This article by Sirshree was first published in Speaking Tree on Sep 20 2006.

Why should we engage in self-enquiry? Behind everything that you do, isn’t it happiness that you seek? Every action you perform is for this happiness. But that bliss is lost in the hurricane of thoughts that cloud the radiance of the Self.

When you are in deep sleep, there are no thoughts. There is only pure consciousness. The way a spider weaves a web out of itself and then takes back everything into itself, thoughts arise from the ocean of the Self and manifest our world.

They disappear during deep sleep and along with them the world, too, disappears. This illusory game goes on uninterrupted. To clear the cobwebs of illusion, you have to go to the source of these thoughts.

When you do rigorous self-enquiry and see all the facets of the mind and its colours, then the mind weakens and finally disappears; it never truly existed. This mind is ego, the false ‘I’.

Enquiry is for the death of the mind. It is also called the ‘contrast mind’, which keeps coming between the seeker and the sought. The meaning of God is love and love can never be unhappy.

What has observation or seeing got to do with transformation? Lots. With correct observation, the wrong automatically ends. You cannot get angry, or kill in awareness. You can only harm others when you lack awareness.

We can be selfish only when we are not aware; when we are unable to feel the other person’s unhappiness. If you start seeing yourself in every situation, then soon you will be transformed.

For the first time you will begin to understand the mind. How can the mind be thoughtless? Mind means thoughts. Being thoughtless means being in a no-mind state.

Why does the mind fall off on self-enquiry?

To quieten the mind, self-enquiry is the best method which is the means as well as the end. When you ask, “Who am I?” this thought in the form of a question will cut off other thoughts.

After ending all other thoughts this last thought of ‘Who am I?’ will also end. Then Self-realisation takes place. This will break the concept of form, the concept of body.

You are boundless and boundary-less. Those who meditate generally do so by uttering a word, visualising an image, or repeating a mantra.

But, these repetitions are not effective enough to enhance your awareness about yourself. You cannot be in a hazy state when you ask the question “Who am I”?

This question pierces you like a sharp instrument and drives you to your centre. With persistence you will gradually start recognising the deep silence, a stillness, which is your true self.

Later the question itself becomes the answer. However advanced a meditator is, thoughts continue to crowd the mind. We need a potent thought to annihilate these thoughts; a thought that will annihilate all thought.

You require steel to cut steel. An antidote for poison is another poison. In the same way, let one thought annihilate all other thoughts. Why does the mind fall off on self-enquiry?

Let us say that the mind is asking a question: “What will happen when I die?” At that moment, if you ask: “Who is it that will die?” then the mind is forced to go within.

You find out for the first time that there is nothing that can be called as the mind. Mind is just a bundle of thoughts. When thoughts sink into absolute silence then the death of the mind happens.

The power of presence: Allow the power of “formless presence” to manifest. People are more interested in the presence of power than in the power of presence. The ego is the biggest hindrance in allowing the power of presence to manifest. To invoke this power, learn practices that help to calm the mind so that the power of presence can shine.

The power of present: Allow the power of the “past-less present” and “future-less present” to manifest. You can always be in the present by loving your present. Instead, man is busy loving his future. “Only if this happens in the future shall I be happy.” Focus on the future or on the past is the biggest hindrance in allowing the power of present to manifest. To invoke this power, learn meditation, which instantly brings you to the present.

The power of love: Allow the power of unconditional love to manifest. Begin by loving yourself so that you can love others. Give love to others. The more you give love, the more you get love. Man is, instead, focused on receiving love. Such miserliness of focusing on receiving and not on giving is the biggest hindrance in allowing the power of love to manifest. To invoke this power, practise both giving and forgiving.

The power of stabilisation: Allow the power of “self-stabilisation” to manifest. Self-realisation is a one-time experience. Self-stabilisation is permanent awakening. A surrendered, tolerant and disciplined mind is essential for stabilisation. The mind’s tendency to stray is the biggest hindrance in allowing the power of stabilisation to manifest. Become aware of how your mind strays and slips into escapism, be it in emotions, eating, or indulging in vices. To invoke this power, avoid escapism and make the mind tolerant and disciplined in small acts throughout the day.

The power of agreement: Allow the power of “complaint-free agreement” to manifest. Whenever you complain about the world, you are not in agreement. Understand that what happens in the world outside you is a mirror of what is inside you. The habit of the mind to stamp an incident as good or bad and jump to conclusions is the biggest hindrance in allowing the power of agreement to manifest. To invoke this power, completely accept things as they are, letting go of all resistance; you may then take action that is required.

