Category: Tuesday Talks – Excerpts

You have a dream, night, after night after night, and you this character are in that dream. But it is constantly different scenarios and there is no timeline whatsoever. That’s the truth. Because your formlessness that is holding form, there is no planning. Like Maharaj has said before. There is no planning, because there is no planner. It is just the formlessness using body form in the moment, without any kind of anything. Because nothing is actually happening. There are no bodies doing anything. There is no ‘John’ that is progressing in any way. ‘John’ can have a job and do this, and do that and do this, and when this body falls, ‘John’ is no more. The consciousness so to speak, woke up from itself, consciousness has left so there is nothing. It is just ‘You’ the ‘You’ That You Are completely and totally formless and unaware of your own Self. This ‘John’ that was a kind of an addition inside the consciousness as an object in consciousness, is no more. Because the consciousness in which ‘John’ was an object is no more. So, how can ‘John’ the object be there, if the consciousness which ‘John’ was the object in, is no more. It is just your own Selfless Self, prior to beingness. Prior to any movement or any ideas or beliefs, prior to clicking with the body. Not even the ‘Just I’ because the ‘Just I’, the sense of Presence is felt inside the consciousness and the consciousness will leave You. But, You will witness this consciousness leaving You, and know.

Keith: You don’t need a plan to be there. You don’t need a plan. Just like you don’t need a plan to be in traffic.

A plan for the unborn child. Again, the child that is unborn, we are talking about its life. I think we had talked a while back about if you were dreaming about let’s say Tom. Tom went to High Scholl, he married his High School sweetheart, he decided to go to college and study to be a doctor. He was working so hard, his wife had two jobs, and he was studying to be this doctor, and you wake up. Is it fair to Tom that he never became a doctor? Was all of that studying that he did, was it really Tom that was putting forth 100% effort to try and get a degree? What about his poor wife that was working two jobs? That is really unfair that you woke up and Tom never got to realize his dream of being a doctor. It’s the same. Formlessness using form, that has no concern about the form whatsoever. It is just moving around. For You, nothing is happening. You know yourself as this ‘Just I’ this sense of Presence, in and through body form. And when body form is no more, You will not know yourself. That is why Maharaj says, “The body is a Golden opportunity”. This human body is an opportunity for You to know yourself in a real sense. That formlessness, that ‘Just I’, ‘Just I’ without anything. So that when the body is going, You can witness all of everything. Everything that rolled up, rolls back, You are the witness of this. Then that’s it. The You remain with Your Selfless Self which is the thing, so to speak. You that attached to the body and then said ‘I’. Will unattach from the body, no longer saying ‘I’. But if you attach, and you unattach, then You Are. In between there was an appearance of something, but You Are the nothing, That is everything.

Kathleen: It seems like the knowledge of who you really are. Really only helps you in this incarnation. Because whether you do or not, when the body is gone then it doesn’t matter what you have realized. Right, because you’re not there, there is nothing. So, the only advantage it does is for this incarnation. Because in the incarnation it knows. So, therefore it is able to observe everything and not get, not taking the touch. But once the body is gone, then everything is gone.

But it will be a very happy moment when you know that You’re leaving and returning to Your no knowing state.

Andrew: Also, in the video you sent today I know Maharaj was saying “The importance of this knowledge is knowing who You are now to make life tolerable.”

Yes.

Kathleen: That is what I was thinking it is really useful in this incarnation, in this life, because after this body drops, then you go back to nothingness. Then it doesn’t matter what you know or don’t know.

True. But the fear of death that’s the thing. Like Maharaj says the fear that ‘I am dying’. This ‘I am dying’ idea should not be impressed in mind as you are in that state. This can’t even be thought about. When You know yourself in a real sense, like you just said, ok. ‘I am the formlessness that is using form that is returning to the formlessness. Because I never actually was in form, the form was inside myself and I am still there, but the form is no longer inside myself.’

Kathleen: Unless you are attached to the form.

That’s the thing. If You are believing ‘I am dying’. Then like Maharaj says, “Death will be very terrifying and scary for you.” You will start to relive all the things that you did, and you will want to hold on. Just like Maharaj uses the example of the ants. You pour water and the ant freaks out and runs away. Because Presence inside the ant, believing that it is that ant body and that it will be finished. Wants to survive no matter what. Once You have understood, kind of unwound yourself and are no longer impressed with these illusory concepts. ‘Just I’, ‘Just I’, just the sense of Presence then You have detached from the beingness. Because You are prior to beingness. The beingness is the ‘I am’, ‘I am somebody’ and this. So, You remain prior to beingness. Prior to beingness there was no thought of anything, no good thing, bad thing, no experience, no experiencer, no nothing. So, in this body form things are going to occur. Good things are going to happen to this body, bad things are going to happen to this body. This body will have other bodies that are relatives to this body that will die, that will suffer, that will have sickness, whatever. But You are to remain unconcerned with the world because you are formless, and all of this is appearing on Your Spontaneous Presence. Therefore, there is no need to take the touch, no need to grab the mind and hold on with dear life. Literally like ‘Oh my God, I do not want to die, oh help me.’ This is not good, because it is not the Reality.

John Richards
Ramakant Maharaj Dakshina

And now knowing again that he is, you know you can’t escape. Master when he says “Put one foot forward, he puts the other foot.” He is there, he is with you as your Selfless Self. You’re inviting the attention of that Selfless Self continuously so ya, devotion like you have never done devotion before. As if Maharaj the person was standing right next to you. When you are bowing to the Masters, Maharaj is right there bowing to the Masters with you using body form as you are using body form.

M: I need to get Maharaj’s picture sometime, in my home, I just came back here. I would like to be with Maharaj everyday.

The one picture that I have found very powerful, is the picture there is no Presence in the body and he is sitting there very still. You can sit there, and your feeling the sense of Presence and you’re looking at the body form, knowing this sense of Presence that you are feeling was speaking through that body form. Like, that Presence, there was no Maharaj, it was the Presence that was using the body form. That instrument of Maharaj to speak to you to say “You are the Selfless Self. You are not body, you were not body, you are not going to remain the body, and here I am showing you, you are not going to remain body.” There is the body that you are viewing that is not yourself. That Presence that was removed from the body, like Maharaj says “You bury or burn it.” We watched that body burn, and yet the Presence, the same Presence that was felt in front of Maharaj is still here. And that presence was speaking using that form, and now it is not using that form. But the Presence has not gone anywhere. The devotion to Maharaj hasn’t gone anywhere. Maharaj whether in picture or in body, was just an image of Selfless Self projected. So the devotion can continue. As a matter of fact in my own condition, be much stronger than it could have ever been in body form. Because now there is absolutely no way your mind can say ‘Maharaj is the body’.

M: That’s true they say once Maharaj leaves the body he will be much more accessible.

Yes. Because the conceptual belief that ‘I’m here in America, and I wish I was at the feet of Maharaj’ is no more. Because Maharaj in the sense of Presence that he has become one, not ‘become’, but he is one. And that Presence that I am is there always, everywhere. So when I am bowing to the image of Maharaj it is much more strong that bowing to the image in a body. Because in bowing to the image in a body my mind could still say ‘oh, you know this is Ramakant Maharaj and we are bowing to him’ no we are not bowing to him, we are bowing to Selfless Self. Truly, there is no us who is bowing to Selfless Self, it is Selfless Self using the instrument of this body, to bow to itself.

K: Ya, the no separation thing comes across pretty strongly in that case.

