A Vertical Existence

Life Positive Expo – Satsang with Mohanji – Part 3

Q: How do you select the best meditation practice for yourself?

A: Actually it’s individualistic. I would say that the best meditation is being with yourself. This is what I feel. Rather than having a programme, or a method, or following somebody’s course, I would like you to spend time with yourself. Try to know yourself a little more. For example, an Iranian lady was in a crisis, and said to me, “I want a quick remedy.“ I said,“Feel your face. You see your face in the mirror, but have you felt it?“ She said,“There is a creation in it.“ I said, “Yes. Now explore the creation. How are your nose, eyes and ears all in that place? Go within.“ Now she has reached a level of silence where she is very peaceful. Thus actually, the first level is being you. Connecting to you. Feeling yourself, understanding yourself, recognising yourself. It is plunging into you. I think this is the best meditation you can ever have, for which you need only one individual. It takes patience. Processed food is very easy, but processed food never helps your digestive system, does it? This is because the digestive system becomes useless with processed food. On the other hand, while raw food is not as tasty as processed food, it suits you because you are originally ’raw’, and raw food helps you. Similarly, this path is a little difficult, but it will definitely take you to the state of Shiva. When I say Shiva, I do not mean the person sitting with a snake etc. It is a state where you are in bliss. That state is possible when you know yourself. It can be attained in one life for sure, provided you have patience. Spend time with yourself. Don’t look for other people’s approval, or consider other people’s opinion of you. These do not matter. I can decide that you are something, but it doesn’t really matter because whatever my opinions of you are, they are only good enough for me. However, you are you. It doesn’t matter. Cut down all these kinds of external considerations. Feel yourself and analyse yourself. “Are all my activities worthwhile. Is whatever I am doing today worthwhile? Are my activities compulsive?“ These are important questions you must ask yourself. “Why am I doing this particular activity now?“ Don’t question other people outside. Ask yourself, because this is self-exploration.

Meditation is not an activity, please understand. Meditation is a state. The state where you are dissolving yourself. This is why the idea of meditation has been violated. What we hear about now is not meditation. Meditation is actually a communion with yourself. What we experienced earlier in the Power of Purity is not a meditation. I call it a meditation to avoid all the questions about what a communion is, etc. People like concepts and make frames. I like to take people out of the frames and say, this is you, now meet yourself. Once you meet yourself, there is nothing else to be. Then everything is a reflection. There is no world outside if you do not exist. There is no world outside if you have no life. Everything is a projection.  Of course, when you are eating food, you are actually eating because you fill your belly. However, all of the intake depends on you. Whether it is food for the body, emotion for the mind, knowledge for the intellect, at any point in time anything can become a reason for obesity. Emotional obesity is possible because we watch soap operas. Trash is given in bulk and we buy it. Thus everything has that effect on us. It is important to meet you, to understand you. I think that is the best practice. You can then take methods from other masters, or whichever meditation suits you, provided you have met yourself. If you haven’t met yourself, this is the first thing you should do. If you have not recognised yourself, that is the first thing you need to do. In this way, you can move forward. Once you have met yourself, then any meditation is fine. Whatever you consume, gets digested because you are already in tune with yourself. Mind is still with the body. Body is in alignment with the mind and whatever you take is easily digested. Otherwise there is already indigestion, and you are eating more. It is then just an activity. That activity only leads to further activity and the mind is occupied. If you truly want to progress spiritually, meet yourself first and understand meditation is not an activity. Meditation is a state, where you meet yourself, where you become meditation. It is perpetual. You are constantly meditating. The mind is still.

Q: How to exhale from an imagined hole in our head?

