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?

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.

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.

How to do Self Enquiry

Q&A with Sirshree 

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

Enquiry about Ego

Q&A with Sirshree

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.