Collective Consciousness🔗

To tell you honestly, I was always afraid to speak on this subject of Collective Consciousness, because there is too much truth involved in speaking out on this subject.

Man, as such, cannot handle too much of truth. If it is up to 30 or 40%, he can handle it well. But beyond that, the truth starts transforming him. He feels that the ground on which he is standing is moving away. To tell you honestly, none of us really wants to know the truth. If truth were to be given out honestly, there would be no one willing to accept it…except for a few teachers. The moment honest truths are given; people begin to get frightened. This includes both the teacher as well as the listener.

The bottom line is…Truth frightens us!

A western philosopher has written beautifully, 'Please don't take lies away, let man live on them, live with them'. It is indeed too much for us to bear, to have our lies taken away. These lies are the fundamentals for us to live life upon.

Lies are the base on which we live.

Why do you think we put on make up, dye one's hair and dress up? Why do we dress up in a colorful way, when we know that we are hiding the true self within ourselves? We do not want to see the truth, to face the fact that we have become old. We cannot accept the truth of our ageing and so pretend, fantasize and lie. We know that we are not what we show ourselves to be.

This is not the only way we hide the truth. There are many ways in which we try to hide the truth. Why do you think we have so many social courtesies? We basically respect each other. But for social courtesies, we always follow many formalities. We are taught from childhood to say 'please' and 'thank you', irrespective of whether we mean it or not, irrespective of whether the situation demands it or not. We do it only because social etiquette says so. Whenever we meet someone, we say 'Nice to meet you', even though we may dislike the person intensely.

Why do you think we prepare so many courteous words? When we meet someone we always say, 'Nice to meet you.', 'It feels so nice to be around you.' After some time we say, 'I need to go now; I have to take care of some work.' Why say such things? If we really feel nice, our whole being will show. The joy will be expressed by our body language. We need not even verbalize it.

Be very clear…if we really feel nice, our whole body, our being will show it.

We would not need to say 'Nice to meet you' to mean it and for the other person to understand this. Our whole body language…our smile…our sheer pleasure of meeting that person will make that obvious.

The more civilized a country or people as they believe themselves to be, the less natural they are in expressing the truth of their feelings. When someone smiles, the smile comes only from the lips…it is a plastic smile. This smile never touches the eyes. The eyes never smile, nor the heart. Laughter emanates and stops at the mouth. True laughter, however, comes from the belly. If a person truly laughs, with the feeling coming from his stomach, people stare at him as if he is guilty of misconduct; guilty of expressing the truth of his feelings.

We know that the truth is something else, but we dare not face the truth. Neither in the verbal language nor in the body language do we feel that we can we afford to be truthful. The simple truth is that truth straight away gives us enlightenment…it transforms us.

Let me tell you…there are so many ideas out there. The moment you imbibe a single point of truth or any single dimension of truth in any way, if you catch a single idea and imbibe it honestly, truthfully, it can do wonders.

Vivekananda says beautifully, 'Even if you memorize all the books in all the libraries of this world, it will not help you in any way, other than increasing your ego over the bookish knowledge you have. Use only one idea and try to imbibe it in your being, experience it in your life; your life will be transformed; even a single idea, just one idea!'

The life of 63 enlightened masters is beautifully described in the Tamil book Periapuranam (The Great Epic) brought out in the state of Tamilnadu in South Bharat.

If we study the life of these masters from this book, we find that there are some masters who have not done anything at all that seems worthwhile to us…nothing at all. Nothing has happened in their lives. There are some masters who have just plucked flowers and offered it to God and done nothing else. Yet, they achieved enlightenment. However, when they did the act of offering flowers, they were true and honest to the action.

It is not what we do that is important. It is how honest we are with our action, which really matters.

We also offer flowers everyday and do all possible things to please God, yet we are not enlightened. The only thing we get is extra expense in maintaining the garden or buying flowers!

We are not honest. When these masters pluck flowers to offer to God, they are thinking only of Him to whom they are offering the flowers. They are totally devoted to the thought of the deity and there is nothing else that is distracting them.

When we pluck flowers, even if it is to offer to a favorite deity, we are thinking of something else…somebody else. I have seen these people who do rituals regularly. Whenever they are doing any rituals, they are thinking of something else. Their thoughts are either on their office work or on some other thing in their life.

I have seen people who regularly chant the 1000 names of Gods and Goddesses, the Vishnu Sahasranama(the 1000 names in praise of Lord Vishnu) and the Lalitha Sahasranama ( the 1000 names in praise of Devi or Mother Goddess) as a ritual everyday. They are very proud that they will not eat a morsel till they finish chanting, which if done completely may take more than an hour. All these people…the moment they start chanting, very soon after they start, start looking at the number of the verse that they have reached. They are desperate to see how far they have read and how much remains to complete the chanting. They are bored and tired…it is just a chore that they are engaged in.

When your heart is not in it, even worship becomes a chore. However, when your heart is in it, even hard work becomes worship…joyful worship!

These people cannot focus on the chanting or the spirit of the prayer and do it only out of fear or greed. They do not have the honesty. The enlightened masters did not chant or pray out of fear or greed, or as a ritual, but only because they wanted to do it. They had an urge to do it. They did this out of their very being…from the very depths of their heart, in love and in tune with nature… with God.

From the moment we get out of the bed in the morning up to the end of our day, when we go back to bed, if we scan our day, it is filled with lies. All our smiles are false. If we smile we don't want the other person to know what is in our mind. So, we do not look into each others' eyes. Why is this so? To put it very simply, we are afraid that the other person will read our mind. We can present a big smile on our mouth even when our heart boils; but in our eyes, we cannot hide anything.

