Beloved Master,
Of late, I am able to relax and go deeper within myself. But for some reason, there seems to be a fear, a trembling that I feel could cloud the bliss of life. Does my ego need nourishment?
I have been telling you again and again to drop the ego. Have you even been listening to me, I wonder! I am telling you to drop the ego and here you are asking me if your ego needs nourishment! What are you talking?
You are saying that you are feeling relaxed more within yourself and then you are asking whether your ego needs nourishment. That will only destroy whatever relaxation you have. Not only that, it will stop this feeling of going inwards also. In fact, it will make this trembling that you are feeling stronger. If you are nourishing the ego, then you are only making it stronger. You are giving it more space. And if you do this, how will it ever leave you? If you are nourishing the ego, you are doing something against what you have been working for; to go beyond.
Ego is your falsity; it is not the truth. And if you have experienced silence, then you will understand. You should simply cut off this complete nourishing process. Just let it die. The death of your ego marks the beginning of your reality. But if you sit and nourish your ego, it becomes stronger. Then you are moving farther and farther away from reality.
This question that you are asking really makes me wonder about how much you have been listening. People only listen to what they want to hear, not to what is actually being said. Your mind interferes and doesn't let my words penetrate. My words should strike you; they should go straight to your being. But your mind comes in and does not allow what is being said to go past your head. And whatever actually sticks to your mind is the edited version. It has already been scanned by your mind; it is the distorted version. And it sometimes happens that what goes in is the complete opposite of what I am saying.
You must learn how to listen; not only you but everyone. And it is an art, a difficult one. This is because everyone thinks that they know it. They think that just because they can hear, they can listen. Be clear: they are two different things. Just because your dictionaries say they have the same meanings, does not mean that they are the same thing. You see: the capacity to hear only has to do with your ears. But the capacity to listen has to do with something beyond your ears. It involves a quiet mind, with no chatter. If there is a noisy mind, you are bound to have misunderstanding.
And one more thing: listening does not mean that you have to agree or disagree with what I am saying. This is what you are doing. You only hear what you want to hear. Listening means to simply sit, with no chatter, and to just absorb whatever is being said. So, the two are very different - listening and hearing. Listening is from the being with no judgments; hearing is from the mind with all possible judgments!
There is one thing that you must understand: the being is much deeper than the mind. Whatever has to reach the being goes through your idiotic mind first. And by the time it reaches, many things have already happened to it. It has already become distorted.
So in order to totally listen or be, in order to imbibe everything that I want to say, you must drop your mind. It is the only way.
A small story:
A Master and his disciple were sitting together and talking. The Master pointed to a big stone and asked his disciple to tell him whether it was inside or outside of his mind. The disciple replied, 'Our Vedic teachings tell us that everything is a projection of the mind. So the stone must be inside my mind.'
The Master then remarked, 'Don't you get tired of carrying such a heavy weight?'
And this is really the way in which you are living. You are always carrying such a heavy load in that head of yours that you don't see what is really there. You miss the reality of the whole thing; you miss the truth.
So, you must drop the mind to realize the reality. You will be able to truly listen without missing anything only if the mind is not there. And once you begin to listen, you will simply be transformed.
Beloved Master,
I have heard You speak to us a lot about grace. It seems to be such a beautiful word with a beautiful meaning although I find that I know very little about it. Can You please speak a little about it?
One of the greatest mysteries of life is grace. It can never be created. Be clear; if it is created grace, it is false, not real. Grace must come by itself. It will come as a flowering of your being.
You see: when your meditation rises to its peak, many things come with it: silence, compassion, bliss. The effect of silence, compassion and bliss is grace. So when these things happen in you, their effect on your physical body is grace which will radiate from every cell of your being.
Even if the person is not physically beautiful, a different kind of beauty will be radiated from within. This beauty is what we call grace.
