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Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis with Larry Sloman

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Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis with Larry Sloman
Coz it says with Larry Slowman does that move it from the autobiography section to the biography section? Anyway it’s Red Hot Chili Peppers’ frontman’s story. The first half was sooo exciting, the crazy things in his childhood like being introduced to the drug dealing and drugs by his dad at such an early age. Or him writing a letter to his dad telling him that he wants to lose his virginity on his birthday with dads girlfriend and the dad actually hooks it up. Or him and his friends doing all sorts of chemicals and finding houses with pools to jump into from the roof… the higher the house the more the necessity to do it. While reading this book I was forced to daydream… I’d actually stop after a few paragraphs and either reflect on how the writing style makes me identify even though I wasn’t an addict or a rockstar or whatever. That was one of the reasons, secondly I’d daydream as it brought back a lot of my own childhood, teenage and college memories. Thirdly I’d daydream about how I was gonna structure my writing… not gonna say much about that right now but yeah… the first half of the book was nostalgic and freaky and exciting and rollercoasting.

I shouldn’t say half coz it’s not sectioned but later on the book gets into this pattern and gets kinda boring. Keep in mind its a biography and I can’t really criticize someones life so think of this as a warning. In a nutshell, the pattern is about ups and downs with the bands, fallouts with band members, women and drugs. And when I say drugs I mean dude spent a lot of time in sleazy or extra ghetto places where death is just around the corner. Props to Anthony for sharing such a life and showing us even though the rockstar lifestyle can be wild, you can still be humble and be just as average at the same time. Dude was in touch with his spiritual side too, recognizing the signs and talking about the dark energy of drugs, etc. It made me appreciate my friendships too because he’d talk about how they do all these crazy things, some even disgusting, but just like him I believe the more weird or taboo things you share the closer the relationship. Like when you and your peeps are in sync it doesn’t matter what you do it just clicks and falls in place… kinda thing. He even makes you realize that if you have some issues you have to deal with them 100% and from every angle. Another thing he mentioned was not knowing how some jokes and dissing can damage someone even though they wont show it so there is this fine balance between being comfy and being too comfy kinda thing… it just touched me coz I recently stopped doing the dissing thing and started avoiding it in people around me.

The book has pictures too… yay! Helped me figure out who was who. I gotta say, apart from Californication I didn’t know any of their stuff but have a new found respect for The Chili Peps and will give their music and videos a chance. Big up Viv for hooking it up.

Update: Gave their music and videos a chance… even saw the lil documentary they made when they decided to move in a house and record there… with Kiedis in one room and a mic far away from the rest and it was pretty cool seeing them work… they def had their own chemistry. Kept about 6 songs from their discography… and all of them Californication album onwards… wasn’t feeling the stuff before that album apart from this weird track called Pea.

Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction

- CHAPTER ONE: “Me, I’m from Michigan”
- CHAPTER TWO: Spider and Son
- CHAPTER THREE: Fairfax High
- CHAPTER FOUR: Under the Zero One Sun
- CHAPTER FIVE: Deep Kicking
- CHAPTER SIX: The Red Hots
- CHAPTER SEVEN: Groundhog Year
- CHAPTER EIGHT: The Organic Anti-Beat Box Band
- CHAPTER NINE: Refourming
- CHAPTER TEN: Funky Monks
- CHAPTER ELEVEN: Warped
- CHAPTER TWELVE: Over the Wall
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Nothing
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Welcome to Californication
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN: A Moment of Clarity

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The Scientific Meaning of the Gayatri Mantra … from Vishal

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The Scientific Meaning of the Gayatri Manta … from Vishal

From Gatatri Mantra Meaning

Gayatri mantra has been bestowed the greatest importance in Vedic dharma. This mantra has also been termed as Savitri and Ved-Mata, the mother of the Vedas.

Ombhur bhuvah swah
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dheemahi
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat

The literal meaning of the mantra is:
O God! You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Almighty. You are all Light. You are all Knowledge and Bliss. You are Destroyer of fear, You are Creator of this Universe, You are the Greatest of all. We bow and meditate upon Your light. You guide our intellect in the right direction.

The mantra, however, has a great scientific import too, which somehow got lost in the literary tradition. The modern astrophysics and astronomy tell us that our Galaxy called Milky Way or Akash-Ganga contains approximately 100,000 million of stars. Each star is like our sun having its own planet system.

We know that the moon moves round the earth and the earth moves round the sun along with the moon. All planets round the sun. Each of the above bodies revolves round at its own axis as well. Our sun along with its family takes one round of the galactic center in 22.5 crore years. All galaxies including ours are moving away at a terrific velocity of 20,000 miles per second.

From Gatatri Mantra Meaning
From Gatatri Mantra Meaning

And now the alternative scientific meaning of the mantra step by step:

(A) OM BHUR BHUVAH SWAH:
Bhur the earth, bhuvah the planets (solar family), swah the Galaxy. We observe that when an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (rotations Per minute) moves, it makes noise. Then, one can imagine, what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second. This is what this portion of the mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast-moving earth, planets and galaxies is Om.

The sound was heard during meditation by Rishi Vishvamitra, who mentioned it to other colleagues. All of them, then unanimously decided to call this sound Om the name of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time, hence it is set (permanent). Therefore, it was the first ever revolutionary idea to identify formless God with a specific title (form) called upadhi. Until that time, everybody recognized God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In the Gita also, it is said, “Omiti ekaksharam brahma”, meaning that the name of the Supreme is Om, which contains only one syllable (8/12).

This sound Om heard during samadhi was called by all the seers nada-brahma (a very great noise), but not a noise that is normally heard beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suited to human hearing. Hence the rishis called this sound Udgith (musical sound of the above, i.e., heaven). They also noticed that the infinite mass of galaxies moving with a velocity of 20,000 miles/second was generating a kinetic energy = 1/2 MV2 and this was balancing the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence they named it Pranavah, which means the body (vapu) or store house of energy (prana).

From Gatatri Mantra Meaning

B. TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM: Tat – that (God), savitur – the sun (star), varenyam – worthy of bowing or respect. Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us, we may locate the specific person.mHence the two titles (upadhi) provide the solid ground to identify the formless God, Vishvamitra suggested. He told us that we could know (realise) the unknowable formless God through the known factors, viz., sound Om and light of suns (stars).

