
Maharaj: At the moment you know that you exist; you are in the seed of the beingness, although ultimately even this very beingness is to be transcended. Everything is enfolded in that seed, just like a whole oak tree is contained in an acorn. Similarly, eveiything is contained in that consciousness: the whole world is there, and that body is also present.
That should be your conviction. Just as in a dream, when you feel that you are awake, but actually you are not and your world at that time is the dream world. Similarly, this knowingness (in the waking state) contains this so-called real world; that conviction must come. The truth is that there is no difference between (dream) consciousness and different; all consciousness is one.
Your consciousness itself gives rise to this world, which is a unified field, a unicity. But, it may be objected, there is such an infinite variety of shapes and colors in that world. How can Reality then be said to be “not-two,” advaita ? It is because all these differences exist only in your consciousness as appearances. The source is the same consciousness, but the manifestation exhibits so much variety!
The conviction that this world never existed can happen only to the Parabrahman. If this is indeed your conviction, then you are the Parabrahman. This thing aside, you should discover how this news “I am”—the knowledge of your existence—appeared and at what moment. Go to the source of it and find out. By looking up to others, to so-called
will not get anywhere. Thus, only you yourself can find out the truth about yourself.
I am referring to the vital force, prana. Make friends with prana, and the prana will help you to know God. The mind is only a witness; your real friend is the prana, because it does everything. Waking, sleeping, digesting food, all these activities are done by the vital force. Atman is only a witness; so give importance to this vital force and worship it, and you will be able to know God. In order to do any meditation, you should make friendship with the vital force; it is readily available without any effort.
Because of the prana, there is mind. And because of the mind, there are the Vedas. So ultimately, the source of this whole scripture is the vital force. That is why I give full homage to the vital force. Without it, what would be your value? Your body would collapse. Only when the vital force is present do you know the world, the world has value, and God has value. You can know about God and world only when the vital force is there. Who knows the greatness of this prana? That itself is God, Praneshwar.
As to the connection between mind and vital force, mind is the language of the vital force. When there is no vital force, there is also no mind. The words of prana signify mind. So how could there be mind without vital force? This vital force and the consciousness (that is, the knowledge “I am ’ or the beingness and the mind) appear simultaneously and always exist together.
Knowledge about the vital force is not generally avail- able; it has not been recorded anywhere. So this information might be new to you.
Now that you have listened to me two or three times, what is its result on you?
V: I know that whatever Maharaj has told us is the truth. Now I also requested of him to show me a way. So he says, sadhana is not the way, though it helps initially. But more important, most essential, is determination. So that I am practicing—it is a very difficult thing—and, with his blessing, one day I will succeed.
M: You will do a sadhana only until you receive the fruit of it. Eventually, you will receive the result in the palm of your hand. Until then you will do some practice. What, generally, do you do spiritual practices for? What do you make effort for? If you do any sadhana, you expect to get something out of it. You say to yourself: this is what I want. So any sadhana implies a purpose; whatever kind of sadhana is done, one does it with a certain aim in mind.
Now, who or what is the-entity that is practicing? Who is doing the sadhana ? It has no form and no shape. So where is it? It is within this form, this body—the indwelling principle. For how long will it continue practicing? And what is its aim? The aim is to abide in the Self only. Until then it will continue the sadhana. Once it is established in the Self, then the objective, the person who is practicing, and the process of practicing, are all one only.
V: Sadhaka and sadhana become one only.
M: You see, when you make a sankalpa, what does it indicate? Objective, the need, that is the whole purpose of sankalpa.
V: What do you mean by sankalpa ?
M: Sankalpa means objective.
V: Intense desire and determination.
M: Sankalpa actually means “you express.” What is the objective of the sadhatta ? I want this. Say, you want a medical degree—that is the sankalpa. Then sadhana is your practicing and attending college, doing the homework—all that is sadhana.
V: You made a sankalpa to meet him today. Then you came, walked, climbed the stairs—that is the sadhana,
M: Sankalpa (for example, that I want to meet him) has no form or shape; it is the objective and its expression. Now the one who makes this sankalpa, that one also has no form. For how long do you have to continue the practice? So long as you are identifying with form. Until then the practice will go on. Once you reach the objective—that is, you are not body-mind, not the body form any longer—there is no practice anymore.