Absolutely. The only thing that gives the concept of separation is belief in being a body. Maharaj has said many times “You are not body, you were not body, you are not going to remain body”. How do you keep the pressure? Maharaj has said “Body-Knowledge”. What is body knowledge? ‘I am somebody else who has acquired this knowledge, I don’t want to get rid of it, I don’t want to give it up.’ That is the pressure that is keeping ‘me’ believing that I am a body and instantaneously causing the idea of separation. Once this body knowledge is cleared and I know myself in a real sense, than the body pressure is gone. The I don’t have to believe that I am a body so immediately there is no sense of separation. Because once I know my formless nature and I remain there, there can be no separation. The only time that the concept of separation can be impressed is when body knowledge is pressuring ‘me’ to remain in a body because ‘I am John, I have this job, I have this family, these are my relations’. And Maharaj says ‘No. This body has relations’ but you the Selfless Self you are formless. You are believing yourself in body with the pressure of the body knowledge. Instead of the just ‘I’, just ‘I’ and remaining there, you are allowing the pressure of body knowledge of ‘I am this’, and ‘I do this’ and ‘I learned this’ and ‘I bow to this Master’ and ‘I don’t believe in this religion, but I do believe in that one’. All this body knowledge is what is pressuring you to belief in a body which then causes the feeling of separation. The concept of separation can not be there without a body. And that is evident. That is why Maharaj says it is “Open Truth”. Once you have stopped believing that you are a body, how can you be anything other than the formlessness? There is nothing other for you to be. The only thing that you are thinking that you are is this body form because of the pressure of body knowledge. Mantra erases the pressure of body knowledge so that you are no longer attached to the form and you can be in your formless nature. You remain formlessly aware. Using form still, this is the instrument. But you are the holder of the body. The holder of the body has nothing to do with the body. And that is why Maharaj says “You don’t take the touch of the world.” Because if you take the touch of the world it is increasing body knowledge. Anything other than inviting the attention of the invisible listener erasing the body knowledge through Mantra will cause body knowledge. That ‘I am on this, on this spiritual journey’. The idea is that you are not just not on a spiritual journey you are not in a body. You must impress this on yourself. This body knowledge is what is the cage. As Maharaj says “The circle of illusory concepts” that is pressuring in on you to believe that you are a body. Which you are not. Once this body belief is dissolved and seen as untrue, then you can’t be anything other than the formlessness.

John Richards
Ramakant Maharaj Dakshina

While you still believe that you are a doer that there can be things done, this is a concept, but you can use that concept to do Mantra, to do this remaining with your Selfless Self. To pull the attention back in. To put forth effort. The Truth is there is no effort, there is no deed, there is no doer. Until you are convinced of that truth you can use the concept believed in of being a doer of Mantra. Then by doing Mantra you will erase this concept of doership. Don’t try to be more than what you are or how far. You hear people and they say ‘OK, I am at complete peace my mind is very still’ and you compare OK ‘I need to be at complete peace.’ No you just need to recognize. Like Maharaj says “Where do I stand?”

‘Am I doing Mantra enough?’ ‘Do I have a sense that I can do Mantra?’ and ‘If I still have a the sense of doership’ let’s use that concept to do Mantra. To listen to Bhajans. To do meditation. To be with my Selfless Self. If I am still having the concept that I have a ‘busy mind’ let’s listen to Master who says “Ignore this mind. This mind is a flow of thoughts” If it is still flowing, that’s fine, not to take the touch, not to worry about it, OK this mind is flowing. That’s where I am now. See where you are. Because I think, a lot of times it may be that I am trying to hear what is happening, or what, the Master is giving the perfect Reality. And I am trying, from where I am, access this perfect Reality. But in Reality I need to access where do I stand, where am I? Like Maharaj says “Am I fearless? Am I tension free?” If not then I need more Mantra, I need to use these concepts of being a doer, of being a spiritual discipline, devotee. I need to use these concepts to further my spiritual development. I need to invite the attention of the invisible listener. I need to listen to what Master says. And I need to move forward from that position. I can’t move forward, like if I am climbing up a set of stairs, I can’t go from step one to step ten. And just do a super high dive. And even if I do, it’s very stressful I could still fall down the stairs. But if I put one feet and I admit, OK, here I am at this point right now. This is so important, this is where I am right now. And so I am going to, ‘OK, I still have busy thoughts.’ ‘I still sometimes get lost in the day, where I totally forget Mantra, and then I say Ah, I should have been Mantraing.’ Like ‘Oh, I should have had a V8’. But, in the middle of the day I say ‘Oh, OK, that’s OK., Back to Mantra.’

Because the more I do these things, the more I use my sense of doership while I am still seemingly a doer, the more the attention is invited of the invisible listener. The more that spontaneity is coming, the more I’ll see that what Master says is true. I will start to see things and say ‘Oh, ya. I remember Maharaj said this would be occurring.’ But don’t jump ahead, be where you are now, and fully be there. Like Maharaj says “Ask yourself, where do I stand?” ‘If I am reading too much books and I am getting lost in all these different teachings, maybe this is not so good for me.’ ‘Am I doing Mantra as much as I want to do Mantra?’ And I don’t want to sit there and say ‘Wait a minute I am not supposed to be a doer. So I shouldn’t be doing Mantra.’ No because as long as there, unless you can absolute have conviction that there is no deed and there is no doer, then use the conceptual belief that you’re able to do something. By furthering the Mantra and the spiritual practice to invite the attention of the invisible listener, So That, So That I.

Of course, except your Selfless Self there is no God, no Brahman, No Paramatman, no Master. Nothing is there. And the next time somebody cuts you off in traffic, that should automatically be ‘There is nobody there, nothing is happening, everything is OK.’ Unless there is a me that is involved. But see, if it is not that way, that is OK. Then we step back. We say ‘OK, I got irritated.’ But remember, the cool thing is, all these stories that Maharaj has told. Like the guy who spit on the other guy fifty times and he had to go take a bath. Now, surely none of us are going to allow ourselves to be spat on fifty times and then invite the guy for lunch. I would not do that right now. But that is showing you the most extreme case. When somebody is giving you a hard time, or cuts you off in line, or is rude to you, you think but they did not spit on me fifty times. You know, so, OK it is a little bit not good but it is OK. I remain with my Selfless Self there is no reason to get involved in that. And like when Maharaj talks about Jesus being nailed, no one is nailing me to a cross in this moment. I feel very disturbed, but that is the extreme, so I can remain with my Selfless Self. And see these are the things.

When Maharaj talks about Eklavya. This was very important to me in India, but Maharaj talked about Eklavya. The fact, he said, the Master didn’t teach anything. But the full faith and trust in the Master the internal Master did all the teaching. Because it was directed at that statue. So the same for you. Let that internal Master teach you and guide you. And now know that you can have Maharaj’s voice, teaching and guiding you. See, that is so important. That sense of Presence. You felt Maharaj adn you felt that Presence when you were with him. You felt at one time that this body is feeling that bodies Presence and the Presence is very strong around Maharaj. Now Maharaj is not here in physical form but that Presence is still just as strong when you concentrate on the concentrator. When you say, OK here is Maharaj. His picture is here, his picture is here. Yes, Master. ‘I feel like having my attention out here, but you said no. You said don’t take the touch. I’m here, I remain with my Selfless Self.’ This is, because it is the Reality. See, even if you use these conceptual beliefs, to kind of baby step into the Reality, you know that it is the Reality. Then as you are moving forward you will start to see, Yes, this is the Reality. Because now I am experiencing something that Maharaj talked about me experiencing. And it is happening for me right now. Without of course taking the touch and making a big production. Because experiences come and go, but the idea is you will be feeling more fully, your Selfless Self and less and less taking the touch of the illusory individual in the illusory world.

John Richards
Sadguru Shri Ramakant Maharaj Dakshina

The more you do Mantra. The more you listen to Bhajans. The more you are deeply involved and concentrating on the center of concentration. The more you the Selfless Self see, that mind that is basically just a flow of thoughts about the form world, it just ceases. There is just nothing. It is in the action, it is in the action everyday. Whatever you learned from Maharaj, you put it into action. Now you can say ‘OK, this formless sense of Presence, Master is really here with me now.’ You can even hear Maharaj’s voice “You take one step I take the next, you take one step I take the next.” Even more powerfully than that if you think that in the concept state of you have Sri Ramakant Maharaj,you have Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, you have Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj, you have Sri Bhausaheb Maharaj and they are all in that Presence supporting you as Master. Master is there supporting you in every moment. Now you don’t have to say Ramakant Maharaj is in India. No. He is here, now, with you. He has always said this, but now you get to fully experience what it is like to have Master with you guiding you in every moment, so you can step forward fearlessly. Because the bottom line: Except your Selfless Self, there is no God, no Brahman, no Paramatman, no Master, nothing is there. All of this that is appearing is the nothing. It is in the nothing and will return to nothing. That formlessness didn’t go anywhere and it didn’t become you. All the problems are the body’s problems. All the desires are the body’s desires. You’re not body at all. What could you possibly want? What could you possibly desire? How can the mind that can only see things in form, how can the mind even present an idea of something that you might desire if you don’t consider yourself a body or a thing?

