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Who
Are You?
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Who
are you? Where do you come from? Many times you came and many times
you returned. You have never attempted to ask yourself who you are.
If you had done so, you would never have returned to this miserable
samsara. When you have known, this karma ceases to function,
samsara ceases to exist. You return to your original fundamental
nature - to Being, to Existence, to Bliss. That is what you are. That
is what you have been. That is what you are going to be.
So here is how to
do it - it is very easy. Let me introduce you to what is going on
here. To begin with, find out who is the one who sees. Ask yourself
the question: "Who is the seer?" Find out what is seen.
That which is seen is the object and the seer is the subject. The
seer - subject - must be separate from the object, different from
the object. It is that which is seeing the object. The object
is that which is seen. The seer is looking at the object - you are
not the object. You may see anything: a horse, a cow, a car, a building,
or anything. You are not that. You are the seer.
When you experience
your own body you may think that you are the body, but you are not
the body. You experience, "I see the body." so you are the
seer of the body. It is here that you make the mistake: You become
the body and you forget that you are the seer. You have become an
object when you say, "I am doing. I am seeing. I am tasting.
I am touching. I am smelling. I am hearing." You have lost your
bearings and become the body - the seer is no longer separated from
the body. Whatever is seen is an object, so when the body is objectified
who is the seer? When you see the body it becomes an object. Whatever
you see is an object. If you see your eyes they are objects; if you
see your hands they are objects.
What about the mind?
You know very well that if your mind is suffering it is not at peace.
You know the activities of the mind also. You know, "Now my mind
is thinking or not thinking." This means that you are also aware
of the activities of the mind. You are something other than the mind.
You are not the mind. You are neither the mind nor the body.
The same is true
of the working of the senses. When you are working, walking, or talking,
you know very well, "I am at work, my hands are working."
You know very well that you are not the hand; something else is commanding
the hands to work. You are something other than the movement of physical
activities. You are not even that.
Now consider the
intellect. You decide, "I have to do this. I have to go to Lucknow."
You decided and you are here. You guided the intellect to make the
decision, "Let's go to Lucknow." then you followed the intellect.
So you are guiding even the intellect and you know very well that
the intellect is something other than you.
Find out who you
are - here and now. You are not the mind. You are not even the prana
- the breathing. You know very well that breathing is in and out,
inhaling and exhaling. You can feel, "I am inhaling, I am exhaling."
You know this activity also. Who is watching the inhaling and exhaling?
This is all that the body is.
So who are you? You
are not all these functions. You will have to ask the question, "Who
am I?" This is what we have come here to understand, and we have
not done this at any time before. This question must be solved but
we have postponed it. Everyone has postponed it for millions of years.
We will not postpone this here. There is no method to practice. Simply
find out, "Who am I?" This is not a method or practice or
sadhana.
This can be done
here and now - in this instant - because the Self is here. Enlightenment
means to know thy Self - to know, "Who am I." This is Enlightenment.
This is Wisdom. This is Bliss. This is Existence. This is Being. This
is Truth. This truth is not located at a distance - it is your own
Self through which you are searching for truth and freedom. It is
not any distance from here. It is within you, nearer than your own
breath. It is behind the retina of your eyes, which you cannot see.
You need not look outside. It is behind the retina; it is that through
which the retina sees. You need no effort to see it.
When you still all
activities, without doing anything, without thinking any thought -
when you do not stir any thought from the mind ground, without moving,
without moving the mind, without starting a single thought - in an
instant of time you are free. When you give rise to any sadhana
or practice, when you go to any center or ashram, when you go to any
teacher or pilgrimage or church, when you make any prayer, you have
postponed it. This you have done.
Be free of all these
things right now. Because free you have been, free you are. You cannot
achieve anything other than what you are. Anything gained afresh or
achieved for the first time - anything which is new to you - you will
certainly lose because it was not there at all. All that is natural
to you is already there. Do not try to achieve anything or gain anything
or attain anything which is not already there. This is not a fresh
gain. People think, "At the end of this sadhana I am going to
be free." But it is not like that. You have been looking for
something else, not freedom. Freedom is already here.
