SoulIstheSourceofConsciousnessandLifePalatine,Illinois — December12,2015

Welcome,friends,tothismonthlygatheringthatwehave.Iamveryhappytobeback

aftermysecondknee—totalknee—replacement.Ihavenowtwokneesmadeof

titaniummetal.IfIgetafewmorejointsdonelikethisI'llbecomeabionicman.

(Laughter)It'sawonderfultechnologythattheycanreplacejointsandbodypartslike

this,sogiveextratimetoustostayinthephysicalbody.

Iamveryhappytojoinyouforthisholidaypartyandtowishyougreatholidays,and

youhaveverygoodholidays,enjoyyourChristmas,Hanukkah,anyothercelebration

thatyouhavewhatevernameyougiveit.Andit’sverynice.

Inormallydon'tliketoquotefrombooksorfromthetextsofdifferentpeople,

becauseIfeelthatifIquotefromsomebodyelse'sexperience,andthatisnotmy

experience,that'shypocrisy.IhavealwayssaidthatIwanttoconfinemy

conversationwithyou,andIwanttoconfinewhatItellyou,towhatIhave

experienced.IfIhavenotexperiencedyoucanlearnitfrommanypeople,youcan

readbooks.Ihavealsoreadbooks.Buttherearesomethingswhichyoupersonally

experience.Whenyousharewhatyoupersonallyexperiencethereisauthority

behindthat,becauseyouarespeakingfromyourexperienceandnotfromsome

learningfrombooksorlearningintellectually.AndthatiswhyIamgenerally

reluctanttoquotefrombooksorquotefromscriptureseven.Becausethoseare

experiencesofotherpeople.ButifsomeofthatexperiencefitsinwithmineI'm

willingtoquotethat.

TodayIwanttogiveyoutwomessages.AndI’lluseaquotationforthefirstmessage,

becauseitfitsinwithmyexperience.Thefirstmessageisforthesoul.Foryoursoul,

formysoul,forthesoul,thespirit,theverybasisofconsciousness,ourreality.What

we'relookingfor,whoarewe.Thesoul.Firstmessageisforthesoul.Secondmessage

isforthemind,whichwe'recontinuouslyusingtounderstandthings.Themessageto

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thesoulwilltaketwominutes;themessagetothemindwilltakeseveralhours.

(Laughter)

Firsttimewe'llstartwiththemessagetothesoul.Nowremember:Whenyoureceive

amessagetothesoulthemindshouldbekeptoutoftheway.Otherwisemindwilltry

tograpplewithitandnotunderstanditandnotevenletitgotothesoul.Sowhenyou

receivethemessagetothesoul,it'stoourgutfeeling,toourintuitiveself,tothatpart

ofuswhichdoesnotthink,butknows.Whichcansay:"Iknowthis.Idon'tknowhow,

butIstillknowit."Thatkindofgutfeeling,thatkindofintuitivefeelingcomesfrom

thesoul.Thinking,understanding,logical—puttingitintoalogicalsense—allmind.

Forthosewhoarespiritualseekersthey'reseekersofthesoul.Sothey'reseekersof

thespirit.Andthereforeamessageforthesoulwouldbegoodforthem.Thosewho

arementalseekersareintellectualinvestigatorsastowhetherwhatwe'retalking

aboutintellectuallymakessenseornot.Mostofusmixupthesethingsbecausewe

don'tevendistinguishbetweenourownsoulandourownmind.Wedon'tknow

whichisoursoul,whichisourmind—sometimeswethinkit'sthesamething.It's

not!Thesoulisthesourceofconsciousnessandlife.Soulisthebeginning.Without

soulyouarenotalive.

Mindisanattachment,anaccessorytothesoul.Mindenablesustoputtheexperience

ofthesoulintotime-space,lawofcausation,lawofkarmaandcreateasenseofhow

thingsshouldhappenfromacausetoaneffecttomakesense,tounderstand.All

understandingismental.Allknowingissoul.Knowingdoesnotrequire

understanding.Weknowsomuchwhichwedon'tunderstand.Andtherefore,these

aretwodifferentpartsofus.Theoriginalselfisthesoul.Andwhenaspiritualseeker

comestoamaster,toaPerfectLivingMaster…whoisaPerfectLivingMaster?A

humanbeingwithawarenessattheleveloftotalityofconsciousness.Thatmeans:all

levelsofawarenessiswiththathumanbeingatthattime.You'renotlookingata

teacher.Butifyoucomeintellectuallyyoumeetateacher.Andheteachesyou,soyou

canunderstand.So,veryoften,whenyouseeaPerfectLivingMastertellingyouabout

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spiritualtruthsyouareseeingthepersonwiththatawarenessandalsoateacherwho

isteachingyoutosatisfyyourmind.

So,togiveyouthefirstlesson,thefirstmessagetothesoul,Ihavetousetwo

quotations.AgainI'mgoingtousethis(iPhone)toremindthequotation...I’mgoingto

read.Firstisfrommyownmaster,GreatMasterHazurMaharajBabaSawanSingh,

fromwhomIgoteverythingthatIhave,andIhavenotgotanythingoutsideofit.I

triedeverythingoutsideofit,butwhatIsharewithyou,whatmyexperienceis,which

aregreat,arebecauseofthatoneman—BabaSawanSingh.AndI'mgoingtogivehis

quotationaboutwhatisthePathoftheMasters,whatisthespiritualpathabout.He

says,GreatMasterHazurMaharajBabaSawanSinghsays:"ThePathoftheSaints

beginswiththemaster.Masteristhestart.Masteristhemiddle.Masteristheend.It

isthemasterateverystepineveryformandeveryshape."Period.Endofdiscourse.

It'smademoreclearifIgiveyouaquotationfromanearliermaster,GuruNanakin

theGranthSahib,whichisthetext,holytext,oftheSikhs.Hesays,andI'llreaditin

originalPunjabi/GurmukhiandthenI’lltranslateforyou:"Nanak,Satgurbhetiye,

poorihovejugtiHasindya,khelandya,pehnandya,khavandya,vichehovemukti.”He

says:"Nanak,ifyouhavesurrenderedtoaPerfectLivingMasteryoureffortis

complete."There'snothingmoretodo.Thenwhat'llhappen?Whileyouarelaughing,

playing,dancing,havinggreattimeinthislifeyougetsalvation.Period.

Whatthismessageissayingisthatifyouareabletomeetahumanbeingwiththat

awarenesswhosays:"Iacceptyou,"whatelsedoyouwant?Thejourneyendsthere!

Therestisamentalgameafterthat,therestistospendthetimeoverhere,the

remainingtimewehavehereandpassitjoyfully,haveacompletelydifferentviewon

lifeafterthat.Sothemessageisverysimple.

Icametothiscountry,andIsawthousandsofseekers.Theywereallseekingthrough

themind.Therewasonlyoneperson,oneindividual,ayounggirl,whosaidtome:"I

knowthispathisthemaster,themaster,andthemasteronly."Ifyoucomeacross

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suchapersonyoufoundit.Therestistheresponsibilityofthemaster!Whena

masterinitiates,aPerfectLivingMasterinitiatesaperson,it'saguaranteedsalvation

ofthehighestorder.Whatelseisneededafterthat?Whereisthestruggleafterthat?

Thisstrugglewearedoingisonlyforthemind.

NowIwanttogivethesecondmessagetothemind.It'saverytoughthingtodothis

spiritualcourse.Firstofall:Howdowebelievethatthisistrue?Themindwillsay:

“Anybodycanconcoctagoodstory.Ithasnotbeenmyexperiencetogoinsideandto

seeanything.They'retalkingofthingsinside.Anybodycanmakeitup.Andsinceit'sa

goodbusiness,itappealstopeople,anditleadstoblindfaith,peoplearepropagating

it.HowcanIbesure?”Secondly:“Ifthispathhasanyrealvalueitshouldbeableto

proveempirically,scientifically,likeotherscientificthings.Weprovethings

empirically,it'srepeatable,itshouldbearepeatableexperiment,itshouldbedone

openly,everybodyshouldseeit,andthenweshouldbeabletoacceptit.Nobodyhas

doneit.HowcanIbelieveit?”Sotheelementofdoubtpersistswhenwewanttolook

atitmentally.

Therefore,alongcourseisprescribedforthespiritualpathwhichwasaveryshort

coursetostartwith.Itnowbecomesalongcourse:Doyourmeditation!Observethis

diet!Followtheinstructions!Whenyougotoagrocerystore,spendacoupleofhours

readingthefineprintontheingredients.(Laughter)Areyougoingtoeatsomething

wrongwhichwillnotletyougotoyourTrueHome?Areyougoingtodosomething

whichwillbesosinfulthatyourMaster,whosaysheisgoingtotakeyoutoyourTrue

Home,cannotcontrol?Soyouspendallthetimeinthatkindofthing.Then:meditate!

