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Video Information:
ShabdYog Satsang, Month of Awakening
15th July, 2019
Advait Bodhsthal, Greater Noida
Context:
Just as a pulled-up water-reed stays not still even for a moment so does Maya (ceaselessly) envelop even a wise man if he averts his face from the Truth
~ Adhyatma Upanishad (Verse 15)
Whosoever wins absoluteness while alive continues to be absolute even after death Rooted in concentration O sinless one, remain steadfast
~ Adhyatma Upanishad (Verse 16)
~ If not the ego then what?
~ Why is spirituality so dangerous?
~ What does it mean to walk on the path of the Truth?
~ What is worst than not fighting at all?
~ What is the benefit of remaining steadfast?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Be a part of the Live Sessions: https://acharyaprashant.org/hi/enquir...
⚡ Want Acharya Prashant’s regular updates?
Join WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va6Z...
Want to read Acharya Prashant's Books?
Get Free Delivery: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/books?...
Want to accelerate Acharya Prashant’s work?
Contribute: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/contri...
Want to work with Acharya Prashant?
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~~~~~
Video Information:
ShabdYog Satsang, Month of Awakening
15th July, 2019
Advait Bodhsthal, Greater Noida
Context:
Just as a pulled-up water-reed stays not still even for a moment so does Maya (ceaselessly) envelop even a wise man if he averts his face from the Truth
~ Adhyatma Upanishad (Verse 15)
Whosoever wins absoluteness while alive continues to be absolute even after death Rooted in concentration O sinless one, remain steadfast
~ Adhyatma Upanishad (Verse 16)
~ If not the ego then what?
~ Why is spirituality so dangerous?
~ What does it mean to walk on the path of the Truth?
~ What is worst than not fighting at all?
~ What is the benefit of remaining steadfast?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Pranam Acharyaji, here is a quote from Adhyatmik Nishad, just as a pulled up water reed stays
00:27not still even for a moment, so does maya ceaselessly envelop even a wise man if he
00:41averts his face from the truth, then the next verse, whosoever wins absoluteness while alive
01:03continues to be absolute even after death, rooted in concentration, O sinless one, remain
01:12steadfast, so can you please elaborate on what the Upanishad describes as averting one's
01:27face from the truth and remaining steadfast.
01:39There are always two directions to look at, who is the looker, the one who abides in
01:59twoness in choices and has therefore two choices available, this must be clear, who is the
02:20one who has these two directions, two options available to him, the one that we are, the
02:34one that we usually identify with, the usual ego state, so if the ego has two directions
02:51to look at, what are these two directions, the first, the easiest, the obvious direction
03:03is its own direction, the ego loves to go its own direction, the ego loves to go its
03:21own direction, what is the other direction, accurately speaking it is just the direction
03:44that does not lead to itself, it is the direction in which the ego is not being itself, euphemistically
04:01it has been called the direction of truth, really it is not any specific direction, it
04:13is just the denial of the tendency of the ego to go its own way, so who is the goer,
04:26who is the chooser, the ego, what is its usual and obvious choice, itself.
04:43The other choice is difficult, counter intuitive, counter cultural, against itself, the ego
05:03going against itself is a difficult thing, almost magical, therefore one says that it
05:15requires grace, so now you know what is it that we commonly refer to as the direction
05:29of the truth, not any specific direction.
