The Present Alone Matters!

Q: Master, please be very clear (Oh! here we are getting instructions first!). Are Krishna and Christ the same? Both were born in confined places. Krishna was born in Mathura; Christ in a place called Mathiria. Both were shepherds and so on. If so, please explain.

A historical controversy! I do not know the historical part because I am not a historian! I can only say that spiritually they are one and the same. I can only say in terms of spirituality, not historically. As I do not know history, I cannot make a controversial statement. In the conscious level, they are the same.

There are stories that the idea of Christ is built around the Bhagavatam, the famous book of Hindu mythology*.* We do not know the truth behind these stories. You may have heard of this beautiful book, The Da Vinci Code. If any of you have read this book, you will find it is controversial but at the same time solid. The writer is clear about what he says. We are not able to deny it completely. I read it, and honestly, am not able to deny the contents. There are so many things he says which make sense.

There are books written and research done about Christ's time and life after crucifixion, where he was between the age of 7 and 14, etc.

A couple of interesting things I read in the book:

The theory goes that Christ had his training in a Buddhist monastery in Puri. The Sermon on the Mount is an exact replication of a pali sutra which is repeated every morning in that monastery as a prayer. In this way, many research reports keep coming out but the only thing I can say is that at the conscious level, they are both the same.

Recently, there have been documentaries aired in the reputed BBC TV that Christ after crucifixion was taken to Kashmir, where he lived till he was eighty. They even showed the tomb where he was buried. This was based on a lot of researched data.

The fact is that the earliest documentation of the life and death of Christ was made a few centuries after he died. It is known that there was a lot of selection in terms of what was officially accepted by the Christian Church, from the vast material that was available as the historical evidence relating to Jesus.

But as I said, the energy of all enlightened Masters is one and the same. Their consciousness is identical.

Q: Krishna says that the truth is seemingly tangible in the middle and intangible in the beginning and the end. If he is referring to past, present and future, the past is also clear to us. Why is the beginning unclear then?

We arise from energy; we disappear into energy; for a while we live as matter even though we are energy.

Our senses can perceive only the material as long as they are focused on the external objects. They can only interact with material objects and experience material pleasures. That is the way our mind is programmed. So tangibility to us is what we can perceive through our senses.

It is when we go inwards that we can feel the energy within. When we lose our external identity and open ourselves to the universal energy, we too can feel that we are energy. We can understand who we truly are now, before and after. That is what meditation can do for you. It can take you through the inner journey of awareness that makes the truth tangible in the past and future as well.

When you say that the past is clear to you, even what you remember of the past in your own life is actually very selective. Only 5 to 10% of what your senses perceive is stored consciously. The rest is buried deep within. Ironically, the most powerful experiences, whether of pain or pleasure, are rarely in the conscious realm. They are buried deep within and come up without any conscious effort when the unconscious decides it is the right time to reveal them. This is why we are driven by addictions and phobias that are so difficult to let go.

Most of the time, we look into the future that is totally hazy through the mirror of our past. It is like driving a car through the rear view mirror. You know where you will end if you do that. Yet, that is how we drive our own lives.

The present is the only tangible moment. Not because it is about the material body-mind which exists in the present moment, but because only when you are in the present that you are centered in your energy. Your body mind system can focus inwards into your inner energy system only when you are in the present moment. It is because only in this state your inner chatter stops.

Your thoughts are nothing but the movement of your mind from past to future and back from future to past. It is the constant oscillation of the mind that you call thought and which I term inner chatter. Once you settle into the present moment your thoughts cease and inner chatter stops. You are then in synch with your own energy.

Meditation is the key to bring you into this state.

Q: I read somewhere that the whole concept of rebirth is negative. It is all about continuance of suffering. All those who believe in rebirth are desperately trying to get out of it. So, what is the point in believing in it?

Rebirth is neither negative nor positive. It is a phenomenon of existence in which the spirit continues to exist as energy and the body-mind perishes as matter. There is nothing that anyone can do about it, in the same manner that there is nothing that can be done about death. Death happens and so does rebirth.

If you are at least aware that you are born again and again as a result of unfulfilled desires, then you can make an attempt to fulfill and transcend your desires so that you can be free from this cycle of life, birth and death, called saṃsāra in Vedic science. One part of what you said is correct. People who are wise try to get out of this cycle of life and death so that they are liberated into energy forever. The concept of Self-realization and enlightenment follow from this effort.

Buddha refers to this again and again. He attributes suffering to desires and teaches methods to overcome these desires and get out of the cycle of birth and death. As I have mentioned elsewhere the desires Buddha talks about are the wants that we pick up through our conditioning in this lifetime, the saṃskāras that bind us. Once these saṃskāras are dissolved we are out of the clutches of saṃsāra.

