Chapter 12: Samskaras in the Seven Layers of the Body🔗

We store different samskaras in each of the seven different layers.

The samskaras related to chronic fatigue or tiredness are stored in the physical body. That is why when you try to do some exercise, a workout, or even simple walking, the first thing the body will bring out is tiredness. But without bothering about these first level samskaras which are rising, if you continue to enter into it, suddenly you will see that the same action brings energy out of you. If you start walking, in few minutes, your mind will suggest ten times, ‘I am tired. No...It is too much! We did enough! That is enough for today. Tomorrow we can do.’ But if you don’t bother about these samskaras and just go ahead, in a few minutes, the same action will bring energy.

Chronic fatigue which is a deep feeling to be in inaction, to be in rest or non-moving state, is stored in the physical body.

I always tell people, ‘karma phala tyaaga’ not ‘karma tyaaga’. The results of the actions should be surrendered, not the action itself. Karma tyaaga is very easy. That is why the whole spirituality has suffered so much. The worst thing that happened to India was we not following our tradition, not following what Krishna has said.

But constantly, I am seeing, these superficial analytical reports going on abusing the Indian tradition. The other day I was reading an article, there was a technical term they started using, ‘Hindu rate of growth’. I was surprised!

He means the suffering of India is because of our traditions. It is not. The suffering of India is because we did not follow our tradition, we did not imbibe our tradition. Instead of doing karma phala thyaaga, we started doing karma thyaaga. That is why we are stuck in the first layer, the physical layer itself.

I have seen this in many places, especially villages. There are some great things that are practiced in villages. But there are also the wrong understandings of the Truths like karma thyaaga instead of karma phala thyaaga.

For instance, in the morning until ten o’ clock, you will see tea shops filled with people who will just be sitting and talking. If you want to listen to the great Vedantic truths, go to the village tea shops in the morning! You will see, the people will be sitting and just sipping the tea and philosophizing, ‘Oh! Without god’s grace nothing can be done! Only by god’s grace anything can happen.’ These are all great truths, but just to justify what they are doing, not to internalize! Karma pala thyaaga is the truth but karma thyaaga starts happening if you are stuck in the physical layer.

The chronic fatigue is deeply related to the intense craving for rest.

Please understand, this intense craving for rest brings diseases which will put you in the bed.

Actually if you see any advertisement for resorts, especially beach resorts, it will have a beautiful beach, an easy resting chair and a picture of somebody resting and looking so relaxed. The moment you see that, immediately something starts happening in you. You feel you should also be lying like that, completely resting, totally in peacefulness, in the deep peace. At that moment you see that something in you is awakened. That is what I call intense craving for tamas.

Understand: If you really find that same beach, that same chair and lie down, you will not have that same peace which you visualized. Till you exhaust the tamas engrams, the lethargy engrams that you carry in the physical layer, you cannot rest. Your desire for rest will not let you rest because the desire is from engrams, from samskaras.

Even if you find the same beach, same chair, same bench, same place, try to lie down. The moment you start resting, in a few minutes, this samskara will settle down and the next layer samskara will start. Even the decision to rest, if it is based on a samskara, you cannot rest.

There is a very beautiful story in the Upanishad:

A disciple goes to the master and asks, 'Master, please give me the method for enlightenment.' Master says, 'Just take these 400 cows and when they become 1000 cows, come back.' The modern day disciple would have said, 'What! You are making 600 cows out of my enlightenment! You are trying to make more cows out of my seeking.' But the disciple is really a sincere disciple. He did not bother, he just took the cows. And the story says, when the cows had become one thousand, when he came back, master says, 'Now we have a thousand and one cows'.

In Vedic tradition, cows are highly respected as sacred. So, master says the disciple is also now raised to that level of sanctity.

Continuously when you work with cows, they cannot let you rest. They don't know you are working 24 hours. They don't know there is nobody else to replace you! They don't know any particular day as a holiday. They don't know one person can work only an eight-hour shift! They do not have all these problems. They will constantly demand your attention. In the disciple, the deep desire for rest had disappeared because of his working continuously with the cows.