It is like a lamp. The flame is inside. Until the flame is lit, you will only be bothered about the glass. You pass comments on people, 'She is beautiful and he is ugly.' What nonsense! This is only the glass which you are seeing. Only when the inner flame is lit will the beauty actually be seen. This is what I mean by grace: your inner beauty, your inner flame. This inner flame is much greater than the body. This light will radiate throughout the body and then the body will not matter anymore. There will be a different light, a beautiful aura, surrounding you.
And grace is such a beautiful thing which has been misunderstood. Grace is not outward beauty as you think; it is from within. Every cell of your body radiates this beauty. Your eyes will simply radiate this new silence, this new ecstasy. When you speak, it will not sound like any spoken language, but like music; a tremendous and vibrant silence will radiate from your words. In fact, even when you shout with anger, it will sound like poetry! Actually, in the ashram, there are some three or four ashramites continuously doing only this. When I shout at someone, they will sit and laugh. When I laugh, then they will simply stare at me. What am I to do?
Anyhow, ordinary words will start sounding like great scriptures because your inner experience is what gives the authority.
It is like a container filled with chocolates. With the chocolates or without the chocolates, the container is the same. When the chocolates are inside, the container seems very interesting and juicy. Without the chocolates, the container seems like nothing.
You are like this. Physically, you may be the same, but before and after grace has happened in you, there will be a big difference. Once you attain bliss, the same words that you utter will have a new meaning altogether. The container is the same, but the content has changed. The new content will not be in the words, but in the body language. Everything that you do will have a certain beauty to it, which is what is called grace. And this grace will not be external; it will be internal.
What is inside will radiate outside. Just see: if a person is restless and talkative internally, what will they radiate? Their whole body language will always look as if they are in a hurry. They will never be able to relax. But if a person is blissful and silent within, they will radiate grace. They will always look calm no matter what.
If a man has a graceful aura, it will be so radiant and filled with what he is experiencing, that you will forget about his physical beauty. He will look beautiful from a completely different plane.
Actually, the only reason that you are not radiating this grace is because of your restlessness, your impatience. Impatience is the only thing that makes you ugly. You must learn to wait. You must learn to trust Existence. Existence will take care, so why do you worry? Worrying is just one more dimension of impatience.
Simply trust Existence. There should be no thoughts, no moods, only a deep awareness. Grace is bound to come. But do not expect grace to come and announce to you that it has come! It will come like a whisper. You will suddenly begin to feel it within. You will feel it in your movements. You will feel it in your speech. It will simply surround you; it will be with you everywhere you go.
Simply wait. It will come.
Beloved Master,
I don't know why, but all of a sudden, I am starting to doubt my reality. How can I trust what I know about myself, because what I know about myself doesn't feel like me. Please tell me: what am I?
You are just beginning to understand! You are right: what you know about yourself is false. In fact, it is completely the opposite of what you are. And you are asking me to tell you what you are. You see: I have been trying to show you, to give you the experience. It is only you who is holding back!
A small story:
There was once a lioness. She was pregnant and was about to give birth. One day she was hunting for food, when she saw a flock of sheep. She jumped to attack. At the very moment of jumping, she delivered. But the effort was just too much for her and because of this, she died. The flock of sheep felt bad for the new born cub because now he had no mother. They decided to bring up the cub. The cub grew up eating grass, bleating like a sheep, and even acquired a fear of lions! He didn't even realize that he himself was a lion!
One day, a lion spotted the flock of sheep while they were grazing and decided to attack. In amongst the sheep, he saw the cub. He was surprised. He caught hold of the cub and took him into the forest. The whole time, the cub was crying, 'Put me down. Don't eat me. Please take me back!'
Then finally the lion became disgusted and said, 'Fool! I will not eat you. You yourself are a lion.'
The cub was not able to believe what he heard. So the lion, having no choice took the cub back to the flock of sheep.
Everyday, the same scene would happen. Each time, the cub trusted the lion a little more. He slowly began to enjoy the lion's company.
One day, the cub was waiting for the lion with a hand full of the best grass which he had collected as a gift to the lion. As usual the lion came, but when the cub offered the grass, the lion said, 'Come with me.'
