Weekly Knowledge #8
30 Jul 1995
Connecticut USA
How to get rid of vasanas (impressions)? This is a question for all those who want to come out of habits.
You want to get rid of habits because they give pain and restrict you. The nature of vasana is to bother you, or bind you, and wanting to be free is the nature of life. Life wants to be free and when a soul doesn't know how to be free, it wanders through lifetimes wanting freedom.
The way to come out of habits is vows. This is samyama. Everybody is endowed with a little samyama.
A vow should be time bound. This would bring good conduct and save you from being wayward. Consider the time and place for vows to be taken.
When the mind dwells on useless thoughts, then two things happen. One is that all those old patterns come up and you feel discouraged by them. You blame yourself and feel that you have not made any progress.
The second thing is that you see it as an opportunity for samyama and feel happy about it. Without samyama, life will not be happy and diseases arise. For example, you know you should not eat three servings of ice cream, or eat ice cream every day, or otherwise you will get sick.
Habits will clog you when there is no liveliness or juice in life. When there is a direction for life force, you can rise above habits through samyama.
Take vows according to time and place. For example, suppose someone has a habit of smoking cigarettes and says, "I will quit smoking," but cannot do it. They can take a vow, three months or 90 days; a time-bound vow. If someone is used to cursing and swearing, take a vow not to use bad language for ten days. Don't take it for a lifetime; you will break it immediately. If you happen to break it in between, don't worry. Just begin again. Slowly increase the duration until it becomes your nature.
All those habits which bother you, bind them in vows, in samyama. So all those who are in Satsang, take a time-bound vow today and make a note of it. If you break a vow, make a note of it and share the time and date at the next Satsang. Continue it again. Tie those habits which bring you pain in samyama.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
DEALING WITH BLAME
Weekly Knowledge #9
10 Aug 1995
Braunlage Germany
When someone blames you, what do you usually do? Blame them back or you put up resistance in yourself. When someone blames you, they actually take away some negative karma from you. If you understand this and don't put up resistance and feel happy about it, then you drop your resistance. "Oh, good. That person is blaming me. Good. Something is going away." And when you drop the resistance, your karma goes away. Do you see what I'm saying?
So when someone blames you and you put up resistance in your mind, and you don't react, then you are not allowing them to take the negative karma. Outside you may resist, but inside if you don't resist, and feel happy, "Oh, good, somebody is there to blame me and take some negative karma," you will feel immediately lighter.
How does it feel to you when someone blames you? Do you feel some heaviness? Usually, when someone blames you, you feel hurt and you feel unhappy, you feel sad. This is all because you're . . . resisting. That is it. What you resist, persists. The ignorant person tells someone, "Don't blame me because it hurts me."
An enlightened person also says "Don't blame me." Do you know why? Because it might hurt you. This is a beautiful point. What are the points? You get hurt because you resist the blame. When someone blames you, you resist it inside. Outside you may not resist, but inside when you resist, then that hurts you.
An ignorant person warns you, "You better not hurt me, you better not blame me because I will feel hurt." Someone warns you not to blame them because it will hurt them and they'll do something harmful to you out of revenge.
An enlightened person says "Don't blame me because it will hurt you." So here you say, don't blame because of compassion. You can tell someone, don't blame me out of compassion, or you can say it out of anger.
News:
Guruji arrived in Poland for an enchanting course with nearly 400 people. Every eye was filled with tears of gratitude. Then Guruji was off to Braunlage in Germany where more than 200 people had come together to celebrate the silence.
10 Aug 1995
Braunlage Germany
When someone blames you, what do you usually do? Blame them back or you put up resistance in yourself. When someone blames you, they actually take away some negative karma from you. If you understand this and don't put up resistance and feel happy about it, then you drop your resistance. "Oh, good. That person is blaming me. Good. Something is going away." And when you drop the resistance, your karma goes away. Do you see what I'm saying?