A: This is actually a practice. The caves of our body, the nine holes of our body, are potential gates through which the soul can leave the body. The gate used by the soul to leave the body determines your next life, or the frequency of your next life. The frequency level of your next incarnation is determined through the way the soul leaves the body. For example, in the event of a murder or suicide, the soul leaves through the lower region and remains in a dark space for a long time. It doesn’t even have the  power to take a body. This is why it sometimes goes into another body which is already existing, and why we use the term ’possessed’. Most people who die leave through their mouth because there is prarabdha pending. Whenever the soul leaves through the mouth, that means there is a life or a few lives pending. It means that the prarabdha is not over. There is a continuity. Sometimes there is a possibility of leaving through the eyes, which is actually very close to the third eye, so it means the soul may take another life or so, but with more awareness. Finally, if the soul leaves the body via the space at the top of the head, then it means the soul is leaving at will, with full control. At that time, the soul has done enough. Everything is done, and the soul is withdrawn.
How do we know? For most people, leaving the body is very painful. Why is that? Because memories, impressions are stored all over the body. The soul sits in the body. Where does the oil sit in the coconut or the almond? It’s all over. It’s activating every cell. Storage also happens all over.  People who have died and come back say that the pain is like plucking each hair from the body. This is because there is so much storage, and the soul while leaving compiles all that has to be collected, all the impressions which are stored, packing it and taking it. So there is already heavy baggage in everything. The more the baggage, the more the trouble. This is because you also have to pay the money to take the baggage through. On the other hand, say you have not stored many desires. There is not much storage, and only one bag to carry, i.e. your constitution, your character and your personality traits. These are the only things to carry. Then in that case, you just take the bag and go. Moreover, when you pass through the top of the gate, you don’t even have to hand any baggage over. There is nothing to carry. Empty-handed you came, and empty-handed you leave. You probably didn’t come empty-handed though, as you brought desires which you put in the body and experienced. However, when you leave through the top of the head, you are not carrying anything back. Everything has been done. Finished.

So, this is an exercise where you are focusing your awareness at the top of the head, the sahasrara or crown chakra. When you are breathing in that mode, you are being aware of it. It is an imaginary hole that we are creating. If you practise this, it will help your vertical breathing. Vertical breathing is akin to detachment. For example, if a table is vertical, then you can’t put anything on top. Whatever is on there falls off. However, if it is horizontal, then something can be kept on the table. Similarly, our regular life is horizontal or parallel to time, and we are aiming for a vertical existence.

Q: I sometimes struggle to practise kindness with certain people, for straight reasons or reasons clear to me. How can I overcome this?

A: Impression is the root cause for all your expressions. If you’ve had a bad experience with something, then you’ll project it on everything which is similar. In turn, your response becomes like that. Remember that a response always comes from the intellect. It is non-violent. A reaction however, always come from the emotions – from the mind. It is violent. Understand that these are the two ways we operate every day. One is a reaction from the mind, while the other is a response from the intellect. Response is never violent. If you consider responding, it means you are using your intellect and the mind is already coiled. The intellect says, ok this is happening. For example, somebody abuses you, you respond. When you respond, there is no violence to it. That person will stop abusing you because you are already responding. However, if you are reacting, the mind fires up. It gets aggravated. Thus, reaction and response are two ways of dealing with our daily existence. The result will depend on the faculty you are using.

When you are not able to express kindness to somebody, it means you have stored certain impressions which you are projecting onto those people. That’s why I said previously, it is only when you dilute your personality with awareness that you can be fresh with everybody, at every moment. Otherwise it will always be a case of reaction. Reaction or response. This is usual. There is no effort in it because you are by nature in that mode.  You are just doing it. When you ’do’ life, this is the result. When you ’be’ life this is different. Be life, feel life. There will be no particular character traits which are overwhelming. You will look at the same life and say, ok, life is happening, this is fine. In that case, you are always flowing. You flow and you are fine with that flow.

Q: How can one open oneself to blessings?

A: You don’t have to open up to blessings. Blessings are there. Grace is like the sunshine. However, you have to open the windows to see the sunshine. How do you open the windows? By having faith. What can you have faith in? Firstly, yourself. The best, the easiest and the most important faith is in yourself. When I say yourself, this is the beginning of the journey. You may have faith in a God outside. This is also sometimes escapism. We rely too much on a God outside and think,“God is coming to help…“ Of course, God has value, I am not saying it does not have value. Yet, whenever you are weak, your expressions are also weak. How can you be strong? Have firm faith in yourself, or at least in your existence. “I am alive and I am fine with being alive.“ It has nothing to do with others’ opinion. Others can say anything they like. Others can say that you are whoever, for example a donkey. That’s fine, because it is their opinion. They can have their opinion, and it should not affect us. Have faith in yourself, have faith in your own existence, and then at a third level, you have faith in Divinity or the Divine aspect which runs the show.