However there is one set of fives that denotes a unique spiritual phenomenon that very few are aware of the five qualities of the Self. Lot of significance has been attached to the questions Who am I and Why am I? But the question What am I? is oft ignored. What is my inner core made up of? What are the qualities of the Self? What is at the essence of my being? What are the five core values of a human being? And the answer will be five qualities or values. These are creation, realization, satisfaction, devotion and discrimination. To make it simpler, you can substitute these five qualities with the verbs Expressing, Being, Enjoying, Loving and Knowing.

The five qualities of the Self

Why only these? You can use an micro or macro approach and will arrive at the same set of five whatever approach you take. Macrocosmically, examine what is being human all about. What differentiates us from animals? Man is considered to be the highest manifestation. What makes him highly evolved are five things that only humans are capable of, not any other animal. Only man is endowed with higher abilities to create and express as manifested in art, to meditate and inquire as manifested in self realization, to love and devote as opposed to merely lust, to be happy and blissful as manifested in laughter, to discriminate and know the difference between what is real and unreal as manifested in developed cognition and conscience.  Microcosmically, when you meditate on Who am I and are established on the inner Self, you are left with only these five values. You experience creativity, peace, happiness, love and truth emanating from your inner core and reverberating in the universe. You do not even require enlightenment to experience it. Ask yourself whether at your core, arent the values of creativity, peace, happiness, love and truth that exist? Take any list of values in a value education class and you can distill them to these fiveno more or no less.

Thus both from a macro and micro point of view, you are left with these five essences. Let us examine each of them to understand the qualities of Self or the nature of Godhead:

Creation (Abhivyakti) : Creation is the physical manifestation of ideas and thoughts. At the core of the universe is creation. The Self in Rest created the universe, the Self in Action to know itself. Shiva created Shakti. Creation also denotes self expression.

Realization (Mouna): Why did creation take place? So that the Self can realize itself.  So that the silence can be realized. At the core of everything created is silence, peace. The purpose of human birth is to realize oneself. The body-mind has been given for the Self to realize itself. The body-mind can never realize the Self. Self realizes itself through the body-mind

Enjoyment (Anand) : The Self realizes itself to be established in bliss. A mere body-mind is enough for the Self to realize itself. But what is unique about humans is that the individual someone who thinks of himself as separate also gets created. And when the individual surrenders to the Self, bliss manifests. God created individuality to experience the happiness of coming back (realizing) to Himself. This happiness is possible only when there is forgetfulness, when there is separation. Thus the significance of the individual. Realization leads to bliss.

Love (Prem): To realize oneself and be established in the Self, the body-mind has to surrender to the Self. You can call this as devotion (bhakti). Devotion arises out of duality. I am separate from God. The individual is separate from the Self. So now the individual surrenders to the Self through bhakti a higher form of love. Where the body-mind appreciates and is in amazement of the Self.  Bhakti leads to realization. On realization, a higher form of love manifests. Love of the Self for its creation. Pure love. Love of the Truth for the Truth.

Discrimination (Satya): On realization, you are stabilized on the truth. There is a clear distinction between what is real and what is unreal.  Only knowing remains. Knowing of the truth. To attain realization too, discrimination of what is the truth and what is not the truth is critical. Only human beings can discriminate between real and unreal. There are only two paths to realization one is that of Surrendering (bhakti). The other is that of discrimination (vivek) where there is a constant enquiry of what is real, what is unreal.

These five qualities shall emanate effortlessly from the one who is realized. Others can practice some simple steps that can enhance these five qualities in their life. Take up a vocation or a hobby where you are fully self expressed where you do not have a sense of time as you create. Mediate to have glimpses of realization. Carry happy thoughts and take time to smell the flowers as you enjoy the process of whatever you do. Be open to the love that exists in relationships. And practice self enquiry to discriminate between what is real and what is unreal.

Open your eyes and watch how all nature, how all that you do is a manifestation of these qualities. How these are the core values. Marvel at the question, What am I?

Seeker: How can we continuously do “self enquiry”? It is but natural for thoughts to arise. They are bound to come. In such a situation, what do we do?

