1. isbn 979-8-88572-814-0

Content: NITHYOPANISHAD AM NOT HERE TO PROVE MY DIVINITY; I AM HERE TO PROVE YOUR DIVINITY! BASED ON THE DISCOURSES OF THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM ON THE MASTER-DISCIPLE RELATIONSHIP AT THE HIMALAYAN YATRA 2005

Content: Nithyopanishad

Content: Published by KAILASA's Nithyananda Hindu University | Copyright © 2021

Content: Reprint: 2021

Content: Ebook ISBN: 979-8-88572-814-0

Content: Nithyananda Hindu University

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Content: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Content: Nothing written, explained, shared or promoted in this publication should be considered or construed as medical advice or a substitute for medical care. Any instructions, teachings and suggestions contained in this publication are purely in a spiritual capacity and not intended to be any sort of guarantee or definitive statement about one's health or one's past, present, or future.

Content: This book is not a platform, guide or instruction for learning or practicing any meditation, siddhi, process, āsana, kriya, diet, or other technique that is described or pictured in this book. Any such technique included in this book is for illustrative and informative purposes only and should be practiced only under the guidance of a trained teacher Acharya, ordained by The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam.

Content: Copyright © 2021 Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam. All Rights Reserved.

Content: Nithyopanishad

Content: Based on the discourses of

Content: Paramahamsa Nithyananda

Content: On

Content: The Master-Disciple Relationship

Content: at the

Content: Himalayan yatra 2005

Content: I am not here to prove my divinity;

Content: I am here to prove your divinity!

Content: CONTENTS

Content: Walking With God Where He Resides

Content: Himalayan Trip 2005 Begins

Content: Homage to the Himalayas

Content: The Story of Ganga

Content: The Master-Disciple Relationship

Content: Nithyopanishad

Content: Nithyopanishad Zen Style

Content: Paramaguru Mahavatar Baba

Content: Offering Gratitude to The Himalayas

Content: Love Amongst Nithya Disciples

Content: Master's Zen Stick

Content: Preface

Content: As the scribe of the 2005 Himalayan trip as well as the editor of this book, I have been blessed with the opportunity to recount this memorable experience that the group had. Especially unique to this trip was the series of talks delivered by the master on master-disciple relationship; a truly unique series of interactions between an enlightened master and his hungry seeker disciples. This book tries to capture the spirit and truth of the experiences.

Content:

• NAA

Content: Map showing the Himalayan Trip Route

Content: Walking With God Where He Resides

Content: For years I had longed to travel around in the Himalayan region. I had traveled fairly extensively from Darjeeling on the Eastern side to Kulu & Manali on the Western side of the Himalayan range, on to Naini Tal, Rishikesh and various other places in between. But I had always wanted to travel in areas around the legendary Valley of Flowers. One had heard that travelers could be overcome by the sight and smell of the flowers in this valley. The attraction was very powerful.

Content: I had read about master Rama, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Shivananda and others and their mystic experiences in the Himalayan Mountains. The mystical allure beckoned from time to time. Of course, I had read all this before I met my own master.

Content: It was sometime in March that the Himalayan trip took definition with my master. And of course, although the trip was to do with the Himalayas, it was not really so. It was another opportunity to be with the master, as it was for everyone who was with us on the journey! So though we went fairly close to the Valley of Flowers, being in the fragrant presence of the master, it no longer had the allure it had earlier.

Content: The Himalayan Trip (2005) started with around 80 people registering, a little more than the number there had been in the trip in 2004. There was then a swell in the number to 200. Seeing this, Ananda Gambeer, one of the devotees, was sent on a recce to avoid the pitfalls of the previous year. Finally a batch of 135 people from all over the world made the trip. A few others squeezed in at the last minute despite transport and accommodation being booked to bursting point.

Content: By various means of transportation we reached Delhi. I was somewhat taken aback when I was made bus leader for the Vyasa team (team named after the writer and character from the Hindu epic, Mahabharata). From the way master described the small community within the Nithya (eternal) Himalayan trip community, I got the feeling that it was going to be a silver-haired doddering group. It was a pleasant surprise to find that the Vyasa group was an eclectic mix of people, the microcosm that corresponded to the macrocosm of our Nithya community.

Content: So we set off on the 23ʳᵈ of May 2005 from a hotel in Karolbagh (residential and commercial area) in Delhi where we spent the night, after a kick-off puja (worship) ritual by master the previous night.

Content: To the nostalgic tune of Arunachala Shiva, singing along with it himself, master performed abhisheka (holy bath) to the deities. He then announced the names of the 5 buses that would take the group on the trip: Vyasa - the hard core intellectual group, Shankara - the half intellectual and half picnicky group, Hanuman - the valorous group, Adikara Nandi - the administrative group, and Garuda - the group that would fly and offer services world over. Bus leaders were named.

Content: Following this was a special meditation. Master spoke about the first deep spiritual experience he had at the age of 12 in his hometown of Tiruvannamalai. He had a 360 degree vision and saw everything as him around him. He asked us to close our eyes and visualize that we were able to see what was behind us.

Content: After the rather difficult meditation, individual blessings followed and the group dispersed to wake up early next morning to board the buses to Rishikesh.

Content: The tour had begun...

Content: Someone asked: 'Master, what is the difference between God and guru (master)?'

Content: Without a moment's hesitation and with characteristic authority came the response:

Content: 'What do you know about God? All you know is a bunch of words and concepts. You have no clue of what you are talking about when you refer to God. To you he is just an idea, a visualization of what you believe to be the ultimate energy and universal consciousness, or whatever name you wish to give something you know nothing about.

Content: A guru is real. He is the reality of the ultimate cosmic energy. He is here and now. He is in the present; He IS the present. He is the bridge between you and the concept of God. In that sense he is greater than God.

Content: A small story.

Content: A man went to court citing a suit for defamation of character as he was seriously insulted by a friend who called him a dinosaur a year earlier. The Judge asked why he waited so long. The man said, 'I saw a dinosaur for the first time only last week and felt very insulted.'

Content: When you begin to understand that you are living based on baseless concepts, your rationale simply drops; it disappears. Start living without concepts. Do not judge anybody by anything.

Content: A disciple questioned Vivekananda, a great enlightened master, when the latter referred to his own master Ramakrishna as God. He asked him how he could call Ramakrishna God.

Content: Vivekananda asked, 'Tell me what you feel are the attributes of God?'

Content: The disciple replied, 'God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent...'

Content: Vivekananda said, 'Stop! Explain to me what you mean by omnipresent.'

Content: The disciple said, 'It means he is everywhere, he is in the sky, he is the air, he is here, and he is there...'

Content: Vivekananda then asked, 'Do you see him then?'

Content: Sheepishly the disciple shook his head and said, 'No.'

Content: Vivekananda said, 'You foolish man, all that you know are words and concepts that have no real meaning. Enlightened masters are God standing in front of us.'

Content: Someone asked me, 'Are you God?'

Content: If you do not know what or who God is, how can you ask me whether I am God? Now I tell you: God cannot be defined. He can only be experienced.

Content: I said to him: I am more than God. I am not here to prove that I am God. I am here to prove you are God. If any one calls me God, I should sue them for defamation of character because the knowledge they have of God is not correct.'

Content: This was one of the minor interactions during the fifteen days we walked with our God in the Himalayas where he truly belonged. Majestically he strode, clad in saffron with his trademark trishul, the trident in hand. The trident is a 3-pronged weapon that symbolizes the destruction of the ego with its 3-fold desires of body, mind and intellect. Behind him was an energetic, though disheveled bunch of 135 devotees. He was truly a sight to behold and so were we.

Content: The theme of our trip as master had stated was to work on the guru-disciple (master-disciple) relationship. He covered this subject at length over the first 6 days, with a fitting Zen Question and Answer finale at Gangotri.

Content: A few memories stand out:

Content:

• Day 0, Delhi: With the evening puja over, master began with an explanation of the significance of the Himalayas. He said, 'The Himalayas are the only true energy centre on Earth. Being around me in the Himalayas, you get murti (a living master), sthalam (energy centre) and teertam (holy water spot), all at the same time; a once-in-a lifetime opportunity and experience. During these 15 days at least, be intense in whatever you do. For the first time we shall cover all char dhams (the four holy pilgrimage points for Hindus in this section of the Himalayan range). This will be a life-transforming experience for every one of you. The person going up the Himalayas will not be the same person coming down after 15 days. During these 15 days, drop all your concepts of status; become like a child. Relate to everyone as you would relate to me. See God in every one, not just in me. Today is Buddha Purnima (Lord Buddha's birthday), the day I had my spiritual experience at the age of 12, a very auspicious day for us to start our journey.'

Content: Day 1: That first evening at Rishikesh on the banks of the river Ganga, at our master's behest we all jumped into the icy cold water, thrashing about, screaming Ganga ma ki jai! (praise Mother Ganga!) to avoid being frozen. We performed the shradha ceremony, the ritual performed on a death or death anniversary, this time to our forefathers thanking all of them for bringing us into this world. At the end of the vraja homa (fire ritual) we all took the oaths of ahimsa (not hurting anyone)/satya (truth)/asteya (not coveting or stealing from someone else)/aparigraha (doing with as little as possible) and brahmacharya (living free of fantasies) for the next fortnight.

Content: Master gave each of us a yagnopaveetha (sacred thread) and kavi (saffron) cloth to wear as protection as we traveled through the Himalayas over the next fortnight. The saffron was our mark of distinction as a group, standing out amongst the crowds as the Nithyananda family. And how we stood out!

Content: Day 3: This began with the trek up to Yamunotri, the origin of the sacred river Jamuna at around 11,000 feet from our base camp at Khardifal. We traveled and reached Hanuman chatti in batches, in mountain taxis, open jeeps, whatever came our way as our blessed vehicles. From there started the 7 km (about 4 miles) climb at over 6000 feet. The climb on the ponies was steep and locked the Swadhishtana chakra, one of the 7 major chakras related to the emotion of fear, for many! would shout out teasing words of assurance to the ones he felt needed them at the energy level! The tracks were barely two ponies wide, steep and lined with rubble, with no guard rails whatsoever. Master was borne regally on his dholi (a simple bamboo chair mounted on a stretcher) carried by four sure-footed locals. A few others opted for the dholi too, while most of the others rode ponies. Four of us walked all the way up, barely managing the last steep kilometer. After a visit to the temple at Yamunotri and an offering of arati (offering of lit camphor) to Mother Yamuna by master, we returned to Khardifal.

Content: Day 5: The day started with an early morning discourse at Uttarkashi before we set out for Gangotri. The previous night master had begun a series of talks and exercises designed to rid us of our samskaras - our unconscious unfulfilled desires. Against the backdrop of the majestic hills surrounding us, the master talked about the origin of River Ganga, recounting the tale of how Lord Bhagiratha brought the Ganga down from the heavens to provide salvation for the souls of his ancestors. Master explained its metaphorical significance in terms of one's personal enlightenment.

Content: Lord Bhagiratha (meaning early life) was the forefather of Rama about whom the Ramayana (Hindu epic detailing the life of Rama) was written.

Content: In the story, Bhagiratha prays to Brahma, the first in the triad of Gods. Brahma is the Creator, Shiva the destroyer, an aspect of rejuvenation, and Vishnu, preserver of the Universe. Bhagiratha prays to bring the divine Ganga down to Earth to cleanse the sins of his ancestors.

Content: Bhagiratha was tortured by his past sanskaras (emotional memories), which in the story are represented metaphorically by the pleas of his ancestors. His prayers and austerity are answered by 4-headed Brahma through a satori or a spiritual experience accompanied by 360 degree vision. Bhagiratha then seeks the cosmic energy of river Ganga. To help sustain that energy, he seeks the intervention of Shiva, the great master. He chooses the Himalayas as the base for this energy to land, which is his ananda gandha (the point where all 7 chakras of the human system collapse or converge). He prepares 7 cities, metaphorically the representation of his seven chakras, for the devas or Gods to live in, when Mother Ganga comes down. Finally, Ganga lands fast and furious, but Shiva holds her in his matted hair till Bhagiratha drops all his efforts and surrenders! Then Shiva allows Ganga to trickle down into the Himalayas. The story of the origin of river Ganga is the saga of one man's personal enlightenment through surrender of the ego.

Content: That night it was cold, dreary and wet at Gangotri. Not many of us were looking forward to the next day's trek to Gomukh, yet did not want to drop out for fear of losing a few precious hours with the master. Master appeared to be in deep ecstasy after the evening's arati in the temple on the banks of the Ganga. It was almost midnight when he rejoined us, announcing that he would not be going to Gomukh. Most faces actually lit up, as it meant that we would get to spend more sitting at the feet of the master instead of on our own ponies at our own pace. As it turned out, the next morning we heard that there had been road blocks due to snow slides and most people who ventured out from Gangotri to Gomukh had to return.

Content: Day 6: The next day at Gangotri was a bonus because of the Gomukh trek being cancelled. We walked with the master to the Pandava caves (where the exiled Pandava kings are said to have spent a part of their exile, as recounted in the great Hindu epic Mahabharata). We stopped once on the way and again at the caves, spending a few hours in an impromptu session of questions with the master.

Content: That evening master sat pouting, like a little child, complaining that one of the devotees who took personal care of him, had forced him to wear twelve layers of clothing as protection against the cold. He took special care in showing us each layer: two mittens, two socks, one jacket, undershirt, sweater, thermal pants, and layers of kavi. Some wondered how these could be counted as layers while the more intelligent ones enjoyed the show! He declared that he had run away from the scene lest more layers were added on!

Content: Soon after saying this, master turned Zen master, answering every one as he wanted to, rather than how we wanted to hear the answers. An example: Q: 'Master, please explain the relationship between a master and disciple?'

Content: A: 'Both play a psycho drama. Whoever understands that he is playing a drama is God. Who doesn't, is stuck. You are asking such a question as a disciple, because you think as a disciple. I understand the drama, so I am guru. There is no other difference.'

Content: Day 9: We trekked up from Gaurikund to Kedarnath, 16 km (about 10 miles) each way and about 6000 feet up. In 1997, while master was on his way to Kedarnath in his days of wandering, he met Mahavatar Baba, a living sage who is over 2500 years old. Baba blessed him calling him 'Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda' and merged into him.

Content: Mahavatar Baba is from the Puri Parampara (lineage), and Kedarnath is the temple that stands in significance of this lineage. It is of special importance for master's followers to visit this temple, at least once in their lifetime. The Pandavas (heroes of the great Hindu epic Mahabharata) left their bodies in Kedarnath. So did Shankara, a great enlightened master and reformer of Hindu religion, who preached advaita, the Hindu philosophy that we are one with God. Shankara ordained the temple here. This is probably the oldest living structure in the world, certainly the oldest temple in India.

Content: Originally we had planned to stay the night at Kedarnath. However, as it threatened to snow, we returned to Gaurikund the same day. On our way up, one of the members of our group had a darshan (vision) of Mahavatar Baba. Master felt her energy and confirmed her darshan. Though I was on the pony behind her I had no such luck!

Content: Day 11: It was a bracing evening at Badrinath. After darshan of Badri Vishal, the presiding deity of Badrinath, we went up to the caves of Vyasa and Ganesha. Sometime earlier, master had a vision of Ganesha (the elephant headed God believed to remove all obstacles) at this cave temple, which confirmed for him the historic correctness of the Mahabharata. This great Hindu epic Mahabharata serves as a repository of knowledge for many spiritual and moral teachings and is believed to have been dictated by the enlightened sage Vyasa and written down by Ganesha.

Content: We walked up over a mile towards the caves along the Tibetan border. Here our Master was truly God striding up the mountain with his trident, every inch the regal Shiva. Excellent as they were, our official photographer could do little justice to his presence as we walked with him. We sat around talking for over an hour while a local woman burst into spontaneous singing of bhajans, devotional songs. This made the evening fulfilling. We began our climb down well after dark.

Content: Day 12: The next morning at Badrinath was our most memorable. We sat in a hall flanked by the Himalayas. This was the day chosen for us to relive our samskaras

Content: so that we would be relieved of them. What an experience it was! There I was, a grown man, rarely used to crying, finding myself bawling like a baby; I do not know for how long. Our master directed us to touch our foreheads to the ground so that the Himalayas would accept and relieve us of all our emotional memories. When I raised my head finally, eyes by now somewhat dry, my throat was still choked, yet there was peace in my heart and I could tell the others were experiencing the same.

Content: Day 13: Our next morning at Joshimath turned out a different sort. The sun came out from behind the mountains and just where master sat, a ray fell on him lighting him up.

Content: As if on cue, he declared, 'Whosoever wishes to follow me will follow only me, and no other master' and went on to deliver a powerful message that resonated with the theme of the trip and was a fitting finale to the master-disciple theme. He expanded on the relationship amongst followers, something more difficult than merely being devoted to the master, and yet far more important to the sustenance of the master's institution. Master pointed out the courage, bonhomie and tolerance of the foreigners and non-resident Indians in the group who were far more unused to the difficult Indian conditions. We gave them all a round of well-deserved applause.

Content: Day 14: During our last halt at Hardwar there was confusion galore! After a late lunch, at 3 in the afternoon, a few of us followed master in whatever transport we could... (Some of us had to ride double with the auto rickshaw driver). In short order, we, or rather master, bought clothes for Anadeshwar/ Anandeshwari, the presiding deities of the mission, a huge silver plated trident that he insisted on carrying through the crowded market at grave risk to oncoming traffic, as well as to yours truly, who was behind and within touching distance of the pointed ends.

Content: To all these purchases, he added a motorized fountain. He then told us that after a Ganga bath at the ashram, where we were staying, we would return to buy rudrakshas at bargain prices. Rudraksha, literally means 'tears of Shiva', and are seeds of a tropical tree, that are considered to be sacred to Shiva and that induce good health. Master says that when worn as a garland, these seeds act as a battery, storing the energy of meditation and later recharging the mind-body system.

Content: We bathed in the Ganga near the Premnagar Ashram where we were staying master did a homa, which is a fire ceremony or offering to achieve a specific aim, and before one could say 'Jack Robbins' he was off to do the aarti at Har Ki Paudi, the main bathing point at Hardwar. We followed as best as we could but our buses were held up half-way. So we got out and tried to follow, stumbling, sprinting, walking and finally limping over the remaining mile. To add to the show, there was a windstorm that blinded us for a while and it threatened to rain. We were all however, supremely confident that despite all the raging confusion, we would reach the spot before master started his arati and that it would not rain.

Content: Both came to pass, but with such touching closeness that I could have cried. With over 200,000 people on the steps leading to Ganga that evening, finding master and the crew was easier said than done. With a kind of blind intuition, a few of us pushed on, cleaving through the dense wet mass of humanity, till someone spotted master's umbrella, barely a few minutes before the temple arati. We began to wave our saffron robes to attract the attention of the rest of the group. What a sight for Hardwar to behold!. There we were, over a hundred mad men and women charging towards our dear twenty-seven year old master, screaming at the top of our voices! Finally we did end up buying rudrakshas, sphatika crystals and other stuff at bargain rates.

Content: Day 15: We set off on an early morning walk along the Ganges with the master, along the very road where he had stayed for 6 months under a bridge during his quest for enlightenment. He consigned the notebooks where we had written our samskaras, to Mother Ganga along with our sacred threads.

Content: Shortly after this we returned to Delhi. With flights and trains to catch, our farewells began amidst hugs and the promise of keeping in touch through email. For many the inner transformation that master had guaranteed the first day was already evident. The sheer love and compassion for our fellow beings was far more sincere and heartfelt. We did not really wish to part, yet we did. Master came down to the lobby of the hotel where he was staying. We prostrated ourselves before him and took his blessings before our departure.

Content: Himalayan Trip 2005 Begins

Content: Weeks before we set out, when we were still at the Acharya (Teacher) Training camp in the ashram at Bidadi, master had been telling us what to expect during the Himalayan trip with him.

Content: On a number of occasions he would turn to the ashramites and tell them, 'Your job is not to stay here and get fat. You should either get enlightened or get out. Don’t stand in the door way to the ashram and block other people.’

Content: He would challenge them, 'If I could get enlightened why can’t you?'

Content: On one occasion he talked to us about surrender to the guru and the three layered process of surrendering the intellect, emotions and senses. He said that the most difficult was the surrender of the senses. So we asked him to teach us how. He told us that he would tell us and teach us during the Himalayan trip.

Content: To at least some of us this was the underlying theme of the trip: how we could learn to surrender, surrender completely, and surrender our senses to the master.

Content: In his own mysterious way, the master decided to make the master-disciple relationship the theme of the trip.

Content: Against the backdrop of the majestic Himalayan hills, where the Hindus believe the master guru of them all, Shiva, resides, our own guru, no less a Shiva himself, chose to reveal the secrets of how a disciple, 'the disciple', should relate with his guru, 'the master'. The substance of that dialogue forms the truth of this book, Nithyopanishad. This substance is along the same lines as dialogues between masters and disciples from time immemorial, immortalized in the Upanishads which are sources of Hindu spiritual knowledge.

Content: Master explained a few things before we started our journey. He said:

Content: 'Let us see how we can maximize the value of this trip. The Himalayas are the only energy centers on this Earth. Here birds don’t cry and flowers do not smell. Feel the divine vibrations in the air. This is Murti Sthala Tirtam: the living master, energy center, and the holiest of rivers have come together for you. If you get all three at the same time, you are in bliss. You have all three now. Let the Himalayas feel the presence of the and his disciples. Be intense in whatever you do.

