Swami-ji: Is there anything that doesn't change?
Zachary: Me
Swami-ji: That which you call 'Me', has no form. People
have form. Imaginations have form. But this Me has no form.
This Me is unchanging, but this I (points to his body) is changing.
The Me which is unchanging has no form, no face. Change belongs on the
level of the forms. Change belongs to any object that we perceive through
the senses.
So there is a clear difference between 'Me' and 'I'.
Gyaan Yog is what you are aiming for
Knowledge of things and forms is not what you are aiming for. That is
not gyaan yog (knowledge of oneness). That is simply science. Gyaan
yog has no creed, no religion, no up, no down, no more, no less. Gyaan
yog is unprejudiced by the mind.
Mind, on the other hand, has prejudices in relation to things
and forms. So yog will not be grasped by the mind or the senses. Those
who try to grasp yog via the senses - including mind - will never
succeed. Their mind will not become established in yog.
You will succeed, you will be yogi, when
you have the knowledge of this yog, the name of which is 'Me'.
When you say 'Me is everywhere and every form', it sounds
good. But if you have friendships with and attachments to the things and
forms, Me will not be realized.
What is lost in growing up
As you become 'grown-up', you daily lose the knowledge of the fineness
of the Self and, reaching the gross level, you'll have the knowledge of
the Self as body.
So how would an older person, a 'grown-up', whose I has become
externalized, grasp this Me? To gain that finer understanding, one needs to
attend the intellect. What needs to be unfolded is that, as power in the
intellect is
developed, the the sense of Me is not be left behind. Zachary, at this stage,
still holds the knowledge of Me as unchanging. But it is not held in intellect.
It is the Self being aware of itself.
What is to be achieved? Human beings are trying to attain that state of freedom or mukti.
So when you come here to Satsang, what is to be achieved? The yog state
of your own Self. So now, before we meditate, what is your objective? Gyaan
yog. This gyaan yog is itself a state of consciousness.
If gyaan yog is not held but buddhi yog (mind yog)
is there, then 'I' becomes an understanding, a concept. Whatever this understanding
might be, it is not gyaan yog, so you won't feel liberated.
You know this because you have feelings of both bondage and freedom and you
want to get released from the 'this-and-that' state of the intellect.
So now, why is it that you remain feeling liberated,
especially over here? Why is it that many people feel liberated, yet are
not liberated? Because it is all played on the level of intellect!
Begin by asking, 'What is my objective?
Suppose a person is established in Me. Then it is said that he or she
has the gyaan yog state. But you (points to the satsangees)
- you ended up with university yog, not gyaan
yog (laughter). The word yog has become very
popular these days - there's even yogurt! - but yogi you have not become.
The path to the yog state leads from the
mind, so we prepare people through the mind. To do this, you need your
body and you need
your intellect. So begin by asking, 'What is my objective - what should be
the result of my meditation? The purpose of meditation is to gain some gyaan,
to reach the stage where it is grasped that that which I call 'I' is unchanging.
What you come to know through meditation
But your habit is to say, 'today I had a good meditation,' or, 'today
I had many thoughts.' So your 'I' is changing. In this way we can see that
most people are body and mind identified.
The body is manifested of tamogun and rajogun.
And the subtler part of this is the intellect. In the day, the body and mind
are more active - rajas, and at night, they are more tamas. But
that which is no body is what you come to know through meditation.
Through meditation, you experience directly that tamogun and rajogun get
reduced and that sattwa shines, whereas the intellect of a person
who has not meditated is not permeated with sattwa, so their mind
continues with its pros and cons. With sattwa, your intelligence
becomes sharper and more harmony develops. People become 'better persons'.
So even if you don't do anything else, at least keep sitting. In doing
so, rajogun and tamogun will be neutralized.
You are simply You
So now we come to meditation. I've talked about gyaan yog. In gyaan
yog you are free from agyaan. And gyaan yog is
'I am Self'. It is the power with which you know Me, and that Me never
changes. If you have come to know this, then you are out of the grip
of 'jarh' and 'chaytan' You are simply You.
Set yourself a goal
Now if you meditate, there must be a goal before you, otherwise, where
will you put your attention? In meditation what is to be used? Attention.Usually
attention gets divided among 10 or 20 objects or thoughts, but if the attention
is on one object, it can get it.
So what is the one focus? Gyaan yog. To get gyaan
yog, one needs to develop dhyaan yog (devotion or one-pintedness).
Anyone who has ever leaned anything has had to be one pointed on their goal
- that's how they learned. But if you are learning computer, you will still
become
miserable.
You are wanting to reach the height of your incarnation. So
you have to travel until you reach gyaan yog. But you are gyaan
yog. So your travel is from gyaan yog to gyaan yog.
And in between? Agyaan!
But you have not got it. Why? Because you have not meditated.
Sometimes you say, 'I got it, but it doesn't stick.' Why? Because you have not
practiced.
Attaining skill in meditation
You have to attain skill in meditation. Meditation is action. When you
sit, that is action. If you meditate on a rose, you will make a vritti.
So on what do you meditate?
You do not meditate on thoughts that appear. You know
what your goal is. You are meditating on unchanging. But the unchanging is
something that you cannot focus your attention on. But I am saying your
goal is Amaram
hum Madhuram hum. Your goal is the Me, the unchanging.
So now you are experimenting. And what is your experiment?
That you should directly see gyaan yog. To conduct the experiment,
sit down in any position.Close your eyes. Anything that you are thinking
of - that
is changing. But is your Knower not there? As you meditate, you'll find that
your Knower is always there. And can you grasp that you are Knower and that
the Knower is the same in every head. Now watch. And watcher, watching and
that which
you watch are one reality. And this is You.
Having understood this, you will always be able to meditate.
|