When we are at the intellect level, we are not tired; yet we are not energetic either. We are in a break-even state. At this level, we do not use our potential to the maximum.

Content: The level where we can actualize our entire potential is the intuition level. If we can infuse deep silence and awareness into the unconscious zone and replace engraved memories or files with silence and awareness, we are at the intuition level.

Content: A small story:

Content: A woodcutter was busy chopping trees at the edge of a forest. An enlightened master walked by and the woodcutter offered him what food he had. Pleased, the master blessed him and said, 'Go deep.'

Content: The woodcutter advanced deeper into the forest the next day. He found a silver mine with rich deposits. Happily, he dug out chunks of silver, sold them and became rich.

Content: Months later, the master passed by again. The woodcutter entertained him well. He was gratefully for the master's advice that made him prosperous. The master left, once again saying, 'Go deep.'

Content: The woodcutter progressed deeper into the forest and found a gold mine. By recovering deposits from this mine, he became very wealthy. He felt deep gratitude to the master and wished to see him to pay his tribute.

Content: After many months, the master passed by again. The woodcutter told him all that had happened and wanted to share his wealth with the master. The master simply smiled and refused and as he left said, 'Go deep.'

Content: Believing implicitly in the master, the woodcutter went on deeper into the forest and discovered a diamond mine. He became richer than the king of his country. He eagerly awaited the master's next visit to share the good news.

Content: The master passed by again. Again he left saying, 'Go deep.'

Content: This time around, the woodcutter became thoughtful. He reflected, 'There must be more to what this master says. There must be more than what I am able to understand. It is not the forest that he is asking me to go deeper into, perhaps it is into myself.' This time, with great awareness and the trust that he

Content: had developed in the master, the woodcutter focused within and became enlightened.

Content: The greatest wealth lies within, not outside. The greatest joy lies within, not outside. In the outside world, every experience of joy is followed by sorrow. Joy creates expectations and when expectations are not fulfilled, they lead to sorrow. When the search begins inside, expectations drop, attachments drop and a new joy happens. That joy is eternal, never ending. It is ānanda, nityānanda, eternal bliss.

Content: Because we are unaware of this, we search outside for happiness, because that is the only way we know.

Content: A small story:

Content: One boy used to always sleep during the guest lectures in college. One day his friend asked him, 'Why do you come to the guest lectures? Anyway you only sleep here.'

Content: The boy replied, 'I suffer from insomnia and this is the only place where I am able to sleep.'

Content: Understand, like this boy who went to the guest lecture to sleep, we too go to so many places outside of us in search of happiness. We search for the right thing but in the wrong places. We have been conditioned that way. All we need to do is turn inward.

Content: In his commentary on the Gita, Shankara says that memory and knowledge come from Krishna to those who do good deeds and loss of memory and knowledge to those who do evil deeds. The reference to memory and knowledge here is to the understanding of our true nature, the understanding and realization that we are one with the Divine, that Krishna is seated in our hearts.

Content: Shankara concludes in his Bhaja Govindam:

Content: 'The true devotee who surrenders himself completely to his master sees divinity in his own heart.'

Content: That is all that is required. Surrender to the master, surrender to Krishna. We shall then see Him.

Content: Krishna takes Arjuna into a deeper understanding. Krishna talks about puruṣa, the principle of energy that underlies our existence. Sāṅkhya philosophy talks about puruṣa and prakṛti. Puruṣa, in one sense is energy, and prakṛti is matter. Puruṣa is the

Content: unmoving, passive energy principle, whereas prakṛti is the active material principle. Puruṣa is the male principle; prakṛti is the female principle. Puruṣa is Shiva and prakṛti is Shakti.

Content: Krishna goes beyond that philosophy. He says Puruṣa is twofold, one imperishable and the other perishable. He says all living beings are the perishable puruṣa and they are situated in the imperishable energy.

Content: In earlier chapters, Krishna has covered in depth, these aspects of prakṛti, which operate through the mind, senses and the attributes, the three types of guṇa. Here, He expands upon puruṣa. Puruṣa is the ultimate energy from which all emanates. ‘īśā vāsyam idaṁ sarvam’ says the Isavasya Upanishad, ‘All that exists is energy.’

Content: The great scientist, Einstein became depressed when the findings from his theory of relativity and his discovery that matter can release energy resulted in nuclear bombs. He was shocked at the destruction he had unwittingly caused and turned to spirituality for solace.

Content: When Einstein read this verse from the Upaniṣads, written possibly five to ten thousand years ago, he said, ‘I felt proud that I had discovered that matter is energy. Many thousand years ago, these sages knew this, and also knew that matter arises from energy. The last step in science is the first step in spirituality.’

Content: More and more, scientists are beginning to sound like the Eastern mystics. They no longer have the attitude of scientists of a hundred years ago who felt that they were rewriting the laws of Nature.

Content: Now, with advancements in quantum physics, molecular biology and such areas, scientists find that there is little they can predict about Nature. The same experiment conducted in an identical manner by two scientists yields two different results. The people observing the experiment influence the results. Our scriptures said this over a thousand years ago. Shankara has said again and again that the seer influences what is seen. That was over a thousand years ago.

Content: The primal energy principle, puruṣa is like potential energy. It is energy, but passive. It is the operating principle behind the entire universe. Without this energy, nothing will exist. Nothing will live.

Content: Krishna says that there are two kinds of puruṣa: one is eternal and one perishes.

Content: The puruṣa that perishes is the body-mind energy embedded in all beings, including humans. This energy has a definite, limited lifetime. It is always changing.

Content: There is nothing permanent about it. It is programmed for deterioration and destruction.

Content: The puruṣa that is kūtastha is the imperishable aspect of this energy. It is the energy of the spirit that is indestructible. It is the soul that is forever, that which cannot be destroyed.

Content: Krishna points out that primal energy manifests in different ways, as perishable and imperishable. Both are aspects of primal energy. One is destroyed and the other lives. One who realizes this difference and understands the true nature of puruṣa is liberated.

Content: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says:

Content: An arrogant scholar was very proud of his learning. He was a great advaitic (subject of non-duality) scholar and did not believe in the various forms of God. God came to him one day.

Content: The mother goddess appeared before him in all Her splendor. She came as the primal energy, Parāśakti. The scholar was in a swoon for a long time. When he woke up, he shouted, 'Ka, Ka, Ka.' He could not fully pronounce 'Kali,' the name of the goddess whom he had seen. Words cannot describe the Divine!

Content: Scholars argue endlessly about the nature of puruṣa, the various aspects of puruṣa, the difference between prakṛti and puruṣa. It keeps them occupied. It strengthens their ego. When the Divine presents itself before them, they cannot recognize what they see. Even Mother Kali has to produce her identity card before she can convince a scholar.

Content: Q: Swamiji, you have explained so well about how the mind works. How can we use this in our daily activities?

Content: Our mind functions in three modes. It can operate unconsciously at the level of the instinct. It can work consciously at the level of the intellect. It can work superconsciously at the level of intuition.

Content: Our mind works at the instinct level when it is filled with saṁskāras, embedded memories carrying mostly negative emotions. These saṁskāras are buried deep in our unconscious, embedded there through repeated conditioning from childhood. At times of stress, trauma or pain, when we need to address issues with a clear mind,

Content: these unconscious memories pop up and decide without our being even aware. The saṁskāras, the engrams, decide what we do, not our rational mind.

Content: In the ten percent of cases where our conscious mind engages in decision making, we are confused by the choices. We dither and we later regret whatever choice we make through our intellect. No choice is ever perfect.

Content: Do we have an option? Yes. When we decide through intuition, we can never be wrong. How can we access this state of intuition?

Content: Intuition is the state when the mind is centered. It is what we call the present moment. Normally we are buried in past memories or speculating about our future. We are rarely in the present moment. Our mind is rarely where our body is. That is what thoughts do to us. Thoughts are the constant movement of the mind between the past and future. When thoughts stop, the mind is stilled.

Content: Meditation makes thoughts stop. It is simple. During meditation one's awareness centers in the present moment, thoughts stop and intuition results. Whatever you decide in such a moment is always the right decision.

Content: It is not even necessary that thoughts stop. It is enough if you stop following your thoughts. Once you learn how to witness thoughts without getting caught in their flow, your battle is won. Once you master this technique, you settle into the present moment awareness whenever you wish. There will never be a situation when you will regret the decision that you make in the present moment.

Content: If every businessman and corporate employee learned to do this, imagine how many billions of dollars could be saved. And it's not just money that would be saved. The environment is being destroyed because people act from greed and fear out of instinct. If we act out of intuition, we can never act against Nature. Intuition is Nature.

Chapter Number: 15.17

Content: Besides these two, there is the supreme Puruṣa, the Lord Himself, who pervades and sustains these three worlds.

Chapter Number: 15.18

Content: As I am transcendental, beyond both the perishable and the imperishable, and the best, I am declared both in the world and in the Vedas as that supreme person, Puruṣottama.

Chapter Number: 15.19

Content: Whoever knows Me as the supreme, without a doubt, is to be understood as the knower of everything, and he worships Me with all his being, O son of Bharata.

Chapter Number: 15.20

Content: This is the most profound teaching taught by Me, O Sinless One, and whoever knows this will become wise and his actions will bear fruit.

Content: Krishna says that beyond these two aspects of puruṣa, the perishable body-mind energy and the imperishable spirit energy, there lies another level of energy that is the supreme puruṣa. He goes on to say that He is that supreme puruṣa, Puruṣottama.

Content: Puruṣa is the energy that pervades us. Puruṣottama is the energy that pervades the entire universe. Puruṣottama in that sense is no different from Parāśakti, the cosmic energy. It is only a play of words to separate Puruṣa as male and śakti as female, while describing the ultimate cosmic consciousness.

Content: Buddha says, 'The universe creates itself. There was never a time that the universe was not there. There never will be a time when the universe will not be there.'

Content: The universe is imperishable. The energy behind the universe is imperishable. Krishna says that He is that energy, the Puruṣottama, that drives the universe eternally.

Content: Om pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidam pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate | pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇameva avaśiṣyate ||

Content: the four-handed Balaji or the two-handed, peacock-feather-adorned, flute-playing Krishna. We see Him in a way that is comfortable for us to see Him, so that we can reach Him.

Content: A great scholar and devotee prayed for years to Shiva to receive His darśan, His divine appearance. Nothing happened. One day, fearing that he may not live much longer, the devotee decided that he would no longer worship Shiva, but turn to Vishnu, who he had heard was kinder.

Content: He placed Shiva's statue to one side of his altar and replaced Shiva with a beautiful Vishnu statue. He did not have the heart to throw the Shiva statue away, because in his heart of hearts, he still was a devotee of Shiva. He lit incense in front of the Vishnu statue as he started his worship.

Content: He became annoyed when the incense smoke began drifting towards the Shiva statue instead of Vishnu. He stood up and covered the nose of Shiva saying, 'This is not for you. I don't pray to you anymore.'

Content: The moment he did this, he felt Shiva's presence and had His darśan! He broke down and cried, 'Oh Lord! For years I worshipped you according to the rules. You never appeared. Now, I cast you away. Worse yet, I insulted you by covering your nose. Still, you appeared. Why?'

Content: Shiva said, 'Only now you have felt Me as reality. You felt Me so strongly that you covered My nose. Till now, I was only a concept to you.'

Content: To most of us, God is a mere concept, a theory. He is a convenient theory to hide behind, to cover our fears and anxieties and to show off our knowledge by expounding upon complex concepts and philosophies.

Content: What difference does it make whether we call Krishna 'Brahman, Puruṣottama, Parabrahma, Prakṛti,' or any other name? By whatever name He is called, He is the supreme energy who causes us to move.

Content: It is the unbounded authority of Krishna, with which He declares Himself to be Puruṣottama, that makes Gita a scriptural authority. It is not the wisdom contained in it, nor the eternal truths, but the courage of that one person, who declared Himself to be the Transcendental Being, that defines this work as an eternal scriptural truth. May that Puruṣottama, that Parabrahma Krishna, bless us all!

Content: Now, Krishna presents the great truths about His true representation as the collective consciousness.

Content: This may surprise you or it may be something you already know. Irrespective of whether this concept is new or old, analyze this truth, internalize as much as you can, question it until your logic fails.

Content: The first truth:

Content: All our minds are not individually separated pieces of the universe. They are all one and the same.

Content: All our minds are interlinked. Not only interlinked, they directly affect each other. This is what I call collective consciousness. Our thoughts are as infectious as our colds. People may escape from someone else's cold. A cold may not be so infectious; however, our thoughts are more infectious than a cold!

Content: If we catch someone's cold, we may suffer physically for a few days and then get over it. When we catch thoughts from people, not only do we suffer mentally, the suffering is long-term as well. Anything we think affects people around us. Not only are those near us touched by our thoughts, so is everyone living on planet earth.

Content: Understand, our intellect will definitely resist this now; we will analyze this later. How can this be true? We shall analyze during the question and answer sessions, one by one, inch by inch.

Content: I have declared the first truth: All of us are not different beings, different minds. We are all totally interlinked, closely networked. Any of my thoughts can transform you; any of your thoughts can touch me. We are not separated individuals.

Content: Please be very clear, we are not individual islands, separated from each other and uninfluenced by each other. Only one truth called collective consciousnessness links all of us.

Content: The next truth:

Content: Not only at the mental level, even at the deeper level of consciousness, the deeper we go, the deeper we are connected. Please refer to this diagram and I will explain.

Content: There are seven energy layers of the body. The concentric circles represent the layers.

Content: The first layer is the physical body, the second is the pranic body and so forth. Now, in the physical layer, you, Krishna and I can be represented as three different points in the circle, quite far from one another, say 120 degrees from one another. At the physical level, the distance is the greatest. If we come down a little to the pranic level, the distance is reduced. If we come down deeper to the mental level, the distance between you and me is reduced even more and so is the distance between you, God and me. When we travel deeper and deeper, and finally reach the nirvanic level, these three entities merge into One. Please be very clear, at the deepest point of all these layers, God, you and I are One. There is no distance. We become a single point. Yes, it is difficult for the intellect to believe this and it will resist. Yet this is the truth. As I have said, nobody wants to hear the truth since it will transform us! Please understand that if we reach this inner level, God and we are One. We are God. God is us. We all seem to be different entities at the physical level. When we love someone intimately, his love and suffering affect us. It comes and goes out of our being. At the deeper level, we don't have an individual identity. We are a part of collective consciousness. We don't want suffering, yet we cannot escape from it. Again and again, whether it is physical pain or mental suffering or spiritual bondage, we go through it again and again. This is because we are unaware that

Content: we are part of collective consciousness. Once we become aware and realize that we are a part of collective consciousness, that we don't have an individual identity, we will realize that we do not have a separate ego to protect and defend.

Content: We think we own our intellectual identity. In Existence, there is no such thing as a separate individual identity. Once we know this truth, we will go beyond pain, suffering, depression and disease.

Content: Understand that as long as we hold onto the concept of individual consciousness, we will be continuously suffering, physically or mentally or on the being level. Why do we continuously resist nature? Whatever nature offers, we resist.

Content: When the weather is cold, we resist. We think we are different from Existence. I have seen sanyāsis, enlightened masters, living in the Himalayas, living almost nude in the cold, in the snow. I have also lived like that, yet the body was never disturbed, it never had a problem. I never thought that I was different from the atmosphere, never had the feeling of separation from Nature. It is only when we think that we are different from the atmosphere, from the air around us that we resist it.

Content: A very simple thing that we can practice now is this: If we are feeling cold, we can relax, identify the area where we feel cold, witness that area. In that area, don't resist the atmosphere, don't resist the air, don't resist the temperature, don't resist nature and don't resist Existence. Say to yourself, 'I am not going to resist nature. I am not going to resist Existence. Let me relax.' Be conscious and decide. With this, we shall see the body relax and the idea of cold will disappear from that part of our body; we become completely comfortable.

Content: We may wonder whether we can extend this experiment to an extreme condition and check whether we can do this in snow and ice and resist the cold. The mind always likes to think of extremes. We can do it if we do it with totality. We don't have that much totality, that much clarity; that is the problem. If we can fall totally in tune with nature, we can be comfortable in extreme conditions. Many human beings do that and so can all of us, if we can be in tune with Nature. When we think we are something different from Nature, we are disturbed by Nature.

Content: Famous medical institutions have conducted experiments with Buddhist monks who live in monasteries in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, in Tibet. One such experiment documents an initiation rite where aspiring monks cover themselves in wet clothes and sit in the freezing cold outside. These monks meditate to raise their

Content: body temperature, which enables them not only to keep themselves warm, but also to dry their wet clothes. This is real. These incidents have been photographed. One more thing, all possible bacteria and viruses are present in the air. At any moment a single virus or bacteria can cause a disease in us. But if we are totally in tune with Nature, if the viruses or bacteria go inside, they just leave us. We will not be disturbed. The moment we think that we are an individual body, separate from Existence, our whole body becomes our enemy.

Content: You see, we are a part of the Whole. If we fall in tune with the Whole, the Whole behaves as a friend. The moment we think, discriminate or behave with the Whole in the opposite way, it acts like an enemy. Be very clear, the Whole is not here to kill or destroy us.

Content: The Whole, the universe, is a hologram of which we are a part. Just as in a hologram, every part of the hologram, even if it splits off, reflects the totality of that hologram, we reflect the totality of the Whole that is the universe.

Content: Another example is what happens when a person dies of drowning. The dead body floats. The dead body is heavier than water. Yet, it floats. On the other hand, a living body that is lighter than water, does not float. It drowns. Why is this so? As long as we are living, we are unable to relate with water. Our ego prevents that. Our mind prevents that. In the dead body, there is no mind and no ego. It is the mind and ego that causes our heaviness.

Content: I recently read an interesting interview with a man who survived jumping into the Niagara Falls. Imagine someone surviving a jump into the Niagara Falls! If you have been to the Niagara Falls, you know the magnitude of the Falls. All kinds of journalists questioned him about this unusual and daring feat. This man said beautifully, ‘When I jumped I became a part of the Niagara Falls. I felt I was a part of it. I never felt different from the Falls.’

Content: When we are in tune with the collective consciousness, when we become a part of collective consciousness, Nature is with us, Nature is our friend and Nature protects us. Nature will not harm us. When we think that we are different from Nature, as long as we think that we are an individual consciousness, Nature protests against us. As long as we are in tune with the collective consciousness, Nature protects us.

Content: Whenever we want to achieve social or economic success, we achieve our goal only when we feel in tune with the whole group. We must fall in tune with the collective consciousness. We will be resisted and we will resist as long as we feel

Content: individual, as long as we have an idea that we are somebody, an identity. Whether it is home or office or workplace or industry, this will happen.

Content: If we disappear into the collective consciousness, we are protected and taken care of. We attain complete success, not only socially and economically, but we experience it as well. It will be a feeling of fulfillment. The feeling will be inexplicable. The moment we resist, we make a hellish experience out of it.

Content: A small story:

Content: Once there were two ants sitting on the rim of a cup that contained amrta, the nectar of immortality. As they were talking, one of the ants lost his balance and was about to fall into the cup. He somehow managed to get back on the rim. The other ant asked him, 'Why don't you want to fall into the cup? Even if you drown in this, you will become only immortal.'

Content: The first ant replied, 'But I don't want to drown!'

Content: We don't realize that merging with the collective consciousness will liberate us in totality. We resist and hold on to ourselves. As long as we do not disappear into the collective consciousness, we continuously create hell for ourselves and for others.

Content: This same teaching is contained in Taoism, the ancient Chinese philosophy. Tao is about flowing with Nature. Water is the greatest illustration of natural flow. It flows with the landline. It flows around obstacles, smoothly, energetically. Tao talks about reeds in water that bend with the flow and straighten up once the flow is less. This happens when we do not imagine ourselves to be different from our environment.

Content: Even in the physical layer, if we think we are something separate from our environment, we invite diseases. One more thing, if we think we are separate individuals in the mental layer, we sow seeds of violence. Seeds of violence are created when we feel we are individuals unconnected with others, unrelated to others. We become selfish, dogmatic, and violent. We turn into terrorists. With collective consciousness, we unify; with individual consciousness, we dissect, we cut things in pieces. Logic breaks. Intuition unites.

Content: At the soul level, if we think we are individuals, there is no possibility of spiritual growth. Spiritually, we cannot even take the first step. First thing, at the physical level, we are not isolated individuals. Our bodies and the body of the sun are connected. A small change in the body of the sun can make changes in our body. A small change in our body can change the body of the moon. Even if we are not able to logically relate to this, it is true.

Content: In the mental layer also, we are not alone. Any thought put into someone else's head comes and touches us, and any thought created in our mind goes and touches someone else. Any thought sowed by someone can touch and affect us. It is like ripples created on the surface of a lake. If we create a strong wave, we create an impression with our thought. We lead and inspire others with our thought. If our thoughts are not solid enough, other waves will impress us.

Content: Either we live like a leader or we will be a follower. There is no in-between. We think, 'I will not be a leader. I cannot do that much. I will not be a follower either. I shall maintain my own stand.' This is impractical. There is no such thing as 'my own stand.' Either you lead or you follow.

Content: At the mental level also, again and again, if we think we are individuals, we will be resisted. The moment we understand that we are a part of the collective consciousness, we will not be resisted; we will be welcomed and accepted.

Content: The third truth:

Content: At the ultimate level, at the spiritual level, the moment we understand that we are deeply connected, totally connected, intensely connected to the whole group, to the whole universe, not only do we experience bliss, but we really live, opening many dimensions of our being.

Content: Right now we are stressed out and disturbed continuously and we need to think too much. With our separate body-mind, we need to think too much, we need to try too hard to enjoy life.

Content: If we disappear into collective consciousness, we open many dimensions, many possibilities. See, now with only this one body that we have, it is a feeling of joy and we can enjoy so much. Imagine what we can do if we have two bodies? Imagine what we can do when we have many bodies!

Content: If the multitudes of bodies increase, so does the joy, the bliss. This is our experience when we realize we are a part of the collective consciousness.

Content: During the Nithyananda Spurana Program, the LBP 2, we realize that we are a part of collective consciousness. Not only are we a part, but we are collective consciousness. We are not an individual consciousness as we think. Layer by layer, when we go deeper and deeper, we realize that we are one with everything. So, automatically, diseases disappear. We feel well-being in our mental layer, pranic layer, etheric layer, physical layer and all other layers.

Content: When we experience that we are boundariless consciousness, it is an unbelievable experience. It is difficult to imagine. I have seen people at the end of the program in such ecstasy that they forget their name, identity, social status, education, qualifications, wealth, religion, everything that they are and they have. They respect the other person; they respect everyone. They prostrate at each other's feet.

Content: I have seen the father-in-law prostrating before his daughter-in-law! In India this never happens. This has happened at the end of the program because he sees the divinity in her. The mother-in-law sees the divinity in her son-in-law and touches his feet. Grandparents touch the feet of their granddaughter. The bosses or owners touch the feet of their staff or people working under them.

Content: When we experience the feeling of oneness or collective consciousness, when we experience the bliss or experience of collective consciousness, we forget differences of name, wealth, social status and prestige; whatever we think of ourselves disappears. The truth of who we are is revealed.

Content: I have seen that by touching the feet of their worst enemies, or people much younger or at a much lower economic level, people forget their identity. They are elevated spiritually. They experience a deep level of consciousness, such intense bliss, that their ego disappears. They see God in everyone and they are in bliss, in ecstasy, in collective consciousness.

Content: They are not visualizing, When the experience happens, the whole group realizes that they are all One and the same. They understand that they are not different entities. Only when we experience collective consciousness can we say, can we realize and can we experience the meaning of the word bliss, eternal bliss, nityānanda.

Content: Krishna says, 'I am seated in the hearts of all.' He is in the hearts of all of us, all of you, every single person in this universe. The difference between the self and the Self, the difference between the imperishable and the perishable, are for the 'deluded' and 'confused' as Krishna says. Once one has the awareness of collective consciousness, there is no difference. Everyone merges into the collective consciousness.

Content: The wave thinks that it is separate from the ocean. It does not realize that it comes from the ocean and goes back to the ocean, that it is the ocean. Just as the wave is part of the ocean, we are part of Existence. How can we attain or reach Puruṣottama, when we are already a part of Him? We can only gain awareness that we are a part of Him.

Content: This is the profound teaching of Krishna. In this chapter, Krishna becomes the ultimate master. Arjuna is completely in silence, the best way to imbibe the master. The master removes the ultimate cancerous tumor that happens to our being, which we call ego. A master does surgery on that tumor. He never allows us to be stuck or comfortable with anything less than the enlightened state. Even when we progress spiritually, we get stuck in some layer. We don’t know we are stuck and not progressing. In these situations, the master pushes us again and again to move forward. He transforms our whole life. When we see the surgeon’s knife, we think he will hurt us, but the knife of a surgeon is not for killing; it is for healing. In India, gods have swords and other weapons. These are symbolic representations of them as the surgeons who remove our ego. Goddess Kali has a big knife in one hand and a severed head in the other hand. The severed head represents the ego and the sword represents knowledge or wisdom that has destroyed the ego. Let me narrate an incident that explains how the master takes care of the disciples and never lets them be stuck at some level. Even when the disciples feel cozy and secure, the master shakes them up and makes them aware that what they think of as security is actually just getting stuck and that they should move forward. This is an incident from the life of Sri Ramakrishna, a great spiritual master of the nineteenth century. He had a master called Totapuri. Ramakrishna meditated on a particular form of goddess Kali. He lived life happily with that form. Suddenly, the old monk Totapuri appeared and asked him to go beyond the form of Kali and not to meditate on Her form. Totapuri was a master of Advaita, non-dualism, which is based on the formless reality that the individual is one with the Divine. Ramakrishna was surprised. He said, ‘The form of Mother Kali is beautiful; I feel totally connected to Her, why shouldn’t I meditate on Her form?’ Totapuri said, ‘Forms are ephemeral; only if you go beyond forms will you experience the eternal bliss of universal consciousness.’ When we meditate on a form, we feel comfortable, we project our ego on that form and we feel satisfied. If we wanted a caring and loving father, we can project that onto our God and think of our

Content: God as a caring, loving father or mother. The more strongly we visualize, the more the visualization comes to reality.

Content: Ramakrishna felt that what he so strongly visualized was reality. He was happy, yet it was not the ultimate Truth. Totapuri did not allow him to stay there with ephemeral happiness. He inspired Ramakrishna to go beyond form into the formless, which is eternal bliss. In fact, he forced Ramakrishna to visualize destroying the form in order to have the formless experience. Sri Ramakrishna did and reached eternal bliss.

Content: The master makes sure that we are not stuck anywhere and that we reach the ultimate. That's why in the East so much importance is given to the master. The West only knows teachers. In the East, in gurukuls, traditional schools that impart spiritual education, even the regular, non-spiritual education was given by spiritual masters, not teachers.

Content: What is the difference between a master and a teacher? A teacher knows intellectually; a master knows experientially. A master has experienced what he is speaking, the truth. If Indian kings wanted to learn archery, they went to a master. You may wonder what enlightened persons know about agriculture, archery or business.

Content: Every art and science has a technique. In the gurukul, at the age of seven, all children were initiated into meditation, which they practiced till the age of fourteen. If they had had their first spiritual experience by then, they studied Brahma Sutra, which imparted advanced spiritual truths, and took up a renunciate life, sanyās. Otherwise they studied the intricacies of life through the Kama Sutra and entered into married life.

Content: Everyone was happy because they were properly guided by enlightened masters to live the life best suited to them. A teacher teaches through verbal language; a master teaches through his body language. It is known now that ninety percent of our communication is through nonverbal communication, through the body language. The direct touch and presence of a master transforms and awakens a person by creating such a space.

Content: Once we see the master, he says we are not what we imagine ourselves to be. He tells us that we are not human beings seeking a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Not only are we not ready to believe this; we are also acutely uncomfortable with it. We feel he is preaching his ideas, trying to convert us. We become frightened and want to run away.

Content: We want to be happy with our sheep life and be stuck with our regular things like wife, children, work and pleasure. After some time, when the master continues to give us the same idea, we stop resisting, but we are not yet convinced. After some more time, the energy of the master attracts us and we start remembering him. He becomes a part of our being. Still, we are not ready to accept what he says. We play a game of hide and seek.

Content: At some point, when we trust him, he shows us that we can realize the truth and eventually be like him. He shows us that we are the same as him. Again we get frightened and act like a sheep. Then the master also acts like a sheep to make us comfortable, and make us feel that he is one among us. Once we relate to him and trust him, he forces us to experience that we are lions. This is what I call initiation, or the first experience. He forces us to experience that we are lions, but even after that experience, we again deny it.

Content: After a long time, the master makes us experience our true nature and gives us the ultimate freedom. Then, only then, do we realize that we were always lions.

Content: We don't have to become something new; we need to wake up and realize what we already are. The master never allows us to stop at any step before the full flowering. Again and again, he inspires and takes us to higher levels of conscious experience, until we realize we are that eternal consciousness, until we realize our true potentiality, the ultimate Truth.

Content: A Zen story:

Content: A disciple grew up with the master from a young age. He used to imitate the master. While speaking, the master always made a certain gesture by making a fist with the thumb pointing up. The disciple did the same when the master gave discourses.

Content: One day the master took a sword and suddenly cut the disciple's fingers! The disciple had so much trust in the master that without a doubt, he felt that whatever the master did must be good for him. That trust transported him to a higher-level consciousness and he suddenly experienced enlightenment.

Content: The other disciples asked the master why the disciple had to lose a few fingers to become enlightened.

Content: The master replied, 'People lose many lives to get enlightened, so losing a few fingers to become enlightened is okay!'

Content: Another Zen story: A disciple asked his master for guidance to become enlightened. They were walking together on the third floor of a building, with the disciple following the master. Suddenly, the master turned and pushed the disciple off the building. Again the disciple was so deeply connected to the master that he felt there must be something good in whatever the master did. He felt like he was floating. When he touched the ground, he touched heaven; he became enlightened! Of course, masters use these techniques only with those who feel completely connected with them. They operate on disciples who have fallen in tune with them. This is the ultimate technique, the Zen stick that is used in the most loving, caring way. To the outsider, it may look harsh; however, the disciple understands the love and care behind it when the master uses it on him and is eternally grateful for such surgery. The master never allows anyone to get stuck with ordinary experiences. Even though we call it a spiritual experience, it is only when we stop experiencing anything that we enter into a real spiritual experience. Only in such an experience, the experiencer, the experienced and the experience, disappear into one; all three merge into the experience. Only 'we' remain, even the word 'we' can't be used since there is no other, all boundaries are lost! Unless that experience of tat tvam asi, 'That are thou,' happens, the master never rests. The master is the ultimate master surgeon who removes the ego at all levels, the ordinary or the spiritual. People have spiritual ego when they have a 'holier than thou' attitude. The master will never allow us to be stuck in that area. He pushes us forward until we experience the ultimate. The more we allow his surgery, the more we realize the truth. A few people run away from the operating table during surgery; that's dangerous. Before surrendering, do all the checking, verifying, window-shopping. But once you surrender, allow him to work on you. Let us pray to Krishna, the ultimate energy, the universal consciousness, the cosmic intelligence, to give us the experience of eternal consciousness; to make us beings with jñāna cakṣu, eyes of knowledge, and establish us in nitya ānanda, eternal bliss. Thank you!

