Post Aarathi Talk 26 on 11th Feb 2018

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

So, what questions do you have? Anybody? Questioner 2 Sir, there is a distinction between real and unreal. One of the things is that something that is changing is unreal. When you were talking about the experience of dream, and you said what is real, I thought you said the experience was real. What I said, that we have dreamt that experience is real. What is the definition of experience? If it is not real, you cannot experience it. Only that which is, can be experienced, isn't it? Can you experience something non-existing anytime? Something doesn't exist. Can you experience and say that I saw something very frightening? Can you say that? Why are you thinking so much? Non-existing thing can neither frighten nor make you happy, cannot do anything because it is simply non-existent. So, let us clarify this point. Our experience, whether it is a dream or waking state, is real. But our understanding of what we experience is not real. Okay, let me make it even more clear with the example of rope and snake. The rope is real, but experiencing the rope as a snake is not real. So, if you don't understand, ask me again. This is, so much of misunderstanding comes about Advaita because of this concept. Let me first complete. When a person sees a rope, the rope, even when he sees as a snake, the rope has never become a snake. Trikaala abadhitam, three times, past, present and future. Past, it was a rope. Just now, I am beholding it as a snake. If somebody who has seen it earlier, at daytime, how does he experience it? So, there is no change in the rope. And if suppose there is no rope at all, can you experience it either as a rope or as a snake? That is the first point. Whatever is existing, real, and that alone we can experience. The second is, it is real because you are experiencing. It is unreal because that is not unreal. The rope is not unreal. My interpretation of the rope is unreal. So, what gets sublated, not the rope. My idea, I thought it is a snake, that gets sublated, is the second stage. When somebody brings light, or I see that object in the light, daytime or whatever it is, then I recognize it, this is not a snake, this is a rope. So, the change has come in whom? In the rope or in me? In me. So, we will come to that. This is the third point. It is change has come in me, in the subject, not in the object. If you can understand what we discussed so far, I am seeing this table because of my cataract. What cataract? Mental cataract. What is it called? Agna. I am seeing through time, a technical language, time, space and causation. Through the hazy lens of Maya, then what I am seeing is not unreal. How I am seeing it, that's unreal. So, God without the glass of time, space, causation, which means mind. So, first you make it clear. Time, space, causation is equivalent to Maya, is equivalent to mind. They go together. So, when I am looking at anything in this object through the lens of mind, and mind is limited, time means what? Limited. How do you know? After 7.30 your time is limited, my time also is limited. Now you understand? Space also is limited. What does it mean, space is limited? You are sitting here. Nobody can sit here. Even if you love somebody, or if someone claims they love you, they can't sit you. They can sit behind you, in front of you, above you, below you, not exactly in this space. So, we are limited by space. And causation. Causation means, to perceive time and space, there must be something. Some change must come. Simple examples, you know. Try to understand. My hand is here, this moment, and I lift it. Maybe a little, one inch. So, one second back, my hand was here. One second later, my hand is here. That is from the point of time. Not space, time. One minute before, it was here. Now it is here. It is from the point of space. Because it is the same. You can't separate, cut with a knife and say, that is time, they all go together. And why one minute before it was here, one second later it was here, that is because I moved it. This is called causation. So, time, space and causation is what is our life about. How is it causation? Causation. Because before I lifted the hand, the hand was here, in that position. Now position shifted. So, that could not have been here one minute before. And this could have been there one minute later. That means you are not everywhere. At any given time, you can be only in one time, one place, and they go together. And what moves you? And during my talk, if you become immovable, it means only one thing. Causation. What is the causation? I am the cause of your state of entering into Samadhi. If it was a wonderful movie, then you would not have entered into Samadhi state. Is that point clear? So, what I said was, waking is a state of experience. And it cannot be unreal, because if it is unreal, you can never experience it. Unreality cannot be experienced. And whatever is experienced, is not real. So, we are saying that the experience doesn't change. No, let me put it this way. That's why that example I have given, dream example, in Advaita Vedanta, and means it's very practical. We are not talking about philosophy. We are talking about our everyday life, what is happening in our life. This is a mistake. Advaita Vedanta is a philosophy, and it talks from a philosophical point of view, and it has nothing to do with our day-to-day life. Advaita Vedanta or Dvaita Vedanta, any Vedanta is only talking about how they can help us from this day to another day to become better, happier, wiser. All progress means only three things. Are