GC: Hello everyone! We are here for another videocast. Once again, Master Gualberto has kindly joined us to answer questions and provide comments on excerpts from Joel's books that I read here. Gratitude, Master, for this opportunity. Master, I want to read an excerpt today from Joel's book, one of Joel's main books, which is “The Art of Spiritual Healing.” In a short excerpt, Joel says: “Now I have only one problem: To really know God, because to know Him is to have eternal life. Once I know God, it means saying goodbye to all problems.” Can you tell us a little about [this], Master?
MG: There is something here, Gilson, that we have to clarify for you. Knowing God... The idea in us is that of knowing God, we need to know God. However, we don't know who we are, but we want to know God. How can we know God without first knowing the Truth about who we are? We don't know who we are because what we have about ourselves is an idea. We don't know the Truth about ourselves and we want to know the Truth about God, about who God is. The result of this is, because of this misunderstanding of who we are, we hold within us every form of belief about who God is.
The misunderstanding about who we are is the belief about who we are, about who we believe ourselves to be. So we have this belief about us. And based on this belief about us – and this is the problem here – we project an ideal, which is the divine ideal, which is God's ideal. So, we need to know God.
So, we need to investigate this, understand this, clarify this. The truth is, “Who am I?” Without understanding who we are, what we will always hold within us is an illusion.
Belief about God is an idea, it is an intellectual concept, it is an image that we formulate. This image is an image that we learn in our culture, in our world, where we were born and raised, in our country or in some countries where there is this belief in God. On top of this belief in God, we are trying to discover where He is, but we have not been told the most important thing regarding this discovery, this so-called Truth, which is the Truth of God. We were not told that, first, we need to know ourselves. It is understanding who You are, or discarding the illusion about who you believe yourself to be, that will truly give you a Vision of God's Reality.
So, here, knowing God is discovering the Truth about who we are. In this discovery about who we are, this Reality shows itself, and this Reality is not knowledge, in the intellectual sense of the word; it is a vision of Reality, where this Reality that we call God shows itself to be this Reality that we are. So, the Truth about God is the Truth about who we are.
The discovery of the Truth about our own Being is the Realization of the Reality of God, because there is no such thing as this “I,” there is no such thing as this “God” that this “I” projects. There is only one Present Reality. This Reality we have called God, but this is the only Reality. There is no “I” separate from this Reality, there is no such thing as God and “I,” there is only this Reality, which is the Divine Truth, which we call God.
The Awareness of God is the end to this illusion of an “I,” which sees itself as a separate entity, which sees itself as someone who needs to know God. There is no such duality, there is no such thing as “I” and God, there is no such thing as a knower becoming aware of what is known – that known being “God” and that knower being “I.” This is an illusion, this is a formulation of the intellect.
Our intellect, Gilson, is an intellect conditioned by patterns of beliefs, and one of these beliefs is the belief in God. It is necessary to become aware of this Reality, and not continue in this belief, carrying this sense of an identity, always searching for God or always trying to discover God.
Another point made here by Joel – and we have to review this – is that the end of this problem, of this “I,” is the Reality that there is only God. So, it's not about solving problems, it's about the Awareness of Truth that there is no problem, the Awareness of Truth that God is the only Reality present and, in that Reality, there is no contradiction, there is no conflict, there is no suffering, there is no fear, there is no problem. So, the True Knowledge of God is the Awareness of the Unknown, but this Awareness of the Unknown is not the awareness of this “I,” it is the Revelation of that Mystery, when the sense of a “I” is not present.
The truth of it is that we cannot reach This intellectually. It is possible for us to become aware of this Reality that there is only God, but the What becomes aware of this is God himself. When God assumes the reality of this body-mind, What is present is this Awareness: the Awareness of the Unknown.
So, we have contact with It through Meditation. In the practice of meditation, we reaffirm the existence of a separate entity searching for God, trying to reduce the volume of thoughts, trying to control thoughts, trying to do something to get rid of thoughts, and thus achieve contact with God. In this illusion of this so-called “meditation practice,” as people practice it, there is still this separation of this “I,” which is the knower, in search of what it is seeking to know, which is the known, which is God. This can't be real!
What the “I” does is project an ideal of God and seek through prayer, meditation or some other expedient, such as a ceremony, a ritual, to have a contact and, thus, the knowledge of That which is this Reality that is beyond the known, which is the Reality of God, and that is unfeasible, that is impossible.
True Meditation, Real Meditation, as I have called it, correct Meditation, is the awareness of the absence of the one who meditates, so this Divine Truth shows itself, presents itself. This is the Awareness of God!
So, it’s not about knowing God, it’s about God taking His place, when that “I” is no longer present, as occurs in True Meditation, as we have been telling within the channel. We need this art of being Presence, of being Consciousness. This art is the art of True Meditation in an experiential way, and that is what gives you the Revelation of God, but it does not give this Revelation to this “I.”