Content: Q: Swamiji, if we are interconnected at the level of the mind and higher levels, why don't we feel this connection? How do we get connected?

Content: Let me answer the second part first. You do not need to get connected because you are already connected. All that you need to do is become aware that you are connected.

Content: At the deepest level of your existence, at the nirvanic layer, you are one with the world and the Divine. This is referred to as the oneness of jīva, jagat and Īśvara (individual, world and God). You no longer feel that you are different from all that is around you. There is compassion for fellow beings, even non-living objects. This is the feeling that many who undergo Near-Death Experience have when they return.

Content: You feel that the energy within you is the energy of Nature, of the universe and of the Divine. You are forever in bliss. You are not connected to one thing or another, but to all. Therefore, there is no attachment to specific objects, ideas and relationships. How can you focus your love and attention on one thing when you are already in expansion, covering all things and all people?

Content: This is the pūrṇa that Shankara talks about, the infinite state of fullness that covers all. This is also the śūnya that Buddha talks about when the individual identity disappears, and the self merges with the Self.

Content: How do we reach this? This is an easy question to answer as well as an impossible question to answer.

Content: Each one of us, saint or sinner, is at the same distance from this awareness and the jump is quantum. It is an instantaneous and spontaneous awareness that happens. It is not a phased program in which you get certificates at each level and finally you pass the awareness examination.

Content: All our Life Bliss courses open up a part of you and give you a glimpse into this truth. At the first-level program called Ananda Spurana program or Life Bliss Program Level 1, your energy centers are awakened and cleansed. You are ready for the glimpse, keen to move forward. At the second-level program, called Nithyananda Spurana Program or Life Bliss Program Level 2, where we take you through the seven energy layers, you get the experience. You get glimpses. At the level of Nithya Spiritual Healers’ Initiation, you are initiated into a process that allows you to stay in this experience as long as you wish.

Content: Beyond this your effort is needed. When your questions become a quest and your urge become urgent, you become aware. When you feel that there is no choice but to renounce everything else and surrender to that experience, you become connected to the ultimate Truth.

Chapter Number: 15

Content: This is not a logical process; it is not a defined path. The path becomes the destination when you have the desire. Thus ends the fifteenth chapter named Puruṣottama Yogah of the Upaniṣad of Bhagavad Gita, the scripture of yoga dealing with the science of the Absolute in the form of the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna.

Chapter Number: 16

Content: BhagavadGita You And Me Chapter 16 Human beings are born with divine nature inbuilt in them; they are not sinners! Yet, worldly conditioning turns them demonic. How do we become divine again? Krishna explains!

Content: Swamiji, would it be correct to say that even a demon such as Ravana in the epic Ramayana cared for his own kind and family and in that sense, had a measure of 'You' in him? Does that make him less of a demon?

Content: Great masters have created different religions. Yet, as you said, these religions move from love and compassion to control through fear and greed. Many of us do not know any route other than religion by which to seek God. What do we do?

Content: Swamiji, from what I hear, our default state is the divine, and we slip into demonic nature. Does caring for others keep us in this divine state?

Content: Swamiji, What is the meaning of the mantra OM?

Content: Swamiji, the cow is considered sacred and divine in Hindu religion. If it is based on ahiṁsā (non-violence), then no animal should be killed. Why the cow alone? Why not other animals?

Content: Based on our education, many of us believed that science had all the answers. Even when science did not have answers to what the scriptures said, rather than denying science and accepting its limitations, we denied what the scriptures said. Thanks to you, many of us understand the truth behind the scriptures.

Content: Swamiji, in order to achieve bliss, instead of being caught in temporary pleasures that only result in suffering, is it enough to drop anger, lust and greed?

Content: This chapter is traditionally called Daiva Asura Sampad Vibhāga Yoga, or the yoga of divine and demonic nature. Here Krishna explains the concept of saṁskāras (engraved memories) from an even deeper level.

Content: In the 14th chapter, He spoke about Gunatraya Vibhāga Yoga, satva, rajas and tamas, the three attributes of nature in which all living beings exist. These are the states of goodness, aggression and ignorance. He also explains the three layers of the body-mind system: prāṇa śarīra, manaḥ śarīra and sūkṣma śarīra, which are the physical, mental and subtle bodies, respectively.

Content: In the 15th chapter, Krishna speaks extensively about another body-mind layer, the causal body. That chapter is called the Puruṣottama Yoga or the yoga of the perfected being.

Content: In chapter 15, verse one, Krishna points out how the body-mind system is centered. It is like a unique tree, with its roots in the physical world, and the branches in the causal world. He says:

Content: The roots of this tree are hanging out in the open, in a known space, the conscious space. They also extend back into the unknown space, the causal layer. They go down as if they too are branches. The tree grows both upwards and downwards with many parts of it once again going into the unknown space.

Content: Krishna explains that the leaves of this tree are the Vedas, knowledge. The words we use continuously in our being are in the unconscious space. This space is the causal layer of the body-mind system. He then teaches us how to remove the engraved memories in the causal layer, and how to program the causal layer towards bliss, towards eternal consciousness. This summarizes the teaching of the last chapter.

Content: Here, in the 16th chapter, He moves into the deeper energy layers of the body-mind system and takes us to the cosmic layer. Let me explain first about the energy layers of the body-mind system as traditionally described by the Taittreya Upanishad.

Content: The Taittreya Upanishad traces the flow of energy in the universe from its source down to its end uses. This Upaniṣad says that the primal energy is first expressed as the energy of ākāśa, or ether. The source of the energy is the cosmos, the universe, the Supreme, God, Parāśakti, individual Self, Ātman or whatever name you want to give this source.

Content: Etheric energy is the first layer of this cosmic energy as it spreads out to the manifested world. It is the energy of space, the energy of ether. Do not think that space is empty. It is empty of matter, as we know. However, it is full of energy. As we know from Quantum Physics, matter is energy, and energy is matter. They can exist simultaneously both in time and space. Etheric energy is the largest available energy source in the universe.

Content: If you were to place our solar system in a map of the universe, planet earth would almost disappear from sight even within the solar system! When you view our sun compared to a medium sized solar system in our galaxy, it would also disappear. That medium sized galaxy in turn would disappear when it is viewed in comparison to Antares, a star much larger but not even in the top ten rating according to size.

Content: This gives a visual idea of the vastness of the universe. Our planet is insignificant. When I say insignificant, I mean totally invisible and insignificant, even within a small corner of the universe. The vastness of the space our universe occupies cannot even be imagined. In comparison, planet earth is smaller than a microbe.

Content: The energy that pervades this space, this universe, this cosmos, is the energy of ākāśa - ether.

Content: Krishna speaks about the qualities of the divine and the demonic. The beauty is that both these words have the same root. Of course, it is not accidental; both qualities are rooted in the same energy. It is just a simple decision. When you choose the word 'you', you become divine, and when you choose the word 'me', you become a demon. That's all.

Content: Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, enlightened master of ancient India speaks beautifully of the same energy. No energy can be destroyed; your love can never be destroyed. It can only be converted. He says that as long as the calf says, 'ahaṁ, ahaṁ' ('me, me') it must work, suffer, get beaten and tortured. Once it is killed, musical instruments are made out of its skin; then when we beat the instrument, it says, 'tumi, 'Tumi' or 'tum' ('you, you'). As long as it says, 'ahaṁ, ahaṁ' it suffers, when it says, 'tum, tum,' it starts being used for wonderful purposes like singing the glory of the divine!

Content: This is a beautiful metaphor from colloquial Bengali (the language of West Bengal). Ramakrishna explains that as long as we have the idea 'ahaṁ, ahaṁ' or 'ami, ami,' (me, me), we will continuously be a demon to ourselves and to others. The moment the cognitive shift happens in us, that is when the 'tumi, tumi' ('you, you') happens, we will be a blessing for ourselves and for others.

Content: All the engraved memories, the saṁskāras, are stored in the causal layer. They operate without our control. Decisions are made without our knowledge. However, at the deeper level, in the cosmic layer, we decide consciously: you or me, divine or demon.

Content: A small diagram shows how we make decisions, how our mind usually receives data and processes it, as well as how the cognitive shift happens in our being.

Content: This is what Krishna explains at a deeper level.

Content: You receive information through your eyes. For example, you are watching me delivering a discourse. The file goes to cakṣu (energy of sight), where it is converted into a digital or bio-signal file, so that it may be processed. The energy behind the eye operates much like a digital signal processor, converting the visual scene into information bytes, into a digital file.

Content: The file then goes to citta (memory), where the excluding process of ‘neti, neti,’ (‘this is not, this is not’) happens. There you understand that what you are seeing is not a tree, it is not a plant and it is not an animal. The citta part of the mind acts like a filter. It compares what it receives with what it has in stock, and filters out the possibilities of what it sees.

Content: Then the file goes to manas, another part of the mind that starts to identify, ‘This is it, this is it.’ For example, it concludes, ‘This is a man. He is wearing a saffron robe. He is taking a class.’ The idea comes in this fashion.

Content: Then the file goes to buddhi - intellect. This compares the file with your past experiences with similar situations or similar people. For example, the file now carries me as data because you are seeing me. So if the past experience with me has been positive, or whatever you have heard about me is good, then you are happy and buddhi writes, ‘Yes.’ On the other hand, if you feel it is a waste of time, or if you are not in tune with my ideas, or the time that you spent with me earlier was unpleasant, the buddhi writes, ‘No.’

Content: The file with all these notes, these additional pieces of information, then goes to the ego. The ego decides based on relevance, ‘What is in it for me? In what way am I related to this scene? What will I gain from this?’ If it will gain something, the ego says, ‘Yes, let me sit here and listen.’ If there is no gain, if the ego is not going to be enriched, the ego naturally says, ‘No, I think I will move out from here.’ Thus, according to the ego’s instruction, we decide. Our body either moves or sits.

Content: This is how the process happens. The ego is the point where we choose, ‘What is in it for me?’ Our vested interests come into play at this point. Please understand that sometimes the whole process will say, ‘Yes, I will stay,’ yet at this point, the ego may decide, ‘My vested interest is being impinged upon.’ If this happens, we will not stay! The rest of the mind may accept what we are saying, but if the ego is not ready, the whole decision will be changed.

Content: Similarly, if the rest of the mind says, ‘No,’ and yet this part, the ego says, ‘Yes,’ we will decide, ‘Yes.’ Sometimes, when you are about to do something that is

Content: immortal according to the social standard or according to your understanding, the final conclusion is 'No.' But suddenly your ego feels, 'I will be enriched by doing this activity, let me do it.' So you decide to do it. This is the place where you decide, 'You or me!' that is to say, Me or yourself. That's the only small difference. When we make the decision of 'You,' we radiate divine qualities. When we make the decision of 'me,' we radiate demonic qualities. Actually, most people sit here because it strengthens their egos. At the end of this discourse, they know much more than others! They can tell others what they know. Many times, we sit and listen for the ego's satisfaction. So if we sit and listen for this purpose, even if we listen to the Gita, be very clear it will just create trouble for our being. We will not be helped in any way. The decision about 'You' or 'me' is made in the cosmic layer. If we decide with the attitude of 'you,' the whole thing becomes divine; if we decide with the attitude of 'me,' the whole thing becomes demonic. The mind is neither negative nor positive; citta is neither negative nor positive. None of these, including the guna (attributes) are negative or positive. Even tamasic qualities, such as laziness, are neither negative nor positive. Many enlightened masters seem passive, not doing anything at all. We cannot differentiate between their attitude and laziness. For instance, Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi sat throughout his life in one little town, Tiruvannamalai. He never moved out of there. He was mostly in silence. Yet we cannot say he was in tamas since he never made any decision out of 'me.' The whole process was happening with 'you' as a center, not 'me.' We cannot call the citta, the mind or samskāra good or bad. In the superficial layers, they are neither. However, the decisions we make in the cosmic layer, in the deeper layer, determine whether they are good or bad. The energy behind passion and compassion is really one and the same. When we decide based on 'me', it is passion; when we decide based on 'You', it is compassion. We need to understand one important thing. If we feel passion strongly in our being, but our compassion has only a little intensity, then our compassion is just a pseudo-expression, perhaps for the sake of name and fame, not for anything else. If we don't have compassion as intensely as our passion, all our activities are based on ego. Even this Gita discourse can become food for the ego, if the decision is taken out of 'I' and 'me'. When the decision happens out of 'You,' even ordinary daily activities can become divine, not just Gita discourses. We need not work on the 'doing'; we need to work on the 'being'. Doing can never lead us to anything. As long as we believe that doing can lead us to the

Content: Ultimate, we have karma. This is called pūrva mimāṁsi (those who interpret the vedic rituals literally). Only when we understand that only being can lead us to the Ultimate, we are called uttara mimāṁsi (those who interpret the vedic scriptures according to vedānta-based non-duality).

Content: According to the Vedas, there are two major types of people: People who believe in doing and people who believe in being. People who believe in transforming the 'Being' are vedantins, people who believe that the transformation to the Ultimate can be achieved by 'doing' are karmakandis. Of course, the Ultimate can be achieved only by working on the being, not by working on the doing. If we work on the doing, we either suppress or express. We continuously fight with ourselves; nothing else is achieved. Only a man who transforms his being can achieve the Ultimate.

Content: Whether to be a demon or divine, we decide at that one point. When we receive the data, process it and deliver the result or command, how is the command delivered? What is the center from which the command comes out? If the command comes out with the thinking, 'What is there for me, what is there for me?' then whatever we do, including meditation, will be only ego satisfying.

Content: Many people ask, 'Swamiji, at some point, I felt such deep ecstasy in meditation, such beautiful bliss. But suddenly, within two hours it disappeared, it never came back! Why is this so? How can we get it back?'

Content: Please understand that bliss is choicelessness. When we are absent, when our identity disappears, we experience bliss. The moment we want the bliss back, the moment we covet bliss, we have already chosen. We have made the choice! The moment we choose, we will always choose suffering. All choices are suffering, because choice is based on the mind. It is based on duality. Bliss is choicelessness. It is beyond duality, therefore there is nothing to choose 'between'. Bliss occurs beyond the level of mind and choice. But the moment we want to grab or have bliss, we suffer because we have dropped to the level of the mind, comparison and duality. Bliss can never be experienced this way.

Content: When we are blissful, we allow bliss to possess us. The moment we want to possess bliss, we turn it into suffering. When we want to possess in order to strengthen our ego, the decision is from the attitude of 'me'. The moment the attitude of 'me' or 'mine' appears and decides, it destroys the bliss. We can no longer be divine. When we are blissful, we have said, 'No' to 'me'; we are relaxed in the 'You' idea. The moment we want to possess bliss, we have said, 'Yes' to 'me'.

Content: We need to understand 'You' and 'me' properly. The word 'me' means ego; the word 'You' means the whole of Existence. When our identity evaporates, when our ego dissolves, whatever is left is Existence; it is divine. We create the demon by bringing in the idea of 'me'. The moment we bring in the idea of 'me,' whatever there is, is demonic. The moment the 'me' idea is removed, whatever there is, is divine.

Content: With the 'me' idea, whatever we do, be it meditation, rituals, learning, or knowledge, it will only strengthen the ego. Anything done with the idea of 'me', whatever is done to strengthen the idea of 'me', naturally leads to more ignorance and suffering. Anything done with the attitude of 'You,' whatever it is, naturally becomes divine and leads to bliss.

Content: In Sanskrit, we have two words: nivritti and pravritti. Nivritti - looking inwards or liberation - is centered on the idea of 'You'. Pravritti - looking outwards or bondage - is centered on the idea of 'me'. Whatever is done out of 'me', leads to liberation; whatever we do out of the idea of 'You', leads to bondage.

Content: Ashtavakra says this beautifully in his dialogue with King Janaka:

Content: yadā nāham tadā mokṣo yadāham bandhanam tadā | matveti helayā kiñcinmā gṛhāṇa vimunca mā || 8.4

Content: Where there is no 'me', there is liberation. Where there is 'me', there is bondage. Considering this carefully, neither hold on to anything nor reject anything.

Content: As long as we are centered in ourselves, we are in the bondage of attraction and aversion, greed and fear. Most people are centered in their mūlādhāra cakra, which is the energy center in your body associated with the emotion of greed, or in the svādiṣṭhāna cakra, which is the energy center in our body associated with fears and insecurity.

Content: The mūlādhāra is all about 'me' - our possessions: 'What is in it for me? Where do I go from here?' The svādiṣṭhāna is about 'I', our identity, insecurity and fear arising from our need to protect the body-mind system. Both these bind us, block us, and keep us firmly locked in the material world.

Content: As our higher centers of energy get energized and unblocked, and our energy rises from the mūlādhāra and svādiṣṭhāna, to anāhata (heart center) and beyond, we look beyond ourselves. The 'me' starts dropping. When the ājñā cakra (energy center between the eyebrows) becomes energized, the ego, the identity, the 'I' and 'me', disappear and the 'you' takes over. The demon becomes the Divine.

Content: When we shed our ego, we become boundary-less. We are no longer limited by selfish thoughts about 'me' and 'mine', our kith and kin. The whole world is ours to care for. Krishna refers to this as vasudaiva kuṭumbakam, 'the whole world is one family'. As long as we feel that our body-mind is our boundary, that we are separate from the rest of the universe, we will continuously fight with Existence. We will continuously fight with nature, and we will be continuously fighting with the Whole. Please understand that the part can never succeed when it fights with the Whole.

Content: Whatever we think, speak or do based upon the idea 'me', leads to more and more complications, more and more suffering.

Content: Here, Krishna beautifully explains the demonic and divine natures.

Content: As in chapter 15, in this chapter also, Krishna speaks. In earlier chapters, Arjuna spoke. Arjuna was expressing his ego, and a catharsis was happening. He was mad, confused, and vomiting, quoting everything he had learned. Slowly he came to the next level, allowing Krishna to speak, and the conversation began happening. Now in the 15th and 16th chapters, Arjuna is practically silent; he is listening. No questions, only doubts. All the questions have disappeared and only small doubts are left. He is asking for clarifications and more understanding from his master.

Content: Q: Swamiji, would it be correct to say that even a demon such as Ravana in the epic Ramayana cared for his own kind and family and in that sense, had a measure of 'You' in him? Does that make him less of a demon?

Content: When someone like Ravana or Duryodhana cares for someone or expresses love and positive emotions, their emotions and behavior also emanate from ego. Their identity, the 'I' and the possessiveness, the 'mine', drives them to such behavior.

Content: Duryodhana was probably the most selfish person in the Mahabharata cast. All that mattered to him was name, fame and possessions. He would stoop to any level and commit any crime in order to fulfill his ambitions. Yet, his relationship with Karna seemed out of character. He gave Karna a part of his kingdom and made him a prince!

Content: Duryodhana's act was not born out of selfless or unconditional love. He recognized Karna as a warrior who could beat Arjuna, his arch enemy, and so wanted Karna on his side at any cost. Duryodhana's relationship with Karna was primarily born out of a selfish motive.

Content: It is the same with many others who seem to show a sense of care and love amidst a general trend of selfishness. The truth is that, until they are enlightened, all human beings carry a mix of divine and demonic qualities. Everyone is a mixture of the attitudes of 'You' and 'me'. The 'You' arises more as you move towards satvic (goodness) tendencies, and the 'me' is predominant in the rajasic (aggressive) and tamasic (lethargic) tendencies. Just as a person has a mixture of these three attributes, each person is also a mixture of 'You' and 'me'.

Content: The issue is how do we progress from the 'me' to the 'You', from the demon to the Divine. This is the purpose of life, if at all there is one. This is the core issue. As we shed our boundaries and grow, this transformation occurs. The growth is not external. It is purely an internal process. The experience is within. The expression is without.

Content: We also need to understand where the 'I' and 'mine' come from. We think that the feeling of possession, the 'mine', comes from the identity of 'me'; it is the other way around. We are born with desires. They form the base of our primal energy. These desires drive us to acquire. These desires may be material, physical or psychological.

Content: Even the infant needs nurture and care. It operates from its primal desire to live and survive. Its cries and other actions are meant to fulfil this desire. As the infant grows, its desires diversify. It needs varieties of food, clothing, shelter, entertainment, education and so on. As one desire gets fulfilled, another rises. But no desire gets really fulfilled.

Content: The desires and fulfillment of these desires create the 'mine' - the possessions. Our basic desires come from the prārabdha karma, the carried-over mindset from our previous body. This is also called vāsanā. Our carried-over mindset from the previous birth decides how and where and as what we are born in this life. Vāsanās are the collective and cumulative mindset of our body-mind system from our previous birth. These are based upon how we lived that life. These are the unfulfilled desires with which we left the body in our previous life. Those desires do not go away. They follow us.

Content: Not only do they follow us, but they also determine who we are in the next birth. Those unfulfilled desires constitute the 'mine'. These desires rise from the mūlādhāra cakra.

Content: These desires and possessions determine our identity, the 'I'. Please understand, it is not the identity that gives rise to our desires and possessions and the establishment of 'mine'. It is the desires and the possessions, the 'mine', which develops the identity. You think of yourself, who you are, based on what you have around you. The labels that you give yourself at any phase of your life are based on what you have acquired or what has been thrust upon you.

Content: This identity, the 'I' or 'me', resides in your svadiṣṭhāna cakra. This identity is your expression. The desires are your experience.

Content: A Ravana, Duryodhana or a Hitler does not assume that identity of a demon by accident. No! They are born with that mindset based on the kind of life they led in previous lives. They had the tendency to become what they became. They came into this life with the mindset and the desires, and were born into environments that gave them the opportunity to become what they eventually became.

Content: But this is not predestination. This is not irreversible. The desire to be powerful or wealthy does not imply that one must lead a demonic life. It is a choice that individuals make.

Content: I have told you, time and time again, that there is no such thing as destiny or fate as far as all of you are concerned. These are mere escapist ideas. It is like people who claim that they have surrendered to me and yet they do not listen to me. Fate and destiny are useful pegs to hang our mistakes on, so that we can remain blameless. We say, 'What can I do? It is all destiny; it's God's will.'

Content: Of course, it is God's will. This whole universe is God's will and so are we. However, God has willed that we use our free will. That is why He has given us consciousness, so that we are aware of what we do. If we truly believed in God's will, we would do our very best and leave the result to Him.

Content: This is what Krishna said earlier,

Content: karmanyevādhikārāste mā phaleṣu kadācana

Content: Do what you have to do without bothering about the results.

Content: When we move into the space of 'You', we move into the attitude Krishna speaks about. When we are no longer worried about ourselves and we think of everyone's needs as our own, results lose meaning. There is no selfish pressure. There is no identity that directs us towards success instead of failure, based upon how we imagine success looks. Success and failure lose their meaning. They become the same.

Content: Whether we act demonic or divine, the inner space in all of us is divine. The inner space is pure; it is uncontaminated. Whether we are tuned inwards towards that purity or tuned outwards toward gratification is the choice we make through our free will. A Ravana had the choice of being a Rama, and a Duryodhana had the choice of being an Arjuna. Through their own free will, they did not exercise that choice.

Chapter Number: 16.1,2,3

Content: Bhagavān Krishna says, 'Fearlessness, purification of the being, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, and being centered on the being, performance of sacrifices, and accumulation of knowledge, austerity, simplicity, non-violence, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquility, aversion to fault finding, compassion for all living entities, freedom from covetousness, gentleness, modesty, studied determination, vigor, more forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from envy, and from the passion for honor, these transcendental qualities, O Son of Bharata (Arjuna), belong to divine men, endowed with divine nature.'

Content: Krishna lists a number of qualities that take us to a higher plane of consciousness; qualities that make us divine.

Content: Now when we listen to these things with the attitude of 'me', what do we usually do? We start practicing all these virtues. Be clear that if we try to practice all of these qualities, one thing is sure: we will become mad. We will not be able to do anything because we will be fighting with ourselves. We will be controlling our senses to strengthen our ego. When we try to understand these ideas with our ego, with the attitude of 'me', we practice them to strengthen the idea of 'me', to improve ourselves and become better beings. Again and again, masters prove that they are not better beings; they are totally transformed beings. There is a difference between better beings and transformed beings.

Content: The other day I shared the story of the lion and the sheep-lion told by Swami Vivekananda. It is a beautiful story. The sheep-lion does not want to realize that he is a lion. He wants to be a good, strong sheep. He asks the lion to give him a technique for becoming a strong sheep.

Content: Similarly, if we start practicing these qualities listed by Krishna, we may have a stronger ego. That is why so-called tapasvi (ascetics, people performing penances),

Content: people who repress themselves, have a strong ego. People who perform penances or repress desires, radiate ego. We clearly see that they do these things to strengthen their ego.

Content: When we are completely blissful and relaxed, austerity happens. I have seen many sanyāsīs (ascetics), especially in India, who blame householders for not being pure, for being sinners. When we force ourselves to do penance, we continuously burn inside; as a side effect we often have doubts about our path and ourselves. This doubt causes us to continuously do something; we then make others guilty about the path that they are following.

Content: We make others feel guilty that they are doing the wrong thing when we feel what we are doing is right. This happens particularly when people come to us and admit their wrongdoings.

Content: Listening to confessions makes a person's ego strong. The listener feels strong. He feels that the people confessing are doing wrong, whereas he is pure. When we do penance out of ego, we want others to feel guilty and we want others to confess to us. We feel strengthened listening to others' mistakes. We feel strong when we address others as sinners.

Content: Swami Vivekananda says that calling man a sinner is the only sin. Penance is supposed to happen naturally out of joy and bliss. Just as a natural thing. Anything done by force is not going to help us or society.

Content: Society teaches us that we are sinners. First of all, this is not true. No enlightened master who has realized the divinity within is capable of saying this. Secondly, who gains anything at all by calling everyone a sinner?

Content: If a religious organization convinces people that they are sinners, that organization can control people. Unless an organization controls people, it cannot survive. There are only two methods that an organization can use to survive and grow - greed and fear. Either it attracts people by instilling greed in them, or makes them afraid by instilling fear.

Content: Religions try both methods. They say that if we do this, we will be rewarded; we earn merit points and when we earn merit points, we go to this place called heaven. In heaven, we will be taken care of. We will not need anything. The picture of heaven painted by some religions is fantastic. All kinds of wine, women and songs will be provided if we do as the religious leaders say.

Content: Some sects sell VIP (Very Important Person) passes that guarantee heaven after death! People pay huge sums of money for these. It is like people booking their final resting places with scenic views! They build superb cemeteries, which will have sea-view sites, hill-view sites, swimming pool-view sites and so on. You can be buried in these vaults and you can enjoy all these views.

Content: You may laugh, but this is true. It happens around us every day. Like monkeys we are made to dance to someone else's tune - through sheer greed. The offer of such a wonderful opportunity after death is powerful because it is a realm of the unknown. The fear of what is going to happen after death, makes you listen to such nonsense.

Content: Religions lay down regulations and commandments that we must not violate. If we violate these commandments, God will punish us and throw us into hell.

Content: Krishna tells us to be without fear and greed. He also says to be without anger. He says to be truthful, simple, meek, gentle, non-violent, and to be without expectations and to renounce. These are qualities of the Divine; these are qualities that you express when you are focused not on your own self but on others. These are qualities that arise from the heart and not from the mind. These are qualities that arise from love and not from desire.

Content: God, the very idea of God, should evoke love, not fear. God in any religion should be portrayed as compassionate. No enlightened master has experienced otherwise or expressed otherwise. The concept of a fearsome God with vengeance is a manmade myth. It is created by man, to set one man against another, to divide, control and conquer.

Content: Man has devised sophisticated methods whereby you can commit sin and still be redeemed. He is told that he has sinned. Now that he is a sinner, he is asked to pay a particular institution to absolve him of his sins.

Content: The cycle is endless. We commit sin, we pay, we are absolved of sin, and then we can go and sin again. So, we feel we cannot go wrong in this life or in any other life, or even if we do not believe in life after death, in whatever state we happen to be after death.

Content: All this is nonsense. There is no hell or heaven. They exist only in our mind. We are conditioned to believe in them because this is the easiest way to control us, through fear and greed. The greatest fear of any religion is that we might start thinking for ourselves. Worse still, they are afraid that we may stop thinking, and drop our mind! Religions fear this because then we will be liberated and no one will be able to control us. We will have become our own master.

Content: The saddest part is that religions say that we are born sinners. I can at least understand it if someone calls an adult a sinner because he is more exposed to the ultimate truths. The very lack of awareness that we are divine, in my opinion, is a sin; that is the original sin. When we got into thinking and started clutching onto our thoughts, we became ignorant. If at all there is an original sin, it is that - the clutching onto our thoughts. Conditioning makes us logical, it makes us sinners. We can accept that. However, what of a newborn infant? By what right can anyone claim that a newborn is a sinner? Especially if they do not believe that there is life after death!

Content: So, do we assume that this sin comes from Nature, Existence or God? Does this mean that God is the Creator of sinful beings? What kind of a God is that? Why are such things promoted? All this is done to control others through fear and greed.

Content: Do we seriously think that God has no other job except to lay down rules and regulations about what we should do and not do? After that, He still has more time, so He watches everybody to see whether they are observing or breaking rules!

Content: God resides in you and me. We know everything that we do. When we do wrong, we know. No one has to tell us. That becomes our sin. The guilt makes our life hell, nothing else.

Content: When we are free and liberated, we are in sheer enjoyment and we are in heaven. Watch a young child. Do we ever see him depressed and unhappy unless tortured by elders? When he is left free, he is really free. Children can be wild and they should be left wild. They explore with no inhibition. They are God-like and always in heaven. Anyone who calls a child a sinner is the biggest sinner.

Content: As we grow, we are conditioned by others and we absorb their values, the society's value system and beliefs. We stop believing in our own inner being; we lose that inner child, that magical and miraculous child, and we become an adult. We start being led by our nose, by rules and regulations, by concepts of sin and 'me'.

Content: If instead, we focus on others, on 'You', we expand. In fact, the more we focus on our inner awareness, the more we open up to others. We move from the 'me' to 'You.' As we move inwards, our higher intelligence awakens. Our higher intelligence is nothing but the Divine. That awareness alone makes us God.

Content: Please understand that what we think of as God is not an old bearded man sitting on the clouds, playing on a harp! God is merely that energy of inner and higher intelligence. That same intelligent energy that is within us also drives the entire universe. The energy that powers us is the same energy that powers the sun. There is no difference at all.

Content: As human beings we have the opportunity to expand into this energy, into this higher intelligence. Unfortunately, animals do not have this ability, this consciousness. Humans do. To ignore this gift, this opportunity, this consciousness, is our original sin. The entire meaning of our life is to discover this truth and become divine. That is why, if we die without realizing this truth, we are born again.

