The Self is Waiting

The true meaning of Guru is, 'One who is beyond attributes and forms, the Supreme Self (Brahman)’. When this Self is within you, where is the need to search for a Guru? A teacher who teaches others has had a teacher himself. The one who has no Guru above him is the true Guru. The Sanskrit stanza which hails the Guru as Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara and as Parabrahman is misinterpreted. The right approach is to consider Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara as the Guru. These three are symbolized by the three gunas or attributes: Brahma is Rajas, Vishnu is Satwa and Shiva represents Tamas. The whole cosmos is constituted by the three gunas and the gunas are present in you. The Trinity are present in the form of the three gunas in every human heart. Hence, you are your own guru. You need not seek him elsewhere. You have to feel at all times your inherent divinity, which is also present in everyone. When you help or feed someone you must feel that the Divine in you is feeding the Divine in others.

Baba

One night it was in the dream as, ‘the self is waiting’. I was writing a book at that time and thought that is was maybe a new title and I titled it like that, but that as not the answer.

With all that writing and thinking about it, I didn’t get the answer. We get the experience of it when thinking over his words. And I wondered why that is so?

As he explained to us before, waking, dream and sleep are three different stages and we have to pass all of them on our journey to self-realization.

The first stage we all know, it is all we think how it is in our mind and the way we experience the body and our identification with the body.

He said it four times not only three times in an interview room and it was kind of shocking, it was like all people were holding their breath and I was fighting with whatever came up by that and also the tears in my eyes. He went to the other room and left me like that, but when he came back he made a beautiful smile and I felt on the spot better and he took my hand and went with me holding hands to the other room.

But that is not the only time he said, wait, he said it also in the dream stage that the self is waiting.

In my meditation it was in my mind and how it feels to wait, just to wait.

If we wait, we get to the conclusion that we watch and observing is in that sense more active than just waiting. I guess I thought that I am observing and waiting and it was about truth and that I had to accept, I had to accept the truth that I had to wait, but that was not as easy as we think it is. It feels like only writing was not really possible, I was always waiting and observing that gave me something to do and what were we observing, we had to accept truth. What was that truth I was waiting for?

Actually it all began with an experience of the higher self during writing my diary I was probably about seventeen and there was a feeling of self-realization. That feeling was it, that moment felt holy and special and sublime and I didn’t dear to talk about it, because I didn’t want to destroy the holiness in it. There had been a few other insights and I was practically nothing doing but waiting and writing and watching my thoughts.

In that age it probably seemed still interesting to see what was going on in my own mind and by watching I had that feeling of self-realization and later I would have liked to get it again, but it was gone and somehow not to be found anymore.

There was that feeling that I had to do it step by step it looked like a ladder and it was clear we had to claim it and the inner master was also present and that felt great, I would have liked to have the inner master near always.

As much as everything made sense as long as I did it, I was also waiting for a neighbor, he was throwing stones at my window and we went together for walks and it felt great, adventurous to walk with him through the night and I thought we were friends and in my diary I idealized the friendship.

I was waiting and not aware of it and afterwards I stopped to write a diary, during the waiting time it had been like a dialogue with the inner master and now it was only a monologue and that didn’t make any sense anymore and I stopped writing and later I didn’t get into it anymore. It was just not possible it was like, how did I do that? It was gone.

And that is how he said in different way that the self is waiting. It means if we are impatient of not, we have to wait, if he tells us that to wait, we should wait, shouldn’t we?

The true meaning of Guru is, 'One who is beyond attributes and forms, the Supreme Self (Brahman)’. When this Self is within you, where is the need to search for a Guru? A teacher who teaches others has had a teacher himself. The one who has no Guru above him is the true Guru. 

Today the Universe Desperately Needs Unity

In the world, you will easily see examples of how some families prospered because of unity and others suffered because of divisions within the family. Today the Universe desperately needs unity. It is through faith in God that unity can be promoted. Look at the diversity of people in the halls of Puttaparthi! People come from different creeds, nationalities and culture, but all are united in their common allegiance to Bhagawan. By this single feeling of faith in the Divine, unity is achieved. All of you are embodiments of the Divine. You are embodiments of love and peace, of Divinity; develop this strong conviction. With the power of the Divine to nurture you there is nothing you cannot accomplish. Karna and Ravana are examples of powerful men who were destroyed because they did not have the power of the Divine. The Pandavas were saved because of their faith in the Divine and their unity.

We should listen to Swami’s words and that Swami is gelling us to listen, think it over and absorb and that it doesn’t mean to discuss and to argue and that with discussion and arguments we cannot reach any unity.

 In the world, you will easily see examples of how some families prospered because of unity and others suffered because of divisions within the family. Today the Universe desperately needs unity.

