The Spiritual Process

Very often I get this question of: “What are your teachings?“ and this question in itself is quite revealing from the standpoint of the seeker. ”What are your teachings?” So he wants to know if what is going to be said, if anything what is going to be said, will be in tune with his believes, or not. Yes, and then it’s quite understandable because in a way because this is what Satsang has become. – a lecture of whatever. “What are your teachings?” But the importance is always about the seeker, the seeker. So this question “what are your teachings?” implies a lot of things: An attitude, first, first of all a wrong attitude and the complete lack of understanding about what happens, what is to be in a presence of a Master, what it means.

And this is not a problem, because ignorance, he cannot be blamed for ignorance. But Arrogance in the presence of ignorance, well THAT is a problem. That is a problem, you see? Because are you really sure that your process as a seeker of Truth, the quest for Truth can be resumed, summarised in the handset of teachings? And if you get a correct teaching, you just.. You see, what can be given even if it is supposed to be absolute Truth, for the seeker as he is a seeker, there is only a relative Truth, and what is Truth now, stops being Truth later, you see?. So, what seems to be an effort now, will be seen as effortless later. It is about your understanding, not about the thing itself. As this is an undressing, an emptying of yourself, teachings have to come in a way to help you, to assist you to break these hard, these harden believes, not in the way to increase them, to strengthen them. So the lowest teaching, the highest teaching, it doesn’t matter because there is no such thing, you see. In relative terms higher and lower even are the same, even in relative terms. You just change your perspective and you’ll see. This is just about YOUR beliefs.

And as you come to a Master, he will help you to break these beliefs, he will start breaking them. And you will not like it. You won’t like it because mind is programmed for survival, body is programmed for survival. And this seems anti-nature, unnatural. So you won’t like it. The question is, if you are a seeker of Truth, surrender will be there in your Heart and there will be a struggle while one part wants to run away, the other is giving itself for sacrifice, you see? But if you’re moving in the same way as you were before, not as a seeker of Truth but as a seeker of well-being, then you will go for the things that you believe, that can strengthen your beliefs and you will just give the suitable excuses to continue this. And whatever you want to justify, you will justify. And you will use the available logic for this. And in the absence of logic you will just continue to justify it, even without any logic behind. And logic is very relative, yes, we have spoken about it before. So teachers of systems, who teach philosophies, who give a handset of teachings, this is interesting, yes, but this is not full of life.

You see, as a seeker of Truth you are unique, your needs are unique, and there is no system that can be applied. Teachings will come in this moment to uproot, to break the present beliefs that structure your world of illusion. This is why they will come. To uproot. They are not absolute, they are relative. And as these beliefs are broken, then they will become useless. You will not build a perfect system that will reveal anything. There is no Truth for you to go to, nowhere for you to go to. You see? Illusion breaks, disappears. This is what reveals Truth, it’s the disappearance of illusion. So the teachings come as a way to break your beliefs, to destroy your world of illusion. And this world is so dear to you that you will struggle against it with all your strength, you will justify the struggle with anything possible. If you have nothing to justify it, you will continue to justify it. It is human nature. So the most difficult thing is to become a seeker of Truth and to continue to be a seeker of Truth because in each moment you’re being tested as a seeker. And as you remain your will to continue to be a seeker of Truth, not a seeker of well-being, no matter what, then these openings come. As you go back again to safety, to safe grounds, known grounds, then it stops, the fire stops. As this attitude is there, then there is no point in going to the Master, because you are the Master. The ignorant one is the Master. So you ask Black or White? The Master says White. And you go: “mm white..is it white or black?, ok, I will go with his choice.. white it is then!” No, it isn’t. You’re not going with what he said, what the Master said.

You’re going with what you chose to accept as right. So it will be meaningless. You may have taken the same thing that the Master have said, but you stood in the middle of it. You didn’t give yourself immediately to what the Master had said. And as long as you are mediating, it is you, and this pseudo-identity, this is the biggest obstacle. The maintenance of ignorance. You see and this pseudo-identity, it is well, apparently, a super identity, because it has super powers. (laugh) Super powers is good. It can come with VERY sophisticated theories, very sophisticated theories that can convince anyone, the whole world even. But still dryness. So as long as you are mediating and the Master will test this by any means possible. As long as you are mediating the relationship, the guidance, there’s no way you can go. Because that which is agreeing in this moment, when things become difficult, when tests increase their intensity, and they will, if you are in the real process, if the process is still alive, and the same that has agreed, will disagree and run away, run away from it. You see? Each one of you that come through the door of Satsang, has a specific need, a specific need, and I guarantee you that systems they help in the beginning but they have no life of their own.

