See! Since my childhood, the family I was born in, we had listened to Gurbani (hymns in Sri Guru Granth Sahib). That is why, a very natural affinity & attachment is developed towards it. By being in the constant association with Saints, when I realized the importance of understanding Gurbani... And after understanding it the ultimate nectar!! that I drank.... The depths of those shabads (text/sacred hymns of Guru Granth Sahib), after you get introduced to those depths, I don't believe that anyone in the world can go astray after that; that his mind can ever walk the wrong path; or he can even go into material wishes & desires. Because the shabad (hymns) found are either of dispassion, or the shabad (hymns) are of love, or the shabad (hymns) that sing the glories of the God, or the shabad (hymns) are of the nectar/bliss derived from the holy company of the Guru, or of the bliss attained after doing the selfless service. And many such shabads are also found in which vices of the mind are strongly condemned. That these vices are not something to save. You should recognize them & they are just like the ailments. These ailments should be cured. In this (Gurbani) - Kabir Sahib, Rehdas sahib, Sant Ramananda, Sant Namdev.. like this, 16 such devotees' bani (compositions) is there. And the bani of the six Gurus as well. One after the other, such exceptional shabads are there. And if we look at the basic foundation then that is of Upanishadic Gyana (Knowledge of the Truth/Reality). Basic foundation of it is about the nectar of divine love & is regarding the purity of mind. Probably, the Gurus already knew that in Kaliyuga, condition of people's mind is very impure/grim so let's improve their minds first. More of the in depth gyana (knowledge of the Absolute), it is not that it is absent. There is so much of it, so much! But when people don't understand then they only say that,'Our guru ji advised to do naam-japa (chanting of the divine names/mantras) and do selfless service, that's it!' Just by doing that your duty is over. I said, 'Alright, go ahead & do whatever pleases you.' But Shri Guru Nanak Dev cannot just say this much... about such gyana which is deep as an ocean. About that ocean of gyana, did he only mention these two things? What was the rest of it about? So they don't know & they don't understand. That is why people say such things. Similarly, in Srimad Bhagwad Gita, such a priceless scripture by Lord Krishna, I must say that you will find the essence of all 4 Vedas in it. That is why I ask all of you that you must do self-study of Gita. Because there is no such subject/topic, discussion of which or the knowledge of which - Shri Krishna does not impart in the Bhagwad Gita. And in life if there is gyana then you have everything otherwise what is there? Just suffering. That is why it is necessary to imbibe this gyana. I will now take this question that came to me. These are the written questions. Chitra Kadam asks, 'This world's futility gets known with such a great force that no enthusiasm is felt in living this life. At this time,how should we increase our morale? Those who live in the Ashram with you, do their chances of attaining Atma-gyana (knowing the Self) increases?' So? Did your chance of attaining Atma-gyana increase? Yes? or No? Give some answer. They are all just nodding their heads. It is not like that...It is not like that dear. Even after living here, they can fight, they can quarrel. It is not like they don't. They do it as well. Sometimes they will sit being resentful. Sometimes they are offended by me as well. Isn't it strange?! People are in these habits from their life at home. Forgive me, these are very bad habits. Quarreling with parents, picking a fight with siblings... When someone comes to the Ashram with these habits then he will pick a fight here too. Just like he quarrels with his parents similarly he says,'It is our right... we can also fight with you, Guruji.' And Swami Subramaniam used to give an indication for such quarrelsome disciples. Understanding? There is one asana in Yoga we call it 'Chandra-akaar asana'. If someone wants to go into that asana and if the imbalance occurs, he will only fall backwards..so (this indicates) the door is at the back. He won't say, 'Get out of here. Go away.' No, no, no! They will teach him this asana in which he struggles and goes back reverse foot. Like it is said, 'There is no oil in these sesame seeds.' So there are some seeds whose oil is depleted. Similarly, there are some people whose mind & intellect have lost the ability to learn & understand. Whether such people live in the Ashram or at their home, they will remain unaffected. But if you are keen to learn, if you have a viveka buddhi (discretionary intellect)... In some people, I feel God has made some mistake. He created the body but forgot to keep some material (wisdom/intellect) in this. You know how there are some daily wage earners. Like you get some items that are made in Chinese factories. So these poor items will just last for 4 days, it does not last any longer than this. Why? because it is missing one or the other part. Some factories are such where...what do you call that? QC. Quality Control is extremely fantastic. Sometimes, when I look at certain people, I feel that they haven't gone through QC. They have directly come out of the mother's womb. Their intellect is missing. There is no sense. The part has not been installed. So when the part itself is missing, how will someone fix it. This is the problem! Somewhere, I am blaming the God ironically. The truth is the way we want our intellect to be, we make it that way. Someone who has forever & ever indulged his intellect only in the sense pleasures & lust, there is no difference between him and an animal. The body changes but the mind's plight remains the same, so after a lot of effort & right environment and right nuturing and right upbringing given by your parents, these all things work. Which can help you to become a wise and an intelligent person and if that is missing then you are just 'budhu-maharaj' (king of fools). If you don't get all these things then you will always remain a fool. And if you get a proper education, good values from your parents, good teachers, company of a good master and a burning fire of learning within you... So I was saying this back then that foolish Kalidasa turned into the great poet Kalidasa. Possible! It is not that it is impossible. Likewise, if the honesty of spiritual practice is there in you, great faith in the master and what you listen you put that into practice properly then there is no reason that you will not attain knowledge of the Self. How can this not happen ?! 