Content: Last year I lectured on Iso, Keno, and Kato Upanishads during the Himalayan trip. This time I am starting the 'what', 'when', 'where', 'how', and 'why' of the master-disciple relationship.

Content: Open yourself up to the divine energy. This is a life-transforming experience. You will not come down from these hills the same person. You will be something more than what you are now.

Content: We have brought everything from the ashram here, except the Banyan Tree! A lot of work has gone into making this trip an intense one for all of you. Remember one thing: I am your guest, not your host. Each one of you should behave like you are the host.

Content: Real joy is in the journey, not in the destination.

Content: From tomorrow onwards and for the next 15 days we shall each live the life of a sanyasin (one who gives up all forms of attachments and seeks only the Divine.)

Content: At Rishikesh we do the Ganga snan (bathing in the sacred river Ganges) to purify ourselves, shradh (water ritual) to show our gratitude to our ancestors, vraja homa (fire ritual) to further purify ourselves, recite the gayatri mantra (a powerful prayer involving the female goddess Gayatri) and wear the kavi (saffron cloth) and yagnopaveetha (sacred thread worn across the chest) for protection over the next 15 days.

Content: After the Vraja homa (fire ritual) we take 5 sanyasic vows (vows of a person who gives up all forms of attachment and seeks only the divine). These are the vows of: Ahimsa (non violence), Satya (truth), Asteya (not coveting or stealing from others), Aparigraha (doing with as little as possible) and Brahmacharya (living free of fantasies). These vows, you will follow for the next 15 days. After that of course you are free to do whatever you like!

Content: Travel in high altitude creates pitha (acidity). All your toxins will be removed in the process. This is a good opportunity to do the Swadishthana (spleen chakra) meditation. What you cannot get rid of, just accept.

Content: Keep your inner chatter pure. Above all open yourself to the presence of the master and allow his energy to work on you. If you have the guru's grace you need nothing else; if you don't have it, nothing else helps.

Content: Understand, a master is like a hammer. Internally you are solid. But in the Himalayas you will be hot, almost like liquid. The master can then mold you easily. Allow him to transform you with his malleable fingers.

Content: Deep attraction makes even a stone an idol. Even if a master is not a realized being, your deep attraction to him will lead to your enlightenment. On the other hand, even if a master is enlightened, if you are not attracted him, you will not progress.

Content: On last year's trip to Gangotri I went into deep ecstasy. Somehow I traveled to Gomukh, the source of the river Ganga. There I was in samadhi, a very deep state of meditation.. I could not drink even milk. I said to the rishis (great masters) at Shambhala (also called

Content: Tapovan - not only a geographic location but an etheric field: I am quite happy to stay on here. No sooner did I say this to them, they sent me back into my body!

Content: Once enlightened, there is no one inside to move your body. You are empty. Only universal consciousness moves the body. It is a single energy that is equivalent to hundreds of rishis.

Content: Parashakti (the female energy which moves the universe) is love, compassion and energy. She is the energy that allows access to anything, anywhere at anytime.

Content: Once enlightened, masters have a mission, guided by Parashakti. They can be Mystics just living their experience, or masters who create and reproduce the formula to produce the same experience in others, or Incarnations who without any formula create this experience in others.

Content: Meditation is a formula that can cleanse and energize you.

Content: The guru is like Dakshinamaurthy (Lord Shiva in the form of a young master). Dakshinamaurthy holds a damaru (small drum) in one hand which creates vibrations, agni (fire) in another hand, which destroys and recreates, has one hand up in abhaya mudra (a gesture of removing fear) showing compassion and the other hand downwards, denoting gnana, wisdom, to handle the other three. Under his foot are the emotional memories, the samskara, unfulfilled desires, being crushed so that they do not cause suffering. These memories are symbolically shown by an evil demon being crushed.

Content: There are five types of relationships you can have the master. Intensify your relationship with the master through one of the 5 types. The most common type of relationship is dasa bhava, that of a servant to master. An example of this is that of Hanuman to Rama in the grand Hindu epic, the Ramayana. In this, Hanuman is utterly devoted to Lord Rama and enjoys the master-disciple relationship in the capacity of a servant who is ever ready to serve the master. Another is sakya bhava; of a friend to the master. This is the relationship that existed between Arjuna and Krishna in the epic Mahabharata. Lord Krishna was like a good friend to Arjuna, who was actually his disciple. The next is the vatsalya bhava, love of a mother for her child. Here, one looks at the master as a child, as Yasodha looked at Krishna. Yashodha was the mother who brought up Krishna and soaked in his childish pranks. Then comes matru bhava, love of the child to its mother. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa saw Mother Kali as his own mother. Finally comes madhura bhava, that of a beloved, like Radha or Meera to Lord Krishna. Here, one sees the master as his or her own beloved.

Content: I have so far never come across anyone who has the maturity to express madhura bhava. It is best to start with dasa bhava and then allow the master to enhance your relationship as you progress. Choose a relationship and intensify that relationship. Contemplate every word that he speaks. No words of his are casual. Allow the words to work on you.

Content: Be punctual throughout the entire trip. Do not disrespect others. You need a strong motivation to get the tamas (inactivity) out of your body in the morning; for me you are the motivation. You are my anchor to return to my body every morning! I have to bring in all your faces and think of how many of you are waiting for me to surface and then I enter into the body.

Content: For 15 days drop all your status. Be innocent as a child. Be simple. Relate to everyone. See God in others, not just in me. Relax from the ego. Relate to nature and celebrate.

Content: I had my first spiritual experience on this day today, the Buddha Purnima (full moon) day, when I was twelve, 15 years ago. It is an auspicious day for us to begin.'

Content: Our journey this year was to cover the char dham, as they are called, all four locations, considered the holiest for Hindus: Yamunotri, where the great river Yamuna takes shape; Gangotri, where Mother Ganga assumes her name; Kedarnath, where Shiva rules in the form of a jyotirlinga; Badrinath, the domain of Lord Vishnu. All four locations were consecrated by the great Shankara during his process of revitalizing the Sanatana Dharma that is Hinduism.

Content: Many had told us that no group, certainly none as large as ours, had within their memory succeeded in covering all four holy spots in one trip. The roads were treacherous, open to traffic only between mid May and mid July usually. Even during this period there were frequent landslides and glacier slides that blocked roads for days, and snow falls that made them not traversable.

Content: Our first stop was at Yamunotri, at the foothills of Khardifal, where we halted for the night. The next day we went up to Yamunotri, which at around 11,000 feet, was a climb of over 6000 feet and 7 kilometers uphill.

Content: The morning we set out, master paid homage to the primordial energy of the mountains. Just before we set off for Yamunotri, He recited the Chandi mantra and explained what it meant. He explained:

Content: 'I will do a small chanting from Chandi. Chandi is the collection of prayerful verses uttered by Rishi Markandeya, from the region where the Himalayan mountains stand today. It is said that just by the vibrations of the Chandi mantras, Markandeya carved the Himalayas! This is a very beautiful mantra.

Content: The word Chandi means the primordial energy which creates everything and into which everything disappears. This whole Chandi is chanted as a prayer to Devi, a Goddess who is considered to be the primordial energy Shakti, daughter of the Himalayas, and the energy of the Himalayan mountains. If you allow these mantras to penetrate you, that is enough. They are so powerful: they are said to be the most powerful mantras amongst all the mantras. Let me tell you the meaning of one mantra:

Content: Yaa devi sarva bootheshu Vishnu mayethi samsthitha, namasthasyai namasthasyai namasthasyai namonamaha

Content: For a product to exist, you need three things. For instance, take a pot: to make it, you need clay, the potter to make it and the energy which is given to the pot by the potter. He will make a pot and leave it. It will be in the shape of the pot as long as the energy he gave it is there within the pot. If an energy equivalent to it or greater enters it, it will go back to clay form. The energy that sustains matter is the 'Vishnu Maya'.

Content: Yaa devi sarva bootheshu, Vishnu mayethi samsthitha, namasthasyai namasthasyai namasthasyai namonamaha

Content: Yaa Devi sarva bhootheshu Chethanetyabhi dheeyathe samsthitha, namasthasyai namasthasyai namonamaha

Content: Yaa Devi sarva bhootheshu buddhi roopena samsthitha, namasthasyai namasthasyai namasthasyai namonamaha

Content: Yaa Devi sarva bhootheshu nidra roopena samsthitha, namasthasyai namasthasyai namasthasyai namonamaha

Content: Yaa Devi sarva bhootheshu shudha roopena samsthitha, namasthasyai namasthasyai namonamaha

Content: Through these verses, the rishis want all of you to understand that every inch of your being IS and is respected as Mother or energy. The whole of the Himalayan mountains are filled with Mother consciousness.

Content: Now, close your eyes. Remember your mother who carried you in her womb, who gave you your physical body;, the mother who gave you boogarba, physical birth, who gave you culture, who made you stand on your own feet in life. Next, remember the mother who carried you in her heart, hridgarbha. Now, remember the mother who gave you spiritual life, gnana garba, your master. Think of all of them and bow down to them all.

Content: (He chants from chapter 5 of Chandi.)

Content: Remember and bow down to the mother who gave you birth, who gave you your physical body. Remember all the mothers who carry you in their heart - your husband, your beloved, your wife. Whomsoever carries you in their heart, remember them and bow down to them; they are all your mothers. Remember your spiritual master, the mother who gave you spiritual life. I bow down to the Mothers who carried me in the Boogarba, Hridgarba and Gnnanagarba, physically, emotionally and intellectually.

Content: Om Shree mathre namaha, Om Shree mathre namaha, Om Shree mathre namaha

Content: Relax. Open your eyes.’

Content: The river Ganga is to the Hindus what the river Nile was to ancient Egyptians. Ganga Mai (Mother Ganga as the sacred river is referred to) is still the mother to millions of Indians: life-giving, life-sustaining, and bearing them in death.

Content: The mystique of Ganga to a Hindu is difficult for people of other cultures to understand. Wherever one is from in India, North or South, East or West, Ganga jal - water from river Ganges - is the ultimate symbol of purity and sanctity. It is this water which is offered to the dying to see them safely through their uncertain and unknown path to the beyond.

Content: Ganga is not merely a river to the Hindus. She is life; she is energy; and she is the ultimate purifier. Hindus believe that anyone who dies near Ganga and is cremated on her banks, and has one’s ashes dissolved in her waters, is guaranteed liberation from the cycle of life and death, which is called samsara.

Content: We continued our journey, our next stop being Gangotri where mother Ganga begins her descent. We stopped at Uttarkashi, at the foothills where Ganga takes a U-turn. In a beautiful setting, on a crisp and clear morning, we sat facing the mountains, looking at the perennially snow clad Himalayas where the Gods reign. master spoke to us about how Ganga came to Earth.

Content: ‘Ganga is a river from the higher world. She resides in the kamandalu (a small kettle-like vessel in which ascetics carry water) of Brahma as the primal water energy. She is gnana, wisdom. She is the energy of Existence. She is a form of Shakti, Siva’s consort.

Content: Brahmā is the Lord of Creation. He holds in his four hands four objects: kamandalu, water energy in which the child of creation floats; palm leaves representing the Vedas, and the male energy or Vidya, knowledge; japamala, garland of prayer beads representing the vibration of creation and space; hamsa or swan representing continuous awareness.

Content: King Sagara of the noble Ikshvaku lineage (an ancestor of Rama, hero of the great Indian epic Ramayana and Vishnu’s seventh incarnation), conducted the aswamedha yaga, the great horse sacrifice, to reinforce his position as the Emperor of the World. The legend is that the sacrificial horse was allowed to roam free and all the land that it traversed would automatically come under the control of the person performing the sacrifice. If anyone dared to stop the horse in its travels, a war would result to decide the stronger ruler. At the end of its travels the horse was killed in a sacrificial ritual.

Content: Before going further into the legend, you must understand who the Devas are. They are minor deities, literally bright beings, who occupy the upper celestial world: the deva loka, as opposed to Asuras, evil doers who occupy the nether world. Sometimes these guys

Content: seem to get mixed up in what they should do; devas do naughty things and get cursed by sages, and some asura kings have been great Sages themselves!

Content: The saga continues. In the case of King Sagara's horse, Indra, Lord of the Devas stole the sacrificial horse to impede the King's sacrifice. However not having the guts to fight Sagara, they left the horse in the nether world, near the ashram (forest home) of the great Sage Kapila.

Content: Sagara's sixty thousand sons went looking for the horse, spoiling for a fight. Finding it near Kapila, they assumed him to be the thief and rushed at him with drawn weapons. Kapila with one cold look reduced all sixty thousand to ashes. Sagara's grandson Amshuman was dispatched to locate the lost horse and his missing uncles. Amshuman found the horse with Kapila, and saw the pile of ashes nearby. Amshuman prayed to Kapila recognizing him as an enlightened master. Kapila was pleased and released the horse to him and explained how his uncles turned into ashes.

Content: Kapila advised Amshuman to bring the holy waters of the divine river Ganga from the heavens to purify and redeem the souls of his uncles, now reduced to ashes due to their ego and ignorance. Despite their best efforts, neither Amshuman nor his son Dilipa could move Ganga into descending to Earth. Amshuman's grandson Bhagiratha took it as his life's mission to redeem the souls of his ancestors and prayed hard and long to Ganga to descend.

Content: Bhagiratha went deep into meditation and after a long time, Brahma appeared before him. Brahma agreed to release Ganga to the earth to cleanse Bhagiratha's forefathers. However, Brahma wanted Bhagiratha to ensure that Mother Earth would be able to sustain the force of Ganga's landing. Bhagiratha went into meditation again and this time Shiva appeared in front of him. Bhagiratha pleaded with him to protect Mother Earth from the force of Ganga's landing. Shiva agreed. Bhagiratha went back to meditating upon Brahma.

Content: Brahmā told Bhagiratha that the Devas, who had thus long benefited from the divine waters of Ganga as their life source, were not pleased that she was going away, and they needed to be pacified. Bhagiratha promised to provide facilities for the devas to bathe daily in the Ganga. He now prayed to Himavan, King of the Himalayan mountains, requesting him to be the host to Ganga as she flowed into Earth and to allow space for the Devas. Himavan was not pleased. He said, 'Ganga, as a consort of Shiva, is my daughter Parvati's competitor. Parvati is Shiva's wife and Ganga is Shiva's lover. How can I support Ganga?' Bhagiratha prayed to Parvati herself, Mother of all beings, to resolve this dilemma.

Content: Parvati said, 'How can Ganga be my competitor? I am She and She is I! Every woman has two aspects: the mother and the beloved. Once a woman realizes both these aspects, she is fulfilled. I am the Mother, and Ganga is the Beloved. We are two energies of the same being. When a man is enlightened he becomes man and woman both in one form, an ardhanariswara. When a woman becomes enlightened, she becomes Mother and

Content: Beloved, both in one form. That is why all Gods appear with two wives. It is not because they are polygamous, but the two forms merge into the energy of one. We complement each other, not compete with each other.' Bhagiratha was very happy.

Content: When you are very deeply in love with your beloved, you will see her as your Mother. Vatsayana, the great sage who wrote Kamasutra, the manual of love, actually narrated it to his mother, when he returned home as a celibate, after he was enlightened. She refused to believe that he was enlightened, so he asked her to ask him any question on any topic. She then said, 'Tell me about love of which you know nothing, being a celibate.' What he narrated to her as his Mother and Beloved, was the treatise for the householder, called Kamasutra, which became the timeless classic.

Content: During Hindu marriages, the couple takes seven vows called saptapati. One of the saptapati mantras says: in the eleventh year, may I become your child, may you be my mother. The beloved becomes the mother over a period of time. There is no difference between them as they are two aspects of the same female energy.

Content: Himavan was satisfied with his daughter's response, and agreed to hold Ganga as she landed upon him on Earth. He allowed Bhagiratha to build seven cities upon the Himalayan mountains to host the Devas, so that they could always bathe in Ganga.

Content: Bhagiratha now prayed to Kalabhairava, controller of Time. Kalabhairava appeared and expressed that Ganga should take a pradakshina, an about-turn at Varanasi. Bhagiratha nodded.

Content: Having made all arrangements, Bhagiratha now prayed to Brahma to release Ganga. Brahma told him that he had not appeased Vishnu, the third member of the Holy Trinity, yet. So Bhagiratha prayed to Vishnu.

Content: Vishnu was pleased and promised to release Ganga from his feet. Whoever has reached Vishnu Maya, the universal consciousness or Enlightenment, whatever water flows out from under their feet, is Ganga, the divine water energy. This is the truth behind pada puja (worship of feet) that is performed for enlightened masters.

Content: Bhagiratha now prayed to Ganga, requesting her to descend. She came down with great force. Shiva held her in his matted locks and Ganga did not flow beyond that. Bhagiratha became desperate. He surrendered to Shiva, praying to him for help. Shiva relented and released Ganga by moving one hair of his locks. Ganga stormed into Mother Earth, upon the Himalayan mountains and flowed into the ocean filling Varuna, God of the Seas, who was her own son. On her way, she cleansed the ashes of Bhagiratha's forefathers releasing them from their karmas (past actions).

Content: Ganga had one more condition before she descended; that the sins washed onto her by humans should be cleansed so that she always remained pure. Bhagiratha obtained the help of the Tirtharupas, enlightened sages, to keep Ganga pure from the sins washed into her. These enlightened masters energized Ganga simultaneously at three locations:

Content: Gangotri, Hardwar, and Ganga Sagar, so that she forever remained pure and energized. All three groups meditated together, connected themselves through energy and brought down the cosmic energy in a big bolt of lightning-like energy into the river.

Content: The rishis decided that Ganga was the mechanism to hold this energy, so three big groups of rishis sat in three places. They left the body at the same moment and they entered into the river with the tremendous force of this energy. Like lightning they entered planet Earth and the whole river became energized. That is the reason why even today scientists are astonished by how this river water can never be contaminated.

Content: Ganga purifies everything. When masters enter Ganga, they purify Ganga!

Content: In honor of Bhagiratha's efforts, Ganga is called Bhagirathi, daughter of Bhagiratha, and she continues to cleanse all who come in contact with her.

Content: Bhagiratha's Herculean effort to bring Ganga to Earth is a metaphorical story of one man's effort towards enlightenment.

Content: This effort is likened to the struggle that each one of us faces in working towards our own enlightenment.

Content: Bhagiratha was tortured by his past memories. In the story, these memories are the sins of Bhagiratha's elders. Bhagiratha meditated upon Brahma. When Brahma finally appeared in front of Bhagiratha with his 4 heads, what Bhagiratha experienced was his first spiritual awakening. He experienced a satori and was able to see all around him; he had 360 degree vision (as the enlightenment experience is often described).

Content: As we move towards the path of enlightenment through meditation, we too experience the first glimpse, the satori, in a similar fashion.

Content: Brahma wanted to know how planet Earth would withstand the force of Ganga's landing. This is the question of how Bhagiratha's body would withstand the energy flow of enlightenment when it happened. Brahma wanted Bhagiratha to be prepared with all his energy centres awakened to absorb the energy input at the time of enlightenment. Bhagiratha's prayer to Shiva at this point is the prayer to one's master for enlightenment. He prayed to Shiva to help him awaken his chakras and give him the ability to experience enlightenment.

Content: We all need the help and grace of the guru to be enlightened and to withstand the experience of enlightenment. This requires complete surrender to the guru.

Content: Energy, in the form of Ganga, landed on Bhagiratha's Ananda Gandha, (the gateway to the cosmic energy) which is represented by the Himalayan Mountains. Meanwhile, the Devas complained to Brahma that they could not live without being able to bathe in Ganga everyday in their heavenly abode. Bhagiratha then built seven heavenly abodes, seven cities, to accommodate the Devas so that they could live and bathe in comfort in

Content: the Ganga on planet Earth. These seven cities, the heavenly abodes, are our seven chakras, where the Devas, the cosmic energy providers reside!

Content: Finally with all this done and taken care of, Ganga landed and dissolved the sins of Bhagiratha's forefathers, their past memories. Likewise with enlightenment through the Grace of the guru, upon our unconditional surrender to him, our past memories dissolve; we are liberated; we get enlightened.

Content: The process of enlightenment frightens us. We cannot dip one toe into the experience and hope to get used to it. We have to jump in without thinking.

Content: Ramakrishna once asked Vivekananda, 'You ask for amrita, nectar. It is like the ocean. How will you drink it?'

Content: Vivekananda said, 'Like a fly sipping it.'

Content: Ramakrishna asked, 'You fool, why don't you fall into it?'

Content: Vivekananda replied, 'I'm afraid I shall drown and die.'

Content: Ramakrishna said, 'You fool! You will never die when you fall into amrita!'

Content: Like the perceived conflict between the mother and the beloved, we have other conflicts in life; between life and death; between material and spiritual life. They are like a mountain range separated externally, with no separation below. You need to get a good depth of understanding to see that there is no contradiction.

Content: When you are superficial, you see branches in a tree; and leaves in a branch. When viewed totally, all leaves are the same, all branches are the same, and all trees are the same. There is neither dvaita (duality) nor advaita (singularity). It is IS-ness. Dvaita advaita vivarjita advaita: IS only IS; all other things can be, was or will.

Content: One side of the bridge is Nithyananda, Eternal Bliss. The other side is open for you to choose any path to reach me. Each of our meditation programs is a pathway. that opens to a larger pathway. This Himalayan trip is a highway!

