RAJA DHI RAJ SADGURUNATH SHRI RAMAKANT MAHARAJ KI JAI!
Nothing has happened, nothing is happening, nothing can ever happen, the world is a projection on your spontaneous Presence, there is nothing except formless You. Everything that you do, or have ever done, all that you know, or have ever known is within the bubble of illusion brought about by the misidentifcation with being a body form. You are formless, you are not body, you were not body and you are not going to remain the body. Presence or the sense of existence appeared to you and spontaneously the primary illusion was projected from the perspective of being something. The joke is that the egoistic sense being false desires to continue, as it never was anything other than illusory appearance, it’s continuation is not possible, as it never was. The illusory appearance of separation was impressed through the ‘I am a body” idea, which you are not, were not and will never be. When these words are imbibed they will dissolve the illusory layer that appears to be covering formless Presence.
Has anyone actually become enlightened, or is it an unobtainable ideal?
Enlightenment is the dissolution of the false concept of separation impressed through the belief in being a body. You are not body. You are formless. In the true formless nature there is no individuality or separation, formlessness can not be separated. Space is often used as an example of this. Realization of your true formless nature removes the concept of individuality spontaneously which in turn removes the idea of ‘someone’ or ‘something’ other. This belief in body that went on a journey to find that you are formless. You are not a body form.
I have heard enlightenment happens only once. If it’s true, why only once ?
A room is dark, you flip the switch, it is now not dark. The light is seen instantly. There may be many steps to get to the light switch, however once it is turned on, you will no longer believe in perpetual darkness. Once you recognize your true formless nature without the instrument of mind, you will no longer be a slave to the mind and it’s interpretations of the form world.
What is the most important lesson you have learned after experiencing ego loss?
Their was no ego to lose. The ego was a false concept that was impressed through the concept of being a body creating an illusion of duality. Once seen properly it dissolved without effort through right understanding. That which was never a reality had become a reality through misunderstanding, and now all of that was cleared up. You are not body. You are formless. Their is no separation in formlessness. Their is nothing except formless you.
How does Karma affect us?
You are not body. Your concept of being a body allows the identification with actions performed by the body that you are not. Your belief in the sense of being a doer through the actions of the body that you are not creates impressions in the mind. Identification with this as my thoughts and my actions through the mind which is an instrument of the body which you are not, cause the phenomenal memory and life time line. Because you become lost in the world in which the body has that you are not has appeared, the actions of that body that are witnessed and processed through mind take on an ownership quality. The concept of Karma is created and believed in to label the whole process of taking credit for actions that the body that you are not appears to be doing. In reality since all of this is illusion and body based concepts, there is no effect at all. Unfortunately the effects of this body based concept since you are believing yourself to be a body impresses that other actions that are occurring spontaneously are the direct result of the actions you are not doing. Once you realize you are not body then all of the body based concepts will appear silly, irrelevant and completely ignorant. Until that time you will ask questions about body based concepts with the belief that they effect you, and the other ignorant who believe they are knowledgeable will explain the body based concepts that don’t apply to you in great detail and sincerity.
What is “direct experience” as related to awakening/enlightenment?
You are not body. You are formless. Formlessness within the body manifests as a sense of Presence. This Presence will remove the belief in being a body and all of the related body concepts. This Presence may or may not manifest as a spiritual teacher or Guru, but will always provide the guidance needed to remove the concept of being a body and direct you to your true formless nature. Living as the Presence within the body without the egoistic pressure from mind, ego and intellect, formlessly aware. Presence resting in Presence without the concept of being a body is termed enlightenment. Remembering of course that prior to belief in being a body this concept, and all body based concepts, did not exist at all.
Can the self be both individual and universal at the same time?
Their is only one Self. Within the manifestation their can appear to be many separate individuals. Just as in dream their can appear to be many separate individuals, however it is only one from which the dream is projected. You are formless. The appearance of the manifestation through form creates the concept of individuality through the belief in being a body. With the belief in being a body a world appears with a you in it. You are formless their is no separation or distinction in reality or the unmanifest prior to the appearance of manifestation.
