CHAPTER 3: PRANAMAYA KOSHA🔗

Alright now, let us start the next session for the pranamaya kosha, the breath layer, which is the next layer. We will then enter into the remaining questions. On a physiological level, the layer of prana refers to your circulatory and respiratory systems, the streams of life flowing in you. Prana refers to the life-giving energy that you inhale through air, every time you breathe. You don't actually need air to be alive; you need only prana.

In the morning, I was mentioning that the pranamaya kosha does not mean just inhaling or exhaling.

Five processes of prana happen inside you:

1. Inhalation

2. The air or prana that has gone inside stays in you. It is called kumbhaka.

3. The prana spreads all over the body. The prana shakti – life giving energy - is separated from the air and the energy spreads all over the body. 4. The prana leaves.

5. The cleaning process happens.

So, the five prana processes that happen in you are: inhaling, staying, spreading, exhaling, and cleaning. Prana, vyana, udana, samana, apana - these are the five actions of prana. Going in, staying, spreading all over, leaving the system, and cleaning. All these five processes put together is called the pranic layer. One important thing you need to understand here: the air which goes inside through your nose is not prana. Understand the difference between the words prana and air. Air is the vehicle. It is just the medium to transport. Prana is the energy which is carried by this vehicle. For example, you see many times, a vehicle comes here, unloads something and goes out, is it not? In the same way, air goes inside, unloads the prana shakti and comes out. The problem is, because of your restless, unconscious and shallow way of breathing, separation of prana shakti from air, that is the unloading time, is not much. Your mind and your pranic cycle and the way in which you breathe, are both very closely connected. Because your breathing is so unconscious, the unloading time is very less. With less unloading time, only half of the prana gets unloaded and spreads through the body and the air comes out.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa saw Vivekananda's breathing and said, 'This boy will not live long.' Ramakrishna said very clearly that he will not see age 40. Vivekananda passed away at 39. His breathing was very shallow. Maybe, he consciously designed it that way. After all, he was an enlightened master. Of course, if he wished, he could have altered the way of breathing. But, he decided to leave the body early. Anyhow, you have not decided to leave the body, so you can change your breathing consciously! You can make it sharp.

As of now, our breathing is unconscious and that is why the unloading time is very less. If you bring awareness to all five prana movements, much more prana can be unloaded from the air that goes inside and spreads throughout your system.

Civilization has taught us to completely control the activity of ‘cleaning’. That is why you end up with stomach problems. In civilization, the natural cleaning process is not allowed. It is considered bad manners, so you constantly have to control yourself. One important thing: you constantly harbor so much tightness in your swadhishtana chakra when you try to control the cleaning process. The swadhishtana chakra is the energy center below the navel which is associated with fear and it is not good to keep this area tense.

Being too tense takes you away from the cleaning process. Either you should have full control so that you don’t need the cleaning process, or you should be in an unconditioned and relaxed mood. Due to social conditioning, you create so much tension in the navel center. This is nothing to laugh about. It is a serious problem. This conditioning is actually killing you. Especially if the breathing is shallow, then the complete unloading and loading of the prana does not happen. If the kumbhaka, staying of air, happens for a few seconds more, then the prana will be completely unloaded, and whatever needs to be sent out, will be sent out. Also, if whatever is to be sent out stays inside your body longer than required, you will be struggling with it.

Bad breath, constant sweating, all these things are just because your breath does not have your awareness. You don't breathe with awareness. All the five steps of the breathing process do not have your awareness. That is why there is so much of suffocation. One more thing: because the routine for the entire day is fixed, you have practically lost the spontaneity. Many times you must have seen: you will come down from your bedroom through the same path, sit in the same chair, have breakfast, walk in the same way, get into the car, and only after reaching the office you will realize that you drove for half an hour on the road! Your entire morning routine goes unnoticed by even you!

Recently, I read an article that a person died in an office in India, and for three days they did not realize that he was dead! They thought he was working sincerely. Only on the third day, they realized he was dead. Your routine is so fixed! So your breathing pattern is also almost fixed. But that is not the way life should be. It should be spontaneous, and so should the breathing pattern. It should be alive and deep, with awareness. Bringing a little awareness to the breathing pattern, bringing a little awareness to the prana, will create more of a gap between the inhaling and exhaling. It means that the unloading of the prana and the spreading of the air energy, which is no longer necessary, will be done completely.

If there is enough gap between inhaling and exhaling, then the cleaning process, that is apana, will also be done by its own nature. You don't need any other process for apana to happen. You don't even need to do exercise. Generally, working out until you sweat is considered a big thing. If you create a gap between inhaling and exhaling consciously, you don't even have to do any physical exercise, or make yourself sweat. What can be achieved through a workout can very well be achieved through just this. These are the basic secrets of pranayama. That is why pranayama is considered to bring good health, energy and healing to the body. How does it do so much of cleaning? It is a very simple technique which you are going to do now. It is just bringing awareness to all the five processes, that's all.

You have become completely unaware, especially of the process in which prana is spreading all over your body. Every second, the pranic energy is spreading from your head to your toe. That is why you are still alive. But you are not aware of it. Not only that, the impulses in our bodies which travel from the body to the brain, and back from the brain to the body, are the physical manifestations of prana. It is prana that coordinates the activities of the body and mind, and things such as rationality, emotions and other aspects of our personality.

In the Yoga system, they say that when you add awareness to your prana process, you will experience the immortal nectar throughout the body. When you become aware of this pranic energy flowing throughout your body, only then do you experience the nectar, the joy, and bliss, and this automatically leads to longevity.

Your breathing should be very deep with deep awareness. I don't mean that you should change your breathing forcibly. Forcibly, you can change only for two to three minutes. But if you change the pattern consciously, through deep awareness, you can change it once and for all. Throughout the day and night, the pattern of breathing will be changed. Now we are not going to change it by force. Changing it by force is called pranayama. That will help only for 10 minutes. Changing it consciously, by bringing awareness to it, will completely change the breathing pattern, throughout the day and night.

As the duration for which the prana stays inside increases, you will become aware of the nectar. Naturally, having awareness and unloading more prana shakti, will increase your longevity. That is why we call it amrit, which means nectar. In many Upanishads, they say, when the prana reaches the sahasrara chakra, or the crown center on top of your head, it flows all over the body like amrit dhara meaning the flow of nectar. When you bring awareness to the five processes - inhaling, staying, spreading, exhaling and cleaning, all the five processes happen beautifully. The sensitivity towards the experience of these five processes, can add more prana and more energy to your system. You will be able to experience the life energy flowing throughout the body.

One difficulty with this meditation is that when we do it after food, we tend to sleep. Now, just imagine if I ask you to close your eyes and sit! What will you do? You will simply go to sleep, so just get up now, and stretch your bodies, and then we can sit in meditation. Please loosen your belts because, for the meditation which you are going to do, nothing should be tightly gripping your body.

Let us start. First, we will take a few moments and become aware of all these five activities, so that we can work on them. Working on this pranamaya kosha is more like a bridge to connect yourself to the manomaya kosha – mental layer which is the next layer.

First thing: for the next half hour, do not be civilized. Don't bother about social conditioning. It means, you may have the cleaning process happening here. So, if you feel shy, just sit at a distance from everyone! See, you have been civilized all these years, and what you have lost because of that, you don't know. Now for the next half hour, don't hold on to your civilization. See ... when the pancha prana, the five prana processes happen with awareness, consciously, your whole body will get cleaned, automatically. Not only your nose, even your fingertips will start breathing. Your whole body will become alive. It will start cleaning itself. I have seen a yogi who can breathe through his eyes. He would tie a thread in front of the eyes and blow it through his eyes. He could clean the eyes just with the prana. If you can clean your eyes through the prana, they will look sharp and shiny!

First, understand at least how the natural ways of prana can be cleaned and healed. Your pranic layer can be healed and cleaned. Now you are going to inhale, hold and exhale with deep awareness. You will be doing all the five processes with deep awareness. You don't have to put any pressure or force. Don't change the breathing pattern by force. Let it happen as it is happening. Only bring your awareness to it acutely. I will guide you step by step.

First, be aware only during the inhaling part. Even if you miss other parts, it is alright. But don't miss the inhaling part. Just be aware of what is going on. What is happening? When the process happens, what is happening inside your system? Next, we will shift the awareness to the gap between inhaling and exhaling. If you are unaware of inhaling and exhaling, it is alright. But don't miss the gap. Just see what is happening in the gap completely, to what distance you are able to feel the flow of prana inside your body at that time. Next, bring your awareness to the exhaling... After that, bring your awareness to the cleaning process. Observe what is happening inside your stomach; what is happening when the prana comes in and goes out. Just watch and feel the whole thing.

In this fashion, bring your awareness to every step. The last meditation technique was very wild and strong. This one is a very mild and subtle technique. You need strong awareness to work with this method. First thing, catch the right place for you. Be completely relaxed. Don't be tense, but you can't sleep either. You can't lie down! If you wish, you may sit on a chair, otherwise, you can sit on the ground.

Please close your eyes and tie the eye bands.

Sit in a very relaxed way. Release all tension. There should be no tension around the navel area. Let your navel region be completely relaxed. Do not change the pattern of the breathing by force or by will. Just bring in awareness, that's all. By being aware, if it changes by itself, it is alright, but don't change it by will or by force.