A mathematician can solve an equation x2+y2=4; if x=2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the riverbank just by drawing a triangle. So was the scientific method suggested by Vishvamitra in the mantra in the next portion as under:-

C) BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI:
Bhargo – the light, devasya – of the deity, dheemahi – we should meditate. The rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (light of suns) to discover the formless Creator (God). Also he wants us to do japa of the word Om (this is understood in the Mantra). This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realize it, as the human mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the Supreme (Brahma) it cannot be controlled.

Hence Vishvamitra suggests the way to pray Him as under:

D) DHIYO YO NAH PRACHODAYAT:
Dhiyo (intellect), yo (who), nah (we all), prachodayat (guide to right Direction). O God! Deploy our intellect on the right path. Full scientific interpretation of the Mantra: The earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies (swah) are moving at a very great velocity, the sound produced is Om, (the name of formless God.) That God (tat), who manifests Himself in the form of light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing/respect (varenyam). We all, therefore, should meditate (dheemahi) upon the light (bhargo) of that deity (devasya) and also do chanting of Om. May He (yo) guide in right direction (prachodayat) our (nah) intellect (dhiyo). So we notice that the important points hinted in the mantra are:-

From Gatatri Mantra Meaning

1) The total kinetic energy generated by the movement of galaxies acts as an umbrella and balances the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence it was named as the Pranavah (body of energy). This is equal to 1/2 mv2 (Mass of galaxies x velocity2).

2) Realizing the great importance of the syllable OM, the other later date religions adopted this word with a slight change in accent, viz., amen and Ameen.

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Compassion & Trust by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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Compassion & Trust by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
1993 Santa Barbara California

Ok observe what is happening in the mind right now. What is happening? Whatever I say is secondary, but you being aware of what is happening right now with you is primary. See a question arises and you’re waiting for an answer. Are you aware of this? Or in your mind you say yes or no, you agree or disagree. Are you aware of this? This is a quality of consciousness which does not come unless we develop it, unless we call for it. See what I’m saying? There are few qualities in human beings which makes us different from an animal. Can you tell me what they are? How come human being are different from other animals. There are very few qualities, you can count them on one hand. One of them is laughing. You are bestowed with laughing. Understanding, though animals do have a degree of understanding, humans have it much different and much more. Though there is intelligence, even a bird or whatever, there is a small about of intelligence. Do you see that? They make their nest, they know how to pick up their food, they know, all their needs they take care. But they do not how to be aware of themselves. What is happening in them every moment. And this does not come in us unless we tap the source. For example we have been breathing all the time, aren’t we? Unless we put our attention, we will not be aware of the breath. You know the first act of life is you took a deep breath in and the last act is breathing out. First act was breathing and second is crying, and your last act you breathe out and make others cry. When you cried everybody else laughed, and when you laugh in the end, you will laugh ‘that is death’. Nobody asked about death. Total relief. When you laugh then everybody else cries. Just that shift, change of duties.

Between this first act of life and the last, all through life we are breathing. Not a single moment we suspend our breath. Whether eating, sleeping, walking, talking, etc the breath has been with us but we are not aware of it. Breath is the link between the body, your spirit and your mind. And there are rhythms in the breath, have you noticed your breathing is different in different state of your mind, emotions, thoughts. When you have a sigh of relief you breath out, exhalation is more prominent. And when you’re enjoying something, your inhalation is prominent. Your exhalation is in the background. So every mode/mood of mind, every wave of emotion in us has a corresponding rhythm in the breath and this rhythm in the breath has a corresponding sensation in different parts of the body. So they’re all linked, when we look at them, observe them, life becomes more integrated. Mind becomes more integrated, and we are able to do things more clearly and with more joy. If you observe your mind it’s either in the past or future. We regret the past and anxious about the future. Just imagine every exit you miss… ‘oh I should have taken that exit’. It should have happened that way, I made a mistake… every moment you think I made a mistake. In a very unconscious or subconscious manner you’re piling up some dust inside you. And that regret piles up and becomes so big… and you blow up. Have you seen this happening to you?

When you let go, your mind can be in the present moment. More and more and more, you’re able to smile from the depth of your heart. Life becomes more light and easy. You know what we do, when something wrong happens we either blame ourselves or somebody else. We don’t take things as they are. We want to find out a reason, label it and put the blame on somebody else or ourselves. So we constantly get into this trip of blaming someone or ourselves. Which leads into one another. You blame others because you blame yourself. And because you blame yourself you start blaming others. Do you see this pendulum that happens. Life has much more to offer to us. Don’t you think so? Someone asked forgiveness. First you think somebody has intentionally done something wrong to you. Then you try to forgive them. It becomes hard to. I’ll tell you compassion is better than forgiveness. The very word implies there is an intention in somebodies mistake. Somebody is bad so you’re going to forgive them. Peep into their hearts, go beyond their words, beyond their behaviour. You will see, they need compassion. They need help. They’re not happy. One who is happy will not make a mistake, will not harm anybody, will not be selfish. Cannot be selfish. Do not see intention behind somebody elses mistakes. See the inevitability behind others mistakes. Then you don’t need to forgive, you’ll simply smile at it. And you jump forward to help them. Does that make sense?

When there is a wound somewhere deep inside a person he will try to share that with other people, what else can he do? You just recognise, oh he needs compassion. Compassion is the only treatment, unconditional love is the only medicine. Letting go is the medicine for that. You know we try to hold on to people, even when we love we love with a condition. See I love you so in return you must love me or do something else. Better you prove your love to me.

See you doubt in the positivity of people, goodness of people. You don’t doubt in the negativity or badness in the people do you? Have you ever doubted in someones anger towards you? Have you ever said, are you really angry at me, I don’t believe it! (laughter) But if someone says I love you dear, you say ‘really’. Sure? Truly? Then prove it! Just examine what do you doubt always what is good. Whether it is in you or in someone else. When you’re depressed you never doubt your depression but when you’re happy you doubt… am I really happy, is this really what I want. And then mind says I’m not sure. You get the best job, what you desire and then ‘is this the best job, I’m not sure’. (laughter) But when you’re in a tight position, you don’t want to be there, do you doubt it? No, you don’t doubt that.

In order to trust you first understand your doubt. You doubt yourself and you doubt people around you, and then you doubt in the existence of god. Which is very abstract. The world lives on trust. Every aspect in life moves with trust. And even your life, if there is no trust at all, it cannot move an inch. I like a disease you know, when you doubt yourself, will I be able to do this. You doubt in your capabilities, you never doubt in your incapabilities. And because of this you start doubting in people around you. You start with an assumption ‘everybody is hopeless and a cheat, let me try to find who is the right person’. And it becomes so hard to find somebody right. Because you start with an assumption everybody is a cheat. You see what I’m saying? And the same, with the presence of something which is beyond comprehension of a small intellect, of our mind. Awareness of the divine, the divine presence. Now the question comes, how do you remember it all the time?

