More Wisdom - 2005 World Tour

11th May, 2005

May the Divine Guru keep His hands of Grace on our heads always, and shower blessings on us so we may be able to spread this true message of the spiritual path as He wanted to really teach.
I greet you all to this spiritual workshop.

When the students show a yearning to learn and an enthusiasm to participate, it is inspiring for the teacher. Once Swamiji was replying to a question about a spiritual subject that had been asked by one devotee. Nearby were some devotees who used to come at times to see Swamiji. When Swamiji started giving His beautiful answer, these people sitting nearby said, a little indignantly, “ Swamiji, You never told us these things.” Swamiji shot back His reply, “Well, you never asked about these things. You always came asking for blessings for a job, a marriage and so on.” You see, if the student is interested to take, then the teacher is interested to give. When Swamiji was with us, He taught us even through silence. He taught “Through meditation, you must come to the silence.” But I also noticed that in many places, without listening to what He wanted to give, people simply came with all their problems. So they couldn’t ask spiritual questions. If you come here to know the spiritual truths and learn how to control the mind, then it is only through God’s Grace.

I don’t talk from the scriptures much. I simply talk of meditation and how to get peace. Often people reach the stage of detachment only when they get to old age. I will tell you a story: In ancient times there lived a king and emperor over the whole of the Indian sub-continent, called Yayadhi. He had four or five sons, but his favourites were Yadhu and Puru. He was a very powerful emperor and his empire continued to expand and take in new kingdoms. He was so rich and powerful that he could enjoy any and all of the pleasures of the world. Suddenly one day he was looking at himself and saw some grey hairs on his head, then noticed that his children had reached their early adulthood, and some had even married. He suddenly realized, “Oh, I have become old. My God, how will I continue to enjoy this world?” He wanted more time to live and enjoy this world for a longer time. Now he had acquired a boon by which he could get someone else to take his old age, if they agreed, so he looked first at his own children to see if they would take his old age for him and give him their youth. Now the first three or four sons were scared by it, thinking , “We’re not fools. If we take your old age, we won’t be able to enjoy our own youth. You have enjoyed your youth, now let us enjoy ours.” But Puru, his youngest son, had always been detached from the world even at an early age and felt that this life was transitory. He thought, “My father has become old and my body will also become old one day. If I indulge too much in the pleasures of the world, then I may miss the important things of life.” So he said to his father, “I don’t mind sacrificing my youth for you. You gave me life and I don’t have any great desires in this world.” So he gave his youth to his father. Yayadhi went on and enjoyed his life for many more years. But even then, he still didn’t enjoy everything enough...

Then again, on another day, suddenly Yayadhi thought, “ What have I done? I have taken youth from my son and selfishly took it to myself. But even still this world has not given me any satisfaction.” ( You might have noticed that sometimes when you get satisfaction for your body, even then mind is sometimes not satisfied. The food we eat satisfies our hunger for some time, but the mind sometimes just simply wants more. My brother recently said to me, ‘ Only we humans eat for taste.’ )

So Yayadhi realized this, regretted what he had done and gave his son’s youth back to him, saying, “ I realize I am not getting satisfaction from these things of the world. I am not getting contentment. That couldn’t be bought by all my wealth, power and so on. I am surprised how readily you gave up your youth, simply with me asking for it like that.” He said to his son, “Since you so unselfishly gave me your youth, I want to do the same.” Then Yayadhi went into the forest and started meditation and finally attained Self-Realization and liberation.

My Guru never told people that the world is scary but He did encourage people to meditate.

The second story is of King Parikshit, whose youth and power gave him false pride and arrogance. One day while hunting he got away from his entourage, and continued on by himself. After a long time he became thirsty and wanted some water. At last he saw an ashram and saw a sage meditating. He asked for some water from the sage but because the sage was in deep samadhi and was unaware of the world, the sage did not reply. King Parikshit did not understand, and thought the sage was ignoring him, so he became very angry. He saw a dead snake nearby, and so to humiliate him, he put the dead snake around the neck of the sage. Well when the sage’s son came and saw the dead snake draped around his father’s neck, he was distressed that someone would disrespect his father in such a way. He went to the river and cursed that whoever did this wrong thing, let him be bitten by a snake seven days from now, and die.

When the sage came out of samadhi, he ridiculed his son, saying that he shouldn’t have cursed the king like that. The sage told his son, “Go to the court of the king and tell him of the curse and tell him it cannot be taken back. The curse must run its course.” So the sage’s son went to the court, and in the meanwhile, King Parikshit already started to feel sad about what had he done to the sage. So when the son came and told about the curse, the king said to him, “You have done a right thing in this. I should not have done this to your father.” King Parikshit became completely detached, began to arrange the running of kingdom after his departure, gave up everything, and went to the river to perform penance. Maharishi Shuka was inspired by the king’s nobility and so came to him and lectured to him for seven days. This talk is recorded as the great epic “Bhagvatam”, which records the deeds of Lord Krishna as well as many other stories about how the mind gets involved in the world. After hearing this talk, the king attained liberation. So subsequently, when the snake came and did bite the king as demanded by the curse, the king’s body simply fell down, and he attained final liberation. Such is the power of devotion and attention.

