You And Me🔗

CHAPTER 16

Human beings are born with divine nature inbuilt in them; they are not sinners! Yet, worldly conditioning turns them demonic. How do we become divine again? Krishna explains!

• Would it be correct to say that even a demon such as Ravana in the epic Ramayana cared for his own kind and family and in that sense, had a measure of 'You' in him? Does that make him less of a demon?
• Great masters have created different religions. Yet, as you said, these religions move from love and compassion to control through fear and greed. Many of us do not know any route other than religion by which to seek God. What do we do?
• From what I hear, our default state is the divine, and we slip into demonic nature. Does caring for others keep us in this divine state?
• What is the meaning of the mantra OM?
• the cow is considered sacred and divine in Hindu religion. If it is based on ahiṁsā (non-violence), then no animal should be killed. Why the cow alone? Why not other animals?
• Based on our education, many of us believed that science had all the answers. Even when science did not have answers to what the scriptures said, rather than denying science and accepting its limitations, we denied what the scriptures said. Thanks to you, many of us understand the truth behind the scriptures.
• in order to achieve bliss, instead of being caught in temporary pleasures that only result in suffering, is it enough to drop anger, lust and greed?

This chapter is traditionally called Daiva Asura Sampad Vibhāga Yoga, or the yoga of divine and demonic nature. Here Krishna explains the concept of saṁskāras (engraved memories) from an even deeper level.

In the 14th chapter, He spoke about Guṇatraya Vibhāga Yoga, satva, rajas and tamas, the three attributes of nature in which all living beings exist*. These are the states of goodness, aggression and ignorance. He also explains the three layers of the body-mind system: prāṇa śarīra, manaḥ śarīra and sūkṣma śarīra, which are the physical, mental and subtle bodies, respectively.

In the 15th chapter, Krishna speaks extensively about another body-mind layer, the causal body. That chapter is called the Puruṣottama Yoga or the yoga of the perfected being.

In chapter 15, verse one, Krishna points out how the body-mind system is centered. It is like a unique tree, with its roots in the physical world, and the branches in the causal world. He says:

The roots of this tree are hanging out in the open, in a known space, the conscious space. They also extend back into the unknown space, the causal layer. They go down as if they too are branches. The tree grows both upwards and downwards with many parts of it once again going into the unknown space.

Krishna explains that the leaves of this tree are the Vedas, knowledge. The words we use continuously in our being are in the unconscious space. This space is the causal layer of the body-mind system. He then teaches us how to remove the engraved memories in the causal layer, and how to program the causal layer towards bliss, towards eternal consciousness. This summarizes the teaching of the last chapter.

You And Me

Here, in the 16th chapter, He moves into the deeper energy layers of the body-mind system and takes us to the cosmic layer. Let me explain first about the energy layers of the body-mind system as traditionally described by the Taittreya Upanishad.

The Taittreya Upanishad traces the flow of energy in the universe from its source down to its end uses. This Upaniṣad says that the primal energy is first expressed as the energy of ākāśa, or ether. The source of the energy is the cosmos, the universe, the Supreme, God, Parāśakti, individual Self, Ātman or whatever name you want to give this source.

Etheric energy is the first layer of this cosmic energy as it spreads out to the manifested world. It is the energy of space, the energy of ether. Do not think that space is empty. It is empty of matter, as we know. However, it is full of energy. As we know from Quantum Physics, matter is energy, and energy is matter. They can exist simultaneously both in time and space. Etheric energy is the largest available energy source in the universe.

If you were to place our solar system in a map of the universe, planet earth would almost disappear from sight even within the solar system! When you view our sun compared to a medium sized solar system in our galaxy, it would also disappear. That medium sized galaxy in turn would disappear when it is viewed in comparison to Antares, a star much larger but not even in the top ten rating according to size.

This gives a visual idea of the vastness of the universe. Our planet is insignificant. When I say insignificant, I mean totally invisible and insignificant, even within a small corner of the universe. The vastness of the space our universe occupies cannot even be imagined. In comparison, planet earth is smaller than a microbe.

