Pearls of Wisdom – Conversation with Mohanji (Part 1)

 

 

Namaste everyone!

A very warm welcome to all of you! It gives me immense joy to be with all of you today. Today is an extremely special day for me, because I have received the gift of being in the presence of Mohanji early in the morning.

I had some questions that I wanted to ask Him, and He very gladly and sweetly and lovingly came on the show.

For those who don’t know, Mohanji likes to be addressed as a friend to the world. But to a lot of people who know Him, He is much more than that. He dons many hats. In my eyes, He is One with the Absolute One. He is One with the Absolute Stillness, with Absolute Bliss, the sat-chit-ananda aspect of consciousness that we know. The Shiva tattva – that is where He is. So do not get taken in by the physical encasement that He is in.

I invite you to connect with your heart and soul to His energy, and inwardly stay connected with Him throughout the conversation that I play out on the channel.

He sends a lot of love and a lot of blessings to each one of you.

The conversation with Mohanji was pretty long. Hence I have divided the interview in parts. The various segments of the interview will be uploaded on various days. Today, please go ahead and soak in the wisdom and love of Mohanji by watching the first part.

So Baba,  the very first question from the first set of questions that I have, is:

Q: What according to you is the main goal of human life?

Mohanji: Well, the human birth itself is a miracle. Because only with this birth, you are able to perceive the highest possible reality. But not many people are aware of it.

We are oriented to the world outside. When we wake up, we are keeping certain identities and then we are busy expressing our identifications in the world outside. We are busy gathering experiences from this world outside.

In this struggle of expression and experience, we forget our true nature. And almost always, we don’t remember. Even at the time of death, most people die with more desires, that means an inevitable coming back. They have to come back in order to complete – this is human life. This is what you see in most cases. You ask, “What is the goal?” It depends on the person – on how many desires you have, that are of terrestrial nature. That would be your main goal – to fulfill them.

But if you are talking about the essence point of view : we have this physical body, which is the cage or the shell for us to express and experience this world. Express into this world, and experience from this world. Then we have a processor unit called mind-matter (mind, intellect and ego). Mind is processing emotion, intellect is processing information, ego is processing matter connected to ownership and identifications. So these processors are also completely oriented to the world outside. They are busy maintaining your identity. Then behind that, there is an operating platform called Consciousness. Waking state, dream state, deep sleep state – these three states are platforms, they have no interest in the experiences, nor expressions. They are not interested in what you are and what you want. But they provide you the platform, just like earth is providing you the platform for your existence.

Consciousness in three states provides you a platform for your experiences. Behind that, there is even more silent existence. There is something which is even more silent in existence- that is the soul. This is totally neutral, totally peaceful, totally eternal, imperishable. This aspect is the only real aspect in our existence. For a yogi to experience the real aspect is the highest aspiration (but for a bhogi – the normal people, that’s not of interest). Because you got to get away from all the noises of life, you have to withdraw from all the noises, all the identifications, nullifying everything and gain a level of silence, so that you can communicate with the silence inside or the soul aspect. It is not easy, it is not as simple as we think. All the methods, all the practices – they are all to gain this silence.

Some people touch it. Some people touch it and leave it. Some people stabilize. Very few people stabilize in it. It takes absolute effort. From knowledge of soul to the experience of soul – it’s a long walk, it’s a long way. So when do you actually know that you’re getting closer?  The outside noises become something outside of you, which means the involvement changes, your involvement changes. You do not get involved with the noises outside. Whatever happens outside, internally you are stable. That means you have settled inside. You can only settle down properly and eternally in one place – within you, inside you.  In all the other places of our settlement, we are just parking the body for some time and we have to remove it when we die. Somebody will remove it when we die. We come to earth with two people, and we are taken away by four people, who hold us when we go to the graveyard. So between these two and four is our existence – this is our life.

So what is the goal of human existence? It is an individualistic story. The story of an individual. If I say attaining the soul, or self-realization is the true goal, some people may disagree. Some people may say – to have a drink is the goal, work hard in the morning, come back home and have a drink, this is the goal. So it varies. Various people – various goals. One person says that to get a job is the goal, and once they get the job, they say to get leave is the goal. So the goal changes, as the situation changes.

Q: What is your suggestion to parents today? How do you think parents should bring up their children?

Mohanji: You don’t have to bring up your children. They automatically bring themselves up. So the best you can do to your children or give to your children is to lead by example. If you completely, consistently display calmness, coolness , attitude of respect, gratitude and you display that in your life, children will learn from that. Don’t try to teach them. Try to demonstrate with your own life, what best is possible. Like for example you have a choice of expressing compassion, kindness, unconditional love, selflessness, purity in thought, word, action, non-resistance, acceptance.  Like this – so many good things you can demonstrate and explain  through your life. That’s the right message for your children. Otherwise, if you are displaying anger, hatred,  jealousy, confusion, impatience, all these things – children will pick it up and think that this is okay. Your life should be your message, and your life is your message.

Q: Baba, every family undergoes at times, differences between family members.  There is a difference of opinion, there are certain conflicts that may happen. What do you suggest? What’s the best way for people to resolve those conflicts? I mean, what’s the best way of handling that ?

Mohanji: Acceptance of differences is the best way.

Because we can’t be the same. We are not the same. Our creation itself is different. We are all different frequencies. We are different, we have different orientations and we decide to live together. Then what is best is that we accept that there are differences, and we are comfortable with it. So that we respect each person’s difference and we allow the individuality in that order. That will help. Otherwise, we will always be fighting.

This whole system of marriage which is of ownership, is obsolete now. When in  refinement, we must respect individual. It’s not that the husband is superior to the wife. We exist together, we work together for higher purpose. That should be the way. There is no ownership at all. You can’t own even your body because when you die, your body is taken away. You can’t own anything on earth. You can’t even carry one pebble. There’s no import or export possible in this existence, in true sense. You can’t export anything from here. Whatever you earn from here, you have to leave behind. So this mad rush for materials and positions and positions, they are all mind’s matter. In true sense, they have no validity. So, respecting an individual as they are, is very essential. I always feel that a woman and man have no difference, except in terms of purpose. There’s no difference and it should be alike. That is why this ownership-related lifestyle in modern days, has always created negativity – too much of negativity. Then we see that so many people are distracted and disappointed because of relationships. Why do we enter into such things at all? We should respect and live like friends.

Nobody can own anybody, we know that very well. Why do we have inner conflict in that order? This is the whole story. Co-existence, respect, gratitude. These are great things we can practice.  If we practice them, we will not have this anger, hatred, revenge.

See, revenge and anger and hatred are of very, very low frequency. If you fall into that frequency, it is very difficult to get out, to come out. These are practiced only by insecure people. Insecure people will take revenge. Secure people, stable people will have no interest in revenge. What will they revenge for? If somebody behaves badly, it’s not our problem.

Imagine if I scold you and if I am angry, you should not be worried. Because all the poison is inside me. So when people abuse me, I always think, “Why do they contaminate their mind? My mind is not contaminated. I’m not taking it, I’m not receiving it. Let them say whatever they want, because they have a problem within themselves. I have no problem. I’m fine, I’m secure because I’m inside myself. So let them do whatever they want. Let them say whatever they want, I am unaffected.” This is possible in human existence through practice.  We can practice it. I feel that we should respect everybody, whether it is the elected government or the people in the government or in the private companies or our service providers – respect everybody. Talk to everybody, discuss instead of arguing and resolve.

We have great possibilities within our existence. Instead of exploring the great possibilities, we push our image and ego on the other, and then we have conflict. We should not go there.

Q: Parents who are in their 60s and 70s and have fulfilled all their responsibilities, their duties, what is your advice for them? How should they be living the remaining years on earth?

Mohanji: I think everybody should feel as if they are 18, and be enthusiastic about life. There’s nothing called 50, 60 and you’re done. Then I’m already done! Where is our relevance?! I think that there is nothing like age, this is actually a cap which we are putting on ourselves. It’s like an escapism. I feel this talk about age is broadly an escapism. They think that, “Okay, I am retired now. I don’t want to do anything.“ In life itself, they didn’t do anything, and after retirement they really don’t want to do anything. Instead of that, I would say: “Every moment, live ! “ When you are living every moment, be alive. Not exist for eating, drinking, sleeping and going to the toilet, and die. Not like that. We should live every moment. We should express our best potential every moment. Give great stuff to the world.

See, a 60 year old man has a wealth of experience which nobody can take away from him. He should share it with the world. No retirement. I don’t believe in retirement. I don’t believe in holidays. I have not taken any holidays recently. I don’t take holidays, I work. Because if you are able to work, you work. If you can’t work, you don’t work, finished. But you don’t wait for a stage where you don’t have to work. I think that’s escapism. It’s laziness in disguise.

So I say: Work and do your best in the world, and enjoy and experience life. Let it come. Bring it on. I like to live the life of a lion, not a rat. That’s exactly what I recommend to people.  Since you’ve taken birth, live a royal life, inside at least. It’s not about money. It’s an attitude. The right attitude. This is very important.

Q: Baba, a couple of people have told me that I should ask you this question and this is related to karma. If you could throw some light on what is individual karma, family karma and also collectively, there is something called the Nation’s karma as well. Would you want to share some insights on this?

Mohanji:  Nation’s karma is collective consciousness built up over time. Individual karma is individual desires, individual orientations, individual comfort zones, individual inclinations and tendencies put together. An individual has lineage karma coming into them because they have their parents’ and their parents’ stuff. That which they collected, part of it comes to us like our inheritance. Also we collect something from society. What we wanted to experience in this life, we have brought it forward. This is a mixture. So that will stay as long as it takes. This means that from birth until death, we are experiencing the individual karma. Social karma is from a conglomeration of numerous beings, a collective consciousness. The whole life has a karmic boundary, and that boundary has to be respected and appreciated. And usually, one will not know the karmic boundary until it happens.  It is linear to time, so we do not understand.  When our desires are less and detachment is more from the world outside, our karmic weight reduces.

Q: Baba, how can people lessen the effects of their past bad karma?

Mohanji: Doing good work, social service, helping the helpless, feeding the beings of the water in nature – the fishes and the beings of the seas, the rivers and ponds, basins and lakes. Feed the birds in the air – the birds in nature, in the air. Feed the beings on earth – like the animals on earth. Give food and clothing to old people, sick people, abandoned children, abandoned women. So like that, the more you give, the more you clear. The more you share, the more you clear. That is the best way. I believe in sharing and releasing of the karmas, more than the rituals. Because mostly we are not doing the rituals, it’s being done through somebody. But while we are serving the society, we can do it ourselves and we can actually feel the weight reduction.

Q: Baba, how does free will and destiny come into play? How does this work – free will, free choice and destiny?

Mohanji: Free will is connected to our awareness while at work. Destiny is the main platform, the main thread until death and beyond. Free will is your awareness  – you are aware that this is happening, and your acceptance level, that’s your free will. You can accept or reject. You  can accept or resist, that is your free will.  When you resist – it stays longer. When you accept it, it finishes that time.  Free will is your state of mind. It’s your attitude, where you are comfortable with your life. You’re content, you’re happy and then you are accepting things as things happen. There is no resistance. You are free.

Q: How do people deal with the expectations and conditioning that society puts on them. Even if they personally don’t want to take it, at a certain stage of their life, they are expected to have achieved certain things, to have done certain things. How do people deal with this, when they want to exercise their free will?

Mohanji: Just like you go to the supermarket, where there are so many things for sale. What will you pick up? Whatever you need in the house, what is within your capacity, and what is necessary for you. Just like that, all the people outside of you, all the people of the society are selling you something – it could be expectation, it could be requirement, it could be necessity, it could be whatever. You buy only what you can handle. That’s the right balance.

Wish you great success with your YouTube channel. I wish you great success!Thank you for interviewing me. And I wish you a very happy birthday! My love to all those who are listening to us or seeing us.

Host: Thank you very much!

 

Transcribed by Nada Rakovic

Proofread by Geetha Iyer

Q&A – How do we best raise our children in these difficult times?

Mohanji: Welcome to Mohanji Speaks. These are answers to questions from listeners. Thank you for sending them, keep sending them. I will try to answer them as best as I can.

Speaker: This question is about parenting small children, especially in the current times. The question really centers around, how do we keep spirits alive and help them realize the beauty and goodness in the world, despite having to constantly remind them not to hug others, not to touch articles outside, not to meet friends? And for this person, it’s breaking the heart to see the child indoors, alone at home.

Mohanji: The question is about how to bring the children up the way you expect them to be. First and foremost, every child born in the world is the responsibility of society, not only the parents. First of all, try to get your ownership away from children. When you do not have ownership, then you have a better connection. When you have ownership, you have flavored connection. You own the person. This is my child. I want this child to be like this, etc.

You have to gently bring them to this awareness of how they should be in the world, and you have to lead by example. You cannot avoid the pressure or the presence of the society from the lives of your children. Not even you. That presence and pressure will affect everybody; in a good way or a bad way. Do we have any control over our children? They came through us; that’s okay. But they don’t belong to us. Every child belongs to only themselves. They don’t even belong to the society; but it’s the responsibility of the society, which is a conglomeration to take care of each child. And what we have in the society, what is the mental structure, collective consciousness; that’s reflected in each child of the society – every child.

