Transcription
The first question is, after studying texts like Vedanta and Ashtavakra Gita, I realized that what is to be attained is already attained. Why, even after accepting this conviction, has self-knowledge not been attained? Please guide me.
What you understood from the scriptures is not what you understood. It is not so. What you understood from the words has become your perception. It is not so. Hearing Ashtavakra, many will feel, "Oh, everything is already attained." But how can attainment be achieved just by feeling so after hearing Ashtavakra? This perception should be yours, this feeling should be yours, this realization should be yours, not an intellectual conclusion. The intellect is easily convinced. What could be simpler than that everything is already attained? Let the trouble end. Now there is no need to search for anything, no need for meditation, no need for prayer. Everything is already attained. The intellect is convinced, not because it understood, but because the obstacle of the path is removed, the effort of the means is removed, the need to take action is removed. Then you start looking around, "Oh, I still haven't attained it." If attainment were possible through intellectual understanding alone, then there could be universities of spirituality. There is no world university of spirituality. It will not be attained from scriptures; it will be attained from your own inner wisdom. Listen to Ashtavakra, but do not be in a hurry to accept. Your greed will make you hurry. Your greed will say, "This is such an easy thing. The treasure is already found. So, let's end the trouble of attaining it. Now there is no need to go anywhere, no need to do anything. This is what you have always wanted: to attain without doing anything." But remember, behind all this, the desire to attain remains. To attain without doing anything. Earlier, you thought it would be attained by doing. Now you think it will be attained by not doing. The desire to attain remains. That is why the question arises, why has self-knowledge not been attained yet? If one has understood the matter, then what is the need for self-knowledge? If you have understood Ashtavakra, the second question cannot arise. If self-knowledge has not been attained, it means that while accepting Ashtavakra, you were looking from the corner of your eye, "Have I attained it yet or not?" Your gaze was still fixed on attainment. People come to me, and I tell them that until meditation deepens, until you keep asking for something, until you think something will be attained – joy, God, the Self – meditation will not deepen. Because it is the nature of greed, this thought of attainment is ambition, it is politics, not spirituality yet. So they say, "Okay, then we will sit without thinking. Then we will attain it, right?" There is no difference at all. They are also ready for this: "We will not think. Okay, as you say, this is the way to attain it, so we will not think. But then we will attain it, right?" You cannot escape greed. Many people will quickly accept after hearing Ashtavakra, "Okay, I have attained it." If it were attained so quickly, and if there were no obstacle to attainment, then the obstacle is your ignorance of desire. Ashtavakra says it is already attained, but this will be understood only when all desire for attainment is dissolved. Then you will know in your totality that it is attained. Right now, it becomes a play of the intellect. When a great sage like Ashtavakra speaks, you think, "He must be speaking correctly." You are in a hurry to accept. Your faith is very impotent. You do not even doubt. You accept quickly. In this country, the habit of doubting the words of scriptures is lost. If the scriptures say something, you think, "They must be saying it correctly." Mulla Nasruddin came one day with a very beautiful umbrella. I asked, "Where did you get it? Such a beautiful umbrella is not made here." He said, "My sister sent it as a gift." I said, "Nasruddin, you always said you have no sister." He replied, "That is true." Then I said, "And this sister sent it as a gift?" He said, "If you don't believe me, it is written on its handle: 'Gift from sister to brother'." He was leaving a hotel. It was written on the umbrella. I thought, "Maybe she is not *that* sister, but some sister." Since it is written, one has to believe. And perhaps she is some distant cousin or aunt. And then spiritualists have always said, "Consider everyone as mother or sister, except your wife." We quickly believe what is written, and especially what is written in scriptures. If you say something to someone, they ask, "Where is it written? Show me the written proof," and then they agree, as if there is some power in being written. How old is it? People agree as if truth has something to do with not being old. Who said it? Ashtavakra said it, Buddha said it, Mahavira said it, so they must have said it correctly. You do not try to awaken even an inch from your side. Someone said it, and you accepted it. And then such a simple thing that it is attained without doing anything. Those who follow Krishnamurti have been listening for 40 years. Almost the same people, nothing has been attained. Sometimes one of them comes to me, and they say, "We know everything is already attained. But why is it not being attained?" They listen to Krishnamurti. They understand that everything is already attained. These are greedy people. They wanted from the beginning not to have to exert any effort, to get it for free. They have not listened to Krishnamurti, nor understood Ashtavakra. They have listened to their greed. They have listened through their greed. Then they have interpreted it according to their own understanding. A friend asked, "Meditation seems very foolish. Five sessions of meditation and a discourse series on Ashtavakra seem very foolish. It is very easy to give up meditation, difficult to do it. Ashtavakra also attained it through some effort, not that it was attained without effort. Now you understand this; it is a very complex matter. I told you, Buddha attained it when he stopped doing everything. But first, he did everything. He toiled tirelessly for 6 years. He put everything at stake. It was through putting everything at stake that this realization came that nothing is attained by doing. If it were attained by reading Ashtavakra, then Ashtavakra Gita was available during Buddha's time. He could have read it. He would not have needed to work hard for six years. He toiled tirelessly for six years and realized that it is not attained through effort. Not even a speck of desire remained within. He tried doing it, it is not attained. This became so profound that one day, in this profundity, the effort ceased, and then it was attained. So I want to tell you that the state of non-doing will come when you have done everything. Do not be in a hurry, otherwise, the little meditation you are doing will also be abandoned. The little prayer and worship you are engaged in will also be abandoned. Forget Ashtavakra; even the little progress you were making on this journey will stop. Before one stops, it is necessary to run the whole course. Only then does the understanding that it is not attained by running emerge and is released one day. But not just by intellectual understanding. Your every pore, your every particle understands that it is futile. At that very moment, it is attained. Ashtavakra rightly says that rituals are bondage. But only those who perform rituals will know. I am telling you this because I performed rituals and found that they are bondage. I am telling you this because I undertook practices and found that no practice leads to the goal. I found by meditating that no meditation leads to samadhi. But when you find through doing this that no meditation leads to samadhi, such is your profound experience that one day it reaches that point, boiling at 100 degrees. You put everything at stake, you save nothing for yourself. You throw yourself into the fire. Effort is perfected, penance is completed, practice is completed. Now no existence can demand of you that you had saved anything; you have given everything. On that day, in that state of materiality, in that state of ignited consciousness, suddenly everything is consumed. All practices, all rituals, all meditation, all penance, renunciation. Suddenly you awaken. "Oh, this is what I was searching for, and it was already here." But if this happened by reading Ashtavakra, then reading it would not be so difficult. The sutras are very straightforward and clear. Remember, understanding straightforward things is the most difficult in this world. And the difficulty comes from within you. You wanted not to do anything. People are very reluctant to meditate. Now this is the test of Ashtavakra Gita. Only those who continue to meditate after listening to Ashtavakra will understand. Those who abandon meditation after listening to Ashtavakra have not understood Ashtavakra at all, and meditation is also lost. One will know only by performing rituals. Rituals are bondage; this is the final stage of performing rituals. Do not be in a hurry with this. You realized this by studying texts like Vedanta and Ashtavakra. Did anyone realize it by studying? Did anyone realize it by reading and studying? Did anyone realize it by learning the words of scriptures? This is not realization; this is information. If you have received information, say that what is to be attained is already attained. If you have truly realized it, then the matter is over. Information was received, a tickle arose, greed sprouted. Greed said, "Oh, we were working so hard, and everything is attained without effort. So let's sit without effort." So you sat without effort. After a while, you started looking, "Still no progress, it's taking time." What is the matter? And Ashtavakra says, "You are looking at the clock, five seconds have passed, five minutes, an hour is also passing, and he says, 'Instantly, there is no