It is not a sin to get involved in this world, BUT you will lose your peace. You can live anyway you like, but look after your mind so it doesn’t get too involved. It is like a parent when the child goes out shopping, they will say to the child not to spend too much - only $5 or $10 - rather than spending all that they have. In the same way, don’t spend too much of your mental consciousness on the world - a little comfort in this life is enough. If you practice meditation, you can achieve this. Like you can drive a car but make sure you learn to how drive it properly first. How? By practice.

That is why I come - to inspire you all. Even after I go physically, keep on meditating daily. Then you will be able to control the mind. Be master of your mind, your conscious energy. Somebody once asked Swamiji , “What is mind control?” To answer the question, Swamiji threw a flower up in the air and said, “My mind will stay here and not follow the flower.” That is mind control. This is the meditation I want you all to practice. Be master of your mind - your conscious energy. Do not let the mind be your master. Have your mind as your servant and you will enjoy this life. But if you let it be your master, you will suffer stress and depression. It is said that money is a good servant, but a bad master. It is the same with the mind. If the mind is not controlled, it will smash your head. Meditation helps you overcome this.

That is what I always try to teach: Dedication, Discipline and Patience. Patience is very important in this sadhana. To practice meditation you need patience. They go hand in hand. If you have dedication, you will have patience. If you have discipline, you will have patience. If you have patience, that will give you dedication and discipline. Whatever you have learnt in this world, it took patience. Whenever you started to learn anything new, it seemed hard. It is a trick of the mind. Before you do try to do something, it will make you imagine, “It is so hard.” So some people say, “Meditation is not for everyone. It is hard.” But that is not true. All can do this. All you require is determination. Everybody can do it, if you practice. If you want to do it. This is 100% guaranteed.

As Swami Vivekananda said, “Arise! Awake! Stop not until the goal is reached!” Just like a champion player in a soccer game takes the ball towards the goal, there are all the obstacles, but he keeps going, never looking back, to reach the goal. You need to reassure yourself. If you practice you will become an expert. Some people ask, “Why is this mediation so hard?” Anything we want is always hard in the beginning. But nothing is really hard if we accept the challenge and are ready to go for it. Ask a valiant soldier, and he will tell you that the battlefield is never hard for him. Like Swamiji said, “If you take the challenge for one hour everyday, you will master it.” Eventually it will be as simple as eating a chocolate. If all your minds are here and able to listen to me - that is mind control.

You can still live a normal life. Very often detachment is misunderstood as a depression. Detachment does not mean running away from this world. You can be enjoying this world, but be aware mentally that this world is not mine, this body is not mine. If one day when this body drops away...no worry! Like we all know this hall tonight is not ours. We only have it for two or three hours. It is only temporary. After the program, when we leave, we are not sad because it is not ours. So this is how we practice detachment. When we leave, we leave.

In the life of Sri Ramakrishna, He was a priest in a temple. Mathura and Rani Rasmani were rich and had built the temple. They had a room set aside for Ramakrishna to use. One day there was a misunderstanding and Sri Ramakrishna was asked to leave. Immediately Ramakrishna simply took His cloth, stood up and walked out. Later, He was sent a message to please stay, but when this first message came, He was ready to say “Okay”. It made no difference to Him. He was completely detached to the fact that He was staying there. Moving didn’t mean anything to Him. He had no disturbance in being asked to leave. He was such a great Yogi Saint. This is an example of complete detachment.

So the time will come when this 45 minutes of meditation will seem to pass like four minutes. It will be as easy as sleeping is for you now.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Devotee:

Could Baba please explain the meaning the application of the Vibhuti during the initiation, and of the Vibhuti itself?

BABA:

Vibhuti is a very common thing in India. It has been used in the temples there since ancient times. The word “Vibhuti” means “Beyond all physical existence”, that is, “God”. Also, ultimately, because in India the body is traditionally cremated after one passes on, the vibhuti reminds us that this body will one day become ashes.

Since ancient times, vibhuti has been associated with Lord Shiva. He applies it on His forehead. Shiva symbolizes that total stand stillness state of the mind, literally, “no wavering”, although still supremely conscious. So when this body becomes ashes, may Lord Shiva bless. When my Guru came to the end of His twelve years of Tapas, part of the mission given to Him was to spread the use of this blessed vibhuti to help with physical disease and in meditation. Applying it at the point between the eyebrows is a tradition in this form of meditation.

When a Yogi blesses the vibhuti, He prays that God will fill the vibhuti with His life current. So it is part of the instructions you’ll see on the sheet we give you on the first day you learn to meditate, that when you take the vibhuti home, you should treat it with honour. For instance, you offer flowers, arathi and so on. We also advise that you keep the vibhuti in a special container and it will help you to feel the Guru’s presence with you.

Devotee:

When we meditate and go into that inner world, why is it difficult to stay there?

BABA:

It is simply from lack of practice. The mind is used to coming out into this world, and has a habit of clinging to objects. The meditation helps the mind to give up this unnatural habit. Eventually you will reach the state of samadhi, total stand stillness, and then the mind will stay there. Until then, keep practising.

Devotee:

Could You please discuss eating satvic or vegetarian food?

BABA:

My Guru was very liberal in this and didn’t specify. He likened it to either fixing or connecting each individual wire in an electrical lead, or simply throwing the main switch to connect them all automatically. If you meditate, you will automatically find which foods suit you best. Swamiji felt that if he specified this or that foods, it could lead to some unnecessary controversy. For instance if you are used to eating a particular food, and then the Guru tells you suddenly that you must give it up, then you might find you spend the whole one hour of meditation simply thinking about that food which you are missing.

