One day the mind will come back under your control

London 28th June 2008: Q&A – Part One

"You see the mind’s Ultimate Truth is recognized as God; the same thing that I was mentioning earlier as the Self. So, if the mind becomes totally concentrated, giving up all its imaginations and thought processes, then automatically it goes introverted."

Question:

Pranam Babaji. You mentioned that instead of going through lot of scriptures and these things, if you go and concentrate on direct experience that will take you further. And you’ve had the direct experience, I know. Like You saw Lord Shiva. Can you just throw some light on this; how to achieve that? And about your experience also?

Babaji:

You see the mind’s Ultimate Truth is recognized as God; the same thing that I was mentioning earlier as the Self. So, if the mind becomes totally concentrated, giving up all its imaginations and thought processes, then automatically it goes introverted. That is when you get a chance to become aware of yourself and experience. In this process, if you have a resolution in the beginning of a particular form of God - like Lord Shiva you were mentioning that we had the vision, maybe due to our own previous resolution. Before the Nirvikalpa Samadhi occurs, a manifestation can happen. So that’s how the Divine appeared. If the mind becomes quiet, that is the real worship of God.

If you have imagined any particular form, the same form shall appear and guide you to go into actual Nirvikalpa Samadhi, so that may also disappear. Because ultimately the appearance of the Divine manifestation is itself not the goal; that is not the Ultimate. Ultimate is when the mind merges with the Self and becomes aware of the Self, that is, Self Realization happens. So that is how we experience and you can achieve the things.

Question:

Babaji, I would like to ask you what your highest values are?

Babaji:

Highest?

Question (same questioner):

The highest values in your life, for you.

Babaji:

For Me, after having achieved the awareness, My mind is always in attention to the Self, it doesn’t go into craving and stress. However we feel compassionate and feel like helping the world and share the experiences that we had so that we can inspire people to go, take up the spiritual path and achieve the things themselves - that Supreme Peace that I have achieved - so that you all also can achieve. So this is the highest value for me: to be helpful to others in this world.  

Questioner:

Could you please explain a bit more about focusing in-between the eyebrows?

Babaji:

Yes. Because eyeballs, both eyeballs need to come here (at the center). It normally moves parallelly, doesn’t come into one direction easily. That’s why in the beginning you might find it a bit difficult. However if you are determined, steadily just keep watching the front portion when you close the eyes without bothering to think whether it is darkness or light or any vision or nothing. Because every thought is an imagination of the mind. When the mind is capable of concentrating then it becomes quiet also, then what remains is the Pure Consciousness of Existence. Slowly that’s how you become aware of your Self.

So first, your job is achieving the concentration. So here without any mantra, using the eyes vision, which is one of the most strongest sensory organs, you just watch the front portion and through that the mind is also brought into concentration. Like when you open the eyes also, if you strongly keep watching me your mind also will have to be here. If the mind runs away then you lose that concentration of the vision, the focus. So these are some of the points.

So gradually and slowly if you practice you will be able to achieve. First day it could be awful, but if you are determined it will eventually succeed. Everything in this world when you do not know the technology, when you have not practiced, even preparing bread also could be so awful in the kitchen until you don’t learn. Suddenly if twenty people come to you and you don’t know how to cook, so it will be like that. But slowly, slowly if you practice; having positive thinking always would be helpful, reassure yourself that you can do it. Like, though it is very difficult it is not impossible; you can achieve, you can practice. And try to keep watching. You will be trying to watch, the mind runs and slips away, the vision also slips, so again you try to watch and it slips. It’s like a final battle for the human to win over your own mind. But the more that you become determined, one day the mind will come back under your control.

Question (same questioner):

Is this a different technique to watching the breath?

Babaji:

Slightly this is a different technique. Because here flow of breath happens mechanically on its own, you shall not watch the breath. Because your eyes vision is here, you won’t be concentrating on the breath. It is just like a skilful driver concentrates on the road: all the application of brakes, acceleration, gear, everything happens automatically by practice mechanically. In the same way the breath has to happen mechanically.