05:37It is enough that the ego does not choose itself, it does not really have to choose
05:43the truth, choosing the truth is just a metaphor, it is a word play, actually it is an impossibility,
06:07only something limited can be chosen, so the two choices really available to the ego
06:25are, choose oneself and not choose oneself, go one's own way and not go one's own way,
06:48live by one's own center, do not live by one's own center, and when I say one's own
06:56center, what do I mean, the center of the ego, because we are clear that the one having
07:03the choice is the ego, so when the one having the choice is the ego, obviously its center
07:14is the ego center, now you know why it is not very important to know what to do, what
07:34to become, rather it is much more relevant, practical and useful to ask what not to do,
07:49how not to live, what not to become, there is one choice in which you become yourself,
08:02the ego lives as itself, and the other choice is not to remain what you have been, what
08:11you have taken yourself to be, it is not useful to ask if not the ego, what else, it is a
08:29mysterious question, because that what else cannot be described in words, so you will
08:39never get the answer, it is such a mysterious question, it cannot have an answer, and when
08:45you will not get the answer, you will feel entitled to continue as you are, never ask
08:53if not the ego, what else, the answer will not come, even if it comes, it will not satisfy
08:59you, so those who are looking for an alternative will always stand disappointed, those who
09:09say I am prepared to leave my egoistic ways, but give me an alternative, will find that
09:20the alternative never comes, therefore faith is needed, one has to leave what one has without
09:30knowing anything about that which would now come, it is a blind dive, you cannot ask for
09:42security in advance, you cannot have a blueprint or a map ready, the choice is me or not me,
10:01not me, that's all that words can say, the words fail and mean nothing when they say
10:14God or truth, God cannot be contained in 3 letters, truth cannot be contained in 5 letters,
10:25but when you say not me, that is perfectly expressible in words, because the me is limited,
10:41so not me is very apt as an expression, it's honestly put, it's a practical thing to say
10:58not me, what then, don't ask that question, your cleverness will make you ask that question,
11:07the moment you say not me, what pops up, who else, if not you, then who, immediately that
11:22question arises, it's an evil question, it's a question that will make you seek security assurance
11:31and that security, that assurance you will really never get, when you will not get that assurance,
11:49you will never leave yourself, so the not me will not materialize, me will stay secured,
11:59and that's a common demand, you say I am prepared to not remain myself, I am prepared to give
12:14myself up, but give me a good deal, if I am giving this up, what am I getting, if you
12:34are remaining, to still get, what have you left behind, on one hand you say I am leaving myself
12:46behind, in the same breath you say, leaving myself behind, what next will I have, if you are asking
12:56what the next thing that you will have, have you really dropped yourself, if you have dropped
13:03yourself, who is still remaining to talk of the future and become something else, so you have
13:11really not dropped yourself, one has to drop the stink, the rot, without any cover, without any
13:31backup, the rot stays, because we insist on a backup, you say I can leave this, and give me a
13:52backup, an alternative, an alternative that I will assess to be better than myself, who is the
14:02assessor, I, and who will assess the quality of the alternative, and what am I going to assess
14:10the alternative against, myself, will I ever find any alternative better than myself, I am
14:21the judge, judging whether you are better than me, file closed, even if I do judge that you are
14:48indeed better than me, who has judged, so I am at least good enough to judge you, even if I am
14:57judging that you are better than me, I am good enough to judge you, so practically what have I
15:03asserted, I am better than you, even if I concede that you are better than me, being the judge who
15:16has delivered this verdict, I have proven that I am one up over you, there are two lawyers who
15:28stand in front of the judge, doesn't matter which of them wins the case, the fact is both of them
15:35bow down to the judge, right, among the three of them, who is the highest, the judge, the two
15:43lawyers may keep quarrelling and arguing, but the judge will remain higher than both of the lawyers,
15:50when you assess the alternative to the ego, according to yourself, the position of the judge,
16:00then who is the highest among these three, which three, the two alternatives and the one
16:12who is assessing the alternatives, who is the highest one, you, so now look at the absurdity
16:20of the situation, there is the ego as the judge and what is the ego judging, whether I should have
16:29myself or I should have the truth, the ego is judging whether I should stay as myself or whether
16:39I should have the truth or surrender to the truth, so there are these three, ego the judge, ego the
16:47choice and truth the choice, irrespective of which of these two choices prevail, who is the real
16:57winner, the judge, therefore one keeps as one is, one stays trapped within oneself,
17:14most of us are just too smart for our own good, we judge, we assess, we decide.
17:28So Jami, it is not about turning your face to the truth, the Upanishad says,
17:56that Maya seizes the man who averts his face from the truth, that does not mean that the Upanishad
18:11is asking you to turn your face towards the truth, the truth is not standing anywhere in
18:17any particular direction, how will you turn your face towards the truth, what is being implied is,
18:24do not keep looking at yourself, now don't ask me what else do I have to look at,
18:34the question is irrelevant, just don't look at yourself, I know it's not a very comforting answer,
18:44it leaves one in the middle of nowhere, we want certainty, we will agree to not look at ourselves,
18:55provided one tells us in a definite sense what else is there to look at,
19:01then we will agree, but no that is not the way, you don't have to look at the truth,
19:13you have to just stop looking at yourself, you don't have to abide by the truth,
19:21you just have to stop abiding by yourself, you don't have to follow the truth,
19:27you don't have to surrender to the truth, you just have to stop surrendering to yourself.