Parents, teachers, society, if you take all these three, the highest and the most important in the society; then comes parents and then come teachers. All these aspects have to be equally understood. A child is a complete character. A child comes to this world with a character, a constitution, a particular inclination, tendency, and a set of desires. It’s obviously not the same for everyone; each person has their inclinations, tendencies, likes and dislikes, desires, all distinct, even in the same family. What contaminates a relationship is the ownership and what enriches a relationship is freedom.

Freedom is the best message you can actually deliver to a child with your own life. Freedom is not freedom of the senses and mind; it’s freedom from the senses and mind. If you live that in your own household, and if you demonstrate that on an everyday basis, not as a teaching, but as a lifestyle, children will pick it up. If we demonstrate the power of compassion, kindness, unconditional love, selflessness, caring, sharing, every day; and bring your children along with you while you demonstrate it in your own life; not to teach them but to show them that this makes heaven on Earth. Then the child will start connecting to it at some point in time, even if they get influenced by the bad effects of the society for some time, they will have this in the back of their mind that there is a possibility of heaven on Earth. This is within us. We have that power; we have that means and stability to bring forth. So, this is the thing, when we talk to a child, don’t try to give them lessons, instead, try to give them awareness. The best way to give them awareness is through the life stories of great Masters. When I say Masters, do not think they are saints or spiritual people; Masters is somebody who has exercised their purpose against all odds and found success.

Again, as I say, according to me, success means the contentment factor; satisfaction over life. Every moment satisfaction, not like a satisfaction at the time of death, or to the latest stage of life, not like that. For me, contentment is much more important than possessions and positions. For me, richness means contented life. This is real richness; having a contented life is real richness for me. It’s not about what I have. It’s about how I perceive life, how I accept life, how I live my life. Even if you have billions, you can only have one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner; you can only sleep in one bed. You can have any amount of luxury but how would you use it? So, contentment factor is not connected to materials; it’s not connected to relationships. We change relationships quite often to find the right relationship; but mostly we are not contented. It is not about changing relationships; it’s not searching outside, it’s searching inside. You search inside and find yourself. You are contented, and that gives contentment to everything outside.

These are fundamental things which we can guide children into with our own life, not through teachings, not through messages, not through punishments. I hate punishing children; there’s no need to do that. Instead, you can live a great life and show this to children. For a small child, the father and the mother are great personalities. They admire them, they should admire them with their own lifestyle. And don’t ridicule or gossip or talk bad about any spouse in front of the children. When you say that “Your father is not good”, or when the father says “The mother is not good”, the child develops conflict within. The child doesn’t understand; he feels that there is a betrayal going on here. (Not exactly in those words but that’s the effect) A child looks at a relationship, in terms of love, (a small child) hug, love, feeling, kissing, very much understood; but disparities, enmities, revenge, not understood. And if a child grows up seeing that; how can you expect a better society? So, it’s important!

A child is the responsibility of everybody, the society, as well as the parents as well as the teachers, in a different order. When we consistently show compassion, kindness, love, the child will be stabilized in that. By the time the child is five or six, he would have established himself in love. And he will not choose any other option because there’s no better option than love. So, this is the point, when a child comes up in love, basking in love, swimming in love, filled in love; he will not express anger, hatred and jealousy, in the world outside. Even he would probably transform the world with love. And this possibility is always there.

So how do you groom your children? Very simple, you have to lead by example. You have to be love, you should never pretend, no hypocrisy because children catch it very fast. You got to live it yesterday, today, tomorrow, day after; that means, every day, live the same thing; love, compassion, kindness. And always understand that discrimination of any kind, including racism, speciesism, and all kinds of ‘isms’ which discriminates people and beings and every creation; is not understood by a small child. They don’t see the life that way. But as we grow up with our conditionings, we start looking at things in that way. So, don’t bring this to children. You should live a life beyond every ‘isms’; beyond man-made barriers that will give stability to a child.

We need a society rooted in absolute compassion. We need a society away from corruption, selfishness. We need a society rooted in selflessness. “How can I help you?”, should be the question. “Can I help you? How else can I help you? How else can I serve you?” This should be the question, and let the child see you performing this all the time. And the child will transform itself into a powerful personality, filled with compassion, with kindness and love. This is the best thing you can give to the world – great child, a great son or daughter rooted in compassion, kindness and love, with the ability to transform the society with it. There is nothing more powerful than love. And here, you are creating legends, great personalities. You have the capacity, every parent has the capacity. Do not restrict the children, do not bind them. Instead, give them freedom; as I said, again, freedom is not freedom of senses; it’s freedom from senses, and give contentment, with what you have. Love as you are, and leave the world better, much higher than you got the world from the past.

Thank you for listening to this podcast. Do contemplate on it, do discuss with your friends, and let me know what you feel. If you have further questions, do send them to me.

Thank you. This is Mohanji for you.

 

Transcribed by Ulla Bernholdt

Proofread by Padmini Ravikumar

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Depression

Depression. It’s a very common subject. We hear that very often in the modern days. That has a lot to do with the way we live and the way we think, the way we interact with the world outside. And grossly speaking – expectations. Expectations are the root cause of most of the sorrows. The more expectations we have, we are prone to more disappointments.

So, how is depression happening? It’s to do with our interaction with the world outside, during the waking state. We have a gross body, and we have a subtle body and we have a causal body. We have the gross body, which is the tangible, physical body, which is prone to various wears and tears and various situations. And we identify ourselves with this gross body; people identify us with this gross body. But we have a subtle body, which is basically the body that experiences, using the gross body and the senses, which consists of the mind, intellect, ego, most of the koshas, the sheets, etc. So, that’s the subtle body. And then we have a causal body, which is not even experiencing anything; but it helps the subtle body and the gross body to experience. But it is not connected to any of these, so it’s not affected. The causal body is not affected, ever.

When we interact with the world outside, we usually interact with a lot of expectations; our positioning, our likes and dislikes, which are controlled by the patterns, our disposition, our behavioural patterns, our character, our constitution. All these are kind of orchestrated by our inclinations and desires. So, when we move in the world outside, we move with a lot of baggage such as social positioning, education, and various aspects that determines or decides our position in the world; we carry this burden.

When disappointments happen many times, we call that a failure. We call ourselves a failure. Sometimes, society calls people losers, brands them. And many people cannot handle it. They can’t handle failures; they can’t handle expectations. When that happens, they have great disappointments. Big anxiety happens in life. We can see in children, the examination time anxieties. Which questions will come? What will I answer? Will I be able to perform? All these kinds of things. And this is more or less everyday feelings, all these are everyday feelings, you don’t have an escape.

So, what is the root cause of depression? Unfulfilled expectations caused by patterns. And it gets repeated, it keeps repeating. And our dependency on people, places, gadgets, all these keeps us bound to the world outside. We have a great world inside which is free – an unbound world; the causal world. And this world is your refuge, that’s a good place to settle down. So that helps us to stay away from depression. The world that is stable, constant, unaffected from anything outside, even inside, that’s the right world to settle down.

So, how do we come out of depression? Start walking inside. Start connecting more and more to the inner world. First, as I said, the gross external world, which we are dependent on during waking hours which consists of materials, people, objects, visible world, a world of vision, a world of sounds; this is one aspect. Second is the inner world, which is the world which processes all these experiences, which is also a seat of memories, impressions, and it provokes or it displays the character, constitution and all those things; that is the subtle world, the inner world. And then we have the causal world which is activating all the other worlds. So, if we have that clarity, we understand that the people, the places, the time, the materials outside are applicable or enjoyable only when we are awake, and that’s not permanent. They all come, they go. We can watch them, we can witness them as they are, just like a feature film. We are watching it, we are experiencing it, but we are not participating in it. We can do that. We are fully involved in it but without expectations. If you involve with anything without expectations, immediately you will feel a great difference.

Life brings us to situations. Destiny brings us to situations. And that’s more or less inevitable, you don’t have control. Each time, each situation, each interaction, each experience; we don’t have really much control. Let it be. No problem. And inner world brings forth many, many experiences such as dreams, desires, thoughts; so many things. Let it be, let it be, no problem. So where is the problem? When we have ownership on it. When we say, ‘I do it. I am responsible. I own’. That’s where the whole burden comes. If you think or if you understand you have no control on situations, and it’s happening in front of you, inside you, and you are just an actor, you’re playing the role, and you’re having the corresponding experiences, and you enjoy it, whether it is good or bad, doesn’t matter, enjoy it; then each experience, they will come and go, time takes them away. Time brings the picture, scene, scenario, and time takes it away, whatever time brings, time removes.

So, you’re actually witnessing and watching the show, without any baggage from the past, you’re not carrying any remnants, even memories, which are not so essential, you can remember sometimes but not with attachment. Keep moving. Let it move. That way, you can stay away from states of depression. If expectations are reduced through awareness, (major awareness is everything moves on, everything passes), if we handle life with that understanding, with that awareness, with that attitude, we will not have too much of depression.

Another thing I have experienced myself is the judgment of people. People judge you whether you like it or not, they have opinions about you. And sometimes they go to the extreme, such as character assassination big-time, scandalizing, character assassination, gossiping. And that if you believe, or if you endorse, you’ll suffer. That’s the only time you’ll suffer. Understand that people are people, they may have full view, partial view, no view; they may have their own opinions as per their character, as per their constitution. And actually speaking, we have nothing to do with it.

But this awareness should be constant. While we are experiencing the blows from society, we may not remember all this, we will feel miserable because that’s exactly what they want us to feel. They want to destroy us. Due to whatever reason, it could be jealousy, it could be anger, it could be hatred, it could be revenge, whatever, it doesn’t matter. But they have decided to put us down or pull us down. What do we do? Again witness. What time brings, time takes away. The cruelty that the society inflicts on us, we got to really watch and let go. This is because if you interact, it aggravates more inside you than outside. When you take it in, it makes you suffer more than what’s happening in the outside world. The effect is terrible. So, you should let it go, let it happen, let it finish.

There must be a cause behind all this, as I said earlier, it could be jealousy, anger, hatred, revenge, anything; let anything be the cause, we are not involved. It’s not something which we created. So, something which we have not created, we are not responsible for. If the society decides to harm you in this way, I’m not telling you to be passive. I’m telling you to witness it, and step aside as much as you can or lie low until the storm is over. Stay safe. When I say safe, it’s inner safety, don’t expose it too much. When people talk bad about people, I always say, I don’t want to know. I do not want to know. Why should I bring contamination into my space? We have that option.

So, social pressure, social insecurities, social dependencies or their opinions; all those things are not important. We got to understand that we are unique. We will live our lives in a unique way as we are created. We are unique specimens. And we have the right to do that. I only talk about violence as avoidable. We should not endorse, engage and sponsor violence. Violence is not good because it hurts inside, more than outside. And consistent, continuous violence makes us insensitive, and to become sensitive, it takes a long time. So, we got to live sensibly, sensitively and consciously.

So, if we start accepting ourselves with all our weaknesses and strengths, there won’t be much depression. If we constantly reject, resist, and we constantly punish ourselves for anything happening around, thinking that we are responsible, instead of time being irresponsible; again, we will have depression. This is not something which we consciously do; it’s a pattern at work. So, how do you change the pattern? Have nothing to do with it. That means, watch, witness, let go. And you be yourself fully, settle down yourself fully. Spend more time to connect to yourself. Spend more time to be within. Like that, we can come out of states of depression and even prevent it.

I’ll leave you with these thoughts. Have a great day and a great week ahead.

Lots of love. This is Mohanji for you.

Transcribed by Ulla Bernholdt

Proofread by Rekha Murali

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Q&A Unconditional Love Part 2

Mohanji: Welcome to Mohanji Speaks. These are answers to questions from listeners. Thank you for sending them. Keep sending them. I will try to answer them as best as I can.

Speaker: This is part two of the podcast series of a question from a listener on unconditional love.

Mohanji: Unconditional love is something which you’ve got to feel, where you are able to love everybody, everything, like a mother to the child, mother of any species to its children. How deep is the bonding, how much love, with no expectations? And if you look at the animal kingdom. Their love is far more unconditional than the human kingdom. A mother nurtures a child, just to empower the child to lead an independent life. After a while, the child goes away.

You look at the birds, the mother brings food, nurtures the birds. As soon as its wings become powerful to take the flight, the bird goes away when it doesn’t know the mother or father, it becomes independent. So, the animal kingdom, the birds, the animals, all those beings in nature, they just nurture and empower the children and leave them, then probably there’s no connection even.

But in the human kingdom, we put a lot of expectations, which makes a relationship ugly – ownerships, controls, expectations, suffocation, disappointment. Then anger, hatred, jealousy, all sorts of things. This makes human life miserable. We don’t have to be miserable. We can be free.

Speaker: Here, Mohanji makes a really good point about freedom.

Mohanji: If our expectations are less in the world we are free. Fewer expectations, less disappointment; that is freedom. If you really want to know the freedom, you got to experience freedom from the mind and the senses, not the freedom of the mind and senses. It’s freedom FROM the mind and senses. It means, you’re happy with everything, but you’re not craving for anything. Freedom. So, this is what I would like to talk about; unconditional love. We can discuss much more about unconditional love in various aspects. But I think this is something which you got to experience not theoretically, practically.