Content: We go through this cycle of life and death again and again because we do not recognize who we are. As Buddha says, that is the cause of our suffering. When we realize our own Self, our true divine potential, we realize the meaning of our life, and there is no need to be born again. We become liberated.

Content: Q: Great masters have created different religions. Yet, as you said, these religions move from love and compassion to control through fear and greed. Many of us do not know any route other than religion by which to seek God. What do we do?

Content: This is a thought-provoking question that all of you must think about.

Content: The great masters who founded the major religions were enlightened. They experienced and expressed the Divine. Over time those who followed them turned demonic. That is the truth.

Content: Spirituality is the creation of masters. Spirituality is about our well-being. It is the root of our holistic well-being. This includes material well being, physical, psychological, mental, emotional, as well as relational and spiritual well-being. Spirituality is not just some intangible concept. These great masters never had any concern about their own well-being; they only addressed your well being.

Content: For many years after Buddha's death, based upon his own injunction, there were no idols or pictures representing Buddha. A Bodhi tree represented him. However, about 500 years after his death, followers started making pictures and idols of him. Now, there are thousands of temples dedicated to the master who did not go by the concept of temples. This is despite the fact that Buddhism follows its founder's teachings more closely than most religions.

Content: Once religions became institutionalized, they tend to become commercialized. They need methods to survive. The most basic tool of survival is control through fear and greed.

Content: We can reject organized religion and seek God. We can go to a temple and see God without the need for a priest. Or if we prefer, we can relate to God at home, or wherever we choose. We do not have to submit to the pressures of any institution.

Content: God is always available for help, but we never ask. Jesus says, 'Knock and the door shall be opened unto you, ask and it shall be given.' But we never ask, we never knock on the door, and we go on missing immense good that can be ours just through the asking.

Content: I say to you that there is no need to even knock. His door is always open. All we need to do is take that step to enter. That is all.

Content: God is always standing behind us, just like our shadow, but we go on searching for money, power and prestige. We never look at the subtle presence of life that surrounds us. We never look within, where it burns like a flame.

Content: That is why we never look into someone's eyes; we avoid them. There is a subtle contract among human beings all over the world to never look into each other's eyes for more than three seconds. It is strange that this is so in all cultures. Looking into someone's eyes longer than a few seconds is called staring and is considered impolite. It is thought to be uncivilized and rude, unless you are intimate with that person, unless you are in love with that person. However, even when people are in love, they do not look into each other's eyes as windows to the Divine; they look into each other's eyes just for bodily, sexual energies.

Content: Our eyes express everything about us: our body, physiology, psychology, and also our spirituality. Our eyes are our windows: People can look through them to our deepest core.

Content: In our Bhakti Spurana Program, BSP, there is a meditation where two people look into each other's eyes for thirty minutes. Ask those who have been through this experience about what it taught them. They are deeply moved. They look into another person's eyes, in most cases someone they have just met at that program, for a full thirty minutes. They discover themselves during this process. Not only do they learn about the other person, they learn about themselves. The 'me' in the person gradually melts and transforms into 'You.'

Content: BSP is for those who have undergone the first few levels of Life Bliss Programs such as the ASP and NSP. BSP introduces the master, inculcates the understanding of the master and explains the possible relationships with the master. All meditations in the BSP help you drop your mind, your ego. By dropping the mind, we find the master and the Divinity within ourselves.

Content: Look deeply into a flower and you will find God. Look deeply anywhere and you will find God. God simply means the depth of things. Whenever we are in contact with the depth of things, immense energy becomes available to us.

Content: In fact, we start seeking God only when God has already started seeking us. We move towards God only when God has stirred in the deepest core of our being. We are so unaware; that is why we think that it is our desire to seek and know the truth. We are so small that we can't have that great a desire! Understand that. When we are small, our desires are bound to be small.

Content: People seek God only when God starts seeking them, although they think that they are seeking. Only finally, at the highest stage of meditation, do they become aware of the phenomenon that their whole understanding has been foolish. It was God seeking them, and that is why they started seeking God. However, God is always the one who takes the initiative.

Content: It is the same with masters. They seek out disciples. It is not disciples who are in search, but masters who seek out the disciples.

Chapter Number: 16.4

Content: Pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness or cruelty, and ignorance - these qualities belong to those born with demonic nature, O Son of Pritha

Chapter Number: 16.5

Content: The transcendental qualities are conducive to liberation, whereas the demonic qualities make for bondage. Do not worry, Pandava, you are born with divine qualities.

Chapter Number: 16.6

Content: Partha, in this world there are two kinds of created beings, one is divine and the other, demonic. I have explained at length to you the divine qualities. Now hear about the demonic qualities also, so that you will understand and live your life blissfully and happily.

Chapter Number: 16.7

Content: Persons with demonic nature do not know what is bondage and what is liberation; nor what is cleanliness; truthful behavior is not in them.

Content: What is demonic nature? Krishna says that all actions done out of arrogance, out of pride, out of ego, for name and fame, and for power, are demonic in nature. As in the case of Ravana, they benefit neither the person himself nor others. Their actions are performed out of ignorance, and ultimately lead to their own downfall.

Content: I have seen many people do penance like Ravana (King of Lanka who abducted Rama's wife Sita, in the Indian epic, the Ramayana). Ravana did penance; however, his powers neither helped him nor others. He became a demon for others and for himself. He killed others, and finally destroyed himself. His penance was done with the attitude of 'me' and 'what is there in it for me?' The whole story happened to strengthen the 'I' and 'mine'. Please understand that whatever we do, whether we study the scriptures, do charity or social service, or perform pūjā (prayer), rituals or meditation, if they are done to strengthen the 'I' and 'mine', they always lead to suffering.

Content: Focusing on the 'I' is instinctive. It is a call for survival. It is a call for our survival based on our conditioning and insecurities. The instinct to survive is what is called 'I', and the instinct to possess is what is referred to as 'mine'. The person who understands that both are illusions is an aware person. Such a person realizes that the instinct to survive does not help, and no matter what one may have, one still cannot survive forever.

Content: The instinct to survive is pure illusion. At the most we can survive perhaps for 70 to 80 years. Sometimes a person lives to be 90 to 100 years with the same identity. Yet the instinct to survive tries to extend itself. It wants to make life eternal. No one wants to die. Naturally we are then walking towards suffering. As long as we carry this instinct to survive, we repeatedly hurt ourselves.

Content: This morning an ashramite complained that she is hurt by small and well-meaning criticisms from others. She said she is sensitive. I asked her to stop using that word. I said, 'You are not sensitive. A sensitive person is porous; he allows the words to pass through him. Only arrogant people get hurt. If we are hurt, please understand that we are arrogant. We are impenetrable like stone, which is why words come and hit us. Don't say that you are sensitive.'

Content: A sensitive person lets words pass through him. He never suffers. Suffering is from arrogance, never from sensitivity. A person who is sensitive never suffers. We suffer from words when we stop them, when we resist them, when we make our own meaning out of them. When we do not make meanings out of words, we do not suffer. It is like playing with words. We choose nice words to support our ego. We do not say, 'I am hurt because I am arrogant.' We use polished words such as, 'I am hurt because I am sensitive.'

Content: Please don't cheat yourself with words. Let straight words be used. I hear many polished words around the world. People easily cheat themselves with such words. Don't cheat yourself with polished words. Let things be straight and clear. We can use polished words to cheat others, but let us please not use them to cheat ourselves.

Content: Let me tell you a small story...

Content: A contractor wanted to donate a sports car to an official.

Content: The official refused, saying, 'I am an honest person and I cannot think of accepting this gift.'

Content: The contractor asked him, 'In that case, how about if I sell this car to you for ten dollars?' The official replied immediately, 'In that case, I will buy two cars!' Be clear and do not play with words. Let us not cheat ourselves with words. Let us be clear about what we mean. Let us use the same honest words to express what we really are and what we really feel. Ramakrishna says, 'Let your words and mind be straightened.' Whatever is, let it be expressed with straight words. At least we will know that we have a problem. When we use colorful, polished words, by and by, we forget we have a problem. When we play with words we forget that we have a problem. And this is very dangerous. Understand, when we know that we don't know, at least we know that we don't know. When we don't know that we don't know, then we don't even know that we don't know! We then have a problem. Be very clear. At least let us know that we have a problem. Let us use straight words. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. To achieve anything, the shortest way is straightforwardness. Nothing else can work. Here Krishna gives all the divine qualities, one by one. It is not necessary to explain all the qualities. Let us take a few. Let us take fearlessness, for example. As long as we carry the instinct to survive, we have fear. Fear can never be taken away from our being, as long as we want to survive. Surrendering to Existence, surrendering to death is the one and only way to achieve fearlessness. There is a beautiful Upaniṣad (part of the Hindu scriptures), the Kathopanishad, that you must read. It is from the wonderful system of vedānta (essence of the Vedas including the Upaniṣads), founded by the vedic ṛṣis (sages). They have gone deep into the science of death. The West has dedicated its entire energy to understand life, whereas the East has dedicated its energy to understanding death! That is why ṛṣis live even after they die. They live after death, too. They exist; they discovered the art of living even after death. However, people who are caught in the material world die each moment, even as they live. This Kathopanishad is the science of death. There is a beautiful story of a young boy, Nachiketa, who goes to the abode of Yama, the Lord of death. Yama was not there when Nachiketa went to meet Him; His servants try to receive him, but the boy insists on waiting for Yama. Yama

Content: receives him after three days. Yama welcomes him. At this point, we must understand that no one goes to Yama's abode; only He comes to our abode! Always it is He who comes! When we try to escape from Him, He is death as we know it ordinarily; He will take away our 'I' and 'mine' - all our possessions and relationships; we cannot sign our check or drive our car once He takes us. We cannot have our relations anymore. Whatever we think is ours will be taken away: wealth, relationships, bank balance, everything. What we think is 'I' - the body, even that will be taken away. When death comes to us, everything is taken away. On the contrary, when we go to death like Nachiketa did, fearlessly, death welcomes us! Yama becomes our host!

Content: In this story, Yama receives Nachiketa with love and care. First thing: He becomes a loving host. Next, He offers him three boons. Nachiketa first asks for good relationships. He says, 'When I go back to my family, my father should accept me, love me and take me back.' Yama blesses him with good relationships. After that Yama blesses him with wealth, and shows him how to create wealth, pleasure and comforts. Now Yama is behaving like a God. First He behaved like a loving host, and then He behaves like a God. Ultimately, Yama gives him ātmajñāna - knowledge of the Self; Now, He is behaving like an enlightened master himself! The third boon he gives, because Nachiketa asks Him for the secret of death. Pleased with the boy's sincerity and courage, Yama blesses him with enlightenment itself.

Content: Look at the paradox of life: When we run away from death, Death or Yama chases us, wherever we are. Death takes away all our wealth, our relationships, whatever we think of as 'I' and 'mine'. But here, with Nachiketa, the whole situation is just the opposite! When we surrender to Yama, when we go to Him, He is a loving host. He is not something terrible as we imagine Him to be. We always portray Yama as a huge form, black in colour, with a big moustache, traveling slowly on a buffalo, with a rope in His hands and with a terrible, arrogant and egoistic demeanor!

Content: Here the whole scene is different. He says, 'Welcome! You are the form of Agni, fire.' A guest is considered to be the form of fire that we worship.

Content: The vedic culture says, 'Atithi devo bhava' - the guest is God. In vedic culture, the guest or atithi is respected as God. A-tithi means a person who arrives without telling us in which thiti (time or date) he will come. Not the person who sends us an email, then a phone call, a fax, and then expects that we pick him up at the airport! Such a person is not an atithi. No! He is our relative! We must take care of him. He must be received; it is pure business. But atithi is different.

Content: Please understand that all our relationships are more or less business relationships. Atithi means a person who comes straightaway into our lives with an openness. The big problem is, today the atithi concept is lost. People cannot believe that in Indian villages, the doors of all homes are kept open in the daytime. At least in the village in which I was brought up, all the doors of all the houses were open. I could go to any home on that street and eat! A child can go to any house and eat! The very idea of atithi, the unannounced guest, has disappeared in most places. When people call India a poor country, I tell them, 'No. You don't know the value of Indian culture.'

Content: For example, when we travel to a developed country and go to a new city for business purposes, how much can we afford to spend on hotels and lodges? On the contrary, at least in India, if we have one friend, just a phone call is enough, and all arrangements are taken care of! There too, due to the cultural invasion, this hospitality is diminishing. At least in the villages where vedic culture is alive, this atithi culture is alive. Atithi devo bhava is where we respect any guest as God.

Content: Yama tells Nachiketa, 'You are my guest and you have come to my house in the form of 'vaiśvānāragní' (the fire that we worship). The (priest) is considered to be the embodiment of Agni, the divine Agni. You have come to my house as the embodiment of the Divine. You are here. Let me pay my respects to you. I was not here to receive you when you arrived. Please forgive me for not being here for three days to receive you.'

Content: Usually we postpone Yama (death). Usually we try to escape from Him. But when we go in search of Him, He will not be there, as we feared! That is the essence of this whole story.

Content: Usually He chases us. We run away from Him, and He is behind us! But when we turn and go towards Him, we suddenly find that He is not there! For three days, Nachiketa could not find Yama. Understand this important point. This story is significant; it has a tremendous truth. When Nachiketa went to Death, Death was not there. This means when we turn towards death, we will not find death as we imagined it to be. Whatever imagination we have about death will not be there when we surrender to death. Now, because of our fear, we try to escape; because we try to escape, He chases us.

Content: It is like a vicious cycle. If we understand that, at the moment we surrender, He will not be there as we imagined Him, as we expected Him to be, we will get tremendous courage. That courage makes us face Him more clearly. When we face

Content: Him more clearly, we get more courage. When we follow this circle, it is called a virtuous circle; what we experience presently is the vicious cycle. Let us turn our vicious cycle into a virtuous circle.

Content: If we can understand this Kathopanishad story, our whole idea of death will be transformed. First of all, when we seek Him, He is not there. Second, when He appears He is not as we imagined Him to be. Rather than being an arrogant, terrifying form, waiting to take our possessions, He is a humble host, welcoming us graciously. He then behaves like a God and blesses us with relationships, wealth and ultimately ātmajñāna, knowledge of the Self, enlightenment.

Content: We may ask how to go towards death, for example, ‘Should we commit suicide?’ Please understand that committing suicide is not facing death. Be very clear that people who commit suicide are not fearless. They are the most cowardly people. They commit suicide because they are unable to live this life. Rather than facing death, they escape from life. Suicide is not facing death but escaping from life. Escaping from life is one thing; facing death is another. These two are very different from each other.

Content: When fear is created in our system or when fear happens, the only way to face the fear is to just go through it. Don’t allow it to frighten you. Some people tell me that they are afraid of their fears. Fear is enough trouble, why be afraid of fear as well? Don’t allow the fear to overshadow you. Sit with yourself; be with yourself. Let the fears come up; how long can you postpone your fears? How long can you control your fears? How long can you escape from your fears? Allow them to surface. Your whole being will shake, tears may roll, and you may have a deep depression. Let everything happen. Whether you consciously allow the fear to happen or not, the fearful incidents will happen. So it is better to face it with clarity and courage.

Content: Our fears can be classified into five major categories. The first is the fear of losing wealth and comforts. The second is the fear of losing some part of our body due to an accident or disease. The third is the fear of losing our near and dear ones. The fourth is the fear of losing our mental well-being. The fifth is the fear of the unknown - that is the fear of death, ghosts, God, hell, heaven, and such things. These are the five major categories of fears we face in life. All our fears can be brought under these five categories.

Content: Allow all of them to surface. Sit with yourself. Let everything come out; let your mind face the fears. Let your mind speak everything; let everything come out. Give it half an hour. Let it happen. You may feel depressed, tears may roll and

Content: your whole body may shake. Let everything come out. What can be done? If you could do anything, you would have done it. Very clearly, your very existence proves that you are not able to do anything. That is why you are just keeping quiet. Allow the fear to happen. Let the fear come into your being.

Content: Let the fear come up to your conscious layer without being suppressed. Accept that there is a possibility for all these fears to come true: your wealth may be stolen, you may have an accident, a near or dear one may die, or you may die. All these possibilities are real. Yes. What can be done? This is life. This is what is called facing reality as it is.

Content: Only small kids need fantasies and imagination to face reality as it is. However, we need to understand the truth as it is. We can't escape from reality; we can't escape from the truth. The more we try to escape, the more it haunts us; the more it chases us. When we allow the fears to come out, suddenly we will see that they leave us, and we become more responsible, more intense.

Content: In our second level meditation program, called Nithyananda Spurana Program or LBP Level 2, we have a meditation replicating the 'death experience'. It is based on my personal experience of death. People feel frightened to enter into the meditation, but on coming out of the experience, they feel completely reborn and clear.

Content: They say, 'I have been postponing many things; now I have decided that when I go back, I will do those things.' Naturally these people become intense when they come out of the death meditation. They understand the value of relationships. Many people report that after that meditation, they began respecting their spouses; they do not take them for granted anymore. When we think of the possibility of death, we will never take life or our spouse for granted. We will start really living.

Content: Similarly, when there is a possibility that our good health may be taken away from us, after this meditation, we will not take our health for granted; we will start living life intensely. We will not take things for granted when the possibility of death, of life being taken away from us, enters our being. We will realize our responsibility and the gift of life that Existence has bestowed upon us.

Content: Let me tell you a small story to show how we take things for granted.

Content: There was a king who felt completely bored after forty-five years of the good life. He had whatever he wanted: wealth, luxuries and other pleasures. Whatever was there to enjoy, he had it all. There was nothing for him to do.

Content: All the excitement was lost; he was bored.

Content: Let me tell you, when you have all material comforts, when you have everything that you wanted in the material plane, tremendous boredom will happen within you.

Content: If we don't already have everything, we at least have the excitement of something left to achieve; we work for that. There is a need for continuity. There is a need to live. We will have some goal. When we have everything, what should we live for? Nothing! So never imagine that when we have everything, we will be happy.

Content: This king entered hell simply because he had everything. He was totally depressed, bored. He didn't wish to come out of his room; he was lying there the entire day through the year. His ministers tried their best to bring him out, to enliven him, and to give him a little excitement. They brought the best comforts and luxuries from all over the country, all possible pleasures. Nothing worked on the king. He said, 'No, I don't care for anything.'

Content: Finally they decided to do one thing. They said, 'O King, there is an enlightened master in the forest. He may be able to help you. Why don't you meet him? He will bring you out of your depression. Many have been helped by him.'

Content: The king said, 'I am not interested in going anywhere.' The ministers asked him to try just once. He agreed saying, 'You are telling me so much about him, let me give him a try.'

Content: He went to meet the master. The king was full of doubts and questions and unwilling to trust the master. He thought, 'Who knows if he is enlightened or not?' He asked the master straightaway, 'Can you help me come out of my depression?'

Content: That is the way people question when they come just to check a master out. They don't come to learn; they come to verify. Many people ask me, 'Can you show us some path to achieve God?' I tell them, 'I will try, why don't you be seated?' They question me as if they have come to check me out!

Content: Similarly, the king just wanted to check out that enlightened master. He asked straightaway, 'Can you do something to get me out of this depression?'

Content: The master told him that if he could bring all his wealth in one bag, he could teach him.

Content: Immediately the king decided that this master had nothing to do with enlightenment. 'He is a cheat, a bogus fellow, he is asking for my wealth.' He went away without giving a reply. However, that night he wondered why the master asked for his wealth. 'Inspite of my doubt about him, there is some grace, there is something about him working on me,' he thought. People ask me how to find out if someone is enlightened. We can never find out using the intellect. Always try your best to suspect the person. If he is really enlightened, then his form, his very being, will impress us! We will not be able to forget him. That is the scale to check if a person is enlightened or not. People ask me if they should remember me all the time. I say, 'No. Try your best to forget me, to doubt me. If you have been really touched by me, you will not be able to do so, try as you might!' My presence will work beyond your intellect. If you are going to be helped by me, you will simply fall in tune with me. Let me state very clearly: You will simply fall in tune! Through intellect we can never analyze or understand. With your intellect, try your best to say 'No.' If you always say 'No,' you will never be cheated; so that is the best thing to do. If the person is enlightened, he will be able to penetrate you beyond your intellect. He will be there in your being. He will be there in your mind in the day and in your dreams in the night. He will be haunting you. You cannot escape from him. So this king felt hewas being haunted by the master. The king was lying on his bed, rolling from side to side. 'Shall I try? If he takes away my wealth, I can easily catch him. After all, it's my kingdom.' He did all the calculations. 'In any case, I am not happy with this wealth; if he takes it away, what is there to lose? It is not useful to me, so let him have it.' So the king decided to take the risk. The next day he converted his wealth into diamonds, put them all in one bag, and brought the bag to the master. He stood in front of the master. Without saying a single word, the master suddenly snatched the bag and started running. The king understood that this master really was a cheat. He started chasing the master. We cannot successfully chase someone who lives in the forest since he knows the secrets of the forest. That is why professional people never catch bandits. Not only in this country, but all over the world, professional police never catch bandits. The bandits know the secrets of the landscape.

Content: The master ran this way and that, since he knew the forest very well. The king was new to the forest and tried his best to follow. This chase went on and on. The king wondered why he had taken such a risk. He was blaming himself and suffering. 'When I return to the country, I will have nothing. I will be a beggar, I will need to beg in order to eat,' he thought. He visualized scenes of his poverty. He began suffering his poverty. Poverty had already entered his mind. When he was rich, he was suffering; now he was suffering due to poverty. That is the paradox of money: When it is there, it gives suffering; when it not there, again it gives suffering.

Content: When it became evening, the king was about to give up. He thought, 'Now I cannot do anything. This master knows the forest too well.' At this point, the master stopped running. The moment the king saw that the master had stopped, he quickly caught up with him and grabbed the bag.

Content: The master laughed. The king could not understand what was going on. The master said, 'Fool, now take this and enjoy.'

Content: Suddenly, the king felt that he had become rich! Just because he had missed his wealth for one day, he felt he had become rich!

Content: The master said, 'Fool, you were depressed because you took everything for granted. Now the same wealth that you lost for one day, you have back again; go and enjoy it.' The king came out of his depression just by being made to miss his wealth for one day!

Content: In our life also we undergo the same thing when we allow the 'insecurity consciousness' to happen to us. Please understand that I am using the word 'consciousness'. The feeling of insecurity is a consciousness; it is the truth. If we allow this feeling to happen in us we will never take life for granted. We will start enjoying life intensely. If for just one day we intensely miss what we have, we will never take life for granted again.

Content: For example, try to live for even twelve hours without opening your eyes. Keep them closed. You will then never take your eyes for granted! Similarly, we will never take our life for granted if we know it will be taken away from us. We forget that it will be taken away from us one day, that is the problem. We suppress the fear, the insecurity about losing our lives; that is why we never enjoy life, and we take it for granted.

Content: The moment we experience insecurity, when we understand that life might be taken away from us any moment, we start living intensely! If we are depressed or

Content: bored, and we lose everything for just twelve hours, we will suddenly understand this truth. We will never again take life for granted. The king felt bored because he took life for granted. When we face death, when we face insecurity, immediately we understand how we have been taking life for granted, and we start living intensely. That is what this story means. Yama gave relationships, wealth and finally enlightenment to Nachiketa. When people come out of the darkness or death meditation in the NSP, they tell me that they understand the real meaning of relationships; this means Yama has blessed them! They know the value of their wealth now; it means Yama has blessed them with wealth and now they will start living. They realize that life is the ultimate blessing, and naturally Yama has showered that blessing on them. They understand that the body may die and that there is something beyond the body and mind that exists in them; that is what I call ātmajñāna (Self-knowledge). We have the blessings of relationships, wealth and enlightenment when we face fear and death with clarity. Here, when Krishna speaks of fearlessness, He means, 'Face it, face the fear; only then fearlessness can happen.' Only when we face the instinct to survive and the instinct to possess, will we enter the zone of fearlessness. Until then it can never happen. You can face the instinct for survival or the instinct for possession only by making decisions based on the concept of 'You', not on the concept of 'me'. As long as you work, act, speak and think centered on 'me, me, me', you will be a demon; you will work out of the instinct for survival and the instinct for possession. When you work based on the concept of 'You, you, you,' you will radiate a new energy. Try this simple experiment: Try living for others' sake for just one week. I am not asking you to give away your property or any such thing. Usually we think, 'What is there in this for me?' For example, if your wife calls you up to see a movie, you say, 'No, I want to go to the beach.' You always force your preference. Just for one week, in your office, in your house, wherever you go, decide and be with the attitude of 'you' instead of 'me'. Try this with simple, day-to-day life decisions, not things like giving away your property. Immediately the mind thinks, 'If I start thinking based on 'you', people will take me for granted, people may exploit me, people may cheat me.' Alright, that is fine. Now nobody is cheating you. You are living centered on the idea of 'me'. You are protecting yourself. Are you happy? Come on, be frank, are

Content: you happy? Not really! So why not then give a chance to be centered on 'You'? We live all our life with this 'āsurī sampat,' what Krishna calls demonic nature, the attitude of 'me, me, me', me'. Now just for one week, why not try this? These workshops and your time in the ashram is such a great chance to practice this. At present, when you come back into the hall for the next session, what do you do? You grab your seat. You leave your kerchief also to block the seat! First, you grab your seat. When prasād (blessed food) is given, you first grab your plate. For one week, take your plate after another person receives the food. See that the person next to you is comfortable. When you get up in the morning, ask the other person, 'Are you okay? Why don't you use the bathroom first, then I will use it.' We always say, 'Wait, I have some urgent work.' Instead of that attitude, try this experiment of letting others use or talk first with simple, small things. 'Please go ahead and use that. I will use it after you.' Or, 'You have been working continuously; let me help you with this small task.' For one week, put that 'You' into your being. You will not know from where the bliss suddenly comes! Suddenly you will feel that your whole being is relaxed. When you don't give attention to 'me', you will never be 'in tension'. As long as you are giving attention to 'me', you will be continuously in tension. When you replace 'me' with 'You', a deep inner healing happens in you. What I am talking about is not morality. Please don't think I am teaching you how to live happily. There are many who write books like, 'How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.' I am not the person to teach 'How-to stuff.' I am not giving this as morality; I am giving this as a spiritual practice. If you are working towards spiritual growth, if you are a 'professional seeker', please try this one practice. I use the term 'professional seeker' because there is always a group of people who are professional seekers. If any swami (holy man) comes, they attend his programs. Any swami, any book, any spiritual event - they will always be present. People come to me and say, 'Swamiji, for the last thirty years, I have been seeking.' Don't feel proud about that. Don't be proud that you are a professional seeker. Please be clear that if you have pride that you are a professional seeker or that you know some swami or the other, or that you have attended some discourse or the other, some meditation program or the other, you are not on the true spiritual path; you are just window shopping, that's all.

Content: If you are really a seeker, if you think you are seeking spirituality, then do this one spiritual practice. Try this single spiritual practice for seven days. If you think there is any way I can help you, take this single statement and forget about everything else. Work based on this single statement: instead of deciding based on 'me, me, me', decide based on 'You, you, you'.

Content: I am not asking you to give away or renounce anything; just try this with simple, day-to-day decisions. You will see something happening in your being. The tension, that solid weight in you will melt, loosen up; you will experience inner healing and a tremendous and cool, blissful breeze will happen in you. Naturally when you get a glimpse of this mood, you automatically start expressing this attitude in day-to-day life, everyday and every moment.

Content: We always choose words and actions based on 'me'. For instance, when we shout at somebody, we say, 'I am doing it for his good, for his sake.' When someone is angry, we say, 'See, he is like a demon, he is mad at others, he is shouting.' When someone else is angry, we say he is a demon; when we get angry, we say it is for that person's good! 'If I don't teach him, who will teach him? I am doing it only for his good.'

Content: Please understand, don't play with words; be straight. Experiment with this for the next week, not longer. After that you can become your old self. You can't become, that is a different issue! Try it on simple things. Instead of deciding based on 'me', decide based on 'You'. The irritation that you continuously carry will disappear. The instinct to survive, to possess, will disappear. You will become an empty being.

Content: You will become a hollow bamboo. Whenever you become a hollow bamboo, you are a flute in the hands of the Divine. Whatever happens through you will be divine; you will imbibe the divine nature.

Content: Krishna further explains step-by-step how to imbibe divine nature: How to cause the cognitive shift at the deep, subtle level.

Content: Please understand that working at the level of satva (equanimity), rajas (aggression), or tamas (slothfulness) is difficult. It is akin to changing all the servants in order to change the master. We will never be able to do that. Just change the master and all the servants will be transformed.

Content: Here, Krishna gives the technique to change the master, the ego that makes decisions. He gives the straight technique for the cognitive shift to happen. At present, cognition happens in us keeping the 'I' as the center; He gives a simple

Content: technique to replace the 'I' with 'You' so that the cognitive shift happens. This same system will be used for the divine nature.

Content: Rama and Ravana in the Hindu epic Ramayana, are both energetic; both have the brahmāstra (high energy weapon). The only difference is that one is centered on 'I'; the other one is centered on 'you.' That is the only thing that makes one person divine and the other demonic. Rama is divine, Ravana is demonic.

Content: Krishna goes further to give subtle techniques to experience the consciousness of 'You', the ultimate consciousness, the consciousness of the Whole, the 'daivika sampat' or divine nature of your being through this cognitive shift.

Content: Step-by-step Krishna explains all these great qualities. As I mentioned, please don't try to practice these qualities as a separate effort. The more we try to practice these separately, the more schizophrenic we will become. We will be fighting with ourselves. Do something that will make you express these qualities in life. Automatically you will become blissful, free from anger and full of dharmic (righteous) qualities.

Content: When we do anything including charity, by force, or social conditioning, merely because we have been told that we will go to heaven, we will have trouble. Never do dāna (charity) if you feel something is being taken from you. The word dāna, giving or donating, is wrong; sharing is the right word. Because we feel we have enough, we share with others. With the word dāna, there is ego, the thought, 'I am higher, the giver; you are lower, the receiver.' With sharing, the idea of donation does not exist. The thought is, 'We have got it, let us share.'

Content: Sharing is the right attitude. If we do charity with the attitude of 'I', we will later check whether our name has appeared on the plaque! 'Has my name been spelled correctly? Is it the right size? Is the font larger or smaller than that of someone else's name?' Especially in India, even if a tube light is presented to a temple, it will be inscribed with the words 'Ramanathan, son of Somanathan, in the memory of his mother, Saundarya Lakshmi, who passed away on this date, presented this to this temple on this day.' It will be painted with black paint. When we switch on the tube light, we will just see a black line on the wall - no light!

Content: Ramana Maharshi says beautifully, 'When you don't ask, you will be given.' I tell people, 'When you don't tell what good things you do, I will tell.' When people do things for the ashram but do not tell anyone about them, I tell the whole world about them. However, when they tell, I keep quiet. When you don't do from the

Content: attitude of 'I', you won't feel like something is being taken away from you. Above all, you will feel tremendous fulfillment. Anything you do with the attitude of 'you' will make you radiate these beautiful, divine qualities.