I can say that the deep desire for vacation or the deep desire for rest, the chronic fatigue, if it leaves your system, 90 per cent of your spiritual journey is over. This first layer samskara is the worst problem.

The next layer is the prana or breath layer. The samskaras related to desire are stored in the prana, the breathing. That is why, whenever your desires are changing, suddenly you will see the breathing pattern will also change. For example, if you are caught by strong desire like lust or anger, your breathing pattern will change; it will be chaotic.

The third layer is the mental layer. In the pranic layer, which is the second layer, you store your thoughts about how your life should be. In the mental layer, you store your engrams about how your life shouldn't have been - guilt.

If your energy moves towards the future, it is desire. If your energy moves towards the past, and continuously it is revolving only around the past, it is called guilt. If it is flowing continuously towards the future, it is desire. If it is flowing continuously towards the past, it is guilt.

The fourth layer is to do with emotions. In this layer, you store all the visualizations related to pain.

Understand, the fourth layer is a very powerful layer. In the fourth layer, you don't need any action or information to strengthen the engrams. In the first two layers, you need to do some action to strengthen your engrams. For example, in the case of the desire for vacation, the more you give in to the desire for vacation, the more the desire will be strengthened. In the same way, for the other desires also, the more you enter into action based on those desires, the more the engrams will become strong.

In the case of the third layer, related to guilt and its related engrams, you don't need to do the same action. Just the information or remembrance about that action will strengthen the engram. For example, if you have seen the same place, or if you are seeing the same person, if you are seeing the same situation, immediately those engrams will become strong and they will be awakened.

In the case of the fourth layer, the pain layer, neither do you need action nor do you need information related to pain. So, you don't have to have the same pain again and again. You don't even need to receive information related to that pain. Just the engrams are enough, they can multiply. They can simply expand and multiply.

The fifth layer is the layer you experience in deep sleep. Even though there are engrams in this layer, you cannot do anything about them, because in the deep sleep, your mind cannot do anything. It is an unconscious layer.

In the first four layers, if you can reduce the depth of the engrams, samskaras, the fifth layer and the sixth layer will be cleansed naturally. The fifth layer will be cleansed if you clean the first four layers. If the fifth layer is cleansed, you will start experiencing the sixth layer more and more. The sixth layer is the meditation layer.

If you are getting into the deep sleep layer more easily, it means the first four layers are clean. If the first four layers are not clean, then you will suffer more in the fifth layer. That is why, when you have more stress and load, a lot of suffering related to sleep starts happening in life.

Sleep has become a big problem. Now, especially in the developed countries, I am seeing, they are able to get beds but not sleep! Their infrastructure has created the facility to have beds and different temperatures, different comforts and so many other things, but not sleep, because there is too much stress.

Not only that, if the engrams in the first four layers are too many, in the fifth layer, the relationship between you and your body gets disconnected. Reducing the engrams in the first four layers is making friends with your body.

We don't realize how we are abusing the body. Understand, if you are overweight, it is directly connected to some of these engrams. When you feel emptiness inside, lonely, you start filling it. You start filling it with food or by drinking. Usually women choose food. And men decide on drinking. Of course, in the modern developed society, you can't generalize! When you are feeling empty and lonely, you have to fill yourself with something.

Every single thing happening in your life is directly connected to some engrams. Removing these engrams, I can say, is making friends with your body, creating a deep friendship with your body. This is the best way to heal.

The other day, I received a big letter and a report from one of our devotees in USA. She came to our program around two years ago. Of course, she did the same meditation which we are going to do now. She had a tumor in the muladhara chakra, root center. She had surgery three times. She herself is a doctor. But again and again, the tumor was growing in the same place. She came and she was doing this meditation which we are going to do today. And she was weeping uncontrollably. I tried to tell her, ‘Please relax’. But it was uncontrollable. Anyhow, after the meditation, I asked her, ‘What is the problem?’ She said, ‘I suddenly again re-lived the guilt’. At a young age, she had been physically abused by some of her close relatives. She said, ‘Suddenly that samskara opened up, that guilt opened up. I re-lived it. That’s the reason I was not able to control. Please forgive me Swamiji!’ I said, ‘That’s ok. Let it leave your system.’