you growing in goodness, Sat? Are you growing in happiness? Are you growing in wisdom? And these three, like time, space and causation, are not three different things. Where there is Sat, there will be wisdom. So, who would be a wise man? Only a good person. To be wise means to be good. Otherwise means... Okay, let me finish it. So, what I said, waking is also not real. This is another effect of maya that we think waking is real, dream is unreal, and dreamless state is also unreal. The thing is, why do we come to have this kind of opinion? The reason is, the deepest impressions we gather is in which state? Waking state. Only waking state. So, the psychologists also give another example. What is the difference between waking and dream state? Absolutely no difference. But what happens, supposing here is a person, and waking state means what? You know, when you wake up from dream state, you see the same house, you see the same wife, husband, children, tables, objects, they don't seem to change. Unless a thief comes and drops. That's a different issue. Like, you know, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, sometimes he gives such wonderful twists, very humorous person. So, Descartes' famous dictum, I think, therefore I am. You heard about it? It's a wrong statement. He understood it wrongly. Somebody is hoovering? Something is built? I think something must have been built. Anyway, I think, therefore I am, is putting the cart before the horse. I am, therefore I think. So, one fellow, when Swami Dayananda Saraswati was giving this talk, and he got up and said, you see, my wife married me, therefore it proves I am. Otherwise, if I am not, how can my wife marry me? Then Dayananda Saraswati said, that is a wrong thing. You are, you exist, therefore you got married. But after marriage you exist or not? That nobody can tell. That's a different issue. So, supposing, why do we think that waking state is a real state? Because it is totally wrong idea. It is a real state. Therefore, first of all, the point we have to make it clear, what is the definition of reality? To judge something, we must have crystal clear definition of whatever it is. So, what is real? That which doesn't change is real. That which doesn't change alone is real. That is the definition. Anything that changes by this definition is unreal. So, why do we think that waking state is real? Because this dream, so called waking state, it persists longer than anybody else. So, you wake up from your dream and reinvest it both, and you see the same room, and you see the same objects, and you see the same problem. There is a other side also to it. That you see, like the husband and wife. In one English, husband and wife, you know, old elderly couple, and the fellow was reading newspaper, and his wife, you know, here, normal sewing a sweater. This is normal scenario. So, the wife wants to talk to the husband. You remember this? The wife wants to talk, but he is only looking at the newspaper. So, the wife one day could not tolerate it. So, she blurted out, I wish I were a newspaper. So, he looked at her and said, why? Because I could be in your hands. He looked at her and said, I wish you were a newspaper. And she asked, why? Because I can have everyday news. A fresh one. So, supposing, there are people, a few people, who dream exactly the same dream every single day. Same place, same house, same people, like waking state. Could he distinguish and tell which is real and which is not real? He will have terrible problem, because the experience in the dream state is totally separate and the experience in the waking state is totally different. Now, his brain gets totally confused. So, what we call vyavahara is impossible if we have this situation. Dreamless state is a different state, because there is, excepting you, nothing is there. So, that is also unreal. Why? Because it is also changing from waking state to dream state to dreamless state and again it is three states, whole day continuously it is going. Now, with this background, the answer to your question is, whether we are experiencing waking state, dream state, dreamless state, irrespective of what we are experiencing, our experience of what we are experiencing is real, because there is something reality. But, what we experienced is not real, because it is changing. Every day you see a dream. Dream is real, but what you experience in the dream, that is not real. Now, you apply it to waking state. Is my statement clear now? Yes, it is. Thank you. In the waking state, every day we have the waking state. Do we have 24 hours waking state? No. No. This is only, how much waking state? You can at best say, 8 hours a day, if at all. Is it the truth? That is not the truth. Because, every few seconds, we have all the three states. You know how? When you are looking at a book and reading it, so long as you are completely alert and focusing on the book, that is the reality for you. But, have you noticed, while reading a book, something you read, this ex had tasted rasagulla, or idli, sambar, and your mind has gone, what is that state? And in between two thoughts, there is always this, like the state of dreamless state. Every between. How do you know? Do you understand that concept? Because, to say that this is the second thought, next thought, you should be aware, that was the first thought, this is the second thought. When did the first thought disappear? And when did the second thought appear? And in between these two, is there any gap? And you will not know the gap, because if you know the gap, then you are experiencing one of these states. And what is