John Richards
Sadguru Shri Ramakant Maharaj Dakshina

Q: So, if what the ‘I’ is experiencing is inclusive of other “people”, then the question I ask myself is, what is there experience?

There are no others, it is only your own Self. Different points of view from different forms that you believe are separating, but it is all one. There is no other. There is no other experience. The idea is that remaining with your Selfless Self through Mantra, you won’t form an ‘I am somebody else’, therefore if there is not an ‘I am somebody else’ there can’t be other. It is just different forms and there will be an intuitive knowing that as you are speaking, speaker and listener are one and the same. There is no other. There is just a bunch of forms with Selfless Self moving them around and ideas, beliefs and concepts that you the Selfless Self hold. It is again as we spoke about previously, the “one man show”. Here there is speaking and then, swishhhh, over hear there is listening, then again speaking and back to listening. There are no others.

Q: So, you are saying there is nobody else.

No. It is just the one, Selfless Self, there is no you. This you that you believe yourself to be is a concept that Selfless Self is seeing through, using this body instrument in form, to perform activities and such and provide the power for the forms to move around. Remaining with your Self through Mantra erases these concepts, so there won’t be an ‘I am somebody else’. You remain formlessly in your ‘You Are’, the sense of Presence, sense of “I am’ whatever you want to call it. Remain there without labeling it, without an ‘I am somebody else’ being created, due to thoughts that are identified with. No ‘I am somebody else’ these are my thoughts, my mind, my life. There can be no other, because there is not a you. You remain your Self, formlessly, spontaneously, in the formless state before the form of an idea or thought arises. Once you remain with your Selfless Self through Mantra continuously as each moment presents itself, you will observe the arising of a thought, remain with your Self, without an ‘I am somebody else’ identifying with that thought.

You are not the name that your parents gave to you. You have never done anything at all. You have used a form and gone through some things. This mind created sense of self is not true. Remaining with your Selfless Self through Mantra allows you to return to original nature. Maharaj says “refreshing your memories”. Memory is the reverse, you have none. All the memories you are holding about yourself are absolutely false. You just need to discard, discard, discard. When the attention is invited of the invisible listener, that invisible listener will intuitively see. This form on the screen of mind is not needed to perpetuate existence. Just like scenes can come and go. Just like dreams can come and go. Just like people can come and go. Beingness and world can come and go and it has no effect on the one that was there prior to beingness.

That sense of Presence. It is given the example of the musk and the deer. You are the knower of that sense of Presence using body form to know yourself in a real sense. Without this body, using this body as an instrument to know yourself. Your job, family and all these things, these are your duty that’s fine, but that is not your “purpose”. Your purpose for being is to know yourself in a real sense, using body form. Anytime there is something which is adding onto ‘I am somebody else’ remain with your Selfless Self through Mantra. It will be seen that there is no need to create an idea of a ‘somebody’ doing ‘something’. Things are just appearing and disappearing and there is no need to take care of anything with deliberate effort. In the moment, a scene comes, an action is provided spontaneously in the moment and then forgotten instantaneously. There is no one that it can hold on to anything. If there is seen that there is still this idea of a ‘somebody’ than this idea is used to Mantra and erase that idea and concept.

John Richards
Sadguru Shri Ramakant Maharaj Dakshina

The egoistic sense of self does not like to follow directions. That egoistic sense believes it knows best always. This egoistic filter has always believed that it knows everything that it doesn’t know, reinforced through the habit of creating a next through the instrument of mind, where there absolutely is not one. Giving your attention to this thought stream labeled ‘my mind’ that continuously creates a world built on lies, allows you to feel comfortable and safe rather than fearlessly living the Reality.

This idea of free will and all the concepts that come along with it, give this up. You give this up through intention in your daily living. You can sit around a church or Ashram saying ‘Peace, love your neighbor’ and then when you are cut off in traffic you immediately take offense and desire to retaliate or ‘show them’. You alone are Selfless Self, interacting with your own self and continuously ‘testing’ the ideas or beliefs that you may be holding still. Seeing through action the worthiness in each moment that arises, thoughts projected in the form of others. Inviting attention in each moment it is seen ‘This beingness appeared on spontaneous Presence and without it ‘I am’, with it ‘I am’ it does not matter, ‘I am’. This is a very important distinction. As Maharaj says Nisargadatta Maharaj used to say to him “Listen to me, listen to me” because the invisible listener is constantly recording. Seeing through this form and absorbing what is being learned, what is being grasped, and whether it is being put into action. Letting go and not allowing the body knowledge to accumulate, using, implementing and forgetting. Keeping in touch with your Selfless Self through the scriptures, lectures, readings, Bhajan and Mantra. Constantly inviting the attention of the invisible listener that ‘Yes, my only desire is to know myself in a real sense. If I was given all the gold in the world, if I was given 1 Million virgins, if the whole world applauded and loved me, I choose You Master. You are the only desire I hold’ That last desire also will be dissolved when the attention is invited of the Selfless Self that you are and the stranglehold on this beingness is released. Free, without any concept of freedom.

There is a release. The whole idea is giving up, giving up, giving up.

Q: Does it happen through Grace? Does it happen through earnestness? Does it happen through practice? Does it happen through being quiet?

Yes. Except the being quiet part because there really is no being quiet when you still have ideas about yourself. You can say that you are being quiet but in order for there to be quiet/silence there has to be an absence of you. Otherwise you are taking the form of a person who is being quiet. Quiet/silence occurs spontaneously, automatically once you truly remain with your Selfless Self. You stop thinking about yourself. The main thought of trying to perpetuate your life. Until that time you will truly believe that the things you are doing will benefit you in some way and improve your life. The needs for happiness, peacefulness etc. arise with this belief. ‘Spirituality is nice and good but if the bank account went to zero today that would be such a tragedy in my life that it would be impossible to concentrate on anything else’. Maharaj says always “Spiritual life and routine life are totally different”. So, conviction, earnestness, yes to everything you said. Yes. Keeping quiet is a natural thing it is not anything special. You can be out on the street among all the busyness, talking and interacting with everyone and be quiet or you can be alone in the house and be filled with ‘noise’. The beliefs and ideas that you are holding about yourself, that body knowledge, mind, ego, intellect and the need to perpetuate creates the noise that covers the quiet or silence. Continue with Mantra, continue to remain with your Selfless Self, don’t lie to yourself or fool yourself. As each fresh moment is presented behave as if you are Brahman, Paramatman, God, Master. Maharaj has said “Except your Selfless Self there is no Brahman, Atman, Paramatman, God, Master.” You are to behave like that in every moment, knowing that this world is projected from your spontaneous Presence. So, whatever may seem to be happening is only there for you to remain with your Selfless Self to develop the faith, earnestness and devotion in every moment, the conviction ‘I am not body, I was not body, I am not going to remain as body, body is not my identity, it’s challenges are not mine.’

Concentrate on the seeing without any idea of the seer, no ideas that there is a body, others or world. Just clean seeing without any identification, unidentified identity. Remaining with your Selfless Self through Mantra. Inviting the attention of the invisible listener, Reality is engraved clearing away illusion. Reality is engraved on the screen of your mind and a position of seeing is understood through insight spontaneously.

These various things, money, publicity, sex, power; that you are trying to extract happiness from other than your Selfless Self are as Maharaj says “temporary reliefs”. Temporary relief because they are all temporary and transient so by nature they cannot be lasting. By nature, nothing is lasting except you in which these temporary transient things are appearing. Remaining with your Selfless Self without any material cause, happiness is there. When happiness is attached to a material cause, when by nature that material fades or goes away, the happiness that was attached also vanishes and unhappiness ensues. Happiness is a direct result from remaining with your Selfless Self through Mantra, inviting the attention of the invisible listener thoughtlessly aware. Remaining with your Selfless Self and not having the attention go outward to things that could stir desires there is spontaneous happiness. That happiness does not fade and cannot be taken away. It comes from the fountain that is flowing from within you.

