Who is Working Overtime to Separate Us From God?

There are many names for God: the Supreme, the Creator, Spirit, Krishna, Christ, Allah, Love, Shiva, the All, Om, etc. We tend to favor one or two that empower us to live the most spiritual life possible.

In fact, just thinking of the (nameless) Holy Name can instantly connect us to God and our own divinity (as do blessings like "Namaste - the Divine within me honors the Divine within you").

But what about the names for things that separate us from God? Isn't it just ego, or are there more? Can spiritual seekers avoid their traps?

Here are their most popular names:

Mind/Ego/I/Identity/Me*/self

These "God-separators" each show a different aspect how duality (us/them, feminine/masculine, follower/leader) keeps are distance from God. 

In reality there is no "split," but this illusion is so convincing, we allow it to occur many times a day (despite the fact that it's the cause of all suffering!). 

Take "Mind" (please!). Its distracting thoughts pop up frequently and tell us what reality supposedly is.  

Most of us weren't taught that we can control not only our thoughts but also our responses to them. Until we learn this, we just get pelted by these thoughts like a car in a hail storm, which leave large dents in our psyche as well. 

What kind of thoughts? Usually worries of imagined events in the future, or fears that painful events from the past will revisit us. Not healthy at all.

The problems can really pile up without a spiritual practice in place that includes yoga and meditation, both of which help us to stay out of the past and the future, right here in the present.

Being present it our truest state, but the Mind fights that by constantly trying to get us to forget who we truly are (Divine) so we will only take care of it (the Mind), usually through the senses. 

It's consistently successful at getting this kind of care because most of us don't know we are not our thoughts. (We are the ones noticing the thoughts.)

Identity is also a strong God-separator by creating a convincing (phony) beingness that makes being separate from God a plausible reality. With such vivid colors, no less, like painful (or pleasurable) memories of past experiences; the temptation to dwell in the emotional meaning we give those experiences (which affects how we react to life moving forward); our societal conditioning; the story of Me, and who I think I am. 

Identity appears as a consistent phenomenon, and that sameness gives us a comfort we're unwilling to give up, at least without great motivation. 

It's very popular to refer to all of this as Ego because it feels detached; scientific even. Here, it's handy to use what Gautam Baiji teaches, that the ego is a tool which can only be dangerous when handled improperly, much like how fire is very useful for cooking, but you wouldn't want to turn your back on it for long. 

Finally, when one refers to their self, they may wish to pause and ask, "Am I addressing the little self who lives inside me, or the Self?" It's easy to see that we default to our ego-mind-self. We can reverse by entering into an inquiry every now and then to re-member Who We Are again and put the Self back in control (which causes the little self to disappear). 

That is, until we're distracted again. But the back-and-forth is part of our spiritual journey.

*They all have capitals because they are always straining for importance or significance. This is their attempt to replicate the true Self to attempt to fool us, but in the end they are all imposters. 

**One of the mind's greatest distractions (for people on a spiritual path) is the desire to accumulate more spiritual information at the expense of simply experiencing our True Self, or having self-realization. Sri Mooji says, "It cannot be learned, it can only be recognized in ourselves," and yet we frequently find ourselves pursuing more information for "answers." This is one of the mind's final tricks to delay our re-membering/oneness. (Another mind diversion: telling us we are "too tired" or sleepy as we start to meditate, causing us to stop.) 

***Which is ironically like focussing on the dot in the middle of the blank page, while ignoring the vastness of the white paper and who we really are.

Don't Be a Slave to Your Mind and Maya

Satsang by Gautam Baiji

Once we get knowledge, why do we still need spiritual instruction (satsang)?

When you see a farmer sow the seeds, we know his work is not finished.

He goes over and over his crops. He keeps an eye on them.

When weeds come up, he uproots them. Why? To protect the plants.

Satsang means the company of truth. How can we get that?

First we have to know what is truth and what is not truth.

Our saints say, "Truth is permanent." We cannot change it. Truth in invincible; it cannot be destroyed.

So we look at the world and ask, "What is permanent and invincible?"

Our body is always changing. Our house is always changing. Our mind and thoughts change. Everything in the world changes.

Except soul. Spirit.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says you cannot destroy the soul. You cannot burn it, it cannot get wet, it's invincible.

