The Liberation from the Drama

Gangadhar (Gadi): The other day someone asked me how my saadhana was going. And the best analogy for me was that of the potato being baked in the oven. It is kind of a sentient potato in that it has the ability to turn itself every once in a while and ask some questions, but the baking power is not in the potato, it's in the oven. So I am grateful for the opportunity to be in that oven being baked every day.
    I have a question about the nature of the human mind. It seems that when human beings have bad news, or feel anything that is not in the category of positive feelings, they seem almost compelled to immediately share that with everybody else and, in doing so, they make everybody else miserable. And they seem to get some sort of relief by making others miserable. And I see the same thing in myself.  
    What is it that which brings about this sense of relief in making other people miserable?  
    
Swami Shyam: There is no misery in the minds of people. Never. Because we as human beings are never born of misery. We are not the outcome of misery. 
    In the dream state, we see the forms, yet we are asleep. And we know, as intelligent persons, that in sleep there is no pain. No misery. 
    The person lying in the bed sees people in the dream, yet is sleeping very nicely. He sees a dream. He sees people talking to each other.

From where, in you, did the misery come? And from where, in those you see in the dream, did the misery come? 
    There must be some kind of explanation about this observation. So I'll ask someone—like Dikpal—why Gangadhar has become miserable in the dream?

Dikpal: Because in the dream, the drama was created in the head of Gangadhar that  . . .

Swami-ji:  Yes, when you use the word 'drama,' you are telling me that it is just a show. Not misery. So if the Titanic gets sunk in a movie, it is a show. Drama.  
    But why is the audience miserable?  

Dikpal: They identify with the characters in the drama.

Swami-ji: So it appears, to those people with that level of consciousness and awareness, that they are seeing the reality, whereas it is only drama. Show. 
    So where is the problem? It is in the head of that man who does not see the drama as drama: the man concludes that the drama is the reality.
    So misery is not outside somewhere. It is neither in Gangadhar's relations nor in Gangadhar, who is all right. 
    But he feels bad. What is the reason for it? Because he is seeing the drama. And out of ignorance, out of his small intelligence [laughter], out of his un-knowingness of the drama, he concludes that it is true—he is true, his relations are true, his relationships are true.
   Now this lie—from where did it come?  From human mind. So human mind is a lie. 'Lie' means that it does not exist. But it thinks that it exists. It says that it exists.
    This mind of Gangadhar: it does not exist at all. Yet he thinks it exists. It is mitya (mind). And it is not at all there! But it appears to be there. This is the trick that somebody has done to us, and we the human beings are the victims of this trick.
    The one who came to know ... now, I don't want to proceed further, because it will become Satsang. [Laughter].
    So now watch. Do you not have this trait, this character? The trait and character are because of your consciousness. Why is it that in some people it is not, and in some people it is? If it is true, then it should be in all bodies. And if it is untrue, then wherever it is not, that should be applied to all the bodies. Therefore, there is no misery—it is the undeveloped state of a human being. 

My work is not to focus on ordinary subjects. My main subject is liberation. You don't have any clue about it. But you like it! That means that somewhere you are sure about it. 
    You say that your relations should be free of pain and suffering, so in your attention, liberation is there. The problem is . . . but then that would be Satsang, and you would not understand. [Laughter]
    All these things I have talked about, you understand, so I talk. 
    But what is that about which you are not going to understand? —although a couple of you, or many of you, or one of you will be able to understand. What is that? It is that liberation is your true Self. 
    But you think body and senses and ahankar (ego) and intellect and mind are your true Self. Intellect and mind, aspects of the ahankar, include recognition, understanding, emotions, worries, tensions, agitation, feelings of misery, feelings of joy—all that. 
    You say that these inner aspects of your body exist and that liberation is nowhere. Yet, you want it! 
    Liberated state is sky. But you have no thought that sky exists. 
    I say if you don't understand today, then tomorrow, the day after, or millions of years after, you will understand! Understand what? That your true nature is liberation. 
    You are Gangadhar. You are Shiv. You are bliss!

This is the state of affairs of your inner mind. You think that your relations exist. Such a drama! And you think that I should treat it as true. The idea that people get high by making others miserable through their expression of pain or suffering is your concoction. It is not in my mind. In my mind, misery is not. 
    But you are a human being. And the system of consciousness in a human being says, early every morning, 'I am.' That is totally wrong. You are not that. While eating or drinking, you never say I am. But when you wake up, you think that you are awake and that this is your reality. If this is your reality, why do you sleep? [Laughter] 
And if deep sleep is the reality, why do you have dreams? If your reality is pain and suffering, why do you sometimes become happy? 