So when someone blames you and you put up resistance in your mind, and you don't react, then you are not allowing them to take the negative karma. Outside you may resist, but inside if you don't resist, and feel happy, "Oh, good, somebody is there to blame me and take some negative karma," you will feel immediately lighter.
How does it feel to you when someone blames you? Do you feel some heaviness? Usually, when someone blames you, you feel hurt and you feel unhappy, you feel sad. This is all because you're . . . resisting. That is it. What you resist, persists. The ignorant person tells someone, "Don't blame me because it hurts me."
An enlightened person also says "Don't blame me." Do you know why? Because it might hurt you. This is a beautiful point. What are the points? You get hurt because you resist the blame. When someone blames you, you resist it inside. Outside you may not resist, but inside when you resist, then that hurts you.
An ignorant person warns you, "You better not hurt me, you better not blame me because I will feel hurt." Someone warns you not to blame them because it will hurt them and they'll do something harmful to you out of revenge.
An enlightened person says "Don't blame me because it will hurt you." So here you say, don't blame because of compassion. You can tell someone, don't blame me out of compassion, or you can say it out of anger.
News:
Guruji arrived in Poland for an enchanting course with nearly 400 people. Every eye was filled with tears of gratitude. Then Guruji was off to Braunlage in Germany where more than 200 people had come together to celebrate the silence.
TODAY IS KRISHNA'S BIRTHDAY
Weekly Knowledge #10
16 Aug 1995
Rotterdam Netherlands
BIRTH OF THE CENTER OF ATTRACTION
Krishna means the most attractive . . . It is the divinity that is the most attractive; the energy that pulls everything to it. Krishna is the formless center which is everywhere. Any attraction from anywhere is coming only from Krishna. Often people fail to see the spirit behind the attraction and merely hold on to the outer shell. And the moment you try to possess the shell, you will see Krishna has played a trick and you will be left with an empty shell in your hands and tears in your eyes.
Be clever like Radha -- don't be tricked by Krishna. Krishna could not escape from Radha, for her whole world was filled with Krishna. If you can see that wherever there is an attraction, there is Krishna; then you are Radha, you are in your center.
The mind moves towards beauty, joy and truth. Krishna tells Arjuna, "I am the beauty in the Beautiful, the strength in the Strong, the wisdom in the Wise." In this way he arrests the mind from moving away from him.
Krishna reveals this Knowledge to Arjuna because he is Anasuya. Next week we will see what is Anasuya.
16 Aug 1995
Rotterdam Netherlands
BIRTH OF THE CENTER OF ATTRACTION
Krishna means the most attractive . . . It is the divinity that is the most attractive; the energy that pulls everything to it. Krishna is the formless center which is everywhere. Any attraction from anywhere is coming only from Krishna. Often people fail to see the spirit behind the attraction and merely hold on to the outer shell. And the moment you try to possess the shell, you will see Krishna has played a trick and you will be left with an empty shell in your hands and tears in your eyes.
Be clever like Radha -- don't be tricked by Krishna. Krishna could not escape from Radha, for her whole world was filled with Krishna. If you can see that wherever there is an attraction, there is Krishna; then you are Radha, you are in your center.
The mind moves towards beauty, joy and truth. Krishna tells Arjuna, "I am the beauty in the Beautiful, the strength in the Strong, the wisdom in the Wise." In this way he arrests the mind from moving away from him.
Krishna reveals this Knowledge to Arjuna because he is Anasuya. Next week we will see what is Anasuya.
ANASUYA
Weekly Knowledge #11
24 Aug 1995
London United Kingdom
Knowledge will be different at different levels of consciousness. At a particular level of consciousness you will become anasuya. Anasuya is devoid of fault-finding eyes. If a mirror is dusty, you need a duster to clean it. But if your eyes have a cataract, any amount of dusting will not help. So first you have to remove the cataract. Then you can see that the mirror is already clean.