How can we realize that?

That's why great souls came into this world, to tell us: "Know thyself."

We have to learn who we are and understand why we came here.

What is the goal of our life?

The human body is the crown of creation. Why?

Because we have great potential.

To earn lots of money? Retire when we get older? Then what?

To get peace. Salvation. Liberation from... what?

What is binding us? Who is holding us?

Our saints say we won't get moksha until we get liberation.

Then maya, the illusion, is binding us, we say.

Once a guru saw a man walking while holding a rope attached to a cow. He said to his disciple, "Look at this. Who is bound to whom?"


The disciple said, "Simple. The cow is in bondage to the man. That's why he's attached to the rope."

"No," the guru said, "The person is in bondage to the cow. Why? Because if the person drops the rope, the cow will run away. Then the man will run after the cow. The cow doesn't need the person, but the person needs the cow."

The same thing with maya. Sometimes we say, "Maya is the bondage, Maya is binding us." Maya is not binding our mind, it's binding us.

That's why Krishna told Arjuna, "I don't need anything from you. Just give me your mind. If your mind is here, everything is here. If it's not, not matter how much I scream my discourse, you will go home and not remember anything. "I was there, but my mind was not there."

Our mind binds us. The mind is our friend and our enemy. 

How?

The mind is like a ladder. It can help us go up, or it can help us go down.

If you go upstairs, you can see far. If you go down, you can only see the basement. The walls, nothing else.

When is the mind our enemy? When it goes with worldly things. "Oh, that person is like this, that thing is like that, etc." All negative thoughts come. Our mind's tendency is to go downward, like water.

When is the mind our friend? When we allow satsang to elevate us.

Our parents and society taught us how to behave, but not how to think. Satsang teaches us that.

Finding Onions When You Expect Oranges

Satsang by Mahatma Gautumbaiji

When we pray, we say:

"Oh God, please lead us from darkness to light.
Lead us from untruth to truth.
Lead us from mortal to immortality."

But we never think about that.
We only sing it (in our bhajans) - we never try to walk on that path.
We cannot get anywhere just be reading about it

But if we practice, we can get whatever we want.

Someone asked Buddha, "What do you get from meditation?"

"Nothing," was his reply. "But if you ask me what I lost, I will tell you I lost my anger. I lost my desire. I lost depression, anxiety, fear of old age and death." 

When a person starts doing meditation, he or she starts moving into reality.

Life is a dream, and dream and reality are very different.

One girl loves a boy. They are very happy. But when they get married, they notice they change. Same person, different perspectives.  

One says, "When we met, you were a totally different person. Why the change?" 

Change should come, especially if you are sowing any seeds. 
Are the seeds changing, or not?

Why don't we accept that change?

The seed is changing slowly, slowly. 
You nurture the plant to help it along
You make a nice planter, you water it every day. 
But after a certain time, you don't need to water it every day. (change)
Then maybe you transfer it into the ground because it needs more room to put down roots.
And it grows into a big tree.

Sometimes in this world, we forget to face this reality.
Everyone wants the truth in their life, but we don't want to face the reality.
We want it our way, a way that causes no pain or sorrow.

We want to change the onion into an orange.
That's our problem - we are trying to change it.

We may think we didn't want the onion, but what goes better in soup?
The onion. It will make your soup more tasty.

Why are we coming here (to satsang at the ashram)?
What is our goal?

We are using our time, sitting here for two hours.
Our time is precious, it's hard to do.

But we know we are coming here for our goal: peace.

But how will we get it?

A new person came here, and I said, "This place is unique. You will get everything here. Everything means everything. But always remember and don't forget your goal. What is my goal?"

Just like shopping at the mall. You never forget why you are there. Are you buying a nice dress? You do that right away, especially if you have a time limit, and then if you have extra time, you do other things. You achieved your goal.

The same way we came to this planet. We must remember our goal.
It's a big mall, everything is here, but always keep in your mind your goal.
If you remember that, then you will achieve it. You will fill your bag with what you want and be able to enjoy your life deeply.
But if you fill your bag with other things...

Your "glass" will be full, and you'll run out of time to get anything else...

So we must practice.