When I went to Swami I thought it would get better, not being aware how difficult my family really was. 

It seems I want always back there trying to find out what went wrong, because I had been let down by them and that happened already when I came back I idealized it as most of people do as it seems with difficult families behind it. 

We were in the interview room and Swami said, ‘follow the master, fight to the end, finish the game’. And in another interview he said, ‘why are you here?’ And he gave the answer, ‘self-realization’.

I remembered my first experience of ‘self-realization’ and at that time I was about sixteen years old and I was writing a diary and it was a great ‘insight’, it was clear I would like to go in that direction and it had also to do with writing and when I stopped afterwards with writing a diary I couldn’t get back into it. It was like gone and I had no idea why. I couldn’t find it anymore.

True Love and Three Active Agents

Turn the love that arises in you towards God. Dedicate your body to the Divine. This is the true mark of devotion. There are three constituents in every human being: the mind, the power of speech and the body. These three are called Trikaranas - the three active agents. It is when all three are used for sacred purposes, your life is sanctified. All need devotion. Every person must cultivate this spirit, irrespective of one's beliefs. It is only spirituality that can purify the heart and mind of human beings. The second requirement is morality. Morality helps to purify speech (Vaak). The third is called Dharmikam. All righteous deeds done by the body or hands sanctify you. It is through spirituality, morality and righteousness that the three instruments get purified. Only the one who has achieved this triple purity can realize the Divine. If any of these instruments are impure, you will not be able to realize the Divine.
Baba (thought for the day)

In fact, the mind is much more difficult to be transformed than we think it is and when it is in a certain pattern, it doesn't get out of it.
My ex didn't even change even after he has lost everything, he goes on in his stupid ways and just thinks that everybody else is wrong and he is still right.

'Listen, think it over and absorb'. We have also three different levels making listening holistic and it only works if we do it on all three levels actually. 

We get to the conclusion that Baba can only be on that holistic level, because he is on all three levels, listening is on the body level, thinking it over is mind level and merging level is to absorb the wisdom in our own higher self.
It is the same on three levels as he is telling today, the three active agents.

We have the mind, the power of speech and the body.  

The Salt of the Earth

There are no limitations of time or space for the establishment of oneself in the contemplation of the Omnipresent Lord. There is nothing like a holy place or a special time. Wherever the mind revels in contemplation of the Divine, that place is holy! Whenever it does so, that moment becomes the auspicious moment! Ancient sages and scriptures also revealed to us that for meditation on God, there is no fixed time or place. Hence anytime and anywhere your mind desires, meditate on the Lord! The world can achieve prosperity only through disciplined souls whose hearts are pure; they represent the salt of the earth. In an attempt to promote the welfare of the world, from this very minute, everyone should pray for the advent of the noble and holy, and try to deserve the blessings of the great. Every day you retire, recall these thoughts, and try to forget the sufferings of the day.

Baba (thought for the day) 

Swami is telling us with these words that there is no limitation of time and space for the establishment of oneself in the contemplation of the omnipresent Lord. And he is confirming that on this level is no difference between past, present and future, it is omnipresence.

Listen, think it over, absorb is a holistic approach. It means not only to read it, if we just read his words, it is only reading and not listening to it what involves at the same time thinking it over to be able to absorb the wisdom. Only if we see it in our own life, we are able to understand it. 

The feeling of self-realization I had time back when I was about seventeen and it was on that divine level, no time and no space, it is still the same, it is there or it is not there, but it can always be again recalled if we know how it was there and why it was not there for so long.

I felt very disturbed by the fact that it seemed gone and it was nowhere to be found, today I can relate to it like it would have happened yesterday. 

There is no more that feeling that I don’t know why it was there and where and how to find it and what had made it disappear.

What has gone is the feeling that it cannot be found anymore and the feeling of not knowing how to get there. There was something that made it impossible that it could be felt again and as long as we are in that state of mind, it doesn't feel like passing clouds and that it will be there again some time to come. I was looking for it and it seemed nearly impossible to find out why it had gone and it seemed nowhere to be found again. But I knew it was there, that means it had to be somewhere even if I was not able to feel it anymore. 

How to Acquire Contentment and Joy

When the Lord’s will, the needs of spiritual seekers, and the teachings of great persons produce their combined effect, the happiness of the world will be assured and undiminished. If all humanity prays together with unity for unrest, injustice, disorder, and falsehood to be transformed into peace, truth, love, and mutual service, things will certainly become better. Worrying is fruitless. There is no other way out. This is no occasion for despair. It is against the essential nature of people to plead weakness and want of strength. Therefore, giving up the search for other means, people must try prayer, service to others, and mutual love and respect. They should delay no longer; they will soon acquire contentment and joy.