meditation? To focus on that gap between given two thoughts, and go on making it wider and wider and wider, until you don't have any thought, accepting I am. So this is what is happening, to make it clear, this point. You know, when I was 10 years old, if I ask you, are you the same, before you entered this room, and now after entering this room, after all this talk, are you the same Gayathri? Usually our answer would be, yes, I am the same person. Because we don't perceive that change within a short time. But definitely when you are 10 years old, and now, definitely you will see the change. And that also, how you perceive the change, depends upon how much you progressed in spiritual life. So when I went to Houston, I went to one devotee's house. His name was Subhash. Sometimes he could be very humorous. So there were some photographs, 20 years back, and now also. So I was looking at them. So he came and said, Swamiji, this was Subhash, very unwise, 20 years back. This is the Subhash, now present, more unwise. You see the point? How much do we really change? We think we change, but our actions, reactions, have become so habituated. Without thinking, we react towards so many things. So, what is the definition of unreality? Whatever is changing. The broadest category of this change is waking, to dream, to dreamless. And we are going through this every few minutes. And within each state, things are changing. Waking state is a broad category. You know, we are talking, I am talking, you are listening. How many changes have taken place already? There are certain ideas, which you did not understand clearly, now you understood. So that is a change. That has changed you, the knower. Your knowership has become modified. That previously, I had a vague concept, now I have a slightly better concept. And that is true, that is how we progress. Okay, that is the answer to your question. What we are experiencing is real, but how we experience is unreal. Going back to that rope and snake example, the rope is real. Whether you see it as a rope, as a snake, or again as a rope, that change has not taken place in the rope. That change has taken place in myself. That is why, you know, sometimes when you correct yourself, you don't beat the snake. What do you beat? I don't know. The change has taken place. You are not there. This is what Advaita Vedanta is telling. God alone is real. Everything else is unreal. That means what? The person who is experiencing, in this example, waking state, dream state and dreamless state, what is real, or who is real and who is unreal? Can you follow what I am saying? Say, you are looking at that person, and then you looked at this person, then you looked at this person, then you looked at the person. So, that person is different, this person is different, this person is different, this person is different. But there is someone who is not different, who has not changed. Who is it? The experience. That's what Swamiji was telling. As the subject changes, our concept of the object also changes. Until we come to that point, where the demarcation between the subject and object totally gets obliterated. Have you heard what I said? Could you repeat that? You see, as humanity progresses, the distinctions get more and more blurred. So, an Indian is a different animal, an African is a different animal, and we alone are real human beings. This was the idea, racism. We call it racism and religion. Yours is an inferior religion. That means, are we talking about religion or are we talking about the person? We are talking about the person. You are inferior because you are following an inferior religion. But as our knowledge of ourselves is expanding, our understanding about others is also expanding. And when this expansion reaches such a level, then the demarcations, race, religion, colour, etc., how does it become? Here is, first thing is, I am a man and you are a woman. There is a distinction. So long as I think I am a man, and the distinction is you are a woman. Suppose I say I am a human being, you are also a human being. Immediately the distinction between man and woman, rich and poor, you know, I am an Indian. If you say I am from Andhra Pradesh, I am a Telanganawala, not Andhrawala, the distinction. I am an Indian. That means Muslims, Christians, Hindus, believers, non-believers, and white, black, everything, that distinction goes. The moment I say I am a human being, this embraces not only Indians, but Africans, Americans, you know, you divided people into four categories. Ethnic categories. The white, the brown, the black, and the yellow. Brown means Asians. Black means Africans. Yellow means Mongolians. You know, Japanese, Chinese, with slanted eyes and all those things. And white means everybody. Four broad categories. And then the white man says, everybody else is inferior, excepting me, white person. This is what I believe, this is what President Trump is trying to propagate. White supremacy. He is trying to bring it back. Anyway, so the moment I say I am a human being, the distinctions between any religious, cultural, educational, and financial, social distinctions, all disappear. Is it not? The moment there is a distinction, I am a human being, and this is an animal, this is a bird, this is an insect, this is a plant, this distinction is there. And we look down. Because we look down, we are able to kill them, use them. You know who treats animals as equal to human beings? You know we are misusing them. We are growing them specifically for the pleasure of our tongue. If we only know how much they are conscious, they have exactly the same feeling, and exactly the same egotism. Yeah. A mosquito, does it have egotism or not? Yes, it does. Okay. Is that egotism equivalent to your egotism or less? Same. Same. Now you are telling, because you heard me so many times. Guru's name is on my forehead. It has its own. I am a mosquito. And is that egotism any less? No, it is exact. From its point of view, it is living 100 years. Purnaya is there. Our 100 years for a mosquito, that 4 years will be how much measurement? 