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Question: This
samsara [continuous round of birth and death], this
duality, how does it arise and how do we end it?
Papaji: It has no beginning, but has an end. This
ignorance, this samsara appears and there must be a
beginning to it. This beginning is as if you see a snake
instead of a rope. Only when you enquire, reason out, then
the snake disappears. This ignorance has no basis. Due to
ignorance of the rope, the snake appeared. On reasoning out,
through enquiry, it disappeared. So, ignorance of the Self
gives rise to samsara, and when you enquire into the
samsara, then it is going to end. Otherwise, for millions of
eons, it will stay. It's not going to end.
So, how to stop this samsara? Only by stilling the mind.
There is no difference between stillness of mind and
freedom. When the mind is still, you are free. There is no
method to still the mind. Only by reasoning. Only when you
enquire, "How did this samsara arise? Where does it begin?"
It started from 'sat-chit-ananda', Truth being in bliss.
With the association of prana [vital energy] it
became the individual self. 'I' arose, then everything
arose. So, this ego is beginningless, so it is not going to
end. Whatever you do, it will spread more and more. Samsara
has become real, but when you still the mind, it stops
appearing as real. Reality is only knowledge, existence and
bliss.
When the mind is made free of its attachment to what it is
holding, then it becomes still. Anything dear to you in your
mind is samsara. When you get rid of attachments, the mind
is left still. When you look at an ocean or river, you see
waves and bubbles on the surface. But waves and bubbles are
just water. So, names and forms arise, but when you
investigate, "This is water and water has not changed", then
you will discover that the waves and bubbles are water. So,
with a still mind you have to reason out. Discrimination,
clarity, doubtlessness and desire for freedom will arise in
a pure mind.
Question: How to still the mind?
Papaji: The mind is no different from the object. Any
object is objectified mind only. Do not let your mind abide
anywhere. Mind has to abide on an object, and if the object
is removed, the mind cannot subsist without abiding to an
object. Then, there’ll be no mind. When the mind dies,
you will live and be free. Let death come, let it come to
cowards, those people who are afraid of death. To them she
comes and takes them away. If you invite death yourself and
say, "I am not afraid of death", then you become eternal.
Only two choices are there - either you allow the mind to
live, or you live without the mind. This is your
decision.
Give up everything you are holding. That's all you have to
do. Then your mind becomes free of any attachments, vasanas
[tendencies] and desires. This is freedom. See that
your mind is not running after any object. All objects are
past objects. Attachment is an impediment to this wisdom,
consciousness and light. When the mind doesn't go anywhere,
this is 'no-mind', and when the mind goes somewhere, then it
becomes 'mind'. If you can give up all the attachments of
the mind until this moment, then just imagine what will
happen!
Everybody wants to understand intellectually, but the
intellect cannot carry you across to the other shore. So, be
free of the mind and intellect, and then you will see that
you are your Self, 'being-knowledge-bliss'. Somehow, you
have forgotten it, therefore in satsang you are reminded,
"You are 'being-knowledge-bliss'". Whatever you are doing,
you are doing from within consciousness. 'You' are not
doing, 'It' is doing. Put the responsibility of action on
consciousness, and be free! 'It' is doing, that's all!
Question: Can you help me to see the Emptiness?
Papaji: Find out who this 'seer' is. Find out who
wants to see the Emptiness. And how is 'seer' this different
from Emptiness? When you let go of all concepts, what is
left? Yes, Emptiness!
The dress that we wear is not 'me', is not 'we'. The
indweller, the person who wears the dress is more important.
Likewise, the bodies are also like dresses. Who is wearing
the body, who is wearing the bodies? And, 'That' is one.
'That' is one's essence, and at the same time 'That' wears
millions of bodies and has millions of tongues to speak. If
you identify yourself with That, that One, from where time,
mind and personal consciousness arise, then you feel oneness
with all beings. So, from there you can recognise that 'It'
is speaking all the languages that others speak - the birds
are chirping and the tigers are roaring, the water falls and
the breeze whispers into the ears of the plants.
He finds himself to be identified with 'It', and he doesn't
find any separation. So, if you go to that essence, that
substratum from where everything arises, then you can speak
and do whatever you want. All the activities rise from there
and you feel that it is you who is speaking through all the
mouths, and it is you who is active through all the activity
of the world. It is not difficult, you can do it here and
now. How? Just by searching. Where does the physicality
arise from? Go on towards it, to where this thought takes
you.