Re-living is relieving. Understand, consciously re-living is relieving. And this lady said, ‘After that relieving, after that meditation, within a month, the tumor disappeared and never came back. Now at least one and half years are over, it did not come back.’ Relieving the guilt, releasing all the samskaras heals. It is shocking but the guilt which she created in her young age not only evolved as a hatred towards that person, it had also evolved as a hatred towards herself and that part of her body! So the hatred had become tumor and sickness. When that engram was released, the guilt was released, when the guilt had left her system, suddenly she came back to health.

We store so many pains and sufferings, so many physi-cal and mental illnesses in our system in the form of some engram or the other. Not only diseases, even disorders like obesity or other disorders are also directly connected to some of our engrams.

Working on the engrams of the first four layers and re-living them and relieving them will heal your system very powerfully.

Understand, it is a strong technique. It is at least 100 times more powerful than any yoga or kriya you can do.

No doubt yoga or kriya heals, but it takes its own time. But meditation is like directly attacking the root center, the root cause of suffering. Yoga starts working on your physical body, exhausts all the tamasic engrams and heals you. Kriyas, the breathing techniques, start working on your pranic layer, the second layer and release the desire engrams, reduce the stress and start healing. But the meditation technique can work up to the fourth layer. The meditation technique straightaway works up to the fourth layer and heals you. That is why it is so powerful.

But for the technique to work on you, you need complete involvement and interest. You need to put your whole attention and awareness into the technique. If you can go into it and come out, you will see miracles happening inside you.

Understand: if you don’t know the science of miracles, you will be making accidents. If you know how to use your inner space, you will be making miracles. If you don’t know how to use your inner space, you will be creating accidents. Both are beyond your logic.

You see, miracle and accident are both beyond your logic.

If the effect is favorable to you, desired by you, you call it a miracle.

If the effect is not desired by you, if it is not benefiting you, you call it an accident.

If you know how to use your inner space, you will be constantly making miracles. Purifying the inner space is the plan for miracles. If you don’t know how to use your inner space, you will constantly be creating accidents because you will be attracting the same frequency incidents in your life. This is a wonderful truth which you need to internalize. Not only internalize, experience also, by entering into the process.

Understand: I don't even want to use the word 'meditation technique' for what we are going to do today. Today, we are going to do two things. One is a process. Maybe the second one can be called meditation. The first one cannot be called meditation, because it is more like re-living, going into all the things about which you are afraid, all the things which frighten you. Facing them, living them and re-living them, is what I call 'reliving'. Re-living is relieving.

Then we will enter into the meditation technique. It is a very powerful technique, which you can carry and practice in your home everyday.

Now I will take a few minutes to analyze whatever I expressed. Please understand, whatever I expressed is more like 'Athaato Brahma jignyaasa' or 'Let us inquire into the reality'. I have proposed whatever I wanted to propose. Now, you can analyze it through your questions. It is like a journey where the master's experience and the disciple's logic is used to do the churning. When the disciple's logic is used to work on the churning with the master's experience, suddenly you will see the amrita – the sweetness. The master's experience comes out. If the disciple's logic is not intelligent enough to stay with the master patiently, then that logic emits something which is called poison. That logic will escape and run away out of its tiredness. It thinks it is not going to survive, so it emits poison.

In the story of the churning of the milky ocean, Vasuki the snake emits poison when it is used as the churning rope by the gods and demons. The disciple's logic is just like Vasuki. When Vasuki thought it couldn't survive, it started vomiting poison. When the logic feels it can't survive these great Truths and it is going to disappear as life is going to take a different direction, it vomits the poison called doubt, and creates problems.

If you have patience to work with the master's experience, you will see that the 'amrita' of enlightenment comes out of your system. Let us churn the master's experience with our questions, so you can internalize all these great Truths, all these great revelations. Now we will enter into the process and the meditation technique after your questions.