1. Bring your awareness to the inhalation. Do not lie down. Just sit. Bring your awareness to the inhalation. Don't change the breathing pattern by force or by will. Just be aware of what is happening. By being aware, if the breathing changes by itself, then it is ok. You just be aware. (A few minutes pass) 2. Next, be aware of the gap between the inhalation and exhalation. Don't sleep, sit straight. (A few minutes pass)

3. Now, bring your awareness to the exhalation. (A few minutes pass)

4. Now, slowly, bring your awareness to the space between inhaling and exhaling and feel the spreading of prana all over your body. Bring awareness to the part where the spreading of prana occurs. Prana spreads all over your body and makes you alive. (A few minutes pass)

5. Now, bring your awareness to all the four processes: inhaling, staying, spreading all over the body and exhaling. Don't sleep. Sit comfortably and bring your awareness to all the four states.

6. Now bring your awareness to the navel center. (A few minutes pass)

7. Bring your awareness to all the five movements: inhaling, staying, spreading, exhaling and cleaning. (A few minutes pass)

Om Nithyanandam.

Slowly, very slowly, you can open your eyes...

Just go with this very feeling that you are connected to this entire space. Wherever prana exists, you are there. In reality, you are connected. That is why air pollution affects you, or pure air gives you the fresh feeling. So, just feel connected to the air, to the prana. You can have a small break, and get back within half an hour for the next session. Feel connected to the prana throughout the next half an hour. Just remember and carry this one feeling - that you are connected; that your whole being is only prana.

Thank you.

(Questions to do with the pranamaya kosha meditation have been grouped together for convenience.)

There are some questions here. Let us go through them now.

Q: I don't think a whole lot of things happened to me in the pranamaya kosha meditation process, except that I am still in the meditation state and I don't wish to talk to anyone.

A: How else do you want it to be? You are expecting great things to happen in just half an hour! You are still in the meditative state and you don't want to talk to anyone. Compared to the state you came in, don't you think this is good progress? Is that not growth?

Q: What is it that is supposed to happen when we go through the pranamaya kosha meditation?

A: If you have any idea about what is supposed to happen, then you are in trouble. Whatever is happening, just be with it. If you have a goal, you are in trouble.

Q: Should we inhale through our mouth or through our nose?

A: Only the nose is created for inhaling and exhaling for breathing.

Q: My breath was so slow and shallow, that I felt that I was not breathing at all. I had trouble focussing.

A: See, I told you clearly that you are not supposed to change the breathing pattern. Your breath has become shallow because you don't need too much of air inside. If the separation or the download of the pranic energy happens completely, you don't need too much of air. Just a little air is enough, and you will get enough prana shakti, life energy.

Q: You spoke of cleansing, but you were not too specific as to what is being purged. Can you please elaborate on it.

A: Don't bother about all that. That is my job. I am doing it.

Q: During the gap, there is a gentle shower of delicate light. It is very blissful.

A: That is what I am saying. You become aware of the prana flowing throughout your body. That is the flow of the gentle and delicate light that you are talking about. That is what is so beautiful.

Q: After a few moments of the meditation, there was a feeling that the light inside the body is the same as the light outside. Is this imagination or the truth?

A: It is neither imagination nor the truth. Just go with the experience, that's all. There is no need to dissect it with logic.

Q: Why am I afraid of God?

A: Because you are afraid of yourself! Because you are afraid of yourself, you have to be afraid of everything else.

Q: If we have worked with a few enlightened masters, and each of them has given a specific technique, are we to use them all? Are there any guidelines for working with enlightened masters who have different styles?

A: You can go around and learn from many of them. It is a nice thing to do. But I feel that when it comes to working, you should work with only one person, because otherwise, you will end up with a lot of confusion. You see: going around and learning is not wrong. Adding more flowers to yourself, or adding more understanding to you, is beautiful. But when you want to seriously work, it is better to choose one master and work with him, because after a certain extent, it will be a very intense journey. I don't think you will be able to travel in two boats when you enter that zone.

In the initial level, going around and seeing many masters, and learning from them is alright. Even after you choose to travel with one master, going around and learning is alright. There is no problem. But when it comes to working, I think it is better to do it with one master. See: what we are doing now is an alchemy process. What I am doing to you now is just tiring you; just making your logic tired. That is why, from morning till now, I am just making you sit and sit. Actually, I can entertain you in a much better way! In the first level programs like the ASP or NSP, there is a lot of entertainment. But for this program, I have decided, I will attract only seekers who are really sincere about the process, who don't just come for entertainment.

A: Why do you want to get rid of fear? As long as you are alive, you will have fear. Fear is a part of life. You feel insecure; you feel the fear of losing something because you have it! So, the very quality of life is fear. So, you should be thankful that you have something to lose. The fear shows that you have something to lose! Otherwise, why will you be afraid? The very fear shows that you have something that you can lose, which can be lost. So you should be grateful that you have something to lose!

Fear can't be lost. You see: fearlessness does not mean absence of fear. Fear, and the courage to live with it, is what I call fearlessness. Absence of fear will happen only in the graveyard. Fear cannot be completely absent in you.

A: Constantly living in the Ananda Gandha - that is living in an un-clutched way, is the first step. If you are not able to be un-clutched, then listen to the words of the master through audio or video; or read his books. If you are not even able to do that, then listen to the master's music – his name. These are the three steps that I can give you for this. So, stay in the pure sat – that is with the Self, un-clutched, with pure awareness. If you can't, then listen to the words where the master is constantly telling you to be un-clutched. If this is also not possible, then by listening to his music, at least remind yourself of the responsibility to be un-clutched. These three methods can help you to be connected to the master always.

Q: Since you are neutral in your motivation and goals, what makes you help people? Once we connect to you, and make a commitment, is it that all the experiences that we go through can be interpreted as coming from you. Will peace of mind and heart be felt all the time we go through the experiences?

A: First thing: this statement: Once we connect to you, and make a commitment, is it that all the experiences that we go through can be interpreted as coming from you...

No! When you connect to me, you are connecting to the emptiness. So, you take on the responsibility of all the experiences and happenings in your life. Your connecting to me is like you connecting to the higher Self – your own higher Self. So, you don't have to use such big words like commitment etc. Will peace of mind and heart be felt all the time when we go through the experiences? Yes. When you go through the experience, there will be peace and harmony. But you don't have to think that committing to me is like marriage. It is more like a commitment to your higher Self.

Q: Can we remove our rudraksh mala when taking a bath?

A: Yes, you can! But traditionally, we believe that when water, especially warm water touches the rudraksh and then touches your body, it has an ayurvedic effect on your body; it heals. It heals the skin. So, maybe you can wear it while bathing.

Q: Can you explain the different lokas like manushya loka, gandharva loka, etc.?

A: When you are in a blissful mood, you are in heaven – higher lokas. When you are in your home, you know where you are...! You are in manushya loka.

Q: In Indian art forms, they have always portrayed nine rasas or moods that are: shanta (peace), veera (courage), krodha (anger), adbhuta (wonder), karuna (compassion), hasya (joy), bhaya (fear), shringara (love). Do you feel any of these moods other than peace when you are in the nirvanic state?

A: Understand: I don't feel even the shanta. No mood is felt in the enlightenment state. But, I play with all the nine moods as I wish to! If I want to show somebody some mood, I show that particular mood; but there is no mood in the personality itself, in the being itself.

Q: How many hours of sleep are required for an unenlightened person?

A: According to me, whether you are enlightened or unenlightened, four hours of sleep is enough. Anything more than that is laziness. You may justify your arguments with some doctor's survey or research... I have no problem.

Q: You say that there is energy in everything... even in the stones...even in the dead body. Is Life Force different from the energy that you are talking about? What is the difference between the supreme consciousness and the Life Force?

A: You say that there is energy in everything... even in the stones...even in the dead body... Stones do have energy, but the level of energy in them is totally different. Dead bodies also have energy. There is no doubt in that. That is why, it can go through some changes. You should all know an important fact: even after you are dead, for three months, your nails will grow.

Is Life Force different from the energy you are talking about? No. It is one and the same. What is the difference between the supreme consciousness and the Life Force? It is one and the same.

Q: How do we remove our engrams?

A: That is what we are doing now!

Q: Is it alright to give the Nithya Dhyaan meditation CD to someone who has not met you or who has not done any of our meditation programs? How often should one do Nithya Dhyaan?

A: The Nithya Dhyaan meditation should be done everyday. You can give the CD to people who have not met me or who have not done our Life Bliss programs, but it is good to have it taught by a teacher first. In the ashram, we have Nithya Dhyaan classes going on everyday. They can attend it. It is just a three hour session. They can learn and then do it. That is the best way.

Q: What is the definition for a spiritual person?

A: One who lives blissfully and keeps others also blissful...that's all!

Q: If I leave my job and spend all my time in meditation and spiritual activities, will I attain liberation faster?

A: Surely, you will. I recommend that you leave your job and put your whole energy in working towards enlightenment. Somebody asked me, 'If I leave my family and spend all my time for enlightenment, will I be liberated quicker?' I told him, 'Surely! Before you, your family will be liberated!' Anyhow, jokes apart, I sincerely recommend you to leave everything and do meditation. Spend all your energy and time for enlightenment. You will surely achieve it faster.