When you exert effort
or practice sadhana you will camouflage and cover the truth. You will
have to remove this covering because it is you who put it there. This
covering will be removed through your effort. And when all efforts
are done away with - when all attempts, all intents and intentions,
all ideas and notions are rejected - at that time ask yourself, "Who
am I?" You will certainly find the answer.
This is how freedom
is already attained: You are already free. If you can hear
this once from a teacher you are free. If you cannot hear this, then
practice. If you can listen to a teacher who is not a liar, who is
speaking the truth, and if you are honestly longing for freedom then
listen once and you are free.
If you are not honest
and if the teacher is not authentic it will not work. You will have
to take up a practice if something is false somewhere. What is that
practice? At all times, walking, sleeping, dreaming, on waking, while
standing, sitting, lying, go on chanting the mantra. I can recommend
mantras also, as a second best. If you can repeat this mantra from
now till your last breath I guarantee you will not appear again in
a next birth; you will not fall into any womb. What is the mantra?
"I AM FREE!" Take up this practice if you do not believe
me. If you can listen, if you long for freedom, and you feel that I am honest when I tell you that you are free, then accept it! Hear this only once and you are free.
If you do not accept
what I am saying then I will give you a practice as a second best.
You will have to continue practicing on every breath - every breath
of the waking state, of the dream state, of the sleeping state up
to the last breath. Then I guarantee that you will not appear again
in this miserable samsara.
To hear this once
is enough. It is no problem to be free in this life. You have lived
8.4 million times as different kinds of species. This cycle has taken
about 35 million years, and each of us has gone though many such cycles.
So let us now decide not to return again.
Those who are here
represent 6 billion people in the world today, without counting all
the animals, birds, worms and germs. Out of 6 billion human beings
there are very few of us here. Throughout the world they do not allow
you to even utter the words, "I want to be free." If you
say, "I am free." or "I am God." you are put on
a cross or stoned to death. Those few who have said, "I am Free."
have been stoned to death or crucified. I am happy that you have freedom
of expression; you are lucky. You are born of a lucky family, of a
lucky land that has allowed you to come to some other country and
search for freedom. You are twice lucky. And I trust that all those
who are here will not return home as they came. I am having good results.
This is the first time in history. I see people every day come in
front and say, "I am free. I am free." They come from every
country and see me saying, "I am in peace. I have seen peace.
I am very happy!" They express it in many ways.
This has never happened
before. In distant centuries people were performing tapas continuously
for thousands of years, but we have very few examples of enlightenment
- only a finger count. We have to go back thousands of years to find
some sage or saint we can quote about freedom, like Jagnavalka, Vaishista
or Buddha. But here I am very happy to see many buddhas appearing.
Without sitting under any bodhi tree they are becoming buddhas. This
is happening in this century because now we have no time to go to
the mountains. The mountains are all polluted now. In Kashmir at 22,000
feet, armies are standing abreast with their weapons with intention
of killing each other. How can you meditate between two armies?
It is best that wherever
you find time, even in your own apartment - close your eyes and meditate.
Search within yourself. There is no need to go anywhere because there
is no peace anywhere. Everything is polluted - we cannot even have
fresh air. The ocean is polluted, the rivers are polluted, mountains
are polluted, the land is polluted, food is polluted. What is there
to do about it? You cannot even do yoga. For yoga you need very sattvic
food, which is not available. The human lifespan is becoming shorter
so it is better to hurry up! No one has seen tomorrow.
Today is the best
day. You can win freedom right now. I do not advise any practice.
I do not tell you to practice even for one minute. Just now, this
instant, one second, half a second, half of half a second is enough.
Anytime today, but today - but now - you are free.
Simply listen to
me. Simply have trust in what I say when I tell you that you are free.
Do not doubt. If you need to doubt then you will need practice. It
is your choice. 6 November, 1991
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