The issue of effort

You know that in these meetings we are not dealing with you about spirituality. These talks are not based on Advaita Vedanta or any other religious or philosophical tradition. So, we are not dealing here with you about some kind of system, religious belief or some kind of philosophy. These terms do not apply to this talk.

What You are has nothing to do with philosophy, system, method of belief, this or that form of concept. It is none of these things! So, we cannot approach What You are through some of these expedients. In these meetings, what we deal with is something beyond mind and thus beyond words. You will not find anything about the Truth of Yourself in some system, practice, scripture or book.

You can provide yourself with an arsenal of beliefs, arm yourself and get a lot of ammunition in philosophy, in methods of analysis, self-analysis, but even so you will still be distant from the Truth about your Self. You will remain blind! To remain blind means accepting that something outside could give you the vision of What You are, because this is only a belief, that is, it has in its own base the illusion. The point is that all beliefs are false! So, here we put aside all concepts, all theories, all kind of knowledge and all beliefs.

The Truth You Are cannot be explained, analyzed or achieved by any of this. Why? Because, basically, You are what you are looking for, but you are doing this by going outside. There is nothing to be found, nothing to be gained and accomplished! You need to realize this! Otherwise, the mind will keep on looking for and, naturally, moving away from the simplicity of this encounter that happens when you look inside yourself.

If you have sincerity and intensity – true honesty and intensity of yearning – to really investigate the Truth about Yourself, so the search, this movement of search and external study of scriptures, books and all sort of knowledge, will have to stop. This sincere intention or this honest yearning to Realize the Truth, Being, God or What You are, is something that requires all this search to stop. This way, we initiate something entirely new, which I have been calling “Meditation.” This is the real way you can approach your Natural State of non-separation, non-duality. You may call this Advaita or Non-Dual State, but this does not matter at all.

Another interesting aspect here is that some say no effort is needed, all effort is only illusion, and others say that effort is definitely important, something required. My vision of this is that both sides are correct, and I have already been talking to you about this. A dedicated, diligent and endeavored approach is fundamental! On the other hand, it is essential surrender and a profound certainty that This cannot be achieved by any “doing,” by the simple will nor personal dedication. It is evident this apparent “me” cannot obtain This through effort, but it is also and very evident that if there is not a dedicated intention to investigate the movement of this “me,” nothing will be possible.

So, effort cannot give you This, because This is already present! That is why it is an illusion to believe through effort you could achieve This. However, you also remain in illusion when you believe that despite not making any movement towards this direction of self-investigation, This is going to reveal itself, only based on the idea This is already present. It is not how it happens! This is present as the Unique Reality, but to become aware of this requires an intention, the fervent dedication in this direction.

Once again, we face something that seems paradoxical. So, let us review this: What is present cannot be achieved, accomplished or obtained by effort, because it is already present; but That, which is present, will not be able to be realized without application, dedication or effort. It will remain invisible, “nonexistent.” Therefore, this idea of “me” is a very convincing idea to simply disappear through the intellectual non-acceptance that it is not real. This is just another kind of belief.

So, initially there is the idea of an “I” that is suffering and needs to attain Liberation or the end of suffering. However, this Liberation is not something we do not have or we are not now. It is not something we will achieve or become. So, here we are facing a paradox. You are not going to become Liberated, Realized, or Enlightened! You are not a separate identity that is going to unite with the Whole and stop being separate. The Truth is You are already Free here and now, but this is the Truth that You are. It is not the “truth” the mind knows. All the mind knows is what You are not, the illusion of the sense of a “me” as a separate entity.

Your True Nature is not something you are going to achieve, but the illusion of the Truth about Yourself may be discarded through this self-investigation, and this requires a good quantity of energy. So, this character that seems so true, is just so in its dream of existing, by living its own and special sense of separation, telling stories.

Therefore, the clear and complete recognition of this illusion through this self-investigation, which is the real effort, makes possible the Vision of the Truth there is no one in it, there is no “someone” there. The Truth about Enlightenment is that there is no one in It! There is no “someone” to become, to accomplish, to achieve, or to obtain This! Thus, this idea of Enlightenment vanishes, for You are beyond this idea. That is, this story of “obtaining Enlightenment” also ends.