Q: Is bhakti yoga – the path of devotion better, or is meditation yoga better? Which is it that leads to all the yogas?

A: Don't be bothered about all such words. Just take up any one meditation and do it, that's all. Do something; that is more important.

Q. When we offer naivedyam - food to God - we say the names of all these five pranic energies that are prana, vyana, udana, samana, apana. What is the significance and meaning of this?

A: Yes. You say this while offering food, because from any kind of food, you receive these five pranic energies. When we offer food to God, we don't offer physical food. The energy part of it is what we offer, so we say it.

Q. After the death of the body, who or what is it, that is choosing the next life?

A: Your consciousness. There is something in you which cannot die. That chooses.

A small story:

In a high school campus, a teacher was walking down the corridor. All the students were wishing her: good morning. The teacher was replying,

'Same to you'. Her friend who was walking with her asked her, 'Why are you not saying good morning, and instead saying 'same to you?' The teacher replied, 'I was also once a high school student. Only I know what they are thinking when they wish me!'

A: This is a wonderful question. The time taken is three kshanas. Understand: not three seconds but three kshanas. In the vedic system, time is not calculated chronologically. It is calculated psychologically. Three kshanas is the time gap between one death and the following birth. Kshana refers to the gap between one thought and the next thought. For example, if you are living with 1000 TPS (thoughts per second), your one kshana will be one microsecond! If you are living with 0 TPS, your one kshana could even be hundreds of years. So, if your TPS is less when you are alive, after death, you will have enough time to choose the next birth. You can wait for the right time, the right parents, the right place, the right situation, and take birth slowly. But if throughout your life, you lived with a high TPS, intense restlessness, then within microseconds, you will have to move into the next body! Understand the whole concept.

What is the meaning of restlessness and high TPS? It means that you can't live without your body and mind. That is why you have so many thoughts, so much possessiveness over your body and mind. You are caught so much with the body and mind. That is why you harbor so many thoughts. So naturally, you will experience great suffering without a body after death. You will miss your body and mind a lot. So you choose anything that is available first. You say, ‘OK, let me just take a jump. Whatever is available is OK.’ That is why you choose the body immediately.

Understand this concept of kshana. In the vedic tradition, we don’t calculate the time chronologically, it is psychological. For example, if you are sitting with somebody with whom you love, even if you are there for five to six hours, you will not know how the time passed by. Suddenly you will see the watch and say, ‘O my God! So much time has passed.’ Whereas, when you are sitting with someone whose company you do not enjoy, you will feel that time is not passing at all. Every minute will seem like an hour. This is because, when you are with a person whom you love, your TPS drops, your restlessness reduces. Because of this, your kshana increases. So even if you are there for four hours, it will seem like only a few kshanas have passed by. Whereas, with the person whom you don’t like, you become highly restless, and your TPS increases. Your kshana becomes very less and you feel a lot of kshanas are passing by, whereas you would have been there only for a few minutes! So, time is psychological, not chronological in the vedic system.

A. Yes. Your kshana is not the same as another person’s kshana. So the time duration between one birth and the next birth is subject to the individual. We sometimes stay without taking the body for even three hundred to four hundred years. And it is possible to even prepare the body properly before taking birth, like Bhakta Prahlad from Hindu mythology. He was taught when he was in his mother’s womb itself! But we said that we take the next body in three kshanas. Then how come, Bhakta Prahlad remained like that for so long? For nine months he was in his mother's womb, learning from Sage Narada. It means that his kshana was so long! That is why even now in vedic tradition, we believe that our one year is one day for the devatas (heavenly beings), because they stay at such low TPS! They stay at 20 to 30 TPS. So our one year is one day for them! The aging process does not happen when your TPS is low. This is the best technique to be graceful and beautiful always. The aging process will not be fast if your TPS is low. That is why our one year is one day for the devatas.

Even today there is a temple which belongs to the devatas. It is in South India. It is called Chidambaram temple. It does not belong to human beings. It belongs to the devatas! So, in a year, the puja (offering) is done only six times! In all other temples, every day, the puja is done six times! But here, in the Chidambaram temple, the puja is offered according to the devatas' calendar, not according to human beings' calendar, and hence the long gap in the offering. The TPS is different. When the TPS changes, your kshana changes. We are trying to replicate the Chidambaram temple in Seattle, USA. The first Golden Temple in the USA will be in Seattle!

Q: Is that why we do puja for elders who have passed away, once a year?

A: No. That has nothing to do with this. You offer once a year because of your own laziness. You can't be sure whether the elders had a low TPS or not. Devatas are at low TPS. We can be sure of that. It is not sure that the elders had a low TPS, because it depends on the way in which they lived. Understand the basic thread: if you live without possessing your body and mind too much, your TPS will be low. So after leaving the body also, you will not suffer, because you are already trained not to possess your mind and body too much. If you are possessing your body and mind too much, it means that you can't be without them. So, the TPS is more, the need is more, and the urgency to get into another body and mind is also more. This is the essence of the whole of Spirituality.

Anything which reduces your TPS is spiritual practice. Anything which increases your TPS is material life. Sometimes, when two persons are in tune, even a beautiful relationship between them can bring their TPS down. In Tantra, two persons who are completely in tune with each other, without any fantasies about each other, accepting the other as they are, are equal to Shiva and Parvati – the Divine couple. They will help each other enter into samadhi.

With deep sincerity, even an ordinary relationship can lead to low TPS. Without understanding or sincerity, even the puja that you offer to God can lead you to restlessness and a high TPS. I have seen so many people getting restless and finishing the puja quickly. They will run out from the puja room and not even think about the puja room until the next morning! Even the next morning, they will get into the puja room just out of fear that if they don't offer puja, things might go wrong that day. Even the so-called lowest activity can lead to low TPS if done with sincerity. Anything leading to low TPS is spiritual practice, and anything leading to high TPS is materialistic activity.

Q: In one of the discourses, you said that after the soul enters the body, it takes 13 days for it to gain consciousness.

A: No. I said: 13 days is the time taken to completely ascertain that all parts belong to him, that all parts are his body parts. Do you understand what I am saying? Understand this one example: sometimes in the early morning hours, you will neither be completely sleeping, nor be completely able to take control of your body. You will be awake, but you will feel that you are not able to move your body completely. Suddenly, you will see that you are trying your best to possess your body! It is that same moment that will be extended to 13 days in the context of what I am saying. You are neither out of shushupti - deep sleep state - nor are you fully awake - jagrat. So, it takes a little time to possess your body. It takes normally 13 days for any being to possess the whole body. During those 13 days, you need to keep that person in a healing and loving space. It will be almost as if somebody is sitting on your chest. You will be just waiting to enter into your body with all your power. In the same way you will be struggling for 13 days. But if the right enlightened being creates a beautiful space for you, the struggle will not be there. It is because of this that we have the 13 day ritual, after death or after birth. The ritual is done because whether the person has left the body, or the person is born, their baggage needs to be handled, and they need an open place and a conducive ambience for it.

Q: Swamiji, is this TPS significant at the time of death, or when you are alive? A: When you are alive, a low TPS will keep you more in the present moment and blissful. The lowest TPS that you have experienced during your entire life will automatically pop up at the time of death. The lowest TPS you experience will be the strongest experience in your entire life. When death approaches, when you start feeling the suffocation that you are no more going to be alive, automatically the lowest TPS experienced in your life will open up. That is why, at least once in your life, you should experience 0 TPS. You can then be sure that you can leave your body with high consciousness. There is a beautiful verse by Krishna which says: whatever you remember at the moment of your death, that will decide your next birth.

A: If you have experienced 0 TPS at least once in your life, you will be conscious when you die, otherwise, you will not be; you will be only unconscious; you will just fall into coma and leave your body. That is the worst thing that can happen to a human being. Your whole life is a waste if that happens. If you die in coma, it means that the entire time that you have lived has been wasted. That is why I emphasize: do not miss meditation in your life. The half hour, which you spend everyday in the initial level, may appear to be fruitless, but in the end, only that will be the useful moments for you. Only those moments will pop up and save you. So don't miss.

A: No. The normal soul enters just before birth, because as I told you earlier they don't wait for more than three kshanas. as I told you earlier. One kshana will be usually less than a second. Only highly conscious souls have enough gaps - like Bhakta Prahlad.

Q: So the learning in the womb happens for only highly conscious souls?

A: Yes. It happens only for the highly enlightened souls, not for the ordinary souls. Enlightened beings choose the right parents, the right place and the right date to take birth.

Q: What do you say about coming back from coma?

A: It is like a part of life. There is nothing right or wrong about it. There is neither something positive nor negative about it. Coma is like falling between the fourth and the fifth layers and coming out of it, that's all.

Q: In a television show, a guy named John Edwards talks to the souls of the audience's near and dear ones. He says, they are wandering and trying to connect with us.

A: No. No soul is wandering or trying to connect and talk to you. They have all already taken a body. Some souls who die prematurely in an accident may be in this state. You can contact souls if you wish to. For example, you would have been somebody's father in the past birth. Now, they can contact your unconscious memory and dig out information. But it will create suffering in you. So, never try to contact your near and dear dead ones. It will disturb your flow of life, as well as their flow of life. Suddenly, you will see that you are drained; you feel tired. These kinds of things can happen, when you try to contact your dead near and dear ones. This is like forcibly entering into others' archives. Don't do it.