Content: The peak of gnana, knowledge, is still at the foot of bhakti or devotion. This is what is represented by Lord Vishnu allowing Ganga to flow from his feet. Ganga stands for Knowledge. Vishnu's feet represent Devotion. Ganga flowing from Vishnu's feet means that even when you are in the peak of knowledge, you are only at the feet of devotion!

Content: Let me tell you a small story from Hindu mythology:

Content: The great rishis from heaven were curious to see what it was that made the gopis in Brindavan as happy as they were. They seemed to be a happy lot who did not seem to meditate, who did not seem to chant any mantras, who did not pray or do any penance.

Content: They were ardent devotees of Krishna, that's all. The rishis decided to come down to see the child Krishna playing at Brindavan, a temple town in Uttar Pradesh. The gopis did not even acknowledge them. The rishis asked the gopis, 'Don't you know who we are?' The gopis replied, 'No'. The rishis said, 'We are great meditators.' The gopis asked them, 'What do you do?' The rishis replied, 'We meditate upon Krishna's feet and keep him in our hearts.' The gopis said to them, 'You meditate upon His feet? Come with us, we will show you; we play with Him!'

Content: Another small story to explain the power of devotion:

Content: Lord Vishnu had a migraine in his abode - heaven. Everyone was in a frenzy, not knowing what to do. They asked him what they should do to give him relief. Vishnu said, 'Get the dust from the feet of my true devotee and put it on my head; it will cure me.' All of them looked at Narada, Vishnu's greatest known devotee. Narada shied away saying, 'How can I put the dust of my feet on my master's head. I will incur great sins if I do.' The then asked all the great rishis, deities and devas. Everyone refused to offer their feet dust to Vishnu saying that it was great disrespect. Someone then suggested, 'Let us ask the gopis, the girls and boys who play with Krishna everyday.'

Content: They all agreed and Narada went down with a group of people to Brindavan. The gopis were there as usual bustingling with joy. He approached them and told them about Vishnu's headache and how no one was willing to offer their feet dust. The gopis listened to them and cried out, 'We sent our dear Krishna to you thinking that you will take care of him well. But you have taken all your problems to our master and given him a headache, and now you ask us what to do!' Narada said, 'He wants the dust of a devotee's feet, but it will cause great sin to us if we do it. We don't know what to do.' The gopis said, 'You fools! How does it matter what sins we incur if we can cure our lord's illness? This is the problem with you intellectual fools.' One gopi immediately spread out her upper cloth and all the gopis danced upon it to collect all their feet dust and gave it to Narada. They said, 'Here, take this. We do not know who the most sincere devotee amongst us is; all our feet dust is here; go, give it to our master.'

Content: It is said that Vishnu still carries the dust of the gopis on his head. Vishnu's mukuta (crown) is the feet dust of Radha, His beloved when he incarnated as Krishna. This mukuta is made of the clay of Brindavan where the gopis danced, not out of gold and diamond. Such was the power of the gopis' devotion.

Content: All invocation mantras start with the feet, feet of devotees. The first entrance step in any temple has the image of two prostrate devotees. These devotees are actually the kings who built the temple. They are carved at the entrance steps so that devotees of the Lord who step in will step foot first on their heads before entering the temple. Such is the respect given to the feet dust of devotees. Such is the respect given to the dust that cured the migraine headache of Vishnu Himself!

Content: In Brindavan, no one utters the name of Krishna. They all say radhe, radhe, in honor of Radha, His beloved gopi. She is the bridge; she is the energy.

Content: Ramakrishna says the key to enlightenment is on the hip of Devi! Unless she takes out the key, nothing can be done.' That is why all importance is given to Radha, Krishna's beloved and the gopis, Krishna's ardent devotees.

Content: In Shankara's famous Bhaja Govindam bhajan, he says: just by uttering the name 'Govinda' (Vishnu's name) all your sorrows can be destroyed.

Content: There is nobody who is more intellectual or sharper in wisdom than Shankara. Any philosophy on planet Earth will either accept him or reject him; they can never go beyond him. He is the ultimate intellectual jewel. He is incomparable. He is the man who created the unabridged dictionary of world philosophies that have ever been created, being created or yet to be created. If you read the Brahmasutra Shankara Bhashya, (Shankara's Brahmasutra commentary) you will understand that no more philosophies can be created. To read the whole Bhashyam, you need 10 lives; He took 10 years to write it.

Content: In the Bhaja Govindam bhajan, he says, 'Fool! Chant the name of Govinda 3 times and at the end of your life when Lord Yama, the Lord of Death approaches you, you will get enlightened. That is the only way to reach enlightenment and not by learning tukrunch, which is the grammar to learn Sanskrit and scriptures.

Content: What he means is: by intellectually analyzing, you will make any problem only worse. If you surrender, then out of love and bliss, all that you feel needs to be analysed will simply be flooded away. When the flood of bliss happens, there will be no peak or valley. Everything will be level. You will not know problems or happiness or sorrow or anything. Everything will dissolve into Eternal Bliss or Nithyananda.

Content: Ganga is energy. This energy can help to guide you to the higher world. Ganga is like a cell phone. You can contact the main relay center or hub through it, like '911' in USA! The hub will take immediate action. Whether the reason is medical need or any burglary or fire alarm, the same number will help.

Content: Ganga is the '911' created by rishis! The message comes to Vaikunta, a VIP pass is given, and you reach the higher world. Ganga's energy has the capacity to liberate anyone fighting for life in their last few moments. It is mercy killing in a spiritual way, that's all!

Content: Q: If all of gnana, wisdom, is going to take you to bhakti, devotion, why not go straight to bhakti?

Content: A: You see, you need to eat 7 idlis (South Indian snack) to know that the eighth idli is enough for you. You cannot eat the eighth idli first and feel satisfied and happy! In the same way, you need to be intellectually beaten, for you to realize that bhakti is enough. The 7 idlis are gnana and the 8th idli is bhakti. Of course, there are some 7 idlis cases amongst you here and there and some 1 idlis cases also!

Content: The moment I feel somebody has come close to me, I will laugh at their questions. The public's questions, I will answer politely, though I know they are fools. All questions are just a greed for more words. You are freed from the greed for money etc., but caught with greed for words. 'Brain candy' is the right word. I will be offering brain candy on a big tray in the initial stages. First I will laugh at your questions and then at the questioner itself! Ask my crewmembers. The more intimate I become with them, the less I will talk about spirituality to them.

Content: Enlightened master Vivekananda, was once sitting and smoking a hookah pipe with a disciple sitting at his feet. A half-baked youngster came by and spoke to him. He spoke about modern day views, logic and scientific theories and said that the idea of a bath in the Ganges to cleanse one's sins was all sheer nonsense. He also said that he liked Vivekananda because he was a revolutionary and modern master. Vivekananda told him, 'Fool! Everyday I meditate upon the Gayatri mantra and take a bath in the Ganges. Like a donkey munching paper, you eat a few pages of philosophy, and without even digesting it, you think that you know everything. How dare you talk like this?' The boy ran away.

Content: Next, a pundit (priest) came by and spoke to Vivekananda. He spoke about the Sastras, the sacred texts. Vivekananda asked him how he called himself a pundit. He said that he took a bath in the Ganges everyday and chanted the Gayatri mantra everyday. Vivekananda said, 'If taking bath in the Ganges everyday is enough, then surely the fish in the Ganges are the greatest enlightened souls. We must catch them and start worshipping them!' The pundit got very angry and asked what kind of a master Vivekananda was and went away.

Content: The disciple who was sitting at Vivekananda's feet was very confused by this time. He asked him to explain and Vivekananda said, 'The teaching will vary according to the person. As for you, just press my feet and keep quiet, that's all!' He said 'OK' and continued pressing his feet.

Content: When the distance between you and me is more, I will give you a lot of brain candy. The people in the inner circle tell me, 'master, we don't get to do any meditation etc.' I tell them, 'The rest are all reading menu cards, you are already eating! What more do you want?'

Content: When I say 'I'll take care', stop worrying, and keep quiet.

Content: The Master-Disciple Relationship

Content: 'It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma', said Winston Churchill about Russia during World War II.

Content: Without any reservation one could use this expression to describe a master's behavior. Perhaps even: a puzzle in a riddle in a mystery inside an enigma!

Content: Master once said to us, 'To each one of you I am different. The way I interact with one person depends on the needs of the being of that person, which even that person may not understand. Do not discuss how I treat you with one another. You will only cause misunderstanding and confusion. Do not try and put me in a frame. 'You are Krishna; you are Shiva; you are Mother... '. I will not allow myself to be put in a frame. The moment you box me in a frame I die. I am a living master. I change every instant. Do not try to predict my actions, my words, my thoughts; you will only have suffering.

Content: There was a far deeper meaning in what the master said than was obvious. He wanted each one to flow with him as he was at every moment; savor him here and now. People worry about when they will see him next while still in his presence. He says, 'What foolishness! Just enjoy my presence. By thinking about when you will see me next, you are wasting the opportunity to be joyful now!'

Content: It is not for the disciple to unravel the mystery of his guru; not even to try and understand; the proposition is sure to be a failure. All one can do is BE, and enjoy the bliss of that moment.

Content: Master explained:

Content: 'Who is a guru? A guru is a being in whom Nithya Ananda, eternal bliss, is expressed; one who creates and transmits a formula and the space for others to experience the same eternally. From time immemorial, the guru-disciple parampara (master-disciple lineage and relationship) started in the Himalayas. It is the oldest of relationships. The very idea of relating with one another started only after this relationship. It is also the last relationship before enlightenment. Before this, humans were like animals, barbaric, in whatever culture and religion; all civilizations started with the advent of the guru-disciple relationship.

Content: Even Masters who taught that there was no need for a guru became gurus themselves, despite themselves. All knowledge, not just spiritual knowledge, needs a guru, the person who leads us from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge.

Content: In this modern day, people tend to question the need for a spiritual guru, but not the other kinds of gurus. One respects those who teach a skill that helps you earn money, but spiritual masters are optional. If you respect spiritual knowledge you will not question the need for a spiritual master. If you are not guided by your master, some one will guide

Content: you even if that person is not capable. Man needs a master. It is your choice whether to select a spiritual master or an unenlightened person.

Content: If you choose a political person as your master, he will rule you by fear. If you choose some other celebrity, that person will rule you by greed. Only a spiritual master rules you with love and liberates you.

Content: A small story:

Content: A doctor, an engineer and a politician were arguing about whose profession was the oldest. The doctor said his was the oldest, because God created Eve from Adam’s rib. The engineer did not agree because as an engineer he first had to create Adam from chaos. ‘Ah’, said the politician, ‘who created the chaos?’

Content: You will be ruled by those who create chaos. They infuse fear, greed and fantasies in you. They present these as a fulfillment of your desires - the way you want to live, on-stage, on-screen. A spiritual master liberates you from greed, fear and fantasies.

Content: You are all courageous, intelligent and fortunate to follow a spiritual master. When you follow others they do not present themselves as your teachers, yet cunningly control and direct you, whereas a spiritual master liberates you from bondage with no vested interest whatsoever.

Content: Asatoma Satyamayada/ tamasoma jyotirgamayaha/ mrityorma amritamayaha:

Content: He who leads from tamas - darkness - to jyoti - light, is the guru.

Content: The word Upanishad means ‘sitting with the master’. The Upanishads are the essence of our Veda, knowledge. We expand in universal consciousness by sitting with the master. When we fall in love with the master we rise in consciousness.

Content: guru-disciple relationship cannot be destroyed by the advent of science and knowledge, because it is the means to Truth, and anything that leads to Truth is eternal and cannot die. Masters deliver Truth to humanity.

Content: When a mother teaches you to say ‘mother’, she is your first guru. It is only after that that you understand she is your mother. First you only know her as your guru. That is why the guru is placed before mother, father and God, and your relationship with him is your first relationship. His is also the last relationship; upon enlightenment the guru and disciple merge into energy.

Content: You are fortunate to be listening to a master who is interested in teaching you. I talk a lot during our meditation programs. But what I have always wanted to say has always been on this master-disciple relationship. However, unless you had done some of my courses, you would not have understood me in the right way. Now at least some of you are willing to listen. And so many more will come in the future.

Content: Either qualify, listen, enjoy, and transform or relax and disappear. You are taking the jump now. If you connect, then relax and celebrate.

Content: There are three levels: in the Life Bliss Program, our first level meditation program, you are introduced to me. In the Nithyananda Spurana Program and Healing Initiation Program, you relate with me. Here in the Himalayas, you are actually being with me! Watch the body language of the master. Through the body language, you can pick up the thread of enlightenment.

Content: A disciple asked a Zen master, 'Can you teach me to swim?' The master said, 'No, I cannot teach you, but you can learn from me. You can gain courage by watching me; then you can jump in and swim!'

Content: I can't teach you enlightenment, but you can learn.. You gain trust by watching the master. You feel, 'If he can be enlightened why can't I?' Be with the master. Behave like the master, with the deep intense desire to seek. It's not imitation; it's imbibing. Imbibe Nithyananda, eternal bliss.

Content: To imbibe something, you have to do nothing; just be present, that's all. I am such a strong personality that no gate will not open for me! Even the strongest gate inside you will open for me to enter if you are simply present. You will imbibe Nithyananda. Relax, relate and celebrate.'

Content: Nithyopanishad

Content: (Answering questions the way you want)

Content: Before he began the series of discourses on the guru-disciple relationship, I was summoned by the master and told, 'Please collect whatever questions the group may have. Ask them to write down their questions clearly, verify them and give them to me to answer.'

Content: Over time, the questions came in trickles, in bits and pieces of paper, gradually improving in clarity of thought as well as writing. Most were written in English, a few in Tamil. The master took the trouble of reading through each question and answering in detail.

Content: 'I do not answer the questions,' The master always said, 'I answer the questioner.' It was unerringly true. Many had written down a fraction of the doubts they had. In many cases the questions were personal and they were not comfortable asking about such issues publicly. They were mystified when the master went beyond the matter on paper and answered the issues that they had vaguely asked about, without uncovering their identity, and yet satisfactorily answering their doubts.

Content: Question and answer sessions with the master are like a dynmite session. The sheer spontaneity of his responses, the vastness of the space that he covers, the power behind his answers all together offer astounding clarity and energy.

Content: That is the essence of Nithyopanishad - sitting at the feet of Nithyananda: clearing of our doubts, stopping of our minds and energizing of our spirit, as we sat.

Content: The master said:

Content: 'We will now come to all the questions on the master-disciple relationship.

Content: (The master then started reading out the questions given to him and answered them one after the other.)

Content: Q: How can we distiguish between master's words, his thinking and his body language?

Content: A: First of all, why do you want to distinguish? You cannot distiguish because these three things do not exist; all three have merged for him. There is no separate thinking or body language or words. When I say 'mother', I simply become that! As long as these three are separate, you are not a master; you are just a mister. Only when all these things have not disappeared, there is distinction. When all three disappear, you become a master.

Content: This question has so many angles. Firstly, why do you want to distinguish? When anyone says something, you straightaway don't want to follow. You want to analyze him and you

Content: want to argue with him; you want to attack him. I don't have to follow what I am preaching because I am not the same kind of person to whom I am preaching. There is no need for my actions to follow my words. If at all I follow my own words, it is only out of love and compassion. I follow so that it is easy for you to watch me and follow! You won't get lost.

Content: It is like following signboards to Gangotri and Yamunotri when you travel here in the Himalayas. Signboards are not goals; they are not places to be reached; they are not the destination; they are telltale signs that tell you that you are on the right path.

Content: I practice a few things out of compassion so that you can catch a glimpse of 'I' - the Master. Here, so many minds get irritated when I say 'I'. This is because you are so strong about your 'I'. When I say 'I', you use your dictionary to interpret it. So for these 15 days, we will throw the guru Gita (the metaphorical way of judging the master) out. When I use the word 'I', I mean the universal energy, not this 6-feet Nithyananda. People are not so mature to understand that when I say 'I', I don't mean what you mean by 'I'. When I say 'God', you know nothing about God, you just have some vague idea, so you don't resist. But when I say 'I', that 'I' is a solid experience for you, so you resist it. In the Master's case, it is just the opposite. When I say 'I', it is a vague idea for me, but when I say 'God', it is a solid experience. But when I say 'I', you interpret it with your dictionary. Be clear: when I say 'I', I mean God.

Content: When people come to me with problems, I say to them, 'I will take care', meaning that the problem will be taken care of by Existence; it means it will be done. When I say I will take care, if he is mature enough to receive it, the energy will start working. But man is so egoistic. He thinks, 'The master is talking as if he were God. He is after all a Master, maybe a little more spiritual than me. How will he take care of my problem?'

Content: People tell me, 'Master, please pray for me.' I laugh and say, 'Yes yes, I will pray for you.' What to do. We have to talk in their language. So, I don't want to put myself on the pedestal of a guru or God. You will think I am promoting my business. Every word of mine, you will compare and feel that I am promoting my business. So when I say guru for these 15 days, I mean the ultimate guru.

Content: In San Jose, a lady wrote a question on a slip of paper which said, 'Are you truly enlightened or are you an incredible salesman?' I said, 'What a courageous question! All of you have this question in your minds but only she has got courage to spell it out. It is sincerity.' I asked her to stand up and she stood up with great pride feeling that she was a great person. I made the whole group clap and told her that I respected her courage. I said, 'I am an incredible salesman, for there is nobody else who sells bliss. I am the only one who sells bliss in return for suffering. So I am an incredible salesman. There is no salesman who does this dealing of taking all your worries and giving bliss in return!'

Content: There is a beautiful verse sung by Ramana to Arunachala, the revered mountain, which says, 'I gave me to you and got you to me in return! Who is intelligent? Who is the real

Content: businessman? Who is the one who has achieved? The sareera (body) is rohamaya (embodiment of sickness), the mind is dukkamaya (embodiment of sorrow) and the atma (self) is sohamaya (embodiment of sadness). I gave all these three to you. The sareera (body) has become sukamaya (embodiment of happiness), the mind has become yogamaya (embodiment of union with divinity) and the atma became anandamaya (embodiment of bliss). I gave you the small ‘i’ and got You in return. Who is more intelligent? Me or you?’

Content: This verse is sung in total adoration by Ramana to Arunachala. So understand: there is no other salesman who does what I am doing.

Content: I said that your question has got two parts. The question, ‘Are you truly enlightened’, is something everybody has got the authority to ask. All seekers are authorized to ask and I am legally bound to answer. But the second part ‘incredible salesman’ shows that you have vengeance in you and you are prejudiced. If you are a seeker, you would have stopped with the first part. The second part shows that you have no right to ask the question.

Content: If you had asked only the first part, you have come with openness. But before getting the answer for the first half, you have asked the second part which means you have preconceived notions, vengeance, violence in you and you don’t have the right to ask this question. But I answered out of compassion.’

Content: I challenged her. I told her, ‘I showed my courage by reading your question and answering it. Now you show your courage by following me.’ She simply disappeared from the hall! She said she was a seeker. So I told her that I proved I am the Master by facing the question. She wrote it on a slip of paper. I could have easily skipped it. But by reading it and answering it, I proved my courage, that I am a master. I told her, ‘Now come and show that you are a seeker by following me!’

Content: The problem is, we want only the guru to be perfect; we don’t care if we are perfect disciples or not!

Content: We continuously use a touchstone to rub on the heads of gurus to see if they are original or not. But you never think of rubbing the hand that is holding it to see if you are an original disciple or not. For these few days, point it towards you. When you point your finger at somebody, there are three fingers that point towards you. Now it is time; point your fingers towards yourself. Let us see what is really needed to be done from your side.

Content: Anyone who takes suffering from society is a master. Only the universal consciousness can take the suffering from people.

Content: Let me answer the question of how you can distinguish between the master’s words, thinking and body language. Come out, why do you want to distinguish? I can’t follow my words with my actions. I might teach meditation, but it doesn’t mean that I should meditate. Understand: I am a spiritual being. I actually have to do anti-meditation to stay meditate.

Content: in my body. I have to do something to bring myself down. If you read Ramakrishna's books, it is said that when he comes out of samadhi, he asks for jelebi (an Indian sweet dipped in syrup). He says, 'By these small desires, I bring myself down'. Unless you have some desire, you can't come back again to the body. Unless you have some work in the plains, will you go back to the plains now? No! In the same way, you will come down to the body only if you have some work.

Content: The master has to do de-meditation again and again. I have to do something to keep myself in the body. So I can't practice what I preach; I am not the same as the person to whom I am preaching; He is so different; he is an ordinary human being! How can I follow that? Be very clear: you can't distinguish between the master's thinking, words and body language. All three are one and the same for him. Don't give your own reasons for his body language. The moment you start that, you take him for granted and you think you know him.

Content: If your wife shouts at you, you know the reason. You give your reason for her actions and body language because you know her. You can never do that with me because you don't know me; you can never know me. The more reasons you give for my words and body language, the more you will be suffering; you will be in deep misery; miserably miserable!

Content: A master can never be a hypocrite because he does not have all these three as separate things. People ask me, 'If you don't go through a thinking process, how are you speaking?'

Content: Let me explain to you: in your mind, when you speak, these three things happen: creation of words, editing them and then delivery. In my case, creating, editing and delivery all happen together, not separately. It rises and comes out; creation IS delivery, without any editing. You can be in that state only when you are confident of yourself. You edit because you are afraid that you will speak the Truth! When you declare that you are a great person, you expect that the person listening will tell you the same thing; it will be like a massage to yourself! You speak for some purpose or motive. What you speak is not the truth. In fact, you are afraid that you will speak the Truth. It comes to the throat and you suppress, filter and edit it.