It is good that you are studying the Gita. But what about that Bhagavan Krishna, who sang that Gita? What about him? Are you taking care of him by understanding him?
Now you are trying to understand him through bhak - ti ,.,it means you are creating certain concepts. That is not correct. From nothingness he is or he was. How did this happen? What was it that descended?
It is this incarnation that you must understand—the descent into avatar, into a form. Attendance of this beingness, avatar—what is this? That is to be studied and understood. Prior to incarnation, whatever that personality, he had no knowledge about himself. After descending into this incarnation, he started to deliver himself. Prior to that, there was no knowledge about himself.
V: Before avatar, was he not Brahman , Paramatman ?
M: Before descending into this avatar, this knowledge quality was not present; knowingness was not there. The I am was absent, not available. It is a non-knowing state. But afterwards, the state comprises all conceptual titles and names, and they are a person’s shackles.
Suppose some convicted person is at large, and the government wants to apprehend him. So how will the government arrest him? Through the shackles of his name. If he did not have those shackles on him, would he have been caught? In the core of your self there is no imposition of any title or name. But, externally, on the surface, you accept it. Therefore, that internal core, which has no name, how can you arrest that?
What is the leash each man has? What are the shackles he wears? It is only the name.
Any person, any embodied person, with that knowledge
les of name only. If he had no name, it would not be possi- ble to carry on with the activities. In that inner core, that knowingness or “I-am-ness,” there are no shackles. Once it is understood that “I am” is purely “I am,” formless—and not that shackled body form—then no liberation is called for. To be stabilized in that beingness, which has no name and form, that itself is liberation.
What I am driving at is the following. You are a devotee of Krishna and Bhagavad Gita, but do you have the knowledge of Lord Krishna? You know the historical facts about his birth, and so on; all that you know by heart. But you must know what this incarnation is. After this process of incarnation—that is, forming as the body—is over, then only this knowledge “I am” dawns in him. Then he knows he is, but in that prior process he does not.
All the beings, all the personalities are hauled into court and I am introducing this Lord Krishna as the chief accused, representing all. So I am talking about him. What is this incarnation? He represents all humanity.
V: If he was the Lord Krishna, what was he before he took avatar?
M; He (or it) was a state of peace, bereft of five-elemental play, without the five elements.
V: What we will be after death?
M: I am “That”?
No, not That. “I,” that core, without form and name.
About that I talk. You asked me whether it applies to you. What I say applies to the atman.
Understanding what that avatar is, the Lord Krishna avatar, means in essence abiding in that only. Then one is not the body. And what is the body? It is a mere aid for the sustenance or endurance of that “I-am” principle. To prepare the reception of this avatar (that is, the consciousness) this body principle, which is actually only an aid, an instrument or container, got ready first. Then, once it is understood—that is, when there is abidance in the consciousness only—this thing gets purified and also reaches the status of Brahman.
Now look at this example. You collected various types of vegetation. You started boiling this mixture, this essence. Finally, it got concentrated and solidified, assuming a form. Vegetable. Now the taste of that is something like the “I-am-ness” taste. This is all vegetable matter, the quintessence of all vegetation. Out of that, this body is formed, which is the food. And this food sustains that taste of “I-am-ness.”
V: Who started mixing and who started boiling? Some power, some shakti ...
Mi Who made those flowers? What is that unknown power? That alone is the Lord Krishna principle.
So after incarnation, he got the form of Krishna. And that Krishna name, that particular personality started moving about and working in the world. But in the formation of this incarnation, what form was there? Or what was the agent? What was the aid?
V: That is just what I wanted to know.
M: Right now you enquire about your own form and the knowledge, that consciousness “you are,” how did it come so.
And so long as both instruments, Vasudeva and Devaki, were not available, Lord Krishna was not available either.
Do you understand now that your parents are the instruments of your incarnation? Once you solve this prima- iy riddle, all the riddles of the world are solved for you. Aae you fully convinced about this?
