GC: Hello, everyone! We are here for another videocast. Once again, Master Gualberto is here with us. Thank you, Master, for being here.
Today, I will read an excerpt from Joel Goldsmith’s book called “Living the Infinite Way.” In an excerpt from this book, Master, Joel makes the following comment: “Disrespect for God’s law causes suffering due to sin, illness, discord, and disharmony.” Master, regarding this issue of suffering… How can we free ourselves from suffering?
MG: Gilson, this condition of suffering is something that needs to be investigated. We cannot take these distressing states in which we find ourselves as a natural thing. Unfortunately, human beings are as if accommodated within this condition. Most of us only seek comfort, consolation, appeasement in the midst of suffering. We need to investigate the truth about suffering, who is this element present in suffering, and whether it is truly natural to live in suffering. Here, we are investigating these questions with you who are approaching the channel. This issue of suffering, this human suffering, is not natural. Part of this human suffering, a good part of it, is psychic suffering itself. See, we are not dealing with something natural, and yet I will repeat: most people are looking for consolation, comfort, and relief from this pain, this suffering. Here, the challenge is to discover Real Life.
I have illustrated this issue of suffering as a pain. When you wake up in the morning and discover that you have pain in your foot, do you simply get up and take care of the rest of the day, or, when you get up and notice the pain in your foot, since your attention is now on that foot that hurts, do you look at it and seek help to resolve the issue? Or do you simply ignore it and continue with your day as if nothing were happening? It is clear that this is not the case, because a foot that hurts, depending on the intensity of the pain, makes it very difficult for you to even walk or do anything else. So, here, the first thing is to take care of that foot that hurts, because you know that it is not natural. A foot that hurts is not natural.
This is how we respond to situations of immediate suffering that arise and are very urgent, such as a toothache or a sore foot. And why don’t we attend to these internal issues? Why does a sore foot or a sore tooth have, for us, a much greater importance than an internal, psychological, emotional pain? Why is a suffering more important than another? Why do we consider one as natural and the other as unnatural? Look, what is the truth about all this? The truth is that we were not born to suffer. It is not part of your True Nature… I know it sounds strange and challenging to hear this here, but suffering is not part of your True Nature.
The Nature of your Being is the Nature of Happiness, of Freedom, of Intelligence, it is the Nature of God, it is the Nature of Life, it is the Nature of Joy – not of what we know as “joy.” As human beings, we need to discover our Divine Reality or we will remain within the same way of life, format of life of this so-called “human being” as we know it. Some of us are too accustomed or used to suffering, to this psychological suffering, to this psychological condition of existing, to this mere “existing as someone,” in conflict with ourselves, with others, with life. This is because we are unaware of the Truth of our Real Nature, which is the Divine Truth, where Silence, Freedom, Love, Peace, and Happiness are present.
Some of us, yes, are searching for something beyond this so-called human life as we know it; they have already noticed this “pain in the foot” or this “existential toothache.” Some of us are already suspicious that there really is something beyond all of this, this dissatisfaction, this fear, this anguish, these problems, this suffering. So, the question here, your question, is a very good one: “How can we free ourselves from suffering?” The direct answer is experiential, in comprehension. See, when there is comprehension, we have the direct answer. I refer to the comprehension of the Truth about who we are, which implies discarding that which we “are” because we believe ourselves to be.
So, we are envy, jealousy, fear, anger, attachment, conflict of desires… we are confused, we have egocentric attitudes and actions all the time in our relationships, in our relationships with those closest to us and with ourselves. That is what we are! The understanding of what we are – which is the identity of this “I,” this “me,” this ego-identity; It is what we are – a revelation, a direct approach to what we are is the discarding of this for this Reality, which we mentioned just now, here with you, for this Divine Reality that we do not know. This is not our real experience, our real experiencing, this that we have just described.