Speaker: But to add on to that, and going a bit further, people are interested in how does a master’s love operate?

Mohanji: A Master, Master means what? Mastery. Mastery over what? Mastery over life. Life is a conglomeration of various things, inclinations and desires primarily. And this gives the flavour of existence, everybody’s existence. A tiger’s life, a lion’s life, a human life, take every life; it has its specific flavour of existence; specific method, specific way, inclinations tendencies, desires. They all have distinctions, so each species has it, and in human beings, we see everything, all sorts of desires, all sorts of inclinations. So, a master is somebody who has mastered this pull and push of desires, inclinations and tendencies. He has taken steps, well beyond the mind, well beyond senses, well beyond likes and dislikes, karmic bindings.

So, such a person is pretty tranquil, equanimous. He looks at everything with equanimity. He loves unconditionally. He lives for the world. He has not much personal interest. Of course, he would like to eat food and sleep and do whatever. But that’s not the driving force. The major driving force of his existence is to serve the world unconditionally, without expecting. Mastery is mastery over your mind, intellect and the ego. You’re going beyond these things, their craving is quenched; craving of mind – emotions, craving of intellect – information, craving of ego – ownerships. These three things are in control. Ownership or no ownership – it’s fine, me and mine – no value, likes and dislikes – quiet. Such a person is a master, then what kind of love can he give forth – only as himself. He looks at everybody as himself. He sees only the world as himself.
We all see the world as ourselves, but we put our flavour to the world, we see the world as we are. Master sees the world as it is. That’s the difference.

When you put your flavour, your own likes and dislikes, karmic combination, constitution onto the world; it’s like wearing a glass, which has colour. Wearing a glass which is yellow, would make everything look yellow. If it’s red, everything is red because you’re wearing such a glass. That’s how our life is. A karmic being lives like that. When you have gone beyond the control of your senses and mind, when I say mind it also includes intellect and ego, then there’s no colour. When you cross over there’s no colour. You’re looking at the world as it is. So, you’re only seeing the truth and you will not judge, you will not criticize, you will not manipulate, analyze, you just accept as it is, everything is as it is. Everything is as it is always.

So, you’re pretty free. You are very free. When you experience freedom and that is exactly what you see in the world. You won’t sit down and judge people, you won’t criticize, character assassinate, gossip, you will do nothing, you just accept everything as it is. When you start accepting life as it is, the world as it is, inside as it is, yourself as it is, there are no conflicts. There is total freedom.

So, a Master looks at the world with total freedom, because he is walking freedom. That’s why many times, a conditioned society cannot understand a Master, why he behaves in a certain way, why he has certain opinions because society has kept itself or society functions itself conditionally in two dimensions. There’s a bigger third dimension, which is very difficult to see, the karmic dimension of every individual, which is from the time of birth, till the time of death that runs the show. Time-space situations are provided for experiences to happen. Who controls this? The karmic flow, sitting on linear time manifests it, we experience it, we keep the memory, and we kind of get involved in it, the role plays of life, the involvement in activities of life, which makes us feel that we are the doer. That’s an illusion. Actually, things are happening. And we are participating. Instead, we feel we are doing it, the ownership of action. It is a grand illusion. And if you dive into the depth of it, you will be surprised how much of an illusion we are holding every moment, how much we are struggling to maintain our name, fame and position in the world. We will be surprised to see; we need to contemplate. We need to understand. When we go deeper and deeper and deeper, and we realize, “Oh, this is the world where I’ve been foolishly chasing something external by ignoring what actually I am, what is internal.” That’s the time when you realize, “Oh My God, I wasted a lot of time on paltry pleasures, patterns, and they were running the life, they were running the show.” Patterns were running the show repeatedly, and we were pretty much endorsing it. We will realize all that. We pretty much endorse our patterns. If some pattern is disturbed, we become very disturbed. But that’s the very thing, which chains us, we start loving. That’s the irony of existence. The basic thing that chains us are our patterns, our inclinations tendencies, that’s what we entertain. We fight to keep it. We don’t allow it to be broken. And that’s exactly what should go to connect yourself, you are not your patterns. You’re not your patterns, you’re not your inclinations and tendencies. You’re not your desires, they all come and go. They don’t stay. So, once you understand that, just imagine your freedom. When a master has understood this, that is what is mastery. He has understood life, he has understood the patterns, he has understood the likes and dislikes, inclinations, all those things. When he has become freedom – when you become something, how do you look at the world? As you are, right. So, he has recognized what is real freedom. He sees the world as freedom. Acceptance happens. So, he accepts everybody as they are, not as he wants them to be. That is their job. If a person wants to evolve beyond their mind, a Master is available, as a benchmark. But Master never says “Become me.” What will a Master say? I’m available, like a mirror, you can look at me and find yourself.

Speaker: This concludes part two of the three-part podcast series on unconditional love, which is based on a question from a listener. Do keep your suggestions for topics coming in, send them to podcast@mohanji.org. And we hope you enjoyed this. And the next and final episode of the three-part series will be coming out very soon. Have a good day.

Transcribed by Ulla Bernholdt

Proofread by Rekha Murali

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Know Yourself – part 1

Satsang with Mohanji-Montenegro, Luštica Bay, 17.11.2019

PART 1

How are you doing today? Thanks to all of you who have come from a long distance, from various places. We have some kind of connection, that is why we met, and we are here again. I always feel grateful when people give me time. I try to give more each time to people, to all the people who took the effort to come and meet me, I try to give them much more. That is how I feel. Because I feel grateful that we are meeting in this lifetime, this time, this space. It’s not an ordinary thing. It’s a great thing that we are all meeting, sharing the space, sharing some aspects of life. It’s interesting, isn’t it?

Q1: How to choose a life partner?

M: You know, many people have this question, that is why they choose not to have a partner. Instead, they choose puppies. It’s more consistency. Every meeting we have, there is an energy exchange. You think about every meeting in every day, we are meeting so many people. We interact with so many people. Everything has an energy exchange. Something is being exchanged. Something is shared. With some of them, we feel good. With some interactions, we don’t feel good. With some interactions, we want more. For some, we say, ”No, its enough.” This is natural. But, when we think, I must find a partner, or I must have a boyfriend or husband, we are looking at everybody as a potential candidate. But what are people? All people are a bundle of strengths and weaknesses. We all have strengths and weakness, nobody is apart from that. We usually see good things, something which we can relate to, some compatibility in a person. After that, when we are both familiar, what do we see? Only weaknesses. This is human nature. This is why you can see a lot of people married, but separated inside. They stay married probably because of children, or because of some others matters, but they are divorced inside. That is because when you are becoming too familiar with somebody, you only start seeing the weaknesses. But we also have a good quality: when people die, we forgive them. Then we are happy. All the weaknesses are forgiven. But when living, we have pain.
Now I will come to your question, this is the background. How can you find somebody who is compatible with you, and stable with you? This is the question, right? The secret of a successful relationship is – have nothing to do with the other. If you put freedom as the ingredient in a relationship, the relationship will have no problem. But if freedom is not given in the relationship, it hurts. If you are mature enough to keep your partner free, you will find your best partner; the best possible partner, because you will not be worried about his strengths and weaknesses. You will love companionship, you are meeting because of some reason, let it be any reason. But, if you put freedom as an ingredient in the relationship, not ownership, not possessiveness, only freedom, then you will have a great relationship. So, the secret of a successful relationship is giving freedom to the other. Just allowing them to be free, to be themselves. Then it will last forever.

Q2: Thank you in advance. Even though I earn sufficient money, I cannot keep that money. I always spend everything I earn.

M: Congratulations (laughs). What is the question? This is a statement actually. Well, the nature of money is movement. Money is energy. It is transactional, it moves, it has to move. If money is not moving, it is useless, right? I remember an example. Maybe this is not a very good example, but just to tell you about how we cling on to money.
Barbara and I were in Vietnam, in town Da Lat. A lady said, ”You must come to my house.” It was to see her mother, who was in her death bed, sick, but not dying. For six months she had been lying like that, she was not leaving. Everybody was waiting because she was not well. She was supposed to die, but she was not dying, she was waiting. I went there, I saw her, and she was holding a bunch of money in her hand and lying there. There were clear signs of death: her breath was going up all the way, and suddenly it holds. I could see that the soul really wanted to leave, but something was holding her back – this bunch of money in her hand.
I asked her daughter, ”What should I do, what do you want me to do?” She said, ”You bless her, so she has a smooth death.” I said, ”I cannot bless anybody to die. I don’t do that. I will probably release her from the bindings, but I cannot tell when she should die. That is up to the soul to leave a body, whenever it wants, I will not interfere.” I just took the money from her hand. Suddenly she looked at me. Until then, her eyes were up, but suddenly she looked at me, as something precious had gone. With the weak hand, she tried to come towards the money, but I didn’t allow it. I gave the money to her daughter, and I touched her third eye. That night she left the body.
We have no idea how many things around us don’t allow us to leave free. So the answer to the question or the statement is: You understand money is coming – thank you very much; you understand money is going – thank you very much. Just watch both as you are just an actor in this whole drama of flow. Then, when you are not thinking it is your own money, it is happening through you, you will start seeing that the right amount of money will always be stored. Did you understand this point? What is the difference here? When money comes, money doesn’t stay, money goes – its a pattern, which means that is the way you are. It is a pattern that is working without any control. You are not controlling anything. You just allow it to happen.

Patterns happen due to ownership. It’s my money – ownership is me and mine. Now, you look at it as it is happening, I am an actor, I am watching this show. Zero ownership. What will happen? The pattern will dissolve. A pattern means ownership. When you do not own it, the pattern dissolves. This is the same for everything in life. Anything which is coming, again and again, is a pattern. When you detach within, ok, it’s happening, then no problem. When a pattern is dissolved, things change. Have you seen any animal in nature insecure? You won’t see it. They are not worried about tomorrow’s food. No bird is worried about the next day’s food. They do not store anything, thinking tomorrow there will be no food. I am not talking about animals in the house, because they are as insecure as you are. In nature, you will see no insecurity. You will never see a bird or an animal betraying another one. These are all our possessions. As human beings, we have all these things. If you want to change any pattern, not only money pattern, you need to detach from that whole thing, me and mine, and look at it. This is happening, let it come, let it go, but it is not mine. I am not owning it. Ownership keeps patterns.

Q3: How to overcome fear and the need to control everything in life?

M: That is again connected to me and mine. Most of the things connected to life, which is blocking our progress, will be me and mine. Have you seen it? Most sorrows, most insecurities are connected to me and mine. Fear is a state where you have no faith. What is the medicine for fear? Faith. Faith in oneself, in yourself. If you decide that you will look into the eyes of your fears, all the fears will go. Because fears are like shadows. They need something else to depend on.
In the movie Rambo, with Silvester Stalone, a man says, ”You can’t defeat him (Rambo), because he is trained to survive.” We can train ourselves to be fearless. How? By increasing your awareness. What is awareness? Firstly – the awareness that everything that is born will die. If you are born, there is a certain death. While we are walking on this earth we are just on a tourist visa. We have a duration. Secondly – the world existed before us and the world will exist after our death. Third is that – only when we wake up in the morning we have a world outside, when we sleep, we do not have the world outside. Our world depends on whether we are awake to the world. There are a few more things, but most important is that everything that comes will go. In other words, nothing is permanent. Life means changes. We were very small sometime earlier, a few years ago, now we have become this size. Every time the body has changed, the mind has changed, everything has changed. All things have changed. We were B-shaped sometimes, now we are A-shaped. Everything changes. Why do we have to keep fears? If you look at fears in the eyes, they will vanish. They will all dissolve. There is no room for fear. And one way you can be sure fears don’t bind you is to lead a life of love, purity, and purpose.

When you wake up in the morning (I normally do this when I wake up in the morning), think, what else can I give this world? Even if I fail, I have no fear. I try my best. What else can you give this world? Instead when you wake up and say,”What will people give me?” Then you will have all the problems. Otherwise, we will not have problems. I said, ”What else we can give,” that means we should continue giving. But in the morning every day, think what more we can give so that we are always self-motivated. Even if you fall down, you get up and walk again. Otherwise, if we have a lot of expectations, there will be a lot of disappointments. And eventually life will be paralyzed, because of disappointments.

Q4: How to prevent negative emotions towards people with whom we have a conflict?