100 years. We have to recognize. Now we are realizing. So there is this distinction. And among animals also, we make a lot of distinction. This is more valuable, this is less valuable, this is crushed, to be crushed, etc., etc. Anyway. You know one Indian, he went to an Indian restaurant by the roadside. He ordered coffee, and he was given coffee. And he found a fly there. So he called the waiter and said, Waiter, why do I see a fly here? He said, for one anna, do you expect an elephant? You can only expect. So, the moment a human being progresses and says, I am a prani. Understand prani? A person with life. Then all distinctions between any living creature totally disappears. This is how a spiritual person progresses. The more he progresses, the more the distinctions get blurred and totally disappear. But still there is a distinction. What is the distinction? I am a living creature, and there are non-living things, like mountains, like water, like fire, etc., etc. So then the next is, I am existence. Whatever exists, that's what I am. So a mountain exists. A river exists. Anything, a rock exists. A piece of wood exists. You know every living thing also can become non-living thing. A human being dies. What is it? It's nothing but non-living. So that distinction totally... What does he say? I am existence. When a person reaches that state, that I am sat, where is the distinction between even a blade of grass, a piece of rock? That is called true knowledge. Now are we talking about imagination or are we talking about something really practicable? Every saint, every piece of anything existing, this is me. But they do not express it so much to the non-living things, but they should express. How do they express? Ganga is living or non-living? It's living. Therefore Ganga is sacred. Yamuna is sacred. All living holy, holy means what? Nothing but divine. Not only they are great, existing, but they are greater than most of us because they purify. Without river can you live? Without air can you live? A simple example. Without a mountain can you live? Without forests can you live? Without rivers can you live? Nothing is possible. Life is not possible. It is only because of them. They bring so much of change. If we cut down the forest, we become like Kalidasa. Kalidasa, you know, before he became Kalidasa, he was a woodcutter. He was sitting on a branch of a tree facing the trunk and trying to cut the branch. Somebody said, you have to do the other side. But he was cutting from the trunk. So if the branch falls down, he will also fall down. Fall down. He will also fall down. But now we are understanding if we pollute the rivers, if we pollute all this, who is going to suffer? And already we are suffering. You know that? The whole earth is getting polluted. The ozone layer is wider and wider. That means harmful rays from the sun are going to come in. And we are all suffering from one way or the other. So the moon, is it living? It is living from Hindu's point of view because whatever existing is God. Whatever is Sat is God. And whatever is Sat is also Chit. And whatever is Chit is also Ananda. And that is how we progress from Sat to Chit to Ananda. And in practical life also this is what happens. What is Sat? That means my mind is very clear. Not troubled. When do we enjoy a thing? When do you get right knowledge? When your mind is clouded or when your mind is clear. That is what is called. Sat means what? Clearance from the unconscious and wrong type of thoughts, etc. We become clear. The more we are able to understand things, the more happiness we get. Because knowledge brings a modification in the knower. What is it? The moment a person comes to know this is poison, nobody takes poison knowingly. Even a drug addict, intellectually he knows. Drug is bad, drinking is bad. But he doesn't really know because what is the definition of knowledge? That which brings about an appropriate change, that alone is knowledge. If a person knows this sweet is bad for me and yet goes on taking this sweet, then he is not a knower. It is information but it is not knowledge. The moment he comes to know, everything should be taken in moderation, in balance, at the right time. Desha, Kaala, everything should be taken and in a particular way, the Hindu way. What is the Hindu way? You eat at a particular place. You don't eat anywhere in your house. You eat only in a particular place. Usually you don't eat in the kitchen. We should not eat in the kitchen, much less in the bathroom and other places. And you have to eat at a particular time. Two o'clock, you don't get up and gulp down. And you don't eat just, you offer it to God and as sacred prasada you eat it. If we do not do that, we will be the sufferers. So you see, Sat means making our actions pure, unselfish. And actions make our mind also pure and unselfish. The mind becomes more clear. When the mind becomes more clear, our understanding becomes better. As the understanding becomes better, our ananda also, because we do only things which will bring us happiness. So here is one of the important points we have to understand. Why people do not take to spiritual life? Because they think, first