No desires can be presented when you are in your natural formless state. You don’t take a form that a desire or fear could attach to. You remain formless. Desires won’t make sense, they will be seen as fluffy clouds appearing in the sky that you are. Once Maharaj’s words are intuitively recognized “Except your Selfless Self there is no God, no Brahman, no Atman, no Paramatman, no Master.” what is there to desire? In your formless, spontaneous, no-knowingness there is no ‘you’ formed from which a desire could attach, without a ‘you’ there is no landing place. Remaining in the formless Reality in every moment, using form completely detached from the world of form. Knowing body is not my self, it is just an instrument taken to perform various activities. Whenever there is a from taken ‘I am somebody’ the pain and pleasure principle instantly are applied. The desire to increase pleasure and minimize pain and the related fears and expectations that this creates. If there is no ‘I am somebody’ because you are just here formlessly, all actions are spontaneous actions, there are no desires that can stick to anything. Whenever there is a movement to create a something from which a desire could attach, remain with your Selfless Self, nothing cannot desire anything.

You can observe this beingness through direct insight. This seeing is projected on the screen of mind and it will be known, whether this beingness is there or not it makes no difference. That being is that feeling ‘I am’, ‘I exist’ a state other than your Selfless Self and it is perceivable as a sense of Presence. You know that this state other than yourself has arisen on yourself, on your spontaneous Presence. This idea, this root concept, has emerged, and when it dissolves the one that was prior to its emergence will still be here. Witnessing of both the emergence and the dissolution of this body and world from the position where they are both appearing. That conviction will appear to your Selfless Self, Invisible, Anonymous, Unidentified, Identity which is labeled Brahman, Atman, Paramatman, God, Master. No need for concepts, no need for body, no need for world, no need for beingness, because except your Selfless Self nothing is there.

Everything came out of nothing and everything dissolves within nothing, in between there appears to be something. There appears to be a John, Andrew and Kathleen etc. There appears to be this appearance, but all of this is just in between. Just like going to sleep at night and waking up in the morning, in between there appeared a whole dream world with all the people and all of these things. When waking up on the other side it is all finished. In the same terms this is a long dream.

John Richards
Sadguru Shri Ramakant Maharaj Dakshina

When you know yourself in a real sense the idea of death is immediately dissolved, it just does not make sense. There is no death for the space inside a box and the space outside the box, space is space. In the destruction of the box the space does not go anywhere, there is nowhere for it to go. This perpetual no knowing where all of these states are appearing on your spontaneous Presence. Your spontaneous Presence is in that no knowingness. As Maharaj says a negative pointing to a positive “I don’t know”. It is not that ‘I don’t know anything’ as an object knowing another object using space and time through the instrument of mind and intellect. Literally there is nothing to be known as there is nothing other created and no point of reference for that sense of existence. The knower with knowingness that knows nothing, because there is nothing than it to know. There is nothing. You don’t know yourself so there is no knower that is formed to know anything. That’s the courage, literally in this body form Be with You Always and not the outside world with all of the things competing for your attention to form a knower to know those things. Things can come and go. Thoughts come and go, scenes come and go, people come and go. There is not a knower being formed to know something other.

Every moment is so very precious because you have been trained, you are using the training wheels of mind. You have been trained to believe that the world exists, and you need to do so many things to make this and that, all of these ideas and concepts.  You need to un-train this, removing the training wheels through Mantra as each moment arises. Beginning with the noticing the sense of Presence, you know that sense of Presence.  The knower of that Presence is formless. There is no need to take a form or any identity. You can remain as the knowingness. If there is some bad thing in your experience, you are the knower of that thing, you are not the things being experienced, you are the knower only. The knower is formless and no harm can come to the formless knower of anything in the experience. In the Bhagavad Gita it mentions that “It cannot be cut or burnt” because you are That.

When there is a situation where the mind begins to form a thinker with the thought ‘this is the end’, Mantra. It becomes a momentary blip. Mind created time, suffering is a slowing down of that time. You can suffer for a thousand years in a minute. Worry about missing a train, what is going to happen, how will I get there, OMG. Then going to someone and explaining the incident you find out all is well, they are still boarding. Yet you have missed the train hundreds of times, have felt the emotions of despair and hopelessness and fear, for that missed train, which is still boarding. Taking the form of the thinker creates a magnet for thoughts, ‘It is the end of the world’. A baby is a perfect example of not knowing formlessly. The blob of ‘I amness’ without the form of the knower. Without knowing themselves you can give them a toy and then take it away, they begin to cry, until that it replaced with another toy, and then they are happy again.  Without knowing themselves there is no anchor for experience, no thinking and no thinking, or repeating the experience through the instruments of mind, ego, intellect. This is proof of the example Maharaj gives “The sage and the baby are the same”. No attachment to anything, no experience, no experiencer, attention moves effortlessly from one thing to another without the need to grasp or hold. Because there is no form taken with which a desire could be projected from. When attention goes out and the ‘me’ is formed with which desires may be projected, you forget that all of this will pass, time is created through the instrument of mind, and the world emerges over the Reality.

Presence does not know, then suddenly there is a knowing, a subtle sense, ‘I am’. You know or experience the feeling of Presence as something other. The desire to be, or the desire to continue is very strong and a natural defense is built to protect the form through which the sense of existence is felt. Remaining with your Selfless Self through Mantra invites the attention and the process of discrimination. When the invisible listener, Selfless Self, that you are, sees through this, that stranglehold on the beingness is released. There is no longer a need to perpetuate in this form as you begin to know yourself in a real sense. Strife and struggle is no more because you have released this concept, the primary concept from which all other concepts are supported. The concept that this body is all you are is released. The invisible listener sees this and burns away this egoistic attachment and in turn any attachments added through the egoistic identification are dissolved. It dawns ‘I no longer have to struggle, I no longer have to worry about dying, I no longer have to worry about or protect this form or what happens when it is no more’. Because you have seen now and begin to live from this point of seeing. When something comes up you know, like Master has said “It is just illusion”. Now the Selfless Self, that you are, through Mantra, through devotion, through remaining with yourself, through allowing things to come and go. This tension free life, this fearless life, this peaceful life, arises spontaneously. That invisible listener when the attention is pulled, releases. The desire to survive through body form is no more. Because it is clearly seen ‘I am not body, I was not body, I am not going to remain the body, body is not my identity, nothing to do with me.’ As Nisargadatta Maharaj says “There is no longer the love to be” that love to be is released. From the position of Selfless Self, the attention is invited, through Mantra, through devotion to your Selfless Self, through devotion to the Master. Until you remain in the natural state free from thoughts, as Nisargadatta Maharaj states “The highest form of worship is to remain thought free in the waking state”, until that time worshipping the Selfless Self through the form of the Master, bowing to the images of the Master, remaining in that bowing position inwardly surrendered, meditation and Mantra are absolutely necessary to invite that attention. Inviting that attention of the invisible listener that has been labeled Brahman, Atman, Paramatman, God, Master, Selfless Self, that you are. When you release the stranglehold on the beingness this desire to be, you use the body, live the life moment to moment. Moving about in the world without difficulty, totally unconcerned because that stranglehold on the beingness has been released and all is just spontaneous action. The spontaneous conviction ‘So That I’. ‘I am not body, I was not body, I am not going to remain the body. I no longer need faith, because now I know.’

Don’t intellectualize just do it. Maharaj says “There will be so many things that will try to distract you from the Reality.” Don’t follow those. Know that they are appearing just to distract you from the Reality and just to basically prove your worthiness to your Selfless Self. Are you truly earnest? Do you truly want to know yourself in a real sense? Or are you just playing? Playing is not an insult, just playing spirituality, enjoying the spiritual self. The egoistic sense of ‘I took Mantra from Maharaj, I am doing so well on this spiritual journey, I am beginning to experience enlightenment, I am a disciple of a real Master.’ That is a distraction from the Reality. Maharaj tells the visitors to the Ashram “Remember the Ashram and all these things, as soon as you go out there will be things trying to distract you from the Reality, remember Nashik Ashram and the pictures of the Master’s.” Remember the feeling evoked by Maharaj’s Presence, remember the knowledge that was conveyed. Have strong faith in your Selfless Self and have strong faith in the Master, you and the Master are one. Continue with the meditation, continue inviting the attention of the invisible listener. Maharaj says “Bhajans set the atmosphere that pleases the Spirit”. The atmosphere through Bhajans, that Bhajans create is pleasing to the Spirit.  Whenever Maharaj says that something is “pleasing to the Spirit” that is probably something that you should be doing. There are no demands ‘You must do this, you must do that, you must not do this.’ all is suggestion only. You came to Maharaj because the desire arose to know your self in a real sense. You are told to help know yourself in a real sense you are to undergo meditation, Bhajan and continuous devotion which is pleasing to the Spirit.