Be very clear, nothing can be hidden in our eyes. Our eyes are the doorway to our mind.

We can see the being straightaway in another person's eyes. We do not look into someone's eyes, because many times we say something and do something else, and we do not want them to know this.

A great philosopher professor had once stayed around me for a few days and attended a few discourses. He once asked me, 'Master, to give a 15 minutes discourse, I have to prepare for at least an hour, even for the same thing that I have been teaching for years together. However, I notice that everyday you are giving discourses at some place or the other with no preparation at all and all on new and different subjects everyday.'

Today, we had a discourse called 'Time the Ultimate Thief' in the afternoon, at a software company. The professor tells me, 'I know you do not prepare because you are so busy, you have no time. I have not seen you preparing at all for the speeches. How can you then speak continuously and give ideas? I need hours of preparation!' The answer to this question is very simple.

If our inner chattering is honestly what we have experienced, if our inner chattering, which is our thinking, is our own experience, then there is no need for preparation and your speech will be totally spontaneous, straight from your heart…straight from your experience.

Just open up…whatever comes out is your experience. For example, if someone asks you for your name, do you prepare? Do you need to carry hints for that? Of course not! It's your experience. Be clear, if something has not become your experience, you need to prepare to deliver a lecture.

Understand well that if we need to prepare to deliver a lecture or we are afraid of public speaking; it means that we are filled with lies. Our whole being is a lie, our life is a lie.

Why do you think we are all afraid of public speaking? We are afraid that we might speak whatever it is that we are thinking about. All our fear is nothing but the fact that we might spell out whatever is going on inside our mind. We know that there is much dirt inside us, that something might erupt out…that some garbage might tumble out, and we are scared. That is why we feel that we must prepare for what we need to speak, and also how we need to say it. We need to be sure that we do not speak something else, and that we need to remember the points one by one. If we forget something, we are afraid that we might start speaking something that is really in our mind. All this is done just to ensure that we don't speak something else. All this preparation is nothing but a technique to hide our true inner chattering.

Be very clear, if you are a speaker and are preparing for your speeches, then be absolutely sure, whatever you are speaking is a truly a lie. It has not become your experience; not become a part of your being, not internalized as a part of your being. It is just memorized and vomited.

A small story:

A teacher was walking down the school lobby with a guest she was showing around. As some students passed them by, they greeted her. She nodded her head curtly and muttered under her breath, 'Same to you.' Her guest asked her, 'Why do you never wish them back? Why do you have to say 'same to you'?'

The teacher just smiled and said, 'I have been a student myself and I know what they are thinking in their minds.'

Whenever you greet, just be aware of the thoughts underneath your greeting. Just be a little aware! Think of how many times we need to edit when and what we speak. However, if we are established in truth, our inner chattering will disappear. Our thinking will disappear. If we are completely truthful, we never have to think…we just need to relax and speak. Why do we need to think and plan continuously for this?

It may sound a little funny but it is not only for public speaking or discourses that we do this; even when we meet our friends, even with our spouse, we actually plan and rehearse the words that we are going to say. We also rehearse how to start…what to start with and then practice how we would continue on the topic. We actually do a full dress rehearsal! If the other person starts talking on a different path, we are lost and we have no idea of what to speak. We do a complete rehearsal only on what we know and want.

Mind you, if we need to prepare to speak to our boss, that is okay, we have to be courteous; else we might lose our job which is a part of our basic needs. That is at least a basic need, let us accept it, forget about it and move on. However, we have become so corrupt that even to talk to our friends and relate to family people, we continuously prepare our dialogues. If we have to prepare continuously, whatever we prepare, is a lie. Even if we state it as a fact, it is not the truth.

Understand well…merely stating a fact will not make it the truth!

We can state facts with many connotations, and most of them will be lies. A lie can always be dressed up to look like the truth with a little bit of cosmetic alteration. ```

In the Hindu epic poem Mahabharata, there is a revealing incident. Dronacharya was the General of the Kauravas, who were a clan of a hundred brothers battling their cousins, the five Pandava brothers. Krishna, the divine incarnation of God Vishnu, who was helping the Pandavas, planned to destabilize Dronacharya, so that he could be killed. Krishna knew that Drona could not be killed unless his mind was disturbed, and unless Drona was out of the way, the Kaurava army that he led could not be defeated. The only way to upset Drona was to kill his son.

Drona's entire energy was focused on his son Ashwathama. Krishna wanted someone to tell Drona on the battlefield that his son was dead. Drona was not attached to anyone except his son and Krishna knew that this was the only way he could upset him and then have him killed. Now, Krishna was also aware that Drona would not listen to just about anyone and believe that his son was killed. Krishna knew that Yudhishtra, the eldest of the Pandava Princes, would be the best person to announce that Ashwathama was dead.

Yudhishtra was known to be totally truthful and never to lie. Everyone believed him. Everyone trusted him. When Krishna asked Yudhishtra to tell Drona that his son Ashwathama was dead, Yudhishtra refused and said plainly, 'I cannot lie. Ashwathama is still alive. How can I say that he is dead?'

Krishna replied, 'That is okay. Here is an elephant named Ashwathama. Bheema, your brother, will kill him. You just say Ashwathama, the elephant, is dead. When you utter the word elephant, I shall blow my conch, so that your words are drowned out. This will take care that you are not lying and at the same time will get the job done.' Yudhishtra agreed to do this as he was only stating a fact. He announced loudly, 'Ashwathama, the elephant has fallen and is dead.' When he uttered the word elephant, Krishna blew the conch. Note here that the blowing of a conch signifies victory.