Meditatemore!Minimumtwoandahalfhours!Didyoudotwoandahalfhours?No,

youfailed!That'swhyyou'renotmakinganysuccess!Therefore:meditatemore!If

meditationdoesnotgiveyouanythingyou'relackinginyourfaith!HowcanIhave

faith?Ididn'tseeanything!Well,ifyoudidn'tseeanythingdomoremeditation!

Spendmoretime!Andyoucanspendawholelifetimepursuingthispathmentally.

And,attheendyoucanstillsay:"Iamnotsure."

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Secondly,supposingwhileyouarepursuingthismentalpathoftryinghardto

succeed…becauseourmindhasbeentrained,hasbeenbrainwashed,hasbeen

indoctrinated,notinonelifetime…ifyoulookatgeneticcodesitgoesbacktothe

inceptionoftheuniverse,ifyoulookatthesystemofcountingtheagesonthe

spiritualscripturesitgoestomillionsofyears,billionsofyears.Thismindwhichhas

beenthereforbillionsofyears,andwecarryitfromonebodytoanother,fromone

braintoanother,it'sbeenindoctrinatedwiththebelief:Youcangetnothingunless

youstruggleforit,unlessyouworkforit.SupposingIweretogiveasimplemessage:

"Look,you'vebeenfound,you'regoingtobetakenhome.""Now,whatamIsupposed

todo?""Youaresupposedtodonothing!"Theysay:"Thisguyknowsnothing!He's

tellingmedonothingtogotosuchanimportantdestination!”Minddoesnotacceptit.

Themindwantstostruggletogetsomething.Themindsays:"Nothingcanbe

achievedwithoutworkingforit."Andthereforewantstoknow:whatIshoulddo.And

theseclevermasterssay:"Therearealotofthingsyoucando!Followtherestrictions,

followthiswholecode,sitquietly,trytositbehindtheeyesinthisbody,trytofind

wherethethird-eye-centeris,andonceyousittherethenyouwillseethelightand

youhearthesound,andonceyouseethelightandthesound,that'llguideyoutogo

inside.Workhard!"

Peopletryforyears,andthentheysay:"Wesawsomeflashesoflight.Wesawsome

redlighthere,wesawsomelighthere,somelittlesprinklingof…dotsoflightwas

therewhichwesaw,likeacurtain,andtherewerelightbehind.Andwesawabig

flashoflightoneday."Doyouknowyouhitapersonontheheadhe'llseethesame

lights?(Laughter)Imean,let'sbe,let'sbepractical:whatarewegetting?Supposing

youseealltheflashesoflight.Haveyougotanyenlightenment?Istheflashoflight

enlightenment?Isyouranyexperience,internalexperience…supposingyouare

internallyabletofly,andyouflyovertheuniverse.Great!You'veseentheuniverse!

HaveyouseenanypartofyourTrueHome?Haveyoufoundoutwhoyouare?Have

youfoundoutwherethesoulis?Notatall!Thementalprocesstakesusthroughall

thesestages,makesitsodifficult.Andwelovetogothementalway!Becauseour

mindistrainedlikethat.Therefore,Icouldkeeponcountingthedifferenthazards

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thatcomewhenwegotheintellectualway.

Peoplehavehadgreatexperiencesandtoldme:"Wenowhaveunshakeablefaithon

thispath!Becausewehaveseenthecreation,wehaveseenthecreationcominginto

being,wehaveseenthebuildingblockswithwhichthiscreationoutsideisbeing

createdfrominside.We'veseenthat!"Andthen,intheirownlifeabad,tragicevent

hashappened(and)thewholefaithhasgone.It'sshaken!Whyisthat?Howcomeyou

haveunshakablefaithfromaninternalexperienceandsomethinggoeswrongin,

externally,inyourlife,andthefaithisshaken?Thereasonisverysimple.Reasonis:

thisisourreality!Nootherreality!It'sanexperience—experiencehadinthisreality.

Wecomebackintothisbody,andthisisourreality.Theotherexperiencelooked

morerealwhenitwasthere.Butwhenwearehere,thisbecomestheonlyreality.Not

onlywecansaythatlookedmorereal,butwearesayingthatacceptingthisasthe

onlyreality.Wearetakingeveryonethatwearetalkingtoasreal.Wearenot

realizingthatthisisalsoaprojectionofanexperiencelikethatonewas!Thereisno

difference!Consciousness,whichisoursoul,hasthecapacitytoexpressitself,to

expressindifferentforms,andtheexpressionsoftheconsciousnessiscreation.This

creationweseearoundusisalsoanexpressionofthesoul.Anyotherexperiencewe

haveisalsoexpressionofthesoul.Thesoulcanexpressitselfandexperiencethe

expressionatthesametime!Simultaneously!Itcreatesandexperiences

simultaneously!Leavingnogapbetweenthetwo.Thereisnotimegapbetweenthe

two.

It'sanoldstorygoingon:Isatreetherebecauseyoucanseeitoryouseeitbecause

thetreeisreallythere?Isseeingmakingthetreeorthetreeismakingyouseeit?Old

question.Thisquestionhasbeenaskedforthousandsofyears.Justtoestablishthe

causaldirectionofcreation.Isthecreationcreatedindependentlyofusandweare

placedheretoexperienceandobserveit?Orwearethecreation,arewecreatingthe

creationasweobserveit?Whichisthetruth?Thesimpleformulawouldbe:whatever

comesfirst—accordingtothelawofcauseandeffect,accordingtothementallaw—

whatevercomesfirst,mustbethecause,whatcomeslateristheeffect.Ifthetree

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comesfirstandthenweseeit,thentreeisreal.Ifweseeitfirstandthenthetree

appears,thenseeingisrealandtreeisnot.Unfortunately,bothtakeplaceatthesame

time.Thereisnotimelagatallbetweenthetwo!Theseeingofthetreeandthetree

comingintoourvisionareidenticalatthesametime.Sonobodycanknowthecausal

direction.Nobodycanknowwhetherwearereallylookingatacreatedworldand

observingitorwearecreatinganexperiencefrominside.

Themostremarkablethingisthatallourawarenessofthiscreatedworld—whether

createdindependentlyorcreatedbyourownconsciousness—isbeingperceived

throughoursenseperceptions.Oursenseperceptionsonly.Period.Thereisnoway

toexperiencethisuniverseoranycreateduniverse—thisoranyother,includingour

TrueHome,includingastralplanes,includinganyplanesofcreation—noneofthem

canbeexperiencedexceptthroughsenseperceptionorperceptionofadifferentkind.

Rightnow,inthephysicaluniverseourentireperceptionissensoryperception.The

fivesensesarepickingitup.Whetheryoulookdirectlyfromtheeyeoryoulook

throughatelescopeoramicroscopeoramoreadvancedgadget—youarelookingat

thegadget.You'reobserving.Youaretheobserver.Doesthethingexistindependent

oftheobserver?EvenEinsteincouldnotanswerthat—athisdeathbedhewrotethis

line,that"Ididnottakeintoaccounttheroleoftheobserver."Thatwhenthe

quantumtheorywasbeingpropagatedsomuchthatyourobservationaltersthings—

itwasagreatthingthatyoucanaltersomethingmaterialjustbyobservingit—butit

wasnotbeingexaminedwhetherobservationiscreatingthewholeexperience.

Becauseallobservationissensory.whetheryoutouchitorsmellitortasteitorany

otherway.Allthesenseperceptionsareinternaltousandarepartofourphysical

system,inwhichwearealive.Whenwearealiveandawakethesensorysystemsare

working,andweareperceivingeverything.

Sothewholequestioncomesdowntothis:isperceptioncreatingtheuniverseorthe

universeexistsindependentlyandweareperceivingthroughsenseperceptions?That

weareperceivingthroughsenseperceptionsisknown.Thatdoestheuniverseexist

independentlyisnotknown.Noproofexistswhatsoeverofanykindanywherein

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scienceormetaphysicswhichcanprovethatthereissomethingwhichhasnotbeen

observedbyhumanbeingandexists.Everything—weobservemorethemoreexists.

Therewasnotalkofdarkenergyanddarkmatterafewyearsago.Todaytheyexist.

Theycomeunderourobservation,althoughwehaven'tseenthem.Theycomeunder

ourobservation,sensoryobservation.Thatiswhy,it'sverydifficult,evenforthe

mind,toanswerthisquestion:dowehavearealworldaroundusorarewecreatinga

realworldthroughourownsystemofconsciousnessoperatingthroughsense

perceptions?Butifyoutakeoneperception,onesenseperception,whichisthemost

important,thepowerofseeing,thepowerofhavingvisioninthephysicalbody,that

weseewithoureyes.

Let'sjustexaminethissimpleoneperception.Weopenoureyesandseethings.First

ofall:ifitisdarkwedon'tseethem.Weneedlighttoseethem.Youmakepitch

darknessyouseenothing.There'sahandicapthatthisperceptionofsightthroughthe

eyesishandicappedtotheextentitneedsexternallighttosee.Whenlightfallsupon

anobjectthenwhathappens?Nowusealittlebitofelementaryscience,thatwhen

lightfallsuponanobjecttheraysreflectedofthatlightreachoureyeandgothrough

thelens,theaqueousandvitreoushumor,anditformsaninvertedimageofwhatyou

areseeingontheretinabehind.Thatcanbeseen.Youobservesomethingandyoucan

seeontheretinatheinvertedimage.Justbylookingthroughascopethroughtheeye.

Theinvertedimagefallsontheretinawhichisanextension—accordingtoanatomy

ofthebody—whichisanextensionoftheopticnerveandspreadsoutintorodsand

conestodistinguishbetweenshapesandcolorsandpicksuptheseelementsofshape

andcolorofwhatisbeingseen,theinvertedimage,andcarriesitthroughtheoptic

nerveintheopticcenterinthebrain,andthereitticklestheopticcenter,vibrates,

sendsamessage,electronicmessage—actuallyelectricmessage—electricmessage

thatgoesthroughthedifferentsynapsesofthebrain.Andonceitreachesthere—if

youareconsciousandawake—youseethatthing.Supposingyouarenotconscious:

youdon'tseeit.Ifyouarenotawake,youdon'tseeit.Youcanhaveyoureyesopen,

youdon'tseeit.

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Whataretheelementsofseeing?Theelementsofseeingis:anobjectmustbethere

outside,alightmustfalluponit,lightednearparallelraysmustcometoyou,getan

invertedimageandcarryitthroughtheopticnerveandgointothebrain,andforthe

braintheconsciousnesspicksupandyousay:"I'mseeing."Supposingthedesignof

theanatomyissuchthattheretinacanmakethoseimagesonitsown.Supposingthis

isthedesignandwedon'tknow.Supposingthedesignisthatwhatweareseeing

outsidecanbemadebytheretinaonitsown—we’llseetheworldexactlyasweare

seeingnow.Becausetherestoftheprocessisthesame.Supposingtheretinahas

nothingtodowithit,supposingtheopticnerveintheopticcenterinthebrainis

capableofthosevibrations,thatitvibratesthereandcreatestheimage—it’ll

automaticallycreatetheinvertedimageontheretinaandit'llautomaticallycreatethe

imageoutside.Supposingthereisnothinginthebrainatall,ultimatewhatispicking

upisthewakefulnessandyourconsciousnessthatyou'realive.Supposingtheliving

force,theconsciousnessitself,createsanimagethereit'llalsocreateanimageinthe

opticnerve,it'llalsocreateanimageontheretina,it'llalsocreatetheimageoutside.

Whichisthecausaldirection?Diditstartfromthereandgoout?Orisitcomingout

fromthereandgoin?Thereisnodiscussion,noanswertothisquestionsofar.

Butthereisananswer.Investigateit!Theansweris:okay,investigate!Butwhatcan

youinvestigate?Youcan'tseeinothers'people'seyestoinvestigate,becausethisis

happeningwithintheirinside,it'shappeningwithinyourinside.Ifyou'reexamining

themyouareexaminingthesamewaysomethingoutsidewhichisthesubjectof

examination.Therefore,examinewithinyourself!That'swherethecatchis!Thatwe

arenotusedtoexamininganythingwithinourselves.Weareconstantlyexamining

thingsoutside.Becausewehavereachedthepointthatthesenseperceptionswhich

aregivingusalltheinformationofacreatedrealityiscontinuouslybeingusedonlyto

observewhatisoutsideofourbodyandnotinside.Wearenotexamininganything

insideourbody.Wearenotevenawareofit!Weseethingsoutside,andwe

automaticallyassumethatthisisarealworldandweareobservingitthroughthe

senseperceptions.

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Markoneotherthing:wehavetwoeyes.It'sverysimplewhywehavetwoeyes.Two

eyesaresothatwecancreateadepthofvision—spectroscope,wecreateadepthby

mergingoftwovisions.Doweseeintheeyewhentheymerge?Wheredothey

merge?Haveyoueverthoughtofitthatwhentherearetwoimagescomingonthe

eyesandtheretinaiscarryingtwoimagesweareseeingoneandtheymerge

together?Wherearetheymergingandwhereareweactuallyseeing?Wehaven't

evenexaminedthat!Butifyoujustexaminethatpart,thattherearetwoimages,they

aredifferent,that'swhytheycreatedepth,thetwodifferentimages,andnowthey

have—youcangotoamovie,3Dmovieandthey'llshowyou,putglasses,andyou

seetwoimages,andtheybecome—andthingscomeveryclosetoyou,thoughthey

arenotclose,theyareonthescreen,flatscreen,butyoufeeltheyareclose.That's

exactlytheprocessweareseeingthisworld.Nodifference!Butwheredoweseeit?

Doweseethingsatthelevelwheretheeyesare?No!Thenthere'snomerger.Ifyou

justlookintoyourheadonlyuptothisextent:"Iamlookingatthisworld,twoeyes

arepickingup,andIammergingit",doyouknowwhereyoumergeit,whereyouare

reallyfeelingthatyouareseeingthingsfrom?Thethird-eye-center!Rightbehind

theseeyesinthemiddle.Always.Peoplesay:"Wearesearchingforthird-eyecenter,"

andthey'reusingitallthetime.Bylookingoutside!Whenyoulookoutside,whenyou

seesomething,thereisnootherplacetosee.Otherwiseyouseewithoneeye,it'sonly

one,andstillyouseefromthethird-eye-center.Becauseofthewaywehavedesigned

thisdepthofexperienceofvision.

Thesamethingholdstrueofallthesenseperceptions.Whydowehavetwoears?To

beabletoestablishthedirectionfromwherethesoundcomes.Supposingyour

hearingatanagelikemyage—youknow,thehearingbecomesdeficientandyoucan

hearmorefromoneear—(Ifeelsoundiscomingfromhere,it'scomingfromthere),

thenthere'ssomethingwrong.Twoearsgivesmeacleardirectionwheresoundis

comingfrom.WhenIcansayhowfarathingis,whereit'scomingfrom,theworld

becomesreal!It'ssoeasy!Tousethedevicesthathavebeenfixedupjustforsense

perceptiontomakearealworld.Andbecausewearecontinuouslyusingoursense

perceptionstoseeaworldoutside,thisworldisourreality.Ithasbecomesoreal

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thereisnothingelserealforus.Youmeditate,youseethings,they’redreamlike!

Supposing,youseeamoreawakenedstate,andpeoplehaveseenmoreawakened

states—yougointomeditationandamoreawakenedstate,thenwhathappens?You

comeback,andthisbecomesrealityagain,moreawakenedstatebecomesadream.

Anddreamislessrealthanthis.Soyoualwayscomebacktoaphysicalbodyanda

physicaluniversearounditwhichismorerealthananythingelseatalltimes.Solong

asyouareinthephysicalbodyitremainsrealatalltimes.

Andthatiswhy,becausethisisourrealitywearelookingforthetruthinthisreality.

Weareusingtheexperiencesofthisrealitytounderstandthroughthemindwhat

otherrealitiesmaybe.Wethinkwecanuseawatchheretosay:"InthemorningI

came,aftertwohoursIsathere.MaybeIcandothatinmyTrueHomealso.Inthe

morningIwillcomeandsitthereandthenI'llcomebackintothisbodytoexplainto

people:“Ispenttwohoursthere."AndifItellyou:therearenotwohoursthere,there

isnotimethere,theywilltrytofigureout:howcanIbetherethen?Ifthere'sno

time—butwewanttoemploytheexperienceoftimeandspaceheretoeverylevelof

experience.Thereisnowaywecangotoanyotherareatouseexamplesinorderto

understandthem.Andthereforethemindiscontinuouslyboggeddownbythese

questions,byapplyingthelawsofphysicaluniversetootherexperiences.Andeven

whenyouhavethatexperienceandyoucomeback,thisisthereality,thatdreamlike,

youtrytointerpretthedreamlikeexperiencewiththisreality.Sowearecaughtin

thisgameforlife.Thementalpursuitofaspiritualtruthcankeepyougoinground

androundincirclesforyourwholelife.

