Whatever Has Sprung from the Five Elements Is Pure Ignorance
Maharaj: The knowledge "I am" is the same in all sentient crea-tures, whether it be an insect, a worm or a human being, or even an avatar, the highest kind of being. I do not consider this basic consciousness in one form as being different in any way from the consciousness in another form. ut in order to manifest itself, consciousness needs a base, a !articular construct in which it can a!!ear. That base can be anything, it may be any form, but the manifesta- tion can last only so long as that !articular form endures. "nd until that consciousness a!!ears, there cannot be knowledge of any kind. In sum, knowledge de!ends on consciousness, and consciousness needs a !hysical matri# or form. $ne must also consider the im!ortance of the word. The thought arises from the vital breath and e#!resses itself in the word. %ithout words, there could not be any communication in the world& in fact, there could not have been any activity, any "busy-ness" 'or business, for that matter(, at all. The world goes on because of the word and the name. )eo!le could not have been identified without name. *o the word and the name have great im!ortance. The !rinci!le of naming every !ossible "thing" has been carried forward to the e#tent that even +od had to be given a name. "nd that name, when re!eated, has a certain significance. "t an early stage of one,s s!iritual develo!ment, there is no method, no sadhana, more im!ortant or effective than re!eating the name of +od. -ow there e#ists no !articular reason for the coming about of this consciousness. *o there is no e#!lanation for how this seed, this consciousness or knowledge "I am," has arisen. ut once it is in e#istence, it cannot stand still.that is, consciousness is tantamount to "movement." "nd all movement takes !lace through the gunas,* which are inherent in the knowledge "I am." This consciousness kee!s on "humming".[Maharaj uses the Marathi ord gun- gun/. and e#!resses itself through the three gunas! These gunas act according to the form which has come about, and that form has resulted from a !articular food. ehavior and action result from the combinations and !ermutations of the three gunas! %hen !eo!le first come here, I always tell them that they come with the !ur!ose of showing off their knowledge or trying to draw me into an argument. *o I am aware of that, but I am even more strongly aware of the fact that such !eo!le have not got the slightest idea what they are talking about. I call it !ure ignorance. It is for this reason that I say, don,t ask any 0uestions, don,t even start discussing, until you have listened to the talk for a while and absorbed at least some of its contents. Then you can begin asking 0uestions. 1ow do I know that you are com!letely ignorant2 3rom my own e#!erience. "ny infant will take at least a year, a year and a 0uarter, or a year and a half, before he can even utter a word. That word may not have any meaning, but to do so, what has ha!!ened2 "gain I am using the word gun"gun, that which is going on internally wanting to come out.thoughts, odd words, whatever it may be. "nd it does come out. -ow, where did all that originate2 The three gunas.sattva '!urity, clarity, harmony(, rajas '!assion, energy, activity( and tamas 'inertia, resistance, darkness(.are the basic attributes or 0ualities that underlie and o!erate the world !rocess, according to 1indu teachings. 11. #nderstand $our %n Incarnation Maharaj: "t the moment you know that you e#ist& you are in the seed of the eingness, although ultimately even this very eingness is to be transcended. 4verything is enfolded in that seed, just like a whole oak tree is contained in an acorn. *imilarly, everything is contained in that consciousness: the whole world is there, and that body is also !resent. "I am" itself is the world& it contains the entire world. That should be your conviction. 5ust as in a dream, when you feel that you are awake, but actually you are not and your world at that time is the dream world. *imilarly, this 6nowingness 'in the waking state( contains this so-called real world& that conviction must come. The truth is that there is no difference between 'dream( consciousness and 'waking( consciousness, although they a!!ear to be greatly different& all consciousness is one. 7our consciousness itself gives rise to this world, which is a unified field, a unicity. ut, it may be objected, there is such an infinite variety of sha!es and colors in that world. 1ow can 8eality then be said to be "not-two," advaita& It is because all these differences e#ist only in your consciousness as a!!earances. The source is the same consciousness, but the manifestation e#hibits so much variety9 The conviction that this world never e#isted can ha!!en only to the para'rahman! If this is indeed your conviction, then you are the para'rahman! This thing aside, you should discover how this news "I am".the knowledge of your e#istence.a!!eared and at what moment. +o to the source of it and find out. y looking u! to others, to so-called "e#!erts," and following them, or arguing with them, you will not get anywhere. Thus, only you yourself can find out the truth about yourself. "7ou will come with me wherever I go." In saying that, I am referring to the vital force, prana! Make friends with prana and thereby you will be able to catch hold of that +od. The prana will hel! you to know +od. The mind is only a witness& your real friend is the prana, because it does everything. %aking, slee!ing, digesting food, all these activities are done by the vital force. (tman is only a witness& so give im!ortance to this vital force and worshi! it, and you will be able to know +od. In order to do any meditation, you should make friendshi! with the vital force& it is readily available without any effort. ecause of the prana, there is mind. "nd because of the mind, there are the )edas! *o ultimately, the source of this whole scri!ture is the vital force. That is why I give full homage to the vital force. %ithout it, what would be your value2 7our body would colla!se. $nly when the vital force is !resent do you know the world, the world has value, and +od has value. 7ou can know about +od and world only when the vital force is there. %ho knows the greatness of this prana& That itself is +od, )raneshwar. "s to the connection between mind and vital force, mind is the language of the vital force. %hen there is no vital force, there is also no mind. The words of prana signify mind. *o how could there be mind without vital force2 This vital force and the consciousness 'that is, the knowledge "I am" or the eingness and the mind( a!!ear simultaneously and always e#ist together. 6nowledge about the vital force is not generally available& it has not been recorded anywhere. *o this information might be new to you.