*Online meeting transcription, originally held on November 4th, 2019 - First published in Portuguese on February 12th, 2020. For more information about our meetings click here.

You are prior to the feeling "I am"

You bring with you a feeling, which is the "I am." It is always there, 24 hours a day. However, you need to turn your attention to What lies behind it. If you are interested in discovering the Truth about yourself, you need to discover What is prior to the very feeling of "I am," which is present and accompanies you all the time, all day long.

To you, "I am John," "he is Peter," "she is Mary..." These are denominations of this "I am," of this feeling "I am." It is a belief thought created about What we are. You remain prior to that feeling and prior to that name.

So, here there are two things: the first is the feeling “I am” present, which everyone carries and is always present here and now.

The second thing is the story about this “I am,” which gets a name when the body appears in this scenario. So, these are two things you need to get rid of, because there is no truth in that. There is only the relative "truth" of an apparition, but none of this is You.

You need to pay attention to what is prior to these appearances. This “I am John,” “I am Mary,” is just a name with a shape in time and space. What is prior to this "I am" is anonymous, has no name, no shape, color or substance, because it is prior to everything. The point here is that you have been confusing yourself with "I am John," or "I am Peter," or "I am Mary.”

You have been mistaking an apparition (with a name, a form and a color) for That, which has no name, form or color, which is not an apparition. You need to find out what You are. Before that "I am," You are! It has no past, present or future. It has no history. Your whole problem is this: “I am Mary,” “I am John,” “I am Carl...” Your attention is on what is apparent.

Therefore, there is the day of your birth that you celebrate every year (and you care very much about it), because it confirms your identity in time. You like to remember your birthday because it affirms "I am Joseph" and gives continuity to your history over time, to the person you believe you are, mistaking yourself for the body.

We live in a world where this is very important. The apparition is very important! When a name, a form and a story are important, the idea of death also becomes very important. This is another aspect of the illusion of this sense of "I am." I repeat it: this sense of "I am" is confirmed by the presence of the body, located in a certain space, living in a certain moment.

So, there is a regional space for that identity that you are supposed to be and a time in which that identity is supposed to live. That time is the story and that space is the body in the world, in a certain country, in a certain city, surrounded by a certain number of people and objects, which have shapes, names, colors, just as you have a shape, a name and a skin color. This is the “I am” feeling. It is given too much importance to this "I am" in the body. You remember death a lot when you worry about the idea that you were born one day.

You are validating the idea of “I am” all the time when you look at the body and place it in that space, which is the place where you believe you are living (city, country, planet); and in time, when you value the history and those who are part of it (family, neighbors, friends). Thus, you are constantly looking for confirmation you are alive. This is another aspect of this "I am" in the belief "I am someone." As long as you support this idea of being alive (“I am the body”), the Truth about You is not possible.

Awakening, Enlightenment represents this anonymous Presence, without form, name, color, smell, time (without history), world (without space). As long as you feel patriotic, Brazilian, American, English, that is, as long as you feel regional in space, in the world, or while feeling like a man or woman, attached to this “I am,” with the belief “I am in the body,” you will feel yourself subject to birth and death.

So, what is your job here? It is to assume the Truth about Yourself! In your True Nature, You are not in history, because You are prior to that "I am," to the very feeling that you carry 24 hours a day. Notice it, the "I am" is not the Ultimate Reality. It is not the Truth, the Absolute Reality yet, but it is the closest and most practical thing you have in order to approach that Absolute Reality.

So, let’s summarize it! Take the “I am John,” cut off the word “John,” and keep the “I am.” Now, cut out the "I am" and stay with the "I" – an "I" without definition. This "I" has no sex, no body, no mind, is not in the world ... it is only "I." What is the Real Nature of this "I"? This "I" has no definition, because it is not "I am John," "I am here," "I am someone." It is only "I." This "I" was not born, has no name, has no country. It is the pure "I"! This “I” is the one that got even closer to our Real Nature, this anonymous and indefinable Presence.