Content: Even Yashoda (the foster mother of Krishna) had the idea of 'I'.

Content: Let me tell you a lovely story. It is about a great devotee named Tarangini. It is a wonderful expression of love; the 'I' and 'you' are expressed truly here.

Content: The story goes that within twelve hours of Krishna's birth, He was handed over to Yashoda. He took birth at midnight, and before sunrise, He was brought to Yashoda. This was because of a prophecy that Kamsa, His uncle, would come to kill Him at sunrise. Yashoda brought Him up until He left his home, Vrindavan. Despite her bringing Him up, when Yashoda asked Him to sing or play the flute, He would not play.

Content: However, when Tarangini, a devotee of Krishna from a lower caste asked Krishna to play, He would play for her. She would stand in a corner and would not come in front of Him. She would quietly enjoy His presence and music from a distance. Once Krishna had gone, Tarangini would touch the dust in the place where He had stood and played.

Content: One day Krishna forgot the flute and went away. Of course, He did not forget, He must have pretended to have forgotten it. Would Krishna forget? He would make others forget, but He would never forget anything! He pretended to have forgotten the flute. Tarangini noticed the flute and with love and care, kept it in her home to hand over to Krishna.

Content: The next day Krishna said, 'Someone has taken My flute.' He pretended to search for it. He learned that Tarangini had the flute and went to her house. Since He was from a higher caste, He needed a reason to go to the area of the lower community people. Yashoda would ask Him why he had gone there. Krishna went to the area which was full of mud, dirty roads, and a hut in which a thousand suns were shining, meaning that there were a thousand holes in the hut! Krishna entered the house and asked for His flute.

Content: Tarangini was totally shaken to see Krishna in her house. She was overwhelmed; she was unable to speak. She ran and brought the flute to Him. Krishna continued His act, asking if He should play the flute. And who can refuse when Krishna asks?

Content: She replied, 'My Lord, even Gods and ṛsis come down to listen to Your music, how can I say no?'

Content: He sat on the steps, and started playing; she sat in a corner filled with ecstasy. Yashoda arrived at that moment. She felt terribly upset because He had never played the flute for her.

Content: She said, 'I take care of you; I give you food and look after you completely. You never play for me. Yet you come and play here for this urchin girl!'

Content: Please understand that the attitude of Tarangini is 'you' and the attitude of Yashoda is 'me'. Due to this, all Yashoda's service had no positive result for her. Since Yashoda disturbed him, Krishna stopped playing. The tune that Krishna played to Tarangini is known as punnagavarali, 'the broken tune'.

Content: Krishna told Yashoda, 'You served Me, no doubt, but with the attitude of 'I'. Tarangini is devoted to Me; you are devoted to yourself. As long as I am your Krishna, you take care of Me; that means you are devoted to yourself, you are centered on yourself and not on Me. That is why you are unable to digest five minutes of separation.'

Content: This is the instinct to possess. Krishna continued, 'You have come all the way here; you are not even giving five minutes of My space to her. Tarangini never asked Me to come to her house. She never expected that I would play for her. She is totally dedicated, with only the attitude of 'you'.'

Content: Then Krishna blessed Tarangini saying, 'You will have sāmīpya mukti; you will become a shanbaga flower and reside in My garland. You will stay with Me forever.'

Content: There are four muktis or levels of liberation: sālokya mukti, sārūpya mukti, sāmīpya mukti and sāyujya mukti. Sālokya means 'same place'; it means we will be allowed to stay in Vaikunta, Vishnu's abode. We will have a residence in heaven. Sārūpya means we will have the same form as the Lord. For example, we can see Jaya-Vijaya, the gatekeepers of heaven; they have the same śankh (conch), cakra (discus), gada (mace), padma (lotus) - all the accessories of Vishnu in the same svarūpa (form).

Content: Sāmīpya (being near) is being in the inner circle; the cakra that Vishnu is carrying has achieved sāmīpya mukti! Becoming enlightened oneself is sāyujya mukti. Sāmīpya mukti is the best enlightenment because we can enjoy Him forever! It is like an ant forever enjoying the sugar candy.

Content: Sāyujya mukti is like becoming the sugar candy. This is for all the ṛṣis. For devotees, the ultimate state is sā mīpya mukti. So Krishna blessed Tarangini with sā mīpya mukti.

Content: He said, 'May you become a flower in My garland and be on My body. May you be on Me.' He then turned to Yashoda and said, 'Because you served with the attitude of 'me, me, me', may you not have any temple on planet earth.'

Content: Yashoda served Krishna so much, but have you seen a single Yashoda temple? No! Everywhere you see Radha temples. If you go to Vrindavan, Radha is worshipped more than Krishna. Even a milkman when selling milk will call out, 'Radhe, Radhe,' not 'Krishna, Krishna.' Despite all her service, since it was centered on 'me', Yashoda was unable to achieve enlightenment.

Content: On the other hand, Tarangini, being born of a lower community, was never even close to Krishna. She was not allowed to serve Him; however, because she lived with the attitude of 'you, you, you', Krishna went to her home, blessed her with eternal closeness to Him, and gave her liberation.

Content: Even if they run after the Divine, people with the attitude of 'I' can never reach the Divine, because the Divine runs away from them. If we live with the attitude of 'you', even if we live in a hut with a thousand holes, Krishna waits for us at our doorstep. Many stories illustrate how the 'I' drives the Divine away, and the 'you' attracts the Divine. One small attitude change can take care of the cognitive shift.

Content: Let me tell you one more small story. It is about the fight between the śankh (conch), cakra (discus) and pādukā (sandals) of Vishnu.

Content: Vishnu has a śankh, cakra and pādukā. One day He returns home after having gone out. Vishnu is blissful energy, and likes to go around and enjoy!

Content: Vaikuṇṭha, Vishnu's abode is totally different from Shiva's abode. It is a fun place; continuously dance goes on and all varieties of food are served!

Content: Anyhow, Vishnu returns and leaves his sandals outside His bedroom and goes in to rest on his beautiful serpent bed, Adisesha. The conch and discus look at the sandals and laugh. 'See, you may carry Vishnu all day long, but when He comes into the room, you must stay out. Only we can enter with Him. You have not really achieved sā mīpya mukti (close to the Lord). We are with him twenty-four hours a day. For the twelve hours of the night, you are outside. So you have half sā mīpya mukti; we have full sā mīpya mukti.'

Content: The sandal replies, 'Alright, what can I do? Whatever Vishnu wants, let it be.' The next morning when Vishnu comes out, the sandals ask Him, 'Lord, the conch and discus are making fun of me. Is it true that You are unhappy with me? Is it true that I have only fifty percent sāṃīpya mukti? What mistake have I made?'

Content: Lord Vishnu laughs and tells the sandals, 'Attitude and time does not mean that you are unimportant or they are important. Attitude and time do not show favoritism, I have no favoritism; each of you has a different place, work and things to do.'

Content: He then adds, 'By worshipping the conch and discus, people cannot get liberation. However, by worshipping you, they can get liberation! The sandals when worshiped can give enlightenment. The discus kills; the conch declares victory in war. These are their roles; worshipping them cannot give liberation. Your duties are different. Your place is different. Only by holding you, people can attain liberation. Since they have made funs of you, let them be born on planet earth and worship you for fourteen years. The conch and discus will take birth as Bharata and Shatrughna (brothers of Lord Rama, in the Indian epic, Ramayana) and worship the sandals of Lord Rama for fourteen years when He is exiled to the forest. Let them worship you and understand that only you can liberate them.'

Content: We must understand that people around the master have different responsibilities. If we think that some are important and others unimportant, we will face difficulties. The person who thinks he is important will be made to kneel in front of the person whom he thinks is unimportant.

Content: The conch and the discus started thinking 'me, me, me' and so naturally they had to suffer. The sandals thought, 'You, You, You' and were therefore worshipped. Vishnu blessed the sandals saying, 'Let the conch and discus worship you and attain liberation, and then they will never talk about you like this.'

Content: How we are centered and where our attention is focused is what makes our life demonic or divine. Divine or demon is determined only by one concept: 'You' or 'me'.

Content: Now, here is another important point. After hearing about 'You' and 'me', the next thought that may come to our mind is, 'Swamiji, I do not know whether I am working based on 'You' or based on 'me'. I am worried about whether I am a demon or divine. Please guide me, tell me, based on which quality I am working.'

Content: Let me assure you that if this fear arises in you, you are divine. The person who is ready to look into his mind, the person who is afraid about whether he is living rightly or wrongly, always lives rightly. Only the person who is arrogant is demonic. The person who is demonic never considers whether he does right or wrong. He thinks that he is always right.

Content: Arjuna also has that fear, 'Bhagavān, am I living with divine or demonic nature?' He is not expressing that feeling, but his face reveals his fear.

Content: Now Lord Krishna explains that living with transcendental qualities, that is the attitude of 'you', one achieves liberation or enlightenment - nivritti. By living with the idea of 'I' we create more bondage. The demonic qualities make for bondage, meaning pravritti.

Content: Lord Krishna assures Arjuna that he is born with divine qualities.

Content: If we have ever contemplated whether we were living with 'You' or 'I', if the doubt ever arose, if we have suffered, if we have felt fear or guilt, be clear that we are born with divine nature. On the other hand, if we feel that we are living properly, and that we came here because we had no other entertainment, with the thought, 'Let me listen to whatever master is saying,' if we have that attitude, then we know our nature!

Content: If we have looked once into our being, considered and thought, 'Am I living with demonic nature? Or am I living with divine nature? What is my nature?' If we looked even once into our being and tried to measure ourselves with this scale, we are in the position of Arjuna. Be very clear that we too are born with divine qualities. So if you are worried after hearing the qualities, then be sure, you are born with divine qualities and you don't need to worry about it any further.

Content: When a person who is righteous listens to such words, he will try to verify his own nature, since he is centered on dharma, righteousness. People who are adharmic, non-righteous, even if they listen to such discourses, think, 'Oh, Swamiji speaks about all these things as though he lives them. Let us see how he lives them. Let us see if his living is in tune with his ideas.' A person who is divine tries to chisel or correct himself, whereas a person who is demonic tries to correct others. With the demonic nature, the person holds the hammer and chisel towards others, whereas with the divine nature, he holds the hammer and chisel towards himself.

Content: When we carve ourselves, we become God. If we have ever looked within ourselves, then we are born with the divine nature. Now Arjuna has become

Content: mature; the moment he hears these truths, he looks into his being. Naturally then Lord Krishna tells him that he is born with divine nature.

Content: Krishna describes the qualities of a person who lives based on ‘I, I, I.’ I don’t think we need to understand these qualities because we already have these qualities which is why we still feel we are suffering. There is no need to read these qualities, because we know enough of them. All that we need to know is how to live with the attitude of ‘You, You, You’.

Content: Please understand that when we live with the attitude of ‘You, You, You’, we completely forget ourselves; we disappear into Existence. We are in bliss.

Content: Let me share an important technique that Lord Krishna speaks about. For three days, think you are somebody else. It may seem funny! For instance, if you are a doctor, for three days think you are a beach freak. Clearly visualize yourself as somebody else, not a doctor. The moment you change the idea about yourself, a tremendous freedom happens to you. Your tension disappears.

Content: Before taking sanyās, aspirants undergo a meditation called ‘bhūta śarīra vāsa’ meaning they are giving up their entire past. They perform the death ceremony of their parents, śrāddhā, even if their parents are alive. This is because if the parents die after the person takes sanyās (renunciation), who will do the death rituals for them? Therefore they do it now itself. They also do their own śrāddhā (death rituals) since they will have no children and there will be no one to do it for them!

Content: After the śrāddhā, they must lose their identity, whatever they may have been - doctor, lawyer or engineer. To do that they smear their entire body with sacred ash, and like a ghost, they put on rudrākṣamālā (necklace of the holy rudrākṣ seeds) and celebrate! Their identity is completely lost and they beg for alms. They do not associate with their identity. They completely break their identity. For three days, they meditate that they are somebody else. Only if they pass this meditation and break from their identity for three days, are they given sanyās.

Content: This is ‘bhūta śarīra vāsa,’ breaking away from our past identity.

Content: For three days try this meditation. For three days, think you are somebody else. Whatever you think of as your property, forget it; whatever you think are your problems, throw them out; whatever you think of as your profession, give it up. You can pick it up later, but for three days throw it all away.

Content: You will see a new consciousness rising in you. If you throw away the ‘me’, that alone liberates you, and if you start working on ‘You’, you experience tremendous

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Content: bliss. When you drop 'me', you experience peace; when you start working with 'You', you experience peace and bliss. This is the straight path to peace and bliss.

Content: A demon is not one with horns on his head, with protruding teeth, with six hands and a fearsome look. Krishna says that one with a demonic nature is not aware of what bondage is and what liberation is. People of this nature are so deeply immersed in their attachment and aversion that they no longer feel themselves separated from these qualities. They are so much in bondage to their senses that they can no longer know they are in bondage.

Content: To a madman in an asylum, the rest of the world is mad, not he. He is the only sane person in an otherwise insane world.

Content: Once a famous actor went for a public relations visit to an institution for the mentally disabled. This man was so well known that everyone recognized him. As he was taken on a visit around this asylum, an inmate asked him curiously, 'Who are you?'

Content: The actor was surprised since he thought everyone recognized him. He said quite pompously that he was so and so, the famous actor.

Content: The inmate signaled him aside and whispered, 'You know, that is what I said to them when I came here. They cured me in six months. You also stay here six months and you will be alright!'

Content: Many of us are like this! We do not see a prison wall around us, that's all. However, we are led exactly the same way through greed and fear, through attachment and aversion.

Content: We can excuse rats for constantly running in a maze without knowing how to get out. How can we excuse a human being who has been given the gift of cognition and discrimination? Why don't we use the higher intelligence provided to us to at least understand where we are going wrong?

Content: A small story:

Content: A preacher attracted many disciples because he promised that he would take them to heaven after they died.

Content: One day the preacher died. Two disciples committed suicide so that they could follow him to heaven. They did not want to miss the chance, in case he forgot what he had promised them. The preacher was happy that two disciples followed him in death.

Content: The three reached the gates of this beautiful palace and the guard seemed to be aware of their coming, and let them in. The preacher turned around and said to the disciples, 'See, whatever I told you is coming true. All those fools who did not follow you missed their chance.'

Content: Three beautiful women received them and served them delicious food and wine. They told them, 'Whatever you wish for will be yours to enjoy. All you need to do is merely think of what you want.' For the next few days, they thoroughly enjoyed the palace with its comforts. Even before they thought of something, what they wanted materialized before them.

Content: In a week's time, they became bored. The preacher said, 'This is a wonderful place, yet I am homesick.' His disciples said, 'Yes, master, we too are homesick; this is no fun anymore. We cannot even fantasize. Even before we fantasize and finish, it becomes reality. We never thought we could become bored of heaven, but that has happened.'

Content: Looking around, they noticed a few windows. However these windows were locked and they could not see anything outside. Even when they wished that these windows would open, they would not. Instead, the guard came in. He explained, 'Sir, your desires only apply to the space within the four walls of this palace. You cannot open these windows.'

Content: The preacher said, 'Look, we are bored. We are homesick. We want to look at planet earth where we came from. Even if we cannot go there, can't we at least look?'

Content: The guard said, 'Sir, no, you cannot.'

Content: The preacher became annoyed, 'Can we then at least go to hell?'

Content: The guard turned to him surprised, 'Where do you think you have been all this week?'

Content: We get ourselves so comfortable in our own hell, in our own demonic nature, that we can no longer differentiate between hell and heaven! We cannot tell demonic and divine nature apart. We do not know the difference between bondage and liberation.

Content: Q: Swamiji, from what I hear, our default state is the divine, and we slip into demonic nature. Does caring for others keep us in this divine state?

Content: You are right. As I said, even if you start with the doubt, 'Perhaps I'm not divine,' you start moving into that default divine nature.

Content: Caring for others, focusing on the 'you' instead of 'I,' automatically takes you to the path of the Divine. The problem with most people however, is that their caring is a business transaction. They care when there is something in it for them. Whether the transaction is with mother, father, spouse, son, daughter, relative or friend, there is a 'What's in it for me?' attitude.

Content: The care arises not out of real love, but out of attachment or aversion. We care because something may happen if we do not, or we care so that something good happens to us. It is like providing any other service. It becomes contractual.

Content: When the focus is on 'you,' as in caring for someone with no expectation, with no conditions, we slip into a state of bliss. This state of bliss is our natural state. When you are focused on 'I', you invite suffering and misery.

Content: Remember one thing: God is closest when we are blissful; when we are in misery we are farthest from God. The dilemma is that most of us remember God when we are in misery and that is the moment when we are farthest away also! Even if we shout from a place of misery, our voice cannot reach Him. When we are blissful, we need not even whisper. Without saying a single word, our prayer is understood. Even our silence is eloquent.

Content: This has been the problem throughout the ages: Man remembers God only when he is miserable, which is the wrong moment to remember Him. When you remember God in misery, that means you want to use Him. And God cannot be used as a means to some end. That is sacrilege. It is using God as a tool. To use another human being as a means is immoral; what shall we say about using God as a means to another end?

Content: When we are in a blissful moment, when we feel blessed by Existence, let us savor that moment. That is when we are closest to God. Let that moment be of gratitude, prayer, and meditation. In that moment, remember God existentially, not verbally. Let your whole being feel the vibration and become overwhelmed with the beyond. Don't lose that moment. It is precious.

Content: Everybody is born ready for divinity. If we miss it, it is totally our responsibility. We miss it because we never look within. We miss it because we never use the opportunity that life gives us. We miss it because we are lazy. We miss it because we are unconscious, sleepy. We miss it because we are not aware of the great blessing that life is.

Chapter Number: 16.8

Content: People with such demonic qualities think there is no ultimate energy or intelligence, which is running this planet earth, which is running the universe, and that this whole creation is produced out of lust and desire, and is unreal.

Chapter Number: 16.9

Content: Following this material view of creation, these degraded souls with small intellect, lost in themselves and committing cruel deeds, are engaged in the destruction of the world.

Content: Please understand, the energy that is within us, the energy that drives us is the same energy that drives this universe, this solar system and planet earth. This energy is intelligence, the highest intelligence.

Content: Krishna says that when we are unable to recognize this energy, we are demonic. We do not believe everything operates out of this energy; instead we believe we make things happen with our greed, lust and desires. We believe we run this world with our puny intellect that we consider intelligence.

Content: For years, many religious institutions believed planet earth was the center of this universe. They killed millions for believing otherwise. Though they may have believed in some form of God who created this universe, they seemed to think that this God was situated on this planet.

Content: They assumed that they ruled earth, and that there was nothing beyond them, so they could destroy people who did not share such a belief. We need not even be irreligious to be demonic. We just need to be so self-centered that even our God is at our disposal. Then we are demonic.

Content: Such a belief is different from the concept of believing that you are God and that God resides in you. This belief arises from deep awareness instead of dark ignorance and is totally selfless. Once you become God, the rest of the world is part

Content: of you and you are part of that world. There is no longer the duality of 'I' and 'You'. Both merge into the non-duality of either 'I' or 'You'; it does not matter.

Content: Even to this day, there is no logical explanation for the creation of this universe. There are theories; that is all. All of them are only theories. The Big Bang theory says that the universe was created in one huge cosmic explosion or Big Bang. But it cannot answer the question, 'What caused that explosion?' What was there before or who struck the match or what created that explosion is unknown. If there was something that led up to the Big Bang, how can the Big Bang be the cause of creation?

Content: More intelligent and aware scientists understand and are creating new concepts. They too, like our sages, suggest that a cosmic intelligence runs the universe. The universe is not dead; it is not just matter. They say that the world is not just pure physics and chemistry.

Content: People who think the world is pure chemistry become demons. Naturally, if we think this whole world is just inert matter, we try to acquire more and more by killing everybody, by hook or by crook, by right or wrong means, and we do what we want to. Only when we understand that this universe is intelligence, and that it responds to our thoughts and activities, will we live properly, or start really living.

Content: A small story:

Content: A group of scientists thought they could do anything and everything. They challenged God, 'Now you are unnecessary. Whatever you do, we can do. We can even clone human beings. What do you say? Now we can also develop whatever you have created on earth. Our department has developed everything. We can do anything.'

Content: God was surprised to see all the scientists' creations - the sizes of the bananas, and other fruits they had created, and so forth!

Content: The scientists then challenged God to a competition. 'Come face us. We will do whatever you do. We are better than you; you can go and rest. We don't need you anymore.'

Content: God agreed to face the scientists.

Content: God created a plant, and immediately the scientists created the same plant in a better way. One by one, they created the same thing God created. Suddenly, God took a little dust and created a man.

Content: The scientists said, 'This is not a big deal, now that we have the ability to clone.' They took some dust and were about to create a man.

Content: God said 'Stop. Bring your own dust and create. Don't use My dust!'

Content: Whatever we may achieve, wherever science may go, the Divine is alive. God exists and the cosmic intelligence runs this whole universe. We may create man out of dust, but where will we get the dust from? We cannot create dust! It has to be God's dust! Be clear that there is a pure energy and intelligence that is the source, the underpinning of the whole universe.

Content: When a person is living within the limits of the intellect and 'me', he cannot experience the Whole. He knows only logic and calculation and with that arrogance thinks he knows everything.

Content: Many young people come to me with their parents who force them to prostrate at my feet. I never like people being forced to fall at my feet. If these young people want they can leave, but they stand there and ask questions such as, 'Why should I fall at your feet?' I tell them, 'I have not asked you to. Why should you stand here and argue?' Yet their arrogance is so much that they stand and argue. I think to myself, 'They should probably get married.' After a year when they return as married people, without prompting they simply do a sāṣṭānga namaskār, a full prostration, because in one year they would have been completely trained to surrender!

Content: What we cannot do in ten years can be done in one year of marriage! Those same people fall flat on the ground and know how to listen. They are polite. They say, 'Yes, Swamiji!' They know the power of the 'Yes' mantra!

Content: That is what should be done to demonic people: Simply get them married and the demonic qualities will disappear. Perhaps that is why God created the institution of marriage!

Content: People with demonic qualities say the world is produced out of sexual desire and lust. Lust is the reason for the whole universe, they say.

Content: Please be clear that lust cannot be the reason. Intelligence, the divine energy is the cause and effect of this whole universe; the cause and effect is the Divine that is responsible for the universe. However, when we think it is lust or that we are responsible, we live with the idea of 'me, me, me'.

Content: Krishna says firmly that when we believe that we are the cause of this universe, this Existence, we are so deluded and locked in our own identities, we destroy the world and ourselves as well.

Content: Our ancient sages, the great ṛṣis, were not fools. They did not retire to forests because they had nowhere else to go. Many were great kings, rulers of this planet, and they voluntarily left behind all that they had, so that they could understand where they came from. It was not enough for them to read and listen to the experiences of others; they chose to experience the truth themselves.

Content: In the process, they realized themselves and became liberated. What they realized in one sense was simple. As many others over thousands of years have discovered, they discovered that they were part of this cosmic Existence. They realized and experienced that they too were Gods. They found that the same energy that operated in this universe operated within them. They experienced that every living being on earth came from the same Source, and is the same Source.

Content: If we studied elementary geography in school, we know that at the core of the earth there is molten magma, not very different from what there is in other planets. Around the core the earth has cooler layers and finally there is the topsoil on which plants grow and we live.

Content: Now, what do we do when we need water and there is no river nearby? We dig a well and, as if by magic, water appears. Now our neighbor wants water; he too digs a well and finds water. Our well and his well may be in two different houses and owned by two different people, yet are these waters different?

Content: They come from the same source, whether you dig a well in India or whether you dig a well in the United States. The locations are at two ends of the world, but the source is the same. Not merely the source, the water is also the same. Yet, we fight over common resources, thinking that we created them and therefore we own them.

Content: This attitude of selfishness leads only to destruction of everything - the environment, the world and all living beings. One part of this world, perhaps with less than one-sixth of the world's population, the so-called developed world, the so-called Western world, consumes more than half of the natural resources of this world. What right do they have to do this?

Content: Not only do they consume more than half the resources, they cause such pollution that the earth trembles. Gradually all the glaciers of this world will disappear, the poles will melt, the oceans will rise and a large part of the world will be under

Content: water. However, the underdeveloped world, the poorer parts of the world will be under water, because the people will not have the means to get themselves out of trouble.

Content: We actually waste a lot of water. Why do we need forks, spoons and knives to eat when we have hands and fingers? Also, to clean the crockery and utensils, we need more water and detergents. Detergents pollute the water in our streams. We think our fingers may be dirty; have we ever looked at the utensils we eat with? If you look under the microscope, you will find more bacteria than you can ever imagine.

Content: Then we need to sterilize those utensils. We use chemicals to do that. Those chemicals can lead to cancer. Doctors in the West have warned that reheating food in plastic containers in microwave ovens can lead to cancer. Soon, they will find that eating food stored in refrigerators leads to other complications.

Content: It was said by our Eastern forefathers long ago that food should not be eaten four hours after it is cooked. It becomes non-satvic then and it is unfit for our energy. That's why most people are demonic. Who eats food within four hours? Not even those who cook it. So, we descend into tamas, ignorance, by eating non-satvic, de-energized food, and convert ourselves into demons.

Content: Everything adds up. The Hitlers of this world do not happen by accident. They are created by society. When Krishna says alpabuddhi, low intelligence, He is not referring to our IQ; He is referring to our emotional and spiritual quotient. He refers to the absence of higher intelligence and awareness.

Content: How can we be aware when we are being rushed from one activity to another? How can awareness arise when we are brainwashed into a belief that we can multi-task? We constantly look at what results we must get, rather than focusing on what we are doing.

Content: How many of us think about a job when we are engaged in that job? We drive listening to the news or music. We eat while working on the computer. We talk to another person while watching the television. Even in the shower, we argue with ourselves! What do we do in a focused manner, while staying in the present? No wonder we cannot sleep well, because all the demons of the day chase us in the night.

Content: When we are not in the present, we are in a state of low intelligence; we become demons. We become Hitlers or worse. Hitler became one of the greatest

Content: demons the modern world has known because of his insecurities. He was conditioned by society to fear and hate. His fears were magnified so that the whole world feared him.

Content: Low intelligence leads to cruel deeds. When we have no awareness of who we are, we do not care about anyone else. Not even about our parents. We are so self-centered that we will harm our mother if we feel in our imagination that she stands in our way.

Content: All this can change; all this can be changed. All that is needed is the cognitive shift from the demon to the divine, from 'I' to 'You'. There must be an understanding from childhood that this planet is common property and it cannot be owned and exploited or used by playing one against another. It can only be cared for together and shared.

Content: Everyone must be educated to understand that anything that harms the environment harms everyone on planet earth. No one is protected. What is done in the USA affects people across the globe, in China and India, and vice versa.

Content: We are not talking about the power of manmade weapons of mass destruction that can be set to destroy large numbers of people by pressing a button. We are talking about everything that we do, the way we eat, the way we dress and the way we live, everything affects all of us as these affect the environment we live in.

Content: The environment we live in, the oxygen we breathe, the water we drink, the soil that gives the food we eat, all this is energy. This is what we call panca bhūta in Sanskrit, the five elemental energies that sustain us. When these are destroyed by our low intelligence, out of our selfishness, the world around us collapses.

Content: Q: Swamiji, What is the meaning of the mantra OM?

Content: OṀ is the sound that is heard in one's own being when all other noise in the mind has stopped. When there are no thoughts floating in the mind, when there is nothing to disturb, one senses a deep vibration in the being. This is the sound of OṀ.

Content: We don't make this sound. We cannot make this sound. It must happen by itself. It is not a mantra to be chanted. We must be utterly silent and receptive. We must listen. We must learn to listen, not merely with our ears but with our whole being. Something then happens within us. Then we hear it. It is what the sages call the

Content: 16.10 Filled with insatiable desires, hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance; holding wrong views due to delusion, they act with impure motives and for impermanent objectives.

Content: 16.11,12 Obsessed with endless anxiety lasting until death, considering sense gratification their highest aim, and convinced that sense pleasure is everything; bound by hundreds of ties of desire and enslaved and filled with anger, they strive to obtain wealth by unlawful means to fulfill sensual pleasures.

Content: What Krishna says here is applicable to a vast majority of people today.

Content: Times have changed since the days of the vedic educational system where, from childhood, one was guided toward self-awareness. Modern day education is based upon logic, science and rules, and is short on self-awareness and dharma, righteousness.

Content: When we are caught in the material world, focused on 'I' and 'me', we are stuck in the mūlādhāra and svādiṣṭhāna cakras. Greed and fear rule us and we are forever in the bondage of attachment and aversion. Whatever we do is with selfish and impure motives, and results in consequences that are mostly illusionary.

Content: In the earlier verse, Krishna explained how a person with demonic nature could destroy this world. Here, He shows how such a person can destroy himself. Out of pride, arrogance and hypocrisy, such a person moves in a path directed by purely selfish and material objectives, and derives results that produce suffering.

Content: When we focus on matter, we tend to lose sight of the energy inherent in matter. When we focus on the form, we cannot see the formless that enables the form. What is permanent in both cases is the formless energy that drives the form and matter.

Content: Science has moved a long way from the Newtonian model based on matter and form. This model is no longer relevant. From the days of Einstein, when matter and energy were linked inextricably, the concept has changed. Today all sciences accept that matter and energy not only co-exist, but also that the same object or event can be perceived or experienced by the observer as matter or energy or both.

Content: So, we are back to the Indian master Adi Shankaracharya’s theory that the observer determines what is being observed. We may think this is fanciful. However, this is an accepted theory in the most advanced form of Quantum Physics today. Elementary subatomic particles, when observed in identical conditions with identical tools, appear differently to different observers. As yet there is no explanation for this phenomenon.

Content: Our ancient sages explained that this happens based on our deep-rooted conditioning, which colors our perceptions. When science is sufficiently advanced, it will accept this truth.

Content: Events that happen around us, as well as objects that surround us can be viewed in different ways. Everything depends upon our conditioning, our saṁskāras.

Content: A couple with young children was driving along the beach one warm summer evening. A young woman in the convertible ahead of them stood up and waved. She had no clothes on!

Content: The parents pretended nothing was amiss.

Content: A small shrill voice piped up from the backseat, ‘Mom, Dad, look! The lady is not wearing a seat belt!’

Content: Perceptions differ based on our experience bank. A child’s perception is innocent and without negativity. It is totally objective. Over time, we accumulate feelings of guilt, shame, fear, arrogance, hypocrisy, greed and irritation that our responses to situations are tinged by these negative emotions.

Content: As I have explained before, most humans live in their mūlādhāra cakra, unable to rise beyond their survival needs. Their entire focus is on survival and their emotions are anger, greed and lust. Everything is physical, material and self-centered. It is all business.