Q: I recite the Lalitha Sahasranama. At times I feel the happiness with the names, I feel some of them very close to my heart. So I feel the oneness, but this state does not stay for long. How will I be able to stay in that state continuously? Please guide me.

A: I think we answered the same question yesterday. Do not decide that you should recite all the 1008 names. Devi is not sitting and taking accounts whether you recited all the 1008 names or not! Whatever makes you feel that oneness, that blissful state, recite those names and cherish. Enjoy those experiences and that mood and rest with that. If you really feel that you are in that state, further chanting will disturb that state. Just close the book and leave it. You achieved what needs to be achieved through chanting. Do not use the technique to disturb your peace! Sometimes you overdrive, you try beyond the point which you need to reach. So, do not overdrive. Stop where you are supposed to stop. So, start staying in that state whenever it happens by not doing anything. That is the best way to let that experience settle in you again and again.

Q: How do we know whether a master is enlightened or not among all the other masters in the world?

I tell you, whether the master is enlightened or not, if your heart feels connected, go behind him. Even if he is not enlightened, you will become enlightened. Understand, if your heart feels connected, just go behind him. Even if he is not enlightened you will become enlightened.

If your heart does not feel connected, even if he is enlightened, he cannot help you. Even if he is enlightened, if your heart is not feeling connected to him, if you are not feeling that vibration, that ecstasy, that falling in tune with him, he will not be able to help you.

Just forget about it, so you don't have to bother about whether somebody is enlightened or not. Bother more about whether you feel connected or not. Judging the masters is one of the best ways to avoid spiritual growth. If you want to avoid spiritual growth, the best method is judging the masters. Start judging, so you don't have to judge yourself! The other day, one young man asked me, 'Like Vivekananda asked...' Ramakrishna, 'Have you seen god?' I am asking you, 'Have you seen god?' I told him, when Vivekananda asked Ramakrishna, Ramakrishna said ‘Yes’ and Vivekananda was courageous enough to follow Ramakrishna. Not only have I seen but I can also show you god. Come with me.

The man just disappeared! We go on judging the master but we never worry about our qualifications.

I tell you, if your heart feels connected, if you feel some goodness being around him or some charm about him, just go behind him. Even if he is not enlightened, you can become enlightened. I have seen many disciples becoming enlightened, but the masters were unenlightened.

Q: Animals don’t get married and enjoy their life. Why should we get married and suffer? Is there anything in marriage not provided for animals?

It is a very controversial question. I thought when I first read, I will avoid, but marriage is my favorite subject, so I don’t want to avoid! Here he is asking, ‘Animals don’t get married and live a free life, why should we get married and suffer? Is there anything in marriage that is not provided for animals?’

Yes. Animals take birth as polygamous and die as polygamous. Human being in seed, in potential form, when he takes birth, is polygamous but he should not die polygamous. He should have matured to become monogamous. Understand, that is what maturity is. Suddenly, you will see, when you start growing inside yourself, the deep friendliness liberates you from lust.

Please understand, just yesterday in our ashram, I was discussing this. In our ashramites' meeting I was teaching classes to my brahmacharis (unmarried disciples of the monastic order) about sannyas (life of disciples of the monastic order). The session had some very intimate questions and answers. There, I made a statement, a very important truth. It is not just for swamis, it is for everyone.

We need to understand, a deep friendliness will completely replace the need for lust. It is a very important sutra. Usually, in marriage, a deep hatred replaces lust.

A small story:

A thirty-year-old man goes to the doctor. After a thorough medical checkup, the doctor says, 'Your health is not for married life. You have to completely drop your physical relationship. You have to be celibate alone. This man says, 'No, no, I am just thirty! I cannot suddenly quit; I cannot suddenly stop. Give me some other alternative.' The doctor said, 'Ok, marry. Slowly it will automatically taper down!'