In India, they call it “Parabrahman,” “Atman,” “God,” That which is anonymous, has no form, no color, no smell. The Ultimate Reality! "I" without any associated thoughts, feelings, emotions and sensations. This "I am" comes down to this "I," which also disappears. God disappears. Parabrahman disappears. Atman disappears. All these are just names. They all disappear, just like when a movie you are watching ends.

What happens? You are in the cinema watching a movie, the light of the room is off. All the light you have is the one projected on the screen, and the appearances are on that screen. When the film ends, the appearances, which are the characters of the film, its scenes of drama, horror, comedy or action, disappear from the screen. The screen is there, but there is no light on it,. When the screen light turns off, the characters, the images, the frightening actions of the horror movie disappear, as well as the romantic actions, the love scenes and the dynamics of the action, of the fight. When you look at the screen, it is like it had also disappeared, all the light that made it possible disappeared.

Awakening, Truth Realization, Enlightenment, or whatever name is given to That, is the end of history. This history never had a beginning, but it can apparently end, and it needs to end. So, everything you have done to continue this movement of images, to confirm yourself, day after day, as "someone" with that sense of "I am so-and-so," "I am John," "I am a father," “I am a mother,” “I am a son,” is full of stories, attachments, desires, linked to mere projections of thought. You claim that you were born in a certain culture, under a certain political and religious regime, and you spend your whole life attached to it: "I am a Democrat," "I am Catholic," "I am Protestant," ”I am socialist…”.

What else can we say about this? How old are you? Which political party do you belong to? What is your religion? Are you from the Northeast or are you from the South? Notice how strong this is, how strong the conditioning of the sense of "I am" is. Notice how you are saturated of this! This is because these beliefs create all kinds of worry, distress and suffering. You need many things to establish yourself in the belief of "I am someone.” You need to live all your days, to live 24 hours of each day, connected to that “I am” feeling, defending this and fighting for it. Pure conditioning!

* Presential meeting transcription, originally held in Ramanashram Gualberto in Campos de Jordão city-SP-Brazil; on March, 2019. First published in Portuguese on December 7th, 2017.
For more information about how to participate, please click here.

What is Awakening?

Everyone has an understanding in common: you are here. Wherever you are, you are here. This is the only certainty we all share, the common ground, something undeniable, unquestionable, indisputable, which does not depend on opinions or beliefs. No one can agree or disagree with that! Anything that can be experienced, perceived, seen or felt is within this unquestionable Reality: you are here!

The only real thing is: "I am." Everything revolves around this "I Am." All experiences, at all levels, in all forms and expressions, appear in this "I am." All your "sleep" is happening because you ignore it, you don't assume the truth of it. "I Am" remains here, and everything else revolves around It – all experiences, incidents, happenings, events, the whole story of this character revolves around It. There are many characters! They are different, each one has its individuality, particularity, but this "I Am" does not have that. This is the certainty!

I am giving this key to you now, before your eyes. What is Awakening? What does this mean to you? Awakening means being in your True Nature, in a complete, unique, definitive and irreversible way. In other words, it means no longer mistake yourself for what appears around this "I Am."

One cannot speak about Awakening for having an intellectual understanding of this subject. As long as this disidentification with the egoic mind is not complete and irreversible, there will be no Awakening. As long as there is the belief of this "me," of this "someone present" in the experience, there will be no Awakening.

Awakening, as I present in this talk, is the end of the sense of separateness. Every experience is outside of this "I Am." The experiences of the body and the mind appear in It, but they are not “It”! The "I Am" is here, now, regardless the state of the body, the mind, the events outside, whatever is appearing. I am here and now! This “I am here and now” remains apart, beyond all the idea of a present “I” who has experienced something in the past and who can experience something in the future.

The egoic mind, that carries the sense of an "I" and its experiences, is in contact with the external world of objects, people, places... It was yesterday; it is today and it will be tomorrow. The egoic mind sets up its external and internal world. Its external world is full of objects that mind uses to fulfill itself. It seeks physical fulfillment through the body. It seeks emotional fulfillment through feelings. Intellectual fulfillment, through ideas. Sensory ones, through the senses. Internally, it searches for fulfillment through imagination.