The energy that pervades this space, this universe, this cosmos, is the energy of ākāśa - ether.

Krishna speaks about the qualities of the divine and the demonic. The beauty is that both these words have the same root. Of course, it is not accidental; both qualities are rooted in the same energy. It is just a simple decision. When you choose the word 'you', you become divine, and when you choose the word 'me', you become a demon. That's all.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, enlightened master of ancient Bharat speaks beautifully of the same energy. No energy can be destroyed; your love can never be destroyed. It can only be converted. He says that as long as the calf says, 'ahaṁ, ahaṁ' ('me, me') it must work, suffer, get beaten and tortured. Once it is killed, musical instruments are made out of its skin; then when we beat the instrument, it says, 'tumi, 'Tumi' or 'tum' ('you, you'). As long as it says, 'ahaṁ, ahaṁ' it suffers, when it says, 'tuṁ, tuṁ,' it starts being used for wonderful purposes like singing the glory of the divine!

This is a beautiful metaphor from colloquial Bengali (the language of West Bengal). Ramakrishna explains that as long as we have the idea 'ahaṁ, ahaṁ' or 'ami, ami,' (me, me), we will continuously be a demon to ourselves and to others. The moment the cognitive shift happens in us, that is when the 'tumi, tumi' ('you, you') happens, we will be a blessing for ourselves and for others.

All the engraved memories, the saṁskāras, are stored in the causal layer. They operate without our control. Decisions are made without our knowledge. However, at the deeper level, in the cosmic layer, we decide consciously: you or me, divine or demon.

A small diagram shows how we make decisions, how our mind usually receives data and processes it, as well as how the cognitive shift happens in our being.

This is what Krishna explains at a deeper level.

You receive information through your eyes. For example, you are watching THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM delivering a discourse. The file goes to cakṣu (energy of sight), where it is converted into a digital or bio-signal file, so that it may be processed. The energy behind the eye operates much like a digital signal processor, converting the visual scene into information bytes, into a digital file.

The file then goes to citta (memory), where the excluding process of 'neti, neti,' ('this is not, this is not') happens. There you understand that what you are seeing is not a tree, it is not a plant and it is not an animal. The citta part of the mind acts like a filter. It compares what it receives with what it has in stock, and filters out the possibilities of what it sees.

Then the file goes to manas, another part of the mind that starts to identify, 'This is it, this is it.' For example, it concludes, 'This is a man. He is wearing a saffron robe. He is taking a class.' The idea comes in this fashion.

Then the file goes to buddhi - intellect. This compares the file with your past experiences with similar situations or similar people. For example, the file now carries THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM as data because you are seeing THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM. So if the past experience with THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM has been positive, or whatever you have heard about THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM is good, then you are happy and buddhi writes, 'Yes.' On the other hand, if you feel it is a waste of time, or if you are not in tune with my ideas, or the time that you spent with THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM earlier was unpleasant, the buddhi writes, 'No.'

The file with all these notes, these additional pieces of information, then goes to the ego. The ego decides based on relevance, 'What is in it for me? In what way am I related to this scene? What will I gain from this?' If it will gain something, the ego says, 'Yes, let me sit here and listen.' If there is no gain, if the ego is not going to be enriched, the ego naturally says, 'No, I think I will move out from here.' Thus, according to the ego's instruction, we decide. Our body either moves or sits.

This is how the process happens. The ego is the point where we choose, 'What is in it for me?' Our vested interests come into play at this point. Please understand that sometimes the whole process will say, 'Yes, I will stay,' yet at this point, the ego may decide, 'My vested interest is being impinged upon.' If this happens, we will not stay! The rest of the mind may accept what we are saying, but if the ego is not ready, the whole decision will be changed.

Similarly, if the rest of the mind says, 'No,' and yet this part, the ego says, 'Yes,' we will decide, 'Yes.' Sometimes, when you are about to do something that is immoral according to the social standard or according to your understanding, the final conclusion is 'No.' But suddenly your ego feels, 'I will be enriched by doing this activity, let me do it.' So you decide to do it. This is the place where you decide, 'You or me!' that is to say, Me or yourself.