Content: A university professor asked me, 'master, you are continuously speaking for hours together to the public. For me to give a 15-minute lecture, it takes one hour to prepare. How are you speaking continuously? You can't prepare because you have no time.'

Content: I told him, 'You need to prepare because you are not talking from living experience.' Prepared lectures are nothing but scented boxes. The stuff in you needs preparation before you can send it out. You are not ready to open yourself as you are.

Content: We are afraid of our being; we are not completely truthful. We think, 'What should I say first, what should I say second, how should I conclude' and so on. You finally miss something and mess it as well! There was a lecturer who came home one day after his

Content: lecture and was asked by his wife, 'So how was the lecture?' The man asked, 'Which lecture?' The wife was surprised and said, 'But you prepared so much and gave a lecture today. That's the one I am talking about.' The lecturer replied, 'Well, I prepared for one thing, delivered another and repented that I didn't deliver in a third way. As of now there are three lectures in my head, so I am confused as to which one you are referring to!'

Content: When a person thinks, edits and presents, both he and the audience feel tired because the transaction is not based on truth and spontaneity, but on logic, intellect and chopping wood. When the lecturer is in tension, the student is also in tension. The lecturer will be throwing out words to show that he is a great person and the students have to run and catch up with him.

Content: They say, 'If you don't open your mouth, people will think you are a fool, and if you do, you will confirm it!' By preparing and delivering, they confirm that they are fools.

Content: For instance, if someone asks your name, do you need to think? Even if the name is long like Siva Ramakrishna Vallabhaneni, like the names in Andhra Pradesh, you don't have to remember them because it has become a part of you. When anything has become a part of your being; you don't have to prepare.

Content: I told this professor that I am speaking because what I am speaking has become my blood. I am continuously opening up myself to you. I just sit, relax and open myself. I make myself available to the group by relaxing. That is why the person and I both feel rejuvenated. After every session, they feel so alive, not tired. When you go to lectures, it is like a lathi charge (attack with sticks). Lock the auditorium and attack! That is how it is.

Content: I don't speak from memory because I don't have these three things in me: creating, editing and delivering; there is only a spontaneous response to the scene and the people. People who speak from memory will speak beautifully, but when asked questions, they will lose it. You can find out their intelligence by asking questions. Any fool can give a lecture. One who knows nothing about physics can read a book and give a lecture on it, but in the Question & Answer session, he will be caught!

Content: Albert Einstein had a driver who worked with him for 10 years. At one time, he had just propounded the Theory of Relativity, so he was delivering lectures day in and day out. The driver knew the lecture by heart. One day, as they were driving, Einstein said that he was tired of delivering the same lecture over and over again. The driver said that he knew the lecture well and that anyway these people had not seen Einstein much and therefore he could deliver the lecture instead of him. Einstein agreed and the driver delivered the lecture wonderfully. At the end of it, a man stood up and asked a question. The driver was at a loss. He quickly said, 'To this question, even my driver will give the answer!' and Einstein came in and answered the question.

Content: You can act as a master as long as you need only to give discourses, but when it comes to the Q&A session, people will discover the truth. You need spontaneity. What you are

Content: speaking should become your blood, your being. To give a lecture, just memorizing is enough. If you see, a person who shines in Q&A is a spontaneous person. A master's responses to questions will be so sharp that it will touch you straightaway. Unless thinking, editing and delivering have disappeared into one, you can't be spontaneous.

Content: At Microsoft, Seattle, after listening to my lecture on Intuitive Management, one man asked me, 'Where did you learn oratory?' I said, 'I only teach; I never learnt!' It is the pure confidence and spontaneity that takes the whole role. The ability to be spontaneous is what responsibility is.

Content: Creating words through which you can create the same visualization that is in your head, in the heads of others is what is orating or communication.

Content: Reproducing the same experience which is in your being, in the beings of others by your presence is what is mastery or communion.

Content: You need to think and speak only if you are cunning and want to hide something, or if you want to pamper someone to get something done. If you can be truthful, there is no need for the censor board.

Content: Just be mature. The very thinking system should be altered, not the speaking system.

Content: So coming back to the question, 'How can I distinguish between these three in the master?' First, you can't distinguish because there are no three things in him. Just listen to his words; whatever effect they create in you according to your Oxford dictionary is enough. Don't create anything more than that. Just allow the process to happen. I will be disciplining some people for no reason. I am inserting some memories into them with which they can work with me. Take this river for instance: to make it flow in a particular way I will lead it in the other direction so that it flows the way I want. So as early as possible, get out of the trouble of interpreting my actions.

Content: Q: My mind is always racing like a roller coaster.

Content: A: Good! Co-operate with the roller coaster; you will then automatically relax. Don't resist it. You can't go in it for long! You will get down or get thrown out! Just enjoy it. If you watch the river, you will see that it brings with it lots of stones that rub against each other continuously. After some time, by grinding, the stones become rounded like Sivalingas (one of the forms in which Lord Shiva is worshipped) and get thrown out of the banks. People collect them and worship them as Shiva. Life will grind you, you will become polished, and be thrown out and you will become enlightened; people will start worshipping you! Until the grinding is completely done, you will not be thrown out. Allow life to work on you, to penetrate you, to mould you.'

Content: Q: After reaching you, if a new thought enters...?

Content: A: Whenever there is a new thought in my presence and you have the energy to execute it, it is a boon from me. With pure instinct, there will be no thought or energy. You will be like animals that live purely out of instinct. With intelligence, there will be thought but no energy as we experience in confusion. With intuition there will be both thought and energy. Here, it is straight from the Ananda Gandha, the space where you harness the Existential energy to guide you; it is straight from the master.'

Content: (Then the master tried to read a question but was unable to decipher the writing.)

Content: He said, 'Please write in the language that I can read!

Content: A small story:

Content: One man said to another, 'You have to seriously improve your writing for people to be able to decipher it.' The man replied, 'Oh no! My sister used my letter as a leave request form first, then modified it a little and used it as a pass to a magic show and now plays it as a song on her piano!'

Content: Q: You mentioned the different types of master-disciple relationships. Is it important that we decide which type of relationship we should follow?

Content: A: When you decide on the relationship, it makes the whole process easy. Your mind is so conditioned to relate with some definite patterns. Over time, the ideas of the guru-disciple have disappeared. Modern man does not know about the guru-disciple relationship. As of now, all of you know that there are these five types of relationships. So start with some mode, though you will not end in the same mode. In the end, it will be the five plus something more.

Content: When you start, you will start with the master-servant relationship like Rama and Hanuman; or as friends like Arjuna and Krishna or as mother and son like Ramakrishna and Kali or as beloved like Radha and Krishna. In the end, it will be all these five plus something more. Thvameva maatha, pitha thavameva, thvameva bandhu, sakha thvameva....*** mama deva deva (you are the mother, you are the father, you are everything) ...It will end in that attitude.

Content: When this happens, there is no separate guru and disciple; there is only one. The disciple and guru become one. The relationship will be so deep. But you need to start with something. The easiest thing to start with will be dasabhava, the master-servant relationship (Rama and Hanuman relationship) unless you are told that a specific bhava will work out well for you.

Content: Q: Master, all the gurus come to our countries (questioner is from USA) and create followers. After some time, we are not even able to see them or talk with them. In that case, how do we grow?

Content: A: Relationship does not need talking. What you are saying will happen in my mission also. Naturally, when the following gathers momentum, you will not be able to talk to me in future as freely as now. That is why I give you my cell phone: the Ananda Gandha! Anandha Gandha is the space where energy and matter meet; where you can straightaway relate with me. With a master, you don’t have to relate verbally. Just the idea of a relationship with him is more than enough; it will lead you to success in spiritual life. For instance, if your husband is in the USA, do you have to verify by talking to him on and off? The deep feeling of connection is enough, is it not? You don’t need to talk or be physically around him. If you don’t have the deep feeling of connectivity, it won’t help him or you.

Content: Feeling deeply connected is what is important in the guru-disciple relationship. To make you feel connected in the initial level, physical presence and communication is necessary, but the real thing is feeling connected beyond this. The more time you get to sit and talk with him, the more nonsense you will speak. The main message will be lost.

Content: Purposely I make myself unavailable so that when you see me, you can say only what is useful and not anything else. Sometimes people come to me and say, ‘Master, my neighbor’s husband’s niece’s friend is sick, can you heal him.’ A few minutes with me they will waste like this. I give them vibuthi, sacred ash, but they say, ‘No, no! You heal him master’. They waste valuable time around me in this fashion. So it is better that they have less time around me. It is for their good.

Content: Sarada Devi, wife of Paramehamisa Ramakrishna (a great enlightened master from India) says, ‘If you have more time with the master, you will take him for granted because you see him performing his day-to-day activities and start thinking that he is an ordinary human being.’

Content: Krishna is great because you don’t know that he went to the toilet and ate and slept like you. In mythology, only the divine miracles of yester-year masters are recorded but not the day-to-day mundane incidents. When you read edited biographies and compare with mine with them, you are in trouble. Mine is complete; theirs is edited. Of course, my edited biography will be out soon. When you read my edited biography and compare with another master’s life again you are in trouble. Edited biographies are only inspirational sources not reference notes!

Content: Q: Master, are there any meditations prescribed by you?

Content: A: There are already prescribed instructions. If you are already a healer, in the morning do Ananda Gandha (AG) and in the night Shakti Dharana meditation. Try to be all the time in AG, then there will be no thoughts and you will be in the non-dualistic or advaitic state. You will not be judgmental about anything. You will not harbour the opposite emotions like pain and pleasure, peace and war, anger and compassion. AG is straightaway the way to be in advaitic experience. When you are in AG, you neither have body nor mind, you are just there. Your presence and my presence become one and the same because you are in the present in AG. Usually you are always absent, never present!

Content: Just be present in AG, and you will be in the advaitic state. The path and goal are one and the same in AG.

Content: Q: Does the guru-disciple relationship have to be a manaseega smaranam (silent, from the heart)? Or can it be discussing various aspects that come to the mind and answered?

Content: A: See, it is like reading the menu card, ordering and eating. First read the menu card, then order the food and eat. While eating, is it useful discuss the menu card again? No! First read the menu card; that is what we are doing now. This is the time you decide whether to go in for it or not. Once you have decided order and eat, that's all!

Content: Q: Is the master capable of knowing the disciples' feelings and thoughts unless expressed?

Content: A: Please understand: the master knows the feelings and thoughts which you can't even express, forget about what you can express! He knows you much deeper than you know yourself. Never think that you know yourself. You know only one part of yourself. The master knows you much deeper than what you know about yourself. That is why I tell you, I answer the questioner not the question. If the same question is asked by someone else, I will answer in another way because I answer the questioner not the question! I answer the samskara, the deeply hidden memory, from which the question arises. I answer the origin, not the words.

Content: When people come for healing, they say that they have a headache but when I touch them, I know it is stomach pain. By continuously lying to others, you start lying to yourself. You start believing the lies. What you know as you is not you. You are like a small bunch of grass floating in the air. The master catches it and tears it into pieces. He directly knows the part of the being that you can't express.

Content: Q: What should be the mode of communication with the master?

Content: A: Ananda Gandha (AG) meditation is the only way to understand the master's blessings. When you meditate, you digest. It is like this: when you eat and take a Digene tablet (antacid tablet) it digests. I have blessed you enough. The radio waves are there already; my blessings are already showered on you; you should start receiving them and digesting them. You are holding an umbrella; drop it and you will receive my shower! You can do your duty beautifully only if you are in AG; otherwise, you will be doing things in a hurried way like how you are doing now! Some people ask me, 'Master, is it enough if we surrender?' First, there is no such thing as just surrendering. It is like asking, 'Just becoming enlightened is enough?' Surrendering is enlightenment! Complete surrender means allowing Existence to flow through you and your very body like it does in my case! Once you have surrendered, there is no need for words or meditation or anything.

Content: Q: Should we ask the master questions or simply accept him?

Content: A: Most of your doubts are not worth answering. Just be with him, that's enough. Keep your questions for some time and they will disappear on their own! A man came and asked me so many questions about Vedanta, liberation and God. I diverted him a little and started enquiring about his family, work etc. He spent almost 3 hours talking to me but never once did he go back to the questions he asked first. This is because his questions were not a quest for him; they were just a casual way to pass time. Asking for the sake of asking is not questioning. People ask questions and when I answer them, they forget that it is for their questions!

Content: Just accept there is a master and the questions will disappear. I am answering these questions so that they will create more questions and you will understand that questions can never be solved and that only the questioner can be dissolved! It is a process towards dissolving the questioner. The question and the questioner are different. Because you have collected so many words, so many questions come to you. There is one question which is your own question, The moment you ask the question that is YOURS, you become enlightened! This concept may be difficult to follow but it is the truth. Now you ask questions that are not yours because the question and the questioner are two different things. All your questions are lies. They are all borrowed or formed through a collection of words. The moment you ask what YOU need to ask, you became enlightened, liberated.'

Content: Q: How do we know what type of relationship you have with us? Sometimes you are a father, sometimes a master and so on.

Content: A: Sometimes a father does the job of the mother, but you know he is the father. In the same way any relationship can take on other forms also. No relationship is a water tight compartment. All relationships will have the flavor of the other four relationships. You don't have to think that if I take on the attitude of a mother, I will be only a mother; sometimes I will take on the other relationships also.

Content: But the majority of the time, one relationship will be dominant. When Hanuman says to Rama, 'You are my Lord', Rama says, 'I am your friend!' and hugs him. He elevates him to the level of a friend. Arjuna says to Krishna, 'You are my friend' and Krishna says, 'I am your Lord'. Arjuna then cries, 'I have called you hey Krishna! hey Raghava, hey Sakethi! Please forgive me'. As and when the situation calls for it, the different relationships will come into play automatically. To have a little added taste, you will have all the relationships!

Content: Q: How do you surrender to the guru completely without doubts?

Content: A: If you have really surrendered, doubts will not come!

Content: Q: How do you resolve guilt of following another guru?

Content: A: This is an important subject: guru conflict! It is nothing but a conflict inside yourself. There is no real conflict between the real masters. If Rama and Krishna meet, they will hug each other, but Rama's monkeys and Krishna's cows will fight!

Content: The energy of all the great masters is one and the same; all masters are the embodiment of the same energy; there is no need for any conflict. I always tell people: go around, pluck flowers from as many gardens as you wish to and make a nice garland! But they don't pluck from any garden; instead they bring only thorns - trouble! If you are doing window shopping, you are not learning from any guru. If you really know the knack of plucking flowers, you will become adept at plucking flowers from gardens.

Content: When you go from guru to guru, you will become more intense, but if you don't learn from any guru, it is better that you stay with only one guru. After all, what are you going to learn from so many gurus that you can't learn from one? Going to the first guru itself is wrong if you are doing just window shopping. Don't torture him and torture yourself; liberate the guru with whom you are living by following him in the right fashion!

Content: If you feel the guru is only a teacher and not the path, simply leave him. The rule of thumb is, when you meet the real guru, your heart will simply fall, you won't even think of anyone else!

Content: Q: Will a guru accept anyone as his student?

Content: A: Yes, a guru will accept anybody. That is why all of you are here.

Content: Q: Master, the craving to meet more and more gurus has gone after meeting you.

Content: A: Yes, your destination has arrived, that's all! You don't need anything else.

Content: Q: For how long do you need a master?

Content: A: As long as you have the idea of a master-disciple relationship, you need it. When it dissolves, you don't need it.

Content: Q: Can a disciple relate to the master remotely?

Content: A: Yes, he can relate. The master does not have to be physically present for his grace to work on the disciple.

Content: Q: Does a master have an exclusive individual relationship with everyone?

Content: A: Yes, he does. Don't confuse your relationship with him as the same which he has with others. With some disciples, I have a mother relationship, with some father, some son etc. People think that others are more fortunate than themselves when they see the master interacting differently with others. Understand: he makes each one grow in his or her own way and only he knows how each one will grow.

Content: When disciples compare notes with one another, there is a great danger that one person looks for the same treatment to him as was given by the master to someone else. Here one needs to understand that the master's treatment of each disciple is based on the disciple's need for growth.

Content: Q: What is the relationship between man and God?

Content: A: If you don't have a guru, man, guru and God are separate. When you have a guru, all 3 - man, guru and God become one. The relationship between the three is this: the guru is the bridge between the man and God. The moment the guru happens in your life, you become God.

Content: Man plus guru is God. God minus guru is man.

Content: Q: Who is the guru and who is God?

Content: A: God is your imagination about the Ultimate Energy, the ultimate consciousness, the Parashakti. The guru is your reality about it! There is a verse that says: when guru and God appear at the same time, I will bow down to the guru because he can show me God any time!

Content: Your concept of God is not God. Vivekananda says, 'Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is God himself.' An onlooker asks, 'You can say that Ramakrishna is enlightened but how can you say he is God?' Vivekananda asks him, 'What do you know about God?'. The man says, 'He is omniscient, omnipresent.' Vivekananda asks, 'What is omniscient?' The man replies, 'It means the full sky.' Vivekananda asks, 'And beyond the sky?' The man has no answer. Vivekananda then asks, 'Define 'omni'. The man says, 'I don't know'. Vivekananda explains, 'The very idea of 'omni' etc. is your imagination. You don't know God; you only know about him and that too in your own way. Whatever idea you have about God, Ramakrishna is that and something more than that.

Content: Vivekananda was the first courageous person to declare that enlightened masters are more than God.

Content: Q: But God created gurus.

Content: A: What is creation?

Content: Questioner says: manifest from the unmanifest. I don't know....

Content: Master: Masters are something much more than what you know about God. God to you is a mere concept. Master is reality. If you say God created the universe, it is again a concept to you. The universe created itself; it has forever been in Existence. It has no beginning or end. Therefore there is no creation, as you understand it.

Content: Q: Is God separate from you?

Content: A: No. One person files a defamation case against another saying that the man called him a dinosaur 15 years before.. People asked him why he was filing a case 15 years later. The man said, 'I saw a dinosaur only yesterday. I was so insulted - that is why I did it.'

Content: If you say I am God, it is defaming me because whatever you know about God, you will start thinking that about me and I am not that. I will sue you for defamation! What you understand about God is not solid. It is very difficult for you to understand because you don't know God. How can you ask if I am God? Let us say you don't know what a cloth is. Can you ask me, 'Are you wearing a cloth?' You cannot! So relax, that's all!'

Content: Q: Can we have a definition for God?

Content: A: No, God can't be defined. If I give you a definition, more definitions will arise, that's all.

Content: Understand that when we live on a baseless concept, we will fall into the base automatically. Start with some concept, but don't end with it. Order with the menu card but drop the card once you are served. Drop the Vedanta concepts and start living without judging anybody or anything. If you say, 'I am in utterly terrible and total confusion', you are in the first step! Be Blissful!

Content: When you view the sky through your window, you will see the sky as a square. In the same way, with your concepts, God is only a square but the guru is the sky!

Content: Q: Is it wrong to do puja (act of honoring God)?

Content: A: Nothing wrong unless you do it as a mere ritual without understanding its significance. People read the sahasranama - the thousand sacred names of God - by constantly checking how many more pages there are to go. They do it as a ritual. When you start looking at the page numbers, it is like abusing God. Gratitude is the ultimate puja, the ultimate prayer.

Content: Puja is the stepping stone in your spiritual growth. But do not get stuck there. Don't start thinking that the form to which you offer puja is the ultimate thing. Go beyond the form, or else the form itself will hinder growth.

Content: God is omnipresent. The moment you realize this, you will not stop with puja but will go beyond it. You will experience the universal consciousness and realize that you are one with it. When you start living in the attitude of gratitude all the time, you surrender your ego completely to the master and you will have complete trust in Existence.

Content: Q: Why don't you directly transmit bliss to us?

Content: A: (Master laughs and replies) How will you bear it? If I do it, you will be shattered. First, you need the maturity; otherwise it will be like giving you the status without having reached the state. A cat that burns its tongue by drinking hot milk does not go near the milk again. It is like when an egg is broken prematurely, premature chicks come out.

Content: Q: During the Ananda Darshan (darshan literally means that which is seen, and usually refers to the sight of a Divine entity), we are in that state but only for some time master. Why don't we continue to be in that same exalted state?

Content: A: Anything that you try to cling on to moves away from you. Only when you are not mature, you try to cling onto something. Not trying to possess anything is what is called maturity. Nithyananda can never be possessed - both - Nithyananda with small letter 'n' and capital letter 'N'. If you put your hands in the river and try to hold the water, it will escape. Not possessing is the first step towards maturity. This will automatically lead to Nithyananda.

Content: When a disciple starts to become mature, the guru appears. Once he is mature enough to drop the master's form, the master is not needed to be in physical form.

Content: Q: Is reminding ourselves to be blissful wrong?

Content: A: It is the only thing that is right!

Content: Now go and digest what I said and make it energy! Also, go eat for your stomach and digest.

Content: Q: Master, can you tell us about the sacred thread that you gave us to wear?

Content: A: It is an energized thread. It will hold the energy when you go to high energy places and it will radiate the energy when you are in a low energy state. It is like an energized battery!

Content: Q: You said that we will remove it when we reach Rishikesh at the end of the tour. Is it going to be de-energized at that time then?

Content: A: No. We are only ending the vow in Rishikesh. You can wear it or throw it in the Ganga. It will not be de-energized. Only the vows will end so that those of you who may not wish to follow them in the world outside, you may do so..

Content: Q: Master, what about our regular sacred thread poonal?