You have to develop. You have to start thinking—from whatever stage you are at, from whatever standard you have: 'Am I these thoughts? Am I not pure consciousness forever?  What is the value of pure consciousness, having this body as an instrument—a tool—which in time and space is getting older, which is at times happy, healthy, or sick?' 
    You believe in the human mind. But among you, someone must not be believing in the human mind. There must be someone!  
    That's the lack. You hear me every day. But you do not imbibe it. You think it is a movie! 
    Misery should not affect you. If a certain situation makes you miserable, you will not do it a second time. Even a small child knows that. He puts his finger on a flame of a candle, but he will not do it twice. 
    As long as you have mind—misery! 
    Practice. That is the answer. Practice that you are never 'I!'   

Gangadhar: When that sense of 'I' comes up, and you say practice, can you give me some help on how to practice?

Swami-ji: That's why I am here. When you are meditating, that is the period when you are not 'I.' Know it. But you have your own concept—'I am meditating.' Even when you have realized, you say, 'I have realized.' 
    Having a sweater made from the wool of 10 sheep doesn't make you a sheep.
    Listen to Satsang. The day you come to Satsang, imbibe. Like fire and the wood-piece, wood has imbibed fire and fire is permeating the wood.
    You have to know this: You are the Self. 
    I think you have understood what I have said.

Gangadhar: Thank you very much, Swami-ji.

You are the Self, shining forever

Chaytnashree: I've noticed in my own saadhana and in my  observations that there are three different states that I experience. 
    One is that no matter what is going on in my life, it is just Amaram hum and what is going on creates no wave. 
    In a second state, the mind seems to generate worries and concerns about what is going on, yet even while that is happening, the Knower is present; the awareness is there. 
    And the third experience is where there is identification with the mind. 
    As the intellect becomes more sattwic, does it no longer generate the types of thoughts that cause worries and concerns any more, or does it still generate them but, because you are no longer a human being, there is no longer any identification with them?   

Swami-ji: They are generated only at certain stages. You are no longer 14 years old. And you no longer generate those things that you generated then. Because there has been development, growth, awareness, and that is why this human body came on earth. 
    Whether you knew it or not, you continued acting under the influence of your parents, and you grew. You kept studying: whether or not you knew the result of it would be awareness, you just kept on doing it.   
    Whatever your system, you watched it, and you have reached this stage. And you know that you do not think in the same way you did when you were 12, 13, or 14 years old. 
    You have the same head, but the mind is not the same. It is transformed. There must be someone who sympathizes with you and leads you towards that which will always be, who tells you about that which was always there and which, in between, is still there. But you won't know that it is true. 
    I say to all of you: that which you are wanting to reach after unfolding the sattwic consciousness and intellect, after attaining guru consciousness, is already there, and you have never become anything else. But you will still not want to claim to yourself that you have guru consciousness.  
    You will say, 'I am 42 years old but it has still not been assimilated that I am the whole, that I am perfect.'
    When your mind gets the dawning sunshine, it will say, 'I am lit. I am enlightened.' 

The light is always shining

It is a  purification that takes place—the purification of the intellect. 
    Suppose a flame is put in a glass case. And the glass is muddy. You will see the light from outside, but it will be faint, and things will not be clearly seen, such as a little needle which is lying on the floor. You may know that a needle was put there, but you are unable to see it. Your lantern has mud around it. 
    But the moment you clean it—purify it—it becomes a bigger light. Clean it more, it becomes a bigger light still. And then, with your intellect. you can see all the things which couldn't be seen when the light was faint, or the eyes were faint, or the brain was faint. 
    Purification is happening through Satsang. 
    The way to purify your intellect is to listen to me and to practice. Practice what? Practice unfolding the knowledge that you have this tool, the body, and it is the only tool, and since it is there, you use it, and before you use it, you keep it tip-top shape, in good repair. 
    When man is able to purify the intellect, he will come to know—you will come to know—the meaning of my words: 'You are the Self, shining forever, ever eternal intelligence, sarvaana bhoo. 
    You have never been anything else.' 

Awareness you are!

Manoraama: Yesterday you said that when there is no thought in your mind, you are guru. And all through Satsang yesterday and last night, I was watching my mind, trying to contemplate what it would be like to have no thought. And then I checked: some time had passed and there was no thought. So I saw that even the very contemplation of that creates the state of that guru consciousness. 

Swami-ji: When there is no thought, it is awareness. 
   The words we use so that you can understand and know the field of awareness are 'love,' 'light,' 'gyaan,' 'ras,' 'original ancient Space.'  The words for non-awareness are 'mind,' 'the ahankar (ego),' 'body' and 'world.' 
    There are two things only: awareness and its opposite. All that which is opposite to awareness is transitory. All that which is opposite to transitory is awareness. And you are the truth of that very awareness. Awareness you are.  
    Some persons have came to know this, like some of you. That's our hope: that all of you will have this developed brain: a competent, balanced brain—yogastah. Hope for that and until then, if it has not come, it doesn't matter. For millions of years, it has been like that, and you have had patience enough. Why would you not have patience in this lifetime, when you have everything? 
    A little bit of patience and you will be unfolding.  
    Awareness is our true nature.

23 March 2000