Spirit does not desire the activities of money, publicity, sex, power. The Spirit is pleased through meditation Naam Mantra, devotion and Bhajan.  Increasing the activities that are pleasing and decreasing those that are not, using discrimination and the need to know, creates the atmosphere that invites the attention of the invisible listener. When the thought of needing publicity, sex, money or power arises, right away it can be seen as being a desire arising and being presented to that egoistic sense of self. As Maharaj says “Spirit is very sensitive, what you impress is reflected immediately.” In the reflection that invisible listener that is seeing the projection through these eyes and begins to believe more deeply in the Reality and less, and less in the illusion. The more the things that are pleasing to the Spirit are impressed the more attention is invited. The conviction appears ‘I am not body, I was not body, I am not going to remain body, I am totally unconcerned’

Each moment stepping forward with this conviction. The invisible listener releases the stranglehold and the desire to be is no longer a driving force. Nirguna. The three gunas sattva, rajas and tamas. The nullification of all gunas which occurs spontaneously when the stranglehold on the beingness is released. No strife, no struggle the need to perpetuate existence in body form is dissolved. Maharaj says “Master plants the seed of Reality in your Selfless Self”. This has been done. Now it is up to you to water it, tend it, feed and nurture. You must give it the Miracle Grow of Bhajans, water it with Mantra, tend it with the knowledge given by the Master, you must keep a watch on it by remaining with your Selfless Self. It is up to you.  If you don’t feed it, you don’t water it then the seed is not going to sprout and grow into the mighty tree.  It will not become even a sapling without attention, it remains a seed, unfulfilled potentiality. Just a seed in a pot, easily discarded as it is seen ‘Nothing is happening, it is not growing, maybe I did not receive a good seed, maybe I am just not meant to have a plant let alone a tree.’ What a waste.

John Richards
Sadguru Shri Ramakant Maharaj Dakshina

In the thoughtless state, staying with ‘I am’, staying with your Selfless Self through Mantra inviting that attention, that is all that can be ‘done’. Invite the attention of the invisible listener that you are Ultimate truth. Same thing if you are going to a church and there is singing and praising, inviting the attention of the invisible listener. In the Bible, it talks about whenever two or more are gathered in my name ‘I am there’. Because there is devotion to the Selfless Self. Selfless Self is worshiping itself as ‘other’ through form, worshipping itself in a formless state that is sensed and noticed. All you can do is invite the attention, which is the only thing that can be done. Inviting the attention except your Selfless Self there is no God, no Brahman, no Paramatman, no Master, nothing is there. These are just labels and concepts that can take you down rabbit holes. To say ‘I am God’, first you must create a form that can say ‘I am God’, and there are concepts and beliefs of ‘What is God? and How am I God?’ When you know, nothing is there and that these labels are labeling that spontaneous, invisible, anonymous, unidentified identity then no concepts can be formed. How can you be the spontaneous, invisible, anonymous, unidentified identity? These are all in negative terms. Saying ‘I am God, I am Brahman, I am Master’ these are adding concepts in a positive term. As Maharaj says “How were you prior to 100 years? I don’t know, I don’t know is the correct answer, a negative pointing to a positive”. I don’t know how I was 100 years prior to beingness. ‘I’ was in a formless state. ‘I’ was not in this body form. So, I don’t know how ‘I’ was. That is the negative pointing to a positive, rather than ‘I am Brahman’ or ‘I am God’ or something like this. Repeating in the mind ‘I am Brahman, Brahman I am’ that is OK, like Maharaj says “Aham Brahmasmi, Shivoham, Soham” or any of these as Mantra. But this is not a declaration, you are not declaring anything. You are trying to invite the attention of the invisible listener. You are not making a declaration that ‘I am Brahman’. That is the egoistic sense of self claiming that ‘I am Brahman’ it’s not for that. This is only to invite the attention of the invisible listener. Aham Brahmasmi, Shivoham, is not saying ‘I am God’. You are inviting the attention of the invisible listener that has been labeled as God, Brahman, Paramatman, Master. That formless Presence sensed through body, from which body and all of this is appearing. Once you know yourself in a real sense, that formless Presence. Then as Maharaj says “If you see yourself as formless, and the Master as formless, there can be no separation.” When the attention is invited, you the Selfless Self see, just a simple seeing, this that appears on my spontaneous Presence cannot be myself.

When there is, a concept formed of a thinker thinking these thoughts rather than just being with your Selfless Self through Mantra and allowing them to pass. When thoughts are passing and there is, no thinker formed to think those thoughts into action that then creates ‘my thought, my action’ then there is nothing, just thoughts flowing. Then as Maharaj says “Good thoughts or bad thoughts makes no difference.  So, called bad thoughts are neglected or not accepted.” Some bad weather may be going on outside but it is not effecting you. Thoughts are just coming and going. There is not a need to form a psychological thinker or the identity of a thinker ‘How does this affect me? What will happen to me?  What will people think about me? How is this going to affect my life?’ ‘Me’ needs the concept of a thinker to sustain the illusion of ‘My Life’ through identification with thoughts. Remaining with your Selfless Self through Mantra erases all of this and breaks the cycle of illusory thinking, the fire underneath the ash is always there, the ash is removed. You will return to your natural state without thoughts as there will be no thinker formed to think, and without thinking, thoughts lose their form.  The process is interrupted and then removed through Mantra. Remaining with your Selfless Self through Mantra, you will be one with the Mantra, and the Mantra will become the background on which thoughts are appearing without a thinker being formed. Without the concept of the thinker, the original building block is removed, and no further building of concepts can occur. Your Selfless Self becomes the formless foundation where no concepts can rest.  As your attention remains pointed in the direction of your Selfless Self, deeper and deeper, there is nothing else to think about, as ‘otherness’ is erased. Because there is no concept of ‘I am’ and then ‘you’ it is finished.

Life is not this solid, linear thing that you believe, through the perception of being a separate individual. It’s not a constant. You are spontaneously projecting all of this through the lens or filter of ideas and concepts that you happen to be holding about yourself in a particular form. Using this lens or filter of concepts and beliefs, you are projecting this world that you are seeing through mind. The world itself is being projected on your spontaneous Presence and from that position it is nothing but flashing dancing images appearing and disappearing.

There must be a you for time to be created.  Time is because ‘you are’. ‘You are’ can just be the knowing that ‘you are’ without having to form an object in time which then creates the perception of time. When you are in your natural state without any ideas, beliefs or concepts there is no sense of time. It is not even being outside of time as there is no sense of anything. You could say the only way the seer sees the scenes passing that perhaps could be perceived as a concept of time. But there is no you in it. There must be a point, even on a clock the hands have indicators to measure the passing as the hands move in a certain way over them. There is no point, markers or movement only what is seen. Remaining with your Selfless Self through Mantra, you will see that you are totally outside of time. Is there time in a dream? Even the time that is in a dream is only dream time. If in a dream someone asks you to show up to a certain place at 9PM, you’re going to show up at 9PM in that dream. So, that is a sense of time created and perceived from a point of reference of an object appearing in the dream. You are lying in bed and it is probably 1 or 2AM. Where is the time? Time is just the perception of who is perceiving the time, the object in time perceiving and then labeling time. Without an object in time, time is not experienced.