Understand, usually a deep hatred replaces your need for lust. But the truth is a deep friendliness can replace the need for physical relationship. If the deep friendliness replaces the need for physical relationship, that is what we call 'Vanaprastha' in the Vedic tradition, a ripened married life. When the married life gets ripened, it is called 'Vanaprastha'.

During the Vedic marriage, the blessing is given to the man, 'Let you become the eleventh son of your wife'. For the woman, the blessing is given, 'Let you become the eleventh daughter of your husband'. It means after ten years of living together, if the deep friendliness grows, suddenly you will see the need for physical relationship comes down, tapers down. So, I really feel the marriage system has something to contribute.

At least our masters had something in their heart when they created this system of family. So surely, marriage system has something to add to you more than just the animal life. I can say that something is the deep friendliness. I can say, the physical relationship is more like confirming whether the other person is still in need of me and wants me and wanting to know whether the other person still loves me or not. If the guarantee, the confirmation, the security that the person is in love with you, needs you and will miss you, settles down in both the hearts, suddenly, you will see the need for physical relationship comes down. I can say, that is the gift, the fruit that you were supposed to have from the proper marriage system. That is the thing that animals cannot experience. Polygamous man can never experience the guarantee, the insurance that the other person loves you. If you experienced that, you have lived a pure fulfilling life, the life of a true, Vedic traditional 'grihastha'.

Q: Can anybody become the master or is he the chosen one?

Nobody needs to choose you. Only you need to choose you, that's all. Understand: fortunately, masters are not chosen the democratic way! Nobody needs to vote for you. All you need to do is vote for yourself, that's all. You need to choose yourself. Nobody else needs to choose you.

Just decide consciously, from today, I am going to live the reality, the truth of my Being. That is the decision. You have become the master, that's all! I always tell people, when I say I became enlightened on a particular day, do not think something has happened in my system. Of course, something has happened, but that is not the actual main thing I want to convey. The first thing that happened was very consciously, I decided, let me live my enlightenment. Because I decided, as a side-effect, something started happening in my body and mind. But people always think, first the experience should happen and then you decide. No! First the decision has to happen. Then the experience happens.

So, nobody needs to choose you. You have to choose yourself. That is the best thing. Fortunately there is no election for choosing the masters.

Q: In yesterday’s meditation, I felt strong concentration between the eyebrows and a strong vibration in the spine. Is this normal?

Yes, wonderful, you really had a good meditation. The vibration in the spine means that part of the Kundalini energy got awakened. That is a good experience.

Q: Swamiji, I would like to know the purpose of our life, the world, the universe and our god.

If you know the purpose of your life, you will be able to understand the other three automatically. Here you are asking: I want to know the purpose of our life, purpose of our world, purpose of our universe and purpose of our god. The purpose of your life is the purpose of the universe. The purpose of the universe is the purpose of god. It means the purpose of your life is the purpose of god. Be very clear, find out the purpose of your life and you will be able to find out the purpose of god. But unfortunately, I cannot tell you the purpose of your life.

One more important thing, whatever you think as the purpose of your life, you will attract that kind of universe around you. You will create that kind of world around you. You will be devoted to that kind of god.

Understand, the purpose of your life decides the purpose of your world, the purpose of your universe and the purpose of your god. If your purpose is just money, you will create that kind of a corporate world around you, you will create that kind of a corporate universe. You will understand the whole universe as a company.

The other day, I was reading a wonderful article describing the whole universe as a company, Global Earth Holdings. If the purpose of your life is just money, the whole world will look like a corporate company. It will feel like the universe is a corporate company and you will be naturally attracted to the god who gives or whom you believe will give money.

So, the purpose of your life is going to decide the purpose of your world, the purpose of your universe and the purpose of your god.

If you are enlightenment-based; if you feel that the purpose of your life is not money but enlightenment, suddenly you will see that you attract that kind of a society around you, that kind of a universe around you or that kind of god whom you believe will give enlightenment.

If you feel that you want both money and enlightenment, then your universe will be that way. You will create that kind of a world around you. You will feel attracted to the corresponding god.