M: Emotions you can’t control. It happens, right? We don’t choose to have negative emotions, but it happens sometimes. My recipe is very simple, I increase my positivity. Of course, it’s not easy to control emotions, is it easy? When the emotion happens, it’s like a wave. It comes and takes over. You can’t do anything, and it is like a pendulum on the clock, its positive-negative, life goes like that. Each day goes that way. But, predominantly every day, if we have more positive activity; that is the way you can come out of these negative days. Of course, there are people who are heavy with negativity in our society, we can’t avoid them. That’s part of the society. But if you spend sufficient time with very positive people you can manage both. That is why in Sanskrit there is a beautiful saying, If you indulge in the company of good people, people of positive nature, you will learn to detach from negative things around you. When you start detaching from so many things around you, whether it is negative or positive, you are fine with the nice energy of good people. When you detach, then your desires also become weaker. When desires are more, you are never satisfied. When desires are less, you are contented. So, peacefulness and contentment happen inside. Just by your association with people of higher energy, positive nature. What happens when desires are lesser in the mind? The mind goes into silence. What is the sound of the mind? Thoughts. Where are thoughts coming from? Desires. When desires become lesser and lesser, the mind becomes calmer and quieter. When the mind is calmer, what happens? You become the master of your own life. What is the secret here? Connection, integration with positive energies. That’s why we love to be in the company of the people who are positive, right? Because naturally, we feel good. We feel nice, comfortable. But please understand, society is both, positive – lighter, and negative – dark and heavy. You can’t avoid it. We are all existing. You cannot say I only choose this, you have to choose everything. Try to maintain good relationships, good company with powerful and positive people. Even it is painful to maintain the company, sometimes it is not easy, but it is worth it. Because that is your antidote, your medicine.
Another point is to express compassion, practice compassion. Do something for your society all the time, whatever you can. Keep sharing. Keep giving. When you do that, automatically your energy levels will be higher. You can counter, or you can sustain or survive so many negative things.

Q5: Do all experiences that happened to us come from God so that we learn a lesson and become better people, or are they a result of our decisions?

M: I can answer it, but it depends on what we believe on. Everything depends on what we believe in. Our whole life is based on our beliefs. When I say what we believe in, if we believe in God with a form just like a human form, he is watching everything we do, and says, you have done good, or you have not done good, etc. and gives accordingly, this is ok. You are fine in that mode, you live with those rules. In some systems we have a God outside of us, who is looking at us and is saying this is ok, this is not ok etc.
In some systems we connect to ourselves and we go into the level of silence and we experience inside, there is something inside of us telling us, ”Don’t do this, you can do that.” This is all connected to beliefs; what we believe in, what our belief system is. As a general thumb rule, this is a natural phenomenon – when you do good things and when you do positive work, many positive things come to you. Life becomes positive.
In the Indian system, or in Buddism, we talk about karma. What is karma in simple terms? Let’s say, unfulfilled desires. Desires which need fulfillment. That causes birth. Where you were born, how you are born, what you have, what you don’t have, it’s all connected to karma. And your duration of life is also connected to it, time of birth, time of death, everything is like that. But how is karma created? Unfulfilled desires, as I said earlier, but karma is created by actions with ownership. If you feel that I am the doer, that ‘I’ creates karma. Imagine, we have no ownership, we have only an awareness, where we say, ”It is all happening through me,” I am not owning it, I am experiencing it every day. Then no ownership, no karma. That doesn’t mean you go and kill somebody and say, ”I did not do it, my hands did it,” it won’t work. That is not what I mean. When you understand, when you are not emotional about ownership, ‘this is mine, this is me,’ if that is not there, then desires become weak. What is the best way to lead a very simple life? First and foremost, you have to accept yourself completely with all your strengths and weakness. Total acceptance. Nothing else. Not half, but 100%. Accept yourself totally.
Second, do not own, do not have feelings of ownership. You may have so many possessions, so many relations, so many things, but do not have ownership – this is mine, and a kind of craving to keep everything for yourself, which really weakens you, makes you more and more insecure. If that happens, you will have whatever you have, but you will be free and you will be happy.

The third aspect is – remember that when you came here, you had nothing in your hands. When you go from here, you will still have nothing in your hands. Even this body, we have to leave here. If we remember that, we are free. That is why I always believe when we take flowers, give it to the people while they are alive, not going and putting it in the graveyard after death. Respect people, love people and do whatever you can for the people when they are alive so that they can enjoy it. After death, whatever we do, how will they know? Love today. Express love today. Care today. Everything today. Tomorrow we don’t know whether we will be alive to do all that.

Q6: When I will start to drive a car on my own?

M: It depends on your horoscope (laughs). If you believe in yourself, you can. It is about believing in yourself. If you really believe in yourself you can even drive a flight, or even a rocket.

Q7: What should a mother know who is raising her son on her own?

M: Being a mother is a very powerful experience. It is a big opportunity. Because you have a relationship with your child nine months more than society. So your responsibility is nine times more than that of society. Having said that, please remember, each child is an individual. They have a constitution, a character, they have their likes and dislikes, patterns, concepts, so many different things which they have brought. I believe that mothership should be like a friendship. There should be respect, not like a servant serving somebody, it’s like a friendship where you can discuss, you can understand each other. Discuss, talk and make powerful people.

If we are clear how responsible we should be, for every citizen of the world, it means every human being. Imagine 7.5 billion people on earth. Each person is responsible for others. The society is responsible for everybody, for every child. Why? Because every child learns and takes from society, just like every mother, every father, everybody. We are all interconnected. Our responsibility is for our species, across the species. It doesn’t matter which country, which nationality, which culture or color. We are all responsible for everybody. If we don’t take responsibility, nature will wipe us off. Like a virus. Nature has wiped off dinosaurs and mammoths, so many species have been wiped off. If we don’t take responsibility for our own species, our species can also become extinct. If this responsibility is executed form the level of motherhood, every child will be powerful. The world will have a good generation. How we can bring up a child? What is the right way? One word – respect. Love is part of respect. When you respect somebody you will definitely love.
I always say, today we see so many old age homes in the world. Why is that? Actually the parents should be in our houses, right? But we don’t have that. Instead, they are in old ages homes. Why? Because we are disconnected. We don’t feel connected. Either the parents are like the servants, or they dominate, both are not good. There should be a friendship, where everybody can be together. We must develop that culture of togetherness. We should cultivate a generation with respect, based on respect. So next year, the slogan for Mohanji Foundation globally is, ‘Self-respect through self-discipline.’ Self -discipline is more or less like no excess of anything, that means a healthy lifestyle.

Q8: Can we know what is good for our child?

M: Of course. It depends on the nature of the child. All children have their own nature. We all have our own nature. We like something, we don’t like something. If you understand the nature of the child, what he likes to do, just support him. Dragan is training Ena in tennis. She loves tennis. So, that is natural for her. Your strength is what you are natural about. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. What is natural for us means what is effortless for us. That is our strength. If we support that, we will become successful. But in the society, we look at our child with other children and think, our child should be like that child. Then we completely ignore the naturality of that child, that is where the conflicts happen. Every person has a nature which is yours, your own. If you understand that, that is your strength. For that, you need to connect to yourself and see that in your own children. Just watch and witness them. What is spontaneous for them, strengthen that, support that. And the child will be really, really solid and stable in society.

Q9: Does truth have a boundary?

M: Absolute truth has no boundaries. Relative truth has. What is relative truth? A truth that is different between us about something. If you see one thing, I see another thing, it is relative truth. What is absolute truth? We all see the same thing. Relative truth changes with time. Absolute truth never changes. One absolute truth is that whatever is born will die. It’s an absolute truth. What is the relative truth? Everybody dies at their time. This is individualistic.

Q10: How do I know I am on the right path?
M: You will be effortless about it. If you are on the right path, you will love to do that. If it is full of effort, and if it is difficult, then you think again. If you are on the right path, you will flow through it. It is so effortless. Even the right relationships. It is like that. It will be easy and effortless. Whatever needs a lot of effort to continue and be consistent is not the right path for you. When you are connecting with somebody or when you are practicing something, or even you go to a place or you meet a person, if you feel nice and if you feel natural that is the right thing. Because you have a nature, everybody has their nature, and every activity has its nature. If there is compatibility between all these, then that is the right thing for you. If it is not, walk away. Don’t be there.

Transcribed by Nada Rakovic
Proofread by Shyama Jeyaseelan

Skanda Vale Satsang – Part 2

In summer 2018, Mohanji visited Skanda Vale ashram in the UK. On 17th August, he did Prana Pratishta to the first idol of Lord Dattatreya in Europe (download discourse – mp3 ) and to Nagaraja murti as well.(download discourse – mp3 ).

Here is part 2 of the satsang he conducted afterwards.

Q: Can you please explain what is Prakriti and Maya?

Mohanji: The two aspects which the scriptures talk about are Purusha and Prakriti, rough translation is Shiva and Shakti. Purusha is Shiva. His expression is all over. And for him to express he needs Shakti, that is Prakriti. Maya is relative truth. Maya is truth, but it has a relative duration. And Karma’s expressionis Maya. Karma is also relative. Everything is changing. Like when you are 5 years old, when you are 10 years old, 15, 20, … your understanding or your experience changes. Same material would have given you different experiences. Maya works in that way. It’s always relative. Absolute Truth is Matha or Mother; absolute truth. Shakti is the activity aspect of Shiva, and Shiva by nature is full and complete. They say that whole created universe is just like a pimple on Shiva’s space. Shiva is much larger than the pimple (Laughter). So Shakti is needed for Shiva, that’s Prakriti; it is Shakti. Prakriti is the creation, created out of pure consciousness which is Shiva.

I asked the question to somebody recently why Shiva got angry when Shakti/Sathi died? Shiva should not get angry, right? Will Pure consciousness get angry? Pure consciousness cannot accept that Shakti does not exist. That means there’s no creation. The Tandava, the expression, happened in a violent mode, because Shakti was dissolving into Shiva. When Shakti dissolves into Shiva, what happens? Pure Consciousness, no creation. So, Shiva shook up and he fragmented the whole thing again. With a lot of difficulty at one time he created the atom. Now again, that atom dissolving back to pure consciousness, then no creation. So, he expressed himself. It’s not anger; it’s like intensity. Sometime intensity will be considered as anger.

Speaker: Mohanji, I wanted to ask why we’re all separate, why we feel we are separate from God. The idea is that you come to know God, that’s the purpose of life. Why God is one and total and undone, why separate?

Mohanji: That’s only in the mind. See, when you’re in deep sleep, you have no separation, you’re fully in bliss, because you don’t know your time, your space your properties. But when you wake up, you have this mind factor or the mind matter; when I say mind matter, it contains mind, ego, intellect, which keeps the form that reinforces your identifications and all those kinds of stuff. So, you have an opportunity here that you can go, always see beyond the usual and connect to the absolute truth; that option you always have. But what happens is that mind never allows it so easily. Mind is only a reflector. Mind has no flavours. What flavour it is given, that flavour it will reflect. Mind is maintained by thoughts, the thoughts are the pillars which maintain the mind. This mind is constantly reflecting mostly programmed stuff, programmed with a program you’re used to: habitual feelings, emotions, and patterns. That’s what mind reflects. And when mind keeps reflecting it, you completely get diluted from the truth. That you are the consciousness which the whole universe is connected to. And you are the whole universe. Aham Brahmasmi is missed, right?

That’s why in the Upanishad, the child asks the father, ‘You keep telling I am divine, I don’t feel like I’m divine. Why you keep telling me that?’

The father said, ‘bring some fire’. So, the child brought a lamp lit.

Then father said, ‘I told you, bring some fire. Why have you brought a lamp?’.

The child then went and brought a charcoal with fire on it.

He said, ‘I told you to bring me fire, not charcoal’. To which the child replied, ‘Father, I can’t bring you fire without a medium’.

To which, the father said, “Divinity cannot express without a medium, and that’s what you are.”

So if that understanding is constant, then the Maya will dilute. Maya cannot exist. Because you will only see your reflections everywhere. When you’re when you’re seeing anger in people, understand the anger sits in you. What you are, you see its reflection in everything. Like if you are extremely sick and you are looking at a beautiful sunshine, you will feel nothing. Because you’re not well; it’s not connected to the sunshine. But because how we are gets reflected back to us, or we experience it that way. That’s the truth. This is how it always works.

Three stages every day are given for you to connect to these. One is the waking state. The second is dream state, where your dimensions are different.  Your dreams are coming directly out of your subconscious. This data sits in your subconscious. And in the third deep sleep state, you have no idea who you are – death state. And then you wake up again. Birth state; rebirth in the morning. That’s why some people are lazy to get up. Because we are taking a new birth, it takes time to walk. Immediately you will not walk right; takes time. (Laughter) Don’t take me seriously. (Laughter).

Speaker: Mohanji, can you talk about, I don’t quite understand yet clearly enough for myself, about the mind, the concept of the mind or the definition of the mind? Or why do we have the mind to create the problem? And in relation to the consciousness.

Mohanji: Mind is like an organ. Let’s look at it… ask the question again.

Speaker: I asked about the mind and to define it more in detail. Mind in relation to the consciousness.

Mohanji: You look at mind as an organ. And what is its purpose? Experience. Experience is the purpose. And mind with your eyes you see, mind with your ears you hear. Otherwise sound will be there but you may not hear. Many times, when people talk, you won’t hear, right? Because mind is not with the ears. Mind with your nose, makes you smell. Mind with your skin makes you feel, with your tongue it makes you taste. And like that… Mind’s job is to experience existence. And it is said that there are millions of things outside, this is all for you. This whole thing is your arena, your football ground. It’s all for you, but then how much can you experience it? Only as much as your capacity. Like for example, you have two eyes. What happens behind you, you cannot see. You can only experience where your eyes can reach. Like that we have limitations. So numerous things, to experience them you have five senses, one mind. Mind with that particular sense makes you experience that particular thing. And what is the experience, broadly classified? Happiness or sorrow. This is human existence.

