“Somebody tried to write ‘Dear Swamiji’ and wrote finally ‘Dead Swamiji’.”

Somebody tried to write ‘Dear Swamiji’ and wrote finally ‘Dead Swamiji’. (Huge laughter from crowd) Anyhow swamis are the people who are supposed to be already dead. No, during the sannyas initiation the main process is we are supposed to go through our own death. We should have had the death experience at least once and we do shradha for ourself. Means shradha is the last rite. Your son will do the shradha, last rite for you, usually. Because we decide that no more generation we do shradha for ourself, means that we’ve ended our life. Means that we have died, reborn so it’s okay. ‘Dead Swamiji’ is also nothing wrong.

Again some question: Based on your recommendation I don’t take notes but it will be helpful to have a print out of the sutras to have a reference at home. We’ll try to provide the printed list. That’s one thing. I tell you not to take the notes during the discourse but during the gap you can sit and take the notes. If you say you forgot what you heard; if in half an hour if you can’t remember, within half an hour then hearing is waste. In the gap you can always sit and take notes.

I’m so blessed that without asking any questions my questions are answered. Only work I have to do is stretch more in order to hold that divine hands of yours. And surrender ultimately. I hope it comes soon. When you know, just stretch, that’s all. ‘While hoping it to come soon.’ Hoping is foolish thing. Making it happen is the intelligent thing. Convert the ‘o’ into ‘a’.

I feel I am finally in the right place with the right person what I have been seeking for. But why am I, why I am still not able to go one step higher to reach ultimate truth. How to become that integrated person and get that psychological revolution? Can I have this discourses every day for the rest of our lives? You can have. One thing, the final touch does not happen because the people don’t take the final jump and commit. Commit that ‘this is going to be main part of my life. This is going to be major part of my life.’ See, people ask me, ‘why are you letting people to wear mala? Why are you encouraging people to wear mala and bracelet? Is it not like a cult?’

I tell them, ‘No! It is a culture, not cult.’ That’s the first thing. Second thing: wearing mala, wearing bracelet means boldly you are telling to the whole warm circle; the people with whom you are living – your friends and family - that ‘this is going to be part of my life.’ Means you are committing that this is going to be part of your life. Tomorrow or day after tomorrow. See, why people don’t wear all of these things to the – I have seen many people; by the time they get into the car they remove everything and put it in the compact or drawer. Why, you know? They do not want family or friends to know that you are involved in spirituality. You have freedom, tomorrow itself you can change. Tomorrow itself you can dump that person, you can dump that guru. What is the need? No need.

I have seen the experimenting group. They’ll come and see. ‘Should we commit or not?’ And this experimenting drama, experimenting play. That, see it is not commitment with me. You see I have no commitment with you and you have no commitment with me because I’m going to be here only few days and I’ll be gone and I’ll be traveling all over the world. There’s a beautiful proverb in Tamil: The river which is flowing and the swami who is not staying in one place will never be committed to anybody; river which is flowing and swami who is not staying in one place has no commitment. So I have no commitment.

When you wear this mala and bracelet that is a commitment you are showing to spirituality. You are sending a message to your warm circle ‘ this is going to be part of my life. I am very sincere about it.’ But that message is very powerful. Tomorrow you can’t change. Tomorrow if you change they will laugh at you. That is why people don’t wear. They play a very intelligent game. They play a very intelligent game. It means, once you are really feeling that you don’t want commitments, you are not convinced that it is going to be part of your life. It’s going to be part of your life. Still you have your own ideas. That is the reason we play the different games. I always tell people ‘Stand up for what you believe. Stand up for what you believe.’ You are bothered just about one mala and one bracelet to commit to the Master, but to tell you, see, it is not even committing to me. It is committing in spirituality. But I’ve given up not only privacy, the very, the cloth. You know why this clothe, you know? You see, after enlightenment not only I don’t need to wear this, I’m not supposed to wear. I’m supposed to live with all the dress. Paramahamsa is not supposed to wear this cloth. Only a sanyasin will wear. Once a master declares his disciple as a Paramahamsa, means you are beyond any varana, ashrama; I’m not even supposed to wear this cloth. I’m wearing so that the people will be constantly be remembered about the tradition.

