Intensity is the Unfailing Way🔗

Whether we lead or whether we follow, in order to be fulfilled in whatever we do, we need to be intense.

A small story: A Zen master and a disciple were walking along the banks of a river. The disciple, as he had done a few times before, asked the master very longingly, "Master please give me enlightenment. "Suddenly the master turned, held the disciple’s head in his hand and pushed it into the river. The disciple was shocked and started struggling to get his head above water. The master continued to strongly hold his head in the water. Now the disciple started gasping for breath. The master then released the surprised and completely shaken disciple. The master asked, "Do you feel you want enlightenment with the same intensity that you felt you needed air to breathe when your head was in the water?"

Only when the urge becomes urgent, when the question becomes a quest, does the Ultimate happen. The key factor needed for enlightenment to happen is intensity.

You see, usually we feel a terrible restlessness towards the outer world, ‘I have not done this, I have not done that’ and so on. The same restlessness when directed to the inner world is called intensity.

You do not know what is happening, you do not know what should be done, but the deep dissatisfaction about what is there in the inner space is what I call intensity. You may be wondering why I am teaching dissatisfaction. I am supposed to teach satisfaction, right? I tell you, your dissatisfaction, which is now directed towards the outer world, has to turn towards the inner world, and only then it will lead to satisfaction. First thing which needs to happen is not satisfaction but the turning of direction, the psychological revolution. Restlessness should become intensity. If it is towards the outer world, if your consciousness is constantly moving towards the outer world, it is called restlessness. If it is moving towards the inner world, it is called intensity.

The meaning of intensity is that desperate feeling that something needs to be done immediately, to break free from the clutches, or to break free in the inner world Intensity is not emotion. When you are intense, one part of it may be emotional. But intensity cannot be called emotion. It is like heat. The part of intensity that melts and comes out can be called emotion. For example, when you integrate yourself with intensity, one part of you melts. Let us say the heart melts, then that can be called emotion. Along with your heart, your intellect will also melt, your being will also melt. The side-effect of intensity is emotion.

Do not bother about what your intensity should be about. Do not bother about ‘towards what’. It should become a quality. Anything you do, whether you touch something or somebody or some object, let the intensity be there, even in that touch.

If you are talking, let the intensity be there. In your relationships, in your decisions, in your memory, in your thinking, in your desires, even in your fears, be intense without escaping from this moment. That is what I call intensity.

Intensity means radiating the energy that does not create any conflict inside and outside. Intensity is intensely being inside you. Intensity does not create conflict inside or outside. It flows smoothly and yet very strongly. We always think if it is flowing smoothly.

We always think if it is flowing smoothly like a river, it will not have intensity, and if it is intense like a stone it will not be flowing freely. No. Intensity is like a flood which is intense and flowing.

I have seen some people intensely creating conflict every moment! Anything you tell them to do, they will be ready to create a conflict.

A small story A prisoner escaped from prison after twelve years and reached his home. The moment his wife opened the door she started shouting, "How dare you come so late! You escaped from prison twent y four hours before. Where have you been? You should have come straight back home!"

All that the woman was bothered about was why he was not back home right after he had escaped. She certainly was intense, but only in creating conflicts.

Real intensity does not create conflicts. It is flowing but intense.

Intensity is integration. Intensity is focus. Intensity is sincerity.

Usually intensity leads to a solid feeling. You may be intense but you may have lost the ability to flow. Or you may be flowing but may have lost the intensity.

See, you may be intense but you may have lost the ability to flow - because you are driven by your ego. You are determined to achieve what you want but you have your own rigid ideas about how to get there. You fail to understand then that Existence can make events happen in a much more beautiful and effective way than you can plan.

I tell my disciples, plan in the best way to the best of your ability. Then, leave it. It may seem that all your plans are being completely trampled - don't get frustrated at that point, something much more beautiful than what you had planned will come to life.

The other possibility is that you may be flowing but may have lost the intensity. This is the case with people who have no focus and waste their energies getting distracted by anything that comes by. Understand, water becomes steam only at 100 degrees Celsius. Even at 99 degrees C, it is still water; it does not transform to steam. Same way, if you are not integrated in seeking, all your energies are not integrated. The total transformation cannot happen.