Content: A: See: the people who give the sacred thread to you are not masters. They just chant the gayatri mantra (a chant meant to kindle the inner intelligence) and energize thread and give it to you. How much you chant, that much it will be energized. Ladies can also wear it. If you see the statues of feminine deities in temple carvings, you will see that they wear it. Because of male chauvinism, it has been discontinued. This thread is worn across the chest and serves to constantly remind one about one's connection with Existence.

Content: Q: Master, why is the sacred thread removed from the dead?

Content: A: If the thread is energized, it should not be removed. When the thread is there, negative energies won't enter the dead. If the thread is not energized, it will absorb negative energy, which is why they probably remove it.

Content: Have the courage to go behind the Truth. Doubt is the torch to enlightenment. masters can give enlightenment to individuals.

Content: Q: You are always barefoot but your feet are so smooth and flawless.

Content: A: It is because I don't have any enmity with the earth. When you relate with the earth, you will not get hurt. You are conditioned to think that it hurts; that is why it hurts. Except at college, I have never used footwear. Treat nature as your friend. Don't think of it as your enemy. Then you will not have a problem.

Content: Nithyopanishad Zen Style (Answering questions the way master wanted to)

Content: It was a very cold night at Gangotri. That morning we were to have traveled up to Gomukh, an arduous trek of about 15 kilometers each way to about 14,500 feet. In 2004, when master went up to Gomukh, he went into deep samadhi. The previous night at Gangotri after the arati to Ganga, master had gone into samadhi. When he addressed us close to midnight, it was only to inform us that it would be unsafe to travel to Gomukh the next day and that he would not be going. No one wanted to go, naturally.

Content: The next morning we heard from the porters that there had been heavy snowfall on the way to Gomukh and very few ventured out. The day was clear and bright. We had a great day with master walking up to the Pandava caves and listening to him for many hours. The temperature fell sharply in the evening.

Content: As master came out that night to address us, swathed in layers of winter wear, he was making faces and complaining to us about the number of layers of warm clothing he had to wear. He insisted on counting each one of the 12 layers of clothing he claimed he was wrapped up in.

Content: He said to me, 'Give me all the questions that I answered earlier. I shall answer them like a Zen master today. If after that, if people still want to ask me questions they can.'

Content: So there he was, the master, covered in layers of clothing, apparently in a not-so-good mood, ready to apply the sharp knife of Zen discrimination to our immature minds.

Content: 'I will answer all your questions like a Zen master today. Normally I will say what you want to hear, never what I want to say. This is because, if I say what I want to say, not even one person will remain here. There will be no one to even fix the mike! Anyhow, if you want to listen, listen, or else get out. If you want to go out into society and criticize me what I am going to say today, go and do it. If you feel what I am speaking is the Truth for you, stay and listen.

Content: In Rama Avatar (incarnation of Vishnu as Rama), the rishis (sages) lived with Rama for 21 years. Just being around him was so blissful. They wanted the joy to be physical as well. They said, 'Now we are just around you, but Sita, your beloved, is so close to you.' They were jealous! Rama then blessed them saying, 'May you all take birth as gopis and live with me in Krishna avatar (incarnation of Vishnu as Krishna)!'

Content: Q: You said there is something called guru papa - sin against the master. You also said there is no such thing as sins or merits and there is nothing wrong or sinful as such in

Content: cosmic Existence. What about the disciples who leave you? Will they still have your grace?

Content: A: When I say there is no sin or merit, it is a technique. It is the ultimate Truth given to you, revealed to you to reach the same ultimate state. I mean that there is no you and me, no I and You; no two persons. In that state, there is no sin and merit. As long as you feel there is you and something else, as long as there is duality of subject and object, there will be sin and merit; sins and merits do exist then.

Content: Ramakrishna said, ‘The ascetics who wander in Gangotri, Rishikesh and Hardwar (regions in the Himalayan belt), once went to a feast. They chanted before eating the food: Brahma satyam jagath nithya, which means ‘only Brahman is truth, the world is untruth.’ The host told them, ‘Why do you want to eat then; get out!’ One of the ascetics added, kao pure, which means ‘After eating!’

Content: Brahman becomes truth only after eating!

Content: There is no ultimate rule as to what is right or wrong. We all follow certain rules to understand and live happily and peacefully. We have an agreement amongst us. For example, you don’t kill anyone. That is the social law. However, at the higher level, the idea of reward or punishment should not influence any of your actions or decisions. That is what I call morality. It is the awareness from the depths of your consciousness.

Content: On the other hand, if you try to follow certain rules and regulations because of a social concept of morality, you will try to escape from them. It is your innate nature to resist any rules and regulations. It will lead to guilt. Do not carry guilt. There are no absolute rules which are the ultimate on planet Earth. These rules are created for social harmony. Do not internalize them. Only when you understand that will you be able to follow rules. I believe in consciousness, not conscience.

Content: This is not a statement of fact but a statement of truth. Facts are expressed from words; truth can come only from experience. Experience is truth.

Content: If you are in a state of enlightenment, the guru papa or sin against the master will not arise because He and you are in the same dimension. You will feel, ‘There is only me, and not Him and me. He and I are one and the same thing. So where is the question of I committing sin against Him?’

Content: Until then, the disciple tortures the guru and himself. Until he is enlightened, the disciple can never let go of ego. The moment he is enlightened, he surrenders his ego completely. He enters the zone of his guru, an egoless state where there is no I, no You, no Me. The small ‘i’ has merged with the big ‘I’. Enlightened masters are the big ‘I’ because they are in the highest level of consciousness. The whole world merges in them. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, ‘I am everything.’

Content: So understand clearly; there is no sin or merit when you reach the ultimate cosmic state. I want you to reach that state and so I tell you that sin and merit do not exist. As long as you are in the intermediate class, you have to be aware, careful and clear. In the NSP, I say that there is no sin and merit because I want you to reach that state immediately.

Content: I am creating a space in which you can reach that state in 2-3 days; or at least get a glimpse of the state. That is why I tell the truths in an unedited way at the NSP. But when I made the guru papa statement, the statement about committing sin against the master, it was made in the context of non-dualistic consciousness. When you have not reached the ultimate state, there is still a little sin and merit.

Content: When you have offended Brahma, you can go to Vishnu; when you have offended Vishnu, you can go to Shiva. When you have disturbed Shiva, you can go to Parvati; when you have disturbed Parvati you can still go to your guru. However, if you have done something against the master's mission, no one can take care of you. That is why the guru is Brahma Vishnu Maya. He is Brahma who gave birth to you. He sustains you and therefore he is Vishnu. He is Rudra who destroys your past karmas. He is the person beyond all these three energies. That is why any sin committed against him is the biggest sin and no one can help you.

Content: I am passionate that you get at least one glimpse of satori. I break open all the ultimate secrets. Unless you experience satori, you cannot practice the truth of 'no sin' in your life. You can't kill a person and say there is no merit or no sin in it. It is not a statement of fact but a statement of Truth. Fact is the state in which you are staying now, unenlightened. Truth is the state in which you ARE now, enlightened. Guru papa or sin against the master, should be understood in the state in which you are staying, which is unenlightened.

Content: With respect to the second part of the question, be very clear, nobody can leave me. They may think that they have left me, but they don't; they can't.

Content: A small story:

Content: King Akbar, the great Moghul King, became egoistic. He claimed himself to be God. He started a new religion, Din Ilahi. Birbal, his spiritual guide tried to warn him. by standing in front of Akbar and saying, 'You are greater than God; you can do a few things that even God cannot do.' Akbar was very pleased. He asked Birbal what it was that God could not do that he could. Birbal replied, 'If you are angry with somebody, you can throw him out of your kingdom but God cannot do that!'

Content: So understand that nobody can leave me. I have two kinds of disciples: people who are living with me and people who think that they have left me. Both categories will always have my love and blessings. You ask them why they left me!

Content: Q: When a disciple is enlightened, he becomes as aware of his inner divinity as his. Does the guru-disciple relationship exist then?

Content: A: Only then does the real guru-disciple relationship start. Until then, the disciple tortures the guru and himself. Until then, he is oscillating between extremes. Even if they are staying around me, disciples will think that they are leaving me. Don't think my boundary is just a few acres in Bidadi or a few acres in Los Angeles; the whole world is mine! Just because they remove my mala or stop doing my meditations, it does not mean that they are not my disciples. I always feel connected to them. It is up to them to think what they want to. As long as I do what they want, they are happy; they give me my gurudom. Otherwise, my gurudom is taken away! If I do their homework, I am their master, or else I am thrown out, that's all. Only after enlightenment, a real guru-disciple relationship starts. People wonder, 'Will I have my own mission after I become enlightened?' Only after enlightenment you will do my mission; till then you will be doing only your mission! After enlightenment, out of gratitude, you will do my mission.

Content: Q: Is enlightenment possible for every being, rich or poor?

Content: A: It is more likely for idiots, which means it is for every human being!

Content: Someone went and asked the great enlightened master Ramana Maharishi from South India, 'Master, am I qualified to become enlightened?' Ramana asked the devotee, 'Are you alive?' The devotee replied, 'Yes master.' Ramana said, 'Then you are qualified enough.'

Content: All of us are actually enlightened, but we are not aware of this yet. We do not enjoy the state of enlightenment. An enlightened master is constantly reminding us to wake up to our own enlightened state. Master Vivekananda beautifully puts it, 'Awake and stop not until the goal is reached.'

Content: I say, 'Arise, awake! The goal is reached!'

Content: Q: I know you are my master but what do I mean to you?

Content: A: The moment you ask this question, remember that you are operating from your ego. If you have really accepted me as your master, you will trust me totally. You will never have this doubt. The master is so compassionate even to people who throw stones at him; how can he not be compassionate to his disciple? He is continuously trying to elevate his disciples so that ultimately they will experience the ultimate, i.e. liberation. He may use different techniques for different people to lead them through different paths. But ultimately it is all the same. If you don't understand this, you will only get hurt and in turn create trouble for him.

Content: Q: I don't understand the significance of the master-disciple relationship. I know that you are my master but what do I mean to you and how should I understand it?

Content: A: If you don't know, relax; both of us will be happy, or else you will only create trouble. Try to internalize what I just said. Over time, understanding will happen.

Content: Q: Tamas (lethargy) and Unconsciousness. Are there suggestions to penetrate these unconscious layers?

Content: A: Whatever happens in your system without your knowledge, without your awareness or control is unconscious. Tamas means the inactive nature, not even allowing the unconscious to change.

Content: Before going to sleep, do the Shakti Dharana meditation; you will penetrate the unconscious and clear it. Through this meditation, you become a channel or a conduit. You use your body as a channel for the cosmic energy to pass through to get connected to the earth energy.

Content: The moment you come out of the unconscious, as you wake up in the morning, start doing Ananda Gandha meditation and you will break the unconscious layer. The moment you become aware of your body, if you take half an hour to get up and sit, it will not help. The moment you become aware of your body while waking up, do Ananda Gandha meditation. You can come out of the bed later. These are the two best ways to break the unconscious layers.

Content: Apart from the seven major chakras, there is another more important chakra, the Ananda Gandha. Very few masters have spoken about this. It can be opened through life after life of penance or by the grace of an enlightened master. It is the gateway to the cosmic energy.

Content: Q: How deeply can one visualize: what are the impediments to deeper visualization?

Content: A: If you visualize something deeply, the thing that you visualize should be in your hand. Then it is perfect. When you can materialize, your visualization is perfect. Until then it is incomplete. Not believing the power of visualization is the only impediment to visualization. It is such a high power or energy. If you visualize a gold ring, it should be in your hand; or else you have not completely explored the visualization potentiality. You do not trust that it can do miracles to yourself; this is the only impediment to it.

Content: Quantum Physics says matter can be converted to energy and energy to matter. Teleportation is possible. Just with your power of visualization you can teleport the ring from your room to your hand.

Content: Q: What are the blocks to total awareness?

Content: A: There are no blocks except the ones in your mind. You continuously believe that you have blocks. I have to give you a technique, an idea that you have a block and then teach you some nonsense to remove it. Your spiritual practice and bondage are illusions. Again

Content: and again you strongly believe that you are bound in life, so I tell you to do certain things so that you will be liberated. Your belief that you have blocks is the only block.

Content: Q: In the context of Shiva Sutras, is Devi the perfect listener and disciple in the guru-disciple relationship?

Content: A: Devi is the perfect disciple because she is already enlightened. She is a part of Shiva. Shiva talks to himself and therefore there is no editing required. When you speak to yourself, do you edit? No! You edit because you want to be culturally decent and socially polite. You can express the Truth as it is. She is totally in tune; she is in love with Shiva. She has already reached the consciousness of Shiva. That is why she is the perfect disciple and listener. She is a perfect disciple because she is already a guru! A perfect guru can be a perfect disciple but a perfect disciple is not necessarily a perfect guru.

Content: Q: How should a disciple be?

Content: A: Let him be as he is; that is all he can do! The other things, I will do. I never give rules or meditation to people who come to me because it will add to their already existing problems. If they have 10 problems, their 11th problem will be, 'I am not able to meditate.' If you are so intelligent to do it, you will not be a disciple; you will already be a master. The only thing is, don't resist and torture me. Resisting means you are suffering. I cannot do the process then.

Content: Q: I don't understand seeking or enlightenment. I know not any God. You fill up my space and I am happy with you.

Content: A: No one knows seeking. You have an honest understanding with me. Just be happy and enjoy!

Content: Q: A true guru not only clears doubts but also showers blessings, so why the confusion about trusting the guru completely?

Content: A: A true guru should not only clear doubts but also the fears. Then only he is a real guru; otherwise, the problem is with the guru. Wait till this doubt clears; then only am I your master. Just surrender both doubt and trust to the master because he is the one who gave you both. Then the real wisdom happens.

Content: Q: Does the guru-disciple relationship continue till Buddhu, the idiot, becomes Buddha, the enlightened one over several cycles of life and death? Does the master take on the responsibility of converting the Buddhu to Buddha? Or is the onus on the Buddhu to realize it?

Content: A: When a master takes on the responsibility, it is called surrender. Otherwise it is called responsibility of the disciple. In some cases, it is the former and in some cases the latter. It is like this: for the master to lift the disciple, the disciple at least has to raise his hand to allow the master to lift him. They sometimes move away from me when I hold my hand

Content: out. Disciples should understand that the master has taken full responsibility. That is enough.

Content: A small story:

Content: A man wants special powers; he goes to a master and asks for a technique. When an enlightened master gets special powers, it benefits humanity and the universe but ordinary people with such powers may be harmful to themselves and others. The master tries to dissuade him but he does not listen. He says, 'If you cannot give me this, I shall go elsewhere.'

Content: The guru gives him a medicine and tells him, drink this but do not think of a monkey. He says, 'I will take the medicine, but what if I do think of a monkey?' The master tells him that he must have a bath and try again. Each time he tried, the monkey kept springing to mind so he takes a bath and repeats the process without success. In frustration he ran to the master, fell at his feet and begged to be relieved of the torture. He no longer wanted special powers!

Content: Ordinary people have vision across 120 degrees, while the master has vision across 360 degree. He knows when to give and to whom and how much. He is so compassionate that he will not do anything to harm a disciple. When he has the power to give, he also has the intelligence to know when and how to give. But our egos will not allow us to accept this. Our want makes us blind to the reality of the situation. One must have total trust in the master. Hold his hand and he will lead you to salvation.

Content: Q: When you say 'keep testing me', what are you referring to?

Content: A: It means that you can't do anything! Your foolish brain can't do much. You can't even do what I say. How can you then test me? The more you try to test me, the more you torture yourself. You will naturally stop testing. These are all business secrets. When I say 'Don't believe me', it means you have already started believing me! It is just a technical idea that I give you. As Vivekananda tested Ramakrishna, they think they can test me. Fools! What test can they do on me?

Content: Q: You asked, 'Why should I come down?' What does it mean? From where do you have to come down?

Content: A: You also have come down from where I have. If you have come down from that place, can't you reach that place again? You have a passport. Understand your origin, your nationality. See the other sheets of your passport as well. Your eyes are stuck only on the visa to the place where you are. Drop the attachment to the purpose of taking a visa. When you open your eyes and see, you will realize that there are more pages in your being. You will then fly back to that original plane where you came from. If you say that a master can reach that place, then you can also reach it.

Content: Q: Is there a code of conduct between a guru and disciple?

Content: A) I have no code of conduct. I have no need. If you want any, keep it. A master has no rules or regulations. In my system, there are no rules. There are two kinds of people: ones who curtail your freedom and destroy you and others who give rules only when you make a mistake. How much freedom you have then! In the former case, there is no freedom. Some people tell you what you should do and others tell you what you should not do.

Content: This is a big group. But I don’t think the love amongst you is enough. The moment I leave you, you start barking at each other. Only some will listen to me, others won’t. Love amongst disciples is the real scale of measure to know that you are growing. Loving me and respecting me is very easy. Seeing God in me is easy. Loving others and respecting others, your co-disciple is difficult. It is then that you actually respect me. When you see me, you just show your teeth; it is very easy.

Content: Q: Does a master have the liberty to choose disciples?

Content: A: I will only choose my disciples. You can choose your disciples, not mine!

Content: Q: What is Bliss? How do we remain in a blissful state in day-to-day life?

Content: A: Bliss is internal. It is your true nature. The moment you understand that you are part of the divine, you become blissful. What stands in your way is your ignorance, your ego in understanding this simple truth.

Content: Q: Please explain the Sri Chakra (a 2-dimensional representation of the Cosmos). Why do we sit down and meditate on it?

Content: A: It is the pictorial representation of enlightenment. If you look at it carefully, there are so many complicated diagrams together in it. But with patience and in a relaxed manner if you analyze it, it is a very simple diagram. In the same way, enlightenment also when superficially seen appears very complicated. But in a relaxed way if you analyze it, it is very simple. The Sri Chakra can be energized so the lines in it can hold the energy. That is why you sit on it and meditate. It is like an appetizer when you are hungry. When you don’t feel like meditating, sit on it and you will start meditating! These are all instruments to make you meditate.

Content: Q: Can surrender be cultivated and how?

Content: A: Only by love can it be cultivated. Consciously, tell your mind to surrender, everytime you remember surrender. It will help the mind let go. The moment you start feeling in tune with the master, surrender will happen. Once in a while, you can have your spiritual friends remove your doubts about how to surrender. Friends are like the television repairman. When there is a problem with the television, you call the repairman. You can also contact my acharyas (teachers ordained by me). They will confuse you a little more! I am just joking; they will help bring in clarity for you..

Content: Q: As a young disciple, I feel I have to choose between family and spiritual life. I think I should abandon family in order to follow you.

Content: A: Your understanding is wrong. You are still young; your attitude is wrong. There are so many couples who are my disciples! I myself have not abandoned my parents; why should you! I don't have a psychological or special relationship with them. I treat them just as I treat other disciples. You need to renounce only the possessiveness and negative attitude that you have towards family. When this happens, real spirituality has started happening in you.

Content: Q: How do I surrender to you?

Content: A: Get out and get lost. Even if I answer, you won't understand.

Content: Q: How does one avoid deep memories or samskaras as you call it, being recorded in the unconscious mind?

Content: A: If you remain conscious, you will not have trouble. Engrams, karma and samskaras are one and the same. Karma is something that is long term while samskara is short term. Archive files can be called karma. Table files can be called samskaras! If you are aware and conscious, you will never create trouble for others. Only unconscious people can eat non vegetarian food. When consciousness steps in, automatically you will drop it. You cannot injure somebody if you are conscious.

Content: My discourse 'Nirvana: The Dead End' talks about the whole concept of karma and samskara. Listen to it.

Content: Q: Why can't people reach the master? Is it lack of faith or destiny or is it that they have not made the right efforts?

Content: A: They have not made the right efforts. That is their destiny also. That is their fate also. All three are one and the same.

Content: Q: In the case of Ramana Maharishi, most of his teachings were in silence. Is it that we should keep our mouths shut and our questions will get answered?

Content: A: Saying that Ramana Maharishi was in silence most of the time is wrong. If you read the books of people who were close to him, you will come to know that he was a very talkative person. On spiritual issues he was silent because talking about it would not work. By you shutting your mouth, it won't help. You should open; I should tell you to shut up, and then you will grow!

Content: I think we can release 2 books: Your questions answered - as you want will be one title and Your questions answered - as I want will be another!

Content: If you digest whatever answers I have given you today, that is enough. Don’t vomit them out and don’t ask for Digene digestive tablet either. If you do any of these, it means that you are looking for more explanation. If I have said that you are an idiot in response to your question, just be an idiot. If you start saying, ‘Master, it was I who asked that question...’, then I will say, ‘Oh I did not know that it was you; you are not an idiot etc.’ and then that will be a lie; so understand the truth directly.

Content: Q: You mentioned that satori is a glimpse of enlightenment. When one is not in a totally enlightened state as you are, but they are in a state of satori where the body relationship is very fragile, is it dangerous to let them be or should they be taken care of?

Content: A: It is not dangerous. They will not leave the body. When real satori happens, you will be fresh and alive. Have you ever seen me imbalanced while dancing? So much is happening inside my body. Last night, I could not even move my hand to the music. I made a great effort to walk well because otherwise there would have been a big commotion. I came out of the room just to tell you all that I am alright. This is an atomic power station that is inside me. It is actually 10 times more powerful than what I say. Still it is moving and balanced. It is like this: I touch the honey in which I am drowned, I lick it completely and then give my finger to you. That is about all the experience that you have during satori.