I tell you there is no need to remember it all the time. Forget about it. Your effort to remember god or divine all the time, is of no use. Now I ask you, do you remember your name all the time. Do you have to remember every morning, I am so and so? (laughter) Do you have to remember you live in Santa Barbara every morning? Do you have to remember that you have to eat, sleep, brush everyday? Or do you have to sit and memorise the names of all your relatives and friends. Or do you feel disconnected if you don’t remember your family anytime? NO! It’s not like remembering a poem or saying my god, my god. Of course you say often OH MY GOD! But when a different tone, you don’t remember god anyway. (laughter) All you remember is how bad the situation is. Remembrance is just experiencing the presence in the sense it was said then… being present, alert, awake. It’s not again and again thinking.

Do you make an effort to be joyful, to be loving. I tell you then you’re going the other way. The moment you make an effort to love somebody or to be happy. You cannot be! It’s a part of you. Same with the divine, divine is part of you. You cannot even if you want. Just being aware of it. Like being aware you are in Santa Barbara. It’s not a constant effortful thinking. You see what I’m saying? Often people were told remember god, immediately we come to the conclusion… it is an awful effortful thinking. Or doing. Those who do not know the truth will say those. When you experience joy, whenever you are happy, loving. All those moments you have been in touch with the divine nature that is deep inside you. When you are natural, when you don’t pretend, then you are very close to the divine. I’m not saying, you should not pretend.

If you are an air hostess in a plane you have to pretend with a smile on your face. Goodbye goodbye, welcome, nice having you on the flight, whatever. (laughter) All those words. Hope you enjoyed. You can do that. As long as you are aware that your real life is not just this, there is a real depth to it. There is another dimension to it. Now another thing is we keep looking whether people love us or like us or not. And we make efforts to love people and like them. Tell you… don’t worry. Even if they don’t like you or love you. From your side consider they do love you. So that your love at least gets protected. Otherwise when you think someone does not love you, then you will also stop loving them. Hasn’t this happened to you. Say even if somebody doesn’t love you, you just go and tell them ‘oh I know you love me so much’. Tell them 5-6 times and see the change in them. Even if they don’t love you they’ll start loving you. They can’t but. It just gets kindled, instead you keep challenging, asking do you really love me? If you really love me you wont do like this. You should be doing this way. When we put it like that, when we keep such measuring rods, then we are draining love. You see what I’m saying? What do you say?

Abundance. Abundance again is a state of mind within you. If you just look at lack, the lack increases in life. You may think you lack hundred thousand dollars, ok tomorrow you have hundred thousand dollars. Then you feel you lack 200 thousand dollars. A gentleman, a homeless prayed to god. Give me just 1 million and that’s it, I wont ask anything more. I can live all my life and half of it I will donate to other people. So god said ok, you have it. So he got a lottery. He got one million, but he had never spend so much, what should I do now. So he went looking in Sunset Boulevard, LA. And he found a home there, nice. A million and a quarter. (laughter) Said ohhhh I’m so unlucky, if only I had a quarter more. I’d have had this house of my dreams. I had always dreamt of this house all my life.

The lack continues. Don’t look at the lack. See what you have. You know, then abundance increases. You talk to any big movie producer or a big industrialist. You know they have big credit. You may have a 100,000 credit and they have 4 million credit. And you talk to the treasury of this country, they’ll say oh this country is in debt. We are in recession. It’s a huge debt. Isn’t it? You talk to the California state, whoever it is, what do you say treasury? Are they not in some debt? (audience – big debt) More money a person has, he invests in an industry, he wants to expand it so he gets a bigger loan and a bigger loan is again a? Debt! If he just looks at it he’s find and say oh its a big lack. Nobody can ever feel abundance if they just look at that. Focus, because where you put your energy, that increases in life. Your attention increases whatever, wherever it goes. If you think nobody loves me, everybody hates me, then I tell you that is what is going to happen. Coz you’re looking that way. I’m sure you’ll find that… say a nice person will not give you big smile, or they might not welcome you. A lot is because you are directing your attention that way. Take it for granted even if nobody loves you, say everyone loves me. The air loves me, that’s why it’s going inside me. The day the sun stops loving you, earth stops loving you, you can never be here. God loves you, that is enough.

And you are love! That is enough! There is no way, no action, you can ever convince anybody that you really love them. The more we try to do, we are doing the contrary. Have you observed that. It’s happening in every relationship. Nobody wants to get hurt. They love each other, yet they are unable to convince each other. Isn’t this the problem in the world today? All the broken marriages, they do not really want to break. But they cannot live with them. Why? They are tired of convincing the other person that they really love them. And all that they do to convince that they really care for them, turns the other way around. Only way, is to be in this space. Only this is fairness. Otherwise all looks unfair. You can say God is really unfair. Either think that way, mercilessly takes everything away and floods the places. Everything falls, irrespective.

Whenever you want to see fairness, you are setting a standard in your mind and you want a feat to happen. I tell you it cannot happen all the time. I’m not saying it’s wrong to have a standard, it’s only fair to be i time. What I’m saying is this thought of fairness should not ferment inside you coz this raises a big question. And when this question stays fermented for a longer time, becomes violence. Behind every criminal the question of fairness comes. What is fair? This is not fair. That’s how it starts. This is not fair becomes ‘really unfair’. They start acting that way isn’t it. Don’t worry about what is fair and unfair. Relax and do whatever you can. You have to live in a world which is so diverse, so many different type of people are here. Their ideas are completely contradictory/opposite. Some are interested in rebirth, some are interested in death, some in happiness, some sorrow. There is variety in this world. You have to live amidst that. In this world there are many thieves/robbers and so is the police department. Just imagine there are not thieves/robbers… why should there be a police department. There is suffering so there is kindness and compassion and help. Completely opposite and they do exist… they co-exist. Just re understand this and we becomes fair to our self. And our mind comes in tune.

So our daily life we can live with a smile form inside. Why do we live, what we want. You’ll see all that we want is happiness. And the whole life we prepare to be happy and we are never happy. It’s like making bed all night and having no time to sleep. If you just take statistics. One third we spend in our beds, 10 years in the dining table, in the bathroom say 3 hours that adds to another 10 years. On the freeway/road… how much? Working/earning money 25-30. So how many have we lived with a smile, with love, with joy. You’ll maybe calculate 3 years? (laughter) But if you are aware, if your heart is open, you can see every moment you can live in that moment/in the knowledge. No matter what you’re doing, you don’t have to get away from all this and sit in some mountain, some monastery… no no. You can be doing your work, do all you want to do and maintain that inner awareness.

