An Enlightened Master is an overflowing expression of Existence, when He speaks there is a beautiful silence, which is his undercurrent. If you are open you can feel it touching you!

Paramahamsa Yogananda says, ‘Daytime is the devil’s playground.’ In daytime, we continuously feed our mind with words. Actually if you observe, words come in the way of learning. For example, now you are sitting in front of me. Many of you don’t understand what I am saying because I am talking a foreign language to you. You feel sad. But you are the most fortunate in the group! It is not possible to learn from me through words. I talk only to make you silent. If I don’t talk, you start talking inside you. So I talk. But you can learn a lot from me only through silence.

It is in the gaps between my words that the real teaching lies.

In silence there is innocence. In words there is intellect. Intellect can never receive the truth, only innocence can. Just sit here with innocence, that is enough. Then you will receive the ultimate understanding. It is in the gaps between my words that the real teaching lies. The master is sheer poetry, the poetry of Existence. His expression is an overflowing of Existence. The master speaks because you want to hear. As he speaks there is a beautiful silence, which is his undercurrent. If you are open you can feel it touching you. Read Full Article

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Intelligence recognizes the mystery of the present moment and surrenders to it joyfully out of innocence

There are three ways to ask a question. You can ask out of innocence, or you can ask out of knowledge to show that you too know, and third, you can ask to confirm that what you know is correct. When you ask out of innocence, you are completely ready to receive the answer. When you ask out of knowledge, you completely miss the answer. When you ask for confirmation, you simply resist the answer.

The unknown can never be trapped with the known. The unknown can be known only by surrendering to it.

A small story:

Zen masters generally give personal guidance in a secluded room. No one enters when master and disciple are together.

A Zen master used to enjoy talking with merchants and newspapermen as well as with his pupils everyday. Amongst his regular visitors was an illiterate potter who used to come and ask foolish questions of him. He will then have tea and go away.

One day, while the potter was there, the master wanted to give personal guidance to a disciple, so he requested the potter to remain outside. Read Full Article

Intelligence recognizes the mystery of the present moment and surrenders to it joyfully out of innocence

There are three ways to ask a question. You can ask out of innocence, or you can ask out of knowledge to show that you too know, and third, you can ask to confirm that what you know is correct. When you ask out of innocence, you are completely ready to receive the answer. When you ask out of knowledge, you completely miss the answer. When you ask for confirmation, you simply resist the answer.

The unknown can never be trapped with the known. The unknown can be known only by surrendering to it.

A small story:

Zen masters generally give personal guidance in a secluded room. No one enters when master and disciple are together.

A Zen master used to enjoy talking with merchants and newspapermen as well as with his pupils everyday. Amongst his regular visitors was an illiterate potter who used to come and ask foolish questions of him. He will then have tea and go away.

One day, while the potter was there, the master wanted to give personal guidance to a disciple, so he requested the potter to remain outside. Read Full Article

If there is implicit openness and innocence the learning can be received from the Avatar who imparts learning every moment

The word upanishad means ‘sitting at the feet of the master’.

In ancient India, there was the gurukul tradition of masters and disciples. Children were left with the master at the age of seven and they grew up centering beautifully in their consciousness. Masters are living embodiments of the scriptural truths. Their thoughts, words and deeds stem from the ultimate Truth. Disciples pick up the truth just by living around them. Swami Sri Yukteshwar Giri , an enlightened master from India says, ‘Sitting with the master is not merely being in his physical presence, but keeping him in your heart, being one with him in principle and tuning yourself to him.’ This is the whole technique of upanishad.