need to depart for even a moment.'" Then you start saying, "He must be lying." Your faith is broken. You have not realized; you have received information. Always remember the difference between information and realization. Information means borrowed. Someone else realized, and you received information from hearing them. Information is not realization; realization is experience. No one else can realize for you. This cannot be borrowed. If I realize, it will not reduce your realization even a little. My realization will be mine. Your realization will be yours. Yes, if you have collected my words, then it is information. With information, a person becomes a scholar, not wise. The burden of knowledge accumulates, not liberation of knowledge. A web of words is created, not the beauty of truth. Words surround and bind you further. Therefore, you will find a scholar very bound. Where is the open sky? You realized that what is to be attained is already attained. If you have realized this, then what is left to ask? Effort for it is wandering. If you have realized this, then what is left to ask? Even after accepting this conviction, how will you deepen it? This conviction either exists or it does not. How will you accept it? What is the way to accept conviction? You will suppress doubt. You will sit on the chest of doubt. What will you do? You will deny doubt. Questions will arise in your mind. You will not listen. The worm of doubt will bite you from within and say, "Listen, has anything been attained without attainment, without doing anything? Has anything happened just by sitting? Is anything obtained for free? What are you caught up in? What delusion are you wandering in? Get up, run, otherwise life will pass. Life is already passing. Do not waste time sitting like a fool. These doubts will arise. What will you do with them? You will suppress them. You will deny them. You will say, 'I don't want to listen.' You will throw them into the unconscious. You will hide them in the depths. You will not face them. What will you do to deepen conviction? You will do something like this, some suppression. This conviction will be false. Underneath it, disbelief will smolder. This conviction will be superficial, a thin sheet on top, with embers of disbelief and doubt within. They will quickly burn this conviction. This conviction is of no use. You cannot deepen it. Conviction either exists or it does not. Understand it like this: if a person draws a circle, and draws only half a circle, will you call it a circle? Can half a circle be called a circle? It is called an arc, not a circle. It is called a circle only when it is complete. An incomplete circle is not called a circle. Incomplete faith is not faith. Because incomplete faith means incomplete disbelief is also present. Who will be in that half-empty space? Doubt will be there. Faith cannot go along with doubt. It is like one leg going east and one leg going west. You will not reach anywhere. It is like you are riding two boats. One is coming to this shore, and one is going to that shore. Where will you reach? The journey of doubt is separate, the journey of faith is separate. You are riding two boats. What is the meaning of incomplete faith? What is the meaning of incomplete conviction? That half disbelief, half doubt is also present. If faith exists, it is complete. If it does not exist, it does not exist. And one more interesting thing, remember, in this world, when you mix the best with the worst, the worst loses nothing. The best loses something. Whenever you mix the worst with the best, the worst suffers no loss. The best loses. Pure food is ready. You bring a little handful of dirt and throw it in. You say, "There is a heap of food, what does a handful of dirt matter?" That handful of dirt will destroy the entire pure food. Will that entire pure food be able to destroy the handful of dirt? Throw a stone at a flower, the stone will not be damaged, but the flower will be destroyed. The stone is inert, the worst. The flower is glorious, of the sky. The stone is of the earth. If the stone and the flower collide, the flower will be ruined, the stone will not be damaged at all. A drop of poison is enough. So remember, doubt is the worst. If a stone of doubt is lying with the flower of faith, the flower will be crushed and die. The flower will be murdered. Do not think that faith will change the stone. The stone will destroy the flower. Conviction either exists or it does not. There is no two opinions about it. If it exists, it encompasses the entire life. It pervades every pore. Conviction is pervasive. But such conviction is not attained from scriptures, nor can it be. Such conviction is attained from living experience. You will find it by reading the scripture of life. Not by reading Ashtavakra. Understand Ashtavakra. Do not consider that understanding as knowledge. Understand Ashtavakra and keep it in a corner of your inner self. You have found a touchstone. You have not found knowledge. You have found a touchstone. Now, when you attain knowledge, it will be convenient for you to test it with Ashtavakra's touchstone. The touchstone is not gold. You go to a goldsmith and see a black stone kept for testing. The black stone is not gold. When gold is found, the goldsmith rubs it on the black stone to see if it is gold or not. Understand Ashtavakra's words and keep them like a touchstone. Tie a knot. When the experience of your life comes, test it. Ashtavakra's touchstone will be useful at that time. You will know what has happened. You will have the language to understand. You will have the means to understand. You will have witnesses. I take scriptures in this sense: scriptures are witnesses. The path to truth is unknown. On that unknown path, you need some witnesses. When you come face to face with truth for the first time, truth will be so vast that you will tremble. You will not be able to understand. You will be shaken to the core. There is great fear that you will go mad. Think about it: a person who has been searching for a treasure for lifetimes suddenly finds that the treasure is buried right where they are standing. Will they not go mad? This search of lifetimes has been in vain, and the treasure was right here where I am standing. Think about that person. This shock will be immense. So, living all these days in vain, this entire eternal life was a meaningless effort, a nightmare. What I was searching for was lying here. Will such a person not go mad from such a blow? At that moment, Ashtavakra's sweet words will be soothing. At that moment, the words of Buddha, Upanishads, Bible, Quran will stand as your witnesses. In their presence, you will be able to understand what is happening to you anew. Otherwise, it will be very difficult alone. I am speaking about scriptures not because you will become knowledgeable by listening to them, but because you have embarked on the path of meditation. Today or tomorrow, an event will happen, it must happen. When it happens, it should not be that gold is in front of you, and you cannot even understand it. I am giving you touchstones. Test it on these touchstones. Ashtavakra is the purest touchstone. Do not have faith in Ashtavakra. Use Ashtavakra as a touchstone on your own experience. Make Ashtavakra a witness. Jesus said to his disciples, "When you reach, I will be your witness." The disciples still misunderstood. The disciples thought that when they die and reach God's heaven, Jesus will testify for them, "These are my disciples. Let them in. These Christians are with me. Show them special favor. Shower more grace upon them." But Jesus meant something else. Jesus said, "When you reach, I will be your witness." This does not mean that Jesus will stand there. But what Jesus said will remain as a touchstone. When you have an experience, you will quickly test it, and the knot will be untangled. Otherwise, you will wander in untruth for so long that your eyes will become accustomed to untruth. The shock of truth might break you, make you deranged. Remember this: many seekers of truth have gone mad. Many seekers of truth, just at the point of becoming a paramahamsa, go mad, become deranged. Because the event is so big, unbelievable, not trustworthy. As if the entire sky is falling on you. Your vessel is small, and the vastness pours onto your vessel. You will be disoriented. You will not be able to handle it. As if the sun suddenly comes in front of you, your eyes become blurred, darkness descends because you close your eyes. At that moment, Ashtavakra's words will be useful in understanding the sun. At that time, Ashtavakra's words lying in your unconscious will instantly become vocal. The words of the Upanishads will echo. The Gita will echo, the Quran will echo, verses will rise, their fragrance will reassure you that you have come home. There is no need to panic. You are this vastness. Ashtavakra says, "You are pervasive, you are vast, you are ecstatic. You are actionless. You are pure consciousness, you are only Brahman." These words will become explanations at that moment. Merely by having faith in them, by merely grasping them, you will not reach anywhere. And the question of self-knowledge remains within you. The net you spread to bind desire, how does a solitary desire tremble in it? Listen, the net you spread to bind desire, how does a solitary desire tremble in it? That is why the snake's coil does not move, its hood sways. Even if you want to be free from desire, you still spread the net of desire. You want to be supremely pure consciousness, but even through greed, desire still trembles. And how does a solitary desire tremble in it? The net you spread to bind desire, you go to attain the परमात्मा, but your way of attaining is the same as that of someone seeking wealth. You go to attain the परमात्मा, but your desire and longing are the same as that of someone seeking material things. The madness of seeking the world is the same madness that your desire changes its object.