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The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

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The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Viv gave me this book to try and figure it out. He was like he know’s what it says but it’s hard to make sense of it. Well that’s what it’s all about. Dude has so much knowledge in the book but he’s tried to redefine already used words to something else which is hard to reconfigure or his sentences are too complicated or he’s basically having a conversation with himself which would be better heard than read. Too much hassle for bits of great knowledge here and there although… the was some great symbolism too. And anyway all he’s saying at the end of the say is focus on Now! Now! Now! So why a full book on it!!!!??? And towards the end I come across the heading saying women are more enlightened than men… oh boy… that’s just inspired me to type something in my thoughts so look out for that. The contents should explain most of it. Oh and the whole book is in Q&A format and basically I’m not trying to plug AOL but everything is explained much better in parasuniversal.com’s Something Deeper section.

Contents
- Preface
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements

-Introduction
The Origin of This Book
The Truth That Is Within You

- Chapter one: You Are Not Your Mind
The Greatest Obstacle to Enlightenment
Freeing Yourself from Your Mind
Enlightenment: Rising above Thought
Emotion: The Body’s Reaction to Your Mind

- Chapter Two: Consciousness: The Way Out of Pain
Create No More Pain in the Present
Past Pain: Dissolving the Pain-Body
Ego Identification with the Pain-Body
The Origin of Fear
The Ego’s Search for Wholeness

- Chapter Three: Moving Deeply into the Now
Don’t Seek Your Self in the Mind
End the Delusion of Time
Nothing Exists Outside Now
The key to the Spiritual Dimension
Accessing the Power of the Now
Letting Go of Psychological Time
The Insanity of Psychological Time
Negativity and Suffering Have Their Roots in Time
Finding the Life Underneath Your Life Situation
All Problems Are Illusions of the Mind
A Quantum Leap in the Evolution of Consciousness
The Joy of Being

- Chapter Four: Mind Strategies for Avoiding the Now
Loss of Now: Core Delusion
Ordinary Unconsciousness and Deep Consciousness
What Are They Seeking?
Dissolving ordinary Unconsciousness
Freedom from Unhappiness
Wherever You Are, Be There Totally
The Inner Purpose of Your Life’s Journey
The Past Cannot Survive in Your Presence

- Chapter Five: The State of Presence
It’s Not What You Think It Is
The Esoteric Meaning of “Waiting”
Beauty Arises in the Stillness of Your Presence
Realizing Pure Consciousness
Christ: The Reality of Your Divine Presence

- Chapter Six: The Inner Body
Being is Your Deepest Self
Look Beyond the Words
Finding Your Invisible and Indestructible Reality
Connecting with the Inner Body
Transformation through the Body
Sermon on the Body
Have Deep Roots Within
Before You Enter the Body, Forgive
Your Link with the Unmanifested
Slowing Down the Ageing Process
Strengthening the Immune System
Let the Breath Take Your in the Body
Creative Use of Mind
The Art of Listening

- Chapter Seven: Portals in the Unmanifest
Going Deeply in the Body
The Source of Chi
Dreamless Sleep
Other Portals
Silence
Space
The True Nature of Space and Time
Conscious Death

- Chapter Eight: Enlightened Relationships
Enter the Now from Wherever You Are
Love/Hate Relationships
Addiction and the Search for Wholeness
From Addictive to Enlightened Relationships
Relationships as Spiritual Practice
Why Women Are Closer to Enlightenment
Dissolving the Collective Female Pain-Body
Give Up the Relationship with Yourself

- Chapter Nine: Beyond Happiness and Unhappiness There Is Peace
The Higher Good beyond Good and Bad
The End of Your Life Drama
Impermanence and the Cycles of Life
Using the Relinquishing Negativity
The Nature of Compassion
Toward a Different Order of Reality

- Chapter Ten: The Meaning of Surrender
Acceptance of the Now
From Mind Energy to Spiritual Energy
Surrender in Personal Relationships
Transforming Illness into Enlightenment
When Disaster Strikes
Transforming Suffering into Peace
The Way of the Cross
The Power to Choose

- Notes

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The Four Pillars of Knowledge by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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The Four Pillars of Knowledge by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Knowledge is very simple. Its the simplest. And so it’s not too easy. (giggles) Potentially it’s available, but dynamically it’s not available. Though you are that, yet to know that you are that, needs some preparation. God is the cheapest commodity available because outside Got there can be nothing. There is no outside at all. But then why is it not as an experiential reality in everyone? This is a fundamental question in everyone. If I am God why is it that I don’t know I am God? Why do have to go through all this? Why is it not my experience. And just listening to that does not do anything, does not ring a bell, just makes a concept.

So there are all these practices. Which are like sign boards. It’s just like saying look at the star above the sky. Which star? That star about the branch of the tree. So you show the branch in order to show the star and the star has nothing to do with the branch of a tree. So you find many enlightened people who simply discard the branch of the tree and say useless to do any practice, it’s not necessary. But they’ve missed a very important factor. Simply enunciating the truth does not help. You have to see from where the seeker is and take them from there to move onwards. Simply describing the destination, the house… is not sufficient. You have to be given the road map, the route, which exit to take. Otherwise you’d be in the freeway all the time, not knowing which way you have to exit. It could be ongoing never ending journey. Directions are essential. And there are 4 major qualification/points that one has to have in order to reach the self. These are called the 4 pillars or the 4 implements, the 4 tools.