The master is superconscious energy. When you tune to him, you tune to that energy. You can tune only through innocence, openness. Openness is emptiness. Let not knowledge fill you. Knowledge is but a mere tool, not your substance. Reject all knowledge as ‘not this’, ‘not this’. When I say reject, I mean don’t settle for any intermediate knowledge except the ultimate Truth. Because when you drop everything that continuously arises in you, then you have no other go. You are thrown back into yourself and it is there you will find the ultimate Truth. It is then you are ready to be filled with the Truth. Then alone can you make upanishad happen. Read Full Article

If there is implicit openness and innocence the learning can be received from the Avatar who imparts learning every moment

The word upanishad means ‘sitting at the feet of the master’.

In ancient India, there was the gurukul tradition of masters and disciples. Children were left with the master at the age of seven and they grew up centering beautifully in their consciousness. Masters are living embodiments of the scriptural truths. Their thoughts, words and deeds stem from the ultimate Truth. Disciples pick up the truth just by living around them. Swami Sri Yukteshwar Giri , an enlightened master from India says, ‘Sitting with the master is not merely being in his physical presence, but keeping him in your heart, being one with him in principle and tuning yourself to him.’ This is the whole technique of upanishad.

The master is superconscious energy. When you tune to him, you tune to that energy. You can tune only through innocence, openness. Openness is emptiness. Let not knowledge fill you. Knowledge is but a mere tool, not your substance. Reject all knowledge as ‘not this’, ‘not this’. When I say reject, I mean don’t settle for any intermediate knowledge except the ultimate Truth. Because when you drop everything that continuously arises in you, then you have no other go. You are thrown back into yourself and it is there you will find the ultimate Truth. It is then you are ready to be filled with the Truth. Then alone can you make upanishad happen. Read Full Article

How can mere listening lead to enlightenment ?

Just this moment accept yourself in the outer world and the inner world. You will go out enlightened. For so many years, completely accepting what the master said, Satyakama just was. What else can happen to him but enlightenment? You may think, ‘How can simple acceptance do such a big job?’ The problem is that even spiritual knowledge is approached by us with the space of an intellectual mind. It is from that intellectual space that we ask the ‘how’. Intellect always questions. Innocence straightaway starts practicing what the master says. That is the difference.

Shiva says in the Shiva Sutras, ‘Absorb the ultimate truth, senses shut down, and be liberated.’

He means that in that utterly innocent and open state, initiation is enlightenment.

Read Full Article

How can mere listening lead to enlightenment ?

Just this moment accept yourself in the outer world and the inner world. You will go out enlightened. For so many years, completely accepting what the master said, Satyakama just was. What else can happen to him but enlightenment? You may think, ‘How can simple acceptance do such a big job?’ The problem is that even spiritual knowledge is approached by us with the space of an intellectual mind. It is from that intellectual space that we ask the ‘how’. Intellect always questions. Innocence straightaway starts practicing what the master says. That is the difference.

Shiva says in the Shiva Sutras, ‘Absorb the ultimate truth, senses shut down, and be liberated.’

He means that in that utterly innocent and open state, initiation is enlightenment.

Read Full Article

Bholenath is the one whose pure innocent inner space creates the bliss and causeless auspiciousness wherever He is, wherever He happens!

In the Shiva Sutras, Shiva gives us techniques to achieve this innocence. If you follow Shiva’s life as is described in the Hindu mythological stories, you will not be able to see any social or traditional innocence in him. But there will be the pure and ultimate innocence. The place where he lives or the way in which he lives is not directly related to his purity or innocence. Shiva lives in a cemetery where bodies are cremated, surrounded by spirits and ghosts. The word Shiva in Sanskrit means causeless auspiciousness. This causeless auspiciousness, the energy to create bliss wherever he is, wherever he happens, arises out of his innocent inner space.

In the Vedic tradition, there are scriptural writings called Upanishads. The word Upanishad in Sanskrit refers to teachings of a master to his disciples as they sat with him. There are 108 such Upanishads. They are the essence of the enlightenment science handed down by the great masters of the Vedic times.

One of these, the Chandogya Upanishad describes a beautiful story: Read Full Article

Bholenath is the one whose pure innocent inner space creates the bliss and causeless auspiciousness wherever He is, wherever He happens!