Desire does not change. Listening to Ashtavakra, your desire says, "Oh, this is very auspicious! We didn't even know that what we were searching for was already found! Just sit down." Then you wait, "Now it will be found, now it will be found, now it will be found." What kind of desire trembles! "Now it will be found," then you don't understand. Listen again to Ashtavakra. Ashtavakra says, "It is already found." But how will you hear this? How will you understand? Your desire is trembling. Until you run in your desire, until you run and see the futility of desire, until you run and fall and get bloody, until you break your hands and feet, you will not be able to understand. From the experience of desire, when desire becomes futile, when it falls down tired and breaks, in that moment of desirelessness, you will understand that what you seek is already found. Otherwise, you will become parrots. It makes no difference whether you are a Hindu parrot, a Muslim, a Christian, a Jain, or a Buddhist. It makes no difference. Parrots are parrots. You can make a parrot recite the Bible if you wish, and you can make a parrot recite the Gita if you wish. A parrot is a parrot; it will repeat what it has memorized.
Inside the temple, they all, washed and clean, naked, anointed, with open throats, in vocal tones, very volubly, kept singing "Ram, Ram." Inside, all were mute, deaf, meaningless babblers, ignorant, foolish, short. But outside, as many children as there were, so many were boastful. Look in the temples. Inside the temple, they all, washed and clean, naked, anointed, how innocent people seem. Look at the same faces in the market. Look at them in the temple. Their demeanor seems different in the temple. With open throats, in vocal tones, very volubly, they kept singing "Ram, Ram." Did you see someone holding a rosary, chanting "Ram, Ram," wearing a saffron shawl, with a sandalwood tilak, how beautiful the idol looks? Look at this same gentleman in the market. Look in the crowd; you won't even recognize him. People's faces are different. In the market, they wear one face. In the temple, they wear another face. Very volubly, they kept singing "Ram, Ram." Inside, all were mute, deaf, meaningless babblers, ignorant, foolish, short. But outside, as many children as there were, so many were boastful.
Information can make you a parrot, make you a boastful fool. Information can give you the illusion of being religious. It can deceive you. But do not consider that knowledge. And the faith you will maintain based on information, that faith will be sitting above doubt. It will be riding on the shoulders of doubt. That faith will not lead you to the door of truth. Do not trust that faith too much; it is worth two cents. Faith should come from self-experience. Faith should come from the state of pure, unblemished self-meditation.
Another question: Yesterday evening, while wandering, your entire discourse from yesterday morning suddenly echoed in my every pore. I was observing the images of the scenes as a spectator. Somewhere, the memory of the seer came to me. The play of the seer also lasted for a while. But in the meantime, my legs started to falter, and to avoid falling, I sat down by the side of the road. And then, neither the scene remained, nor the spectator, nor the seer. Everything ended. And yet, something remained. Sometimes darkness, sometimes light, a flicker continued in the eye. But from then on, the restlessness also increased, and I couldn't understand what all this was. This is what I am telling you. If even a little glimpse of truth comes to you, you will become restless. You will not be able to understand what this is. If you cannot understand what it is, then deep unrest will grip you; madness can also grip you. That is why I speak on these scriptures. That is why you are explained every day, so that some information may remain in your unconscious, and when events happen, you can interpret them correctly, resolve them. Otherwise, how will you resolve them? You will not have language, you will not have words, you will have no means of understanding, no yardstick, no scale. How will you weigh? You will have no touchstone. How will you test? You have asked, "The discourse echoed in my every pore. I was observing the images of the scenes as a spectator. Somewhere, the memory of the seer came to me. The play of the seer also lasted for a while. But in the meantime, my legs started to falter, and to avoid falling, I sat down by the side of the road."
