Chapter 2 What Nonsense!🔗

Beloved Master,

Could You please pass Your comments about the difference between the spiritual question, ‘Who am I?’ (which Ramana Maharishi speaks about) and the psychological trauma of ‘Who am I?’ (the state of confusion).

It is nothing but the difference between the ego and the self. You see: the ego is just the false idea which you have of who you are; it is the work of the mind. There is actually no relationship between it and reality.

Your ego is perfectly fine for you as long as you are dealing only with the world, because in the world you are mainly dealing with the egos of other people. The moment the mind is dropped, the ego goes with it. It is here that you discover who you really are. You understand that what you thought yourself to be and what you really are, are really at two separate poles. You understand that your reality is totally different and has nothing to do with the mind.

It is like this: you have never tasted sugar before. You come to me and ask, 'What does sugar taste like?' What will I say? I will only say that it is sweet. But will you be able to understand? Can you understand what 'sweet' is? No! You need to experience it.

So, in order to understand what 'dropping the ego' is, you must first experience it. As of now, you have not reached the ultimate reality. You are still somewhere between truth and falsity; oscillating between the two.

Yes, it is better than false, but much lower than the real. You still have the separation between you and Existence. It is this separation which prevents you from seeing reality as it is. To see it as it is, is the ultimate blessing. And it is your birthright.

To understand your problem, here is an analogy. You have a wall all around you. You yourself have built this wall; a nice steel wall. And inside this wall, you are thinking that you are seeing reality. This is the game that ego plays on you. There is a whole other dimension waiting to be seen, waiting to be experienced, and your ego keeps you thinking that you have seen all that needs to be seen. If you break open these walls, you will see the reality of the whole of Existence.

But first, you must get rid of the ego; the ego which prevents you from knowing, from really seeing.

There are some religions like Zen or Hinduism which take you to the end of your spiritual path. It is religions like these which are not only interested in clearing you of the ego, but also go a step further: They take you until the point where there is nothing more to drop; where even the self has disappeared.

Right now, you are like a house that is full; you are having a party within you. There are so many personalities, so many thoughts, so many false ideas contradicting each other. A noisy party is going on within you. When you start moving deeper within you, trying to understand your reality, the party starts winding up; the guests start to leave. The party is no more; your house becomes empty. If you move even deeper, there is no house! Even the house has disappeared.

This is what I am talking about. Right now, you are full of thoughts and you are bound by the ego. It is like your house is full. Some day, the ego will leave you, like your guests have left and your house is empty.

But if you go still deeper, the house too disappears. Then there is nothing at all to drop. Your self has dropped. It is at this point that you are no more. It is in this emptiness that the ultimate experience can really happen.

As I said, your house is now full. There is no space to fit anything in. Only when you become empty, the experience will have the space to happen. Only when you have become no more, the experience of who you really are will blossom. Only when the false identity fades away, your identity will become visible.

It is at this point that you cannot have any connection with your past. It is like you have completely cut off from what you thought yourself to be. It is only now that you can really be yourself.

And this is what enlightenment is: it is getting rid of your ego, your mind, bit by bit. You go on losing this ego until there is nothing more to lose; until you have completely lost yourself. Only then, you find yourself.

I tell you honestly: you all really don't know how to live. We are all miserable because of this one reason. No one is in harmony with each other. Everyone is always at each other's throat. There is never a time when you are fully in peace.

Actually, if you look deeply, there is no such thing as peace. The period of preparation for the next war is what we call peace!

And this is really the way in which we live. All the misery in the world is simply because of this one reason: we all have completely forgotten how to live with each other.

Just look into your lives: when you are in an argument with someone, you naturally feel that the other person doesn't know what he is doing. You feel that he is wrong, that he should simply keep quiet and listen to you! If this is what is going on in your mind, be very clear that the other guy is thinking the same thing! That is why there is an argument!