Why do some people not self-realize after meditating their whole lives? Are they doing it wrong?
You are not body, you were not body, you are not going to remain body. Body is not your identity. Meditation allows glimpses into your true formless nature. The belief in being a meditator keeps you from That realization. From the body mind perspective you are glimpsing reality, from your true formless source you are dissolving the illusory layer causing the appearance of separation by belief in being a body. The meditator must dissolve within the meditation.
Why are there so many ways to define enlightenment? And why is everyone so adamant that their definition is correct?
You are not body. You are formless. All of the ideas about enlightenment came along with belief in being a body. In this false realm of body knowledge nothing is true and nothing is false. All body knowledge is based on or built on the wrong foundation of the concept ‘I am a body’. You are not body you are formless. In a dream a homeless man may own a large mansion, many luxury cars, have lots of money and jewelry, when he wakes up where has it gone? He has enjoyed all of the money and luxury, it seemed very real and satisfying, yet it was all an illusion. He was dreaming. You are not body. You are formless. The form based reality which is occurring within the formlessness That You Are is illusion. All of the form based appearances are based on the wrong foundation of the concept ‘I am a body’. You are not body. You are formless.
What do people drive for after enlightenment?
You know you are dreaming only after you wake up. There is nothing within the dream that is real or that can be brought from the dream. You are not body. You are formless. Knowing, or realizing this reality there is nothing in the form existence that is real or that you can take with you. Not even the false ideas of being a body and living a life.
What is consciousness? What created consciousness? Why does consciousness even exist?
Consciousness is created spontaneously through the first concept ‘I exist’, as this sense of existence arose to That prior to the knowing of existence or anything other. Consciousness is the manifestation of the sense of existence and all of the various imaginings of that knowledge. You are prior to every experience including the primary experience of knowing existence, or ‘I am’ ‘I exist’. Just as existence has appeared, so it will disappear, you the knower remain. You are not what you appear to be within consciousness, and everything that has appeared is within consciousness.
Is spirituality the only way to overcome bad habits?
Spirituality will dissolve the illusory entity which is the root of all bad habits.
Who has left the most helpful bread crumbs to guide those who follow on the path to enlightenment?
You are not body. You are formless. There is nothing except formless you. There is No God, No Brahman, No Atman, no Paramatman, No Master, No Disciple, there is nothing except formless you. Every sage says this same thing in different ways but this is the gist of all spirituality. You are not body, you were not body, you are not going to remain the body. Everything that you have experienced using body form is illusion, you are formless. You were formless prior to the concept of body and world, you will be formless after the concept of body and world has left, and you are formless now. There is nothing except formless you. Recognizing this truth and living it so that the mind, ego, intellect can no longer sustain their body pressure is enlightenment.
Why do some people fall easily to peer pressure from a spiritual perspective?
When you do not know yourself in a real sense there are always doubts and the desire to gather or seek information from outside. This doubt grows into fear, and fear breeds more doubt. When you do not know yourself in a real sense the fear of death is impressed strongly. Trying to get answers about this causes confusion and more doubts. Once you know yourself as the formless reality in which all form has seemed to appear for a limited time, this fear of birth and death will dissolve, along with all of the other wrong concepts. Then you will not worry about what others believe in or try to get you to believe. You will no longer need that support from outside of yourself.
Have you ever felt some divine presence?
You know you exist, that you are. Through meditation you will come to know that you are not the mind and you will begin to accept thoughts less and less. As you discover that when you accept thoughts less, letting them go by unnoticed, that there is a space. A silence, or gap, where the thoughts are not continuous. This is the point at which Presence will emerge from underneath the flow of thoughts. This Presence is quite intoxicating as the feeling of peace will be reflected strongly. This is the point at which your mind and attention begin to turn towards Presence more and more, and the clammer of the world less and less. This sense of Presence will grow or expand. In reality the Presence is not expanding or growing, the pressures of the mind (thoughts) keeping the Presence with the belief in being a body is dissolving. You will then through this dissolution of being a body form remove the illusory concept of separation. You are Divine Presence, their is nothing except formless you.