That's the only small difference. When we make the decision of 'You,' we radiate divine qualities. When we make the decision of 'me,' we radiate demonic qualities. Actually, most people sit here because it strengthens their egos. At the end of this discourse, they know much more than others! They can tell others what they know. Many times, we sit and listen for the ego's satisfaction. So if we sit and listen for this purpose, even if we listen to the Gita, be very clear it will just create trouble for our being. We will not be helped in any way.

The decision about 'You' or 'me' is made in the cosmic layer. If we decide with the attitude of 'you,' the whole thing becomes divine; if we decide with the attitude of 'me,' the whole thing becomes demonic. The mind is neither negative nor positive; citta is neither negative nor positive. None of these, including the guṇa (attributes) are negative or positive. Even tamasic qualities, such as laziness, are neither negative nor positive. Many enlightened masters seem passive, not doing anything at all. We cannot differentiate between their attitude and laziness. For instance, Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi sat throughout his life in one little town, Tiruvannamalai. He never moved out of there. He was mostly in silence. Yet we cannot say he was in tamas since he never made any decision out of 'me.' The whole process was happening with 'you' as a center, not 'me.'

We cannot call the citta, the mind or samskāra good or bad. In the superficial layers, they are neither. However, the decisions we make in the cosmic layer, in the deeper layer, determine whether they are good or bad. The energy behind passion and compassion is really one and the same. When we decide based on 'me', it is passion; when we decide based on 'You', it is compassion.

We need to understand one important thing. If we feel passion strongly in our being, but our compassion has only a little intensity, then our compassion is just a pseudo-expression, perhaps for the sake of name and fame, not for anything else. If we don't have compassion as intensely as our passion, all our activities are based on ego. Even this Gita discourse can become food for the ego, if the decision is taken out of 'I' and 'me'. When the decision happens out of 'You,' even ordinary daily activities can become divine, not just Gita discourses.

We need not work on the 'doing'; we need to work on the 'being'. Doing can never lead us to anything. As long as we believe that doing can lead us to the Ultimate, we have karma. This is called pūrva mīmāṁsi (those who interpret the *vedic* rituals literally). Only when we understand that only being can lead us to the Ultimate, we are called uttara mīmāṁsi (those who interpret the vedic scriptures according to vedānta-based non-duality).

According to the Vedas, there are two major types of people: People who believe in doing and people who believe in being. People who believe in transforming the 'Being' are vedantins, people who believe that the transformation to the Ultimate can be achieved by 'doing' are karmakandis. Of course, the Ultimate can be achieved only by working on the being, not by working on the doing. If we work on the doing, we either suppress or express. We continuously fight with ourselves; nothing else is achieved. Only a man who transforms his being can achieve the Ultimate.

Whether to be a demon or divine, we decide at that one point. When we receive the data, process it and deliver the result or command, how is the command delivered? What is the center from which the command comes out? If the command comes out with the thinking, 'What is there for me, what is there for me?' then whatever we do, including meditation, will be only ego satisfying.

Many people ask, 'Swamiji, at some point, I felt such deep ecstasy in meditation, such beautiful bliss. But suddenly, within two hours it disappeared, it never came back! Why is this so? How can we get it back?'

Please understand that bliss is choicelessness. When we are absent, when our identity disappears, we experience bliss. The moment we want the bliss back, the moment we covet bliss, we have already chosen. We have made the choice! The moment we choose, we will always choose suffering. All choices are suffering, because choice is based on the mind. It is based on duality. Bliss is choicelessness. It is beyond duality, therefore there is nothing to choose 'between'. Bliss occurs beyond the level of mind and choice. But the moment we want to grab or have bliss, we suffer because we have dropped to the level of the mind, comparison and duality. Bliss can never be experienced this way. ```

When we are blissful, we allow bliss to possess us. The moment we want to possess bliss, we turn it into suffering. When we want to possess in order to strengthen our ego, the decision is from the attitude of 'me'. The moment the attitude of 'me' or 'mine' appears and decides, it destroys the bliss. We can no longer be divine. When we are blissful, we have said, 'No' to 'me'; we are relaxed in the 'You' idea. The moment we want to possess bliss, we have said, 'Yes' to 'me'.