Understanding Thoughts with Self Enquiry

Sirshree: This enquiry is not difficult at all if one understands it properly. Whenever any other thought arises, ask yourself ‘to whom has this thought arisen?’ (Who is the thinker?). It doesn’t matter how many thoughts come to you. When you ask this to yourself (to whom has this thought occurred?), an answer might occur to you, “This thought has occurred to me”. Immediately ask yourself, “Who is this me?”, “Who am I?”. Then you will be thrown back to yourself. When you ask yourself, “Who is this me?” or “Who am I? “, then do not give the answer in words. Don’t answer from the intellect… ‘I am consciousness’, ‘I am self ‘, etc. Beyond these answers, beyond the intellect – one has to experience the feeling – one’s being – the feeling of “sense of presence”. Reaching the experience of the true self is the real answer to this question. In this way, every time, every thought… will take you back to your true self. Right now, if you are getting this thought that “I am not understanding this”, then ask… “who is it that is not understanding?”. If I have not understood, then who… who… who…? Immediately you will see that thoughts disappear for some moments. You become thoughtless. Only the self remains. In this way, by repeatedly contacting your true self, the mind will weaken and the light of consciousness will shine. The mind will learn to stay at its source by repeating this process. By dipping into the self again and again, the mind shall dissolve. It is like the story of the dolls made out of salt. They wanted to dive into the sea to measure its depth, they themselves got dissolved before reaching the bottom.

Seeker: Are there no other ways to quieten the mind?

Sirshree: Quietening of the mind is not the destination; it is just one of the steps. If after quietening of the mind, the required understanding is not achieved, the whole purpose is lost. This understanding does not arise through other methods. Some people try to quieten the mind by regulating their breath (pranayama). Or through chanting of mantras. In all these methods, one does feel that the mind has become quiet for some time. However, the mind returns back after some time with the same old understanding. The doubts of the mind appear again . The mind’s thoughts continue to trouble us. When someone focuses the mind on the gap between two breaths, then also the mind shall become quiet. One feels that along with the breath, the mind too has stopped. In deep sleep, even while the breathing is going on, the mind is quiet, it even ceases to exist. It is therefore, better if we can be on our source while breathing is taking place normally. Self enquiry achieves this naturally.

Seeker: Since there is no end to thoughts, how long should one continue “self enquiry”?

Sirshree:  Do this enquiry until you find out your true identity, as long as your concepts about yourself don’t dissolve. One of the root concept is that you are the body, the moment such concepts / beliefs dissolve, self-enquiry will end because then you would have stabilized on your self. You would have become a sthithpragnya (one who is stabilized in truth). After that, even if there are thoughts, you would have understood that they are separate from you. You are witnessing those thoughts. Thoughts are in your body-mind mechanism. This machine is just a mirror which makes you aware of yourself. If there are thoughts happening to this mirror, then how can they trouble you? The mirror always does its work. It always reveals your presence to you. (It means it always makes you aware of your awareness). Practising self-enquiry and thus being established in oneself is the highest devotion of all. Eliminating thoughts the moment they arise by the process of self-enquiry is the truest sacrifice of all.

Thought Numbering Meditation

1. In this meditation, for becoming thoughtless, thoughts are destroyed by giving sequential numbers. Begin the meditation by watching every thought.
2. Now start numbering every thought. As soon as one thought arises, number it in your mind as ‘one’. As the second thought arises, number it as ‘two.’ In this way, continue counting the thoughts.
3. Sit quietly even when there are no thoughts. If this thought arises that, “At this time I don’t have any thought”, then number this thought also because, “I don’t have any thought” is also a thought.
4. Don’t follow any thought. Just number it and leave it.
5. With this meditation, the number of thoughts will reduce drastically. Sometimes even a thoughtless state will result. Practice this meditation regularly without expecting a given result.

First ask - "Who I am not?"

Seeker: How does one begin Self Enquiry?

Sirshree: For the right start, first understand a little more about the body. Then about the mind, intellect and the Real Self (Sakshi). Understanding this will help.

Seeker: Should I directly begin by asking “Who am I?”

Sirshree: No. First ask – “Who I am not?”. I am not this body because the moment I say that this is my body, then it is something external. Not me. I am not “my car”. “My house” possibly cannot be me. I say : “Please come to my house”, and not “Please come in to me”.

• Name given to this body is not me.
•  The five elements of this gross body – earth, fire, water, wind and space is not me.
• The astral body within the body is not me.
• The five senses of the body -eyes, ears , nose, tongue, and skin is not me.
• I am not those things that are related to the senses sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
• I am also not the breath due to which this body-mind mechanism functions.
• Neither I am the mind that thinks about what I should be.
• Nor am I the intellect that is absent along with the body during deep sleep.