This is a very interesting subject to investigate. Much of your life is spent in imagination. The image you have of yourself is in your imagination, as well as everything that image can obtain. Much of your mental life – movement of thoughts going on inside your head – works by maintaining that sense of "me," which I just called "egoic mind."

This is established on imagination. The egoic mind has no interest in what You Are. It is its nature to be blind and unconscious of what You are. You are here and now, but the egoic mind is not. It is in the past, in the future, or in this present seeking the future or the past. This is imagination!

You spend most of your life careless about this "I am," lost in this identification with the imagination internally and with the experiences of external objects through the body. Then, the senses are at egoic mind’s service, attracted by the colors. This movement keeps you away from this moment, in which the "I Am" is completely disidentified, free, full. You are complete in your Being! In the mind, you are either in the imaginary world or in the illusion of an experiencer in the experience of an external world. As long as there is any chance for you to get lost from Yourself, identifying with thought, with the body, with the idea "I am the body," or "I am the mind," there will be no Awakening.

The words you know about It do not matter. The mastery of your speeches does not matter- neither the beauty of your writings nor the power of your charismatic influence. The names you give to your meetings, the power you have to influence others with your “wisdom” – all this will be just borrowed knowledge, mere theories, mere concepts.

If your interest is to discover the real meaning of Awakening – which is not its philosophical, esoteric, Advaita or Neoadvaita meaning – but the experiential meaning of It, which is only found in Your Being, in Your True Nature – go beyond the mind, in a complete, total and irreversible way. Disidentify from this internal world of imaginations. Stop imagining! Stay here and now!

* Presential meeting transcription, originally held in Ramanashram Gualberto in Campos de Jordão city-SP-Brazil; on March, 2019.
First published in Portuguese on February 22th, 2017.
For more information about how to participate, please click here.

The clear vision of this is Enlightenment

The word “investigation” reminds us examination, a way of getting closer to something through inquiry, through observation. Realize how import it is to observe! In Satsang, we are investigating ourselves, self-investigation. It is difficult for you to accept, at first, the illusory nature of the world or of its experiences, since they are very intimate, private, personal, and that is all you have.

So, when you come across a Self Realized Being, you cannot expect this One to say to you the things you are used to listen. Your perception of the world is not the perception of the Sage. You perceive the world as something external to you, but for the Sage it is not like this. For the Sage, the perception of the world happens spontaneously, in the Self, in this Consciousness, and you can only see this through self-inquiry. You cannot understand the illusory nature of the world without understanding the illusory nature of the “me,” of the “person.”

You are the Reality of the world! There is no world without this Reality that is You! Your True Nature is that where the world arises, where life appears. You are not a person, you are not an individual, but you have forgotten this. Only self-inquiry can arise as a light bringing this remembrance, so it can come back, be there again. It is quite paradoxical, because this has never been far away or has never been, in fact, forgotten, but that is the way it seems to have happened.

I am talking about the Reality of our Essential Nature. The world is not external. Life is not external. The world and life are a form of perception, and You are this Consciousness, this Reality, this Presence where this perception arises. Your body-mind is like an electronic mechanism – as long as the electric power is circulating, it keeps on working. But if there is no energy circulating, even though it is in perfect condition and with the key turned on, the mechanism does not work.

So, what you call “perception of the world” is just a process that takes place in this “mechanism” [body-mind]. This Energy called Consciousness, Presence, is like the electric power in the electronic mechanism. If this Energy is not there, the mechanism does not work. So, what you call “world” is just a perception of this Consciousness in this mechanism. What you call “life” is just a movement going on for this mechanism. See how this is important to be investigated! There is no reality in this particular mechanism, because it is part of every experience of the world or of life.

Reality is in this Energy, in this Presence or in this Consciousness. The only Reality is this Consciousness! For the rest, everything is a game of light and shadow, of phenomenon appearances that are quite superficial. You give too much importance to your personal story, but there is no personal story, because there is not a “person,” there is not an “individual,” there is not an “entity,” there is not “someone” in it. It is just the mechanism. I know this is very frustrating, because you will never become an evolved spiritual being; different from others, since there are no “others,” nor are there “you.” There is only this Energy, this Consciousness, this Presence, which we can call God, the unique Reality.