However I could say firstly, that you should not overeat, as that will make you sleepy. Learn over time which foods best suit you. At the ashram we eat vegetarian food with no egg but I never impose that on people. Simply manage your needs properly.

Devotee:

Could You explain the story of King Janaka and the oil lamp again, please?

BABA:

We tell this story because always householders ask how they can live in the world. I myself chose to live the life of a monk, but actually apart from not having my own children, I still had to perform all the other duties just like any normal householder would have to perform. Swamiji told me to keep my mind on God. So without getting mentally disturbed, I simply went about my duties and kept the mind on God. If I was working in the kitchen, I kept my mind on the work I was doing and also thought of God. Just as saint Kabir, who was a householder and a weaver, he would be weaving, but kept His mind tuned into the thought of God by singing of God as he wove the cloth.

The story goes that Shuka Maharishi, the son of the great sage Veda Vyasa, was a bachelor and a great Self-Realized soul, who always lived in his father’s ashram. King Janaka was a great king ruling a huge kingdom, but he was also a Self-Realized soul. Now Shuka was living in the ashram and always kept his mind tuned to God, but he began to think, “How can Janaka, who is a busy king ruling a kingdom, still keep his consciousness tuned to God ?” He asks his father, Vyasa, to explain this to him, but Vyasa says that because he is Shuka’s father, Shuka is likely to not take proper note of and pay proper attention to his words. So he suggests that Shuka approach Janaka directly with his question. Here in the story, the importance of a Guru and proper respect and attention to the Guru’s teachings, is emphasized. So Vyasa instructs his son to go to King Janaka and humbly ask for this teaching.

When Shuka first came to the court, Janaka tested his ability and dedication. He ordered that his servants shouldn’t let him in, shouldn’t offer any food, even water. He waited thus for 3 days. At this time, Janaka asked the servants how Shuka was behaving, and they said that he was standing quietly and peacefully and that there was no anger on his face, and that he had told them that he understood that they were simply following the king’s orders.

On hearing this, Janaka was very pleased, and went and welcomed the sage with all reverence as was usually done in those days, with the washing of his feet and the offering of flowers. Janaka took him inside the court and asked him what was his desire. Shuka replied, “It is appropriate that, as I have adopted you as my Guru, I should come to you to ask how you can attend to your duties, while still keeping the mind on God?” Janaka replied, “I will definitely answer your question, but just now I am caught up in some business of the kingdom and don’t have the time available to answer fully and completely such an important question. I will answer your question later, but just now, while I am busy, for a while, go around on a tour of the city and see how things are. Only I would ask that as you go, you should carry this oil lamp on your head, and be careful that you do not spill any oil, or let the lamp fall.”

So Shuka went off for his tour of inspection of the city, and when he returned, the king asked him, “How did you find the city?” To this Shuka replied, “How can I tell you? My eyes were watching the things going on in the city, but my mind was all the time on the lamp. I am unable to answer your question properly.”

King Janaka then said, “In the same way, I am able to tune into God consciousness, even when I attend to my worldly duties. The mind simply executes it’s duties.”

Swamiji used to tell us, “Do your duties, but keep the mind in God consciousness.”

Devotee:

If one has a gassy digestive system, will that affect the meditation?

BABA:

Yes, if there is indigestion, it will affect the health of the brain. It can make the brain sleepy. One mustn’t get sleepy, because then the brain can’t catch hold of the mind. In sleep, the mind gets kicked off the brain. In meditation, the mind is applied on the brain. So it is essential that the digestive system is properly maintained.

Australian Tour 12th May 2005

The second to last evening program in Perth began when Baba entered the hall, lighting up the whole area. He performed arathi to Swamiji, and began his address singing “Om Brahmanandam Paramasukhadam...”

Prostrations again and again at the Lotus feet of my beloved Guru. Greetings to you all. One more day and then my visit here will be coming to an end. I appreciate your yearning for spiritual truth. During the question sessions there have been several questions on human life and how precious it is. Once someone asked Swamiji, “What is salvation?” Swamiji replied, “Retirement and peaceful settlement.” Well at the end of our life everyone wants to retire, but they also want to be at peace. As long as we are in the world, we get dualities such as good / bad, right / wrong. But if one becomes tired of all this, then the recommended goal is to get rid of it all. This has been explained since ancient times as not meaning we have to run away to the forest or die.

My Guru used to say, “This human life is so rare and precious. If you are having difficulties and imagine so about your own life, then you will experience even more difficulties. You may be delayed in getting a perfect body, let alone a human body.” Usually we don’t discuss these sorts of things because it can create more unnecessary imaginations in the mind, but here we will just touch on it. The karmas we talk about are actually the mind’s imprints, and these make the jivatma mind get involved in this world. If, in this life, a person behaves like a beast, being greedy, troubling others, snatching from others...then next time he would have to live as a beast. So human birth is very rare and is a chance to cleanse the mind. Meditation is one of the strongest ways of tuning into God, thereby cleansing the mind. The mind tends to get sucked into illusions. So practice meditation and keep in the company of noble people and saints. A Yogi, even with his eyes open, is tuned to God. So how can we get rid of these karmas, other than meditate?

