September 21, 1979


Questioner: If all manifestation is considered illusion, how does it differ from thought? 

Maharaj: It is only for worldly activity that the distinction is made; it is all the same. 

Q: When one says he is free from thought, he can be free from intellectual meditation, but if his eyes are open the illusion persists. Is that free from thought? 

M: Take out the word illusion and substitute the word Brahma. It is only the words you can change, nothing else. 

You go to a Jnani for knowledge, but of what are you seeking knowledge, and who is it that seeks knowledge? The knowledge you are seeking is about Maya, or illusion, but you will not give adequate attention to who it is who wants the knowledge. 

Q: The Sage is the one who can clarify all questions, be they relative or absolute, and that is why such questions are put to the Sage. 

M: When you put questions do you feel that they will solve your problems? Are you asking them from the content of the question, and are you keeping your Self in view when you ask? 

Q: What is perplexing to me now is the individual's comportment in life after leaving here. I am concerned as to how the mind will fend for itself in supporting the body and its activities. 

M: When the mind becomes absolutely purified it will look after everything. 

Q: I understand, but it is the wait until the purification occurs that distracts me. 

M: So long as the vital breath is flowing the mind will be flowing. 

Q: I seem to be coming to a bifurcation in the road and that's why. . . . 

M: I am only telling you that this body, vital breath, and consciousness are one, and you are beyond it. Your mind will decide how you should behave when you go back. Let the body and mind work according to their own inclinations, and the conditions, but know you are not them. 

Q: I was wondering whether I should find a tropical island somewhere and sit under a tree and absorb this or go back into society and continue what I did before. 

M: Are you going to purify your body or your vital breath? 

Q: Right. 

M: If you think that this talk is stupid, throw it out and do what you like. I don't insist that you should listen to me and abide by my words. 

Q: I have understood what Maharaj has been saying, and he has been repeating it in several different fashions. I understand! 

M: What else is there except that touch of “I Am"? Why do you worry about discovering Maya and Brahma and all that? Understand what this principle “I Am" is and you are finished. That “I Am" is in bondage because of concepts. 

Q: Returning to the relative state: should I go back to the activity in which I was engaged before coming here? 

M: That person, does it relate to the body, the vital breath, or the “I Am"? 

Q: The body. 

M: How are you, the witness of these three entities, concerned? They can carry on the work for thousands of years; in what way are you concerned? The question arose because you are considering the body which will decompose and decay when the vital breath leaves it. You are identifying with and embracing that body. 

Q: Yes. 

M: Your nearest relatives, including your wife and son, will not approach that body when it decomposes. 

Q: That's quite true. 

M: Having understood, carry on your business. Don't worry. 

It is said that when Rama wanted to cross over the sea from India to Lanka, the monkeys helped him quite a bit. Therefore he blessed them all with heaven. Those same monkeys have come to enjoy themselves now in the Western countries. They are enjoying the boon of material and heavenly pleasure that Rama gave. The Rishis who have done a lot of penance with the intention of gaining heaven are also born there and enjoy themselves. Now they have had enough and have started coming here in order to search for Rama again. 

Share: