source is self

Where or how were you before being born? Were you in sleep? 

How were you? 

You exist then too without the body. 

Then the ego arises, and 

then the mind which projects the body. ‘I-am-the-body’ idea is the result. 

Because the body exists you say that it was born and that it will die, and transfer the idea to the Self saying that you are born and that you will die. 

In fact you remain without the body in sleep; but now you remain with the body. 

THE SELF CAN REMAIN WITHOUT THE BODY, BUT THE BODY CANNOT EXIST APART FROM THE SELF.

‘I-am-the-body’ thought is ignorance; that the body is not apart from the Self is knowledge. That is the difference between knowledge and ignorance.

The body is a mental projection, 

the mind is the ego; and 

the ego rises from the Self. 

So the body-thought is distracting and strays away from the Self. 

For whom is the body or the birth? 

It is not for the Self, the Spirit. 

It is for the non-self which imagines itself separate. 

So long as there is the sense of separation there will be afflicting thoughts. If the original source is regained and the sense 

of separation is put an end to, there is peace.

Consider what happens when a stone is thrown up. It leaves its source and is projected up, tries to come down and is always in motion until it regains its source, where it is at rest. So also the waters of the ocean evaporate, form clouds which are moved by winds, condense into water, fall as rain and the waters roll down the hill in streams and rivers, until they reach their original source, the ocean, reaching which they are at peace. 

Thus, you see, 

wherever there is a sense of separateness from the source there is agitation and movement until the sense of separateness 

is lost. 

So it is with yourself. 

Now that you identify yourself with the body you think that you are separate from the Spirit - the true Self. 

You must regain your source before the false identity ceases and you are happy.

Gold is not an ornament, but the ornament is nothing but gold. 

Whatever shape the ornament may assume and however different the ornaments are, there is only one reality, namely gold. 

So also with the bodies and the Self. 

The single reality is the Self. 

To identify oneself with the body and yet to seek happiness is like attempting to cross a river on the back of an alligator. The body identity is due to extroversion and the wandering of the mind. To continue in that state will only keep one in an endless tangle and there will be no peace. 

SEEK YOUR SOURCE, MERGE IN THE SELF AND REMAIN ALL ALONE.

- Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi. 

Excerpt from Talk 396.

happiness

अहोभाव 

We ask for happiness but what we get is unhappiness. We all put our efforts into trying to be happy but we make a fundamental mistake: happiness is not related to the effort, happiness is related to not asking for  it…

 

“Experiment with this a little. During these days that you are here with me, don’t nourish any desire for happiness, and then see how your heart becomes filled with happiness. Don’t have any desire for peace, and see how the turmoil within you vanishes. Don’t beg for contentment and see how contentment showers down on you. Please try this – only then will you understand.

 

“This is the deepest experiment of life. And whatever has been discovered in regard to life, this is the most significant finding of all: don’t ask for happiness if you want to be happy, don’t ask for peace if you want to be peaceful. Whatever you ask for will be lost. Whatever you do not ask for you will get. You have asked many times and seen that you do not receive it. Now try not asking and see. There is no need to believe me; there is a need to experiment.”

 

Osho

The Voice of Silence

silence

BEING STILL  

D.: Cannot samsara be got rid of by any means other than making the mind still?

M.: Absolutely by no other means; neither the Vedas, nor the shastras nor austerities, nor karma, nor vows, nor gifts, nor recital of scriptures of mystic formulae (mantras), nor worship, nor anything else, can undo the samsara. Only stillness of mind can accomplish the end and nothing else.

D.: The scriptures declare that only Knowledge can do it. How then do you say that stillness of the mind puts an end to samsara?

M.: What is variously described as Knowledge, Liberation, etc., in the scriptures, is but stillness of mind.

D.: Has any one said so before?

M.: Sri Vasishta had said: When by practice the mind stands still, all illusions of samsara disappear, root and branch. Just as when the ocean of milk was churned for its nectar, it was all rough, but became still and clear after the churn (viz., mount Mandara) was taken out, so also the mind becoming still, the samsara falls to eternal rest.

Source: ADVAITA BODHA DEEPIKA Book

4. Is the state of ‘being still’ a state involving effort or effortless?

It is not an effortless state of indolence. All mundane activities which are ordinarily called effort are performed with the aid of a portion of the mind and with frequent breaks. But the act of communion with the Self (atma vyavahara) or remaining still inwardly is perfect effort, which is performed with the entire mind and without break.

Maya (delusion or ignorance) which cannot be destroyed by any other act is completely destroyed by this perfect effort, which is called ‘silence’ (mouna).

Spiritual Instruction, revised form by David Godman, chapter 2

power

“The power of the lord of the universe is breathing through you. You must find him or move on. When you find him, you will find the rest against your restlessness, a peace everlasting, an incomparable joy...”Mooji