In this world it can be very difficult to decide right from wrong. Firstly your actions should not harm your physical body. More importantly, your actions should not harm the mind. In performing actions, your intention is important. Even in going to the temple, your intention is important. If you go to a supermarket, but you don’t have any money, then you can’t buy anything. In the same way, if you go near a saint, but your mind is not receptive, you won’t absorb anything.

I always saw Sri Krishna as a great teacher in this regard. He showed in His life, that even if one were lying, if the intent was good, then it may be OK. If a soldier’s intent is not to harm the enemy, but to defend the motherland, then his killing the enemy is not murder. So in the court of judgment, intent is important. There is a great difference between a planned murder, and defending oneself, which ends in a loss of life. Even in the legends, in the same way one comes across demonic characters who do Tapas to acquire powers. When they do the tapas, gods do come and give them boons, but if the intent in acquiring the boon is bad, then when the boon is granted, there is always a trap hidden within in it. Even when you invoke a god, your intent must be clear and clean.

Just like Hiranyakashipu, he performed ferocious Tapas, but he did it to acquire powers. Reading these stories always made me feel sad, that these people could have put that same effort into attaining Self-Realization. In his case, when the god came to grant the boon, he asked that he not be able to be killed, and he put in all sorts of conditions, to try to protect himself and to try to cheat God. He asked that he not be able to be killed by a god or a beast or a man, during neither day or night, neither inside nor outside, by no weapon, neither on the ground nor in the sky. Finally at the end of the story, Narasimha formed from one of the pillars of the palace, and he had the head of a lion and the body of a human. Hiranyakashipu’s son Prahlada, who was a great devotee of God, begged him, “Even now, pray for forgiveness, and you can attain salvation.” But Hiranyakashipu was too proud. Narasimha picked him up and carried him to the doorstep, at dusk, and holding him on his knee, pierced his chest with his claws and so killed him, even though all the “safeguards” he had put into the boon were still satisfied. He tried to cheat God, but in the end, he was still killed.

The moral of this is that the purpose, the intent, behind an action is important. When we meditate, our purpose must be clear. In today’s society, so many do meditation to achieve powers and so on. I tell you the greatest miracle is Peace. You need to regain the consciousness of the real Self. In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna tells Arjuna, “No weapon can kill you because you are the Immortal Soul.” So it is important to clearly understand the aim and target of meditation. When we practice, we should understand what we are aiming for.
In another legend there was an asura ( a demonic personality ) who performed Tapas and obtained the power that whoever he touched on the head, was instantly burnt to ashes. He troubled everyone, and in his arrogance, he finally came to attack Lord Shiva. The story goes that Lord Vishnu came to him, and started teaching him to dance. In the process of dancing, the asura touched his own hand to his head, and so was instantly turned to ashes. So the moral is, the intention in an action is important.
I saw during my tapas, that God tests one - perhaps offering many followers, or that I don’t need my Guru anymore. But through the Divine Grace and the training of the Guru, I answered, ‘ I simply want to be at His Lotus Feet.’ Again, the intention was important. Because of intention only, we go into good or bad karmas.
Finally when we come to our final birth, the Yogi will find that everything is seen as a blessing. So when Swamiji was scolding me and pulled me up, I still always felt His blessings. Intention is very, very important. When you sit for meditation, it is for clearing the mind. Everything else - visions, travelling in space, and so on - they are ultimately illusions. Just like in a dream, they appear real - you feel you are really in it. In a dream you may feel that it goes on for several years, or that you travel a long distance, but when you wake up, it all simply goes away. Visions tell us something of the status of the mind. Just like when you are awake, if you are experiencing greed or jealously, then it tells us that there is something wrong.
My Guru suggested, ‘ Don’t concentrate on finding the faults of others. First find your own faults - those who can find their own faults are Mahapurushas ( great souls ).’ If we can rectify our own faults, then we can progress towards the Divinity. By paying too much attention to other’s faults, we don’t pay attention to finding our own faults - we cover up our own faults. Human beings’ other great fault is to justify their actions. Our minds get involved, and so we find we have to justify what we have done.
Be careful. This world is a trap for the mind. We have to live in this world, just like the tongue has to live in the midst of 32 teeth. It has to be alert, cunning, so it doesn’t get hurt. Also you will see that the tongue doesn’t keep anything for itself - it passes everything on. It passes good things on to the stomach, and it passes bad things out of the mouth completely. So you can live in this world, just don’t get attached; then one is released, and attains liberation.
When we do an action, consider the wider cause - it should be noble, let everybody benefit. And so you will see that in the prayers from ancient times, for instance ‘Loka Samastaa Sukinho Bhavantu’, we pray for the well being of everyone - then your own well being is included. Every creature can live happily, if they will learn to live for each other. But so many avatars and yogis have come, and we are still no better.
So test the intent of your actions, and only if they pass that test, then we should go ahead. This is what meditation is for - to help us be aware.
When I am away, look for me in your heart. Regularly practice until you get that Peace. Nothing else should be your aim.
That Peace is your birthright. Do not settle for anything else.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q. Baba, when trying to practice mediation, it is sometimes difficult to focus the eyes at the brikhuti. How important is that?

