Spiritual Questions - Part 11 (What is Love?)

Q. What is Love?
A. The free tendency to expand and become One with everything.

Q. This definition is strange! Why do you say "free tendency to expand"?
A. When you have a tendency to expand with your will, there is ego in it; then it does not expand freely to everything around the whole cosmos. May be it expands to your nearest family members, may be pets, may be to some extent to friends - but not beyond that. Where as when it happens freely without any will, then it expands to the whole cosmos. Then, that is called as Love.

Q. When you mean to the whole cosmos, what do your really mean in that?
A. It means everything. It includes trees, shrubs, all types of animals, flowers, mountains, rocks, planets, galaxies, everything animate and inanimate; seen and unseen; perceived and unperceived, felt and unfelt.

Q. How to sense and experience such kind of love?
A. It is very simple. Just let go everything, even the I also. Just go beyond the mind also. Then it just flows. Flows like a perennial river, expands and engulfs like an ocean.

Q. What happens when such a thing happens, I mean when that Love is experienced?
A. May be in slang, I would call it as you are on the 9th Cloud always (not the general excited state) where others does not even know and they sense only a smile on your face or may be not that also. It is soft like a cotton cushion and as hard as a coir mattress. It is very peaceful, calm, serene, still and silent.

Q. I heard that sometimes it is very difficult to stay with an awakened person. Why is it so?
A. Actually it is not difficult. If there is no ego, then it is the most easiest way to stay with such a person. If ego enters, then there will not be any recognition or entertainment for that ego, that is when it becomes difficult to stay. It is as simple as that. With an awakened person you will be able to see your true nature very clearly. And, there will be no ego boosters from that person. So, either you (actually your ego) are crushed literally (because it is completely ignored without the knowledge of that awakened person) or you are loved (your True nature as Spirit) infinitely. For any normal person these ups and downs are too traumatic, that is when it becomes difficult to stay with an awakened person.

Spiritual Questions - Part 7 (Why one gets bored on Spiritual path after some time?)

Q. Why one gets bored on Spiritual path after some time?
A. Because there is nothing encouraging for the mind. There will be no entertainment for the mind. Since mind does not find anything exciting, it gets bored. It will give the feeling of boredom so that the individual will try to search or look for something that is more exciting and entertaining. The height of boredom will be the death of the mind. The death of the mind will be the death of the ego. This is what it means, what the saints say it as - die before you really die. The death of the ego is the real death. The physical death is not death at all. It is only a transformation from one form to another. The ego continues to live even after the physical death or transformation of the body. It is the ego which gives rise to re-birth. There is a small catch here. The mind can play many tricks. One of the trick that mind plays while in meditation is sleep. The aspirant can feel sleepy after some time, when mind does get some rest or when it gets bored. Sri Ramana Maharshi used to say, "observe even while you are sleeping or just before going to sleep. Who is that actually going to sleep?"  In short it's a mind game, so just ignore it. Ignore the mind which says that and ignore the boredom also. Just keep practicing whatever you are practicing without anticipating any thing.

Q. Why should I opt for spiritual path?
A. Hmmm....... pretty difficult question to answer.

Q. Why is it difficult to answer?
A. Because, there is nothing you can gain on spiritual path. You will lose everything, including your identity. This loss is not at all physical or materialistic. The loss is only related to the causal. All the causes are lost. When there is no cause, then there is no effect. So, if someone has to show you that spiritual path is very exciting, then they will tell you only the part of the journey and not the end of the journey. Because, at the end of the journey there is nothing you gain. Of course the journey could be exciting, and it will be exciting as long as the mind exists. Once the mind is gone or the attachment towards the thoughts is gone, then there is nothing. In fact what remains is nothingness. The nothingness cannot be expressed. Since it cannot be expressed, others who are attached to thoughts will get bored. And, how can you ask an individual to opt for   spiritual path? When you tell the Truth that there is nothing what will you say? You have to tell the individual to opt for nothingness on the spiritual path. And, how will you say that to an individual who is so much attached to his/her thoughts?

Q.People say that one get powers on the spiritual path, how far it is true?
A. Anything which is manifested is impermanent, temporary and will perish in time. So, all the powers that one get or obtain on the spiritual path are impermanent, temporary and they will perish in time. In fact an aspirant should not show even an iota of interest on to such things.

Q. What about service to others? Don't you think it is necessary?
A. There are two ways of looking at this point.

1. When you say I do service to people - then you feel that you are different from that individual and hence get into an egoistic state - saying that "I have done this and that." Such things will not do any good. Instead they will spoil you further.

2. When you feel that you are not different from others, in fact you are the same spirit as the others, then there is no service. By talking to other person, you are talking to your own self in others. By giving food to others, you are giving food to your own self present in others.
This you will say as - "I am existing here in this body in the same way as in that body also."

Q. What is advaita vedanta (अद्वैत वेदान्त)
A. Both the words have same meaning and both mean One.

Q. Can you elaborate?
A. Advaita means non-duality. It means there is no two. So, when there is no two, there is no three also. Hence there is only one.

