Understanding of the Teaching

8/7/2019 Understanding of the Teaching

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My Understanding of the Teaching

There is no such thing as an individual entity. The sense of identity, ‘I’ nessor ‘I am’ ness is inherent in consciousness and it is Universal. What happensis, this universal I attaches itself to the body and the feeling ‘I am the body’ arises. The ‘I’ which is Universal, limitless, is falsely limited to the body. Thisis ignorance.Anything that can be perceived is not ‘I’ and therefore, false. Since the ‘I’ isabsolute subjectivity, it cannot be ‘perceived’ in the conventional sense.Simple beingness.

Sahaj – Natural, Pratyaksha – direct perception without words. Just be thebeingness itself, let go.

Maharaj: (to me) Whatever projects you have started, complete them to thebest of your ability. It doesn’t matter if the projects are a success or failure.Complete what you start to the best of your ability.

The moment you are ‘very clear’ about what you want to do, thingshappen.

Life is very strange. The moment you are ‘very clear’ about what youwant to do, things happen. Life comes to your aid – a friend, arelation, a teacher, a grandmother, somebody helps you. But if youare afraid to try because your father may turn you out, then you are

lost. Life never comes to the aid of those who merely yield to somedemand out of fear. But if you say “This is what I really want to do

and I am going to pursue it”, then you will find that somethingmiraculous takes place. You may have to go hungry, struggle to get

through, but you will be a worth while human being, not a merecopy, and that is the miracle of it. – j. krishnamurthi

You know, it is good to hide your brilliance under a bushel, to be anonymous,to love what you are doing and not to show off. It is good to be kind withouta name. You are just a creative human being living anonymously, and in thatthere is richness and great beauty. . – j. krishnamurthi

You have to find out what truth is because that is the only thing that matters,not whether you are rich or poor, not whether you are happily married andhave children, because they all come to an end, there is always death. So,without any form of belief, you must find out.

You can do that only when you leave the pool you have dug for yourself andgo out into the river of life. Then life has an astonishing way of taking care of you, because then there is no taking care on your part. Life carries youwhere it will because you are part of itself; then there is no problem of security, of what people say or don’t say, and that is the beauty of life. – j.krishnamurthi



Only when the mind is wholly silent, completely inactive, not projecting,when it is not seeking and is utterly still—only then that which is eternal andtimeless comes into being.

Through observation you become a light to yourself.

The religious mind is the mind that has entered into the unknown, and youcannot come to the unknown except by jumping; you cannot carefullycalculate and enter the unknown. . – j. Krishnamurthi

Fear is a source of corruption, it is the beginning of degeneration, and to befree of fear is more important than any examination or any scholasticdegree.

So to discover God or truth—and I say such a thing does exist, I haverealized it—to recognize that, to realize that, the mind must be free of all thehindrances that have been created throughout the ages, based on self-

protection and security. You cannot be free of security by merely saying thatyou are free. To penetrate the walls of these hindrances, you need to have agreat deal of intelligence, not mere intellect. Intelligence, to me, is mind andheart in full harmony; and then you will find out for yourself, without askinganyone, what that reality is. . – j. krishnamurthi

Then he asks, "What are you going to do with your life, sir? If you havetouched the other, and are not anchored in it, you will go to pieces."

It is this sadness of vain effort that is destroying man. His thought is not sogood as the computer, and he has only the instrument of thought with which

to meet the problems of life, so he is destroyed by them. It is this sadness of wasted life which probably he will be aware of only at the moment of hisdeath--and then it will be too late. – J. K

Whether or not the results of meditation are obtained is of noimportance. The essential is to arrive at stability; it is the most

precious thing that one can gain. In any case one must trust withconfidence in the Divinity and await His grace without impatience. The samerule applies equally to japa: japa pronounced even once is a benefit, whetherone is aware of it or not. – Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Sri Bhagavan’s directions to me, to enquire within, as to “Who I am”,

appeared to be the most rationalistic and the first thing that I should do andknow, rather than run after places of pilgrimage, which I otherwisecontemplated, especially with the gift of free travel by rail that He has sokindly placed at my convenience. Remarking about a short trip to TirupatiHills in August, 1936, which I had to take on account of compulsion from abrother of mine, Sri Bhagavan said I might do it, because I could afford it.The obvious meaning of the remark being, that these visits were



unwarranted and that I need not do so, in spite of the availability of concession of free travel.

