The Path of Self-Realization.

After a great deal of study, we feel as though we have made some progress on the spiritual path, and even come to believe we have received spiritual Knowledge. We argue and debate and think ourselves wise.

But if we are discriminating, we will realize that although we have made intellec- tual progress,we have not advanced on the path of self-realization at all. On the con- trary, it seems that the more intellectual progress we make, the more we are retarded spiritually.

Those who think themselves to be wise and learned, but who are actually ignorant of the Truth, are fools who will lose their way and end up turning round and round in circles.

Many people never hear about the soul, and many do not understand even when they do hear about it. Without a doubt, whoever explains the subject of the soul is outstanding, and he who receives his explanation is clever.

The soul cannot be understood or explained properly except by a perfectly realized soul. The soul can be understood by meditation, and when a wise man begins to teach us, we are immediately freed from this world, and become steady and strong. This is a very subtle subject, and cannot be proved.

One can only have Knowledge of the soul by means of experience. This experience comes from the Knowledge of the Satguru. Thus one should not dismiss this Truth by means of arguments, for by the grace of the Guru, the self can easily be realized. The Satguru is outstanding, he is the Knower of the self, for only he who knows the Truth can reveal it.

You may deliver long lectures, you may be a great debater, you may prove that all the stories in the scriptures are myths, but my brothers, please try and understand, all your learning is still quite useless.

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From now on, whenever you see someone who is speaking against the worship God, stop and ask him, "How much do you know about God, beyond the fact that He is all powerful, that He is everywhere, and that His love is unlimited? You've heard people say these things, but do you understand them? I find that people like this don't know anything, they don't know whether these words have any meaning or not. A fool who has never read a book in his life is better off than these people, for at least he isn't disturbing the peace of this world. But these people irritate and disturb others with their arguments.

Direct experience is the true religion. We must differentiate between words and experience. Whatever your soul experiences is true. You should ask those who give lip-service to God who or what they think He is. Have they seen Him? Do they understand why He is called omnipresent?

People have no idea about the soul. They can only imagine the unmanifest One in terms of whatever they see around them. So they imagine Him in terms of blue sky, open spaces, the ocean, or something like that.

If we don't allow ourselves to think in these terms, how can we form any picture of God? We speak about a God who is everywhere, yet we think of the ocean! Is God the ocean, then?

So throw away useless arguments. What we want is Knowledge of God, pure and simple. And that is the most difficult thing in this world to find. If a buffalo wants to worship God, it will see God as a larger and more powerful buffalo. In our present limited condition, we are bound to think of God in human form.

There are two things in this life: the eternal soul and the temporal world. Guru is he who takes us from the temporal to the eternal, who introduces us to Truth, who shows us the Light of Truth, the perfect pure Light, and who thereby removes the darkness of our ignorance.

Just as darkness disappears before the sun, so the presence of the Satguru dispels the darkness of ignorance. Then the sun of Knowledge rises. The Knowledge which Satguru gives is not like the sun which sets in the evening, bringing back the darkness. That Knowledge is never darkened. The soul is never lost again.

The soul is not born, nor does it die. It is self-manifested and everlasting. Being a free

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entity, it knows neither birth nor death. Having no creator, no cause, it is eternal, indestructible and beginningless. Even when the body perishes, the soul does not. By remembering the vibration of the soul, what is called the Holy Name, we receive all that we need in this world, and can become fully realized. The conditions are as follows: first, the Guru must be super powerful, and second, the disciple must be the same.

The Holy Name should be received from one who himself received it from his Perfect Master, and who is presently Perfect Master in a correct spiritual succession. From ancient times the Perfect Master has channeled his spiritual power to his disciples. Since the Name comes from the same spiritual tradition, it has become very pow- erful. He who teaches this Name is called the Guru, and he who receives it is called the disciple.

If anyone receives this Name properly and practices it regularly, he will have nothing more to do by way of devotion. Just by meditating on that Name, he will reach the highest stages of devotion. All spiritual disciplines are included in the remembrance of the Name.

The devotees know that nothing is more powerful than remembering the Name. The Guru is like a farmer, and his disciple is the farm. The farmer prepares his land to perfection, manuring it and making it fertile. Then he sows the best seeds, hoping for a good harvest.

When the Guru sows the seed of Holy Name in his disciple, he also hopes that his disciple will enjoy perfect peace and be saved. The Satguru never gives the seed in the hope that his disciple will not enjoy perfect peace.

Just as a seed can only sprout after it has been buried, so the flower of Knowledge will not appear until the disciple erases his selfishness completely. You should erase yourself until there is no "you" left. There should be no duality left at all. If the disciple is good, he will lose his ego, and quickly realize the Knowledge.

Just as a clean white cloth easily and quickly absorbs the color in a dye, so the disciple with a pure and guileless heart can easily and quickly absorb his Guru's Knowledge.

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