Can I play tabla like Dada? Not without practice.
Can I sing like Baiji? Not without practice.

No time? We always make time to feed our belly. We just open the refrigerator and eat.

Why don't we make it a priority to feed our soul?

Who's In Control?

A satsang by Gautam Baiji

"One person had a beautiful house. It was the most beautiful house in town.

One day the owner travelled to another town. On his return, he saw that his house was on fire.

As we know, when a person builds a house, so many dreams are wrapped up in it, and there are so many personal belongings inside that we are attached to.

So the man started crying. "Oh my God! All the hard work I put into my house, and now it's burning down."

So many people in the town had gathered to watch it burn - there was nothing they could do.

His son approached him and said, "Dad, you don't need to cry. I already sold the house!"

"What?"

"Yes, I got an offer that was three times what it's worth, and I accepted it. I'm very sorry, I couldn't ask you because you were out of town."

"Oh yeah, you sold it?" He was suddenly a very happy man.

Now he turned to watch the house burn with the others, but this time he was a silent watcher, completely detached. Same fire; same house; same person. But now his feeling has changed.

His second son approached. "Dad, why are you smiling? Your house is burning and you're just watching?!"

"Don't worry, son, your brother already sold the house for three times its worth. We got a very good price."

"No, Dad! The buyer only gave us a small amount down! He didn't pay it fully. When he sees it's burned down, he won't pay us the balance!"

The man was suddenly sad again, and he continued crying. "My house is burning!" (Same fire, same house, same person, but the feeling changed.)

His third son approached. "Dad, don't cry. I just came from the buyer, and even though he knows the house is burning, he is a good man and agreed to honor the original price. He said no one knew the house would catch fire, so he will still pay you in full."

The man was suddenly happy again. Same house; same fire; same person; different feeling. No more tears.

This is the situation in our life. Whenever we say, "This is mine" we start thinking we are in control and set ourselves up for suffering.

My wife. My husband. My kids. My things.."

The ego wants to own and control. The soul only loves.

Why Should We Be Like a Non-Stick Pan?

Satsang by Gautam Baiji 

Problems result from ego.
Our saints remind us, Know thyself. What is my goal?
Sometimes we think, "I will get detached from things."
Only by saying that, can you get detached?
Ask your mind.
You are SO attached - that's why you're suffering.
When you cook, you have two kinds of pans.
One is steel, and one is non-stick.
And you are very clever - when you want to make pudla, you use the non-stick pan it doesn't stick and it's easier to clean.
Do we say, "Let's not make it at all?" No, we love pudla. We love pancakes. We know it will get dirty and we will wash it, and non-stick makes it all easier.

So why are we not using it (non-stick) in our daily life?"

Then Baiji talks about how we can't avoid getting tempted by attachments because we have to be involved with people and situations - we must risk attachment and then make sure we stay ultimately unattached.

In this world, we have to live together.
At the ashram, you all come here.
Should I say, No, don't come here, I will get more attached with you guys, that's not good for a saddhu (holy person).

If the farmer thinks, I will get dirty by the soil, maybe I shouldn't farm at all." "I want to get the nice fruits and vegetables and flowers, but I don't want to touch the mud."

Will he get fruits? Not even in his dreams.

The Art of Remembering

Satsang by Mahesh Shastri 

"No one escapes life and death. It’s important to understand this cycle. 

The mind gets involved in the material world. You play in the material world with the conscious mind. 

But everybody sleeps at night. They’re connected with God there unconsciously. 

And because they are connected, they are very peaceful when they get up. 

But if they know how to meditate with the conscious mind, then, during the daytime in the material world, it will help them connect with their deeper self.

If they know this.

If they don’t do this, they will have more difficulty at the end of their life.

Lord Krishna maintained that one could be a cruel person in life, but if they remember Him at the end of their life, if they remember the Holy Spirit, they will be forgiven. All will be forgiven.

Providing… they remember.

How to remember? 

That's what we teach at the ashram. The art of remembering. Of connecting."

The Old Man and The Old Cottage - A Story

Once there was an old man who lived in a cottage in the forest. He had recently retired due to old age, and was bored and restless as a result. He missed going to work in the village every day.

His cottage was old. He built it when he was young, and they had both had seen better days. More cracks and leaks appeared every day.

