Being in Seattle🔗

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

BEING IN SEATTLE

Copyright © 2021 Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam. All Rights Reserved.

Published by Nithyananda Vedic Sciences University Press A division of Nithyananda Vedic Sciences University, USA

Copyright© 2008 First Edition: March 2008

ISBN

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Ever wondered about the deeper questions on life... What is it to be in the moment? What exactly happens in enlightenment? How is the 'bliss' through meditation different from that through drugs? How to get rid of suffering in the world? ...

Deep, profound Truths explained simply and precisely by enlightened Master Paramahamsa Nithyananda

"Responsibility is a consciousness. The moment you feel responsible for what is happening around you, that moment the divine energy will rush into you." -Paramahamsa Nithyananda

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Copyright © 2021 Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam. All Rights Reserved.

This book is the path-breaking message conveyed by Paramahamsa Nithyananda in the television interview ‘Being in Seattle’ conducted in Seattle, USA during the 2007 World Tour of Paramahamsa. In his own words, the interview reveals the multifarious manifestations of Paramahamsa and the multiple dimensions of his ground-breaking mission transforming the entire humanity penetrating right upto the grassroots level.

Interviewer (I): Welcome to "Being in Seattle". I'm Rosemary Brocolli, and this is a very special program for me today. I am having the opportunity to actually sit across from a recognized enlightened master and I am just so thrilled to just jump in and talk with Swamiji with all of you. Welcome, Swamiji.

Paramahamsa (P): Welcome!

I: Swamiji, one of the things I am really excited to talk to you about, one of the marks of an enlightened person is living in

the moment, and for a lot of people in my audience, this is something that we are striving for. So, during our talk today, I would love it if you could start by answering what does it really feel like to be in the moment.

P: First thing - Living in the moment happens only when you are really enjoying this moment. We should understand, why are we so much caught in the past. Because it always feels that memories are really much more solid than the reality. Thinking that memories are more solid experience than the reality is what we call illusion.

Even in your day to day life you can see: when you go to some place on vacation or a picnic with the family, first thing you do is take photographs. You stand, smile and take photographs so that later on you can see the photograph and enjoy.

You don't really exactly enjoy the very moment. But you make everything into past and you know how to enjoy the past. Somehow, our mind is trained to believe that the past is more enjoyable, joyful, blissful, colorful than the present. That is the first thing which we need to understand.

I: Let's let the audience know a little about your past. You were born in South India and here you have a tradition of having astrologists present at birth. Can you just tell the audience a little about what happened to the astrologer?

P: First thing, in the Vedic tradition, they have a special beautiful science called astrology. Based on the time of the birth, they predict the life course of that soul. We believe that every soul consciously decides on the time and the place and parents to take birth based on their mission, based on their decision on how to live. So, based on that theory, the astrologist sits and predicts how the main course of the life of that person will be.

Of course, the person who predicted my horoscope was in this field for nine generations. It's not just a profession, it's their life. He has predicted so many things about all my elders and other family people and everything came true.

He predicted that I will become a Paramahamsa, means the Enlightened One. Leader among the swamis, rajasanyaasi he calls it. Not only that, after writing, my horoscope, he said that he is going to die within 21 days. He was very old at that time. He said, 'After writing this horoscope, I don't want to touch anything else. I've done the best. Now it is time for me to relax.' After that horoscope, he did not touch anything else, and as he predicted, on the 21st day he passed away, left the body. This can show the authority with which he was living, the authenticity by which he was practicing that science. When you practice the science as a profession, there is always a little bit of marketing. But he was a person from R&D, research and development, not the marketing department.

I: I also want to say that astrology in the Vedic sense is so much different. What I would like to mention to all of you listening is that what we want to do is really go beyond Western understandings of some of the things you are talking about, Swamiji.