So, I can say, the purpose of your life is the main core or thread. Unfortunately... I am sorry... fortunately... I cannot teach you that! You only have to find it out.

Q: My daughter, aged about twenty six, says she wants to become a sannyasi. She is not accepting marriage. Please kindly bless.

When an individual soul wants something, we can only bless for that individual decision. See, nobody can interfere with individual freedom. If the person wants to marry, you can't make her a sannyasi. If she wants to become a swami, you can't make her marry. Whatever she wants, let that happen. Only that is the right thing. I can only give that blessing. Also, I think you also expect only that, because here you have said, 'Please kindly bless my daughter'. What she wants, let her achieve, let her be successful in that. That's what I can say.

Q: Our life is a dream. How can a master appearing in the dream pull you out of it?

It is a very nice question. You are asking, 'If life is a dream, how can a master who is appearing in that dream pull me out of it?'

Understand, in the night, if you dream that a lion is chasing you, 'simha swapna', the lion is chasing you in the dream only, but the lion in the dream can pull you out of that dream. Simha swapna can just make you wake up. If you see a lion in the dream, what do you do? You just wake up. The very fear makes you just wake up.

Just like how the 'simha swapna' can wake you up, the master who is happening in this dream can lead you to enlightenment. Master is a simha swapna. Understand, he is a simha swapna. He can just wake you up.

Q: Will the process of purification today bring us temporarily out of negativity?

It will permanently bring you out of negativity. Just go into it.

Q: When my master clears my samskaras and takes care of me, my only duty is to do what he has told me. I do not need all this confusion about the layers; it is too much for a stupid disciple like me. Surrendering to the master is all I can do.

Understand, surrender the idea that you are a stupid disciple. That is an important thing. Here you have surrendered everything except for the idea that you are a stupid disciple. Surrender the idea that you are a stupid disciple. Then you will be able to understand what I said. Then you will not say this is too much.

People come and tell me, ‘Swamiji, I'll do whatever you say, but not all these meditations.’ What do you mean? Meditation is what I am telling you to do. So do that, otherwise it is contradictory. Surrender to me, guru bhakti is supposed to lead you to atma bhakti. That is the reason for guru bhakti.

If you say, I am surrendered to you but I am stupid, this is too much for me, then don't think you have surrendered to me. You have surrendered many things to me but not the idea that you are stupid. Surrender that and you will realize the truth.

The unique thing with enlightened masters is their immense practicality. When people come and tell me, 'I have too many worries. What to do Swamiji?' I tell them, 'Just worry and suffer! The suffering will teach.'

They come to me thinking I will give them some consolation. Consolation is the worst nonsensical thing to delay your growth. Just suffer. Suffering is powerful enough to teach. You see, either you be intelligent and learn from the master, or suffer and life will teach you, that's all. It is a little harder way, but no problem. Just suffer, life will teach, so do not try to avoid suffering.

When you decide I have to suffer, then naturally you will see one or two simple teachings, your mind will start picking up and start practicing. Usually when people come and ask me, 'I am suffering too much, give me some way,’ if I give them some meditation, they will say, ‘Oh! I don’t know this meditation…’ and if I give them some proper technique, after one month they will come and say, ‘Now I have one more worry, I am not able to practice meditation.’ They will only add more and more worries because their very tendency, their basic structure is to worry. Nothing can be done.

I tell them, ‘Just suffer!’ Then they start getting defensive, ‘What! How dare he tell me to suffer! I will come out of the suffering.’ I tell them, ‘This is what I wanted. Please come out.’

You see, human beings have become such that if one has to do anything, it will start happening only with vengeance or with a challenging mood. We forgot doing something based on inspiration. Only with a challenging mood, violence, we even come out of violence! Even to come out of violence, we need a little violence. That’s why I tell people, suffer, it is ok.

Sometimes, I make fun of people who are suffering. Then, immediately they come out of suffering. They just come out because they don’t want anybody to make fun of their suffering!