We need to understand 'You' and 'me' properly. The word 'me' means ego; the word 'You' means the whole of Existence. When our identity evaporates, when our ego dissolves, whatever is left is Existence; it is divine. We create the demon by bringing in the idea of 'me'. The moment we bring in the idea of 'me,' whatever is there, is demonic. The moment the 'me' idea is removed, whatever there is, is divine.

With the 'me' idea, whatever we do, be it meditation, rituals, learning, or knowledge, it will only strengthen the ego. Anything done with the idea of 'me', whatever is done to strengthen the idea of 'me', naturally leads to more ignorance and suffering. Anything done with the attitude of 'You,' whatever it is, naturally becomes divine and leads to bliss.

In Sanskrit, we have two words: nivritti and pravritti. Nivritti - looking inwards or liberation - is centered on the idea of 'You'. Pravritti - looking outwards or bondage - is centered on the idea of 'me'. Whatever is done out of 'me', leads to liberation; whatever we do out of the idea of 'You', leads to bondage*.

Ashtavakra says this beautifully in his dialogue with King Janaka:

yadā nāhaṁ tadā mokṣo yadāhaṁ bandhanaṁ tadā I matveti helayā kiñcinmā gṛhāṇa vimuñca mā II 8.4

Where there is no 'me', there is liberation. Where there is 'me', there is bondage. Considering this carefully, neither hold on to anything nor reject anything.

As long as we are centered in ourselves, we are in the bondage of attraction and aversion, greed and fear. Most people are centered in their mūlādhāra cakra, which is the energy center in our body associated with the emotion of greed, or in the svādiṣṭhāna cakra, which is the energy center in our body associated with fears and insecurity.

The mūlādhāra is all about 'me' - our possessions: 'What is in it for me? Where do I go from here?' The svādiṣṭhāna is about 'I', our identity, insecurity and fear arising from our need to protect the body-mind system. Both these bind us, block us, and keep us firmly locked in the material world.

As our higher centers of energy get energized and unblocked, and our energy rises from the mūlādhāra and svādiṣṭhāna, to anāhata (heart center) and beyond, we look beyond ourselves. The 'me' starts dropping. When the ājñā cakra (energy center between the eyebrows) becomes energized, the ego, the identity, the 'I' and 'me', disappear and the 'you' takes over. The demon becomes the the divine.

When we shed our ego, we become boundary-less. We are no longer limited by selfish thoughts about 'me' and 'mine', our kith and kin. The whole world is ours to care for. Krishna refers to this as vasudaiva kuṭumbakaṁ, 'the whole world is one family'. As long as we feel that our body-mind is our boundary, that we are separate from the rest of the universe, we will continuously fight with Existence. We will continuously fight with nature, and we will be continuously fighting with the Whole. Please understand that the part can never succeed when it fights with the Whole.

Whatever we think, speak or do based upon the idea 'me', leads to more and more complications, more and more suffering.

Here, Krishna beautifully explains the demonic and divine natures.

As in chapter 15, in this chapter also, Krishna speaks. In earlier chapters, Arjuna spoke. Arjuna was expressing his ego, and a catharsis was happening. He was mad, confused, and vomiting, quoting everything he had learned. Slowly he came to the next level, allowing Krishna to speak, and the conversation began happening. Now in the 15th and 16th chapters, Arjuna is practically silent; he is listening. No questions, only doubts. All the questions have disappeared and only small doubts are left. He is asking for clarifications and more understanding from his master.

Q: Swamiji, would it be correct to say that even a demon such as Ravana in the epic Ramayana cared for his own kind and family and in that sense, had a measure of 'You' in him? Does that make him less of a demon?

When someone like Ravana or Duryodhana cares for someone or expresses love and positive emotions, their emotions and behavior also emanate from ego. Their identity, the 'I' and the possessiveness, the 'mine', drives them to such behavior.