Content: A few are caught in their svādiṣṭhāna cakra and stay there bound by insecurities. Fears of various kinds control them. Men are more prone to stay blocked in mūlādhāra and women in svādiṣṭhāna. Both are unfulfilling. Both are unreal from a

Content: by vāsanās and saṁskāras, rather than by conscious application of our rational mind. This is what Krishna refers to as the nature of a demonic person. Instinct is the nature of animals, and because it is their nature, it works well for them. They flow with nature.

Content: Instinct is not the nature of humans. Human consciousness can rise to the intuitive level, in which awareness results in high action. This is the potential of the Divine inherent in all of us. Instead of rising to the intuitive level, the super conscious level, most people find it easier to descend into the instinctive or unconscious level.

Content: Adi Shankaracharya says beautifully in Bhaja Govindam,

Content: angaṁ galitaṁ muṇḍaṁ daśanavihīnaṁ jātam tuṇḍaṁ vṛddho yāti gṛhītvā daṇḍaṁ tadapi na muñcati āśā piṇḍam

Content: 'The body is worn out, hair has turned grey; the mouth has become toothless and in old age a stick is needed for support; yet the person is still full of desires. There is truly no end to desires.'

Content: The problem is that we do not know how to fulfill desires. We go through peaks of emotions goaded by our desires and then slip into valleys of depression and guilt. Our emotions are not authentic because they do not touch our inner core. If we intensely experience these events born out of desires and perceived by our senses, we find that neither the peaks thrill us nor the valleys sadden us. We don't need to suppress or ignore these emotions; we can experience them fully without differentiation and move on.

Content: How many times have we found that what we see and hear turn out to be not what we understand them to be? Our senses interpret what they sense in the light of vāsanās and saṁskāras. There is nothing real about what we see. Different people perceiving the same object or event have different interpretations based upon their conditioning. So it is with pleasure and pain. What is pleasure for one person can be pain for another. What is pleasure for one person causes pain to another person.

Content: We rush towards pleasure and away from pain. We are so eager to fulfill our desires that we go to any length to amass wealth and do any deed, however questionable it may seem. As Krishna says, this goes on until we die. If we expect that we will suddenly be filled with thoughts of the Divine at death, even though our whole life we chased only pleasures, this is another foolish fantasy.

Content: If all our life we have been chasing money, at the point of death also, we will be obsessed with money, even if we realize that we can't take it with us. If all our life we have been obsessed with lust, we will die in lust. If we live as a demon, focused on 'me', we cannot suddenly take the leap to 'You' at the point of death. That does not happen.

Content: Q: Swamiji, the cow is considered sacred and divine in Hindu religion. If it is based on ahimsa (non-violence), then no animal should be killed. Why the cow alone? Why not other animals?

Content: All life is sacred, whether human, animal, plant or whatever else. In vedic times, it was primarily a pastoral lifestyle and the cow was an important part of day-to-day life. It was also a measure of wealth. The cow was seen to be giving itself selflessly, leading a 'You' focused existence. Based on these factors, it was given a place of honor and considered holy and sacred.

Content: In a sense, the cow was given a special place of protection. Such protection was not available to all animals. Even if we extended that protection to all animals, what about other living beings, plants, fish and so on?

Content: Only a person who is aware can practice ahimsa, nonviolence. The same is true of satya, truth. We are not referring only to nonviolence and truth in action, but in thoughts and words as well. Such nonviolence and truth require purity of thoughts, words and action. This can only be done at a high level of conscious awareness.

Content: We are not talking about the moral issue of whether an animal can be killed for food or whether a plant can be consumed as food. It is a conscious awareness when working with nature. For a wild animal like a tiger or lion, it is natural to hunt, kill and eat a deer. There is nothing immoral about it. That is the law of Existence. A lion or a tiger needs to kill other animals to survive.

Content: That is not the case with humans. When a person is aware and conscious, he will not have the desire to consume meat. Nonviolence lives in that person. If one extends that logic to plants, the practice in ancient times was to use plant material only when it was ready to fall, like a fruit from a tree and so on. So, in ancient times, the concept of nonviolence was extended to plant life as well.

Content: In our present day lifestyle, this may not be possible. We do not live nearby trees. In a few generations from now, children may ask, 'What is a tree?' In the same way, modern city children ask about a cow. They have never seen one!

Content: This is where the concept of aparigraha or living within one's basic needs, comes into application. When we limit our consumption to real needs, minimal needs, we stay within nature's tolerance limits. However, as a rule, man is greedy. What rules him are his wants, not his needs. While nature can meet the needs of all beings, it cannot meet the wants of even a single person. We need to live with the higher consciousness that respects nature.

Content: People ask why we insist on Nithya Spiritual Healers being vegetarians, teetotalers and so on. We insist on this only for their good. The meditation through which Nithya Healing works cannot tolerate the energy of meat, alcohol, tobacco and such substances. They act negatively on our energy.

Content: These restrictions are not based on moral considerations. My recommendations are based purely on energy considerations. These substances such as egg, meat, alcohol, tobacco and other toxic substances act adversely on our energy system.

Content: When we meditate and grow in awareness, our need for these substances drops. In the USA, we conducted a special program for those who wanted to pursue meditation for self-healing, yet did not want to give up meat, alcohol, etc. After following the meditation practice, many found that they no longer wanted to consume these substances! They then returned for advanced healing programs, fully prepared and committed to the conditions of no meat, no alcohol, etc.

Content: This is what happened. With meditation, body awareness increased. They started listening to their body. Constantly our body cries out to us to stop abusing it with these toxins. The problems begin when we do not listen to its calls. Now these healers have listened and stopped consuming these toxins. Their consciousness has blossomed.

Content: If man blossoms in his consciousness, he is God; he is bliss. He is in nityānanda.

Chapter Number: 16.13

Content: 16.13 They think: This has been gained by me today; I shall fulfill this desire; I have this much wealth and will have more wealth in the future;

Chapter Number: 16.14

Content: 16.14 That enemy has been slain by me, and I shall slay others also. I am the Lord. I am the enjoyer. I am successful, powerful, and happy.

Chapter Number: 16.15

Content: 16.15 I am rich and born in a noble family. Who is equal to me? I shall perform sacrifice, I shall give charity, and I shall rejoice. Thus deluded by ignorance,

Chapter Number: 16.16

Content: 16.16 thus confused by various anxieties and caught in a net of illusions, one becomes too deeply attached to sensory pleasures and falls into hell.

Content: Krishna does not let go. He wants Arjuna and mankind to understand how deeply the human psyche is damaged by the ego.

Content: Shankara defines āhāra or food, in one of his commentaries, to mean all sensory inputs, whereas traditionally āhāra is translated as food. Food, as we normally understand it, is what the mouth consumes. This is the sustenance upon which the physical body feeds and grows. Many live only to eat, but a few aware ones eat only enough to sustain them, so that they can live.

Content: Every sensory organ has its own āhāra, inputs, upon which it feeds. Based on these inputs, the eye, ear, tongue, nose and skin develop their desires and convey these desires to the body-mind system. Control of these senses and the desires that they weave is what Sage Patanjali prescribed as pratyāhāra, one of the eight methods of his Ashtanga Yoga.

Content: Pratyāhāra is not suppression of the senses. Pratyāhāra is not starving the senses. Just as we need to eat in order to live, the senses need inputs to function.

Content: However, these inputs can be regulated so that the fantasies they weave are kept in control.

Content: The average human is led by his senses; he does not lead his senses. His karmendriya, the organs of action that are responsible for movements are driven by these senses without the need for input from the conscious mind. Instinctively, they avoid pain and welcome pleasure.

Content: A small story:

Content: Two friends met in the street. One of them looked sad and almost on the verge of tears. The other one asked, 'What happened? Why do you look so sad?'

Content: He replied, 'My uncle passed away three weeks ago. He left me fifty thousand dollars.'

Content: His friend said, 'That's not bad.'

Content: He continued, 'Two weeks ago my cousin died and he left me ninety thousand dollars.'

Content: His friend cried, 'This is great!'

Content: He went on, 'Last week my grandfather died. He left me a million.'

Content: His friend asked, 'Then why are you so sad?'

Content: He replied, 'Because this week, nobody died.'

Content: Understand: Once we allow our mind to get driven away by the senses, there is no stopping. We won't know how to make it stop either. So we continue with our fantasies. We fantasize about accumulating wealth. Unfortunately for us, the purpose of gaining wealth is rarely to enjoy it. If that was the reason, all we need to do is to gain some wealth and then spend it on enjoyment. In most cases, the joy of acquisition becomes the drive for the person rather than the joy of using the wealth. It has nothing to do with what one can do with the wealth. It has to do with how much more we have than all the other people that we know.

Content: The day our neighbor buys a new air-conditioner, the temperature in our house goes up! The day our neighbor buys a new car, our car, which till that day ran well, will stall. As soon as we see another woman wearing the latest style shoes, our shoes that had fit absolutely fine, start pinching.

Content: We are driven by comparison and envy. We are not merely fulfilling our needs, we are actually fulfilling other people's wants and desires. From childhood, we are taught to grab. Nothing we have is enough. Nothing fulfills us. Until death, we are driven by greed.

Content: In our second-level program, called the Nithyananda Spurana Program, NSP or Life Bliss Level 2, participants are led through a meditation on desires. They write everything they have always wanted. They sometimes write pages of desires. They are asked to remember these. They are then led through a meditation and at the end of the meditation, they are asked to recollect all the desires they wrote.

Content: To their surprise, they recollect only a few. Those that they recollect are mostly those that benefit people at large, rather than them alone. The meditation process is designed to dissolve saṁskāras, the accumulated unfulfilled desires. What remain are the original desires with which one is born. These are called prārabdha karma, desires with which we assume our present bodies.

Content: Our body-mind system carries within it the energy required to fulfill the desires that we were born with. Nature, as Mahavira and other great masters have said, brings us into this world having already made sure that all our needs will be fulfilled. However, we develop wants and desires that we borrow from others; these are not our needs.

Content: People are surprised that over time, they lose interest in the drive to have more material possessions after this shift. It no longer makes sense to them. They develop a sense of detachment. At the same time, they find that what they really want happens, without effort on their part. Ask our healers who must go through NSP before I ordain them as healers. They have become less greedy, less judgmental, less negative, and more focused on others. Yet they find that things happen the way they want them to, even though they only spend a fraction of the time they used to on chasing material possessions.

Content: Many Nithya Healers graduate into ācāryas or teachers and into organizers the of Nithyananda Mission activities. They spend more and more time on the mission, and less and less time on their own work. People are amazed to see that with much less time or effort invested, they do better at work and their businesses and their careers!

Content: This is no surprise to those who understand the way Existence works. Existence is waiting to shower us with all that we need. The problem is that we never stop to understand what we need. All the time we are caught in the web of our sensory fantasies, and we run after what others own; we let our senses lead us. After

Content: doing these programs and becoming healers, these people spend more time meditating and being aware of who they are. They develop an understanding of their real needs. It is no longer necessary to run after empty wants. What they need comes to them; their needs follow them.

Content: I tell them again and again, 'Do not get stuck in my form. Do not run after me. Do not chase me. Just devote yourself to the mission, which is for universal benefit. Focus only on serving the mission. Then, I will run after you. I shall chase you to be with you.' Many quickly understand this. To them it makes no difference where they are and where I am physically. Wherever they are, I am with them. It is not a mere theory or illusion. Ask them. It is real.

Content: Once we move from the 'me' focused demonic state into the 'you' based divine state, we no longer need to worry about creating wealth, developing a power base, establishing relationships or whatever else we have focused attention upon all our lives. Existence takes care of all this. Existence takes care of us.

Content: If instead, we are focused on our own self, 'me,' be sure, we are moving in a downward spiral that Krishna says takes us into hell.

Content: Q: Based on our education, many of us believed that science had all the answers. Even when science did not have answers to what the scriptures said, rather than denying science and accepting its limitations, we denied what the scriptures said. Thanks to you, many of us understand the truth behind the scriptures.

Content: There is a huge difference between fact and truth. Science, history, and all these logical creations are interested in only facts. Facts are limited by one's understanding, limited by the perceptions of one's mind. Fact is three-dimensional; it is limited in size, space and time.

Content: Truth is forever. It is not limited by size, space and time. When masters say something, it may not be relevant to what exists at that point in time. It is a part of their cosmic experience that transcends time and space.

Content: Time and again disciples tell me, 'Swamiji, we could not understand what you said a year or two ago. It made no sense because it had nothing to do with what we could see as reality. Now we see everything happening exactly the way you said long ago.'

Content: We can understand many things that are beyond the mind from conscious awareness and experience. They cannot be proven by logic and experimentation.

Content: When I say that I leave my body every night, it sounds like a madman's tale to a non-believer. However, close disciples know the truth.

Content: Life is more like magic than mathematics. It is a mystery, insoluble, unfathomable, inexhaustible. It is a miracle that we cannot understand. Science tries to demystify it. As science has become more powerful, people have become more irreligious, for the simple reason that they think they already know what it is all about. And they know very little.

Content: Science gives facts, not truth; it talks about objects. Yet the real substance is our subjectivity, our consciousness, and science is ignorant of that.

Content: So as not to accept defeat, science goes on denying this. But it cannot deny it. Even the scientist knows perfectly well that he is, and he is not an object. In fact, without him there would be no science. Without the observer, nothing would be observed; the object exists only because there is a subject.

Content: That inner subjectivity is a magical phenomenon. It is unbelievable. One can experience it and one can be in tremendous awe. That awe is spirituality, that wonder is the Divine.

Content: Spirituality fills our life with more and more mystery. Even things that were never mysteries turn out to be mysteries. A rose flower, a pebble on the shore, a bird in the sky, all these become mysteries. Science demystifies, spirituality gives us back the whole mystery of life.

Content: If we look from the outside, man seems to be another animal. But this is only a sensory perception, since we are used to seeing things from the outside.

Content: If we want to know the human being, we must look from within. Humans have consciousness. The human nature is centered within. Our senses keep dragging us to the periphery of our being. Our true nature pulls us back to our center. As a result, humans become eccentric. We constantly move from the peripheral senses to the central reality and back. We swing like a pendulum.

Content: Meditation is the bridge from the periphery to the center. It is a commitment to discover our inner nature, a commitment to make self-discovery the central focus of our life. If we are decisive, the very decision starts the process of our transformation.

Chapter Number: 16.17

Content: Self-complacent and always conceited, deluded by wealth and false pride, they perform superficial sacrifices in name only, without following the vedic rules or regulations.

Chapter Number: 16.18

Content: The demonic person, consumed by ego, power, pride, lust and anger, becomes envious of the supreme personality of godhead, who is situated in His own body and in the bodies of others, and blasphemies against Him.

Chapter Number: 16.19

Content: Those who are envious (of Him) and cruel, who are the lowest among men, I repeatedly cast into the ocean of material existence, into various lowly, demonic forms of life.

Chapter Number: 16.20

Content: These foolish beings attain repeated birth amongst the species of demonic life. Without ever achieving Me, O Son of Kunti, they sink into the most abominable existence.

Content: Krishna has said in other verses that He will receive anyone with compassion and redeem them. Here He says He will cast them aside into suffering. How do we reconcile these two positions?

Content: Both positions are true! After all, every word that an enlightened master utters is true. It is our understanding that needs to improve.

Content: Krishna is compassion incarnate. Anyone who surrenders to Him is redeemed, liberated. That is the absolute truth. The problem is that we only pretend to surrender. What we have are mere words. Our thoughts do not match our words, and our words do not match our actions.

Content: People come to me and say, 'Swamiji, we surrender to you. Please help us and relieve us of our suffering.' When I tell them to attend the meditation program the following week, they say they need to check their appointment book!

Content: Is this surrender? Does this have any meaning? It is sheer hypocrisy, trying to involve the master in a conspiracy of our own making.

Content: There are a few people who take foolish risks despite my warning; they say that they have faith in me and that they will be saved. A few years ago, on our Himalayan trip, such an incident happened. We were staying at Gangotri, where river Ganga takes shape. We planned to go to Gomukh, the source of Ganga the next day. Gangotri is about 12,000 feet high and Gomukh is a difficult and dangerous climb of another 3,000 feet. At the discourse the night before, I announced that I had decided not to climb to Gomukh as I felt the strong possibility of landslides, which are common in that area.

Content: Usually I give people a choice. They need to exercise their free will. I told my followers that I would not be going because the weather would be bad; however, if anyone felt that they must go, it was their choice. We had eight buses with about thirty people in each bus. Each bus had a leader who kept track of his group and one person coordinated all the buses. It was understood that everyone should keep their group leader informed of their whereabouts, since the mountains could be treacherous.

Content: The next morning I casually asked someone whether anyone had gone to Gomukh. That person did not know. I called the overall coordinator. He said no one had told him they would be going. However, one person had said the previous night that he planned to go despite my warning and he would surrender to me to ensure his safety!

Content: About ten people went to Gomukh that day without informing their group leaders. There were land and snow slides along the way. They returned safely.

Content: If these people had really surrendered, they would have listened to my warning and not gone. What perversion of surrender is that when someone goes against my warning and still says I should take care? This is how many of us behave. We hurt others, harm others, we do all kinds of nonsense which we know we should not; then we go to a temple and pray that everything should be okay. How can it be okay? Why should it be okay?

Content: Every action has a reaction. That reaction is what we commonly call karma. Forget all philosophical, metaphorical and spiritual significances. Common sense tells us that if we do something there will be a consequence. Ninety percent of the time we know the consequences in advance. And still we claim we make rational decisions.

Content: Why then make God or master responsible for our rational decisions? If they have faith in me, why don't they listen to me in the first place? Why do things I advise against and then say that their faith in me will save them? Is it to test me? Is it to make me responsible for their foolish deeds? The point is that as human beings we have free will. The problem is that we feel free, yet we are unwilling to exercise our will. People ask whether they are controlled by destiny or free will. I tell them that no destiny binds them; they are free to exercise their will.

Content: The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad puts it so well: as are your thoughts, so is your will; as is your will, so your action, as are your actions, so is your destiny. Destiny is nothing but the end result of how we exercise our free will. The problem is, we have no will; in the morning we want to do one thing, by noon it is something different, by night it is totally different. So, if our will keeps changing, how can it ever be converted into action?

Content: People tell me, 'Swamiji, you say visualization helps make things happen; we have tried: nothing happens.' Nothing happens because you are full of self-contradiction. If we wish to get rid of back pain, and we keep saying, 'Let this back pain go,' it will never go. Every time we utter the words back pain, our mind latches more firmly onto the concept of pain. If we want to get rid of pain, we must visualize health, not pain, not getting rid of pain, but feeling healthy.

Content: When we surrender to Krishna, our surrender must be total. There can be nothing between Him and us. Then, He surely liberates us. Because then we are already liberated, we are in Krishna consciousness. Here, He talks about people who feel no need to surrender to Him. They are so full of ego, that they feel. He is their competitor. He says He will cast them into the material world. In this material world, they can follow their senses, sense objects and what they consider to be sensual pleasures till death. As I said before, it is our decision. Even Krishna is helpless to change it, because He has given us the power to decide. He has handed over the decision to us; to decide whether we want to be 'me' or 'you' focused: demonic or divine.

Content: Saying again and again, 'I believe in what Krishna says,' has no meaning. It does not help. Faith does not mean belief. Belief is not trust. Belief is a pseudo-trust,

Content: imposed, cultivated out of fear. It is not something that has grown from within us. Rather, it is something that has been implanted by others: society, religion, the state. They have their own interest in creating belief in people. Believers are obedient. Believers are not rebellious. Believers remain stupid; they never grow in intelligence. And society does not want people to be intelligent.

Content: Society can tolerate intellectuals but not the really intelligent. It can tolerate professors, scholars, educated people and knowledgeable people. They are intellectuals, not wise, not intelligent, because if they were intelligent they could not cooperate with all the hypocrisies that go on in the name of tradition, culture, civilization and religion. They would rebel.

Content: Society has a vested interest in belief. Society creates belief. It is a poisonous phenomenon. It destroys intelligence; it destroys independence and rebelliousness. It creates hypocrites. The 'yes' of a man who cannot say 'no' is always powerless. First a man must learn to say 'no,' only then does his 'yes' have meaning.

Content: Faith is different from belief. It is a totally different phenomenon. It is not social. It is individual. Others do not give it to us. It is of our own seeking. It grows in us as we start trusting Existence. It arises not out of fear, but out of experience, out of love, out of joy. Faith is tremendous freedom, and infinite bliss.

Content: With faith we grow. We grow in love to a master and to God. Most of us look to God as a person to pray to, to worship. We feel God is a third person. He is not us. Prayer and worship become important pathways to reach this form. The moment we drop the idea of a person, prayer disappears; instead, meditation becomes significant.

Content: In prayer, we worship God. In meditation, we become God. It is easy to resort to worship, as it is external. We are used to focusing on externals. Meditation is going inwards. So, it is more difficult for many who are educated rationally. That's why meditation never became the central core of religion in the West. In the East all the great masters founded their teachings on meditation. They taught followers to turn inwards. They taught them to be God, not to worship God.

Content: Meditation leads us to surrender. Meditation is the creation of awareness. Awareness is the knowledge that we are one with the universe. It is then about 'you' instead of 'me'. The feeling of 'you' and the absence of 'me' dissolve the idea of 'I' as identity. This is the foundation of surrender.

Content: This is what Krishna talks about in this chapter. The courage to move from 'me' to 'you' is the courage to trust, love and surrender. When that happens there is nothing else but Him. We become Krishna.

Content: When we are one with the universe, one with Krishna, there is nothing else we need to look up to. There is nothing else to look for. We have reached eternal bliss - nityānanda.

Content: Q: Swamiji, many religions refer to love as the noblest of all emotions. Is love the same as surrender?

Content: Yes, love is indeed noble. Yet most of us do not know love. What we think of as love is either lust or a cunning tool to demand attention. For most, love is business.

Content: As long as love is conditional, it cannot be noble. For humans, unconditional love is almost impossible. To be unconditional, love can have no expectations. Even a mother loves her child based on expectations. Perhaps not when the child is an infant and there is an instinctive need to protect. Once the child grows up there is almost always a condition attached to the nurturing.

Content: Many parents complain that their children are doing whatever they please. They say they love their children and cannot bear to see them ruin their lives. When I ask them how they are ruining their lives, they say either that the boy or girl plans to marry someone they love or they want to work instead of getting married.

Content: Who is getting married? Is it the father and the mother, or the child? Why would they ruin their lives if they married on their own or decided on a career? It is all the expectations of the parents that the children should do as the parents demand. Why? Parents do not possess their children just because they brought them into this world.

Content: This attachment and these expectations do not allow us to express love unconditionally.

Content: Nonetheless, love is the ruler of all emotions. Learn only two things: meditation and love. For some, the emphasis will be on love; meditation will be a support. For others, meditation will be the main key; then love becomes the support. Both are needed; the question is of emphasis.

Content: If your emphasis is going to be on love, love the Whole, love the entire world. Let your love be undivided and undifferentiated. Let it be like the sun who warms all, saint and sinner alike. Love is the most luminous phenomenon but one needs totally different eyes to know it, to see it, to feel it. Ordinary eyes cannot look at

Content: it. Our eyes can look at matter, not energy. They are capable only of seeing the peripheral and superficial. They have no capacity for the core and depth.

Content: Love is an emotion that arises from your core. As you travel inwards, the more loving you become. In fact, that is the only criterion of whether a person is going inwards or not. If he is becoming more loving to others and towards himself, then he is going deeper. He is coming closer to truth, and he is becoming suffused with the divine energy of Existence.

Content: Love is expressed as compassion when it is at its peak and purest. Compassion is not the expression of the human; it is the expression of the Divine.

Content: At the ultimate peak, at the ultimate depth, love explodes like an atomic explosion. One becomes pure light, light from end to end. That's why this ultimate moment is known as enlightenment. It is a transmutation, transfiguration and a transformation. A totally new being is born that does not belong to time. It belongs to eternity. The mind is conscious of time and space. The heart is not conscious of time and space. Love is centered on the heart.

Content: Seek your heart, go deeper into it, and risk everything for it because nothing is more precious. Even if life is lost but you have attained a moment of glorious love, your life has known fulfillment. You did not live in vain. You lived nobly. A moment of love is more valuable than thousands of lives that are loveless.

Content: Become a servant of love. You then become a master of humanity. One begins as a servant. However, one ends as a master. In this world, you often begin as a master and you end up as a servant. That is the law of the external world. In the inner world there is a totally different law. You begin as a servant and you can end up as a master. You surrender to love, you surrender and love and you shall certainly conquer the world.

Content: Buddha has said: In the outer world everything is sweet in the beginning and bitter in the end; in the inner world, everything is bitter in the beginning and sweet in the end. Only the end matters. Where you begin is not in your control.

Content: Once you understand how to love the people around you, only then can you love God. You cannot hate your neighbor, brother or spouse and love only God. This is impossible. When you start loving those around you, you start loving yourself more. Strangely, you start thinking less about yourself. In your defeat, you win others.

Content: This is what surrender is about: It is asking for your defeat. Let me repeat: Surrender, renunciation of the self, or sanyās is a defeat, a defeat of the ego. God is realized the moment the ego is dissolved.

Content: Surrender is the search for the divine principle. Call it God, truth, freedom, or nirvāṇa. They mean the same thing. The search is for something that is missing in life. We are alive but unaware of what life is about. We exist, but we are completely oblivious to the fact of who we are.

Content: Existence is there, but awareness is not there. Unless existence becomes aware of itself, life remains empty, unfulfilled. The search is for awareness. Awareness is the divine principle that can transform your life from a mechanical existence into conscious bliss. This search is not done in the outer world; it is done in the inner world. The truth has to be found with closed eyes, within oneself. It is already there; we must dive into ourselves.

Content: Meditation is the art of diving into oneself. Surrender is the courage to take this plunge. One is going into the unfathomable, and in the beginning it is frightening, but only in the beginning. As you become more and more skillful at diving deeper and deeper, life becomes an adventure of tremendous beauty and bliss.

Chapter Number: 16.21

Content: 16.21 There are three gates leading to this hell: lust, anger and greed. As they lead to the degradation of the soul, these three are to be abandoned.

Chapter Number: 16.22

Content: 16.22 Those who have escaped these three gates of hell, O son of Kunti, behave in a manner beneficial to the (evolution of the) soul, and thus (gradually) attain the supreme destination.

Chapter Number: 16.23

Content: 16.23 But he who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his base impulses attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.

Chapter Number: 16.24

Content: 16.24 By the regulations of the scriptures, one should understand what is duty and what is not duty. After being versed in scriptural injunctions, one should act accordingly.

Content: Krishna ends the chapter with this advice: Shed anger, greed and lust and we will be saved. He calls them gates to hell. These are the qualities of the blocked mūlādhāra cakra. These are attributes that bind us to ‘me’ and ‘mine’. We mistakenly believe that these qualities are essential for our life on this planet. Nothing can be more wrong.

Content: As long as we are bound by anger, lust and greed, what He calls the three gateways to hell, we are in bondage; we are in suffering. We do not need to die and be escorted to someplace called hell. We live in it day after day and suffer.

Content: Kāma, krodha and lobha: lust, anger and greed - when we shed these we are liberated. Ramakrishna says again and again, drop kāñcana and kāminī, gold and women, greed and lust, and we will be liberated. Lust for women, and greed for old, these two desires more than anything else, cause all our sufferings.

Content: Krodha, anger, arises out of the suffering. We feel thwarted and we feel angry. The cycle goes on. When these three combine, they create moha, or delusion. There is nothing real about kāñcana - gold and kāminī - woman, because these are impermanent; they cannot give abiding joy. We may feel the pleasure for a while. After that, we will take them for granted. We will be like that king in the story I told earlier, whose possessions had to be robbed before he could come out of his depression.

Content: Management of these emotions is addressed in detail in our Life Bliss Program. We explain the origin of these emotions and how to control them. We teach meditation techniques that liberate us from the harmful expressions of these emotions.

Content: At one level these emotions are desires. Anger, greed and lust are expressions related to desires. Desires are energy. Lust is what drives us into reproduction and it is essential for the survival of species. Greed is the extreme expression of our survival needs. Anger is often the driving force to get things done. They achieve positive results, too.

Content: However, Krishna refers to the expression of these emotions in the context of self-gratification. He refers to the gratification of base impulses. The baseness of the impulse is related to the intention. As long as these are expressed with the attitude of 'me,' they are base and demonic impulses. There are no redeeming features.

Content: Lust can be transformed when it is expressed in an unselfish and unattached way. Lust will then totally disappear. Compassion and caring will be in its place. Every woman, including his own wife, was 'mother' to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, an enlightened master from India. That was the extent of his purity and devotion. Of course, such people are exceptions.

Content: People ask me, 'Swamiji, man has evolved from mammals. Mammals are polygamous by nature. How can we expect human beings to be monogamous?'

Content: Please understand that animals mate to procreate, never for entertainment. Only humans engage in sex for entertainment. That is why there is so much pornography. Animals mate purely for reproduction and the survival of their species. So it makes no difference whether they mate with one or many. They also mate at certain times, unlike humans. Animal lust is pure. There is no fantasy involved when animals mate. No animal fantasizes about another animal when it is mating.

Content: Human beings indulge in sexual fantasies. Their lust is impure. It is corrupted because lust is not used for what it is intended. It is used for everything except

Content: reproduction. How many couples indulge in sex with no thought except that of their mate? In the Shiva Sutras, Shiva tells Devi that in every couple's bed there are four people. In addition to the man and the woman, there is the man's fantasy of his woman and the woman's fantasy of her man. It is an orgy, not a relationship. Human beings have the consciousness to rise from polygamous instincts to monogamous intelligence. That is the whole basis of societal regulations. We may look at it as a constraint, but it is a discipline that prevents abuse of one human being by another. Why else is there a need to marry? You can always live like animals and do what you please, if you can. We can't. Our intellect will not allow us. Our mind will create a thousand fantasies. It will create desire first and then guilt. So we swing from desire to guilt, guilt to anger, anger to depression and so on. It will become a vicious cycle. Living like an animal is not an option for a human being. Ascent is the natural law, not descent. We need to rise in awareness, not descend into ignorance. That is why, if we are aware, we move from the polygamous instinct to monogamous intelligence. In fact, if we are truly intelligent, our intuition takes us beyond monogamy into aloneness. Aloneness need not be running off into a forest to meditate. We can be alone in the midst of a family. Being alone is to move to our core. Aloneness is our real nature as a human being. Then we move into that attitude of 'you' instead of focusing on 'me.' Lust is one aspect of the broad spectrum of desires. Unending desire is greed. When a desire is truly fulfilled, it leaves us. Karma is unfulfilled desires that goad us into action. We can never fulfill our desires because many of these desires are not truly ours. We borrow these desires from other people. We need a bigger house, fancier car or younger wife because our friend, neighbor or cousin has one. Even if we acquire one, the satisfaction will be temporary. We will meet another friend, neighbor or cousin who has a bigger house, better car or more beautiful wife. So it goes on. It goes on without end. There is never contentment. Each desire is the seed of suffering. That is why Krishna calls it a gateway to hell. But how do we get rid of these desires? This is what we teach at our second level Life Bliss Program, the Nithyananda Spurana Program or NSP. We help identify true desires, the prārabdha karma, with

Content: which we are born into this world. These are our true needs, not borrowed wants. We have the energy to fulfill them and discard them. Our karma dissolves.