What happens after a spiritual awakening? Is it anticlimactic?
You are not body. You are formless. Discovering this truth about yourself is termed spiritual awakening. What happens is that you understand you are not body. All of the experiences and knowledge that came using the body are illusion, you are formless. Discarding all of these false ideas and beliefs slows the train of thoughts about being a body form. It is noticed that all of the thoughts produced through mind are about the body which you are discovering you are not. As the thoughts slow do to inattention the reflection of your Presence is felt more strongly. As more and more attention is payed to this growing sense of Presence it will, like a black hole, bring in everything to itself. The only thing that will remain is you, who are not a thing and can not be removed. You will understand that you are prior to every experience, including the experience of being a body in a world. Nothing is there. Now enjoy using the body form, knowing that although it has a time limit, you do not. There is no birth or death to the formlessness That You Are.
When there is only one entity that really exists according to Advaita Vedanta, why is there existence of million life forms including humans in our universe?
In a dream the dream consciousness creates millions of objects, scenes, people and multitude of life forms. All of these appear to be real, however there apparent reality when investigated is proven unreal, you wake up form sleeping and notice the dream is gone. Advaita Vedanta points to your true formless nature, you are not body you are formless. That formlessness has been labeled Brahman. All of the millions of objects, scenes, people and multitude of life forms will be proven unreal the moment you know yourself in a real sense without the body. You are not body. You are formless. All of the appearances and experiences with form are illusion as they take place within the formlessness That You Are.
How can we observe consciousness when we use consciousness to observe?
The knower of the sense of existence is prior to it. You are prior to every experience. The sense of existence or ‘I am ‘ has appeared to you. Consciousness is the result of the knowledge of existence. This can be seen in dream. You are sleeping, the sense of existence creates the consciousness of the dream world spontaneously a dream world is projected. Dream consciousness is being witnessed or observed by you, without body and without eyes you are seeing and moving within the dream. The same consciousnesses that creates the dream world is also creating the so-called waking world which is projected spontaneously and is observed by you. Your belief in being a body causes the appearance of a difference. There is no difference. Everything that has happened and all that you have ever experienced is within consciousness that has appeared spontaneously due to the sense of existence or ‘I am’. You are prior to every experience, including this experience ‘I exist’.
If the goal of meditation is to silence the mind, why can’t we do it here and now?
You are not body. You are formless. You have been hammered with he concept of being a body. From this position of being a body you have perceived the world through mind. Mind can only present thoughts in form and based on being a body. Silencing the mind will release this false concept of being a body. Meditation allows the layers of illusion that have obscured your formlessness to dissolve without further concepts being birthed. The final concept meditation will dissolve is the meditator. You are not body. You are formless.
Do you agree that there is no individual self but only universal self?
It is a fact. Their is no need to believe, just remove all of the false beliefs that are covering this truth. You are not body. You are formless. None of the body based concepts that came along with the body are true, as you are not body, you are formless. If all of the walls in you house collapsed their would be no separation of the space in the house. It would no longer be bedroom, bathroom or any other label to impress the separation of space. You are not body. You are formless. Their is nothing except formless you. Misidentification with a body form has caused all of these appearance of dualistic impressions of separation of formless you.
What is self-realization and how do you achieve a permanent state where transcendental knowledge becomes your domain for eternal peace and happiness?
Self-Realization is the label given for the dissolution of the false idea of separation brought about by belief in being a body. You are not body. You are formless. Many concepts came along with the belief in being a body, which you are not. Prior to belief in being a body their were no body based concepts. All of the so called knowledge that you have acquired through the belief in being a body is useless and actually builds the egoistic sense of achieving. You are formless. All of the relations and experiences are body based. You are not body. You are formless. Everything that is seen is absolutely illusion as you did not see anything prior to the belief in being a body, the seer was there prior to anything seen. You are prior to every experience. There has to be you in order for anything to have appeared to you. This experience of being a body and the appearance of the world has appeared to you. You are formless. When you know your true formless nature prior to the belief in being a body then naturally there is no separation. The concept of birth and death came along with the body, you are not body, birth and death do not apply to you. This fear of death which came along with the misidentification with being a body and all of the other body based concepts do not apply to you. You are formless, their is nothing except formless you.