Take up something and follow it with full intensity. Intensity does not mean acting rigidly without scope for updating and change. Only when you are open to change you can make your way like the river flowing intensely towards the ocean.

What is being? Being complete, total, integrated, expressing your full energy, is what I call ‘being’. If you are partial in your experience or expression, be very clear you are being hypocritical.

Even your anger is hypocritical. You just choose whether to express your anger or not. Your anger is also directly related to your logic.

You never get angry beyond your logic. It is always managed by your logic. You analyze, am I going to lose anything here in this situation?' If you are sure you are going to lose something, you just suppress your anger. If you are clear, I am not going to lose anything. I can shout at this person. What can he do?' then you just explode and express much more anger than what is necessary. Whatever you have stored in stock, you open up everything and give!

Be very clear, when your logic manages your anger, you will have two problems. First, you unnecessarily shout or unnecessarily show your anger when it is not necessary. Second, even when you are not expressing, you will be suppressing it.

First, if you are expressing, you will be expressing too much, much more than what is necessary. Next, if you are not expressing, you will be suppressing it. Be very clear, both are wrong.

Suppressing and expressing both are not going to help. You may ask, 'Then what are we supposed to do?' You are not asked to do anything, just be.

Modern mystic, J. Krishnamurthi, says beautifully, whenever an emotion overtakes you, if even once you can just be without moving your body, without co-operating with your emotion, you will be liberated from that emotion.

If you stay without moving your body when you are flooded or overpowered by any emotion, even once, immediately you will be liberated from that emotion. I am not saying you have to constantly practice this. No, just once, only once, and you will be liberated from that very emotion.

Intensity does not depend on the nature of the work or action. It can be as complex as running a billion dollar company or as simple as cleaning the floor. It is not the 'what' that is important, but the 'how' that is important.

If you can do what you are doing with a totality and intensity that you are completely lost in the action, you have caught the thread of intensity.

The moment you are lost in the action, you become like a flute on the lips of Existence itself. The air that goes into the flute comes out as music because you become a channel for the energy of Existence to flow through you. Be total and intense. That is all that is needed for the arrow to hit the target, whatever it may be.

What qualifies to be called as intensity? What is the difference between intensity and interest? An interest can be lost, but never the intensity. Interest comes from the mind. Intensity comes from the being. After a while, maybe short or long, you get fed up with your own interest. With intensity, it is a thirst of your being. It transcends the rationale of your logic. Intensity is a call from deep within. The more you have to wait for it, the more the thirst grows, the more the fire flares up.

See the difference between light and laser. Both are made up of the same light rays but the single-pointed intense focus of the laser comes from the coherence and the common frequency of the light rays.

The power of this intensity is what gives the laser the tremendous power to even burn a hole through metal. At the same time it is a controlled focus. This is what gives it the power to do even a delicate task like removing a cataract in the eye.

If in a desert your thirst for water becomes really intense, you are ready to pay with your life for a glass of water. When your thirst for realization becomes that intense, you are ready to pay with your life for the Truth.

A beautiful Zen story: A student approached a Zen teacher to learn Zen. The teacher told him, "Hear the sound of one hand clapping. "The student tried for three years and did not succeed. He was depressed that he could not do what his teacher had told him. He came in tears to the teacher saying he had to leave because he could not do what he had been told. The teacher said, "Wait for one more week. Meditate constantly. "The student stayed for one more week and meditated. Nothing happened. The teacher said, "Try for five more days." When your whole being is burning with the single intense desire to realize the Ultimate, you will simply absorb the master's instructions. The magic of transformation is bound to happen. Only then will you be open to receive him. Till then it is just an interest.

The student stayed further. yet nothing happened. The student came in despair begging to be released. Then the teacher said, “Meditate for three more days. If you don“t get enlightened, you had better kill yourself.“ The second day, the student was enlightened.

When your whole being is burning with the single intense desire to realize the Ultimate, you will simply absorb the master's instructions. The magic of transformation is bound to happen. Only then will you be open to receive him. Till then it is just an interest.