Certainly, it happens like this. When for the first time you get a little awareness of the seer, you will falter. Your entire life will falter. Because your entire life is standing without the seer. This new event will disrupt everything. It is like a blind person's eyes suddenly opening. Think a little; will they be able to walk on the road? They will falter. Blind for 40 or 50 years, they walked by feeling their way with a stick. Gradually, they developed the ability to walk in the dark. They became skilled with blindness. They understood sounds. They recognized turns in the road. Through their ears, they learned to use their eyes. Everything became well-organized for 50 years. This is the life of a blind person. You cannot even imagine it. Lifeless, colorless, shapeless, formless, resting only on the medium of sound. Their only language is sound. So, based on that, they structured their entire life. Today, suddenly, in the morning, they are going to the market. If their eyes suddenly open, think what will happen. Their entire world will crumble. Their entire world of sound will be completely disrupted. This event will be so big, the opening of eyes, seeing people's faces, seeing colors, the sun's rays, sunlight and shadow, this crowd, so many people, buses, bicycles. They will be completely panicked. This will be such a shock to them that their small world, built on the support of sound, will be suppressed, left behind, die, be crushed. They will sit there trembling. They will falter and fall. Perhaps they won't be able to come home or will faint. And this example is nothing. When the seer enters your life, even a ray of the seer comes, this example is nothing. That event is even bigger. The inner eye is opening. You have created a world of your own without that inner eye. As soon as that inner eye opens, it will invalidate your entire world. You will be shocked and stunned. The one who asked has asked correctly and has asked from experience. Consider this. There are two types of questions. One is theoretical; they have no great value. This question is of experience. If it had not arisen from experience, this question could not have been formed. If these legs had not faltered, this question could not have been formed. This question is directly of experience. Somewhere, the memory of the seer came. Ashtavakra's words, which I said in the morning, must have been echoing. Their fragrance must be rising within you. Their slight trace must have remained somewhere high. The memory of the seer came from somewhere. The play of the seer lasted for a while. Perhaps it lasted only for a moment. That moment also seems very long when the play of the seer is happening because the seer is timeless. Here, a moment passes on the clock; there, in being the seer, it may seem like centuries have passed. This clock does not work there. This clock is not made for the inner eye. The play lasted for a while. But in the meantime, my legs started to falter, to avoid which I sat down by the side of the road. This faltering indicates that an event has occurred. The questioner did not ask the question after hearing it. They did not ask the question after reading it. Something happened. And then, neither the scene remained, nor the spectator, nor the seer. Everything scattered in that faltering. Everything was lost. In such a moment, opposition can arise if there is no gradual practice, if we do not gradually assimilate it, and if it bursts forth suddenly, there can be an explosion. Everything ended. And yet, something remained. Certainly, something remained. In reality, for the first time, everything was there. Your everything ended. The small hut of grass and straw that you had built fell. There was the sky, the moon, the stars, God remained. The boundaries, the lines that you had drawn were lost. The clear sky remained. What you had practiced living in a small way faltered. In its faltering, you also got scared and sat by the side. Certainly, something remained. But the one who had this experience was rendered speechless. They could not grasp what it was. Who was it? Do you remember? Sometimes it happens that suddenly someone wakes you up in the morning when you were fast asleep. It is 5 o'clock. You were in deep sleep, the deepest hour of the night. Someone suddenly wakes you up. There is some noise on the road. A bomb explodes. A car crashes. There is some commotion at the door. You suddenly wake up. You come from deep sleep like an arrow. Normally, when we come from deep sleep, we come gradually. First, deep sleep leaves. Then gradually, dreams start to float. Then we stay in dreams for a while. That is why you remember morning dreams. You don't remember night dreams because morning dreams are very light. And they are in the middle of sleep and wakefulness. Then gradually, dreams disappear. Then there is incomplete, broken sleep. Then the game of sunlight and shadow continues for a while. For a moment, it feels like you are awake. For a moment, you are asleep again. You turn over. When you turn, it feels like you are awake. In between, you hear sounds: the wife has started making tea, a pot has fallen, the milkman has arrived, someone is passing by, the maid has knocked, the children are getting ready for school. Then you turn over again, and you dive into a depth. You come to the surface slowly, slowly. Then you open your eyes. But if some sudden event occurs, you come from depth to wakefulness like an arrow. Opening your eyes, you will feel, suddenly, where am I? Who am I? For a moment, you won't understand anything. This must have happened to everyone. At some moment, who am I? You don't even remember your name and address. Where am I? You don't understand this either. It's as if you suddenly arrived in a strange world. This lasts for a moment. Then you regain your composure because this shock is not very big, and you are used to it. It happens every day. Every morning, you wake up and return from the world of dreams to the world of wakefulness. This practice is old. Yet, sometimes, if it happens suddenly, it startles you, makes you panic. When true awakening happens, you will be completely speechless. You will not understand what is happening. Everything will be silent and empty. But it is good that neither the seer remained, nor the spectator, nor the scene. Everything ended. And yet, something remained. You can interpret this "something." That is why I speak on so many scriptures. You will become capable of interpreting this "something." You will be able to give meaning to this "something." You will be able to recognize this "something." You will be able to define it. Otherwise, this "something" will drown you. You will be swept away by the flood. You will have no place to stand. That is why I am saying all this. Everything ended. And yet, something remained. Sometimes darkness, sometimes light, a flicker continued in the eye. But from then on, the restlessness has increased, and I don't understand what all this was. What I say, hold onto it. Make a box for it. Do not consider it knowledge; consider it information. Make a box for it with understanding. Then gradually, you will find that whenever an experience happens, my words that make that experience clear and distinct will rise from your unconscious. I will become your witness. I will become your witness. But if you argue with me while listening, then I cannot be your witness. If you are having any internal conflict with me while listening, arguing. If you are not listening to me with sympathy and love while listening, if you are arguing, then I cannot be your witness. Because then, what you keep in your box will not be mine. It will be yours.
Last night, a psychologist from Australia took sannyas. I told that psychologist, "Even if you don't take sannyas, you are welcome." But then you will not be my guest. You are welcome. If you take sannyas, you are welcome, but you will also be my guest. There is a big difference. Without taking sannyas, you are listening from a distance. By taking sannyas, you have come closer. Without taking sannyas, you are listening with your intellect, analyzing. You keep what you like from what I am saying and leave what you don't like. And it is possible that what you don't like will be useful later. Because what you like cannot change you. What you like matches your past. What does not match your past will become a ray of revolution within you. What does not match you will transform you. What matches you completely will strengthen you, not transform you. So, you are choosing. You think you are intelligent. Intelligent people sometimes make great mistakes. They are choosing, sitting there. They keep choosing. What is for their benefit, they will keep. What is not for their benefit, what is that to us? But I tell you again, what you think is not for your benefit will one day be useful to you. Today, you have no way to understand it. Because you have no experience of it. Yet, I say, keep it safe. One day, when the experience comes, this matter will suddenly rise from your unconscious and resolve it. Then you will not be speechless. Then the world will not break you. And then you will not panic, and there will be no restlessness.