Here, we are faced with this paradox: this Truth reveals itself when this “I” is no longer present, because the Truth of God is the end of this “I.” So, there is no longer this duality.
All this language of ours is very complicated, because we use and make use of a dualistic language to talk about something outside of duality, and this is the confusion we make intellectually when we are reading books, when we are studying the scriptures, when we are listening to a lecture ... We need to discard all that and come into direct contact with this Truth, which is the Truth of Real Meditation. This is what reveals that there is only God. It reveals itself, and when This is present, there is no more suffering, there is no more problem, there is no more conflict, there is no longer any form of illusion. This is the point!
GC: Master, it's very complex for a person, someone with this intellect – and speaking of myself, who was on a search, wanting to intellectualize things –, it's perplexing to see that this “disappearance of the I,” as happened with you, Master, because the Master talks about this Natural State. Looking with human eyes, many people may think that there is a person called Marcos Gualberto, who is speaking, who knows... but, as I come in this proximity with the Master, I see that it is really something... it is this flow of life, and that... [from] these concepts of words, the mind can only, really, add a new concept – that there is only God, that everything is an illusion –, and it feeds on that and maintains itself with that.
Now, being able to witness and see that it is real, it is possible to really have a completely free life, like the Master has, because the Master is no longer a person with this ego-intellect identity, that is really indescribable, Master, it is something that humans have no comparison to. And it is a Grace to be able to have this proximity with you, to be able to have this opportunity to be in Satsang and be in the meetings, because it is something that is really possible to have a free life, free from this sense of an “I.”
MG: The truth about this, Gilson, is that there is no one now, for example, here. You talk in a way as if this were something very special, and in reality, this is something very natural and is already happening. Right now, you are listening to this speech, but you believe that you are here in this experience, in this “listening.” This is where all the illusion is, this is where this illusion resides. This is what a work of self-inquiry, of self-investigation, of True Meditation, shows you: that there is no such thing, that this idea of someone present in this “listening,” or in this experience of being here and now, is a fraud, an illusion.
So, it's nothing special, it's something natural! But we leave That, which is so natural, and we are left with the artificiality of a conditioned intellect, where (in that intellect) there is the illusion of an “I” that separates itself, in this idea of “I am listening this, I am speaking, I am seeing.” This separation between the speaker and the sound is an idea, a belief. He who listens and the sound is an idea. This separation is just an intellectual concept, an intellectual conditioning.
So, we have been conditioned within this sense of duality, where there is “I and experience,” “I speak and you listen,” “I” listen, “I” speak, “I” feel, “I” do... It's always that “I” in this movement.
This duality is not real, there is only Life now happening here, but there is this movement that comes from the past, which is a belief, which is a conditioning, which says “I think,” “I speak,” “I listen,” “I feel”... It's conditioning! There is only this Truth flowing here and now, and in It there is no “I” separating itself from the present moment. It separates itself from this moment when it looks at this moment and interprets it, saying: “I am thinking,” “I am feeling,” “I am doing.” It is the sense of an ego-identity, of an identity that separates itself from experience. This is a psychological conditioning, it is an illusory movement of separation, where you see yourself separate from the other, separate from experience, separate from life, and separate from God.
The problem with this is that, in this condition, you are in conflict, you are in suffering, you are trying to change, shape, adjust life to a proposal, which is the proposal of this “I,” which is the result of conditioning that comes from the past, that, when faced with this present moment, is judging, evaluating, rejecting, trying to change... And when this is present, conflict is established, suffering is established. This is the sense of an ego-identity.
So, Gilson, this Reality of being what You are is already present. You need to become aware of this, discarding this background conditioning, which is this movement of an illusory present identity, which judges, criticizes, condemns, evaluates, rejects, or wants to do something with what is here and now. This is the end of the ego, this is the end of this “I,” this is the end of the illusion of a duality. In that instant, That which is present is the Truth of your own Being, which is the Truth of God. This is the Real Revelation of what God is! It's not about knowing God, it's about being still and allowing God to reveal Himself as He is, here and now, when that “I,” that sense of an identity that comes from the past, is no longer present here and now. That´s it.
GC: Master, it is pure Grace! It is truly beyond every concept, beyond every idea. Master, on this subject, there is a question here from Nadir da Rocha Correia. She asks the following: “My ego understands everything you say, but why can't I get out of this illusion?”
MG: Once again, here, we are under that big mistake, when you say: “My ego understands everything you say.” This intellectual understanding of a speech like this just shows us that we already had, at some point, some intellectual contact with it, so it is simple to have an intellectual understanding of a subject that we already have, that we already know. But here the point is that we don't need to have an intellectual understanding of this subject. All we need is to Recognize the Truth of That which we are, and That is not intellectual.