The uniqueness of His teaching consists in the fact of his insistence on theenquiry method from the very beginning, instead of waiting tilleternity for the purification of body, mind and intellect. The enquirystraightaway gives one that mental quiet, as it were in a trice, which onedoes not get till after some years of Japa. Even such practitioners that knowthe meaning of ‘Gayatri’, the highest mantra, and repeat it a crore of times,admit this. If, on the other hand, one repeated just once the Gayatri Mantrawith meaning and bhava instead of repeating “I will meditate thus, I willmeditate thus,” but remained still, confirmed in the meaning of the mantra,namely:“The Power which induces one’s intellect in the various pursuits of life is the same as that in the Sun, which, by its illumination,removes the darkness of this earth and is the cause of the existenceand growth of all living beings on earth,” he would soon find himself as

the light itself, bereft of body and form, perfectly still and thoughtless — apleasurable experience indeed is this. What one would attain in this manneris also attained by merely probing the source of thought, the “I” thought,being the first thought, by asking “Who am I?” and waiting ‘still’ for ananswer — carefully guarding against obtrusion of the sneaky intruder (thethought monkey).

All that is required is that aspirants should take, in very moderate quantities,whatever food comes their way and not stipulate, discriminate or pick andchoose in the matter of diet; that, in contrast to the claim of hatha yogis thatyoga practice is necessary to ward off disease from the physical body and

make it pure and healthy to help concentration etc. The enquiry method, if followed strictly as directed, with absolute one-pointedness of mind, iscapable of devouring all the germs of disease wherever and whenever they arise.

Your duty lies in practice, continuous practice of Self-enquiry –Sri Ramana Maharshi

D: When I am engaged in enquiry as to the source from which the ‘I’ springs,I arrive at a stage of stillness of mind beyond which I find myself unable toproceed farther. I have no thought of any kind and there is an emptiness, ablankness. A mild light pervades and I feel that it is myself, bodiless. I have

neither cognition nor vision of body and form. The experience lasts nearlyhalf an hour and is pleasing.B: This does not mean salvation; such a condition is termed manolaya ortemporary stillness of thought. Manolaya will never lead to total destructionof thought, which is what is called salvation or liberation from birth anddeath. The practiser must therefore be ever on the alert and enquirewithin as to who has this experience, who realises its pleasantness.



My understanding: In Manolaya the separate entity (which is totally false)and who is experiencing the pleasantness still exists; during meditation thefeeling of separateness or duality is done away with.B: Sadhakas (seekers) rarely understand the difference between thistemporary stilling of the mind (manolaya) and permanent destruction of thoughts (manonasa). In manolaya there is temporary subsidence of thought-waves, and, though this temporary period may even last for athousand years, thoughts, which are thus temporarily stilled, rise up as soonas the manolaya ceases. One must, therefore, watch one’s spiritual progresscarefully. One must not allow oneself to be overtaken by such spells of stillness of thought: the moment one experiences this, one must reviveconsciousness and enquire within as to who it is who experiences thisstillness. While not allowing any thoughts to intrude, he must not, at thesame time, be overtaken by this deep sleep (Yoga nidra) or Self-hypnotism.Though this is a sign of progress towards the goal, yet it is also the point where the divergence between the road to salvation and Yoga nidra takes place. The easy way, the direct way, the shortest cut to salvation is the

Enquiry method . By such enquiry, you will drive the thought force deeper tillit reaches its source and merges therein. It is then that you will have theresponse from within and find that you rest there, destroying all thoughts,once and for all.