When we listen to a sentence of Swami, we have to think it over. If we don’t think it over we will not get to the right conclusion and why not?

When the Lord’s will, the needs of spiritual seekers, and the teachings of great persons produce their combined effect, the happiness of the world will be assured and undiminished.

If we don’t think it over we get to the conclusion in our mind that we don’t know the will of the divine and we cannot know it, the mind doesn’t know. 

 But when we think it over and listen to the divine words, we get to a different conclusion, he is the knower and we are in touch with him. 

We have to listen, think it over and absorb, that is divine will. 

It needs the teaching of great persons, that means a spiritual teacher. Swami separates the divine will from the teacher, if we have no teacher who is telling us about the divine will, we are not able to hear it and that is why there has to be the needs of the spiritual seekers as well, the devotee and the need has to be enough serenity and self-enquiry to get in touch with the divine. 

The teacher is talking about the divine and if we listen to the teacher and think it over the divine will is not like unknowable, but he is the knower that is why we have to listen to his words, in his words he is present. It is unknown to the mind, it is unknown to our understanding, but it is known to those who listen and think it over as his is in the word. He makes himself known to those in self-enquiry.

The Principle of Atma is Always the Same

People are engaged in exploring space but do not make the slightest effort to explore the Divine within. Of what use are experiments in space when there is no genuine cultivation of human qualities and the practice of basic virtues such as acting in reverence with the mother, the father and the preceptor? People today are living in human form but are filled with beastly qualities! Scriptures declare that people can attain immortality only by renunciation (tyaga) and not through actions, wealth or progeny. What must be renounced? Renounce your bad qualities. To manifest your inherent divine nature, cultivate love for God and fear of sin and adherence to right conduct (sangha niti). When you fear sin and love God, you cannot indulge in immoral acts, automatically ensuring morality in society. God can be known only by experience and not by experiments. Hence follow your chosen spiritual practices diligently and sincerely.

I am still amazed by that feeling of ‘the same’, that feels like magic.

Today I woke up first tired, but the meditation was good, it is like it always has been. It felt like thoughtless and feeling that ‘same’, for a long time in question, now it was ‘the same’ it is like kind of thought and speechless. It is like, no problem, what do you have?

Oh, it took us only thirty years to get aware of it by insights and listening to Swami’s words that it is ‘the same’ and now I know even why it was that difficult to understand, it is actually not really possible to understand it.

There is no logic in that feeling of the ‘same’, there is just no time and no space and it transcends all limitations and we feel it as his divine presence and that is ‘the same’. The divine presence is the same, the principle of the ‘I am that’ is the same, even if it was only mediation before and no contemplation, it was adapted to the West, it is nevertheless the same.

Veda is the same and cannot be different ever. If it is about the same ‘principle’ no matter how and whatever we do and look at it, in the end it will be his divine omnipresence and the ‘same’.

Between us in the air on your birthday morning was ‘I am that’ and that is the same.

Difference between Experiments and Experience

People are engaged in exploring space but do not make the slightest effort to explore the Divine within. Of what use are experiments in space when there is no genuine cultivation of human qualities and the practice of basic virtues such as acting in reverence with the mother, the father and the preceptor? People today are living in human form but are filled with beastly qualities! Scriptures declare that people can attain immortality only by renunciation (tyaga) and not through actions, wealth or progeny. What must be renounced? Renounce your bad qualities. To manifest your inherent divine nature, cultivate love for God and fear of sin and adherence to right conduct (sangha niti). When you fear sin and love God, you cannot indulge in immoral acts, automatically ensuring morality in society. God can be known only by experience and not by experiments. Hence follow your chosen spiritual practices diligently and sincerely.

Baba (thought for the day)

If we tell that people are into science and exploring the outer space, but they don’t do any effort to explore the divine, we will for sure find some arguing about it, because they think they are right and that we are fools.

Baba said once, in the West they foolishly think that we are fools.  

If we think it over Swami’s words and we don’t want to get into argumentation with anybody by that, we have to find the reason why he is telling that.

I have not the slightest intention to go into argumentation. During the Christmas festival the man who comes in our dreams to awake us was there and said, ‘it is passion, stay alone’ and I wondered how many times before it had been already passion, but like that he was telling me, stay out of it, stay alone when it is about argumentations and discussion and don’t go if it is not possible to stay alone. 

We can also stay alone in the midst of people, but some are that imposing when it is about passion or Rajas, there is no way we can stay alone and that is why we had to get into distance.

If we listen to his words and think it over to be able to absorb the wisdom, it is out of question that there will ever be an issue of argumentation about it.

