November 7, 1980
Questioner: Consciousness is time-bound, so whatever I am, is it also timebound, or is there not something which is eternal?
Maharaj: So long as the body is there you are this consciousness, but once the body and the consciousness go you are that original state upon which all this has come as a temporary state. Your original state is changeless and permanent.
The difficulty comes because you are all searching for That, forgetting that That is what you are. You, as the subject, are seeking you as an object.
You are what you are seeking.
The moment there is a pose, there is fear. Anyone who has assumed the pose of a seeker will be bound to follow the traditional practices of a seeker, and the limitations.
What is the purpose of all that I am saying? It is a direct attack on identification with the body-mind. So long as that identification is there my direct attacks will continue.
Once dis-identification with the body-mind takes place, Brahman will come with folded hands to your feet.
Q. Does this dis-identification take place suddenly or gradually?
M: It depends on how you look at it. If you are waiting for it, it will be gradual; when the last step is taken it is sudden. When it does happen you will realize the identity of the non-manifest and the manifest; they are one, there is no difference.
The true knowledge can only come when all possible concepts have been given up, and can only come from within.
Parabrahman has no beginning and no end, It is eternal, whereas this consciousness is time-bound - it has a beginning and an end.
Just as you wake up in the morning and come to know that you are, similarly this has happened. Because I am, I woke up, if I was not, how could I have woken up?
Parabrahman comes to know that It is, the consciousness is how Parabrahman knows that It is. Parabrahman is your eternal state, you cannot remember it because you have not forgotten it. It is your daily experience, you know it. There is consciousness, there is no question of I"; It is.
The life force is in the grain in a dormant condition. Understand that life force and do not condition it to any form. This beingness is not something which you can capture a handful of, it is manifest - like space, it is all over.
All this profound talk is nothing but mental entertainment. As you go further into spirituality you will realize that "I Am" is the very God or soul of an infinite number of universes, but that "I Am" is again entertainment.
All my talks are conceptual entertainment.
November 10, 1980
Maharaj: Up to what point in the past can my memory go? I was a small child and I remember riding on the shoulder of someone, an elderly person; he was taking me on some hill and I could see the sun rise - that is my first impression.
Have you even given a thought to this? At what age did you get the knowledge of your own body? Suppose you started knowing yourself at the age of four - whatever actions took place prior to the age of four happened without your knowing and there is no record in your memory of that. You have heard from others of things that happened, but you directly do not know. There is a scar and it is said that I was bitten by somebody, but there is no memory of that. So many things happened before the child knew itself.
In the first few years the primary concept "I Am" was there, but in a dormant condition. Later on it started knowing itself.
The jnani state is like the child state, when the child was not knowing itself. The apparatus through which that knowingness expresses itself is now quite different, but the principle is the-same.
The jnanis will have different ways of expressing. Ramana Maharshi used to wear only a loin cloth, just washed, not ironed - but here, I would like to see that there are no wrinkles, very neat - There was another great Sage who was not conscious of his body; he used to move about naked. Lord Krishna was also up-to-date, like me, and very well dressed. People get lost in the external expressions of a jnani and try to imitate that instead of going to the presiding principle.
Now I thoroughly know that very first moment, I know what is birth, everything I know, nevertheless, could I volitionally enter into that birth? What doership or authorship did I have, to enter or not to enter, or to decide anything? When I say that I got the knowledge of my birth, do I really know directly what happened at that moment? This is all conceptual knowledge; also all knowledge since then is conceptual.
November 11, 1980
Maharaj: There are Sages or Saints abounding all over, but they still aspire to be, they would like to continue their beingness. How long should I continue this waking state and deep sleep, waking state, deep sleep? So long as this cycle continues the knowingness also will prevail there. Have you encountered anyone who was tired of this waking state and deep sleep state? In the waking state you carry out a lot of activities, and when you are tired you fall into sleep. In this continuous cycle what is the advantage?
Questioner: It is said "Rarely somebody appreciates the skill of God. " What is that skill of God.
M. Where is that God? If you want to inquire about some skill, inquire about the skill of your parents. You have created a God because you want to beg from somebody and that is what you call spirituality.
Q. I don't believe in that kind of God. I believe that God is that touch of `I Amness, "as Maharaj says.
M. If you really understood and digested what I have said- you would not set foot in this place.
Q. If I have understood whatyou have said there is no need for me to come - it's all right - but let me ask you, factually it is like...
M. What do you mean by facts?
Q. Even to understand that what should I do?
M: Do that thing which you can't do. This world of mays is built up of concepts only. I cannot charge the world with giving me the pain; the, whole cause of the pain is this knowingness "I Am." When this knowingness was not there, was there any pain or pleasure?
If you want to encounter God, dive deep into your own Self; that is the very storehouse of everything.
Q. How does the dream -state happen?
M: In deep sleep there is an apparent waking state in which that "I Amness' feels itself waking up and creates a dream world. You know very well how you proceeded into this mess. You inquire into this and keep quiet.
