“Q: ‘Since our society is at least partly controlled by politics how do…”

Q: ‘Since our society is at least partly controlled by politics how do we as spiritual beings exist as part of our society? Can we be both political and spiritual beings?’

SWAMIJI: Yes, understand, politicians may not be spiritual beings but spiritual beings can be tolerate, can be with politics. There won’t be a problem.

Spirituality gives you such a open understanding, and vast inner space, you will be able to accommodate, you will be able to accommodate even those things. That is not a problem. This is age-old problem. All fight in the Planet Earth is between politicians and religious people, that’s all. When you become spiritual, neither politician nor religious person fights.

There were few spiritual kings, never fought, like Akbar and so many. During the Akbar’s time, never Hindus felt threatened. That was one great, beautiful thing, Akbar’s contribution. Same way, the religious side also. There were some people who were supposed to become politicians, became religious people. They always created fight, wars. So it’s a spiritual essence. If it is not imbibed, whether you are a religious leader or politician, you will create fight. If you imbibe that, even if you are a politician, you won’t create fight.

And, the first Chief Advisor of Akbar, his name is Maheshwara. In course of time, they started calling him as a Birbal. No, he is a brahmin from a nearby village and his name is Maheshwara. For quite a long time, the record was saying his name only as Maheshwara. Even if you see the Akbar’s court record, it says only as Maheshwara. He receives salary every month. The court document says his name only as Maheshwara. And if you read his stories, very intelligent, wise advisor. He was depicted more like a joker but he is not a joker, intelligent advisor. And if you read his history, it says his name is from a brahmin family and his name is Maheshwara, and his period was like a golden period like Ashoka and Akbar. One area the Ashoka created golden period because of Buddhist Enlightenment, Buddhist knowledge. He had a Buddhist knowledge. I don’t know whether he is enlightened by himself, but surely he had Buddhist Enlightened Masters guiding him. And same way, Akbar. Akbar created a golden period because he had a brahmin, very intelligent brahmin as a guide.

(Swamiji reads next question)

Q: ‘Is last night Sutra also a way to learn function on 2-3 hours of sleep a day. I need that in order to be closer to you’ (laughs)

SWAMIJI: 2-3 hours sleep happens as a by- product of psychological revolution. When intensity comes to you, so much of love to do something or to enjoy something happens to you, suddenly sleep reduces, that’s all. If you have something which is more interesting than sleep, naturally sleep will reduce. Most of our life, there is nothing much interesting than sleep. So, we decide let us lie down.

Q: Since bondage and liberation is relative, why not just eat, drink and be merry?

SWAMIJI: Perfectly alright! Be intense, that’s all. Eat intensely. When you are eating, only eating, when you are sleeping, just sleeping, when you are drinking, only drinking, when you are in merry, just be in merry. If you can be in merry, you don’t need anything else. The whole problem is because you can’t be in merry. That is why you need so much of teachings and the ideas about liberation. See, that’s what here you think why not just eat, drink and be merry? You think it is very easy? No! Arey, what else do you think I am doing? I have been given this throne just because I eat, drink and be merry.

The problem is, you can’t be in merry, that is why you drink things which are not directly needed to your body, which can’t be accepted by your body. If you can just be in merry, you don’t need what you mean here as a drink. Because I am constantly being in merry, just little water is enough, drinking water is more than enough for Me to be in merry. I don’t need anything else to be in merry, understand.

Sometime, the Master’s words should be understood completely with intense clarity, not superficially. Eat, drink and be merry is not as a simple thing as you understand as you think. If you do that same thing intensely, that is perfectly alright. You heard My words without intensity, that is why you are thinking what you think as a simple thing is what is meant by that word. Listen intensely and live and do all these three- eating, drinking and being in merry. Do all these three intensely. You won’t have a problem.

See, One small story about this intensity and understanding. After 25 years of married life, one day wife discovers, when she was going through the drawer of husband in his room, three soya beans and three bean and thirty dollar cash. She goes to him and asks with lot of curiosity, ‘What is this? Why three soya bean and thirty dollar cash? How it came? What is the meaning?’ He says, ‘Now I have to confess to you. Whenever I cheated on you, I put one soya bean in that. She said, ‘Twenty five years, okay. Then what about thirty dollar cash?’ ‘No, no, whenever soya bean was ten dollar per k.g, I sold it.’

Understand! Understand with intensity. If you understand only about three soya bean, it is okay but you have to understand about thirty dollar also. So, eat, drink and be merry- these three word if you understand it just like three soya bean, you will not be able to understand the truth. You have to see the thirty dollar behind it. Only then, you will understand the truth, you will understand what is liberation.