Tantra’, the mystical science of meditation techniques, says that to know the truth one needs only one condition — intensity. Be total in what you are, what you do.

Live intensely in the moment and taste the real life. Otherwise, you are not living. You are just waiting for death.

When you eat, intensely eat. Let your whole attention and energy be on the food. Do not divert your attention and thoughts to what you need to get done at work tomorrow or where you want to go for your next vacation.

Enjoy the food with all your senses. Taste the food in your mouth, enjoy the feast in front of your eyes, touch the food with love, and smell the aroma of the food. When you eat this way totally, you will enjoy every morsel and you will actually feed into your system the living energy the food is meant to give.

If you are drinking water, drink it intensely. Become the thirst. Feel the coolness of the water going into your mouth, throat and down your food pipe. Let each drop of water that goes into your mouth give you the feeling of fulfillment.

The Tamil classic, Periya Puranam', describes the stories of the Nayanmars‘, the ardent devotees of Lord Shiva. There are so many instances of the devotees realizing the Ultimate by simple activities like making garlands for the Lord. An example is Gananaatha Nayanaar, a devotee of the Lord, engaged in simple services like plucking flowers for worship, making garlands for the Lord, sweeping and washing the floor of the temple and keeping the lamps in the temple burning. Just this simple life led him to reaching the Ultimate and brought him his name Gananaatha' meaning the chief of the ganas (attendants) of Lord Shiva.

When you pray, be real and spontaneous. Whatever you feel, feel totally and offer it to the Divine. Don't cheat yourself and be hypocritical by not admitting what you feel. You cannot hide anything from the Divine. He knows you better than you know yourself.

Your intensity is the only thing that decides when your object of seeking will happen. If the intensity is total, it will happen that moment. If the intensity is not integrated and total, it will take more time because the intensity has to gain strength in that time.

If you are intense enough, it does not need time to reach the Ultimate. Where you are, who are you is irrelevant. You can reach here and now.

A beautiful story: There was a dreaded bandit who was a terror in the kingdom. After looting a large number of people, he started feeling restless and uncomfortable with his actions. He approached a master and asked hinn, "Master I am a sinner. Is there any way out for me? Can I be liberated?" The master looked at the bandit and asked him what he was good at. The bandit replied, "Nothing." The master asked, "Nothing? You must be good at something!" The bandit thought for a long time and then said, "Master I only know stealing, that is what I have done all my life." The master smiled and said, "Good! Then you will use exactly that now. Go to a quiet place and rob all your perceptions and ideas and opinions. Steal all the trees and rocks and rivers on planet earth. Steal all the planets and stars in the sky. And dissolve them in the vast emptiness inside you." The bandit sincerely followed exactly the instructions of the master. Within 21 days, the bandit realized his true nature — he became enlightened.

There are four states of consciousness. When you have ‘I’ Consciousness and thoughts, you are in the waking state, the state in which you are right now. In this state, ‘I’ has more frequency than your thoughts. So you can control your thoughts.

When you are without ‘I’ consciousness but having thoughts, you are in the dream state. In the dream state, your thoughts are at a higher frequency than your ‘I’ consciousness. That is why you have thoughts in your dreams but you are not able to control them.

When you are without ‘I’ Consciousness and not having any thoughts, you are in the deep sleep state. Normally, we are aware of only these three states — waking, dream and deep sleep. The fourth state is where you have I consciousness but no thoughts – Turiya

Intensity means being intense every moment in whatever you do. So first you need to be aware of yourself in all the states. Then only you can be intense throughout. Now you experience who you are with awareness only during the waking state. You feel, 'I am a doctor', 'I am a lawyer', 'I am an engineer' and so on. Only if we are aware of the identities that we carry and enjoy in all the three states, we have caught the thread, the center line of all the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep. When we catch the thread of all these three states, suddenly we realize our identity in all the three states.