Vedaanta (वेद + अन्त) means - the end of knowledge. Now, where knowledge ends, there the mind stops. Where the mind stop its existence, there - there is nothingness. Where there is nothingness, there is no duality. Where there is no duality, there it is only One that is present.

Q. Is it good to follow, and is it the right path for everyone?
A. It all depends upon the conditional thinking of the individual. Initially it may be pretty difficult for anyone to come on to this path, but eventually one has to come to this path of advaita or non-duality, for it is not a path, it is the Truth.

Spiritual Questions - Part 4 (Difference between Purusha and Prakriti)

Q. Three doesn't have mrityu (मृत्यु) or damage - naasha (नाश); 1. Purusha (पुरुष), 2. Prakruti (प्रकृति),  3. Gnana (ज्ञान); and when the Purusha and Prakruti combines, it forms Gnana. Is it correct?

A. No

Q. Why?

A. You have to understand what Purusha means. Can you say what Purusha means?

Q. Not exactly.

A. Well, if you look into Purusha Suktam, it clearly explains what Purusha means. ....purusha evedagam sarvam, yat bhootam yaccha bhavyam... Purusha is the One which is everything. It is the one which is present in everything (this is only the implied meaning, not the exact meaning).

Q. So, do you mean to say Purusha is also present in the Prakruti?

A. Yes, there is no presence of Prakruti without Purusha. Purusha and Prakruti are different sides of the same coin. Prakruti cannot exists without Purusha. While Purusha is avyakta swarupa (अव्यक्त स्वरूप); Prakruti is vyakta swarupa (व्यक्त स्वरूप). As long as one sees them as different, then it is dvaita and that is duality, then one is said to be in maya (माया). The moment one does not see any difference between them then it is advaita (non-duality), then one is said to have gnana. So your 2nd part of the question of Purusha combining with Prakruti and that being called as Gnana needs to be slightly modified. Because there are no two, so you cannot combine. Only Purusha is present, there is no Prakruti. Prakruti is only an expression of thought of Purusha.

Now coming to the first part of the question. When there are no two, three does not exist. When there is no more than one, there is no mrityu or damage. There is only change that exists or transformation from one thought process to another thought process which is expressed in the form of Prakruti.

The moment one enters into the state of non-duality or advaita, that state is called as gnana. So gnana is only a state. We cannot consider it as a proper noun and say that it doesn't have mrityu or damage. It is only a state of awareness of non-duality. So if only the first part of the question is considered, then it is right. Since three does not exist (because two itself does not exist, so there is no question of three). The one which does not exist cannot have mrityu or damage.

Q. Then what is that which exists?

A. It is that Universal Consciousness that exists. And, because of the veil of maaya we perceive it as Purusha and Prakriti. In reality neither the Purusha nor the Prakruti exists. Both are there only as a thought. When that Universal Consciousness gets projected then we are calling a part of the Universal Consciousness which is yet not expressed as Purusha and a part of that Universal Consciousness which is expressed as Prakruti.

So ignore the vyakta swarupa (manifested form) and go beyond it and when you go beyond the vyakta and enter the avyakta (unmanifested form), then you become that itself. Because you are already that.

Q. How can I become that, when I am already that?

A. You don't become that. You get into that awareness, that you are already that. Tat-tvam-asi (तत्वमसि).

What is wisdom?

Wisdom is having the knowledge of that, that there is no knowledge.

Knowledge is something that says to acquire; Wisdom whispers, there is nothing to acquire.
Knowledge is the one that shows duality (dvaita); Wisdom is the one that exhibits non-duality (advaita).
Knowledge is the one which shows many differences; Wisdom is the one that shows there is no difference.
Knowledge is the one that creates waves; Wisdom is the one that merges all the waves into the ocean.
Knowledge is the one that says there are so many things to learn; Wisdom is the one that says everything need to be unlearned.
Knowledge is the one that tells you to react in a situation; while Wisdom is the one that tells you to only act in a situation and not to react at all.
Knowledge is understanding; while Wisdom is realizing it.
Knowledge tries to live in the past or future; while Wisdom lives only in the Present Moment.
Knowledge is like saying an apple is an apple by seeing it; while Wisdom is eating the apple and becoming one with it.
Knowledge is knowing the path; while Wisdom is walking the path.
Knowledge is knowing that there is a path to walk; while Wisdom is knowing that there is no path and everything is a path.
Knowledge is labelling everything; while Wisdom is being with everything and in the awareness of only One-thing or everything.
Knowledge is illusion; while Wisdom is Dis-illusion.
Knowledge is crystallization; while Wisdom is dissolution.
Knowledge tries to identify and seek the Truth expressed in many ways; Wisdom merges into the Truth and is one with it.
Knowledge is the identification of the ego that I am not the Truth and I have to seek the Truth; while Wisdom is Truth itself.
Knowledge and Wisdom are not two opposite words. Knowledge is one of the expressions of Wisdom.