What the wind sang above, what the fir trees repeated, what spilled on the snow-capped peaks, what spilled from the evening sky, who found it? He who extended the hand of aspiration to receive. Ah, it descended into my given heart. It melted into my accepted tears. It came unknown, unrecognized. Through all these and through me, it brought itself into itself. It merged into itself, alone. It is radiant where speech, helpless, prostrate, bows down. Even the echo of a renunciate bows down there. Listen to me with deep tears. Listen to me with your heart. Listen to me with love, not with intellect, not with logic. That is the essence of faith and devotion. What the wind sang above, what the fir trees repeated, what spilled on the snow-capped peaks, what spilled from the evening sky, who found it? Did he who extended the hand of aspiration find it? No, where the hand of aspiration was extended, the hand became small. Only alms fit in the hand of aspiration, not empires. To accommodate empires, a heart open with love is needed, not a vessel of desire for alms. Who found it? He who extended the hand of aspiration. So, you can listen to me here by saying, "Okay, let me pick up what is for my benefit and keep it in my bag." Then you are coming to me with the hand of aspiration. Aspiration is a beggar. So, you will take a little bit, but what you take will be like crumbs of bread fallen from the table. You will not become a guest. Sannyas makes you a guest. Today, it descended into my given heart. Today, it descended into my given heart. It melted into my accepted tears. It came unknown, unrecognized. Through all these and through me, it brought itself into itself. It merged into itself, alone. It is radiant where speech, helpless, prostrate, bows down. Even the echo of silence bows down there. Prepare for that. Fill your heart with love for that. Learn to listen with sympathy for that. And what I am telling you, store it in a box. Then there will be no restlessness. Then that unknown stranger will descend, and you will be able to understand it. You will understand its subtle tone. You will not drown in its silence, you will not panic, you will be liberated. Otherwise, it will feel like death. If God comes to you without understanding, if there is no means of understanding, it will feel like death. If you die. If you have a little means of understanding, a little preparation, if you have learned something from true gurus, attended satsang, then God is liberation. Otherwise, it will seem like death. And once you panic, you will stop going in that direction. Once you become very fearful, your every pore will start to fear. You will go everywhere else, but not where there is such fear. Where your hands and feet falter. Where you have to sit by the side of the road. Where everything becomes hazy. Where everything seems lost. Something unknown remains, causing panic and restlessness. Then you will not go there.
There is a song by Rabindranath: "For many lifetimes, I searched for God. I searched a lot, but did not find Him. Sometimes, far, far away, on living stars, a glimpse of Him would appear. Hope remained, I kept searching. Then one day, by chance and good fortune, I reached His door. A sign was posted: 'God lives here.' I climbed the stairs. One leap, and the journey of many lifetimes was complete. And that fortune was about to clap its hands. Then a fear gripped me: If I found Him, then what would I do? Searching for God was my entire purpose until now. I lived with this support. This was my life's journey. So, if God is found, then that will be death. Then what about my life? Then where is my journey? Where to go? Whom to find? What to search for? Then nothing will remain." So, I became very scared. I slowly let go of the handle, so that there would be no sound, so that He wouldn't open the door. I took my shoes in my hands and ran. Since then, I have been running. I still search, Rabindranath wrote in that song. I still search for God. Although I know where His house is. I search everywhere except that place. Because searching is life. I avoid going to that place. I steer clear of that house. And I ask everywhere, "Where is God?" And I know where God is. In my observation, many people, in the journey of countless lifetimes, have reached near that house many times, but they panicked. They panicked so much that they forgot everything. They haven't forgotten that panic yet. That is why people are not readily eager to meditate. People fear and avoid talk of meditation and such. They use the word "God" formally. But they never let God become a deep search of life. They go to temples and mosques; it's a social formality. They should go, so they go. But they never let the temple or mosque reside in their hearts. They don't take that much risk. They keep God far away. There must be a reason. Somewhere, in some deep experience, in some hidden deep memory, a fear is hidden. Perhaps they faltered near His house. Now, the friend who had this experience, if he doesn't understand it properly, he will start to panic. Sitting by the road like this, panicking, hands and feet trembling, heart beating fast, breath running uncontrollably, anything can happen. It's better to stay away from such meditation. This is a troublesome matter. Then it's fine if they return. If they cannot return, if they remain sitting by the side of the road like this, people will consider them mad. For an hour or two, it's fine. Then the police will come. Then the neighbors will say, "Now, pick them up, send them to the hospital. What happened? The doctor will give them an injection. They have lost consciousness. Their brain is damaged." One of my friends, a renunciate, wrote, "When I left from here, I went dancing, joyful. The people at home had never seen me dancing and joyful. When he reached home dancing and joyful, people thought he had gone mad. At home..."
People ran after you and caught you, saying, "Sit down, what has happened to you?" They said, "Nothing has happened to me. I am very happy. Joyful." As much as the people at home talked about knowledge, the more suspicious they became, thinking something was wrong. They wouldn't let them leave the house. They forcibly admitted them to the hospital. A letter came from them saying, "I am laughing a lot. The new hospital is a lot of fun. I was sad that no one brought me to the hospital. Now I am happy, so people have brought me to the hospital. I am watching the game. But they think I am mad, and the more they think I am mad, the more I laugh. The more I laugh, they think I am completely finished. It's good that you asked. Don't panic. This experience will gradually calm down. Maintain a state of witness. It is natural. The fourth question is, we are a part of God and also immortal. Please tell us when, why, and how this part separated from the original, and is it possible for the part to reunite with the original in a way that it never separates again? If it is possible, please kindly unite the part with the original so that we do not have to be frightened by coming into this chaos again and again. See, there was a difference. One question was about experience, this question is philosophical. We are a part of God and also immortal. You know this, you have heard it, read it, and it satisfies the ego. You have accepted it. What greater satisfaction can there be for the ego than this? We are part of God, God is Brahman, immortal. This is what you want. This is what the ego seeks. This is your deepest aspiration. To become immortal. To become a part of God. To become Brahman. To become the master of the whole world. We are a part of God and also immortal. You know this. If you know this, there is no need for a question. If you do not know this, then writing this is futile. Then just asking the question is enough. Please tell us when, why, and how this part separated from the original? These are questions of scholarship. When? You need a time, a date. What will you do? Even if I tell you the date, what difference will it make? If I tell you the era, the time, what difference will it make? If I say exactly 6:00 AM on such and such a day, what difference will it make? What revolution will it bring in your life? What will you gain? When? Why? And how? Separated. If you know that you are a part of God, then you will know that you