Stepping Stones To Spirituality...🔗

Chapter 1

Freedom from Dilemma

I welcome you all with my love and respects.

Today's topic is "Freedom from Dilemma". Of course, it can also be called as 'Freedom of Dilemma'. I shall start the subject from Of or From. Freedom of Senses or Freedom from Senses. That is the basic dilemma which we have in the Life. People who think they need freedom of senses go towards the outer world and are materialists. They want freedom of senses; they want everything as they want. They do not want their senses to be disturbed, or to be conditioned by any social rules and regulations. The West works towards the freedom of senses and the East towards freedom from senses. Freedom of senses and freedom from senses is therefore the basic dilemma of the Humanity. The Human Consciousness has suffered from this one dilemma since the beginning, whether freedom of senses or freedom from senses.

Can you achieve freedom of senses? So much has been done in working towards freedom of senses. However, I do not know if even a single person has achieved it with success. It is because the very basic quality of senses. the very basic energy which moves the senses which we call 'Emotion', keeps us in bondage. What ever is the emotion, it keeps vou in bondage. When I say bondage, I mean Dilemma. Anything which creates dilemma is Bondage.

Desire means before the enjoyment you get the deep desire, but once you've enjoyed you suffer deep quilt. Guilt and Desire, they just come and go. Desire puts you in the dilemma of quilt and enjoyment. Similarly, when you experience fear, you do sometimes feel courageous and sometimes fear. You feel confident of facing anything at times and sometimes you feel depressed and dull. It is so for all other emotions such as anger, desire etc. Almost every one of us makes 'Sankalpa' that he will not get angry anymore.

A man came up to me one day. He said "Swamiji, I have been reading a lot of books on the ill effects to our body due to the habit of smoking". I said "Well, is that so? Have you stopped Smoking? He said "No Swamiii. I have stopped reading such books!"

Most often you know intellectually. however you are not able to follow experientially. You know intellectually that all your emotions are not going to be of any help in your life, and you also know that they disturb your life. However, you realize that it is not under your control. On the contrary, you are under its control! Any emotions when it rises, it rules your whole being and when it subsides, you feel a sense of deep quilt. With emotions you are in dilemma and with senses also vou are in dilemma.

We now shall deal with three major dilemmas. They are the dilemma related to:

• The Physical Level Freedom of Senses or From Senses. (i)
• The Mental Level Freedom of Emotions or From Emotions. (ii)
• The Being Level The Ultimate Dilemma whether to be In the World or Out. (iii)

There are two types of people, the first who think that either way one is going to die and therefore why not enjoy the life. The other type feels that in any case one is going to die and therefore why squander the life in pursuit of the outer world. They turn Spiritual. You see that the end is the same but it has inspired the people to have two different approaches to the same end.

A small story:

There was once a Preacher who was narrating the story of Raja Harishchandra. (Raja Harishchandra was a king known for his courage to speak the truth even in the most adverse circumstances). After delivering the discourse, the preacher asked a person what lesson he learnt from the discourse. The person replied that even if one died, one should speak the truth. The same question on being put across to another replied the when the situation demanded one could sell his own wife and there was nothing wrong in that. So you see that from the same story two different persons have understood two different meanings, the first interpretation being the correct.

It is in the same way that you interpret your life when you know that death is certain. Thus, one group decides to enjoy the body and one decides to sacrifice the body. This is what I call Freedom of or Freedom from the Body. The Dilemma in the Being level is wanting Freedom for something or Freedom from something. Let us analyse this step by step. Freedom of senses means the power to enjoy anything that you want, the power to enjoy anything as you feel.

There is a story in the Puranas (ancient texts) that explains the insatiable greed for senses in a human mind. Once there was a king who had lived his life for a hundred years. At the destined time of his death, Yama the Lord of Death approaches him to the other world. But the King was not prepared for his death and therefore pleaded with Yama to spare him. He pleads that he had not enjoyed his life on earth enough and wanted to live further for a few more years. Yama declines his request. However, he says that he could do so on a condition that if someone else gave up his life in place of the king, he could spare the king. The king therefore turns to his sons and requests if one of them could give up his life of hundred vears so that the king could live a hundred years more. One of the sons readily agrees to do so and gives up his life for him. The king lives on for a hundred more years. Yama approaches him on completion of his time. Again, the king pleads and begs Yama to spare him once more saying that there were few more things that he wanted to enjoy and hence was not yet prepared to die. Lord Yama reluctantly out of extreme compassion yields to his request and takes away his other son and gifts him a life of hundred more years.

After waiting for a hundred years more Lord Yama approaches the King, to his surprise, is still not satisfied. Lord Yama now drives home the point that it was time the king realized the fact that freedom for senses would never work and running after it time and again endlessly would never give the true satisfaction. Of course, the king now understands the point that even after having lived for 300 years if he was still not satisfied, he would never ever be satisfied.

Therefore one should realize that 'Freedom for Senses' never satisfied a person. It was similar to pouring oil or ghee (fat) into the fire. The thirst for Freedom for Senses is a never ending process and leads to no satisfaction. Some of you may think that I propagate against life or happy living. Please understand that I do not tell you to go aqainst your life or living. If you completely understood what I meant by 'Freedom from Senses', you'd fully realize the freedom and joy it offers.

When you work towards Freedom for Senses, you lose all your senses. Whereas when you work towards Freedom from Senses, you'll realise the true joy and sensitivity. Let us now examine this. What I mean when I say 'Freedom from Senses' is that you'll be able to control your senses i.e. handle your senses whenever you want and stop your senses when you do not want. Without the ability to handle senses, it is similar to driving a Mercedes, you know how to start the car and drive but you do not know how to stop!

Understand that in the above situation you are not driving the car, the car is driving you! It is only when you know how to start and stop the car that you are driving the car, otherwise it is the car that is driving you. Similarly, if you work towards attaining Freedom for Senses drive you but not you driving the senses.

There a beautiful simile that is brought out in the Katopanishad. It says that your body is like a chariot, the five senses are the horses, the path on which you travel is the reins of the horses is the mind. the Buddhi or the Intelligence. If the horses remain under your control, you are driving the chariot. However, if you are under the horses control i.e. unable to control, the horses are driving the chariot. Mind you, vou are not controlling a horse; vou need to control five horses.

Therefore, if you cannot rein in the horses to follow the path, the horses are going to pull the chariot in five different directions. Your eyes pull you towards seeing appealing sights, ears towards seductive sounds, tongue towards gluttony, nose towards stimulating smell and your skin or the body towards sensual pleasures. You are constantly pulled and pushed by these senses. Know that if you work towards freedom for senses you'll ultimately destroy your body. You may wonder how? Learn from the examples in your own life.

When you watch a Soccer match or a thrilling movie well past your bedtime, your eyes or your body beg you for rest. You do not pay heed to your body and continue enjoying your senses. You force your body to feed the senses. It is same way that you punish your tonque by consuming spicy substances that the body cannot tolerate. It is so with the other senses too. When you abuse your senses you work towards freedom for senses. You exploit your body to feed your senses.

I came across a billboard in Chennai. It said "Cancer cures Smoking"! Addiction to smoking leads to Cancer and results in certain death. If you abuse your body trying to satisfy your senses, it results in the senses consuming your body. You need to know how to handle your body which is gift of the Divine. When you know how to handle your senses you'll know how to switch off as well. Knowing how to switch your thoughts on and off, is what I call the technique to handle your senses. Sensitivity happens when you work towards freedom from Senses, you start living through your senses. Only when you are able to withdraw from your eves will you totally live with your eyes. Anything that you have the courage to withdraw from, will you have the courage to live with it. All our love is shallow because we do not know how to withdraw from the person whom you love. It may sound like a paradox. Understand 'Living' and "Leaving' are one and the same.

lf you know how to 'Leave', you'll have the courage to 'Live'!

Most often, you are afraid to open up to relationship because you afraid that you may lose the relationship at anytime and you mav not able to forget. When you don't have the courage to leave somebody, you'll not have the courage to live with them. So, freedom from senses is when you know how to live without the senses.

For instance, when you have a headache, you do all that is possible to relieve yourself of the pain. Why would you want to do that? It is because you know that you at some point of time you were free of the headache or the pain and you felt good. You had the same head but there was no pain. You therefore compare the time when you did not have a headache and a time when you had. You want to attain the previous state when there was no pain. It is in the similar way that when you taste the freedom from senses, you will realize what it is to be free from the torture of the senses. As of now you are suffering from that perpetual headache. It is only when vou experience the actual freedom from the ache that you realize the difference.

Just imagine or visualize a state where you are experiencing a continuous state of joy without the help of the external sources. If that is so, then you will realize how wonderful the experience would be. It would be in fact bevond your imagination and expectation. Of course, as of now that is impossible to experience. It is only when you work towards the freedom from senses you'll realize the importance or the true joy of the being. Let me tell you this, when you have your freedom from senses, the same senses give the joy which is thousand-fold. It is because your involvement with your senses will be greater when you get the courage to leave your senses and it results in having the courage to live through the senses. As of now vou think that it is your eves that are seeing and your ears that are hearing. You identify with those senses. Once you understand the senses, you will realize that it is something more to it than meets the eves! You will realize that you are not the eyes that are seeing; it is somebody beyond who is seeing through the eyes. Once you realize that it is somebody else who is actually witnessing, you will be able to 'live' through the eyes and 'leave' the eyes. You will then be free from the physical dilemma will be settled once you know how to switch off the indriyas or the senses. Once you taste a little bit of meditation, here I do not expect you to become a 'Yogi', you'll understand that even little freedom from senses teaches you a new way of living. It gives you the new dimension of living.

You cannot explain to a man who is born blind the joy of seeing; it is the same way that you cannot teach a man who has not experienced the joy or the moment of bliss, the joy of freedom from senses.

We shall now deal with next step, the 'freedom from emotions' or the emotional level.

Desire and Guilt are like the Samsara Chakra. These two alternate with each other. If the peak of the desire is more, the trough of the quilt is also more. It is like a graph or a sinusoidal curve, going up and down. If you are in a high energy or a good mood, it expresses itself as desire. Whereas, when you are in a low mood or energy, it is expressed as guilt. Desire and Guilt are the two sides of the same coin.

Put your total effort when you are in desire and put your total effort when in guilt. Put your total effort in one of the things, you'll see that you are out of dilemma. For instance, if you put your total effort in the guilt, you'll realize that the desire was actually unnecessary in your life and you'll drop out of it. Conversely, if you put your whole efforts on the desire, you'll see that your quilt has dropped. However, as of now you are in dilemma because half your energy is expended in the desire and the rest half is on guilt. Therefore, you either continuously struggle or suffer. When you drop one emotion or channelize energy into one emotion, you'll soon realize that the quilt was neither true, nor was the desire. Both were just your mental waves or projection that was generated depending on the mood.

The third is whether to live towards life or towards death. We know that someday the life must come to an end. The question therefore is whether to live or prepare for the death. Let me tell you, living deeply is the way to prepare for the death. Once a man lives his life totally with full awareness or consciousness, he will reach the maturity to leave the body totally. The man who has not lived a life totally, struggles at the time of death. The man, who has lived totally, never struggles at the time of his death.

Einstein towards the end of his life, remarked that he always wanted to be a plumber but somehow became a scientist. He said that he had whatever that the society could give in terms of the name, fame or money. Yet, he felt that at the end of it his life had become a big lie. He said that although the greatest truth E=mc2, was discovered by him, yet his life became a big lie. He therefore did not live his life in his own terms. He in fact, died unhappy that he did not live his own life.

Therefore, even if you die in a five star hospital, if you did not live life totally, you'll struggle when you die. A man, who has lived his life totally, does not suffer from this dilemma of whether to live or to die. He has the tremendous maturity or he'd be totally ripe to fall / leave the body.

'Living' and 'Leaving' are one and the same.

• Freedom from Senses removes the dilemma in the Physical Level.
• Living through your Emotions removes dilemma at the Mental Level.
• Living with total Awareness in every moment removes dilemma at the Being Level.

Let me tell you that the Freedom from Dilemma is the Ultimate Freedom!

Dilemma makes you postpone your life; it is like an energy clot. Your energy does not expand or spread. You remain struck up or stagnant. The very understanding of this fact can give you the freedom.

You need not search for any technique to be free of dilemma. Just understanding the fact that you are in dilemma is sufficient to remove your dilemma, the understanding takes you beyond the dilemma. To understand that you are in dilemma sets you free from the dilemma and let you live in 'THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM'.

May you be free from dilemma and reach the state of 'Nithya-Ananda' or the Eternal Bliss.

Questions and Answers

1. Swamiii. what does it mean to live life totally or deeply?

You see, in the morning when you are at home, you think about going to the office. At the office, you look forward to the lunch break. At the break you wait for the next session. Again, after noon vou look forward to being at home, vou look forward to going out, maybe to the beach or any to recreation club. At the beach, you want to get back home. Finally, on reaching home you are once again preoccupied by your next day at the office. So there's one thing that is for sure, that is when you should be where you are, you are physically present but mentally elsewhere.

Living intensely is living inside your boundary. As of now we never live within our boundary. We use our body like a cloak-room, where we leave our baggage and go around. Do not use your body like a lodge or a cloak-room. Use it like your home. If you use the body as a home, you will feel homely on this planet earth. If you use your body only to board, you will be bored of this planet earth. If you are here, be here totally.

Our physical ailments occur because we do not live totally inside our body. Whenever you neglect any part of your body, it seeks your attention after a while and it manifests in the form of pain and illness. The begging or seeking attention is the pain and giving attention or the awareness is the healing process.

2. Swamiji, is enlightenment possible through meditation efforts or does it comes without any efforts?

Let me tell you a small story. A quy purchases a lottery ticket worth Rupees Two (Hindu Currency). He wins Rupees Two Crores (Two Million). Now tell me whether he got his lottery through his efforts or was it a gift? If he put his efforts and spent the money to purchase the ticket, you could say that much was his effort. However, the lottery is a gift. Can the money he invested be compared to the rewards he got? Therefore if you invest what you have with you, god gifts what he has with him. The man put the Rupees Two that he had in his hands and God gave him Rupees Two Crores that he had in his hands.

Enlightenment is also the same. You need to put in your efforts that you have in hand; you'll receive a gift that would be incomparable to the efforts put in. Unless you invest your bit, you cannot receive the gift that is Enlightenment. It therefore works either ways. Whoever had the Enlightenment always says that he was not qualified enough to receive the blessings.

3. Swamiji, How do we control our thoughts during meditation?

Swamiji - Let me give you a small technique. I am instructing you all to stop your eye ball movements. If you put your efforts in stopping the eveball movements, that itself will control the flow of thoughts.

The movement of the thoughts and the eyeballs are the same.

Even when you close your eyelids, you may have observed that this does not prevent the flow of the thoughts. It is like as if a continuous movie show that is running behind the eyelids. However, if you stop that even he slightest movement of the flow of the thoughts as a result, naturally ceases.

4. Swamiii. people who have had deep and bitter experiences in their lifetime tend to harbour the pain despite controlling their emotions externally. How do we free ourselves of this pain?

Firstly, you said that because you experienced so much pain in your life the burden has increased many folds. Let me tell you, you have not experienced any burden that is why you are unable to take the burden of pain in your life. If you had experienced an emotion or a pain in its totality or intensely, it'll cease to be a burden or a hangover.

Every emotion, thought or every desire has got its own power or strength to pull you back to fulfill the experience. For instance, if you had the desire to enjoy the pleasure of a sweet or a candy, your desire will be so powerful that it keeps attracting you towards the candy. It goes on until the thought of enjoying has been totally satisfied. The pull is what is called Karma. Anything that you have not enjoyed tasted or experienced totally pulls you back to fulfill it, because you are 'Total Fulfillment'. It is your basic nature; you are 'Nithya Trupta'. Therefore there cannot be anything inside you that cannot be fulfilled. You incarnate to attain fulfillment. Your past emotions are also unfulfilled feelings. If you have really experienced, you'll never have a hangover or so much of pain.

There is a technique in the 'Vigana Bhairava Tantra' of re-living the past hangovers or the situations that is haunting you. It encourages one not to suppress any emotions and to let them come out It is to re-live the situations not only in memory but re-living in its emotions as well.

Re-Living is key for Relieving!

Go into the emotions without suppressing, go into the memories that you don't want to remember. Go into it deeply. You'll see that instead of the bangover of the past, you'll be totally free from it.

Sit at least for an hour and thoroughly allow the past emotions to rise up in you. You'll see many thoughts and the associated emotions or experiences surfacing. Totally accept that what had happened had happened and nothing can be done to mitigate the pains in the past. Go through the whole incident once more, emotionally and intensely. You'll see that by re-living you have been relieved. The Karma that has not been fully enjoyed or experienced will be relieved by reliving. The Tantra gives this as a meditation technique and not as a psychological exercise. Once you go through the Karma, the Karma never returns. There will be memories (Chitta), but there will be no emotions associated or attached with it.

5. Swamiji, please tell us what technique do you use or what happens within and the person being healed?

This is a question I have come across from many people. They ask me what Mantra or what Sankalpa (affirmation) I use when I heal. I shall give you my honest reply, I do not do anything. I do not use any technique. In fact, I am totally absent when the healing takes place. I simply relax. It is like when the Sun rises, the lotus blooms by itself. The Sun does not have to physically open the petals of the lotus, the lotus blooms by the very presence of the Sun. It is the same way that when I switch off myself, my very presence heals!

The problem is that, you are unable to switch off your mind. However, when you become hollow like a bamboo, the divine uses you like a Flute!

When you are relaxed into yourself, your energy radiates automatically.

In our healing system, our healers are requested never to make a Sankalpa or an affirmation for the patient to be healed. They always say 'let what is good for the patient, happen'. When the healer does the healing, he does not have an interaction with the patient. He only places his hand on the patient and goes into meditation, he relaxes into himself. The meditation radiates the Energy, the Energy automatically heals! The Healers do not concern themselves with who the patient is or what his problem is. They simply place the hand and go into meditation. The flow of Energy automatically heals.

Many have asked, "Swamiji, are the types of diseases that you can heal?" I say "The diseases that you can name and the diseases that you can't name, everything can be healed!"

Energy is Intelligence.

Power + Intelligence = Energy

Conversely,

Energy - Intelligence = Power.

Therefore, Energy is not a simple Power, it is inclusive of Intelligence! Energy knows what is to be done. So all you have to do is relax and let the Energy do its own work or take its own course. When I heal, I just switch off and lose the idea of my boundary and others. When the idea of my boundary is lost, naturally the Energy flows into the others. It is like a Communion!

When anything happens by the power of the word, it is Communication. When it happens through Energy, it is Communion!

When the Energy flows one is in the continuous state of Bliss and is Alive!

6. Swamiji, what is the difference between Healing and Meditation?

When I am in the Meditation. I am in the Meditation. When the Energy goes to somebody else, it is Healing. The Atma Shakti when it expresses through the Head, it is Intelligence. When it expresses through the Heart, it is Compassion. When it expresses through the Being, it is Energy. When it is not expressed and is there as it is, it is Bliss.

I shall put it this way - Meditation is the Cause. Healing is the Effect! Healinq is the side-effect of Meditation. A 'positive' side-effect! Meditation is the Sun, Healing is the Rays!

7. Swamiji, you said that the life is about total fulfillment of desires. You also said we should aim to attain freedom from senses. Aren't thev contradictory?

When you are really free from the senses, only then will you have the total energy to fulfill all your desires. As of now, 80 % of your energy is spent in desiring and the rest 20 % in fulfillment. When you change, only 20 % of your energy is spent in desiring and 80 % in fulfilling. You have two energies; they are the Iccha-Shakti and Kriya-Shakti is the capacity to desire and Kriva-Shakti is the capacity of fulfillment. If you are free from senses only then will you have the tremendous capacity to fulfill your desires. If you are caught up in the senses, you can never have the energy to fulfill your desires.

As of now your energies are spent only in Iccha-Shakti and you don't have the energy to spend in Kriya-Shakti. If your Gnana-Shakti (knowledge) awakens, that shift will totally change you and you will spend only 20 % in the Iccha-Shakti, your desires will reduce automatically. The number of desires will reduce and the power to fulfill desires will increase. Naturally, you will have the freedom from senses and the fulfillment of desires. Freedom from senses and fulfillment of desires are very closely related. When you don't have the freedom from senses, you will have thousands

8. Swamiii. practically how do we get the freedom from senses?

You have asked the right question! The only answer is through Meditation qives us the impression that it is a long process. Don't think that it is so. Let me assure you that it is not so. When you don't get the right technique only then does seem so. If you get the right technique and the Master, it is surely not so. Let me tell you a simple technique. When you eat, become the tongue. When you drink, become the mouth. Even this simple technique can relieve vou from the tonque and give you the freedom from that sense. Similarly, when you listen to the music, simply forget yourself and lose yourself in the music. Become the music, you will be free from the ears. When you see something, become the object and you will be free from the eyes.