It is not a matter of believing or not believing. Truth does not change if you do not believe. Medieval Europe believed that the Earth is flat and that the Sun revolved around the Earth. So, you too are at liberty to believe that there is no rebirth and that this lifetime is the end of the road for you.

If you believe so, would that make you a better person? Would that belief make you happier? In reality it makes you desperate. Your wish to acquire, enjoy and fulfill may end during this one lifetime. This obsession fills you with greed and fear. The understanding that one's spirit lives on as energy even after the body-mind perishes gives one far greater freedom.

When you realize that you are forever and not that you live and die only once, you don't need to be desperate and make choices that you regret later. There is no last train that you need to catch. You can lead a choiceless life, because life is forever.

This is the freedom that our Vedic sages experienced and transmitted so that others can experience the same bliss.

Code of the Samurai

2.31 You should look at your own duty as a kṣatriya*.*

There is nothing higher for a kṣatriya than a righteous war. You ought not to hesitate.

2.32 O Partha, happy indeed are the kṣatriya who are called to fight in such a battle without seeking;

This opens for them the door to heaven.

2.33 If you will not fight this

righteous war, then you will incur sin having abandoned your own duty, and you will lose your reputation.

2.34 People too will remember your everlasting dishonor and to one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.

2.35 The great generals will think that you have withdrawn from the battle because you are a coward.

You will be looked down upon by those who had thought much of you and your heroism in the past.

2.36 Many unspeakable words would be spoken by your enemies reviling your power.

Can there be anything more painful than this?

2.37 Slain, you will achieve heaven; victorious, you will enjoy the Earth.

O son of Kunti, stand up determined to fight.

2.38 Pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat – treat them all the same.

Do battle for the sake of battle. You shall incur no sin.

Krishna works on Arjuna at two levels. At one level He talks to Arjuna at the super conscious plane educating him on what the ultimate truth is.

He talks to Arjuna about how life does not end with the death of the body, about how the undying and

indestructible spirit lives on. Here, Krishna addresses Arjuna's fears about killing his relatives and elders and teaches him that what he considers to be the end of life for these people is just one step in their journey.

Krishna then descends to the practical level at which Arjuna exists. Krishna explains to Arjuna why, from a societal point of view, he should not run away from the battlefield, but instead, stay on and fight as it behooves a warrior. Krishna here addresses Arjuna as the kṣatriya, the warrior.

In each society there are groups of people who are the designated protectors of that society. They are the warriors, the soldiers, who defend their country and countrymen. In the same manner, there are others who are designated as clerics and priests, as teachers and counselors, as traders and businessmen and as workers and manual laborers.

In most modern societies these are commercial as well as societal divisions. They are commercial classifications to the extent that they are the means to one's livelihood, based on one's acquisition of skills and education with the expectation of pursuing such a career and vocation. They however become societal classification as well subsequently, as these careers become the tools of building wealth and status. Even in modern societies the wealth and name thus acquired are passed on through generations, even if those born subsequently have done nothing to earn the wealth and status and do not have the capability to maintain them.

In ancient Bharat, the system of education was the gurukul system, in which young children stayed with a Master and learned both material and spiritual skills. This education started very early, as early as three and latest by seven, when the children were left in the Master's care by their parents. The Master gauged the capability and aptitude of each child and trained the child in an appropriate manner. The vocation of the parent or father was not a major criterion in deciding upon the skills imparted to the child. The Master determined the child's aptitude by its own behavior and through such studies as astrology.

The varṇa or caste system practiced by the Hindus from time immemorial had its roots in the gurukul education. Unfortunately, over time, caste determination became based on birthright. Son of a warrior was assumed to be a warrior, irrespective of his capabilities, aptitude or inclination. So, the four varṇa or castes that are brāhmaṇa, the priest and teacher, kṣatriya, the ruler and warrior, vaiśya, the trader and businessman, and śūdra, the worker, became rigid social structures based on birthright.

This corruption of such a scientific practice has led to many social inequalities and injustices. The son of a brāhmaṇa has no right to call himself a brāhmaṇa, unless he has the aptitude and then the learning to be a teacher and a priest. In our ashrams, we now have many young men and women from different castes and religious groups who are being trained in spiritual and religious rituals that so far had been considered the prerogative of only the

brāhmaṇa caste. We have brahmacharis who are of Christian faith, who train others in guru homa and mantra, the fire rituals, chants etc. In no way are these young priests inferior to any brāhmaṇa!

When Krishna refers to Arjuna as a kṣatriya, he is referring to the entire personality of Arjuna, the great warrior, which had been only partly by birth and mostly by training based on his aptitude. Arjuna is the quintessential warrior, the samurai, who knows no fear, and yet is now disturbed by issues of whether he is doing right or wrong by fighting against his kinsmen. The code of kṣatriya, as with the code of samurai the professional Japanese warriors of earlier days and all other soldiers even till today, is a professional code as well. Once you are in the army you fight irrespective of what you think about who you are fighting against. Rights and wrongs no longer apply.