A. It is very important to hold the eyeballs still. If that can be achieved, then instantly the mind withdraws, and is held, and eventually it becomes introverted. Visual education is a very good way of attracting the mind. You can compare your attention when things are simply talked about with when they are acted out in a drama. If the story of Baba’s life is simply told to you, or if the same thing is shown as a movie, your attention will be much greater to the movie. Vision is one of the strongest media to grab the mind’s attention, and then concentrate the mind.
Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras, himself says that the movement of the eyeballs is one of the 4 obstacles to samadhi. Those obstacles are bodily movement, movement and rhythm of the breath, movement of the eyeballs and the mind itself.
If you find it difficult in the beginning, then you might like to try to look at the front portion, then the vision will slowly come closer, and eventually come together at the vanishing point - the third eye.

Q. Can music help with concentration, to go into meditation?

A. Yes, it can be helpful if one has the temperament to listen. Ultimately you need to go beyond, but initially, for a short time, it can be useful. But it should not be violent music, it should be soothing.

Q. In the legends, there are mentions of people being granted boons. Are these manifestations actually real?

A. Yes - they are as real as this Illusion is real. When one does tapas, this automatically comes. In tapas, the concentration of the mind develops such that if the mind resolves anything, it will happen. The mind itself gains this ability. But these powers should not be used to increase one’s power or hurt people. If they are used like that, then you will lose self-realization. In tapas, I saw this happening, and had to withdraw the mind and keep it settled.

Q. Are these boons, the same as siddhis?

A. Siddhi means achieving something. They are sometimes called occult powers, but they are not advisable to use.

Q. How do we stand back and not get involved in the world?

A. Through meditation, the mind gets quieter. You may find that before you have done much meditation, the mind may get disturbed. It is best to think of it as Prarabdha Karma - destiny. Later you will find that you simply let things come and go.

Q. When I experience wrong feelings such as anger, jealousy and similar things, I find that if I call them wrong, they get stronger. So in meditation, should I just watch them, or is that involvement?

A. Yes, during meditation you should just watch. It means they are evaporating. If you start thinking at that time, and start making judgments, then the mind gets involved and absorbs further new imprints.

Q. I haven’t done much meditation. How should I do it, and will it make me more intuitive?

A. Use this method which we have initiated you into. Sit comfortably, focus your sight and mind between the eyebrows, do not repeat any name or mantra. If any thought occurs, just watch it. You should do this for 45 to 60 minutes every day.
If you practice meditation, the right type of intuition will develop. Otherwise the mind can go into wrong things, and takes simple imaginations as intuition.

Q. Why did the ancient sages seek isolation to do tapas?

A. Some did and some didn’t; it depends a lot on the individual temperament. In the present day, one needs to encourage and inspire the student - the teacher cannot simply force them. No need to say or teach that you need to go to the forest and so on. The Guru will have to see the temperament of the student. It is simply a choice of a way of life. One can do tapas even in the house. Some sages in ancient times remained in the town, or even married. Sage Vyasa was married, though his son Shuka Maharishi stayed a bachelor. There are no hard and fast rules, it depends on what God wants.

Q. Can you explain the difference between Yogis, Rishis and sadhus?

A. A Yogi can be said to be the state that is the highest. A Yogi is in total re-union with God. A ‘sadhu’ or ‘saint’ is simply a mild, peaceful person who thinks of God. The terms ‘Rishi’ or ‘Maharishi’ are used depending on the tapas performed. ‘Paramahamsa’ is the same as ‘Yogi’.
In Yogavasistha, it is said that once a person has become a Yogi, then they are equal to God. They can even be worshipped by others. Such a person sees one single Self everywhere.

Q. Baba, could you please speak about Swamiji’s Mahasamadhi?

A. In the last 2 or 3 years of His life here on this earth, His physical body fell ill.
In 1990 His plane landed in Kuwait on a return from a tour, just at the time that Iraq had invaded Kuwait. So He was held up there for about 25 days, and the plane couldn’t fly out. The Indian government offered to fly Him out specially, but He refused unless the other people on the flight were also flown out. In 1991 His kidneys caused trouble, though He continued to give Darshan. Sometimes He would have to finish the dialysis session and then come out to give darshan to the crowds that came.
In 1994 He went to Adivarapupeta, and used to continue the dialysis sessions at nearby town of Kakinada. He stayed there some time, and then He dropped His physical body. He was in hospital at the time that His physical body was dropped.
Sometimes we might have the imagination that a Yogi needs to specially sit down and then drop the body in a sort of procedure, but really there is no need. A Yogi is always in the state of Stitha Pragnya - stable.

Q. Is His physical body enshrined?

A. Yes, it was kept in the ground under a Mahasamadhi Mandir at Adivarapupeta. Hence He was born in Adivarapupeta, performed His tapas there and also attained Mahasamadhi there. Next to the mandir, there is a Shiva and Parvati temple in which He had previously installed the idols. The Shivalingam was brought from the nearby Narbada River, and there is an idol of goddess Parvati.
Every year Baba goes there for Mahashivaratri.
In 1993 when Swamiji was in the Bangalore ashram I saw Him there. Again even after dialysis, He would go to give darshan. He didn’t want to disappoint the people who came to have His darshan. He was always smiling. He said,’ I am not going away anywhere. I am always in your heart.’

13th May 2005

It was with a touch of sadness, combined with a deep awareness of the privilege they had been granted, that devotees awaited Baba’s arrival at the final evening’s program in Perth. As the great Yogi entered the hall, His presence filling the room, He performed Arathi to Swamiji, took His pranams, and began His evening’s address, again singing stanzas in honour of His Guru, Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj.