A: I think you missed the morning session in which I gave a detailed description of TPS. You see, when your TPS is too high, your desires will be too physical. You will only experience the joy from the tip of the five senses - tip of the eye, tip of the nose, tip of the tongue, tip of the ear, tips of the sense organs. Your desires or pleasures will be too gross, and you will be settled in the annamaya kosha or physical layer. When your TPS drops a little, your desires will be a little more subtle. You will enjoy fantasies but you may not ask for much of physical pleasure. If the TPS is further lowered, your desires may be a little more subtle, like they might have to do with name and fame, recognition, etc. - the mental layer desires. As the TPS comes down further, again, your desires also get more and more subtle. At the lowest TPS, everything disappears... Pure energy, without desire, is enlightenment. A pure and intense excitement without desire is enlightenment. That happens at zero TPS.

A: I think it is because you are sitting on the floor. Sit on the chair.

Q: How come we are asking the same questions?

A: Because you are the same. You have not transformed. Humanity is the same. That is why you ask the same questions.

Q: Do animals have five koshas?

A: No. They don't have fully developed koshas. They may have the annamaya kosha and pranamaya kosha. Actually, they don't have even the entire pranamaya kosha. All the five pranic movements do not happen in all the animals.

Q: Where are the samskaras stored?

A: The samskaras are stored in all five layers, not just in the manomaya kosha.

Q: Is it possible for a person who has led a life of meditation to go into the state of coma before dying?

A: Leading a life of meditation and prayer are not the right words to use in this context. If he has experienced 0 TPS even once, he will not fall into coma. That is the way to say it. There are thousands of people who claim to be leading a life of meditation and prayer, but who have never achieved a state of zero TPS even once. And there are many people who have not led a life of meditation and prayer but who have achieved zero TPS, at least once!

The 0 TPS experience depends on your courage and decision to experience yourself. It is not even dependent on your regular puja, prayer, or meditation. I have seen these fools: morning to night they will be sitting and ringing bells in front of their gods, or reading some Sahasranama. Understand: with a deep feeling of connection or devotion, if you recite the Lord's name even once, it is more than enough. Without that feeling of connection, these people, the moment they start reading the Sahasranama, the first thing they do is, check the line number!

Anything that you make as a daily ritual will become an unconscious act. I am not debunking tradition. I am a big supporter of tradition. But your mind is such that it will just take it for granted. I know the basic trend. After five minutes, automatically, you will look at the line number. That is the problem. The moment you do that, the whole thing is wasted. Just the regular meditation or regular prayer does not mean you had the zero TPS experience. Zero TPS experience has something to do with a conscious decision and strength to experience it. It has nothing to do with the outwardly experiences and meditation that you are doing.

I always tell people: even Nithya Dhyaan, the everyday meditation that I prescribe for everyone, could be made a ritual. You can sit and do it without even being aware about what you are doing, and at the end of the meditation, nothing would have happened.

Q: But most prayers require some degree of repetition.

A: No. Prayers don't need any degree of repetition. Prayers are supposed to be giving you the experience of feeling connected with the Divine. That is why I have designed Nithya Dhyaan in such a way that you will not be just sitting all the time. Every six to seven minutes, I will change your position and activity... just to awaken you. Of course not just that... the chaotic breathing and humming in the Nithya Dhyaan meditation, will simply shake the annamaya and pranamaya koshas to awaken a higher-level consciousness. Earlier, there have been meditations which were constant for 30 minutes, and I have always found people falling asleep.

A small story:

This really happened in my life. In my wandering days before enlightenment, I reached a place called Omkareshwar. It is the place where the great Shankaracharya became enlightened. It is a beautiful place. I was staying there in the monastery. Early morning, all the monks are supposed to sit and meditate from 5:30 to 7:30. At 7:30, the sun will rise, and then there will be a gong from their bell. All the monks will roll up their mats and go for the next activity.

One day, a young brahmachari (aspirant on the path of sannyas) who was sitting in front of the gong, slept and fell on the gong. All the other monks got up, rolled up their mats and went away! Everybody thought that they might have gone to sleep, and hence lost track of time! All the monks were so confident of this, while getting up to leave. Not a single one suspected that something had gone wrong, and that the bell had rung much earlier than the usual time!

The same thing started happening with the Mahamantra meditation. That is why I decided, no more silent techniques. The reason why you fall asleep is, unless the catharsis happens, you can't just sit. Everything has to leave you, only then the silence can happen in you. The insanity has to come out, only then the sanity will happen in you.

Q: Swamiji, anything given by an enlightened master is supposed to help others get enlightened. Then why is Sahasranama not helping?

A: Understand, the Sahasranama was given for Bhishmas, for the people of those days. At that time, people were simple and innocent. They were not so complex. They didn't have all these cerebral layers. They didn't have television, and did not get stressed out working with computers. Your entire constitution is different today. Not only the constitution of the country, the constitution of the whole system is different. That is why Patanjali's techniques cannot directly help now.

Enlightened masters have visited planet earth from time to time and updated the techniques as and when needed. That is why there are so many techniques that are not directly useful today. It is not that I have not learned from Patanjali. At the age of three, I started learning from Patanjali's teachings. I had a master by the name of Raghupati Yogi. If you read his biography, you will know: he was a direct disciple of Mahaavtar Babaji. He lived with him. He was in Tibet and he was in Gaurikund where Baba gives darshan to people. He lived there, and learned all these things. But straightaway, they are not going to help you now. Your system needs to be prepared, even to go through the Yoga system. Your system is not so pure and innocent. See, Patanjali says: just sit and remember the Om, Pranava – the primordial sound - and your mind will enter into samadhi. Now you tell me what will happen. If you just sit and remember pranava, where will you enter? You know which samadhi you will enter! You will be fast asleep in no time! Your mind and your whole setup are totally different. Too many things have been put inside your being, and that is the reason why you are still struggling.

Q: I gather that the subconscious mind is initially created consciously. I also gather that things done with consciousness cannot go wrong. How does the subconscious get programmed or wired incorrectly.

A: There is some part of you, that you don't want to remember again and again. Let me give you this example: Let us say you are sitting near a swimming pool and sipping a cup of coffee. Suddenly, some thought or person whom you don't want to remember or think about will come into the mind. Immediately, you turn your face and attention away from it. Sometimes, you even say verbally, 'Why am I thinking about this guy?' Now, when you don't want to remember a thing or a person, you push it into the subconscious. These things get settled and become like a frozen rock. That is the subconscious.

Q: How do we set goals without letting the past dictate the future?

A: This is a good question. When you bring down your TPS, a new intelligence will suddenly happen in you, which causes you to perform without setting goals. That is what I call Intuitive Management - managing through intuition. It needs patience and practice. That is why people are not able to trust, that something like Intuitive Management is possible. People who live around me can see it happening. I am running an organization with centers across many countries, and we are continuously expanding as well. Just three days ago we started an ashram in Malaysia. So much is happening, but we never plan like the corporate world. Spontaneous decisions are just made. Intuitive Management works continuously. Living around the master can give you the courage to see that it is possible. For you to run your day-to-day life, to pay your bills, to pursue your profession successfully, and to create wealth, your mind is not needed. It may be a little shocking to hear this, but just try it out. You will see that it works.

_Q. When I watch television and lose myself in it, I feel_ _drained of energy._

A: This is a dangerous thing that has happened to humanity. Somebody asked me, ‘Swamiji, when did the age of kali (the fourth quarter of time, believed to be the degradation era) start?’ Kaliyuga is supposed to be the Dark Age. I tell them: the day television entered your home, the Dark Age started.

See, let me explain. Your eyes can tolerate only 16 frames per second while watching anything. Understand: if you are driving at 60 miles per hour, maybe 10 to 12 frames per second will change in front of you. If you are driving at 100 miles, then maybe 20 to 30 frames will change every second. Through the television, computer or cinema, you experience at least 35 frames per second. It means, there is twice the regular stress.

When so much of stress is put on your eyes …

You have a certain intelligence, a certain logic, which analyzes whether what you are seeing is right, or it is just an illusion. There is an intelligence in you that does this. We call it chakshu, which is the energy which sees through the eyes. You are not seeing just by the physical eyes, you are seeing through the eyes. That indriya, that chakshu which sees through the eyes, usually calculates whether what it is seeing is real, or it is just an illusion, a hallucination. It enables you to differentiate between the castle in the air, and the real castle. It gives you the clarity of whether it is reality, or an illusion. This chakshu is put to sleep when the frames per second is 30 or more. So, whatever happens during that high rate of frames per second, your logic accepts, without analyzing whether it is the truth or not. That is why, any advertisement which is put inside your head through the television, will cause you to unconsciously go to the shop, and ask for the same product that was there in that advertisement!

When the frames per second is high, you will be unable to differentiate between reality and illusion. That is why you can see that even your BP (blood pressure) changes along with the program. Am I right? You cry, you laugh, you do everything along with what you see on the screen. You know very clearly that the actor who is dead in the screen is actually alive otherwise. But when the television is on, you don't remember all this. Your logic does not come into play at all, and you even start shedding tears. It means, beyond your logic, your whole intelligence is put to sleep, and you respond to what you see directly. That is the worst thing that can happen to you. That is the most dangerous thing that can happen to a human being. Beware of the television. That is why you are drained of energy, and sometimes fall asleep watching. You are raised to a high TPS. There is so much of restlessness when you are watching the television.

