Kindle Notes & Highlights
The mind has a tendency to postpone good work. It wants to wait for that perfect moment to commit that perfect action. There is never a perfect time. And no action is perfect either. The only thing that can be perfect is the intention.
It was a space where I couldn’t care less about spiritual growth or enlightenment. I could just be in the presence of that soft, fluffy energy.
While all this cracked me up, I couldn’t make sense of Gurudev’s style. Was it his compassion that let such people continue representing him and the foundation? After all, why would he keep these personalities around him on such a long leash.
The handbook of consciousness, as Gurudev calls it.
‘What is real in one plane of existence could be an illusion in the other.’
He then went on to say that with skill and a broader perspective on life, one can experience the vastness of this creation and obtain the ability to peek into other worlds. I was astounded.
Gurudev continued, ‘There is a world out there where nothing is certain. Every moment, everything around you changes into something completely different. You try to sit on a chair and suddenly find that it has turned into a puddle of water. You reach out to drink water and find it has turned into a stone. Unlike the world in which we live in, there is no gradual change in this world. Everything is abrupt. You may be talking to a man, and he suddenly turns into a dog. And in the next moment, that dog turns into a woman. You may be speaking, and suddenly your voice changes. Everything flips
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He continued, ‘However, in the middle of this chaos, you find that there is a light within you that remains unaffected. It doesn’t change. It guides you. It comforts you and gives you strength to carry on. It helps you calm down. Once you repose in that light, the uncertainty does not impact you anymore. It is the only way to navigate through this world.’
‘Stability comes when you log on to something in you that is not changing—that remains the same throughout time.’
Wisdom sessions have a rather predictable effect on me. In a soothing and caring way, they take me to a contemplative and pensive state. And soon after, like a gust of cold air, the wisdom silently vanishes, leaving some breadcrumbs in the form of disjointed thoughts for me to follow home.
‘Here I am trying to wake you up, and you talk of sleeping? Come on, wake up!’ The crowd erupted in laughter.
‘When life comes along and shakes you, whatever is inside you will spill out.’ Gurudev said. So, what spills over then? ‘Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility? Or anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions?’
Intention. Attention. Manifestation. That is how the universe works. —Gurudev
The Maharishi Effect, a well-researched scientific phenomenon, has proven that even if 1per cent of the population meditates, it produces measurable improvements in the quality of life for the whole population. And here we were, just about 1 per cent of half the population of the world.
In every difficult situation that I found myself in, I had imagined how the master would handle it. It would instantly bring me so much clarity and relief. And it never got old or boring.
If you think you are dull, your Guru is brilliant. If you think you are brilliant, your Guru is irrational. If you think you are irrational, your Guru is irresistible. If you complain, your Guru gets tougher. If you are perfect, your Guru is imperfection personified. Do you still want to have a Guru? It is inviting all sorts of trouble! —Gurudev
Maharishi made meditation a household term.
I am the same. I can stand there for a million years. I would not get bored. I wouldn’t want a change; nor would I mind a change.
‘He looked at me warmly. He recognized me and I recognized him,’ Gurudev said.
When you follow your nature, there is no conflict, no confusion. Just clarity and action,’ he responded.
President Andres Pastrana
‘Behind every culprit, there is a victim crying for help. You heal the victim, and the culprit goes away.’ Gurudev’s words were settling in.
‘Irrespective of the situation, it is how one perceives it that creates the foundation for their actions.’ He added.
Adversity affects people differently. Some lose faith, become hopeless and drown themselves in self-pity. Then there are some like Athey-Amma, who can hold the family together with ties of love and humour during a rather trying phase of life.
‘Look at these lights. They keep going on, oblivious to the fact that there are no cars on the road. It is exactly following the laws of nature.’ I wasn’t sure where he was going with this. ‘The flowers bloom in the forest whether someone is looking at them or not. The birds sing whether someone values their perfectly attuned melodies or not. Clouds change their colors. Rainbows appear. Do they wait for someone to appreciate them? Nature displays its beauty whether there is a beholder or not.’
When Buddha became enlightened, someone asked the awakened one what he gained. He responded with a content smile, saying that he didn’t gain anything, he just lost everything. I have been a sore loser over the last fifteen years. And I still have so much more to lose. Enlightenment is, after all, for losers.
dogged
I invoked the three golden rules for meditation as prescribed by Gurudev. I do nothing. I want nothing. I am nothing. Relax. No effort is required, I told myself. Just repose. It helped marginally. It was time to bring in the big guns. I took a deep breath and brought my Sahaj mantra into my mind. Like a Jedi wielding a light sabre, I observed all my thoughts collapse lifelessly on the sticky surface of my mind like loose garments.
It is said that when one is ready, the master appears.
I consider myself fortunate to have found a master who gave me tangible tools to navigate the maze of my own mind. Once out of this maze, you descend twelve inches. From the head to the heart. It has taken me over fifteen years, and I’m still enjoying the free fall.
One gets angry because they are in love with perfection. All negative emotions are nothing but a distorted form of love.
‘When you know who you are, you will know who I am,’ Gurudev had replied to the curious gentleman in Washington DC that evening.
In the quest to know Gurudev, somewhere unknowingly I had started a quest to know myself. Will I find the answer in this lifetime? Or perhaps in as many lifetimes as there are leaves on all the trees along the promenade by the Hudson River? The logical mind has no answer. I don’t need an answer. I have him.