Content: Q: In some cultures, the guru-disciple relationship harbors physical hardship measures, almost like ill treatment. Is this normal?

Content: A: Ill treatment is not necessary. But when the process is done, it will look like ill treatment for an outsider. For an insider it will not look like that. In the master-disciple relationship, you cannot describe anything that happens with your own dictionary. When a master fires you, it cannot be called anger. Love cannot be called lust. It cannot be addressed with the regular social words. Whatever happens is otherworldly.

Content: Someone said that J.Krishnamurthi had so many relationships. How was that possible? I told them, the term ‘relationship’ cannot be used in the regular fashion when it comes to him. You can say that Ramana was silent, but what you understand by silence is not the silence of Ramana. You need two dictionaries, one Oxford dictionary and the other - the master’s dictionary. The Oxford dictionary will not work out for the master. I think it is up to us now to release the master-disciple relationship dictionary.

Content: Q: Is it that Krishna and some of the other masters had a small number of disciples, so there was no need for explaining the guru-disciple relationship?

Content: A: Yes. Also, they were all simple fellows so it was easy to explain. Now people have become so complicated and the spontaneity is lost. If the process is allowed to happen without the disciple asking questions, it will be wonderful. Whether I fire or am compassionate, they ask for clarification. Firing and compassion are the same. When I fire, I teach; when I am compassionate I cheat! With compassion, I give a cozy feeling like this heater here. Otherwise, your blood will freeze and you will die!

Content: Q: What is deeksha?

Content: A: Deeksha means transmitting the experience that happened in me as a master, to a disciple, without any technique. Our ASP and NSP programs are teachings. But during the healers' initiation, I straightaway transmit the experience to people. It means: transmission of a lamp. A living lamp gives light to another lamp. Until then, you get the teachings and a little energy to practice the teachings in life, that's all. Once the deeksha is given, the assurance of enlightenment is given to you. Once the fire is given, it has to burn some day. Depending on the stuff you have collected, it may take time. But it will happen.

Content: When you do my work, you make mistakes and that is punya or merit. I fire you because you have the merit. I will not give firing that easily!

Content: Q: What is the relationship between God, Man and guru? Who is guru and who is God?

Content: A: All three are one and the same. It is foolishness to try and differentiate between them. The fellow who can convince other people that he is much more than others is guru. The fellow who thinks that he is inferior to others is man. When both realize that they are playing only roles, they become God.

Content: Q: How can I strengthen my connection to you?

Content: A: Get Fevicol adhesive glue and patch it! Relax and imbibe my teachings; the connection will get strengthened automatically.

Content: Q: Is there is a specific relationship between each guru and disciple?

Content: A: The very idea of guru and disciple is itself an illusion. The one who wants his business to run is the guru. The one who is postponing his own enlightenment is the disciple!

Content: Q: How does a disciple find his guru? What qualification should he look for?

Content: A: What qualification should he look for? The disciple doesn't even know what qualifications he has himself. How then will he look for any qualification in the master?

Content: Q: Does a guru treat all his disciples equally?

Content: A: Pseudo gurus treat them equally. The real ones treat them uniquely. The former does it for reasons of social etiquette, more for business. The latter does it for individual flowering of each of his disciples.

Content: Q: The 5 different relationships you mentioned with a guru may come intermingled over life. How does the disciple handle this?

Content: A: Not only over life but every month, and each day, the relationship may change. The guru will never allow a disciple to be caught in any one relationship. He will bring him out of it immediately. The disciple has to manage. He either copes with it or he jumps into the Ganges river!

Content: Q: How does the guru lead his disciple to enlightenment?

Content: A: Through the highways. Just relax.

Content: Q: Why is a guru higher in status than one's father or mother?

Content: A: Gurus themselves position these statuses. They naturally position themselves higher! When the entire legislature wants a pay rise, they pass the law, that's all!

Content: Guru is the only person who does not have a vested interest in you and who can liberate you from bondage completely.

Content: Q: What specifically do you do to raise the consciousness of your disciple?

Content: A: If you are really my disciple, you do your work. Don't ask about my work. You are suspecting whether I am doing my work or not. I did not put the mangal sutra (bridal necklace) on your head. You signed on the register on your own and you are now chasing me; dangerous fellow!

Content: It is only when you do not have trust on the master, that you will ask such type of questions.

Content: Q: How do you help those who are away and see you rarely? I feel it is better to be in your presence?

Content: A: If you see me rarely, you will be helped more because you will see me in a motherly loving way. If you come often to see me, I might not fit into your frame and the problem starts for you and me!

Content: Whether you are near or far, the work on you goes on. In fact, if you are far from me, you will not take me for granted.

Content: Q: If a disciple moves from one guru to another, how does he cope with the guru conflict?

Content: A: Suffer and die in the conflict, that's all.

Content: If you don't allow trust and faith to happen in you, you have to suffer.

Content: Q: How does a guru detect negativity in a disciple? How does he correct it?

Content: A: Disciples themselves are pure negativity, so there is no need to separately detect it. If you have fever or something, I have to detect it. In any case, just my presence corrects it.

Content: Q: How should we move with the guru all the way?

Content: A: If you are a disciple, you will not have this doubt; you will have clarity. Otherwise, go and do your work.

Content: To be a disciple means to go with the flow of the master with utmost surrender.

Content: Q: How does a disciple know what type of relationship he should follow with his master?

Content: A: You don’t have to know. It will happen.

Content: Q: Is it possible to make a total surrender without any special experience happening?

Content: A: No special experience can make you surrender. Only deep trust can make you surrender. If you wait for a special experience, you will never surrender.

Content: Q: Is the master capable of knowing and feeling unsaid thoughts of the disciples?

Content: A: How else do you think I am able to manage all of you?

Content: Q: How do we understand the master’s blessings?

Content: A: Just be; nothing needs to be done.

Content: Q: What is the best way to approach the master?

Content: A: Be an idiot. If you are not already one, become an idiot!

Content: Q: Does the master-disciple relationship have to be silent? Or can it be discussing various aspects that come to the mind and answered?

Content: A: Better be in the silent way. Keep your frame and live as you want. You are so afraid to drop your frame.

Content: The idea of guru and disciple is only a psychodrama. There is no specialty about the guru or is there anything less in the disciple. The fellow who understands he is playing a drama becomes God. Those who don’t understand are stuck in one role or the other. Just because someone is a disciple, it is not that he cannot grow spiritually more than the guru and that the guru is always spiritually more qualified than the disciple. If the guru is stuck in his role, he will be lower than the disciple who has not understood that he is playing a psychodrama. I have understood that I am playing a drama and so I am God. You have not understood that you are playing a drama and so you are not God.

Content: All of us come from the same dimension. We are therefore the same. When we are born, our mind acts as a barrier in knowing what our source is; it fragments us between who we are and what our origin is. We are here for a purpose and get attached to that purpose, while forgetting what we are. The actor becomes the character and forgets who he really is. That is the psycho drama. The disciple can be the guru if he realizes that he can be the guru. The master realizes that and is therefore the master. The master can therefore become a perfect disciple as well. The opaque glass that fragments us is illusion and ego.

Content: So long as we are in touch with the original memory of who we are, we are above the attachment in this drama. We are clear we are playing a role and can drop that role anytime. We are then man, god and guru all rolled into one.

Content: The only block to our awareness is this illusion, maya. We are not aware we are playing a role in a drama. We are not in control; that is the problem.

Content: Q: You spoke about psycho drama...

Content: A: All miracles that happen around me are because you expect them to happen. If I am really a master every one should always feel I am a master; that is not so. Just take yourself as an example. You don't feel consistently towards me at all times. You harbour different types of feelings towards me according to the situation and your mindset.

Content: Your expectations are fulfilled through me, because you feel I am your master. There is no master - no disciple; just pure energy, that's all. One who understands that all this is drama is God. Otherwise you are trapped as a guru or disciple; as a disciple you are only cheating yourself; as a guru, you are cheating others. Of course, real masters have merged with God so they play the game in super consciousness. Theirs is the ultimate game to take each one to the same ultimate state.

Content: If you want to postpone enlightenment, you become a seeker, a disciple. If you are a real seeker, a real disciple, you straight away see the drama and start playing it intelligently. The, the growth starts happening.

Content: Only when you understand that it is all a psychodrama will you have respect for me, real love for me, gratitude towards me; till then it is hypocrisy. I do not believe anyone who respects me without any benefit. I am frightened of such people. I do not believe people who believe me right away. I would rather they do not believe me. By believing me no one is doing me a favor. They just want me to be responsible. They call me God; after a few days they will dethrone me.

Content: Only when you understand this drama will you be liberated and have guru bhakti (true devotion towards the master). And only when this happens, the divine master-disciple relationship starts; all belief that I am superior to you is nonsense. It is your projection; you create a drama with that theme. You and I are one and the same.

Content: Take the example of fear. A disciple is one who does not know how to handle his fear, so he is fearful of fear itself. A master is one who knows how to handle the fear emotion, so we can say that there is no fear. The infinite intelligence at the disposal of the master handles everything effortlessly. If you have fear, face the fear. If you are not able to face the fear, accept it!

Content: Q: You make it sound so easy.

Content: A: Why not? Accept and if you cannot accept, you accept that you cannot accept; tat tvam asi - Thou art That!

Content: Surrendering your senses to your guru means seeing as the guru says you should see. Now I say you are enlightened; see it that way. If you cannot, it means your ego is not letting you surrender.

Content: I am shaking what you feel is reality; all your reality you should collect and bring out. I am shaking the roots.

Content: Only when you realize you are Nithyananda, can I be Nithyananda to you; otherwise I am just nithyananda - eternal business. And until you realize that you are Nithyananda, all your words of praise and devotion for me are not real. They cannot be real because you as yet don’t know Nithyananda through experience. I always say, ’I am here not to prove I am God, I am here to prove you are God.’

Content: Paramahamsa is Paramahamsa by his own authority. I will be in the same ecstasy with or without disciples. Disciples do not make a Paramahamsa. People make politicians, cine stars and other stars. If there are no people, there will be no star. But a Paramahamsa is a Paramahamsa with or without people because his is a ’state’ not a ’status’,

Content: Q: I think I understand what you are saying. I still want you to touch my ajna and make me enlightened. How do I get over that?

Content: A: Stop hearing and start listening. I am speaking to you, not to others. Master touches the ajna but only when the disciple starts listening. And when you really listen, no one needs to touch you! The very idea that some one has to touch you to be enlightened is the attitude of a beggar. If someone can give you, he can also take away what he gives; it’s not yours. Even if I do not take it, you may lose it; just stand up; let whatever happens happen. When I touch your ajna, I am creating a space for that to happen. Even as I say this, I am creating the space for that possibility in you! I am giving to you even as I utter the words, ’It cannot be given’. Understand that there is the possibility it can be given. I need to feel the trust.

Content: As you are, your lust will become love, your anger; compassion, your whole being will radiate a different aura. When you stop fighting with yourself, your whole being begins to

Content: flower. You fight with others only when you fight with yourself. When you have no enmity to yourself no one will feel enmity to you.

Content: If you believe I am giving when I touch your ajna, you are a beggar. It can happen even now. You don’t have to wait; you are postponing your breakfast expecting your dinner; you are expecting something and postponing what is in front of you.

Content: That is not the only way I do things. I have one thousand ways. This is just one way.

Content: Q: If I am compassionate, people take advantage of me.

Content: A: That means you are not compassionate. All that you are doing is trying to be a goody goody and expecting a ‘compassionate’ label for it.

Content: Q: Improving yourself means seeing yourself as you are and trying to remove where all you are stuck. Is that right?

Content: A: Yes, you got it.

Content: Q: Can I accept I am enlightened?

Content: A: Yes, you can. As long as you don’t believe, my business goes on! It is up to you.

Content: When you tune your awareness to this acceptance, suddenly something will open up; all the conflict within will stop. You will feel, ‘Oh God, something is happening in me. I am working, it’s a great thing; this is what initiation is.’ Allow this to happen again and again. Allow these words to be heard again and again. The mood will be there for a few hours or for a few days or whatever. When this happens deeply and the experience leaves you, it is called satori; the permanent state is enlightenment.

Content: The master is the first dream; he reminds you that you are dreaming. The master is the last nightmare; he awakens you from that nightmare. You will wake up in both cases at the peak. Whether sweet fantasy dream or a nightmare, it is only when you wake up that you realize. Until then you do not know. You think you know me. I am only an idea, a concept to you. It is alright to start with. masters show themselves to be ordinary with a lot of difficulty so that what they want to do can happen. Then you think, ‘If he can be enlightened why not me?’ For you to start thinking on a comparative note, the master shows himself to you like yourself

Content: Q: Can I do it as an intellectual exercise?

Content: A: As of now you are nothing but an intellectual exercise. Do it as an intellectual exercise; as you understand it in your dictionary. Drop your guilt. Why should you give reasons for what you do? Be as you are. Don’t you have the freedom to make mistakes?

Content: Q: Guilt arises if our actions hurt someone.

Content: A: If someone wants to get hurt, they will get hurt not just through you but through so many other ways; just relax.

Content: Paramaguru Mahavatar Baba

Content: The master arrived for class and a number of people were unsettled, or had not arrived yet. Those who were present and ready were appreciated by the master. He declared, ‘If you are here before I enter the class, it shows the intensity on your part.’

Content: Before we left for Kedarnath, at Gaurikund, master talked to us about Mahavatar Baba and his lineage:

Content: This is the place where I had darshan of Mahavatar Babaji during my wandering days. He is a living master in the Himalayan region, and is many thousands of years old. Once, for 45 minutes he walked in the market place at Gaurikund and people saw him (he reduced his intensity of frequency so that people could see him without being affected by his energy field). This news was published in the newspapers.

Content: Above Gaurikund, I had his darshan. Among sanyasis, for every parampara or lineage, there is one temple which the whole lineage should visit at least once in a lifetime. For example, Muslims visit Mecca at least once in a lifetime. For the Puri parampara, Kedarnath is the temple. We belong to the Nirvana Akkada and Puri parampara, and so Kedarnath is the temple for us.

Content: Whomsoever is initiated by me (whoever has taken the healing initiation from me), should visit Kedar at least once. This is our kshetra devata, deity of the chosen location. It is a beautiful place and the route is safe, so there is no difficulty. All can come tomorrow to the Kedar temple, no problem. The route is completely controlled by the army. They assist well; there is light and water available just like on town roads. You can stop in between wherever you want and travel easily. It is a total of 9 miles by pony or dholi (chair).

Content: We will start out at 5 am and have darshan of Kedarnath. We will return tomorrow night itself to Gaurikund. This is the highest altitude we are going to cover in our entire trip. It is the place where the great enlightened master Shankara left his body. His energy is there. All the 5 Pandavas of the Mahabharata fame, also left their bodies here. This is the only temple built of stone, amongst the four scared locations that we cover in this trip: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath. This temple is built of stone like South Indian temples. Amongst the Jyothirlingas (Forms of Lord Shiva when he appeared as a column of Light), this is the first one. Rameshwaram in the tip of South India is the last.

Content: It is a powerful energy center. If you are courageous and place your faith upon Existence, you can walk the nine miles. It will help. Many masters have lived and left their body here. Many mystics, masters and rishis (sages) live here. There is every chance that you may have the darshan of Mahavatar Babaji! He is very casual and gives darshan to a lot of people here. Amongst the departed masters, he is the one who has given darshan the most, to people. The ratio would be one million to eleven. If one million people have seen Babaji, eleven have seen other masters. A simple prayer and He will come down and bless you! That is why he appeared for all in the marketplace. Good people, bad people, and so-called sinners - all of them saw him. Pray intensely; he may give you darshan.

Content: He will appear to be around 25 years of age. His feet will not touch the ground. He will wear only an orange cloth. There are records that he wears a white cloth also. Paramahamsa Yogananda also writes that he wears an orange cloth. If Babaji feels that somebody is a sincere seeker, he immediately appears.

Content: Babaji gave me my name when I met him a few kilometers above Gaurikund, near a cave away from the road. I was staying there when I had his darshan. Of course, I was a very hard intellectual nut and I didn't believe when I saw him. I had read that he was over 2500 years old. When I saw him, I caught hold of one of his hands to see if I was hallucinating or really seeing him. I poked his other hand. He laughed. I could see him very clearly. I understood that he was laughing because I was testing him.

Content: He laughed and called me 'Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda.' I didn't understand what he meant at that time. I thought he was asking me to go and see someone by that name, because at that time, I wasn't enlightened and I was known as Rajashekaran. I was only an ascetic, a sanyasi. A Paramahamsa, the great swan, is the title given to a highly evolved and enlightened master

Content: I wanted to ask him the next question: where that person was, what to do with him etc, but he smiled and walked into my body. I was scared. I moved and gave way for him but he entered into me and didn't come out the other side. I turned and saw but he wasn't there.

Content: (This incident happened in 1997, three years before enlightenment)

Content: I was in search of an enlightened master during that period of my life. I was intensely praying for one. I never prayed to Babaji. I didn't even know that he was in Gaurikund. I knew he was in the Himalayas. When I read Paramahamsa Yogananda's autobiography, I learnt that he is here. Any person clad in saffron whom I saw, I would have a desire that he might be my master. When he said, 'Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda,' I thought he was guiding me to see a person by that name. When I tried to enquire with the people who were there if they saw Babaji as I had seen him, they said no. He appeared to be around 25-30 years of age!

Content: Q: Why does he stay here?

Content: A: I don't know. Maybe he likes the weather! But most records say that he gives darshan in this area only. I don't know if he stays physically in one place and gives darshan, or if he simply reduces his frequency and gives darshan.

Content: Usually, disciples themselves ask for sanyas, the initiation into asceticism. But in my case, one Sadhu forced me to take sanyas. He was 96 years old and staying in Calcutta. I stayed at his place for 6 months. Every morning I used to bathe in the Ganges at 4 am and meditate till 7pm. I never used to move from that place of meditation. When he saw me doing this day in and day out, he was shocked and said that I must take sanyas. I told him that I did not want sanyas and that I only wanted enlightenment. He said that he was going to die soon anyway, and that this would be the last thing that he would want to happily do. I then thought that the divine was arranging something for me and I agreed. He was not enlightened but he was a great tapasvi, someone who had practiced spiritual penance intensely. He initiated me through a simple procedure and pronounced my new name: Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda! I was shocked.

Content: Usually, according to the Sanyasi rule, the person initiating the monk, the sanyasi has to go through a few prescribed steps before giving sanyas directly. He would first have to give what is termed, the brahmacharya dheeksha, the first step in four evolutionary stages of student, householder, renunciate and ascetic. Only three days later, initiation into being an ascetic, sanyas dheeksha is given; and then three days later, the special initiation of Paramahamsa lineage is given. There should have been three stages. It should have first been Brahmachari Nithyananda, then initiated as master Nithyananda provided with the stick (danda), water pot and such accessories, then finally Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda after dropping the danda. He somehow directly gave me the Paramahamsa title straight away!

Content: When I asked him about it, he said that it simply came out of him. Because of this incident, I feel that Babaji is the one who actually gave me Sanyas. So I tell you today: that our guru Parampara traces to Babaji!'

Content: (This incident of sanyas was in 1999, a year before master's enlightenment and two years after he met Babaji.)

Content: Q: Master, is there a blessing that has been given to Babaji to remain young always?

Content: A: No. Enlightened masters can stay young forever. He just reduces his frequency when he wants to give darshan and then increases the frequency and disappears. Unless you are sincere, even if you see him, what will you do? I give thousands of instructions, but you don't follow them. If he gives you darshan, it will be one more thing for you, that is all. Unless you follow his instructions, what is the use? You need to have sincerity.

Content: I used to feel deeply connected to Kedar before sanyas. At that time, I didn't know which lineage or parampara I would get my initiation from. I thought I was an attribute of Shiva, or Shiva's energy. Later on, I understood when I received Sanyas from the Puri

Content: parampara, that Kedar is the scared location of my lineage; kshettra, Lord Dakshinamurthy is our guru; Ganga is our river; God Chandramouleeshwara is our deity; Goddess Kamakshi at Kanchipuram is our Devi; Tatvamasi (Thou art That) and Aham Brahmasmi ( I am divine) our maha vakyas (scriptural dogmas); Paramahamsa is our Upanishad; and Rig Veda is our scripture.

Content: Dakshinamurthy Kamakshi Ganga nadi Rig Veda Paramahamsa Upanishad - tat tvam asi- aham Brahmasmi.

Content: A Paramahamsa is supposed to be without clothes. If you enter the city to preach after enlightenment, you can wear clothes. Otherwise, you cannot wear clothes. We don't follow these things since we live in the city all the time. The sky is supposed to be the clothing for us. If you wear clothes, you should wear rainbow colors, like Jain monks. Jainism is actually a very high standard philosophy. People will run away if I talk Jain philosophy. Akasha, or the sky, is the cloth that they wear. Rainbow is the color for the cloth if you enter the city. These were all designed in those days. If you wear a single color, people will respect you. If you radiate spirituality without wearing any single color, you are Paramahamsa. You should radiate the color without wearing anything. So, they will remove all identification, which is why a Paramahamsa is not supposed to wear kavi. But maintenance for saffron is easy and cheap. We need to adapt to the present day world. Whether you believe it or not, throughout a large part of my wandering life, which was around nine years I used the same three pieces of clothing. two saffron pieces and one saffron shawl.