If everything is Maya or illusion, then how about enlightenment?
Enlightenment is simply the direct recognition of this truth. You are not body. You are formless. All experience with form is within the formless You Are. Similar to a dream state and therefore illusion, as you are not body everything that the body encounters occurs within you, not you in it. Formlessness using form to discover your true formless nature, and stop along the way to enjoy the experience of existing as a form.
How can one transcend duality into non-dual state? What are ways to not become attached to labelling things as separate in life?
You are not body. You are formless. Everything that you have known, experienced or seen has been after the concept of being a body, which you are not, was impressed or accepted. From this false understanding of being a body many body based concepts were added to you: You were born, you are going to die, you have to find yourself, you need happiness, you can become great, Mother, Father, God, etc. You are formless there is no birth and death to you. You are not body, you were not body, you are not going to remain body, there is nothing except formless you.
When will my karma end?
The moment you stop identifying yourself with the body which you are not.
What does expanded consciousness actually mean in a deeper explanation?
Dissolution of the false body touch. From the perceiving point of being a body mind it feels like “expansion” in reality it is the dissolution of the impressions of being confined to a body.
Does nonduality really exist?
You are prior to every experience, this can easily be understood. You must be there to experience anything. Now what experiences you? Thus there is only You, just not as you imagine yourself to be through experience.
…I am telling you the outward signs of a realized person who is totally unaffected by worldly joys and sorrows. To end misery or to remain blissful, listen to these ten outward signs of a realized person.
1. Absence of anger: One should not get angry. If someone insults you, you should take it as an insult to the body. Keep your mind (attitude) completely free of anger. To merely repress an impulse of anger (and keep quiet) is not an indication of absence of anger. Absence of anger implies absence of any reaction to an anger-provoking stimulus. If anything happens against your mind’s liking and there is a surge of anger, it indicates a habit of wanting to dictate to others. These ten signs are told for the aspirant’s study. With the help of these signs, continue your study or practice, and these signs will show up in your behavior. All is untrue in this world. How then can one thing evoke anger? Even that thing is untrue. This is the way one must think. One should recognize all the causes of anger in the mind.
2. Detachment: Detachment is the absence of even a single desire. This leads to fearlessness. Otherwise, there is no freedom from fear for you. One should not depend on others as in the case, “If I do not get anything to eat I will die.” Desire for the bliss of Self is a desire for bliss within. People who hoard millions and then go about speaking to others about the “Knowledge of Brahman,” do not do good to themselves. Instead, they commit fraud. They do not know the meaning of detachment. Absence of anger gets reinforced through detachment. Absence of anger is really inner detachment. Even if one gets something, one should renounce it. Be good to those who cause you harm. To be in one’s own nature is the main indication of a realized person. Everyone should be granted freedom. One should never get angry. As we are the Inner-Self, Brahman, no one can really insult us. So, one who gives us trouble, liberates us from the ego of the body. This is what we should understand. If you put this into practice, it will become your habit. One should think for oneself why anger arises. It is not difficult to bring all these ten requisites into practice. You find them difficult because you have not formed this habit up to now. Detachment means to have no desire. A person becomes miserable because of the absence of detachment. The meaning of the word Karbhari (worldly person) is that Kar means trouble, and Bhari means a lot, plenty. We must leave off our wants through discrimination. The highest fortune of a Yogi is when detachment (the complete understanding that all this is false) gets rooted in him. This Maya or Illusion is so peculiar that it gives nothing to the one who begs and gives (all) to the one who does not ask. Everyone has developed a fondness for worldly objects, but the more detached one is, the happier he becomes.
3. Control of the senses: This means not to be attached to the senses. With strength, anything is possible. When one becomes dependent, then one thinks of Rama (only for some gain or benefits). If there is strength, there is less fear, and it becomes easier to think of “Knowledge.” A strong man understands Knowledge better. Virtue is indicated by control of senses.