Five ingredients with different tastes were mixed together. After mixing, a new product was created that had a taste all its own. Similarly, out of the five-elemental interactions or play, finally its culmination is reached as this body form and that “I-am-ness” taste. This is a very impe- tant step. This “I-am-ness” is the product of this objc ave world, of five-elemental play, from vanaspati to var’.aspati. The former means vegetation, organic material. Out of that this body is there, and from the quintessence of this body comes the knowledge “I am.” I call it vachaspdti.
To repeat, vanaspati product is vegetable matter. But what is the quintessence of that? Vacbaspati. The language or sound, what is the quintessence of that? Brihaspati, that most knowledgeable consciousness manifest. There only a human being reaches that highest state of brihaspati. Not other animals: they have no scope, there is no opportunity for them.
One who understands this process of incarnation will have gone through the entire thing, he will have studied all the instruments and everything. In this process he escapes or transcends that. And he is beyond that; he is free from everything.
The "I-taste” represents my father/mothcr. The quality of the quintessence of my parents, I am. The juices or secretions of the parents got mingled together, and the taste of that I am. Don’t you understand how the incarnation of Lord Krishna also took place? I doubt whether this is clear to you.
V: It is clear.
M: The process of incarnation of Lord Krishna is exactly like this. So when the quintessence of the parents got consumed or exhausted, it is said in common parlance he [the offspring ] is dead; and then the “I-am-ness” taste also vanished. Now can you get to know Lord Krishna?
V: I will try.
M: I dismiss this veiy idea that one should try, or make efforts. It is actually a very mischievous concept. It is enough to understand the core meaning of all this. That is all. Once you abide in the meaning of that, where is the question of sadhana ?
V: If evolution is a fact, why were initially souls born in such a disadvantaged position that they had to keep improving, birth after birth?
M: You see, this is the counter question I normally put. If your next birth is decided because of your past actions, then what about your very first birth? I do not believe in reincarnation. However, I do not want to discuss that either, but if one insists and says the shastra says so, I will say yes, the shastras, the scriptures state it like that. I do not want to discuss further on that point, because it is adding to your concepts.
Right here and now, I want you to understand what is what.
That knowledge “I am” is not there after death; so where is any individuality left? So how can there be any question of further births? The fact is that nothing is born. There is no world. The world appears but it is not there. So you are talking about the next birth. But there is no birth at all; even now there is no birth. Understand Krishna! Krishna or any of the avatars is merely a happening, which has come and gone. You are not affected. So who is it that needs enlightenment? There is no entity that needs enlightenment. There is no such thing as enlightenment! After the body’s death, there is vijnana, the absolute state. In spite of the body, I am in the vijnana state. Worlds come and go. I am the original being.
Enquire only about your own self. When your very birth is disproved, non-existent, where is the question of rebirth? Don’t worry about the world, worry about your own self, about your own birth. These concepts—reincarnation, etc.—are meant for the ignorant. Once you settle this issue of the incarnation of Lord Krishna and yourself, everything is over.
For a number of years you have been studying; you have been active in this field of spirituality, but who is doing all this? That you are not taught. Whatever spirituality you may be practicing is full of concepts only. But actually who is doing all the studies? That you have not understood.
The reason that there is no realization in spite of all your trouble is that you are trying to identify with the body; you don’t give up that identification. If you do not consider yourself as anything else, then at least consider yourself as the vital force. Identify yourself as the vital force and be like that. Other than the vital force, what is the most important thing in your body? Nothing; the vital force is the most important.
I again give you a very good explanation of what is mind. Whatever impressions you receive through the five senses, whatever you see, hear, taste, etc., all these impressions are in that vital force itself. They are ulti- mately gathered in the vital force—in the form of words: language is the mind. Whatever you have never heard, you will never speak. Whatever happens through the five sense organs, whatever is known, is “photographed” and accumulated in the vital force. And the language of the vital force is the mind.
