CHAPTER 8 Cosmic Body
The cosmic layer is the sixth energy layer. This is the body of pleasure. This is what is perceived as heaven. The very energy from this layer expresses itself as pleasure. Whenever the energy emanates from this body, it expresses itself and you feel pleasure, you feel joy. It is a very deep layer; that is why you feel it very subtly.
But this energy, when it comes out, has to cross the pain layer to come out, so you will always find that your pleasure will have a coating of pain! That is why, when you are enjoying something, you will always feel, 'When will this enjoyment disappear?' And because of this, you will not enjoy it fully also.
This is why our joy and pleasure always seems contaminated. Our pleasure has to travel through the pain and the guilt layers. That is why it is contaminated.
Cosmic Body
IN THE GAP LIES THE REAL JOY!
Actually if you see, the moments of happiness or joy happen when the mind stops. This may happen for just a few moments, but the impressions and the relaxation from the dropping of the mind will be tremendous. When I say the mind stops, I mean, the mind gives a gap sometimes. For example, when you see
Follow Me IN! Follow Me IN! Cosmic Body
nature you will be capturing thousands of scenes continuously. But at one point in time, the mind will give a gap. It is this gap that becomes an unforgettable memory!
Let me tell you an incident from my life.
This was during my wandering days before enlightenment. I was walking from one city to another in Bharat. On the way to a place called Omkareshwar, there is a thick jungle and a river flows between the two hillocks that are completely made entirely of marble stone. Between the two hillocks, the sacred river Narmada flows.
On a full moon night, I was just walking with a stick in my hand, rotating the stick and singing to myself. I was walking along the river. I was going down a small valley, and when I reached its end, I looked up and saw a big cliff in front of me. I saw on both sides the two big hillocks shining in the full moon. Because it was white marble, it was simply shining in the moonlight!
The river was flowing beautifully with a mild murmur. Suddenly I saw that both the hillocks were bridged! There was a physical connection between them in mid air. I went a bit closer and saw that the whole thing was a honeycomb! The honeycomb was at least 400 feet long!
When I saw that, in just one moment, my mind gave a gap. Even now, I can see that moment. I was so ecstatic! I can remember that moment as such indescribable joy. Both the hillocks were simply connected! And the moment I perceived that, the mind gave a gap. Whenever you disappear into Nature, this often happens.
TOUCH THE DEEP CORE OF PAIN - GO THROUGH TO S OMETHING NEW
Let me tell you another incident from my life.
I was on the banks of the Narmada river in Omkareshwar again – the place where Shankara became enlightened.
I had done many, many types of tapas (penance) and tried different types of meditation techniques. Actually, I literally killed myself with these meditation techniques. Finally, a very sudden and deep depression landed on me. I had a deep feeling of being cheated and thought to myself: for the sake of enlightenment I have left my family. Whatever has to be done according to the vedic scriptures, almost everything has been done. But still, it is not happening. Only days are passing.
One day suddenly, maybe in the evening at around four, I felt excruciating pain along with the deep depression. I felt that nothing more could be done, that there is no need to live anymore, because whatever has to be done had been done. I thought that either I had to become enlightened or I had to die. I never spent any time in my life earning money or learning how to live. I didn't even know how to live! Even now I can't count. I can't count numbers too far. I never learned anything towards life, so I thought either I had to become enlightened or I had to die.
I was convinced that the whole idea of enlightenment was just a concept. I thought it was never going to happen in my life. I felt that at least there is no possibility for it in my life. So I decided, 'Let me commit suicide.' It was such an excruciating pain that it made me decide to commit suicide.
Follow Me IN! Follow Me IN! Cosmic Body
I entered the Narmada river - a very powerful and aggressive river. It runs between the two hillocks, very deep and powerful. It has big falls as well. I thought, 'Let me commit suicide. It is not going to be any more than two or three minutes. I will be flooded away.'