When Krishna blew the conch as Yudhishtra announced the rehearsed words, Drona believed him and went into deep depression. The death of a son is the very painful. He lost all his energy…laid down his arms and went into meditation. When a son dies, a part of the being dies. It was just too much to handle, even for Drona. One of the Pandava warriors then killed Drona, who refused to offer a fight. In his way Krishna had Drona killed leading to the defeat of the Kauravas.

If you notice here, Yudhishtra was totally factual yet not truthful, though he was not lying. Now, there is a clear distinction between being truthful and being factual. Everything factual is not truthful. Though Yudhishtra, who was also known as Dharmaraja, the King of Righteousness, did not lie, he did not speak the actual truth either. The next part of this interesting story goes like this.

It is said that Dharmaraja used to walk above the Earth; free from its bondage because of his truthful nature, and even the chariot he rode in, never touched the ground. Now, this is not the literal truth. Please understand that when one is in ecstasy…in bliss, he feels light, as if he is flying. Physically he would be on the ground but he would feel so light that it is a feeling of flying…a feeling of total boundaryless consciousness. The moment he uttered the statement about Ashwathama's death, even though it was a fact, he came down to Earth; his chariot which was flying above the ground…touched the ground. The story states that he lost his state of boundaryless consciousness, and he touched the ground. Truth was lost. His honesty was lost.

In real life, why do we lie so much? Why does a husband always tell his wife that he loves her? If he really loves her, then the body language should show that. By declaring again and again that he loves his wife, he is only reminding himself that he is supposed to love her.

When you are speaking too many words, please be very clear that you are lying; you are not speaking the truth. You are simply covering a lie with a lot of decorations.

Speaking the truth is very dangerous, really very dangerous. If you speak the truth you will have space in the inner world but not in the outer world. If you speak the truth, you shall have space amongst the enlightened people but not the other folks. Mind you, it is that dangerous. That is why I never wished to speak on this subject of Collective Consciousness.

Understand that Collective Consciousness is a great truth. I believe that for any truth to stand logical questions and answers, it will have to stand the test of logical analysis. You see…if one needs to verify that something is pure gold then it needs to put it in acid and tested. This is called the acid test. This acid test is required to test the truth of gold. In the same manner, if you wish to find out whether something is pure truth or not, you need to put it through an acid test of logical analysis. If is the truth…your logic will simply fall and fail.

When logic falls, realize that it is the truth. Anything that is the truth will simply destroy our logic. This means that our logic will become so tired, it will fall by itself. If it is the ultimate truth then it will have to stand the test of logical analysis. It should be able to withstand all the logical acid tests that it would be put through.

I have decided to bring these few truths and present them in this discourse. However, more important are the questions and answers as well as the discussion session that follow my talk.

After the talk, how much you will be able to internalize is the bigger question. The question and answer session is similar to eating in a restaurant. If you are satisfied with the menu card, you will make your choice and then proceed to eat. If you want to internalize what you hear as answers to your questions…it is once again only your choice.

Now, I shall present the great truths about Collective Consciousness. This may surprise you or it may be something that you already know. Irrespective of whether this concept is new or old for you, try to analyze this truth…try to internalize as much as you can…try to question until the logic falls.

The First Truth:

All our minds are not individually separate pieces of the universe. They are all one and the same.

All our minds are interlinked. Not only are they interlinked but they also directly affect one another. This is what I call Collective Consciousness. Our thoughts are as infectious as the common cold. People may escape from another's cold that is not so infectious, but our thoughts are more infectious than the common cold.

If we catch a cold from someone, we may suffer physically for a few days and then finally get over it. However, when we catch thoughts from people, not only do we suffer mentally but the suffering is also forever. Be very clear…not just once, but forever. Similarly, anything that we think, affects all those around us. Our thoughts touch not only those staying around us but also everyone living on this planet Earth.

Understand that our intellect will definitely resist this truth now. How can these statements that I have just uttered be true? We shall analyze this later during the question and answer sessions, one by one…inch by inch. I have declared the first truth now. All of us are not different beings or different minds. We are all totally interlinked…closely networked. Any of my thoughts can transform you and any of your thoughts can touch me. We are not separate individuals, we are not an island. Please be very clear, we are not individual islands, separated from each other and uninfluenced by each other! There is only one truth that links all of us. This truth is Collective Consciousness.

The Second Truth:

You are connected not only at the mental level, but even at the deeper conscious levels. The deeper you go, the deeper you are connected.

I shall explain this truth on the basis of the diagram 'Seven Energy Bodies'.

The first layer is the physical body. The second is the P*ranic* body, the layer of energy comprising breath. There are 7 such energy layers of the body, ending with the N*irvanic* layer, which is the energy layer of the Universe. You can see that these are actually concentric circles representing the layers.

Now, in the physical layer, you, God and I can be represented as three different points in the concentric circle, quite far from each other, say 120 degrees from one another. In the physical layer, the distance is too much.

If you come down a little bit to the P*ranic* level, the distance is reduced. If you come down deeper to the mental level, the distance between you and I is further reduced and so is the distance between you, God and I. When you travel deeper and deeper, and finally reach the N*irvanic* level, these three entities finally merge into one.

Please be very clear that at the deep end of all these layers, God, you and I are one. There is no distance.

Yes, it is very hard for the intellect to believe this and therefore it will resist. However this is the Truth. As I have already said, nobody wants to hear the truth as it leads to a transformation of the self.