19:35Most of us are our own slaves, who enslaves the ego, nobody else,
19:44the ego is its own slave, the ego cannot defy itself, the ego is its own compulsive victim,
19:55the ego is helpless in front of itself, that's spiritual practice, not to seek the truth,
20:13but to overcome oneself, but most of us rather try to overcome the truth.
20:24When you say, I want the truth, I must get the truth, I must own the truth,
20:31I must reach the truth, it's the truth you seem to be grappling against, that's nice.
20:43The ego enjoys nothing more than that, grappling with the truth,
20:56declaring that it wants the truth.
21:13Look at yourself, don't try to look at the truth, truth is nowhere to be looked at,
21:32you have only yourself, sort yourself out.
21:54So then Jami will ask, if it's about me not being myself,
21:59if it's about me looking at myself, if it's about me getting just sorted,
22:07then what's all this thing about truth and grace and mysticism and spirituality?
22:13Then it's just about me and me, I look at myself, why bring in the truth?
22:21Why raise a song and a dance?
22:31What is all this about worship and prayer and transcendence?
22:41It seems it's just a thing between the ego and the ego, where is God in this?
22:52Is it spirituality?
22:54Then needlessly bringing in the God element, I'll tell you why the God element is not
23:05only important but rather central.
23:10It is impossible for the ego to look at itself.
23:16I did say not me, not me, but that's easier said than done.
23:22The fundamental characteristic of ego is its self-obsession.
23:28It knows nothing beyond itself, so it will keep favoring itself.
23:34If the ego is the judge, it will always be biased towards itself, it's a prescripted
23:40judgment.
23:44So you do have to look at yourself, but it is very difficult to honestly look at oneself.
23:51The ego will not look at anything that offends it.
24:03The ego will not look at anything that proves it to be false.
24:15Therefore something quite surreal is needed for the ego to actually turn inwards.
24:27A magic is needed.
24:32Otherwise it cannot happen.
24:40It is like suicide.
24:42You are asking the ego to look at itself, figure out its falseness and then openly declare
24:51itself to be false.
24:53Why would the ego do that?
24:57It neither has the capacity to honestly look at itself, it does not have the intention
25:03to honestly look at itself, and it does not have the guts to openly declare its falseness.
25:10Capacity is not there, intention is not there, courage is not there.
25:14How will the ego ever say, not me, I am false?
25:21So the ego requires a great deal of help.
25:30So some people who were fun loving, they said if the ego requires help, surely there must
25:39be a helper as well.
25:43And they named the helper as God.
25:48That's why in the spiritual process, you require the God element.
25:56Without God, the ego remains as helpless as ever.
26:02It can look at everything but not at itself.
26:09It can choose everything, remaining itself, it will never unchoose itself.
26:19And if that magic is to happen, surely some help from somewhere is needed.
26:27Some blessing, some grace, that's Godliness.
26:36When you are to do the impossible, and you have no option but to attempt the impossible,
26:44then you have to bring in a factor that makes the impossible possible, that's God.
27:00So God is the name for the element that renders the impossible possible.
27:09Without God, only the ego remains possible.
27:16Freedom, liberation, love, they all remain totally impossible.
27:46Then you are asking, what does it mean to remain steadfast?
27:56The Upanishad is saying, whosoever wins absoluteness while alive continues to be absolute even
28:01after death, rooted in concentration, O sinless one, remain steadfast.
28:16It is not without reason that the ego does not want to exercise any choice outside of itself.
28:26The moment the ego says, not me, it faces, it experiences deep inner convergence.
28:44As we said, not me is almost like suicide, painful, frightful.
29:02So even if the ego turns a little playful and tries to experiment, and says not me,
29:10the result is so drastic that the ego cannot hold on to this experimental position for long.
29:32It tries, it gets punched, and it returns to its shell.
29:47Having inferred from the experience that not me is dangerous and is not to be tried again in the future,
29:58the ego says, you know, I tried it, and I felt such fear, and I went through such agony,
30:10that now I know that it is never to be tried again.
30:19Therefore, Jaime, the importance of steadfastness.
30:25It is not important merely to say not me.
30:31One has to keep saying not me, not me, till the me itself is no more there to say not me.
30:54Who is saying not me? Me, the ego.
31:01Therefore, till what point do you have to keep saying not me?
31:09Till the me remains.
31:15So if the me is there, it must keep saying not me, not me.
31:23When must not me cease?
31:28When me ceases, me is there, me is saying not me, me is there, me is saying not me.
31:37Till me is there, not me must continue steadfastly.
31:45It cannot be a periodic or episodic thing.
