You are free: Right now!

(Unedited from the pages of the TTC notebook, capitalizations, aside notes and all, 1997, Bangalore Ashram, India)

Ashtavakra 5

Your mind is a photographic sheet, taking pictures of events. But events are not there.

Swim backwards in the current. When you swim in the direction of the water, you go faster. When you swim backwards, however, is when you realise the force of "happening". Could you hold on to anything? Couldn't this be a dream? Events move but they give an impression of being permanent.

Where is this Universe? This life? What are you hanging on to?

Note on the side: Experience: When a particular relationship ended, I was devastated. I was trying to hold on to the feeling of being loved. Now, when I look back, the feverishness has passed, so has the need. It's now just an event which is past.

You are unable to perceive things right now when you are thinking about the past and future. Everyone will see different things in the same room because the mind is full of past pictures. THE WORLD IS IN YOUR MEMORY.

The mind has become like a film that has been exposed multiple times, so it does not mean anything anymore. The film is stuck, but you are exposing it over and over again. WAKE UP, IT'S FINISHED, IT'S NOT RIGHT NOW.

Rajju Sarpavat: (A rope looks like a snake) The very events that look like botherations, become a game, temporary, non-existent.
Observe your reactions when buttons are pushed.

Every event can become a play of celebration. Walk, play, eat blissfully, knoeing all these events are temporary. Observe your sensations and they change, flip over.

Deep inside, a sensation that causes pain flips over and causes immense joy when observed. You ARE free RIGHT NOW! Wake up and see your infinite Self. You are the witness of events. Even impressions do not stay too long. You are complete right now. By knowledge, we only remove ignorance. It's a game where the one who loses wins everything.

Baudhdha bhikhkhoos: (Buddhist Monks) You are total, you are full, you have everything you need. I am, that is what you are.

Everything will come to you, just let go. Sadhana is a process of opening the fist. There is no two, everyone is your own reflection.

You can ave preferences. You are born free, you are not doing ANYTHING. Actions happen according to the body and it's nature. In the body-mind complex, actions are built in. You are, in fact, untouched, removed - peaceful. YOU ARE PEACE.

You realise this when you drop your superimpositions and let go. "I am the living consciousness in this body". Right now, cut the past. Move through life like a white cloud through nature, untouched.

Stick on to this nature of yours to be "right". "Niranjan" (the unstained one) does not stick to anything. Untouched, unstained. You are impossible to stain. There is no power on earth that can pull you down.

You are not the body, you are a glow, the consciousness, energy. Your inertia disappears. YOU ARE PURE.

Richard who? Ashtavakra what?

So who is Richard Bach? What is the Ashtavakra Gita? And why, in the name of all that's spiritual, would someone mention these names together? I was 17 when I read "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah". If you haven't read it already, I recommend you do so. It's a small 144 page book, but it sets you thinking. Richard Bach is a retired Air Force pilot well known for his books that are semi-autobiographical, one of the better known ones being "Jonathan Livingstone Seagull". He writes beautifully, never preaching, writing simple stories that make you think, and then think some more. For those who like love stories, try "A Bridge Across Forever". This is the first book of his that I read, too.
And what is the Ashtavakra Gita? Ready for a story?
There was this King in ancient India, a rich, wise king, who knew no lack whatsoever, his name was King Janaka. One day, as he sat in his court surrounded by his courtiers, in the midst of pomp and grandeur, he dozed off. And as he slept, he had a dream.
He dreamt that he had lost everything, and was very very hungry. Unable to contain his hunger, he went begging for food, and received from a householder one piece of dry bread. He went to a private place to eat, so he would not have to share with anyone, and just as he was about to take the first bite, a crow came and took the bread from his hand.
"Ah" he cried, in disappointment and frustration, and the cry woke him up, and he was back in his court. The dream and the feeling of disappointment were so real that it set him thinking. What if that was reality, and the grandeur was the dream? How do we know what's really happening, and what is an illusion? (There, see the connection?) He thought more and more about it, and then invited the great sage Ashtavakra (known as such because he was deformed in eight places) to come to the palace and preach to him about life and it's various nuances. This knowledge, given to the King in the luxury of his own palace by the sage, is known as the Ashtavakra Gita. It's extremely powerful knowledge that's better absorbed in the presence of a Master.
I am lucky to have a living Guru, his name is Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The Founder of the Art of Living Foundation, he is a joy to know, and has the knack of making even the most complicated things extremely easy to understand. There's a saying in Sanskrit, "Rishinaam Yatachittanaam Vaachamarthanu Dhavate". It means that when a wise man speaks, you don't just hear it, you experience it. If you hear Sri Sri speak, you'll know exactly what that phrase means.
In "One", Richard Bach speaks of coming face to face with a younger "him". I had a similar experience recently. During the Art Of Living Teachers' Training Program, we used to watch Ashtavakra Gita videos, and later write down whatever we felt about it in a little notebook. This was 13 years back, and the notebook had disappeared among my piles and piles of books.
On a recent trip to Kolkata, I was throwing things away with gusto to make space for more things, and the little blue notebook smiled up at me. I opened it and bingo! I met "me", 13 years back. It is interesting to see what a 25 year old thought of centuries old knowledge, presented smilingly to her by a man she considered best friend, big brother and dad all rolled into one.
The next blog will be an unedited page from the notebook, written 13 years back.
Tell me what you think, did I like meeting the "younger me"?