One day, while noticing he could see sunlight streaming through one of the larger cracks, he thought, “Why not tear it all down and build a new one? I did it once before.”

He decided to start right away. He picked up his heaviest sledgehammer and – with some effort – hoisted it over his shoulder…

Then he stopped himself, lowering the hammer.

Something told him he should get some advice in case he was making a big mistake.

He heard there was an old guru who lived deep in the forest, so he decided to seek him out. He'd never had time before because he always worked long hours, but this was the perfect excuse. 

After a long day of traveling into the deepest part of the forest, he found the bearded guru sitting on a rock contemplating a bird on the branch of a tree. After he explained his situation to the guru, he asked, “Should I tear down my cottage and rebuild it, or just let it waste away?”

The guru stroked his beard and said, “There is only one important voice you should listen to, yes? When you hear it, come back and tell me what it says.”

The old man said he would and thanked him.

On the way back home, he stopped in the village to chat with some villagers. He told them what he was thinking of doing.

Immediately everyone started giving him opinions on what he should do. This surprised and confused him.

Suddenly the crowd parted, and the richest man in the village strutted through. He spoke louder than the rest:

“Your cottage is old and falling apart. But so are you, old man, so just sit in your rocking chair and wait till your next life to build a new one.”

This saddened the old man. As he left, he even heard some of the villagers laugh at him.

He went back to the guru and told him what happened. "...so therefore, I think it's best I leave my cottage alone.”

“Because of what the man said, yes?”

“You said to listen for the most important voice. He’s very rich and successful, so I knew his voice was the most important one.”

The guru clasped his hands and spoke in a low tone. “Go deeper, yes? Because the most important voice is within you."

"I don't hear it."

"With time and patience, you will hear it constantly. You just have to work at it."

The old man nodded and left.

As he stepped over some large roots on the way back, he tried in vain to hear some voice inside himself. But all he could hear were the villagers’ taunts and the rich man’s insults.

This made him angry. “They didn’t care about me, or what was best for me. I’ll show them!”

When he got home he immediately picked up the sledgehammer. It was very heavy and he grunted as he swung it...

But he stopped himself again. Something told him he should see the guru one more time, even at this late hour. Plus, his back hurt from swinging the sledgehammer.

The guru was sitting by a small campfire when the old man emerged from the trees, limping from  his back pain.

“Did your inner voice show you the way?” the guru asked.

“Yes! It said 'I'll show them and tear it down even if it kills me!'” the man said.

The guru poked the small fire with a stick. A glowing ember fluttered up into the night sky.

“That voice was your ego talking with pride, yes?”

“But it’s the only voice I hear!”

“If you go deeper in your meditation, I promise you will hear your divine voice, from your purest, truest Self. It will guide you every time. You just need to work at it.”

“Is it talking to me now?”

“Every second of the day. You just have to work at it.”

“The other voices are so strong! I don’t think I can do it, Master. Something must be broken inside of me.”

The guru smiled. “Then we would repair it, yes? But you can’t be too broken because you already hear the voice. Don’t you see? It’s the one that told you to come to me for help.”

The old man was suddenly enlightened by this – nothing else needed to be said.

He had a nice, quiet walk home.

At home, he meditated on all the guru said and knew it to be true. He started listening.

He started hearing.

And he was no longer restless.

So now that he hears his divine voice consistently, what did it tell him to do with his cottage and all of its cracks and leaks?

Maybe it wasn’t too broken. Maybe he just needed to work at it. 

by Scott Ware

Let Ego GO, Let the Sun IN

Satsang from Gautum Baiji:

"The sun can give us light and heat.
But when the clouds come, the sun cannot reach us.
The clouds blocks the sun rays.

So even though the sun has all that power, because of the clouds, we cannot get much heat or light.

It's the same with our life:

When the cloud of egoism covers our soul
We cannot get the light of God
which is out there shining

If that cloud of egoism comes, we cannot get the light of God fully
Although we can remove it through meditation

And we all know when there is no sunshine, we feel cold
Sometimes there is a mental effect

But if the sun is there, even in the early morning, we feel good.
And warm

The same thing happens with spirituality

Through knowledge
We get the power of discernment
It's heightened, in fact

We can then decide better what's good for us

We can see more clearly

Ego vs Soul; False Self vs True Self

Should I Sacrifice All?

