Enlightenment: It's possible
Let's start with a small story.
In a school, all the boy scouts were supposed to tell their teacher about the good deeds that they did that day. Every day they are supposed to do a good deed and supposed to come and tell the teacher.
One day three friends, all three boys stood up and said, 'Sir, today we helped an old lady cross the road'.
Teacher was confused. To make an old lady cross the road, to help an old lady cross the road, you don't need three persons.
He asked, 'Why? Why was there the need for three persons to make an old lady cross the road. It does not take three persons for that'.
They said, 'No sir, it took three persons because she did not want to cross the road!'
It took three of them because she did not want to cross the road.
Many times the help extended creates more and more trouble for the people you think you are trying to help. When you do not think about the situation, when you try to help somebody without their asking you to, you only create trouble; you do not help.
Almost all our services are done out of our ego; they end only in creating trouble for others. Here, let me tell all of you that unless you ask, I won't be able to help. By you being here now I assume that you are interested or you are asking the help for the ultimate experience of enlightenment.
Unless you ask for it, whatever help I may be able to provide will only create trouble or problems for you.
The whole of this great book Ashtavakra Gita was delivered to King Janaka because Janaka asked.
Now when I speak about this great book you are welcome if you have come here just to check out. If you came here out of curiosity with the feeling let us hear what he is saying, you are welcome. That is not an issue fort me but please be here completely. Usually our mind is such that when we get up and start brushing our teeth early in the morning, our mind is already at work in the office. It is already thinking about being in the office, worrying about the office.
However, when we are in the office our mind is already worrying about the evening program. It may be some movie or play or temple, any evening program. When we are sitting in the theater or temple, already our mind wants to come back to the house. We are thinking about the house.
One thing for sure, if you are here your mind is not here. Your mind doesn't stay in a place where your body stays. Your mind doesn't rest inside your boundary.
We all live almost like ghosts. Our body is in one place, our mind is somewhere else. You don't stay inside your boundary. If you really want these three day program to be a big help, if you really feel it should help you, if you really want to have some help from this three day program, I request you all to stay inside your boundaries during all these three days of the program. Please stay inside your boundary; let you mind be inside your body. This program will work miracles in your being.
Today's subject is 'Enlightenment - it is possible'.
Before entering into the subject let me introduce the book, the Ashtavakra Gita. Man has created so many spiritual scriptures. But nothing can be compared to Ashtavakra Gita. This book is pure spiritual science. It is technology created by Ashtavakra to reproduce the same experience that happened in him.
Understand, scientist is a person who creates a formula that reproduces things of the outer world. A scientist tried to replicate anything happening in the outer world. Newton saw something in the outer world and he started contemplating on that experience. For after seeing an apple dropping from a tree he started contemplating on the experience. He then created a formula, created a theory, through which people will be able to understand about gravity.
Scientist is a person who creates formulas or theories to make outwardly things clear so that people can understand outwardly things. Scientist is a person, who creates formulas to reproduce the understandings of the outer world. Spiritual master is a person who creates a formula to reproduce the experience of the inner world.
Ashtavakra is a spiritual scientist. He created a beautiful technology through which he was able to reproduce the same experience that happened in him. All you need is just a little bit of sincerity. Just be inside your boundary. You will see Ashtavakra's sutras, his techniques work on you.
The scripture created by him, the technology created by him can reproduce the same experience that happened in him. All you need to do is be inside your boundary; be inside your being. The whole story of Ashtavakra is beautiful; it is a beautiful story. We don't know much about Ashtavakra; but there are few incidents, very significant incidents.
The story starts before his birth. It is supposed to be a puranic story because it's very difficult to believe this as a fact. The story starts when Ashtavakra's mother was carrying him. When he was in the womb, Ashtavakra's father used to recite Vedic mantras; he used to chant all the mantras. When the father was chanting all the mantras, the son used to listen to all the mantras from within the womb. Suddenly one day, the infant started questioning the father from inside the womb!