1 – Viveka (Grossly translated as discrimination)
It’s not just discrimination. Viveka is the understanding or observation that everything is changing. Whatever you consider as stationery or solid is neither stationery nor solid… they are changing. Every changing nature, ever changing reality. And a thorough understanding of this is called viveka. Everything is changing. Our body is changing, every cell, every minute new cells are being generated and old cells are dying. Every time you breath out old energy goes out, new energy comes into the body when you breathe in. Our body is a bundle of atoms. And atoms are always disintegrating, changing. As body starts growing. Same with the whole world, Universe. The Earth is changing. Our thoughts are changing, emotions are changing. You’re not the same person you were yesterday and you will not be tomorrow. You’re changing. You cannot maintain the same degree of sadness everyday. (laughter) You will see it fluctuates. Higher or does down. Or you maybe unhappy for different reasons on different days. You can never be unhappy for the same reason all through, there will be variation in degree. Same way for joy also. Your moods, feelings, emotions… everything is changing. (Paras note: So what he’s trying to say is Everything is changing)

But there is something different from us that is not changing. This discrimination between something that is not changing and everything else is changing is Viveka. You do not know what is not changing, but you can feel and recognize what is changing. The moment you see things changing, simultaneously you start seeing that the one who is observing the change is not changing. Otherwise how can they say one is changing. The reference of change is non-change. Otherwise changes cannot be perceived at all. Viveka, recognizing the changes. Changing characteristics of our sounding, changing nature of our body, of our emotion, of life in general. This very thing would reduce 99% of the misery that you face. You have a fixed thought about your future and this will be like this and you foresee… all the fears, anxiety, unhappiness comes up in you. Because you’re foreseeing all that negativity come up in you. Who knows, how do you know that things are going to be bad. And in order to avoid that you try to affirm yourself… oh no no everything will be good. But deep inside you feel something is going to be bad. Or vice versa. You know all this positive thinking… it’s very… (laughter). It’s not a very intelligent thing to do you know, positive thinking is pulling you somewhere negative. Just see everything is changing. And changes happen. This is the nature of world, it is such. A great relief comes, unconditioning of the mind. This condition to fix things. Viveka.. the first pillar.

2 – Vairaghya (Grossly translated as dispassion)
Behind every misery there is a hope. The fuel for miserable people is hope. (giggles). There is a deep desire of some joy. Perhaps if I change my job, go to another town, change my partnership… then I’ll be happier. People who are single thing they’ll be happier if they get married, people who are married think I was better off all by myself. Or they think if I have a kid I’ll be happy, people who have children think if the children grow up and be on their on then I’ll be happy. Forseeing happiness sometime in the future makes one miserable right now. Desire for some pleasure in the future, either worldly or in the heaven. One misses the boat. If you cannot row one boat you cannot row any other boat. Changing the boat does not help you. But this hope in the mind, if I change the boat then I can row another boat. This is the very cause of misery. Do you see this in the world? Look in the life of an individual or look in a society. Various status… its the same story. A child thinks if he grows older then he has more power, control, freedom. He thinks the joy is in getting older and becoming a college student. Look at the college student, if I get a job and I do my own business, then I’ll be more indipendent, then I’ll be more happy. And see those who are on their own, I should get right partner for me. Somebody who matter, my soulmate. If i meet my soulmate then I’ll be happy. You have met your soulmate are you happy now? (laughter). If the soulmate is happy then only I can be happy. Then your eyes are all the time on the soulmate wether he/she is happy. (laughter) And small things they do hurt you. Small things, not intentionally, they were preoccupied they didn’t give a big smile to you. Fun finished! (laughter) They want an explanation that why didn’t you smile at me. And the whole soap opera begins. (mad laughter) One wants the baby, other doesn’t. What to do… ok compromise. (mad laughter) One way or another yo uhave to compromise. Both desires cannot be fulfilled at the same time.

And the children, then you have to make sure they go to a good school, right environment, are they behaving properly, are they alright, not sick, getting well. All your mind energies. Then you keep thinking when they grow older how will they settle, then you’ll be happy. You’ll have your own time. Same thing in society. Someone says I become a manager of a company, I’ll be happy. Managers think I should be a director. Directors thing I should be the international head. Ok you have an international chain of companies, what you have got? Blood pressure, heart ache, kidney failure, liver problems, travel sickness, insomnia. It is too big I cannot manage this. They are jealous about their employees. Employees just come and have their salary go home happily to sleep. And there are people who are ready to suffer here. You know why? They know they will get some better comfort up there in the heaven when they die. Let me suffer here so that when I die and go to heaven I’ll get all joy, pleasure will come to me. I can be in a royal suite there. So what? Every pleasure just leaves you where you are, it doesn’t carry you anywhere. Pleasure only tires you. Something very beautiful, how long can you go on looking at it. Your eyelids will fall, you will tire. A beautiful perfume, you want to put your nose in the bottle? People working in perfume factories are sick of perfumes. A great smell, what can you do? How long can you smell? You like doughnuts, how much can you stuff through you mouth. Icecream you like, how much can you swallow? How many have you had? How many chocolate fudge has gone through this hole called mouth? (laughter) So what? Do you see, how much food has gone through this hole called mouth? Just calculate? If one day you consume one kilo, in a whole year? 365 kilo. If you’re 45 years how many tons? Several tons of food grain stuffed through this hole. (laughter) Music, beautiful music, talk, everything you’ve heard. How long can you hear? How much can you hear? Sense of touch, how long can you go on touching? It drains you. You become like a wreck. Tried, exhausted. And the whole world is full of pleasure for these 5 senses. Objects of these 5 senses. It doesn’t take you any further, it doensn’t elevate you to great heights of bliss.

An attitude of so what, let it be. Takes away the feverishness in you. Takes away the passion in you. Takes you to that pillar of dispassion. Remember that dispassion is not apathy. Often we think dispassion is being totally unenthusiastic, depressed, not interested in anything. This is not dispassion. Dispassion is lack of feverishness. Same thing, ok if I do so many techniques, I’ll achieve some merit somewhere in the heaven. This feverishness is also not vairaghya. Dispassion towards enjoyments of this world or the other, the seen or unseen, external or inner. Is the second pillar that makes you very solid on your path. See what I’m saying?

3 – 6 Wealths (Shama, damha, uparati, titiksha, shraddha and samadhana.)
These are called wealth, it’s not something that you do to get you have them. Like wealth… your capital.
a) Shama
When the mind wants to do too many things it’s completely scattered. When there is vairaghya, the 3rd pillar automatically becomes stronger… you automatically start to have a focus. Your mind is more alert.

b) Damha
Having a say on our own senses. You know many times you don’t want to say and you say things. May times you don’t want to see but you see. Suppose you’re travelling on the plane and there is a movie going on. You see it and you say oh rubbish, let me go to sleep. And then after a little while you open your eyes and see again. And you become curious, you put your headphones also and see more. You have decided 3 times not to see but you kept on seeing the movie. Has this happened to you? Coz there’s some curiosity that comes to you, what has happened let me see. Same with food, ok I will not eat anything today and some nice food is served and it comes to your nose and you say ok let me have a bite. One bite and then one more bite and then one more… to your surprise you see you have stuffed more than your tummy can take. Damha, where you have a say on your senses. They don’t drag you and you’re not carried away by them but you’ll say yes or no. Most of the time it’s not you who says yes or no, it’s the senses that say yes or no to you.