I started walking. When the water started coming up to my hip, in the terrible fear, I just shut my eyes tightly and continued walking. I continued walking and walking. I could feel the water continuously rising. At one point, I felt my breath to be very painful. I was breathing the pain inside, the suffering inside. I was breathing the pain inside. So much of pain had gone inside and at one moment, something hit me. Suddenly something broke. When the breath came out, it came out as complete bliss!
But I found that I was continuing to go inside the river. I was just moving. Since I had my eyes tightly closed, I don't know how much distance I walked. When the breath came out with bliss, I felt completely rejuvenated. It was as if the whole of life had entered me. I fell down and saw that I was on the other shore! I do not know what happened. What I am telling you is the simple truth.
I do not know what had happened in between… Whether I walked through the water, or I walked on the pebbles and rocks, I don't know. I thought that maybe the river is shallow in the part that I walked, but I heard from at least fifty people that it is not less than 200 feet deep. I don't even know swimming till date. When I fell on the ground, I saw that I was on the other shore, that's all.
Suddenly, I could very clearly feel that Narmada was laughing at me. The river Narmada is considered a virgin girl. She has always been considered to be a virgin girl. I very clearly felt she was laughing at me!
I wanted to share this experience just to tell you that when you touch the deep core of pain, you will see that bliss opens in you!
FAITH IS YOUR ANTIDEPRESSANT
Deepak Chopra says 90% of the people who live with faith in God live more joyfully and happily. They have much less depression than those who had no faith in God. Even if the concept of God cannot be proved by spiritual people, even if faith in God is only a hypothesis, it helps you to live with tremendous joy and happiness. He says that even if it is a hypothesis, it is perfectly alright because it supports life and joyful living. It makes living on the planet earth very satisfying.
You drink because you wish to escape from yourself. Man pours to fill; women eat and fill. Men drink, women eat. Addiction to food is because you feel empty inside. Once you understand the purposelessness of what you do, you will lose these addictions.
When you wake up in the morning, just laugh! If you cannot feel free to laugh in your own home, where else can you laugh! Laugh at how purposeless everything is. Release yourself from the nagging restlessness. There is no need to sell your inner space to have outer space. You can retain joy inside and still have the outer space to enjoy.
MEDITATION
What can be the best meditation to work on the layer of happiness? Just laughing... that's all.
If you laugh continuously for 42 minutes, you will get If you laugh continuously for 42 minutes, you will get enlightened. enlightened.
-Zen Buddhism
The laughter we are talking about is not just the plastic smile we wear on our faces most of the time. It is not social laughter. It is uninhibited, complete laughter with your whole being. Every cell, every nerve fiber, should vibrate with the laughter.
You must have heard of the Laughing Buddha. It is common to see the Laughing Buddha statue in many houses as a good luck showpiece. This Laughing Buddha used to go from village to village and all he used to do was stand up in the village square and start laughing. His laughter was so total that not only his belly, but his whole body used to shake with laughter. Just seeing him laugh, all the villagers who had gathered to watch would start laughing! Within minutes the entire village would be roaring with laughter. In the gaps in the laughter, when the mind was choicelessly still, the consciousness of the village would be simply uplifted! Without a single word uttered, the entire village would be in meditation. Such is the simple but extremely powerful meditation of laughter.
Laughing is what works directly on the bliss within you. It is laughing that brings out the bliss energy. It breaks the solidified layers, melts them and spreads the energy throughout the body.
So in this meditation, you have to laugh till I say 'Stop!'
Sit down and close your eyes. Start breathing. Breathe as deeply as possible. Start laughing.
(A few minutes pass)
Relax.
This is such an energy-giving meditation! You can experience the real heartfelt laughter, the full-belly laughter. Laughing is a forgotten language. The master's laughter is of an entirely different quality. It is the laughter of a child. It is innocent laughter. Actually, in laughter, you and the master, both of you meet. Laughter puts you in touch with the very core of your being - eternal bliss, nithya ananda.
The Initiation - Be Unclutched!