There is a certain mind set that always finds fault, even in the best conditions in the world. When you give a person with this mind set the best, they still find faults. Even with the best possible companion, or the most beautiful painting, they will still find something wrong. That kind of mind set cannot know the sacred Knowledge. Krishna tells Arjuna that he is giving him the Royal Secret, because he is anasuya. "You are not finding fault in Me, even though you are so close."
From a distance, even craters cannot be seen. Even on a smooth surface there will be holes. If you are only interested in the holes, you will not see the magnanimity of things. If you are not in anasuya, Knowledge cannot blossom in you. Then there is no point in giving Knowledge.
Question: What about discrimination -- Wisdom?
Answer: If it is in your vision, your vision will find discrimination. The moment you are out of the path, everything is all wrong, that is not anasuya. For example, you have a friendship, and after 10 years you decide to leave. When you leave, you do not see the good in that relationship. You find fault. This is not anasuya.
However, once you discover you have the wrong vision, half of the wrong vision has already disappeared. There is a fine line here. There cannot be any better example than the cataract. Instead of saying, "My vision is blurred," you say, "The whole world is not sharp." Suppose someone is coming in. It is windy, so you shut the door. But the person thinks the door has been slammed in his face! This is asuya. It is not anasuya. Most of the population is like this.
Asuya is finding fault. It is seeing malicious intent everywhere. It is like a child who says, "Mother, you don't love me!" The child's vision is wrong. If the mother does not love the child, who will? It is the same as if someone comes and says, "Guruji, you don't love me!" If I don't love them, forget about it. Nobody else in the world will! Where else will they find love? Nowhere. A mother may get frustrated but not a Master.
Question: It seems as though you can't have anasuya unless you are enlightened?
Answer: Not always. This is an excuse. To get enlightenment, you must have this vision.
24 Aug 1995
London United Kingdom
Knowledge will be different at different levels of consciousness. At a particular level of consciousness you will become anasuya. Anasuya is devoid of fault-finding eyes. If a mirror is dusty, you need a duster to clean it. But if your eyes have a cataract, any amount of dusting will not help. So first you have to remove the cataract. Then you can see that the mirror is already clean.
There is a certain mind set that always finds fault, even in the best conditions in the world. When you give a person with this mind set the best, they still find faults. Even with the best possible companion, or the most beautiful painting, they will still find something wrong. That kind of mind set cannot know the sacred Knowledge. Krishna tells Arjuna that he is giving him the Royal Secret, because he is anasuya. "You are not finding fault in Me, even though you are so close."
From a distance, even craters cannot be seen. Even on a smooth surface there will be holes. If you are only interested in the holes, you will not see the magnanimity of things. If you are not in anasuya, Knowledge cannot blossom in you. Then there is no point in giving Knowledge.
Question: What about discrimination -- Wisdom?
Answer: If it is in your vision, your vision will find discrimination. The moment you are out of the path, everything is all wrong, that is not anasuya. For example, you have a friendship, and after 10 years you decide to leave. When you leave, you do not see the good in that relationship. You find fault. This is not anasuya.
However, once you discover you have the wrong vision, half of the wrong vision has already disappeared. There is a fine line here. There cannot be any better example than the cataract. Instead of saying, "My vision is blurred," you say, "The whole world is not sharp." Suppose someone is coming in. It is windy, so you shut the door. But the person thinks the door has been slammed in his face! This is asuya. It is not anasuya. Most of the population is like this.
Asuya is finding fault. It is seeing malicious intent everywhere. It is like a child who says, "Mother, you don't love me!" The child's vision is wrong. If the mother does not love the child, who will? It is the same as if someone comes and says, "Guruji, you don't love me!" If I don't love them, forget about it. Nobody else in the world will! Where else will they find love? Nowhere. A mother may get frustrated but not a Master.
Question: It seems as though you can't have anasuya unless you are enlightened?
Answer: Not always. This is an excuse. To get enlightenment, you must have this vision.
