“People ask me, this “Are you God?” question is the question from time…”

People ask me, this “Are you God?” question is the question from time immemorial. All the Masters asked; this question is a very tricky question, and… whenever people ask Me “Are you God”, I again and again tell them, I am not here to prove I am God I am here to prove you are God ☺ So, whether I am or not is no way directly related to your life, but one thing is sure, we are all, everybody, carries that glimpse, carries that Truth inside us. As… we heard in the introduction about the Kabir’s verses, beautiful verses; when you are awakened, we really feel we are God. It’s not egoistic statement, please understand, it is not egoistic feel.

Being focussed…. is the side effect of Dynamic Consciousness. Being focussed in the world does not mean that this is the only reality. In the dynamic consciousness, you will have your inner space experiencing this world, intensely… intensely focused. At the same time, you will be experiencing the Truth which is beyond this world, what we call, God or Divinity or whatever it is. I’ll try to share few truths, satyas. We will analyse it with our questions. We will try to internalize it by questioning. Then we may be able to enter into a meditation technique to experience that Truth.

First few things I want to present in front of you, the satya. In Vedanta, we have three steps, Shravana, Manana, Nidhidhyasana. Shravana means listening. Manana means contemplating or questioning - internalising, internalising. Nidhidhyasana means living it, expressing it. Few basic truths - we carry two identities. One: the identity which we project to the outer world - how we want the world to know... how we want to present ourself to the world… how we want the world to remember us; we call this the word is Ahankar. Second the Mamakar, the identity which we believe as we inside our heart. The identity which we want to project to the outer world and the identity which we believe as we inside us - we call Mamakara; the whole life is nothing but the fight between this Ahankaar and Mamakaar - the identity which we want to project to the outer world and the identity which we believe as we. The big problem is, people who think the identity which we want to project to the outer world is the reality, they become materialistic. They spend their whole life to fulfil that identity, to make that identity into reality, to make that personality into reality.

I think in your profession, you will see this kind of people enough ☺ - the people who want to prove the outer world identity as a reality. The second group, people who start believing the identity which they believe inside as reality, they only became, I can say that kind of religious people or Yogis, constantly chiselling them self, constantly trying to develop them self. The identity which you project to the outer world will be always much more than what you are. It will always be much more than what you are; you will try always to project something more than what he is and the identity you believe as you in the inner world will always be lower than what you are. You will all, continuously, condemning, criticising, judging you. It will always be much lower than what you are. One group who believes the identity which you project to the outer world – that Ahankaar they become materialistic. The other group who believe the mamakara - the identity which you believe as you that as a reality - that people, they become kind of a religious people or we can say that Yogis, continuously chiselling themself, continuously working on them self, continuously trying to develop them self.

Very few realise the Truth – Neither the identity which you project to the outer world is a reality not the identity which you believe as you is reality. People who realise both are not reality, both have no base, they experience the true Liberation. I call them as Paramahamsas, or people who live Enlightenment. Please understand, people who seek Enlightenment never live Enlightenment. Seeking Enlightenment is completely different from Living Enlightenment. Seeking Enlightenment means continuously trying to chisel that the mamakaar, the identity which you believe as you in the inner being, trying to develop it. I have seen people working on their personality for 30 yrs or 40 yrs, repeating some mantra, some technique or some method or some reading, or some form of spiritual exercises or self development techniques, some form.

See in the spiritual exercises, there are two things, portable knowledge which gives you kind of a feel good feeling, which is used in the modern days, in the training seminars and self development programs. Now thousands of kinds of Yoga, self development programs have come up. In US, Yoga is 6 billion dollar industry. I was surprised ☺ 6 billion dollar industry in US, Yoga; because the portable knowledge can be easily packed and sold - the self development techniques. There is another one, the second part - non portable experience. Yoga is not just replacing anacin or metacin, the meditation is not just to replace your anti-depression medications. It has its own depths. It is much deeper than physical and mental well being. It has its depth. That depth only I call non portable experience.

See the first group never bothers about spirituality - the materialistic group, people who believe only the Ahankaar as reality. The second group who believe Mamakaar as reality, they go on using continuously some methods, techniques… I call that as a portable knowledge. Of course, this gives you a feel good feeling; it really gives you a feel good feeling for two days, if you do some kind of kriya or pranayama or Yoga and all these things… wonderful, nothing wrong. It gives you a feel good feeling, for few days. But I feel the spirituality, the traditional knowledge, the research and development which went on this country for last 10,000 years in the inner science can contribute something more than feel good feeling to you.

Please understand, I am not against Yoga or pranayam or all these things. These are all beautiful, but we have something much more which can contribute more to your Being, than a simple feel good feeling. At least last 10,000 years in Bharat, the research in the inner science went on. I can say millions of inner scientists and at least 1 crore inner science laboratories we have in Bharat, more than 1 crore living ashrams and temples where this science is continuously practiced by at least 1 billion people. So this great technology, this great tradition has something deeper, more sacred to offer to us. It has something more, for us.