Thatiswhythere'salimitationonhowmuchyoucanpursuethisintellectuallyand

mentally.Thementalpursuitwilltakeyouonlythatfarinunderstanding,andyou

applyalltherulesofthisuniversethatyou'reseeingaroundyouincludingthebiggest

trapofallofthisuniverse:thateverythingisplacedintimeandspace.That'sthe

biggesttrap!Thisiswhatisholdingusmorethananythingelse;thisiswhatis

creatingthebiggestrealityforus.Ifwecanunderstandthenatureoftimeandspace

thattheyarecreatedinordertoputthisexperiencein,wehaveatotallydifferent

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vision!Butwearetakingthemasgranted.Wesay:"WhenthesoulleftitsTrueHome

inthebeginning,whathappened?"Butdoyouknowwhenthebeginningwas?There

wasnobeginning—atall.Nowisthebeginning,thenwasthebeginning,the

beginningisallthetimethere—whereistheend?Allthetime!Thebeginningand

theendisthesametime.Wehavenoconcept!Thereisnowayyoucanapplythe

rulesofthisuniversetoreality.Andifouraimistofindthetruth,theultimatereality,

wecannotapplythesethingshere.Sothat'swhythementalgameoftryingto

understandtheSpiritualPathandtryingtofigureoutwhatisourrole,whatcanwe

doinit,alwaysisboundtofail.Andwefailagainandagain,andwetryagainand

again,andwespendourwholelifedoingit.Wearealldoingit!Andwearetrainedto

doit.Wedon'tgointoanothersystemwhichisnotbaseduponthiskindofmental

investigationatall.

Whatisthatothersystem?Theothersystemis:knowing!Intuitively.Howdoyou

knowintuitively?Wealluseintuition,everyday.Weallhavegutfeeling.Lookatyour

ownlife!Howmanytimesyou'vefelt:"Ido,thisisit!YetIcan'tunderstandhow."

Howmanytimeshasithappened:"IwishIhadfollowedmygutfeelingandnot

thoughtsohardandcometothisconclusion—nowIhavetochangemymind."How

manytimeshasithappenedthatwehaveusedourmind,oursenseofunderstanding,

ourmental,intellectualcapabilitytofigureoutwhatweshouldbedoingandthen

lateronfindingsomenewfactcominginandsaying:"Wemadeamistake."Allour

life!Thismentalfunctionwhichwearegivingprimacy,becauseoftheindoctrination,

becauseofthegeneticway,we'rebroughtupthismind,thisfunctioningofthebrain

usingconsciousnessasthemind—thishasbeengoingonforever!Andthatiswhy

wewanttounderstandthings!

Understandingisthebasisofeverything.Wecan'tmoveforward,wecan'tbelieve

anythingunlessweunderstandit.Andunderstandingitselfhasthislimitation.The

understandinghastobewithinthecontextofwhatisphysicallyoutsideofus.There

isnootherway,there'snootherpointofrelevanceforus.Andthatiswhyweare

constantlytroubled.Themoreyouthink,themoreconfusedyouget.I'vetestedthis

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out.Somepeoplecametomesaying:"Weareveryclearofsomething."Isay:"Let's

thinkalittlebitmore!"Andtheywereconfusedaftersometime.Becauseyoucan

alwaysfindalternatives.Youcanalwaysfindthattherecouldbeanotherwayof

lookingatit.Themindcanalwayslookatotherwaysofdoingthings,andtherefore

younevergetoutofthisconfusion.

Nowthealternative,whichistheSpiritualway.TheSpiritualwayis(partone):That

youknow!WhatbringsyoutoaPerfectLivingMaster?Gobacktothat.Howdidyou

comethere?Didyoucomebyunderstanding?Ordidyoucomebysomeothermeans?

Verysimple.IhaveseenpeoplecomingtoGreatMasterfromallworksoflife—

doctors,scientists,peoplewhospendtheirwholelifeinvestigatingthingsoutside,and

theycomethere,theysay:"That'swhatwewanted!""Whatdidyouwant,toseean

oldmanwithawhitebeard?That'swhatyoucamefor?""No!Wewerewaitinga

lifetimeforthisevent.""Whatwereyouwaitingfor?"Nowthescientificminddoesn't

answerwhattheywerewaitingfor.Butthey'rewaitingforsomething.

Whenyoulookattheingredients—againusingintellecttodescribesomethingnon-

intellectual—whenyoulookattheingredients,whatthatknowingiswhichdraws

youtoaMaster,whichdrawstoapersonwithadifferentstateofawareness,what

drawsyouthereisnotunderstanding!Understandingconfusesyou.Whatdrawsyou

thereissomethingwhichiscalledintuition—touseordinarywords:intuition,love,

andjoy.Blissfulfeeling.Thesethreethingsdonotcomefromthemindatall!Noneof

them!SoyouareusingadifferentpartofyourselfwhenyoucomeonaSpiritualPath.

Andyet,immediatelyafterthatwewanttobringthemindintothink:"Howdidwe

comein?Yeah,thatwasastrangecoincidence,thatwasastrangewaywecame."But

therealtruthisthatyouweredrawnbyknowingyou'regettingwhatyou'rewaiting

for—notmental!Youweredrawnbyalovethatyouhadn'texperiencedbefore.You

weredrawnbyastrangeblissfulfeelinginsideneverexperiencedinphysicalblissor

physicalpleasures.Sowhenyouhavethesefeelings,you'redrawntoaPerfectLiving

Master.Andthatisaspiritualpursuitthathasnothingtodowiththemind.Butsince

14

wearesousedtothemind—theprimarywayofunderstanding—wewantto

understandwhathappened.Andthenwebuildsomewallsinbetween,wallsofdoubt.

"Ican'tbesureofthisthing.NowImetthatperson,thatpersontalkedlikethis,this

persontalkedlikethis,Ican'tbesure,Ilostmyfaith."Howmanypeoplearebuilding

theirfaithontheirpersonalexperience,andhowmanylookingatotherstobuild

theirfaith?Isay:"Donothaveanyblindfaith!"WhydoIkeeponsaying:"Don'thave

blindfaith!"?Becauseblindfaithisamentaladaptationoftruefaith.It'smindtrying

toconvinceyou:yes,yes,becauseoftheseevents,becauseofthissetofcircumstances

Ihavetohavefaith.Circumstanceschange,faithgoesaway.Onelittlechangetakes

place.Supposingyouhave99eventswhichyoucallmiraculousbuildingupyourfaith,

oneaftertheother—morefaith,morefaith,the100thgoesagainstyou—allthe99

falldown."Oh,Ican'tbesure.Thisisnottrue."Wearewillingtodropeverything.

Nowtherearesomethingsthathappeninourlife,physicallife,externalphysicallife,

eventshappen.Wedon'tknowwhytheyhappen.Wecan'teasilyexplainthatifwe

areallhumanbeings,createdequal,atleastweshouldhavebeencreatedequal,we

areallhumanbeings,somearerich,somearebornrich,somearepoor,someare

healthy,someareunhealthy,some—thereissuchalargediscriminationfromoneto

theother,andifreligionteachesusthatthereisoneCreator,andwhohasmadeallof

us,wearehischildren,howcouldhebesodiscriminatorythatheputsomuch

discriminationamongstallhischildren?Howdoweexplainthatourlivesareso

different?Andwhatmakesthedifference?Wecan'tunderstandit,howweare

different.Sowecancomeupwiththeoreticalmodels;andonegoodtheoreticalmodel

whichhasheldswayforalongtimeandheldswayintheEasterncountriesforever

andhascometobeacceptedmoreandmoreintheWesterncountriesis:itisour

karma,ourdestinythatgivesuswhatwearehaving.

Anddestinyisnowresponsibleforourstatusinlife,whywearepoor,whyweare

rich,whywearehealthy,whywearenot,whywelivelong,whywedieearly—all

thingsarenowascribedtodestiny.Andwhatisdestiny?Wedon'tknow.Wewere

borninacertainplaceandthewholedestinywaswrittenupbytheplacewewere

15

bornin.BorninapoorplaceinEthiopia,anddestinywaspoor.Borninarichplacein

arichperson'shouse,destinywasgood.Whodistributesthisdestiny?Whogivesus

thisgoodandbaddestiny?Veryverydiscriminatory.Terrible!Whoeverisdoingit,

whocanweblame?Youcan'tblametheCreator,becauseheissupposedtobeequal

forall,inallreligions.It'snotappropriate.IfyoublametheCreator—youcandoit,

it'sjustamentalthing.Creatordoesn'tcare,I'msure,whetheryoublamehimornot.

(Laughter)But,ifyoublametheCreatorthedestinydoesnotchange.Nothing

happens.Youdon'tgetanythingoutofitbyblaminganybody.Ifyoublameanybody

elseeventhendestinydoesnotchange.Soultimatelywhathappens:youblame

yourself!"ItmustbemyKarma."Andthat'shittingthenailonthehead.Becausethe

restiscreatedfromyourdestiny,yourexperiencehasbeencreatedfromthere,so

youcreatedyourowndestiny.

Thenofcoursethelawofkarmabecomesvalid:thatyoudidsomethingforwhichyou

arenowsufferingorenjoying."ButIhadnotimetodoit!Iwasborninapoorhouse,

whendidIgetthetimetodoanything!"Thereitcomesin:okay,thentheremusthave

beenreincarnation.Theremusthavebeenapastlifebecauseyoucouldn'tdo

anythinginthislife.Ifyoucan'tdoanythingandstillsufferorstillenjoysomething

andyoucouldn'tdoanythinginthislife,thenhowdoyouascribethisdiscriminatory

destiny?Mustbeanotherlife!Sotheformulaofakarmictheoreticalmodelholdsvery

good.Itholdsgood,butitexplainseverything.Thelawofkarmaexplainseverything.