Follow from where does the wave rise and where does it
dissolve, and you will discover something vast, from where
the waves come. So, all these manifestations are just the
waves which are rising from within, from a very secret,
sacred cave of you own Heart, and you are This. When you
hold something else, your mind takes hold of an object, a
name and a form. Then you forget who you have been and who
you are. Therefore, once again, return back to your original
status, your own kingdom, and don't beg. Throw away the
begging bowl. Begging bowl is desire, intention, hope. So,
if you get rid of desire and hope, you are back home.
Instantly, you are back home. Instantly, we become One. All
is One, and 'It' is all. There is no doubt about it. In not
going anywhere, I am everywhere.
From wherever you are, return to the centre. You can do it
in this moment. Postponement is suffering, mind and time.
Get rid of this and arrive at Eternity, Happiness, Beauty
and Love. You've got nothing to do, only give up your old
habits of desire and hope. That's all. Desire has taken you
out of the kingdom and this desire itself is a begging bowl,
which is never full, which can never be full at all. So,
once you throw it away, instantly you are emperor. Any
wanting, even wanting peace, joy or happiness is obscuring
the simplicity of who I am, and that simplicity is revealed
in not wanting any of them.
What is the difference in what you speak and what another
speaks? Nothing! It's very simple and very easy to follow.
Look into 'who' is looking, that's all. The one who looks,
the looking and the looked at are the very same.
Question: You say "Go within and find freedom", but
where is 'within'? How do I go 'within' and what is
freedom?
Papaji: Wonderful! You do not know what freedom is
and do not know where 'within' is. When you say 'within' it
means that you already know 'without'. Otherwise, how can
you even say 'within'? Suppose you are standing outside in
front of this hall. Only then can you say, "People are
sitting within this hall and are meditating and listening."
You are not in the hall, you are outside. And the people
sitting inside the hall say, "There is a man standing
outside." Why do you say that people are sitting within?
What is this 'within' and 'without'? You tell me now.
Question: Just words.
Papaji: If there is no hall, then where is the
'within' and where is the 'without'? The only thing that
makes a difference is the 9 inch wall. And when you stand at
the open door there is no difference between 'inside' and
'outside'. Therefore, to be free you only need to remove the
wall from your mind. What is this wall? Ego. This wall is
ego, the "I am the body" concept. So saying, "I have to go
within" means that I have not to care for the body, the
mind, the senses or any object.
What we see outside are objects. For example, you see this
flower pot and table. From an object, turn your attention
toward the senses that perceive any object. Eyes see, nose
smells, ears hear, tongue tastes and hands touch. These are
the senses and without them you cannot perceive anything. So
what are the senses? They come from the mind. If there is no
mind then there are no senses and no objects.
The mind is thinking. Who thinks? Something beyond the mind
thinks and that is the ego. Now, how do you know about the
ego? Through consciousness you know whether this is the ego
or is not the ego. So consciousness is the source of the
ego, the mind, the senses and all objects. Now within this
consciousness ask yourself, "Who am I?" This will take you
even further, from consciousness to awareness. Something
which you do not know is seated in the centre of your body
and is aware of being conscious or not being conscious. Who
is aware of consciousness? This question has to be asked and
it will end all confusion between 'within' and 'without'.
This has to be practiced.
Question: You also say that to be free everything has
to be forgotten.
Papaji: Everything has to be forgotten, even God. To
be free even God has to be renounced. If you don't forget
everything, including God, then it means that you create
duality, and there cannot be two realities. Either you are
real or the other thing is real. But the other thing appears
within your reality. Let the concept of God arise, but
understand that it is you who speaks of Him. If you were not
there, then there would be no God.
During sleep you have no relations and there is no God.
There is only your own happiness and bliss. There is not
even a body. Everything disappears. This is the highest
experience. So, forgetting and remembering belong to the
mind. Without the mind you cannot say, "I have my Guru, I
have my relations, I have my country." To forget everything
you only need to stop thinking that "I am so and so."
Forgetting means not thinking. When you do not think, you
see everything as equal. When you do not think, duality
returns to Oneness. When there is no feeling, no
remembrance, no mind, that is the blissful essence which is
who you are.Forget about yourself by asking, "Who am I?" One
who has tasted That cannot speak and one who speaks has not
tasted That.
You are not the body. Every night you forget your body when
you sleep. That which you cannot forget is some essence
which you do not know. Find out what that essence is which
does not disappear. Beingness depends on nothing. Very few
will have the consciousness of being, where there is no
desire and no relation. Love, Truth, Freedom exalts a holy
person who asks for nothing. You have to be holy to win
freedom. Everything has to be given up for good. You stand
alone and need not be concerned for the result of any
action. It is a divine gift to know who you are. You have
not to worry. It will come to you by itself. Just stay quiet
without any desire. It will reveal itself to itself by
itself.
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