AT THE FEET OF THE MASTER TEACHER FROM PUNA TFEET-02.TXT ****************************************************************************** NO ONE HAS SAID THAT MEDITATION SHOULD BE TAKEN AS FUN, BUT I SAY IT. MAKE IT PLAY. JUST LIKE SMALL CHILDREN, PLAY WITH IT. YOU TRY TO PROTECT YOUR NEUROSIS, YOUR MADNESS-BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE IDENTIFIED WITH. YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE THAT, YOU ARE NOT. UNTIL YOU "DIE" YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHO YOU ARE. UNTIL YOU "DIE" YOU WILL LEAD A DEAD LIFE. AND IF YOU ARE COURAGIOUS AND YOU CAN TAKE THE JUMP INTO "DEATH", SUDDENLY, FOR THE FIRST TIME, LIFE DAWNS UPON YOU. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT EXISTANCE IS, IT IS NEITHER IN "LIFE" NOR IN "DEATH". LIFE IS ONE EXTREME, DEATH IS ANOTHER EXTREME. IT IS JUST EXACTLY IN THE MITTLE WHERE NEITHER DEATH IS NOR LIFE IS, WHERE ONE IS SIMPLY UNBORN,DEATHLESS. IN THAT MOMENT OF BALANCE, EQUAILIBRIUM, GRACE DECENDS. DON'T TRY TO FORCE ANYTHING, LET LIFE BE A DEEP LET-GO. SEE GOD OPENING MILLIONS OF FLOWERS EVRY DAY WITHOUT FORCING THE BUDS. LET ME BE A WILD OCEAN ROARING IN FRONT OF YOU, OR A WIND PASSING THROUGH THE TREES, OR BIRDS SINGING IN THE MORNING. I AM NOT A PHILOSOPHER, I AM NOT IMPARTING KNOWLEDGE TO YOU. I AM TRYING TO POINT TO SOMETHING THAT IS BEYOND KNOWLEDGE. LOOK AT THE TREES, THE ANIMALS, LOOK AT THE SKY- THE WHOLE EXISTANCE IS PLAYFUL. YOU ARE VERY SERIOUS, SO IT IS NO WONDER YOU HAVE BECOME SEPARATE FROM THE EXISTANCE. I AM NEITHER FOR THE EAST NOR FOR THE WEST. I AM FOR A TOTAL WORLD, A WORLD THAT IS WHOLE. YOU CAN MISS A THOUSAND TIMES. I WILL CREATE SITUATIONS, A THOUSAND AND ONE TIMES. YOU WERE SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING THAT WAS NEVER LOST. MY WHOLE MESSAGE IS TO SEE THE TRUTH, TO SEE THE HELL THAT THE EGO CREATES IN THE NAME OF PERFECTION- AND LET IT DROP. "HELP ME," THE MAN DEMANDED OF THE RABBI. "I HAVE A WIFE AND TWELVE CHILDREN AND I CANNOT SUPPORT THEM. EVERY YEAR MY WIFE GIVES ME A NEW CHILD. WHAT SHOULD I DO ?" ""DO?" SCREAMED THE RABBI. ""HAVEN'T YOU DONE ENOUGH ?"" A MASTER IS NOT ONE WHO HAS ACHIEVED ANYTHING. A MASTER IS ONE WHO HAS FOUND OUT THAT THERE IS NOTHING TO ACHIEVE. BE ECSTATIC, JOYFUL, CELEBRATING, SINGING, DANCING. LET GOD BE ALLOWED TO BE PLAYFUL THROUGH YOU. LET PLAYFULNESS BE YOUR ONLY PRAYER. LET JOY BE YOUR ONLY WORSHIP. LOVE IS THE SECRET KEY; IT OPENS THE DOOR OF THE DIVINE. LAUGH, LOVE, BE ALIVE, DANCE, SING, BECOME A HOLLOW BAMBOO AND LET HIS SONG FLOW THROUGH YOU. SUFISM NEEDS NO