How to deal with people who don’t accept your spiritual journey? I Mohanji
Expectation
This question is rooted in expectation. We have more than 100 people in this room, almost 200 people in this room. These 200 people have 200 different experiences with this conversation. For some people, this is enough for life. They have understood, they got the clarity, and they only need this for their further journey. I’ve seen that happening.
And for some people, they understood the pathway, “Okay, if I walk this way, I will attain the highest”; they have understood. Each person out of 200 people here has all understood the journey as they are, not as it is. Then, can we expect somebody else to understand us? If people had understood Jesus very well, there would not have been a crucifixion. If people understood the innocence of Socrates, he would not have been given poison.
People and appreciation
People means variety. Some people will appreciate you; some people decide not to appreciate you. Everybody will not appreciate us. Everybody need not appreciate us; this is how the world is. What can we do? Accept the world (your world means who’s around you) as they are. Don’t try to change them. You change yourself.
Have you experienced when we try to change other people what happens? Mostly, what happens? They want to kill you. They don’t want to change, but they want to kill you. It’s like a negotiation. What is effective negotiation? Kill the opponent, finished. In fact, it’s not exactly to kill you, but they want to defuse your arguments. They don’t want your arguments to continue.
Clarity
Two things that you can do. One is to concentrate on your belief system. For that, you should have clarity, extreme clarity. That’s why I tell people, don’t just follow Mohanji because somebody else is following him. You should follow him only because you know exactly that this is the only thing I wanted. This means you should not follow anybody without clarity.
What happens if you follow somebody without clarity? You will have disappointments. You think he is somebody, and it is not so. What happens to you? You will be disappointed. Don’t enter into disappointments. Don’t follow Mohanji or anybody for that matter, thinking as per your imagination, that’s the person. It may not be. You should take time, increase your clarity. Understand, “Oh, this is the consciousness that was important for me.” Then you can stay with me, that makes the difference.
Absolute clarity is important in a journey. When I say clarity – fundamentally, clarity is about what you want in life. Like we explained earlier, defragmentation can be a good clarity. My mind is on a lot of things from the past and a lot of things in the future.
I would like to bring the mind to the present; that is a good clarity, for which I wanted an object. This object is Mohanji, no problem. At least that is clear. Not because, “Oh, I like this meditation; it made me feel good.” Tomorrow if it doesn’t make you feel good, what will you do? You will have disappointment. That’s not the way to follow somebody in the path of spirituality.
Find yourself
Ideally, you are finding yourself. This whole spiritual journey is to find yourself amongst your scattered mind. And if you found me as a reliable mirror to see yourself, this is good. Otherwise, if you build yourself, your expectations to a certain level, and if you see that I do not fit within that frame, then you will not change the frame; you will reject me.
Mastery over mind
And what is a master? What is the idea of a master; who is a Master? A Master is one who is in total control or has totally dissolved his own mind. There’s only one mastery, real mastery, the mastery over your mind.
If you’re riding the horse, the mind is the horse, and you’re riding it, it’s good. If it’s the other way around, that’s a problem. The horse is riding you. So mastery, true mastery, like what you said is true – a person who’s skilled can lead people, that is also mastery, but true mastery is your mastery over the mind.
There’s only one real lesson or one examination which is real in life, that is, to win over the mind. Then you are not the same. This is important in the journey of spirituality because all the paths are taking you to a state where you have come over the mind.
Benchmark
Can you tell me what sort of a benchmark or yardstick we can use? How do we know that we are coming over the mind, we are succeeding in this examination? The real true benchmark is what they said just now. Nothing outside starts affecting you. Even if somebody talks back to you, somebody obstructs you; somebody is being mean to you; it doesn’t hit you because you are already peaceful inside.
If you are operating from the level of ego or mind, you will be looking for what is this person telling about me? What is his opinion about me or her opinion? We are more worried about things outside and their impression about what we are; that stops, it doesn’t matter. Let them say anything they like. People will have opinions; some people say you’re great, some people say you’re extremely bad. But if it stops affecting you, you are actually overcoming your mind.
Silence
What is silence? We heard the word silence. Silence you can compare to still water, a pool, no movement in the water – that kind of water. You can see your reflection clearly in that water because there’s no movement. The mind should become like that -absolutely clear water. This is silence.
Whatever happens outside, it’s all the same. There are trees, birds, all those things. But here, the water is absolutely peaceful. No waves. A person whose mind is like still water, not sparkling water, is a master. I think I answered that question.
Test of resolution
But one more thing. Why does somebody obstruct our path all the time? Why does somebody create problems for you? If you want to meditate, they’ll make a lot of noise. If you say, “Oh no, I want to keep quiet,” they make more sound. Why does it happen?
It is a test for us of our resolution. When you’re ready to sit and meditate, and you have had some vegan food, and everything is okay, they say, “We are preparing barbecue, would you like to join? And there is whiskey.” If your determination is not very clear or sure, you say, “Today, I will have Raki and barbeque, and tomorrow I will meditate. Anyway, Mohanji said we live for 29,200 days; I have other days, no problem.”
But if your determination is firm, nothing will affect you. You will only go on the same path. People have no value there; situations have no value. Your determination will take you all the way. How does this happen? What prevents you from this moment? – emotions that are connected to the activity or the situation. Emotions have their root in expectations.
So, as you said, it’s a test. Imagine that testing is not there; maybe your resolution will not become strong. When somebody objects to you and that prevents you or prohibits you, you will become stronger to do that. Look at children; if you say don’t do it, they will definitely do it.
So, this is God’s way of giving you some support. When God puts a lot of defence around you, you will attain more strength to overcome it. The bottom line is to understand the positive side of every situation. Don’t think something is against you. Nothing is against you. Nobody can be against you.
Transcribed by Ulla Bernholdt
Proofread by Rekha Murali