The Sadhana for the sadhaka is the Samadhi of the Siddha. - Bhagwan

D: When can one practise sahaja samadhi ?Bhagavan: Even from the beginning.My understanding: By this Bhagwan means that Sadhana must be donewithout vyaktitva – without concentration at a particular point etc. but by

just being without duality.

"How should" one be to make the investigation? The investigator, theinvestigated and the investigation should become one. Only then isinvestigation possible......(ajja)

Awakening, for Rinzai, is a matter of uttermost urgency. He is ruthlesslyiconoclastic when he asks his students to let go without further delay inexploring one’s Buddha mind.

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life think of it, dream of it, live onit. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that

idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.Swami Vivekananda

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important thanan idea that exists only as an idea. Gautama Buddha

It is only due to profound contemplation that our concepts tilt towards theintense yearning for Self-Realization – Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj.



The actual nature of the individual self is this bliss itself. And the easiest

and the shortest path is to always dwell in that sahaja [natural] statethat is our original nature. For all this, meditation is the starting point. Inthe beginning you should sit. You should have that internal preparation. Onehas to discipline oneself. But it is not enough only to sit. It is not merely thatthe body must sit; your mind must sit also. The mind should not bewandering. Unless the mind is controlled, there is no meditation. Thewandering of the mind itself is the world.

How can we produce the heat coming from Vicharam?If we can seat three or four hours continuously involved in the practice of Vicharam we can attain and achieve whatever we have to attain.

In January 1742 he withdrew into his hut and left the following messagepinned to the outside of the door:Dear friends,

Withdraw the mind from the senses and fix it in meditation. Control thethought-current. Find out the thought-centre and fix yourself there. Then youwill be conscious of the divine Self; you will see it dancing in ecstasy. Live inthat delight. That delight-consciousness is the God in you. He is in everyheart. You need not go anywhere to find Him. Find your own core and feelHim there. Peace, bliss, felicity, health – everything is in you. Trust in thedivine in you. Entrust yourself to His Grace. Be as you are. Off with pastimpressions! He who lives from within an ingathered soul is a real sage, eventhough he may be a householder. He who allows his mind to wander with thesenses is an ignoramus, though he is learned. See as a witness, without theburden of seeing. See the world just as you see a drama. See without

attachment. Look within. Look at the inner light unshaken by mentalimpressions. Then, floods of conscious bliss shall come pouring in and aroundyou from all directions. This is the supreme Knowledge; realise! Aum! Aum!22

Vimala immediately responds, “My dear friend, they do not dedicate theirlives to the truth they understand. They have desire for worldly pleasure,worldly recognition. Spirituality is one of the desires. It is not the supremepriority. Immediately start living the truth you understand!So this inner division causes the pathetic phenomenon that in the evening of their lives, their hands are empty. They only have the shells of words withthem, not the inner substance of liberation.”

Find the feeling of ‘I’ or ‘identity’ without words and be one with that.We are that all the time, but thoughts, body feeling etc. superimposethemselves on the basic identity.

Sath Vicharam should be done uninterruptedly and continuously. If we doself enquiry and create carelessness or no desire for the worldly enjoyments,the state without desire would be attained.



22. My Heart Burns Like Fire Soyen Shaku, the first Zen teacher to come to America, said: "My heartburns like fire but my eyes are as cold as dead ashes." He made the followingrules which he practiced every day of his life.

In the morning before dressing, light incense and meditate.Retire at a regular hour. Partake of food at regular intervals. Eat withmoderation and never to the point of satisfaction.Receive a guest with the same attitude you have when alone. When alone,maintain the same attitude you have in receiving guests.Watch what you say, and whatever you say, practice it.When an opportunity comes do not let it pass by, yet always think twicebefore acting.Do not regret the past. Look to the future.Have the fearless attitude of a hero and the loving heart of a child.Upon retiring, sleep as if you had entered your last sleep. Upon awakening,leave your bed behind you instantly as if you had cast away a pair of old

shoes.