POPES, NO PRIESTS, IT NEEDS NO DOGMAS. IT IS NOT OF THE HEAD: IT BELONGS TO THE HEART. TRUST LIFE, TRUST GOD, AND WHATSOEVER HAS BEEN GIVEN TO YOU, ENJOY IT. ENJOY IT SO DEEPLY AND WITH SUCH GRADTITUDE THAT EVERY ORDINARY THING BECOMES HALLOWED, BECOMES HOLY, EACH SMALL THING IN LIFE BECOMES SACRED. TRANSFORM EVERYTHING INTO A SACRED THING- THE PROFANE DISAPPEARS WHEN YOU BRING IN YOUR ENERGY OF LOVE, GRACE, GRADTITUDE. IF YOU WANT A SYNTHESIS YOU HAVE TO DROP ALL THE IMPRISONMENTS, YOU HAVE TO DROP OUT OF YOUR CAGES. THEY ARE VERY SUBTLE CAGES AND YOU HAVE DECORATED THEM FOR A LONG TIME. YOU CAN BE IN THE WORLD BECAUSE OF A CERTAIN ATTITUDE, AND THE SAME WORLD BECOMES NIRVANA, THE SAME WORLT BECOMES ABSOLUTE BLISS, JUST BY CHANGING THE ATTITUDE. GOD HAS LOVED YOU SO MUCH, THAT HE HAS CREATED THIS WORLD FOR YOU TO PLAY WITH, TO DANCE WITH. IT IS A CELEBRATION. NOTHING IS NEEDED; WE ARE IN A PLAY; GOD IS THE OTHER PARTNER- AND THIS WHOLE LOVE AFFAIR HAS CONTINUED FOREVER AND EVER. WE HAVE JUST FORGOTEN THE OBVIOUS. REMEMBER. THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH SADNESS, ANGER, HOPELESSNESS, ANXIETY, MISERY, IS THAT YOU WANT TO GET RID OF THEM. YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH THEM. YOU CAN NOT ESCAPE. THEY ARE THE VERY SITUATION IN WHICH LIFE HAS TO INTERGRATE AND GROW. HATE IS NOT THE ENEMY OF LOVE. IT IS THE VERY SALT THAT MAKES LOVE BEAUTIFUL. NOTHING THING IS WRONG IN BEING ANGRY, BECAUSE IT IS THROUGH ANGER THAT YOU COME TO A SILENT STILLNESS. JUST START FROM THIS VERY MOMENT TO LIVE AND ENJOY AND DELIGHT. DROP DESIRING. WHATEVER YOU ARE ENJOY IT. DELIGHT IN YOUR BEING. LIFE'S DOOR, LOVE'S DOOR, GOD'S DOOR- THEY ALL OPEN WHEN YOU ARE PLAYFUL. THEY ALL BECOME CLOSED WHEN YOU BECOME SERIOUS. CONSCIOUSNESS IS LIKE A LAKE : WITH WAVES IT BECOMES THE MIND, WITH OUT WAVES IT BECOMES THE SOUL. WHEN YOU ARE IN THE PRESENT WITHOUT THINKING, YOU ARE FOR THE FIRST TIME SPIRITUAL. A NEW DIMENTION OPENS-THAT DIMENTION IS AWARNESS. ONE WHO"REACHES" IS ONE WHO IS NOT TRYING TO ACHIEVE, HE IS SIMPLY BLISSFUL WHATSOEVER HE IS. TO BECOME FILLED WITH YOUR OWN PRESENCE WITH THE LIGHT OF YOUR OWN BEING, IS TO BECOME RELIGIOUS. REMEMBER, IT IS YOUR VIBRATION THAT NEEDS TRANSFORMATION. THE WORLD IS ALREADY, ALWAYS, VIBRATING IN ECSTASY; THE PROBLEM IS NOT WITH THE WORLD; IT IS IN YOU. YOUR ABSENSE IS THE PRESENCE OF THE DIVINE; YOUR PRESENCE IS THE ABSENCE OF THE DIVINE. SO REALLY THE QUESTION IS NOT HOW TO REACH GOD, THE QUESTION IS NOT HOW TO OBTAIN GOD: THE QUESTION IS HOW TO BE ABSENT. IF WHEN CARRYING WATER YOU SIMPLY CARRY WATER, IF