The Churning - Master's Experience and Disciple's Logic🔗

Now I will take a few minutes to analyze whatever I expressed. Please understand, whatever I expressed is more like 'Athaato Brahma jignyaasa' or 'Let us inquire into the reality'. I have proposed whatever I wanted to propose. Now, you can analyze it through your questions. It is like a journey where the Master's experience and the disciple's logic is used to do the churning. When the disciple's logic is used to work on the churning with the Master's experience, suddenly you will see the amrita – the sweetness. The Master's experience comes out. If the disciple's logic is not intelligent enough to stay with the Master patiently, then that logic emits something which is called poison. That logic will escape and run away out of its tiredness. It thinks it is not going to survive, so it emits poison.

In the story of the churning of the milky ocean, Vasuki the snake emits poison when it is used as the churning rope by the gods and demons. The disciple's logic is just like Vasuki. When Vasuki thought it couldn't survive, it started vomiting poison. When the logic feels it can't survive these great Truths and it is going to disappear as life is going to take a different direction, it vomits the poison called doubt, and creates problems.

If you have patience to work with the Master's experience, you will see that the 'amrita' of enlightenment comes out of your system. Let us churn the Master's experience with our questions, so you can internalize all these great Truths, all these great revelations. Now we will enter into the process and the meditation technique after your questions.

Q: I recite the Lalitha Sahasranama. At times I feel the happiness with the names, I feel some of them very close to my heart. So I feel the oneness, but this state does not stay for long. How will I be able to stay in that state continuously? Please guide me.

A: I think we answered the same question yesterday. Do not decide that you should recite all the 1008 names. Devi is not sitting and taking accounts whether you recited all the 1008 names or not! Whatever makes you feel that oneness, that blissful state, recite those names and cherish. Enjoy those experiences and that mood and rest with that. If you really feel that you are in that state, further chanting will disturb that state. Just close the book and leave it. You achieved what needs to be achieved through chanting. Do not use the technique to disturb your peace! Sometimes you overdrive, you try beyond the point which you need to reach. So, do not overdrive. Stop where you are supposed to stop. So, start staying in that state whenever it happens by not doing anything. That is the best way to let that experience settle in you again and again.

Q: How do we know whether a Master is enlightened or not among all the other Masters in the world?

I tell you, whether the Master is enlightened or not, if your heart feels connected, go behind him. Even if he is not enlightened, you will become enlightened. Understand, if your heart feels connected, just go behind him, even if he is not enlightened and you will become enlightened.

If your heart does not feel connected, even if he is enlightened, he cannot help you. Even if he is enlightened, if your heart is not feeling connected to him, if you are not feeling that vibration, that ecstasy, that falling in tune with him, he will not be able to help you.

Just forget about it, so you don't have to bother about whether somebody is enlightened or not. Bother more about whether you feel connected or not. Judging the Masters is one of the best ways to avoid spiritual growth. If you want to avoid spiritual growth, the best method is judging the Masters. Start judging, so you don't have to judge yourself! The other day, one young man asked me, Like Vivekananda asked Ramakrishna, 'Have you seen God?' I am asking you, 'Have you seen God?'

I told him, when Vivekananda asked Ramakrishna, Ramakrishna said 'Yes' and Vivekananda was courageous enough to follow Ramakrishna. Not only have I seen but I can also show you God. Come with me.

The man just disappeared! We go on judging the Master but we never worry about our qualifications.

I tell you, if your heart feels connected, if you feel some goodness being around him or some charm about him, just go behind him. Even if he is not enlightened, you can become enlightened. I have seen many disciples becoming enlightened, but the masters were unenlightened.

Q: Animals don't get married and enjoy their life. Why should we get married and suffer? Is there anything in marriage not provided for animals?

It is a very controversial question. I thought when I first read, I will avoid, but marriage is my favorite subject, so I don't want to avoid! Here he is asking, 'Animals don't get married and live a free life, why should we get married and suffer? Is there anything in marriage that is not provided for animals?'