But we can try to find the reason why we don’t go into that.

People are engaged in exploring space but do not make the slightest effort to explore the Divine within. Of what use are experiments in space when there is no genuine cultivation of human qualities and the practice of basic virtues such as acting in reverence with the mother, the father and the preceptor?

Insights and Spiritual Showers

"In truth, you cannot understand the nature of My Reality either today, or even after a thousand years of steady austerity or ardent enquiry even if all mankind joins in that effort. But, in short time, you will become cognisant of the Bliss showered by Divine Principle, which has taken upon itself the sacred Body and the sacred Name.

"Since I move about with you, eat like you, and talk with you, you are deluded into the belief that this is but an instance of common humanity. Be warned against this mistake. I Am also deluding you by My singing with you, talking with you, and engaging MySelf in activities with you. But, any moment, My Divinity may be revealed to you; you have to be ready, prepared for that moment. Since Divinity is enveloped by humanness you must endeavour to overcome the Maya (delusion) that hides it from your eyes.

"This is a Human Form, in which every Divine Entity, every Divine Principle, that is to say 'all the Names and Forms ascribed by man to God' are manifest. (Sarvadaivatha swaroopaalanu dharinchina manavaakarame ee akaram) Do not allow doubt to distract you; if you only instal, in the altar of your heart, steady faith in My Divinity you can win a Vision of My Reality. Instead, if you swing like a pendulum of a clock, one moment devotion, another moment disbelief, you can never succeed in comprehending the Truth and win the Bliss. You are very fortunate that you have a chance to experience the Bliss of the vision of Sarvadaivatha Swaroopam (The form which is All Forms of all Gods), while in this life itself."

I have changed the name of my blog, but there is a link for the other blog otherwise, nobody will find it anymore.

http://sai-contemplation.blogspot.ch

And I was reading the Sai Spiritual Showers and I thought I would like to think it over here in my blog because we get to a totally different feeling of it after thinking it over. 

Reading that text I first get the feeling it is far away and not reachable, do you agree?
He is telling us we cannot understand the nature of his reality either today or even after a thousand years of steady austerity or ardent enquiry and if all mankind joins in that effort.
Okay, that is the first sentence.
But in short time we will become cognisant of the bliss showered by the divine principle, it is the divine principle that has taken upon itself that sacred body and sacred name.

We cannot understand it, but we will become cognizant of the bliss of the divine principle. He is telling us that he is not the body and not the name, but the divine principle and that we can be cognizant, but we cannot understand it ever.
What is the difference between cognition and understanding?

A Human Being should not live an Animal Existence

It is meaningless to be born as a human being and lead an animal existence. Everyone should live up to the motto - ‘Help ever - hurt never.’ Every educated person should engage oneself in selfless service to the society, with humility and a pure heart. All academic distinctions or even observance of spiritual practices are of little use if there is no love in the heart. The heart is called 'Hridaya' in Sanskrit. This term is made up of the two words, ‘Hri’ and ‘Daya’ (compassion). The Lord is described as Hridyavasi (the Indweller in the heart). Love and Compassion are inherent in every person. Every being must share their love with others selflessly. Failure to share one's love is gross ingratitude to society, to which one owes everything. One should give one's love freely to others and receive love in return. This is the deep significance of human life.

Actually I think the insight ‘uprooted tree’ had to do with the meditation experience, we were rooted in that and uprooted by the attitude of the leader who didn’t listen to the words of the master or he didn't get it, he was no friend, no yogi, but in the insight just an actor and he was removed by a light. 

It gets clear by thinking it over, that part was about roots and job and work and the master said when I left that it was the same, not to hold me back, but to help as yogis are our friends, but as it was also wrong understood by the leader we need to first get aware that 'yogis are our friend' as it was writting all over in the ashram. 

When I saw the criminal above the head of the master, it was because of that reason, even when the master told him how to look at it and what to do, he didn't do it and that made him the criminal. 

I don't know why and if he thought it was only true if I did what he wanted, what is not the right level anyhow. 

As Baba said in the inner view, ‘I had been let down by the family’ that is family matter and we have the Homecoming, the book of John Bradshaw and he is working with that reality, but the ‘uprooted tree’ had to do with what had happened with our meditation background, we had been rooted in it and that is also why the master said I could remain it and he said to not mix, it was therefore, the same and als not the same and he said to keep it for myself, that had to do with safety and because he was the leader everybody knew about it. It was not privat, it was public. It was our life and our existence even if it was based on Seva only, service to society.

I felt very tired and in the meantime it is better again. 

It is meaningless to be born as a human being and lead an animal existence. Everyone should live up to the motto - ‘Help ever - hurt never.’ Every educated person should engage oneself in selfless service to the society, with humility and a pure heart.