Q: But we also watch your discourse DVDs.

A: Watching my DVD discourses cannot be compared with watching the television. When you are watching me, an enlightened form is getting into your inner space. That makes all the difference. It can never damage your consciousness. In fact, it will nurture your consciousness.

Q: When I am in your presence, or when I am doing mission work, I feel more energetic.

A: Yes, because the whole thing is to do with superconscious energy. That is why you feel more energetic.

Q: Is not my TPS low when I am watching television? Then why am I feeling tired?

A: No. Your TPS is not low when you are watching television. It shoots up. When you connect with an enlightened master, your TPS drops.

Q: I felt that the time taken for the various stages, that is for inhalation, holding, spreading and exhalation, were very short. I consciously had to slow down breathing.

A: If you felt that the time was short it means that your TPS was low. If you felt that the time was more, it meant that the TPS was high.

Q: Can the rudraksh bead be worn by everybody? From a young age, it was taught that it was very sacred and it is not to be taken lightly.

A: Even if it is sacred, you can wear it; there is nothing wrong in that. In fact, because it is sacred you should wear it! If the rudraksh is sacred, you are also sacred. You are also divine. Why do you think that you are not divine? So, divinity can reside on the divine. You are not shava (corpse), you are Shiva. So wear the rudraksh.

Alright, should we finish one more meditation? It is a simple technique. It is not even a technique; it is just a process. Let us finish that and then, I will answer the remaining questions. Then, you can go for dinner.

It is a very simple process. Just intone the sound of hmmm along with your inhaling and smmm along with the exhaling. It is a very simple process. We are just trying to separate your inner chattering and the pranic layer. If you intone this mantra, you will not have any other word or any other thought during your inhaling or exhaling. When you inhale, slowly make the sound hmmm along with it. It is not chanting, it is just intoning. When you exhale, intone the sound smmm. Intoning means: just mentally going with the mantra. Do not miss even a single breath. Just intone this mantra for the next few minutes. This will separate your pranamaya kosha and manomaya kosha. When this happens, it will be easy for us to do the process, the programming of the pranamaya kosha.

Please sit in a relaxed way. Tie the eye band over your eyes. Just sit. Do not alter the way in which you breathe. Just intone hmmm along with your inhalation and smmm with your exhalation. Do not chant. Just intone...just internalize.

(The meditation is done while Swamiji sits looking at the question slips. He ends the meditation shortly.) Somebody is asking questions about ghosts! There are so many questions. Alright, it is time to end the session. It is quite late in the night. You can go to sleep now. Tomorrow morning, we will see the rest.

If you go to sleep now in this same mood, you will be tired tomorrow morning. Just stretch your body, be a little fresh, then go and sleep. If you jump a little now, the second layer energy will be awakened! Actually, if you want to get up fresh in the morning, jump for ten minutes before falling asleep. Or, sing or dance; do something very active before going to sleep. Then, lie down and fall asleep. You will get up in the same lively mood! Actually, how you fall asleep, with what consciousness you fall asleep, with that same consciousness, you will come out of sleep also. After you have finished eating and feeling full in the stomach, don't go and sleep. Just get up and stretch your body a little, and then go to sleep.

Please be here tomorrow morning at 7 o'clock for the Nithya Dhyaan meditation. Now, please get up. Stretch your body fully. Up! Up! More! Alright, enough. We will meet tomorrow morning.

Before entering into the next session, let us enjoy this beautiful morning. Let us just sit. Let us allow the Upanishad to happen. Upanishad means, just sitting (at the feet of the master). When I say just sit, I mean - no mantra, no meditation, no technique, no concentration, no awareness method. Just sitting, that's all. Even if you are restless, even if your mind is asking how to just sit, don't bother. Just sit as you are. Let your eyes be closed. Just sit. Close your eyes.

(Some time passes)

Relax.

You can relax.

Just sitting for no reason, without any technique, can do so much in you. The process can happen so beautifully by just sitting. In Zen, they call it Zazen.

The ‘just sitting’ is a thousand times more effective than any other technique, because in any technique, in any method, you will be busy. I can’t catch you as you are, but in ‘just sitting’, I can catch you as you are. Even if it is a little difficult, just struggle with that difficulty and sit. Only then, I will know exactly in which space you are. Then, it will be easy for the master’s presence to work. The master’s presence is like an intense energy that will start working on you if you are as you are.

When you are sitting as you are, the process happening will be really deep. I can see from the morning until now, there is an increasing silence happening in each of you! When you just sit, the presence of the master works so much on you. If you are already working with something, it becomes a little difficult for me to work on you. With you just sitting, I can do a lot more on you.

There are so many questions this time! I think there are three bunches of papers. If I answer all the questions, I think we will end the session only the day after tomorrow! Anyhow, I will try to answer as many of them as possible.

(Questions related to the humming meditation and TPS have been grouped together for convenience.)

Q: Thank you Swamiji for such a wonderful experience. Ten years ago, I had this similar experience when I was meditating on Lord Shiva.

A: That's nice. In India, we allow people just to be in that state for some time. Not only that, the ambience there is totally different. Also, we have four days time for this same program. You see, you need at least four to five days to sit with the master. Here, the life culture does not permit that. You have to leave tonight. That is the reason why you can have only a glimpse. No sooner than you have that glimpse, I have to say, 'Come down from the experience and relax.'

Q: I do not have words to explain how I felt in those moments. I wanted to die or vanish at that very moment.

A: That is the beauty of enlightenment or meditation! When you experience even a mild satori, you feel like you are fulfilled.

Q: When I started doing the hum sum meditation, tears started pouring from my eyes. I was becoming very emotional. I had to control my mind up to stop the tears.

A: No, you should not have done that. You are not expected to bring in your mind. You are expected to go through the process – whatever it is.

Q: I want to be in that state always.

A: First fear, now greed! Because of fear, you stopped it. Now because of greed, you want more! Anyway, you should not have stopped the experience. But neither should you have greed to be in that experience always. The process should happen, and it should happen in whatever way it happens. Then the experience itself may not stay, but the juice or the essence of the experience will stay inside you.

Q: Is this hum sum mantra same as soham?

A: No. Hum sum is the original mantra from the Paramahamsa Upanishad. Soham is the version that was developed later. The original Upanishad mantra is hum sum only. A person who is established in That, is Paramahamsa. Later on, versions like soham were developed.

Q: During meditation, even if there is a mild sound, it startles and shakes my whole body. Is it fear or is it normal?

A: It is fear.

Q: I am experiencing some satvic (goodness) feeling. Actually what I mean is, I am experiencing a passive and sad feeling, and I don't feel like reacting to even anyone who hurts me in any way. Is this a healthy feeling for a person like me who must lead a worldly life and not a sannyas life? A: There is nothing called a worldly life or a sannyas life. If you are comfortable like this, just leave it, that's all. It will pass. Don't hurt people and don't think that the whole world is waiting to hurt you. It is mere foolishness to think that people are waiting to hurt you. It is the enmity in you that you project on others, and attract it towards yourself again. It is a play of the mind.

Q: Is not TPS reduction like having a popup blocker?

A: No. Popup blocker is a forced phenomenon. Here it is not forced, it just settles, that's all.

Q: Is there a correlation between someone's frequency and TPS? Can two people with 100 TPS have different frequencies?

A: No. There is a correlation between the frequency and TPS. If you and your husband are at almost 100 TPS, both of you will have a beautiful life. Both of your desires will be almost the same. See ... when both of you are just enjoying a physical level relationship, your desires will be only physical; you will have just physical fulfillment, that's all. Both of you will meet and relate for maximum half an hour, not more than that. Then the fight will start. Both of you will be bored with each other. Only for that period, you can entertain each other. After that, both of you will take the whole thing for granted. How much can you entertain in the physical layer? Maximum, for half an hour, not more than that. Let us take the next higher level where both of you have the same taste in art. Let us say, both of you are singers, or both of you are dancers, or both of you are painters...some art, some similar passion. Then the relationship can be a little deeper. You will start relating with the manomaya kosha – the mental layer. And there is a possibility that you may entertain each other or feel fulfilled by each other for at least 20 to 30 years.

Next, if both of you are seekers, if both of you are on the seeking path, then life and relationship will be eternal. You will feel that the other is fulfilling or enriching you so deeply. You will feel that the relationship is just fabulous.

Q: At zero TPS, if you can see your future, can you choose to change it?

A: You have the full freedom to change, but you will not be encouraged to change it at that point in time! When you are in that state, you will experience so much freedom and truth, that you won't even bother to change it! Just by your will or presence, it will automatically change - whatever needs to be changed. You won't even bother to forcibly do anything about it. That is the beauty of the truth! Now you feel that you want to change it, but when the truth actually happens to you, you will not be affected by this thought at all, and so you won't bother to change your future.

It is like this: if you know that these rooms are locked, and that you can't go out, then, you will just be dying to go out and get some tea or do something else, is it not? But, if you know for sure that the door is open, then you will just sit here in a relaxed way with no thought of escaping! It happens in the same way.

Q: Sometimes, when I connect to you, I cry a lot. At that moment I feel that I want only you. Does it mean that I have zero TPS at that moment?