Yes. Animals take birth as polygamous and die as polygamous. Human being in seed, in potential form, when he takes birth, is polygamous but he should not die polygamous. He should have matured to become monogamous. Understand, that is what maturity is. Suddenly, you will see, when you start growing inside yourself, the deep friendliness liberates you from lust.

Please understand, just yesterday in our ashram, I was discussing this. In our ashramites' meeting I was teaching classes to my brahmacharis (unmarried disciples of the monastic order) about sannyas (life of disciples of the monastic order). The session had some very intimate questions and answers. There, I made a statement, a very important truth. It is not just for swamis, it is for everyone.

We need to understand, a deep friendliness will completely replace the need for lust. It is a very important sutra. Usually, in marriage, a deep hatred replaces lust.

A small story:

A thirty-year-old man goes to the doctor. After a thorough medical checkup, the doctor says, 'Your health is not for married life. You have to completely drop your physical relationship. You have to be celibate alone. This man says, 'No, no, I am just thirty! I cannot suddenly quit; I cannot suddenly stop. Give me some other alternative.' The doctor said, 'Ok, marry. Slowly it will automatically taper down!'

Understand, usually a deep hatred replaces your need for lust. But the truth is a deep friendliness can replace the need for physical relationship. If the deep friendliness replaces the need for physical relationship, that is what we call 'Vanaprastha' in the Vedic tradition, a ripened married life. When the married life gets ripened, it is called 'Vanaprastha'.

During the Vedic marriage, the blessing is given to the man, 'Let you become the eleventh son of your wife'. For the woman, the blessing is given, 'Let you become the eleventh daughter of your husband'. It means after ten years of living together, if the deep friendliness grows, suddenly you will see the need for physical relationship comes down, tapers down. So, I really feel the marriage system has something to contribute.

At least our Masters had something in their heart when they created this system of family. So surely, marriage system has something to add to you more than just the animal life. I can say that something is the deep friendliness. I can say, the physical relationship is more like confirming whether the other person is still in need of me and wants me and wanting to know whether the other person still loves me or not.

If the guarantee, the confirmation, the security that the person is in love with you, needs you and will miss you, settles down in both the hearts, suddenly, you will see the need for physical relationship come down. I can say, that is the gift, the fruit that you were supposed to have from the proper marriage system. That is the thing that animals cannot experience. Polygamous man can never experience the guarantee, the insurance that the other person loves you. If you experienced that, you have lived a pure fulfilling life, the life of a true, Vedic traditional 'grihastha'.

Q: Can anybody become the master or is he the chosen one?

Nobody needs to choose you. Only you need to choose you, that's all. Understand: fortunately, Masters are not chosen the democratic way! Nobody needs to vote for you. All you need to do is vote for yourself, that's all. You need to choose yourself. Nobody else needs to choose you.

Just decide consciously, from today, I am going to live the reality, the truth of my Being. That is the decision. You have become the Master, that's all! I always tell people, when I say I became enlightened on a particular day, do not think something has happened in my system. Of course, something has happened, but that is not the actual main thing I want to convey. The first thing that happened was very consciously, I decided, let me live my enlightenment. Because I decided, as a side-effect, something started happening in my body and mind. But people always think, first the experience should happen and then you decide. No! First the decision has to happen. Then the experience happens.

So, nobody needs to choose you. You have to choose yourself. That is the best thing. Fortunately there is no election for choosing the Masters.

Q: In yesterday's meditation, I felt strong concentration between the eyebrows and a strong vibration in the spine. Is this normal?

Yes, wonderful, you really had a good meditation. The vibration in the spine means that part of the Kundalini energy got awakened. That is a good experience.

Q: Swamiji, I would like to know the purpose of our life, the world, the universe and our God.

If you know the purpose of your life, you will be able to understand the other three automatically. Here you are asking: I want to know the purpose of our life, purpose of our world, purpose of our universe and purpose of our God.

The purpose of your life is the purpose of the universe. The purpose of the universe is the purpose of God. It means the purpose of your life is the purpose of God. Be very clear, find out the purpose of your life and you will be able to find out the purpose of God. But unfortunately, I cannot tell you the purpose of your life.