You are all of everything, there is nothing else except your Selfless Self. There is no thinking, there is no thinking about anything, nor an understanding that you even exist or ‘you are’. The only way for you to know yourself is through the idea and belief of ‘other’. Using this body instrument, you get to know yourself in a real sense. You can use this body to know yourself in a real sense. For a time, believing that you are the body you use this body to fulfill desires as they are arising in mind. Using mind, this mind created self wants to follow these desires and creates promises that the next desire will be the one to give complete happiness. You the Selfless Self observe this mind created self and this pursuit of all the desires which turn out useless and empty. Once it is seen that you are not gaining anything from these different desires, then you will stop and look towards yourself. That is when in your experience, you manifest this person labeled guru or teacher whom you will go to see.  In Reality this person has appeared inside the dream to let you know that you are the dreamer, that you and this person appearing before you are one. Then it is finished. You are inviting the attention. This will be noticed and the attention drawn. You are doing the Mantra like your life depended on it. You are behaving fearlessly in every moment, knowing that you are the Selfless Self, Ultimate Truth, Reality. Whether there is a doubt or not. You are continuously putting one foot forward, saying ‘Yes, I am Ultimate Truth, Master has shown the Reality, I am not body, I was not body, I am not going to remain the body. Everything appearing on my Presence is illusion, this is an illusionary world.’ That invites the attention of the Selfless Self, that you are. Yes, So That I. The illusion that was covering the Reality is no more. As Ramana Maharshi states “The ‘I’ removes the ‘I’ yet remains the ‘I’.” Selfless Self experiencing itself through body form and believing that is its existence, going on the imaginary journey and sees.  The invisible listener is constantly recording every moment. You are believing and moving in that fearlessness, even if some identity remains, you are moving through the illusion trusting the Master’s words that it is just illusion. No longer creating identity, no longer taking things personally, no longer worrying, complete trust and faith in the Master. Selfless Self sees this earnestness and attention is drawn to this idea of this ‘I’ appearing on spontaneous Presence and sees that it is not, then only Selfless Self is. For conversation, you can say ‘I am John, hello I am John.’ Inwardly knowing, this ‘I’ is appearing on Presence and is illusion. Whenever there is a thought relating to this ‘John’ that is not, it can be ignored, no attention needed, no significance. ‘John’ is seen as the boil on the butt of Selfless Self that just needs treatment, over and over using Mantra, Bhajans and Devotion to be removed slowly, silently and permanently.

Q: I noticed recently that there are recurring thoughts saying ‘This is not going to work’ and these thoughts emit feelings which feel kind of insane.

Right away this leads to Maharaj saying that “good thoughts or bad thoughts are appearing on your Presence” Presence is not having any good thoughts or bad thoughts. Through Mantra various thoughts and experiences will appear to distract you from your Selfless Self, especially as you get closer to the Reality.  Maharaj talks about “Positive spiritual experience and negative spiritual experience arising through Mantra meditation”. Good experiences and bad experiences are not Ultimate truth because there is still an experiencer that is being formed to experience these things. Relating the experience in India right after taking Mantra I went to get a haircut, shaved off the beard and took off the Rudraksha Mala.  Just two days before that I had gone with several other devotees to eat at a restaurant in Nashik. Right after the Mantra and taking off the Rudraksha mala one devotee was leaving the Ashram and we all went back to the restaurant again to wish him well. About an hour after returning I got incredibly sick, throwing up, diarrhea just horribly sick and it began to worsen. During this I went to Maharaj because a doubt had come in the form of a thought that I had offended God by removing the Rudraksha Mala.  I had created the Rudraksha Mala through devotion, had found just the right mukhi’s etc. and now God was punishing me for the arrogance of taking it off.  When I had gone to the restaurant the first time I had been protected by the Mala, now that protection had been replaced by punishment for the offense. At the same time, there was an inward knowing that if I put the Rudraksha Mala back on that I had lost and would always use this as a crutch and reliance. The intensity of the thoughts, aggravated by my deteriorating physical condition further created fear and distress as it pointed to the fact that the Presence, which had been increasing in strength of feeling was going to leave as it was the Rudraksha mala that was providing the channel for the Presence to be felt so strongly. These doubts were presented to Maharaj. Strong faith in the Master, going through this experience fearlessly with the words of the Master, the Guru Mantra, without putting the mala back on, relying only on Selfess Self. Whatever is happening is going to happen, Mantra through the experience, remain with Selfless Self, complete faith and trust. As the body was deteriorating and I was taken to the hospital, Mantra. As I was admitted to the emergency room at the hospital, Mantra. As fluids through IV were administered and the several hours until Maharaj arrived again, Mantra. Returning the Ashram later that evening, Mantra. Complete trust and faith. Observing the activities as if they were occurring to someone else through Mantra and remaining with Selfless Self. Eventually the physical condition improved, but even more importantly all of those fears had been cleared. Never again to look at the mala and believe that it was needed to please Presence.  They were not put back on.  The progressive step of faith and trust in the Master and not some other thing, and the reliance and fear about mala was snapped. Had I put that mala back on driven by fear, they would always be a crutch. Then even knowing through Mantra that the sense of Presence is there, reliance on the mala would always draw the attention towards the body and all of the concepts that come with it. ‘The mala is holding the energy of the Presence, magnifying the Presence, even Rudraksha beads can be googled and the evidence would be there to support these concepts. Down the rabbit hole of concepts and body based knowledge, as of course the Rudraksh mala has to go on the body. No amount of Bhajan, Mantra, Devotion would be able to release that body sense and body knowledge if I believed I had to hold on to that mala.

John Richards
Sadguru Shri Ramakant Maharaj Dakshina

Q: Isn’t there the danger of boredom? My mind does not like being bored.

Keep it busy with Mantra. All the time in every moment. Every time the mind says ‘I am a little bit bored’ Mantra. Mantra and observe what happens, that will be good for mind. Mantra and see what happens. Mantra through every single experience, in every single moment. Every time that you are thinking and not doing Mantra, Mantra. You Mantra through the experience without separating yourself because the Mantra and you are one. You are one with your Selfless Self, you are inviting the attention of the invisible listener. Something comes into your experience and you may separate, because you are not one with the Mantra. Notice that you are not one with the Mantra, become one with the Mantra and Mantra through the experience. Then you are not separating yourself, there is no perceived separation because you are one with the Mantra.  No experiencer is formed because mind is busy with Mantra.

Everything that appears is transient, except your Selfless Self that is witnessing all of these transient things. Don’t give yourself away. Like the game show ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ what is behind door number two, or staying with your Selfless Self. What is behind door number three, or staying with your Selfless Self. In the show they give someone a thousand dollars and ask ‘Are you willing to risk this thousand dollars for what is behind door number two?’. The decision is made in that moment. Are you willing to give away your  Selfless Self the fountain of happiness, the all that is there, the only constant, the Reality, for what is behind door number two?

Once you know yourself in a real sense without concepts, ideas or beliefs, then all of this is the magic show. You went back stage and you saw that ‘my family’ is a body factory, each mom and dad having another body and another body, and you are identifying with a body in that moment and believing that body to be ‘me’. Creating a new person who is relying on this mind, giving power to this mind, to tell you how the past, present and future is going to be. This mind is happy to step up and guess your life. Here you are your Selfless Self where everything is arising from, you give all the power to this guy over here that you label mind, putting all your faith and trust into this mind, that is basically guessing your life. Sometimes it works the way he says it is going to and sometimes it doesn’t, but he always has an excuse as to why it is not working the way he says it is. The reality is if you stay with your Selfless Self without the desire to know, then this same mind is seen as a useless thing. You can plan ‘ok, next Thursday I am going to this event. I am going to buy tickets for this event.’ But you are not planning like ‘How is the event going to be? Is it going to be cold in the theater? Are the seats good seats?’ You are not doing any of that. You are simply saying ‘I am going to see an event next Thursday, and I need to buy tickets.’ Whereas mind will play that scene whatever it is you are going to go see, over and over, comparing this performance to past performances, judging the quality of the performance on Thursday unseen based on previously registered experiences. You just don’t need this. You just don’t need this at all and Mantra, when you are one with your Selfless Self through Mantra, you will absolutely see this. Mantra is the gate to go behind the scenes to all of the magic shows that used to totally mesmerize you and allow you to see they were absolutely an illusion. They could not be anything else, because there never was anything else.