never separated. You dreamt of separation. You never separated because how can a part separate? A part is always with the whole. You may have forgotten. Separation is not possible. Forgetfulness is possible. There is no way to separate. We are what we are. Whether we forget, or whether we remember. The whole difference is between forgetfulness and remembrance. When, why, and how did it separate from the original? If it had separated, we would have told you when, why, and how it separated. It did not separate. You slept at night, you dreamt that in the dream you became a horse. Now in the morning, you ask why did we become horses? How? When? It's a difficult thing. Why did you become horses? You didn't become them. Firstly, if you had become them, the questioner would have survived. Horses don't ask. You never became them, you only had a dream. In the morning, when you woke up, you realized, "Oh, I had a great dream." When you were dreaming, you were not a horse, remember, even though you were completely absorbed in the feeling of becoming a horse. This is the fundamental principle of Ashtavakra. Ashtavakra says, whatever you associate your feeling with, that you become. If you identify with the body, you become the body. If you say, "I am the body," you become the body. If you identify with Brahman, saying, "I am Brahman," you become Brahman. Whatever you associate your "I" with, that you become. In the dream, you associated yourself with a horse, and you became a horse. Now you have associated yourself with the body, so you have become a human. But you never became them. You are what you are. Exactly as you are, there has been no change in your nature. Therefore, such questions are meaningless, and do not waste time asking such questions, and those who answer such questions are even more foolish than you. In the life of the Sufi mystic Bokuchu, it is mentioned that one day he woke up and called his chief disciple and said, "Listen, I had a dream last night. Can you interpret it?" The disciple said, "Wait, let me bring some water. You wash your hands and face first." He brought water in a pot and washed his guru's hands and face. As he was washing his hands and face, another disciple passed by. The guru said, "Listen, I had a dream last night. Will you interpret it?" He said, "Wait, it would be good to bring you a cup of tea." He brought a cup of tea. The guru laughed heartily. He said, "If you had interpreted my dream, I would have beaten you and thrown you out. What is the interpretation of a dream? You have seen it, you have woken up. Leave the fuss. The disciples gave absolutely correct answers. That was the test, that was their examination. That moment of examination had arrived. He brought water from the well so that you could wash your hands and face. The dream is gone. Let's end the matter. What more interpretation is there? A dream is a dream. What interpretation can there be of a lie? What interpretation can there be of something that does not exist? It is enough to know that it was a dream. Wash your hands and face, and come out. When you have come out, the other young man also did the right thing by bringing tea, saying, "Your hands and face are washed, but it seems you are still a little sleepy. Have some tea so you can wake up properly." This is what I tell you. Wash your hands and face, drink tea. You never separated. There is no way to separate. Then you ask, is it possible for the part to reunite with the original in a way that it never separates again? When you never separated, the talk of reunion is nonsense. That is why Ashtavakra says, the ritual of liberation, the bondage of liberation. What are they saying? They are saying that the plan to meet something with which you have never separated is the height of madness. This plan itself will prevent you from meeting. Think for a moment, if you have never gone out of your house, the effort to return home will not let you wake up. A drunkard returned home at night. He had drunk too much. He fumbled at the door but couldn't understand if it was his house. His mother opened the door, and he said, "Oh old mother, tell me the address of my house." The old woman said, "You are my son. I am your mother, you fool. This is your house." He said, "Don't confuse me. Don't mislead me. I am sure the house is somewhere here. But where?" The neighborhood people gathered. People started explaining. Now, there is no need to explain to a drunkard. Whoever explains to a drunkard should also be drunk. They started explaining, "This is your house." They started proving it. "Look, see this." He just doesn't understand that the man is drunk. Where is the proof? He doesn't know what he is seeing. What you are seeing, he is not seeing. He is in another world. He doesn't recognize his mother. How will he recognize his house? He doesn't recognize himself. How will he recognize anyone else? Another drunkard came behind him. He was driving his bullock cart and said, "Sit in my bullock cart, I will take you to your house." He said, "This man seems alright. I have found a true guru. These people were all foolish. We are asking, where is our house? They are just repeating, 'This is your house.' Are we blind? This man is a true guru. Be careful. If you ask the wrong question, you will fall into the trap of wrong gurus. Once you ask the wrong question, you will find someone to give the wrong answer. This is the law of life. Ask, and the answerer is ready. The truth is, if you don't ask, the answerers are ready. They are looking for you. By asking such questions, you are only organizing to put yourself into complications. Is reunion possible? Separation itself is not. Departure never happened. What is there to talk about reunion? And then you ask, is a reunion that never separates possible? Lest it be that there is a reunion, and then separation occurs. All these things seem meaningful because we don't remember who we are. If God is different, then all these things are true. God is your nature. We can forget our nature. It is also in our nature that we can forget our nature. A friend has asked, if the soul is pure and conscious, and if the soul is liberated, and if the soul is infinite energy, supreme freedom, then how did desire arise? This is also the freedom of the soul that if it wants to desire, it can. If the soul cannot desire, it will become dependent. Think for a moment, the world is your freedom. It happened because you willed it. Your will is free. If you want, it can happen now. If you want, it can happen again now. So I cannot tell you how a reunion that never separates will happen. Separation never happened. But it is the supreme freedom of the soul that it can forget whatever it wants and remember whatever it wants. If this possibility is not there for the soul, then the soul will become limited, its liberation will be bound. It will be attributed, it will have an उपाधि (upadhi - condition/attribute). A thinker named Diderot lived in the West. He proved that God is not omnipotent. Not all-powerful. The arguments he gave are such that it seems he is saying the right thing. For example, he asks, can God make two and two equal to five? It seems like a problem, how can God make two and two equal to five? Then how is he all-powerful? Two and two will be four. Can God make four angles in a triangle? How will he make it? If he makes four angles, it is no longer a triangle. If it remains a triangle, four angles cannot be formed in it. So God is limited. Diderot shattered the Christian concept of God, but if Diderot had known the Indian concept, he would have been in trouble. They say that this is the whole problem, that God's freedom makes two and two into five. Makes two and three. This is what we call Maya, in which two and two become five. Two and two become three. When two and two become four, they are outside Maya. Here, a triangle sits like a quadrilateral. There is a great deception here. Here, someone understands something, someone understands something else. No one knows what is what. Two and two are no longer two. One thing is certain, and everything else has happened. This is what we call Maya. We have called Maya the power of God. Have you ever thought about what this means? We have called Maya the power of God, which means that if God wants, he has the power to deceive