No Attachment to Dust Zengetsu, a Chinese master of the T'ang dynasty, wrote the following advicefor his pupils:Living in the world yet not forming attachments to the dust of the world isthe way of a true Zen student.When witnessing the good action of another encourage yourself to follow hisexample. Hearing of the mistaken action of another, advise yourself not toemulate it.Even though alone in a dark room, be as if you were facing a noble guest.

Express your feelings, but become no more expressive than your true nature.Poverty is your treasure. Never exchange it for an easy life.A person may appear a fool and yet not be one. He may only be guarding hiswisdom carefully.Virtues are the fruit of self-discipline and do not drop from heaven of themselves as does rain or snow.Modesty is the foundation of all virtues. Let your neighbors discover youbefore you make yourself known to them.A noble heart never forces itself forward. Its words are as rare gems, seldomdisplayed and of great value.To a sincere student, every day is a fortunate day. Time passes but he neverlags behind. Neither glory nor shame can move him.

Censure yourself, never another. Do not discuss right and wrong.Some things, though right, were considered wrong for generations. Since thevalue of righteousness may be recognized after centuries, there is no need tocrave an immediate appreciation.Live with cause and leave results to the great law of the universe. Pass eachday in peaceful contemplation.



He taught us that work is love for others, that we never can work forourselves (about Sri Ramana Maharshi).

Do not pursue what is illusory - property and position: all that is gained atthe expense of your nerves decade after decade and can be confiscated inone fell night. Live with a steady superiority over life - don't be afraid of misfortune, and do not yearn after happiness; it is after all, all the same: thebitter doesn't last forever, and the sweet never fills the cup to overflowing.Alexander Solzhenitsyn

"Be absolutely alert, and make no effort." J. krishnamurthy

The last instructions of Samarth Ramdas to his disciples were: "Do not thinkmuch of your bodily wants. Have Satsang with devotees. Keep the image of Lord Rama in your heart. Repeat the name of Lord Rama always. Annihilatelust, greed, anger, hatred and egoism. See Lord Rama in all creatures. Loveall. Feel His presence everywhere. Live for Him alone. Serve Him in all

beings. Make total and unreserved surrender unto Him. You will always livein Him alone. You will attain immortality and eternal bliss".

OM POORNAMADAH POORNAMIDAMPOORNAAT POORNAMUDACHYATEPOORNASYA POORNAMAADAAYAPOORNAMEVAAVASHISHYATE

OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIH

THAT (BRAHMAN) IS WHOLE

THIS (CREATION) IS ALSO WHOLEFROM THAT WHOLE (I.E. BRAHMAN ONLY)THIS WHOLE HAS COME OUT (CREATION)BUT EVEN THOUGH THIS WHOLE HAS COMEOUT OF THAT WHOLEYET THAT WHOLE REMAINS WHOLE ONLY(i.e. Brahman remains unaffected, retains His/Its fullness and completeness.)

When Jesus was confronted by the religious "experts" of the day:"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and

with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And

the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law andthe Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:36-40).

"Look at those trees. The trees are meditating. Meditation is silence. If yourealise that you really know nothing then you would be truly meditating.Such truthfulness is the right soil for silence. Silence is meditation."Yogaswami bent forward eagerly. "You must be simple. You must be utterlynaked in your consciousness. When you have reduced yourself to nothing -

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Alexander_Solzhenitsyn/

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Alexander_Solzhenitsyn/



when your 'self' has disappeared - when you have become nothing then youare yourself God. The man who is nothing knows God for God is nothing.Nothing is everything. Because I am nothing, you see, because I am abeggar - I own everything. So nothing means everything. Understand?""Tell us about this state of nothingness," requested my friend with eageranticipation."It means that you genuinely desire nothing. It means that you can honestlysay that you know nothing. It also means that you are not interested in doinganything about this state of nothingness.""You think you know but in fact you are ignorant. When you see that youknow nothing about yourself then you are yourself God.""There is silence when you realise that there is nothing to gain and nothingto lose.""Meditation is not thinking of anything; it is remaining cummâ(quiet)." –Yogaswami