He took the cub to a pond and told him to look at both of their reflections. 'What do you see? Look, here is me and here is you.'
The cub still denied what he saw. 'No, no they are both you. I am a sheep!'
At that moment the lion stuffed a piece of meat into the cub's mouth. Slowly, the cub started tasting the blood, and started enjoying it. Suddenly, it realized that it was a lion and let out a roar.
The lion said, 'So now you realize what you are! You see: you and I are one and the same.'
Now do you understand?
I am again and again telling you to look at who you are. But consciously or unconsciously, you run away from the truth. Whether you know it or not, accept it or not, you and I are one and the same.
Now I am telling you: look at your reflection. It is what you are. It is your reality. Now you will ask, 'How do I look at myself?'
Meditation creates the inner mirror. It gives you the capacity to look at yourself. I am not talking about the self which you think you are. I am talking about your inner self; the real you.
So, look within - at yourself. Understand what you are. Experience what you are. Only when you experience what you are, will you understand that it has been with you all the time. It has only been covered by your falsity.
Now uncover it.
Now look.
You will understand.
Thank you.
About THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM
It was under the glow of the spiritual magnet Arunachala in the energy center of Tiruvannamalai in South Bharat, that THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM was born - as Rajasekharan, to Arunachalam and Lokanayaki on 1 January, 1978. The family astrologer predicted that he would be a king amongst holy men.
At the age of 3, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM was associated with Yogiraj Raghupati Maharaj, a yoga guru who took him through rigorous training and prepared his body, with apparent foresight into the energy explosion that was going to happen in the young body. From the age of 5,
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM took to deity worship with great passion. He showed profound commitment to the rituals he practiced with the deities. Just a few years later, he came in touch with Mataji Kuppammal, a deeply pious lady who initiated him into Vedanta and Tantra and started his scriptural learning at that young age. Encountering many mystics from the town of Tiruvannamalai, he received esoteric teachings from them.
At the age of 12, he had his first deep spiritual experience: while sitting on a rock on the Arunachala hillock, he suddenly had a 360 degree panoramic vision, and experienced becoming one with everything around him. This experience further inspired him to forge ahead in his journey inwards.
Academics at school and polytechnic came naturally for THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM. With only the attention he gave in classes, he passed all his grades with distinction. He obtained a diploma degree in Mechanical Engineering from a leading private Polytechnic in Tamilnadu.
At the age of 17, he left home driven by the irresistible urge to jump into the real life that he was seeking. He wandered through the length and breadth of Bharat and Nepal, studying Eastern metaphysical sciences and meeting many masters and mystics. He visited many great shrines, ranging from the Himalayas in the North, to
Kanyakumari in the South, from Dwaraka in the West to Ganga Sagar in the East. After enduring intense meditation and other austerities, he attained eternal inner bliss…the state of nithyananda. At the age of 22, Rajasekharan became THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM.
Today, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM is an inspiring personality for millions of people worldwide. From his experience of the Truth he has formulated and makes available the Technology of Bliss to every individual. His methods empower us to be physically and mentally fit, with sound spiritual strength in both the inner and outer worlds. Millions of people around the world have experienced radical transformation through his techniques in short periods of time.
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM gives the tools to live a creative and productive life, guided by intuition and intelligence, rather than by intellect or instinct. He shows the way to excellence in the outer world and radiance in the inner world at the same time. His programs guide one to fall into the natural space known as meditation.
He says, 'Meditation is the master key that can bring success in the material world, and deep fulfillment in your space within.' His powerful techniques and processes that comprise the meditative programs help the flowering and expansive explosion of the individual consciousness.
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM cooperates with scientists and researchers the world over, to record mystic phenomena through scientific data. He intrigues the world of medical science with results from his own neurological system. From the astounding observations, scientists feel that the potential for altering the rates and progression of diseases like heart ailments, cancer, arthritis, alcoholism, etc. are beginning to look achievable.