Righteous Path and Divine Omnipotence

Police and law-makers can defeat only external foes; they have no power to destroy internal enemies. They will find the task impossible, for they are not the authorities for that. The internal foes, six enemies(arishadvarga) that operate within a person, can be uprooted only with the teachings of great saints, love for God, and the company of the noble and holy. The world suffers harm at the hands of wicked people when the law-makers responsible for apprehending thieves themselves become entangled with them. Equally, the world becomes enveloped in darker ignorance when righteousness(dharma) is destroyed and those contemplating on the Brahmanincessantly and the 'great' spiritual aspirants give up the path of well-being of the world and become victims of sense enjoyment or ambition to earn name and fame. Then suffering will increase every single day. The whole world will bask in peace and joy only when everyone — leaders of countries and spiritual aspirants alike — realize the righteous path and ponder the omnipotence of the Lord.

We had a great center evening last night even though because of too many people in vacations there was only one person attending the study circle and that it too little, so I will make summer holiday and begin only midst of August again.

It is amazing getting aware that it is the same and that there is no difference, that means the same feeling no matter what. I was enjoying the memory of the same, not the same activity, but the same feeling.

Police and law-makers can defeat only external foes; they have no power to destroy internal enemies. They will find the task impossible, for they are not the authorities for that. The internal foes, six enemies(arishadvarga) that operate within a person, can be uprooted only with the teachings of great saints, love for God, and the company of the noble and holy.

Contemplation of the Divine

Those who yearn to establish themselves in contemplation of Divinity must seek solitude, practice meditation and repeat Lord's name at specified times, and acquire one-pointedness through spiritual exercises. They must always be anxious to do deeds that will bring about the welfare of all beings. They must always be engaged in performing work without any concern for the fruit thereof. Sacrifice your selfish needs. Your desire should be to establish the welfare of the world. Let there be constant effort to do good to others. With all these feelings filling the heart, meditate on the Lord. This is the right path. If everyone is thus engaged in the service of humanity and in promoting the welfare of the world, the thieves of passion, hatred, pride, envy, jealousy, and conceit won't invade people's minds and divine possessions, like dharma, mercy, truth, love, knowledge, and wisdom, will be safe from harm. 

Baba (thought for the day)

That sounds kind of difficult and certainly not something that we plan to do it seems more like just happening. Meditation is certainly part of it. Meditation is for the purification of the mind and that is the repetition of the Lord's name if we meditate. Baba said once to us in the interview room that 'all mantras are okay', the one-pointedness was the result of constant focus on 'not this and not that'. Everything we see is based on sense-perception; we just have to go on until we understand it.

After Swami was holding every day speeches at a certain point I realized that he talked always about the 'I am that' and it was like I heard it for the first time and it was that precious, I began to constantly remember that I am not that to not forget it again.

I had the 'I am that' above Baba in the Darshan in Ooty and I was in meditation and forgot time and space as it seems and when I opened an eye to my surprise Baba had come out for the Darshan again and he was standing in front of a group of school boys and in the air was the, 'I am that'.

Sharing and Right Action

Everyone should so lead life that no pain is caused to any living thing. That is their supreme duty. Also, it is the prime duty of everyone who has had the chance of this human birth, to spare a part of their energies occasionally to prayer, repetition of the Lord's name, meditation, etc. Everyone must equate living with truth, righteousness, peacefulness, and good works that are of service to others. One must be as afraid of doing acts that are harmful to others or deeds that are sinful as one is now afraid to touch fire or disturb a cobra. One must have as much attachment and steadfastness in carrying out good works, in making others happy, and in worshiping the Lord as one now has in accumulating gold and riches. This is the code of conduct (dharma) of all human beings.

Baba (thought for the day)

The thought for the day of Swami I usually wrote it down in the ashram in a thought for the day book, I hoped like that to get more into it and I know some who said that it was difficult to understand and often they thought so because of the Sanskrit expressions and as we are not used to it, we think we don't understand it because of that reason.

That is actually not correct. 

In thinking it over I began to do it differently, I read his words sentence after sentence and think it over and if there is something I don't understand I google it and I get a feeling for it. In that way we think it over and afterwards we notice that it is not about the Sanskrit word, but about the effort to think it over. 

It was therefore not enough to just write it down and to read it. In thinking it over we establish in our mind a relationship, we get a feeling for it and that happens mostly by seeing it in our own life and it feels all different, if we see it in our own life. 

It is a different way of studying Sai Baba's words by establishing an inner feeling for it and afterwards we wonder, why we didn't listen before, why we didn't hear it? We notice that he said it always, he never stopped telling us, but it needs listening and putting it into practice and only if we put it into practice we are able to feel it and to get the benefit of it. As he tells us: Listen, think it over, absorb. 