“What do you want sir? You want all this and heaven too. Whatever you

want you already know. How can you ask for a thing which you don’t know?What I am saying is not in your field of knowing. You want to experience theoneness. You are already one with That. There is no separateness. That iswhat I am saying. Whatever you are doing is the one that is creating theseparateness. It is strengthening that separateness.” U G

When someone once asked him, “Then isn’t ‘death’ the end? Will there besomething remaining after that?” “I don’t know what remains, but find outwhat there is now,” he replied. If you know what there is now, then you willunderstand what will remain tomorrow. We don’t even know that. Justwords, a show of words – we don’t know anything more. If there is

something, does it mean that it’s something separate from ‘me’? The ‘I’ is just a memory. Yet, there is nothing separate and beyond it. There is noway to know whether that memory will survive or will perish with the body.To know is to remember. There is nothing beyond memory. Intelligence isalso memory. It must shine as the light of experience. It should fill withlight. Till then doubts will not subside. This is what I discussed with Majorand Venkata Chalapati last evening. – U. G

UG’s first principle is, “Whatever you think it is, it isn’t that,” and “To formyour own fundamental question,” is the first step toward the ultimate state. –U. G

Gossip is the antithesis of intensity and earnestness. JK

Quranic phrase, 'Be conscious of God and always speak the truth'.

“Spiritual discipline is as rigorous as militarydiscipline. If we really want to fulfil the purposeof life, we must subject ourselves to that discipline.Then we need fear none. Purity in our life will



command for us the respect and regard of the restof the world.” Kanchi Paramacharya

When the mind is swept clean of image, or ritual, of belief, of symbol, of all words,mantrams and repetitions, and of all fear, then what you see will be the real,the timeless, the everlasting, which may be called God; but this requiresenormous insight, understanding, patience, and it is only for those who really inquire into what is religion and pursue it day after day to the end. Only such people will know what is true religion. The rest are merely mouthing words,and all their ornaments and bodily decorations, their pujas and ringing of bells—all that is just superstition without any significance. It is only when themind is in revolt against all so-called religion that it finds the real. Jk

When the mind is vulnerable, when it has lost all support, explanations,when it is naked, then it shall know the bliss of truth.

I don’t know whether the incident I am going to tell you about was before orafter that breakfast. One of those mornings when I was arranging the flowersI heard, as if from the bedroom (which was at the back of the big roomwhere I was arranging the flowers) I heard sounds as if someone was gettingup, so I became very quiet.Realizing that that was Krishnaji’s bedroom, and maybe he was getting upandwouldn’t know I was there, I didn’t want to startle or disturb him, so Ibecame very quiet and stopped what I was doing. Then I heard the woodenslippers that he wore in India; the Kharow which has a little knob that goesbetween the big toe and the rest of the toes. When you walk with those

wooden slippers, you can hear the wood clapping on the floor. I heard theclap of his steps going towards the bathroom. I said to myself, “Yes, nowhe’ll go back to bed.” But then he walked on and went through the nextroom, which was like a reception room where he had meetings anddiscussions. He went through that room and then came across the veranda infront of the living room on the eastern side of the apartment where I sat withthe flowers all around me. I shrank from the lighted area into the shadowedpart of the doorway so that I wouldn’t startle him. I sat quietly as he passedon his way to the dining room. What I saw was amazing because it wasn’tthe figure of Krishnaji who passed by. It was an unusually tall luminescentfigure that passed. He looked like the figure of the Buddha, with the samekind of stature. This figure went towards the kitchen and then came back