A: No, not zero, maybe 50 or 40. In zero TPS, you won't even feel that you and I are separate. Only if you feel that you and I are separate, will you think of wanting me. In zero TPS, you and I will not be separate.

Q: Is there a name in Sanskrit for the divine cosmic energy?

A: Yes. We have the name Parashakti. That is the name.

Q: Where do I learn about this divine cosmic energy?

A: You are learning here, right now. What else do you think you are doing here? (laughs) Do you think you are learning to cut vegetables?! I am not teaching you how to cut vegetables for this long! You are learning only about the divine cosmic energy.

Q: I have always been wondering about the purpose of my life.

A: Just understand: you don't have to wonder about the purpose of life. Just constantly being in the mood of wondering is the purpose of life! Nothing else. So you are on the right track. You are saying that you have always been wondering about the purpose of life. Instead, just be wondered about life, that's enough! Then you automatically achieve the purpose of life. See, if you wonder about the purpose of life, you will never achieve it. Just wonder about life itself. Then you will achieve.

Q: You said to wonder. I can't stop wondering how people can be so cruel and ignorant and why people have to suffer so much in such horrible ways.

A: It is not wondering that you are doing; it is worrying (laughs). Wondering is different, worrying is different. You are not wondering; you are worrying. You may use the word wondering, but you are actually worrying. Relax from it.

Q: What is a good question to ask you and what is your answer? (laughs)

A: Hmmm…I am just thinking what is a good question to ask me… I think silence is the right question. And silence will be the right answer! That is the good question or the best question you can ask, or the best answer that I can give you.

Q: When I feel your bliss, I become immediately, intensely aware of it and almost immediately, the experience stops. How do I stop the thought so that the experience can continue?

A: Don't be greedy to be in the blissful state always. Then it will stay forever. Only your greed stops it.

Q: Is it true that once enlightenment is achieved, one will no longer dream while sleeping?

A: Yes. I have had no dreams after my enlightenment; no daydreams or night dreams.

Q: What is the purpose of siddhis (mystical feats)? Do you agree / disagree with masters who perform them?

A: It is up to them. There is no need to pass judgment on that. Sometimes, when it is absolutely necessary, such feats express through enlightened persons also. In my case, if it expresses itself naturally, then I allow it. But otherwise, I never express anything like that. Many times, people come and tell me, ‘Swamiji, from your photograph, vibhuti (holy ash) and kumkum (vermillion) is constantly coming.’ I tell them that it is good.

I neither directly agree with all this, nor disagree. I don’t directly agree because if I agree, some people loose the idea of enlightenment and get caught with these types of things. I don’t disagree also, because sometimes for some people, these types of things will be a source of big inspiration on the spiritual path. It makes them feel connected to the path. Sometimes, when a person sees even one small miracle being performed in front of his eyes, his whole life may be transformed. So, for the sake of transformation of human beings, enlightened masters do anything. It is worth it. But the same things should not be done for any other reason. If it is done, people will get stuck and sucked into it instead of moving higher up.

A: First of all, you don't exist as you think you do. You are constantly changing. Then, how can you choose me? You can never choose me. Only I can choose you.

A: Ramana Maharshi, the great enlightened master, used to sing hymns in his own name. He had compiled many songs on himself. Somebody asked him, 'Bhagwan, you are singing your own name. What is this?' He replied, 'Why are you reducing Ramana to this six-feet form? He is far more than this form.' Understand: I don't feel connected to the name Nithyananda or this six-feet form in any way. That is why I allow them to use it. You feel so connected to your name and form, and so you judge the whole thing from that perspective. That is where the problem starts.

One important thing: the form of enlightened masters is like a yantra – a sacred tool meant for meditating. It is a form that Existence has chosen for taking birth as a human being. Also, it is a form devoid of any samskaras (engraved memories, that normal human beings struggle with). When you are constantly reminded of the form, or you are constantly seeing that form, you will unconsciously imbibe the superconscious energy behind it. That is why you will see, in India, the form of enlightened masters are used liberally in pendants, calendars, etc.

Q: How do I stop my rebirth?

A: Just get enlightened; that's all!

Q: How can we benefit from just temporary freedom from our identities, which we assume during this program? We have to anyway return to our obligations, to our duties and identities, as soon as we get back in our cars and go home.

A: When you do this for these few days, at least you will know that there is a possibility of getting rid of your identity; at least temporarily. When that possibility is inserted into your unconscious, then, you will never be afraid of living with your identity. As of now, you suffer because you know that living with an identity is like living in a jail. When you know that you have a key in your hand, the place where you stay in becomes a room. If you know how to get rid of your identity, even temporarily, the same jail will become a room. You don't have to get rid of it permanently. You don't have to get rid of it once and for all. You don't have to escape from your prison once and for all. Just have the key in your hand ... over! The same prison will become a home! You don't have to destroy the prison. You don't have to destroy the identity. Just have the key in your hand, that's all. Giving you the key, is what is happening through these few days.

Q: I know a lot of people who don't use their spiritual names legally. Why do you say that using the spiritual name legally is important? A: When the spiritual name is given freely with no commitment, people ask for a name for themselves, one for their wife, one for their husband and what not! You see, choosing a spiritual name involves a lot of time and energy. I first categorize the people based on whether they are intellectually based, emotionally based, or they are a being level person. Then, I see the right path through which they will become enlightened. Then I give them their name. So, the name is given to them through the path in which they will become enlightened. Most people don't have respect for that process. That is why, these days, I tell them to be very clear whether they are willing to change it legally. Only then, I give them the name.

Q: Why do people wear the rudraksh mala? Does it have any spiritual significance?

A: Yes, there is a lot of spiritual significance to it. It can hold energy and radiate it for a long time. It is useful, especially when you fall into a low mood. It can support you with energy and the low curve can be dealt with in a beautiful way. Also, the number of times and the quality of the low curve can also be reduced by the rudraksh mala. It helps you, if it is from an energized being, from an enlightened being; not just from the shop. But of course, you can always wear it, meditate and request Parashakti (divine energy) to energize it.

Q: Please explain to us the significance of wearing the kumkum (vermillion) on the forehead, which you always do. A: It is done to awaken and energize the ajna chakra. I use it just to respect the tradition, and also, so that all our people will follow it. When they see me wearing it, they will follow! Then, whatever has to happen through that will happen for them. For me, it is not used to awaken the ajna! For enlightened beings, there is no such need. But if I wear it, people will follow, and their ajna chakra will be awakened. For that purpose, I wear it.

Q: Also, what is the reason for giving vibhuti (holy ash)?

A: Vibhuti is an energized powder. You can use it when you need healing for some part of your body. Or, if you have sleeplessness, apply a little of it on the forehead; you will sleep well. Whenever you need healing or energy, you will be supported by this energized powder. It doesn't mean that you will become addicted to it. Part of its job is also to elevate your consciousness, and therefore detach you from such addictions. The vibhuti, the holy ash that we give, is made out of our sacred banyan leaves. In the Bangalore ashram in India, we have a sacred banyan tree. The leaves that are shed from this tree are burned and processed, and vibhuti is created out of it. It is then energized and given to you. The tree itself is of a very intense energy. It has grown out of an enlightened master's samadhi (place of his final resting). There is an enlightened master's body under that tree. It means that the enlightened energy is there in that tree. That is why it heals. It radiates so much of energy. It is literally another form of an enlightened master's body. It is actually equal to the relics of an enlightened master's body.

_Q: Why does one brood over the past?_

A: Because you have nothing to achieve in the present.

_Q: What is the cause of self pity?_

A: Again, if you don't have anything much to do in the present, if you are too luxuriously placed, having too much of time to waste, then you do all these things. That's all, nothing more.

_Q: Is the enlightenment state the same for all_ enlightened persons?

A: The experience itself is the same, no doubt. But the methods through which they reach enlightenment are different. After that, the state in which they stay is the same.

_Q: How can we explain your philosophy to Krishna bhaktas_ (Krishna's devotees)?

A: Why do you want to explain to them? First, reach a state where you simply radiate me! Just radiate your bhakti (devotion to me). Live your devotion first. Then, you don't have to explain to anyone. Just by seeing you, they will be inspired!

_Q: When we understand something on the intellectual level,_ _when and how does it become realization?_

A: Meditate, it will become.

Q: There is a traditional saying in India: first Mata, then Pita, then guru, then Deivam. Let me translate in English. It means: first Mother, then Father, then master, then God. This is the traditional saying in India. This question asks: does this mean I have to fulfill the first three things to gain or attain God?

A: No. Understand: after your birth, until the age of seven, your mother will take care of you. She will be giving love, care, and all the basic things for you to grow. Then, she has to hand you over to your father. Between seven and fourteen years of age, your father will give you the basic education needed for life. He will give you education. Then, he has to hand you over to the guru or master! The guru will teach you the science of enlightenment, between the age of fourteen and twenty-one, and then he has to hand you over to God. This is what this means.

Understand: the mother has to hand you over to the father. The father should hand you over to the guru. The guru should hand you over to God! Each one of them should hand you over to the next person and move out of your way! If they don't move out, they will be moved out! That's all. That is the way. That is what it means when it says, Mata, Pita, guru, Deivam. The mother has to hand you over to the father and move out. The father has to hand you over to the master and move out. The master has to hand you over to God and move out. Even the master who does not hand you over to God and move out, has to be moved out! This is what the saying means.

