Chapter 18: The Ultimate Sutra🔗

Understand: any thought which newly comes inside your inner space replaces the old thought, even if it was the worst fear or the worst depression or the worst suffering, or the worst attachment. It can be anything. The new thought coming afresh proves that your inner space is now replaced by the new thought; the old thought has lost its power over your inner space.

Why should you be afraid of any thought that can lose power in your inner space? Why should you be afraid of it? Constantly we are carrying the fear that we will not be able to conquer the fear. We are carrying the fear we will not be able to conquer our attachment. We are carrying the fear we will not be able to go beyond our suffering.

Understand an important thing, this is what I call click, an initiation: if a thought can be replaced, if a thought can leave your inner space once, it means it can again and again be removed as many number of times as it comes. That’s all.

People tell me, ‘No, no, no, how many times can I replace?’ Every time when it comes, have a cup of water in front of you, sip once, and keep it. Just play with your mind, tease your mind till it stops. Tease your mind till it stops. It might look very funny. You may say, ‘No, no, no, it looks too simple. How can this be done? I might look like a mad person!’ Nothing wrong! Looking mad is perfectly alright and better than being one!

Understand the simple truth, if a new thought can replace the old thought then naturally, no thought can occupy, possess and torture your inner space eternally. This is the click. This is the basic truth.

But the mind says, 'No, no, no, it is not that easy. No, no, Swamiji, it comes back. What to do? It again comes back.' If it comes back you also again come back. You also again stand up. Understand, if you can replace the thought ten times, the eleventh time the thought will not come; the frequency will come down.

Fortunately, you have pure inner space which does not get corrupted by the flowing thoughts. That is the important thing.

Fortunately, you have a screen which does not get burned by the burning scene. If you project a burning scene on the screen through the film, will the screen be burned? No. In the same way, fortunately, you have a pure inner space, which does not get corrupted, polluted, or possessed by a particular idea or a thought.

Understanding this deeply can completely liberate you from all the sufferings you create for yourself. It can bring tremendous self-healing into you, tremendous freedom to you, and tremendous courage and confidence.

See, now, if any fear arises in you all you need to do is, have a cup of coffee!

And one more thing: immediately, the mind will question, 'No, if I handle all fears like that, what will happen if my property is taken away? Who will maintain my family?' Don't bother.

Come back, unclutch again and again. Do not clutch the thoughts and give meaning to them. Unclutch again and again, come back and rest.

You may ask, 'How to unclutch? I don't know. I don't think I can unclutch from my mind.' This very thought when it comes, 'I don't think I can unclutch from my mind', you are already unclutched because the new thought can come only if the old thought can leave you!

Fear can come only if lust leaves. Lust can come only if the fear leaves. You can have a thought to have a cup of water only if the fear leaves. You can have a thought to have a cup of coffee only if the suffering leaves. The moment you are able to think that I should have a cup of coffee, already the so-called suffering has left. If that is sitting inside of your space how can you have a new thought? You can't.

Understand, handle the enemy one at a time. If you think, ‘No, no, no, you don’t know, Swamiji. I tried one thousand techniques; I can teach you many more techniques, nothing works. And my mind is not as simple as you think. Maybe your mind is simple, and that is why it worked.’

Please understand, even in our foolishness, we are not at the peak. That is one of the important truths we need to understand. All of us have a very clear idea that we are in the worst ignorance. No, it is not so.

Just a simple truth, if a simple thought of having a cup of coffee can come inside, it means any serious thought, be it pain, suffering or whatever, has left. That is why the new thought is able to come.

So, as long as you have freedom to entertain a new thought, you have the inner space to entertain the new thought.

Be very clear, your power to bring a new thought itself proves you have the power to drop the old thought. Instead of looking at the ability to replace, you look at the ability to bring it back. But you have both of these abilities.

Understand, what you mother, that you hatch.

The hen mothers the egg and gets the chicken out. Just a chicken comes out. If you are mothering the thought that you can replace any suffering, you will bring that into reality. If you are mothering the thought, ‘No, no, whatever I replace will come back,’ you will bring that in your experience.

Where you put your awareness, where you put your attention is the important thing. Understand, your very ability to get a new thought shows your ability to discard the old thought. Any thought can be discarded by any simple thought. This simple understanding is more than enough to unclutch and to rest.

One important thing: whenever any fear, any unsolvable problem comes, all you need to do from today on is, have a cup of water, that’s all! And just say, ‘Ey! (You are just a thought.)’ That’s all. Your mind will get a little perturbed and shaken.

Understand, your suffering can rule you, just because you are afraid of it. Have you seen when these underworld dons (godfathers) get created? They too will have the deep fear; but just your fear towards them will empower them. In the same way, your mind too has fear about you; but your fear towards your mind just empowers your mind.

This is the initiation.

There is a very beautiful story in Buddha’s life:

Buddha says, ‘Whenever I said in meditation, ‘I am going to get up after a few hours,’, I never became enlightened. Once I decided, ‘If I am not going to become enlightened, I am not going to get up from this seat. Let this body dry up in this very place (idam aasanam shushyate shareeram in Sanskrit). Till I become enlightened, I am not going to move.’

Buddha says, the moment he created that strong clarity, the authentic sankalpa (vow), the next second he became enlightened!

When you replace your suffering, if you are thinking, ‘No, no, today I can replace ten times. If it comes back the eleventh time, I can only try tomorrow,’, then nothing will happen. Decide very clearly, ‘Till it stops coming, I am going to replace.’ That is what I call courage, dheera. And once you have replaced it, you can start laughing at it, ‘I was afraid of you for so many years, I was getting shaken by you for so many years! All it takes to push you out is a glass of water, a cup of coffee, nothing else!’

A thought to have a cup of coffee, a thought to stand up is more than enough to remove the worst suffering from your inner space. The problem is it looks too simple! People come and tell me, ‘No, no, Swamiji, it cannot be so simple; I think you missed somewhere…!’ People really think, I am too young; that maybe I know only a few things and that is what I am teaching.

Understand, the truth is simple.

There is a beautiful traditional song, ‘O, so difficult to be a devotee of Shiva!’

Ramana Maharishi sang a very beautiful song, ‘O, so easy is enlightenment!’