Friends of Fusion

I went to watch my cousin play today, his band is called Friends of Fusion. I was listening and clapping and cheering and suddenly my eyes went to my left hand. I had eight silver bangles there, very trendy, the kind you would wear to dress up a pair of jeans, and to the red thread tied on my hand just beneath it, a reminder of the Durga Puja, the 5 day worship of the Mother Divine, as traditional in Bengal.

We all HAVE to be friends of fusion these days, in a world which is truly flat, else we get cornered.. or worse, left behind.

One has to be able to balance, to combine and to arrive at the perfect mix that's just right for themselves and the world they live in, for what is this world but your perception of your surroundings?

Look at it this way. We are privileged to even have the ingredients to create a fusion. How can you combine or imbibe something you have never experienced?

When I entered the corporate world after staying away for 9 years, my spirituality played a big role in creating the credibility and reputation I enjoy today. When I indulge in any activity for spirituality, my corporate stint steps in when something needs to be done. There's no place in a the world where a cleanly defined process does not help. Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control... think.. could this not be applied to a process (there goes the word again) of self-realization?

Meditating by oneself is one thing, but let's say you want to spread this knowledge. What do you do then? Do you need a stamp of approval saying you can do it? Do you need someone to guide you the first few times? Where can you do it? What do you need? Who should be your target audience?

The goal of spirituality is to go from effort to the effortless. Spend a little energy is planning once, and the rest of the journey can be effortless. This is the same reason why some managers meet deadlines and run majorly motivated teams in the same organisation that has teams of people who are always cribbing and playing the blame game and comin up with excuses why they could not deliver.

It's the same differentiator between a frustrated yogi and and a contented seeker, the vision and mission are firmly in place. The goal is clear, and also the mood of the journey.

We all ask the same question, "What are we here for?"

The answer can be anything, that's the beauty of it.

How you answer that question shapes your world, and the experiences you will have in it.

For example, I say, "I'm here to make money for the company, and make sure my contribution gets noticed, so people appreciate my presence. I also want to make this company a great place to be in for those who work with me, because a happy environment makes me happier as a person."

The results I will get will be very different from someone who says, "I am here to somehow pass my 9 hours a day, and hope no one will get any privileges that I do not."

This brings me back to something I have always told people I am close to.

Focus on yourself and what YOU want. The moment you succeed in making yourself happy, you will notice that everyone around you is suddenly happier. Now don't start saying "Oh are you saying it's ok to hurt others?" Tell me honestly, are you ever REALLY happy when you put someone else down or insult someone? You will feel anger or guilt, happiness is really not the word to describe such moments.

So this world actually, is just your perception of it, whether you are a Seeker or a sucker. A person may be perceived as many different things by many people, however how I perceive him does not change who he is. What my perception changes is merely how I react to him, and what role he plays in my life.

You have a friend who always listens to your every whim, to you he may appear an angel or a wimp, the difference again, is your perception.

I have a certain number of people who make it very obvious that they are thrilled to be in my company, I applaud their good taste, and treat them with utmost respect, anyone who considers me worthy of love is truly wise.

One of my team members though, feels everyone who pursues her must be an idiot, and treats them like dirt.

Who do you think has more REAL friends in their life? Who do you think never needs to worry about being friendless in this world? What do you think it says about a person, if they think anyone who appreciates them lacks intelligence?

Fusion, again. You can't accept every proposal, but you can be warm and genuinely caring about every life you interact with. (And even some non-life. I love my gadgets!) You can't sing bhajans in office, but you can offer support and lead by example, smiling through REAL trouble.

The Satyam fiasco was devastating, my team smiled through it all, and the only time that we all grew quiet was when we knew we were all leaving Hyderabad and had no clue when we would meet again. Yet, a situation which could have torn us apart only served to bring us closer, we CHOSE to face it together, and suddenly colleagues became family. There was only one person in the team who thought and acted only for himself, and assuredly, the world he lived in from January to July 2009 was a very different one from the rest of us, in the same building, the same floor, breathing the same air. I don't think I need to tell you, his is the only number none of the rest saved when they left town.

Our perceptions lead to the choices we make. Our choices make us who we are. Who we are decides what our world will be like.