OM
Brahmanandam Paramasukhadam
Kevalam Jnanamurtim
Dvandvaateetam Gaganasadrisham
Tattvamasyadi Lakshiyam
Ekam Nityam Vimalam Achalam
Sarvadhi Sakshi Bhutam
Bhava Teetam Triguna Rahitam
Sadgurum Tvam Namami

“This mantra, as well as the great song of Adi Shankaracharya,‘Bhaja Govindam’, and also the prayer ‘Asato Ma Sadgamaya’, mesmerized me when I was younger. These are some of the beautiful mantras. They portray Truth in its full sense, which needs to be understood and experienced.

Brave children, never give up. You need stamina. You need an attitude of ‘Never give up, till the last breath of life’. Obstacles always do come, they are natural, but it is the attitude that matters. We require the attitude that we NEED this and we’re not going to give up. Then overcoming obstacles is easier and becomes simple. Once my Guru said, ‘ When I was in Tapas, the obstacles came in hundreds. In every Tapas this happens. Ignore them, then they are easy to overcome.’
Remember the saying, ’When the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ In the Bhaja Govindam, Adi Shankaracharya says, ‘The simple truth is, when death comes to this physical body, none of your health, wealth or worldly status is going to help you.’

In the Vedas, it is said that God created ‘Kala’, that is, ‘Time’, which consumes everything. Everything that is born or created will get destroyed. So when we set the target, we should go for the highest things. If you aim for Peace, then aim for Supreme Peace, one that never goes, one that is there all the time. So we have to keep going because we NEED it. We must keep going, or Time will consume us. Every day is being consumed continually.

In the legends, Lord Yama is said to be in charge of Time and Death. So when Nicheketa came to Him, he set the highest target. Nicheketa’s father was a scholar, who would daily give discourses about birth, death, immortality of the soul, no physical body is permanent... Once his
father was doing a homam, a fire sacrifice. All the scholars and gods were invited, and were to be given gifts. Nicheketa was very naughty and playful and was troubling his father when he was organizing things. He playfully came and asked his father, ‘ To whom will you donate me?’ His father was very busy, and shot back, ’I will donate you to the death god, Yama. Now go away.’

So at the end, when it was the time to give the gifts to those who had attended, Nicheketa came to his father. ‘You promised me to the death god. Now you must fulfill your promise’ His father was shocked and started crying, ‘You are my only son. How can I give you to the death god?’ Nicheketa replied, ’You promised this. If you don’t do it, it will give you a bad name.’ The legend says that Nicheketa jumped into the homam fire, and went to the death god. Lord Yama was away on a tour for some days, so Nicheketa simply waited. When Yama returned, he was pleased with the boy’s discipline and said, ’You are very young. I will send you back to the world and will give you 3 boons.’ So Nicheketa asked for his 3 boons. Firstly, ‘Bless my father that he will not be blamed in this.’ Then for his second boon, he asked, ‘Tell me what is the secret of Death. The mere mention of it causes people of the world to panic. Even my father, who is supposed to be such a great knower of the Truth, when I said I will go to the death god, he started crying and was so upset. What is the secret of this death? Some people say we continue to live after death. Some say that we really do not know. Are we really soul, not this physical body?’

So in the story, for long chapters, Yama offers Nicheketa other things, trying to avoid giving the answer. He offers a worldly life of 1,000 years, of 5,000 years, of 10,000 years. He offers that Nicheketa can be an emperor and rule a huge empire. But Nicheketa will not be put off. He asks, ‘After that 10,000 years, is there anyway I can avoid coming back to you?’ Yama replies, ‘No, you will still come back to me.’ So the boy replies, ‘ Then what is the use of these things. Please give me the Truth.’

Now a real teacher is not interested in getting money, status or whatever from the student. The teacher is only interested in the student’s attention. So Yama tells him, ‘OK, I will talk, but you must pay 100% concentration, 100% attention as I speak, because I will not repeat anything. Also you cannot ask any questions.’

All Gurus demand this 100% attention. It is the same in the story of Ashtavakra and King Janaka. Ashtavakra was deformed in eight ways, because as a baby when he was in his mother’s womb, he would listen as his father recited mantras, but when his father made mistakes in the recitations, the baby would move in the womb, and in the end he moved so much that the physical body ended up deformed. So when Ashtavakra entered the king’s court, at the sight of his deformed body, the courtiers started laughing. Even today some do the same thing when they see someone with disabilities. We must learn that if we can’t help, at least don’t hinder. Because of the laughter from the courtiers, Ashtavakra replies that he had expected to see intelligent people here, but they are all only foolish. Everyone at the court thought this was disrespectful. But King Janaka was intrigued and asked, ‘ Why do you say they are fools?’ The sage, Ashtavakra, replied, ’Because they think this physical body is me. They don’t know who I am.’

Now the king had given a challenge, that he wanted a Guru to give him Self-Realization, but he added the condition that the Guru should be able to give him Self-Realization within the time it takes to mount a horse. If the Guru failed, he would be punished or killed. Janaka asked Ashtavakra, ‘Do you understand and accept this condition?’ To which the sage replies, ‘Yes, but in return you must give me what I demand. First you must accept me as your Guru, and you must give me your attention, and surrender, and do as you are ordered.’ King Janaka agreed to this, and went to mount the horse. Just as he was swinging his leg to mount the horse, Ashtavakra commanded, ‘Be quiet.’ Because the king’s attention was on Ashtavakra completely and he was completely receptive, the king’s whole being became quiet, his physical body, but also his mind. His mind settled, and he realized the Self.