The unique Real Life that animates this body, this mind, is What transcends the senses, the body itself, the mind, in short, What transcends everything! This Unique Power is this Consciousness. Only this Power is present. You are not who you believe to be! Silence, Truth, Consciousness is this Power. It is this “Electricity” that makes all mechanisms work. Actually, these mechanisms are only ideas. They have no reality separate from this Power, from this Consciousness. This great Power, in a magical way, joins female and male cells together, and then this mechanism called “human body” appears. This is just a magical apparition of this unique Power.

I have been talking this to you in these meetings: the world has no greater reality than the dream you dream at night. Your waking state is no more real than your dream state, nor is it greater in meaning, in importance. They have exactly the same quality! There is nothing happening in your waking state that is more important than what happens in your dream state. It is all the same!

What I am saying is that your body is “dead.” Everything you see around you is “dead.” The only Life is this Presence, this Power. So, all your worries are completely useless! Everything that has to happen will happen! Everything that does not have to happen will not happen! Everything is already as it has to be or will be as it has to be, and nothing is out of place! All this confusion there inside your head is just a game you want to play, but it is not yours. It causes you distress because you want to win it, but it is a game that is not yours, a life that is not yours, a story that is not yours. A birth, a “living” and a death that are not yours.

The clear vision of this is Enlightenment, Self-Realization, the vision of the Sage, of the Truth! So, if you find out This in yourself, all your problems disappear, because they are only present when “you” are present. The problem lies in this idea “you” are there. So, be brave! Say it so: nothing is real! Say with me: nothing is true! There is no truth!

My Master showed me This, this Truth. Only faith in Master allows you to see it. The most important weapon you have is faith in Master! The world is just a thought. Life is just a thought. So are your conflicts, problems, dilemmas, desires and fears. The awakening of the inner Guru, of the inner Master, of Presence, of Truth, happens when you discover what it is to live in your Self, in your True Nature, in your Being. From the view of a Realized Being, of the One who is seated in Ones Real Nature, nothing is separate from Being, from Consciousness.

It does not matter if what you have on your finger is a wedding ring or what your wife has on her ears are earrings. If these objects are made of gold, this is their nature. The shape they have at the moment does not matter, for the earrings and the wedding ring can be melted, but gold remains gold. They can take another shape, but the gold keeps on being gold. Likewise, the Nature of Reality is God. There is only this Nature! There is only this Reality!

This object you call “human life” is not important. This is the vision of a Realized Being! While the Realized Being sees gold, you see the wedding ring, the earring. While you are concerned about shapes and names, the Sage is looking at the Essential Nature of the apparitions.

What I am saying is that the mind is not the cause of the world; that shapes, names and apparitions are not the basis of the world. The basis of the world, of life is something that transcends the shapes, the world and life. Your fundamental problem is the illusion that “you” are there, controlling, doing, solving, deciding, taking care, worrying… There is no surrender, abandonment, trust in this Reality that sustains the whole existence. So, you remain in trouble, with problems. The ultimate Truth is, nothing happens or is happening, that is, nothing is true. The final Truth is that there is not an ending or beginning. You think in terms of events happening in time: 50 years ago, 100 years ago, or two hours ago, but this is just imagination. There is nothing like “the time when things happened” or “the time things will happen.”

I have just said, "What has to happen will happen and what does not have to happen will not happen." However, I am saying absolutely nothing with these phrases, because nothing, in fact, is happening, happened or will happen. There is only this Energy in movement or producing a movement, which is just a game within this so called “private perception” you believe you have. Actually, this is also only fiction, imagination. Do not think about this, remain without thinking, and this will be the total sum of Reality. Every thought is a fraud, every idea is just imagination going on, an image in motion. Then, what you call “mind” is just a factory of illusions.