Total human existence. Millions of things, five senses, one mind, happiness or sorrow. This is how we live. Now this much is okay. Because this is nice. But then, how does mind becomes a botheration. When mind goes into the past, keeps/stores thing of the past and goes into the future with expectations, anxieties, fears, then that’s where the problem is. Otherwise mind has no problem, or mind is not a problem. Minimal mind is always good. Because you have a cool life. You experience every day. And you don’t store anything. Nothing from the past, nor we are going to the future. But does it stay like that? That is when awareness should come in.

What’s the basic awareness? Past is dead, finished. You can do nothing whatever you want to do in the past is impossible. Clear awareness. Future is yet to be. If you mess up today, your future will be messed up. So, we do what is best in this time. And if you stay in that time, that’s what I was talking about these activities here. Guru Subramanian kept it in such a way that it’s a rapid, very fast repetitive mode so that your mind can’t move. You know, you keep the discipline, you stay here, that’s a technique. So when you’re focused on your activity totally, hundred percent here, mind stays here. Then it doesn’t have time to move to the past or the future. And in that point, in that mode, mind is very effective. Mind is your servant. You know you’re here. Future… it doesn’t matter. The past is done. So in that mode, mind is effective.

But when you’re leaving the mind to roam in the past and the future, and regrets and relationships and problems and all those things, then it controls you then mind becomes the master. That is where the problem is. Otherwise, there’s no problem. If mind is your servant, there is no problem; for which the key, or the rope, or the leash is awareness. Awareness that I am only existing now and I have no idea about tomorrow. We don’t know whether we’d be alive tomorrow. And also, it doesn’t matter. No problem. Let it be. So, that’s the way to be. Is it clear?

Speaker: Yes, the question is as well why we keep a mind and why do we need to have a mind…

Mohanji: That’s what I told you.

Speaker: …then the link to the consciousness which is the state of the mind.

Mohanji: Consciousness is not the state of the mind. Consciousness is a factor which remains the same through waking state, dream state, deep sleep state. That is what we call three states, three cities, Tripura. And then we have fourth state. Like for example, you have all the sensors eyes, ears, nose, all those things. Behind that there’s a mind which is experiencing the world through these things, right? Senses cannot function by themselves, they’re part of your body. Right? Mind uses these senses to experience the world outside. Then mind processes it as happiness, sorrow. Two things. This is good for me, this is not good for me.

Now what is consciousness doing? Witnessing this function of the mind while energizing it. So, consciousness is the minor transformer, which is giving the electricity to the mind to experience life. And consciousness has three states but is the same. But in the waking state mind is more than consciousness or you wouldn’t know the consciousness sits. In dream state, mind and consciousness are more or less equal. In the deep sleep state, there’s no mind. Only consciousness. So, in the three states, consciousness is the same consciousness, but you experience it in three states. Right?

And there’s a fourth state called Turiya state where that state experiences the three states of consciousness as a detached form. Then there is a Turiyatita state beyond that; that is the soul state where the soul witnesses the consciousness witnessing the consciousness in three states and the mind beyond. Very simple. (Laughter)

Q: I was just wanting you to explain something about a Subramaniam aspect of God which we are worshipping here at Skandavale at the moment, specifically for people who might be new to Skandavale and not understand quite what’s going on when they’re looking at this.

Mohanji: Ah, Swami should tell you that. (Laughter). I should not talk about that. I don’t have the licence to tell everything.

(Group laughter)

Mohanji: I will just brief on this.

Subramanya

Shiva has two sons. Shiva probably has other sons but two that we know. Ganesha, represents a supreme consciousness aspect. That is why he has a huge body, elephant head, etc. because rithambara budhi, the intellect, cosmic consciousness is represented by the head of the elephant. That’s the highest or the largest mammal represented. And the huge body represents the created universe. Shiva is supreme consciousness represented by Shivalinga. There’s no way you can worship supreme consciousness which is un-manifested, beyond dimensions. So, the best form the great Rishis thought of is a Shivalinga. That is why you look at all the atomic reservoirs of the world, it’s in the form of Shivalinga, that form can source or store maximum energy without distortion, without a leak, without losing it.

Shivalinga is representing Shiva, a supreme consciousness, formless, and Lord Ganesha as the supreme consciousness, the larger aspect of Shiva. And Lord Muruga is the knowledge aspect. The pure knowledge; not the knowledge like… it is now morning and evening, and stuff like that. Knowledge which is the truth; that is why Subrarmania explained the secret of Omkara to father Shiva. When Shiva had a doubt as to what Omkara is, Subramania (skanda) explained this to Shiva. Why? Because Shiva is Omkara, he doesn’t know what it is. So, Subramania told him this is what you are. That means he’s knowledge incarnate. And also, there is an aspect of warrior. That commander aspect is because, we now talked about all these four people, four thieves. There are many things Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, Matsarya, etc. All these are enemies of progress. He is fighting against them. Means he is knowledge incarnate. To keep knowledge, you need to ward off ignorance. Kama is what, uncontrolled desires; krodha, anger; matha, pride; matsarya, competition spirit; lobha is lust that you need more and all that. Moha is desire – I want this, I want that; never satisfied. All these things are against knowledge. So, he is the commander, who is protecting you from these enemies. So that you are with pure knowledge. Pure knowledge is the state of Shiva. And Shiva himself as Dakshinamoorthy is another aspect of this knowledge. Dakshinamoorthy is Shiva who is looking south. Where you can see a lot of Rishis around him. And Muruga has been worshipped mostly by the Siddhas; he’s connected to Siddhas. 18 Siddhas and all those people are connected to Muruga.

Q: So, what I hear from you is that… when we go inside we have in a way or an answer we have, you know, there you are. But they do seem to be meditations, or this kind of best parts seem to come clear to you as you live this life. So, what I have in mind is to be witness with people when they die. And, actually, it was funny  when you were saying with the boat, and crossing, because it’s as if there’s a moment when you come over in the boat from the other side, I never actually go to that other side, but you are somehow a ferryman. And then you, you move into this other place when you, this is what you do. And it feels that as the years have gone on, and then I mean, well just watching, we move here. And there is no hospice right here. Although I don’t actually have an issue with that part of it, but—

Mohanji: You should.

Q (continued): …that as the years have gone on the whole working or being with people as they leave and the people around that has become more and more, a very real meditation and expression in the world we live in now.

Mohanji: You are in the right track. Yeah…

Yes. Every moment is meditation. If you are aware that is it. That is, “Life is meditation”; not sitting in one corner and thinking you are meditating. And the shift of stages at the time of death, is amazing. Because basically it is nothing. Just leaving the body. No big deal. But then the process, where it is connected to attachment, to this body, attachment to things around us, all these things, everything, becomes completely irrelevant. And then you are leaving. That’s exactly what we are talking in the last part. How much you can raise your awareness at this last part, that becomes the flavour of existence of next life. So when you transcend, you move in that zone. That’s why suicide, murder, and all these things are absolutely detrimental. Because the last part of your life, you are on a level of resistance, then the next life starts with resistance. So, we must always be in a level of ecstasy.

You know, if you can leave with a wow, beautiful.

Speaker continues: And this is what’s happening more and more. It’s a way that I lived many years in India. And of course, in India years ago, in the 70s, if there was a dead body, then you actually didn’t go near it, and you didn’t touch it. And sometimes that could be very shocking. But even India also is changing in the way that…I guess that last moment, for even, for people that maybe haven’t so much meditated, can be a leap. And I don’t know, this just seems like…

Mohanji: That’s why, I don’t know about now much. But earlier, it was they light only one lamp in the place. So that the person who’s leaving connect to only one flame and there’s no distortion. When you’re connected to a flame, and the flame is going up, and then you’re connected to brightness. Plus, the chanting will be a scripture or something like Sahasranama, so that in that vibration provided through chanting, they leave.

A story about calling the name of the Lord

There is a story of one guy who was very selfish in life. And he hated Gods; he was an atheist. And he hated his children also because they were squandering his money. Then he named them the name of Gods, because then he can remember them more. Because those whom you hate you remember more, right? (Laughter).

One day he was lying down to die, and the lord of death came. It was a very fearsome point, because all that he earned all his life is going. Going to whose hands? To those he hates, his children. So, he wanted to scare his children, he called Narayana, Narayana. His son’s name was Narayana. He called Narayana to witness the lord of death, because he was scared. And when he called Narayana, Narayana, the lord of death left, because he called the deity. So, he survived. Then he was wondering, “How did I survive?” Because he called the name of the Lord at the time of death; Lord Vishnu.

These kinds of stories are there, that say the right names should be uttered at the time of death. But that has to be cultivated over time. You have to practise it. Otherwise, it won’t come at that time. Only think about electricity bill, water bill, credit card, cheques you have signed, and so on. That’s not good enough. You are thinking of practice, right?

Q: Leading on from that question prompted me to ask another question. The couple of deaths that we’ve experienced here in hospice, or here in Skandavale. It’s been either when what I perceive to be the soul leaving, or after a person has died. The vibration is beautiful. The two of them. Absolutely.

Mohanji: Stillness…

Q (continued): And yeah, and love and beautiful, and especially, you know, special, like you’ve walked into a temple, but you’ve walked into a room with a dead body. But that person is not long left. Actually, somehow you can feel that, that if they’re still there. And I was wondering, what is that feeling? Is that the soul leaving?

Mohanji: Normally, they only leave the body after 13 days. They hang on with other sheaths: the body sheath is the food sheath, then pranic sheath, the pranic layer; then it’s mind sheath, knowledge sheath, bliss sheath, and then the soul. Soul is in the middle and all other sheaths are around it. And that stays except the body, physical body. And they hang on for approximately 13 days.

Speaker: In the same place?

Mohanji: No not necessarily. That’s why in some of the places they keep food for them after they die. Everybody eats, they can also  see but they can’t eat and they don’t have the body but everything else.

Speaker: When one of our sister’s was dying, and I know a few people experienced it, it was as if she hadn’t died. But it felt, I don’t know if this was that the soul was leaving the body, but it was dancing. It was so joyful. It was bliss.

Mohanji: Yeah, when your connection to, or when your ownership levels are less, the moment of leaving the body is beautiful. Because you feel such a relief.

Speaker: That’s what it felt like as well. I’d like to say maybe she didn’t die.

Mohanji: In fact, you know, most of us experience this during the deep sleep state. We get out of the body peacefully and then we enter, some people have that remembrances. People have written about it, that they had an ecstatic state, the same state and there’s a quick rewinding of the major events of life and then it’s stillness, and then it’s peaceful. Shanthi. Perpetual.

Speaker: That bliss is…?

Mohanji: That’s your state. If you have another incarnation to make, then you go ahead with your work. But that transition,  it can be beautiful but that’s where you need to connect to something larger, bigger.

Speaker: …and many people have done that in their life time?

Mohanji: Yeah, yeah. For example, connecting to one object like Lord Krishna or Muruga or one deity all the time, chanting, then that consciousness automatically raises to that level, and it will be an ecstasy to go. And otherwise, connecting to a very powerful master, same thing. Whichever frequency you connect to, that helps you to go out and that energy stays in that same way.

 

Q: But what about people who haven’t had any connection or seemingly any connection to spirituality?

Mohanji:  No, but, it’s not just one life, right? It’s a continuation. What they have done in past to reach here, that person doesn’t know. In this life what they have done, probably they will know. And most of the activities may be unconscious; they don’t know what they are doing. But what brought them to this frequency, they may not know. It’s a continuation. Each life is like a page. You shift the page, another life, then it becomes the full book.

Speaker: And you said you do a quick rewind.

Mohanji: That’s each life.

Q: That’s only for that life, you won’t see the other life?

Mohanji: No, because you don’t see those lives now. You don’t see your past life now. That’s rewounded, then you go to astral plane, then you rework that, and you say okay, this is what you wanted to experience and this is what you have to experience, pending desires, then you take an incarnation. That’s why I said the USB is removed from the laptop, and USB contains your pending desires and your memories collectively. So that includes your connection, relationship, character, etc. Sometimes character also evolves over time. Character, desires, memories – these come together and then the sheaths (koshas) carry these and go, and then the USB is put into the next body and restarted. Then you bring back all this.

But again, as I said, between a death and a birth there is a shift happening as well. That each page is not that you’re just starting in that frequency but at the evolution, with your awareness, the awareness can evolve and then it comes back to another body differently. So, what you miss most in this life becomes the predominant agenda in the next life. That’s why don’t miss much in this life. Because that becomes a pending desire, agenda, thing to do. When you sum up or you configure your existence of the next life, that will come up as a top thing to do. Like we have our daily agenda: this I must complete today, this can be done later. Like that, and thus, the whole lifetimes are defined. That’s why, masters like Shirdi Baba say you have come to me. Now let me reduce your number of lifetimes. You know, imagine this is to be laid out over 50 lifetimes, let’s make it 20. That way you reduce the total. That’s what great masters do.  They shrink it. So that your merger becomes faster. That’s why it’s the interest of every master that you liberate yourself as fast as possible. And in the interest of soul is to liberate as well, as fast as possible. And even the information, the pattern, the roadmap, that comes only with the right eligibility, otherwise, you won’t get that. You won’t even think that. I mean, many people don’t even think beyond the mind or the gratifications, they don’t even think of a beyond state. Forget about death state. Death is a fear for many people. Death means big problem. One of the greatest fears is the fear of death. I’ve seen that even in spiritually high people. Towards the end they become very jittery. ‘Oh, I may die’. Very good. (Laughter).