9. How can you heal a person with bad Karma? Can we also heal by praying?

Let me explain it to you this way. Suppose that you are in a dark room and you switch on the torch. The room is now flooded with light. But, what happened to the darkness? Did it disappear? No! Darkness is what I call as 'Lightless-ness'. Darkness has no positive existence. It is only the light which has a positive existence. Similarly, Bad Karmas have no positive existence. 'Energy-lessness' is what I call as Karma. Karma does not have positive existence.

When the energy is given, the very energy takes away the Karmas. There no need for me to take the Karma on myself. Understand therefore that Karma is nothing but the 'Lightless-ness' or 'Energy-less-ness'.

The answer to next question is that healing by prayer is restricted to only being at the mental layer or by thoughts. The healing happens on the basis of the praver. When you heal through the 'Atma-Shakti' or 'No-Mind, it is healing by itself. There are two layers of energy. They are, energy from 'Mind Level' and the energy from 'No-Mind Level'. That is Mano-Shakti and Atma-Shakti. To release the Mano-Shakti, you need to pray intensely. Whereas, to release the Atma-Shakti, you need to relax totally! Our healing technique is based on Atma-Shakti and not on Mano-Shakti. If it is based on Mano-Shakti, you will take their Karma. You go down to that energy level. When you heal by Atma-Shakti, there are no Karmas, because they get washed away. Just the presence of the energy makes the Karma disappear. To release the Mental Energy you need prayers, to release the Spiritual Energy you need to totally relax.

10. Swamiji. what happens to you when you heal? Do you lose energy?

Honestly. I become reiuvenated! I do not give my energy; I only become a channel for the energy. Energy just flows through me to the person. It is so with my healers also. All of them say that they feel rejuvenated whenever they heal. It is a 'Win-Win' policy! Just become a hollow bamboo and relax. Let the energy flow through you freely. You will experience the higher levels of Consciousness and the mundane issues do not bother you. You have been solving your problems everyday only to face a new set of problems. Higher consciousness teaches you the art of dissolving the problems. If you are intelligent and wake up from the dream, you totally dissolve vour problems. Meditation is the technique to reach the higher consciousness and to dissolve the problem.

11. Swamiji, how does one protect himself from the negativities that surrounds him?

Swamiii – The very fear that you should protect yourself from the negativities is the first hindrance and negativity. Just relax and do not bother about the negativity that surrounds you. Never bother about the idea that you have to be protected, you will be protected. Negativity has power only when you have the faith that it does. Understand that the very meaning of the word 'Negativity' is that which is not there. In Sanskrit it is called 'Maya'. 'Yama iti Maya' - that which is not there is Maya or Illusion. So, how can that which is not there, disturb you!

May you all reach the Nithya-Ananda.

Thank You!

Chapter 2

Ananda Yoga - The Path of Ecstasy

Ananda Yoga, the path of ecstasy is today's topic. Let me explain the meaning of the title, word by word. Then we will be able to understand what this is. Ananda means bliss. Nanda is that which can die. which can disappear. Ananda is that which can never die. which can never disappear. A thing, which can never disappear from our Being is what Ananda is.

Ananda means bliss. We should be very clear, that it is not joy. Joy is not bliss. Whenever we have joy, we should be sure that we are qoing to have suffering. Ananda is nothing to do with joy or suffering: it is bevond both.

Three words need to be understood here: 'pleasure, joy and bliss'.

Pleasure is whenever we come in contact with outer world things, some music, some sweet, some smell, some beautiful scene or physical touch. It is called pleasure.

Whenever we come in contact with nature; for instance, when we see a big hillock or a snowcapped hillock, or we see a big ocean, or a beautiful forest and then what we feel is joy.

Whenever we feel the ecstasy or a beautiful feeling without any outer object; neither the sensory objects nor the nature, without any outer object, not even the forms of Gods, not even the names of the Gods; totally from our energy, from our Atman, it is called bliss. If we feel ecstatic or joyful from the Atman, without any outer supplement, without the help of any outer objects, it is bliss.

These three words need to be understood. Whenever we get the joy or whenever we get the feeling of well-being, whenever we feel excited through an external object; it is called 'pleasure', Whenever we get the feeling from the nature, it is called 'joy'. Whenever we get it just from inside for no reason, without the help of anything outer, it is called 'bliss'. Ananda means that which comes from within. It just happens internally, without the outer objects.

What is the word Yoga? To understand what yoga is, one word is enough. To understand what is not yoga is the main thing, because we have a wrong concept about yoga. We think yoga is nothing but a set of postures, to bend our body this way; more or less like a physical exercise. No. Physical exercises are only Hatha voga, it is only one part of yoga,

Yoga means 'union'. What is union? The technique or the method which again unites us to the divine, which makes us one with the divine, which makes us feel the experience of Advaita, the experience of oneness with the cosmic intelligence, with the cosmic energy, with the cosmic power. The technique or the method is only called as yoga. Yoga means union.

Yoga means 'yogaha chitta vritti nirodaha'.

This is an ultimate explanation or definition about yoga. Yoga means 'cessation of the mind'. Yoga is the technique or the method to take us beyond the mind, to take us to the enlightenment, to take us to the divine energy, to make us feel one with the existence! Yoga means union.

Ananda Yoga, the path of ecstasy. 'Bliss Union', is the method to unite ourselves with the divine, the method to unite ourselves with God, the method to unite ourselves with the existence. The technique to unite ourselves with the existence is what Ananda voga is. It is a blissful technique, a blissful method. Bliss itself is used as a technique, as a method to unite ourselves with the God.

I will explain how bliss itself is used. It is 'Path of Ecstasy'. We should understand the difference between path 'to' ecstasy and path 'of ecstasy. Ananda yoga is not path to ecstasy; it is path of ecstasy. "Path to' means, there is something like a goal; and that we are going to reach there. But it is not path to ecstasy; it is 'path of' ecstasy. The very traveling is ecstasy. The very traveling is joy, very beginning, very walking is joy. If we keep our mind always on the goals, if we think about the goal continuously, somewhere we will miss.

People ask me. 'Master, what is the goal of life?'

Life has no goal, it has only purpose. Goal is different; purpose is different. Goal means, there is something in the end; and that we will go and reach there and get it. Purpose means, the very living has got a purpose. Logical mind always thinks life has qoal. Mystical mind always thinks life has a purpose. Our very living has a purpose! We should not think life has a goal and that if we achieve only that goal, our life has a meaning; No. Our very living has a purpose.

When one thinks life has a goal, the whole life becomes more or less like a rat-race. I used to regularly tell and will always tell this; 'The greatest problem in the rat-race is even if you win, you are a rat!' We are nothing more than a rat. If we think there is something like a goal, after a long, long distance, we will be running towards it....continuously towards the goal. There is no goal. Only purpose. Purpose means the very living is ecstasy. Very living is joyful. Very living has got purpose.

Let us see what is purpose. Goal-orientation always makes us more tensed. Generally in the outer world, we run towards this, we run towards that; the greed makes us run. With the same mind, we start thinking God or Divine is also one more goal! We start running towards that, that is all. We think we can run towards the Divine, we can run towards the God, No.

In this inner world, logic is totally different. It is never like a goal and running and reaching the goal, No. That is what again and again I insist. Arise, awake, Stop! the qoal is reached. Vivekananda says, Arise, awake, stop not till the goal is reached. I tell you, Arise, awake, stop; the goal is reached.

One person went to a Buddhist Master, Zen Master and asked, 'Master, when will I get what I seek?' Master said, 'when you stop seeking, you will get'. Because the very seeking creates a tension or stress in us that we miss the goal is missed because of the very seeking. Because of the very search, we are so tensed; we just miss the whole thing.

We have gone to a relaxation course and we are so tensed to learn how to relax; we make the whole thing a mess. If one is too tensed to learn how to relaxation will be one more tension. The very idea that 'I should relax' will become one more tension. I always tell the people 'Accept everything; all your guilt, all your fear, all your anger'. They come and tell me, 'Master, I am not able to accept, what to do?'. I answer back to them, saying, 'Atleast accept that you are not able to accept, that is all, over. What for the technique 'acceptance' is given is to drop out of the mind. Accept that you are not able to accept, then again you are dropped out of the mind'.

Whenever we understand that, 'I am not able to accept', the very understanding makes us accept. If we are too qoal-oriented; our mind or the Being can never relax or rest. The very purpose of the spirituality or the bliss or the divinity is to make us relax or to drop from our mind. Only when we relax from the mind, when we drop from the mind; we can taste the divinity.

Yogaha chitta vritti nirodaha, yoga is cessation of the mind. How can cessation of the mind happen by tension? If we are goal-oriented, we will be continuously in tension, never the mind will drop, never the cessation of the mind can happen. Only when we relax, only when we know the cessation can happen, only when we come down from the mind, only when we drop the goalorientation; the mind can stop. The very mind itself is nothing but goal-orientation. Your goalorientation only keeps the mind alive.

Just suddenly for one moment; decide whatever IS. I accept that; whatever exists. I accept as they are. If one accepts this deeply, simply the mind will lose its roots. Our very mind will lose its roots. Mind is alive because of our goal-orientation. If spirituality or the bliss becomes one more goal, how can mind be killed? How will we reach the bliss?

Mind and bliss are daughter-in-law and mother-in-law!. They can never stay together how much we try. How much we try from morning to night; we can give all your best teachings or we can take them to the best seminars, even to ASP (Ananda Spurana program)/LBP (Life Bliss program) and then the next day morning; again we will see the same two people and the same mood.

They will tell, 'What Master said is alright for others, but atleast not for my daughter-in-law'. She also tells, 'See, she has attended all these courses; Master, you have taught so much but my mother-in-law never understood anything'.

I have seen many people coming and complaining to me: 'You said so many things in the ASP, my mother-in-law is the same Master, she never understood'. That means clearly that the daughter-in-law has not understood.

If we have understood, we will never come and complain. Mind and the meditation are just like the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law. Mind and bliss, they can never stay together. Either the mind or the bliss. If we are goal-oriented, only the mind can be alive.

Only when we drop from the goal, when we are path-oriented; bliss can be alive. So I tell you, path OF ecstasy, not path to ecstasy. The very living is ecstasy. Let us be path-oriented, not goaloriented.

Now, let us analyze the various paths. Then we will understand what is 'bliss path', what is the goal, what is to be achieved, why all the spiritual groups are created on this planet earth, why so many religions, so many cults, so many sects, so many groups, so many methods, so many techniques and so many Masters. Almost if we enter into the of search, we are crowded with Masters. I always tell them, 'it is very easy to get Masters, but very difficult to get a good disciple'. Masters are very easy, one can very easily get, but it is very difficult to be a good disciple. Only a man who is a good disciple can be a real Master.