himself. Otherwise, he will be limited. What kind of God is that who cannot dream? Then it will be a limit that he is unable to dream. No, God can dream. You are dreaming. You are God who is dreaming. You can wake up. You can dream. And this is your capacity. Therefore, you can dream whenever you want. And you can wake up whenever you want. It is your choice. If you want to remain awake, you will remain awake. If you want to remain in a dream, you will keep dreaming. Human freedom is eternal. The power of the soul is eternal. Truth and dream are two streams of the soul. Everything is contained within those two streams. You ask, is reunion possible? First, do not say reunion. If you say remembrance, then you have used the right word. Then you ask, what about a reunion that never separates? I cannot give you a guarantee for that because it depends on you. It is your will. If you want to let go, to forget, then no one can stop you. If you want to remember, then no one can stop you. And do not be troubled by this. Consider it a sign of your freedom that you can even forget God, and no one can stop you. You can go against him, and still, no one will stop you. Even then, he is with you. Even when you want to go against him, he keeps giving you strength. The Sufi mystic Hasan wrote that one night I asked God, "Who is the most virtuous man in this village?" Then God told me, "He who lives next to you." Hasan had never paid attention to him. He was a very simple man. No one pays attention to simple people. He was a simple man. He lived quietly. He was an ordinary man. He minded his own business. No one paid attention to him. Hasan said, "This man is the greatest virtuous soul." The next morning, he looked at him closely and felt a great radiance about him. The next night, he asked God again, "Now one more question. This is good that you told me. I will worship this man, I will bow to him, he is my guru. Now tell me one more thing. Who is the worst man in this village, whom I should avoid?" God said, "Your neighbor." He said, "This is a bit confusing." God said, "What can I do? Last night he was in a good mood, today he is in a bad mood. I can't do anything. Tomorrow morning, I cannot say what his condition will be. He may come back to a good mood." The soul is supremely free. There is no bondage in it. This supreme freedom is what we call Moksha (liberation). Moksha includes the fact that if you want to forget, no one can stop you. What kind of Moksha would it be if you wanted to get out and couldn't? I heard that a Christian priest died. He reached heaven and was very surprised. He saw many people bound in chains and shackles. He asked, "What is this? Chains and shackles in heaven?" They said, "These are Americans. They want to go back to America. They say it was more fun there. We had to put handcuffs on them because it would be an insult to heaven. They say, 'We don't want to stay in heaven. We want to go back to America. It was more fun there. The women there were better than these celestial nymphs. The wine there was better than this wine. The houses there were taller than these houses. What are you sitting with these old-fashioned houses? Now these are heavenly houses. They are outdated. Their engineers, their architects built them 10,000-25,000 years ago, and they are still running.' They say, 'We want to go to America, so we had to tie them up. If they run away and reach America, it will be a great insult to heaven.' Then who would want to come to heaven? But what kind of heaven is it if there are handcuffs? Then hell is better. At least there are no handcuffs. Remember one thing: freedom means heaven. Liberation means Moksha. Wherever you are by your own freedom, that is liberation. And this is the ultimate event. This is the ultimate unconditional truth. There are no conditions above this. So, if a liberated soul wishes to return to the world, no one can stop it. Liberated souls do not return. That is another matter. But if a liberated soul wishes to return, no one can stop it, because who will stop it? And if someone stops it, then is the liberated soul still liberated? You started to leave the gates of heaven, and they said, "Wait, we won't let you out. This is heaven. Where are you going?" This heaven ended at this very moment. I am not saying that liberated souls return. I am saying that if they wish to return, no one can stop them. Therefore, I cannot give you a guarantee. If you want to return, what will I do? If you want to forget God, what will I do? I only declare your complete liberation. If possible, please kindly unite the part with the original. Your intention is very cheap. You are saying that you do not want to meet. How can someone else kindly unite you? If you want to meet, then only meeting is possible. It will be your desire, your resolve, your aspiration. If it is there, then no one else can unite you. There is no way to forcibly take someone to Moksha, neither outside nor inside. You go by your own will, and even if I unite you somehow, you will break free again because that externally brought event will not be able to form a connection with your soul. It will be forced. Otherwise, one enlightened person would have liberated the whole world. One enlightened person would have been enough. He would have liberated everyone. He would have united everyone. There is no lack of compassion in enlightened beings. There is no lack of compassion in them. But nothing can happen against your will. And if it is your will, it can happen now. It can happen this very moment. You can be happy now. And expecting someone else to unite you with God is the way to return to the world. Expecting someone else to give you happiness, someone else to give you love, someone else to give you respect, that old habit now says, let someone else liberate me, unite me with God. But how long will you remain weak, feeble, impotent? When will you awaken to your own strength? When will you declare your own self? When will you stand on your own feet? You have always leaned on your wife's shoulder, on the shoulders of authorities, on the shoulders of leaders. I heard that some laborers were sent to work on a road near Delhi. They reached there, but upon reaching, they found they had forgotten their shovels. They didn't bring their spades and shovels. They called the engineer from there and said, "We forgot our spades and shovels. Send them immediately." He said, "Until I send them, lean on each other's shoulders." Laborers do this. They lean on each other's shoulders for rest. That engineer said, "I am sending them as quickly as possible. Until then, lean on each other's shoulders." We change shoulders to lean on. Then, when all this is over, the shoulder of the guru: "Now, let some guru take me across. You are the ferryman, you take me across." When will you declare yourself, your own self? In your own declaration lies the possibility of your nature blooming and blossoming. How long will you remain a refugee? How long will you insist on being a beggar? Even God will not give you alms from this slumber. May such grace be bestowed that we do not have to be frightened by coming into this chaos again and again. You come into this chaos because you want to. And the fun is that if you are kept in solitude, you will be afraid there too. Who is stopping you? Run away to the Himalayas, sit in solitude. There, you will be afraid of solitude. You will run back to the chaos. We live in chaos because we are afraid of solitude. We cannot be alone. We don't like being in a crowd. It's very difficult. We can neither be alone nor be in a crowd. Have you ever seen what happens when you are left alone? What happens when you are alone in a dark forest at night? You feel joy. You prefer the chaos. You wish someone would meet you, someone would talk to you. In solitude, you start panicking. You feel death in solitude. If you drown in God, you will be completely alone, because there are not two Gods in the world, there is one God. If you drown, you will not be you, God will not be God, only one will remain. That is why preparation for meditation is necessary, so that you can start enjoying solitude a little, before you descend into ultimate solitude, and start enjoying solitude a little, and the music starts playing, songs start echoing, and you start enjoying solitude. Then...