again in a few moments. This time, as he passed the living room door, hestopped and turned and smiled, as if saying, “I know you’re there.” I just satthere absolutely still. I couldn’t understand this at all. There was no fear, itwas extraordinary. It was something very beautiful.EB: It was Krishnamurti?AL: Well, it was Krishnamurti, because that was his bedroom. He had comefrom there, he walked through his bathroom, across the veranda to the



dining room, kitchen, and then back again. There was no one else in thatapartment.EB: Could you describe in what way he appeared to be different?AL: Krishnaji is a very slender, delicate, small-statured person. This figurewas at least twice his height and bigger. It was as if there was a light withinthe body. The face was very peaceful and compassionate and there seemedto be something over the head. Because I have seen paintings from Ajantaand Ellora and other places it reminded me of the Buddha with that head andfigure. I sat there very still for some time, then I picked up my things veryquickly and quietly went down the stairs. I was shaking all the way. I told myhusband, Mark, what I had seen and I never told anyone else about itbecause it was something so sacred that I didn’t want to belittle it by talkingabout it.The only other person I did tell, until now, was Krishnaji before he died. Iwent to see him. I requested to see him privately, as I did every year. It wasa very poignant question in my mind. I said, “Krishnaji, I want to ask youabout something that I saw. I’m not a superstitious kind of person, I don’t

usually see visions, even if I see something or if I hear something in the darkI go and check it out; I’m related to fact and reality.” I explained to him howI was in his apartment in those early years, soon after I had gotten marriedand gone to Rishi Valley, and how I was sitting over there and what I hadseen. He sat with his hands folded and his head bowed. After I had finishedhe looked up and said, “You saw something. Why do you question it?” I said,

“I’m not questioning it because I did see it, but I’m just trying to understandit. I thought maybe talking with you would explain it.” He said, “You saw it,there is no other explanation.” We sat very quietly while he held my handand then I came away.That occurrence in the first year that I was at Rishi Valley established in me a

relationship with Krishnaji. There was something beyond the ordinary thatwas present that morning. When I attended his talks I felt there was thepresence of something extraordinary and I am sure many other people felt itas well.

Some of the meetings with staff in those days were very intense. At one he put thequestion, “What is the most important thing in your life?” with great urgency. We tried to answer in various ways, both idealistic and actual, but nothing satisfied him. Least of all would he tolerate anything he had said before, but he kept on putting the question. Finally, after about an hour, hesaid, “I wonder if it would help if I told you what it is for me?” He

seemed to hesitate, and then said, “To be nothing, to be absolutely nothing.”

“Truth is not at the top of the ladder; truth is where you are, in what you aredoing, thinking, feeling, when you kiss and hug, when you exploit— youmust see the truth of all that, not a truth at the end of innumerable cycles of life.”





You can attain liberation at any stage of evolution if you have a burningdesire to attain, if you have a longing to put aside the unessential things andto hold, with the grip of death, to the things that are vital, essential. And toestablish that which is essential and vital, you must observe, you must bealive to all that is taking place around you. Life is a web spun out of thecommon events of the day and if you do not utilize them, you will miss thepurpose of the small things, out of which great things are built.

Once I asked Bhagavan what I should do to be on the spiritualpath. He said, “Do what you want to do but keep doing it;don’t remain doing nothing. Repeat the name, or think deeplyor seek the source of your ‘I’ consciousness, do Atma Vicharabut keep working on yourself. This is very important”.

In one of his lectures he said: À disciplined mind is a lazy mind.' To me adisciplined person active, regular, attending to all his work. So when I askedhim what he meant, Ìf it is not lazy, why does it need to discipline itself? If

you have to get up at six o'clock in the morning and if you are not lazy, youget up! Discipline is not required for that. But if you are lazy, you need a lotof discipline. So the man who is trying to discipline himself is lazy.'