Understand? Only when you do some commitment, the big things or the great things will start happening. Psychological revolution happens when you are honest about your understanding and making your day-to-day life in tune with your understanding. People think, today if you had two, three understanding, make that as part of your life. Only then new doors will open. They think ‘No, no, no. Let me just wait. Suddenly all doors will open.’ No! Whatever you understood today, let it become part of your life. Then tomorrow new things will be opening up; new understandings will happen. Do not wait. ‘One day everything will open then I’ll change. I’ll wear mala; wear or I’ll internalize all the teachings of Swamiji. I’ll start meditating.’ No! It never happens. Whatever you click happens every day let it become path everyday. Digest every day. Then you’ll have more and more things in your life.

Let’s enter into the next sutra. It’s again the same way, very powerful sutra. You have to practice this sutra only during the vacation, not when you are doing the job. Either you should have vacation or take vacation or you should be working in Bharat; no need for going to the work! (Laughter)

And if among these three any one is there, then you can practice this technique. Not otherwise because this needs a twenty-four hour intense commitment. This technique you need to practice twenty-four hour but it’s not like a Nithya Sutra. Nithya Sutra does not demand any change in your routine. But this technique demands a change in your routine because the moment you start doing this technique your food, your sleep, your drinking, everything will change, will go through a big shift.

Mahadeva says, it’s the seventy-fifth sutra, Waking, sleeping, dreaming, know you as light.

He’s not saying’ visualize you as light.’ No! Know you as the light.

Greatness of all the eastern religions is they’ve done a great research and development inside the inner space, in the mind. They are not just ‘do’s and don’ts, viddhi and visheda. They are not just social rules and regulations. That is why they never had the idea of going around and converting people. One of the worst calamities happened to planet earth is the idea of converting people to your religion. That is one of the worst calamities happened to planet earth. I can’t imagine. To tell you honestly, inside my heart I always feel ‘Why should people convert?’ An enlightened being or an enlightened person or a swami who is thoroughly exposed to Vedic tradition will never feel convinced inside his heart about conversion.

Many people come and ask me, ‘I want to convert to Vedic, to Hinduism. Swamiji, please help us to convert or initiate us.’ I always tell them ‘I can initiate but I don’t understand the idea about conversion.’ Because we never understood. We never worked in this line. Our tradition is not something like ‘if you do this, if you don’t do this you are Hindu.’ No! Our tradition is like a research and development. Whoever is interested in what we are offering, whoever comes inside and start experimenting and experiencing – live. That’s all! We never bothered about this political game of numbers. Only of late this threat is started happening because the number game has become important in the modern world. In those days intelligence ruled. Nowadays numbers is ruling. In those days intelligence was ruling. Universities were places where the decisions were made how the whole country will live. Spiritual universities were the places where decisions were made. But unfortunately in the modern day the universities were not the place where the decisions were made. No. And number has become an important thing. That is why this idea of conversion has become very popular.

Anyhow, East has done a tremendous research and development. That is why every religion which happened in the East was fulfillment of the other path. When Buddha came and Buddhism happened, we never felt threatened. All we, we recognized Buddha as one more incarnation of Vishnu. And still in the north Bharatn temples you will see all the, among all the incarnations the eighth or ninth incarnation will be Buddha. Maybe the number will be eighth or ninth but always Buddha will be there in the incarnations, in the avataras. We accepted. We imbibed him as a, one great master. The reason is it was always research and development based. It was not idiotic, fanatic, faith based. It was very clearly science based. It’s like a ‘better medicine for cancer is happening. Somebody has done a better research and come out with a better medication for cancer.’ Will you say ‘No. No. We believe in that medicine. No more. All the new medicines are lies.’ No!

Same way – Buddha brought little better medicine for the cancer of ego, the brain tumor, the worst brain tumor. Worst brain tumor which can happen is ego. He brought better medicine. We never had a problem. We accepted. Then after Buddha, again, Shankara happened. He brought little better medicine and we never had the problem. We accepted Shankara. ‘Yes, here is a guy who has brought, who has improved the quality of the medicine.’ And continuously we are open to accept better and better. That is why we have such rich tradition. Such rich knowledge, such rich, intense culture of enlightenment and so much of so many wonderful things still is alive, still alive.