Somebody asked me, 'I don't think that in the deep sleep state I am aware.' Then who is the person who comes back and says it was deep peace during my deep sleep? Who is the person who is reminiscing about it saying, 'It was filled with darkness. It was as if I was not there at all'? Who is coming back and remembering even this idea, 'I was not there at all'? If the person is not there in that state, then who is coming back to connect all these three states? No, we cannot say we were not there in the deep sleep state. We were there, but we were not aware of the identity that we had in that state.

Understand, a person who is aware of all these three states is conscious. If we are aware of the identity in all these three states, then we are conscious enough, our seeking is intense enough to be answered, we are intense enough to be initiated and blessed.

If we are not already aware of all these three states, if we have not experienced all these three states with the same identity, then naturally we need to now intensify our seeking. An intense seeker will carry the identity about himself throughout all these three states. If even once or twice you have experienced your waking identity in the dream state then you are intense.

In the dream state suddenly sometimes you remember that you are beyond the identity which you think as you in the dream state. I have seen seekers going through this experience in the dream state. They will be dreaming and suddenly they will identify themselves with their identity of the waking state. Then they will think about the dream state, 'Hey, this is too small. This is nothing.'

If you have had the experience of your waking state identity in the dream state, understand, then you have the intensity. Your seeking is intense.

Understand: Question is a word. Quest is a feeling. Man is born as a quest. The rest of Existence cannot reflect the Divine like man can. Man is like a mirror. He has the choice to face and reflect the Divine or to turn away. Man can make a conscious choice, which is why he can grow. Man can choose to realize the Divine through his human form. No other being in Existence has this choice.

If these words, How do I get enlightenment? I want to... real bad and urgently, have come out, if this question has come out as a deep quest, then you don't need anything. Just boil, let the whole being burn with this quest. That is enough. Nothing else needs to be done. Let this boiling be intense.

Allow this boiling. Allow this burning. Allow this intensity. Allow this urgency. Let the urge become urgent. Let the question become your quest. Let it just eat your ego, eat your inner space.

People ask me, Have you been enlightened by the divine grace or by your effort or by your quest?’

I tell them, your having the quest is the first sign that you are having the divine grace. Unless you have the divine grace, you will not have the quest. Understand, the quest or seeking is like a seed. It is a seed feeling suffocated inside the shell. See, the life that is inside the seed, unless it feels suffocated inside the shell, it won’t open and become a tree.

The moment the seed starts that it should open up, the moment it starts feeling the seeking, the urgency and the quest to open up to become a tree, it means that already the tree inside the seed has started expressing itself.

If you have the feeling that you should get enlightened, the Buddha in you has opened his eyes. The Buddha in you has started waking up. All you need to do is open your eyes! Allow this seeking. From morning till night let it boil, let it create a deep dissatisfaction in you. Let every pore in your skin, every nerve in your body, every cell in you vibrate with that intensity. Let it swallow all your depressions you may have in life. In life you may have so many other depressions and sufferings of not having so many things. Let all those sufferings be swallowed by this one suffering.

A beautiful Zen story: A Zen student was intensely studying under her master but she was not able to experience true meditation for a very long time. One full moon night, she was carrying a bucket of water suspended on a bamboo stick. She saw the rejection of the moon in the bucket. Suddenly, the bamboo broke. The water fell out of the bucket. The rejection of the moon disappeared and so did her ego

When the seeking is intense, it will remove the juice from your ego. The green grass becomes like a haystack. Just a match is enough to burn the whole haystack down. The Ultimate can happen in a split second through a simple happening.

So understand, let this seeking, let this quest, your saying, ‘How to get enlightened? I want to...real bad and urgently’, let this seeking burn all your other sufferings, all your other depressions, all your other desires, all your other concerns about life.

Let it happen and suddenly you will see that the seeking suddenly disappears, it is not there. When the seeking disappears, you are enlightened. You have achieved what you are seeking.

The Upanishads, the ancient vedic texts by the sages and mystics that happened as revelations, say that for the person who is initiated the whole world is heaven. Understand the word ‘initiation’. It does not mean doing some ceremony or ritual.