Content: The NSP course leaves us free of negativities. People who attend this program say that they cannot hate or even dislike anyone. The 'I' blossoms into 'you' effortlessly.

Content: At this stage, we shed anger as well. Anger and guilt are byproducts of desires. What we cannot acquire makes us angry. Anger produces guilt. Being angry towards a person is fruitless. Much of the negativity expressed towards others comes back to us. It depletes our energy. Anger or even guilt is also often an expression of one's inability to do something. It is a self-centered emotion born of one's weakness.

Content: Suppression of anger does not help. It can actually lead to chronic diseases like cancer. When we learn to turn the emotion of anger towards an issue instead of a person, it becomes energy instead of a disability. Anger needs to be transformed into the positive energy of action.

Content: What Krishna asks us to do is to transform negative emotions like lust, greed and anger into positive energies. He tells us that these are gateways to hell so long as we use them from the attitude of 'me.' When we transform these emotions into energy, by shifting to the attitude of 'you,' these same emotions become gateways to heaven.

Content: Q: Swamiji, in order to achieve bliss, instead of being caught in temporary pleasures that only result in suffering, is it enough to drop anger, lust and greed?

Content: First of all, bliss is never an achievement on our part. Whatsoever we do to achieve bliss is doomed to fail. All our effort emerges from the mind, it comes out of the ego, it comes out of our anguish, anxiety, desire and ambition; it comes out of our confusion. It can't bring bliss to us. It can bring only misery.

Content: The struggle for bliss becomes one more struggle, like the struggle for kāminī and kāñcana, women and gold, lust and greed. You only move from one misery to another misery. While you are changing from one misery to another, you may think those intermediate moments are blissful. You feel joy in those small gaps when you change tracks; that's all.

Content: But bliss always comes from the beyond as a gift. We must be passively receptive to it. We are not to be aggressively active for it, just be receptive like a womb. We must be feminine to receive bliss. We must become pregnant with God.

Content: When ego disappears, anger, greed and lust also disappear. What is left is bliss.

Content: Bliss has a luminosity of its own. Misery is dark; bliss is bright. The miserable person casts a shadow on others, too. He comes like a black hole, he sucks people's energy; his presence is destructive. However, the presence of a blissful person is creative, nourishing. It showers light on others.

Content: Bliss is never in the past and never in the future; it is always in the present. Bliss means to be in the present, to be totally here and now. Then one's heart dances and sings and great celebration flowers in one's being: each cell dances, each fiber of one's being sings.

Content: Because bliss is always of the present, one philosopher said that he does not want to go to paradise because he will get bored of bliss! There will be only bliss and nothing else. There will be no misery, no tension, and no anxiety. He does not understand what bliss is; he is simply playing with the word. Bliss is always young; as fresh as dewdrops in the early morning sun, as fresh as a rose opening up. It never grows old and one never grows tired of it, one is never bored by it.

Content: Bliss is that with which you can never be bored, because it is never old. It is always new, and it is never repetitive. It is so fresh every moment, how can you be bored? Hence all the religions say that the angels go on singing on their harps. All that they do is sing, because singing represents joy: they rejoice! This is not a state somewhere above you in the sky. That state is within you. Whenever you are in contact with the present, you are in paradise. 'Now' is another name for paradise.

Content: Bliss is a by-product of total trust in Existence or in God. God is not a person but the impersonal presence. The very life or Existence is God and the living energy is God. And to trust in it means to stop struggling against it. Struggling against it creates misery; it is trying to go upstream. Trust means surrender, going with the stream. And going with the stream is bliss. All misery is because of the ego and its struggle, its resistance. Trust means that resistance has been dropped. You don't think of yourself as separate from the Whole; you are just an intrinsic part of the great harmony of Existence, a small note in this great orchestra. Then bliss is natural.

Content: My whole effort here is to help you move towards bliss. The way to bliss is through the heart and through devotion. That is why in addition to meditation, we engage in dancing and singing devotional songs. These are the ways in which you can be persuaded back to the heart.

Content: Once you are there, once you have tasted the peace of the heart, you will be surprised. The head is left far behind. It is no concern of yours. It is as if it no longer belongs to you, it may be somebody else's head. It is so far away, so distant that you don't even hear the noise. The heart is so deep that the head becomes infinitely distant. Those are the moments when you feel for the first time what bliss is; otherwise it is only a word.

Content: Rarely have people felt the real taste of bliss. People use the word and they think they understand it. They can't understand; it needs some existential experience to understand it because bliss is synonymous with God. Bliss is the ultimate meaning of life.

Content: To feel that one is 'nobody' is of tremendous significance because that cuts the root of the ego. The ego lives through the idea of superiority. And sometimes the ego stands on its head; then it lives through inferiority. However, a person who knows that he is nobody is neither superior nor inferior, he is simply not. And in those moments of non-being, bliss descends.

Content: Without ego, you cannot be miserable. Just try! Nobody has ever succeeded, and I don't think anybody ever will. Without the ego it is impossible to be miserable, just as with the ego it is impossible to be blissful. When there is no ego, only bliss is left.

Content: Ego keeps you restless, keeps you occupied: 'Do this, do that, be this, be that.' It goes on giving you new projects. It never leaves you alone. It keeps goading you. You must become somebody, you must be the president of the country or the prime minister, and you must be famous. You must earn so much money. It goes on goading you till it either drives you mad, drives you to the point of suicide, or drives you to a master!

Content: By dropping the ego, great rest happens. Then there is no need to try any relaxation method; one is relaxed, there is nothing to be tense about. That natural, spontaneous relaxation brings bliss in a flood; one is overwhelmed. And bliss never comes in small measures. When it comes, it comes like a flood; when it comes, it drowns you totally.

Content: Go beyond ego. The very idea is dangerous; ego must be dropped, because the moment you think of yourself as great, you think of others as inferior; it is based on comparison. Comparing yourself with anybody is harmful. It is harmful to the other and to you. Everybody is unique. Nobody is great and there is nobody who is not great. Nobody is big and nobody is small. All are unique, incomparably unique.

Content: This is the spiritual understanding. When one becomes awakened, this is how one looks at people. They are not alike; at the innermost core they are the same, but on the circumference they are unique personalities. A rose is a rose, a lotus is a lotus: neither is the lotus greater nor is the rose greater. Both have blossomed, both express God in their own ways.

Content: Love yourself. That is the beginning, then love those close to you, then love the world, then love the whole cosmos; only then will you be able to love God. The journey begins from one's self and ends in God. These are the two banks of the river. You are on one bank, God is on the other; love is the bridge. The bridge passes over the whole river, but people fear love; that's why they keep praying. They never understand what they are doing; their prayer is ignorance. Unless it is full of love, it can't be true.

Content: Unless you live in love, you can't enter any temple of God; and one who lives in love need not enter a temple, he is already in it. Remember this simple message and try to live it, because this is not a doctrine to be believed in, but a life to be lived. Bloom in love and release the fragrance of love. That is prayer. And only the fragrance of love reaches God, nothing else.

Content: All of you need to become a living message of bliss, not only in words but also in deeds. Your being must radiate bliss. You need to be blissful and you must create an atmosphere of bliss around yourself, so that whosoever comes in contact with you immediately feels the cool breeze of bliss.

Content: The real message cannot be conveyed through words. Words can help. But they are secondary; the real message can be communicated only through being; that is primary. Be cheerful, be blissful, be a song and a dance, and transform your whole life into a sacred celebration, into a sacred ceremony. This is surrender.

Content: The moment one starts seeking and searching for oneself, one becomes the blessed one. The enquiry itself is the beginning of the transformation. The more passionate the enquiry, the sooner transformation comes. Make it intense and make it total.

Content: Surrender must be a deep commitment. Surrender must become more valuable than anything else in life, even more valuable than life itself. This is one fundamental secret of life and Existence: you live only when you have something for which you are ready to sacrifice your life.

Content: Life begins only when you have something more, higher, bigger, holier than life, in your life. Only when life becomes a means to a higher end, then your life starts having a context. And in that context only, there is meaning, significance, and bliss.

Content: Meditation leads to bliss; it makes it happen. It leads you within and ultimately that's where God is. Slowly learn how to dissolve. Dissolve in any act, then that act becomes blissful. If you jog, you disappear in the jogging and there is no jogger, only jogging remains. Or if you meditate in the early morning, there is no meditator but only the meditating remains. You are so possessed by the act itself there is only the act and no doer inside. Then it is bliss, a blissful dance.

Content: Meditation is the key to bliss. Some people believe that meditation is nothing but a kind of thinking, thinking of higher things. When you think of God, when you think of Love, it is called meditation. No, that is contemplation. It is better than thinking about useless things, but it is not meditation.

Content: Thinking is not meditation. Whether you think of God or money, it doesn't matter. Going beyond thoughts is meditation.

Content: Thinking in any manner about any object is a disturbance in meditation. In the East, meditation means a state of no thought. It is pure Being. That is the greatest experience in life, when you simply exist. No thought crosses your being. The whole traffic stops and the mind disappears. All that remains is consciousness. Whatsoever was hidden behind the thoughts is no more hidden. Whatsoever was involved in thoughts is no more involved. All energy is released. One is simply a pool of energy, and so silent that not even a ripple arises.

Content: Bliss happens if we fulfill one condition, that of being peaceful at heart. And it is not difficult to fulfill. The heart is peaceful; however, we are not there. We live in the head. The head remains with thoughts, desires, imagination, memory; the constant traffic of all these things will be there. It is always rush hour, twenty-four hours a day; the crowd of desires is passing day in, day out.

Content: If you try to make the mind silent, you get into more trouble and become frustrated. That happens to people who don't know what right meditation is. Then they learn tricks to hypnotize themselves. And there are tricks available: repeat a

Content: certain mantra, chant a certain name and constantly repeat certain words. Any words will do; there are no sacred words, all words are the same.

Content: This is not meditation. Constant repetition of a name creates a state of deep sleep in the head: you fall asleep. It is good, nothing is wrong with good sleep; but it is not meditation and it will not transform you. The real transformation happens when your energy moves from the head to the heart. When you reach the heart, you reach the core of your consciousness.

Content: In that silent pool of consciousness, of energy, Existence is reflected; we come to know that which is. God is another name for that which is.

Content: The most important thing to remember in life is that God loves us: He has not forsaken us, He is not indifferent to us and He is continuously concerned about us, He cares.

Content: The deeper this idea enters your heart, the better, because when you feel more loved by God, you will be able to love others. That's how we are able to love: if we are loved, we can love. If we are not loved, we don't know how to love; we don't know what love is.

Content: God is our substance, our very being. He is not something outside us; He is our innermost core. We do not need to seek and search for Him. Only this has to be remembered: we have forgotten it. God is not lost; only we have forgotten who we are.

Content: Don't be identified with the body. Don't be identified with your mind, country, race or religion. Don't be identified with anything. Don't think, 'I am this' or 'I am that'. Remember, neither 'this' nor 'that'. That is one of the secret teachings of the mystics: neti-neti, neither 'this' nor 'that'. Avoid 'this' and avoid 'that,' too.

Content: If you can avoid both polarities, day and night, life and death, body and mind, then slowly a third energy arises in you, a third force arises in you. That is consciousness. That's your reality. That is freedom: freedom from fear, anxiety, misery, freedom from the world, freedom from the wheel of life and death. Then you are a witness, watching, getting identified with neither 'this' nor 'that'; you are a spectator, a mirror reflecting but not getting caught in any reflection.

Content: When you are a witness, the 'me' and 'mine' drop. What remains is identification with your energy, with your state, not your status. In that state, you are one with all. It is 'you' that becomes the focus, no longer 'me'. You become divine.

Chapter Number: 17

Content: Living is about experimenting with the truth. It is about having the courage to experiment with the truth. Just reading or listening and thinking one has understood it is meaningless. The understanding must be applied with courage.

Content: Throughout the history of mankind there has been strife based upon one's scriptural understanding and differences in understanding. You say all religions have the same fundamentals. Then why is there always this strife and violence?

Content: Swamiji, you said that vāsanās make the spirit choose a new body to be reborn in. Why is there a difference in attitude between siblings? One may be money-oriented, another service-oriented, a third may be power-crazy. And all three are different from their parents. Why is this?

Content: You tell us to search for bliss. You and Krishna say that sincerity, courage and faith will take us on the path to bliss. But the path to bliss does not seem easy. There are many pitfalls. We do not even recognize bliss when we experience it. How can we cope?

Content: Swamiji, the vedic science of medicine, Ayurveda recommends food types in line with one's constitution. Are those similar to what Krishna says?

Content: You say that God is love. Some cultures depict God in a state of anger and fury. Their monks are serious. They seem to have no humor. Can bliss arise out of anger and fury?

Content: Swamiji, you have said that the path to bliss is a path of aloneness, not loneliness. Can you please explain?

Content: Swamiji, what are faith, blind faith and belief? These words are used interchangeably when applied to how we should approach God or the master. But these words do not mean the same, do they?

Content: Swamiji, you said that if we give importance to negative thoughts, saṁskāras get embedded in the unconscious zone. Please soulc you explain further. Vāstu consultants recommend changes in home for improving positive energy, balance and if we can't do it, then what?

Content: Swamiji, the other day you talked about the question on birth, meditation and liberation, and this whole life cycle of saṁsāra. The answer was not given. Could you please provide the answer?

Content: Dear Swamiji, will a mother's prayers work for her children?

Content: How can we differentiate between intuitive and impulsive decisions? In this information age, one's decision directly or indirectly impacts many people. Can you kindly help us understand this?

Content: All enlightened masters I have heard about left home for at least a number of years to experience enlightenment. Is this necessary? If not, why did they do it?

Content: When everything is divine in this universe, how can there be good and bad, happiness and sadness, lower level and upper level, jīvātma (individual self) and paramātma (supreme Self), permanent and impermanent, etc. Is it not true only in the eyes of the perceiver?

Content: Respected Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda, my love and pranāms to you, Kindly answer these questions now or at such time as you feel appropriate. If God is at such a high vibration, as to be unaware of deaths caused by catastrophes, just as a SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) is unaware of the ants it crushes, then does it not follow that God does not hear our cries for help, when we are swept up in these catastrophes? And if that is the case, do our prayers reach God?

Content: If Ātman or Self is created or is svayaṁbhu (self-created), why was the body required for its movement?

Content: If Ātman is not creating karma, and body is creating karma, then Ātman is only the carrier of karma. Is this true?

Content: Like Arjuna, I have my own battle to fight, but instead of it being the Mahabharata, it is the 'Law School Court Competition'. I know what must be done, but I lack the focus and energy to accomplish that. Do I lack sincerity? How do I build it?

Content: Ātman is indestructible, so it is everlasting. From where did it originate? If Īśvara/Ātman/God is regulating, is it the same Īśvara who made Ātman?

Content: Dear Swamiji, I have attended your discourses since Sunday. When I am in your presence I feel blissful. I feel lost in your presence. I feel like I have fallen in love with you, in a pure way. I then go home, and dream of you. It is sometimes hard to distinguish if I am at your discourse or dreaming.

Content: You said earlier that smrti is alterable and it changes with time. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna talks about the caste system and who can be a brāhmaṇa, etc. But in India we have so many problems with the caste system. So, if smṛti is properly interpreted, it should not give rise to any problems. Am I correct?

Content: There are great ideals in spirituality. What bothers me is that I find a divergence between the ideals and daily life. There is not only caste discrimination, but there are also a variety of other discriminations such as the discrimination against poor people. When a maid comes to work in the house, and she is ten years old and is missing school, my heart aches. That will not happen in the West. I'm not defending the West, but we must be cautious when we make statements about the West. Yes, ours is a great religion. I have great love for it, but have we updated it? Have we moved with time? Whose responsibility is it to make sure we continuously update religion? I also find a great love for materialism, which is against the laws of Hinduism. It is not enough if just great men like you practice the religious ideals, it should be possible for the common man to practice it. How can we say that we have spiritual freedom in the East and not in the West? We need to look at what we mean by spiritual freedom.

Content: Respected Swamiji, I am one of the sheep-lion who has forgotten his lion self. Now I want to roar. How?

Content: Sincerity: The Straight Way To Liberation In the seventeenth chapter, Krishna straightaway gives the methodology or technique to imbibe whatever He speaks in Śraddhā Traya Vibhāga Yoga, the Yoga of Discerning the Three-Fold Faith. After all the words that Krishna expressed in earlier chapters, no new teaching is given here. All that Krishna has spoken and taught so far is a prelude to what He is speaking now. Here, Krishna speaks about sincerity. Let me explain the meaning of the word śraddha. Please understand that śraddha is not faith; always the word śraddha is translated as faith. This is not correct. Śraddha means faith plus the courage to experiment with the truth. Śraddha means faith plus the courage to experiment with what we believe in. With śraddha we will never fail. Understand that there is a possibility that we may fail with faith alone. When we have faith without the courage to experiment with the truth, it is like going to a restaurant, reading the menu card and just leaving. We miss eating. We never taste the food. We never experience it. However, when we have śraddha with sincerity, there is no chance of missing the truth. A person never misses when he has śraddha with sincerity. Lord Krishna explains and now puts all His emphasis on śraddha. After sixteen chapters of teachings, He has nothing new to add. He has said whatever can be said. He has explained all the seven layers of energy. In the fourteenth chapter, He started with Guṇatraya Vibhāga yoga - the three guṇas (attributes) of satva, rajas and tamas. Then in the Puruṣottama Yoga He explained the causal layer and the engrams or engraved memories. The deeper layers of the cosmic and nirvāṇic bodies are explained in the sixteenth chapter. Krishna elaborates on the attributes of the Divine and the demon, the ego or no ego, 'you' or 'me'. He clarifies whether our life should be centered on the attitude

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Content: of 'me, me, me' or the attitude of 'you, you, you'. The root cause of our identity that separates us from our core, which is divine, is explained in the sixteenth chapter.

Content: Now Krishna comes to the seventeenth chapter, Śraddha Traya Vibhāga. Nothing more needs to be added. Whatever can be said has been said. Now all we need is śraddha. If somebody has had a good feast, just like 'house full', his stomach is also full. All he needs is an antacid, 'Digene'. Throughout the chapters Lord Krishna has given Arjuna a beautiful spiritual feast. All Arjuna needs is 'Digene' to digest the whole thing and enjoy. This chapter is 'Digene'. The whole emphasis is on śraddha: honesty, truthfulness and straightforwardness.

Content: We may question, 'Why would He devote one full chapter for śraddha?' Please understand that we invariably miss enlightenment because of lack of understanding of this subject, śraddha. Let me be very clear, it is not that we don't know the truth that Lord Krishna speaks. We know whatever Lord Krishna speaks of and all that He has spoken so far. We know it all. It's not that we don't know. Yet why have we not become Krishna?

Content: We miss one thing - śraddha. That's the only thing we need. Our problem is not that we don't know. Our problem is that we know too much and we are unable to digest and implement it.

Content: Swami Vivekananda says beautifully that instead of knowing the whole library, we should know just five concepts. We should experiment with these five concepts with śraddha. Let the five concepts become your life. That is enough. Nothing else is necessary. Instead of having the whole library in your head, have the five concepts in your heart. Here, Krishna emphasizes the importance of śraddha: how śraddha and only śraddha can transform your whole life. Understand, whatever you believe, if you have śraddha, if you have sincerity in the concept, you will achieve the ultimate. Even if you believe in atheism, there is no problem.

Content: Many people have achieved God and attained the Truth through the path of atheism. Buddha never spoke of God. He never spoke about God. Yet not only did He become enlightened, thousands attained enlightenment because of Him. In modern times, J. Krishnamurthy did not mention God in his philosophy. He was an enlightened master. He radiated enlightenment. In the same way, many other masters, such as George Gurdjieff, became enlightened with no concept or idea of God. What you believe is not important. How intense you are is important.

Content: People use the title Mahātma to describe Mahatma Gandhi because he was intense in whatever he believed in. He was sincere to the core. Whatever he believed in, he experimented with the truth of it. The title of his autobiography, The

Content: Story of My Experiments with Truth, depicts his life. He experimented with the truth. He allowed the truth to work on him. He worked with the truth. Working with the truth is what I call sincerity. Sincerity is not just listening, reading or believing in the truth. Sincerity is working with the truths. It is straightaway executing them, experimenting with them and having the courage to play with them.

Content: Both meditation and gambling require courage. We need courage for gambling. And we also need courage for meditation. Meditation is the ultimate gamble. With ordinary gambling, we gamble with money. In meditation we gamble with our ego. We gamble with our whole being. But one thing is for sure in the gamble of meditation: if we lose, we win. Only losers win in this game!

Content: In ordinary gambling, the more we get, the more we win. In the gamble of meditation, when we put the ego at stake, we win the whole game. We put our whole ego at stake. Spiritual life needs courage. That is why Swami Vivekananda calls his spiritual disciples ‘dhīrah’. Dhīrā means someone who is courageous, who is courage personified.

Content: We might ask, ‘Why do spiritual people need courage? For spiritual life, don’t we need to be silent?’ No! Spiritual life calls for courage. To experiment with these truths, we need courage. In the past sixteen chapters we have heard many different teachings, different understandings and so many different techniques. We have heard everything. All of this can help transform our life only if we have the courage to experiment with them. Otherwise they add more weight to our head, that’s all.

Content: Please understand that if we receive these teachings and store them in our head, we gain more head weight, nothing else. Now we think, ‘I know the Gita.’ However, we need to experiment with the Gita. We need to experience it.

Content: For example, if we eat too much food and we are unable to digest it, what happens? We vomit it out. We have a stomach ache and we vomit. Similarly, if we hear all these things and we don’t experience it, we will get a headache. We will catch people and vomit all these things on them. Please be very clear that unless we have sincerity, unless we experiment with these truths, listening to these truths is dangerous.

Content: Now I am giving one more step. Here it says, ‘If you don’t practice, listening to these truths is dangerous.’ We may ask, ‘Why?’ Because now, by and by, even after so many days of listening or reading these great truths, we will start hallucinating that we know, without knowing. That is the most dangerous game.

Content: Never ever get caught in that game! Spiritual life needs courage, sincerity, and the consciousness of dhīrah. A small story: The great saint, Dakshinamurthi Swamigal, lived in Tamilnadu, South India, near a place called Tiruvaroор. Let me share a historical incident from his life. A poet from the king's court met Dakshinamurthi Swamigal and was inspired by his presence. Consequently, the poet wrote one thousand songs in the bharani style in the saint's honor. Bharani is a special style of poetry involving one thousand verses. The rule is that only someone who shows courage and power and kills one thousand elephants in war is qualified to have such a song written about him. Here, this poet was so inspired by the saint's presence that he simply wrote the songs on him on the spot. The king also considered himself to be bharani. I don't know if he killed one thousand elephants in war. He may have just paid a poet to write one thousand songs about him! Anyway, suddenly, one day in court, out of ego and pride, the king announced, 'I am the only bharani in this whole country, in this whole region!' One of his poets stood up and said, 'No O king, you are wrong. Dakshinamurthi Swamigal is also a bharani. One of your court poets has sung a bharani about him.' The king's ego was hurt. He said, 'What? Who is this person deserving bharani? Bring him here.' The poet said, 'No, no, he is a beggar. He will not come here.' Beggars can never be forced. We can never force homeless people. We can force anybody but a homeless person to do what we want, because he has no desire. We can't do anything about him. As long as someone has some desire, he obeys the social system. So we can't do anything about a homeless person. He does not care for name, home, fame or security. So we cannot bind him. In this case, this man was a beggar and a saint. They could not bring him to the king. The king felt deeply offended. He said, 'What? For a beggar, bharani! Which fool sang the songs? Call him to me right now.' The poet was summoned to the court. The king said, 'Fool, how dare you sing bharani for a beggar.' The poet replied, 'O King, please forgive me. Before you say anything, before you abuse that master, it would be nice if you would go to see him.'

Content: The king said, 'What kind of advice are you giving me? Tomorrow morning your head will be cut off.' That was the king's usual trend, direct violence. Only foolish people immediately express violence. When they can't behave in an intelligent way, when they don't know the truth and they don't have enough energy to convince the other person of the truth, they take to the sword. Take for example the history of Buddhism or Hinduism. They never converted anyone with the sword. They had intelligence. They converted through logic, analysis and convincing the other person of the truth. For example, great masters like Adi Shankaracharya and Mandana Mishra had different views on a particular subject, still they did not fight with each other. Shankara did not say, 'If you don't convert to Vedānta, I will kill you.' They sat together and analyzed what they knew. It was a loving discussion. It was a beautiful scene. Shankara and Mandana Mishra sorted out their differences with deep respect by discussing without rancor. The person who acted as judge in the discussion was Mandana Mishra's wife. What a beautiful, loving atmosphere it must have been! Can you believe that the wife of one of the competitors was the judge? Never! And here, Shankara appointed Mandana Mishra's wife as the judge. Bharati judged the discussion between Shankara and Mandana Mishra. And finally, she passed judgment in favor of Shankara. She declared that Shankara won the debate. The whole thing happened out of love. There was no violence, no cutting, no killing, nothing. It was just a simple discussion. Throughout the history of Eastern religions, there was never any cutting or killing. They never converted through the sword because they did not believe in killing. They had enough intelligence to express the concept. And one more thing, the loser automatically joined the group which expressed the truth more clearly! When Shankara convinced Mandana Mishra, Mishra dropped everything and surrendered his life to Shankara! He became a disciple of Shankara and took the spiritual name Sureshwaracharya. He followed the path of Shankara's teachings. People who use the sword prove that they are foolish. Because they lack intelligence, they must attack. Those who convert people through the sword prove they do not have enough clarity or courage to perceive the truth. We can never achieve anything by the sword. Only destruction is possible through the sword, never construction.

Content: sit. Even the leader of the army can't make the army sit. That is why they say we must continuously give a task to the devil. If we don't give any task to the devil, it will eat us! Similarly, we cannot make the army keep quiet. But here the whole army sat in silence.

Content: One hour passed. Then two hours passed; three hours; then the evening also passed; one day got over. The master, the king and the entire army sat in silence. Not a single word was exchanged. There were no instructions, nothing. They did not even greet each other. They were merely sitting. Two days got over, then three days got over. Now the master thought, 'This is too much. The poor man and his entire army have been simply sitting for three days without food and even without toilet visits! These people must return to their kingdom, to the palace. The king must take care of the country. He has been just sitting here for three days.

Content: The master opened his eyes and said, 'Now you can go.' The king fell flat at the master's feet, did namaskār (obeisance) and came out of the forest.

Content: Then the king summoned the poet and said, 'Leave alone thousand elephants... You may sing for the master praises that you usually sing for the one who has killed ten thousand elephants!'

Content: The poet made a beautiful statement, 'Killing ten thousand elephants is easy. It is not a big deal. You just need the weapons and you can simply kill; however, killing one's mind is the real achievement.'

Content: This master had killed the king's mind. Not only had Dakshinamurthy Swamigal killed his own mind, he could kill anybody else's mind if they sat in his presence. Killing ten thousand elephants doesn't take courage, but killing your mind requires courage.

Content: All we need for real spiritual life is courage and sincerity to experiment with the truth. We typically lack that quality. We listen to everything. Wherever there are discourses and lectures, we go and listen to anyone who speaks. We read all the books. When it comes to facing the reality of putting this knowledge to test, there is no action. Then you tell me, 'For practical purposes, Swamiji, we must have our possessions. Otherwise how can we survive in this world?...' You just compromise cunningly.

Content: Compromising is cowardice. Please understand that the person who compromises never experiences anything in his life; not only in the spiritual life, even in the outer world life. He can never experience life itself.

Content: Sincerity to experience a single truth is enough. Nothing else is necessary. We don't need to do big things. Please be very clear, we can't call somebody 'a big person' if he does something big. What he does is unimportant; how he does it is important.

Content: As an example, the great saint Nammalvar, who lived in Tamilnadu, made garlands for Vishnu throughout his life. He did nothing else. He picked flowers from a garden, made garlands and gave it to God. All he did was make garlands. He became enlightened. So many enlightened masters did not do big things. They did small things in a big way. They had deep trust.

Content: Another enlightened person did not even do that. He did not make garlands to offer God. Instead he threw a stone towards the Shiva linga everyday. His name was Sakyanayanar (Sakya refers to the clan of the Buddha, and Nayanar is a name for devotees of Shiva). Somehow he became a Buddhist monk. Because he was a Buddhist monk, he could not worship the Shiva linga in public. Yet he had tremendous respect and devotion for Shiva.

Content: In Buddhism, at least one son from every family is given to the monastery at a young age. They bring him up and make him a Buddhist monk. Like that, Sakyanayanar was given away to a monastery. Still, he had deep devotion to Shiva. Everyday he went near the Shiva temple. It was not even a regular temple, it was just a small Shiva linga under a tree. From a distance he took a stone, visualized it as a flower and threw the stone at the Shiva linga. If someone observed him and asked, 'What are you doing?' he would say, 'I am only throwing stones at the Shiva linga.' He would throw the stones and leave that place.

Content: One day when he threw a stone, an old man suddenly appeared and asked, 'What are you doing?' He replied, 'I am only throwing stones at the linga.' The old man said, 'No, the way in which you throw shows your devotion. You may be throwing stones, but the way in which you are throwing shows devotion. Tell me who you are?'

Content: Sakyanayanar replied, 'Somehow I was born in a Buddhist family, yet I am deeply devoted to Shiva. Everyday I come and offer my Being to him by throwing a stone. Immediately the old man turned around, gave darśan (vision) as Shiva and blessed him with enlightenment.

Content: Understand that what we do is unimportant. Even if we sweep our home, even if we just clean our house, it is okay as long as we do it with complete and intense sincerity in that moment.

Content: Live in the moment.

Content: Understand that spiritual practice does not mean you need to go into a deep forest, hold your nose ten times, and breathe this way and that way. You will only torture yourself. Do anything, but do it with intensity and sincerity. Have courage to express whatever you believe. Have courage to work and experiment with whatever you believe. Whatever your beliefs may be, have the courage to experiment with them.

Content: Don't bother whether the truth you believe is the ultimate Truth. You will never know whether it is ultimate unless you have the courage to experiment with it. Without experimenting, you cannot conclude. If you conclude without experimenting, it is prejudice. You cannot conclude without experimenting. All you need is courage to experiment with the truth that you believe.

Content: Tamil has three words for satya (truth). One word is vaaimai, which means speaking the truth through the mouth. Another word is unmai, which is speaking the truth through your mind or heart. The third beautiful word is meimai, which means living the truth through your body.

Content: In Tamil, 'mai' means body. Truth means living the truth through the body. All of us understand speaking the truth through the mouth and speaking the truth through the mind. However, what does 'living the truth through the body' mean? We have never heard this before.