But I’ve seen that and sometimes it surprises me. What’s the big deal? However, that remnant of fear sometimes exists without knowing. Not that you store it, but somehow the fear of death comes. It could be also collected, it could be acquired, maybe it is not yours. It can be that you have seen so many people’s trauma of dying, and you may get that impulse into your system, and then you think it’s yours. You wouldn’t remember that it is not original and you forget. For example, there’s some dirt on your body and you forgot to take a bath or wash it away, it stays, right? Like that, you collected from the nature and that has stayed on and then it stays. And at the time of death you have that fear.

Q: In your book Power of Purity you said playing video games especially violent ones and watching violent films or any films, reading newspapers your subconscious takes that on, and doesn’t differentiate between whether you’ve actually committed the act or whether…

Mohanji: Yes. Whatever your conscious mind dwells or subconscious think it’s real.

Speaker: And so, then you said karmically you have to live that out?

Mohanji: Not necessarily. That becomes your flavour, or part of your system. Whatever you consume, enters your system. Similarly, all inputs have effect in the system. Subconscious mind doesn’t know whether you’re actually doing it. When the conscious mind is working on it, subconscious believes that this is real, so it just stores it.

Speaker: So if you’re kind of killing people in a video game, your subconscious thinks…

Mohanji: …thinks it’s actually happening. That’s why I was talking about soap opera. The victimization of people,  very bad people, and people only thinking bad, how to harm other people. When you constantly dwell in that kind of energy, subconscious believes this is what you like. So it creates a life for this, to have this kind of things – emotions, etc.

Speaker: So, it’s not something you have to live out…

Mohanji: Not necessarily, you can go beyond it. If you raise your awareness beyond it all, this becomes insignificant. Yeah, but will you stay there? Because mind likes gravitation quite a lot. Mind likes to come to the lower frequency, we call it gratification. So if we stay beyond it all, it’s very good.

Q: I just wondering how do we increase will power so that we can become a bit more master over ourselves?

Mohanji: Laughter J. Iccha shakti, will power – center of heart. Jnana shakti – third eye. Kriya shakti – navel. Three shaktis: Iccha shakti, Jnana shakti and Kriya shakti. Three aspects of Shakti. It’s center of heart. If you concentrate on that and chant and…

The main thing which is against the Iccha shakti is tamas, inertia, like laziness, “Okay, I will do it later,” like that. That has to be countered by positive action; action as well as chanting on heart center. Close your heart and chant whatever, any chanting inside the heart centre. This is the place for the Kriya Shakti, action. Sometimes people become lazy. ‘I must go for jogging; okay, tomorrow! Then the day after…’ and then we pay somebody to jog for us.

(Laughter)

There’s a video of one guy who’s got a treadmill; he’s sitting on a chair with a beer and doing it… it’s the height of laziness. Very bad Kriya shakti.

(Laughter)

But understand one thing. It’s never constant. It can never be constant in human existence. It’s always waves. Vivekananda says this, “Life is all waves. Sometimes high, sometimes low. Our ability to accept these highs and lows is very important.” Watch your own life, it can never be constant, right? “I’m inspired all the time” – never happens. It’s not possible because we have a lot of factors connecting to it. So, it has to be high; it has to be low. Our ability to flow through like a wave rider, that is how we become successful. Not that you’re always on low and always on high; it is guaranteed not possible. Maybe when we are sitting and meditating in a cave in Himalayas… still there will be highs and lows.  “Today I don’t want to meditate. I am catching mosquitoes”.

(Laughter). Anything is possible.

We must accept realities as it is. When it is high, understand “I do maximum.” When it is low, “Okay, now this is low, nothing is working, slow down.” It’s like the road is bumpy. But you really want to drive in 120 km/h, is it possible or not? Not possible. You have to drive as per the road. But later the road becomes good, the nice open road, then drive. That flexibility or adaptability is more important than the highs and lows. Recognizing highs and lows is good, “Now I’m very productive,” do your best. “Now I’m not productive,” then “Okay, I slow down, I work on it.” But keep walking. I mean, don’t just sit there, you slowly move. Even 1 km/h speed is also a speed, right?

Speaker: Sometimes you feel like, “Oh yeah, I’m on a good road, doing things well, and then sometimes, it’s like mmehh…oh, why…”

Mohanji: That’s how it is. 7.5 billion people will tell you this is how it is. This is how the whole creation has this thing. Because we are playing duality. This is the drama, we are playing the duality, there’s an up and there’s a down. if there’s no up or down, there’s no duality. So in this duality, there is dark and bright, up and down, high and low. It’s all part of duality. And that flexibility and adaptability makes us successful. Never judge ourselves, then you will not judge other people. Right? And do not criticize yourself. Because we tend to compare with other people and we say we are not good enough. What happens is, even if you have an opportunity for full actualization, because your opinion about you is not so good, you will deny it. This is the problem. Then you take a lifetime to correct. Do you understand what I’m saying?

When you when you judge yourself or criticize yourself, you deny an experience also, without your knowledge. Imagine you have a potential for a really great experience in this life, but you say, “Oh, I’m not Mohanji, I can’t do this or something like that.” And then even if you can achieve it, you will deny it. At the end of the day, who loses? You will lose.

That is why Lord Ram went 14 years in the forest. He was in Avatar, he could have just shot an arrow from Ayodhya all the way to Sri Lanka, killed Ravana and brought his… he would have probably even prevented Sita from being kidnapped. An Avatar! But he went through the whole process. He took the help of the monkey squad and everybody, everything because he had to demonstrate how an ordinary man should handle life. That’s why. He did not present himself as an Avatar. He presented himself as an ordinary man for the sake of us. Otherwise, there’ll be no Ramayana, maybe only two lights or something.

(Laughter)

Or… He came to kill the demon, so he sat and shot an arrow. Finished.

(Laughter)

Whole chapters are not needed.

Furthermore, have you ever observed why Hanumanji is so powerful, and there’s so much worship, there are so many temples of Hanuman. So many temples. He is worshipped much more than Ram, there are more Hanuman temples. That is because Hanuman’s only object of worship was Ram. Totally integrated into Ram. And these Ashta siddhis (the 8 siddhis) and Nava nidhis (9 nidhis), again all the types of wealth were originally Ram’s. When you’re deeply integrated into a consciousness, which is very powerful, you have all those powers. Hanuman was deeply connected to Ram, unmistakably connected, all the time thinking about Ram, only Ram. And then what happened, he had all the powers of Ram.  The supreme consciousness, Ram is supreme consciousness. So he was constantly integrated into Ram, and he had all the powers. Another way of diffusing the ups and downs, stay connected, deeply integrated, and you experience the supreme consciousness all the time and then you will not judge because “I don’t exist, only he exists”, right? Hanumanji was not an ordinary man, he was a very, very powerful master. He was a great master. He said, “I prefer to be your servant in this existence, I prefer to serve you. Your wish is my command.” Then he said, “My body is always at your feet, to serve you. And let me be like this.” Then third thing he said, “But consciousness wise, you and I are one. Let’s play the role.” Pure awareness, right? Perfect awareness. I am not separate from you, but I prefer to play this role. So I’m outside of you, I can serve you. So it’s easier for me to integrate. Perfect bhakti yoga (bhakti-devotion).

It’s all for demonstrating the aspects of existence. That clearly states that these are possibilities. When you clearly know these possibilities, there’s no way you can be deviated. And as I said earlier, what you should choose is what suits you. What you can practise without effort, that suits you. What you practise with effort is not yours. Understand, you will drop it someday. You will want to wear a dress which fits your body. If it is three times larger or three times shorter, it’s difficult, somehow even if you fit in, you will not like it. Yes, please.

Q: Just one last question. What is actually the purpose of life?

Mohanji: Experiences, what you’re experiencing every moment. That’s it. it’s a moment to moment experience. Purpose of life for everybody is that even if it is a bird or an animal, that moment is the purpose and we have no idea about the next moments. Each moment’s experience is our purpose.

Q: Why is some of the experiences bad or good?

Mohanji: It does not matter, they are all experiences. That discrimination happens only in the waking state of mind. Mind tells this is good, this is bad. And that’s sometimes or mostly connected to expectations. I expect to be successful every time. But if success doesn’t happen the way I want I reject it. Then we say some, “It’s a bad experience,” things like that. So it’s all connected to the mind. Experiences are experiences. We decided and always, there’s no guarantee that an experience which we term bad is always bad.

A story – Bad is not always bad

There was a king who caught one of his favourite ministers and chopped his finger saying that he had been stealing. The minister was very sad because he hadn’t been stealing. Later on he was caught by tantric people who chop the head, bali, as human sacrifice. They wanted somebody and they caught him, but he had no finger, so they let him go. Because they said, “You are not perfect, your finger is missing.” Then he understood that the finger lost is better than the head lost.

(Group laughter)

So we do not know, sometimes some of the experiences which we call bad, are not always bad, we need to read the full story to understand.

Q: In common with a lot of people, I’m sure. Sometimes you get to a certain point, and you become very aware of a long period of time, some pattern of activities has been governing your life, certain habits, some mentality, your aspirations remain out there, not where they should be. And I was wondering if you could shed some light on how to break down pattern other than diet, (laughter) presumably one way of doing without going to that extreme. You’re trying to turn everything upside down or bring yourself out of that in a dramatic way.

Mohanji: I’ll tell you the nativity of it.

How does a repetitive thing come in life? Not even an activity?

There are patterns in relationships, patterns in money situations, patterns in jobs, we experience so many patterns in normal life. Where do they come from? They come from deep impressions.

For example, imagine that you have been travelling a path of pathless, like an aghori. One thing happens today, a totally different thing happens tomorrow, there is nothing settling. Everything is flowing, flowing in the sense, there is no system.

Then what would be your greatest interest?

To have a system. That would be your priority or top priority, “I must have a system functioning, there is a predictability.” When we dwell too much into unpredictable paths, we will crave for predictability. And then if it didn’t happen in that life, next life will have predictability pattern as a main theme. So, the path will be all predictable. But then predictability also brings monotony. Because you can predict every moment. So it brings monotony, when it brings monotony, you say, “This is crazy, I can’t have monotony, how do we come out of this?”

Thus in this war between unpredictability, an unpredictable path, like the path of Shiva, path of pathless, path of Datta, the way you travel, that’s the path and Avadhoota state, state of Avadhoota, where rain or sun, good or bad, it’s all the same to a state where there is some kind of a pattern. So when that is travel, mind will crave for a pattern. When a pattern happens, we have monotony connected to it, it’s always connected to the mind which expects.

What is the best way to overcome that mind?

Awareness. Awareness beyond it. Beyond this activity, there is a growth and growth is in awareness. There are so many things probably you never wanted or they were fringes, they were not really sufficient to integrate into a life. If it was sufficient to integrate into your life, it would have happened before taking birth. So, if it is not integrated into life, in this pattern, this was not so important in the original planning. Then, if a pattern is happening, this pattern is actually what is chosen. When you resist the pattern, it stays. When you say, “Okay, this is the pattern happening, no problem.”

A story of a Buddhist monk

There was a Buddhist monk who was giving lectures, and a lot of people respected him. One day, one girl became pregnant in this village. And she said this monk was the father. Everybody came, bet him up. Tore his house to pieces, etc, and brought the woman and gave it to him saying, “You must look after this woman because you made her pregnant.” He didn’t say anything. And then the child was delivered, he was looking after the child and he never said anything, yes or no or anything. After eight years or nine years, this girl started feeling very guilty. She saw his love and kindness and he was looking after them as ever, I mean, as perfectly as possible.

And then she told the village, “You know, actually this guy is not the father. The father of the child ran away. And I did not want to tell this to you to people because I was ashamed that I would be ostracized, that I would be expelled. That’s why I told his name.”

Then they came to the monk to apologize, “We are very sorry that we did not understand.”

“No, it’s okay. No problem,” he answered.

Then, there was no nothing from him. His awareness was above every activity below. Nothing touched him and he was just floating and he was in a state of bliss and all these activities was happening. No expectation of only glory, no expectation of only scandal or slander, no expectation. So what happens is your awareness is above everything and these patterns die by themselves. Because patterns lose their importance as well. If there is an activity, “Okay, I’ll do this activity,” from moment to moment. Moreover, other things do not enter either. Because there’s no “This is not good, then another thing should…” So the replacing doesn’t happen. Replacement sometimes means and the life. If you can’t replace something in this life, it automatically means another life. That means you’re ensuring another rebirth. That also will not happen. Because your awareness is above. And this routine is giving you more and more and more stability and you are dissolved.