Be absolutely clear that when you reach this inner level, God and you are one, you are God, God is you.

Let us go a little deeper into this truth. We all seem different entities at the physical level. When you love someone intimately, his or her love and suffering affects you. It comes and goes out of your being. At a deeper level, there is no individual entity; and each one of us is a part of the Collective Consciousness. You do not want the suffering however you cannot escape from the suffering. Have you noticed that whether it is a physical pain or mental suffering or spiritual bondage, you get it again and again? This is because you are not aware that you are a part of the Collective Consciousness. Once you become aware and realize that you are a part of the Collective Consciousness, that you don't have an individual identity, you realize that you do not have a separate ego.

All of us think that we own our intellectual identity. However the simple truth is…in existence, no such thing as a separate individual identity exists. Once we know this truth, we go beyond pain, sufferings, depressions and diseases. Understand clearly…that as long as we have concepts, we are individually conscious; whether physically or mentally, at the being level, we shall be continuously suffering.

Have you noticed that man is continuously resisting nature? Whatever nature offers, we resist. There is a beautiful saying that goes like this.

Man as a rule is a fool When it is hot asking for cool When it is cool asking for hot Always asking for what IS not?

When it is cool, we resist. We think we are different from existence. I have seen Sanyasis(ascetics), enlightened masters living in the Himalayas, almost nude in the cold, in the snow. I have myself lived like that. However the body was never disturbed. It never had a problem. I never thought that I was different from the atmosphere, never had the feeling of separation from nature. It is only when we start thinking that we are different from the atmosphere, from the air that is around us, we start resisting it.

Let us test this very simple concept now. If you are feeling cold, just relax, identify the area where you are feeling cold and simply witness that area. In that specific area, do not resist the atmosphere, the air, the temperature, nature and existence. Just say to yourself, 'I am not going to resist nature, I am not going to resist the temperature, I am not going to resist existence…let me relax'. Be conscious and decide; with this you shall see the body relaxing and the idea of cold disappearing from that part of the body. You become completely comfortable.

We may wonder whether we can extend this experiment to an extreme condition, and checkup whether we can do this in snow and ice, and resist the cold. It is the mind…it likes to always think of extremes. We can do it…if we can do it with totality. However, we do not have that much totality or that much clarity. If we can fall totally in tune with nature, we can surely be comfortable even in extreme conditions. There are many human beings who do that and so can we. It is only when we think that we are something different from nature that we are disturbed by nature.

The air is full of all possible bacteria and viruses. At any given moment a single virus or bacteria can cause a disease in us. However if we are in total tune with nature, then even if the viruses or bacteria get inside our body, they leave us alone. We will not be disturbed.

The moment we start thinking that we are an individual body, which is separate from existence, our whole body becomes our enemy.

Be very clear about this…you are a part and everything is the whole. If you fall in tune with the whole, the whole behaves as your friend. The moment you start thinking, discriminating or behaving with the whole in opposition, it starts acting like an enemy. Remember, the whole isn't here to kill you or destroy you.

The whole…the universe, is a hologram of which we are a part. Just as in a hologram, every single part of the hologram, even if split, reflects the totality of that hologram, we reflect the totality of the whole that is the universe.

Take another example. When a person falls into a well, drowns and dies, the dead body floats. The dead body is heavier than water! Yet, it floats. However a living body does not float. It drowns. Why do you think this is so? As long as we are living, we are not able to relate with water as a part of ourselves. The ego prevents that; the mind prevents that. In the dead body there is no mind and no ego and so very light.

I repeat…we should think that we are a part of the whole. We should relate ourselves with existence.

The other day I read an interesting interview of this man who survived his jump into the Niagara Falls. This being an unusual event and a very daring one, there were all kinds of journalists questioning him. If you have been to the Niagara Falls, you can imagine the depth of the fact that someone survived jumping down the Niagara Falls. I cannot imagine someone surviving the Niagara Falls!

This man answered beautifully, 'When I jumped I became a part of the Niagara Falls. I felt like I was a part of it. I never felt that I was different from those Falls.'

When we are in tune with the Collective Consciousness, when we become a part of the collective consciousness, nature is with us, nature is our friend, and nature protects us. Nature will not harm us.

When we start thinking that we are different from nature; that we are individual consciousness, nature will not protect us. Let us be clear that as long as we are in tune with the Collective Consciousness…nature protects us.

Wherever we want to achieve success, either in the social or economic world, when we tune in with the whole group, fall in tune with the Collective Consciousness; we will achieve whatever it is that we want to achieve. As long as we feel that we are separate individuals, we want to keep that identity distinctly and we wish to have an idea that we are somebody… an identity, be very clear that we will be resisted and we will be resisting. The moment we start resisting, we make a hellish experience out of it.

Whether in the home, office, workplace or industry…this is bound to happen. However, if we disappear into the Collective Consciousness, we will be protected and taken care of again and again. We will attain complete success, not only socially and economically, but we will also experience it. It would be a feeling of fulfillment which is inexplicable.

A small story:

A man is told that his wife has fallen into the river and he needs to jump and save her. He immediately jumps and starts swimming against the current. Everybody is surprised and asks him, 'Hey, why are you swimming against the current?' He replies, 'You guys don't know my wife. Even if she falls in the river, she will float against the current. She resists everything so much that she will also resist the current.'

As long as we resist the current, whether it is our workplace, our house, our company or any other place for that matter, as long as we do not disappear into the Collective Consciousness, we will be continuously creating hell for ourselves and for others.