The Divine Nature within us, the Nature of God within us, this Beauty, this Love, this Peace, this Happiness is your “healthy” way of Being, free from this “painful foot,” free from this “sick foot” and this “tooth that hurts.” And we are here in life to become aware of this. Investigating the nature of the “I” is discarding the illusory nature of the ego, for the Revelation of That which is unnamable, indescribable, which is the Nature of God. You ask: “How can we do this?” By becoming aware of this duality, of this movement of existence where this existence is the existence of someone, someone who is the thinker, who separates himself from thought; someone who gets involved with feelings and sees himself separate from these feelings; someone who follows the model of thought of society, of the collective and of the world.
The clarity, the full comprehension about this someone... Here, the question is: “Who am I? How can I get closer to this ‘me’ and look at it closely?” This is what we are discussing here with you, exploring here with you. The real way to end suffering is the awareness of this element that suffers. There is an element present in suffering. This element sees itself separate from suffering, resisting suffering, trying to free itself from suffering, to do something against suffering, and when it does this, it sustains the condition of suffering.
You see, it is a condition of psychological behavior, of psychological existence, something that we learn and culturally preserve within each one of us, as being an integral part of our True Nature, which in fact it is not. It is just something part of a structure, which is the structure of thought. Observing your reactions is discovering how this model of existence of the “I” is sustaining itself. This is how we eliminate the sufferer and, naturally, suffering from our lives. This is how we free ourselves from this “pain in the foot,” this “toothache.” The sense of “I,” of the ego, sustains this illusory condition, and it sustains it based on thought, on this entire format of orientation that it brings from the past.
That is why we are here with you, working on this study of ourselves, this simple and direct way of observing our reactions, of becoming aware of them, because it is when you observe in yourself what you are that this duality is seen. What is this “you”? It is nothing other than thought with a story, with a memory, with a remembrance of a character that comes from the past, who is faced with this moment to interpret this instant, to try to do something against what one is seeing when it is unfavorable to him, or to hold onto what is presented in this moment, when it gives him some form of pleasure or gratification.
So, we are constantly sustaining this ego-identity, because we do not observe our reactions. For example, when you are offended, your response, which is a response that comes from the past, is to retaliate. When you react, you strengthen this center, this “I,” this ego. This element in you that is offended by this offense is a self-image. It is necessary to become aware of this self-image and understand its entire movement, seeking to protect yourself, to defend yourself. So, we are constantly sustaining suffering, because we are sustaining the sufferer. This sufferer is this self-image. When, for example, it is praised, we appreciate it, but we do not realize that there is also pain behind this praise, because this self-image becomes dependent on the other and in need of further appreciation. This is basically fear, dependence, suffering.
So, we are in suffering when we receive praise and we are in suffering when we receive criticism. The point is that we don’t see this element in us that is responsible for this suffering, which is our self-image. Here, we are exploring the issue of the “I” with you, becoming aware of this “I,” this element in us that sustains this pain. We spoke a little while ago about the pain in our feet – the reason, the cause, what is behind this pain. From a psychological point of view, when we speak of this pain, we are speaking of this “I.” This is the element that sustains pain!
We are creatures that get attached to. As human beings, in this sense of the “I,” of the ego, we are attached to things, to people, to places, to ideas, to beliefs, and all of this is giving room, structure, to this self-image, which is the ego; and therefore, we are constantly sustaining these states of suffering, of complication, of disorder, for each one of us. The point is that, for most people out there, this goes completely unnoticed. We don’t have any look at this thing, so life goes on in a mechanical, unconscious, habitual way and, therefore, loaded with all sorts of complications, so that we are not even aware of what is happening to us. All this is present because we see it as something very natural.
Is it possible to discover a life that is truly free of suffering? This requires the end of the ‘I’, the end of the ego, the end of this self-image, the end of preserving this continuity, this pattern of time – which is the time where thought is sustained, which is psychological time – in these various purposes, ideals and objectives in order to be happy tomorrow. So, we do not have a direct look at what is here and now. You see, this is also part of the suffering of this self-image. We are not aware of this Being, this Divine Reality, which is Completeness, which is present when self-image is not.