Content: This is where we miss the boat. We continuously think about the truth. We go on contemplating the truth from morning till night. We speak what we think is the truth. Nonetheless, we forget one important thing: executing the truth in life, living the truth in life. That is where we miss. Living the truth in life is the essence.

Content: Patanjali gives satya as the first instruction in his Ashtaanga Yoga. In the set of five disciplines called yama, the first discipline is satya. This satya refers to truth in thought, word and action. It is vaaymai, unmai and maimai, all the three combined.

Content: People ask me how difficult it is to practice one by one, all eight steps of Ashtanga Yoga before reaching the final point of samādhi. I explain that Patanjali did not outline these as eight steps. These were eight limbs or eight parallel paths to samādhi, enlightenment.

Content: When practiced sincerely, any part or even a part of a part can lead to enlightenment. In reality we cannot practice satya unless we are enlightened. We become aware of satya, that ultimate truth, upon enlightenment, and not before.

Content: The sincerity with which we practice leads us to enlightenment.

Content: That is why I have said time and again that it is not necessary to have an enlightened master as our guru to become enlightened. Any master whom we follow sincerely can lead to enlightenment. Even if we truly believe a stone idol will deliver us into liberation, it will do so.

Content: Our approach, our conviction, our courage and our trust elevate us.

Content: Śraddha is total conviction in what we are doing. There should be no doubt in our mind about the path that we are following and why we are following. All great masters had undivided focus in whatever they did. They never swerved from their chosen path no matter what challenges and problems they faced, including threats to their lives.

Content: Śraddha will also deliver whatever else we need, including material benefits. Here Krishna speaks of spiritual enhancement. We can use the same technique to achieve whatever else we need. Śraddha works equally well in material pursuits. That is what I call Quantum Spirituality. Spirituality is not separate from materialism. Spiritual wellbeing is not divorced from material wellbeing. Material wellbeing is part of overall spiritual wellbeing. And that is Quantum Spirituality.

Content: Be very clear, spirituality is not about renouncing everything and going off to a forest or a mountain. If we do this without cleansing our mind, we will only live our fantasies in the forest or on the mountain. We need not go anywhere to practice spirituality. We can stay where we are and enjoy whatever we have, without regrets and guilt. All we must do is give up and renounce our fantasies about what we do not have.

Content: To accomplish this, to focus on what we have, to enjoy what we have and to renounce greed and expectation, requires courage, determination, single-minded focus and discipline. It requires śraddha.

Content: Understand that the ultimate step or the straight way to enlightenment is honesty and sincerity towards our beliefs. Whatever we believe is not the issue. We must have the courage to experiment with it.

Content: Q: Swamiji, you said that spirituality is no different from materialism. This is not what I have been taught. I shall be grateful if you can explain.

Content: I define spirituality or spiritual wellbeing as the combined wellbeing of body, mind and being. To be spiritually well means you are well physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and materially as well, fully content with all that you have and all that you experience.

Content: There can be no spirituality in discontent. Unfortunately, all of us are discontented with whatever we have. Whatever may be our possession, we seek something more, something different. Discontentment is the cancer of our being.

Content: For most of us, there can be no wellbeing without material wellbeing. We need to be comfortable and respected in society.

Content: If we transcend that need for name, fame and wealth and seek the life of a monk, it is fine. On the other hand, if we run away from our environment because we are uncomfortable with our poverty or social disrespect, that mindset and discontent follows us wherever we go. Going into the forest will not solve our problem.

Content: Ancient Hindu mythology contains graphic descriptions of how divine beings disturb the meditation of earth-bound sages. The divine beings, the demigods, do not want competition in their space of heaven. Hence it is said that they divert and disturb the focus of these sages by sending celestial nymphs to create lust in them! For this reason, we have graphics today of meditating sages trying to cover their eyes as the nymphs dance before them. Usually artistic representations show their fingers spread out while they are peeping through the gaps!

Content: There is no need for nymphs. Our mind is enough. If we go into the forest to meditate with a disturbed mind, we carry that disturbance from our home to the forest. No one needs to send women to disturb us. If it were true that the demigods sent beautiful nymphs to disturb meditators, half the world would be into meditation! It would be a great motivator! The nymphs are but a symbolic representation of our mental unrest.

Content: Spirituality is easier for rich people and people in power. These are the people who have discovered that wealth, fame and power are transitory. They have experienced the depression of success. They only need to understand that there is something permanent beyond wealth, name and fame.

Content: That is why there were many rājarṣis in the vedic culture. These were kings who were sages, enlightened masters. These were the true masters, not those who sat in forests. These kings, such as Janaka, ruled their kingdom with an undisturbed mind.

Content: As householders, many of you find your life unbearable. Imagine the plight of a king who must manage millions of householders. Yet, these kings ruled with non-attachment.

Content: Such people do exist even today. Many have created wealth for themselves and others and live in a spiritual mode of 'You'. This attitude separates the spiritually minded person from the non-spiritually minded person. Krishna talked about this in the previous chapter. The shift from 'I' to 'You' makes us spiritual. It is not the shift from enjoyment of material things to discarding them. Poverty does not make us spiritual or enlightened. If that were the case, half the world would be enlightened.

Content: This is why I say time and again that to evolve spiritually we do not need to renounce anything that we have. We need to renounce the attachment to what we have and renounce the fantasies we have about what we do not have.

Content: As long as we are content and comfortable with our home, car, wife and children and we do not fantasize about someone else's home, car, wife and child, we will be spiritually well and happy.

Chapter Number: 17.1

Content: Arjuna said: What is the mode of devotion of those who perform spiritual practices with sincerity, but without following the scriptural injunctions, O Krishna? Is it in the mode of goodness, aggression or ignorance?

Content: Arjuna asks a beautiful question.

Content: Arjuna asks: 'Krishna, those who discard the ordinances of the scriptures and perform sacrifices, what is their position? Is it satvic, rajasic or tamasic? What is the state of people who don't follow the instructions of the scriptures, the ancient books, and instead worship according to their own beliefs? Is it rajas, tamas or satva? Are they in a peaceful (satvic) state, restless (rajasic) state or an ignorant (tamasic) state?'

Content: Worship can occur at many levels. Arjuna's question is based upon the three attributes or gunas. Worship is also dependent on our energy levels. Many people are comfortable worshipping at the physical level, the gross level, through techniques such as pūjā, going to temples to worship the deities, bathing in holy rivers, etc. From an energy point of view, these are linked to the earth energy and the water energy.

Content: At another level of energy, one may perform fire sacrifices such as yajña or homa. These are related to the fire energy. Typically the energy of the fire is transferred to water pots that are placed around the sacrificial fireplace. This water, which is energized by the ritual, is then poured over idols, or sprinkled over people or upon the earth to energize them.

Content: The energy of air can be accessed through breathing techniques such as prānāyāma or chanting of verses. In the first nine verses of Shiva Sutra, Lord Shiva explains about these types of techniques to Devi, His disciple.

Content: It is possible to access the etheric energy through meditation, though this requires understanding and awareness.

Content: Each form of worship or sacrifice is based upon one's aptitude and inclination. Each of these is guided by scriptural instructions as to how to perform the worship, when and where, etc.

Content: Arjuna asks, 'How important is it to follow these instructions? What happens when one follows one's own inclinations and worships?'

Content: This is an interesting question. A saint in Tamilnadu worshipped Shiva with such intensity that he cut out his eyes and placed them on the Shiva linga. Other masters placed all kinds of material at the altar including raw meat. Ramakrishna placed a thread under the nose of Kali's idol to check whether She was breathing before he offered Her the ritual food!

Content: Many masters have followed their inclination when worshipping their favorite deity. Scriptures never stood in their way of worship. However, these masters were focused on what they were doing. They had śraddha. That is important.

Content: Arjuna's query is in this connection.

Content: Q: Throughout the history of mankind there has been strife based upon one's scriptural understanding and differences in understanding. You say all religions have the same fundamentals. Then why is there always this strife and violence?

Content: All religions had the same fundamentals when they remembered the actual teachings of the founding masters. They have the same fundamentals even today with a few disciples who still vibrate with the energy of the masters' words.

Content: All great masters had just a few disciples. Jesus had twelve. Ramakrishna had twelve and Ramana Maharshi had about the same. Only Buddha had many more. But these disciples sat with Him face-to-face to imbibe and internalize Him. Buddha forbade any kind of worship. He was remembered through the symbol of the Bodhi tree for 500 years following His death. Later, they built temples for Buddha.

Content: Moses met God face-to-face and received the Ten Commandments because of his own experience. Moses had the ability to transmit that experience to a few whom he contacted personally, and these people believed him. Beyond that, the Ten Commandments merely became a rulebook to others. It became another set of manuals.

Content: The Ten Commandments as well as the other rules and regulations that followed Moses were no longer the experience and understanding of people who received them. Masters spoke from their loving being while followers acted from their logical heads.

Content: Religions are the rigid structures built by unloving followers, who thrust their partially understood wisdom upon others using fear and greed as their weapons. The wisdom of the masters must be understood in full. Either it is fully internalized or not understood at all. There is no midway point.

Content: Love is the origin of all teachings of these great masters. Compassion was their sign. Unfortunately, religions lost their ability to love. They say they love. They love whoever accepts their religion. This is not love. This is bigotry.

Content: Love is the original religion. It is the root of all spirituality. All other religions are offshoots. Love is the root; all other religions are like leaves or at the most, small branches. Even the greatest religions like Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism are only big branches. These religions are visible, love is invisible.

Content: We can visually see churches and the temples, and we can read the scriptures. Love has no temple and love has no scripture. It is like the roots hidden underneath: it is underground, yet it is the nourishment. Without it, the whole tree dies. Love goes on creating more and more leaves, more and more foliage, more flowers and more fruits. Love is the original religion. Compassion of the founding masters is pure love.

Content: We cling to the branches when we follow religions. Branches may look attractive but they are not the source. A Buddha, a Jesus or a Krishna, goes to the roots; from there, He experiences His own reality of God. And the only way to experience God is to go to the roots of life, of Existence.

Content: Find the roots. Be more loving and you will enter the invisible temple. A root contains all the trees in this world and a dewdrop contains all the oceans because the dewdrop contains the secret of all waters.

Content: If we understand the dewdrop, we can understand everything in the oceans on earth or on other planets. We can understand water itself. Water cannot be anything else; its chemical composition will be the same no matter where it is. That composition is ingrained in the smallest particle.

Content: Man is an atom of love. He contains God because he contains the composition. The composition of man is not physical, chemical or even psychological. Otherwise we would have understood it easily. The composition of man is spiritual. Nobody can tell us what it is. We must experience it on our own. All other knowledge is transferable: physical, chemical, scientific and psychological. All such knowledge is easily transferable. Only spiritual knowledge is not transferable.

Content: The master can give a few hints, just hints; and these too will be vague. Then we must find our way carefully, cautiously. Love is just a hint, but if we follow love slowly, very slowly, we will be surprised that God becomes more and more of a reality to us. He is no more a thought, no more an idea, but almost something that we can touch. The deeper we go into love, the closer we come to God. The day we dissolve into love we have arrived home.

Content: Love is the secret of all religions. In spite of this, people are lost in logic and theology. Is logic about God? Theology is as far away from religion as anything can be. There can be no logic about God, only love. God is in poetry, music and in dance, not in logic.

Content: God is not an idea and cannot be arrived at through logical processes. He is an interior experience, so deeply interior that we must go there alone, absolutely alone.

Content: Bliss is possible for those who know how to love and trust. It is open to those who know how to surrender, how to be loyal and how to be obedient. Bliss is possible when our heart says 'Yes,' and when 'No' completely disappears from our being. Because 'No' is darkness, whereas 'Yes' is light. 'No' is ego whereas 'Yes' is egolessness.

Content: 'No' is the way of the unconscious man. 'Yes' is the way of the awakened one. Renunciation is a discipline of saying 'Yes' totally to all that is, and forgetting the language of 'No'. Then great harmony arises. All conflict disappears. All conflict is because of our saying 'No'. 'No' is fight, war. 'Yes' is love. 'Yes' is deep accord with the totality. Bliss is another name of that accord, that harmony.

Content: One attains bliss if one deserves it, if one is worthy. The way to deserve it is to dissolve, not to Be. To Be is a hindrance. The ego is the root of all misery. When the ego is absent, bliss reaches us from every nook and corner of Existence, as if it were just waiting for the ego to disappear.

Content: Ego is a closed state of consciousness: all windows and doors are closed. We then lead an insulated, encapsulated life. Ego surrounds us like a capsule. Ego is

Content: like the egg; there is not even a small window to allow anything to enter. Ego is fearful. It closes itself due to fear and shrinks into itself. This is how we create misery.

Content: Bliss is being in the flow with Existence, to be totally with it. Ego is like frozen ice and egolessness is like flowing water. Only when we don't have any private goal or destination. Each moment is blissful, incredibly ecstatic. The mind cannot comprehend or conceive it. Mind is part of the ego. It only knows how to close; it does not know how to open up.

Content: To love means to surrender. It means to renounce. It means that our whole effort will be to open up to Existence, to the flowers, to the trees and to the stars. How do we open to this beautiful music that fills the whole of Existence? How do we open up to this celebration that goes on and on - flowers dancing in the wind, trees enjoying the wind and the stars, always in a state of bliss? Except for man, everything is in harmony.

Content: Man falls out of harmony because he has consciousness.

Content: Consciousness can do two things: it can create ego and it can create egolessness. If it creates ego, we live in hell. If it creates egolessness, we live in paradise. The whole world is in paradise without knowing it. When man enters paradise, he enters with full knowing. That is the grandeur and beauty of man. And that is the danger also. Because out of thousands of people, only once in a while does someone enter. Others simply keep falling into the trap of the ego.

Content: Be egoless and all the grace of God is yours!

Content: Bliss is by the grace of God. We have forgotten who we are. We are emperors but we dream that we are beggars. We have the whole kingdom of God within our being yet we continue to beg for trivial things. We keep collecting trivial things not knowing that we have infinite, inexhaustible treasures within our being. We are oceans, yet we are thirsty because we have become disconnected from our own selves.

Content: We have become disconnected from ourselves because of our personality. We have become personalities but what we really are is our individuality. We must move from personality to individuality, from the false, the pseudo, to the real and authentic. The search for the authentic is what surrender is about. And it is easily possible, because no matter how disconnected we are, no matter how we have

Content: forgotten it and no matter how long we have forgotten it, it can be remembered in a single moment and immediately we can become connected. Faith is the connector.

Content: Religion is belief, not faith. Ordinarily, faith and belief are used synonymously. They are not synonyms. They are antonyms. They are opposites. The person of belief is not a person of faith. The person of faith knows nothing of belief. Belief is borrowed from others. Faith is our own experience. Belief is of the head. Faith is of the heart. Belief is close to logic. Faith is of the heart. Belief simply means that we have repressed our doubt; we have covered a dark hole of doubt with a beautiful belief, but it is there nevertheless.

Content: This is not the way to eliminate doubt. In fact, it is more dangerous to cover it because we become unaware of it and it spreads inside us like hidden cancer. It is better to be aware of doubt. Then we can do something about it. To forget it and cover it up is dangerous. It can spread all over our being. Christians, Hindus or Muslims, all are only believers. Deep down there is doubt. Their beliefs don't make them spiritual.

Content: Up until now this has been history. The beliefs of people have shed more blood on earth than anything else; Christians destroying Muslims, Muslims killing Hindus and so on. It seems that every religious person is at someone else's neck, ready to kill and murder. The most non-spiritual people have always been the so-called religious leaders. They kill in the name of God.

Content: Beliefs never make anybody spiritual. They make Muslims or Hindus or Christians; however, they do not make anybody spiritual. Beliefs simply cover up our face while we remain ugly deep down inside. Nevertheless, people who believe in our beliefs, the fellow travelers, respect us. They worship us because they are in the same boat as us.

Content: Someone once asked George Bernard Shaw, 'When there are millions of Christians, how can Christianity be wrong?' He retorted, 'If there are so many Christians, one-third of humanity, how can they be right?' Truth has never been a quality of the crowds. Rarely has a man arisen, in spite of the crowd, against the crowd, and attained the peaks of Truth.

Content: Crowds always live in the valleys. And they help each other. They become props for each other. It helps to live with people who adhere to the same beliefs. It makes us feel protected and secure. Faith is different.

Content: There is no need to believe. Don't believe in anything written or spoken, including what I say and write. Live it, experiment with it, internalize it and experience it. When you experience it, it is no longer faith; it is trust. This trust alone liberates.

Chapter Number: 17.2

Content: The supreme Lord said: The natural faith of embodied beings is of three kinds: Goodness, aggression, and ignorance. Now hear about these from Me.

Chapter Number: 17.3

Content: O Arjuna, the sincerity of each is in accordance with one's own natural disposition. One is known by one's sincerity. One can become whatever one wants to be.

Chapter Number: 17.4

Content: Men in the nature of goodness worship the deities; those in the nature of aggression worship the demons and those in the nature of ignorance worship ghosts and spirits.

Chapter Number: 17.5, 6

Content: Ignorant persons of demonic nature are those who practice severe austerities without following the prescription of the scriptures, who are full of hypocrisy and egotism, who are impelled by the force of desire and attachment and who senselessly torture the elements in their body and also Me who dwells within the body.

Content: Krishna explains that the way we worship depends upon our natural disposition, the guṇa, attributes that we are born with.

Content: When we are born, we carry within us the vāsanā, the essence of the mental attitude from our past lives. This comes with the prārabdha karma (unfulfilled ations from past lives) and the saṃskāras (deeply engraved memories), that drive our mental makeup and actions throughout our present lives. In turn, guṇas or the attributes we are born with are determined.

Content: Many believe that there is an avenging angel who sits at the gates of paradise or hell, as the case may be, keeping accounts of all that we have done in our life. It is as if Saint Peter or Chitragupta waits to pounce on us and read out our balance sheet. Do we think they have no other work to do?

Content: All these stories are creations of religious leaders, who wish to control us out of fear and greed. Just as we relate fairy tales to our children to keep them quiet, these priests and scholars tell us these stories. Some fairy tales are really horror stories about witches and monsters that eat humans, especially young children. No wonder children become corrupted by fear. These stories are fed to them at a susceptible age and at bedtime, a susceptible time.

Content: Hell and heaven are merely stories. Our mind is our hell and heaven. We go through hell during this life, not after this life. The fear of what will happen, the guilt that religion imposes upon us, keeps us in hell. Once we let go of this guilt, we shift into heaven.

Content: Our being, our undying spirit, keeps an account of every thought we have and every move that we make. There is no escape from this account keeper. When we reach the end of the road, when our body dies, the spirit plays back all that happened during the journey of life and goes through the pains and pleasures. According to Krishna, the attitude or last thought with which we left our body carries over to our next birth and the next body our spirit moves into.

Content: Do not think that we can do whatever we want during our entire life, and then embrace some wonderfully good thoughts at that last breath before we die. No! However much we try, we cannot be money-minded all our life and switch to chanting ‘Krishna, Krishna’ as we take our last breath. What we have been all our life takes hold of us when we leave the body as well.

Content: If all our life we were behind money, we will only chant dollars and cents as we die. Our attitude will be about making money and that will be the attitude with which we take birth in the next body. Our spirit looks for a body in an environment that fosters the growth of the attitude with which it left the previous body.

Content: If the attitude is to make money, it chooses a family, location, and culture in which it can be reborn in order to be wealthy. If the attitude is to serve people, it similarly chooses an appropriate family, location and culture to make this happen.

Content: Hence we are born with a natural inclination based upon our last life and attitude. Depending on the attitude, we may have the attribute of satva - goodness, rajas - aggression, or tamas - ignorance as our driving nature.

Content: All societies, religions, faiths, castes or creeds are simply translations of these basic natures or traits or mental conditionings; nothing more. After taking birth on

Content: planet earth, we adopt the nature into which we are born that is according to our past attitude. In our new birth, we settle into a religious belief dictated by that natural attribute.

Content: However, we do not realize that we are a part of the Whole, a fragment of Existence or the supreme consciousness. We do not realize that our true nature transcends all material associations and conditionings. When this relationship with Existence is forgotten, we give energy to our associations in material life. We develop allegiance to the blind rules of some religion. Such an existence is purely materialistic and the association itself is artificial. To come out of this, we must break out of our material bonds and enter the path of Self-realization.

Content: Śraddha here refers to the faith that comes out of good work. Yet pure goodness goes beyond all material acts. It is transcendental. Hence there is nothing like fully good, completely good in material life.

Content: Please be very clear, only a person whose nature is pure goodness can connect with the Divine, with Existence.

Content: An enlightened master goes beyond the three guṇas of satva, rajas and tamas. He transcends these attributes because he burns out all his vāsaṇās, saṁskāras and karmas, of which these guṇas are a product. An enlightened master has no bondages. He is not bound by desires, greed, fear or attachment. He is beyond the illusion of material existence. He dissolves into the cosmic energy when he chooses to leave the body and it perishes.

Content: When the energy of an enlightened master is reborn on this planet, when it takes human form, it is imbued with some satva guṇa, since all beings in physical form must by nature have an attribute.

Content: Such a being is an incarnation, an avatār. Upon realization of the being's enlightened state, that incarnation reverts to its transcendental state of being without attributes or guṇa. In some cases, the incarnation continues upon this planet to fulfill the mission that Existence has sent it to accomplish. In other cases, upon realization of its true nature, the incarnation reverts to its original cosmic state.

Content: The classic examples of these two different events are Ramakrishna and Vivekananda. Both were enlightened masters who reappeared upon this planet on the mission of Existence, Parāśakti. Ramakrishna continued after realization of his state of enlightenment. However, Vivekananda, as predicted by his master Ramakrishna, left his mortal body once He realized his enlightened state.

Content: If a tamasic person becomes enlightened, he goes through the stages of rajas and satva before the realization happens. The transition may happen quickly but it must happen. Valmiki (Indian sage) was a robber who terrorized and killed people. His nature was deep tamas with a layer of rajas. When he caught hold of Narada and demanded money, Narada offered him the name Narayana. The moment Valmiki uttered the name of the Lord, he was transformed. He shifted to satva and became the enlightened master who wrote the Ramayana epic.

Content: Krishna says our style of worship depends upon our nature. A person established in satva worships devatas (deities, gods) who are peaceful. A person established in rajas worships yakṣas (supernatural beings) and rākṣasas (demons). A person established in tamas (ignorance) worships pretas (spirits of the dead) and bhūtas (ghosts).

Content: Please understand, whatever is your ideal, whatever you hold in high esteem, whoever you follow, whatever you worship, that is your nature and that decides your quality. To decide the nature of youngsters, observe their rooms. Do they have a Swami Vivekananda poster or an actor's poster? Based on that, we can decide their hero.

Content: If we have Swami Vivekananda's photo on the wall, he is our hero. We continuously think of him. We want to become like him. We want to live like him. If we have an actor's photo, we want our hairstyle to be like his. We want to look like him. We want to dress like him and we will work out to look like him. We do everything to become like him.

Content: If we worship the right ideal, we are established in satva. If we have Swami Vivekananda's poster in our room, we are in satva. If we have an actor's photo or poster in our room, we are in rajas and tamas. Tamas is like watching a violent fighting show. Everyday the shows go on: people fighting with each other, beating and kicking each other like monkeys. I can never understand this. Fighting is a perversion.

Content: Please understand that fighting is a perversion. I cannot imagine thousands of people sitting and watching these fights. How perverted we have become! Please be very clear that if you continuously sit in front of the television and watch fighting, you are established in tamas.

Content: Krishna says that based upon our ideal, our guṇa (attributes) can be described.

Content: In the last verse, He says, 'Please do not punish your body. You not only punish yourself, but you also punish me because I reside in you!'

Content: The scriptures do not recommend severe austerities and penances. Walking on fire and such other things are unnecessary. When I make you do these things once in a while, it is to make you break the pattern that you have always lived your life in. But you should not subject yourself to these as daily rituals, 'Every morning when I wake up, I should walk on ten feet of fire…' No!

Content: Krishna says there is no need for all these things. People perform them out of pride and ego, merely to show, 'I did all these things.' They are done out of pride and egoism. They are done out of lust and attachment. Some people, for example, sit for years on a bed of nails or sit with one hand raised. All these painful contortions are foolish. These people torture their bodies and the material elements as well as the Paramātman (supreme consciousness) dwelling inside them. Beautifully Lord Krishna says, 'Please do not torture the soul inside your body. Don't abuse your body. The body is the temple of God.

Content: By torturing the temple of God, you torture the supreme consciousness residing inside. He says that those who torture the supreme consciousness inside the body are demons. Ravana did penance. He cut off his heads and put them into the fire. This is a demon's penance, torturing the body and torturing the supreme consciousness residing in the body. There is no need to do self-torture. Krishna says, 'Don't torture yourself.' God never asked you to torture yourself. These people wanted to destroy somebody all the time. That is why they did these violent things even to themselves. The entire purpose of this penance and self-torture was to boost the ego, to seek power.

Content: No scripture expects or teaches us how to kill others, torture others or do black magic to others. The other day I spoke to somebody about yantras as a remedy. Yantra is a metal plate with a diagrammatic representation of powerful mantra (chant) that is sanctified through rituals. After that lecture someone told me, 'I bought a yantra, but when I wanted to return it to the person I bought it from, he threatened to curse me.'

Content: You need to understand that only an enlightened being can curse. Only he has that power. But an enlightened person will never curse. Please be very clear that only an enlightened person can make his curse effective. Others cannot. It is not that anybody can curse and it will become reality. No, only an enlightened person can curse, and an enlightened person will never curse. If he curses, he is not enlightened. Nobody can curse you. If he is not enlightened, don't be concerned about it. It will never work because for a curse you need satya-sankalpa, the backing of Truth.

Content: Only the words of a person who has achieved the ultimate energy can become reality. I will say again that only an enlightened person can curse, and an enlightened person will never curse. Because the enlightened person is in universal consciousness, cursing another person is the same as cursing himself!

Content: Never be afraid of curses! Nobody can curse you. One thing is sure, if someone curses, he hurts himself more than he hurts others. So never be afraid of curses.

Content: Spiritual relationships can never exist out of fear or greed. Never be obedient to somebody out of fear. Simply throw things out if it is forced on you out of fear. Never be afraid of anything.

Content: Here Krishna says that there is no need for all this penance. Out of pride and ego you cheat yourself with all this penance but you never really achieve anything. The person who does these things out of ego and pride is a demon, a rākṣasa.

Content: A demon is in deep tamas, in ignorance. All that drives such a person is the boost to his ego without consideration for himself and others. Such a person is a spiritual cipher.

Content: Q: Swamiji, you said that vāsanās make the spirit choose a new body to be reborn in. Why is there a difference in attitude between siblings? One may be money-oriented, another service-oriented, a third may be power-crazy. And all three are different from their parents. Why is this?

Content: An excellent question!

Content: Earlier I shared the story of attempting to heal the autistic child when I was in the USA a few years ago. The parents were from India, but not from Tamilnadu and none of them spoke Tamil. I will mention it again since it's relevant to this question.

Content: As soon as I touched the autistic boy, in crude but chaste Tamil he shouted at me to take my hands off him. He did not want to be healed. I was taken aback both with the vehemence with which he said this and also that he spoke in a language that he was unfamiliar with. I asked the boy why.

Content: He said that he had made a deliberate choice to be an autistic being since he did not want to be caught in life's responsibilities. He wanted to work out his prārabdha karma (unfulfilled actions from the past) without having to exert himself.

Content: I responded by saying, 'That is fine, but you are troubling your parents who are good people. Why are you making them suffer?'

Content: He immediately replied, 'Do you think I would enter the body in a family that would not take care of me? I was born to them because they are good people and I knew they would take care of me!'

Content: Of course, I did not attempt to heal the boy against the wishes of his being.

Content: The reasons with which a spirit may decide on a body may not be obvious to us. Following birth, the individual also forgets why he chose his body and he also forgets his prārabdha karmas. It would be convenient if we remembered what brought us here. Then we could work towards fulfilling those desires! Once fulfilled, our karmas would dissolve and our spirit would be free.

Content: Please understand that the entire concept of karma, and about doing good and bad, is nonsense. It is only to keep you on a tight leash. That is all. If you think that by giving money to the poor, donating to a temple fund or a preacher's hat will earn merit points toward your entry into heaven, you have been fooled.

Content: When people come to the ashram and want to donate money, I tell them, 'Do not think that this Nithyananda will be standing at the gate when you die to make sure you get a heavenly suite. Nothing like that is possible. There is no exchange offer between what you give now and what you get after death. Only your good attitude follows you if you give with an attitude of unconditional help. If not, even that will not follow you.'

Content: We do not remember why we came here because when we die the spirit passes through the painful and dark Causal layer of energy. In that deep pain, it forgets whatever made it decide on taking the new body. The darkness of the Causal layer as the body dies, the coma state, is equivalent to the dark painful passage that the body passes through as it emerges from its mother's womb. This is the point at which the spirit leaves the dying body, its previous abode, and enters the new abode.

Content: It is possible to remember why you came here, your prārabdha karma, and to have a conscious birth. It happens to enlightened beings. It is possible for others as well. I am working on this process. The mother must be trained before the child is born.

Content: 17.7 Food that we consume is of three kinds, according to the three types of material nature. These are sacrifice, austerity and charity. Hear the difference between these three.

Content: Krishna now speaks about food. Three different types of people enjoy three different types of food. Before we discuss these verses, let me explain the three different types of śraddha based on what we are.

Content: Please understand that one group of people is completely negative. They only doubt and doubt and doubt. They have decided not to believe in anything. They have decided not to raise themselves in their lives. They remain dumb. We can't do anything with them. This is the first group.

Content: The second group consists of people who believe, but do not practice.

Content: The third group of people believes and practices sincerely.

Content: There are three groups. One group doubts. Even the word doubting is too good to describe it. They are prejudiced. This group is in tamas. The next group is the believers. They are in rajas. The third group is sincere. This group is in satva. Krishna beautifully explains the differences between the prejudiced group, the believers and the sincere group. He then talks about their ways of life, character and how we can achieve the sincerity of satva and imbibe the truths explained in the Gita.

Content: He gives beautiful step-by-step explanation and teachings on how to raise us from the prejudiced level to the believing level, and from the believing level to the sincerity level. All those here are already at the believing level.