Seeker: If I am not all these, then who am I?

Sirshree: You are the only one who remains. It was you who were using the five layers of the body. It was you who were the master of the intellect. Now it is you who is the witnessing of the mind.

You are beyond every label

• Now, if you no longer are the body and intellect, how can you be an engineer or a doctor or a leader or a student?
• How can you be a brother or a sister, a father, a mother, a friend, a husband, a wife, a disciple or a Guru?
• How can you be American, Indian, British, Chinese, etc.?
• How can you be a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew?
• How can you be cheerful, intelligent, foolish, positive, active, honest, pious, lazy? Now it is just you who remains – pure, non-state , without any imagination of name or form. Accept your true form as it is. And remain that. You have become something that you aren’t. Now is the time to be established in your consciousness. To be who you really are – the bright witnessing.

Also read:

1. Who am I
2. Self Enquiry with Honesty
3. Thoughts and Self Enquiry
4. Tejam: Bright Witnessing

In relationships, there should be 'bright love' and not mere expectations (Photo via flickr)

Seeker:  Is fear, greed or ego the reason behind all the work that we do? Is that why you are asking us to do self-enquiry?

Sirshree:  When you think honestly, you will find that you work with some expectations and with some ego. You have expectations from your brothers, sisters, spouse, children, etc. You want these expectations to be fulfilled. If they do not fulfil these expectations, then they become the reason for your unhappiness and anger. In relationships, there should be ‘bright love’ and not mere expectations. Also in exchange of this love, one should not expect name, fame, and gratitude. This bright love will come to you automatically through understanding. The ego will dissolve.

Seeker:  How does this ego get created?

Sirshree:   Once a child is 2 or 3 years old, the contrast mind begins to form. Which then takes the credit for every action. Then ego begins to increase. Different experiences… successes, wealth, status, etc. fuel the ego even further. Because of the habit of taking credit through appreciation, we gradually become a slave to praise. There is no limit to the ego. One can never satisfy it. This is its nature. If we wish to feed the ego with praise and when we don’t get praise then we have to bear its miseries as well. Self-enquiry with honesty will dissolve this ego and you will then find out your true nature, your being. Most of your problems will end immediately. Enquiry is such a technique that if it is done with understanding, then it can result in self realization.

Seeker:  Now, I am beginning to understand many things. What else have I to learn?

Sirshree:   You have to learn a little and do a lot of unlearning. Whatever concepts and beliefs you have assumed and accepted have to be removed and cleared through understanding. Whomsoever has the desire for happiness, peace, bliss etc. should do this enquiry.

Self Transformation is self liberation followed by self development followed by self expression.

An individual may have many aims. He gets joy and satisfaction only after achieving his aim. However, he is unaware that hidden behind every aim, is the chief aim of self transformation. This can be termed as ‘Aim Beyond Aim’. Self transformation refers to realizing one’s potential and then expressing it. In this article Sirshree presents the perspective with which one should approach this aim.

“Self Transformation is self liberation followed by self development followed by self expression. Self Liberation refers to freedom from negativities such as fear, worry, anger, etc. Self Development refers to improving positive qualities, working on every level of life. Once you are liberated from negativities and have developed your qualities, the demonstrable results in your life and their impact on those around you become your Self expression. In other words,

Self Transformation = Self Liberation (from problems) + Self Development (in all 5 areas of life *) + Self Expression (the impact on your life and others)

Self Transformation is akin to blossoming. A photograph is of no use if it remains confined within the camera itself. For a photograph to be expressed to the world, it first needs to be washed and then developed.

The one who is in the path of self transformation is a warrior. A warrior takes everything in life to be a challenge, responding fully to what happens without complaint or regret. What usually matters most to people is affirmation or certainty in the eyes of others; what matters most to a warrior is commitment to transformation. This warrior is one who has clarity of body, mind and intellect. Clarity with respect to the body refers to being aware of postures, the breath, the interplay of the physical elements, becoming sensitive to just how much food and sleep is actually needed. Clarity with respect to the mind refers to clarity of emotions, thoughts and different mental states. Not getting caught up in the whirlings of the mind, retaining the balance in their flow of thoughts. Clarity of intellect refers to not being muddled or confused about what is happening. And he does not have this clarity at merely an intellectual level, but at an experiential level. He is a warrior with knowlerience.