You can descend into absolute solitude. This is a practice of enduring the divine. If you ask me, I would say that meditation is not a process of finding the divine. The divine can be found even without meditation. Meditation is the practice of enduring the divine. Meditation provides the eligibility to endure. Absolute solitude will descend, then you will be left completely alone, then no radio, no television, no newspaper, no friends, no club, no gathering, no society, nothing at all, you will be left completely alone. This is preparation for being alone. I am ready to take you beyond the clamor, but are you ready? Even when you sit alone, clamor starts in your head. You start talking to the friends you left at home in your head. You start talking to the wife you left at home in your head. You gather all the crowd again. You start weaving a web of imagination. You cannot remain alone. That is why you return again and again. You are not returning to the world without reason. You are returning to the world for your own reasons. You wanted this clamor, therefore you have received it. A person's existence is nothing. The point is that the point is nothing. A person's existence is nothing. A person's life is not really a life. Life belongs to the divine. The point is that the point is nothing. A person is a mere trifle. That Mulla Nasruddin who fell from his bed yesterday, they were making space for him because a child had not been born. He fell into it and broke his leg. There was a lawsuit in a court. Two men smashed each other's heads. The magistrate asked what the matter was. Both of them were very hesitant. They said, what is the matter, we feel very shy to tell. You give whatever punishment you deem fit. The magistrate said, then I must know the matter, whom should I punish? Both looked at each other, saying, you tell. Then out of compulsion, when the magistrate became angry, saying, will you tell or not? Then they explained that the matter is such. We both friends were sitting by the river on the sand. This friend said that I am buying a buffalo. I said, don't buy a buffalo because I am buying a field. And if your buffalo enters my field, your lifelong friendship will be ruined. He said, go, we will not buy our buffalo because you are buying a field. You don't buy a field, and anyway, a buffalo is a buffalo. This one said, if it enters, it enters. Now we won't stand behind the buffalo all day. And what is the value of such a friendship that our buffalo enters your field and causes you trouble? I also got angry and said, okay, you have bought the field, show me by buying the buffalo. So I made a field on the sand on the ground with wood, saying, here is the field. And this fool inserted the buffalo with another piece of wood. A quarrel ensued, and a fight broke out. Now what can we say to you? You give the punishment. We feel shy to say. A person's existence is nothing. The point is that the point is nothing. You have given everything to humanity. Yet, humanity's essence is nothing. Other than the heart and soul, the pursuit of desire is nothing. The universe of beauty is everything. Its universe is nothing. A person changes clothes. This life and death is nothing. A person changes clothes. This life and death is nothing. A person's existence is nothing. The point is that the point is nothing. If you understand this much, that you are a mere trifle. That you have understood everything. The last question, since when do you want to ask? Please tell me yourself, what should I ask? Accept my salutations. Dulari has asked. This is a certain thing. I have known her for years. She never asked anything. There are very few people who have never asked anything. This is the first time she has asked. She also hasn't asked anything, "Since when do I want to ask you? Please tell me yourself, what should I ask?" The real question of life is such that it cannot be asked. The questions you can ask are not even worth asking. What you cannot ask is what is worth asking. The real question of life cannot be bound by words. The question of life is only with listening eyes. It can be conveyed with eyes full of curiosity. The question of life, which exists. It is revealed by your entire emotional state. I know Dulari. She never asked, but I have heard her question. Her question is not even hers because what you ask is yours. What you cannot even ask is everyone's. There is only one question within all of us. And that question is that all this is happening. All this is going on. And yet, no essence seems to be found. This running around, this hustle and bustle, yet no meaning seems visible. So much gaining and losing, yet nothing seems to be gained, nor does anything seem to be happening. A great journey of lifetimes, the destination is nowhere in sight. Why are we? What is our existence? Where are we going? And what is happening? What is our meaning? What is the purpose of this music? The question of existence is suppressed within everyone. What is the meaning of existence? And there is no answer to this in words. What cannot be formed in words, its answer also cannot be in words. This which is within us, call it witness, observer, the stream of life, consciousness, whatever name you wish, it is nameless. Whatever name you want to give, give it. Divine, liberation, nirvana, soul, non-soul, whatever you wish to say, absolute void, whatever. This which is within, nameless, by drowning in it, by drowning in it, the question will gradually dissolve. I am not saying you will get an answer. Only the question will dissolve, and when the question dissolves, the state of your consciousness is the answer. I am not saying you will get an answer. When you become questionless, there is joy in life, there is auspiciousness. Blessings rain down. You dance, you hum. Samadhi flourishes. Then you don't ask. Then there is nothing to ask. Then life does not seem like a question. Then life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived, to be danced, to be sung, a mystery to be celebrated. Descend within, beyond the body, beyond the mind, beyond emotions. Descend within and know. How is this affection throughout life? Where is love? And where does the flower spread its fragrance? Know. How is this affection throughout life? Where is love? And where does the flower spread its fragrance? The scent is perceived, but from where does it come? Life is, its shadow falls, but where is its root? The reflection is seen, but where is the root? The echo reverberates in the mountains, but where is the original sound? Know. How is this affection throughout life? Where is love? And where does the flower spread its fragrance? Dulari's sighs have been received, and the laughter of melodies has been met. Know. How is this fragrance throughout life? Where is pollen? And where does the cloud rain? It is raining in your deepest core. The flower is fragrant in your deepest core. The musk is in the coil. This fragrance that surrounds you and has become a question, where does it come from? This fragrance is not of anyone else. If you look for it outside, it becomes a mirage, a web of illusion spreads. The journey of lifetimes continues. The day you looked within like this, the doors of the temple opened. That day you reached the center of your self. That is love, that is the divine. The mind gets entangled, slowly moving outwards. The mind says, let's go inside, but just a little longer. Relying on some desire, I have been standing silently by the river for a long time. The evening twilight is pleasant. A fair of emotions is set. This gentle twilight of the evening is spreading over my thoughts. I am thinking, the evening of my thoughts has also arrived. There is great restlessness, but even in despair, there is hope in life. Let yourself be restless for a little longer. Embrace this pleasant dusk with a smile. There is still a lot of time before nightfall. The mind calms down and moves on. A little longer, a little longer. Call yourself into dreams for a little longer. Run after mirages for a little longer. Very beautiful dreams. And still, there is a lot of time before death arrives. That is why people think, "I will renounce, I will pray, I will meditate." In old age, when death stands at the door, when one foot is in the grave, then I will raise one foot for meditation. Let yourself be restless for a little longer. Let yourself be restless for a little longer. Embrace this pleasant dusk with a smile. There is still a lot of time before nightfall. We keep postponing like this. Night keeps coming. There is not much time. Night has already arrived. Many times we have lost life and existence like this. We waited for death. Death arrived before meditation could. Another life was wasted again. Another opportunity was lost in vain. This time, let it not be so. This time, postpone it. This fragrance is yours. This life is hidden within you. Lift the veil from within. Do not ask the question anywhere outside. The answer is not to come from anywhere outside. Where the question arises, there is the answer. Even the question is not clear. Don't worry. Where this unclear, hazy dusk is, descend there. In that evening's light, in the dusk, slowly descend within. Where the question is coming from, search for that. Don't worry too much about the question, what it is. Worry only about where it is coming from. Search for that level within yourself, that deep level from where the seed of the question sprouted and from where the leaves of the question arose. That is the root, and there you will find the answer. The meaning of the answer is not that you will be given a ready-made answer. The conclusion will be found there. The meaning of the answer is that life will not remain a problem there, it will become a celebration. A smooth death in which burning desires are consumed, dissolved. In that, your song resonates. The void is revealed. A smooth death in which burning desires are consumed, dissolved. Within that, a silence, a peace. In which the heat of all desires gradually disappears and becomes calm. In that, your soundless song resonates. Then no sounds are heard. Only the song resonates. A wordless, soundless song. The pure song asks. That song is revealed as void. That is where the truth of life is revealed. It is revealed as void. Like a dark night in which forms, images, idols all melt away. A dreamlike, formless, pure, deep sleep. From that, you extend your hand. From that, extending your hand, you suddenly pull it back. You embrace. The divine is hidden. Descend within a little. Leave the idols, the thoughts, the images, the beliefs, the bubbles of the mind. Descend a little deeper. Where there are no waves. In that, your soundless song resonates. It is revealed as void. Descend there. From that, extending your hand, you suddenly pull it back. You embrace. That is the union you are searching for. It is hidden within you. The answer to the question you are searching for is hidden within you. Wake up. Experience it. All the sutras of Ashtavakra give only one message: it is not to be found, it is already found. Wake up and experience it. Hari Om Tat Sat. That is all for today.