This is one of the great sutra which is outcome of the tremendous research and development, tremendous research and development. Even the state of your mind being divided into three was done after a tremendous research and development. Waking, sleeping, dreaming. Somebody translated and equated these three states into unconscious, subconscious and conscious of the psychology. No! No. If you are trained in psychology under the spiritual science of the Vedic tradition you will understand how psychology is empty, shallow. A deep understanding of these three – waking, sleeping and dreaming – will help you to transcend all these three. The fourth state we never gave any name. We just called it turiya; fourth, that’s all. Turiya means ‘the fourth’. We neither gave name nor tried to bring an idea or concept about it because it’s beyond the mind, beyond imagination. We wanted that state to have it’s own purity without being contaminated in the mouth of interpreters and commentators. So our masters never gave any name for it. They just called it as turiya, fourth state.

Waking, which you are – at least most of you are experiencing. Sleeping, the deep sleep where neither thought nor dreams. Dreaming, where you are moving with your thoughts but not in the wakeful state. These three states, Mahadeva is saying in all these three state know you as light. Even modern day scientists agree you are light! Whatever exists, the source is light particles. Your body is like a shell for the light which you are carrying inside. That light is the source. Your body is just a shell. Just covering. Remember this one thing from morning til night.

Actually this technique will transform you so much, before sannyas or taking bramacharia initiation everybody has to go through this technique. This is what we call as pancha tapas; knowing you as the light and sitting with the light circle. The fire, the fire circle will be created and you’ll be made to sit from sunrise to sunset. All you can remember is light. That’s all. Nothing else. You may think, ‘will I go mad?’ No! Second time you can’t go. (Laughter) Only the madness will come down. Whatever we have only will come down. You may think ‘How can we be remembering only light?’

Maybe first day it will be little difficult. But if you see constantly you are surrounded by fire circle and light and a group of sadhakas doing. This technique has to be done only with a group, not alone. Alone you will not be able to do. Even I tried. Alone it was very difficult. When a group of people are practicing you will be able to do this technique. That is why for some technique the spiritual community is needed.

For some technique Buddha is enough. For some technique dhaama is needed, means the teaching. The introduction is needed. For some technique sangha is also needed. This is the technique where you need Buddha, dhaama and sangha. This is called Pancha Tapas. We call it Ananda Tapas. From morning til night I have seen within the ten, twelve days either the person will fall in tune or he’ll run away. Either that person, if he’s a sincere seeker, he’ll fall in tune. Or second day or third day he will disappear. I’ve seen, whatever it may be, he will not be there because for this technique it’s like literally drilling your unconscious. You are not asking your unconscious permission. You are not telling your subconscious ‘I am going to meditate. Please cooperate with me.’ No! You just say ‘either do or die. No! Even if you die who will do? Just do, that’s all!’

There is no option of doing or dying; just do. If you die who will do? No, you just have to do, that’s all. There’s no option. It is straight away drilling your unconscious. From morning til night I had the fortune of doing this meditation, for three months at a stretch. Totally I spent nine months with this technique, different, different time. Once I did three months.

Still I remember a very funny incident. First few days I got the stick or the wood, little bit lying around the forest, and had the fire circle and started meditating. I saw in a few hours the fire gets extincted. No one, I can’t open my eyes every time to add a little more wood, fuel to it. So I called a local villager, one guy, who is a sheppard who takes care of the cows and goats. I asked him ‘can you be here and take care of me every day and put the fire for this wood; put wood for this fire.’ He said it’s ok, he will do. After a few days I saw there is no wood. Whatever wood was there he used it. He has to go and bring wood or he has to go and bring the cow dung cake. No money; he’s a poor guy. He’s a great, helpful person but he’s a poor guy – no money. Suddenly I saw in my small bag there was one lamp. Somebody invited me for a feast and after the feast they gave some gift. That was lying there. That lamp. I told him ‘take this lamp and sell it in the market. You may get a little money. With that bring that cow dung cake or wood or whatever you want.’