Q: During your discourse, you said one can only reach the state of the fourth layer. Beyond that, one needs the presence of the guru. Why is it so? Is it possible for an ordinary person like me who desires to go beyond the fourth stage, even though I have mundane attachments?

What do you think you are doing? Have you given up everything to come and sit here? No! Now you can go into the fifth stage or beyond the fourth stage. See when I said that statement, it was a technical detail.

Sometimes, people think everything can happen just by their effort; just to tell that it does not happen that way I said so. But otherwise, you don't need to do much else. Just work on this fourth state, you will see the fifth state will automatically become cleansed.

Even before working on the fourth, they have already started worrying about the fifth. I've seen these people, they don't think about how to cleanse the fourth layer and work on it. The moment there is something which I said you can't do, immediately where does your attention go? No, I should do only that! That is why, many times I tell, you can't do meditation. That is only for intelligent people. Immediately they start doing, they just want to prove!

Anyhow... here is a question that I am not even able to read. It says, 'To seek...' after that I am not able to read.

There is a story I always tell:

One man gave an ad in the local newspaper, 'We need a person for the post of manager, who knows how to read and write French.'

One application came, 'I can write but I can't read.' The man who posted the ad was surprised, 'Who is this person who says that he can write but he can't read?'

He called that applicant for the interview. The applicant came.

The interviewer told him, 'I want a manager who knows how to read and write French.' The applicant replied, 'I already applied, I told you in my application that I can write but I can't read.'

The interviewer said, 'Please write'.

The applicant scribbled something on the paper. The interviewer saw the paper, picked it up but he was not able to understand anything. He said, 'What did you write? Read and tell me, I don't understand.'

The applicant who wrote said, 'I told you, I can only write, I can't read!' So I think, somebody like that wrote the question. They can only write, they can't read!

Q: I don't know what the purpose of my life is, I feel good to bring smiles on the faces of needy people. But I don't know what the purpose of my life is. How can I know that?

I can tell you, first bring a smile onto your face. That is the purpose of your life. Then let that smile overflow, and bring the smile on every other person's face. Yes, if you don't have a smile on your face, and you are trying to bring it on another's face in the name of service, you will just be expressing and imposing your ego on others.

A small story:

An NCC teacher told all his NCC students, 'Everyday, you should do one good activity and come and report.'

One day, three boys stood up and said, 'Sir, today we helped an old lady to cross the road.' The teacher was surprised and curiously asked, 'Why do you need three persons to help one lady across the road?' One of the boys replied, ‘Yes Sir, it took three persons because she didn’t want to cross!’

Understand, many times, your service ends up in imposing your ego. So, let you bring a smile on your face, let a deep contentment settle. I always tell people, if you can solve all the problems of your life, just by your knowledge-weapons, shaastra-shastraas, inner clarity, inner healing, then start doing service.

First thing you need to do is solve your life by having the clarity about jeeva, jagat and ishwara. Jeeva is Self, jagat is world, and ishwara is god, source of the world and self. Then start doing service. Work intensely for this inner clarity within yourself.

Q: How does one identify the self-healing clarity?

The self-healing clarity, the inner clarity is so powerful it will release so much peace in you. Suddenly you will see the problem on which you were pondering, worrying, planning and getting confused, disappears and you are in that restful awareness. You are in that deep state of rest. That is the way you can identify the inner healing.

Q: When I witness no thoughts, when the mind is thinking it witnessed, the mind can only do one thing at a time. How can I witness when a thought is coming?

Why are you creating a problem? If you say you witness there are no thoughts, just celebrate you are in a thoughtless state. Enjoy that you are in a thoughtless state.

Why do you think you should have thoughts and you should witness? You are only creating more problems. If you think when you witness, you don't have thoughts that is what we want. Just be relaxed, do not bother about thinking. Let you be constantly in the witnessing mood.

Q: How do you practice these three techniques? In order, how long do you practice them everyday?

A: Both the technique which I gave yesterday, and that which we are doing today, you can use when needed. But the technique which we are going to do tomorrow, is what I recommend for you to do everyday.