I am not only talking about arguments, I am also talking about competition, about jealousy. Your whole life which is a struggle to earn money, to always succeed, is simply because of this competing attitude. If you really look into this, you will understand that the only reason that you continuously desire, is to show yourself as better than someone else. Only when your neighbour gets an air conditioner does the temperature in your house increase!

I am reminded of a small story:

There was once a Priest and a Rabbi. They were both next door neighbors.

These two guys would always be competing.

When the Priest got an ice box, the Rabbi had to get a new refrigerator. When the Rabbi got a new fan, the Priest had to get a new air conditioner.

One day, the Priest drove in with a new BMW. On seeing this, what did the Rabbi do?

He immediately went and bought a new Rolls Royce!

The next day, the Rabbi walked out of his house and found that the Priest was baptizing his new BMW.

The Rabbi just didn't know what to do. That evening the Rabbi was seen cutting the exhaust pipe of his new Rolls Royce!

If you understood the joke, it is good.

If you didn't understand, don't miss the laughter! Simply laugh! What else can be done!

This is the way in which you are living! Whether you believe it or not, accept it or not, it is the truth! Your whole life simply exists on this one basis: to show yourself as better than the other guy.

Stop all this nonsense! This is not the way to enjoy your life in totality. This is not the way to extract the juice of Existence.

Life is nothing but a celebration and you are here to live it.

You are here to enjoy.

You are here to sing with the birds.

Just do it! Grasp the spirit and flow with the river of life!

Nothing more is needed.

Thank you.

Beloved Master,

Your discourse this morning was just amazing! You have such a vast context. Can You please speak about Your role in this place? Was it Your choice or did Existence plan it for You? Did Existence think that you were the only person who could save humanity?

There is a time that will come when there will be no difference between you and Existence. It is not that I planned for myself to come here or Existence did. There is no difference between Existence and I; there is only a merging, a deep merging.

It is like this: do you see this handkerchief? There are so many threads coming out of this one piece of cloth. It is not that the threads and the handkerchief are different. The threads are part of the whole handkerchief. They are both one and the same. In the same way, so many masters have happened on planet Earth. We all think that they are different from each other. Actually, they are part of the same Whole. They are all part of the same cosmic oneness. There are so many threads, but they are from the same thing, the same source. There is no difference between Existence and I. Every master who has happened on planet Earth is pure Existence descended once more in human form.

It is not that I am the only person so far who has tried to save humanity. So many masters have come; each with a different technique for awakening. But somehow, we have simply escaped from them. We have survived them; we have survived even Buddha!

This will not happen again! Be very clear: I will not let this happen! You will not be able to escape this time. You will be awakened!

Actually, there are so many awakened ones already. We are just not able to recognize them. It is not that each one has come with a mission. Some of them live happily in society.

There are three types of enlightened people: The first type is mystics. They are ones who are realized but have not necessarily come down with a mission. They live happily with themselves. It doesn't mean that they have to live in some secluded cave in the Himalayas. They might as well be your next door neighbor. You never know!

The second type is Masters. They are the ones who have realized and have a mission as well. They go around carrying their message to awaken humanity. They are very much like scientists, except that they are of the inner world.

A scientist is one who creates a formula to recreate the same experience which happened to him in the outer world for others to experience.

A Master is one who creates a formula to recreate the same experience which happened to him in the inner world for others to experience.

The third type is avatars - incarnations. He is above the other two.

In fact, avatars are the first two and something more. They do live happily with themselves. They do have a mission. The only difference is that they can put you into the experience straightaway without any formula. All that you need to do is approach them with a deep receptive mood. In fact, even if you don't have this receptive mood, he will ensure that the experience happens within you. He will not allow you to escape.

Understand: once you have stepped inside, you will not be able to go out. The process has already started. Even if you leave me, the process will continue without stopping. With or without your knowledge, your transformation will go on.

You will be transformed!

You will be awakened!

Yes.