The guru also says this at the initiation, ‘Be quiet.’ It requires our attention and concentration. You need to authorize the Guru to command you.

Try to look for God everywhere. Do your duty like a lotus flower in the midst of mud. As Sri Ramakrishna said in His example of the maid looking after her employer’s children, ‘She looks after them as though they are her own, as a duty; but her mind is always on her own children at home. At the end of the day she will go back home.’ You are only a maid to God. Don’t get so involved. The children you are looking after are God’s children. As Kabir says in one song, ‘Why grieve at the time of death? It is then that one can get back to your home.’ ‘Home’ is the Divine.

I am trying to do my duty in this way. You are all God’s children and definitely God will one day inspire and guide you back home to the Supreme, to the Divine. It is said that God has kept all the happiness to Himself and put none into the world. So if you seek happiness, it is found in God only. But you need to pay your attention to the Guru. If you pay attention, your mind becomes capable of absorbing the truth.

Vairagya is another strong word, meaning ‘Detachment’, which we see in such great examples as Hanuman and Lord Buddha. Also you need personal effort. The Guru’s grace will come, but you need to put in personal effort. People are concerned about chakras, energy , kundalini...but if you just bring the mind back to its origin, then all the other energies are controlled. If the mind is settled, it lifts the kundalini. Vairagya is necessary to bring the mind back from the world, like a faithful dog. No obstacles will stop you. Vairagya is not a depression. It is an alertness that nothing belongs to you. Everything is ‘Yours’, God’s. Just as in the story of Guru Nanak, when he recited ‘Thera, Thera’ - ‘Yours, Yours’, his mind got absorbed and he became a great saint. We become agitated, if we think, ‘This is mine. Noone should take this from me.’ This leads the mind into agitation. There should be no greed, no desire for fame. This is what my Guru did. He came to the dais to give darshan if there were 40 people present, or 100, or if there were thousands. We still just do our duty. Swamiji, when His body was sick, said, ‘This is all God’s wishes.’

Appreciate patience and dedication. Don’t be in a rush. I appreciate all your attention and your yearning. Never compromise to wrong methods. It is within you. God is within you. Tomorrow is a retreat. It is an attempt to prepare yourself and cultivate endurance. I appreciate all the services from the Perth group of devotees, and from the people who have come here from Queensland, who have come with all their attachment. All have played their beautiful part, like a cute family. This is what I have always dreamt. Everyone has their place in the drama. If Rama is beautiful, then Ravana is also beautiful. I pray to the Divine Guru to make you lucky. After I have gone, continue to practice with determination. I will always come as long as you all want.”

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Devotee:

Is it important to sit still?

Baba:

Yes. If the body moves, the mind will get a jerk. Even Patanjali states that body movement is one of the four major obstacles to the mind going inward.

Devotee:

I understand that continuity in the practice is important. Is it better to have one long morning session or two smaller sessions, perhaps morning and evening?

BABA:

In the beginning, you may like to do shorter sessions. Begin somewhere, either 30, 45 or 60 minutes. Over time you can extend the time as you are able, according to your own circumstances.

Devotee:

Should we aim to do more than one hour?

BABA:

Yes. Then it is quicker to achieve the target. If a person can have one hour of that total thoughtlessness state, then the real mediation starts. If that state can be extended for 7 to 8 hours, then Tapas starts. After long practice, then the samadhi state is reached. It should be reached naturally, effortlessly.

Devotee:

After reaching samadhi, can the mind still get disturbed?

BABA:
No, once nirvikalpa samadhi is reached, then the mind does not come back. The mind is then totally settled in the Self. If you use the mind in the world, and then stop, then the mind will effortlessly go back to the Self.

Devotee:

You mentioned the four obstacles to samadhi, and included the breath as one of them. Can You explain that further please?

BABA:

Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras, gives four major obstacles to the mind settling back into the Self. Bodily movement, breath, eyeballs jerking and the mind itself. If the breath is not settled, it jerks the mind. Both usually go together, one excites the other. Therefore we have shown you the pranayama breathing exercises which help to settle the breath. But we do not recommend to meditate on the breath. If one concentrates the mind, then the breath’s rhythm is automatically taken care of. The breathing exercises I’ve shown you at the morning sessions are good for the physical body, and are best performed in the midst of greenery and trees with fewer pollutants around. They are helpful in meditation.

Devotee:

Does chanting mantras also help to settle the mind?

BABA:

Yes. They can help very beautifully. They should be chanted rhythmically and melodiously. Then the mind becomes relaxed. If you start slowly, the mind settles. Then, when you go to the second and third speeds, the mind should be kept settled still, and this helps go into meditation.”

Baba then sang the Hanuman Chaleesa, and subsequently talked about the life of saint Tulsidas.

“ Tulsidas, when he was young, was very attached to his wife. He was mad after his wife. One day his wife went away to stay with her parents. Tulsidas was very distressed and restless and simply couldn’t settle. This went on and on, until finally at midnight he decided to leave and go off to find his wife. He arrived at the house, and found that his wife was sleeping in an upstairs room. Tulsidas decided to climb up and in his excitement and distress, grabbed what he thought was a rope to climb up there. But it was actually a snake. So he climbed up and jumped in through the window, into his wife’s room, still holding the snake.