The last time he visited India, in 1985, I was having lunch with him atRajghat and as often happened he asked questions that nobody ever asked:`Sir, has the brahmin disappeared from this country?' I said: Ìt depends onwhat you mean by brahmin, Sir. One fourth of the population here thing of themselves as brahmins.' And he said, `No, not by birth -- that is so childish.You know what a brahmin is?' I said, `What do you mean by a brahmin?' Hereplied with a story.

When Alexander invaded India and fought with Porus, he won. When heentered the state, he saw excellent administration, the whole of the land wastidy, clean and well maintained, people were living happily. So he askedPorus, Who was responsible for your administration?' Porus replied: `Therewas a brahmin prime minister, who was responsible for all thisadministration.' Alexander said, Ì would like to talk to him.' Porus answered,`He resigned because we lost the war, and has gone to his village.'Alexander responded, `Call him, nevertheless.' So they sent a messengerwho came back the next day with the response, `Tell the king I am no longerin his service. A brahmin does not go to anyone, therefore I am sorry that Icannot come.' As this was narrated, Alexander said, Àll right, I will go to hisvillage.'

Alexander was taken to the village, where the brahmin was seated under atree teaching two children. When Alexander was announced, the man lookedup and said, Ìs there something I can do for you?' Alexander asked, Àreyou the man who was the prime minister?' and the answer came, `Yes';Alexander then said, `you ran an excellent administration,' and the manresponded, `Thank you'. So Alexander asked him `Will you come with me? Iwill take you to Greece, give you a palace, make you the head of all ourarmies. Come with me!' the man considered this, looked up at Alexander,



and replied, `Sorry, I want teach these children.' Krishnaji then said, `That'sa brahmin -- somebody you can't buy, somebody who doesn't work for areward. He did what was right for a brahmin to do: he ran as good anadministration as he could. When he lost the war he took responsibility forthe defeat and resigned, which is the right thing for the brahmins to do.When he was in the village, he did what he wanted to do, not in subservienceto the king, or looking for some more rewarding job to do. That is the qualityof the brahmin.' After telling this story, Krishnaji asked me, `Now tell me,has the brahmin disappeared from this country?' I said, Ì don't know, Sir,there may still be someone in the Himalayas, but I have not come acrossone.'

Let me give you an example from my own experience. In the late 1970s I satwith a little-known teacher called Dr Poy, a Gujurati who lived in northernBombay. On my first meeting I asked him what his teachings were and hereplied, 'I have no teachings. People ask questions and I answer them. Thatis all.'

I persevered: 'If someone asks you ''How do I get enlightened?'', what doyou normally tell them?'

'Whatever is appropriate,' he replied.After a few more questions like this, I realized that I wasn't going to

receive a coherent presentation of this man's teachings, assuming of coursethat he had any. He was a good example of what I have just been talkingabout. He didn't have a doctrine or a practice that he passed out to everyonewho came to see him. He simply answered all questions on a case-by-casebasis.

I sat quietly for about ten minutes while Dr Poy talked in Gujurati to acouple of other visitors. In those few minutes I experienced a silence that

was so deep, so intense, it physically paralyzed me.He turned to me and said, smiling, 'What's your next question?'He knew I was incapable of replying. His question was a private joke

between us that no one else there would have understood. I felt as if mywhole body had been given a novocaine injection. I was so paralyzed, in animmobilized, ecstatic way, I couldn't even smile at his remark.

He looked at me and said, 'There is no such thing as right method, thereis only right effort. Whatever technique you choose will work if you follow itintensely enough. You asked for my teachings and here they are: ''Part-time sadhus don't get enlightened.'''

Sheikh Jilani "advised his audience that seekers of God had to be indifferent

towards even the life hereafter and to cultivate pleasure only in the thoughtof annihilation and abiding poverty in this life.

The mind should be purified and one should perform actions without seekinganything in return. Daily and always the practice of selfless work, surrender,prayer and contemplation must go on.



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Understanding of the Teaching