31:49You cannot say that once a week I say not me, or when I am in trouble I say not me,
31:57or when I am in the church I say not me.
32:07The me has to abide in not me.
32:11The me has to live not at itself.
32:17The me has to live in its own denial.
32:22Continuously.
32:25Because till me is there, it will experience a huge motivation to come out of not me.
32:37It's almost like holding somebody's neck
32:52and keeping him fully immersed in a tank of water.
33:05Till the time he is alive, he will continuously keep trying to come out.
33:17Therefore if you really want to get rid of him, you have to not only hold him down,
33:27you have to steadfastly hold him down.
33:29If he manages to come to the surface even for a while,
33:35he will be able to breathe and normalcy will be restored.
33:41He has to be continuously kept down.
33:49Even a moment of respite to him is like a new life to him.
33:57All the effort, practice, sadhana will go waste.
34:05You were strangulating your enemy, which is you,
34:11and then in the middle of strangulation you allowed him to breathe.
34:19What happened to all your effort?
34:23What happened to all your effort?
34:27What happened to all your effort?
34:32So the wrestler has pinned down the other wrestler to the ground
34:40and the referee is counting 10, 9, 8, 7
34:50and the wrestler on top is exerting all his force, all his might to keep the opponent down.
35:05And when the referee in his countdown reaches 1,
35:15the wrestler on top loosens his grip.
35:21The one who had been pinned down gets up.
35:27What happened to all the effort that the wrestler on top had made?
35:38It goes totally waste.
35:41The one who could have been defeated by keeping him down steadfastly
35:48has now been given new life.
35:52All is back to normal.
36:00Both return to square one.
36:07The referee will say, alright, now both of you stand up again.
36:14And the bout resumes again.
36:17Just a little more perseverance, just a little more steadfastness
36:27and the dominant wrestler could have won the fight for good forever
36:35with just a little more patience.
36:37But he gave up.
36:39Not that he didn't work hard enough, he gave up.
36:42He gave up at just the wrong time
36:46with the result that all the good work that he had done became neutralized.
36:52Now he stands at zero.
37:00So it's not sufficient just to throw your opponent down on the mat.
37:08You must also display the patience and the stamina to keep him down on the mat.
37:15Throwing him down on the mat is not sufficient.
37:24He has to be continuously kept glued to the mat
37:35for a time sufficiently long enough to exhaust him out.
37:54Jamming kabaddi is a nice Indian sport.
38:05I am not sure whether Australia knows kabaddi at all.
38:21You enter the half of the opponent.
38:24There are two halves.
38:27The kabaddi court consists of two halves.
38:33Watch a few kabaddi matches tonight, Jammie.
38:38It's all there on YouTube.
38:41Now once you have reached there
38:50and touched the opponent
39:02one of two consequences will follow.
39:07Either the opponents will display enough stamina and might
39:19to hold you and clutch you till you exhaust your breath
39:26and then you have lost the point and you are out.
39:30Or having touched the opponents
39:36you run back to your own half
39:40and then the opponents are out.
39:54From your perspective it is not sufficient merely to touch the opponent.
40:00You must also be able to escape.
40:03From the opponent's perspective it is not sufficient merely to clutch the raider.
40:12The raider has to be steadfastly held down till his breath expires.
40:30Otherwise it is a great loss.
40:33The raider came to your half.
40:40You held him but you didn't hold him steadfastly.
40:47You held him, you did hold him for a while
40:51but you allowed him to slowly escape away
40:55and touch the center line.
41:00All of you are gone.
41:18Therefore when you tackle the raider
41:21make sure that you do it fully.
41:26Or don't intercept him.
41:31Let him come, say kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi.
41:36You stay behind at the baseline.
41:40Play defensive.
41:43He will utter his kabaddi for a while
41:46and find that you are not lured, you are not up for a fight
41:51and he will retreat to his half.
41:56But in case you decide to tackle him, intercept him
42:01it has to be done fully.
42:04Bring him down and keep him down.
42:12Merely bringing him down is not sufficient.
42:15In fact it will prove suicidal.
42:18You brought him down but he stretched his hand and touched the line.
42:23And what happens to you then?
42:25You are gone.
42:27That's the fate of most spiritual seekers.
42:32They do manage to bring Maya down.
42:34She is the raider.
42:37They do manage to bring Maya down.
42:39And Maya is smiling.
42:41She is saying, yes, yes, five of you come and put me down.