misunderstanding is whether God exists or not. I don't know. I must exist because I got married. That is a wrong way of thinking about it. So the moment our true knowledge comes, I do everything in the right way. And anything that I do in the right way must bring happiness. So people, they have lost faith in goodness. We talk about goodness, we talk about unselfishness, we talk so many things, but very few people are doing it. How do we know? There is only one way to know. If you know the cause, you will know the effect. If you know the effect, you can guess the cause. Now look at it. Here is a politician, our chief minister, prime minister, whatever it is. If this person has become prime minister, chief minister, has he become because of his merit or has he become because of our merit? Do you see the point? We turn it upside down and say that rogue is causing all problems. But how did he become that rogue? Yes, a little bit of our roguishness is represented. He is a collective roguishness. Naturally, his roguishness is much deeper because we can only do this much. What does it imply? It implies I am not worse rogue not because I don't want to do it, because I don't have the opportunity to do it. Okay, I will give you an example. These are all practical things. Suppose there is a thief and he enters into a house or some place and there is a 10 pound note and there is an invaluable Kohinoor diamond. Now he has a choice to steal whichever he wants. Which one do you think he will steal? 10 pounds. It depends whether he knows the value of the diamond or not. If he has the knowledge. No, no. Assuming that he has the knowledge, which one he will choose? Both. Suppose... Suppose he has room only for one. He has to make a decision. You see, what is the point here? He is a thief, that is the condition. So if he is stealing 10 pound note, not because he wants to steal only 10 pounds, because there is no 20 pound note. So what does a politician do? He has the opportunity to steal more. I forget the name. There was one drama writer in the 19th century, last century. I totally forget the author's name. Very, very beautiful. So there were two thieves and their head had to be cut off because they used to thieve here together. So they somehow escaped and went to Africa. And there also they continued their trade and there it is much easier. One fellow is more clever than the other fellow. So very soon he became an emperor of that tribe. Made himself an emperor. And the other fellow, being less intelligent, he continued to be a petty thief. One day he was caught. So he was brought. Emperor Jones is the name of the title. Emperor Jones. So then the emperor had to punish him. Before awarding the punishment, this fellow, you know, his buddy, old buddy, he said, can I have a private talk with you? He said, yes, of course. So he said, you know, we are buddies. What is the difference between you and me? He said, the difference is if you steal in a small way, you remain a petty thief. If you remain a bigger way, biggest way, you become an emperor. So do you remember that joke of mine? Very interesting joke, you know. One young man with his son was walking in the street. Suddenly the boy saw one policeman and he shackled himself with a chain with another man. The policeman was dragging the other man. This boy asked, daddy, daddy, what is this? He said, you know, that fellow, that is a policeman. Yes, I know the policeman. The other fellow is a thief. Lest he would run away, so he tied himself. OK, after a few days they were walking. They saw two policemen. In between them there was one fellow and they were hustling him to the police station. Not tied. Then the boy asked, daddy, daddy, what is this? He said, this is a bigger thief than the thief we saw last time and more clever. That's why two police are taking him to be saved to the police. After a few days, the prime minister of that hundred policemen said, daddy, daddy, this is the biggest thief. So, coming back to our subject. Whatever is changing, it is unreal. So what is the definition of unreality? Not that if it is unreal you cannot, you can never experience it. Unreality has no experience. What does that mean? Whatever we are experiencing is nothing but reality. Just as this person who is experiencing a snake is experiencing nothing but a rope. Here in this analogy the rope means God and everything that we experience is this world. So what is world? God with name and form. That is the world. And what is world? God with name and form. What is God? World without name and form. This is what we have talked about. You reduce this without name and form. The moment there would be no name, no form. Only one thing remains. What is it? Existence. It applies to everything. Existence. It is there. If it were not there, I would not have been able to experience it. So, I am the experiencer. I cannot experience unless I exist. I cannot experience the table if it doesn't experience. Remove this distinction between the experienced and the experiencer. The seer and the seen. Then what remains? That existence and this existence. How do you say that existence and this existence? Only one. This is called Vaikuntha. This is called Kailasa. This is called... Come, sit down. Why are you standing? Is there a place? I just wanted to ask a question. Actually, my grandson is not feeling. He is under depression. Sometimes he goes out. We think that you should take your blessings, please. You brought him? Yes, we brought him here. Where is he? Okay. Okay, Abir. It's alright. So, you are feeling depressed. Why? Do you have some expectations? Do you want