Sowelikeit—good,it'sagoodtheory.Insciencewhenwecanfindatheorythatcan

explainsomethingweacceptit.Wecancomewithahypothesis,andthenwe—ifit

explainseverything—wesay:"Thisisanacceptedtheory."Sothistheoreticalmodel,

thatwearebornagainandagainandwecreateourownkarmaandonelife'sactions

leadtotheotheractions,becomesvery…asensiblethingforthemindtounderstand.

Wesay:"Okay,wemadeourowndestiny."

Whendidwestartmakingourdestiny?Thequestioncomesupthatwhendidwe

startmakingthisdestiny?Wasitthelastlife?Howdidthelastlifedestinycome?

Previouslife?Whataboutthebeginning?Howaboutthebeginning?Afterallwe're

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surethatwecouldn'tbehereforever,wearenotinfinitepeople.Ifdestinyisbeing

madefromonelifetoanother,thenhowcanwebesurewhendidwestartmaking

thisdestiny.Istherearealclearanswertothisfundamentalquestiononkarmathat

whendidthefirstkarmastart?Andwhatformwereweintostartthiskarma?Were

wehumanbeings?Canwebecomehumanbeingsifwedon'thavekarma?According

toLawofkarmayoucannothaveanyeventhereinthedestinywithoutapriorcause

forthatkarma.Thereforeapreviouskarmaisnecessarytohavealifeitself,notonly

newkarma.Andthenewlifeisakarmapackedfromthepreviouslife,andprevious

fromthepreviousone…Wherediditallstart?

That'saquestionwhichthemindcannotunderstand.Forasimplereason:because

themindcannotunderstandwhatisinfinity.Becauseyoucangobackaslongasyou

like,it'sstillinfinity.Youcansay:"Itwasthen-thlifetime—wayback."Whatwasthe

nminusone?Stillalifetimethere.Infinityisaverystrangething.Infinityiswhere

youcannotfindanend.Norabeginning.Wearesittingrightnowatthistimein

infinitetimeandinfinitespace.It'sinfinite!Iwassurprisedtoseeagroupofscientists

claimingtheotherday(that)therenobigbangtookplace.Becauseinfinitycannotbe

createdbyabigbang.Thatinfinitymustexistindependently,thereforeweallhave

beeninfinite.Andbigbangsaremerelysubsidiarycreationsinthatinfiniteuniverse

thatalwaysexisted.Anewtheory.Newtheoryinscienceandastronomynow.Butthe

questionis:infinityonlymeansyoucangoonandonandonasmuchasyoulike,it's

stillnotfinished,butyouwillfinish!Andthat'stheendofinfinity.Ifyoucangoin

spacefurtherandfurther,furtherandfurther,there'smorespacebeyond,itnever

ends,butwhenyoucan'tgofurtherbecauseyouend,infinityends.

Letmegiveyouasimpleexample:wegotosleepatnight.Wehavenodream,anda

dreamstarts.Adreamstarts,andweareinaplacewithasky,weareinaplacewith

time,andwelookatthewatch—manyhourshavepassedonthatwatch.Theskyis

infiniteinthedream,andwelook:oldbuildingswhichweneversawbefore,they're

reallythousandsofyearsold.Sowe'rehavinganexperienceoflongtime,infinite

space,infinitetime,andwewakeup!Thewholeinfinitethingfinishes.Eveninfinity

17

finishes!Becausewedidnotgointoadreamstateatthebeginningofanything.We

wentintothemiddleofinfinity.Andthedefinitionofinfinityis:you'realwaysinthe

middle.Becauseyoucangobothwaysinfinite,thereforethese—therethedistanceis

thesame.Thetime-wiseisthesame.Whenwegointoadreamstate,wecreatean

infiniteuniverse.Whenwewakeupthewholeinfiniteuniversedissolves,finishes.

Supposingthisuniverse,whichwearetryingtomeasureoutside,isalsocreatedthe

samewaybyconsciousness.It'llbeinfinite,intimeandspace.Whenwasitcreated?

Whenwesteppedintoit.Whenwillthisinfinityfinish?Whenwestepoutofit.It'sthe

sameprocess:thatconsiousnesscreatinganexperiencecreatesinfiniteexperience

always,whetherit'sdreamstate,wakefulstate,higher,alteredstate,thehigheststate,

it'salwayscreatingthosestatesinfinite.Itisthenatureofconsciousnesstogenerate

thisexperiencealwaysinfinity.Sothatiswhy,theinfinityisnotatrap.Whatatrapis:

timeitself.Supposingtherewasnotime,there'llbenokarma.It'sassimpleasthat.If

thelawofkarmasayswearetrappedherebykarma,iftherewasnotime,everything

wouldcollapseintozerotime.Therewillbenokarma,nocauseandeffect.Wheredid

thisstart?

Canwereallyexplore,notmerelybyexploringwheredowelookoutfromwiththese

twoeyeswhichgivesusathirdeye.Ifyoucloseyoureyesandsay:"WhereamI

lookingoutfrom?"you'llautomaticallybeatthethirdeye!Youcanmovebutyour

firstpointoflookingwhenyou'relookingoutside,closeyoureyes,youwerelooking

fromthethirdeye—themergedvisionofthetwoeyes.Ifyouarelookingfromthere

andthenyouwanttoconcentrateonbeingthereandforgetwhatyousawoutside,

thenyoucanstartexploringotherthings.Ifyoustartexploringotherthingsby

makingthatvisionamoveablevisionnotconfinedtowhatyousawwiththeseeyes

outside,butwhatyouarenowseeinginsideandlookingatdifferentthings,forsome

timeifyoutrythatexperimenttheeyeballswillalsomovebecauseyouareusedto

lookingoutside,youjustcloseyoureyes.Butlateronyou'llfindthattheseeyeballs

havenothingtodowithwhatyou'relookinginside.Andtherecomesinasubjectof

theuseofimagination.

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Whatisimagination?Supposingwecanseesomethinginimagination.Peoplehave

seenthingsinimaginationwhichthey'veneverseenoutside.Thetheoreticalpeople

saythatisbecauseinimaginationwecombinetheelementsofwhatyou'veseen

outside—thereforeyouseemanycombinations,permutations,combinations.But

someexperiencesseeninsidearetotallynotcombinableeven.Andtherewefindthat

imaginationissomethingdifferent.Whatuseisimaginationtousinaninvestigation

ofwhatisinside?Theuseofimaginationisthatwecanuseimaginationtousethe

innereyetonotbedependentonseeingwhatisintheoutereye.Ifweimagine

somethingwiththatandseethatthinginimaginationwiththesameeye,thethird

eye,whichisseeingwhentheseeyesareopen—whenweclosetheseeyesandsee

withthateyeanimaginarything,wehaveseparatedourselvesfromthevision

outside.Andthat'sagreatthing.

Onceyoucandothat,thenyoufindthattheonethatisseeingatthethird-eye-

center—isthatmerelyashiftofyourpowerofseeing?Orisitashiftofthewhole

thing,allsenseperceptions?Canyoualsohearfromthere?Canyoutouchfromthere?

Canyouuseimaginationtotouchthingsfromthere?Andstretchyourhand—not

thesehands—stretchyourhandsofyourimaginaryself?Seeifyoucantouchthings?

Youcan!You'llfindthatyoucandoeverythingandmorewiththatimaginaryselfof

yoursthanyoucandowiththisbody.Supposingyouwanttoflywiththatimaginary

self.Veryeasy!Isometimes—youknow,inmeditationworkshops—Isay:"Opena

windowandgooutandfly!"Peoplefly.It'ssoeasy,imaginary.Now,whilewesay

“imaginaryflight”wediscardit,discredititas“imaginary,”beingunreal,thisbeing

real.Thatthiswhatwe'reseeingwitheyesopenismorereal,becausethat'sour

acceptedreality,andwithintheacceptedrealityweareimaginingsomething,but

that'sunreal,thisisreal.

Now,letussee:wehaveanothergreatpowerinus—thepowerofconcentratingour

attentionwhereverwelike.That'sabigthing!Supposingweconcentrateour

attentiononthatbeing,imaginarybeingofourselves,andconcentrateourattention

19

tothepointthatwebecomeunconscious,unawareofthephysicalbodywhichcan

happen—anybodycandoit,bytheway.It'snotsuchabigleapforwardinthe

practice.Everybodycandoit.What'llhappen?Thatbecomesreal.Whenthatbecomes

real,thisbecomesunreal.Forthattime.Whenyoucomeback,thisbecomesreal,that

becomesunreal.That'salwaysthepattern.Butwhileyouhavethatexaminationof

reality,inrealityyoucanfly.Inrealityyoucanseemore.Inrealityyoudon'tneed

glassesforweakeyesight.Haveyoueverseenthatindreamsyoucanreada

newspaperwithoutglasses?Youcan'treadtheminwakefulstate.Inimaginationyou

canreadit,youcan'treaditinrealphysicallife.Howdoesitsharpenup?Becauseit's

imaginary!It'sunreal!Actuallyit'sreal!Becauseyou'rehavingrealexperiences.