Tao, the ancient Chinese philosophy contains the same teaching. Tao is all about flow…it is about flowing with nature. Water is the greatest illustration of such a natural flow. Water simply flows with the landline, around obstacles…smoothly and energetically. Tao talks about the reeds in the water that bend with the flow and straighten up once the flow is less. That can only happen when we do not imagine ourselves be different from our environment.

Even in the physical layer, if we think we are something separate, be very clear, we shall be inviting diseases. Another point here is that in the mental layer…if we think we are separate as an individual, we shall be sowing the seeds of violence again and again.

Seeds of violence are created whenever we feel we are an individual, unconnected or unrelated to others. We turn selfish, dogmatic, and violent. We turn into terrorists. With individual consciousness, we dissect, we cut things into pieces and such logic always breaks. However, with Collective Consciousness, we unify.

Be clear…intuition always unites!

At the soul level, if we think we are separate individuals, spiritually, we cannot even take the first step. There is no possibility of any spiritual growth.

First of all, remember that at the physical level, we are not independent individuals. Our body and the body of the Sun and the Moon are pre-connected. Any small change in the body of the sun can make changes in our body. Any small change in our body can change the body of the Moon and vice versa. Some of us may have noticed that the phases of the Moon affect the state of our mind. We may not be able to logically relate these changes… however it is true.

In the mental layer, also, we are not alone. At any given point of time, any thought rising from anyone else's head comes and touches us and any thought created in someone else's mind goes and touches someone else. This is going on continuously.

Be clear…any thought sowed by someone else can touch us and affect us.

Thoughts are like ripples created on the surface water of a lake. If we are creating a strong wave, we shall be creating an impression with our thought. We shall be leading and inspiring others with our thoughts. However if our thoughts are not solid enough, other waves will impress us.

Either we live as leaders or as followers. There is no in between. The mind might think, 'I will not be a leader as I cannot do that much. I will not be a follower either so I shall maintain my own stand.' This is simply impractical. There is no such thing as 'my own stand.' Either we lead or we follow!

At the mental level also, if you continuously think that you are a separate individual, you shall be resisted, again and again. The moment you understand that you are a part of the Collective Consciousness; you will not be resisted instead you will actually be welcomed and accepted.

The Third Truth:

Finally, at the spiritual level, the moment we understand that we are deeply, totally, and intensely connected to the whole group, to the whole universe, not only do we start experiencing the bliss, but we also really start to live. This opening up leads to the opening up of the many different dimensions of our being.

Right now, we are stressed out and disturbed continuously, at the same time we also have to think too much. With this one body, we have to think so much and enjoy so much. Do we have the time or the inclination to go deep into our layers and expand?

We cannot even begin to imagine the many different dimensions and possibilities that will open up to us when we disappear into this Collective Consciousness. See, now with one body, it is a feeling of joy and you can enjoy so much. Imagine what can you do if you have two bodies? Just imagine what you can do when you have so many bodies! Imagine that one body is an air conditioner and the other one is a heater….imagine three different bodies in different countries enjoying different cultures. Similarly if the multitudes of bodies increase, so would the joy…the bliss. Whatever we experience as individuals, we will be able to experience far more when we are a part of the Collective Consciousness.

During the entire Nithyananda Spurana Program (NSP), you will realize that you are a part of the Collective Consciousness. It will not stop there as you will realize that not only are you a part but you are the collective consciousness.

Remember that you are not just an individual consciousness as you think. As you start traveling deeper and deeper… layer by layer, the realization dawns that you are just one with everything. As a result, you start feeling a sense of well being in the mental layer, the pranic layer, the etheric layer, the physical layer and all the other layers and automatically all diseases disappear.

When you really experience that you are the boundaryless consciousness, it is an unbelievable experience that is difficult to imagine.

I have seen people at the end of the program in such ecstasy that they forget their name, their identity, their social status, their education, their qualifications, their wealth, their religion… everything that they are and they have. They basically respect the other person… respect everyone and they fall at each other's feet.

I have seen the father-in-law falling at the feet of his daughter-in-law. In Bharat this never happens. It is too much to ask for as per the traditions followed here! However this has happened at the end of the program only because he is able to see the divinity in her. The mother-in-law sees the divinity in her son-in-law and falls at his feet. Grand parents touch the feet of grand daughters. Bosses or owners touch the feet of their staff or the persons working under them.

This experience of oneness or Collective Consciousness makes us forget all differences of name, wealth, social status, and prestige. Whatever we think of ourselves, all of it just disappears and what we truly are is revealed. I have seen that by touching the feet of their worst enemies, they forget the past, they are raised, they experience such a deep level of consciousness…such bliss that literally the ego disappears. They just go around and see God in everyone and they are in bliss…ecstasy…Collective Consciousness. Mind you, it is not that they are visualizing or hallucinating. When the experience happens, the whole group realizes that they are all one and the same. They are not different entities.

Understand this clearly…only when we experience Collective Consciousness, we can realize and experience the meaning of the word bliss...eternal bliss…Nithya Ananda.

I pray to the ultimate divine to allow you to experience this ultimate bliss…Nithya Ananda. Thank you.

Questions and Answers

Q: According to Science, vacuum is absence of matter. But according to you, vacuum is energy. If matter is manifestation of energy then how would you define vacuum?

A: Please understand that now science has changed its view. Now, scientists are coming up with a clear cut idea that no such thing as a vacuum can be created. Even in space where you say a vacuum exists, Ether is present. Ether is a form of energy. Scientists are also coming up with the understanding that Ether is also matter. It can be measured and handled.