Duryodhana was probably the most selfish person in the Mahabharata cast. All that mattered to him was name, fame and possessions. He would stoop to any level and commit any crime in order to fulfill his ambitions. Yet, his relationship with Karna seemed out of character. He gave Karna a part of his kingdom and made him a prince!

Duryodhana's act was not born out of selfless or unconditional love. He recognized Karna as a warrior who could beat Arjuna, his arch enemy, and so wanted Karna on his side at any cost. Duryodhana's relationship with Karna was primarily born out of a selfish motive.

It is the same with many others who seem to show a sense of care and love amidst a general trend of selfishness.

The truth is that, until they are enlightened, all human beings carry a mix of divine and demonic qualities. Everyone is a mixture of the attitudes of 'You' and 'me'. The 'You' arises more as you move towards satvic (goodness) tendencies, and the 'me' is predominant in the rajasic (aggressive) and tamasic (lethargic) tendencies. Just as a person has a mixture of these three attributes, each person is also a mixture of 'You' and 'me'.

The issue is how do we progress from the 'me' to the 'You', from the demon to the Divine. This is the purpose of life, if at all there is one. This is the core issue. As we shed our boundaries and grow, this transformation occurs. The growth is not external. It is purely an internal process. The experience is within. The expression is without.

We also need to understand where the 'I' and 'mine' come from. We think that the feeling of possession, the 'mine', comes from the identity of 'me'; it is the other way around. We are born with desires. They form the base of our primal energy. These desires drive us to acquire. These desires may be material, physical or psychological.

Even the infant needs nurture and care. It operates from its primal desire to live and survive. Its cries and other actions are meant to fulfill this desire. As the infant grows, its desires diversify. It needs varieties of food, clothing, shelter, entertainment, education and so on. As one desire gets fulfilled, another rises. But no desire gets really fulfilled.

The desires and fulfillment of these desires create the 'mine' - the possessions. Our basic desires come from the prārabdha karma, the carried-over mindset from our previous body. This is also called vāsanā. Our carried-over mindset from the previous birth decides how and where and as what we are born in this life. Vāsanās are the collective and cumulative mindset of our body-mind system from our previous birth. These are based upon how we lived that life. These are the unfulfilled desires with which we left the body in our previous life. Those desires do not go away. They follow us.

Not only do they follow us, but they also determine who we are in the next birth. Those unfulfilled desires constitute the 'mine'. These desires rise from the mūlādhāra cakra.

These desires and possessions determine our identity, the 'I'. Please understand, it is not the identity that gives rise to our desires and possessions and the establishment of 'mine'. It is the desires and the possessions, the 'mine', which develops the identity. You think of yourself, who you are, based on what you have around you. The labels that you give yourself at any phase of your life are based on what you have acquired or what has been thrust upon you.

This identity, the 'I' or 'me', resides in your svādiṣṭhāna cakra. This identity is your expression. The desires are your experience.

A Ravana, Duryodhana or a Hitler does not assume that identity of a demon by accident. No! They are born with that mindset based on the kind of life they led in previous lives. They had the tendency to become what they became. They came into this life with the mindset and the desires, and were born into environments that gave them the opportunity to become what they eventually became.

But this is not predestination. This is not irreversible. The desire to be powerful or wealthy does not imply that one must lead a demonic life. It is a choice that individuals make.

I have told you, time and time again, that there is no such thing as destiny or fate as far as all of you are concerned. These are mere escapist ideas. It is like people who claim that they have surrendered to me and yet they do not listen to me. Fate and destiny are useful pegs to hang our mistakes on, so that we can remain blameless. We say, 'What can I do? It is all destiny; it's God's will.'

Of course, it is God's will. This whole universe is God's will and so are we. However, God has willed that we use our free will. That is why He has given us consciousness, so that we are aware of what we do. If we truly believed in God's will, we would do our very best and leave the result to Him.

This is what Krishna said earlier,

karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana

Do what you have to do without bothering about the results.

When we move into the space of 'You', we move into the attitude Krishna speaks about. When we are no longer worried about ourselves and we think of everyone else's needs as our own, results lose meaning. There is no selfish pressure. There is no identity that directs us towards success instead of failure, based upon how we imagine success looks. Success and failure lose their meaning. They become the same.