One more important thing, whatever you think as the purpose of your life, you will attract that kind of universe around you. You will create that kind of world around you. You will be devoted to that kind of God.

Understand, the purpose of your life decides the purpose of your world, the purpose of your universe and the purpose of your God.

If your purpose is just money, you will create that kind of a corporate world around you, you will create that kind of a corporate universe. You will understand the whole universe as a company.

The other day, I was reading a wonderful article describing the whole universe as a company, Global Earth Holdings. If the purpose of your life is just money, the whole world will look like a corporate company. It will feel like the universe is a corporate company and you will be naturally attracted to the God who gives or whom you believe will give money.

So, the purpose of your life is going to decide the purpose of your world, the purpose of your universe and the purpose of your God.

If you are enlightenment-based; if you feel that the purpose of your life is not money but enlightenment, suddenly you will see that you attract that kind of a society around you, that kind of a universe around you or that kind of God whom you believe will give enlightenment.

If you feel that you want both money and enlightenment, then your universe will be that way. You will create that kind of a world around you. You will feel attracted to the corresponding God.

So, I can say, the purpose of your life is the main core or thread. Unfortunately…I am sorry… fortunately... I cannot teach you that! You only have to find it out.

Q: My daughter, aged about twenty six, says she wants to become a sannyasi. She is not accepting marriage. Please kindly bless.

When an individual soul wants something, we can only bless for that individual decision. See, nobody can interfere with individual freedom. If the person wants to marry, you can't make her a sannyasi. If she wants to become a swami, you can't make her marry. Whatever she wants, let that happen. Only that is the right thing. I can only give that blessing. Also, I think you also expect only that, because here you have said, 'Please kindly bless my daughter'. What she wants, let her achieve, let her be successful in that. That's what I can say.

Q: Our life is a dream. How can a Master appearing in the dream pull you out of it?

It is a very nice question. You are asking, 'If life is a dream, how can a Master who is appearing in that dream pull me out of it?'

Understand, in the night, if you dream that a lion is chasing you, 'simha swapna', the lion is chasing you in the dream only, but the lion in the dream can pull you out of that dream. Simha swapna can just make you wake up. If you see a lion in the dream, what do you do? You just wake up. The very fear makes you just wake up.

Just like how the 'simha swapna' can wake you up, the Master who is happening in this dream can lead you to enlightenment. Master is a simha swapna. Understand, he is a simha swapna. He can just wake you up.

Q: Will the process of purification today bring us temporarily out of negativity?

It will permanently bring you out of negativity. Just go into it.

Q: When my Master clears my samskaras and takes care of me, my only duty is to do what he has told me. I do not need all this confusion about the layers; it is too much for a stupid disciple like me. Surrendering to the Master is all I can do.

Understand, surrender the idea that you are a stupid disciple. That is an important thing. Here you have surrendered everything except for the idea that you are a stupid disciple. Surrender the idea that you are a stupid disciple. Then you will be able to understand what I said. Then you will not say this is too much.

People come and tell me, 'Swamiji, I'll do whatever you say, but not all these meditations.' What do you mean? Meditation is what I am telling you to do. So do that, otherwise it is contradictory. Surrender to me, guru bhakti is supposed to lead you to atma bhakti. That is the reason for guru bhakti.

If you say, I am surrendered to you but I am stupid, this is too much for me, then don't think you have surrendered to me. You have surrendered many things to me but not the idea that you are stupid. Surrender that and you will realize the truth.

The unique thing with enlightened Masters is their immense practicality. When people come and tell me, 'I have too many worries. What to do Swamiji?' I tell them, 'Just worry and suffer! The suffering will teach.'

They come to me thinking I will give them some consolation.

Consolation is the worst nonsensical thing to delay your growth. Just suffer. Suffering is powerful enough to teach. You see, either you be intelligent and learn from the Master, or suffer and life will teach you, that's all. It is a little harder way, but no problem. Just suffer, life will teach, so do not try to avoid suffering.