Content: Later in the bus trip, master said:

Content: Akhila (Akhila Balaram from USA) had a vision of Mahavatar Baba on the way to Kedarnath! When she was riding on the pony, he appeared in front of her and walked past. I checked her energy and found she had really had his vision. She had been telling me everyday that she wanted Baba's darshan and I had told her that I could do nothing about it. If her desire was sincere he would give darshan!

Content: She will be under the effect of his energy for a few days; she will have fever and suffer a bit; but that is all right!

Content: Mahavatar Baba and Bogar (the saint who built the Palani temple in South India) have a common guru: Dandapani. He is a sage who was enshrined in Palani. People later added a spear etc. to him. Agastyar, who is considered a direct disciple of Shiva himself, and father of the Tamil race, was guru to both..

Content: Bogar created a statue of Dandapani out of navabashanam, a mixture of nine elements including the metal mercury and poisons, and installed it in Palani. It is a very high energy installation, like an artificial atomic power station. Though the navabashanam is wearing off due to abisheka (pouring water during puja ritual), the energy is not reduced.

Content: Master spoke to us at Joshimath after returning from Badrinath:

Content: We have successfully completed the char dam yatra, journey to all four sacred pilgrimage locations! You are the first batch to visit the char dam with me. Tourist guides say that people normally will not be able to do the Himalayan trip as per their laid out schedule. Out of the 4 sacred places, they will miss one or two due to landslides etc. By Divine Grace, we have done it. Let us give our gratitude to Himaraj (Lord of Himalayas) and Ganga Mata (Mother Ganga) for having allowed us to be on their lap, at their feet, and to all devatas, the celestials, for giving us their darshan in such a wonderful way. Let us offer our gratitude for having the best and most beautiful weather conditions these 15 days. Nowhere were we disturbed by nature; we were protected, guided and supported by nature. Our bodies are too sophisticated. What best nature can do, she has done. This is not the place where nature usually co-operates; so what we have received is a very big blessing.

Content: There have been practically no landslides, no waste of time on that account. On an average every day, at least 40-50 landslides occur on this Garhwal range which we are in now. Everywhere, nature and Parashakti (the female energy that moves the universe) have done everything for us: from Yamunotri to Gangotri to Kedarnath to Badrinath. We had a wonderful darshan everywhere.

Content: We cancelled Gomukh because I was concerned about the whole group's health. Even if a single person suffers, it will be a disturbance for all. Otherwise we had everything. We were really fortunate and blessed to have this experience.

Content: We had a little bit of cough and diarrhea but it's ok! As if in our whole lives, we have never had these things? It is worth the bargain. If you don't have a little cough or diarrhea, you will not be able to remember the trip in a special way! Now you will remember the names of the places where you had diarrhea, cough etc! Otherwise, the whole hill will be remembered in a flat way! These are all gifts of the Divine for you to remember the incidents and places!

Content: At the end of the session, we will do a formal puja to all the rishis. It is said that Gandharvas, Kinnarvas, Kimbarudas, Rishis, Munis, Siddhas, Devatas and Antarikshas, various kinds of celestial beings, all live in the Himalayas! We will be offering our formal gratitude to all of them. Only when all of them are happy with you and bless you, will you be allowed to stay in the Himalayas. Even if a single one of them does not allow, you cannot stay here!

Content: One person in our group is fortunate to have had the darshan of Mahavatar Babaji - Akhila Balaram. Before climbing, she asked me 3 or 4 times if she would get His darshan. I said, 'Pray to him, I can't do anything. I can't recommend. If I could, I would

Content: have shown him to all the 135 people. It is his privacy; I can't do anything.' We cannot interfere; we have to respect his privacy. He can choose if he wants to; we cannot choose! She had a beautiful darshan. I saw her energy after that; it was not an illusion; it was an authentic darshan. I held her hand and read the whole imprint. Let us thank Babaji for it.

Content: In so many other ways the Divine has blessed us. Such a big group having darshan of the char dham is not a joke! We have people from ages 8 to 80 in this group! We have had such a mixture of socio-economic backgrounds, health conditions, people from different comfort levels, different mental setups, different educational backgrounds, different understanding levels, different spiritual levels! We have completed the trip successfully as one big family. If you have had vomiting these past few days, it is good because the pitha would have been cleansed, the vata (vata, pitha and kapha are body conditions defined by Ayurveda, Hindu system of medicine) would have been cleansed. If you have had cough, the kapha would have been cleansed.

Content: The Himalayas, by its own nature, is ayurvedic. The Ganga water is so sweet. It comes from so many herbal roots. The very air here is filled with herbal essences. Wherever you go you drink only Ganga water. You have your bath using only Ganga water everyday. There are no bore wells here. All the hotels use only Ganga water for all purposes! All your food is cooked here with Ganga water only. It is a herbal essence. It is a cleansing process.

Content: It has been a little tiring but so what? Any muscle that became tense will now be relaxed and liquid. Not only the mind, but also the body is cleansed. To make people silent, we should bring them to the Himalayas!

Content: Unending hills; an unimaginable pathway all around. The hills change every two hours; the process is unending. Nowhere in the world can you see any man-made structure to match this. Man-made structures would look like ants in comparison. If there can be a world not made by man, it is the Himalayas. The Himalayas prove that there are still places where humans are not kings, where humans are not everything. Our whole body, mind and spirit are cleansed by the Himalayas.

Content: If you are taking any steroids or toxins, you will be cleansed of them. In Ayurveda, they will make you first vomit 5 times. Not only that, they will also make you sweat (which is one kind of vomiting). They will make you weep; the kapha (phlegm) will be taken out through the nose. The same process is happening here to all of you - a natural ayurvedic treatment! With all these, you are still managing to journey. That is the beauty!

Content: Let us give our gratitude to the Gods for letting us have their darshan peacefully.

Content: Jai Himagiriraj ki Jai! Jai Devi ki Jai! Jai Yamuna Devi ki Jai! Jai Ganga Mata ki Jai! Jai Kedarnath ki Jai!

Content: Jai Badri Vishal ki Jai! Jai Sarva Rishi Muni Ganapathibhyom, Sarva Devata ki Jai!

Content: (These chants honor the forces behind the Himalayan journey including the Himalayas, the female cosmic force, the sacred rivers and the shrines visited).

Content: Love Amongst Nithya Disciples

Content: That morning at Joshimath was a sight to behold. We sat on the terrace of the hotel with the mountains all around us. It was quite early in the morning and the sun was just rising. The orange glow that the rising sun cast on the master dressed in his usual saffron, presented a surreal spectacle. The master was transcendental;, he was glowing.

Content: The rising sun seemed to be a kind of signal. He started very gently talking about the kind of relationship, the love that he would like to see amongst his disciples. He said, 'To show love towards me is easy; no effort is needed on your part, but to love your neighbor is what you need to learn.'

Content: He moved on to a subject that we had never before heard him speak on. We could feel his anguish as he raised his voice in a declaration, 'Once you accept me as your master, you shall not talk about other masters in the presence of my disciples.' The Joshimath declaration had been made.

Content: I looked into myself and reflected on the transformation wrought by the master. People whom I could not have tolerated in earlier times, evoked in me a feeling of kinship borne out of a shared understanding that had not been there before. The bond of a family was so strong that earlier relationships paled in comparison. The synergy of the Nithya family was truth, not merely fact. I wished that all those present would take this declaration in the spirit meant. The declaration was meant as a protection for the immature minds that needed the guidance of a single master and a single ideology until they attained spiritual maturity.

Content: The master said, 'Spread love among devotees, care among disciples. See the Divine among devotees. Krishna is the person, the first one, who ever spoke about the idea of seeing the Divine everywhere. Before him, it was not given as a spiritual practice or technique. A few rishis spoke about it but they also expressed it as an experience not as a technique.

Content: Expressing it as an experience is one thing but giving it as a technique is different. Krishna was the person who designed and delivered it as a technique. He said, 'See me in everybody.' He said, 'My devotees who continuously think about me, speak about me, and see me in everybody living, in the end reach me alone.' It was Krishna who gave this as a technique to us. It is one of the most powerful techniques that you can practice twenty-four hours with open eyes. Seeing this as one big family - Vasudeva kutumbaha - universal Family. It is a wonderful technique.

Content: Sahaja samadhi means always being in samadhi; always being in the mood of bliss, the mood of love and mood of the Divine. Enlightened masters live in that state all the time, forever connected with the Divine. Not only that, but seeing the Divine in everything, in everyone around them.

Content: It is said that whenever Ramakrishna saw someone from the enlightened master Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's place, he would fall at their feet. People asked him why he fell at such ordinary mortals' feet. He said, 'Whether they are ordinary or extraordinary, I don't know, but they are from the place Baanigaati, where Chaitanya did one important sankeertan (concert). The moment I hear that they are from there, the very name creates memories of Chaitanya in me and I pay my gratitude by falling at their feet. If I had not met them, in those moments, I might have been thinking of something else. They are therefore instruments through whom some good memories and ideas are kindled in me.'

Content: There are so many thousands of things I feel like telling you. This is such a wonderful subject - seeing the Divine in everyone. The ultimate aim is to see the Divine in the whole world. Now it will be difficult because we feel people may cheat us. At least we can start with a small group which is in tune with this one concept or idea. We can then naturally expand.

Content: Let us see the first few difficulties in not being able to see the Divine, not being able to reflect in ourselves the same Divine, not being able to represent the Divine to others. This is a sensitive subject but I have to speak on it.

Content: These window shoppers, they are the first idiots who create trouble in every spiritual group. They go from master to master, guru to guru, and don't learn from anybody. If you learn from everybody, you can go to all the masters; there is nothing wrong. In my Healing Initiation book, there is a clear note that you can go to many gardens, pluck the best of flowers and make a bouquet for yourself. The problem is, these people pluck thorns instead of flowers and hurt themselves and others. I think I am going to ban window shoppers from here on.

Content: Some masters ban their disciples from going to anyone else. Now I understand why they do that. See, the great enlightened masters Buddha and Mahavira had a very close relationship. They would bow down and touch each other's feet when they met. But Buddha gave clear instructions that none of his people should go to Mahavira and Mahavira also did the same thing. Someone asked why they did that. They said, 'Out of your immaturity, when I do an operation, you will escape from here and go there and if he does an operation on his disciple he will escape from there and come here and in the end, you will be dangling and losing both masters.'

Content: In a way, these idiots are so unconscious that they don't learn from anybody. They just see where their ego is mostly satisfied; whether it is being an organizer or a coordinator, they deserve a round with a big broomstick. They choose an institution where they can go near the master easily, or one who has a big institution. These things play a role in their heads.

Content: The other day a lady came to the ashram. She wanted to go to another master. I agreed and arranged for it. But I have seen people: when they go to other masters' ashram, they speak about me and when they come here, they talk about those masters and confuse

Content: people. I think I should ban this from happening. I always tell people not to preach our teachings in another camp. They don't do this properly and end up confusing others. They are the first and the last problem creators in all spiritual groups. Sincerely follow whomsoever you are following.

Content: I am so open that people immediately talk to all my disciples about other masters. Once a plant has become a banyan tree, you can even tie an elephant to it and it will not be shaken. But a small plant - even if a goat is tied to it, will be destroyed. So hereby, I declare that none of my people in my campus will speak about any other master in whatsoever form. This is the Joshimath declaration!

Content: I am not against any of you learning from anybody. But they should not come and confuse the people who are living here, who are already practicing and growing slowly. They will not disturb the ones inside our camp. Many times people have asked me to declare this. Now I have a set of young devotees. When their faith is growing, they should not be confused by these old window shoppers, the so-called seekers going around for years and not getting anything from anybody; those who have brutal fights with organizations.

Content: Those who cannot stay with one master cannot stay with any master because they all possess the same setup. They see these masters in their young days; they get to spend a lot of time with the master. After some time, the institution becomes big. Even when they were close, they would not have made use of the energy. They would have been bragging etc. Once the organization becomes big, they start saying that only rich people can spend time with the master and such things.

Content: What did they do when they had the time with him? At least let those who want to learn, learn. They will say, 'We don't have time now like before.' Did they accomplish what the master told them when they had the time before? No! If you are really honest, it is too much time taken with even one master to be able to flower. So much can happen with one master. If you miss once it is ok, but if you come and say, 'In those days etc.', it is not going to help.

Content: My disciples tell me, 'Master, please be strict and tell the people that they are not meant to do these things. They might even keep another's photo before you come and then change it when you come.' These fellows don't even preach the other master's teachings properly. They bring their ego here because it would have gotten bashed there! They show that they have experience in the field - like experience in another hotel!

Content: I tell you, blessed are the people who came to me fresh! If you have gone to any other master, there is nothing wrong. Don't bring your story here, that's all. If you had been really successful, you would not have left. That itself shows that you were a failure with that master. But you will tell, 'No master, we found something extra in you and so we came.' You were not feeling fulfilled with him; you were a failure, so please drop the whole thing. Don't confuse my people with whom I am working.

Content: Slowly I am making them grow. When I do the operation on them, they will be in depression. You immediately try to console them and tell them that you will take them to another master. You are actually disturbing them by doing this. Hereby I declare to all my devotees to all my people that, in our space, in our programs, camps, branches, and centers, no other talk, no other ideology, no other expression will be entertained except through this form and this name.

Content: I don't want to dilute any message of mine. These people dilute the feeling of a family. They go around and talk about someone else. They are not honest here and dilute the whole feeling. One drop of poison is enough to spoil one pot of milk. There is no need to talk. It is confusing. When you are there, don't talk about me and confuse them. I have never told you to go and preach about me. Let everybody grow in his or her place. All we need is the person flowering.

Content: Each master has created his own space and way for people to flower, according to his experience. Each one is trying to create a lab and when you bring another chemical inside, you disturb the whole process. The whole intensity is lost. If you are with some other master, don't wear my mala. Live totally with them. If I see that my disciple will grow with some other master directly, I will boldly send them there. I have sent my working hands and also people whom I have worked on for many years to other masters.

Content: When I find that they have love for another master, I give them money and support them, and tell them to live with them. I tell them that when they are not able to adjust, they can come back at any time to me. But I clearly tell them that they cannot wear my mala, they cannot use the name I have given them. They should not tell them that they have lived with me; there should be no ego nonsense.

Content: I tell them to empty their cup here and go there fresh. If they go with all these ideas there, the same drama will happen there too. It will be like having another master in your head to protect yourself, a helmet to protect yourself when I hit you on your head. Your head is already thick; you are already a hard nut to crack. So drop your helmet and come inside. I am going to put up a board that says, 'No helmet area!' When you are here, drop everybody and be here; otherwise don't come.

Content: Go to all the gardens and pluck flowers, but when you come inside my garden, pluck only my flowers. I will not allow any others' flowers. I think you would not have plucked any flowers elsewhere, otherwise you would not come here. You would have plucked thorns thinking that they were flowers. You will then plant these thorns in my gardens and create trouble.

Content: Just as in the US they put up a board, 'No other product allowed here', we should also put up a board! In the US, they caught me for wearing the rudraksha beads because they are seeds and there is a possibility that they might grow. I told them that is the seeds are worship material and that they are drilled and therefore cannot grow; they then allowed them.

Content: It is actually you bringing the thorn inside that is really disturbing. Every moment, some dropouts from my movement create trouble elsewhere. Troublemakers are everywhere you go. If you send them to heaven, they will make it hell in just 21 minutes - one cycle!

Content: I was thinking of this subject for a long time; now I have spelt it out clearly. In our healing centers, ASP, LBP and other programs, neither our teachers nor our healers nor organizers are allowed to speak about any other system or master. No criticism of anyone is allowed. This is the rule from today. It is a strict instruction to be followed.

Content: I am not banning you from going anywhere. Complete freedom is given even for our teachers. But you have no right to corrupt the next generation disciples when you are here. You are like a vagabond so I allow you here - you are already spoilt. I allow you to stay here. But I want my next generation to be taken care of and protected and made to grow properly. So I am creating this new rule.

Content: In the future, our healing system should not be mingled or practiced with any other healing system. The other day I saw one of our healers doing a mudra, a hand gesture which is part of Pranic healing. It is your choice to do pranic healing, but not in our camps. I ban all other healing systems on my devotees in our camps. I was surprised when I saw it. A person who is really devoted to another master will be really devoted to me also. It is the same energy in different forms.

Content: I never accept people who escape from another master and come to me or who hate another master and come to me, because they would do the same thing with me also. Judas (the disciple who betrayed Christ) is always Judas wherever he goes. They are not created by any one master. They have actually escaped from one master to another. It is the attitude. You need to change the mental setup not the master. By marrying 10 times you will understand that changing the outer wife will not help; changing the inner only will help.

Content: In those days, it was a sellers market, but now it is the buyer's market. Every street has a Jagat Guru - master of the world - not even a 'street'! That is the problem. But there is nothing wrong in it. Just stick to one person, that's all. Sometimes you want to update or upgrade, but when you do it, drop the old product completely. You cannot do a mix masala (hotchpotch), a little from each model. You can then never become anything. You can become one more system and a guru but not a disciple! If you are interested in growing, following, achieving something in the inner world, flowering, follow any one thing intensely so that you can reach it.

Content: Above all, it is time we solidified our movement. It is time we created a fence to protect the saplings. Otherwise, unnecessarily, goats will come and disturb the saplings. People would be surprised as to how I watch someone doing Pranic Healing amidst all the activities!

Content: It is time we protected our youngsters. Only then can we create a clear and intense group which will follow a single ideology. The people who are already going around being

Content: helped are great. For those who are going around and not being helped, nothing can be done; they will not stop doing it. But for the ones who are growing, we need to give enough protection from the outer unnecessary forces.

Content: When my people come here, I tell them, relate and give respect to everybody. Everybody is Divine. People start giving their ideas to everybody and others listen. Give respect, not your ideas. Take the idea only from the master. If you hear some idea that is not from the master but from someone else, immediately question it. Unless you read and hear it, don’t believe it. I am alive here, so ask me. I am continuously writing books. Directly get the details about my teachings from them.

Content: The other day, someone asked me, ‘I heard that you got married and became a master!’ My biography is clearly written; my parents are here; find out! Some window shopper would have told him these things. This is just a small example of how wrong ideas are spread and fresh minds are spoilt. A few healers mix Pranic, Reiki and my healing system and make a combination and end up in trouble. Don’t do this masala process. Follow any one system completely.

Content: I now declare very clearly: people who are going to realize through me, if they are my disciples, will not even feel like going to other masters. They will not even have a trace of attraction for any other form or technique. No other form will rise in them. This is a bold declaration, the ultimate truth. Be very clear about it if at all you wish to be helped by me.

Content: Unless we remove these thorns, we will not be able to gather flowers. These are the thorns which create disturbances, hurdles for gathering people into one group. People have been telling me to talk about this.

Content: My people will not respect anyone who speaks about any other system. If anyone talks, simply tell them, ‘Stop it! Enough; I don’t want to listen; this is not to be entertained here.’ Be free and clear. Until now I said it was alright, but now I find it is disturbing the younger generation because they have started thinking that it is my teaching. No one knows who is senior and who is junior. They don’t know who is more spiritually grown. They judge you by the number of malas (necklaces) that you wear.

Content: Those who claim that they have two years of experience in spirituality are complete idiots. If they have not grown in two years, where will they grow? Nothing is going to happen to you. It is just foolishness. People take it lightly. They don’t dig deep in any one place. They don’t go deep into any one system. Let us eliminate these kinds of persons. This is the place only for Nithyananda. Keep all the outsiders outside. When you come in, be an insider or behave as an insider, enjoy and go out.

Content: You may ask, ‘How do I intensify this feeling of connection?’ Every one of you, whether you believe it or not, carries Nithyananda in you, especially the healers. You connect every day to the same source of energy. It is like all of you are living in the same house. It is from the same center that you are all getting energy - the Ananda Gandha center.

Content: When everyone connects to the same source, brings that energy and uses it, how can you have a conflict amongst yourselves? You cannot because you are connected to the same source of energy and on the same route.

Content: Unless you believe that healing initiation is the ultimate meditation technique to reach enlightenment, you cannot have it. That is why I am doing it as a two-day program. I let you analyze it intellectually and then let you decide to take it up. Old healers who took it don't respect it much. Now I tell you, all the old healers who took it as a single day initiation must do the two-day program at some time. It is the technique-less technique to enlightenment. Spiritually, you are all connected to a single source. How do you think there can be any contradiction or conflict at the upper level? It only means that the spiritual practice is not perfect. Your life is not in Nithyananda - eternal bliss. You are not a real devotee; you are here still like an outsider. Whosoever creates a conflict is an outsider. You should not only 'not create conflict' but also feel a deep gelling bond.

Content: When you are in the same energy, won't you feel that the other person is your own? Anand's mother was telling me that in Singapore she met a lady who was wearing my mala. She struck up a conversation with her and felt one with her simply by seeing the mala round her neck. Here you have live devotees sitting with you. How can you then miss this? That is why I emphasize the mala - it is a good ID. When people can feel deeply connected with just the mala, can't you feel deeply connected with live devotees around you? I cannot explain this feeling of deep connection in words. It should automatically come from within.

Content: When you really open your energy centers, when you really feel like giving attention to others, naturally you will feel connected. I always told people in the early ASPs to follow a technique for just those two days: Don't bother about yourself; take care of others. I want all the teachers who do the ASP as a two-day program to make people practice this technique. Make each participant take care of some other participant who is not related to them in any way. Let them enquire if they are comfortable, if they require any assistance etc.