You’ll be surprised! Suddenly after going to the market that fellow came and said ‘that lamp has turned to silver.’ It was not silver. I remember very clearly. All I remember is one sadhu who was in Himalayas, who used to make the copper coin into gold coin, two minutes he was playing with that lamp. That’s all I remember. He was just playing with that lamp in his hand and he was making fun of me. ‘Oh, I think you have become a great samsari. You are carrying the lamp also.’ A sanyasi is not supposed to carry any valuable item. The lamp is not actually valuable item but it is like a some item; furniture.

Actually I questioned him that he is converting the copper coin into gold coin. I said ‘You are a swami.’ He is a great Paramahamsa – never, no clothe, no food, no water, no sleep. Six months I stayed around him. Nothing. It was in Uttarakasi. And Paramahamsa; but he’ll always smoke that ganja. It’s a very funny thing. I asked him also once, ‘You are a great mahatma. Why do smoke that ganga?’ He said ‘you don’t know how difficult to bind my body and my conscious, my inner space. I have to dull myself to stay in the body.’

But you don’t start trying all these things! (Laughter) I have seen people will take all these teachings perfectly. ‘When he can smoke why not me?’ No they don’t start thinking ‘When he became enlightened why not me?’ That’s very difficult. I remember one more story. Maybe I’ll tell after this story. (Laughter again)

I made fun of him that ‘Baba you are a great paramahamsa.’ Baba means father. ‘Father you are a great paramahamsa but why do you make copper coin into gold coin?’ And he laughed and he, just to make fun of me he picked up that lamp from my bag and he said ‘you are also a samsari. You are carrying objects or material with you!’ Nothing else; just that one lamp. He gave me the title ‘you are also samsari. You are carrying this lamp.’ Just he played and gave it to me. That time I did not look or remember. And actually he was making fun of me that he doesn’t have to carry wealth. He doesn’t accumulate. He’s just doing all this for fun of it. And that is the message he’s trying to give by just playing with the lamp and making it silver. Anyhow, I did not respond. I just laughed and left.

That lamp, when he sold and brought the money and put the fire; again it was over, the money was over. Now what to do? But still a few more days I have to do the practice. I remembered that baba, that swami. I was not doing pancha tapas in Uttarakasi. I was doing it in Madhya Pradesh. So I was not around him. I remembered and told him very casually, very jovially I was remembering and telling him in the mind, ‘you should have made it as a gold. (Laughter) For your ganja smoking you made gold but for me you made only silver. I am doing tapas but you made only silver!’ And you’ll be, this is the greatness of the – you see, the masters can receive the words (snaps finger) wherever they may be. They can receive the message.

Next day again I was called by a nearby one mutt , uh, for food. Nearby one mutt some rich man came and he was giving food for all the saddhus and I was called to take biksha (meal). If I go once to the mutt and bring biksha it will stay there for one week, routism. One week I can be there so I thought ‘I’ll go.’ When I went there that rich man, he was serving all the saddhus and giving gifts. The same lamp came back! (Laughter) I was surprised! The same lamp came back. And he handed, when he gave I got the shock. I asked ‘where did you get this lamp?’ He told me ‘no, no. A few days ago one guy, local sheppard guy, he came and sold in the market and I bought. From the day I bought continuously one naga sadhu is appearing and telling me ‘go and give sadhu bandara, go and give sadhu bandara. Give this lamp back to one young swami. Give this lamp back to the young swami. And I tried two, three days to avoid the dream but everyday I am seeing the dream. And here in this group I saw you are the youngest swami. That’s why I’m giving you.’ (Laughter)

Anyhow, actually I made fun of him in a very criticizing way. ‘You see, you are smoking ganja. For that you need, you made gold coin but here I am meditating and doing tapas. For me you made only silver coin, silver thing!’ But the power, blessing is it came back. He went and told that rich guy who bought the – usually the gold jewelers only buy all these things. Naturally they’ll be rich. And he went to that guy’s dream and told him to give bandara and call the saddhus and give that to the youngest sadhu. Anyhow, very funny.

Finally I gave, again I sent it back, gave to the same person and again sold and got the money for more wood.