Initiation means that click happening in you. When a master expressed the truth, if the click, the realization, happens in you and if you suddenly feel, ‘O god! What he says is right. I was always

thinking exactly this. He put it in the right way, that is what initiation is. If you feel whatever I am speaking is what you always thought about but I am verbalizing it and properly putting it in words, the initiation has happened.

Please understand, only after all the preparation is done and only when you are in the state of high intensity, the truth uttered by the master just clicks.

When the master says there is no need for any seeking any more and just liberate yourself right now, you will be able to do so only if you have done enough of seeking and created the intensity. That is the paradox!

The technique is to get the right attitude of intensity. Actually, if you have high intense energy, you will automatically have the right listening. You will be just waiting to catch one glimpse. You will be just waiting to listen. You will be just waiting to imbibe.

That is why masters speak again and again and again for years over years. I started speaking only a few years ago. Buddha spoke for over forty years. But, the message was the same. His first sermon and the last sermon are almost the same.

You may then think why thousands of disciples sat everyday and heard the same sermon again and again. Because, the click happens only when you are in intense energy. Only with intensity it clicks. You just catch the flame and the awakening happens

For the spiritual experience to happen, two conditions need to be fulfilled. One is that you must be completely open and available to the surroundings. The other is the intense energy field. Sometimes even if you are open, if you are not in the intense energy field, the first cracking of the coconut of your ego does not happen. The first spiritual experience is just like breaking open a coconut. Once the first opening happens, it is not difficult to break the rest of the coconut. The first opening needs an intense spiritual energy field.

These two factors are what resulted in my first spiritual experience. I was open and available to the surroundings, and I was in the intense energy field of Arunachala.

Fortunately, I was attracted to the beauty of that hill. Normally, if you see a hill or a river or an ocean every day, you will take it for granted. Somehow I never took that hill for granted. I never thought I know about it. I was continuously open, available.

Understand, being open and available every time, seeing it every morning with the eyes of freshness or with the mind of openness is what I am calling 'being open and available'. Many times, we completely close ourselves to the society.

We just come to some conclusion, some understanding and after that we never update our understanding or our effort with the result.

Every day, the Arunachala hill was living for me. Everyday it was never the same old hill that I saw yesterday. I had a very funny routine. In the morning when I got up I would not open my eyes. I

would slowly walk from my room to outside the house holding the parapet wall. I would come out and stand in a place from where I knew the hill could be seen. Only then I would open my eyes so that

the first thing that I saw in the morning would be that hill. Somehow my brothers knew that the first thing that I wanted to see was the hill. They would want to have fun teasing me. When they knew that I was out from my bed and slowly walking, they would come and stand in front of me.

If I opened my eyes and did not see the hill and instead saw their faces, I would go back and lie down again. I would lie down again, sleep for half an hour, then again get up and slowly walk back to see the hill and open my eyes. Only if I saw the hill the first thing in the morning, I would carry on with my routine.

It may look funny and superstitious but I always felt I took birth, I took this body, because of that attraction and pull that hill has got for enlightened beings.

There is a very beautiful verse in Tamil that describes the hill as ‘the hill that attracts enlightened beings around it’. The hill is especially respected for attracting enlightened beings not only from this planet earth, but also from other planets and spaces, towards planet earth. I never took the hill for granted. It was an ever-living presence.

One day I was trying to sit and meditate. It was a full moon day (Poornima) and the moon was rising as the sun was setting. I was just sitting on a rock on Arunachala hill, trying the meditation technique that the disciple of Ram ana Maharishi and enlightened master Annamalai Swamigal', had initiated me into. I was sitting on the rock trying to find the source from where the feeling of "I" was rising. On that day I was sitting for a particularly long time trying to find the source in a deep way. Suddenly something happened and I felt like I was being sucked inside, pulled inside. I was sitting with closed eyes but I saw very clearly that something opened inside. The moment that opened inside, I was able to see whole 360 degrees around me. My eyes were closed but I was able to see complete 360 degrees, whatever was happening in all the directions - front, side, back, up, and Not only was I able to see, but I was also able to feel very clearly with the same intensity how we all feel alive inside our skin, that I was alive in everything I was able to see.