So, it is not enough to have an intellectual view of this subject. At most we can, within this intellectual vision, agree with this or intellectually disagree with what is being said here. And the subject we are dealing with is something to be investigated and understood, not intellectualized. Therefore, an understanding shows you the Truth of what is being stated here. Understanding will show you the Reality of it or not. When there is understanding, it becomes clear that we are not dealing with ideas, with beliefs, but with a Reality that is beyond the intellect. So, when there is this vision that is not intellectual, this non-verbal understanding becomes clear.
So, it's not about understanding the subject. Agree with it or look at the subject and disagree with it. Here, it is a matter of becoming aware of a Direct Comprehension of That which is being pointed out here as a Reality that is outside the mind, outside the intellect, outside this intellectual movement in us.
So, approaching this encounter here requires work on oneself. Something touches you on a level outside the intellect, then this Understanding arises, and in this Understanding the experiential Truth of It becomes clear. There is no room for belief or disbelief, for certainty or doubt on a subject like this.
That's interesting to say, Gilson. People want to have an approach to a subject that is outside the mind, outside the intellect, through the mind and the intellect. That's why people spend years of their lives reading books, studying, learning, and they know everything intellectually, but, in fact, they know absolutely nothing in an experiential and direct way, because This is not in the field of ideas, in the field of words, in the field of thoughts. This is not in the field of the intellect, in the field of the mind. This requires a perception outside the intellect, outside the mind.
So, this is not something that you can achieve here by studying, reading books... You will read all the books in the world, you will use all the mental, intellectual techniques or practices – and this is something purely mechanical... You will continue within this time, which I have called “psychological time,” which is the time of ego, of the “I,” the very intellect, the own mind, of the ego-identity itself.
Something new needs to appear in your life, which is the presence of the Realization of your Being, something possible when there is this approach to the Truth of Self-awareness and True Meditation in an experiential way, which is what we have proposed within these meetings that we call Satsang, which is a Sanskrit word for “encounter with Truth.” OK?
GC: Master, now I see how funny it is, but I myself, when approaching you, Master, the only possibility that existed for an understanding was not an understanding, it was an idea. That is, wanting to understand, wanting to match with what I already knew. And then, through this closeness with the Master, with Satsang, with these intensive meetings, this Divine Grace starts happening, unfolding, and we – I speak for myself – really have a comprehension that it is not in our understanding – “ah, I understood that there is only God!” or “I understood that I am an illusion” – but, rather, as the Master brings us so much, in this self-investigation, looking at ourselves, verifying this illusion. Can the Master talk a little more about this self-investigation to us?
MG: Our emphasis, Gilson, here, is not on finding the Truth, because it is not a movement from here to there, it is a Realization here. It's not about finding God, finding the Truth, finding the Light. It's about realizing what's here, right now. All you need is to become aware of what is happening to you here and now, to investigate the nature of the mind, the nature of the “I,” the nature of this pain, this suffering, this fear, this conflict, this contradiction, this sense of separation between you and the other.
Observing yourself, studying yourself, is to clear the ground for this Truth, for God, for this Light, which is already here and now, to reveal itself. If you have a closed house, closed doors and windows, there is no light, but if you open the door and open the window, you will find that the room is lit, the house becomes illuminated. What happened? Was the problem due to the absence of light or the closed house, with the doors closed and the window closed? If the windows are closed and the door is closed, there is no light, but if the window is opened and the door is opened, the light that is already present reveals itself, because the Light of this Sun of this Divine Reality is already present.
There is no lack of God in your life, there is no lack of Truth in your life, there is no lack of Light in your life. This “your life,” in this idea of the particular life of this “I,” is a house with the window closed and the door closed. So, it's not about finding God, it's about being still and no longer confusing yourself with the illusion of a separate identity, creating conflict for yourself.
So, with the end of this illusion of an ego-identity, which is this “I,” this sense of separation, – and this is possible when there is this “investigating oneself,” “studying oneself” –, this Reality that is the Light, God, the Truth, reveals itself. This is already here, but it is not shown here and now because what is shown here and now is this illusory identification with this false “I,” with this false identity, with this illusion of someone having a personal, private life, in control of it and doing everything the way, in this illusion, it has determined to do. All that ends and that Reality shows itself. So, here it is about becoming aware of yourself, studying yourself and realizing the Truth here and now. That's it.
GC: Master, namaste. Our time has come to an end. Gratitude for this meeting, this videocast, this Satsang, this encounter with Truth. For those of you who are watching the video, leave a “like,” make a comment, you can ask questions here, which we will bring in the next videocasts, and, also, we invite anyone who wants to delve deeper into this self-investigation, through the Satsang meetings, which are weekend intensives with the Master and also retreats. It is an extraordinary opportunity for this deepening. In fact, here in the first comment, pinned, will be the link to the WhatsApp group with information about Satsang.
Gratitude, Master, gratitude.
MG: Okay, see you soon.
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