Q: A lot of what you speak and demonstrate is true, and sharply laser-like. However, in the Indian context, when you speak of tradition or a lack of practice of tradition, don’t you think we have not understood tradition? Also, is there not a misuse of the outer systems of tradition that has rendered our psychology disempowered?

A: First thing, I don’t think the outer systems of tradition have been used or misused for power as much as you are told. Maybe, any system, when it is used by an uninspired personality, the system will be misused but that applies for any system. So, maybe in the spiritual system, one or two uninspired people entered, and the system might have been misused by those people. But that does not mean the whole system is a failure! And you have been told too many times about those one or two mistakes.

You see, any system, whether it is social, political, or economic system, you don’t go for an alternative even if you know the amount of abuse and misuse happening.. And you are told very little about the mistakes and abusive happenings in those systems. But unfortunately, about spirituality and tradition, I think you’ve been given too much information about small things. And you start thinking of replacing it, you start looking for an alternative. Do not think so many problems have happened, as you have been taught or told.

Q: Your teaching focuses on the divinity inside each one of us and you teach that each one of us can connect with our consciousness. How is it that your followers chant your name? How does that help?

You have to ask them, not me! At least I don't chant!

Two things, there are so many things related to this question. First thing, I don't feel connected to this name. That is the reason I don't bother, or I don't feel pride when they chant, or I don't feel anything fulfilling when they chant. Second thing, maybe my name has become a brand name for my philosophy.

It is like, if you remember a particular shop's name, you remember all the products inside that shop. In the same way, for my disciples, maybe my name has become the center word for all the teachings which they received from me. To remind themselves of all the teachings they received from me, maybe remembering my name will be useful. That's the reason they may be using it. That's all the reasons I can find or analyze. More than that, only they can tell.

If repeating my name helps you to remember my teachings, then it will be perfectly alright, otherwise don't do it. Otherwise better remember your name. That is good for you. If it helps you, if it inspires you to remember my teachings, and experience, then you can remember my name. And another thing, if you feel like remembering my name, then remember, otherwise don't bother; don't worry about why they are remembering. It is their headache; they may be feeling helped; so let them remember.

There is a beautiful incident in Ramana Maharishi's life:

Every Saturday, in his presence, his disciples would chant 'Ramana Satguru' - Ramana Maharishi's name as a song. He himself would sit and enjoy. Somebody asked him, 'What kind of an enlightened being are you? You are enjoying your own name being chanted.' Ramana Maharishi says very beautifully, 'Why are you reducing such a great power Ramana to this 6-foot body? Why are you reducing that great Ramana to this 6-foot body?'

He says it is a great power, it is a great energy. Just like you are all enjoying the name, I am also enjoying the name. So, you don't have to reduce that name to this 6-foot form.

In the same way, you don't have to identify. Still I don't sign my name. When people ask for my autograph, you will see I will only be writing the mantra which I used before my enlightenment, because I don't feel psychologically connected to my name. From a young age, I had so many names. Parents called me by one name, friends called by another name, a nickname, and now the disciples are calling me by another name. The master who initiated gave a different name. So many different names! Somehow I do not feel psychologically connected, that's why when people ask me to autograph, I only use the mantra which I used before enlightenment.

I think it is time we enter into the meditation because many of these questions will disappear in the process. Understand, we are going to do two things. First thing we are going to do is re-living. Second, we are going to do the meditation technique.

What do I mean by the word 're-living'? Consciously enter into the memories which you don't want. Consciously enter into your guilt, your pain and the many suppressed desires, which you don't want to remain as part of your inner space. Whatever you are avoiding, just consciously re-enter into them.

People get frightened when they hear this and ask me, 'If we enter, will it not become strong, will it not become reality?' Fortunately, you are not that powerful to make your thoughts into reality. So, don't bother. When you consciously enter into them, those engrams, if they are in some way going to be good for you, will become part of you.

22 December, 2006

I welcome you all with my love and respect.

Today's subject is 'unclutching' – the

de-programming of the inner self to experience your

true Self.