Maharaj: Do not be bound by imagination or ideas, keep aloof from them, let everything happen according to its own nature. Just as you are bound now by the body-mind sense, you are also bound by the relationships in this objective world, and that binding is very serious indeed. The true perspective of the Self within is the freedom that is yours.
The Self that is within is all the emptiness of the sky. Through the consciousness which has appeared on you, you view this objective world. With the knowledge that you are awake you find that the world is filled with all the objective pictures which are within you. In deep sleep there are no pictures, no objective sights at all. There is no cause for the creation of this objective world—it has come spontaneously; there was no action on anyone’s part. That consciousness itself will tell the one aware of it that it is all you see.
It is very difficult to understand this; the one who has realized that the consciousness is being witnessed by the universal consciousness has reached the Ultimate. But the majority of people are wrapped up in the manifested knowledge that “I Am.”
The world is within me, I am not within the world. Bhagavan [God] is the light which is the manifest world. I have realized that light, but I am not bound by it, I am not in it.
That is the state from which the manifestation is observed. Iswara [God] state is the borderline, the beginning of Nirguna—from being to no-being—of entering the Absolute field from where witnessing of this manifestation occurs. That is the beginning of the Absolute. It is not “I Amness.” The Absolute cannot talk, but this talk relates to that only.
I have no method to pursue this Truth; at the most I will tell you to purify your vital breath. You will be asked to follow a meditation on nama-mantra, that's all; all other things are spontaneous.
What is the meaning of the recitation of the nama? It is the primordial music; sing this melody of name-mantra. In the process one loses one's Self and all the mischievous thoughts disappear.
Questioner: Since this manifestation is myself can I bring about certain improvements in it?
M: When you cling to the body-mind you become separate from the manifest world and you see different entities. In that state you will have all kinds of desires to improve yourself or somebody else. The next state is “I Amness”, in which every action is myself, every manifest thing is myself. In that state there is no question of improving; you are just manifestation, “I am everything.” Next is the Unborn state, where there is no beingness to understand “I Am.” That is the highest state.
The moment I start calling myself a sanyasi [monk], I start conditioning myself: “I must have matted hair,” “I must beg for food,” “I must not eat this,” etc. So I have not taken any pose. When food is served, whatever this body relishes I eat, whatever it doesn’t I leave. Not that this is good and this is bad—nothing of the sort. Your first step is beingness: embrace the knowledge “I Am,” be that. I am trying to speak of my most intimate secrets. Just as the dream world, uncalled for, has appeared and you observe it, similarly this world, uncalled for, has appeared and you are compelled to observe it. Just observe.
Spontaneously, unknowingly, your beingness has appeared. Knowingly you don't know “Now I am going to be”; only after the formation of “I Amness” do you know “I Am.”
Q: Can I carry out my normal household duties?
M: Carry them out with all enthusiasm, but understand what I have told you. If you really understand this, remember it and ponder it; no special meditation is needed.
The vital breath is the cause of the mind flow; it is occupied continuously, except during sleep. Ostensibly we might be performing a ritual, reciting hymns loudly, thinking that we are performing some spiritual action, but the mind is not concentrated on that hymn, etc.; it is thinking of something else.
Q: When someone is totally enjoying what he is doing there is no sense of “I.”
M: The beingness is fully absorbed in that mind inclination, but that no-being state only witnesses it.
Meditate on that principle by which you know you are and the world is. That is the very source of this manifest world. All actions are carried out by the vital breath; the language of the vital breath is called the mind. The recitation of mantra or Japa is carried out by vital breath, and this beingness is a mere witness of the actions of the vital breath. The message “I Am” is just a witness—the vital breath stimulates all activities. The support of these two entities is the food body, the food essence. The knowledge “I Am” is the film, the destiny. Finally, what is our destiny? It is that birth chemical, that film in which everything is recorded and everything is happening. Where are “you” in this? “I Amness” is a chemical in which everything that is going to happen is recorded. When this is realized you will understand that you are not an individual.