And by that it gets closer and nearer and dearer and becomes more and more part of our own self. What happens in that process in listening, thinking it over and absorbing, we find it in our own self and when that is part of our own self, it is part of everybody as we all have the same higher self and there is only one.

Everyone should so lead life that no pain is caused to any living thing. That is their supreme duty. Also, it is the prime duty of everyone who has had the chance of this human birth, to spare a part of their energies occasionally to prayer, repetition of the Lord's name, meditation, etc.

All Mantras are Okay

You must be careful even in matters relating to the realisation of God. Whatever inconveniences one may encounter, one must try to carry on spiritual practices without any break or modification in the disciplines. One should not be changing the name that one has loved, cherished and selected for remembrance (smarana). Concentration is impossible if the name is changed once every few days. The mind won’t attain one-pointedness. All spiritual discipline has this one-pointedness as its ultimate aim. Therefore, avoid constant adoption and rejection of names and forms of the Lord. One single name must be used throughout for repetition of the name (japa) and meditation. One has also to get the strong conviction that all the Lord’s names and forms are but the name and form that one is repeating. Your chosen name and form must not give the slightest feeling of dislike or disaffection.

Baba (thought for the day)

Love only, Baba said.
We also notice that there are all types of love, but we seem to rarely understand it right and why not? If we would understand it right we would know about ‘pure love’.
Baba tells us, if we want to experience pure love, we have to understand peace and we have to accept truth and when we accept the path of truth, we have to accept right action and only if we have those three things, truth, right action and peace, we are able to make the experience of pure love.

That are the human values, we have five human values, truth, right action, peace, love and non-violence.

We don’t know and how can we know it, if we don’t listen to his words?

Everybody tells love only, but do we know how to make the experience of ‘pure love’?

You must be careful even in matters relating to the realisation of God. Whatever inconveniences one may encounter, one must try to carry on spiritual practices without any break or modification in the disciplines.

Mine and Yours and Identification

‘Mine’ and ‘yours’ — these attitudes are only for identification. They are not real; they are temporary. ‘His’ (All belongs to the Lord) — that is the truth, the eternal. It is like the headmaster of a school being in temporary charge of the furniture of the school. He has to hand over the items when he is transferred or retired. Treat all things with which you are endowed just as the headmaster treats the furniture. Be always aware that the final checking-up is imminent. Wait for that moment with joy. Be ready for that event. Have your accounts up to date and the balance already calculated to be handed over. Treat all things entrusted to you with care and diligence.

Baba (thought for the day) 

Yours and mine – are the attributes of identification. It is like ‘you and I are we’ first step, what Swami reminds us that first we have to be ‘we’, because as long as we are on the level of mine and yours, it is not real. ‘You and I’ is on the level of the body and the mind and as all belongs to the lord, we have to begin with ‘we’ or ‘ours’. If we are on the level of mine and yours we are on a temporary level only if we go beyond it and it is about ‘us’ or ‘we’ the right level will be there.

As our beloved Swami said, second step is ‘we and he is I’ and that means his only, and all belongs to the lord only. That is the eternal truth.

‘Mine’ and ‘yours’ — these attitudes are only for identification. They are not real; they are temporary. ‘His’ (All belongs to the Lord) — that is the truth, the eternal.

Baba explains it with the example of the headmaster in a school and he is in charge of the furniture and he has to hand it over when he is retired and that is how we should treat things which we are endowed with, we have to give it back, it is only a job, it is not mine or yours.

  

It is like the headmaster of a school being in temporary charge of the furniture of the school. He has to hand over the items when he is transferred or retired. Treat all things with which you are endowed just as the headmaster treats the furniture.

Human Beings Live only when Immersed in Bliss

The doctor first diagnoses the disease and then prescribes the course of treatment. So too, you must submit yourself to the diagnosis of your illness, viz. misery, travail, and pain through Self-Enquiry. Investigate fearlessly and with care, and you will find that your nature is bliss (ananda)! You have falsely identified yourself with the temporary, the frivolous and the paltry, and that attachment brings sorrow. Realise that both joy and sorrow are passing phases, like clouds across the blue sky. Learn to treat prosperity and adversity with equanimity. Just as fish lives only when it is immersed in water, so too human being lives only when immersed in bliss. You must have bliss at home, in society, and in the world, but more than all, in your heart. Your heart is the spring of joy. That spring must be touched by constant recitation of Lord’s Name and dwelling on His Glory. Never give way to doubt or despair.