Q: Is it the same with female children also? Is it that female children are also handed over to their father at age seven, and then to the master, and then to God?

A: Yes, yes, yes. In India, boys and girls are both treated in the same way when it comes to pure spirituality.

Q: So, does it mean that the father supervises the education of the daughter?

A: Yes. In India, the parents are supposed to be responsible for the education of their children. Not only education, they are responsible for their children's entire life. They have to create wealth and keep it for them! If your father or your parents don't keep wealth for you, nobody will respect them. Not only that, the children will question the parents, 'What have you done for me?' Even if the wealth accumulated by the parents is a little less, the children will ask, 'What have you done for me?'

That is the kind of social setup in India. Here, in the USA, it is totally different! Just see how Bill Gates is giving away so much money to charity. In India, you can't imagine this happening. The son will very well tell the father, 'What are you doing with the money? Get away. You are done with it. It is all mine now. Forget about charity!' The social setup is very different! Anyhow, this is the real meaning of Mata, Pita, Guru, Deivam.

Each one of them has to hand you over to the next in line. That is why I tell you in the healing initiation that you will be receiving tomorrow, there will be very clear instructions, 'You should not meditate on my form, the form of the master.' Understand clearly: I am just like a window. You have to pass through me. You could use my help in the initial level, as a utility, but never as the goal. The master's form is not the goal. The goal is the formless energy. Even this form, the form of the master, must disappear! This form will also perish. This is not permanent. This form can never show you, or teach you to move towards the formlessness. One after the other, the steps have to happen, that's all.

Q: If I show love or acceptance to evil, won't that allow the evil to grow?

A: Don't bother about such things. You are not here to correct the whole world. Just correct yourself. Even if it grows, it is alright. Correcting mass evil is our responsibility. You don't have to bother about it. We will do our work, you do your work.

Q: You said that you may speak harshly to us to remove any evil in us. I don't know when I should smile at evil and when I should draw a line. For example, even though Durga Devi is a Goddess, she violently slays the demon. Should I also do that?

A: Please be very clear that you are not yet Durga Devi. You don't have to slay any demon. That is our responsibility. And understand: when you actually become Durga Devi, these questions won't rise in you at all! So relax.

_Q: Sometimes, a child dies immediately after birth. Does he or she choose that? Why?_

A: Yes. They choose it themselves. Why? You have to ask them. There are different reasons that each of them will have. You have to get a specific case for me and I will be able to tell you why.

_Q: Can you say more about how to improve our eyesight?_

A: In our Health and Wellness Program, we have a meditation for eyesight. Maybe you can try that. Even in the website, we have made it available. You can just download and practice it. Go to our website. All the main meditation techniques that we teach in our programs are available on the website. You can download and practise them directly.

_Q: How do we relate with other disciples?_

A: Understand, any undue relationship between disciple and disciple will only lead to problems, because both of you are in darkness. Any relationship between disciple and disciple will lead only to more darkness. There is a beautiful Upanishad verse on 'the blind leading the blind' - the blind relating with the blind.

Undue disciple-disciple relationship is such. It can be encouraged at only one point, and that is: when a disciple enriches your trust or devotion towards the master, at that point alone, it can be tolerated, because at that point, the disciple who enriches your devotion towards the master is no more a disciple; he is an embodiment of the master's energy. Only through the touch of the master, will he be able to enrich your love or trust towards the master. Except in those moments, except in those few moments, the disciple-disciple relationship is very dangerous. I have seen people falling into a big hole because of disciple-disciple relationship.

In a city in Tamil Nadu, this incident actually happened. One organizer was very devoted, or at least projecting that he was very devoted. Sometimes, I allow these kinds of persons around me just because there is a possibility that they can transform. That is the reason. Not that they are really genuine. There is a possibility that, at one point, their ego can break, they can melt. Because of my presence being such an energetic and intense presence, they can break. So I allow them their ego. And one more thing: when I empower them, I empower them fully, and also protect them in front of others! Anyhow, coming back to this man, because of this, everybody was forced to come to me only through him. And this man, after some time, was able to command a group of people. I too encouraged him, because a good leader will be a good leader, as long as he is listening to the master's words. It is good for everybody. Suddenly, at one point in time, I felt that his suggestions were stronger than my words. The rest of them also started behaving in a democratic fashion. I told them to relax. I told them that they did not vote and choose me as an enlightened master. I told them, 'Fortunately, I did not stand in any election and get elected by you people as an enlightened master. I just declared it myself. I declared that I am enlightened. And I am helping you. It is the individual relationship with me that is the base for the whole growth in you. Maybe for utility sake, disciples with the same attitude, gather in the same place to do some good work, some team work. That’s all. That does not mean that you can do something foolish.’ That is what I always tell these organizers. All organizers put together have not elected me. Understand: I am something more than all the organizers put together! Even if all the organizers together tomorrow appoint a disciple of mine as the master, this kind of drama is not going to happen! It can never happen! So, the master is something more than all these things put together. He is beyond these things. Understand that.

I always tell people: in spirituality, democracy is not going to work. Democracy is alright when it comes to administering a country or a political party, but not spirituality. And one more thing: relaxing at the feet of an intelligent, and compassionate leader is the best thing you can do. Understand: when you are with me, I am thinking for you! It is a great freedom for you that someone else is thinking for you! Do you understand what I am telling you? By thinking for yourself, you know the mess you can create. Just look back and you can see the whole thing. When you take the option of an intelligent and compassionate person thinking on your behalf, you are so blessed! Don’t miss that opportunity. Somehow, in the so-called civilizations, the word ‘surrender’ is given a very wrong connotation. That is the problem. When you really feel that the leader is intelligent and compassionate, don’t miss the opportunity. It is such a big opportunity. If somebody is building a home for you, will you miss it? If somebody is getting a car for you, will you miss it? In the same way, if somebody is getting you the best inner software, which is life itself, don’t miss it!

Q: For the past few years, I have started seeing flying particles in the air...

A: There must be some problem with your eyes. Go and get it checked with an eye doctor. Sometimes, you can see that if you look a little deeply in front of you in the air, you will see small air particles floating. It could be this that you are experiencing. It has nothing to with spirituality.

Q: Thank you for your grace, instruction and time. I hope this question is not foolish.

I have been wondering if the connection I make with you and other enlightened beings carries over into my next life. And if you are not in human form, is the connection still there and how?

A: Understand. Even now I am not in human form. You may see the human form operating, but I am not in the human form. Just like how I handle this handkerchief, I am handling this body, that's all. It is a very beautiful and mystical thing. Alright, let me answer it. After that, we will enter into the process.

Nisargadatta Maharaj was a great enlightened master who lived in India. He was being asked by a disciple: 'Maharaj...

('Maharaj' is the title by which they address evolved spiritual beings. Maharaj means 'king,.. King of kings'. in India, Swamis are addressed as 'King of kings'. Even now,there is a protocol in the Indian constitution that, if a president or prime minister is received in any religious function, they are supposed to bow down to the religious leader present in that function. Till now, in democratic secular India, the constitution has retained this point. Even now, when the president or prime minister come to my program, the first thing they do is bow down. Of course, out of respect, I too bow down. The protocol is that they are supposed to bow down and I should take the seat first. Only then they will sit. Even now, in secular India, evolved spiritual persons are called ‘Maharaj’.)

Anyway, the disciple asked, ‘Maharaj, if you say that you don’t have any karma (unfulfilled actions), what is the purpose of your taking birth? How does the body function?’ The disciple is asking the enlightened master this question. An enlightened master does not have any karma (unfulfilled actions) from the past or future. Then how does his body function? For a body to function, you need some karma, some unfulfilled action, that causes it to move and fulfill it.

Maharaj replies, ‘My body is not doing anything.’ The disciple is shocked and asks, ‘What are you saying? You are talking to me now. That is the karma. How do you then say, that you are not doing anything?’

Maharaj says beautifully, ‘I am not talking to you.’

He is talking, and he says, ‘I am not talking to you.’

It is very difficult to understand. Try to understand: I am sitting here. The truth is, I am just a wave in the ocean. When you want to listen, because you want to listen to something from me, because you want to experience something from me, this wave responds like a mirror. The master says beautifully, ‘I am not talking to you like you are talking to me. In you, there is somebody who is talking. In me there is only an echo which is responding.' Sometimes, when you go and stand in the high mountains and shout, you will feel that somebody else is shouting back. But there is nobody. In the same way, the constitution or the system is arranged in such a way that you hear a response coming in your own language. The beauty of the enlightened being is, the body is there without anybody occupying it, without anybody sitting inside it. You see me sitting here, but actually, you are sitting in front of an empty seat. That is the truth.

It is difficult to grasp. Maybe, if you yourself have some experience, or glimpse of the bodiless consciousness or the pure conscious energy, you will realize what is being told to you now. Maharaj makes a beautiful statement. 'I am not present as you think. I am not present as you are present. After both of us die, I will not be absent like you will be absent either.'

Understand: when both of us are in the body, I am not present in the body like you are. In the same way, when both of us disappear from planet earth, I am not absent like you are. Right now, my absence has got a body. What I mean is, even though I have a body, I am actually absent! After death, my presence will not have a body, meaning, even though I may not have a body, I will be present!