After listening to my wildly virulent talks you may not come tomorrow, it doesn't matter. I tell you again and again, you might run around and around the world, but nobody is going to give you the knowledge.
Recede into your own Self. Surrender to your own beingness and that alone will give you all the knowledge necessary for you - no one else will.
You don't inquire into this, you blindly follow the rituals of spirituality. You maybe anywhere, but be honest, be devoted only to your being.
November 23, 1980
Questioner: Is the witnessing done by That which. is prior to consciousness, or does consciousness witness itself.
Maharaj: Cross that bridge when you come to it. Don't worry about the principle prior to consciousness, you just be the consciousness.
Q. Are Gods only concepts?
M. Gods means consciousness only. Collect whatever you can in the absence of consciousness.
Q: We are not able to understand the state of a jnani. If the jnani has become one with the Absolute, where is the scope for the display of consciousness? We don't understand how a jnani can be Parabrahman and be here also.
Translator: Ajnani can transcend consciousness and be the Absolute on demand; he can come into consciousness because that particular body is still available - through that body communication takes place with the beings in consciousness.
The example given in our scriptures is like this: You have an ocean and the water from the ocean in a pot, now that pot is dipped into the ocean, the pot is still there, but the water in the pot merges with the ocean water, so that water does not feel any difference, but the water in the pot can also witness the pot. It has the advantage of being one with the Absolute and to use the body also. With this example I am able to understand what the state of ajnani could be.
M. Understand beingness and all will be solved. It iS all your speculation about that Absolute state from your grosser state. Presently it is like a signboard indicative of the Parabrahman. The word Parabrahman is not Parabrahman.
Your habit is to ask questions. A few words are flung at you, some concepts are given to you, and you say that you understand.
The only theme of my talks is you - you know you are. How and why do you know you are? It is only about that which I talk.
You have no authority over this consciousness, it has come by itself and it will go by itself. You can't do anything with it.
Q: The whole idea of control is meaningless then?
M. Yes. You have absolutely no authority over it.
Q. The very foundation is taken out from under us.
M. All your moments of spirituality are based on the "I am the body" idea. This knowledge "I Am" is going to remain for a short period.
Q: What about those who say they are the incarnations of this one or that one? Are they just ideas?
M: This will be very clear to you when you remain in your real position. Until then, accept it if you like. Until you know your true state you will accept all these hearsays because you don't know the truth.
You need not go to that prior state. Presently, what you are - this primary concept - thrash it out. When you thrash it out, what you are prior to the concept is open. Normally, ajnani will not explain in such detail to a seeker.
You have thoroughly studied the teachings of Ramana Maharshi. In his teachings did you come across this aspect?
Q. The more I listen to Maharaj, the more I understand the teachings of Ramana Maharshi.
M. Have you understood Ramana Maharshi?
Q. I can never understand, because he is the Absolute, not an object to be understood. I am not an object either.
M. Yes. Ramana Maharshi is the Absolute, you are also That. The Absolute cannot be caught in the domain of your experience. Are you convinced?
Q. Yes.
M. Why did this beingness of mine happen? What was the cause? You must get to know what this is thoroughly.
Q. What is the point of trying to find out answers to these questions? Is it not sufficient for me to know that I am, that my beingness has appeared and will disappear? Why do I need to know all this?
M. You must know! The knowingness is the outcome of what? The quality of what?
Q: It's a quality of food.
M. Oh yes, but when do you come to know of it?
Q. It is not my experience.
November 29, 1980
Questioner: This that I am - and the consciousness which is time-bound - what is the relationship?
Maharaj: What is the concept of "I" with which you are trying to find a relationship? This is exactly where the misconception arises. In this concept of space and time there is total manifestation, in that you consider that you are something separate. There is nothing separate, you are part of the function of the total manifestation.
As Absolute, I am timeless, infinite, and I am awareness, without being aware of awareness. As infinity I express myself as space, as timeless I express myself as time. Unless there is space and duration I cannot be conscious of myself. When space and time are present there is consciousness, in that the total manifestation takes place and various phenomena come into being.
I, by Myself, Awareness, descend into this consciousness, and in this consciousness I express Myself in manifold ways, in innumerable forms. This is the crux, the framework of manifestation; there is no question of any individuality.
What is this? [Holding up a bag of apples] There is no difference between this fruit, a goat, or a human being. They are all food products, all three are food.
All creation, every creature, is made up of the five elements, and the behavior of each creature depends on the combination of the three guns; satoa, rajas, tamas. There is no question of being responsible for anything that happens in the world. It is only by taking delivery of responsibility that one suffers.
The consciousness of being present, the five elements and the three gunas, that is the total of the universal manifestation.
In your original state there is no awareness of awareness, therefore no question of knowledge. The knowledge comes only with the appearance of the body and consciousness. This knowledge is really ignorance, and whatever knowledge is based on that is also ignorance.
You have been practicing spirituality for many years, what do you have in hand?
Q. I am consciousness, that is my profit.
M: Is this profit permanent? Is that your true nature?