Content: Thinking that the devotee is God Himself is a wonderful technique. When breakfast is ready, don't grab a plate for yourself. Offer it to others and then help yourself. Only a dog will put its mouth into the food straightaway. Man will always share and eat. The wild animals like the lion will kick out all the other animals and eat. A dog will straight away put its mouth to the food. Find out if you are a lion or a dog or man.

Content: Why don't you guys come out and speak about what feeling connected is all about.

Content: Actually, in the normal world 1 person + 1 person = 2 people. In the spiritual world, 1 person + 1 person = 100 people. We become a force, a power when we unite and stand.

Content: Master's Zen Stick

Content: We were almost at the end of our trip, on our way back to Haridwar. At Joshimath, after master had spoken on the need for love amongst disciples, one or two people complained at how unfairly they believed they had been treated by others. If they expected compassion, they were quite mistaken. What came out was the yoga danda, the Zen stick.

Content: Master uses the Zen stick only on disciples who are close and intimate. It is the yoga danda - the zen stick - used to awaken them. The greatest relationship on earth is the master-disciple relationship. This too along with other relationships has reduced in value and quality in modern times.

Content: In Vedic times there was no word for divorce; even the concept was unknown. Today, a wife is not a wife; she is a girlfriend. A husband is not a husband; he is a boyfriend. Relationships are shallow and superficial. Even a few decades ago in Indian villages you would hear of couples passing away on the same day. The relationship was so deep it made no sense for one to carry on without another.

Content: In the vows of the Hindu marriage, the commitment to each other is until death. The husband tells his wife, 'I shall be your child in the eleventh year.' He becomes the wife's child. She reaches the ultimate in her purpose by becoming a mother. All enlightened women masters essentially express motherhood. All enlightened men masters essentially express innocence. Paramahamsa denotes innocence.

Content: The experience is sharing, not just receiving or giving. This connotes level difference. Sharing connotes equality. You just share your space. You share the five relationships with master: dasa, sakya, vatsalya, matru and madhura; servant, friend, child, parent and beloved.

Content: The master-disciple relationship is the deepest of them all; it is all these five put together, and more. So many masters are now available all over the place, that it's now a buyer's market, no longer a seller's market as in the olden days. When you open yourself, you get enlightened. People ask who they should follow. I say follow anyone, but follow intensely and open up. Even if he is not enlightened, you will be.

Content: Let me repeat one of Ramakrishna's parables.

Content: A milk maid used to come from across the sacred river Ganga and deliver milk to a preacher everyday. One day she was late and the preacher was wild with anger. 'You delayed my puja,' he shouted. She said, 'The river was flooding so I could not cross.' He said, 'I teach people how to cross the ocean of life by repeating the name of the Lord and you cannot even cross the Ganga.'

Content: She was never late after that. The preacher one day suddenly asked, 'How come you are never late these days?' 'Oh, I did what you taught me,' she said, 'I now walk on the river instead of taking the boat.' The preacher could not believe what she said, and wanted her to show him. He saw that she repeated the name of 'Krishna' and just walked over water. Then he thought, 'If she can do it so can I'. He started to cross. Suddenly the milk maid laughed. He looked at her angrily. 'Oh, what faith you have, master,' she said. 'You are lifting the corner of your robe so that you don't wet; how can you cross with such lack of faith?'

Content: The depth of the relationship enlightens. But you play a safe game. You don't let go. If you can leave you can live. If you can live you can leave. We believe others are not honest because we are not. All we do is to try and bargain. If you come, I shall come that far. Fight or beg. You know nothing about relationships.

Content: So-called disciples are the problem creators. They create trouble for themselves and for their master. We never go to a master for solution, only for support.

Content: Shankara was on his spiritual wandering. Any potential master had to travel far and wide to know society from different planes. He had taken a vow of poverty and ate only what was given. He stopped at a village liquor shop because he was thirsty. The owner poured out liquor and Shankara drank profusely. His disciples were shocked but decided to follow suit. They then staggered behind Shankara. At another village there was only a black smithy shop open. Shankara stopped there. The owner had only liquid metal and Shankara drank that without a murmur. He then looked at his disciples and said, 'Drink!'

Content: Never try to imitate the master blindly! Do it with great awareness every moment if you wish to.

Content: You will ask, 'Vivekananda smoked, so why not me?'

Content: It's like the Devil quoting the scriptures.

Content: You will go only as far as you can accept; only till your ego is not offended. The moment you are not seated in the front row, it means that you find it difficult to take the master's teaching. So long as your ego is satisfied, I'm your master!

Content: Ramana said, 'People come as disciples, then they themselves become masters.'

Content: Ramana tells a disciple to do self enquiry. The disciple says, 'It is too difficult. Can I do meditation instead?' Ramana says, 'Yes, go ahead.' The disciple comes back and says, 'Meditation is too difficult, can I do chanting'. Ramana again says, 'Yes'. The disciple comes back saying, 'Even the chanting is too difficult. Can I do puja?' Ramana agrees to that too!

Content: Masters are like a breeze. Masters give you freedom because they trust; but we never believe we are trust worthy because nobody has trusted us.

Content: When you smile, you open your mouth this much for this reason. When someone smiles at you, they are expressing love. But for us, even in an ordinary relationship, we cannot believe the other.

Content: We always play the same game: stretch one hand only that far. Only in a graveyard are you fully secure; except that you are not alive.

Content: When you do not open yourself up even in an ordinary relationship, how can you open up to a master? How can you surrender?

Content: Ramanuja is an upgraded version of Shankara. A disciple asks Ramanuja, 'How can I develop devotion?' Ramanuja asks, 'Have you ever fallen in love?' The disciple is shocked. 'I am a brahmachari, a celibate, how can you even ask?' Ramanuja laughs and says, 'If you cannot love people who you see every day around you, how can you love God who you cannot even see and have never seen?'

Content: All our devotion is escapism. When you cannot love your husband or wife, how can you love God? You can only love your pet dogs. The guru and God also become pets. We love them as long as they obey us. Otherwise they are no good for us.

Content: Modern man can never understand the master-disciple relationship, although it is more solid than all other possible relationships put together. Ramakrishna says, 'A miser's attachment towards money, a chaste wife's attachment towards her husband and a friend's attachment towards a close friend - all these put together and something more is what is devotion, or the relationship between master and disciple; only then you can be really connected.'

Content: When you are really deeply connected, there can be no side effect or after effect except bliss. Bliss is the only thing that can happen in a master-disciple relationship. If there is suffering, it means that the true relationship has not yet happened; you are just playing in a superficial way; you are dating with the master, not really relating with him. Dating is very superficial; you can meet today and drop it tomorrow, but in a real relationship, it is a deep commitment.

Content: You can never relate with the master by superficially engaging with him.

Content: These days only purohits (priests) get married; not couples. No couple knows the meaning of the seven vows that they take during marriage. In the vows, couples swear that when one is depressed, the other will take care as father or mother. Another vow is: except when the other needs you, you shall not force yourself upon the other. You will not suffocate the other.

Content: Only when the relationship is superficial will you suffocate. When the relationship is deep you do not need physical proof of nearness and intimacy. You will be connected even if you are thousands of miles away. Even a husband and wife relationship can be spiritual and enlightening.

Content: When a disciple does not understand or connect, the master uses the stick with love and care, only to those with whom he is close. Using the Zen stick is a very different form of scolding. This cannot be explained by words, intellectually.

Content: If you can feel totally connected, even your husband and wife relationship can become a path to enlightenment; even that can transform you and become a spiritual practice. When you can't relate with people, how can you relate with God? It is impossible. Only when a relationship becomes mature, only in the deeper levels of relationship, the Zen stick is used.

Content: The very word Zen stick reminds me of so many wonderful stories. It is almost as if all these stories are fighting with each other in my throat to come out first!

Content: Anyhow, the zen stick is a gift from the master for your deep trust and love towards him. The great Zen masters used to have a stick, and when the disciple needed to become aware of something, if he was not listening to the teachings properly, he was sleeping in class, or not understanding something, they would take the stick and beat the disciple. It is done with so much love and care, and done only to the people who are very close to the master, towards whom master feels concern and care.

Content: You can't use the stick towards anyone and everyone. They will sue you! Scolding with words is one thing, but physically using the stick is very different. If the physical stick has to be used, what intimacy must exist between the master and disciple! I would say that must be a much deeper relationship than between beloveds! It can never be explained by words or intellectually. Only when you melt into it you can even understand the words or this experience.

Content: In Ramakrishna's life, a sage Totapuri comes to him at Dakshineshwar, on the banks of Ganga and says, 'You seem spiritual and ready, let me teach you advaita - the philosophy if non-dualism.' Ramakrishna says, 'Let me ask my mother first.' Ramakrishna rushes into Goddess Kali's temple and returns and says, 'Mother says 'yes' I can learn from you.' Totapuri is stunned when he sees this man treating the deity Kali as his own mother with no guile.

Content: When Vivekananda asked Ramakrishna, his master, if he had seen God, Ramakrishna replied, 'Yes, more clearly than I see you now.'

Content: In the famous temple of Goddess Kali in Kolkata, Ramakrishna offered conch shell bangles to Kali, which fitted all her hands except the fourth hand that holds the sword with the severed head. The temple priests would always offer the fourth bangle at her feet as it was not possible to fit them. They suddenly saw the bangles on Kali's fourth hand.

Content: Startled, they asked Ramakrishna how this had happened? Ramakrishna told them, 'I asked Mother to put down the severed head so that I could put the bangles on her hand and she did.'

Content: It is the power of deepest love and devotion that makes the stone deity come to life.

Content: Today, even if we see God in human form, we will ask him to show his ID card!

Content: People ask me, 'Are you God?' I say, 'It depends on you.' I can simply prove that you and I are both God. When you open up and you fall in tune, whatever God can do, all that happens through my form - everything can happen through you as well.

Content: The problem is, although we declare we are ready for enlightenment, once the process starts, we are unable to handle it. It is too much for us. Losing our identity and becoming a hollow channel to Existence is too much for us. That is why God gives you freedom to be in bondage.

Content: When the real relationship happens, the small Zen stick will enlighten you. Just the sight of the Zen stick will lead to enlightenment! A disciple was about to touch his master's feet. The master told him to wait and beat him with the stick. He said, 'Let me give you a blow before you get enlightened.'

Content: The Zen stick is like a surgeon's knife: not to kill but to give life; to make you live. master's stick is not to disturb you but to enliven you, to enlighten you.

Content: The Zen stick is the last weapon, the key to enlightenment. After enlightenment, no weapon can touch you.

Content: Our minds fight with the master; if we are in a good mood he is a great master; if we are low, he is useless. It's like fish seeing the moon reflected in a pool. Some say, 'Let's play with it.' Some say, 'Let's kill and eat it.' The celebrating fish are joyful; the battling fish kill themselves.

Content: Master is a possibility; he can be used as a stick to get up, stand up and walk, to realize our potentiality. Master is a promise.

Content: It is like this: the seed is always afraid to break and sprout, but the tree says, unless you break and sprout I can't happen. The tree is waiting for the seed to break but the seed is waiting for the tree to happen. It says, 'How can I trust that I won't die? How can I be sure that I will become a tree? First let the tree happen then I will break.'

Content: Master is the tree who gives courage by saying, 'Don't worry, I was also a seed once, I opened and now I am a tree. You can also become a tree, so open.' He is the assurance, the promise; he gives you the courage to open up, to stand up and start your journey. He gives the courage to make you realize that you can also achieve. Master is an assurance, he is a promise, who encourages you over and over again to stand up, open up and

Content: express. Unfortunately, not only do we not respect his words, but we also slowly start thinking, 'He must have another plan, a hidden agenda. Otherwise why would he teach me all this?'.

Content: A blind man picks up a frozen snake in the high mountains. A sadhu wandering ascetic warns him not to carry it, saying that when it warms up it will come alive and will bite him and he will die. The blind man is angry and says, 'You want the stick yourself that's why you are asking me to throw it away.'

Content: Whatever the master says, you calculate; you wonder what his reasons are. To be enlightened you need courage to open up to the master.

Content: You can even open up to a master who has left his body, a master who is not living; or to Existence; any form; a tree; a stone; a hill. We just do not allow our being to open up to these forms of Intelligence; to fill us with bliss.

Content: You do not need to ask the guru if you can take him as your guru. If that question arises, he is not your guru. A real master shakes the base, the roots of your doubts. You cannot intellectualize. When you are in the dark, how can you see who is in the light? How can you judge who is enlightened? Just listen to your heart. It has the energy and intelligence to guide you more than your head has.

Content: When enlightened, you are connected to Existence; your inner chattering stops; you are in eternal bliss.

Content: Intellect can take you only that far, up to a point. When you reach that point be ready to fall with trust. You then fall into awareness.

Content: Surrender is greater than intellect which is greater than emotion which is greater than the senses.

Content: A beautiful story from the Upanishads:

Content: For a long time a disciple was serving a master. Suddenly one day the master calls him and says tat tvam asi, Thou art That, and the disciple becomes enlightened! He asks the master, 'If enlightenment is so easy why did you delay it so much? You could have given it long back'.

Content: The master says, 'You have to go through the process of maturation and preparation to receive enlightenment, which takes a bit of time. To give enlightenment it hardly takes a second, but to receive enlightenment you need deep trust. Only now you are ready to receive that word. Even if I had given it to you earlier you wouldn't have received it. Only now the relationship has matured'.

Content: To experience the ultimate, you need that deep relation. When that is there, one word is enough to give you enlightenment. A simple stick can change your whole life when the

Content: right relationship is there between the master and disciple. If that is not there, even a thousand sticks can't do anything to your being.

Content: I think it is time to stop. May you have that deep, intimate, open relationship with a master. One more thing: when I say the word master you don't have to think of someone with a body: you can relate with masters who don't have a body or directly to Existence. You can relate with a tree, a flower, a rock, a river, a mountain, the sky; you can relate with all these, they are also masters. The whole Existence is a master. Life is constantly teaching us so much in so many ways, but we are so dumb that we close our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and don't allow that intelligence to penetrate our being. Just open up to the master and experience the ultimate bliss. I pray to that Ultimate Energy to help us all open up and experience that Ultimate Bliss, Eternal Bliss. May you be in, become one with eternal bliss, nithya ananda.

Content: Thank you.

Content: KAILASA'S OGHT

Content: The Supreme Pontiff of Hinduism ("SPH"), Jagatguru Mahasannidhanam ("JGM"), His Divine Holiness ("HDH") Bhagavan Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam, is recognized as the 1008th living incarnation of Paramashiva as per Sanatana Hindu Dharma ("Hinduism") and by His predecessors of enlightened masters and adepts.

Content: The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam is reviving Hinduism as the 1008th Acharya Mahamandaleshwar (the head for all spiritual leaders) of Atal Akhada (ancient apex body of Hinduism), coronated as Mahamandaleshwar (Supreme Spiritual Head) of

Content: Maha Nirvani Akhada (largest apex monastic order) and the youngest Mahamandaleshwar, ordained as the 233rd Guru Mahasannidhanam (Pontiff) of Thondai Mandala Aadheenam, ordained as the 293rd Guru Mahasannidhanam (Pontiff) of Shyamalapeeta Sarvajnapeetam, ordained as the 23rd Guru Mahasannidhanam of Dharmamukthi Swargapuram Aadheenam, and coronated as the 203rd Emperor of Suryavamsa Surangi Samrajyam.

Content: The Srimad Karana Agama, Purva bhaga, Patala 71, Sakalotpatti vidhi, Sloka 8 & 9 (Sacred Ancient Hindu scripture) declares:

Content: इत्येवं निष्कळं प्रोक्तं परं भावभिति स्मृतम्‌। सृष्टिस्थं लोकरक्षार्थ लोकस्योत्तप्तिकारणम्‌॥ साधकानां हितार्थ तु स्वेच्छया गृह्नते तनुः।

Content: In this way (Shiva) who is Nishkala - without any body and parts, who is the Ultimate Supreme Being, who is established in the Creation, who is the Cause of the creation of the Universe, assumes a body out of His Free Will for the protection of the Universe, and for the welfare of the Spiritual seekers and Devotees.

Content: The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam is the reigning spiritual emperor of 17 ancient traditional Hindu kingdoms and the reviver of the most ancient, most peaceful, still-living and long-lasting demonstrable system that shows the possibility of peaceful co-existence amongst people. Following the coronation to establish KAILASA worldwide at the age of 16, for the past 27 years, The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam, as the face of the unified Hindus, has been single-handedly, tirelessly inspiring the dispossessed Hindu Diaspora to reclaim their Hindu centric freedom and stand unified for the centuries-old Hindu genocide.

Content: About The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam

Content: The 1008th living incarnation of Paramaśiva, The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam stands as the unifying force for the 2 billion born and practicing Hindu diaspora worldwide and established the Hindu State, KAILASA for the persecuted Hindus in over 100 countries.

Content: The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam has made resolute efforts towards recognizing and legitimizing the Hindu genocide which has been receiving scant consideration by global leaders and international bodies, The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam founded KAILASA Uniting Nations. For the past 27 years, this international body has been responsible in building relations, bridging dialogs, inspiring leaders, uniting nations towards acknowledging the Hindu policies which are universal, life positive as referenced from the ancient text of Hinduism. This is the ‘ahimsa’ (non-violent) way of bringing acknowledgment to the horrors of the Hindu genocide, the untold facts of the darkest act of mankind on Earth to the most contributing civilization - KAILASA.

Content: KAILASA is an apolitical nation whose vision is enlightened living for all. Towards this goal, KAILASA is the only Hindu nation on planet Earth today bringing legitimacy to the principles of Hinduism. Social principles, economic principles, judicial principles, Hindu medical principles, and Hindu economic principles. KAILASA is The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam’s response to humanity’s global problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, disease, violence and global warming and the continuing ethnocide and genocide of over 80 million Hindus worldwide since 7 centuries.

Content: Over the last 50 years, the effects of meditation and its significant impact on stress, crime rates, violence, political decision making and even war in local and global consciousness is well established. Unfortunately, in the last two hundred years, forcibly we are made to believe Hinduism is a functional principle only for enlightenment and spirituality. It is absolutely dysfunctional for the political, social, economical system. Making Hindu family structure, Hindu social structure dysfunctional is the greatest crime done against humanity.

Content: About The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam

Content: Sanatana Hindu Dharma has faced both historical and ongoing religious persecution and systematic violence, in various forms including assassination attempts on living incarnations, targeted elimination of Hindu pontiffs through bio war and lawfare, cyberbullying, Hindu phobia, forced conversions, documented massacres, demolitions, desecration and grabbing of worship temples and monasteries, looting of Hindu temples properties, destruction of Hindu educational institutions, elimination of well known Hindu libraries, the gross violation to the freedom to practice the Hindu school of liberated thinking (Sankhya), Hindu schools of living enlightenment (Jeevan Mukthi), gross violations of the right to freedom of religion that includes violations of the right to life, personal Hindu integrity or personal Hindu liberty, mass execution, looting and enslavement.

Content: Hinduism was once practiced freely in over 56 nations across the continent from Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka, all the way to Singapore, Malaysia, and Cambodia and Indonesia, and in 200 states, 1700 samasthanās (provinces) and 10,000 sampradāyas (traditions). Over several centuries the combined forces of foreign invasion, political upheaval, colonialism and religious persecution systematically ended millennia of Hindu Swarājya, or self-rule. Today Hindu temples remain in a few countries but the Hindus who worshiped in them have been ethnically cleansed.

Content: The revival of Hinduism through the civilizational nation of KAILASA globally irked vested interests of atheistic terrorist militant elements, caste supremacist terrorists and other anti-Hindu forces who executed a massive persecution and genocide on SPH and His followers on 2 March 2010 that continued for the next whole decade and comprised of over 70 assassination attempts, over 250 sexual assaults on SPH and his monks and disciples, lawfare of 120 false cases over 10 years, massive hate propaganda in electronic media of over 14,000 hours and print media of over 25,000 articles in 5 years, destruction of heritage properties worth over 27 million USD, and the continuing ethnocide and genocide of over 80 million Hindus worldwide since 7 centuries. Specifically, the lawfare involved:

Content: About The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam

Content: Delegitimizing SPH by hate propaganda, disenfranchising Him of His civil and human rights, prejudicing Him from fair representation and fair trial

Content: Repeated illegal imprisonment, with brazen torture, custodial assassination attempts, supported by system justification in various forms, including the common processes of bureaucracy, indifference, self-deception, diffused responsibility and has resulted in continued systemic complicity with torture, murder and genocide

Content: Well-planned multi-layer false hate propaganda by the 'fourth estate' media sustained by moral disengagement, leaving the broader public in a state of willful ignorance, motivated denial, out-group victim-blaming, dehumanization and bystander apathy to even genocide.

Content: The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam stands in solidarity with the untold, multi-level - social, political, intellectual, religious, cultural, linguistic, economic, legal, digital - persecution done to Hinduism and faced by Hindus and Hindu minorities worldwide for the past several thousands of years continues through the modern day. The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam has been recently acknowledged by the United Nations for the persecution of The SPH and the KAILASA global community, especially the affected women and children.

Content: The KAILASA with de facto spiritual embassies operating across over 100 countries and having presence across the globe as the largest spiritual knowledge source on Hinduism is spiritually governed with the life positive, all-inclusive, universal policies sourced from Hinduism revived by the SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam. Having enriched and enreached more than one billion individuals over the past 27 years the KAILASA raises the voice to protect Hindus, defend Hindus and preserve the Hindu narrative for the world.

Content: Ebook ISBN: 979-8-88572-814-0

Content: Copyright @ 2021 Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam. All Rights Reserved.