'Atman' means what you are in your reality. What you are, your true self - that you already are. I don't have to make you 'Atman'. I am not imparting you the knowledge of some foreign thing. Whoever you are - knowing & being aware of that is called 'Atma gyana'. So why will it be difficult?! Rest, Chitra, the futility that you 'sometimes'...'sometimes' you have written that yourself... Only 'sometimes' you feel the futility, this means that sometimes you feel the world to be absolutely real. Scrumptious, worth enjoying, worth holding onto, worth running after. So this futility, which is only visible 'sometimes'... Correct this, through vairagya (dispassion), viveka (ability to differentiate truth from untruth), satsang (spirtual discourses) and swadhaya (study of one's true self). The day when you are completely convinced of the futility of this world, that day it won't take much time to gain Atma-gyana (Self-realization). Let me tell you a small story. This a real time incident not just a story. King Janak desired to gain knowledge of the Self hence he got the announcement done that 'Whosoever, makes me attain the Atma-gyana as soon as I place my foot in horse's stirrup, only that person can be my master/guru. I am in search of such a master.' Many great Yogis and sages like Yagyavalkya were present at that time. But who will dare to claim this ?! You know, it's like a... maybe 5 seconds, maybe even less than 5 seconds, how long does it take to place your foot on the stirrup !? Lift your foot from the ground and place it on the stirrup. Within this short span, he said, Self-realization should happen. No yogi, sage or hermit was ready to take on this position (this challenge). Janak started to lose hope. Sadly he remarked, 'Is there no such sage in my whole kingdom?' Alas! Meanwhile, crooked at eight places of the body, Sri Ashtavakra arrived. At that time his age was around 9 years. He is a child and the body is crooked at 8 places. So arriving in full gathering, he loudly exclaimed, 'Oh King! Hesitate before you make such a huge claim. I will make you achieve self-realization.' He came & sat on the vacant seat of the master. Now everyone was astonished. How is this possible !? And in this gathering, Ashtavakra's father was also present. The seat on which his father did not have the courage to sit, Ashtavakra showed that courage. Anyways! King Janak along with his wife went close to him and did a ritualistic worship and honoured him. Then Ashtavakra said, 'Let's go Janak, go to my Ashram, we will do this work there.' Janak went. He tied his horse outside the Ashram and went inside. He prostrated in front of his master and like a good disciple, sat near him. Then the conversation started. Ashtavakra Gita (as we say it). Sri Ashtavakra started speaking and all of Janak's curiosities/queries were so efficiently resolved and calmed down. He exclaimed, 'Aho dhanya asmi' - 'I am blessed.' 'Aho mukto aham' - 'I am liberated.' Then Janak got up. He went upto his horse. As soon as he placed his foot on the horse's stirrup, Ashtavakra's voice came from behind -'Oh Janak! Where are you going? Before gaining this knowledge from me, you had said that - my body, my mind and my wealth is all surrendered to you, my master! - So now, this body is mine. How did you move it according to your will ? The mind with which you think, is mine. How did you raise this idea in your mind that you have to go? And all your wealth, you had surrendered onto me. So which palace are you going towards? Now that (palace) is also mine. This is very true. Janak, like someone gets an electric shock, or someone's prana leaves the body and he (Janak) without moving, astonished and in utmost shock became speechless. Turned silent. His body, mind and breath - all became still. And it is said that in this very moment, Janak attained Self-realization from the knowledge that he heard and Janak was standing still in this very state. Ashtavakra came, stood beside him & said, 'So Janak!? As soon as you place your foot on the horse's stirrup, self-realization should be attained. This was your condition. Have I fulfilled that or not?' And Janak was neither saying anything nor was he thinking. Because this body & this mind are not his anymore, so how can he think? There is no trace of 'I'. If there is false identification of Self with the mind then this 'I' is created. Now if the vessel of adhyaasa (association with body & mind) itself had been shattered then where is the 'I' ? He just... When Ashtavakra said, 'See, now your work is done. Be relaxed now. This body of your's and your mind, I return them back to you. Use them until your prarabhda (preordained destiny) dictates Serve your kingdom. I am returning these back to you in the form of a gracious gift.' After this, Janak's mind... After listening to this and understanding this, Janak's mind raised a thought and again he joined his hands (to pay his obeisance) and he prostrated in front of the master. He said, 'O Master! You have fulfilled that condition of mine. How can I express my gratitude?' This whole incident did not take months to happen. Ashtavakra Gita is very short, very short. In a very short period of time, Janak attained such a great achievement and then.. and then we got to know that Janak had ruled his kingdom. Ashtavakra stayed in his ashram. In Janak's life... his daughter then came into his life then she was married to Lord Rama etc. etc. Whatever happened in his life or later when Janak imparted this knowledge to Shukadev ji, this conversation also comes later. This means he kept on living his regular life as a king and as a teacher while managing his kingdom. He did not leave anything. So this great realization was attained by Janak when he was a king and later also he remained as a king. He did not leave anything. You will attain Atma-gyana (self realization) only after leaving behind your house & family and coming to an ashram, this thinking will be very wrong. Yes! Until the Self realization was attained by Janak, he stayed in the presence Ashtavakra. When he attained Self-realization then he went back. But this is about Janak and you are not Janak, you are who you are!
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