You And Me

Whether we act demonic or divine, the inner space in all of us is divine. The inner space is pure; it is uncontaminated. Whether we are tuned inwards towards that purity or tuned outwards toward gratification is the choice we make through our free will. A Ravana had the choice of being a Rama, and a Duryodhana had the choice of being an Arjuna. Through their own free will, they did not exercise that choice.

Qualifications Of Divinity

16.1,2,3 Bhagavān Krishna says, 'Fearlessness, purification of the being, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, and being centered on the being, performance of sacrifices, and accumulation of knowledge, austerity, simplicity, non-violence, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquility, aversion to fault finding, compassion for all living entities, freedom from covetousness, gentleness, modesty, studied determination, vigor, more forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from envy, and from the passion for honor, these transcendental qualities, O Son of Bharat (Arjuna), belong to divine men, endowed with divine nature.'

Krishna lists a number of qualities that take us to a higher plane of consciousness; qualities that make us divine.

Now when we listen to these things with the attitude of 'me', what do we usually do? We start practicing all these virtues. Be clear that if we try to practice all of these qualities, one thing is sure: we will become mad. We will not be able to do anything because we will be fighting with ourselves. We will be controlling our senses to strengthen our ego. When we try to understand these ideas with our ego, with the attitude of 'me', we practice them to strengthen the idea of 'me', to improve ourselves and become better beings. Again and again, masters prove that they are not better beings; they are totally transformed beings. There is a difference between better beings and transformed beings.

The other day I shared the story of the lion and the sheep-lion told by Swami Vivekananda. It is a beautiful story. The sheep-lion does not want to realize that he is a lion. He wants to be a good, strong sheep. He asks the lion to give him a technique for becoming a strong sheep.

Similarly, if we start practicing these qualities listed by Krishna, we may have a stronger ego. That is why so-called tapasvi (ascetics, people performing penances), people who repress themselves, have a strong ego. People who perform penances or repress desires, radiate ego. We clearly see that they do these things to strengthen their ego.

When we are completely blissful and relaxed, austerity happens. I have seen many sanyāsīs (ascetics), especially in Bharat, who blame householders for not being pure, for being sinners. When we force ourselves to do penance, we continuously burn inside; as a side effect we often have doubts about our path and ourselves. This doubt causes us to continuously do something; we then make others guilty about the path that they are following.

We make others feel guilty that they are doing the wrong thing when we feel what we are doing is right. This happens particularly when people come to us and admit their wrongdoings.

Listening to confessions makes a person's ego strong. The listener feels strong. He feels that the people confessing are doing wrong, whereas he is pure. When we do penance out of ego, we want others to feel guilty and we want others to confess to us. We feel strengthened listening to others' mistakes. We feel strong when we address others as sinners.

Swami Vivekananda says that calling man a sinner is the only sin. Penance is supposed to happen naturally out of joy and bliss. Just as a natural thing. Anything done by force is not going to help us or society.

Society teaches us that we are sinners. First of all, this is not true. No enlightened master who has realized the divinity within is capable of saying this. Secondly, who gains anything at all by calling everyone a sinner?

If a religious organization convinces people that they are sinners, that organization can control people. Unless an organization controls people, it cannot survive. There are only two methods that an organization can use to survive and grow - greed and fear. Either it attracts people by instilling greed in them, or makes them afraid by instilling fear.

Religions try both methods. They say that if we do this, we will be rewarded; we earn merit points and when we earn merit points, we go to this place called heaven. In heaven, we will be taken care of. We will not need anything. The picture of heaven painted by some religions is fantastic. All kinds of wine, women and songs will be provided if we do as the religious leaders say.

Some sects sell VIP (Very Important Person) passes that guarantee heaven after death! People pay huge sums of money for these. It is like people booking their final resting places with scenic views! They build superb cemeteries, which will have sea-view sites, hill-view sites, swimming pool-view sites and so on. You can be buried in these vaults and you can enjoy all these views.

