Q: Once we are able to be without jealousy, have we completely gotten freedom in at least one aspect of our shortcomings?

Of course, if you are able to see a space where love can exist without passion or jealousy, you have definitely moved forward, but continue moving with complete awareness because you can very easily slip back into your old unconscious ways and find yourself going through all the old emotions once again.

Hold on to the newly discovered awareness and move with it. It can open up many more beautiful avenues for you to explore. Don't stagnate. The greatest danger is to cling on to a few experiences thinking that they are solid.

Masters never allow their disciples to stagnate in any experience. They always prod them on further so that the disciple may look deeper and deeper in his quest. People who have had visions of gods and goddesses most often tend to stagnate in their spiritual journey. They feel there is nothing more to be seen and therefore stay right there holding on to that experience. This should never be allowed to happen.

Until you have reached the state of eternal bliss, you can hit rock bottom at any time. So remember that and nurture your awareness continuously to take you to realms of deeper and deeper understanding.

Understand one thing: The work of a Master is so delicate. He has to handle each and every one of you with utmost care and delicateness. He has to see in which way each of you will grow and make you flower in that way. Each of you has been through so many lives and accumulated so much ignorance. He has to work through all that and wake you up.

Life offers plenty of solutions, but there is always something that fits you the best. The intelligence lies in finding that out. When you apply your own intelligence and find it out, you will enjoy the benefits of it. Whereas, if you start looking at others and start applying their solutions to yourself, you will lose track of where you stand.

A small story:

An old woman was going about dusting her old house in a remote village.

Suddenly the door opened and a young sales man walked in. He spoke excitedly when he saw the woman dusting.

He told her that he had many gadgets that would help her clean her house.

The old woman said, 'But…'

The man interrupted her and pulled out a lot of rubbish from a bag and put it on the floor.

The old woman tried again, 'But…'

The man told her to stand by and watch. He pulled out a device and explained, 'You see this machine? It will clean any amount of dust in no time. It is so light in weight and therefore very easy for you to handle at this age. Let me demonstrate.'

The old lady tried, 'But…'

The man interrupted, 'Just show me the plug point.'

The lady finally said, 'But… electricity hasn't yet reached our village!'

In life, we need to be able to figure out what suits us the best! If we are clear about this, we will grow without a worry. But most of the time, we covet and apply others' solutions to ourselves, and then feel unhappy.

If we are clear about where we stand and what we need, we will grow steadily. Even setbacks in this way of living will only be ones that teach us how to function more intelligently. In this way, we at least function with our own intelligence and so it becomes an experiential understanding.

When you simply follow another's solution, there is nothing happening inside you; you are operating from your periphery. When nothing happens inside you, you cannot grow; remember that. When I say that you cannot grow, I mean you don't evolve from within. Material benefits may come, but you remain dead inside.

Remember that only when you grow from within, you are really growing. Don't get dangerously caught in outer world races. See them as mere play and play them well. Material benefits are needed for survival but all these should remain in the periphery. Your inner core should steadily grow. It is this that will guide you in your play outside.

The process of discovering your infinite intelligence is what life is all about. That is why I always say, 'Life is the path and not any goal.' As your intelligence grows, you will become more joyful and you will be able to play the game of life more effectively. So stop comparing and start discovering – the source of your real growth.

The vishuddhi chakra is the seat of higher creativity. When the energy of this chakra is unlocked, you will see that a tremendous flow of creativity becomes available to you.

When you change the quality of your being, naturally the quality of your doing also changes. Whatever you do, you do with greater efficiency, greater creativity. As a result, the quality of your having also changes. You will be happy with whatever comes your way and you will see that material wealth and success flow towards you naturally. So drop comparison and return to your being and discover eternal bliss, nithyananda.

Now let us enter into a meditation technique called the Shakti Sagar. It will make you understand experientially how you can harness the tremendous energy source that is available to you through your vishuddhi chakra.

Emotion: Comparison and jealousy

Chakra: Vishuddhi chakra

Location: Throat region

In Sanskrit, vishuddhi means 'beyond purity and impurity'. The name therefore means that this chakra can never get impure and hence never needs to be cleansed. That is why comparison, which locks this chakra, is like a shadow without an object. There is no basis for the concept of comparison. It is purely a figment of our imagination.

This chakra is locked by comparison and jealousy and it can be made to flower when we exhibit our individuality without worrying about others, and express fully our capacity, uniqueness and creativity.