Dr. Kanti gave satsang a few weeks back:

One day a man came to the temple and greeted the Mahatma there.

"Master," he said, "I am ready to ready to renounce the world!"

"What do you mean?" the Mahatma asked.

"Total renunciation! I renounce my house, I renounce my clothes, I renounce my family, everything! I sacrifice it all to come wear the saffron robes and serve you."

The Mahatma shook his head. "This is not the way."

The man was confused. "But the Vedas say we should sacrifice."

"And you've misinterpreted it, like so many people have. Some cultures even thought it meant they should sacrifice animals, which is totally wrong."

"What should I do?" the man asked humbly.

"You want to truly sacrifice? The real renunciation is your ego. Your desire. Your attachments. Your cruelty. Your prejudice. Your pride. Perfection requires purification, which means sacrificing your ego."

"We must sacrifice our selves."

(The photo animation of the satsang was taken in November. I hope it didn't make you dizzy.)

How Spirituality Affected My Writing

As someone who has written numerous staged plays and other writing projects, I sometimes get asked why I no longer seem to do much writing.

Have I given up? Do I no longer enjoy expressing myself through writing?

It turns out I am just fine. Better than fine.

Here's what I discovered:

For one, I no longer identify myself as a writer. I am someone who writes.

Writers frequently write stories that mirror the issues they are working out in their lives.

Consciously or unconsciously, that "issue" is no less than the ultimate search for Self.

Sure, there's another goal involved, like the search for a lost Ark, or to win a boxing match, or even a lost princess (romantic comedies even pursue another to help "complete" them).

The hero pursues when she wants, but in the end she gets what he needs. 

And what is the ultimate need? To need nothing at all. To know that everything you need is already inside of you (which then prompts one to want to give, but that's another story). 

Now that I’ve found myself - or my Self - I no longer feel the desire to explore stories of seeking.

Being relieved of that desire is... a relief! And it's given me more control over my monkey mind, and I have more peace as a result. 

I don't have to DO anything. Just be.

I still enjoy being creative, and I even get to do it for good causes (fundraising brochures, blogging, and creating newsletters for the ashram, for instance). Seva.

Now this is my experience. I am glad there are many great writers who write what they do - I love to read! - and they have their reasons and purpose, and we all need them at many points on our journey. This is my road. 

And as evidenced by this post, I still love to write, so stay tuned.* You never know what a person might might write when they don't need to write about people who don't need anything. I still like to have some fun, after all...

*I'm currently working on a children's play for a family program at the ashram where a character is comically chased around by his ego, represented by another actor.

Satsang - The Key to Happiness

Today, Gautum Baiji said:

"People say, I Want Happiness. How can they get it?

Start by removing the I. What is I? Ego. If ego is there, no matter how close you are, you can't see God.

Because I is the curtain. I is the biggest enemy. As long as the I is there, you cannot achieve your spiritual goals.

After you remove the I (the ego), you need to remove the Want, which is desire (whose non-fulfillment causes suffering).

Remove the I and the Want, and what you have left is Happiness.

Everyone says they want Happiness. But Happiness does not dwell at any permanent address.

It dwells in those who help others. Because if you help others, you do not need to ask for Happiness, Happiness automatically comes to you. You don't need to run after it.

Good Job vs God Job - Ego vs Soul

I read a quote recently about the importance of "imprinting" my intention on the Universe...

Instead of seeing everything as perfect and as God intended, it seemed to suggest I should work hard to impose my view on life and the order of things.

For me it's more true to join with the Universe... to uncover my soul's intention, which is already in alignment with the Universe/God, and live into that.

"Imprinting my intention on the Universe" has ego present in the way an artist seeks recognition through desiring "immortality" in their work.

There's also a warning in the quote about absorbing other's intentions so that you're not steered off your own course.

Of course we wouldn't want to lose ourselves to another's will (except God's!)...

But what if you give your life to serving others, and it's not about you at all? You'd probably engage with them energetically to offer whatever assistance they needed for the next step in their journey.

If I ever think it's about me, then it's just my ego talking. Good reminder.