YOU DON'T MAKE ANY PROBLEM OUT OF IT AND YOU SIMPLY CARRY WATER, IF YOUR MIND IS UNCLOUDED AND THE SKY VACANT, IF YOU ARE JUST CARRING WATER, THEN YOU ARE A BUDDHA. LET THE FEELING FLOW TO THE UNKNOWN. DON'T MOVE THROUGH KNOWLEDGE, MOVE THROUGH FEELING, AND THEN YOU WILL BE IN TUNE WITH GOD. AND A PERSON WHO REALLY WANTS TO KNOW THE HEIGHT HAS ALSO TO KNOW THE DEPTH, OTHERWISE HE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO KNOW. DEPTH IS THE OTHER PART OF HEIGHT. THE HIGHER THE PEAK OF THE MOUNTAIN, THE DEEPER THE VALLEY. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TREE, YOU HAVE TO KNOW THE ROOTS ALSO. THE TREE GOES UPWARD AND THE ROOTS GO DOWNWARD. AND THE TREE EXISTS BETWEEN THIS: THE UPWARD MOVEMENT AND THE DOWNWARD MOVEMENT. THIS IS THE TENSION THAT GIVES LIFE TO THE TREE. THIS IS THE ONLY SADNESS IN LIFE. YOU CAN FIND MANY EXCUSES, BUT THE REAL SADNESS IS THIS: YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE. IF YOU SURRENDER YOU WILL BE TRANSFORMED. IT IS NOT THAT I WILL TRANSFORM YOU; THE VERY SURRENDER BRINGS YOU TO THE POINT WHERE TRANSFORMATION HAPPENS. THE DEATH I AM TALKING ABOUT IS THE DEATH OF ECSTASY, THE DEATH WHEN YOU ARE SO HAPPY THAT YOU EXPLODE AND SIMPLY DISAPPEAR. MINDFULNESS IS BUDDHA'S WORD FOR MEDITATION. BY MINDFULNESS HE MEANS YOU SHOULD ALWAYS REMAIN ALERT, WATCHFUL. BUDDHA SAYS THAT MEDITATION CANNOT BE SEPARATE FROM LIFE; IT HAS TO BE ONE WITH LIFE. THAT WHICH BREATHES IN YOU BREATHES IN THE TREES, AND THAT WHICH SINGS IN YOU SINGS IN THE BIRDS, AND THAT WHICH DANCES IN YOU DANCES IN THE RIVERS, IN THE BROOKS, IN THE SPRINGS, AND THAT WHICH SPEAKS IN YOU SPEAKS IN THE BREEZE PASSING THROUGH THE TREES. HE IS THE TOTAL. DON'T BE ANGRY AT LIFE. IT IS NOT LIFE THAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU, IT IS YOU WHO ARE NOT LISTENING TO LIFE. BEFORE YOU CAN COME TO YOUR CENTER, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS THROUGH A VERY CHAOTIC STATE. THAT'S WHY THERE IS FEAR. NOBODY WANTS TO GO IN. IF YOU HAVE MISSED THE NATURAL FLOWING OF PRAYER, THEN TECHNIQUES ARE NEEDED. MEDITATION IS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PRAYER; IT IS SECOND TO PRAYER. IF YOU HAVE MISSED PRAYER, THEN MEDITATION IS NEEDED, BUT IF PRAYER HAS ARISEN IN YOU, THEN THERE IS NO NEED FOR ANY MEDITATION. PRAYER IS SPONTANEOUS MEDITATION; MEDITATION IS PRAYER WITH EFFORT. PRAYER WITH TECHNIQUE IS MEDITATION; MEDITATION WITHOUT TECHNIQUE IS PRAYER. WHAT AM I DOING HERE? I'M DRUNK WITH EXISTENCE - A DRUNKARD. AND I ALLOW YOU TO COME NEARER TO ME TO BE DRUNK WITH ME. A DISCIPLE MEANS ONE WHO IS READY TO RECEIVE - WHO HAS BECOME A WOMB SO THAT THE MASTER CAN PENETRATE INTO HIM. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A MASTER AND A DISCIPLE IS THE HIGHEST POSSIBILITY OF LOVE. IT IS TWO TOTALS COMING TOGETHER AND MERGING INTO EACH OTHER. BUDDHA REMAINS LIKE A MIRROR. IF YOU COME BEFORE THE MIRROR, THE MIRROR REFLECTS YOU. WHEN YOU HAVE MOVED, THE REFLECTION IS GONE AND THE MIRROR IS VACANT. CREATE A BALANCE. THE OUTER AND THE INNER ARE NOT OPPOSED. THEY ARE MOVEMENTS OF THE SAME ENERGY, TWO BANKS OF THE SAME RIVER, AND THE RIVER CANNOT FLOW WITH ONLY ONE BANK. LOVE SHOULD GIVE FREEDOM, LOVE IS FREEDOM. LOVE WILL MAKE THE BELOVED MORE AND MORE FREE, LOVE WILL GIVE WINGS, AND LOVE WILL OPEN THE VAST SKY - IT CANNOT BECOME A PRISON, AN ENCLOSURE. A GREAT SYNTHESIS IS NEEDED. THAT SYNTHESIS WILL NOT COME THROUGH MOVEMENTS, IT WILL COME ONLY THROUGH A FEW PEOPLE WHO ATTAIN TO THAT SYNTHESIS IN THEIR SOULS. ONE WHO HAS LEARNED THE SECRET OF HOW TO DIE MOMENT TO MOMENT HAS LEARNED THE SECRET OF HOW TO LIVE ETERNALLY, MIND LEADS YOU TO HELL, BUT MIND CAN ALSO LEAD YOU TO HEAVEN. RIGHT USE OF THE MIND BECOMES MEDITATION; WRONG USE OF THE MIND BECOMES MADNESS. IF EVEN FOR A SINGLE MOMENT THERE IS NO THOUGHT, YOU ARE THE INFINITE, BECAUSE WITHOUT THOUGHT THERE CAN BE NO BOUNDARIES; WITHOUT THOUGHT YOU DISAPPEAR AND THE DIVINE DESCENDS. THE MASTER IS A MURDERER PLUS A MIDWIFE. FIRST HE WILL KILL YOU AS YOU ARE AND ONLY THEN CAN THE NEW COME OUT OF YOU. OUT OF YOUR DEATH, THE RESURRECTION. ONCE YOU ARE IN A STATE OF NONMISERY, THE INNER BLISS STARTS FLOWING. BUT THAT DOESN'T COME FROM THE MIND - THAT COMES FROM YOUR INNER BEING. THAT WHICH IS GOING TO HAPPEN WILL HAPPEN. YOU NEED NOT FIGHT EXISTENCE. YOU CAN SURRENDER, YOU CAN TRUST. EXISTENCE HAS NO GOAL. IT IS PURE JOURNEY. THE JOURNEY IN ITSELF IS SO BEAUTIFUL: WHO BOTHERS FOR THE GOAL? THAT'S WHAT SANNYAS IS: YOU DECIDE THAT YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF KNOWLEDGE; NOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE IGNORANT AGAIN, YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A CHILD AGAIN, REBORN. I AM A MIDWIFE HERE. I CAN HELP YOU TO BECOME FOOLS. DEEP DOWN YOU ARE NOT INDIVIDUALS. WE BELONG TO EACH OTHER; WE ARE ROOTED IN ONE CONSCIOUSNESS. THE ONLY GIFT THAT I CAN PRESENT YOU IS FREEDOM. AND FREEDOM HAS NO WALLS TO IT, IT IS AS INFINITE AS THE SKY. CLAIM THE WHO SKY - IT IS YOURS. YOU ARE ALL BUDDHAS, HOW SO EVER FAST ASLEEP AND SNORING. LET ME BE YOUR ALARM. YOU HAVE SLEPT LONG ENOUGH. IT IS TIME TO AWAKEN. THE MORNING IS KNOCKING AT THE DOOR.