Anyhow, so many Masters, so many methods, so many techniques, what is our ultimate goal, what for the whole thing is created? It is only one thing, the very movement of life is towards the joy and bliss. In Rishi's lanquaqe, they call it Satchidaananda. Sat means the awareness, which is constant or which is eternal, permanent or which always exists. Chit means consciousness. Thirdly, Ananda means bliss. Sat-Chit-Ananda, all the Rishis, all the Advaitis, all the meditators take the path of Sat. Searching for the truth is what is called Sat.

What is truth. Sat means truth, which is permanent. When we start searching what is permanent, we take the path of Sat, Chit means consciousness. When we put our consciousness in the path of devotion on some form, when our consciousness is surrendered to the Ultimate through a Master or through God, or through some form, it is called path of consciousness. Path of truth is Sat. Path of consciousness is Chit. Path of bliss is Ananda. In this path, the very starting is bliss and our walking is also bliss. Your ending is also bliss. The other paths, when you start; you start with the techniques, most of the times dull, dead and dry.

Religion is almost like a punishment. If it is dull, dead and dry, religion is almost like a punishment.

A small story:

After a long dry sermon, the priest announced; 'After this benediction, there will be a congregation of the board in the next room'. After the benediction he went to the next room. He saw one man who was dressed like a Muslim sitting inside. Priest asked, there will be a congregation of the board, why did you come here?, you do not even look like a Christian, why did you come in this room?' The man said, 'O!, is it the congregation of the board, sorry. I mistook it is the congregation of the bored! I thought it is the congregation of the bored, I wanted to see how many more are bored just like me'.

Religion has almost become a dull, dead ceremony, a punishment. That is why the rituals have to be forced on people, by greed or through fear. Either we are shown the greed of heaven or the fear of hell! Religion, the techniques, the methods have become a totally a dry, long thing. The very idea has become anti-life. Almost every ritual has become anti-life.

There's a small story:

In Bharat, there was a big Ashram where everyday morning a pooja (prayer) used to be done. That Swami had a pet, a small pet cat. Everyday at the time of the prayer, that pet used to come and play with him. It would disturb the prayer. It would sometimes jump on the God also. So, that Swami decided that from tomorrow onwards; before the pet should be caught and should be covered with a basket. So, before the prayer, the pet used to be caught and they would be covered with a basket, then the prayer would start.

Everyday the same thing continued. Suddenly one day, the pet cat died. They did not inform the Master. They thought pooja means, there must be one cat. So, they went to somewhere else, caught one cat, covered it with a basket, then the prayer started. Even after the Master's time, the habit continued. After sometime, it had become very difficult to get a cat. Then raised an anxiety in them as to how to do the prayer without the cat!

Then they all discussed. 'First thing to be done for the cat will be brought and it should be covered with a basket, then the prayer has to be started! This is the first step; if we cannot get a cat, how to do the prayer?'

Because one day they could not get the cat, they stopped the pooja. Then slowly and gradually, the orientation turns. When the orientation has turned, the whole thing becomes a dull, dead and a long path. Many people come and ask me; even yesterday we were discussing that somewhere there is a yoga group which takes months and years to open chakras, and they are long and dry techniques. When they heard about our ASP/LBP, they were surprised to learn that in two days, about every energy centre, one could have a glimpse or one could have an experience and wondered how grand this technique was.

I told them, 'It is true. All the old techniques and old methods are designed at the age of 'bullock-cart'!, so naturally they will have only bullock-cart speed. But now, this modern day path, Ananda yoga is designed at the age of air-craft, jet-age. So, this naturally will have the speed of a jet. Ananda yoga is jet-age technique.'

The yoga through Sat is invented or designed at the age of bullock-cart. The yoga through Chit is designed at the age of tractor. The yoga through Ananda yoga is designed at the age of jet-age. The very starting is itself with the bliss. All the mystics say God is Satchidananda. As far as this Satchidananda concept is concerned, as far as the idea Satchidananda, (truthconsciousness-bliss) is concerned; it is not that only the Hindus or the Muslims say. The truthconsciousness-bliss concept is said by almost all the mystics.

Jesus says, 'Be still and know that I am God, the Truth'. I am God does not mean Jesus, but the Christ; Christ who is inside the Jesus, the Christ-consciousness. Whenever the Masters declare 'I', 'I', they do not mean their body; it means their spirit.

There is a fanatic group of Krishna devotees, Krishna believers. In Bharat, once they called me for their function and I went to their function, they asked me, 'Swamiji, do you believe in Krishna, do you believe in Geetha?' I said, 'Verily, it is a great scripture, the greatest scripture ever that can be written on the planet Earth, you cannot produce one more book like Geetha, It is an ultimate book.' Then they asked me, 'Why do you then worship Shiva instead of Krishna?' In our ashram there is a Shiva temple and there is a big Banyan tree, a 300 years old banyan tree. Under that Banyan tree only, I sit and do the healing or meditation classes to the people. Under that there is a Shiva temple.

There is a beautiful shloka written by Shankara, which says:

Chitram vatatarormoole Vriddha shishyaa gurur yuva Gurostu maunam vyaakhyaanam Shishyaastu chhinna samshayaa

The shloka (verse) is sung towards Dakshinamurthy; and it means, O! What a surprise, under the big Banyan tree, a small boy is sitting as a Guru and all His disciples are His grandfathers' age and the Guru is only grandson's age.

Vruddha shishyaa gurur yuva, Gurostu maunam vyaakhyaanam, Shishyaastu chhinna samshayaat: The very presence of the Guru, the very silence of the Master destroys the negativities of the disciples. Samshavaa means not only the doubts, even the negativities and doubts of the disciples are destroyed. This verse is sung towards Dakshinamurthy. Not only Dakshinamurthy, it is suitable for all the great Masters.

This is the same with Shankara also. Shankara was only 16 when He became a Guru! All His disciples: Totaka, Hasthaamalaka; all the Acharyas, Sureshwara is 60, all disciples are grandfathers' age, Master is grandson's age. Same thing is true with Ramana Mahrishi. When He became a Master, He was just 21 when He came out to the world. And His first disciple Kavyanataganapathy was an elderly pundit. There are so many examples. Turanyaasammandar was also very young; Vivekanandar too.

The Guru is grandson's age, the disciples are grandfather's age.

They asked me, 'why do you worship Shiva?' Under the big Banyan tree, a Shiva's statue is there. 'Why do not you worship Krishna?' I told him, 'why, Krishna and Shiva are one and the same, same energy! Just because I believe Geetha, why do you say I should worship only Krishna, both are one and the same.' They said, 'No, no, in the Geetha, Krishna says, 'I am everything, I am the God. So you should understand that He says Krishna is the God. He is everything, why should you worship something else, you should worship only Krishna'. I told them, 'No, when Krishna says, 'I', He does not mean the Vasudeva Krishna. He means the Parabrahma Krishna.

He does not mean the person who took birth to Vasudeva. He means the enlightened Soul who is Krishna, He means His Being and not the body or the form, He means the energy. They said, 'no, no, no, where is the proof?, when He says He means only the form, how do say He means the energy?; give us the proof, give us a clear explanation.' I told them, 'if you read 2 chapters after Geetha, you will come upon one smaller book called Anu Geetha. I do not know if any of you have read'.

If we read Mahabharata, after Geetha, after chapter 2, we will come upon a small chapter called Anu Geetha. If we know how that book was created, then the whole doubt will disappear.

After the war, after everything was over; Krishna and Arjuna were going for a picnic, for a vacation. At that time Arjuna asks, 'O! Krishna, You said so many good things at the time of war, in Geetha, I forgot everything. Whatever you have said, I have forgotten. Why do not you repeat so that I will remember or put the whole thing in writing? Why do not you repeat once more?'

Krishna replied, 'you have forgotten? O!, it is not that only you have forgotten. I tell you honestly, I have also forgotten!' Arjuna could not understand what He was talking and told. 'You are the man who told everything, how can you say you have forgotten? Krishna says, 'the person who spoke at that time was not Vasudeva Krishna, it was Parabrahma Krishna. It is in that enlightenment ecstasy, the ecstasy of enlightenment, the bliss of enlightenment, in that high mood, in that enlightened mood; as an Energy I spoke to you, it is not the body with which I spoke to you'.

He continued, 'When I spoke to you, when I gave the Geetha to you, I am the Brahma, Parabrahma. In that state, I gave you the Geetha, but now I am in a normal state, I am in the Vasudeva Krishna, I am in the form. When I gave you the Geetha, I was in the formless. So, Geetha is delivered in the Energy, in the Formlessness. It was delivered by my energy, now I am in my form'.

Yesterday, one of my devotee was asking me, 'Master, sometimes when we look at You, you look so Divine!, your actions, your speech, your deeds, everything; and the very next moment, You look so innocent like a small boy, like an ordinary man. You confuse us'.

It is Truth, it is Truth! There is always a possibility in enlightened Masters, there are two dimensions. The major dimension, the ultimate dimension is enlightenment. There is a small ray, one small inch or the human dimension, which they hold to keep the body alive! But the beauty in enlightened persons is: they can always go and come back. The path is open. That is why: one can see the very innocent small child, and the next moment, the mood of the God.

In the life of Krishna, we can see; the moment He opens His mouth, He shows the whole universe in His mouth to Yashoda. The moment He closes His mouth, He starts eating the mud. One moment He eats the mud, and when Yashoda beats Him, He cries and He opens His mouth and shows the whole world, the whole universe.

Krishna says, 'At that time, I was in that ecstasy, I delivered it. Now, I am Vasudeva Krishna, so, do not ask me. I am not able to remember'. Then Krishna says, 'I can do one thing, I can go back to that ecstasy and bring back the memories. I will do that'. He went back and brought whatever little bit of that memory He could and He could put it in a small way, in a nut-shell. That small book, which He put it in the nutshell form, or the capsule form, is called Anu Geetha.

Only when this was explained, the Krishna fanatics or the Krishna believers accepted that everything is one and the same. Everything is only one thing; that is the formless energy, never the form!

When the path is towards Sat, when it is towards the truth; we must understand, things are more than form. It is beyond form. In the Bible also, the Sat-Chit-Ananda, the Truth-Consciousness-Bliss is accepted. In Quran also, they say 'Un-ul-haq' I am the Truth. In Upanishads, they say 'Aham Brahmaasmi'; I am the Truth. In Zen, the very body is Buddha. The very Being is Buddha. So everywhere, the concept of Sat-Chit-Ananda; Truth-Consciousness-Bliss, is accepted

When we go searching for the Truth, we have to leave all the things which are not the Truth, which are untruth. We need a tremendous renunciation. Because of renunciation, only, the path of truth has become outdated. Today, nobody follows that path. The path is almost outdated. It is very difficult.