THE LOVE OF THE IGNORANT AND THE ANGER OF THE ENLIGHTENED
Weekly Knowledge #12
31 Aug 1995
Bangalore Ashram India
The love of the ignorant can be harmful yet even the anger of the Enlightened is not harmful. It can be only good!
An example is the school at the Art of Living Ashram in Bangalore. 250 children are enrolled but only 200 come to class on any given day. Fifty children don't show up. Why? They cry at home, "Mother, I don't want to go to school."
The mother says, "Oh, la la, don't cry . . . ok." She thinks, "No child in the world is like my child." And so she sticks up for the child and begins to speak for him. She does not see the teacher's point of view. The mother asks the teacher, "Why are you not teaching my child properly? He is so innocent, so lovely." So, what happens -- the child grows up spoiled. The love in the mother's ignorance has spoiled the child. The child will never learn the alphabet, never learn to read or write, but the mother says, "Oh, never mind, there are sheep to look after and fields to tend." The mother's love in ignorance has spoiled the child.
The anger of the Enlightened is a blessing. There are many instances of this in the Puranas. Once a Master was traveling in the middle province of India with a disciple following him a few yards behind. Some boys who were rude, rough, and abusive began to throw stones and tease the disciple calling him names. This went on for some time as the boys followed the Master and the disciple. They came to a river. The Master and the disciple got into a boat in order to cross. The boys got in another boat which started to sink in the middle of the river.
The Master slapped the disciple across the face. The disciple was so surprised as he had not said a word back to the boys in response to their taunts. He had been such a good disciple and yet the Master had slapped him!
The Master said, "It is your fault. You are responsible for their boat sinking. You did not respond to their abuse. Nature has now punished them in a worse way because you did not have enough compassion to quell their insults."
The slap that the Master gave took away the karma of this event such that it would not be carried into the future of the boys. It also served to take away any little bit of joy the disciple may have felt at seeing the boys' boat sink! Thus, it also took away the karma of the event for the disciple. So, the anger of the Enlightened is a blessing!
31 Aug 1995
Bangalore Ashram India
The love of the ignorant can be harmful yet even the anger of the Enlightened is not harmful. It can be only good!
An example is the school at the Art of Living Ashram in Bangalore. 250 children are enrolled but only 200 come to class on any given day. Fifty children don't show up. Why? They cry at home, "Mother, I don't want to go to school."
The mother says, "Oh, la la, don't cry . . . ok." She thinks, "No child in the world is like my child." And so she sticks up for the child and begins to speak for him. She does not see the teacher's point of view. The mother asks the teacher, "Why are you not teaching my child properly? He is so innocent, so lovely." So, what happens -- the child grows up spoiled. The love in the mother's ignorance has spoiled the child. The child will never learn the alphabet, never learn to read or write, but the mother says, "Oh, never mind, there are sheep to look after and fields to tend." The mother's love in ignorance has spoiled the child.
The anger of the Enlightened is a blessing. There are many instances of this in the Puranas. Once a Master was traveling in the middle province of India with a disciple following him a few yards behind. Some boys who were rude, rough, and abusive began to throw stones and tease the disciple calling him names. This went on for some time as the boys followed the Master and the disciple. They came to a river. The Master and the disciple got into a boat in order to cross. The boys got in another boat which started to sink in the middle of the river.
The Master slapped the disciple across the face. The disciple was so surprised as he had not said a word back to the boys in response to their taunts. He had been such a good disciple and yet the Master had slapped him!
The Master said, "It is your fault. You are responsible for their boat sinking. You did not respond to their abuse. Nature has now punished them in a worse way because you did not have enough compassion to quell their insults."
The slap that the Master gave took away the karma of this event such that it would not be carried into the future of the boys. It also served to take away any little bit of joy the disciple may have felt at seeing the boys' boat sink! Thus, it also took away the karma of the event for the disciple. So, the anger of the Enlightened is a blessing!
