Bhagavan on Teachings and Sadhana

Question: Apart from the teachings and sadhanas (spiritual practices), what is your message in this path of Mukti (liberation)?

Bhagavan: See, basically my teaching is this. Though you have been taught some sadhanas and some teachings, as far as Mukti is concerned no sadhana or any teaching will take you to Mukti. That is why I insist that all sadhanas and teachings must ultimately be dumped into the waste paper basket. They just will not help you when Mukti is concerned. They can prepare you for it. It can be any teaching of Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Buddha's teaching; any teaching for that matter will not take you to Mukti. Ramakrishna's disciples did not become enlightened, or Ramana Maharshi's disciples… Buddha's disciples did not become enlightened. So teachings can't give you enlightenment, no technique or sadhana can give you enlightenment. That must be understood very clearly through the yajna (course) you have attended. At best what can happen is; there can be a pursuit of enlightenment, a temptation to achieve Mukti and some clarity. I always maintain that psychology and philosophy, any teaching will fall under these categories.

They will at best help to bring about transformation within the mind. That's all. Like we can rearrange the furniture in this room; but they'll still remain. So, we can do some kind of a decoration inside. We can bring some kind of happiness, get over some problems, adjust and readjust. Sadhanas can take you deeper and deeper into you consciousness but going deep into your consciousness is not Mukti. Rearranging your mental structure and framework, having improved relationship, better success in the world… all this is not Mukti. Mukti is to be completely free of the mind itself. That, no teaching, no technique can give you. It is because it is not a psychological process; it is not a philosophical process; it is not a meditative process. It is a neurobiological phenomenon. Fundamental changes must occur in your physical brain. That is why I tell you, do not follow any teaching. Then you become a 2nd hand human being. If you try to follow a Jesus Christ, you will become a 2nd hand human being. Jesus Christ could love the whole humanity. Can you love like Him ? Jesus Christ says *”love thy neighbour as thyself”. You can’t do it. He can do it because his brain is wired differently. But if you try to talk like Jesus Christ, you had it. Ramakrishna can be jumping in ecstasy and dancing away. Unless your kundalini is awakened you can’t do that. If you try to copy Ramakrishna you become a 2nd hand human being. His brain wiring is different. Ramana can ask “who am I”. If you do the same you will go mad and end up in the mental asylum! That's why I say, in one sense these are anti-teachings.

You become a second hand human being. You develop conflict within yourself. You are something. You want to be something else; a Christ or a Ramana or a Sri Aurobindo. What not! You can read all their books, you can do all that, but you will not move an inch. Maybe you will get some clarity. Maybe you will feel nice. “Ah, I'm doing this sadhana”… you'll fell more secure. These benefits are there. But they will not take you to Mukti. Very often they induce conflict because you can only be yourself. How can you be something else? However much you try how could you be something else? You cannot become that other. This is the illusion from which we must become free.

So, what I am telling you is ‘”Whatever you are, just accept that. When you accept it, there is no conflict. When there is no conflict there is plenty of energy. When you have energy, you see what is going on inside, you get joy. This is why, when all of you go back home, please fully experience that pain. Physical pain itself will become bliss. Sincerely experience all psychological pain. If you fully experience, it becomes joy. Don't try to escape. If you try to escape from pain, you are putting it under that carpet. After sometime it starts stinking. That is what most people are doing. They never confront their pain. Somebody dies in you family, you loose your job, some other problem, but you don't experience the pain. You run away from the pain through television, movies, going to a friend's house, doing some puja (spiritual clearing ceremony). This is what is called SORROW MANAGEMENT. It is good up to a point but certainly it will not rid you of pain.

So, what you must learn is how to confront this pain. What I am telling is like this; Suppose a tiger enters this room, most of you would climb up the fan and hang on there! What I am telling is that “hanging from the fan is really pain because the tiger is here and you are hanging on there”. I am telling, “come down from the fan and let the tiger eat you”. If you are eaten the pain is gone. Allow the pain to eat you. The pain is the tiger. See what happens. It will become joy. Suppose there is intense jealousy in you. Jealousy itself is pain. You know how painful it is. So instead of saying “I will try to be non-jealous, kind and loving”; all this is false. You are you. You have jealousy, violence, hatred… all the doshas are there inside you.

So confront it. I am not telling you be that or this. No! Be what you are. This is the purpose of this particular yajna that you have attended, to help you discover who you are like Ramana “who am I”, but his discovery is something else. Your discovery will be one that you are a Ravana! All the useless things in the world are inside you. That will be your discovery. That does not take much time. But people don't like that. You would like to have a nice image about yourself. It is all nicely covered up but if you dig you will se only rubbish. So confront that rubbish. If it is there; then accept it. How can you run away from it? It is painful, but behold and suddenly there will be joy. Where there is joy there will be no dosha. A happy man cannot cause pain to others. Only an unhappy man or wife will cause pain to husband or wife. Unhappy children will cause pain to their parents, unhappy employees will cause pain to employer. UNHAPPY PEOPLE SPREAD MISERY. Happy people cannot cause pain. If people are happy they cannot do anything wrong. They are happy therefore they cannot do anything wrong. It is unhappy people who land into trouble, who become ultimately thieves, criminals etc. So the basic thing is there must be a minimum of happiness and true happiness comes when you confront yourself.

You are always saying “I am afraid of that person”. That is not true. Basically you are afraid of yourself. If you loose fear of yourself you loose fear of everything else including Veerapan! If a Buddha were there he would simply go and talk to Veerapan. Like he went and spoke to Aungulimai (a thief in the forest), since he had no fear. You are afraid of yourself because you do not love yourself. On the other hand you say, “I must overcome my fear, I must love somebody.” You do not love your self, that is the situation. So, as you go inside yourself you will discover who you are. So, accept. Once you start accepting, you start loving yourself. You will find there is a tremendous job that can be achieved in 21 days of practice. This is easy if it is difficult I do not talk about it. 21 days of practice and you will find it is like breathing. It is very natural and easy to go deep into your self, to discover and to accept, to love yourself and convert suffering into joy. If you do that your family will be excellent. The moment you see your husband or wife you will go into joy. When he or she sees you there will be joy. Your homes will become temples. That is when you are ready for Mukti. Mukti as I told you is a neurological phenomenon. Nobody has by following any teaching ever become enlightened, since they have been thinking it is a psychological or philosophical process. Ramana did not have any teaching. He had his death experience and he was there. For Buddha it was light. Only thing is he does not subsequently acknowledge what that light had done to him. Not through the teachings. Teachings are within the mind. Becoming free from the mind is enlightenment. That is when you are truly free.