If we go through Consciousness, again we need to spend a lot of our time doing bhajana (singing in praise of God), rituals, worship, yaaga (fire sacrifice), yajna (fire ritual), pooja.

The path of Ananda neither asks us to renounce the world nor asks us to concentrate on any one object. The path of Ananda is: whatever we do, we should do it totally. In whatever way one may live, one has to live it beautifully. The very living should become the moment of Ananda. From Ananda to Ananda. Every moment, we should let it become Ananda, we should let it become Bliss!

What is it we are continuously listening to for the past 15 days, 'be blissful, be blissful'. In all possible languages, I am shouting 'Be blissful' in English, 'Anandamaaqa iranga' in Tamil, 'Anandavaagir' in Kannada, 'Anandaga undandi' in Telugu. In all the possible languages, I am blessing or talking; 'be blissful, be blissful'.

But only at the time of a joke or some small story, we show our mouth or teeth, then again the face is back to the same condition, same mood.

Today, I met the kids. A few kids were sitting with me. I was talking to the kids. I was sitting and talking to them for an hour. I was really shocked; none of the fellows knew how to laugh. I thought I should take these guys to Bharat just to show the Hindu kids laugh. Foolish fellows! At least three I told a few small stories, not even once they opened their mouth and laughed. I was shocked, I was really shocked. Then I thought, 'if I sit for some more time, I will become old; because the guys behaved in such a matured way, rather they think they are mature'.

Not only that, the symbol of maturity means showing a calm face. I think that is the ideal taught to them; that is the ideal they have learnt from the society. And not even one fellow was looking like a kid. Everybody is asking me questions like; 'Swamiii, why did God create the world at all?' And all sorts of questions, 'Swamiji, are there other human-beings on the other planets also?' I told them 'fools, first know how to live happily on this planet'. They have started bothering about the other planets now itself.

And one of the kids is asking, 'how to stop the reincarnation cycle, Swamiji?' as if she is going to put her hand in that chakra (wheel of life) and going to stop that. Now itself they are tired of living. I said, 'what a question you are asking, you are supposed to ask, how to live more joyfully, now itself the questions of tiredness'. And I am really shocked that none of them laugh. Actually I was bored. Oh!, I thought kids means they should laugh. 'In Bharat one should see, really I am happy for the Hindu kids; at least they know how to laugh. And if they do not like it also, they know how to express it."

In Bharat, I went to attend a small gathering with kids. They told me to speak something. I told, 'no, the kids are already happy, why should I speak, leave it. If they have something, I will answer', One kid asked me one question. I was answering and somehow he could not understand. The very next thing he did was he came near me and started pulling my dhoti (an Hindu garment). Then, there was no other way, it was a break, I had to stop my answer and listen to him, only then was I able to proceed.

Atleast, in that I could see life. Even in their mischievousness, I could see the life. Here the kids are so cultured. I tell you, 'Never do that. I am telling all the parents and if you make them this way, if you make them so cultured and so serious; you can be sure they will also end up in the same way as they end up in the depression'. Depression is nothing but the disease from the logic, from the intellect.

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Gift of logic to the humanity is depression!

Because, for everything, we measure; even to laugh, we measure! Everything we measure. If we look at ourselves when we laugh, it is only when the person sitting next to us is of the same status or we see if his status and our status equals, or if our status is little high, only then, we open our mouth. Even after laughing, we just verify what the others think about us, what the others are doing. For everything, we measure. It is really very pathetic, very sad to see.

I felt really bad when I saw those kids. And somebody sitting and shaking their legs. I said, 'Eh, it shows your inner restlessness.' I can be sure if I would have told this to a Hindu kid, immediately he would have stopped at least. Even after telling, he did not stop. Not only after telling, even till the end, he did not stop and he did not even want to show that he is ready to listen to me. I was shocked how logical or how....there is no other suitable word to express. How foolish, how dull the wav in which their system responds.

See, once somebody tells something to the Hindu kids, at least they will show they do not want to listen. But here, they are just there as if I am talking to somebody else. I always tell them, 'at least show some expression on your face, whether you agree or not. At least if you are showing that you are not agreeing, I can try to explain little more'. I did not find any expression. Just as is everybody is a Buddha! Buddhus (meaning: fools in Hindi) indeed!

l was bored. If I would not have sat with them. I think I would have spoken much better today. I was bored sitting. Generally. whenever I sit with kids. I do not stop. I extend. Today, when my PRO came and told me that it was time. Then I told, 'alright, let me finish'. This was the first time I did not even give a huq to the kids. Whenever I sit with the kids: after I finish. I always give them a hug. But I saw everybody was so intellectual, all philosophical questions, nothing was practical. Full one hour, only philosophical discussion.

Nothing was practical. I had to bring them down to earth constantly. Again they would become philosophers. Of course they learn only from our body language. When I say one story, one joke, one minute the mouth is opened, again the gum on our lips is pulling the lips back. Why?, why are we continuously sad; continuously we listen, but after some time, we come back to the normal position.

There are three small keys from Tantra to make your life as Ananda yoga. These three small keys are very small. But if we can use it, we do not need anything else. One may have attended ASP, NSP and even taken the healers' initiation, and may have attended all my discourses. We can forget everything else, and just carry these three keys. I tell you, 'just forget everything, there is no problem, if one can carry these three keys'.

First thing, is the acceptance of the life? Grumbling or Grudging is not going to help. Atleast we will have intelligence to look into the life. The first one is called Tathaata. Whatever IS, accept the easiness. Tathaata, or acceptance is the first key. Next thing is to make a conscious decision to live happily, to live joyfully.

With small stories, I will explain one by one.

Tathaata means acceptance of the rules of existence. There is a beautiful story. A middle aged lady went to see Buddha early in the morning, with her son's dead body. Early morning her son has died. With the dead body, she rushed to Buddha, saying, 'O, lord, please do something to revive the life of him, please do something to give life to him.

Whatever Buddha would say to convince her was never going to help. So Buddha said, 'alright I will revive him, but please go and get a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no death has happened.' She went house and everybody was ready to give her mustard seeds, but all said, 'no, no, in my house some death has happened'. She went around door to door, house to house. By the time she came back to Buddha in the evening, she understood that it is not that only she is suffering the misery of death, or misery of separation, it is the world.

'See, our main worry is not our worry, but thinking others have no worry'. The main cause for our worry is we think that everybody else has no worry; that is our main worry. Once we understand the whole world is having worries, then we won't feel much sad. If we understand that everybody is suffering, then we come to an understanding, we come to a clarity. The very basic problem is we think that only we are the persons who suffered too much on this planet earth.

We always think, 'See, how he is happy, see how she is doing well, and see how he is doing well'. Whenever we think everybody else is happy and only we are suffering. looks big. When we understand everybody else is suffering in their own way. we come to a state of relaxation.

Then she understood, it is not that only she undergoes the pain of separation, pain of death, the whole world undergoes this. When she understood that this is a rule, then she was almost transformed. She came to Buddha, not only did she not ask for the healing, she did not ask for her son. After doing the rituals for her son, she became big, she became a nun. She said, 'O Buddha, even if you would have given life to my son, what would have happened is I would have taken him back, and like regular mothers, after one month, again I would have fought with him, I would have tortured him and he would have tortured me; the same usual procedure'.

A person came and joined the ashram, where I was staying and became a Swami. That person's elder brother came to take him back. Whenever somebody becomes a Swami, always the fight takes place. And whenever we enter into a spiritual life, there will be problems in the house. If we don't have any problems, then we can be clear that we will not enjoy the spiritual life, we may not know what we really want. Many people come and tell me. "Master, my husband is not letting me to go to NSP. He is telling it gets too late, the sessions are very late. Don't go. My husband is not allowing me to go for the ASP or NSP'.

Some others tell me. 'My wife is afraid that I may become a Swami'. So many people come and tell me these things. I tell them, 'if one does not have problems in the really they will not enjoy the program'. Only when we have a problem, we will know what our choice is, It becomes a solid thing. If everybody says, 'go', then it is not the juicy portion. It is not fun. Only when we have some problem, only when they say 'don't go' and we come without telling them or come telling them that we have this work or that work, it becomes fun.

I have seen many people, especially in Bharat. The husband will come without telling his wife, and the wife will also come without telling the husband and they both will meet each other in the ashram. And I have seen some other situations regarding very rich people. They have to go to a Swami, or do the spiritual things only if they have got some problems. In Bharat, there is a mental thinking prevailing, that one should go to a Swami only if one has a problem, otherwise one will not go. So just for that, many people try to avoid coming to me in public. They come without anyone's notice.

'Some people plan their visit in such a way that those people whom they are afraid of should not know that I am here', So. before that itself, they will call up my PRO and ask. 'I am coming today. can you be sure who are all there, can you tell me who are all there?' Then this person will confirm that these people are not coming and then decide to go, saying, 'alright, today I will come'. And when they come to the ashram, they will meet the persons whom they were trying to avoid.

Not only that, the other person whom he is afraid of, he will call separately and ask and come separately. Each one has got their own view and after coming here, they both will meet. Of course, if we do not have any difficulty, if we won't have any problem, if we do not have any obstruction; things will not look juicy! Things will not look very enchanting.

The understanding or the clarity that the whole world is suffering and it is not that only us; when that understanding comes, then we will see that Thaathaata, the acceptance automatically happens.

She is telling Buddha, 'even if I would have taken him, what I would have done?, just like the regular fathers and mothers, fighting and then my life would have ended'.

'I was telling a story, let me complete it'. One fellow became a monk and his brother came to take him back. The brother was weeping and wailing, 'please come back, I can not be without you, come back, come away.' Then the person who had become a monk replied, 'Oh, be honest, even if I come back, what will I do? After 4 years, we both are going to fight for our father's property. Why don't you take all the property now itself, and forget about me.' As soon as this was told, that quy simply went away. He simply went away and he understood the truth.

It is actually the truth. Whenever we understand that it is not that only we are suffering, but everybody else is suffering; the whole world goes only in this same way, then Thathaata, the easiness takes place.

She says, 'even if you would have given life to my son, what I would have done? I would have taken him and after a few months, the regular life would have continued. In a regular way, everything would have been going. But now, you have given me a great intelligence, a great understanding of accepting the life, accepting the pain. My whole life has changed; this is the greatest miracle, which you have done'.