P: In the original astrology, the Sanskrit word is called jyotisha. It means, showing the way, or path, to the light. Originally, the astrology science was created to choose the right path towards ultimate enlightenment for every individual. They would see the person's mental setup, and decide the right path in which he will become enlightened, the ultimate experience. As a byproduct, these people had learned the science of predicting the major activities, day to day things, which can happen in life. But, the astrology is not originally created just to predict when you will get married, who you will get

married to, when you will find your love, when you will find your car, or when you will find your new home. No! That is only a byproduct. The main purpose of astrology is to find and choose the right path towards liberation or enlightenment.

I: Tell the audience about your path. You had a regular childhood. Did you have any brothers and sisters?

P: Yes, I had one younger brother and one elder brother.

I: And so, up until the age of 17, then I know that you went to your mother and what happened?

P: I was fortunately born and brought up in a place which is a spiritual nerve center of India. That place is called Arunachala. You may have heard of Ramana Maharshi, a great enlightened master from this place in southern India. Many of the people in your audience must have visited, because that is

a very famous spiritual nerve center which attracts millions of devotees, seekers and visitors every year from around the world. I was born and brought up there. That very ambience, that very place is like a spiritual university. Continuously, the spiritually related debates, discussions, class sessions, festivals, ceremonies will be going on throughout 365 days 24/7. So, that ambience gave me a lot of inspiration and courage to experiment. The city still boasts the unbroken lineage of living enlightened masters for the last 2000 years. I have seen so many siddhas, yogis, rishis, munis, enlightened beings. They all were inspiration to travel, to do a little research and development in that path.

I: I think it would be helpful to the audience to know that as a young person, what did you think that these masters were. I mean, how were these masters different from other people?

P: They were so joyful, ecstatic all the time. Come what may in life, I have never seen suffering or disturbance in their faces,

I: Why would they do that?

P: They just feel that they don't need anything. So much of fulfillment in their inner space. There was one such master with whom I had the fortune to live with. Everyday about 300 to 400 people would come to have his darshan, to see him, get his blessings, to get his opinions about their life and to find the path. He had taken a vow, before he slept, he would not have any money or anything kept for the next day. Whatever was around him, he would distribute it to people. Beggars, poor people, whoever came to him, he would just give anything that came to his hand. At the end of the day, he would just sleep with his hand under the head. Just a complete, beautiful life. When I saw him, I was inspired... 'Oh God, these people were out of the world. They can see anybody and tell anything going on inside the mind of someone or what is going to happen about his future. I had the fortune of living around him for 6 years. I have never seen him eating or drinking or sleeping. He would just lie down. I have never seen him having a regular sleep like us.' This really shocks us. Sorry, forgive me if you are not able to digest what I am talking, but I have seen. I am also a person with a lot of

logic, and I doubt everything, I question everything. And, when you live around this kind of a person, the impression which he makes on you is amazing. Because, I don't have to doubt, I am seeing a living example. There is somebody sitting in front of me. He never used even clothes. He was just naked and just living like a child, happily. Happily living like a child. His name is Isakki Swamigal. He just lived so happily. I have never seen him in low mood. Continuously overflowing, bubbling with joy. He didn't need anything from the outer world. He was just completely fulfilled. We call in Sanskrit, atmorahitaha, means completely fulfilled in himself. He was radiating, giving so much to the outer world, but never took anything from the outer world. When you see this kind of a person, the impression which he makes on you, you just can't imagine.

I: Is he your master then?

P: I can say he was my main inspiration source. I had two or three people teaching me. I have learned from many people. He was one of the main inspiration sources. You can say he is one of my masters.

I: Can you explain to us the journey you did from one master to another?

P: In India if you want to learn you are supposed to take up wandering path. You are supposed to leave your home and

hometown, just travel from village to village by walk, beg and eat in the places wherever you are given food and learn from life and the masters whom you meet on the way. It's a very beautiful journey.

I: I want the audience to know that in school, you did very well in school, I mean you were very good in math and science, so you were really ahead of yourself.