Through the vital breath you perceive the world. And when you perceive the world, you perceive the five dimensions, or rather the five aspects, of whatever you observe through your five senses, and then it is recorded. That vital breath is therefore the most important motive force available to you. And when that vital force is available, it means you are also there. That “I-am-ness,” consciousness, or beingness, and the vital force, both always exist together
What is this vital force and that beingness? They form the quintessence of the five-elemental play. Being part of it, it has come to fruition as “I-am-ness.” So don’t try to make a fragment of it. That quintessential “I-am-ness” means everything. So when you embrace the body, that “I-am-the- body” idea, you make a fragment out of the totality. And this is the crucial mistake. Whatever experience you get, you study that experience, you understand it, but who is taking the photographs of all the experiences? Is it the vital breath? Where do you figure in all this?
For all the species, including human beings, this vital force itself is godly. And this vital force also contains that Ish- wara or consciousness principle. Now you should find out: How are you going to focus your attention on that vital breath and meditate on the Self? That is for you to discover.
The vital breath gets conditioned or manacled by the bondage of name. It accepts the name as “I am.” This is the mistake. That which is deconditioned from name and form is Paramatman. That which is conditioned by the body, mind, name, and form is called jiva. The language of the vital breath is mind. And the mind is the motive force for all activities. Have you any questions on this aspect, this theme only? It is very difficult to ask questions at this point. If you are able to establish yourself in the vital breath as you are, you become manifest . 2 The vital breath, when it is conditioned by the body, you call it a personality. But, as a matter of fact, the vital breath is spread all over, it is manifest; it is universal.
If you are stabilized in the vital breath as “I am,” that in itself will get you there. The vital breath is not confined to the body. All the elements are moved, operated by the vital breath. But because it is inside the body, you call it prana , vital breath. This vital breath itself is a vital energy. And that qualitative principle is the knowingness that is in the vital force.
It appears your studies of this subject are essentially based*on whatever information you collect from others.
That is a pity. The vital breath knows no death, and the indwelling principle, that qualitative principle ‘‘I -am-ness,” it also cannot have death.
V: If we are to die without realizing I am this principle, what will happen?
M: You will die. In this connection, please don’t use that word “I”—that exclusive, personified “I.” You should talk without it. The moment you say “I,” you are personified, vu become individual.
Body is the food for that touch of I-am-ness,” consciousness. Now take s chemical, whatever is fixed to that stick, That is the food for that spark. So long as this chemichal- that is, the manifest totality, the state beyond the merely personal.
You talk on this thing; you only presume that you are a jnani. What knowledge have you? Everybody takes pride and thinks “I am knowledgeable.” You might attain any distinction, any elevated level, in this world, but this fear of death is not going to leave you.
This charge, that I am going to die, is it imposed on that
that death, we always embrace the body as our identity, and therefore we have that fear of death. When the vital force operates through the body, that touch of “I-am-ness” is felt.
Now I am not going to talk anymore, unless you raise some questions.
V: Let me digest first what I have heard.
M: There is a simple fact. Where is the question of digesting my talk? You are the vital force. And the vital force is universal. That is all. When you thoroughly and truly understand anything without aberrations, where is the question of working toward further conviction?
V: What is coming between me and my enlightenment? When I have understood, I have faith in it.
M: Even “between” implies the idea that you are the body. That is the obstacle.
V: So I must practice to forget it.
M: Or visualize it (at once). Actually, it is not necessary for you to try to forget it. Once you say that you are the vital breath, where is the question of your trying to forget that you are the body?
Let me make it very clear to you. This body is the food; it contains blood and bones. On that, this vital breath is sustained; or, the vital breath consumes this food. And with the vital breath, this touch of “I-am-ness,” the beingness, comes about.
V: Yes, in the morning Maharaj explained this very convincingly.
M: How has it been put to use? If it was driven home and has been understood very clearly, where is the scope for all these questions?
You are the Paramatman , the Brahman. If that is too difficult, then at least try to be this vital breath, this universal air, only.
Is gold itself crooked? But when you make an ornament out of it—that is, you give gold a form and name—it becomes distorted or crooked. Just as by giving yourself a name, you became crooked. Gold as such is not stupid. Gold means the Self without name and form. But in gold, when it was transformed into an ornament and given a name, the distortion or stupidity started.
July 14, 1980