Giving life to the person is not the greatest miracle, but transforming one's life is the greatest miracle. This understanding is the greatest miracle. Thathaata is accepting the life as it is. If we do not accept, do we think it is going to change? If anybody who thinks that, 'if I do not accept, things might change', can continue to think so, till we come to the understanding, whether we accept or not, whether we want or not, what is going to happen is happening.

There are two things to be understood here. Wherever we can change, we should change. Anyhow, we will be changing; it is not that we will be keeping quiet. Is there anybody who keeps quiet? No. Wherever one can change, we are changing. Wherever its not possible, we will not. That's all. Wherever we can, we are already doing it. Wherever we cannot, we should understand that we cannot and accept the easiness. When we accept the first step in the path of ecstasy is taken. The path of ecstasy is started.

First thing is Thathaata, next thing is 'Conscious Decision', the Pratyagaatma chaitanya, the individual decision, awakening.

There is a small story from Sufism:

There was a great Master called Abdullah. He used to be always happy. From morning till night, laughing and enjoying and whosoever would go near him would just catch the infection of joy or the bliss, Nithya Aananda or the eternal bliss.

Somebody asked Him. 'Master, what do you do to be so joyful, so ecstatic, why do not you teach us the technique?' Then He says, 'everyday morning as soon as I get up from my bed. I ask myself; Abdullah, Abdullah, Abdullah!, what do you want, whether suffering or bliss, today what do you want?'.

Here, we need to understand that calling ourselves by our name is itself a great technique. Others only use our name, we never use it. If we use our name, then we will understand that we go beyond our name. We go just up from the mind will always tell. 'I want bliss.' Then the Master would tell, 'alright then, have bliss, that's all. The matter is over'

What we ask, 'no, no. no Master, you ask us to have bliss, but there is so much of suffering and problem, how can I have bliss?' I say, 'Alright, even if you worry and have continuous depression, is it going to solve the problems? No. it is only creating one more problem'.

Let us try. All these years we have tried the key of depression, why do not we try the key of joy or bliss, let us just try. Then we will understand that Aananda does miracles in our life.

There is a beautiful book called, 'Miracle of Mindfullness'. I am writing a book called 'Miracles of THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM', not THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM, Nithya aananda (the eternal bliss). When we live in the bliss, we are unaware of how many miracles happen in our life.

This Master says, 'I ask myself what I want, then the mind says, I want bliss, then I allow the mind to have bliss. I tell the mind, 'alright, have the bliss, that's all', And one should not allow anybody to interfere with that bliss.

One important key point to be noted. 'Never decide for two days'. One must never decide for two days, we should decide everyday. If we decide for two days, then we will think, 'why for two days, let me decide for one month. No, why for one month, let me decide once for all'. We will decide, but the very next day, we will forget what we have decided. Never for two days, only for 24 hours. Only for the next 24 hours, what we want is to be decided, whether we want to live with happiness, joy or we want to live with sorrow, misery.

And in the next 24 hours, what is going to happen in our life, we know. It is not that in the next 24 hours, we are going to become a millionaire or we are going to lose a million, millions of dollars. No.

In the next 24 hours, almost clearly we know. And people who work in a normal life, not just the next 24 hours, even the next 24 years, they know what is going to happen! Same wife, same house, same office; may be they will have a white beard, that is all.

We know what is going to happen in the next 24 hours. Why not try a small thing. Instead of facing the life with the same long face, why not face with a little bit of excitement, joy and ecstasy, some zest!

Why not do that. When we decide to do it, we will see. If the radio is tuned to Chennai station, it receives the Chennai waves. If it is tuned to Pondicherry station, it receives the Pondiherry waves. When we are tuned to the bliss, we receive the bliss waves. When we are tuned to suffering, it receives the suffering waves.

We attract only what we want. Only a radio can sing, can our shoes sing? No. if we tune ourselves, only then we can get it. If we tune to Pondicherry station, we can get Pondicherry waves, If we tune to Chennai station, we can get Chennai waves. In our lives, either we live like the shoes, never tune ourselves to anything; or we tune to suffering, that is all. ```

Instead of that, we can tune ourselves to bliss or joy and accept the life. It is worth trying just for a few days. I am not telling you to live the whole life, just for a few days, you try. Then one will understand how many miracles happen in the mind, how many miraculous changes start happening in the mind. Let us just decide for the next two three hours. 'I will accept whatever happens. I will not shout or I will not become mad. I will not become a dog'.

When somebody says we are a dog, we immediately bark and prove. When somebody says we are mad, we simply yell at them and prove. Instead of that, just for a few hours, it is worth trying. Whatever happens in our life, let us accept.

The first two keys are: Thathaata (acceptance) and the Pratyagaatma chaitanya, Jaagrata (means a conscious decision). I am telling you the exact Sutras, I am translating them for you. We should make the conscious decision to live joyfully, face joyfully, face ecstatically.

The third thing is a very deep but the ultimate thing. The Master is questioned, Abdullah is questioned. One disciple is asking, 'Master, you say your mind always chooses the bliss, if our mind chooses the suffering, what should we do?' Because there are a few cunning minds which will tell, 'If you will ask, Abdullah, what do you want?' your mind will tell, 'I want suffering'. For this the Master says, 'if your mind wants suffering, understand you are enjoying the suffering' this is the third key. Understand you are enjoying the suffering.

Unless we enjoy something, we will never ask for it, whatever we are having in the life, we are enjoying it, we are experiencing it. We have such a clear power and a conscious decision, we enjoy only what we want. We ask only what we enjoy. If we enjoy the suffering, what is wrong, one can enjoy that. The very problem is the conflict between our asking and when it is presented to us, we are not ready to enjoy it.

It is like this. We go to a hotel and order for all the varieties. We eat and finish everything. Finally, when the server brings us the bill, we say, 'I have not ordered for the bill, why did you bring?'. If we order for food, naturally the bill also will come to us. But we know the bill is going to come when we order for food and eat. But we are contradicting ourselves with the bill, when we know that the bill is going to come, that by ordering the food, the bill is also going to come. But when the bill comes, we resist with it.

Same thing is happening in our life. We order for our choices and when those things come, we resist with it. When we order for joy, when we order for the pleasure, we know the pain is going to come. Even if pain is not going to come, the end of the pleasure is going to be pain. So, when we prepare ourselves for the pleasure, why not for the pain also.

First thing is to accept. Next thing is to decide consciously to be blissful. Third thing is that even if the suffering comes, it is purely our choice. Enjoy it. One may think, 'what is this. This Swami simply says, enjoy suffering'. I tell you, 'choicelessness is bliss'. Many people come and ask me, "Master, when we did the meditation camp, it is so ecstatic, so joyful, especially the Energy Darshan. I never felt like that before'. And the next day, many people, almost 80% of the people came and reported to me, 'Master, as I got up today from the bed, I never got up like that before. The experience of today is the best day in my life. Today I am so fresh, so alive'

Chapter 3

Gnana Yoga

I bow to all of you and welcome you all with my love and respects. Today's topic is Gnana Yoga.

We can change our life-style itself to spirituality. Gnana Yoga is one such aspect, which can change our life style to a spiritual one. In Tamilnadu, there is a song of Nandanar (a Tamil saint and poet) in Tamil, 'Aiyeh, methak kadinam...Aiyeh, methak kadinam', meaning 'Oh! It is very difficult, It is very difficult!' These are simply beautiful lines.

Ramana Maharishi (an enlightened Master from South Bharat) says the same thing as, 'Aiyeh, athi sulabham, Aathma viddhai athi sulabham', meaning, 'Oh! It is so very simple, to realize the Self is so very easy'. People there ask Ramana Maharishi, 'Nandanar says Aiyeh methak kadinam, and you say Aiyeh athi sulabham. Which one of these is true?' Ramana says, 'It is only the thought that it is difficult, makes it difficult'. As far as Gnana yoga is concerned, this is the right answer.

One of the slokas of the Upanishad (sacred texts of the East) says, 'on account of Aahaara Shuddhi (purified food), Manas shuddhi, a clean and pure mind is obtained. On account of a clean mind, a clean intellect; and due to a clean intellect, wisdom and enlightenment is obtained.

For this word Aahara Shuddhi, Ramanuja (an enlightened Master from South Bharat) gives an explanation considering it as cleanliness with regard to food. For this, Adi Shankara (another enlightened Master from South Bharat) gives a wonderful explanation. He says, 'It does not refer only to the food we eat, but whatever goes inside us is to be regarded as food. The words that you hear aqain and aqain are also food. Whatever type of words that are fed into you. it is only those words that create your mind.

Again and again, if you hear spiritually uplifting thoughts; even without your knowledge, attachment or rather a strong inclination towards spirituality will begin to sprout in you. If you listen to worldly matters again and again; even without your knowledge, attachment and indulgence in worldly matters will begin to sprout in you. Whichever thoughts and words enter within you, your mind will be formed based only on those thoughts and words. This is because your mind is nothing else but the words you use.

One small example: let's suppose you know five languages. Due to some shock, you forget all the five languages. Thereafter can any thing be done? No, not possible at all. The thoughts that run within us form the very basis for our mind. This is a kind of internal software, which needs to be cleansed. As a first step I can tell, again and again. listen to the words which show us the way for living life. Listening to uplifting words again or listening to the words of an enlightened Being, simply floods our system, or cleanses our internal software. We begin to get transformed.

Now, let's understand the two terms, Pravrutti and Nivrutti. By twisting it this way, many may give many meanings for these words. But, the actual meaning is this. Pravrutti refers to the flowing of thoughts and or a life-style, which creates sorrow; Nivrutti refers to the flowing of thoughts which enhances spirituality and peace within us.

If we examine deeply, it will be clearly understood. It can be seen within us that, there will be two types of things happening. One thing is, talking with others or the external chatter. The other thing is, talking with ourselves or the inner chatter. If you observe keenly, it can be known. Half the time, we will be talking with some one; the remaining time, we will be talking to ourselves. Talking with others is a dialogue. Talking with ourselves is a monologue. Don't think that when you are not talking to others, you are just keeping quiet. You continue to be talking with yourself.

There will a continuous inner chatter goinq on, something lif it is five o' clock, I have to go to the temple; I must spend some time there. If I go to the temple priest may not be there in the temple'. Some thing like this, you will be constantly talking to yourself. Dialogue is talking with others. Monologue is talking with your own self. The continuous flow of thoughts is the inner chatter.

As an analogy. Iet us take a tape of thoughts measuring 100 meters in length. In this, there can be only two kinds of flow of thoughts. One is that kind of flow of thoughts, which push you into sorrow and suffering, which is called as pravrutti; the other one is that kind of flow of thoughts, which lifts you up and brings you joy and bliss making you fine. This is what is referred to as nivrutti. Certain amount will be pravrutti and to some extent it will be nivrutti.

