Q: Dear master, are we in the world or is the world in us?🔗

Neither are you in the world nor is the world in you. The very idea that you are in the world makes you materialistic. The idea that the world is in you, makes you spiritualistic. Both are ideas. Please be very clear that if you think you are in the world, you become materialistic. You run behind the world. You just run behind it. You want to have it. You want to possess it. If you think the world is in you, you run behind your being. You want to possess it. It is the same running, just that it is diverted a little bit inside. The running for spiritual progress or running for some spiritual experience, we call mystery mongering. Even the running for mystical experiences is nothing but mystery mongering. Both are actually concepts; both are ideas. When you understand both are just ideas, you start allowing the spiritual experience to happen in you, and this cannot be done by words.

For example, take the river Ganga. Suppose a small bamboo stick is floating on the Ganga. Considering the bamboo as the center, if you think that the Ganga has been split into two halves, right-side Ganga and left-side Ganga, would you be right? Can you say the Ganga has been divided? No, in reality Ganga is never divided. Because you have taken the bamboo as the center and divided the river for the sake of utility, for the sake of your understanding, you have labeled it as right-side Ganga and left-side Ganga. In the same way, just for the sake of utility, you name this as the body and that as the world. It is just a naming, a labeling.

Just look in; look into yourself. Why do I say, 'Look in'? You know that for a long time you have only looked out. That is the reason I ask you to look in. When you look inward, you see there is really no boundary between this and that, between you and the world. If you perceive one boundary as stronger, you will feel that you are in the world. If you perceive the other boundary as stronger, you will feel that the world is in you. The worldly people and the so-called materialists say, 'We are in the world.' People who close their eyes and sit in the caves in the Himalayas say, 'The world is in us.' But both are just concepts. If you feel this boundary is stronger, you think you are in the world. If you think that boundary is stronger, you think the world is in you, that's all.

Once you drop both concepts, you will see simply that you are, and wherever you are, you are joyful. Generally the great saints and enlightened people teach you that the world is in you. Do you know why they teach you that way? Because you are already addicted to the opposite idea, that you are in the world. Just to bring you out of that idea, they teach that the world is in you.

Actually to remove one thorn from your foot, you need to use another thorn. But once you have removed the thorn, you need to throw away both. The idea that the world is in you is only another thorn to remove the thorn that is already piercing you. In the ultimate sense, both are just concepts. When you drop these boundaries, you understand reality, you understand what the truth is. It cannot be expressed by either of these concepts.

If you remove that bamboo from the Ganga, can you say Ganga has become one? No, because it was always one. The very word 'one' exists only if you say there is 'two'. If there is no 'two', how can you say it is 'one'? Is it clear to you? The word singular exists only as long as the word plural exists. When the word plural is lost, how can you say this is singular? That is why the rishis and sages called this philosophy advaita.

Dvaita means plural - duality. But advaita cannot be translated as singular – because that would imply the presence of a plural somewhere, which advaita does not acknowledge. Advaita can be translated only as non-dualist.

It can never be expressed as 'single'. It can be expressed only as 'where there is no duality'. Dvaita means duality. Advaita means where there is no duality, that's all.

If you say you are in the world, you are expressing duality. If you say the world is in you, you are doing the same thing. Only if you experience the fact that neither is true, do you experience the truth. The truth cannot be expressed with dvaita, it can only be expressed with advaita.

Q: Dear master - will the program also acquaint us with meditation techniques like the awakening of the kundalini?

Of course, the program that we are going to conduct in the next two days is the awakening of the kundalini shakti in a very safe and practical manner.

To get the best out of life, to have a joyful blissful life, to have a spiritual life, a real life, two things are necessary. One is maturity, the understanding about the being and Existence. The second is meditation. Understanding clears your conscious mind. Meditation cleanses your unconscious mind. There are lots of things that cannot be followed by understanding. Everybody understands that smoking is bad for health. In all the billboards about cigarette advertisements, they include a statutory warning. What are the words they use? 'Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.' We know it. Yet people smoke and suffer. They are unable to control themselves. Why is this so? Just an intellectual understanding will not be sufficient in some places. So we need to channel energy into the unconscious zone.

The conscious zone can be cleared by intellectual clarity, maturity. Of course, at least 50% of the problems can be cleared just by intellectual clarity. We cannot deny the role of intellectual clarity in our joyful life. It has its own place and importance. But it is not sufficient; it is not the ultimate. If you have intellectual clarity, it means you have an understanding about each and every chakra, the way in which the chakras work; what is the way in which the energy centers can be opened.

For example, why is depression very closely related to the manipuraka chakra, the navel center? Whenever you hear some news that you can't bear, that you can't tolerate, immediately the first blow would be to the stomach. You will either have a stomach upset or diarrhea. Has any of you experienced this? We always say, 'I can't digest it'. Not only in English, but in all languages this expression exists. In all languages, we have an expression; whenever you receive some news that you can't tolerate, we say, 'I can't digest it. I can't stomach it.'

The anahata is related to love. Love and heart, these two words are synonyms in all languages. It's not that all the languages were created at a time, as if God had created CD packages and put one package in each country. No! Tamil in South Bharat, Hindi in North Bharat, English in England - every language has evolved in a different place, at a different time. But in all languages, you see love and heart are used as synonyms. It means some deeper connection exists between your emotions and your being.

The anahata chakra, the heart center, is closely related to love energy. If you know how to handle that emotion, the maturity, the understanding to handle the emotion solves 50% of your problem. The energy to awaken that chakra solves another 50%. The maturity creates energy. The energy creates maturity. The ball rolls and you finally experience ultimate bliss.

Maturity clears the conscious portion of the mind; meditation clears the unconscious portion. When both are cleared, you will see a tremendous transformation of the being; a tremendous flowering of the being happens in you.

That is why I call this program Ananda Spurana or Life Bliss. Spurana means flowering. The flowering of bliss is happening in our being continuously. Only, we don't look inward. We don't see what is happening. Just look inward, and you will find it - this Ananda Spurana, this flowering of bliss.

Q: How do I know whether I am qualified for a spiritual awakening or not?

Nice question. The very idea that the person is not qualified for a spiritual opening or a spiritual awakening was created by the priests. If you are alive, that is enough; that qualification is enough for a spiritual awakening.

Somebody went to Ramana Maharshi and asked, 'Bhagwan, am I qualified for spiritual progress; am I qualified for the spiritual line?'

Ramana Maharishi asked, 'Are you alive?'

The disciple said, 'Yes, of course.'

'Then you are qualified enough,' replied Ramana.

It is only the priests who created this idea to exploit the public. You see: if you are not held in guilt, if you are not kept one step lower on the pedestal, you do not obey. Just to exploit people, the idea of qualification was created. The very basic thing, which has killed intelligence, which has killed spirituality, is this business of qualification; the idea of qualification. You can never find anybody who feels they are qualified. Even after hundreds of years of practice, you will wonder whether you are qualified or not. I don't know why! This is because guilt has been implanted in you. Be very clear, not only in Mumbai city, wherever you live, you are qualified. If you think you are alive, that is enough; you are qualified. The idea of qualification was brought in just to exploit you mentally.