to be something? Is he going to college or something? Yes, he was going, but I think he has interrupted his studies at the moment. Okay. I want to do right by everyone. At the same time, make sure I know that I am keeping track of how I am... Okay, I will give you and it is useless. And every philosophy is very good, especially Advaita philosophy, Dvaita philosophy, whichever you take. There is... Let us not bother what is the theoretical differences between... Many times I told you, Dvaita and Advaita is completely useless. I am here. What can help me to move one step forward? And what can help? I must change. That is an important point. Swamiji makes again and again. The modern science is making us deluded that we are here to solve all problems and a time will come when this world will not be the present world, but it will become heaven. That's not going to happen. Because you can't change the nature of the world. In Telugu language, there was a great saint called Vemana. And small poems, you know, very easily understand. You bring a black rat and go on washing with soap, detergents. Will it ever become white? Or if you go on beating a donkey, will it ever become? Remember the donkey story? One washerman, his business was growing, so he wanted to have additional business. So he went to purchase some donkeys from a next village. So he bought four donkeys. And it was a little bit distant. So he said, why should I walk? So he started riding one donkey. He came home. Now he got doubt whether all the four donkeys I bought have come with me or not. So he counted and counted. There were only three. So he called his wife and said, how many donkeys do you see? I see five donkeys. So if you go on beating a donkey, it's not going to turn into a horse. The change must come from within ourselves. That is called sadhana. As we do spiritual practice, our mind becomes clear, the distinctions will become less, and that is how morality comes. Swamiji defined morality. You know what? Morality is the ability to identify ourselves with the other. So how can I become good? Good life means I want to tell the truth. But the moment I think it's a different person, I may not tell the truth. But I cannot tell untruth to myself. So I want to steal something. I cannot steal from myself. So the moment I think this is me, there is no way to steal. And jealousy. Jealousy also comes. So long as we say, I am separate, this is separate. That person has something more than what I have. But if I see this is my person, will you become jealous of your own child? There is very... Saurasya is there, Tamasha is there. In Bengal, there is a custom that the mother should not see her daughter on her wedding day. I never heard about it, but that is one of the customs. The mother should not be there at the time of the wedding of her daughter. You know why? Because the daughter will be decorated in the best possible manner, most tragically only on wedding day. Other days, she is her normal self. So the mother goes and sees, My God, how beautiful my daughter looks. I wish I were that beautiful. I wish I were in your hands. I wish you were also in my hands. Do you see now? That possibility can come. These are all psychological facts. Maybe the husband is neglecting the wife. No Swami will tell you all those secrets. So the mother-in-law looks at the son-in-law, compares with her husband. Why am I still saddened? How I wish I were young again like my daughter so I could get this young man. Is it unreal or real? These are all realities. Many times, not that every case, but we cover them up in the name of tradition and culture and God and religion and all those things. This is a fact of life. Because our minds work like that. Nobody wants to become old. Nobody wants to appear to be old. Nobody wants to think that I am old. Even if the old person... You call the person old? That's why here you know, you should not ask the age. You know Elsie, one of our oldest devotees, one day she came, Swami ji, today is my birthday. Instinctively, unthinkingly, how old are you? And you know what she said? The first thing, Swami ji, you should not ask my age. I am about to blurt out, Swami Shivananda ji, Thakur's disciple. Swami Shivananda, he was our president. He was around 60 years old. Then you know, Miss McLeod, Swami ji's disciple, brought some American ladies. So, introduced one of the ladies to Swami. The moment, how old are you? And Miss McLeod had to explain, Swami, it is impolite to ask the age of a lady. He was very innocent. We are all innocent like that. He said, I am not going to marry her. Which was even more embarrassing. You know, that shows how much you are body oriented. We are all looking, you know, that is what Astavakra's story like that. You know that story? He was one of the greatest philosophers, realized souls, Astavakra Muni. And there is a work called Astavakra Samhita, attributed to him. It is there. And this was what Sriram Krishna, he wanted to train Narendranath in Advaita Vedanta. You know why? Because if there is any philosophy which can unite, everything is only Advaita philosophy. Advaita philosophy has no quarrel with any philosophy. Because it includes all philosophies. If a Dvaitin goes, Vista Dvaitin goes, we don't accept you. That is fine. You don't need to accept. You follow your own path and you come to God. Then whatever God is the highest truth, God will give you that. You don't need to quarrel now. But Dvaitin goes on quarreling that you are wrong. And this God who doesn't have ears, who doesn't have eyes, he cannot listen to my prayers, he cannot much less answer because he