In this, either one will be longer. Say, thirty meters is nivrutti and twenty meters is pravrutti. Ordinarily, our frame of mind is such that when you sit alone, this sort of flow of thoughts will be there, 'whatever I do will become useless, if today something good has happened means, something bad is bound to happen tomorrow!' Only such kind of words will be more and may even go beyond limits, which will be there and which will thrust you in sorrow. Only such words which push you downwards and create in you an inferiority complex will be running more within you.

That is why, in our life, the seed of sorrow is being continuously sown within us. Seed of sorrow is nothing else other than the words we utter to ourselves. That alone is the seed. Only those words grow into a tree and are going to give sorrow in our lives.

On the other hand, if we stop the flow of words which gives us sorrow and sow such words which give enthusiasm, which will actually lift us up, which will make our life blissful. For instance, 'it is possible by me, life means this way only, it is possible for me to rise and stand up; those persons who were inferior to me have stood up, why is it not possible for me?' This way, such words will act as the seeds of bliss.

This is what we call as nivrutti is the sowing of those words which will depress you further and further; Nivrutti is sowing those words which uplift you.

Just turn back a little and look at your life. In your life, among most of your flow of thoughts, in the 100 meter length of flow of thoughts, in the 100 meter length of tape; what's the tape spent used for pravrutti and similarly what's the length spent for nivrutti. If you find just this out. you can know the reason for your life being sorrowful and filled with defeats.

A small research was conducted to understand the power and energy words carry. Please do not think that we are still in some olden day's belief or a blind belief. I am only telling the truths which have now been found out by scientists after due research and experience.

In Chicago University, they have done a beautiful research about the power and energy of words. In three different pots, taking the same type of soil and feeding with the same type of fertilizer, they planted three plants of the same type of rose, one in each pot, that is. They kept each plant in three separate rooms. Same temperature was maintained in each of the three rooms.

One person gets up in the morning and goes to the first room, and says repeatedly five times 'Aha. Oh Rose! There is no plant as beautiful as you. You are very beautiful. You should grow joyfully!'

He goes to the second room and does not say any thing and simply comes out.

In the third room, he says, 'You will not grow; you are not going to flourish; you are not nice to look at".

In this manner they did an actual research, just to find out about the effect and energy of words. In the third room he will speak in the worst manner possible. You may think as to what a mad exercise this could be! But if you look at the conclusion arrived at by the research, you will understand what its strength is! In this way they did continuously for twenty one days.

He would go to the first plant and he would talk praising the plant, infusing good thoughts. He would go to the second plant and come out not saying any thing. He would go to the third plant and would give out such thoughts which give sorrow. For 21 days, this was done daily for the sake of their research.

You may believe this or not. But the results of the research done by the University is simply revealing. They say that the first room had grown three-fold, the plant in the second room had grown normally and the plant in the third room had withered and died away.

In spite of having been fed with the same kind of water, having been given the same type of manure, having been exposed to the same type of climatic conditions and having been given all things in the same manner; just because of the words alone being changed to either good words, no words or bad words, they prove scientifically that the plant has died away. Not just once or twice, but eleven times such research was done on different lives, and they have wondered at the results being astonishingly similar!

That is why our ancestors have said the word, mantra. Mantra means, that word which makes the mind strong and unwavering. Another meaning is, that word which shows the way for a man is referred to as mantra. They call only such words as mantras, which give joy, strength and permanence (unwaveringness) to our minds.

Do not think the result of our words as an ordinary matter. Your words provide wonderful results, because the words you think form the basis of your life! Only your words are the basis of your mind. Your mind only is the basis of your life! Your mind only creates and forms your life itself. Nothing else.

Another similar research was done. There was a garden with ten trees. For all those ten trees, ECG (electro cardiogram) machines were connected. In the same way as the functioning of man's heart is measured, these are similar machines to measure the life existence of the trees. These are sensitive machines. After connections were given to the trees, a wood-cutter went into the garden with the thought and an intention of cutting a particular tree. As he just entered, the graph of that particular tree alone fluttered showing abnormality.

This, for us to hear may appear like a story, some puranic (ancient scriptures) story. But this is an actual research experiment that was done. The conclusion as stated by the research scientists were that, only the graph of that particular tree which the wood-cutter intended to cut, begins to flutter fast. After half an hour, when the wood-cutter comes with the thought of cutting another tree, the graph of that particular tree also begins to flutter speedily. The graphs of all other trees were silent. Whatever tree he intended to cut, only that tree's graph, or its speech begins to flutter and oscillate fast. An important matter that we all need to understand is revealed by this research. Our thoughts and words have a wonderful energy and power!

In the same way, when a child is given a knife, it will cause harm not only to itself but also to others. Similarly, we are also using the energy given to our minds for causing harm to ourselves as well as to others. If you give a knife in the hands of a child, what will it do? It does not know how to handle it. Naturally what will it do? It will harm itself and harm others also. Same with our mind too.

Our mind-energy is like a knife. The same knife if in the hands of a surgeon, it will be useful to save the life of a person. If a doctor gets it, what will perform a surgery or an operation and save a life. If a child gets it, it may destroy a life. All of us are using our minds like a child which has not grown up.

That is why, the granary called mind, instead of making the life a flourishing one, a blissful one, has become a matter of thrusting us into sorrow.

'Śravaṇam' means, not sowing such thoughts which make us sorrowful constantly. Do not sow such thoughts within yourself which make you sorrowful again. That is, do not create such thoughts for Pravrutti. Right from morning to even due to forgetfulness, do not permit such wrong thoughts to function within you or words to come out of your mouth. Either in your thoughts or conversations, whenever wrong thoughts come, just break and throw them away, then and there.

Is not your thought flow your own? Think for just one minute. When a thought flow runs within you, you yourself are thinking. Is anyone else thinking for you? No. You only are thinking. Then certainly, we can change our flow of thoughts. Is it not? The flow of thoughts within is what we have made or created. We cannot at all say that we are unable to change it. You yourself have carried your legs so long, walked so far and have come and sat here. Now can any one say, 'No Master, my legs have gone by themselves? I have not done any thing'. It is you who have lifted your legs, walked and come here. They function under your control only. It is in this same manner that your flow of thoughts is.

You are the one who is thinking. The thoughts and words which run inside you, you yourself create them. After this discourse, I must go home with this leg. You only create these words within you. Is any body else creating them for you? When it is your own flow of thoughts, what difficulty can there be in controlling it? No man is lame enough to the extent of being not able to control his own flow of thoughts that run within him. If it is said that one's hand is not able to be controlled because they are paining, his legs are not able to be controlled as they are paining etc, it can be believed. But, if one says that he is unable to control the run of his thoughts, it cannot be believed at all, because for moving one's hands or legs, energy is necessary. But for moving the flow of thoughts, nothing is necessary. The flow of thoughts that you can do is certainly possible to be changed by you.

First thing is, believing that our flow of thoughts can be changed by us. Just by this mere understanding itself. half your job is done. From the whirl of pravrutti, you begin to turn towards the step of nivruthi. By this research, you can understand about the energy of thoughts. Your thought affects the persons around you every time.

One small story:

One day, emperor Akbar and Birbal were going around the city. Akbar looks at a sandal-wood merchant and says to Birbal, I don't know why; as I just saw him, a thought comes to my mind that I should give him death sentence'.

One week passed. Again Akbar and Birbal go around the city. Then Akbar says, 'Birbal, I don't know why, now, when I see that merchant, I think of blessing him. I don't understand any thing'.

Birbal says, 'Oh king, one week back, he did not have any sales in his shop. So he was thinking in his mind that if the king dies, they will place sandal-wood logs around his body. So, then I will get a good business deal. That's what he was thinking in his mind. The same thinking was echoing within you. But in this week, after seeing you, after you told me to buy sandalwood, I purchased the same and kept in our palace for making a chariot, wood-work and other articles to be made from sandal-wood. Because I have purchased from him, that same merchant is now thinking that, 'if this king lives for long, I will get good business from him'. Now his good thoughts are reflecting on you. Earlier his bad thoughts drove in you to give him punishment. Now, his good thoughts drive you to do good things for him. Birbal and Akbar went in disguise. In spite of it, the flow of thoughts of the sandalwood merchant had reflected on the mind of Akbar, even though the merchant could not have known that he was Akbar.

A very nice teaching, Mohammed Nabi says, in Koran, World is like a mirror. If you see a donkey in the mirror, only a donkey will be seen'.

The world is like a mirror. In whatever way our flow of thoughts, the world appears in the same way for us. In Vedanta, they say Drushti-Shrushti. These are two words. Don't think that you are seeing the world which is already there. You see it only as you want it to be. You do not it see as it is. You see as you want it.

To give a small example, you can see it in your house itself. The husband would have imagined and kept for himself an imagination about the wife. The wife also would have imagined and kept for herself an imagination about the husband. Only for the first six months, till they know about each other, they will live together. After that, if you see, the wife would have come to a conclusion about her husband in those six months. The husband also would have made a conclusion about her. After that, if you see, whatever she may say, he will see every thing along with the conclusion he had already made. He will not see whether what she says is good or not. He will see keeping his already made conclusion about her. Similarly, whatever the husband says, what will the wife do? She would say. 'He tries to suppress me?' What he would do? Whatever she says, he would say, "Women's mentality is like that". She would say, for whatever he says, "He tries to control and suppress me....'

Both will be prejudiced against each other. That is if both of them had already taken a decision, what will they do? They will forget to see the truth! There are two things. One is after hearing the arguments, and then delivering the judgment; second is collecting the arguments for the sake of the judgment. If we see in our day to day life, all the house- hold problems, they will only be on account of collecting the arguments for the sake of a judgment.

Already we would have made a conclusion about the lady that, 'whatever she does, it can be only wrong'. What would this man do? He would have come to a conclusion about her and kept it with himself. That lady also would have come to a conclusion about him and kept it with herself. This is a punishment given by God. After having come to some conclusion and kept it, whatever is done, we would see with a prejudice only.

One small incident:

A gentleman about 40 years of age came and asked, 'Master, I want to divorce my wife. Please offer me your blessings'. I told him, 'I cannot bless for divorce. For marriage, I shall bless; it is possible, but never for a divorce. Tell me what the problem is. We can try to solve it'. He said. 'No Master, it cannot be solved by you. It has exploded and is beyond redemption. I told him, 'even without you telling me what the matter is, how can you say that it cannot be solved by me? How did it all begin?'

