Falling in tune
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Tapas is the practice through which your bio-memory falls in tune with the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-intelligent and all-compassionate atma.
The stuff which is inside your bio-memory, that is responsible for your bio-memory being alive, is called satchidananda. Sat is ‘all-knowing’, chit is ‘all-powerful’, ananda is ‘always-blissful’.
But your bio-memory is not completely aware of its own sweet truth, satchidananda. Any practice that makes your bio-memory understand and experience its innate nature of being all-knowing, all -powerful, all-blissful is tapas.
Tapas is not always painful. It is not always austerity. Even the very joyful action of eating something sweet can be tapas for you.
Sometimes there are austerities that need to be practiced, but the word tapas itself should not be translated as austerity or mortification. Just because sometimes it is austerity, it does not mean that tapas always has to be austerity. Sometimes, it is a very joyful and happy action, which you always wanted to do. Therefore, it does not become pain.
The ultimate joy is gained by completion and fulfilment. It is not pain to learn completion! You are not going to poke your body with a spear, you are not going to fast, you are not going to kill yourself. No!
The word tapas should be understood or translated as the methods and techniques through which your bio-memory is empowered to look into its innate nature, and experience the all-knowing, all powerful, all blissful, and all compassionate expression of itself.
When you feel like falling asleep, if you just remember, 'Wow, by falling asleep I am going to experience my innate nature of eternal peace,' it is also tapas. Whenever you fall asleep, just remember, 'Oh, I think I am tired of running around and projecting the scenes which are not me! So I want to return to my home, which is all-peaceful all the time, and waiting for me. Let me return.' Just with this memory, if you fall asleep, your whole sleeping time itself becomes tapas. You don't need to do anything else.
Tapas is not just mortification and austerities, it is just the pleasant, sweet, and relaxed technique for falling in tune. You are not doing any austerity here, you are not doing any mortification here; but you are killing the wrong ideas. Only the mortification of the wrong ideas is done here.
From my experience, if I have to describe the word tapas, I will describe it as only the mortification of the wrong ideas you are clutching to inside you.