P: Not only ahead, I had whatever the outer world can offer. I never had an insecurity or something which the outer world can offer. I had everything. I consciously decided to travel in this path and I went and told my mother that I wanted to take the sanyaas life, the spiritual journey, the research and development in the inner science. She just started crying. I said that "you mean I could not go?" She said "No, I can't say that you cannot go. It's only that I am not able to tolerate it now, or digest it now, so I am crying. I can't stop you. You can continue your path". She gave me her blessing, I continued my path.

Around 9 years, I lived wandering. Begging and eating, sleeping under the trees, studying at the feet of different masters. One important thing you should know: India is such a holy land; every village, when you walk, people know that you are a seeker, they offer food. That society itself is programmed to take care of the seekers. For years I wandered the length and breadth of India. Studying, learning, practicing, experimenting in the inner science, and the beauty of that social system is all 9 years I was given food, shelter, clothes, with respect.

I: Can you please tell the audience about the moment of your enlightenment?

P: I can say a few strong experiences which led to enlightenment because the enlightenment itself I am not able to verbalize, it was such a powerful strong experience. Maybe I'll tell one or two experiences which I can verbalize.

The first experience was like an opening in the inner space. Even with closed eyes I was able to see all 360 degrees. Whatever is around me, not only see, I was able to feel... See, seeing is a very superficial word. Seeing is something like seeing with your two eyes. But if you are able to see the same thing without your eyes, in the inner space, you can feel everything is part of you. Anything you see in your inner space is part of you, am I right?

So, I was able to see, means, feel everything inside my inner space as part of me. If I am to tell a few more words... Now you know you are alive inside your skin. You know you are living inside your skin. I felt the same life not only inside my skin, but outside my skin also. I felt that I am alive in the rocks, in the plants, in the flowers, all the living beings, animate and inanimate things around me.

That was the first experience.

It opened a deep compassion and love for everything. Reverence for life has happened by that experience. I felt very clearly, experienced, I am not alive just inside my skin, I am alive in that skin also. I am alive inside this furniture also. I am alive in that plant also. I am alive in that flower. I just experienced, I am alive in everything around me, inside and outside my skin, I am alive. That was the first opening. We call it 360 degrees experience.

And, anybody who goes through this experience, not only he becomes nonviolent, the reverence for life comes. Acceptance of every Being, as he is, starts coming into yourself. Then, religious fanaticism, communal fanaticism, linguistic fanaticism, everything disappears. Everything disappears. You can't die or kill somebody for just some concept's sake. You will have the reverence for life. Not just nonviolence. Just nonviolence is the negative part of reverence for life. The positive part is reverence. The real respect. Acceptance for life happens, when you experience that you are alive, not just in your skin, you are alive in every skin, inside every skin. That was the first glimpse which happened in me which led to enlightenment. The enlightenment itself, if I have to define, verbalize, I can't exactly verbalize. Maybe I can verbalize one or two symptoms of enlightenment. The inner chattering

If you say utter, complete, yes to life, to the present moment, there won't be any inner chattering. If you say YES to the present moment, there won't be inner chattering. Inner chattering is the fight between the identity which you show to the outer world and the identity which you believe in the inner world as you. We carry two identities. One identity which you project to the outer world, how we want world to recognize or know us. This will always be much more than what we are. Inner chattering is nothing but the fight between the identity which you show to the outer world and the identity which you carry in the inner world. When you say a deep yes to the present moment the inner chattering disappears. That is what has happened in enlightenment. It was

such an amazing, unbroken, continuous, intense joy, bliss, love, and compassion.

I: Most of us try to get this state with drugs. But what you're saying is that it goes beyond what we can achieve...

P: The problem with drugs is you only become addicted to it and you need to use more and more after every session. With drugs, after every session you need to increase the dosage. With meditation, after meditation you can decrease the time of the meditations. After every session of the drug, you become more and more addicted to it. After every session of meditation you are more and more liberated from it.