Science has evolved so much that it can now catch up with spirituality. It can understand spiritual truths and they have started understanding that vacuum is not the absence of matter. It is the absence of certain parts of matter. There are 5 elements in nature. These are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether. Vacuum is the absence of 4 of these elements; Earth, Water, Fire and Air. That's all. It is not the absence of matter; it is the absence of only these 4 elements. So, Science has changed its opinions. This answers the question. My stand has been accepted by scientists and they are also coming up with concepts to work on Ether.

Thousands of years ago the sages of the Eastern world had developed Vāstu Śāstra (a practical application of elemental energies to buildings, similar to the Chinese concept of Feng Shui) to utilize the power of Ether in daily life. The power of Vāstu Śāstra, the technique of building houses, is all based on the science of Ether. Scientists are now working on how to use the power of Ether effectively.

According to me and according to science, vacuum is energy. Vacuum is not absence of matter. According to me, energy and vacuum are one and the same.

Q: If non-living things like rocks have intelligence, is there any difference between the intelligence of human beings, non-living things and animals.

A: There is only one difference…human beings have the ability to make a conscious choice. He can decide whether he would like to live with that intelligence or not. Animals and non-living things do not have the choice. They are intelligent by birth and remain intelligent. Human beings have a choice; they have a choice to become fools! That's the only difference. By nature intelligent, human beings have a choice to be intelligent or fools. Except for this one difference, there is none other.

The very nature of animals and non-living things is intelligence. They are in the intelligence of nature, which cannot go wrong. Human beings have a choice to be intelligent or not to be; invariably and unfortunately they misuse that choice and choose not to be intelligent in the way of nature.

What humans consider to be intelligence is contrary to nature and a tragic error of choice.

Q: I understand that as we go deeper into the 7 bodies, the distance becomes less. How does one move down in levels of the body and stay there so that one can truly experience Collective Consciousness?

A: It is as simple as saying 1, 2, 3. I really mean it; it is as simple as 1, 2 and 3. One, after this lecture go and find a volunteer. Two, register for the NSP. Three, be here tomorrow morning for the NSP. Just 1, 2, 3!

You can experience and stay there.

Q: It has been said that an individual has control over his mind. Does this mean that outside minds can still influence an individual's mind and thought process? How can we control this so as to prevent this and control the anger and depression? This refers to the first truth you stated. Thank you.

A: Nice question. It is said that an individual has control over the mind. May I know who that individual is? Okay, do you have control over your mind?

Questioner: Sometimes I find it difficult Master.

Alright…this is the answer that I get from almost everyone. How can you believe the first sentence that one has control over one's mind? This is only said, not practiced, and never experienced. So that particular statement is wrong. The next thought then, does this mean that outside minds can still influence an individual's mind and thought process?

The answer is yes. Are you married?

Questioner: Yes, Master!

Since you are married…quite simply, by now you know that your husband can influence your thought process. One small fact…this is not only by giving orders but also without giving orders.

Let us say that you want to come for meditation…it need not necessarily be you, but could be anybody else…when you say that you want to go for meditation, he does not refuse, however he puts on a long face. He can influence your meditation here even though he is not here. When you are sitting here, you will be continuously meditating on his long face! Mind you, you will meditate upon his very energy, which is negative.

Let us assume that you wish to come here again. This next time, you don't bother with taking your husband's permission. He has not said anything and there have been no negative physical or verbal signs, or discussions about this matter. When you are here and are in a joyful mood, just imagine how you will feel if you suddenly get a thought about him. It is true that your energy will change. Your memory, just a memory of thinking how he will react negatively will put you into a low and negative mood. So understand that it is very real that others can influence your mind even without expressing their thoughts, or expressing their mind. This stands true even if you have not seen them or never met them. The very awareness of their thought structure and thinking process is enough to change your mood.

Q: How do we control these influences of mind so as to avoid anger and depression?

A: The answer is again the same…only Meditation!

Just analyze the 7 chakra (energy centers) of your body's individual consciousness. You are nothing more than an onion. Please be very clear, you are nothing more than an onion. Peel the onion…layer by layer. What is there inside? Just emptiness! The onion thinks it has got something solid but when it is opened layer by layer, it is empty. Similarly, man thinks that he is only individual consciousness, but if the individual layers are peeled, we experience that we are nothing but Cosmic Consciousness…the Collective Consciousness. Experiencing the Cosmic, Collective Consciousness is the one and only definite way to prevent anger or depression that sneaks inside your consciousness from others…through others…by others. Thank you.

Q: Why do we have to have to suffer? In our childhood, we are trained to be separate from others. In schools, we are taught to be somebody. As adults, we are then taught to compete with others. If the ultimate truth is that we are all one and we are pure bliss, then why cannot mass consciousness also reflect this joy, peace and love?

A: This is a beautiful question and has a lot of potential meaning. Therefore I shall answer this question step by step.

Those people who have created the present system of education are not enlightened. The system of education designed and developed by the ancient sages in the East, the gurukul structure (a type of ancient Hindu school that is residential in nature with the shishyas or students and the guru or teacher living in close proximity, many times in the same house) is totally out of practice. It is no longer alive today.

Let me highlight a few points about the Gurukul system of education that was initiated by the enlightened masters. In this system, any child who belongs to the country belongs to the master, the guru. The guru takes care of all of them and parents have no rights over them. Let me explain a few rules here to elaborate on this.