Shocked at this, his wife declared, ‘If only you were this mad after Rama!’ This comment pricks Tulsidas’s heart and he leaves and goes off in search of God. The legend says that a ghost helped him by telling him to find Hanuman, who would then guide him to Rama. So he goes to the place which the ghost has told him about, which is a gathering where Sri Rama’s name is sung. He tries to find Hanuman, but he can’t, and he returns back to the ghost. The ghost then advises him that Hanuman will not be appearing at such a place in his normal form, and that he was likely to come in the appearance of a leper. So Tulsidas returns to the place where Rama’s name is being sung, and sees an old leper there. When the leper gets up to leave, Tulsidas follows him, grabs the leper’s feet and begs for him to intercede in having Rama’s darshan, which then occurs. The Hanuman Chaleesa we just sang is very popular in northern India, and we usually sing it at the ashram on a Tuesday, and then follow with Sri Rama’s Arathi song. “

14th May 2005

Some 40 people took the opportunity to be under Baba’s instruction for a retreat which lasted from early morning to late afternoon. Baba opened the day with a short address.

“Offering total surrender and prostrations to my Divine Guru Shivabalayogi, again and again I pray for Him to grant refuge at His Lotus Feet. The idea to is to condition yourself physically, mentally and morally. We have to practice these methods with full devotion. If you do, then I guarantee it will enable you to live in the world happily, and overcome birth and death. “

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Devotee:

During meditation, when I observe a thought, it seems like there are 2 sides of me. One side is watching and the other side is like an ongoing monologue.

BABA:

Every human mind is like this. The mind is distracted. It analyses and cannot keep quiet. So meditation helps the mind to keep quiet, and when it eventually becomes completely quiet, we experience the Immortal Self. So try to keep watching, and, perhaps with a little will-power, tell the mind to be quiet. The soul’s consciousness is involved in the world too much. You can quieten the mind, but for this you need one mantra, ‘practice, practice, practice.’ Too often in spiritual endeavours, we can get distracted by practices that are spiritually irrelevant or even harmful.

Devotee:

Just now, when we were watching the video on Baba’s life, You were here next to the screen, sitting on the dais. It seemed confusing, because the mind would more easily flip over to watch the video, even though Baba, Himself, is directly in front of us.

BABA:

Yes, visual impact is very strong. It attracts the mind strongly. In the same way as you experienced this, God is in your heart, and yet your mind is attracted out to this cinema which we call ‘the world’. It is like the old expression, ‘We have milk at home, but go looking for yoghurt everywhere.’

Devotee:

Could You please discuss permanency and impermanency ?

BABA:

The ancient sages tried to find real knowledge. ‘Do we last?’ They found that when we watch, the consciousness gets sucked very strongly into the movie, which is called ‘the real world’. Then the consciousness cannot be attentive to the Self. Spiritually, we cannot depend on this world for happiness. Be alerted about this. To be truly happy, we need to go back to the real Self, permanent, unchanging and immortal. Consciousness always exists. The mind has come out of the real Self, just like the ray has come out of the sun, and the droplet comes out of the ocean. We need to go back.

Devotee:

Is it realistic for a householder to strive for Self-Realization?

BABA:

It depends on the individual’s determination and effort. It is like wanting to become Prime Minister of the country: do you just simply day-dream about it, or do you go full-out to try to attain that? You need to Want it! So you need to set your priorities, like when you took the trouble and time out to come here today.

Devotee:

Could You please explain Your example of devotion to Swamiji and the ashram, and then that leading on to tapas?

A. For the first 20 years, I was working like a householder - cleaning the ashram, doing office work, looking after children and the mentally retarded boys and so on, BUT my mind was on Guru, and was not attached to anything as ‘mine’. Everything was done as a service. I loved the children, and looked after them, did the work with care, but my mind was always on Swamiji. I kept praying to the Divine that I would realize the Self eventually.
If one follows such methods, then definitely one can get it in this very life.

Q. Are ego and mind the same?

A. Mind’s imaginations are ego. Actually every thought of the mind is considered as an ego. As long as the mind has thoughts, it cannot go back to the Self.
You are that Peace. Your mind is looking for peace and happiness, BUT it is not in this world - it is in the Self. But the mind simply doesn’t know the path.
So the Guru guides and tells you what you are really looking for, and inspires you by telling you, ‘ You can do it.’, and points the way. That is why there is so much importance put on the Guru in the tradition. The famous song of Kabir says that if God and Guru both come and stand in front of you, to whom should you prostrate first. The song itself answers that one should bow to the Guru first, because it is the Guru who has shown you God.

Q. If there is no mind, and the Self itself is Peace, how does ego come in to existence?

A. Actually it never happened.
So even in Yogavasistha, finally at the end it says, ‘All this that I have said, is an illusion itself - Just experience the Self.’
This is how the great teachers teach. If they teach too much, then it can just give more imaginations to the mind. More explanations lead to more imaginations, and it creates a vicious cycle.
So - Do Sadhana.

Q. Of Swamiji’s disciple’s, how many have reached as far as You, through tapas?

A. Some did tapas and attained. There were 2 who completed the tapas, but they dropped their physical bodies after Swamiji’s mahasamadhi. None are known to me to be alive now. However, there may definitely be some doing a lot of advanced meditation unknown to the outside world.

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