Chapter 7: The Importance of Experience
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From time immemorial, enlightened masters have been landing on planet earth and declaring that life is joy, ecstasy and bliss. Just this single simple understanding of enlightened masters declaring this is enough to make life blissful. We are not able to discard them by saying that they may be lying! We are not able to push their words aside because of their sheer authenticity. Their presence is too strong!
When Vivekananda addressed the Parliament of Religions in Chicago for the first time, he started by saying, ‘Dear brothers and sisters of America’. In the reminiscences, the people who witnessed the scene say that it took at least several minutes for the crowd to settle down after the applause. It was such a strong experience for them! It is not just the clapping, it is the deep feeling that was stirred in them by the authenticity of Vivekananda’s voice and presence.
Somebody asked Vivekananda, ‘How did it happen?’ Everyday we see in the streets so many people addressing gatherings in the same way as ‘brother’ and ‘sister’. The problem is, when they call you ‘brother’ or ‘sister’, you don’t know why they are calling you that. You immediately smell a hidden intent. When Vivekananda spoke those words, he spoke from his very being. That is why it touched the beings of the thousands who were gathered there.
One man goes to Mahatma Gandhi and says, ‘I feel you are my brother’. Gandhi says, ‘Yes, you are my brother. I accept you as my brother.’ The man says, ‘Then give me my share of your property.’ Gandhi gives him just one penny and says, ‘Please take it’. The man asks, ‘How can you give me only one penny?’ Gandhi says, ‘I have 30 million brothers. Every single person in the whole of India is my brother or sister. I have to give all of them their share. So your share is only this. Please take it and go!’
So understand, you don’t know for what reason people call you as ‘brother’ or ‘sister’!
Anyway, Vivekananda very beautifully answers this question. He says, ‘Before uttering those words, I felt it as my solid experience. I clearly felt that they are my own, that they just belong to me or I belong to them. That very feeling I simply expressed as words.’
There is a beautiful word ojas in Sanskrit. It literally means ‘vigor’ or ‘depth’.
The listener cannot
escape because the depth
of the words will have
such a gripping quality.
It has to enter into your inner space.
When Vivekananda
says, ‘Dear brothers and
sisters’, you cannot just
brush him aside saying
that he is lying or he
is using sentimental
If the person who is
speaking speaks from
authentic experience, from
that depth, the person
who is listening has to
listen authentically!
By nature, anything that
comes out of pure inner
space has to penetrate
your inner space.
words or he is just being socially polite or politically correct. No! You simply cannot brush him aside, because it will be such a strong experience for anyone receiving it! You cannot push the master's words aside because they will be so authentic and strong; you can't help being touched by them.
I always tell people: either you agree completely with me, or you disagree completely with me. But you cannot push masters aside!
Anyway, masters are again and again happening on planet earth and saying, 'Life is joy, life is ecstasy, life is bliss, life is ananda' etc. But in our daily routine, we don't seem to be experiencing this as true. It doesn't seem to be reality to us in our lives.
I have seen, many times, those who live closely around living enlightened masters cannot understand what is going on. They see him constantly radiating so much joy, so much ecstasy. I always tell people: if you live with an enlightened master, either you will become enlightened or you will become mad! There is no other way because you are too close to the Truth. It is a dangerous zone!
If you cooperate, if you simply allow the process to happen, if you involve yourself sincerely and be open, you will become enlightened.
If you resist, the resistance and energy needed will be too much because every moment you have to resist! You will not have enough energy to resist. The master's presence will be so strong, it will just penetrate you. You need almost equal energy to resist the energy of an enlightened master. That is the reason why you can't push masters aside.
So neither are you able to push masters aside, nor are you able to realize the truth spoken by them. Then where is the problem? Why are their words not becoming reality in our own life?