4. Mercy or forgiveness: Each one is the Self. Therefore, we must forgive those who harass us. Never harbor hatred in the mind, because the burden of the desire to take revenge festers in the mind with the result that only enemies and misery are created. Therefore, every time there is some offense, one should be ready to forgive.
5. Compassion: One should be kind to all. What is compassion? Not being cruel to anybody.
6. Peace: Maintain peace. Do not worry, and enjoy the bliss of the Self.
7. Complaisance to others: Without hurting anyone, if we help others, they develop love for us. If we wish that good should not come to others, then good does not come to us either. He is a good man who becomes happy when he wishes for happiness for other people. The one who acts contrary to this, is a miser.
8. Absence of greed: Do not be greedy. Greed is only for objects in Illusion that are untrue.
9. Magnanimity: These is true nobility. To desire that all should be happy, you must learn to be magnanimous from the very core of your heart.
10. Fearlessness: Fear creates misery. If it is possible to be rid of misery, it is the duty of the Jnani to do so.
Start putting the above traits into practice. Through this, you will enjoy the glory of Knowledge (Jnana). These are the ten external signs of Knowledge. To be one with your Self Nature, or “Being,” is true happiness. He who is happy both within and without is blissful. To behave nobly means to let each one act according to his or her desire. Otherwise, one forms a habit of censuring others. One should never speak ill of others. Also, never bother yourself with petty observations about others. Do not meddle in the affairs of others. This is called charity. Do not waste your time getting involved in others’ affairs. Only the one who achieves “Self-Knowledge” is a realized person. He becomes happy if he puts the above ten requisites into practice. Lord Krishna is called a liar, yet he is a God. This is because Krishna did lie, but at the same time he was always identified with the Self.
~ Amrut Laya – The Stateless State ~ (p. 141)
Shri Sadguru Siddharameshwar Maharaj
What progress is required? There is no I, no you, no he, she, it. Prior to beingness you expect progress will be there? After leaving body what progress is required? You are not in need of the spiritual knowledge after leaving the body. You have read so many masters of spiritual knowledge. Will that knowledge help you at the time of leaving your body? You have met spiritual master, you have read so many books, you are a master of all this spiritual knowledge. Just inquire yourself, question yourself. ‘All this knowledge will help me at the time of leaving the body?’. Answer is there: No! Spiritual knowledge, whatever knowledge you are having is not useful at the time of leaving the body, what is the use of that knowledge? Has this knowledge given courage, spiritual courage to face each and every problem? Because basically You are Unborn. You are posing: I-am-born, my energy is like this, I am going to die, future life, present life, past life, so many concepts are there. With courage, you are to dissolve all concepts. Spiritually is giving courage to accept the Reality. Because you are the Reality, Reality is not separate from You.
Q: So, when we are saying that after the death we are not having any use of this spiritual knowledge…
Maharaj: See death and birth are also concepts. Nobody is having experience of death and birth. Until you see the death, someone die.
Q: The people who follow the spiritual practice…
Maharaj: Why to think about the about the people? You think about yourself! What you see is the Seer’s reflection, Seer’s projection. If there is no Seer how can you see the people?
Q: You Cannot.
Maharaj: If there is no Presence in your body how can you see the people? That means entire world is projected out of Your Presence. If there is no Presence there for a moment, who will talk about the people? Who will talk about the God, master, and everything? That concept is supposed to be dissolved. You are thinking of this people, that people, that people, the realized people or not so, why? You think of yourself. It’s the habit of mind to take the touch of each and everything in the world. The world itself is illusion. Shankara say, “to say ‘I’ it is illusion, to say ‘you’ it is illusion, to say ‘Brahman’ is illusion, entire world is illusion”. Where are the people? Where is the God? Where are the Masters? Hmm? It’s a plain knowledge. Again, I am repeating, for absorbing this Reality you are to undergo the meditation, only thing. Meditation is the only source. Dry discussion will be not helpful for you. Reading thousands of books is meaningless. You are getting some sort of intoxication temporary, painkillers. Everything starts from You, everything ends within You.
Sri Ramakant Maharaj