When you are one with your Selfless Self through Mantra there can not be anyone else, because you are one, one with your Selfless Self. No other arises. You will see this and start living your life without this idea of ‘you’. Then you won’t even think it is a life. Like Maharaj told about Bhausaheb  Maharaj, clapping, clapping, clapping, dropped the body. Was he fearing death? Did he think ‘oh my God I am dying’? He did not even know. One minute it is this experience, the appearance of something went back to nothing. It arose from nothing and appeared as something, and went back to nothing, with no ideas or beliefs about itself. It just was. When the dreamer awakes where did all the dream people go? Maharaj gives this pointer all the time. You as the dreamer, if you were able to dream the same dream every night and all of the people were growing up  having children that were going to school. Just before you woke up, “Jim” was going off to college to become a doctor, and you wake up. Never to have that dream again. Where did all those dream people go? Did Jim ever get to be a doctor? Was it fair that Jim did not get to fulfill his purpose of being a doctor? And what about all of the people that where rooting for Jim to become a doctor? When you woke up were they sad or happy? Were they missed by their loved ones? Was Jim’s life a failure because he never became a doctor? Before the dream ended. And was it really Jim that was putting forth the effort studying to get good grades and get into a good college? Was it Jim’s good upbringing that gave him the drive to give 100%. This something appearing in the nothing is a long dream.

There is a no-knowingness. It is not a forgetfulness, it is a total disassociation with the body, and an absolute knowing of yourself in a real sense. A formless sense, this sense of Presence. As Maharaj says “You compare yourself with sky, not body.” Body may be going through something, knowingness arises of formless ‘sky’ sky is not affected by this. This is seen through Mantra.  Slowly, Silently, Permanently all of the concepts, these sticky concepts are erased. Then you exist without a desire to label that existence as something. As soon as a label is placed on existence, ‘I exist’, “I exist as what?’ The belief of body, this body has a family, and the tree of concepts grows and branches out. All needs all requirements came along with the body, and all sticky concepts stick to this body idea. You can use the body for all the activities. Remaining unconcerned. Unconcerned does not mean ‘I don’t care what is going on’. Unconcerned means there is no form being created, that is in this, that has a stake in this, that could possibly be concerned. It could be compared with playing poker with someone else’s money, who is not going to ask to be payed back. You are going to thoroughly enjoy your game, you will probably make bets that you would not have made before, a little more high stakes and risk. You just have this game and you are there to play. No win, no loss, no worry.

Nothing is there. You know this. You know that all of the people doing all of these things are illusionary and transient like a dream. It does not mean that you are not showing compassion in the moment.  There is just not the formation of a compassionate person, being compassionate. Nor is there the idea that there is some other person that is needing compassion. It is your own Self, and you know you have no control over what seems to be going on in the illusion appearing on Presence. Especially trying to sway an outcome of another body, powered by your own Selfless Self, but deeply believing itself to be that form. That is why if you were to go to someone right now and say ‘You know you are the Selfless Self’ even though that is the Selfless Self behind those eyes and ears, it is rooted in that body knowledge belief. The Selfless Self is pretending that it is that body, and will defend that idea it is holding about itself in that form because it truly believes it. The only acknowledgement is the subtle recognition in the projection. Presence to Presence.

Suffering is a mind created thing where you go over and over in your mind and you create and then tend a garden. You create a garden of suffering and you water it with more ideas and you are in the suffering as a sufferer. Suffering is an illusion. There has to be the creation of a sufferer in order for their to be the perpetuating of suffering. Someone in this suffering, and there is not. If you remain with your Selfless Self through Mantra the next time you are experiencing suffering or even if you see someone else is suffering, you will see there is no suffering. There is just action and movement with no egoistic self formed to take credit for anything. Suffering is mind created and absolutely an illusion. You must have a belief in yourself as a sufferer, creating a sufferer in order to suffer. Then you have to direct your attention to the train of thoughts through identification and form the concepts of why ‘I am suffering’. Suffering is not an emotion or a feeling. Suffering is a state of mind.

The Mantra is in a way like sending out an S.O.S., please save me from this world. The attention of the invisible listener is what this is trying to gain. That’s all that a little ‘you’ can do. Invite the attention of the invisible listener. Nisargadatta Maharaj says “Stay with the ‘I am’ the rest will happen by itself” Remain with your Selfless Self through Mantra and the rest will happen by itself. You in the form of Sri Ramakant Maharaj, gave yourself this Mantra, so that you could spontaneously be with yourself. Inviting the attention of the invisible listener, concentrating on the concentrator, remaining with the ‘I am’, and all else happens by itself, spontaneously. And it will. That must be the conviction that Maharaj gave this Mantra of a shining lineage, the Inchegiri Navnath Sampradaya. In a worldly sense that is extremely powerful. The trust the faith in the Master, not Master in body form.  The same Master, the same Selfless Self that appeared in form as these lineage masters. That Sadguru who is moving in and as this form. Through the line now with Sri Ramakant Maharaj who is telling you, remain with your Selfless Self through Mantra, invite the attention of the invisible listener that you are Ultimate Truth. Listen to the bhajans, bhajans though the vibrations they create, help to shake loose the body identity, the holding on of the body. The vibration is like shattering an ice sculpture, bhajans are like that. The bhajans give such a vibration and allow you to perceive without the idea of this form encasing you, they shake up this body projection. With any vibration if you allow and intensify a vibration into this computer screen, it will crack. Similarly, this body identity this pressure of body impression is felt much less. Vibration from Mantra, vibration from bhajan absorbing the knowledge from the Master’s talks and reading the books slowly, silently and permanently is erasing body identity. This recognition in the projection will continue until there is not a you to do anything, spontaneous action arises, without an actor. The identifier has been identified and the identifier has disappeared, was found to not be there. The idea was needed as a concept for a time, just as Maharaj says, “Taking one thorn to remove another thorn and then throwing both away”. Mantra is a concept; the concept is there to invite the attention of the invisible listener that you are Ultimate Truth except your Selfless Self nothing is there.

When you are not knowing yourself, you are one with your Selfless Self and therefore there is no other. When you are one with your Selfless Self no ideas of a ‘yourself’ or ‘other’ arise. All ‘other’ is illusion it is just you. When you know, it is just you working through this body, to experience this sense of ‘otherness’ just to know yourself in a real sense, the world loses its bite. The only reason you have this body is to know yourself in a real sense. That’s it. There is no reason, no cause for creation, nothing to gain from this. This body was formed and the Selfless Self feeling existence or ‘I am’ said ‘This is me’. That’s it. Once you the Selfless Self know yourself in a real sense then you look back at the illusion that you created to know yourself and realize absolutely that is just illusion. You are here as the holder of this body which has a time limit, you are prior to the concept of time. Time is a concept appearing upon your spontaneous Presence. You are the Selfless Self which you always are and always will be whether holding a body or not, body appeared upon your spontaneous Presence. You have to tell this mind created self “I am not body, I was not body, and I am not going to remain body, body is not my identity”. Then using this instrument of mind, you begin to detach from the things that the body wants. You the Selfless Self whose attention has been invited and is focused on this mind created self erases this idea slowly, silently and permanently.

John Richards
Sadguru Shri Ramakant Maharaj Dakshina

Inviting the attention of the invisible listener, that must be done. Just as Nisargadatta Maharaj says when the ‘I am’ is please it reveals the open secret. That open secret is releasing the stranglehold on the beingness. The stranglehold on the beingness is Selfless Self truly believing that I must have this beingness to continue. That stranglehold has to be released. It has to be seen that this beingness can come and go, just like sleep coming and going, just like dream coming and going, just like thoughts coming and going. Beingness can come and go it makes no difference. That has to be seen. That stranglehold on the beingness has to be released, the Selfless Self, that you are, has to release. Then the secret is open, ‘Oh, oh, yes’. The body is an instrument, but I am not body. Again the example of sleeping. Going into sleep, deep sleep, coming to the waking state, you did not disappear or cease to exist throughout the process. There was one continuous you that all of these states appeared upon. This birth, this life, this so called death, all of those states appear upon your spontaneous Presence. You the Selfless Self, when that Selfless Self worship invites the attention of the invisible listener through strong faith in the Master, strong faith in the lineage, strong faith in your Selfless Self, then you will release all of these concepts, ideas and beliefs. The Mantra is a tool that slowly, silently and permanently erases these ideas and concepts so that you can see cleanly. You can be without quality, you can see I do not need this body. That conviction is strong, releasing the stranglehold on the beingness. You no longer have that burning desire to be. Because the knowledge, the knower, you know yourself in a real sense. This illusory world can come and go, this beingness can come and go, that conviction is there.