That’s the way to overcome every situation, whether it is a monastic order or actual life. When you see from above, all the things happening, like we said, there are no good or bad, everything is happening and you’re watching it and it’s all happening, it’s flowing. And you’re not binding to it. You’re not even taking ownership. Like this girl said this guy was the father, he didn’t know. And people thought it was true, because he didn’t say that. Nor did he care. Later on when the girl said this was not the father, again he did not say anything. Why? For 8 years you looked after the child and the mother and you did not say anything? He kept quiet. Then they understood that he was a powerful Master. So it sometimes takes time.

Why I said this story is because we have every chance to keep our awareness here (he puts his hand high up). It doesn’t have to be here (he lowers his hand down). When it is here (at that low level), we always have opinions. We maintain the patterns. Because we resist. Maintenance is equal to resistance. We have objection, like human relationship. I don’t like this person, so I keep resisting, that person is always with me. It happened, right?

(Laughter)

We get married like that.

(Laughter)

Not my marriage…

(Laughter)

I put my hand in fire.

(More laughter)

That that’s the way it is. So it’s all about awareness. One word, awareness. Acceptance and awareness are two things which are absolutely fundamental for high speed growth and evolution. Acceptance is to yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you accept other people or the world. Because if you don’t accept yourself, you can’t accept the world. World is your reflection. So every bit of acceptance is to yourself as a full incarnation. Then awareness, awareness, that everything happens will also pass, nothing is yours. Even the body, everything comes and goes. Then this other resistance and other things will automatically vanish. In this life. This is the flow so be it.

Speaker: Does worship of God, let’s say in the form of Dattatreya or doesn’t matter which god, is that the key part of achieving that awareness?

Mohanji: Yes, worship is equal..

Speaker: That is our way of life. That is that process which is happening.

Mohanji: Yeah, worship is integration. Worship means you’re connecting to an idol. Idol is never an idol as it is, it’s an ideal. You know, an idol represents an ideal. Ideal is a state. The state of a master is represented by the form of a master. That is why I said, Mohanji is not the body, Mohanji is a state which is connecting to people. When you’re connecting to the ideal, then you are surrendering to that ideal. Why do we worship different deities? People have different tastes, and why because that ideal suits us. It’s suitable for us, for us to connect and integrate. Like in various places, there are different plug points, different types, so every plug will not accept every socket. You have to sometimes use converters. Here, I’m talking about no converters. The right plug and the right socket.

So you integrate to Bhagwan Ranganatha, or Bhagwan Dattatreya and the integration is equal to surrender. That’s what Hanumanji story I said, I don’t exist, he exists. I exist as his servant, means basically, I have no existence. I don’t need existence. A true disciple is almost like the shadow of the guru. When the guru moves the shadow moves. This is how it works. True, true disciple. There are hardly true disciples today, because people even judge the guru, “The guru should not look like this. He should…” They have opinions. Then all these opinions and doubts segregate. It is opposite of integration. That’s why it takes time. Then when you disintegrate, or you are separate from the truth or the master, you have all the effects. Everything hits you directly, all the pleasures, all the pains, all the phobias, concepts, doubts, everything hits you. Here if you are integrated to the guru, the shield is always there. Nothing hits you. So when you worship Ranganatha, you are Ranganatha. Always remember, there’s no separation. When you’re worshiping Ranganatha, you’re worshiping yourself. When you’re worshiping Datta, you are Datta and that idol is your representation. In that mode integration is just, like a matter of time, a very fast process. It happens very rapidly.

Mohanji: Yes, please. Yeah.

Speaker: Namaste.

Mohanji: Namaste.

Q: Since we’re talking about this mind and matter, I’ve got one question, suppose the attachment of ones in other’s minds, can that mind be degraded, on upgraded?

Mohanji: If the attachment is from the other person to you, rather than you from other person…

Q (continued): Well, suppose he’s got a high level of mind, he’s attached to some kind of devotion, or he is on the super value, and the attachment of that person to other person can degrade him or upgrade him?

Mohanji: Neither. Neither in fact.

Speaker: The reason I’m saying is that say that attachment of the mother to the son, or the attachment of the devotee to another devotee or to the lord or the master can move him from one place to another place or it will be in the same place?

Mohanji: See, fundamentally, attachment is connected to relative truth, it’s not permanent. We have seen people very deeply connected, and then later bitter enemies, or bitter enemies coming together. So everything is in a relative basis. We cannot say that this stays forever, another one stays forever, we cannot say. In addition, we can’t determine high or low, because somebody who’s deeply connected to the Supreme consciousness, whatever other people think, it will hit them, but it will not be enough to bring them down.

Somebody who’s very deeply connected like a Buddha, for example, who had one focus. He wanted to attain liberation. And his focus was that – he left his family, he did everything to attain that. Many people told him, “You made a big mistake, you should not have done that…” Even after enlightenment he was told that. But nothing moved, because what he wanted with the life with the original agenda, we talked about the prarabhda, part of the karma, which brought forth this existence, the original karma is powerful enough to take you through. In between all the other, the people, the relative experiences, the people coming in life, people going, their opinions, their likes and dislikes, they are all having only complimenting or contradicting whatever it is, as a flavour. Like your ice cream is one, you add strawberry and it becomes strawberry, add chocolate, it becomes chocolate like that. It’s a flow, life is one flow. In the flow of life, all these are relative experiences, nothing is permanent.

Speaker: Yeah, but as you say that in so in in the past, and we have we have seen so many places where the God has to come down to Earth to fulfil the wish of a devotee. In that sense, if you’re saying that is not true…

Mohanji: No, no, that is completely different, right?

Speaker: That is attachment as well.

Mohanji: No, that is a different thing. Devotion matures into oneness. See, when this attachment is what you asked earlier, through emotions between people etc. when you are deeply connected…

Speaker: Sorry, when I said, I said what one’s mind here, if you put one mind to another mind, can that mind be degraded or upgraded.

Mohanji: It depends actually. The state of mind itself is temporary. And the mind we are talking about is only operation during waking state, only when you are awake. In dream state it is not the same mind. In deep sleep, it’s not the same mind. So we’re talking about the waking state mind connection. Is that right or wrong?

Speaker: So if you keep on thinking of the same, the mind is always on the same thing all the time.

Mohanji: Yeah. When are you thinking?

Speaker: In deep sleep you are thinking the same thing, if you are awake you are still thinking the same thing.

Mohanji: How do you know that you’re thinking in deep sleep?

Speaker: Because you can’t sleep because of that…

Mohanji: Then you are not in deep sleep. It is not deep sleep, it is sleeplessness. Then that’s a waking state.

Speaker: It is not waking state I am talking about.

Mohanji: No, no, no, I’m countering you. No, you want to argue with me?

Speaker: I do not argue with you.

Mohanji: No, no, no, no, in this intellectual thing, I don’t normally engage. Because this is very simple. You’re talking about waking state mind, temporary, dwelling on relative stuff. Correct? Whether I connect with your mind, or you connect with my mind, it is two minds connecting. How long? How long will it connect? It has a duration, right? And this duration is already defined in that life. Some people stay connected longer, some people do not connect longer. Now we have three states. In dream state, you definitely cannot connect to that person. You say you are not sleeping because of another person. For example, you fell in love, all the time thinking about the lover. You don’t sleep, because sleep is not important. Thinking is important. That is not a dream state or a deep sleep state. That’s a waking state, extended waking state. Correct? In that mode, in that intensity, there is an influence between two people, for sure. There has to be connection.

Now second point you asked about is the devotee and God. In devotion, when it overflows, the devotee doesn’t exist. That’s exactly the thing I talked about Hanumanji, Hanumanji and Ram. Hanumanji had existence without Ram. His mind was filled with Ram and Ram has to come down because what Lord Krishna said, “My only weakness is my devotee. When somebody connects to me with heart and soul, I have to come.” That is a different thing. Then the devotee dissolves into the lord, bhakti yoga, height of bhakti yoga. That and two lovers’ relationship are different. That is why I said it’s different things we are talking about. We can argue about this forever. But if you understand this, ask me specifically what exactly you want to know.

Speaker: I want to know when there are two minds, if somebody can degrade another person from his own state.

Mohanji: Only if you allow it. That is why I said earlier, people talk about other people to me. When they start, I say, “Are you talking about this person? Keep this with yourself, you worked hard to get this information, I don’t want to know.” I prevent that information from entering my field so that I remain pure. This is our job. Imagine in your house, who will you welcome? Somebody who’s compatible. Do you think you’ll bring him in somebody who’s going to come and make a mess of the house? So it’s our choice to bring some people into our mind or their thoughts into our mind. It’s our choice. And we should keep our mind pure. Prevention is better than cure. It’s important. Nobody can just walk and make a mess, unless we permit it. It’s definitely our choice. You have another question, ask.

Q: The thing is that, what you’re saying, I agree with you about our house, but what I’m saying is that, is it possible to bring somebody to your own wish?

Mohanji: Why?

Speaker: I am asking.

Mohanji: We should not try. In fact, nope, I would like to see everybody as powerful as themselves, not as me. Because all the all the expressions you see here are independent creations, original, authentic, why should I expect anybody to be like me? I have all the weaknesses and strengths of everybody and they all have the same, I would like them to actualize into something higher, not become me. We shouldn’t even think that. That is what Hitler thought, “I make men in my own image or I destroy them.” That’s a “beautiful” theory.

Speaker: Most of the people want to be like you.

Mohanji: No, that’s ideological thinking. Somebody wrote to me, “I look at you as a perfect human being,” I said, you’re completely mistaken.

(Laughter)

I said, I have all the weaknesses and all the strengths of everybody. Because when you become not a one, one unit, you are everything, so you contain everything. What I mean to say is that we don’t have to have boundaries. First of all, we are not like that. We are not supposed to be in cages. Main cage is our own mind. Right? Our actualization is our birth right and you are actualized by birth. Only this mind factor, which is analysing and trying to assimilate, is delaying the process. Instead be natural, “I am fine.” And from this acceptance you have to grow to the highest level. That’s why true Masters create other Masters, the different Masters, not more followers. When you have more followers, it’s your burden. But if there are more Masters, it’s beauty in the world. True Masters should guide others to become completely fully expanded and fully like bright suns. So they’ll be brightness in the world, I believe this is the right path.

Q: So on how would you say one’s mother who has got attachment to the son, to relieve how you can separate and advise the mother not to have that attachment, so the son can progress further? How you can explain that?

Mohanji: You know, there are two things one is attachment, the other is ownership. Now you’re talking about ownership. As for attachment, look at every being, a bird or an animal or every being, every mother will have an attachment to the child. This is the way of nature, nature created that. Because this is part of nurturing. Now ownership is ignorance, ownership is part of it, “This child, I own this child.” Nobody owns anybody. So what happens? Through awareness, it doesn’t happen. Because after a while it should happen that the child grows up and then it’s on its own feet and things like that. And then if the child has to still support the parents, there should be freedom. The freedom should be there. If there’s no freedom, there’s no support. That’s why if the ownership becomes too much, ownership, possessiveness, control, binding, etc. happens, they’re put into old age homes. That’s why we have so many old age homes, because they don’t know what to do with parents. So they say, “I am busy, mother, I will come and see you when I have time.” The system is created in that way, because the whole education system has given insecurity to the world. Has the education system given freedom? It is not even teaching freedom. A true teaching is that a child is independent, individual, original, authentic that’s it, but we don’t allow the child to be like that. When I was in school, the teacher said I was retarded. Because the question, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” I answered, “I would like to be alone.” And teacher said, “This boy can’t come to study.” No, everybody wants to be an engineer, a doctor, a pilot, all sorts of things, I didn’t want to be anything. So this is the criteria, the benchmark. Well, that’s all very complicated to talk about because the whole system is moving in that direction. Yeah, but don’t confuse between ownership and attachment. See a child should be connected to mother, mother should be connected to a child that’s natural. But when you have ownership and possessiveness, it is unnatural. These two are different things. That leads to problems.

Mohanji: We have the Pooja, so shall we wind up?

Group: Thank you very much.

 

Transcribed by Kishore Mundanat
Proofread by Arvind Ananthan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clarity of Purpose Gives Will-Power, Part 2

Mohanji Speaks Zoom Satsang, part 2

24th March, 2019

Sensitive but not emotionally reactive

Q: How can one practice being sensitive and compassionate towards others without being emotionally reactive?

Mohanji: I think I explained this matter in the first discussion. It is about being controlled by the three faculties  I spoke about. The mind controls us. The mind is the seat of emotions. It is also the seat of expectations. Intellect controls us when we analyze too much. We try to position ourselves in the society or with people. Sometimes it becomes escapism too. As an escapist, you say “Oh! This is not my cup of tea. I don’t want to be here”.  Then our ego or personality controls us, with thoughts such as, “Am I being respected? What do people think about me?” and so on.

When I was doing my Sadhana, I would never tell others what I was  practising  I was connecting to my spine, I was doing vertical breathing,  but I never discussed this with anyone  because this is not a subject we need to discuss. Sadhana is something that suits you, so you practise it alone, in silence, spend more time with yourself, stabilize yourself and let the practices stabilize you from within  more and more, settling your doubts. This is how it should be.