Baba

If we listen to Baba’s words and think it over it is like a hidden truth and message in his words. If Swami tells ‘mental depression’ we have to listen to understand it right and to get the message in his words. It is a disease and what we think depression is in the West is not the same, but when we see it in the light of his words, it changes. What does he call a disease? It is carving for worldly stuff.  

It feels still kind of stunning to see the image of a treat, of a swindler and what didn’t make sense, it just switches inside and becomes the picture of deception and I called it an impostor before, but it is different if we call it like that or when we get the picture of it, because it is reflected in his words.  

The doctor first diagnoses the disease and then prescribes the course of treatment. So too, you must submit yourself to the diagnosis of your illness, viz. misery, travail, and pain through Self-Enquiry. Investigate fearlessly and with care, and you will find that your nature is bliss (ananda)!

Untruth takes Vital Forces Away

It is not the nature of a spiritual aspirant to search for faults in others and hide their own. If your faults are pointed out to you by someone, don’t argue and try to prove yourself right, and don’t bear a grudge against them for it. Reason out within yourself how it is a fault and set right your own behavior. Rationalizing it for your own satisfaction or wreaking vengeance on the person who pointed it out —these are not the traits of a spiritual aspirant or devotee. Depression, doubt, conceit —these will harm one’s practices and are akin to Rahu and Kethu (planets which bring ill-luck). When your devotion is well established, these qualities will be easily discarded. Seek always the truthful and the joyful, and avoid all thoughts which are untrue, sad and depressing. Always be cheerful, smiling, and enthusiastic under all circumstances. This pure attitude is most desirable. Never get inflated when praised or deflated when blamed - be a spiritual lion!

Baba

We had been in a relationship with someone knowing everything better and always arguing and finding faults for as it seemed no reason at all but that he just liked to argue and he took only advantage of it.  

We had met in Baba’s presence, but that didn’t make it better. He had said lots of nice stuff about how he had been initiated into TM and he said, he knew in that moment that he would do it all his life. That what he said, but some months later he added that he never did it.

There had been precious silence in the TM-center, I couldn’t remember it before and I had been a TM-teacher and I actually missed it, but as there were only pieces left, there was no way back into it.

I mentioned it to Baba and asked him in my first interview about experiences and he said that it was very difficult to understand.

Disease, Diagnoses and Treatment - Self-Enquiry

The doctor first diagnoses the disease and then prescribes the course of treatment. So too, you must submit yourself to the diagnosis of your illness, viz. misery, travail, and pain through Self-Enquiry. Investigate fearlessly and with care, and you will find that your nature is bliss (ananda)! You have falsely identified yourself with the temporary, the frivolous and the paltry, and that attachment brings sorrow. Realize that both joy and sorrow are passing phases, like clouds across the blue sky. Learn to treat prosperity and adversity with equanimity. Just as fish lives only when it is immersed in water, so too human being lives only when immersed in bliss. You must have bliss at home, in society, and in the world, but more than all, in your heart. Your heart is the spring of joy. That spring must be touched by constant recitation of Lord's Name and dwelling on His Glory. Never give way to doubt or despair.

Baba (thought for the day)

If Swami is diagnoses a disease, what is the course of treatment?

He is telling us here self-enquiry is the treatment. Self-enquiry is not possible if we don't listen to Baba's words. We need a mirror for self-enquiry and I guess if you would talk to him and I often told him that if Baba tells mental depression, he had to do something about it and he didn't even think about it.

He would not know what self-enquiry is as it seems most of people don't know.

We cannot enquire about the self if there is no mirror. What we think the self is that is the body and the mind and we know that. With meditation we go beyond the mind and that is transcending the mind, being in a state of just pure being.

That is only real if we do it actually, we cannot think about meditation and benefit of it if we don't do it, transcending the mind has to be done by meditation. We know that as we meditate and self-enquiry is something else.

It is not only asking questions. It is looking in the mirror. What is the mirror? It is present in Baba's words. If Baba said mental depression in an interview and we read now those words, we should be able to recognize that Swami gives us the advise here if there is a diagnosis of a disease, we have to get treatment and what is the treatment? Self-enquiry.

The doctor first diagnoses the disease and then prescribes the course of treatment. So too, you must submit yourself to the diagnosis of your illness, viz. misery, travail, and pain through Self-Enquiry.

Maximize the Good

Everyone is liable to make mistakes without being aware of it. However bright a fire maybe, there will be smoke emanating from it. So also, whatever good a person might do, there will be a minute trace of evil. Make every effort to ensure that the bad or evil is minimized, and good is maximized. You may not succeed in the first attempt. Carefully think over the consequences of whatever you do or talk. In whatever way you want others to honor you, love you, or behave with you, in the same way you should first behave with others, and love and honor them. Then they will reciprocate. Instead, without you honoring or loving others, if you complain that they are not treating you properly, it is surely a wrong conclusion. Those who advise others about true and good conduct must follow the advice themselves. Then there is no need for advice, others would simply learn the lesson by example.

