Question:

Didi, This verse is from the Srimad Bhagwatam. It criticises the people who earn a livelihood by accepting money on behalf of the Lord. All the new-age spiritual Gurus and Masters are doing the same except for a few.

Doesn’t Enlightenment mean that all desires are destroyed? If it does mean that, then why do some Gurus/Spiritual teachers have the desire to receive money in exchange for Spiritual knowledge? Don’t these people accrue bad karma? or is Bhagwatam wrong?

Answers:

Srimad Bhagwatam is NOT wrong when it says that uncultured people will try to make money on behalf of the Lord. We are seeing this happen today.

Do they accrue Karma? 

These people will definitely pay for their karma according to their intentions. The law of the universe is fair and square for everyone be it an ant or an elephant, be it a poor man or a billionaire, be it a terrorist or a Spiritual teacher. If one has a wrong intention, he accrues instant karma. And if he continues to do that, he will collect karmic seeds which will explode into their volcanic Karmaphalam [Karmic fruit] in the future.

Why can’t others see them pay for their Karma?

The karmic fruit being experienced by an individual might not be apparent to others as one suffers within one’s own mind. One’s own mind is heaven and one’s own mind is hell. This state of mind is one’s own Karmic fruit.

Are such people truly Enlightened? 

We are not to judge whether someone else is Enlightened or not. We must strive to reach there ourselves irrespective of whether others have reached there or not.

What is Enlightenment or Awakening?

Enlightenment is a personal milestone attained when a person attains the highest level of inner contentment where all his desires have naturally extinguished and he is established in a state of ‘higher awareness’ devoid of duality.

Why must one strive to attain Enlightenment? 

Because that is what you are really thirsting for but you do not know that in words yet. Aren’t you thirsting for a ‘quiet and happy mind’? Aren’t you thirsting for a ‘peaceful mind devoid of feverishness’?

That permanent peaceful state of mind that you are thirsting for is called an ‘Enlightened Mind’. No other temporary state of quietness will satiate you. You know this from your experience of practising superficial techniques of meditation that they do not bring you lasting peace. Your natural thirst is for supreme happiness.

Does such a supreme state of peace have personal selfish desires? 

If a person experiences supreme contentment and absolute non-duality, he obviously cannot have any selfish desire. Why? Because every desire is for ‘that which I don’t have’;  is for attaining ‘the other’; there is a definite ‘I’ and a definite ‘other’.

An Enlightened person has attained a state where there is ‘no I’ & ‘no other’; everything is the same. How can he have a mind full of craving or selfish desires then? If he does, it’s not full Enlightenment then.

Isn’t Enlightenment very hard to reach for a simple person like me who is trapped in family and business? Isn’t it exclusive? 

No, it’s not exclusive. Enlightenment is a very ordinary state of mind in fact. You are already enlightened but you are not aware of it.

How do I become aware of my Enlightened state?

First lets practice being aware:

Step 1: Recognize that everything that is happening around is just a reflection of the state of feverishness of your own mind.

Step 2: Take your attention to your minds feverish state and recognize there is a ‘holding onto some thought’ in the mind. It might be a simple thought to understand these words or a major craving/aversion doesn’t matter. Hint – You will also experience a physical clenching sensation in your forehead. It is as if some mental fist is clenching the forehead muscles. If you are aware enough, you will feel it on the top of the head too.

Step 3: Willingly let go of that clench and smile and relax. Relax from the mental fist around your thought and the physical clench in the head.

Step 4: Notice that there is a moment of silence on release from the mental and physical clench.

Of course, the monkey mind starts again 🙂 but at least you recognize that you have the power to relax into a moment of silence between thoughts. Now strengthen your practice to just stay in that moment of silence by withdrawing from every mental feverishness.

Slowly, with practice, your moments of silence will expand into bigger periods of pure awareness. There is no ‘thought’ bothering you in that period of awareness. Gradually when you start relishing that silence of awareness, you will automatically be there more and more and more. You will automatically let go of ‘thoughts’ now. You will find the ‘key’ to your own happiness within. You will finally stop looking for that key outside 😉

Is that Enlightenment?

No. That is just a trailer/preview of the movie! [Picture abhi baki hai mere dost]

What is the full movie like?

The amount of your own personal practice of relaxing from every thought will strengthen your periods of inner silence [antar maun]. You can practice this in closed-eyed meditation or in open-eyed daily routine. It totally depends on the intensity and authenticity of your own personal practice how far you will go.

• • You will pass through several stages of inner voidness [shunyata] in your practice.
  • In lower stages of silence, you will experience inner silence while still being aware of the body.
  • In higher stages of silence, you will experience bodylessness & complete expansion of the mind.
  • Silence will also take you to the highest stage beyond the mind where there is no thought, no sensation, no logic, no experiencing even.
  • That will finally take you to the supreme state of silence where the mind completely shuts down [Amann – No Mind]. This state of supreme silence is a fully content state. There is no thought that can distract you from the soft silence within.

Buddha calls it ‘No-thingness’ because it is a state where there is nothing that distracts your peace. No-thing!

Krishna calls it ‘Fullness’ because, on account of ‘no thought’, there is ‘no craving’, there is ‘no aversion’; and on account of no craving, no aversion, there is full contentment.

One passes through all these states to reach the highest potential for mankind where there is no personal selfish desire left to ‘attain/achieve that which I do not have’. It is a state of full contentment and happiness.

Will I stop taking care of my family and business once I become aware of my true state?

No! Externally, nothing will change. But internally, your perspective of this world will undergo a complete transformation.

Before Enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water.

After Enlightenment, I chop wood and carry water.

The state of mind will have changed to the state of no-mind and there will be pure contentment in chopping wood and carrying water now. You will have found what you have been thirsting for all your life – PEACE! [SUKOON].

May you get there in this very lifetime!