I was able to see whatever was around me ¯ the plants, rocks, trees and everything. I was able to feel that I am alive in everything. In the same way you, all feel you are alive inside your body I felt alive with the whole cosmos, with the whole Existence. Till then I was just a mere body. After that, I realized I am body also. Understand, "I am body also".

It was a very deep experience. If it was just a word or imagination, it won’t have that much impact on the inner space. It was an intense conscious experience. You see, now you know you are inside your skin. Now you will listen to anything as long as it does not disturb you. Naturally you know how to protect yourself because you are alive inside your body and that is your conscious experience.

No matter however many people teach you that you are not just your body you will only listen but you will not allow them to work on you! Because your conscious experience is your body.

My experience that ‘I am this whole Existence’ became my truth. That is why I started living according to that.

Look at the biography of enlightened master and founder of Buddhism, Gautam Buddha. He searched for six long years. He tried various paths but the beauty is that in every attempt he put in his whole being.

Whatever he decided to follow, he did with complete, unwavering intensity. He tried various techniques such as fasting, continuous penance, chanting and many such methods. He tried all possible techniques but nothing worked.

During his seeking, a teacher told him to eat only one grain of rice per da Or three months. Buddha sincerely followed his instructions. He was reduced to skin and bones and became extremely weak. One day, he stepped into the river to bathe. He had become so weak that he couldn't even move his legs and was being swept away by the current. He caught hold of a tree branch and while hanging onto it he suddenly realized the fruitlessness of all his efforts. He had been mortifying the body but in the process, he had only lost his bodily strength. He felt a deep depression that he could not achieve anything in the inner world and he had nothing meaningful in the outer world.

He came out of the river and sat under the tree. He was frustrated but the difference between ordinary frustration and Buddha's frustration was he was complete and intense in his frustration as well.

There was not even a grain of hope he had. He completely gave up. There was nothing to achieve, nothing to look forward to.

It is said that on that night as he looked at the sky ready to sleep, he attained nirvana'. The one factor that resulted in Buddha achieving It is intensity. So many of us claim we are doing everything but nothing is happening. Look little deeper and see how integrated you are in your thirst and seeking. Whatever you may seek, integrate your energies completely and go for it. You will then see the universe open up to you completely.

I had mentioned about my deep spiritual experience where I felt one with Existence and had a 360- degree vision of everything around me. There are so many people practicing so many different meditation techniques. What is the difference, what is the reason why the experience happened to a small boy?

I can say that one important reason is that my whole inner space was ripe, ready for this small technique to awaken and open it. Constantly I used to be in that high frequency of the masters without even my conscious awareness.

See, especially in the young age, whoever inspires or impresses you becomes the hero of your inner space. These great masters impressed me so much that in every situation I would think, How would

these great masters behave?' For example, if I had some fear, I would remember, 'How will Annamalai Swamigal face this fear? He won't bother. He is enlightened. Let me also be like that.'

The inner space was so inspired and impressed by these great masters, that before every step I took in my life I would think, 'How will he behave? Let me also do that.' The inner space was so pure also at the young age and I had no heroes other than the masters. At every step I used to think, 'How will he behave? Let me behave like that. How he will do? Let me do like that.'

I used to go for a circumambulation of the Arunachala hill. It is more than 12 kilometers around the hill. I used to go late at night. When I had a little fear I used to say, 'How will Annamalai Swamigal' behave? He won't bother about fear. Then let me also be like that.'

Let me tell you about one incident.

It was raining heavily that night as I went around the hill. I had some fear seeing the heavy rain, thunder and lightning. Immediately I thought, "How will Annamalai Swamigal behave? He won'"t bother. He will just walk. Let me also do the same way."

I was walking through the traditional crematorium. In India both cremation and burial are done in the same place. I was walking in that place because when you go around the hill the path goes through that crematorium.

Suddenly I saw a dog biting something and eating. When I went near the dog started barking at me. At first when the fear came up I though t, "How will Annamalai Swamigal behave? He won't bother. Let me just go. "I started moving. Anyhow when I started moving the dog got scared and ran away.