'No Master, today morning while taking coffee, she dropped the tumbler on me with a force. All the coffee fell on my dhoti (a Hindu garment worn by men)'.

I asked, 'Dear friend, just for the matter of a coffee tumbler, can you say it as a reason for divorce? Is it not a trivial matter? Why don't you try to solve it?'

But his mind was prejudiced to a great extent. He could not understand at all. He says further, 'what do you say, Master? Today she will pour coffee and tomorrow she will pour acid on me'.

His mind, you see, goes on stacking up words. We all can understand that he is prejudiced. But his anger and agitation makes him say, 'today she will pour coffee, tomorrow she may pour acid. If you were there you would know'.

I told him. 'Just think, my friend. How much the two, coffee and acid are far apart? Is it such a matter to happen just like that? How can you compare coffee and acid? Why you are making yourself suffer?'

'No Master, you do not know how she tortures me, you don't know.' I asked him to give me one solid example. In Tamilnadu, during marriages, the couple is made to play a small game. They put a ring inside a small pot of water, and ask the bride and bridegroom to take it out, putting their hands in at the same time. They will make the couple to take it out. Whoever takes it out first, is the owner of the ring.. He says, 'Then itself, she had put her hand on mine, Master'.

Just look at his mind. You see, he has kept that incident as a record, like a file. Like a police report he has made it and kept. I told him, rather I thought to myself, 'In this manner, like a police report, if he is going to pick up some ten years stories, how she can live with him? She cannot at all live with him'. That is from the day they got married, right up to now, he is keeping it as a police record. Then what will happen? Even if a small quantity of coffee spills over, immediately, what will we do? We will read through that police report entirely. We will refer back through that once again thoroughly. We will look at the coffee, only with a police point of view and not as a trivial incident of just some coffee spilling over.

What has he done when the coffee spilt over on him? If you actually see, what is there if coffee has spilled? After all she is the one who is going to wash his dress. He could have simply left it at that. He could have changed his dress.

But he did not leave it. Anger and tension has crept in. He would say, 'Have you got sense? Did you bring it from your father's house? Then immediately what the wife would say, for what you are, this coffee itself is too much for you. Why don't you keep quiet?' Like this, words grow and continue and prolong.

If we look at our own lives: now on hearing this incident we are all laughing. Let's look back at our own lives. We can know in how many places and instances we commit wrong things.

Drushti-shrushti. Whatever we want to see, we create that only. Is it pravrutti or nivruthi? Should we have such flow of thoughts which make our lives pleasant and blissful. or such kind of thoughts which will push us into sorrow? This you only have to decide. Our flow of thoughts is certainly under our control only. Nobody else is acting as a security for us. We only are the security for us. Is it not? We only create our flow of thoughts.

The objective intention that thoughts, which are flowing as pravrutti should be changed into nivrutti and also knowing which flow of thoughts will guide us to nivrutti is what the Vedanta says in the name of 'Śravaṇam'.

Next one is 'Mananam'. It is not enough if the flow of thoughts is just heard once and left.

One small story from Buddha's life:

Disciple asks, 'O Master, What is the way for enlightenment?' Buddha says, 'Meditation'. Next day also again the disciple comes and asks, 'O master, what is the way for enlightenment?' Buddha again says, "Meditation'. The disciple was desirous that his master should teach him some new things. Therefore, on the third day also the disciple asks, 'O Master, what is the way for meditation?' Buddha again says, 'Meditation'.

The disciple got too much bored. He asks, 'O master, will you not teach me some new things. The same thing you are telling me every time'. Buddha says, 'You have not listened and done what I have told you. That's why I have to tell you the same thing again and again. If you have done what I told you, will you ask me the same thing again for the second time? Because you have not done what I told you to do, you are asking the same question again and I also have to tell you the same reply again and again'.

Ramakrishna says beautifully, 'If one drinks one measure of distilled liquor and becomes intoxicated, he can come back to normal senses, only if he drinks quarter measure of kanji (water decanted from cooked rice). In Bengal, they distill liquor from kanji only. Some leaves are added while boiling it. If kanji is taken without those leaves, the intoxication will slowly go away and one can become normal. That is why Ramakrishna says, if one drinks a measure of liquor he can become normal if he takes at least quarter measure of rice kanji.

The same is applicable for our lives too. If we have one measure of such thoughts which give sorrow to us; and in it if we place at least a quarter measure of such thoughts which give joy and bliss to us, the life will change for the better.

Śravaṇam is hearing, Mananam is putting it into practice and implementing it by constantly creating good flow of thoughts in the mind. After trying for two or three times, what the mind will say? 'These things are not for persons like me and all. Leave it man. Just like that we went and listened. Master is speaking nicely. Leave it',

I have seen this happening many times. After I finish the discourse and leave the place, while going out, some four or five persons will be there specifically for this. "Master, you talked so beautifully!' they say. I will stop them and ask, 'Tell me what I spoke?' They would stutter and say,'....that is...Master, don't ask us all those things'. Very easily they will say that I spoke nicely. But when I ask what I spoke, they don't know to give the reply. They don't know what I spoke but they will say that I spoke beautifully!

When they say that I spoke nice that means when I actually spoke they did not listen fully. If they had listened fully and carefully, they would not have had the thought to tell me that I have talked beautifully. They would have had the thought how to put them into practice only.

Mananam is only the practicing and the act of taking inside within us again and again what is heard by us; again and again, soaking within us the flow of such thoughts. That is, always, mind does not go towards bliss. What is it that we are all thinking? We think that the mind will always go towards bliss. No, not at all so. Please do know it well. When the conscious feeling of bliss comes, you just melt away without the feeling of "I" or self, and only ananda or bliss is there. It is only when you are sorrowful, your ego will stay strong within you. All of us exaggerate our sufferings ourselves. If you examine deeply you will see that we exaggerate our sufferings, ourselves. The reason is that, as our sufferings increase, our ego will appear bigger.

As an experiment, you ask somebody, "how his life is?' and see how he starts telling. "Master, there is no one in the world who is suffering as much as me. Such sufferings should not come to even my enemy'.

All of us think that nobody else is suffer like ourselves. The very nature of our mind is to exaggerate our sufferings. Because, if we exaggerate our sufferings, our ego will appear big. See I have managed so many things I have achieved. See, bliss is such that, the ego loses its base and falls away.

In America, there is a University called Oklahoma University in Oklahoma State. In that University, I went to deliver a discourse about enlightenment. The topic itself was 'Getting enlightenment'. The scientists asked me as to what is enlightenment. I explained through a chart that, while creating the state of forgetting oneself. while the enlightenment is happening: there is a bliss where there is no mind. The scientists said, 'It is impossible for a man to be without mind and live in this world. What you say is a lie'.

I said, 'Based on science, I do not know that. But through my experience, it happens only in a nomind state', 'Ok, then, if we examine you, will you acree with that' they asked. I agreed and said, "Well, you can do it, very well". Continuously for five days, through PET (positron emission topography) scan and through QEG ( ), they examined the functioning of my brain.

After doing the examinations and research continuously for five days, they have proved scientifically, that there was absolutely no kind of flow of thoughts and vibrations in the mind and was equal to the brain of a dead person. They also told something more from that research. Normally, there is a chemical (a hormone) called 'Dopamine' which is secreted in our brain. Whenever we experience some sort of comfort, this chemical is secreted and only after this chemical is secreted, we get the knowledge of that comfort. If you ask a doctor about it, you can understand.

If you put some sweet in your mouth, immediately one unit of dopamine is secreted and is released in your brain. Immediately you think, 'Oh it is very sweet and nice'.

If you suddenly get money from a lottery ticket, say five units of dopamine gets released. If you get pleasure from sex, some ten units of dopamine get released. The amount of iov and comfort you feel can be found out based only on the amount of release of the chemical dopamine in your brain. The amount of comfort is assessed based on the amount of release of this chemical.

Scientists say, when I entered into deep meditation, they observed the chemical dopamine, and they call it as 'D spot'. When they observed the D spot, by affixing the electrodes around the brain on the head; at the moment of entering into meditation, the D spot shook like an earth-quake, they have studied that the chemical was getting released all over the brain, it was literally flooding the whole area.

What happened really was that when I fall into and get dissolved into meditation without the conscious feeling of the ego called 'I', a feeling of wonderful blissful state catches hold of us. That only is called the no-mind state or bliss.

As per the scientists. they were very happy that for the first time ever, they were able to discover matters concerning enlightenment through scientific research. Because they have been doing research on this branch of study for the past thirty years, they say that 'for the first time, we were able to find out the expressions of enlightenment through the medium of medicine'.

Mind, when it is in ego, remains only in sorrow. It will be continuously creating some problem or the other. If there is no problem at all, what will the mind do? 'Oh! There is no problem at all today. But it is not known what will happen tomorrow'. If there is some reason, we will worry; even if there is no reason also, we will worry saying, 'Today every thing is going all right, but we do not know what will happen tomorrow'.

It is a habit of the mind to fall into sorrow again and aqain. The efforts to be taken aqain and aqain by us to bring us out of this habit of mind are only Mananam. First of all, knowing by listening about which one is taking us towards sorrow and which one leads us to bliss is Shrayanam. Following and implementing is Mananam. After implementing and practicing it, expressing it is only Dhyanam (meditation). These three are the steps for GnanaYoga.

Again and again, expressing in our life the flow of good thoughts, good energy flows and the good qualities which run within us only is Nithya Dhyanam.

If Shravanam and Mananam happen, then Nithya dhyanam will automatically occur.

Shravanam is knowing, which flow of thoughts gives us sorrow and which give comfort and bliss and stepping towards such flow of thoughts which give bliss. Mananam is spending our efforts for us to create within us again and again, such good thoughts which give us comfort and bliss.

Expressing it in our life is nithya dhyanam. If we adopt these three steps in our life to the extent possible, it would do wonders. See, for all of us to become enlightened instantly is not possible. And it is not necessary to try to that extent, but step-by-step if you try; each and every thought vou mend is a step in rectifying your life and transforming. For a big building to be built and completed, it is only by stacking so many small bricks will the whole building be complete. This building is only composed of all the bricks. Similarly, your life is also composed of all sorts of thoughts and thought-flow. The building will be formed nicely if each one of the bricks has been stacked properly. Rectify each one of your flow of thoughts. The building cannot be built all at once. They would have built only brick. Same way cleanse your mind thought by thought. Certainly, your mind also will form like this building.

I bless you all that, let the shravanam, mananam and nithya dhyanam happen in your life properly and for your life to become blissful. Let you all radiate and become one with Nithya ananda. eternal bliss.

Chapter 4