Q. I identify myself with the total manifestation.
M. All that, is it not only after you got your consciousness? Go back to your state before this consciousness came upon you.
First you identify with the body, then you identify with the consciousness, after awhile you continue to be the consciousness, but the trap is that you will think you have become ajnani. Even being in consciousness is time bound. The original state is before the consciousness came upon you. In one case the knowledge was given, it was understood, and the person became That in one day; another took a thousand years, and also reached that state. Is there any difference?
What was originally something which I loved, now I no longer want it because I am aware, of my true nature. I no longer need this consciousness, even for five minutes.
At the end of your life you will be prepared to pay five lakhs of rupees for an extension of even five minutes. I am not prepared to give even one rupee. I have lost all love for this manifested world.
You must maintain this knowledge "I Am" in proper order. I quarrel with my people if they don't keep these utensils in proper and clean order. Suppose this towel is left unwashed - then I will play hell with whoever is responsible. All the dirt which is not the towel should be removed.
Similarly, "I Am" is the tool through which you get all the knowledge. You worship that "I Am," remove all the adulterations, the dirt.
Q: How to worship the "I Amness",
M. That knowingness alone points out all the dirt which is imposed on it. Even the space is not as pure as the knowledge "I Am." Innately the world is very pure; it is rendered dirty because you identify with the body. Since you do not recognize your "I Amness" in its purity, you refer to various books and Sages to get an identity.
Q. (another) I am afraid of losing my beingness, my existence.
M. Where is the question of worry? Even the Parabrahman does not know Itself. When we come to the conclusion that you are not, I am not, what is left is said to be Parabrahman, but what is Parabrahman? You can't describe it, so you are silent. I am also silent. Parabrahman cannot be compared with anything.
Q. Is Nama Japa useful?
M. By all means do it and its worth will be proved in due course. You have to abide in that Japa; it is no use conceptualizing what benefits you are going to derive from it. Follow it and realize the benefits. Even if the one following Nama-Japa is like a donkey or dud, he will become a great Sage - that power is there in the recitation of ajapa. When that person comes across a Sat-Guru, the Sage tells him, "You need not take care of yourself because you are that immanent principle "I Am." You need not take care of anything. You just be and everything will be taken care of for you."
It is a pity that you depend so much on hearsay and you don't try to investigate for yourself. Your knowledge is confined to your body and borrowed knowledge.
All the activities of the world are going on because of this "I Amness." It is the source which creates the world. Understand that "I Amness' first -- only then can you transcend it. First of all, be that "I Amness."
November 30, 1980
Maharaj: This "I Amness" is a function of nature, a product of the five elemental food body. It knows itself, it loves to be. With the aid of this knowingness, get to know your Self.
Many eons have come and gone, but no person could retain his identity or his memory perpetually - it is gone with the departure of the body. The five element essences, plus the three gunas, means a person; with that this knowingness comes, the memory "I Am." This personality is sustained by the provisions supplied by the five elements. So long as the provisions are supplied in proper order the body and "I Amness" will be there. Once the supply is stopped the touch of "I Amness" is gone.
That which has come to see Maharaj, do you recognize that? Is it the body, or something outside the body?
Questioner: Inside or outside, I don't know.
M: Very good reply. Keep aside the body and describe that.
Q. I can't describe it.
M: Since you can't describe that, what is the use of that?
Q. No use.
M. Once you understand this, you will get the truth. The one which is listening, which you do not know, is you, and the one which you know as you, you are not.
The highest purpose of spirituality is the Paramatman - that knowledge that indwells the body, "I Am," and that cannot be described. When you firmly agree that this is right, does it not mean that you have the spiritual wisdom?
Q. Who can get spiritual wisdom?
M. Except you, who could that be? You and you alone. Who could ask "who am I" but you? If the questioner "I" is not there, who is going to ask questions? This is the culmination of spiritual knowledge for you; you need not come again.
Q. I like to be with Maharaj.
M. You can sit here. Now whether you live one year or a thousand, the result will be this only.
Q: Maharaj answers my questions before I ask them.
M. Initially you accept what other people say but in due course, whatever is accepted is thrown overboard.
Q. I cannot have any experience of how beingness came into being because I have no knowledge of what existed before being.
M. This knowledge is very simple and, at the same time, very profound. Who will know all this process, the appearance of the knowingness, and finally its disappearance? The one who understands this reaches the state of Sat-Guru, but an ordinary person cannot understand this. Sat-Guru is not the child of human parents.
To know these secrets, to understand these secrets, You surrender to that very principle "I Am," and that consciousness alone will lead you to this. Presently, stabilize in the consciousness. If you don't do that, your very concepts will be very dangerous to you - they will throttle you to death.
The knowledge you are is the source of all energy, the source of all Gods, of all types of knowledge. Having heard these talks, you need not come again, you have only to abide in that consciousness you are, that very dynamic principle because of which everything is. Stabilize yourself therein. Confirm your stability there. You are only that. This is the simplest method: you know you are, just be there.