44. *Knowledge – the culprit*

Anything that gives you strength through the body, mind or spirit is spirituality and will automatically take you towards bliss. Anything that weakens you is not spirituality and therefore, just don't pursue it. This is the thumb rule to be followed. Never forget that bliss is your true nature.

One more thing: anything beautiful that you see, experience it instead of just naming it with your knowledge. Have you seen the sunrise and sunset in the ashram or anywhere else? Have you ever stood and watched the beautiful transformation of colours across the sky? Most of us either don't know that the sun is setting or simply say, 'Yes, the sun is setting; so what; it sets everyday anyway!'

Knowledge can mar the innocence and make life dull. When you see the sunset or sunrise, it can be such a beautiful meditation. If you become a part of it, you will see that you are a speck of this tremendous Existence that is celebrating every moment. You will then participate spontaneously in the celebration!

But we are dulled by our so-called knowledge, which is nothing but again a collection of words. We have collected so many words and we think that these words are the ultimate, and therefore nothing surprises us. Even if God comes to us and says that he is God, we will ask, 'So what?' Everything is taken for granted because of knowledge.

The whole of Existence is taken for granted because of the socalled knowledge. We run behind worldly things that give only more and more greed, worry and fear. These things only disconnect us further from our inner core; they make us look outside instead of inside. They make us sway between depression and joy alternately, instead of being centered upon permanent bliss.

We feel that everything is happening outside and that we have to run to catch it before it is too late. That is why we are always in a hurry, always chattering inside ourselves.

Knowledge is simply data, facts, statistics; it is just dead. Collect knowledge, but don't let it control you in any way. Learn to keep it aside and look at life with awe. The mind always tries to conclude, summarize, judge, and collect information with whatever it sees. It wants to collect words and more words, that's all. Of what use is it?

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I took a couple of devotees to Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna. It was so beautiful. We went in the boat on the river Yamuna, reliving the days of Krishna. I was sharing my joy with the devotees - a pack of highly intellectual people. Here I was recalling the days of Krishna, showing them where Ras Leela happened, and I was filled with such ecstasy, and these devotees were telling me that the tiles in the place look as if they had been renovated! I was shocked. I told them that I should have brought a few people who had lesser knowledge and more awe left in them so I could share my joy with them!

Knowledge is dead at the end of the day. Somehow, people use knowledge to measure a person's worth. The more knowledge you have, the more you are respected.

With knowledge, you are constantly living with your mind. You can never know Existence with your mind.

Existence is beyond Logic

Spirituality is all about understanding the perfect harmony, the deep connection between man and Existence. When you understand this and drop your struggle, you will just flow like a river. The river will take its course and join the mighty ocean. You just need to let go, that's all.

I don't mean that you can sit in a corner and you will be swept along by some river. I am saying, just do your work with undaunted faith that there is a life force that is conducting this universe that is taking care of you also, that is making the breath in you to go in and out. That is enough.

Simply shift the responsibility to a higher authority and relax. You will then live like a king! You will then start listening to the synchronous music of the flowing river, of Existence taking you, of the harmony between you and Existence. This harmony is what you need to tune into. And then, all your worries will disappear!

Of course, there is no proof that Existence is taking care of us. Certain things cannot be proven. Can you prove that this direction is East? No! Can you prove the phenomena of sunrise and sunset? No! You can only experience it. Because you cannot prove it, can you disprove it? Can you prevent the sun through science from setting and rising everyday?

Understand that Existence is the only thing beyond logic. If you can prove Existence with logic, it means logic is greater than Existence, and this can never be!

One man asked me, 'Swamiji, should I become a Hindu to become spiritual?' I was shocked at the question! I told him that he did not have to become a Hindu. Be very clear: anything that curbs your field of perception is clearly not related to spirituality. Spirituality is always all encompassing.

Drop all your notions of 'I am this' and 'I am that'. Keep your life open. This is the basis for spirituality. It is like this: a person who stays continuously in a locked room will not know about the open air and breeze. He will be having such clannish thoughts. The moment you impose this kind of restriction upon yourself, you will not know about the infinite love and compassion that lies within you. You will only worry and complain. You will not blossom.

Buddha was once asked what kind of hell was given to people who were not compassionate. He replied, 'You cannot put them in hell because they are already in hell!' Only when you are in hell, you will create hell for others, because you can give only what you have.

A small story:

A mother and a son were having a heated argument and she asked him, 'Do you have any brains?' The son laughed. The mother asked him why he was laughing. The boy replied, 'Only when you don't have something, you ask others for it!'

Real peace

We should work with our mind again and again to see what it is that gives us joy or bliss. Be very clear, happiness is different from bliss. Bliss is a beautiful and intense feeling inside you that makes you feel that you are on a different plane of existence. Happiness or pleasure are most often related to outer world objects and create pain continuously for us as well.

Happiness is relative while bliss is absolute. Bliss is something that has no opposite. When you are in happiness, sadness is just around the corner. When there is a lot of pleasure, you are on the anvil of pain. But when you are in bliss, you simply are and there is no opposite to it. Happiness and pleasure are like pendulums that are bound to sway and reach the other end before coming back. But bliss is not a pendulum; it is beyond duality; it never sways. It just IS.

Again and again, scan your mind and see what it is that gives you joy. Then, start following it. Once something inside you tells you that you are moving towards permanent joy, once you find conviction in yourself, re-position and adjust the matters concerning your life, orienting them towards this bliss. Every action or thought of yours should be towards feeling this bliss. Energy spent will then be energy gained. You will be always energetic.

Some people say that they want to be left peaceful without worries. The peace they are talking about is not a living peace; it is a dead peace. It is a lifeless and dormant peace as a result of not knowing how to handle the richness of life. It is a peace that they crave because life is too much for them to handle. It is like saying 'sour grapes' and moving away.

Real peace is something that is in you all the time irrespective of what is going on outside; you are simply happy unto yourself; you look at anyone and anything like a passing breeze that kisses you and moves. Whatever may be the person or thing is in front of you, your peace remains with you. People or circumstances do not alter it in any fashion.

Peace is nothing but the bliss that is felt inside yourself. When peace is born out of bliss, it keeps you and others in a peaceful state. Once you have found this peace within yourself, you will never say things like, 'Leave me in peace, I want to be in peace,' etc. The moment you say these things, it means that you are trying to be peaceful at others' mercy, which is not peace at all.

Peace is a solid center that develops within you that keeps you happy unto yourself always. Anything that happens outside will be just another incident. You will not even relate it with your peace. The moment you relate an incident with your peace, be very clear; real peace has not happened in you.