Knowlerience

Knowlerience is a word that you will not find in the dictionary. Knowlerience refers to knowledge and experience. Knowledge could be mere expression in words. Experiential knowledge is what is more important, not just intellectual knowledge.

You have understood that Self Transformation is needed across the three layers of the body, mind and intellect and in the five levels of life. But mere understanding is not enough.

For the transformation of the body, you have to practice a proper diet (pure diet), practice breath control (pranayama), exercise, and take timely rest. Also, you should seek the benefits of all the gifts of nature such as air, water, sunlight, natural herbs, etc. Many have a ‘body of knowledge’ about the body. Only when they practice what is mentioned therein, they have knowlerience of body transformation.

For the transformation of the mind, you should practice cultivating optimistic thoughts (Happy Thoughts) and a strong aim. Be deeply watchful of your thoughts and you will be liberated from vices such as fear, worry, anger etc. Many have a mindful load of information about the mind. Only when they practice a few things from that truck load of information, they have knowlerience of mind transformation.

For the transformation of the intellect, you should practice farsightedness, originality, practicality and act as per what the situation needs. Many intellectually understand the intellect. Only when they practice what they intellectually understand, they have knowlerience of intellectual transformation.

Even if you are told the deepest secret of the universe, it would appear as just empty words until there was enough practice.”

You will find more information about this topic in the book by the same name. In it you’ll also find an action plan for each aspect showing how you could plan your actions and work your plan. Imbibe them and you will have knowlerience of self transformation. Then you would have learnt to convert problems into opportunities.

Note : * 5 areas of life are : physical, mental, financial, social and spiritual

Time required for Understanding the Truth (Photo from Flickr)

Seeker: How much time would it take me to understand the Truth?

Sirshree: This depends upon your desire to understand it. It depends on your thirst for the Truth. As and when this thirst increases – you will find that this is very easy. Some people are like camphor. The fire of Truth lights fast in them. Some are like incense sticks – a little bit more time is required. Some are like coal – more time is required. And lastly some are like wet wood – whom the fire of Truth can’t even touch.

Seeker: Can’t everyone get this understanding?

Sirshree: It is possible. Because within everybody the Truth exists. But the desire to know the Truth has to arise first. Till it doesn’t rise, then for ‘that’ the mind is like wet wood. The mind won’t be ready to listen at all.

Seeker: How will this thirst arise?

Sirshree: If somebody keeps listening to the Truth, keeps attending the discourses, if he keeps company of those friends who are also seekers of Truth – then this thirst will surely arise.

Also read:

1. Is the Truth bitter or sweet
2. Listening to Final Truth
3. Interval Meditation

1) If you are sad, don’t say, “I am sad.” At such time, say, “Thoughts of sorrow are passing through my mind.”

2) If you are happy, yet you should remain neutral. At such time also, say, “Thoughts of happiness are passing through my mind.” At such time, don’t say, “I am happy” or “I am sad”, instead your thoughts should be neutral in both instances. That is why it has been called as ‘Neutral Meditation.’

Neutral meditation means you are neutral for every thought

You can practice this meditation any time of the day. When you get thoughts of boredom, make them neutral. When you get thoughts of hatred, then too look at them with a neutral feeling and say, “At this time, thoughts of boredom or thoughts of hatred are passing by.” Never say, “I am bored… angry… depressed… anxious… ” etc. This will help you to remain balanced and steady in every situation.

Everyone seems to fear death. In fact, fear of death is the root of all the different fears that people have – be it the fear of darkness, the fear of animals, the fear of future or the fear of old age.

The main reason behind the fear of death is incomplete knowledge. The lack of knowledge about death makes death appear frightening. If we truly understand what death is, then death itself can teach us the art of living. To live life well, one must understand death. When we fall asleep, we lose all awareness of the body. We actually go through a mini-death. However, we are not afraid of falling asleep because we understand sleep. Once we understand death, we will stop fearing death too. Sleep is a short death that happens every day. Death is a long sleep that happens once. What we call death is actually a stage in life. Just as childhood, adolescence, adulthood, middle age and old age are various stages of life… death is also a phase.

What after Death?

By reading the above facts that have been explained just briefly in this article, one should not contemplate suicide so that the astral body can be experienced. Incomplete understanding is very harmful. Though it is essential to understand what death is, more essential is to understand the purpose of human birth. Till we have learnt all that we are to learn in this physical form, trying to go prematurely to the astral form is not only wrong but presents a lot of difficulties in our journey in the other world. The understanding of truth acquired while in the physical body proves most helpful in the onward journey of the astral body. We must understand that the wisdom acquired here continues with us in the life after death. The bliss achieved here is multiplied manifold in our onward life after death.

The purpose of telling the above is to drive away the fear of death. Death is a natural, necessary event in the evolution of each individual. It should neither be feared nor embraced prematurely. Some normal fear of physical injury or disease is natural and is essential for the safety of our body. Only on understanding the whole truth about life, can you be liberated from this fear in the true sense.

Read more:

1. What after Death?
2. The Whole-Sole Purpose of Your Life
3. Liberation from False Notions

“Use the head and heart in a balanced and appropriate way. Think from the head and feel from the heart. Be passionate and alert, strong and intelligent all the time. In this way, you will always be free from attachment and illusion. ”
.. Tejguru Sirshree Tejparkhiji

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Oneness wallpaper – 13

Also see other Oneness Wallpapers.

And read:

1. The law of Karma demystified
2. Blessing of A Good Character
3. Aim High, Reach Higher

Search for God

Seeker: From time immemorial, the search for God has always been on. Has there been any final conclusion to all this?

Sirshree: Yes. God is Silence manifested. It is only in silence that He can be known. Words can merely act as indicators. But when these words fall in the hands of sectarians, then they become the reason for differences and conflict. That is why people like the Buddha never even mention the word God.

Seeker: What stands between me and God?

Sirshree: Your fickle mind and its wrong concepts and beliefs.

Seeker: I have lots of shortcoming. Will God remove them?

Sirshree: If your faith persists – all these shortcoming would be overcome.

Seeker: Why doesn’t God himself raise this faith in me?

Sirshree: For this you have to understand the truth or surrender to God.

Seeker: If I surrender myself before God, then don’t I need to do prayers?

Sirshree: Surrendering is the most supreme and powerful prayer of all.

Seeker: But how to keep faith on God’s grace?

Sirshree: Don’t try to feel God’s grace with your mind. If you are not feeling His grace, it doesn’t mean that God is not showering grace on you. Do not compare or judge God’s grace in your imagination. You are born as a human – this itself is a big grace of God. Then in this body if the desire for truth arises, it is the second grace. Meeting a Guru who tells you the truth is the third grace. Faith arising on the Guru is the fourth instance of grace. You have already been bestowed with some of this grace.

Sirshree

This Labour Day understand various stages of labour and what sort of labour you are doing. Whether you are a chief executive officer (CEO) or a carpenter, you are doing one or the other form of labour. The work that a CEO does can be called the “Central Eye Opener”. That is what the words CEO stand for.

Opening the eyes of the organisation and the people associated with the organisation is the labour that a CEO does. Each one of us is labouring — be it the mother at home or the manager at work. The question is what sort of labour do you do. From the spiritual viewpoint, there are four stages of how one approaches work.

The first stage can be called “Survival Labour”. Here one is merely working for the sake of himself/herself or for family. The only focus is on survival. Those who see their work as merely a money-making mechanism fall in this category. Their motto is “Live for yourself”.

The next stage is “Inspirational Labour” where though the focus is on bread winning, there is pride in the job, too. Let us understand this with an example. Once there were three labourers involved in breaking stones. They were striking the stones with a massive hammer all day long under the hot sun for constructing their king’s pet project. When they were asked what is it that they were exactly doing, the first labourer replied, “I am just carrying out what has to be done as per my miserable fate”. “I am breaking stones for construction purposes”, retorted the second labourer. When the third labourer was asked the same question, he said, “It is my privilege that I am building the temple, the pet project of our king”. The third labourer had pride in his job. This is “Inspirational Labour”, where you are inspired by your work and where your body language in turn inspires others. Those at this stage have fallen in love with their work. The motto of those at the second stage of labour is, “Live for your job”.

Most people are stuck at the survival level or at the inspirational level. They do not look beyond. Let us see another example to understand this. Four friends had to use one boat to travel to a village. They sat in the boat and used the four oars to row all night. In the morning, they realised they had not moved at all. This is because they had not untied the boat. This is what happens at the first or second stage of labour. Though there is apparent effort, you have not really moved in life. It is important to move on.

The third stage of labour is “Impersonal Labour” — means labour that is not done only for personal benefit. It is not exclusive work — but inclusive, where you include the benefit of others. It is not individual labour, but universal in nature. The motto of those who are at this stage is, “Live for others”.

Work done for the benefit of others is Impersonal Labour. But don’t stop just there. Progress to the next stage. The fourth and final stage is “Liberational Labour”. This is work that happens after you realise your true nature. After self realisation, self expression follows. Here, work is not work at all. In this stage, labour arises from liberation. It is effortless effort. Stabilised in the Self (your true nature), you work for establishing the experience of Self in everybody. You no longer live a selfish life. In fact, you live a “Self-ish” life — where the individual is transcended and one lives established in the Self. In the fourth stage, the motto is, “Live for others because, there is no other”. The word ashram (meaning hermitage) in Hindi exactly signifies this liberated labour that happens at this stage. “Shram” means labour. Ashram is absence of labour.

So, this labour day, decide to move towards ashram. It does not mean you have to physically relocate to live in an ashram. It means you take an intention to move, at least, to the next level of labour from wherever you currently are. Have the intention to move from lamenting about your labour at the first stage to the next level of inspirational labour. If you are already at the second stage, take on an intention to move from lusting for labour to the next level of impersonal labour. If you are already at the third stage, take on an intention of moving from the lusture of labouring for others to liberation. Let this Labour Day be a reminder for liberated labour arising out of Self realisation.

— Sirshree is a spiritual master and founder of the Tej Gyan Foundation. He can be contacted at ma@tejgyan.com, or through his website: www.tejgyan.org

For true transformation to occur, your questions should be of the higher levels.

For spiritual transformation, as you ascend to higher levels of happiness, the quality of the questions that you ask need to change. Your questions are a reflection of your thoughts, feelings, understanding and outlook. There are five levels of questioning. For true transformation to occur, your questions should be of the higher levels.

Level 1 Questions : Questions for the sake of questioning

At the first level, an individual asks questions merely for the sake of questioning. He is not interested in knowing the answer.

Level 2 Questions: Questions for passing time

These are questions where there is an intention to listen to the answer, but no intention to learn. The question is posed just to while away time, just because somebody is available and there is pretty much nothing else to do. These questions could also take the shape of sarcastic or taunting questions.

Level 3 Questions: Questions for utilizing time

These are higher level questions, where there is an intention of learning and using time constructively. You come across someone very knowledgeable. So you ask questions and really learn from the answers. This is done to utilize time positively. These are not aimless queries, but these are questions that make the best use of time.

Level 4 Questions : Incisive Questions

These are in-depth questions on a given topic. These questions are not usually asked by anybody and everybody. Before asking such questions, a person is required to have done a thorough study of the subject. Incisive questions do not arise without reflection. Those who ask such questions always grow. They never stop growing.

Level 5 Questions : Seeker’s questions

These are not questions on just any topic. These are the most profound questions of all. These are questions such as: Who am I? Why am I here? What is eternal joy? What is life? A seeker does not ask them out of curiosity or eagerness. He has intense thirst for getting an answer to these questions. It is a matter of life and death to him.

Level 5 questions are those that elevate your level of consciousness. How many level 5 questions do you ask yourself or others through the day? The more you are focused on level 5 questions, the faster will be your complete transformation. Send in your level 5 questions to Tej Gyan Foundation and you shall receive the answers to them.

“Whenever you have an option to do one of the two things, always choose to do something new. For doing something old, mind is required. For doing something new, awareness is required. ”
.. Tejguru Sirshree Tejparkhiji

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Oneness wallpaper – 12

Also see other Oneness Wallpapers.

And read:

1. Be Creative – Creating New Possibilities
2. Eagle Meditation
3. Try New Experiments

Contrast Mind

Seeker: How is Contrast Mind formed in the first place?

Sirshree: The first thought that arises within us when we wake up in the morning is the ‘I thought’. There are variations to the ‘I thought’, viz.

• I woke
• I arose
• Now what is the first thing that I should do?
• My eyes are a bit heavy today
• Is it time for me to wake up?

Maybe the words could be different – but all of them are only those pertaining to I. With the advent of the ‘I thought’ – other thoughts start to follow. By then, the senses are awake too. It is only after the ‘I thought’ that the contrast mind forms which then judges everything as good or bad; ‘this was good’ or ‘this was bad’. This mind assumes a separate identity for itself – My work, My name, My actions, My religion, My nation, My sins, My pious deeds…

It compares and contrasts every event, every thought. It is precisely this that is unhappiness. It is precisely this that is bondage. It is this that is ignorance. It is this that is illusion. It is this that is the obstacle to attain truth. It is this that is the black cloud shrouding the sun (Self). It is this that is an eclipse. It is this that is the speck that has got into your eye and now won’t allow you to even see something as obvious as a mountain.