Krishna says, 'Fight! You are a kṣatriya. By fighting as your duty demands, you earn merits and go to heaven. If you run away from this war you commit a sin. You will also be termed a coward and people who know you will laugh at you. You will be dishonored, and for a kṣatriya, dishonor is far worse than death. Do not worry about victory or defeat. If you are defeated and die you will ascend to heaven. If you are victorious, you will enjoy material benefits in this world itself. Therefore, fight as it is your duty as a kṣatriya.'

Krishna says to treat pain and pleasure, gain and loss, victory and defeat all the same. He says to fight without worrying about the outcome. To fight is your duty. When the Paramatma – Supreme Soul says this, it means that Arjuna does not have to worry about right and wrong, about sin or merit.

Isn't fighting, isn't killing people a sin, you will ask. Then why is it that Krishna recommends Arjuna, not merely recommend, but actually force Arjuna to fight and kill. What is the operative logic here, you may ask?

There is no logic. Krishna's exhortation is beyond human rationale. It is not what you do that matters. It is who you are that matters. An enlightened Master can do no wrong even if he kills, because when he kills it would be with awareness, not for personal benefit. On the other hand, any average person even while doing an act of kindness may be doing something wrong.

You may have seen movies where an undercover policeman with a gun is arresting some dangerous criminals and suddenly a cop in uniform shows up. This uniformed cop would ask the undercover cop to put his hands up and in the confusion the criminals would escape. This may seem funny in a movie, but it happens all the time in real life. You think you are doing something very good based on your sense perceptions and yet the reality of the situation may be far different.

The problem is that we do whatever we do with a motive. It is all outcome based. What is in it for me is the million dollar question. We do things either out of fear or greed. These are the two most powerful motivators, the carrot and the stick. What applies to a donkey applies even more relevantly to a human being.

Krishna is not worried about what you do, He is concerned only about who you are. If your actions are innocent of motives, whatever you do is right. If what you do is motivated by fear and greed, pain and pleasure, victory and defeat, you can do nothing right. Whatever we do for gain is sinful.

What if you were in a totally strange place for a very short period and you know nothing that you do will have any repercussions. Will you have any inhibitions based on what your conditioning has been? It is as if you are invisible and you will leave no trace. What will your behavior be like?

What happens when the fear of loss of reputation and loss of identity disappears? Will you be the same person?

What happens when you have an Aladdin's lamp with a genie, which makes all your dreams come true? How long will the excitement last when you know that whatever you wish will happen? Will your greed still last?

Fear and greed are strong motivators because we are not centered; we are not sure about ourselves; we do not know who we are. Here Krishna is breaking that mould. Act without fear and greed, He says. Do not worry about consequences. This is against all societal and religious conditioning.

Krishna, as the transcendental Parabrahman, is not concerned about the practical and societal consequences of Arjuna walking out of the battlefield. He is only concerned about what that would do to Arjuna's inner self. If Arjuna had truly been steeped in ahimsa, nonviolence, Krishna would have never attempted to persuade Arjuna into violence. Arjuna however, was trying to avoid fighting, not because of any moral and conscientious objection, but from the angle of emotional attachment to his kinsmen and others arising out of his own identification with them.

In these verses, Krishna is trying to bring Arjuna out of his dilemma, his depression, his confusion, and his viṣāda that has obscured his normally clear vision. Krishna is trying to get Arjuna to transcend his conditioned actions based on fear and greed. He is trying to get him to act without worrying about the outcome.

Jump First, Think Later

Q: Is it normal to speak less and seek silence as sadhana or spiritual practice progresses?

There is a Zen meditation which says, 'When I was not meditating, a tree was a tree and a mountain was a mountain. When I started meditation, they were both not what they were. When I finished meditation and became enlightened, the tree was again a tree and the mountain was a mountain.'

Before the sadhana you speak a lot. After enlightenment, you may speak a lot but with a totally new awareness, but during sadhana people usually tend to become silent.

As your spiritual awareness progresses, you may find one of two things.

In the past, you had an opinion about everything and you had to express it. If you did not you felt inadequate. You felt that others will not respect you unless you stood up for yourself, expressed yourself loudly and volubly and most importantly argued so that the other person felt small and withdrew.

This is the way we are conditioned. We are taught that to win and to feel good, another person must lose and feel bad. Talking in an argument you feel is less harmful than physical fights, however ill judged this may be, and so you indulge in talking warfare.

As your energy level increases with spiritual practice, you are more centered and you do not feel the need to prove yourself anymore. You also realize that words can harm far worse than physical attacks. So you settle into yourself and become silent.

At another level, you find that you can communicate just as well and perhaps better with others of similar energy just being silent. The need to talk reduces.

Either way, you find silence golden.