Up to the age of seven children in the gurukul were not allowed to wear clothes. You will definitely laugh at this. But this was done so that they do not get the idea that they are individual bodies. They were allowed to relate with existence…with Ether straightaway. They were allowed to relate with flowers, forests, trees, and Earth. This ensured that until the child's seventh year the idea that they are somebody; or that they are somebody as asked in the question did not form itself in the mind.

This also taught them not to suppress the opposite gender that is alive in them. They were not given the idea that they are male or female. Understand that when we are born, all of us have the characteristics of both the genders within us. A man is only 51% male and 49% female. Similarly a woman is only 51% female and 49% male. It is our upbringing, dictated by societal rules that classify us into rigid gender differentiation right from birth. Therefore we end up suppressing the opposite gender within us.

In the gurukul system, children were encouraged to keep their gender commonality open. This system made sure that children were not given the idea that they are some body. They were also not taught to separate their body from the environment.

Try to follow only these few things with your kids. First of all do not separate their upper and lower body with clothes at the waist. Make them wear clothes that cover the whole body. Next, do not keep continuously encouraging them to develop the idea that they are somebody. We believe that this is what builds their identity and self esteem, and this is where we are making disastrous errors.

Of course, it will be very difficult for you to do this as you need to send them to school and have them relate to the society around.

In the ancient gurukul system, at the age of seven, the children, both boys and girls, were given a meditation technique. Even if they formed such an idea that they are male or female, they used this meditation technique to dilute that imbibed feeling. This meditation technique helped them to flush out the feeling of gender uniqueness out and again and again helped them tune into the Collective Consciousness. This is what we now call the Gayatri Mantra (a sacred chant or mantra taught before adolescence). From seven to fourteen they practiced the Gayatri through which they continuously connected to the Collective Consciousness.

By the age of fourteen, by the time they reached adolescence, they would have had a glimpse of the Collective Consciousness and its blue print. After they have had the glimpse of the blue print, depending on the intensity of their glimpse, they would be given deeper meditation techniques, so that they could go deeper and deeper into these techniques. Thus by the age of 21, they had every opportunity to become enlightened.

I'll tell you honestly, there was a time when 70% of all the people were enlightened. The remaining 30% were working towards it. The social structure created by the enlightened masters consisted of people either already enlightened or others who were working towards it. There was no other category. Just two categories: achieved and working towards it…Enlightened and Seekers! Unfortunately, we have lost that system.

That is why I have to conduct the NSP every week all around the world and it is not very easy to conduct this program. Everyone who attends, says, 'Master, you get so little rest in these two days.' There are also people who come and say, 'How is it possible for you to retain such energy?' Of course, these people are not tired as they are energized throughout the program through various meditations. They wonder about their energy level and ask me how despite the long hours in these two days of NSP they do not feel tired at all. I tell them this is just one weekend for you. But for me, this has been every week for the last year. Every weekend we are busy with such programs.

If you observe the calendar , you will notice that there is absolutely no weekend when we have not conducted such a program. The calendar is full until the next year and we are totally committed for each weekend. In Bharat, it is a four day program and we are continuously conducting these programs. I conduct the Ananda Spurana Programs (ASPs) and the NSPs as there is no longer a Gurukul system today.

Well, we have already started a Gurukul system in the Bidadi ashram in Bharat. We have some devotees whose children are a part of the Gurukul system here in the ashram. We expect to revive the Gurukul system soon, without disturbing modern education and without disturbing their link to the Collective Consciousness.

Q: Master, do you think undifferentiated Nirvikalpa consciousness is more or less suitable for us compared to Savikalpa collective consciousness? (These terms refer to two of the three commonly understood states of enlightenment of great Masters, the third being Sahaja Samadhi). A: Let me tell you from my experience. I don't know about yours, but from my experience I find that there is no difference between Savikalpa Samadhi and Nirvikalpa Samadhi. When you reach enlightenment or S*amadhi* there is no difference between Savikalpa Samadhi and Nirvikalpa Samadhi. When you reach 99%, there is no difference in the 99% level and 100% level. These are just words. In my experience, when I reached Savikalpa Samadhi, I just dropped into Nirvikalpa Samadhi. It is not that I had to do something to reach Nirvikalpa. When I experienced Savikalpa, I just dropped into Nirvikalpa. This is my experience; this is how I achieved enlightenment.

Another point here…if I look at undifferentiated consciousness and collective consciousness, I did not find any difference between them except the words.

A Small story:

In Bharat, a big fight goes on between the Savikalpa Samadhi group and the Nirvikalpa Samadhi group. The Savikalpa Samadhi group is this Ramanuja group of Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita, the bhakti and the duality category (philosophies that consider man and God to be separate unlike advaita which states that man is divine and God resides within). Nirvikalpa Samadhi group is the Shankara or the advaita group. These two groups are always fighting.

A small story within this small story:

There is a tank in the middle of a village. There are four new people who come to the village and are about to enter into the tank. One person says, 'There is water here, I need to drink.' The second guy says, 'This is paani (water in Hindi), I need to drink.' The third says, 'This is thanni (water in Tamil). The fourth guy says, 'No, this is neeru (water in Kannada). I know it. This tank was built by my grandfather.'

The four guys start fighting with each other over the word water as they perceive it their own languages before entering into the tank. The four of them fight so badly that they finally kill each other and mind you this happened even before they go anywhere near the tank. Had they been patient and entered the tank or at least peeped into the tank, all four would have understood that they are only juggling between words that stood for water in different languages but it's all the same! Water, Paani, neeru or thanni…they are all the same.