However we try to teach a couple of breathing exercises that I told you today. You can do it before meditation so that the mind feels better relaxed and will be able to concentrate better in the meditation.

Question:

Pranams Swamiji. Can you please enlighten us on the karma theory and how important it is in ones life?

Babaji:

See, when you live in a body this body is always into actions, it has to be acting upon it, it cannot keep quiet. So that is recognized as a karma, and when the mind absorbs the imprints of all the karma, that is the samskaram – acquired habits of the mind. So like, your mind recognizes a particular object and makes an analyzation, makes a judgment. In this process it absorbs imprints. So whenever you are working also, in every work also your mind gets involved. While getting involved it judges, analyzes and absorbs imprints. This is what becomes a karma of a person, because when death happens to the body the brain dies, stops functioning, all its reflections stop. But the mind itself has not been cleansed; it has acquired habits. Based on the intensity of thought process your next incarnation, next life happens.

You see the drishya, that is called the seen, and you become the seer. That is how, unknown to you, you shape your destiny. Whatever you think you become. You see another clue is, in this world also, this world would appear to you based on your attitude, your mental thought processes, like, ‘One man’s food is another man’s poison’. It is the thinking process of the mind. So that is how the karmas are acquired through which you keep on again and again being born and die, born and die. 

So this type of sadhanas like meditation and all other things are taught so that gradually you can wash your mind and cleanse it, so that it can give up all these acquired habits. So then the Liberation is recommended that you become one with your Real Self. The mind going back to the Self like the droplet of the Ocean going back to the Ocean. So thus you shall achieve that Enlightenment and Liberation. So then you can get rid of all the dualities of happiness and unhappiness. This world has both the things; one is important because of the other. If you have happiness of this world, unhappiness also definitely follows; if you have the right thing there is a wrong thing; if you have the good there is also bad. So the idea is to rise above both the levels and become one with the Divinity that is Ultimate Truth. That is the recommended goal.

Question:

I share the flat, my place with another one, so today before meditation we exercised and in the pranayama made sounds like Om, Om, so sometimes it is difficult to do such things in the home, for example in the morning…

Babaji:

It’s OK; if you don’t want to make any sound also it’s OK. Simply you can breathe out through the mouth. It is just a chant that is taught. Whatever is convenient, suitable for you, you can do, the idea is to breathe in and breathe out slowly to calm the mind.

Question (same questioner):

Thank you. And can I use any particular mudra during the meditation?

Babaji:

To sit into meditation? Generally the leg position can be anyway that is comfortable for you - my Master tried to keep it liberal. So you can sit on a chair, on the ground, anywhere is alright as you are, as it is convenient. Just keep the back and neck straight, that is one thing. Several mudras are taught, like if you press each of the fingers from the thumbs, two or one, at a time, these would be helpful, especially for the nervous system and the blood circulation. It acts like the acupressure.

Question (same questioner):

And one more question: can I use any flower essences, vibrational medicine, flower essences?

Babaji:

To do the meditation?

Question (same questioner):

Before meditation.

Babaji:

I don’t know. It has to be harmless medicine. It should not be intoxicating in any way. That is important. Because when you sit for meditation brain needs to be alert, it should not become intoxicated or go to sleep. Sometimes, some people misunderstand intoxicating the brain. Some medicines have that quality which intoxicates the brain. They start thinking that they are going into deeper meditation. So you have to take care about this because I don’t know what medicine that you are mentioning, you have to be careful. Better to avoid any such medicines. If for a physical health you are taking any such herbal medicine that is a different thing under the advice of a medical expert. That, you can do. So you understand my point what I’m trying to convey?

Questioner:

Yes.

Babaji:

That is important. So when you sit for meditation you should be fresh and rejuvenated. You should have taken sufficient rest; the brain also should be alert. It should not go into sleepy or unconscious state, then the mind also becomes unconscious for a while. Like when you go to sleep, brain goes into unconscious sleep then mind has nothing to catch of the reflections of the brain. Temporarily it gets kicked off but it itself does not get cleansed. Only when the brain is alert that you can cleanse the mind by constantly making it watch itself. So that is very important.