You may laugh, but this is true. It happens around us every day. Like monkeys we are made to dance to someone else's tune - through sheer greed. The offer of such a wonderful opportunity after death is powerful because it is a realm of the unknown. The fear of what is going to happen after death, makes you listen to such nonsense.

Religions lay down regulations and commandments that we must not violate. If we violate these commandments, God will punish us and throw us into hell.

Krishna tells us to be without fear and greed. He also says to be without anger. He says to be truthful, simple, meek, gentle, non-violent, and to be without expectations and to renounce. These are qualities of the Divine; these are qualities that you express when you are focused not on your own self but on others. These are qualities that arise from the heart and not from the mind. These are qualities that arise from love and not from desire.

God, the very idea of God, should evoke love, not fear. God in any religion should be portrayed as compassionate. No enlightened master has experienced otherwise or expressed otherwise. The concept of a fearsome God with vengeance is a manmade myth. It is created by man, to set one man against another, to divide, control and conquer.

Man has devised sophisticated methods whereby you can commit sin and still be redeemed. He is told that he has sinned. Now that he is a sinner, he is asked to pay a particular institution to absolve him of his sins.

The cycle is endless. We commit sin, we pay, we are absolved of sin, and then we can go and sin again. So, we feel we cannot go wrong in this life or in any other life, or even if we do not believe in life after death, in whatever state we happen to be after death.

All this is nonsense. There is no hell or heaven. They exist only in our mind. We are conditioned to believe in them because this is the easiest way to control us, through fear and greed. The greatest fear of any religion is that we might start thinking for ourselves. Worse still, they are afraid that we may stop thinking, and drop our mind! Religions fear this because then we will be liberated and no one will be able to control us. We will have become our own master.

The saddest part is that religions say that we are born sinners. I can at least understand it if someone calls an adult a sinner because he is more exposed to the ultimate truths. The very lack of awareness that we are divine, in my opinion, is a sin; that is the original sin. When we got into thinking and started clutching onto our thoughts, we became ignorant. If at all there is an original sin, it is that – the clutching onto our thoughts. Conditioning makes us logical, it makes us sinners. We can accept that. However, what of a newborn infant? By what right can anyone claim that a newborn is a sinner? Especially if they do not believe that there is life after death!

So, do we assume that this sin comes from Nature, Existence or God? Does this mean that God is the Creator of sinful beings? What kind of a God is that? Why are such things promoted? All this is done to control others through fear and greed.

Do we seriously think that God has no other job except to lay down rules and regulations about what we should do and not do? After that, He still has more time, so He watches everybody to see whether they are observing or breaking rules!

God resides in you and me. We know everything that we do. When we do wrong, we know. No one has to tell us. That becomes our sin. The guilt makes our life hell, nothing else.

When we are free and liberated, we are in sheer enjoyment and we are in heaven. Watch a young child. Do we ever see him depressed and unhappy unless tortured by elders? When he is left free, he is really free. Children can be wild and they should be left wild. They explore with no inhibition. They are God-like and always in heaven. Anyone who calls a child a sinner is the biggest sinner.

As we grow, we are conditioned by others and we absorb their values, the society's value system and beliefs. We stop believing in our own inner being; we lose that inner child, that magical and miraculous child, and we become an adult. We start being led by our nose, by rules and regulations, by concepts of sin and 'me'.

If instead, we focus on others, on 'You', we expand. In fact, the more we focus on our inner awareness, the more we open up to others. We move from the 'me' to 'You.' As we move inwards, our higher intelligence awakens. Our higher intelligence is nothing but the Divine. That awareness alone makes us God.

Please understand that what we think of as God is not an old bearded man sitting on the clouds, playing on a harp! God is merely that energy of inner and higher intelligence. That same intelligent energy that is within us also drives the entire universe. The energy that powers us is the same energy that powers the sun. There is no difference at all.

As human beings we have the opportunity to expand into this energy, into this higher intelligence. Unfortunately, animals do not have this ability, this consciousness. Humans do. To ignore this gift, this opportunity, this consciousness, is our original sin. The entire meaning of our life is to discover this truth and become divine. That is why, if we die without realizing this truth, we are born again.