*Online meeting transcription, originally held on August 21st, 2019. First published in Portuguese on January 11th, 2020.
Online meetings every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 07:30 pm (Local Time: Brazil BRT), except during Retreat periods.
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The indescribable Ocean of Full Happiness

How to look, hear and feel? How to think? How to deal with what presents itself? What we do in these meetings is to discover how to get out of this model, the old personal model. You are always limiting the perception of what is by making conclusions. What is, is very vast, wide, deep, but you assume a conclusion about this, about the situation, the circumstance or the appearance. So, you place yourself into a limitation, because your perspective, vision, is totally personal.

This explains unhappiness. For example, everything that is born, dies. However, who accepts death? All sentient beings, all living beings, every biological life die (I say “biological life” because, perhaps, you do not accept that everything is Life expressing itself). Everything that is alive, grows up, gets old and dies. However, Nature is very capricious and, sometimes, before getting older, a living being has an accident and dies. Not always the cycle completes itself.

Do you know what happens? Your mind is trained to not accept what is. So, you do not accept disease. You do not accept accident. You accept old age and death. I am giving you just an example of how you behave when you think, decide, make conclusions about how Life is. However, Life is not as mind concludes and desires. The mind has an image of permanence, safety, control, but Life is Real. It is not in the imaginary. Life is in the mystery, in the unknown, and it is not giving explanation to anyone, because there is no one for It.

So, if I could give you a piece of advice, it would be: let things just as they are! Do not meddle in the Divine’s business. Everything is God’s business! Life is God’s business! So, do not get attached to conclusions, do not fall in love with objects. Fall in love only with Life, with the manifestation of Life, not with the objects where Life manifests itself. Notice that there is a difference. The Sage is in Love with Life, but he is not attached to the objects where Life manifests itself.

Because Life is this mysterious movement. Life is manifested in an object, but then It leaves this object and remains in next one. So, you say that the first one has died and the second is alive. This is also just conclusion. Life is manifesting itself in another shape. However, you are living in the mind, so you are in love with objects. You call this love, but this is suffering, illusion. There is no Truth in this.

So, let it all loose! This is only possible when you are without conclusions, without ideas about right and wrong, without this “I like this,” “I do not like that.” You do not need any time for this Freedom. You have an insight… Do you know what an insight is? In Zen they call it Satori. It is when I am talking something here and you feel, you know, you perceive it and say “I know what he is talking about!” It is not an intellectual understanding, which is useless. An insight is a direct perception!

If you work fixing watches or cars, you need to understand intellectually how a watch mechanism works or the mechanics of an automobile. Intellectual understanding is important in some areas, but regarding to Consciousness only "intuition" is necessary. I use the word "intuition" very carefully, because I am not talking about what mystics and esoteric ones take for intuition. Intuition is Satori. It is this insight. It is this perception outside the mind. It is this Consciousness of Reality about what is here and now.

So, when you know what I am dealing with here, not sentimentally or intellectually, in imagination, but in Silence, in the direct Silence of this non-verbal Perception, this is Satori. Then, something within you says “ah!”, but you are outside of the mind, of conclusions, of imagination, of ideas. Therefore, the point here is always this: remain in your Being! Remain outside of the mind! Do not give room to this model of thinking that repeats itself! This way, you are always here and now, new, fresh, unique, without story. This is to be outside of report, of description. Story is description. Life does not carry story. Story is a dead thing; it is a description of an event in the past. Here, at this instant, at this present moment, there is no story. There is never story!

People talk about eternal love, but phrases like that are completely absurd. If it is Love, it is not eternal, and if it is eternal, it is not Love. We are socially educated for mediocrity. So, in the mind, you are reproducing the culture of lying, of illusion. When we miss someone, we call it as “eternal love;” and we call lack and neediness as “love”. When there is Love, there is only Love, there are not objects; and since there are no images, there is no story. So, since there is no time, it cannot be eternal or non-eternal. Love is timeless. It is not connected to objects or images and shapes. Love has nothing to do with stories and cannot be described.

We only have one “thing” here – That which is indescribable, nameless, without story! This is Meditation! So, do not do anything else! Remain in Silence! Remain disidentified from shapes, names, images, thoughts. This is Samadhi, the Natural State. Thus, birds can be heard, because no thought interrupts their singing. They are singing when there are no thoughts, images, story. When there are no objects capturing your attention while the birds are singing, they are neither outside nor inside; they just sing… Inside and outside disappear! This is Meditation! “You” are not there, and when “you” are not there, Buddha is present, Christ is present. Now, throw away the word “Buddha”, the word “Christ”, the word “God”, the expression “Pure Being”. Throw everything away! Remain there!