Content: If you are prejudiced, you will not sit here everyday. You would merely stand there, listen to two or three words and go away. Many people come just to check

Content: out what is going on. They stand here for two or three minutes and look at their watch. And even in those few minutes, their feet will shuffle ten times this way and that, and they will say, 'Alright, enough. I think he is just a young swami. What can he say that I do not already know?' They just walk out. If you are not at least at the level of belief, you will not sit here. Coming regularly and sitting through these lectures shows that you are at least at the level of belief. Now all you need to do is jump into the level of sincerity. The moment we jump into the level of sincerity, we experience the truth. We become Krishna. We experience Krishna consciousness. Now we will enter into the technology of experiencing the sincerity, the technology of Krishna consciousness. You see, there is an important choice that you must make. Either you should be completely sincere and trust what I say as the truth, or be very clear that whatever I am saying is just lies. If you can't practice what I am saying, whatever I am saying is a lie. If you are unable to practice, what is the use of this truth? Whether I am saying the truth or not, you will decide. Only you can decide that. No one else can decide for you. I cannot decide for you. If you can execute what I tell you, if you are able to imbibe it, I am speaking the truth. If you are unable to do it, what is the use of the whole thing? Nothing, there's no use. For eighteen days, it's a waste of three hours of your time and three hours of mine, that's all. If you don't imbibe, if it does not transform your life, then it is only a wastage of time. And whatever has happened here is not the truth. Please be very clear that the result of my words on your consciousness decides whether what I spoke is the truth or a lie. One more thing you must understand is that you don't need to do it completely or perfectly. Having the courage to experiment is enough. After my talking all these days, if you say, 'Why not test for two or three days?', if you have that much courage, that is enough. If that doesn't happen, then my sitting and shouting and talking is just like an Indian political meeting speaker! If you are in South India, whether you want it or not, you must listen to some political speaker every year, maybe every month. They air the politician's talk on the loudspeaker throughout the city. No one can escape hearing him. Let me share a real incident that happened some time ago. One day I was traveling from Pudukottai in Tamilnadu to our Bangalore ashram. We suddenly

Content: started hearing a voice over a loudspeaker. The person speaking used slang words, not a single decent word, except two or three, 'hmmm, hmmm.' There were no other decent words. We couldn't escape from his slang words for ten kilometers, which means half an hour. The roads were also horrible. For half an hour, he was shouting. Unfortunately, we had to drive past the stage where he was speaking. I was surprised that only four ladies were sitting in front of the stage. There were more people on the stage than in the audience!

Content: I asked one brahmacāri (unmarried boy training on the path of sanyās) traveling with me, 'What is going on? Why is he using all these slang words?'

Content: The brahmacāri said, 'What is this, Swamiji? He is speaking decently. Why are you blaming him?'

Content: I asked, 'Is this decency?'

Content: He said, 'Swamiji, you have not been present at these kinds of meetings. That is why you call this slang. It is actually decent.'

Content: I asked, 'Then why are there only four ladies in the audience?'

Content: He said, 'Because of the loudspeakers, people can listen to the speech from their homes for a radius of ten kilometers. They don't need to attend the meeting.'

Content: In that political meeting, the speaker told the crowd, 'O dear people who are here, like an ocean you have gathered...' Only four ladies were listening to him and he called them an ocean. And these four ladies were chewing betel nut and betel leaves and spitting on the ground continuously.

Content: These old ladies must have had some arguments with their daughters-in-law at home. Where else could they go after that? There was some entertainment here, so they must have come here.

Content: They must have thought, 'Let us go and sit there. Maybe at the end of the talk, they will give some clothes or gifts. If we don't get anything, we can remove a few flags and take them home. We can use them to clean the house!' This was why these ladies probably decided to come.

Content: A small story:

Content: At a political meeting a politician caught hold of the mike and started speaking. He went on and on and on. Slowly some people left. Then a few

Content: more left. By and by, everyone left except one old man with a shawl. The politician finally felt tired. He stopped and thanked everybody for attending the meeting.

Content: He saw the old man sitting in front of him and said, 'I am so happy that at least you stayed and heard me through.'

Content: The old man said, 'No, I own the mike system. I am waiting to pack up the mike and take it home.'

Content: The politician said, 'Please forgive me, I did not bring a watch. That is why I didn't know how long I was speaking. At least you could have set a clock in front of me, so I would know when to stop.'

Content: The old man said, 'You forgot your watch, but we put up a calendar for you. You could have at least looked at that!'

Content: These politicians become courageous when they speak, especially when they don't have an audience sitting in front of them. They say whatever they want to say. When the audience sits at home, there is no danger of anyone throwing stones at them. So the politicians say whatever they want to say. If there is a crowd in front of them, they don't speak much. They are careful in case people throw stones or create problems. Otherwise, they go on and on and on. It never ends.

Content: Please understand, our meeting will become one more such meeting if we don't have the courage to experiment with the truth that we learned here. If we don't practice, if don't allow Krishna's words to work on us, if we don't work with these words, this meeting will be another political meeting, maybe a polite political meeting. Please don't make this a political meeting. Let these words penetrate you. May you experiment with the truth. If you don't experiment, at least it will be mentally clear to you that this is not the truth.

Content: You might think, 'This swami was simply saying what he has read somewhere.' But if you believe this is the truth, you will be here. If you think this is not the truth, you will not be here. You will not come everyday and sit for three hours, even if you do not have any other work to do. You have a television at home. You could have sat in front of the television. There are many other places to go to, yet you chose to be here. You chose to listen. This shows that you think there is truth behind these words. So when you think there is some truth, never wait to experiment with it.

Content: Have courage and experiment. Take one single idea. You don't need to experiment with the whole Gita. Take one single concept and imbibe that to the core. Let your whole being vibrate with that single thought.

Content: Swami Vivekananda says, 'When you commit to a single idea, your blood should boil with that single idea. Even your hair should stand in that direction. Your bones, your thoughts, your body and your mind should all stand for it. Your whole being should be directed towards that concept. Only then success is certain.'

Content: Please understand, take one concept and work with it. If you fail, there is nothing wrong. But have courage to work with it. If you succeed, you will know it is the truth, and you will be liberated. You will have bliss. If it fails, you will know that it is not the truth and you will be clear. You can continue your search elsewhere. So be very clear about it. The basic truth Krishna is telling you is about sincerity.

Content: There are three groups of people. The tamasic group is prejudiced, meaning negative. The rajasic group believes intellectually. The satva group has sincerity. They not only believe, but they have courage to play with the words and ideas as well. Please do not miss the courage. Let these words penetrate you.

Content: Q: You tell us to search for bliss. You and Krishna say that sincerity, courage and faith will take us on the path to bliss. But the path to bliss does not seem easy. There are many pitfalls. We do not even recognize bliss when we experience it. How can we cope?

Content: Bliss is not easy. Nothing worthwhile is easy. You must struggle. That is where śraddha comes in. Buddha, Christ and Mahavira also struggled.

Content: The word 'Christ' means to be crowned by God. But Christ had to go through a rare crowning ceremony: crucifixion was the first step. That has always been so and will always be: unless one dies, unless the ego dies, God cannot crown you.

Content: You can be crowned only when 'you are not.'

Content: Meditate on that paradox. When you are, you are as far as possible from God; when you are not, you are God. You reach the crown cakra, the sahasrāra, the energy center at the top of your head. When you are absolutely empty, God fills you from everywhere, from every direction and dimension. You are flooded. That is the crowning.

Content: Unless God crowns a man, man lives in vain. He does not live. He only exists. And to merely exist is to live in hell. On the other hand, 'to live' is to exist in a higher state of existence. It is a conscious state of existence. A rock exists. The ordinary man believes that he lives; however, he exists like the rock. Only a Buddha or a Christ actually lives.

Content: How should we live? How can we come to this ultimate glory? We can come to it only through disappearance.

Content: Be ready to dissolve. Surrendering to the master is dissolution. Once you are not, everything fits perfectly. A deep harmony arises. When you are not, there are no discordant notes. It is all music and poetry, all celebration.

Content: We always listen to the outside; hence we keep missing the inner voice. And God speaks from our innermost core. In the master we hear the echo of our innermost being. The master functions as a mirror: he reflects our original face. He says what God wants to say to us because we are not ready to listen to our inner Self. By listening to the master we slowly become aware of the synchronicity between the master and our inner voice. We become aware that the master speaks on behalf of our inner Self. That is why surrendering to the master is not surrendering to anybody; it is surrendering to our own center.

Content: We live on the periphery. We live in the mind, and the mind is so noisy that it does not allow us to hear the still, small voice within. A master is needed as a device because we only hear the outside. The master says from the outside what God has been trying to tell us from the inside.

Content: As we listen to the master outside, we start listening to the inner master as well. You slowly become conscious and wonder what is happening. The master says things that you somehow feel to be your own, more your own than your mind and your body. That's why the East calls the master, a God. The East knows why the master is called God. The master represents God. He reflects God because he reflects your reality, your true being.

Content: Being with the master is getting ready to turn in, so that you can close your eyes and look in, so that you can hear what your intuition keeps telling you. And the intuition is always right. The intellect may be right or wrong. It is always either-or and doubt persists. It is never without doubt. But intuition is without doubt. It simply knows. The intuitive person never repents because he never does anything wrong. He simply follows God's voice within him.

Content: It is possible to be blissful without being wise; however, that is not true blissfulness. That is what people call happiness. It comes and goes. It is momentary. And it leaves us in deep frustration and despair. The cost is too much and not worth it.

Content: It is also possible to be wise without being blissful. That type of wisdom is pseudo and false. It is known as knowledge. It is borrowed and so it is a burden. Anything that has not arisen out of our experience is bondage. It can nourish our ego but it cannot reveal our Self. The true seeker must find bliss and wisdom together.

Content: Meditate. On the one hand, you become blissful and on the other hand, you become wise. Both grow simultaneously in a kind of deep synchronicity. In the ultimate state, bliss becomes wisdom, and wisdom becomes bliss.

Content: To be blissful is to be prayerful. All other prayers are formal. You can say beautiful words, but they are only on the lips. Words belong to the mind. The heart knows no words. It is wordless. It is silent. It is full of love, yet wordless. It is cheerful. It can sing, but in silence. It can dance, but in an invisible way.

Content: The head is gross. Hence everything of the head is visible. It is matter. It is machine. The heart is the center of the invisible. It is not matter. It is consciousness. The heart knows how to be blissful, how to be longing. Being blissful opens the doors to divinity.

Content: People typically go to God in despair. That is the wrong moment because when we are in despair we are closed. God is available, but His availability is of no use unless we are available to Him.

Content: People remember God when they are in misery. That is not the right time to remember Him. The prayers at that time are more or less complaints against the misery as well as demands and desires for things to be better. Those are not real prayers.

Content: A real prayer has one flavor, that of gratitude. A real prayer has one fragrance, that of contentment. It knows no demand or desire. And because God has given so much and been so gracious, the heart silently bows down to the Ultimate. That is real prayer, the very essence of prayer!

Content: Be blissful and let that be your prayer. God is not far away. He never has been. He is just around the corner. The moment the heart is ready, He immediately

Content: appears. He will not knock on the doors because that is interfering with your freedom. He will not trespass, for He respects human dignity. Unless you invite Him, He will wait.

Content: Prayer is a way of inviting Him. And the best way to invite Him is when you are in a dance, when your whole being is singing, when you are in joy, when every fiber pulsates with celebration. Then He is ready to come in immediately. There is not a single moment's gap: it happens instantly.

Content: Fulfill the only condition: be blissful.

Content: Bliss arises from love. Love is the only real poetry. When the heart is full of love, your whole life is transformed from prose to poetry, from noise to music and from discord to harmony.

Content: A heart without love is a desert. The man with a heart that is without love remains ugly. His approach towards life is prosaic. He has no aesthetic sensibility, no sense to appreciate the beauty of Existence and no awareness to be grateful for all that God has done, for all that the universe is. Only the poet knows how to praise, how to be grateful, how to dance and sing and how to celebrate life and its tremendous blissfulness.

Content: It is such a sheer joy to be. Just to be is enough. It is more than is needed, yet we need to be sensitive to feel it. We need to grow feelers. Learn to grow feelers so that life is no longer a thought but a feeling. Once we have moved from thinking to feeling, there is only one more step, and that is from feeling to being; and that is very simple.

Content: The first step is arduous: we must do a lot to move from thinking to feeling. The second step comes almost automatically; there's nothing we need to do for it. From feeling to being, the distance is none at all. It can happen any moment. The poet can become the mystic at any moment. The real problem is how to get out of our thinking and get more and more into feeling.

Content: Love more. Feel more. Enjoy more so that you can feed your heart. Watch the sunrise, sunset, clouds, rainbows, birds, flowers, animals, rocks, and people - look into their eyes. It is such a multidimensional Existence. Look into every dimension as a poet: to praise and to feel. Be ecstatic!

Content: Much is going to happen. So get ready! And don't be afraid when it happens. The only barrier is fear. When things start happening, we become fearful because

Content: we are moving into the unknown, and the mind wants to cling to the known because the mind is clever with the known. With the unknown, the mind has nothing to say. With the unknown, the mind is at a loss as to what to do. It loses its expertise. It is shocked into silence when it encounters the unknown.

Content: The mind is a great expert as far as the familiar and the known are concerned because mind is memory. It can give all kinds of information about the known. It is like a computer. First we feed the information to the computer. Then the computer is ready to give the information back. It can only feed back what we have fed to it, nothing more. There may be new combinations of the old inputs but nothing is original.

Content: Mind knows no originality. On the other hand, the mind can pretend with the known. It can feel great. It is an expert at that.

Content: A child asked his mother, 'Who is an expert?' The mother said, 'The expert does the same thing that women do, but when women do it, men call it nagging.'

Content: Mind is a great expert, a great nagger. It keeps goading and nagging, 'Do this. Do that.' It opens many alternatives and constantly persuades you, seduces you and corrupts you, 'Go this way. Purchase this. Enjoy that.' It keeps you occupied with the known.

Content: The work that a disciple enters into is with the unknown, the uncharted, and the unmapped territory; so fear will be there. That is the only barrier. In spite of it, we should go on. Let fear be there. It will hang around for a while. When we do not listen to it, it will leave us. It is a great day when fear of the unknown leaves us. From then on growth becomes simple, easy and spontaneous.

Content: This committed journey leads to bliss, eternal bliss, nityānanda.

Chapter Number: 17.8

Content: 17.8 The foods that promote longevity, virtue, strength, health, happiness and joy are juicy, smooth, substantial and nutritious. Such foods are liked by persons in the mode of goodness.

Chapter Number: 17.9

Content: 17.9 People in the mode of aggression like foods that are very bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry, and burning, and which cause pain, grief and disease.

Chapter Number: 17.10

Content: 17.10 People in the mode of ignorance like foods that are stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten, refuse and of impure energy.

Content: Krishna talks about the nature of food consumed by people of satva, rajas and tamas temperaments.

Content: He explains what kind of food these people like, what kind of lives these people lead and what kind of understanding these people experience in their lives. The most important thing is what kind of understanding they acquire. See, the same words can be understood in many different ways.

Content: The other day, I related the story of a scholar who narrated the story of Harishchandra, a king who sacrificed his wife and child in order to keep his word. At the end of the story the narrator asked two people, 'What did you understand from the story?'

Content: One person said, 'Even if you die, you must speak the truth.'

Content: The other person said, 'If it is an emergency, you can sell your wife. There is nothing wrong with that!'

Content: From the same story, two different understandings arose. In the story of the great king Harishchandra, he gave away his kingdom, sold his wife, and allowed

Content: himself and his son to be killed in order to fulfill his promise and uphold the truth of his commitments. We need to understand the word in the context of its spirit.

Content: A small story:

Content: A monk was sent to Alaska to spread God’s word. Before going, the Pastor Father blessed him and said, ‘Your rosary and wine will take care of you. Don’t worry.’ A Rosary is the prayer beads, and wine is given as offering at prayer symbolically representing Christ’s blood and sacrifice. ‘Rosary and wine will take care of you.’

Content: After one year, the Pastor Father visited the monk to see how the mission work was going on. The monk received him with the due honor.

Content: The Father asked, ‘How is the mission work happening?’

Content: The monk said, ‘Father, just as you said, the rosary and wine are taking care of me. If it were not for them, I would have died in the cold.’

Content: In the course of their conversation the monk asked, ‘Father, would you like a cup of wine?’

Content: Father replied, ‘Why not? Please get it.’ The monk turned towards the kitchen and said, ‘Rosary, bring a cup of wine!’

Content: Words can easily be misunderstood! Please don’t miss the essence of the words. It is easy to miss the spirit behind the words, the true meaning behind the words. Experiment with courage. And if you can’t, if this is not the truth for you, forget about it. At least you will be free to search somewhere else.

Content: If you think that it is the truth and you don’t execute it or experiment with it in your life, then drop it! Otherwise it will become a habit to listen to the truth and not practice it. It will become a mental setup. It is the most dangerous mental setup. People ask me, ‘Swamiji, should I renounce everything to become enlightened? Should I become a sanyāsi, a monk?’

Content: I tell them, ‘No. There is no need. Just do one thing. Don’t have the mental setup of receiving the truth and not practicing it, that’s all.’ That is the most dangerous thing that can happen to any being. Please be very clear, receiving the truth and understanding it intellectually without having the courage to practice it is the worst possible mental setup. That is the worst devil or demon that can catch hold of you. So at least have the courage to decide, ‘This is not for me because this is not the truth.’ If you believe this is the truth, then have the courage to experiment with it.

Content: You have heard many things. Krishna does not say anything new in this chapter. He says only one thing, 'Be sincere.' Sincerity is the straight way. I tell people, 'Honesty is the basic spiritual virtue. Sincerity is the basic spiritual virtue.' First be a gentleman, then you can be a spiritual man. Gentleman means to be honest to what you believe, truthful to the core. Never do anything without being clear about the truth, and never stop doing anything if you know it is the truth. The scientist is courageous enough to go after the truth. Wherever the research takes him, he is ready to experiment.

Content: In the same way, you must become an inner scientist, a spiritual scientist. You must have the courage to go behind the experience within the words. You must be able to play with them.

Content: A small story:

Content: An enlightened Zen master and his disciple went to the river to bathe. Suddenly, the disciple fell into the river and shouted, 'Master, save me, save me.'

Content: The Zen master said, 'You are ātman (soul), save yourself. You are God, save yourself.'

Content: The disciple shouted, 'Master, first save me, then you can teach me philosophy. Then you can teach me meditation. First, please save me.'

Content: The master replied, 'Stand up and save yourself.'

Content: The disciple shouted, 'No, No, master, save me. Then you can teach me.'

Content: The master shouted back, 'Fool, I am telling you to stand up.'

Content: The disciple became frightened. Just out of fear, he simply stood up, and realized that the water was only up to his knees!

Content: When you stand up, you understand the whole saṁsāra sāgara, the ocean of life. Whatever you consider to be the great worries of your life are not even up to your knee level. They are just up to the ankle level. Because you are lying down, because you never stand up, you think you are drowning; you think you are going to die.

Content: I tell you from my personal experience, if you stand up, you will realize that the water is only knee-deep. Whatever you regard as the saṁsāra sāgara (ocean of life) is only knee deep. It is nothing. There is no way it can affect you. But you need courage to stand up.

Content: For example, if the disciple had decided, 'No, no, I am drowning and instead of pulling me out and helping me, master is teaching me impractical things. What kind of a master is he?' If he simply blamed the master, he would have gone with the river.

Content: He had the courage and in a minute, he got the guts to experiment with the master's words and was saved. You need the guts. You need the courage to stand up and see the truth by yourself. It is having the courage to experiment. Nothing will be lost. If something can be lost, it is better to lose it as soon as possible. May you be rid of that thing or situation. If something can be lost by practicing the truth, may it be lost as early as possible. The earlier it is lost, the better for you.

Content: May you flood your being with the truth. Whatever cannot stand, whatever is washed away, let it be washed away. May it be lost from your being as early as possible.

Content: Krishna explains here about the energy of various food substances. Generally, all food that is not from plants i.e., from animal origin, has negative energy. Food that is hot and spicy tends to aggravate desires. Vegetarian food that is fresh and not spicy is ideal for spiritual practices.

Content: In our Nithya Spiritual Healing system, it is essential that the healers become vegetarians and give up substances such as alcohol, tobacco, drugs, etc. I have nothing against alcohol or meat. I have no theories about cruelty to animals and so on. Plants also have life, just perhaps not at the same frequency. So if one argues from the point of cruelty to animals, eating vegetables also is cruelty to plants.

Content: The Nithya Spiritual Healing system is based on deep meditative techniques. For the meditative energy to be effective, negative energy substances should not be used. I have seen that these meditations do not go together with meat as well as with tobacco and alcohol. If healers eat meat, smoke or drink, they are affected physiologically and psychologically.

Content: Many people complain that this condition is restrictive. What can I do? To satisfy for self-healing, which allows them to eat meat, drink or smoke. But the interesting development is that many of these healers drop meat, cigarettes and liquor on their own! After a while the mind-body system rejects these low energy food substances automatically.

Content: Any serious meditation technique requires one to be in the energy field. The word ‘āhāra’ used by Krishna can be expanded to mean food for all senses, not merely for the tongue. All sensory inputs need to be of the same description that Krishna uses here, promoting ‘longevity, virtue, strength, health, happiness and joy’ to aid one’s progress in one’s spiritual path by the satvic route.

Content: Q: Swamiji, the vedic science of medicine, Ayurveda recommends food types in line with one’s constitution. Are those similar to what Krishna says?

Content: Ayurveda, which literally means the knowledge or science of life, is the ancient Indian system of wellness. Ayurveda is essentially about lifestyle and wellness unlike most other sciences of medicine whose focus is to cure diseases.

Content: The principle of Ayurveda is based upon our relationship with the universe. It arises from the fundamental assumption that we are the same energy as the universe. The Taittreya Upanishad explains the five elements of energy in the universe and how they are interconnected. First, ether or ākāśa arose from the universal energy. From ākāśa, air or vāyu arose. From vāyu came fire or agni. Agni gave rise to water or āpa, from which earth or prthvī developed. Herbs and plants grow from earth and support humans, whose energy is the same as the universal energy.

Content: These five elements of the cosmic energy that exist in foods of plants and herbs sustain all living beings. Ayurveda connects the source of energies, the energies, the carriers of energies and consumers of energies, in a holistic way. Food is therefore an integral part of this system of wellness.

Content: Ayurveda classifies human beings into three types or doṣas. Unlike guṇas that are the essential behavioral attributes in which we operate, doṣas are a combination of the kinds of energies predominant in us. There are three doṣas called vātha, pitta and kapha. Vāta, for instance, is a combination of ether and air in us. Ayurvedic diagnosis can tell which constitution we belong to and our physical and mental attributes.

Content: Ayurveda recommends different foods for each constitutional type based upon tastes such as sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, etc. These are specific recommendations as to what tastes would be healthy for which constitutions and based on this what kind of vegetables and fruits one should eat and so on. Even cooking methods are specified that can be used to provide wholesome ayurvedic food.

Content: Krishna outlines a more general classification based upon the purity and nature of food. Krishna explains that tamasic food, putrid and stale, is forbidden for consumption by vedic tradition. The injunction is to eat food within a few hours of cooking. Beyond that, the food should be discarded.

Content: Today we store food in freezers for months! How can we be healthy? Rarely do people eat food within a few hours of cooking. Everything is prepared in advance and then mixed and micro waved. God knows what kind of genetic modification will happen to people who eat only such food.

Content: Eat fresh food. It is not necessary that it be raw as some people claim. Fire and heat are good energy. But you should know what materials should be used as containers. Cooking in plastics can only give you disease, not energy.

Content: We have forgotten how to prepare food and eat it. Soon, children will think that food grows in supermarkets. They will have no knowledge about farms and plants. Even our flowers are artificial. We touch them and the plastic cuts our fingers.

Content: To preserve such food, we need chemicals. How can we stay healthy when we ingest chemicals instead of energy?

Content: We eat on the run. I see people in America walking down the street holding a phone to the ear with one hand and shoving a burger into the mouth with the other hand. They call it multitasking. This is the easiest way to stress, depression and disease. The food that we disrespect so much eventually abuses us. It settles in places that make us unhealthy. Eating an apple in this manner is bad enough; imagine eating a hamburger in this fashion!

Content: Eat fresh food in silence and with attention. Pay attention to each morsel of food and eat with gratitude and love. Eating does not need to be a social occasion. It should not be. Enjoy your social interactions before and after meals, not while eating. Be in the present moment while you eat.

Content: What Krishna says makes pure sense for wellness. Natural foods contain their own flavor and goodness. You do not need to add spices and flavoring agents to corrupt their taste. He says eat food as it comes, fresh from the earth, and cooked with the energy of fire. Eat it while it is fresh. You will be in satva. You will be in bliss.

Chapter Number: 17.11

Content: 17.11 Sacrifice without expectation of results, as stipulated in the scriptures, with a firm belief and conviction that it is a duty, is in the mode of goodness.

Chapter Number: 17.12

Content: 17.12 O Arjuna, that sacrifice that is performed with expectation of result or for show out of pride, is of the nature of aggression.

Chapter Number: 17.13

Content: 17.13 Sacrifice that is performed without following the scripture, in which no food is distributed, which is devoid of mantra, sincerity, and gift, is said to be in the mode of ignorance.

Content: Krishna talks about how to give, how to sacrifice and how to serve others.

Content: In the vedic tradition, sacrifices such as fire rituals (yajña and homa) were not mere rituals to worship celestial beings. They had a far deeper meaning of benefiting the living and the poor.

Content: Every ritualistic offering had a major element of gifting the deserving poor. Whoever came to such a ritual never went away empty-handed. When the great ṛsis, the masters, performed rituals, they had nothing to seek. They performed these in line with the truth of their experiences, which were the scriptural understandings. They expected nothing. They performed rituals as a day-to-day living expression. These rituals were conducted so that the celestial beings and nature were pleased and humanity benefited. These were selfless offerings of satva guṇa (good nature).

Content: Great kings also practiced these rituals. Kings performed fire rituals to display power and to show that they controlled other kings. These were a display of ego. Kings such as Yudhishtira performed the horse sacrifice, Aśvamedha Yaga, and the Rājasūya Yāga to announce their supremacy over other kings. However, these were

Content: required of kings and were also occasions to give their wealth away generously. These were performed in the mode of aggression, rajas.

Content: Other extreme sacrifices were also performed by demonic creatures with no concern except brute strength. These did not involve charity or generosity. These did not follow the scriptural guidelines. These were carried out purely for selfish reasons.

Content: When young Nachiketa's father gave away as fire offerings useless old cows that no longer produced milk, the young lad protested. 'What are you doing?' he asked his father. 'Why are you giving away useless things in a sacrifice that is meant for giving away valuable material? If you want to give nothing else, give me away,' Nachiketa said. In deep ignorance and anger, his father offered his son to Yama, god of death, as a result.

Content: Please understand that a sacrifice is not measured by how much we give. It is measured by how much we give that we cannot afford to give. It is measured by how much we give when it hurts us to give and that too without any expectation in return. Such a sacrifice straightaway leads to liberation.

Content: Many people give with wonderful intent. It is not charity if they give part of their wealth without it affecting their lifestyle. It is no sacrifice. Many people tell me, 'Swamiji, I am writing a legal will leaving all my possessions to this ashram, temple or your mission.' What is the big deal in giving away after death? You cannot carry it with you anyway.

Content: A sacrifice must hurt to be genuine. It must cause you discomfort and yet be given with total pleasure and without expectations. That is the spirit of genuine surrender. That is the spirit of doing things without expectation of the fruits of action.

Content: I am not denouncing the wonderful charity that many wealthy people do without posing for photographs. They do it with good intentions of helping the disadvantaged. That mental attitude of giving and sharing what they have with the needy, benefits them. That vāsanā of generosity stays with their spirit. There is no doubt in this.

Content: However, that charity will be in the mode of rajas, not satva. When people move from this rajas state of giving to the satva state of giving, wealth seeks them out. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth comes to them without being asked! She knows these people will be the route for benefiting mankind.

Content: There is nothing degrading about wealth and power. They are great energies. Like all great energies, the problem is handling them without letting them go to one's head. As an example, look at the difference between Ravana and Janaka. Janaka was a rāja ṛṣi, the king who was also a sage. He ruled a kingdom, but treated the power and wealth as if they belonged to someone else. He was a mere keeper, a mere witness. On the other hand, although highly gifted and a great tapasvī - who undertook many severe penances - Ravana was ruled by his ego and senses. That brought about his ruin.

Content: The universe operates on the principle of abundance. There is no shortage of anything in the universe. What we need, we get. The trouble is that we are dissatisfied with what we need. Our wants are immeasurable. Great masters have said that it is possible for the universe to fulfill the needs of all the people on planet earth, but not the wants of one single person. Our greed has no limits.

Content: May your desire to give away be limitless. May your desire to acquire become zero. You will be amazed at how wealth seeks you.

Content: Q: You say that God is love. Some cultures depict God in a state of anger and fury. Their monks are serious. They seem to have no humor. Can bliss arise out of anger and fury?

Content: No. We mirror our emotions in God and our mythologies depict him as angry, furious or jealous. God is, in one sense, neutral, as Nature is. He does not care whether you are a sinner or saint. Moral conditions are of no consequence in spirituality.

Content: In another sense, God is compassion. When you approach divinity, you see yourself in others and others in you. At the human level, we term it love. Actually, it is beyond our so-called love.

Content: Love is the energy that can be transformed into joy. And love is the only energy that we have. There is no other energy available. It is the same energy on different planes.

Content: Sex is the crudest form of love energy and God is the highest form of love energy. However, it is the same energy, crude, gross, subtle, hard, worldly, and spiritual. The same energy moves in all planes. It is like a ladder: one end of the ladder touches the lowest whereas the other end touches the highest.

Content: Without love, life would be impossible. Without love, the universe itself would be impossible. Things would fall apart. Love keeps them glued together.

Content: Throughout the ages one of the most basic insights of all the mystics has been that matter is glued together with love. An invisible force keeps atoms and molecules together. They do not fall apart. Science has yet to discover that ultimate energy. It has detected a few of its manifestations such as gravitation or electricity; however, these are gross manifestations. In spite of that, the day is not far off when science will find that the ultimate source of all energy is love. That will be a great day for humanity. On that day spirituality and science will commune with each other because their language will be the same, that of love.

Content: Rejoice because love is possible. Be joyful because love is your inner potential. You can rise to the ultimate heights. Nothing is impossible for love because love can transform itself into God.

Content: Love is divine. Lust is animal. Many confuse lust with love. That is one of the greatest calamities. The person who thinks lust is love remains confined to the world of lust and never rises higher than that. He has no idea that there is a higher plane. He remains in the basement of his house. Sex is the basement. It is not the place to live. You can use it for other purposes, but not as your home; your home is above it.

Content: Man has three planes of being. Lust is animal nature. Remember it is the crudest form of love. It is not that love is not present; however, it is mixed, muddy, polluted by jealousy, possessiveness and anger. As it becomes more refined, it becomes human love. Human love is less possessive and jealous. Human love has greater understanding. It is more capable of not using the other person as a means. It is more capable of thinking of the other as an end unto itself.

Content: When it is divine, love in its highest form is prayer. Then there is no possessiveness and there is nothing earthly in it. It becomes an absolutely invisible force. And when love becomes prayer we feel contentment for the first time. In contrast, lust always keeps us hankering and desiring for more sensation, for more thrill and for more adventure.

Content: Human love gives us a little bit of satisfaction. But love as prayer is bliss. It is a cool breeze from the beyond. When it blows, it takes us from the mundane to the sacred. We can open our wings and float with the wind and it takes us to the ultimate goal of life.