c) Titiksha
Endurance. Forbearance. When opposite things come you are able to forebear it without being shaken and shattered. In life some pleasant some unpleasant events happen. So what? None of them stays forever. Health, sickness, moods, loss, gains, people, friends, foes come and go. Do you see even small children you can find that, small thing happens they cry for hours. Other children will cry for one minute and they change their mind. Even in adults you find the same thing. Relationship break and they’re broken for a long period of time. They are still chewing on the … chewing gum. There’s nothing in it, the flavor is gone. To all things… see what was unpleasant before became pleasant, what was pleasant became unpleasant. They all the time change. What one thought was to be very bad later on it did something good to you… it made you strong somewhere. Just understanding this, not holding on to what all good, bad, right, wrong. Choices in the mind. Not getting carried away by them is called titiksha. See a game is where you lose and win, where both is part of it. Isn’t it? Where there is more chance of losing the game it’s more charming. The game has value when it is tough. Isn’t it? So all little problems that come is life is part of the whole game and seeing that this is not going to shake me at all. Just turn back and look and see through all those different situations you’ve gone in life. In-spite of it all you’re still total and complete today. They cannot destroy you, you’re much more powerful than them, and significant than them. This very understanding, whatever events come in my life. All these events, pleasant, unpleasant, happy, unhappy… cannot do anything to me, with this forbearance that rises in you. Is the third wealth.

d) Uparati
Rejoicing in your nature. Being in your nature. Often you’re not in your nature you’re doing things because somebody else says or does. Often people do things, buy big homes so people can look and say something to them. For approval of others. If we do something like that then we are not in touch with our nature. Be in your nature. Being in the present moment, in the joy that you are. Rejoicing in anything that you do. That is uparati. Letting go of everything. And then taking everything focused and seriously is also uparati. Totally opposite values is but making together. Living them together. That is uparati. Being playful.

e) Shraddha
Faith. Faith is needed when you’re knowing has found it’s limit. When you have found the limit of your knowing. You know this far and you don’t know anything beyond that. Your willingness to know is faith. If your mind says this is it, nothing beyond. That fixation is fanaticism. That is ego, I know it all. But when you know the whole thing, there is beyond, and this entire creation is from beyond, the unknowable, recognition of the unknowable. Guruvedant vakyeshav (spelling). Vishvas itishraddha (spelling). Faith in the self, the master, the divine… in the infinite. Infinite order of things. Faith in that love of infinity. This is shraddha. We can understand this in a simpler manner. Your doubt has 3 divisions. 1 – Doubt the self, 2 – doubt the other, 3 – doubt the whole. 99.99999% of the people doubt the whole because they do not even believe that the whole that is functioning. People talk about god a lot. But go deep and you find that the faith is shaken. There is no faith. There exists an infinite organizing intelligent power which is in total control of everything. This faith is absent. If it is there, its just an outside decoration, like a badge on you. Your badges do not indicate you, so if your badges are gone nothing in you is gone. And then the doubt in people. When someone says I love you, you doubt them. Do you really love me? Prove it. But if somebody is angry you don’t doubt… are you really angry with me? Just notice your doubt is always about the positivity about other people. You take it for granted that other people are hopeless. Then you try to find the trust in this and that person. And you’re are unable to do it. Most of you suffer from this disease because from the basic understanding you take it for granted that everybody is a cheat. You cannot trust anybody then. And this pains you because it is connected to yourself, faith in your own self. Self doubt is the third doubt. You never doubt your anger, depression, sadness, sorrow, misery. But you doubt all the positive qualities you have. You doubt in your capabilities, you don’t doubt in your in-capabilities. You see what I’m saying? Doubt the incapability in you, doubt in your limitations! Who knows that you will become next moment. Who knows that molecules and atoms are inside you. What great personalities, beautiful noble characters are in you… and when it will blossom. How many Budhas, tathagaths, bhodhi satva, apostles, vivek ananandas. Doubt in your in-capabilities, in-capacities… then your capabilities grow. Then you will doubt in the negative of people and attribute it to their stress. Then the trust in everyone grows. And you (couldn’t hear) find that divine existence… there is only one mind, intelligence, one being… there are no two people, there is only one life. And a master is there to practically demonstrate to you, I am you , you are me. And when a master says this, seeing the master as he is, not through blocked vision. Suspicious eyes… that is shraddha. A master does not have to get anything from you, but if you see with the same suspicious eyes, what is he up to. Then you will go on reeling around in your own small little mind, you will be unable to peep to the divine existence. You’ll miss the whole joy, the essence which you’re longing for. Knowingly or unknowingly. See when we say, ok we’ll sing this and it will bring some soothing influence. And you start singing and you start feeling it… you do feel it. Isn’t it? After meditation, ok listen to some chanting, listen to some veda it brings some influence. Its this faith in it. Ok yes, let me do it, without faith you will not do it at all. It’s like someone saying, first let me learn swimming then let me get into the water. You have to get in the water in order to learn. To much preparedness, this is what it is. Being too cautious, I tell you these people miss the joy in life. Faith. You believe you have a coach then you get into the water and you learn swimming. Isn’t it? No activity can happen in this world without the element of faith. You have faith in your banks so you put your money there. You have faith in the law and order so you park your car. You wont be sitting here. Do you see that? You have faith in the airlines so you know you can go home after 4-5 days, the house will be there, electricity, what, what. Telephone company believes in you so they give you the line. That’s why you are given credit cards and all that. Take any system! Medicine, doctors have faith this medicine will have this effect. Thought they cannot guarantee. This very probability factor introduces the faith. If there is 0% probability then there is no faith. But if there is even 1% probability, that means it’s not knowledge, it is faith. And the faith is a beautiful quality of your consciousness, blossoming of your being. It’s one of the wealth.

f) Samadhana
Being at ease. Do you see how you feel when you’re at ease. Do you remember? How does it feel when you’re totally at east, serene, calm. Being at ease with yourself, with your environment, with people around you, with everything. The whole. This is samadhana. This is a wealth by itself. These 6 wealth together form the 3rd pillar.

4 Mumukshatva
The desire for the highest. A desire for freedom. Enlightenment. First of all you can desire it only when you feel it is possible for you. When you think it is not possible, you cannot even desire it. If you feel all the good qualities cannot come in you, and slowly when you eliminate, until you think you cannot do anything… a deep desire, a longing in your for the divine. A longing for infinity, bigger life. A longing to be a devotee, servant, beloved, to be part and parcel of the whole. These potentialities in you cannot be uncovered or woken up. If you don’t desire it. Unless someone wants to learn meditation you cannot force someone, it should come from within, the desire to learn. This is the fourth pillar. Mumukshatva. Which you already have, don’t think you have to attain this, that is why you are already here. To some extent you have all these 4 essential pillars for sadhana. You put some more attention on it, they become stronger and more solid. Build it a little higher. Hmmmm? That much for today.