Baba (thought for the day)

If I try to excuse everybody making mistakes in my life without being aware of it including myself, it gets kind of interesting.

Starting with TM I had been in a relationship with the national leader. His former girl-friend went to mother divine and he told me he checked it with the Maharishi and the Maharishi said no. I was a new TM-teacher and I thought, okay, no is no and it made him for sure also more attractive to know he could check it with the Maharishi and he had lots of TM-experience.

There is kind of an attraction like with Baba, we don’t know really why, but it there is pull in direction of a spiritual master. So everything I did seemed to be the highest first, because it actually went in direction of the Maharishi, only it was a mistake and I was not aware of it and why, because the Maharishi was not there.

So what was the highest first, even if he was not there, it was anyhow the Maharishi.

I thought I would be able to learn a lot with the national leader and I regretted that I had not been with TM before, until the former girl-friend came back.

The Experience of Divine Truth

You may ask: "How am I to declare, Aham Brahmasmi (I am Divine)?” Yes, you can do so. But, first understand the Aham, the ‘I’, the Divine Principle. Scriptures declare - Ekam Eva adhvitheyam Brahma - The Absolute is One without a second. Though people worship the Absolute with different names and forms, the Supreme Reality is only one. Just as the same person is called in different names by different people at different times, God has many names and forms - all these are creations of the human mind. Scriptures emphatically declare that the Lord is the nameless and attributeless Eternal Reality. Understand properly the true and Divine nature of the Aham ('I'). The ‘I’ is the master of your body, senses and the intellect, and is the power that permeates the entire cosmos.

Baba (thought for the day)

What great words of Swami! 

Thinking it over I actually get the feeling of being in Prasanthi Nilayam and he is standing in front of us giving us one of those great and divine speeches and it was always such a joy to listen to him and to sit there and to just let his words rain on us and all the people sitting there and it felt like cool nectar and divine bliss. It is like in the bible, the sower soweth the word.

And if we learn to listen, but we have to practice, we find that merging place where he said is bliss.

Love is my form, truth is my breath, bliss is my food.

I am Divine (Aham Brahmasmi)

You may ask: "How am I to declare, Aham Brahmasmi (I am Divine)?” Yes, you can do so. But, first understand the Aham, the ‘I’, the Divine Principle. Scriptures declare - Ekam Eva adhvitheyam Brahma - The Absolute is One without a second. Though people worship the Absolute with different names and forms, the Supreme Reality is only one. Just as the same person is called in different names by different people at different times, God has many names and forms - all these are creations of the human mind. Scriptures emphatically declare that the Lord is the nameless and attributeless Eternal Reality. Understand properly the true and Divine nature of the Aham ('I'). The ‘I’ is the master of your body, senses and the intellect, and is the power that permeates the entire cosmos.

Baba (thought for the day)

These words of our beloved Swami are about the core of his message. 

Without contemplation we cannot get detached, what Baba said yesterday, what sounds for me kind of final. If he tells it in such a manner, there is no other way but contemplation of the Lord go get detached and how do we put it in practice?

I tried during all that time with Baba in the ashram to get there, always mediating, afterwards with the mantra Soham, it is the 'I am that' and finally after coming back from the US I began with ‘not this, not that’, constantly telling every thought coming in my head that it was mind and thought only.

As we looked at in the last thoughts for the day, there are always three levels, ‘the waking stage, the dream stage and the sleep stage’, we know them from our own experience and there is a fourth stage and that is non-changing, unlimited, none conceptual, pure being or consciousness, it is Turiya, the transcendental stage of our awareness.

Swami talks about the first two stages, waking stage and dream stage have to merge to be omniscient, that is the first, second and fourth, the difference to ordinary human beings is that we have the awareness of the first, second and third, and they change constantly and alternate, only the fourth doesn’t change anymore.
It is not difficult if we think it over, but if we don’t, we think we do not understand it and it is right, we do not understand it on the mind level. And there is a reason for it, we are in the mind only on the waking stage level, he is always all three stages, we know it also as Sat-Chit-Ananda.

We try to understand everything on the waking stage level, we are used to that and now we learn with Baba to listen to our heart, to keep the mind and thoughts in silence to be able to listen to the second stage of consciousness, the dream stage level, it is indirect and hidden and we have to listen carefully to hear it and it cannot be answered by the mind, the mind is waking stage of consciousness.

You may ask: "How am I to declare, Aham Brahmasmi (I am Divine)?” Yes, you can do so.