Divinity, or the Divine aspect which runs the show is like the petrol of a car. The petrol of the car is your soul, and your soul or the petrol has no interest in any destination. It merely helps your journey. Without petrol you cannot drive a car. Petrol never demands a particular destination. Petrol never says, “I need to go here.“ Petrol helps your journey, your soul is neutral. It is in a completely tranquil mode, and it needs no awareness to grow or develop. It is simply aiding your journey, just like petrol of the car. Have faith in that. This is your prime guru. Your biggest and primary guru is your own being, your own soul. You can only connect to the soul when you BE. When you feel. When you empty yourself. All the sounds are only happening in the mind. Remove all the calamities. So many calamities are seen. Ask yourself, what is not affected by any of these calamities? Then you will reach the soul. That is the only time you start connecting to yourself. Otherwise we are just sponsoring sounds. When you go to some place, get involved in an activity, you are sponsoring more and more sounds. The more you sponsor these sounds, the more you become agitated. You are dissatisfied. Why is there dissatisfaction? It’s because the mind is turbulent by nature. The mind means movement. When the mind is always on the move, when there is movement, the mind is agitated. What is your fruit actually? Stillness. Stillness is only available when you are being with your soul. You need to connect with your soul to be with your soul. When you are connected to your soul, grace is like sunshine. It flows constantly.

Understand that no guru has priorities. No guru needs anything from you. No God needs anything from you, even your puja or chanting. God is not interested. Actually we are making a lot of noise. What is this noise for? What YOU actually need is to feel the power of God. By God we mean energy, which is the basis of every creation. Everything which is moving and not moving has the same energy. Don’t think that this table has no energy. Go to the molecular and atom levels, and you will see the vibration. Everything is vibrating. Everything has a frequency and that frequency is God. Unless you connect to the tiniest at the macropoint, you will not see God or be God. This is your effort in spirituality. What you are trying to do is to be you and go to the core of you where you can actually experience God. That’s only grace, nothing else. If you have your senses to listen today, it is grace. If you are breathing today, it is grace.

I recently replied to one person who asked me,“Give me a reason to be alive.“ I said,“The reason is that you are alive.“ He was depressed, he wanted more reasons. I said,“Breathe. You have shelter, food to eat, money, your vehicle to drive. Aren’t these enough reasons to be alive?“ Now, what exactly do you need? Imagine you have a million dollars. Your stomach capacity will still be the same. Don’t think that more things will make you happy, it is not so. This is a mind thing. However, if you are able to add value to the world outside, you will always be rich. Your richness is proportional to how much value you add to the world outside, not how much you consume from the Earth.

Consuming is what everybody is doing. Seven billion people, animals, birds are eating. What are we giving to the world? We never think that way. Karma yoga purifies you better than any activity. On the other hand karma yoga cannot give liberation, but purity can give you liberation. So karma yoga is an essential part of any religion. Karma yoga means selfless service, selfless activity, and non-selfishness. This is important for every religion because it purifies you much more than any other activity. Make one decision,“I will give back to the Earth much more than I take from it.“ This is the only decision you need to make. Decide that every activity to come, will be related to karma yoga, to selfless service. Once you start moving in that line, other things will fall in place because your value to society grows, because you are not selfish any more and love grows. This love that grows into you brings all the grace. Grace comes in abundance. A selfish person can never ask for grace. The more selfless you become, the more grace there will be. Everything will come to you.

Some people were starting annandan (food seva) in Bombay. They said, Mohanji we are not sure when funding will come through. I said, “Start it. The funds will come.“ Until now, it has never stopped. Everything is flowing.  Take for example those in Pune who started Mohanji Ka Aangan for slum children. It is also happening. It is not because we have a bank balance, but its very nature made sure it happened. What I am saying is that make one sole decision that you will add more value to the world than you take from the Earth. Through our emotions, our appetite, we consume a lot, but we should give back more. This is the way to go. Thus grace is spontaneous. Grace flows provided you want nothing from here.

Transcribed by Biljana Vozarevic