Understanding that Ahankaar is illusion is very easy, because it is something to do with the outer world, you have to struggle. The moment you need to struggle to show, what you want to show, you realise or you have the time and experiences to contemplate, sit and contemplate. I think what I am trying to project, is never going to be fulfilled, or it is never going to become reality. At some time, you will have the time or experiences to contemplate, to look in. But with, if you start fighting with your mamakaar, if you start chiselling your mamakara, start developing your mamakara, there is nobody to tell you, that you are caught, same race in the different direction. Trying to develop the identity which you show to the outer world and trying to develop the identity which you believe as you, both are going to end in deep suffering. Because both does not have base, neither Ahankaar nor Mamakaar have a base. The moment you understand, these two does not have any base, these two does not have hold over your inner space, suddenly you experience such a great freedom, the liberation, or the restful awareness - what J. Krishnamurthi calls as choiceless awareness. That awareness is a real gift from our tradition, from our great Vedantic tradition.

The research and development which went on in the inner science, I can say this is the essence. First thing, both identities which you carry, don’t have base, they are not real. Second thing, how to go beyond these two; because the moment you come out of your sleep and till the moment you fall into the dream state, continuously these two identities have a hold, have a say over you, have influence over your being. How to unclutch from them… this is the word, again and again we will be using - the word unclutch. Just like a, how you change the gears in the car, see before changing any gear, you will have to unclutch, you will have to disclutch, only then, whether it is from first gear to second gear or second gear to third gear or any movement, you will have to completely disclutch or unclutch from the movement. Same way, any state you fall - from waking state to dream state or dream state to deep sleep state, any state you move within your inner space, you will have to unclutch, you will have to come to that zero zone, you will have to come to that neutral zone, you will have to come to that centre space. I can say that centre space which is continuously happening in you, without you involving, if you can experience that centre space with your awareness, suddenly you will see what I am calling as freedom as an experience. What I am saying as freedom, means free from these two identities as an experience.

May be, this simple example can help. In North, I have seen in the forests, in North Bharat, forests they hang a small stick to catch birds. Please bear with me ☺ Visualise this as a thread ☺ [Swamiji demonstrates the scene] Like this I have seen small sticks will be hanging in the forests. The hunters will be put these sticks, to trap the bird. You may think then “how bird will be caught by this small thing?” The birds will come and sit in one side. The moment it sits, because of the weight… it will become topsy turvy, upside down and the moment the stick is upside down the bird will be hanging. The poor bird does not understand if he lets go, he can fly. He thinks, if he relaxes he will fall and break his head and he will be continuously hanging. May be for 2, 3 hours, the hunter will slowly come, and catch the bird and put it in the cage and go.

Just like that bird, we also have the deep fear, the moment we let go I and mine - the ahankaar and mamakaar, we may become mentally imbalanced or we may not be able to run our day to day routine. This is the first fear. Continuously people ask me, “Swamiji you say relax from the identity, the 2 identities - the outer identity and the inner identity, you say relax from it. If we relax, how will be able to manage our day to day routine? How we can think? How we can live our life?”

There is no reference, there is no record, some bird relaxed and fell and broke its head. No! Just like that bird hanging with the stick, we hold on to our identity tightly, continuously, because our identity is our security. That is our security, whether in the outer world or in the inner world, that is our boundary, that is our security. The big problem is, for security reason only, we hold on to the identity in the initial level. But slowly, that boundary is practically like a boundary made for our bliss, our joy, our expression, our intense excitement. The boundary which we create as a security, that itself becomes a bondage or the prison for our joy, for our very being. All that bird needs is, little courage to let go, may be that 2-3 second till that bird turns up and balances, it may have little chaos. It may have little difficulties. The courage to manage that 2-3 minutes is, what I call as tapas. That is what is tapas. That is what is penance.

All we need to know - the identity which we project to the outer world and the identity which we believe as us, both has no base. Second, trying to relax, you see when you understand that both have no base, both have no direct use to your life, it does not directly contribute, you can play the game in a much better way, without these two identities. The whole game which you are playing now, the whole life, your whole day to day routine, can be handled, managed, lived, without these two identities coming into play or without these two identities being remembered in your inner space, as ‘you’.

If this possibility is understood, I call that as a right listening - Shravana

And if you are continuously contemplating and trying to live this freedom, I call that as manana - contemplation.

If you are established in that freedom, that’s what we call Nidhidhyasana - Living Enlightenment.

Just these few Truths - little strong; may be the Truths which I expressed - little strong, or straight truth. May be when we analyse it with the questions, we may be able to understand or catch the glimpse of what I am trying to express.