In the Shiva Sutras, Shiva gives us techniques to achieve this innocence. If you follow Shiva’s life as is described in the Hindu mythological stories, you will not be able to see any social or traditional innocence in him. But there will be the pure and ultimate innocence. The place where he lives or the way in which he lives is not directly related to his purity or innocence. Shiva lives in a cemetery where bodies are cremated, surrounded by spirits and ghosts. The word Shiva in Sanskrit means causeless auspiciousness. This causeless auspiciousness, the energy to create bliss wherever he is, wherever he happens, arises out of his innocent inner space.

In the Vedic tradition, there are scriptural writings called Upanishads. The word Upanishad in Sanskrit refers to teachings of a master to his disciples as they sat with him. There are 108 such Upanishads. They are the essence of the enlightenment science handed down by the great masters of the Vedic times.

One of these, the Chandogya Upanishad describes a beautiful story: Read Full Article

Innocence means purity of the inner space, not being affected by thoughts or engraved memories

Constantly, we are asked to be good, to be pure, and to be innocent. The idea of innocence is forced upon us. Constantly we are taught by society, by moralists, that something is right, something is wrong, something is pure, something is impure, something is good, and something is bad, something is innocent and something is corrupted. Constantly we are taught the idea of good and bad. We are forced to practice something that is good or what society thinks is good. But life is no way related to what society believes in. Life is totally different. What society believes is different from what life is.

There is a beautiful saying, ‘When you think, you think in a generalized way. But when you live, you can’t generalize.’ This is like what they say in marketing, ‘Think globally but act locally.’ Situations can’t be generalized. In your life there are so many things where generalization is not possible, where you can’t decide what to do and what not to do based on popular guidelines. All your ideas about morality, about right and wrong, might not have any relevance practically.

Somebody asked me, ‘Swamiji, why do our ancient Hindu scriptures not speak of gambling? Only the epics speak about gambling.’ Read Full Article

Innocence means purity of the inner space, not being affected by thoughts or engraved memories

Constantly, we are asked to be good, to be pure, and to be innocent. The idea of innocence is forced upon us. Constantly we are taught by society, by moralists, that something is right, something is wrong, something is pure, something is impure, something is good, and something is bad, something is innocent and something is corrupted. Constantly we are taught the idea of good and bad. We are forced to practice something that is good or what society thinks is good. But life is no way related to what society believes in. Life is totally different. What society believes is different from what life is.

There is a beautiful saying, ‘When you think, you think in a generalized way. But when you live, you can’t generalize.’ This is like what they say in marketing, ‘Think globally but act locally.’ Situations can’t be generalized. In your life there are so many things where generalization is not possible, where you can’t decide what to do and what not to do based on popular guidelines. All your ideas about morality, about right and wrong, might not have any relevance practically.

Somebody asked me, ‘Swamiji, why do our ancient Hindu scriptures not speak of gambling? Only the epics speak about gambling.’ Read Full Article

Meditation technique to raise intensity

If you are not getting the burning intensity, pray intensely for the intensity to happen. It will happen.

Remember how intensely and anxiously you run behind things that give you joy. Suppose I tell now that whoever prays intensely will get a ten million dollar prize, you will show the intensity of your life, is it not? Just because you think there is some product that will fulfill you, you are intense. With money you know it is going to add something to your life. In the same way, enlightenment is also going to add something to your life. In order to have intensity towards enlightenment, you can start by creating intensity towards things that you have experienced a desire towards.

For example, if you desire health or wealth, be intense about that. That yearning will become integrated and will get directed to the unknown, to enlightenment. Not only that, your unfulfilled desires can be simply burnt with the intensity. Whatever you experience as fulfillment, yearn for that. The intense yearning is enough, it will evaporate you. And the fulfillment you experience will be many times more than the fulfillment you may have ever experienced before. Read Full Article