When I got nearer, I saw that it was a dead body which was not completely buried. It had come out in the rain and it was lying on the road. Just imagine a twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy, alone at midnight, seeing a dead body without a head, since the dog had the head in its mouth.

The fear started but it did not even reach my being completely. The shock, the fear stroke did not even happen completely. As soon as the first thought started coming up, with intense awareness I thought, "How will Annamalai Swamigal react now? He will just walk around and go. Just walk around and go. "

I continued to walk. That's all. I took a detour and walked away. I did not even turn back and see. The [ear stroke, which was like a bubble, which was about to start, did not even open up, did not even reach my body. The heat or the shivering from fear was not even there in the body. It just died.

Intensely, the whole conscious inner space was ready. That is the reason, just a punch, just a small inspiration was able to put me into that experience. That is what I call 'Living Enlightenment'.

When you live the master's body language you live enlightenment. Whenever any thought came into my inner space, whether it was related to clothes or food or anything, the first thing I would think was, 'How will Annamalai Swamigal behave? Naturally he won't have any desire. Then forget about it!'

If I felt a little lazy to meditate or to circumambulate the hill, I would think, 'How will Annamalai Swamigal think? How will he handle this situation? Naturally he will not bother about this laziness. He will just get up and meditate, that's all! So just do that!' So constantly, from morning until night, these masters became the reference. They became my life center.

I asked Annamalai Swamigal once, "I saw Devi' in my dream. Do you also see her in the dream? Annamalai Swamigal replied, "No, I don't have dreams. "I was shocked, "You don't have dream! Then how can I have dream! "

That night I said to myself, 'Now, no dream. Annamalai Swamigal said 'no dream' so I cannot have dream.' You will be surprised, that night when some dream started happening, I said clearly from inside the dream, 'No! Annamalai Swamigal doesn't have dreams. How can I have dreams?'

The dream disappeared. Just the dream disappeared. The inner space was so thorough, so innocent, so direct, it just happened.

Even if I felt cold or anything, I would remember, 'How will Annamalai Swamigal behave? He won't bother. Then don't bother. That's all.' There were no further questions or arguments inside.

You can also use this simple, powerful technique. It is so simple your mind cannot find any excuse to escape. In any situation, ask yourself, 'How will master respond? How will master face this situation?' Do the same. You will see that a new door opens. This is what I call 'Living Enlightenment'. You don't need anything else. This one thing is enough.

Even if you are sitting, if thoughts come up, ask your mind, 'If master is sitting what will be coming up? Naturally silence. Then why are you thinking? Silent!' That's all. Nothing else. If your mind says, 'No, no, I know it is true. I know this but it is too much.' Then think, If master's mind says this, how he will behave?' He would have finished the mind that moment! That's all. Just be very clear. Take this one message and let this message become life in you, the message of Living Enlightenment. Understand, from the age often when I was inspired and impressed by Annamalai Swamigal, I started doing this technique. I didn't even know then that it was a meditation technique.

It just started, 'How will Annamalai Swamigal behave in this situation?' As a boy,many times in my homeI have seen my brothers or family fighting for some share in something and I would think, 'How will Annamalai Swamigal behave? He won't even bother! Forget about it. Let them have.' That's all

Actually, this is what I call relationship with the master. Relationship with the master is not just doing some worship or putting some flowers or worshipping him once in a while. No! Relationship happens when you are thoroughly impressed by the master. Whenever anything comes up, say fear or insecurity or greed or anger, just see, 'How will master behave?' Simply it will disappear. It will just disappear.

Many times I tell people, just feeling strongly connected with the master is enough. You don't need anything else. It is not just your ordinary relationship. In an ordinary relationship, you neither try to understand nor imbibe the master. Just some feeling is there. I can't even call that as a relationship. It is an ordinary, regular interaction.

Feeling connected to the master means just living him. When you live the master, then you feel intensely connected to him. Only then you are expanding. Only then something is happening to you. This has not happened in most of us because of so many other relationships. So many other persons occupy your inner space and so many others have inspired you or impressed you or given the idea that they are heroes. Just fill your inner space with the master and watch your problems simply dissolve.

