Chapter Two:
Beloved Master,
Why are we so lucky to have You with us. Why are we so fortunate to be here with You?
First thing: a question starting with 'why' can never be answered. See, 'why' is of the mind and 'how' is of the being. In the Shiva Sutras – techniques given by Lord Shiva to his consort Devi, Devi asks a series of questions for which Shiva replies in the form of 112 meditation techniques.
Devi never asks 'why'. She only asks 'how'. With a devotional mind, with a devotional heart, 'why' can never be asked. And no 'why' has ever been answered and can never be answered. This is because 'why' is from the mind and the moment you feed the mind some answer, it will just find one more 'why'. The same way how the leaves grow out of trees, 'whys' grow out of the mind. When you cut the tree's leaves, many more leaves will grow. And unless the mind is answered completely, it will restlessly go on. But the mind cannot be answered. It can only be dissolved. The mind is never meant to be answered, it is only meant to be dissolved!
Understand: Existence simply is. There can be no 'why' asked about it. Can you ask a question about the trees or the sky or anything of nature? No! You simply cannot! Rivers will flow, clouds will float, that's all! Nothing can be asked about it.
You see: with anything alive, your mind feels uneasy. With anything which is not known, your mind becomes restless. It wants to be the knower of everything. Your mind cannot bear to be with anything alive. But with the dull and the dead, the mind will be at ease because with what is dull and dead, everything is certain; there is no mystery at all. But life is very much the opposite! It is so unpredictable. It can never be known. The future can never be fixed. It is completely unknown. But with a dead thing, everything is certain, everything is fixed, there is nothing to worry about and the mind is at ease.
The deep urge of the mind, the struggle of the mind is to make everything certain because the mind is afraid of life. The mind is in continuous search of explanations because once an explanation is acquired, you feel you have solved the mystery.
See, mystery makes the mind vulnerable only because when it is unknown, it cannot be overpowered. It is something which you cannot manipulate. And something which you cannot manipulate overwhelms you. It is something before which you simply dissolve. Mystery gives you the feeling of death. It is the death of the mind. This is why the resistance. And you resist by going on asking why.
Now, don't think that I am avoiding you question. No! I am telling you about the mind. And if you can retain the feeling of mystery, I will answer. If this mystery is retained, then there is no problem. It is only when the mystery is lost that there is something seriously wrong.
So if the mystery is retained, then answering becomes useful. If it is retained, then the very mystery will lead you into a deeper mystery. If this is the case, you will not be asking questions to get an explanation; you will be asking only to get deeper into the mystery. The very quality of the doubt will be different. The curiosity will not be of the mind but that of the being.
When I am talking to all of you, remember one thing: I am not speaking to silence your inquiry. I am not speaking to give you any explanation either. I am speaking only to deepen the inquiries within you; enough to simply put you into the mystery. My answers will create more questions and a time will come when the questions will drop. And when this happens you will be in the mystery. Mystery will be all around you - both within and without. Then you have become part of the mystery; the mystery has become a part of you.
With this understanding, I can answer your question.
Never think that you are only with me now. Life is like a river - like a flow. Everything is interrelated. Actually, for utility purposes, we have created the past, present and future. But in actuality, there are no divisions. Life is like a continuous river. A river will continue to flow; it will continue regardless of time. A river knows neither past nor future. It is eternally present, that's all.
In the same way, you have been with me and you are with me. I am not bringing the past at all. Just like a river that had always been and will always be, you will always be. You are with me and you will continue to be with me. This being has nothing to do with time.
Life is eternally present. We have always been here - in different forms, different situations, that's all. The very concept of individuality is fiction. Life is not divided and it can never be divided. We are not islands. We are one ocean. Individuality itself is a myth. It is like a small wave trying to become an entity separate from the ocean. Can a wave ever become a separate entity? No! The wave is part of the ocean. Whether the wave believes it or not, accepts it or not, it is part of the ocean.
So this oneness should be felt. Once it is felt, the concept of time automatically drops. Space and time become meaningless. And when time is dropped, you simply are!
You are here because you are. I am here because I am. It is simply the way life has happened. When I tell you this, it will be difficult to accept. But if I were to tell you that you are a great seeker of the truth and you are very fortunate to be here…if I were to tell you all these big words, your ego will be relaxed, your ego will be satisfied. Be very clear: I am not here to satisfy your ego. I am here to tell you what is.
I tell you: life has chosen to happen this way. Life has chosen for you to be here. It is simply how life has happened to you. It has happened before and it will go on happening in the same way. The moment you can understand this, the very fear of life will drop. You will be able to allow what has to happen to happen. You will allow life to flow through you. Life becomes like a breeze, and you an open window. Life will come and go and again come; you will allow it.
Let you understand: you are not here because of any choice on your part and I am not here because of any choice of mine. You simply are and I simply am. There can never be any choice in life. Life flows with whatever Existence wills. However, as of now you are under the illusion that you are making choices. The ego creates this within you. The ego makes you believe that you are making choices. But in reality, choices can never be made because in reality, you are not. If you are not, then who is there to make choices? Once you have dropped what you think to be yourself, the illusion of choice drops with it.
To tell you honestly: we have never met. As long as the 'i' is there, there is no meeting possible. Only when you are empty will we meet. Only two emptinesses can meet; there is no other meeting possible.
There is a Zen story…
A student asked a Zen Master, 'What is Zen?'
'It is right before your eyes,' the Master replied.
'Then why can I not see it?' the student asked.
'Because of your 'I'.
'If I don't have this idea of 'I', will I realize Zen?' asked the student.
'If there is no 'I' who wants to realize Zen?' the Master asked.
So the moment you become empty, the moment that you are not, merging will be possible. And this is the way to become one with Existence. When the 'i' is dropped, then the boundaries are also lost. And when the boundaries are lost, everything that was, everything that is, becomes you. You become the whole of Existence.
In the same way: you will only meet me once you have dropped your self. Now you are near me but you have never met me. And this possibility of being near me should be used, it should be utilized. It must not be missed.
It is as easy to miss a Master as it is to be attracted to him. And this attraction is so deep, it is so total. It is not like any other attraction which you have felt before. This is because the Master is empty. And emptiness serves as a magnet. It attracts all those who are full.
It is as if you have put a glass out under the rain. Only a few raindrops will fall into the glass. In the same way, this space that we are in is like a glass. Those few, who by chance fall inside, are blessed.
Do not miss. Your being here is a rare happening for many reasons. Your mind is afraid of death. Even in times of misery, the mind will cling to life. A lust for life is always there along with the fear of death. And when you come to me, you are coming to dissolve; you are coming for the death of the 'i'.
It is like an abyss. You will fall and continue to fall without a bottom. It is as if a leaf is falling into an abyss - into the infinite. It goes on falling - falling and falling until it disappears. And this is what is happening right now. You are continuously falling. And you will go on falling until you realize that no one has ever been falling. It is at this moment that you disappear.