Now you know what I am talking about, and when you know what I am talking about, there is no longer “someone” talking, there is no longer a Master, there is no longer a disciple. That is the Truth! There is no Buddha either; and if you find him, you “cut off his head”! We have just done this. To "cut off the Buddha's head" is to be here in the Ultimate Truth, when you know there is no Master or disciple; that there is no inside or outside, wisdom or ignorance, illusion or truth. Everything is in the right place, absolutely everything in the right place! This is Happiness, which is when nothing else is expected, nothing else is sought, searched for, when there is no more desire, fear, past, future. Future comes with desire and past comes with the story. What was, is not; what is, was not; what is, will not be; what will be, is not; and here is everything!

People want a practice, but I do not recommend practices. My recommendation is: Give up! Stop! See how simple it is. You are so used to moving... And you do this not only physically, but also and mostly psychologically. So, although the body is still, you are with your family; But there is no family here! You “move” towards your child, your parents… I am saying: Stop! Remain here! Without family, without internal sound. So, you can hear the bird, you can hear this voice, which you do not know whether it is coming from outside or from inside, for the inside and the outside have disappeared. The voice does not interrupt the Silence, just like the bird singing. This is because the voice is the Silence, the bird’s singing is the Silence. You are the Silence!

In some moments of your life, you have “scratched” Happiness, had a small taste of the indescribable Ocean of full Happiness. You could not cut It deep; it was just a little scratch. At these moments “you” disappeared, you were not there. Then the mind came back and said, “What was that?” There were not measures for that joy, fullness, freedom… So, you were looking for adjectives. I am saying that you have only “scratched” Happiness, and you only got this when you were not present.

Samadhi means being immersed in this Ocean of Bliss and Happiness, and not about just a brief “scratch.” Samadhi is to disappear! It is like the drop that falls in the ocean and you can no longer distinguish what is ocean and what is drop. This is the meaning of Existence – Samadhi, Supreme Beatitude, Supreme Bliss! This is present when you are not present, when your eyes are God’s eyes. Do you know how God sees? It is the way you see when “you” are not present. You find that look when, at a glance, you look at a baby. In the time of our watch, it lasts about two seconds. Two seconds in which you are not imprisoned, because "you" are not present. At that moment, you are not a prisoner of time. You are in timeless Love and there is no mediocrity, no limitation. In your Being, there is no limitation! You are God all the time!

So, surrender! Surrender! God is the unique Reality in your Being! This is God! The heart beats, the bird sings and you hear the sound. Do not worry about your life, because there is no “your life.” “Your life” is the Life of God! There is only God everywhere, in everything! This understanding is Samadhi. My understanding about Life is that You are God. I only see God! Do not struggle with your thoughts, with your emotions, feelings, perceptions. Do not fight! Just live in this disidentification. It is so simple! Why do you turn this into something so difficult? Why do you live in your attachments? Your Love is God! I decided only to live in this Love. My Guru showed me this Love.

What is your real need? If your heart is full of God, there is no need, because there is no fear, desire, conflict and attachment. Do you understand this? If you want to be free, be it! Right here and now! This is an Ocean of Happiness! This beautiful Ocean is open for you! My Guru showed me what Real Meditation is. Meditation is the key! Please, listen carefully: Real Meditation is the key! The master key! All doors are open with this key! It will open the door of Wisdom, the door of Intelligence, the door of Love, the door of Silence, the door of Happiness. One single key is enough and then You are in Heaven. I am not referring to heaven in opposition to hell. I am talking about Heaven without opposition – the Kingdom of God, and This is within You. So all you need to say is: “My Beloved God, my life is yours!”

* Face-to-face meeting transcription originally held in Ramanashram Gualberto in Campos do Jordão city-SP-Brazil, on March, 2018. - First published in Portuguese on January 8th, 2020. For more information about how to participate, click here.