And then he asked me ‘what for you are selling this back to me, Swamiji?’

I told him ‘Because I need a little wood and cow dung cake for doing pancha tapas.’

‘Oh for that you don’t have to give this lamp.’ Not only he gave the lamp. He took care that all, maybe two more months. He supplied the wood regularly and took care of the whole tapas.

Anyhow, with this technique your food, the quality of sleep, your water intake – everything will go through a drastic change. Of course, very powerful technique for weight loss because your body will take only very little quantity of food but you will continuously feel light. Not only light and very light. Both. You will feel you are like a, you are almost flying. You are radiating. It’s a very intense technique I can say. One of the technique practiced ages in the vedic tradition for enlightenment. One more important news I want to tell about this technique. Even Devi practiced this technique in Arunachala, in my native place. That’s the place where Devi practiced this technique; putting fire around, all around her and did this technique of from morning waking up – waking, sleeping, dreaming state knowing her as a light. So it is such a powerful technique.

Only thing: I don’t prescribe this technique to common people because it needs a sangha, a spiritual community who is really inspired to do this because whole day you need to sit and somebody need to be around, caring and in a very loving way constantly feeding the fire. They should not put too much fire. (Laughs) If they put too much fire you won’t be able to sit (Laughter) And if your body gets dehydrated constantly they should be supplying water. They should be supplying water and taking care of you. And taking care that you don’t have to open your eyes many time. You don’t have to open your eye again and again. Last year we practiced in Bangalore ashram with a group of seekers. Maybe once a year we practice. Whoever wants, they can try. It’s a very intense method.

One of my inspirations, Vibhudananda Devi, she’s Ma Vibhudananda Devi. You see the, you see my biography, you will see her photograph. She did this technique and after that never had a regular menstrual cycles. She said the energy going down has stopped. Such powerful technique. It’ll just change the whole chemistry of your system. And I have seen how she lived. She literally lived like a goddess on the earth. And very polite, humble, pious person but amazing power! Anything, she will not, she does not even have to think twice, second time. Once she said that she will teach me some Upanishads and told me to go and get the Upanishad book from the market. I went and searched everywhere, all over. I was not able to get. I came back with a lot of, with a very sad feeling that, uh, ‘Ma Upanishad book is not there. I don’t know what to do.’

She said that ‘don’t bother. What’s the meaning of ‘Upanishad’?’ she asked.

I said that ‘Upanishad means sitting with the master.’

She said ‘just sit.’

I sat. Very funny thing is after I sat she just put the hand on my hand and I saw the Upanishad book was there. Very powerful, casual materialize; not, understand, if you have this power the piousness will disappear usually. In her I have seen the piousness, simplicity and the power expressing. That is the beauty. See if she constantly has, carries the ego that she has power she wouldn’t even send me to the, to buy the book. She will say ’Hari, sit. I’ll materialize and start the class.’ No! She would have done that. She didn’t do that. It means she doesn’t carry that in her ego. She doesn’t use that for ego fulfillment. Only when it is really needed then she expresses that kind of powers. Great, pious person. In her life, again, she experienced this technique.

I am not describing this technique completely for the sake of some security reasons. I am only describing, even if you try to play with this technique; how much you will be able or you should do, only that much I am describing.

You are supposed to visualize that you are light. There is nothing else inside and outside. There is no body, no world, only light, intense light. The moment you wake up from the bed, from that moment to the moment you fall asleep. Slowly, after a few days, it will start penetrating even your sleep and dreaming. In dreaming also you’ll remember you as light. In deep sleep also you’ll remember you as a light. You’ll be just a light, shining; as a eternal light.

This technique is so powerful it will give you the clear experience that you never die. Light never dies. If you think you are mass you will always have the fear you will disappear. If you realize you are light, the fear of disappearing, death, will disappear. That is why before the sanyas everybody is asked to do this meditaion technique, this method. So both the techniques today which we saw needs some prerequisites. That’s the reason we are not able to do this technique. But I am talking so that all of you’ll be aware and get inspired.

So let you all achieve and experience and radiate the Eternal Bliss, Nithyananda! Thank you.