So, when you ask: “How to get rid of suffering?” Free yourself from illusion, from the “I,” from this “me,” allow the past to end, let the idea of someone present disappear, because this is part of an illusion, it is part of this program of ignorance in which we, as human beings, have been living for millennia. Breaking away from this is the Awakening of Intelligence, it is the Awakening of Wisdom, it is the end of suffering. When there is a real vision of Self-awareness, we have the Flourishing of this Divine Intelligence, this Real Intelligence, of That which I have called “Spiritual Intelligence.” When This is present, there is no more suffering. It is something for each one of us at this moment in life, at this instant.
GC: Master, we have a question from a subscriber on the channel. Subscriber Ana Cláudia made the following comment and asked: “I wonder… if we already lived eternally in plenitude, if there were no duality, how would we know the taste and meaning of love, joy, peace? Because, in this experience here, we live in contrasts. Is it not like that? Please explain it to me.”
MG: So, this vision of contrast is a contrast within duality. Reality is Being, Being is Consciousness. We have the contrast between night and day, between light and dark, between positive and negative, masculine and feminine. See, these contrasts are opposites or contrasts that are part of this existential dualism, in this dream of human existence. So, we are faced with something natural. But, from a psychological point of view, we are in conflict as human beings, and this conflict, within this format of duality of being, as we are living, is not natural. It is within the illusion of this egoic sense, of separation between you and Life, between you and God.
So, this pleasure and pain, this joy and sadness, this hate and love, this envy, this jealousy, this search for more and the fear of losing, this desire and fear, all of this is part of this “I,” in this format of dualism, but it is a dualism that, here, we have called duality, in this aspect of ego-identity. This is part of the suffering in human beings and it is not natural. This is part of the human problem and it is not natural. Divine Nature is the Nature of your Being, there is no suffering in It and there is no duality in It. Life is a present Reality, non-dual, it is the Reality of this Being, which is God, which is You in your True Nature. Gilson, we are unfamiliar with Real Life, we are too accustomed to this pattern of conflicting, distressing life, of duality, of a pattern of existence of ego-identity. Within this dream, this is how it happens. Some are already awakening to Reality, to the Truth of That which they truly are, and in this Reality, there is no longer this duality and, therefore, suffering.
This work here consists of this investigation. If you are here, at this moment, see, following this speech and realizing the importance of this for your life, it is because this is your moment to Awaken. For the vast majority, this subject does not spark the slightest interest. The dream state and identification with the dream state within this duality is very huge. So, the majority of human beings are, as we said a moment ago, conformed to a condition, considering this condition as something very natural for their lives. So, the human being is used to, accustomed, conditioned within this way of acting in the world and living this so-called “life,” as most know it.
Here, at this moment, the invitation is to Awaken, to the Awareness of a Reality outside of everything that is known, which is Divine Reality. This is what we are working on here, delving deeper here with you, clearly perceiving the Truth that the Beauty of Life consists of the Awareness of Happiness, of Freedom, of That which is Real Love, Real Joy, Real Peace.
GC: Master, still on the issue of Ana Cláudia's question, where she talks about these contrasts, can the Master talk a little more about this issue of dualism and duality?
MG: So, Gilson, as it was said, Reality is non-dual. Psychological duality, the duality in this so-called “human life,” is something within an egocentric model of being. So, this is what we have to say in addition to what has already been said. We have the aspect of existential dualism in this manifestation, in this dream, and we have this duality of this sense of “I” and “non-I,” of this “me,” of this ego, seeing itself as a separate entity and apart from life, and apart from God. This is an illusion; this is within a dream. The only thing here is to wake up, to become aware of the Truth of What you are, for a life of Love and Happiness.
GC: Thank you, Master, our time is over now. Thank you for this videocast.
And for those of you who have a sincere yearning to experience and understand these truths, we invite you to participate in the meetings that Master Gualberto provides, which are called Satsangs. These are weekend meetings in an online format, as well as in-person, including retreats. In these meetings, the Master not only answers our questions, because he is already in this Awakened State of Consciousness, but also shares a Presence, a Power, a Silence that helps us greatly to understand ourselves, because we end up getting a ride from Master’s energy. So, here's the invitation.
In the first comment, pinned, there is the WhatsApp link to participate in these meetings. In addition, give the “like” to the video and ask questions here in the comments, so we can bring them to the next videocasts.
And, once again, Master, gratitude.
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