Don’t intellectualize just do it! Maharaj says “There will be so many things that will try and distract you from the Reality.” Don’t follow those. Know that they are there just to distract you from the Reality to basically prove your worthiness to yourself. Are you truly earnest? Do you truly want to know yourself in a real sense? Or are you just playing? Just playing is not an insult, just playing spirituality, that egoistic sense that wants to be spiritual. ‘Oh. I took Mantra from Maharaj. I am on this spiritual journey and I am so close now because I have met a real Master and I have been initiated into a powerful lineage, visited a Realized Master, so I am so close to fully Realizing the Self.’ That is a distraction from the Reality. Maharaj always gives the warning to ‘be alert, after leaving the Ashram so many things will try and distract you from the Reality’ Remember the Ashram, this atmosphere, remember the moment with Maharaj, remember the knowledge, impress this. Have strong faith in yourself and strong faith in the Master, continue to invite the attention of your Selfless Self with Mantra. The invisible listener is also ‘pleased’ as Maharaj states ‘you are setting the atmosphere’. The atmosphere through Bhajan’s that pleases the spirit. Whenever Maharaj says that something you are doing is pleasing the spirit, perhaps that is something that you should do. Master does not demand anything, everything is basically suggestion. You came here because there was a fire to know yourself in a real sense. To know yourself in a real sense, Bhajan’s create the atmosphere that is very pleasing to the spirit. The spirit does not desire money, publicity, sex, power etc. The spirit does not desire these things, so if there is a desire for these things arising, that is the egoistic sense of self that is not your Selfless Self. So all of these Bhajans, devotion, knowledge, Mantra is showing how the spirit is. Maharaj says the “spirit is very, very sensitive”. Sensitive. That spirit is there waiting, whatever is impressed upon it is reflected back. The reflection back, that invisible listener seeing through these eyes, sees the reflection and the attention is drawn more deeply in the Reality and less deeply in the illusion.

When the attention is continuously invited that invisible listener notices. The Selfless Self releases the stranglehold, that desire to be. When the attention is invited and there is a seeing, there is nothing in back. In that moment you release the stranglehold or the clinging to this beingness this ‘I am’. The desire to perpetuate in this form is snapped. There is no longer the idea that if this form expires that’s it, I am finished, done. You know this. With this seeing the idea of struggle or strife ends. Maharaj talks about the ants and when water is poured there is an immediate running away as the desire to live or to be is so strong and Selfless Self in the form of the ant wants to continue experiencing. There is a detachment that if this water is poured on these ants it makes no difference, that stranglehold has been released. The strife, the struggle, this fear of death and everything that goes along with it, snapped. You can then use this body, totally unconcerned with the world. The attention is invited through Mantra, through devotion to your Selfless Self, devotion to the Master. Bowing to the Master, being with your Selfless Self, Mantra, Meditation. In every moment remaining with your Selfless Self and not wandering. The Selfless Self, the invisible listener, sees this and knows this attention. Nisargadatta Maharaj speaks about the “I am is pleased, it reveals all of it’s secrets”. The secret being that ‘I don’t need this beingness, this beingness has appeared upon my spontaneous Presence’. This is not needed, it is not needed for your perpetuation. At first the belief is that in order for you to survive after knowing yourself in whatever form you are using to feel that existence or ‘I am’ you want and need to keep that. There is the deep belief that when the form goes, you go. In this seeing that is released, your Selfless Self is no longer believing that you are finished at the dissolution or death of the form. The seeing is complete. The dream is seen as dream and when this body drops it makes no difference to the dreamer.

I really love the beautiful story that Maharaj tells about the goat and the lion. That and Eklava are probably my favorites. The young lion cub was raised with sheep and goats. It was afraid of dogs and foxes. That belief in being a sheep was so ingrained it truly believed it was a sheep. One day a lion (Master), entered the jungle (dream), sees this lion pretending to be a sheep and goes to speak with the sheep.  The lion believing it is a sheep and in danger beings to cry and squeal. The lion (Master) sees how this lion truly believes it is a sheep (devotee) and states clearly ‘You are not a sheep (devotee), you are a lion (Master) like me’. The lion begins to show him (devotee) his true nature  by comparing their bodies. The lion says look here at my shoulder and yours, look at my paw and yours.’ Then the lion takes the other lion to the pond to see his reflection for the first time. (Master takes you to your Selfless Self and you ‘see’ the reflection) ‘You are like me, you are not like that’. The lion who had long believed he was a sheep looks at his reflection, then at the lions, instantly he accepts the truth. (So That I, I Am That) ‘I am a lion like you, I am not what I thought myself to be, I lived among the goats and sheep for so long that I thought I was a sheep, I am not a sheep, I am a lion, you have shown me the truth about myself!’. That reflection, that recognition in the projection, and you know. You are a lion not a sheep. You never again have the idea that you are a sheep, or form thoughts through the idea you are a sheep. You see the Reality that was always there. You are Brahman, You are Atman, You are God, You are Master, Except Your Selfless Self Nothing Is There.

You don’t pass through, you are always here, you are there and there only, everything else appears on your spontaneous Presence. That’s why it is spontaneous, because as soon as you start to say Presence then again you have opened the door for concepts in mind. The virus gets into the computer and bang! Like that it races through all of the programs and infects everything. Trying to identify what Presence is. What has been heard about Presence. The body knowledge machine is activated and does a Google search on Presence. ‘I read this, I read that, Ramana Maharashi says like this, Nisargadatta Maharaj says like this, Siddharameshwar Mahraaj says like this’. The body knowledge machine is just Google searching everything it has ever known. Be with you through Mantra, the super eraser, the anti-virus software that erases and then protects the computer from attack from virus’. Everytime you want to think ‘What is this?’ Mantra, Mantra, because you are one with the Mantra. As long as you are one, you can’t be two. When you are one with the Mantra, you can not even have an idea or belief arise, you are just one with your Selfless Self through Mantra. Nothing. Also don’t let subtle ego take possession by the idea ‘I know this, yah, I know what Selfless Self is, yes, I do’. Now you have created an ‘I am somebody else’, that knows something, inviting viruses. Not just inviting viruses, but an entire world of viruses has been created. Now their is a somebody formed who will start to judge the world as the ‘Knower of Reality, I Know!’. But now the form of the knower needs protection to maintain it’s perceived position as a ‘knower’ and similarly wants to gain more knowledge, to know more. Forming and protecting in every moment causing thought train storm of identification, pain and suffering. Now the idea of spontaniety has replaced has replaced your natural spontaneous nature. Knowing has replaced or covered no-knowing. Thoughtless Reality has been covered by the thought storm of identification with thought.

There is nothing to protect, no stance or position is needed. Positionless position, “Spontaneous, Invisible, Anonymous, Unidentified, Identity. If at all you want to compare, compare yourself with sky”. as Maharaj repeatedly says.

Be with yourself. Be with the illusion. The illusion is very enticing it really appears to be real! It looks like ‘I could really get this if I just do that.’ It’s not true. Remain with your Selfless Self. Allow the scenes to pass, arising in the moment doing what needs to be done, and leaving it. No next. That is the courage really, not to know. Because you can’t really know, anything that you know is created through mind and is illusion. Just here. What is coming next? Nope, no next. Here. But there is the desire to know what is next. You are never going to know what is next. You are going to create a mind created next. When next is actually here, you will have already experienced that next in your mind. You will judge that moment positive or negative based on your imaginary idea of what next was going to be, rather than just being here. Every next is illusion.

In the Bible they talk about the things that rust being of no value.  Everything that appears upon your spontaneous Presence is of absolutely no value. The desire comes in ‘I want this, or I want to do this, or I never experience that, or I have experienced that and loved it and wish to re-experience that again’. No. That is the time for Mantra, to be with you, to be one with the Mantra. Then Selfless Self that you are will witness the scene pass and that knowingness knows that desire came but was not acted upon and that is good. ‘I remained with myself’. Even that ‘I’ that remained with myself, will be one of those things that is dissolved slowly, silently and permanently with Mantra. You and the Mantra are one. No the sticky concepts of desire and fear. Who’s desiring? Who’s fearing? The question won’t even arise.

John Richards
Sadguru Shri Ramakant Maharaj Dakshina