Be intense in whatever you do. Whether you eat, sing, dance, pray or work, be completely into that, in the moment.

Intensity is enlightenment. As of now, some part of you is intense while some part of you is lazy. Being hundred percent intense is enlightenment. The first thing you need for living enlightenment is intensity. Intensity is the sword with which you can break the mind.

It is just like awakening from the dream. The first thing you need is the intention, the idea that you should wake up. So now you need to have the intense idea to wake up. Understand, the intensity with which you work towards wealth, relations etc., if you just turn a little towards enlightenment, you will awaken.

Intensely decide, 'I will wake up from this life that I call life.' Create an intense will or prayer. When you create a will and direct it towards you, it is called a will. When you create a will and direct it towards the Divine, it is called a prayer.

Intensity is a strong intention to wake up, the strong intention for fulfillment, for living enlightenment, for eternal bliss. The only gap between you and enlightenment is intensity.

Remember how intensely and anxiously you run behind things that give you joy. Suppose I tell now that whoever prays intensely will get a ten-million-dollar prize, you will show the intensity of your life, is it not? Just because you think there is some product that will fulfill you, you are intense. With

money you know it is going to add something to your life. In the same way, enlightenment is also going to add something to your life.

In order to have intensity towards enlightenment, you can start by creating intensity towards things that you have experienced a desire towards. For example, if you desire health or wealth, be intense about that. That yearning will become integrated and will get directed to the unknown, to enlightenment. Not only that, your unfulfilled desires can be simply burnt with the intensity.

Whatever you experience as fulfillment, yearn for that. The intense yearning is enough, it will evaporate you. And the fulfillment you experience will be many times more than the fulfillment you may have ever experienced before.

This is a very powerful technique from the Shiva Sutras. The aphorism or sutra says, Die into the infinite void where you are no more Moving beyond the senses into Shiva Consciousness This technique is called the Shanmukhi Mudra'.

As it will be difficult to maintain this posture for a long time, you may sit on the ground and support your hands on a chair to maintain comfort. You can put a chair in front of you and turn it facing towards your side to support your hand. Alternatively, you may sit in a chair and support your hands using the chair in front of you. By supporting your hands on a chair, you will avoid shoulder ache.

This technique closes the doorways to your senses. This should only be practised by people who have some experience in meditation. As in all meditations sit comfortably cross legged or in a chair with back, neck and head in one vertical line.

When you are in Shanmukhi Mudra", the energy flow to the outside world through the seven openings of the face (two ears, two eyes, two nostrils and one mouth) is blocked and turned inwards. Your hands are very powerful. The energy centers in the hands are so powerful that they can stop the energy flow, turn it into a concentrated beam of energy and direct it towards the ajna chakra' or third eye.

Normally our breath goes in and out chaotically. By closing the nostrils partially with your fingers, you can reduce the air flow and balance it.

The Shanmukhi Mudra" firstly stops the energy flow towards outside. Secondly, we are turning the senses inwards.

Thirdly, we concentrate them towards the third eye.

Instructions:

If you wear spectacles, remove them. Place your fingers as follows: Thumbs pressing down on the short ear lobes till you hear a humming sound. Index fingers lightly on both the eyes. Middle fingers on the bridge of nose. Ring fingers lightly under nostrils. Little fingers on lips.

For the next 21 minutes, follow the steps given below:

Close the nose partially. Just reduce the prana Row. When your mind settles down by itself, the prana flow will reduce. Be in the Shanmukhi Mudra and inhale and exhale as slowly as possible and as deeply as possible. Keep your mouth shut tightly. Visualize that both your eyeballs have become stones and let them not move.

Intensify your awareness. Do not create stress — try to penetrate with deep awareness. Don't create pressure, create only awareness. Visualize intensely as if you are penetrating your third eye. Visualize deeply as if you are penetrating your third eye with a drill bit. Relax. Open your eyes slowly.

It is important to make yourself comfortable by supporting yourself properly to be in Shanmukhi Mudra. You will see tremendous energy created in your third eye, to awaken your intuition. When you are comfortable, you will see that you are entering into deeper energies or higher consciousness.