Thewholesecretis:haveyouusedthepowerofconcentrationofattentiontothe

extenttomakeanyformofyoursmorerealthantheotherform?Becauseyouhave

differentforms.You'vealreadyseenyourimaginaryform,rightinside?Andthe

beautyis:supposingyoudiscoverthatimaginaryformofyoursinside:"That'sme,I

canfly,Ihavenewhands,Icanseemyhands"—theotherhandsaresittingoutsidein

meditation—“I’mseeingmyotherhandsinside.Icanopenmyeyes,I'mlooking

around,"buttheothereyesareclosed.I'vereachedthatpointwherethathasbecome

myreality.NowIwanttomeditatewiththereality.Notwiththisbodyanymore.I've

donemyjobwiththisbody.Icreatedaformofmyselfthathasanexperiencenow.

AndI'vebeendoingitformanydayssoIknowwhatitis,soIcangointothatstate

veryquicklybecauseI'vebeendoingitfordays.Onceyou'vedoneitthendon'tstep

backagainintothisbodytomeditatemore!Meditatewiththatbody!Youhaveahead

withthatbody.Youhaveeyesinthatbody.Youhaveathird-eye-centerinthatbody.

Whereisthat?Insidethatimaginarybody.Nowimaginewhat'llhappen.

Ifyouareabletofollowtheseinstructionscarefullyandforgetaboutthisbody,use

purelytheinnerbodythatyou'vediscoveredandmeditatewithinthatatthethird-

eye-center,youbecomeformless.Andyouseeyou'reformless.Youdon'tneedhands,

youdon'tneedlimbs,youdon'tneedevenabody,butyouarethere.Actual

experience!Whatdoyouseethenaroundyou?Here,whenweareinaphysicalbody

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inaphysicalformandweopenoureyesandsenseperceptionsweseeaphysical

world.Whenyou'reintheimaginarybodyyouseetheimaginaryworld.Whenthe

imaginarybodybecomesrealbecauseofconcentrationofattentionitopensup

anotherworldwhichcongealsintoanotherreality.Andyoucanseeitasanother

reality.It'sdifferentfromthisreality.Andweseepeople,weseeourfriends,andwe

seenewpeople.So,wherearetheycomingfrom?Whenwecomebackintothisbody

againwesay:"Oh,thatwasagooddream!"Averyluciddream,verylucid,clear,more

real,butdream,becausethisisreality.

Rememberwe'vealwaysonereality.That'stheproblem!Thatwecanonlybestuckto

onereality.Oncewecomebackwithaphysicalbody,itskarmic,karmiclengthofstay,

thatmeans:thelifetimethatwehave,we'recontinuouslycominghereevenwhenwe

haveinnerexperiences,spiritualexperiences.Sothatiswhywecan'treallyholdonto

thoseexperiences.Wecanhavethem,butwecanhaveanyexperience.Thebeautyis

thatwhenyoumeditatewiththeinnerbodyandbecomeformless,youareabletosee

themakingofyourdestinywhichcausedthekarmatohappenfrominfinityinthe

physicalworld.Ifsomebodysaystome:"Idon'tknowwherethisinfinitystarted,

wherethiskarmastarted,"Isay,"Thereisawaytosee!"Butit'snotoutside.It's

inside.Youcan'tgoinsidesomebodyelsetoseeit;youhavetogoinsideyourownself

toseeit.Becausethissomebodyelseispartofyourdestiny.Everythingyousee

outsideispartofyourdestiny.Ifyouwanttoseehowitcameup,howitbecame,how

therelationshipscameup,whywe'vegoodandbad,whywearehighandlow—you

wanttoseeallthat?There'sawaytoseeit.

Atthatpointyourealize:itisthatformofyourswhichpickedupapackageof

destinies,notonedestiny.Apackageofdestiniesinwhichyoucouldmoveintoone

dreamstateandtheseconddreamstateandgothroughtheentirepackage,infinite

package.Thepackagewasinfinitebecauseyoucouldgoasfarasyoulike.Andthere’ll

alwaysbeacauseforthenextone.Imaginetheanswertothequestionhowdidthis

wholelawofkarmastart,therealanswer,ananswerthatwecanfindourselveslies

withinourselves.Andnottoofar!Onlytwostepsaway!Firststep:gointothird-eye-

21

center,imagineyourselfthere,andimaginewithsomuchconcentration,putsomuch

concentrationonactivitythere,dosomanythingstherethatyouforgetyouhavea

physicalbody,andthenmeditatewiththatone,andyoufindoutthesourceofyour

destiny.Suchremarkable.It'ssomethingthatisthere!Andwecandoitandfindout,

figureout.

Now,todothisyouhavetobeveryseriousaboutit.Thatiswhyit'sthementaltask.

Thisisamentalexperience,andamentaltask.Whathavewediscovered,whatisthat

formlessselfofours?Doyouknowwhatitis?Justourmindsanssenses,sansbody.

Mindwithoutsenseperceptionswithoutthebody.That'sourself,whatwe're

experiencing.Andyet,that'skeptalivebecauseweareconscious.Thesoulisstill

makingthatalive.Whatwecalla“causalbody”isthatmind.Andwecanseethemind

byitself.Andwiththesesimplesteps.Thestepslookverysimple,andtheyaresimple.

Butthey'redifficult.Whyaretheydifficult?Becausewemadethemdifficult.

Wemadethemdifficultbycontinuouslyputtingallourattention,continuously

puttingallourattentionontheexperiencegeneratedinthephysicalworld.We're

continuouslythinkingofthingsrighthere.Weneverhadthechancetopractice

withdrawalofattentiontothatlevel.Ifyoupracticeyougetit.Buteverytimewetry

topractice,thesethingstowhichwe'vegivenalltheattention,theypullusout.And

theypullusoutbecausewe'reattractedtothem.We'reattachedtothem.Wedesire

them.Ifyoudidn'tdesirethemanddidn'tattachtothem,ifyou'vejustthought:“This

isashow…”Supposing,tomorrowyousaid:"I'mgoingtobeaspiritualperson.Iknow

thisisjustagreatshowtakingplace.Igeneratedit,andI'mnotbothered.Ijustgoto

seeitandgoaway.There'snothingtobeattachedtohere,it'snotreal"—you’llgo

immediately.

Butwedon'tdothat.Thisisourreality,wehaverealfriendshipshere,real

relationshipshere,realproblemshere,realresponsibilitieshere—youliveareallife,

withadestinythatwecreatedourselves.Sothisisakindofatrap.Andwhydowe

callitatrap?Whydon'twecallitagreatopportunity?I'msureweneverdesigneda

22

trap.Whywouldwe?Howcouldweretainsomuchintelligencetodaytobeableto

understandallthesethingsandbesostupidorlackofintelligenceatthetimewhen

wedesignedittosay:"We'redesigningatrap."Wedidn'tdothat!Wedesigneda

varietyofexperiences,suchavarietyofexperiencesthatconsciousnesshasnolimits.

Consciousnesscouldbeconsciousofanythingandbecomereality.Withthatgreat

capacityinconsciousness,thatgreatcreativecapacityintheCreatorwhichwecall

totalityofconsciousness,withthatcapacitywecreatedavarietyofexperiencesat

differentlevels—alevelwherewecouldaspureconsciousnessbeawareofthe

many,beawareofbillions,trillionsofotherslikeourselves.Picturesofourselves,

mirrorscreatingimagesofourselves.Andwecouldalsoputourownconsciousness

intothemirrorimagesandmakethemmoveasifthey'reindependentofus.Wecould

createmillionsofsouls,justwithconsciousness,andmakeeachsoullooklikeit'sthe

same,likeourowncreatingsoul.That'sagreatpower!Wecouldcoveritwith

somethinglikeamind,likeacausalbodytocreatetime-spaceandhaveatotally

differentkindofexperience.Wecouldputsenseperceptionsintoitandhaveatotally

differentkindofexperience.Andputaphysicalbodyontopofthatandmakeatotally

differentexperience.That'swhatwehavedone.Goodjob!Weshouldcompliment

ourselvesontheachievement.