42:49And all five are upon her.
42:55And she invites two more.
42:56Two more, you two come.
43:02All of you must collectively ensure that
43:10I have been held to the ground.
43:13And just when the half a dozen of them are all over her
43:22she stretches her extensible hand
43:27and it goes right up to the center line.
43:32And the whole team is wiped out.
43:39This is what happens to spiritual seekers.
43:42They try to tackle Maya.
43:52Don't try to mess with her.
43:55If you cannot steadfastly hold her down
44:01give her half a chance and she will decimate you.
44:07If you are not sure of yourself then just stay behind.
44:11Don't touch her.
44:13But if you have touched her
44:17then you have to fully dominate her.
44:20That is what is meant by steadfastness.
44:30Touching her is like declaring war upon her.
44:35And you cannot fight wars half-heartedly.
44:41If you are not man enough to declare a war
44:47then just stay mum.
44:51But once you declare the war
44:57then you have to be fully in the war.
45:02Not fighting is bad.
45:09Fighting with anything less than absolute dedication
45:16is far worse.
45:21That's why the fate of most spiritual seekers
45:26is worse than the fate of those who do not seek at all.
45:35Those who do not seek at all
45:40are playing it safe.
45:42They are saying we are not
45:47trying to mess with Maya.
45:50She can have her way.
46:01But those on the path of liberation
46:09have picked up a fight.
46:16Why did you pick up a fight?
46:19Look at the opponent.
46:21Look at her might.
46:24And look at your vacillation.
46:30Your half-heartedness.
46:36Your lack of determination.
46:41Now she will beat you down very very badly.
46:45Don't challenge her.
46:47Challenge her only when
46:53you have no other preoccupation.
46:57If you are entangled in five things
47:02then you are not the one who should challenge her.
47:05The moment you get occupied in anything
47:07other than beating her down
47:11that will give her
47:17the space she needs
47:21to resurrect herself.
47:27That will give her
47:30to resurrect herself.
47:40When you are
47:44jostling with her
47:47then defeating her has to be your only occupation.
47:52If you have other things to do
47:56then the moment your attention shifts to those other things
48:01she will spring back to her feet
48:04and beat you down mercilessly.
48:10And Maya takes no prisoners.
48:18She is extremely ruthless.
48:21Once she knows that this fellow is dangerous
48:27he troubled me, he challenged me
48:30he declared war on me
48:34she will not just warn you and let you go.
48:43She will kill you.
48:45Not physically.
48:50But actually.
48:53She takes no prisoners.
48:55She kills.
49:10The spiritual universe is full of those
49:16who overestimated their
49:20intention, their capacity and their honesty
49:23and tried to take Maya on.
49:31Where do you find such people?
49:34In the spiritual graveyard. Dead.
49:43Maya shows no mercy.
49:50So if you do manage
49:59to clutch her throat
50:12keep strangulating her
50:19with all your might
50:27till you know that
50:29now she is finally gone.
50:33And when you know that she is finally gone
50:38strangulate her even more.
50:43This is called steadfastness, Jami.
50:46Either don't touch her
50:50or if you touch her
50:54then keep upon her
50:56till she is
50:58totally and fully
51:02inhalated.
51:15What do
51:17spiritual novices do?
51:21In their enthusiasm
51:23to take on Maya
51:27they just try to cross her
51:35and then they
51:37cross her
51:39and then they
51:41cross her
51:44and then they
51:46come in her bad books.
51:49She notices.
51:50Oh, this one.
51:53Don't get noticed.
51:58Keep mum.
51:59Stay underground.
52:00Keep preparing.
52:02And then declare yourself with
52:04one grand explosion.
52:07Catch her
52:08unawares.
52:11Don't keep issuing her
52:15advance warnings.
52:19Catch her unawares
52:21and then
52:26snuff the life out of her.
52:30It's not going to happen.
52:33You know, just saying.
52:40There have been too many before me
52:43who had the same intention.
52:45Catch her.
52:46Kill her.
52:48Hasn't happened so far.
52:51Except maybe in
52:54a few rare
52:57handful of cases.
53:03But there is no harm in, you know,
53:05just entertaining yourself with the idea.
53:09It's a nice idea.
53:11Catching hold of Maya.
53:14Remaining steadfastly at her throat.
53:18Seeing the light go out of her eyes.
53:22And saying, yes, I did it.
53:26And just as you raise one hand to say, I did it.
53:30And you loosen your grip on her throat.
53:38What happens?