In any case, whenever you say “I am emotional”, “How can I not get involved with this?”, etc. always remember, there is an expectation connected to it. This is fundamental. If you have no expectations you will deliver and you will be completely detached. And if you are expecting applause, award, appreciation, there’s always a binding. We end up doing our activity only for that sake of the appreciation. If you have given up that aspect, you do everything you can do at your maximum capacity. But at the same time, you are free, you are not bound by other people’s opinions or appreciation or rejection. Be sensitive enough, to the extent it motivates you. The right amount of sensitivity can be a motivation. Instead if the sensitivity is overwhelming, it does not help you in any way. Sometimes, we may stop doing good things and good work because of other people. That is actually our loss.

Please understand that whether you do something or don’t, in about 80 or 90 years you are history. Hence it‘s not worth it to think too much and not do. I believe in POSITIVE ACTION, not just any action. And my beliefs about the do’s and don’ts are based on non-violence. If something is violent in nature it is a complete ‘no’ for me. Secondly, being sensitive is a good idea but at the same time, it should not hinder our activity.

You FEEL, but don’t blame other people, as they have nothing to do with it. They’re only expressing you, as to what you are to yourself because you need to know what YOU are at some point in time. If you are lazy, you can’t expect other people to be fully active as they will reflect your laziness. Likewise, everything in life is connected to how and what we are. And our experiences are also connected to what we are.

This is the entire structure; what you need to do is forget about everything and focus on your action. Within your capacity, keep doing more. That way, you will increase your capacity and keep delivering. Once you keep delivering it in this mode, you will not worry about being appreciated. You may not even look at how many people are looking at you or whether they are looking at you with kindness, they may not. I have experienced that even after doing so many things, some people criticize you very bitterly. They may talk poorly. What you need to do is, stop worrying about it. Just focus on what you have to do and keep delivering. Those who have eyes to see you will see. Those who cannot see you will not see. They should not see either, I say that because it’s not their time yet,  to connect to you, to recognize you or appreciate you. You should never be looking at people for appreciation.

Also, I’ve seen that most of the connections are based on convenience. “If it is convenient to me I connect, else I don’t connect.” So that is purely a mind based connection. Those kinds of connections will happen in life too. Sometimes they connect and then at some points in time, they are just not there – selective or convenience based connection. These are part of life and we should not really pay much attention to it. Those who are supposed to be with you will be with you. Those who are supposed to see you, will see you. Those who are supposed to appreciate you, will appreciate you. Nobody can shake them because their integrity will be steadfast, uncanny and very powerful.  And they are the ones who will walk with you. That is why Buddha made his entire empire with 5 people. Jesus had 12 people with him. They created their empire with a few people, with those who stood steady, despite any situation, without criticism or doubts and without judgment.

In everyone’s case, all of us are walking this earth and doing many things. When you do things, do not expect something. If you don’t do anything, there is no criticism, but then there is no existence either! If we are doing anything, there will be opinions and that is alright. Let opinions happen. We have to accept it and do what we have to do and what we can do.

Overcoming a sense of isolation

Q: Mohanji, I’m surrounded by people, but I’m lacking a sense of belonging. What can be done to overcome this isolation?

Mohanji: The first part of the sentence is equal to expectation. You are surrounded by people and you do not know you are still in isolation. That means you are becoming more and more mind and you are not even looking at people. They are almost like walls or stones. You don’t see them. Then how do you connect? You don’t recognize them because you don’t recognize yourself.

Here, the fundamental question is about self-acceptance. How much have you accepted yourself? If you have accepted yourself with all your weaknesses, all your strengths, then automatically you will connect to the world with ease. This is because you see only perfection in every being. You will not see many people; you only see your own reflection in many forms. So, the first and the last step should be self-acceptance. You have to start with self-acceptance. At the same time, spend time with yourself and try to feel yourself and understand yourself without judgment, criticism or comparison. There has to be complete acceptance with all your negativity and positivity. All of us have strengths and weaknesses.  No one has only strength or only weakness.

So start looking at yourself fully, completely. Look at yourself as a complete being with every quality. In that mode, when you start looking at the outside world, you will have no expectations. If you have no expectation with your own self, why would there be an expectation about other people? If you don’t have any rejection about yourself, you won’t reject anybody else. If you accept yourself completely, you will accept everybody. This is the fundamental truth. This is exactly how life should be. It’s not a rocket science. It’s about how much have you accepted yourself. That’s where everything begins, everything starts.

Dilute ownership, change your destiny

Q: Can FAITH overcome prarabda?

Mohanji: Faith is important. Faith is like oxygen. Faith helps survival. Also when your focus is on a master or a God or a deity, then many of the calamities which are happening around you will not be so strong or so detrimental because your level of ownership will be less. Pain is connected to OWNERSHIP.

If you have more pain in life, it’s connected to more ownership in life. When you have ownership of people, relationships, possessions, positions, materials, etc. it causes pain. Possessiveness causes pain. Now, if you are connected to a master and operating in “surrender” mode all the time, the ownership will be very low. And so is your pain. What is happening in your life now is a creation from the past. The “Prarabda” or the destiny is a creation of the past. Something you did in the past created this existence. All that you are experiencing now is connected to something of the past. So that will have to happen and nobody can change it. Every experience as it happened is what you are meant to experience. But when you surrender, the impact becomes less because ownership is diluted. With diluted ownership, you are freer, prarabda weakens or the impact will be less. That is a beautiful thing.

Those who are connected to masters or certain deities, those that practise a certain type of worship  consistently, with integrity and conviction, have survived various tests. This is  because when there is no ownership, the event that is meant to happen might not even happen. Sometimes it does happen but it will have a much lower impact than what it was originally meant to be. Thus it’s all connected to ownership. Faith is very important, it is wonderful, and it makes your life better. You can breathe well if there is a good amount of oxygen in the room. Similarly, Grace is the very oxygen in our daily life.   When you have surrendered, the grace factor is high. But when you have ownership, grace factor is low. So the factor of grace is very important.

Gratitude also helps. Even if it is a small thing, be very grateful. You have to be very, very grateful for everything;  grateful that you are alive;  grateful that you are breathing. Be grateful that you have all these possessions and positions. Be grateful that you have food to eat. Be grateful that you have shelter, a roof over your head. Be grateful for your awareness. Be grateful for your relationships. Be grateful for everything. Just be grateful. Being grateful brings grace, lots of grace. And your expression of gratitude  in this world should be kindness and compassion. Be kind and be compassionate. Don’t judge, don’t criticize and don’t talk bad. These are all very negative and you are actually attracting more poison by being that way.

A story

As the story goes, there was  a saint who was  looking at a tree.  A passerby asked, “What are you looking?” The saint said, “There are three people sitting in the tree. All three are people without bodies, which means,  they are dead. They are souls of non-bodied beings”. This passerby next asked, “What are they doing on the tree?” The saint said, “They are waiting to enter somewhere, maybe for their next birth or so.” Then they both saw a person coming from the village road, far away, fully drunk. He was completely unconscious of the world. He was tottering, falling down, picking himself up and still kept walking. He was coming that way. The saint said, “Just hold on. Just wait and see.” So this guy came and he didn’t even look at these beings on the tree, he simply walked past. When he walked past, they also went behind him.

This guy who was watching asked the saint, “Where is he going?” The saint replied, “In the same street around the corner, there is a brothel and he is going there.” He also added, “ Not just he, four people all together, have gone to the brothel, and that includes him.”   This means that the three souls who were sitting  on the tree entered him and went with him. They didn’t have a body of  their own and hence needed a body for the experience. So they all went together to the brothel.

It is very important to understand  that when your energies are of anger, hatred, jealousy, revenge and similar negativities, such energies will enter you and  aggravate it even more. We should always remember that walking the path of purity is very important. We shall not criticize. We shall not judge. We shall not complain. We will never be involved in any kind of polluting or negative emotions, because when you are in the grip of such emotions, when you are in such a mode, various energies of similar nature enter you, because they are all looking for a body for expression.

Some of them do not have the power to create a new body. So, they enter a body which is already in  that mode, means “birds of the same feather” kind of situation. They enter this body and work in a negative way. That is why I always insist not to sponsor, not to nurture or subscribe to negative emotions, criticism, judgment, revenge, etc. If you do encourage such negative emotions and thoughts, the energies around you which are of bad nature, will enter you and aggravate your situation. So you need to remain connected to higher consciousness, remain connected to a master who is connected to higher consciousness or worship a god or a deity you like to connect to. In some way, you should purify yourself. Please remember, this is YOUR journey, YOUR body, YOUR path, YOUR destination, YOUR destiny. So, YOU need to nurture it well. Nobody else can do it for you.

What best I can do is  show you the light and guide you. But I cannot walk for you.  It doesn’t  work that way. You have to walk. If you fall, it’s my responsibility, I’ll hold you. But YOU have to walk. Always remember, what brought you here is your prarabda. Your destiny brought you here, to this state. Losing this state is very easy. All you have to do is to enter into bad company, talk poorly, and engage in bad activities. Then more such energies will join you and pull you down.

If you have already managed to reach this level, all you need to do now is,  take one vow, one decision, a firm decision – that you will not take one step backward, because it is not worth it. One step backward means “Punarapi Jananam, Punarapi Maranam”, which translates to, again you are taking birth, again you are dying, again the stage of being in the womb of a mother … Like this, we have existed. So we MUST be very clear about this now.

We will not take a step backward. We are only going forward to the path of dissolution. We are only going in the path of becoming one with pure consciousness, which  has nothing to do with anything, so that we are very clear and focused and this is exactly how we should lead our life hereafter. That is the biggest gift you can give yourself. Even if somebody says something, even if you have many lures around you, even if all the people in the neighbourhood are negative, you don’t have to be. You can still stick with your integrity, stick with your experience, stick with your conviction and stick with your determination to remain pure in thoughts, words, and actions. This is all you need to do and this will automatically elevate you to very high levels of awareness.

Maintaining equilibrium

Q: As I continue with my Sadhana and my awareness increases, I find it very difficult to handle the conflicts and insensitivities of the corporate world. How can I maintain the equilibrium?

Mohanji: Everything has a price. Every state has a price. Nothing comes easy. The challenges of the outside world will always be there, whether it is our relationships or the place of work or our own notions and concepts, those  sitting inside and the ones sitting outside, both of them may fight you. But you need to be very firm if liberation is your priority. Liberation means not running away from everything. Liberation means, having everything but you are not attached to anything. Attachment causes ownership, ownership causes pain. So, we need to be aware that we are the whole story. The whole story is us. We make our lives, we break our life and everything is us. Let things flow. Anything can go wrong. In my case, when I was doing my practices, I went through a series of problems including the death of my daughter, Ammu. All my possessions were stolen. My investments went away when the property dealer ran away. I lost my job. I contracted a disease. All these events happened within a short span of time (5-6 years). So I lost everything that I had ever had and this was challenging. Then there were corporate challenges on the other side such as targets, performance and the related activities.

But I never left my path. I never ever discussed my practices with people. I was alone and practising on my own. And it was purely the Vedic path, connecting to my spine and connecting to my breath. This is the only thing I did, but with consistency, conviction and focus. I never sought  results. Basically you are only giving time to yourself, connecting to yourself, being with yourself.

Later on, when I started my public life, I realized that many people  who come are not coming with kindness. Some people will come, abuse your connection in some way and then walk away. Also, they  contaminate the minds of other people. So I decided that I will have nothing to do with it, let it all happen. But we need to be very firm and very stable. And that’s what I deliver.

Hence your stillness, your stability is your choice. What happens outside is definitely not in your control; you can’t control it. That will happen based on  what our prarabda, what our destiny gives us. Your workplace, where you live, what you have, etc. are all connected to destiny. We have no control over them  because they are predetermined. But you can definitely make sure that you will stick to your tradition and path in this life. Nobody can challenge it. Even if somebody challenges it, if you reinforce your conviction then you can’t be defeated. You are very powerful. Actually, you will know that you are very powerful when you decide that “Nothing else matters, only liberation matters.”  If everything matters to you, then you are scattered. If only liberation matters, if you are fully focused on yourself and your liberation, then it doesn’t matter what your environment is, what concepts or fears you have or what is outside. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters at all. You are focusing only on the path of liberation.

That requires two things: no ownership of action, no ownership of the result of the action. These are absolutely essential to be in the path of liberation. And if you just focus on lack of ownership, that will be fine;  then clarity of purpose as I mentioned in the beginning, and also gratitude, deep gratitude. Always be grateful, don’t allow negativity; rather don’t buy things which you don’t need, especially those that are negative in nature; talking about people, talking about situations, concepts, and so on. You don’t need any of them. In fact, just focus on clarity of purpose, which is, liberation.

As I said, there are two sticks you can hold while you are trekking – no ownership on the action, no ownership on the results of action. Keep walking.

Wish all of you great success and deep love. All the best. Thank you! Love you!

 

Transcribed by Rakshitha and Ananth Sankaran
Proofread by Vidya Rajagopalan

Read Clarity of Purpose Gives Will-Power, Part 1