Butwhysomuchhighandlow?Ifwehadtodesignwhynotallbeinheavenly

pleasureandjoy?Wedidtrythat,too!Obviously!Ifwecoulddoeverythingwedid

createtheheavensandthatjoyallthetime,wegotboredwithit.Joyallthetime?It

doesn'tremainjoy.There'snothingtomakeajoy.Tellme—iftherewerejoyallthe

time,wouldyoucallit“joy?”No,therehastobesomesorrow—ah,nowIcomeback

tojoy.Everythinghastobeseenagainstapairofoppositesincreatedworld,inall

createdworlds,allthesethreeworldsI'mtalkingof:thephysicalworld,theworldof

senseperceptionsorastralworld,andtheworldofthemindwhichiscausalworld,in

alltheseworldswehavecreatedthingswithopposites.Tobeabletodeeply

experience.Andwehadverydeepexperiences.We'rehavingevennow.Sometimewe

say:"WhatterribleKarmaIhave.WhatterribleexperienceI'msuffering.I'msuffering

pain,I'msufferingthis."Supposingyouhadapainfulexperienceinadream.You

23

wouldsuffer.Whilethedreamwouldlastyouwouldsuffer.You'dsay:"WhathaveI

gotinto?WhyamIhavingsomuchpain?"Itwon'tgoaway.It'llfollowtherulesofthe

dream:thatyoucausedit,thepainisthere,youhurtyourself,somethinghappens,

somebodyhurtyou,youhaveemotionalpain,youhavephysicalpain,andyouare

suffering.Andthenyouwakeup.Painisstillthere.Butyousay:"ThankGod,itwasa

dream!"Itwasacreated,generatedexperience.Andyoufeelsorelievedthatyou

don'thavetherealpainatall.

Now,imagine,ifwehaveourtruestatewithnopairsofopposites,ifourTrueHome

wherewebelong,whereconsciousnessresides,wheresoulresideswhichisthereal

destinationfortheSpiritualPath,ifinthatstatethereisnopairsofopposites,thereis

noduality,whatstatearewein?Toappreciatewhatstateareweinwouldn'titbe

greatideatocreateaworldofdualityandappreciatenon-duality?Sincetheprinciple

isstillthesameinconsciousness.Inconsciousnesstillthetoptheprincipleremains

thesame:thatwehavearelativeexperience,generatedexperiencetoseethevalueof

theotherexperience.Wegetpaininthedream,wewakeup:"ThankGod,nowI'm

okay!Ihadatrainaccident,andI'vehitagainstsomething,thankGod,it'snotreal,

justadream,thisthing."WewakeupintoourownTrueHome,findthewholething

wasgeneratedatalllevelsjusttogreatlyappreciateourownstate!That'llmake

sense.Evenmentally,evenintellectuallyit'llmakesensethatifweareinastate

wherewehavenowayofobservinghowtoappreciatewhatwehavewewouldcreate

somethingfromwhichweswingbackandsay:"Nowwecanappreciatewhatwe

have."It'llapplytoourTrueHomealso.It'llapply—andnotonlypainandpleasure,

theseareopposites—wearetalkingoftheoppositeofoppositesthatwearecreating

aworldofpairsofoppositesinordertoappreciateaworldwithnooppositesatall.

What'sthevalueofopposites?What'sthejoy,thebliss,ablissofnokindthatyou

cannotexperienceatallexceptbycomparingwiththedifferentjoyandsorrowofa

dividedworldofpairsofopposites.Peoplesay:"Whatisthepurposeofcreation?"

Thisisthepurposeofcreation.Andagoodone!Itevenmakessensetothesouland

makessensetothemind.It'sgoodforboth.

24

Butthenthequestionis:howlongdowehavetowaitforthistogoon?Itdepends.

Whenwegotosleep…IrememberinthesixtieswhenIcametotheUnitedStatesfirst

time,thereusedtobestudiesofsleepanddreams,andtheretheyusedtoseethatif

yousleepyoualwayshavedreams.Everybodyhas.Peoplesay:"Ineverdream,"

becausetheydon'trememberthem.Whenthedreamtakesplace,theyfound,the

eyes,theeyelidsmove,there'sarapideyemovement.Rapideyemovement

horizontallyorverticallytakingplace.Veryoften,whatyou'reseeinginthedream

correspondswiththemovementoftheeye.Ifyouareseeingatennismatchtheeyes

willmovelikethis(showswithhands),ifyouareseeingawaterfall,eyesmovelike

this(showswithhands),butyoucanalwayswakeupasubjectunderstudywhenthe

rapideyemovement,isgoingonandaskwhatyou'rewatching,andthey’lltellthe

dream.Attheendofthatnightinthemorningtheywon'ttellanydream:"Ihadno

dream."So,weforgetmostofthedreamsbutweallhavedreams.

Thegreatestfeatureofthedreamsisthatnodreamlastsmorethantwelveminutes.

Mostdreamsaresevenminutesorless.Thentheyfinish.Thenanotheronestarts

afteragap.Wedreamseveraltimeseverynight.Butinsevenminutesdreamwecan

dreamawholelifetime.Wecanseehoursandhoursofgoingsomewhere.Oneman

hadadreamthathegrewinschool,hewasgoingtoschoolasachild,thenhegrew

up,thenhefellinlovewithsomebody,thenhemarried,hehadchildren,hebecame

big,agrandfather,helivedhiswholelife,andwokeup.Thewholethingtookplacein

sevenminutes.Dreamcanextendthetime.Whatwouldhappenifwedreamsixtimes

—dreamwithindreamwithindream?Wecouldextendtimetoinfinity.Thisis

exactlywhatwearedoing.Whenwewakeup—howlongdidwedream?Notevena

second.Wedidn'tdreamatall!Wejustcreatedadream-likesequence.Andtherewas

notime.Allthistimewascreatedforthesakeofthedream,forthesakeofthe

experience.

Thebeautyofthiscreationisthatweareabletocreatetheseeventsintimeandspace

andmakethemsoreal.Weshouldbelookingatitinawe!Thiscreationisworthbeing

lookedatinawe!Thatwehadthiscapacitytocreatesomethinglikethis—sucha

25

varietyofexperiences,emotional,spiritual,physical,allkindsofexperiencesweare

abletogeneratefromconsciousness.But—whenwetakethisasreal,everybodyis

real,weareattachedtothem,wearepayingoffourkarmaoverhere—welosetouch

withreality,welosetouchwithwhatthepurposeofthecreationis,welosetouch

withourownself,welosetouchwithourownself,weevenlosetouchwithwhatour

soulis,welosetouchwithwhatthecreativepoweris.Wehavetofindanother

creativepowertojustifywhatishappening.WehavetoinventaGod.Weallinvent

gods.Becauseifyoudon'tinventaGod,whodoyouworship?Youdon’twantto

worshipyourself!Andwhenyousay:"Iwanttoworshipmyself,"whichself?The

body?Themind?Thesoul?Orsomeothercreativepower?Whereisit?

Whenyoufindthatthesamecreativepower,thetotalityofconsciousnessthatcreates

allexperiencesatalllevelsistheonethat'screative,istheCreator,ultimateCreator,

youwanttogiveitaname.That'sallright,giveanyname—youcallitGod,Allah,

Ishwar,Parmeshwar,Jehovah,anynameyougiveityouaregivingnametowhatyou

considertobeabeingseparatefromyourself.You'renevergivinganametoyourself!

YouwantthattheCreatorshouldbesomebodyoutsideofyourself.Itcan'tbe

yourself.You'retooweak,toosmallinabigworldtakingyouridentityasaphysical

body,you'resuchasmalllittlespeckinalargecreatedworld,howcouldthisbethe

Creator?ThisisnottheCreator!Thisispartofcreation!ThebodyisnottheCreator.

ThesensesarenottheCreator.ThemindisnottheCreator.Thesoulisnotthe

Creator.TheCreatoristhepowerthatmakestheexperienceofthesoul,themind,the

senses,andthebody,andsitsinsideus.Thatcreativepoweriswithinus,notoutside!

It'smorewithinthananythingelse.Youhavetogomoreandmorewithinyourown

consciousnesstohavethatexperience.

Butwe,wehavetoascribethisgrandcreationtosomeCreatorwhoisoutsideofus

andseparatefromus.I'llputHimintheskyandworshipuplikethis(putshands

together,looksup).PutHiminahousemadebyusandmakeitahouseofworship

andworshipthere,worshipinanyway.Butwehavetoworshipsomebodyfaraway.

Wealwayshavetodoitbecausewearebecomeasmallcreatureandunaware

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entirelyofthebasisandthemethodofcreationandthepurposeofcreation.We've

forgottenallthat.Andthat'sthetrapthatwe'veforgotten.Andtorecallandto

rememberandtobeabletofinditwhileyouaresittinghereinaphysicalbody,tobe

abletofinditisthegreatestmiracle.Whenwesaywe'vegonetoaPerfectLiving

Master—he’sonewhohasfoundit.Ifhehasn'theisnotaPerfectLivingMaster.Ifhe

hasfoundithehasgotit.Remember,Isaidearlierthatatonetimewehaveonlyone

reality.Nowimaginethatyouwithdrawyourattentionfromthisrealityandopenup

anotherone.Thisbecomesunreal,thatbecomesreal.Thisisdreamlike.It'slikea

dream.Dreamisrealwhenyouaredreaming,andwhenyouwakeupit'snotreal.