doesn't have hands. What am I going to do with that kind of God? I want a God who is everywhere and who knows everything and who has the power to do anything and he has compassion to do what I need. Whether I like him doing something to my enemy is a different issue. But I want him to respond to me. This is what you know. That is why the Vaishnavas have created a very special hell to Sankracharya. You know, these Catholic bishops and Pope, they committed a lot of sins. So what happened, one day a Catholic, he died. And he went to hell. And he was furious because his whole life he was taught you will go only to heaven after death. He found himself. So he was so furious, his blood was boiling and the heat also, you know. Hellish heat. So he wanted to explode. He went to some to bring out. He went and saw, what did he see? His local bishop. And he was rushed and said, Your Excellency, whatever it is, you know. He was trying to shout. The bishop said, Shhh, don't shout. His Holiness the Pope is speaking. So this special hell is created for Sankracharya and all followers of Advaita. And what were the Advaitins retort? You know what is the Advaitins retort? Once there was a, in a school, there was this quarrel between one brother and sister. So the teacher asked the girl, Mary, do you want to go to heaven? She looked at her brother, is he also going? Yeah, anyway. The other one, do you remember Gayatri? The husband died. And after a few days, don't get angry. After a few days, the wife went to a medium and brought his husband. John, how are you? Remember? John, how are you? He said, Oh, I am so happy. Then she asked, John, are you more happy than when you were with me? He said, What? You are a madcap. What are you talking about? I am a million times happier than when I was with you. John, John, how is heaven? She said, Did I ever tell that? So, Advaita is the only philosophy. There is no other way out. What does that mean? To look upon everything, everybody, and pray for them, to bless them, and say, you progress in your own way. You are a Christian, God bless you. You are a Dvaitin, God bless you. You don't believe in God, God bless you. Progress in your own way. That is why Advaita cannot quarrel. And if anyone is quarrelling, he is not an Advaitin. Advaita means what? I am a Dvaitin, I am a believer, I am an unbeliever, I am identifying myself with everybody. Because he goes to the grassroots, I exist, you exist. There is no difference between me and you at the gross level. This is called Advaita. So, is it practical? It is wonderfully practical. What is it? Look upon everything as God. What is your Vaishnavism? Look upon everything as God, Vishnu. Vyapakatvat Vishnuh. He who is everywhere is Vishnu. As simple as that. Then how do we start our spiritual progress? First thing is, see the goodness in everybody. Start with that. See the goodness in everybody. Everybody has got some goodness. Everybody, everything has got some goodness. Only we have to learn how to see. Then what happens? Our attention of finding fault becomes less. And our appreciation of goodness will increase. And as we go on increasing, appreciating, we see that we have got so many other defects in comparison with the other person. We have got so many problems. So, like that, slowly, slowly, we stop paying attention to other people. Accepting helping them when they require. And this is how progress is done. As more change comes, whose mind becomes, as I see, goodness, whose mind becomes purer? Whose mind becomes more peaceful? And seeing goodness means being happy seeing the other person. Do you see? These are equated. So, when we see, some people, you know, psychologically problems we have. What is the problem? Supposing I am a small charitable person. I see another person who is more charitable. And I become, there is a likelihood, I become jealous of the other person. But the moment, am I seeing that person's charitableness? I am not seeing the charitableness. I am seeing that person has got more recognition than my recognition. If I see I am a small giver, here is a bigger giver, that very moment I become his fan. So this is how my mind becomes, and I become very joyful because whomsoever we admire, we become fans. That brings me another joke. Remember, you know, these associations. So, Hillary Clinton died and went to heaven. And she was having an interview with God. She didn't see her husband, who was also dead. So she was also, but interview. But she saw astonishing thing. There were hundreds of clocks in God's room and each clock was showing a different time. Some are fast, some are faster, some are slower. No clock was showing. So she was astonished. She asked God, what is all this? He said, the fellow who tells less lies is a clock which is running slow. The fellow who tells more lies is a clock which is running very fast. Then she asked, where is my husband? A ceiling fan. God is using a ceiling fan. So the more we are able to see, appreciate, then we become very happy. Have you noticed that? Suppose you admire a singer and one day you attended his concert, her concert, and that person's singing that day was super than you heard. Will you be more happy or less happy? This is what happens. The more we are able to see goodness, we become their fans. And it's good because if I am a fan of somebody, that's a deep desire, I would like to be like this person. So this is how I am happy. When I am happy, will there be jealousy? Will I be jealous? Jealousy will not come. Jealousy means I am not happy. And the definition of Ahimsa, according to Swamiji, is absence of jealousy. Because this is the subtlest, pervasive thing. None of us can claim that I don't have jealousy. Even Swamis have got jealousy. Imagine two Swamis are talking. One Swami in this room, one Swami in the other room. This Swami, the other Swami has got only two people listening to him. And they are two-half listening. And this Swami has got, say, 20-25 people. What do you think will be the condition of the other Swami? Usually. Yes, that's why I told you that story, Swami Bhaskarananda's story. I think, I don't know whether you should remember, these are very useful things. Once two wandering monks met. One was 80 years old, another was only 30 years. And then they introduced themselves to each other and they discovered to their surprise that they were the disciples of the same Guru. So what are they? Gurubhais. Gurubhais. That means they are equal, isn't it? Gurubhai means equal. But the senior Swami doesn't want to admit that you are equivalent to me. So the senior Swami said, Yes, you know, I am happy to see that we are having same Guru. But you know what? When we were young, our Guru tested us for years and years and years and years. Then only initiated us. Later on, he became loose. He started initiating everybody and anyone. Anyway, there is a sequel to this real life story. Swami Brahmanandaji was very reluctant to initiate people. So once there was a Ramakrishna's birthday celebration. And by the way, we are having it next Sunday. Try to come. Morning. Evening there is no program. Only in the morning. 10.30. So, Swami Brahmanandaji, he was the president and very reluctant to initiate. After years and years of saying tomorrow, day after tomorrow, and on the day fixed for initiation, he will invariably have a stomach ache. Is it psychological or what? So, after many years, he will initiate. But once he initiates, the person's liberation is guaranteed. So what happened on one birthday celebration of Sri Ramakrishna, they arranged the drama on the life of Brahmanujacharya. And you know that incident where he climbs to the top of the temple and announces the mantra to everybody. So that incident Maharaj saw, and he was totally transformed. Next morning he said, whoever wants to take initiation, call them, I will give. And that day he initiated quite a number of people. But after a few days, the inspiration is gone. Back to the... from that day onwards, he was much more liberal and he started initiating people. So, the transformation must come from within us. Never ever think the world is ever going to change. But what part of maya is, we think that we are alright, the world needs a lot of change. That's why the Zen joke, you remember? Zen joke. You know Zen Buddhism? So there was a Zen master. And one day he felt like eating pizza. So he went to a pizza hut. And then he ordered. And the person who was running the pizza hut was his own disciple. So, business is business, you know. So after ordering pizza, and he gave 10 pound note. And the pizza was costing only 550 or something like that. And he was waiting for the change. But the disciple, you know, folded his hands and broadly smiling. The Guru at last waited for some time and said, what about change? Disciple folded his hands and said, Guruji, you only taught us that the change must come from within us. Yes. So, this is the truth. The rope is not going to change. In this analogy, what is the rope? World. Who am I? Shiva traveling towards God. So the change must come from within me. What is the way? Bring light. This is called Jnana Aloka. What is knowledge? It's like light. That is why Jnana is always, knowledge is always compared to light. What does light do? It reveals the nature of things as they are. Not semi-darkness, not darkness, but total light. So once we come to know this is not a snake, this is a rope, our whole life will change. And how do we start seeing goodness? So this is Bhagavad Gita Shloka, Holy Mother's teaching. Stop finding fault with others. Start finding fault with yourself. No one is a stranger. Everyone is your own. Your own means you, yourself, appearing in so many mirrors. Now you think of this in the light of the law of karma. So every person is the karmaful of what I have done in the past. Husband, wife, children, friends, parents, job, country, race, religion, language. Everything is only karmaful. Nothing accidental. And that is why achintya rachana shakti. Shankara Bhagwatpada describes God, you know. There must be an Ishwara. Why? To fit the karmaful of every creature exactly in the same way, like assembling a huge jigsaw puzzle and nobody can do it excepting himself. Anyway, one of our Swamis gave a beautiful illustration. So you know what he said? There was a classroom and the teacher was a geography teacher and one day after teaching geography for some days, the geography teacher one day wanted to test the pupils. What did he do? He drew a map of the world and he tore it into pieces, mixed them up and gave it to the students, each one one copy and said, you assemble it properly. And the pupils, many people, they could not complete even in the whole hour. But one fellow, in five minutes, he assembled it and he submitted it. And the teacher was astonished. How could you do it so fast? He said, Sir, very simple. I noticed at the back of this world map there was a figure of a human being. So all that I did is reversed it and I know what a human being looks like. So within no time I assembled it. When I assembled the human being, the whole world has become assembled properly. That means what? If I become alright, the whole becomes alright. If I am not alright, then nothing is alright. Thank you.