A LIAR IS INNOCENT
Weekly Knowledge #13
06 Sep 1995
Bangalore Ashram India
A dear person whom you trust lies to you and gets caught. What do you feel?
1. Sadness
2. Anger
3. Cheated
4. Disappointment
5. Compassion
6. Let down
7. Loss of respect
8. Wonder
9. Shock
10. Embarrassment
Recently when someone lied to me, I felt happy and more love, for they were not a good liar. Had they been a good liar, they would not have been caught. I thought they were so innocent that they could not even lie properly. They lie and get caught. If they had not been caught, how would you know they were a liar? So . . . you can never know a good liar. The person you call a liar is not a good liar and they are innocent. Aren't they?
And so . . . ha ha (laugh). You need not go through all the listed mental gymnastics. Instead melt and dissolve in Love.
06 Sep 1995
Bangalore Ashram India
A dear person whom you trust lies to you and gets caught. What do you feel?
1. Sadness
2. Anger
3. Cheated
4. Disappointment
5. Compassion
6. Let down
7. Loss of respect
8. Wonder
9. Shock
10. Embarrassment
Recently when someone lied to me, I felt happy and more love, for they were not a good liar. Had they been a good liar, they would not have been caught. I thought they were so innocent that they could not even lie properly. They lie and get caught. If they had not been caught, how would you know they were a liar? So . . . you can never know a good liar. The person you call a liar is not a good liar and they are innocent. Aren't they?
And so . . . ha ha (laugh). You need not go through all the listed mental gymnastics. Instead melt and dissolve in Love.
BE A GOPAL
Weekly Knowledge #14
13 Sep 1995
Melbourne Austrailia
Like fish in the water, you are in air. Thoughts are in mind. Mind is in Big Mind. The Big Mind in Me is love. Emotions are ripples in love. Love is all Knowledge.
Every atom of Big Mind is crammed with Knowledge. Knowing this, you stop seeking. You seek until you come to the Master. You walk until you come to the swimming pool. You don't walk or run in the swimming pool -- you swim or float. Once you come to the Master, seeking stops, blossoming begins.
You are Knowledge. Every atom in you is shimmering with Knowledge. This is called Go. Be a Go-Pal. Be a friend in Knowledge.
Go has four meanings:
Knowledge
Movement
Achievement
Freedom or liberation
Pal means friend or protector -- one who takes care of.
Often you become friends by:
Gossiping about negative things
Complaining
Similar cravings or aversions
Common enemies or common problems
Common goals or common addictions
Coming together in Knowledge is rare. You become friends because you have something in common. Be a friend in Knowledge. Uplift each other in Knowledge. All Satsangees are Gopals -- reminding each other, coming together in and for Knowledge. That is Gopal. Be a protector of this Knowledge.
13 Sep 1995
Melbourne Austrailia
Like fish in the water, you are in air. Thoughts are in mind. Mind is in Big Mind. The Big Mind in Me is love. Emotions are ripples in love. Love is all Knowledge.
Every atom of Big Mind is crammed with Knowledge. Knowing this, you stop seeking. You seek until you come to the Master. You walk until you come to the swimming pool. You don't walk or run in the swimming pool -- you swim or float. Once you come to the Master, seeking stops, blossoming begins.
You are Knowledge. Every atom in you is shimmering with Knowledge. This is called Go. Be a Go-Pal. Be a friend in Knowledge.
Go has four meanings:
Knowledge
Movement
Achievement
Freedom or liberation
Pal means friend or protector -- one who takes care of.
Often you become friends by:
Gossiping about negative things
Complaining
Similar cravings or aversions
Common enemies or common problems
Common goals or common addictions
Coming together in Knowledge is rare. You become friends because you have something in common. Be a friend in Knowledge. Uplift each other in Knowledge. All Satsangees are Gopals -- reminding each other, coming together in and for Knowledge. That is Gopal. Be a protector of this Knowledge.
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