Samething:thisbecomesunreal,andastralreality,imaginaryrealitybecomesreal.

Yougotohigher,causal,formlessrealitybecomesreal,yougettoknoweverything,

howthecreationtookplace,youseethebuildingblocksofcreation,andyougo

furtherandyoubecomesoulandyoufindthewholethingwasjustacreationfrom

consciousnessandyoumergeintotality.Inallthesestagesyouhaveonlyonereality

atonetime.

Butwhathappensifyoumergeintototalityofconsciousness?Itisbydefinition

“totality,”bydefinitiontotal,there'snothingoutsideofit,therearenootherstages

outsideofit.Allthedifferentlevelsthatyouthoughtofwerealsopartofit.Whenyou

reachthatlevelofawarenessyoufindtheentireawareness,thewholething,all

stages,alllevelsofconsciousnessexistedrightthere,inoneplace,intotalityof

consciousness,notanywhereelse.Whenyoureachthatlevelyoucanbethenhaving

experiencesofanylevelholdingtheawarenessofall.Thatiswhythere'sabig

differencebetweenachievingpartialenlightenment—thatmeansgettingintoa

higherlevelofawarenessandgettingthatinformationandcomingbackheresaying:

"Ihadsomethinghigher,andnowthisisreal,thatwasreal."Youcankeepondoing

thisrighttilltheultimateonestopshorttosoul,youarereal,andnotreal,whenyou

comeback.Thisbecomesreal.Butwhenyouenterthetotalityofconsciousnessthe

wholethingisrealandunrealatthesametime.Becauseyouknowwhat'sthe

purposeofit.

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APerfectLivingMasterwearetalkingofisahumanbeinglikeourselves—no

difference—withthatkindofawareness.That'stheonlydifference.Whenheholds

thatawarenessheknowsthewholething,thiscreationispartofthatawareness.We

areallpartofthatawareness.Howdoesheviewus?Heviewsusaspartofthe

charactersintheplaythathasbeensetuptoplay!Whichwereallyare!Fromthat

pointofviewheactshisroleasahumanbeing,weactourroleasahumanbeing,he

knowsit'saplay,thewholethinghasbeensetup,andwedon't.That'stheonly

difference.Ifoneofuscanalsoreachthatstateweareinthesamestate,nodifference

atall.Webecomeone,identical.Wemergewiththesametotality,there'sno

difference.

Wecanhavewonderfulexperienceswhenwegoinsideatdifferentlevels.Themental

processofdiscoveringyourselfwhichcantakeyoutothecausalplane,thediscovery

ofthemind,cannottakeyoubeyondthat.Verysimple:youareusinganinstrument

thatisdesignedthereanddesignedforsomethingintimeandspace.Themindis

designedforthat.Mind'smainfunctionisthinking,anditperformsthatfunction

continuouslywithoutstop.Likewhenwehaveaphysicalbodywehaveaheart,it

pumpsbloodinthebody,it'sacontinuousprocess.It'sautonomous.Itkeepsour

bodiesalivebecauseofourheart.Wedon'ttelltheheart:"Nowstartbeating!"Itjust

beatsbecausewearealive.Itkeepsthebodyalive.Thethinkingkeepsthemindalive.

Sowethinkallthetime.Andthinkinggoesonandon,wecanthinkinonelevel,we

canthinkintwolevels,wecanthinkoverthinking,wecanmakecommentsonour

ownthoughts,wecanbetalkingonethingandthinkingonacommentonthat,wecan

domanylevelsofthinking.Butwethinkallthetime.Bythinkingweusethetime-

space,cause-and-effectproposition,thismetricsintowhichwehaveplacedourselves.

Thinkingleadstounderstandingeverythingontheprincipleofcauseandeffect.This

causedthis,thiscaused…nowIunderstandit!Logiccomesintobeing,andlogically

wecometounderstanding,andwekeeponunderstandingthings.Ifyouusethis

instrumentyoucangoasfaraswithdrawingyourattentionwithmentalwillpower,

youcangoinside,youcangototheastralplane,youcanhaveexperiences,youcango

tothementalplane.Youcanseeyourdestinies.Butthat'sit.Itstopsthere.Because

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whattakesusbeyondcannotbeaccessedbyaninstrumentmadeatthatlevel.Now,

whattakesusbeyondthat?

Letusseewhatisbeyondthecausalplane,whatisbeyondthemindthatcantakeus

toourTrueHomebeyondthemind:Soul.Whatdoesitdo?Intuitiveknowledge,love,

joy,bliss,happiness,appreciationofbeauty—allthoseallthingsthatcomefrom

therearethesecretsofgoingbeyondthemind.Thinkingwon'ttakeyou.

Understandingwon'ttakeyou.Mentalgymnasticswon'ttakeyou.Butpulloflove

takesyou.WhatarethesePerfectLivingMastersdoinghere,whentheysaywewant

totakeyoubeyondthemind?Theyarepullingyouwiththatlove.That'sthereal

secret!Wemaynotseeit.Wemaynotevenunderstandit.Butthat'sexactlywhat

theyaredoing,becauseTheyknowultimatelytogobeyondthemindthat'swhat

you'lltakeyou.Theirunconditionalloveofsuchgreatmagnitudefromtotalitycomes

andpullsusup,evenoverridingtheattachmentsandthedesiresofthemind.That's

thebeauty.Otherwisewewouldnever—nochance.Wehaveentangledourselvesso

much.Allthetimeweareentanglingmoreandmore.Allthetimewearetying

ourselvesupherewithmoredesiresfortheseworldlythings,moredesiresfor

relationships,moredesiresfortheseotherthingsintheworld.It'sonlythat

unconditionalloveissostrong,andthehigherwegoinsidethemoreyouexperience

it.Ultimatelyyouexperienceastrongforcethatpullsyouabovethemindinto

spiritualregions,intowhereyoudiscoverwhatsoulis,wherenotimeandcausation

exist,wherenooppositesexist.

Andthesouldanceswithjoy,touseaphysicalanalogy.Wecan'tuseanyother

analogy,that'stheproblem.Wehavetousephysicalanalogies.Andthenmerges—

neednotmerge!That'salsoastageofenlightenment:todiscoveryoursoul,you've

discoveredyourself.Youdiscoveredthatyou'reconsciousnessandyouarenot

thinking,andyouarenotthemind,youarenotthephysicalthing,youarenoteven

senseperceptions.Youareconsciousness.ButtheultimateTrueHomeisnoteven

that.TrueHomeiswhereyoumergeintototalityanddiscoveryouwerealways

totalityandthewholeshowtookplaceintotality.Nothingtookplaceoutsideofit.

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That'sthegreatestenlightenment!Andimagine:thiswhatI'msharingwithyouis

possibleinthisphysicallife!Physicalworld!

Howisthatpossible?Wearesittinginaphysicalbodyinaphysicalworld,thisbody

ispartofthisworld,thisbodyisnotpartofthatworld.Howcome,inthisphysical

body,sittinginaphysicalworldwecanhavethoseexperiences?Andthatisbecause

thedesignofthephysicalbodycontainsthoseganglionsinside,thosepartsinthe

brainitself,thosepartswithintheheaditselfthatwhenyourattentionis

concentratedwithintheheadonthosepointstheyopenuptheexperiencesfromthat

regions.Itdoesnotmeanthatyougothere.Becauseifyouwentthereyoudisappear

—thisbodywilldisappear.Youstayinthebody,thebodycontinuestofunctionand

you,justbyputtingattentiononthosechakras,thosecentersofawareness,unlikethe

centersofenergybelowtheeyes,centersofawarenessthatlieinsidethehead,by

puttingattention,withdrawingmoreandmoretothosecenters,you'reabletohave

experienceswhicharethehighestexperiences,includingtheexperienceoftotalityof

consciousness,allsittinginsidethislittlebodyofours—notlittlebody,littleheadof

ours.Thislittlespacecontainseverything.

Allweneed:littlehelphowtodoit,lotofstruggleifyougomentally,orsurrenderto

aMaster,say:"Icanseewhoyouare,I'veseenit,I'vefeltit,I'mnotgoingtobringmy

mindintoit,andI'mgoingtogowithyou."He'llsay:"Come,we'llgo!"There'sashort

cut,thebestshortcut,Icantellyou,thebestshortcutis:ifyouknowwhoisaPerfect

LivingMaster,youknowwho'spulledyou,andhesays:"I'lltakeyou.""Good!""Hold

myhand,andwegotogether."

Thankyouverymuch.We'llhaveabreak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y67O2TyBs8&feature=youtu.be

Published by ISHA. All rights reserved. This English transcript of a YouTube talk by Ishwar C. Puri is published under a CC BY-NC-SA license, which means that you can copy, redistribute, remix, and freely distribute sections of the transcript, provided that any derivative works or new resulting creations are not used for any commercial purpose and as long as you give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. License details: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Copyright 2019. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA).