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Truth cannot be told in words

Seeker: If Truth cannot be told in words, then how can one attain it and embody it in one’s life?

Sirshree: The answer to this is that even though it cannot be said in words, it can be pointed out to. All great saints have done so, be it the Buddha, or Guru Nanak or Jesus Christ or Ramakrishna Paramhansa or Ramana Maharishi or Kabir or Gyaneshwar. All these saints knew that “the truth cannot be expressed in words, it can only be indicated to… signalled out… pointers can be given.” This is UNTOLD TRUTH.

Be it the Gita, the Bible or the Koran, all books mean the same and talk of the same truth.

If the truth is pointed out to the one who is “thirsty”, who is a seeker, who has the desire, who wants to be spiritual, who is free of deceit, who is ready to listen, who has the eligibility, then that indication would be enough for such a person and he will experience the bliss of truth. It is only for such people that indications were made. But others misunderstood and they made meanings of their own. Be it the Gita, the Bible or the Koran, all books mean the same and talk of the same truth. A saint who has lived this experience of the truth has pointed out – “Whether you read the Gita or the Koran – liberation from ‘you’ and ‘me’ is the truth in all these sacred books.“

When the indication has been made, and if the seeker is still mired in his own imagination, then he will not grasp what is indicated, because many a time even the unreal appears real. Fake jewellery shines more than real jewellery, the photograph of a child seems better in comparison to the real child itself. “Reality” is there right in front of your eyes, yet, what is fake attracts us more because we are used to giving importance to the fake rather than the reality. If the seeker does not have the real understanding, then he would give more importance to the false things. When the truth is being pointed out, what is erroneously being grasped is the pointing finger, rather than the truth.

A father is writing in red ink. Some ink spills over his fingers. His son, just then, asks him, “Daddy, how does green colour look like?” The father runs his eyes around the room and his eyes locate a green object. “Look at that,” the father says pointing out with his finger, “that is green colour.” But the son looks at the red colour staining the pointing finger and says, “I got it.” You know what he has actually understood.

Enquiry about God

Seeker: Where is God?

Sirshree: You choose from these three answers:

He is within.

He exists externally.

Both in and out.

Seeker: I guess the third one.

Sirshree: Exactly. For Him, in and out makes no difference. The difference is only in our contrast mind.

Where did God come from?

Seeker: Then where to seek God?

Sirshree: You tell me. If he is both in and out, then where should you seek him?

Seeker: Maybe ‘In’ would be easier.

Sirshree: Precisely. Even if you seek Him outside, you will ultimately reach within. We look out into the mirror (an external source), but what it does is just to reflect us as we are. All idols and religious symbols stand for only one reason… to take us within. Then only do temples serve their purpose.

Seeker: Where did God come from?

Sirshree: This question sounds like a good question. But this question means that God was somewhere else and was not here. When He came here, then He won’t be there, where He was. So, does He keep moving from one place to the other?.. God is everywhere (omnipresent). Where did God come from?.. this question itself is wrong. If someone asks you, Is red color crooked or straight?, then you would say that red color has no relation with being crooked or straight. This question is wrong. Similarly thinking about questions like – Where did God come from?, Where He was?, are unnecessary.

Read more

1. Search for God
2. Self Enquiry with Honesty
3. GOD, AN ARTIST
4. Who am I?

Internal Guidance – Intuition

We sometimes get a hunch that a particular person will meet me today. Our mind tells us that he is too far away to meet. Our intuition proves right and he does meet or call us.

You might have noticed that sometimes you choose one out of many options based not on factual data but on our inner gut feeling and that choice proves right. This is intuition power. We all have it. Sometimes we get an inkling that a particular thing will happen although our mind rules out any such possibility, but this intuition proves to be right. Such things do happen in everyone’s life one time or the other.

Intuition means tuition from within. Our Intuition is perpetually guiding us. It keeps telling us – What is harmful for us, what is not… Who is a friend, who is not… Where is danger and where it is not… and so on.

Most of us do not cultivate this power properly. If we do so and also develop faith in it, it has the ability to give us correct guidance at every step. This tuition never goes wrong. Learn to listen and trust this soft voice from within.

It is important is to have faith on your intuition.

Man is so engrossed with his external (outer world) activities that he has lost touch with his intuition (inner world). This is a wake up call. We must remind ourselves of this already existing wonderful power within us. We have to know it by experience – through listening and observation. If we do that, we realize that the source of power is within us.

Our every step can be guided from within. We have to develop faith that timely guidance comes from within when needed. Once we get tuned to our inner guidance, we will not have any fear. If at all a danger approaches us, our intuition will forewarn us so that we can prepare ourselves to face it.

Once in awhile, do ask yourself ‘What is my aim in Life?‘ Your intuition will give you the answer. There are very few who are working towards their aim in life with full understanding and awareness. In today’s fast paced life, one tends to live mechanically. One must therefore repeatedly ask oneself the above question. The answer will definitely come and this answer is of ultimate importance.

Related topics:

1. What am I?
2. The Quality of your Life is Governed by the Quality of your Questions
3. The Whole-Sole Purpose of Your Life

1st April : The most spiritual day of the year

(Sirshree’s article in Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle on 1st April. Click here to read this article on the Speaking Tree website)

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 (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

Why should we do Self Enquiry

Seeker: Why should we do Self Enquiry?

Sirshree: Doesn’t every being want bliss, happiness, peace? Behind everything that you do, isn’t it happiness that you seek? Every action that man performs is for this happiness, this bliss. But that bliss is lost in the hurricane of thoughts. Thoughts – be it then positive or negative, good or bad – they always cloud the radiance of the Self. When you are in deep sleep, then there are no thoughts. Then – there is pure consciousness, self, bright awareness.

The way a spider weaves a web out of itself and then takes back everything back into itself, the same way 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, one has to go to the source of these thoughts. When you do rigorous continuous repeated self-enquiry and see all the facets of the mind and all its colours – then the mind weakens and finally will meet its end. It will disappear. It never truly existed and thus – will become nothing. It is this mind that is ego, it is this that is the false ‘I’. Enquiry is for the death of the mind, the mind that in the ‘Final Truth Discourses’ is called the false ‘I’. It is also called the Contrast Mind, which keeps coming between the seeker and the sought (Self or God).

The meaning of 'God' is Love and 'Love' can never be unhappy.

The meaning of ‘God’ is Love and ‘Love’ can never be unhappy. Man wrongly believes that if one day he forgets to pray to God or prostrate before him, then God becomes unhappy or gets angry. Man thinks that God is like him. If God gets angry, then what’s the difference between God and man? One can say in a lighter vein that ‘God does get angry on this note that Man thinks that God gets angry’. You have to know yourself, only then you will know Him.

Quiet Acceptance Works

This article was published in Speaking Tree on 12.2.2012.

Make acceptance your mantra and tide over your troubles effortlessly
- says Sirshree.

Can I accept this?

‘Can I accept this?’ This is a small but powerful mantra, which can help you in times of crisis. Whenever you find yourself depressed by the happenings around you, ask yourself this question as if it were a mantra. In life, we come across many unwanted situations that cause unhappiness. To come out of that unhappiness, we can make use of this mantra. While asking yourself this question, ‘Can I accept this?’ make the symbol of a bracket using the thumb and index finger of your right hand. Here ‘this’ implies whatever is happening at present. Put in the bracket that what is affecting you. In this way, when we accept a situation, our power to tackle it is enhanced to a great extent. Whenever an unfavourable situation arises, you should ask yourself this question; you will find that the answer will be ‘yes’ most of the time.

If you find yourself saying ‘no, I cannot accept this,’ then you should accept the non-acceptance as well. If you feel you can’t tolerate someone, ask yourself, ‘Can I accept my unacceptability?’ If you don’t get an answer and are still worried, just ask yourself,‘Can I accept this worry?’ When you accept the unacceptable about yourself, something new is created. You will be amazed by the results of this acceptance.

It is possible that you will get a negative answer in some situations. In that case, give yourself some time and after an interval, ask again. A positive answer may not arise immediately, but after a few minutes or a few hours, you will get ‘yes’ for an answer.

You have to understand the power of this mantra and how to use it. Otherwise, you may wonder why should you accept everything and not try to change the circumstances you are in. If your child is not focusing on his studies or the boss is not giving you a promotion, your health is not improving, so shouldn’t you try to do something to change the situation? You should definitely try, but do so after accepting it with all your heart. If you don’t take the first step right, all your other steps could go wrong. That is why you have to first learn the art of acceptance and then work towards improving the situation.

Sirshree's article in Speaking Tree

When you answer ‘yes’ to the ‘can I accept this?’ question, you have released any negative feelings associated with it. You may consider it just a small step, but it causes a giant shift in your consciousness. At that moment, a number of related and similar issues are also automatically accepted by your mind, and you begin to attract more positive things towards you as a result. The smallest act of letting go helps you in every aspect of your life. It not only frees your mind, it also affects you at the physical, emotional, social, financial, and spiritual level.

It sets off a chain reaction that reverberates through your being, taking you to a different plane from where you were before.

Think A Thought That Will Annihilate All Thought

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.