We go through this cycle of life and death again and again because we do not recognize who we are. As Buddha says, that is the cause of our suffering. When we realize our own Self, our true divine potential, we realize the meaning of our life, and there is no need to be born again. We become liberated.

Q: Great masters have created different religions. Yet, as you said, these religions move from love and compassion to control through fear and greed. Many of us do not know any route other than religion by which to seek God. What do we do?

This is a thought-provoking question that all of you must think about.

The great masters who founded the major religions were enlightened. They experienced and expressed the Divine. Over time those who followed them turned demonic. That is the truth.

Spirituality is the creation of masters. Spirituality is about our well-being. It is the root of our holistic well-being. This includes material well being, physical, psychological, mental, emotional, as well as relational and spiritual well-being. Spirituality is not just some intangible concept. These great masters never had any concern about their own well-being; they only addressed your well being.

For many years after Buddha's death, based upon his own injunction, there were no idols or pictures representing Buddha. A Bodhi tree represented him. However, about 500 years after his death, followers started making pictures and idols of him. Now, there are thousands of temples dedicated to the master who did not go by the concept of temples. This is despite the fact that Buddhism follows its founder's teachings more closely than most religions.

Once religions become institutionalized, they tend to become commercialized. They need methods to survive. The most basic tool of survival is control through fear and greed.

We can reject organized religion and seek God. We can go to a temple and see God without the need for a priest. Or if we prefer, we can relate to God at home, or wherever we choose. We do not have to submit to the pressures of any institution.

God is always available for help, but we never ask. Jesus says, 'Knock and the door shall be opened unto you, ask and it shall be given.' But we never ask, we never knock on the door, and we go on missing immense good that can be ours just through the asking.

I say to you that there is no need to even knock. His door is always open. All we need to do is take that step to enter. That is all.

God is always standing behind us, just like our shadow, but we go on searching for money, power and prestige. We never look at the subtle presence of life that surrounds us. We never look within, where it burns like a flame.

That is why we never look into someone's eyes; we avoid them. There is a subtle contract among human beings all over the world to never look into each other's eyes for more than three seconds. It is strange that this is so in all cultures. Looking into someone's eyes longer than a few seconds is called staring and is considered impolite. It is thought to be uncivilized and rude, unless you are intimate with that person, unless you are in love with that person. However, even when people are in love, they do not look into each other's eyes as windows to the Divine; they look into each other's eyes just for bodily, sexual energies.

Our eyes express everything about us: our body, physiology, psychology, and also our spirituality. Our eyes are our windows: People can look through them to our deepest core.

In our Bhakti Spurana Program, BSP, there is a meditation where two people look into each other's eyes for thirty minutes. Ask those who have been through this experience about what it taught them. They are deeply moved. They look into another person's eyes, in most cases someone they have just met at that program, for a full thirty minutes. They discover themselves during this process. Not only do they learn about the other person, they learn about themselves. The 'me' in the person gradually melts and transforms into 'You.'

BSP is for those who have undergone the first few levels of Life Bliss Programs such as the ASP and NSP. BSP introduces the master, inculcates the understanding of the master and explains the possible relationships with the master. All meditations in the BSP help you drop your mind, your ego. By dropping the mind, we find the master and the Divinity within ourselves.

Look deeply into a flower and you will find God. Look deeply anywhere and you will find God. God simply means the depth of things. Whenever we are in contact with the depth of things, immense energy becomes available to us.

In fact, we start seeking God only when God has already started seeking us. We move towards God only when God has stirred in the deepest core of our being. We are so unaware; that is why we think that it is our desire to seek and know the truth. We are so small that we can't have that great a desire! Understand that. When we are small, our desires are bound to be small.

People seek God only when God starts seeking them, although they think that they are seeking. Only finally, at the highest stage of meditation, do they become aware of the phenomenon that their whole understanding has been foolish. It was God seeking them, and that is why they started seeking God. However, God is always the one who takes the initiative.

It is the same with masters. They seek out disciples. It is not disciples who are in search, but masters who seek out the disciples.