Similar is this fight between these words regarding samadhi. Both are one and the same. It is nothing but a misunderstanding within the same category. In the story of the water tank, the guys claim that their grandfather said this and their grandfather said that. They continue to fight even before entering the tank. Be very clear, if we just have a little bit of patience and courage to peep into the tank, we can drink the water and also supply it to everyone else. We can experience the bliss and radiate it to everyone else.

This fight between the Ramanuja groups and Shankara groups is just as amazing. The Ramanuja group guys carry a big bell. If someone utters the word Shankara they ring the big bell and shake their heads. If someone utters the word Narayana, the Shankara group guys go and have baths to cleanse themselves.

Now in such a scholarly shop, there is a version of the Brahma Sutra (a great scriptural work in Sanskrit, where the teachings of Vedanta are set forth in a systematic and logical order) by Ramanuja and another version by Shankara. Once a scholarly gentleman went there and asked a volunteer, 'What is the difference between these two, the Brahma Sutra, the Ramanuja version and the Brahma Sutra, the Sankara version?' The volunteer replied, '45 Rupees.'

The difference is a mere 45 rupees…one dollar! Let me tell you, this fight has been going on for the last one thousand years. The whole fight is solved by this one single answer…45 rupees or one dollar. Understand clearly that this is my experience. When I fell into Savikalpa Samadhi, I just dropped into Nirvikalpa Samadhi. You would know whether there is a difference only from your own experience.

Q: How can you live in truth when it is so hard for others and so difficult for us to hear it?

A: You see when I say that you would know better about your experience, there is a good chance that you might get hurt or feel bad, but that's the truth and there is no way around it. Even if it is so hard for others and for us to hear, there is no other way to live with the truth.

Q: Is it possible to skip layers to attain the Nirvanic body. You mentioned sudden enlightenment. I am confused with this. Please explain.

A: Please be very clear that sudden enlightenment happens by penetrating the seven layers. There is no shortcut. There is no skipping of layers. You cannot skip the seven layers as you have them; you cannot skip the seven layers because that is the truth. Even if you attain sudden enlightenment, you will penetrate all seven layers in a second. If one could create a short cut, I would have done that and abridged my programs. I do my best to abridge all my programs and I find that there is no room for more editing or updating.

Only the most up to date version of consciousness is being offered by me. I can say for sure that the program Nithya Spurana Program (NSP), with meditations focusing on layer by layer, is the updated, the most updated version of consciousness. You can decide for yourself whether its software or hardware!

Q: I have heard and read that you have the ability to heal men and women of their physical ailments but can you heal minds that have been corrupted by the materialistic world? Is it possible to get rid of the mind's imperfection so that one can search for God with a pure mind?

A: First of all you should understand that I do not heal. It is my presence that heals. When the sun rises, the lotus blooms by itself. The sun need not go and open the petals of the lotus. Similarly, in the presence of the master, healing happens. Be very clear that healing is not done…it happens. I can heal your body as it is in my presence. In the same way, if you open your mind, it can be healed. In the NSP, that's what we do…opening of minds. You are asked to write for yourself about yourself, about your pains, desires, guilt and pleasures and you are not going to show these to anyone else.

People ask me why I ask people in the NSP program to write all this. Understand that you are not going to show what you write to me or anyone else. People also ask me, 'When I know all this, why I should write it down?' I reply that by writing it all down you are opening your mind in my presence. You are opening your mind and hence I can heal your mind. If you open it, the sun can heal it. The energy heals all the wounds. NSP is opening up your energy layers one by one and your pains, pleasures, guilt and desires are opened up. When these open up, you experience God; not only do you search for God but experience God, since a pure mind is God itself and not something separate from It.

Q: If we are all a part of the Collective Consciousness then how does God come into this?

A: Collective Consciousness is what I call God. The whole is what I call God. When you are whole, you are holy!

Today is the Hindu festival day of Holi (the festival of colors), raas purnima(the night of full moon when a special type of folk dance is performed), when Radha, the consort of Krishna and the gopis (women cowherds) experienced Collective Consciousness; when Krishna gave the experience of Collective Consciousness to the groups of gopis and Radha. We have a very wrong idea about this raas leela…the romantic play of Krishna. We think that this raas leela is something where Krishna had a sexual relationship with so many women.

This is a very wrong concept. Krishna was only 10 years old then. We have not read the original scriptures and yet we have come up with our own conclusions. We do all this interpretation to support our own qualities. We pick up and support what we want to experience. We just want some support from some scripture and some master so that we can do something behind his back. So we just start blaming Krishna. What actually happened was that he gave the experience of Collective Consciousness to whole groups of gopikas and Radha. This Collective Consciousness is what I called God.

Q: God has not created us, therefore if all of us are one, who created us?

A: If you had attended yesterday's discourse, you would have understood. If it is possible for you, listen to the discourse, 'Chaos is Order, Order is Chaos.' Nobody has created you. Nobody is creation, nobody is the creator. Nobody has been created. This Universe created itself!

There is only one thing…which is Creation. Creation itself has created itself by its own intelligence. Creation, Creator, Created… all the three are one and the same.

When someone asked Buddha as to who or what created the Universe, He replied, 'The Universe creates the Universe. The Universe has its own energy, its own intelligence and its own power to replicate, grow endlessly and evolve limitlessly.

There never was a time when it did not exist; there never will be a time when it will not exist. This is the Truth…This is the Truth I experienced. For more on this, listen to my discourse 'Chaos is Order, Order is Chaos.'

I pray and bless you all. May you all have this eternal bliss…Nithya Ananda.