Also read:

1. Thoughts and Self Enquiry
2. Look who’s fooling you
3. Tejam: Bright Witnessing
4. Is the Truth bitter or sweet

April 1 is celebrated as All Fools’ Day all over the world. On this day, people try to play pranks on others and laugh at the jokes situations create. But what if the joke is on you? April 1 can be taken to represent the day of the cosmic joke. The biggest cosmic joke is maya… the illusory nature of reality. So, the joke is on humanity and what better day to celebrate this joke than on April 1. Let us first understand what this cosmic joke is all about.

The world is nothing but Self in Action (shakti) brought forth by Self at Rest (Lord Shiva). The very purpose of the creation of the body and mind is for consciousness to experience itself. But, the beauty of creation is such that the mind has also been made self-aware. Hence, the mind forgets its very purpose and becomes externally focused and mired in the world. This is the cosmic joke… the mind assumes itself and the world to be real and wants to control and experience the world. True spirituality is about allowing the mind to drop so that consciousness can experience itself.

Look who's fooling you (Photo by sravenk)

However, the joke is so real that the mind forgets its very purpose. If you break a mirror in front of a particular mirror every day, that particular mirror forgets that it too is a mirror and is brittle. It forgets that it shall break too. One can say that the mirror has been April fooled. Because, every night the mind dreams, it assumes itself to be real. The illusion created for expression of consciousness assumes itself to be reality. The mind forgets that it too is a part of a dream and is a mere visualisation of consciousness. The mind (humanity) has been April fooled. This is the biggest joke of all.

A merchant once invited a jeweller to assess the value of his wealth all converted into diamonds. The jeweller informed him that alas all his diamonds were fake. The merchant began to lament his fate. The jeweller proposed a solution, “I know it is a fake. But others don’t. So, why don’t you organise a bumper sale for the world where you offer the diamonds at one-third their value?” The wily merchant jumped at the idea thinking he would at least make something. He organised this sale and every time someone would buy a diamond, the merchant would wring his hands in glee. “Oh look. Another one has been fooled. I am making a fortune even by selling them at one-third their value.” What the merchant did not realise is that all along he was the one who was being fooled. The jeweller had lied about the diamonds being fake. All those men who had, one by one, bought out the entire stock from the merchant were all the jeweller’s men buying on behalf of him.

Thus, this April Fools’ day, do not laugh at the expense of others. Instead ponder on how you are being fooled by the cosmic joke. Here are three special ways to celebrate April 1 to make it the most spiritual day of the year:

• Contemplate to celebrate: Celebrate this special day by contemplating on the illusory nature of reality. Contemplate on how maya has fooled you.
• Meditate to celebrate: Celebrate this unique day be meditating and attaining the “no mind” state. When the mind drops, then the Self shines. Then the purpose for creation of the mind is fulfilled since consciousness experiences itself through the body and mind. The mind is no longer being April fooled.
• Investigate to celebrate: Celebrate this novel day by investigating your foolishness. What follies do you have? What false beliefs are hindering your spiritual growth?

One may ask why celebrate? The answer is why not? Celebrate because April 1 signifies creation… when the cosmic joke was put in motion. Celebrate so that you are upbeat and happy.

In Hindi, April is pronounced as “uprail”. The world is a journey where the rails of life progress upwards, not downwards. Instead of being downrailed, depressed or dejected by the illusion of this creation, contemplate, meditate and investigate. Then, this April 1, you can laugh with the creator by being the creator.

- Sirshree is the founder of Tej Gyan Foundation and an author

“The greatest help you can ever do for anybody is to just be on yourself, on your true self, on your being. Your attaining that state is the greatest help you can do for humanity.”
.. Tejguru Sirshree Tejparkhiji

Click here to download this wallpaper.

Oneness wallpaper – 11

Also See other Oneness Wallpapers

And read:

1. Blessing of A Good Character
2. Who am I
3. The Whole-Sole Purpose of Your Life

We cordially invite everyone to participate in the Magic of Awakening Retreat Part One (Free Thyself Workshop) on 09 & 10 April 2011 in Hyderabad, India

Kindly share this info with your friends.

Magic of Awakening Retreat - Part One - 09 & 10 April 11 at Hyderabad