I don't know how you will understand this. It may be too mystical for you. Alright, maybe the person who put the question can understand. Just try to relate with what I just said. My human form has nothing to do with the presence which you are feeling. Understand that clearly. That is why in the healer's initiation, before initiation, the master takes an oath. I used to take the oath in the first level healing initiation, earlier. Now, I have shifted it to the advanced level healing initiation program, because these people don't take it sincerely in the first level. The oath that the master takes is… he commits to the disciple, 'The energy which is working through this body promises you, for you to reach the same experience of the enlightenment energy, even if the energy leaves this body, even if the energy stops using this body…' I think you understand what I am saying. I am giving you the exact translation of the Sanskrit mantra… the energy which is working through this body commits to lead you to the same experience. Even if this energy stops using this body, even if I drop this body, the energy which is working through this body keeps its commitment to you.' This commitment may sometimes lead you to another live master – a master who is living in the body. It will see that you travel through and reach the destination - the truth, the experience.

It is a very strong commitment - much more and deeper than even marriage. Marriage happens in just one lifetime. And that too, nowadays, nobody cares much about it. The mangal sutra (sacred thread worn by married Indian women) is hanging on the shower pipe these days! In those days, Indian women used to wear the mangalsutra from the day they got married until the day their husband passed away. Actually, I don't feel that the mangalsutra should be imposed on them. In fact, it is usually the men who move around freely and have fun, so they are the ones who should wear the mangalsutra. Anyhow, besides the mangalsutra, even the depth of relationship has become very shallow these days. That is why I am saying, that the master-disciple relationship cannot be equalised to marriage. Also, marriage is only in one birth. The master-disciple relationship is for birth after birth, until you become enlightened; until you merge. That is the depth of the master-disciple relationship.

The master actually commits. Usually, in India, we do a yagna – a fire ritual - before any initiation. We invoke the fire, the divine energy in the fire, and before the fire, the master takes the oath, ‘Hereby, I promise this fire, which is the embodiment of the cosmic energy, that I commit, till you achieve the ultimate experience of enlightenment. The energy which is using this body, commits to take you, to lead you and be with you, to support you to that experience.’ It is a very powerful commitment. The fire is supposed to be the cosmic energy.

Q: Swami, you said that whatever you talk is our echo. So, does it mean that you talk what we expect?

A: No, not what you expect, but what you need. That is where the consciousness comes in. I am not just a mountain. I am not just a plain mountain. There is the consciousness factor in me. Maybe, I am not just a giri - hill. I am Arunagiri – the sacred Arunachala Hill!

Q: Enlightened masters will take care of the disciples until the disciples are done with their number of births. So, the enlightened master in this birth will be in the body and take care. But how does he take care in the next birth if he does not take a body again? A: He does not have to be in the body continuously to take care. He can guide you straightaway without the body also. He can straightaway connect and relate with you. Actually, intelligent people do not need me in the body. People who are already grown to a level of even 80 TPS, do not need me in the body. I can just send messages and they will be able to relate and grow. So, the work can be done without the body also.

But when the master assumes the body, it is such a juicy leela (Divine Play!). It is so beautiful to see him in the body, to dance around him, to sing around him and do all the playful things! He assumes the body just to give juicy and beautiful moments as leela to people! Otherwise, enlightenment itself does not need a body.

You see, there are panchakritya or the five activities of God: creation, maintenance, destruction, putting people into maya (that is putting them in illusion), and liberation, giving you enlightenment. In these five activities, he does not have to take human form to do even one of these activities. All these five, he can do in the formless energy itself. He does not need the form for any of them. However, the fifth activity, that is giving enlightenment, can be done in a very joyful and playful manner. At that point, only for that reason, he may assume the human body and express the joyful energy!

See, the master always comes down only for a group of people who have wished very deeply to stay around him, who are fortunate enough to stay around him and enjoy the drama. He is present maybe for a few thousand people, for a few thousand people who are going to be living around him and enjoying his innocent space. You can't even relate to that kind of life logically. It is just a spontaneous and joyful leela. For those few intelligent, or for those few innocent people, the master assumes the form. When the water flows into the paddy, on its way, the weeds or the grass also enjoy a bit of it! The weeds also grow because of it. In the same way, I happen for a few people. When I move around for them, the others also enjoy. That's all. Otherwise, there is no need for the master to take a human form. He is asatyasangata - anything which can't be done normally can be done just by his satya sankalpa; just by his mere true will.

Q: So, when an enlightened master comes back to planet earth, why does he have to go through the sadhana, penance again?

A: Because he starts from where he stopped!

Q: So we choose a form and a body based on what the previous karma is. Do we also choose our parents?

A: Yes. Parents, the place of birth, the time ... you decide everything.

Q: What about friends and relatives?

A: Friends are all societal. Even brothers and sisters are societal.

Q: Wife?

A: Wife is surely societal!

Q: Swami, why would an enlightened being choose a new birth again after enlightenment?

A: Just out of compassion, also for Divine play! You see, it does not hurt an enlightened person to take a body. Nothing touches him. It is just a drama for him. It's like this: you guys are here now in the USA. After coming to this country, you have earned many dollars. Now, you can go back to your native village just to throw your weight around and have some fun, is it not? You go back to your village and show off, is it not? But it doesn't really touch you. You have gone beyond it. So, it is just a play for you. It is the same way for enlightened people when they come back to planet earth!

Sometimes, you even take revenge on your young age associates whom you felt didn't respect you at the time when you were young! For me, there is no revenge in my system. I come and enjoy, that's all.

A small story:

Shiva was approached by the gods and Indra, (Indra is the leader of the gods) who told him that they were being tortured by three demons, and to please kill them. The demons were called Tripura Asuras.

Shiva said, 'Alright, let me take care. Don't bother. I will do something about it.' Then, all the gods came out and started talking amongst themselves, ‘After all, Shiva is doing us a great favour, we should do something in return. What shall we do?’ They decided, ‘We will create a beautiful chariot for him, in which he can go and kill the demons.’

They created a chariot.

The four Vedas became the four wheels, the gods became the statues in the pasha (chariot). Finally, Yama, the Lord of Death himself, became the passa (the reins that control the horses). Brahma, the Lord of the gods, became the charioteer. Everything was ready.

Suddenly, Indra started thinking: all these things have been done by us. Then why do we need Shiva? We can, ourselves, destroy the demons also! We are enough to kill the demons if all of us put our power together. We have done this much. What is there in what is remaining? Shiva just blesses, that’s all. He doesn’t do anything anyway.

The moment he thought this, Shiva simply laughed. He said, ‘Fool! I never asked you to do anything. You came to me and begged me to relieve you from those demons. Then your ego wanted to do something, so you built the chariot. Then finally your own ego is thinking that you are all needed for me to do my work!’

The story says that Shiva just opened his third eye and the tripura asuras, the three demons disappeared! They died. He just burnt them to ashes with his third eye.

So understand: sometimes, the disciples start thinking that they are needed for the master, to do the work for his mission. Then, they are in trouble! So, that is the drama. A master does not need anything to be done by anybody. His satya sankalpa, his mere will is enough to make the things happen. He plays his own drama and makes people feel connected to Him. He makes each one feel good. He makes them feel that they are also part of the whole drama . Otherwise, there is no reason why he should assume the human body. Blessed are those few who live around him and enjoy his very presence. This is like the story of the Paramahamsa – the Supreme Swan.

There is a beautiful story of the Paramahamsa:

Paramahamsa means the liberated Swan. The Paramahamsas will lay their eggs when they are flying. The egg will hatch in mid air and the tiny bird will emerge before seventy-five percent of the way down. The bird will grow wings and without touching the ground, it will just fly back into the air! It will always be in the air! It will never touch the ground.

You may ask then how Paramahamsa happens on planet earth. You see, when he is flying, when the Paramahamsa is flying, the reflection falls on the lake or a tank or the ocean, or wherever. When the reflection falls, all the fish in the lake start thinking that some new fish has come amidst them! They think that some big fish has come. So, all the fish start jumping around the reflection. They say, ‘Such a big fish has come. Such a graceful fish has come. See, how graceful this fish is!’ The fish start jumping from one side to the other. Because of their own movements, there are ripples in the water and the reflection too appears to move. The fish think that the Paramahamsa is responding to their movements!

When the Swan flies over a lake in India, all the Indian fish gather and create a boundary around the reflection; they create an ashram! This is what happens wherever the Swan flies. Wherever the reflection falls, all the fish there gather together and create some monument. They collect small stones in that area and build a monument. Now, there may be several groups of fish from different places. Sometimes, these groups of fish start fighting. They say, 'Our monument is taller than yours!'

Understand one important thing: whether you jump towards the reflection and feel that it is compassionate, or you jump away from it, and blame it to be ugly and violent, it is all the play of only the fish. The Paramahamsa is not involved in any way in the whole drama! He is not even aware of the drama! If he closes his eyes, he will not even remember the names of the places where his ashrams exist, or the names of the planets where his work is going on, because he doesn't even know in how many thousands of places, and in how many thousands of ways his reflection is happening and dramas are going on.

Anyhow, that is the story of the Paramahamsa. Let us now start the process. Before entering into the process, for a few minutes, just sit and close your eyes; no mantra, no meditation, no prayer, no awareness, no technique. Just sit as you are. Even if you are restless, distressed, irritated, it's ok; just sit as you are.