And if you are a seeker of Truth or a good project of a seeker of Truth, you will eventually discover this life and then you will start following it. And in this following it the teachings that will come to you or if you go to a Master), not a teacher of systems but a knower of Truth), he will help you all the way. But this help sometimes you won’t see as help at most times, especially in the beginning when this trust is being built. And you are testing the Master, but what you don’t seem to know is that the Master is testing you, all along. Always, always. And you can come with these new ideas that if these tests are, so it is not a Master, because he is not accepting all and this and that. Grow up, get over it, look around, this is how it is. And this is not about rejecting or accepting. There’s no point in plucking the food from the tree while it’s not ripe. It will get rotten. And so it’s with seekers. They have a time, a moment.

No point in plucking them before it is the time. So this has to be tested and if you need a little bit more time, you will have to have it. There’s no point in jumping. So in relative terms, yes, there is this selection. In absolute terms there is no selection at all. And this is for your own good, you don’t have to understand it. From the standpoint of the seeker of Truth it is not about understanding, it is about surrendering. Surrendering… And time will do this, Time will do this. To those who believe there is Time, to those who believe there is no Time. Time takes care. The emptiness, the dryness, the frustration. It doesn’t matter how many years you can fill your chest, put it out and say: “This is the Truth and I will follow this!” Time will take care. The absence of REAL significant fruits will take care.. No one is left behind. No one is left behind. And for these seekers, you see, frustration , this waiting, is the only thing that can be received. But it is a blessing! The last resort, the last blessing. But still a blessing. If it can create this needed openness, then it is a blessing. So next time you go to a Master, make sure you go with the correct attitude. If it is not for you, your Heart will tell you. Even if you go through million make-belief Masters and they are all bad, you don’t need to lose the seeker of Truth in you. Because once you lose the seeker of Truth, you cannot find anything. Because you have no way of receiving it. So always, always, go with the correct attitude and if you have to open your mouth to ask a question, ask a real question, heart-felt question, important in your privacy, in your process, the things you are going through. Because a real Master will ONLY answer to these questions. Other questions are unimportant, they just aggregate knowledge. And it’s not about the question itself, but the motivations behind the question, the attitude of the seeker relating to this subject of his own Freedom, it’s a lot of things that are not being seen but are there. So if you come for Satsang for example here, I am seeing you and immediately I will help you in the way that it is possible.

And I will guarantee you that most of time it will not seem help, it will be difficult, if the attitude, the correct attitude is not there. It is difficult because it’s a process of regaining this right attitude or maintaining the old attitude. Once the attitude, correct one is there, then the things become more simple. If you’re looking for systems, for knowledge, then these question “what are your teachings?”, this is still good. But if you’re looking for Truth, this is useless. And as this repeat so many times.. There was once a question that was made in quite an upset way: If I have anything against seekers? (Laugh) Well, it may seem sometimes, but no, not at all… Seekers of Truth are the most sacred thing in this world. The rest is the rest. It is in a process, in a waiting. But in any time there is the possibility of giving up these pretensions, these false identities and to become a seeker of Truth, at any time. And when this happens, wow!… It is amazing…….. If you’re a seeker of Truth, guidance will come to help you to release yourself from YOUR world of illusion. Your world of beliefs. This sometimes will seem unnatural, especially in the beginning… If you’re still piling up knowledge, living by knowledge, it hasn’t even started yet. And it doesn’t matter how many years have passed. Even if you have meditated for forty years, it doesn’t make a difference. Without the right motivations, right attitude, the right Guidance will not be there. Not because it is a prize, but because you cannot take it. You will not be able to take it. It will be an aggression even. So I invite you to think, to examine and to Open and to open… Or continue as you were….

~ Sriman Narayana