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A CONVERSATION WITH THE MASTER (May 2002, Santa Monica, California)

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A CONVERSATION WITH THE MASTER (May 2002, Santa Monica, California)
Spiritual path demands two things. First, authenticity. Are you authentic? Whatever you are doing, are you authentic? The second thing it demands is intensity. How intense are you, in anything you’re doing. If you are just lukewarm, there is no progress in spiritual path. Do you have the intensity of anything, desire? Do you desire something with such intense, with such intensity? Do you have longing with such intensity or are you happy with such intensity? Just like a child you know its so happy, so intensely happy. Its not just and smiling. The smile and joy pours out from its whole body. Havent you noticed that? Have you seen, small baby, 6 month old baby, she how it laughs, when it laughs is joy contained in a little lukewarm fashion? (laughter) The joy of a child bursts! Similarly the life force in you should burst out from you. Every cell of your body should/be vibrant, should exhibit the life energy. Your whole system radiates. That is spiritual, then you say oh you are doing something. You’re living your potential. Intensity in your expression, intensity in your experience, intensity even in your misery will take you on spiritual path. (laughter) Not lukewarm misery, you’re so desperate and you cry your heart out, you know without shame. You are on the path. You are a seeker. So options. Intensely miserable, intense longing or intense desire or intense expression of joy. There is no fifth condition. And authentically, not just dramatizing it. You know you can make drama. (Guruji laughs) Make a mood. But that doesn’t come from deep within. If that is the case then all the actors and actresses would be living that full potential. But it is not so. Are you getting what I’m saying?

Intense expression of life. The second sign of a seeker. That doesn’t mean you intensely get angry and and go. There are so many people who intensely get angry and justify that. We should not use knowledge as a shield. Use knowledge as an umbrella, not as a shield. Because you are at loss, if you use knowledge as a shield, to cover up your, whatever, shortcomings, then you’re at loss. And again, when you recognise shortcomings don’t hold on to them, this is another problem. Oh I’m no good, I’m no good. Self blame. If you are blaming yourself, remember, there is no chance for you to make any progress. Coz if you’re blaming yourself, how can you go towards something which you are blaming? You try to stay away from that something which you blame. And if you blame yourself, will you ever be able to go deep within yourself? Huh? Self blame prevents you from settling down. And if you cannot settle down, you are definitely going to blame others around you. See we oscillate between self blame and blaming others. This is the biggest pitfall on the path of evolution and the path to god. So whenever you blame, you’re not blaming yourself, you’re blaming god.

So that golden rule we need to find, that gold line we need to find. That centre point where you recognise the shortcomings but not start blaming yourself. The mere recognition take you further. Not denying, and not blaming, but recognising. Are you all with me? Is your mind still here? I want 100% of you here. Don’t want only 30% of you here and then another 50% out somewhere in Santa Monica. (laughter) Huh? 100% Intense! Do anything intense, listening, seeing, tasting, smelling, crying, singing… I tell you it’s the shortest way.

Patanjali, the propounder (?) of yoga, he said that… teevra samveganam asana. The one who has the intensity, for them, the yoga, the union or the oneness of the mind, becomes so easy. Are you all here? YES!!??? (Guruji laughs/everybody laughs) Often when people are upset, they are intense. And people who are peaceful, who are in love and joy, they don’t seem to exibit the intensity. Isnt it? I would call it the tamsik peace. Means very dull. Sort of inertia. (laughs) Inertia can also be interpreted as peaceful. But the dynamism is often associated with? Anger, rage, frustration. Where we find those who are intense even in peace? Are you getting what I’m saying. An intense peace. (laughter) Is a goal you can aim at. And that’s what this society, the world needs today. Isnt it? Hmmm? (Guruji taps on the mic) Let me see how many of you are really smiling and how many of you are really not.

You know we have made our smile so expensive. We smile once in a while. Some time, now or then. And our anger, frustration we distribute it freely, free of cost. Cant we make our smile cheaper? Wisdom is when you make your smile cheap… in fact distribute your smile free of cost and make your anger very expensive. You know when we were in schools, if we are upset someday or one day, you know, we were made to feel ashamed about it. If someone loses themselves, loses their… what you call… lose the temper, everybody would look and them, say what is wrong with them? If a boy or girl in the class shouts or does something, everybody wonder, what has happened to this person. So many days people will remember, oh that person lost the temper, coz losing temper was not considered to be a very good thing to. Coz the ideal was the Samadhi. Equanimity, how equanimity and how unperturbed a person was. That was given, that child or that student was really thought to be very high, very, its good. I mean pride was attached to unperturbedness. But today pride somehow got attached to rage, frustration, aggressiveness. Aggression got itself hooked to prestige. Violence got hooked to… coz the ideal of Mahatma Gandhi, he had just, maybe 10 years he must have gone. So everybody admired Mahatma Gandhi. So anyone who is peaceful and… always ranked high. Was given, you know, respect. But just within few years, everything is changed. Isnt it? And Gandhi used to read the second chapter of Bhagvad Gita everyday. And second chapter this is what its said… how to be equanimous in your attitude. Impartail and equanimity was given so much importance, pride.

Its not suppression, again. To whichever values you attach the pride to, that is what blossoms in life. Isnt it? You attach pride to violence, then violence will blossom, come forth in life. Violence will be exhibiting in every action. Why not to smile more? You know, just look at the person next to you and see if they’re really smiling, if they’re not just pinch them and make them smile. (laughter) Tell them you either cry or smile. Nothing inbetween. (laughter) This is a step to become like a child again, a child either cries or smiles. Express yourself. And life finds an authentic expression, it progresses in the path of spirit, for spirit is truth, spirit is love, spirit is joy, spirit is all that! That we aspire. Isnt that? Isnt that so? Hmmmm?

You know what stops you, what bottles you is your problems. And you know everybody else have the same problems. Slightly different problem. People say I want to talk to you Guruji alone, I said theres no need. (laughter) In the ashram I kept 5 baskets, I know what the problems are. Either the problem is about relationship, one basket. (laughter) Job or finance, another basket. (laughter) Health and health related problem, third basket. (laughter) And miscellaneous, forth one. (laughter) Fifth, big worries about the society, about whatever, the country, about the nation, about world, environment, all these problems, you know. Put in that. Or any complains about me. (laughter) Put it in there. Guruji you never meet with me, you never spend time, too many people, I don’t get time, I don’t get to do this, etc, etc, whatever. You don’t give me personal attention. Huh… put all that in there. (mad laughter) 5 Baskets, all the problems. There is nothing. And I have my own ways to reply to them all. Life is too short to keep solving one problem after another, I tell you. Just wake up and walk ahead, problems will get solved by themselves. You’re not alone my dear, wake up! You’re not alone, all the problems are getting solved and there is some power with you. Whos walking you through all the problems. And when you feel that intense desire to offer, write it down, put it, give it, send it, do anything. (laughter) Huh?

I’ve said, teacher is a garbage collector. (laughs) He wont say, oh this is yesterdays garbage, this is third days garbage, no why did you give me. No, no question. Any amount of garbage you can give. You the person who comes to collect garbage in front of your homes, they don’t say, they don’t quantify you. You can only give only 2kgs of garbage. I wont take anymore. (laughter) You’ll be in trouble. Unlimited quantity of garbage, dump it. And you have hesitation even to do that. This is irony. This is the irony. That we have hesitation to drop a garbage. Are you all there. (YES) (Guruji waves to everyone)

See I have no shame I tell you. (laughter) Nor am I shy. I just say whatever comes here. If you take it, take it, if you don’t want to take it, just drop it along with the garbage. (Guruji laughs/everyone laughs/applause) Give it back to me, no problem. But don’t sit just like, lifeless statue. (laughs) Ya? (Yes, WHOOOOW) (laughter) You know that’s why its called satsang. Satsang means you know what? Where you can just drop all, what people would think about me sort of things and authentically be there. 100% Authentic company, the company of the truth. Ya? Ok, now I’ll see the questions. Do we need to go through the questions? (laughter) Answered them all huh? (Guruji laughs)

People normally ask questions and Guruji aptly answers.

Thank you for the grace you have brought to my life. (Paras note: Not a question)

How does one attain optimum physical health?
Don’t worry about health a lot. (Applause)

Could you speak on noncausal joy?
Non-causal joy, you know the cause and effect, is again an illusion on one level. You know some of you have this problem, ok I read all these books, I know all this knowledge, but in practical life it is not applicable so what is the use. How many of you have had this sort of question, raise their hands. My dear you should know there are two types of science. One is the pure science, the other is the applied science. You learn about thermodynamics, aerodynamics, but all that you learn in physics, thermodynamics, aerodynamics, all that is not applicable in everyday life. Is it? But the knowledge of it helps you in some point of time. You can just learn being a mechanic, how to repair a car, can take a diploma course. Not even a diploma, 3 months, go and sit with a mechanic, he will tell you how to fix a car. But that is not enough to be an engineer. An engineer will have to know the whole mechanics, the dynamics of how the car functions. Right? So all that, as a theory, you read, you study, may not come to your day to day use. But never discard them, sometime in life they will come to your use, your help. It should just be there. Are you getting what I’m saying? At some point in life in time, that will come to the help. If you see only practical application of knowledge, then nobody will study physics and chemistry, the pure science. But without pure science there is no depth. There is no deeper understanding of the mechanics. There is no further innovations. How can you do further innovation when you don’t have knowledge in depth about it. So similarly all this studying, this knowledge hearing. Though you may feel its not applicable to life now. Some point of time, when there is a dire need, this will come up. And they do help your life. So there are two kinds, one help that comes direct and another help which is indirect help. There is one kind of joy which is direct, which is eminent, the other kind of joy which is indirect, which we do not obviously see the connection. Hmmm? Like brushing your teeth everyday, doesn’t give you any great joy directly, but it prevents you from toothache. It helps you from not having toothache, so in that manner it is aiding your happiness, joy, indirect manner. Same with disciplines, sometimes the disciplines that you practice, exercise or yoga, meditation, may not give you an immediate pleasure or joy or happiness. But in the indirect fashion, they do aid your growth. Are you getting what I’m saying?

What is the significance of the number 108?
Significance is what we attach to it. One of the significance that people have attached to 108 is, there are 9 planets… they counted 9, though there may be 10, 11. So 9 planets and 12 constellations. So when 9 planets move through 12 constellation, they make 108 changes. Of these 108 changes, they may be pleasant, unpleasant, whatever. To nullify the unpleasant, and to increase the pleasant effect of these changes, they would chant the mantras or the sound so many times. This was an ancient way to do that.

Why do all the god, saints, wizards, prophets keep long hair, beard and robes? (laughter/applause)
Its just their uniform so you can recognise them. (laughter) People can recognise only through dresses. Coz they don’t have eyes to see their spirit behind, so perhaps this is a uniform. There was one Indian freedom fighter, he was a great scholar, he had written many books and all. Chatterji or someone, huh? Vakilchandraji. He was invited for dinner. In the British tent, he was invited for a dinner, for a scholarly thing. And he was supposed to wear coat and you know, proper dress with a tie, coat and all that. But he just walked with a robe like this dhoti and a simple shirt, he was not allowed in. So he went back home and he put on the suit and came, and at the dining table he was sitting, when the dinner was served, he was feeding it in the pockets. (laughs) People asked him why is he. I was not allowed to the dinner, its only this coat that could let me inside this place, so I am feeding the coat. (laughter) Used to say, comeon eat. You eat. (laughter) So don’t have to be hung up on the dresses. Long hair and beard, its just I don’t have time to do all that shaving and… ok. (laughter) These are not an essential requirement for spiritual growth. Just wake up and see, you are connected to god. However you are. Its like you know a mother looks at some children are happy and cheerful, some are all the time waning and wailing and what do you call… crying and complaining. So you choose what type of child you want to be. (Guruji laughs/everybody laughs) Of course the former one otherwise you wouldn’t be here.

Are we all god really? Is this absolutely 100% reality? Please expound on.
(Laughter) Certain questions, its easy to say no and get away with it. (Guruji laughs) But that is not true. (Guruji laughs even more) Forget about god, first you have to tell me what is your concept of god. But if you just say god is love, I tell you, you are love. Even if you are angry, upset, frustrated, whatever state you are, you are still love. Love distorted, fermented. (laughter) Spoiled a little bit here and there. All the negative emotions are nothing but distortions of love. Love when it gets fermented becomes jealousy, anger, hatred, all these things. Frozen love becomes hatred. Just a little heat to it, it will melt. Hmmm?

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