The Supreme Knowledge

The Upanishads know only the supreme knowledge. What is this supreme knowledge? And why is it called supreme? The Upanishads call that knowledge supreme which is not gathered from without, which is not gathered at all. You cannot be educated in it, it cannot be taught; it happens within, it flowers in you.

The first distinction to be made is that there is knowledge which can be taught. The Upanishads call that knowledge lower knowledge. Precisely, they call it avidya - ignorance with information - because that which can be taught to you remains in the mind, it never reaches exactly to you.

You remain untouched, your center remains untouched, your being is not in any way changed, transformed. Only the mind collects it, only the brain cells collect it, so it is the same as when we feed a computer - in the same way your mind is fed.

From the very childhood you have been taught many things. They have not reached you, and they will never reach you. The mind gathers them, the mind becomes filled with them. And the mind is so complex that in a single mind all the libraries of the world can be fed; a single head can contain all the knowledge that exists in this world - but the Upanishads say you will not become knowing through that. It is mechanical, consciousness is not needed for it. If even a computer can do it, then it is not worth it.

What the computer cannot do is supreme knowledge. The computer cannot become self-knowing, there is no possibility for the computer to become self-conscious. That which has not been fed into the computer cannot happen to it, and if the same is the case with man then there is no soul, then you are also a natural biocomputer. If everything that comes out of you has been fed into you, if exactly the same amount comes out that has been fed in, if nothing new happens within, then you have no soul; then you are a very complex mechanism, that's all.

So the whole religion depends on the phenomenon of supreme knowledge. Is it possible that something can happen within, absolutely new, which has never been taught to you, which has not been cultivated in you? If something so original happens to you, only that can prove that you have a soul; otherwise you are simply a brain, a complex mechanism but still a mechanism, and then there is no possibility of any transformation.

The Upanishads call that knowledge supreme which happens within. That's why religion cannot be taught. You can teach science, you can teach many other things, but you cannot teach religion. And if you teach religion, religion becomes false. That's what missionaries of all the religions have done to this earth. They have been teaching religion on just the same lines as science is taught, so they fill your mind with certain knowledge and you start repeating that knowledge. You may even start living that knowledge, but you will remain a computer, a robot.

The Upanishads say there is a possibility and there is a way to attain the supreme knowledge. So what will the master do if it cannot be taught? That's why I say a master is not a teacher. The master is not going to teach you; he is going to create a situation around you, only the situation. He will create devices around you, he will create only the soil - the seed you have already got within you.

The situation can be provided and the seed will start sprouting, the dead seed will become alive.

The seed will die, but a plant will come in its place. And this seed, this seedling, this growing plant, will become a tree. But this is something which happens within you. You can be helped, but you cannot be taught.

A master can create a situation around you - just a situation, remember. And whatsoever he teaches is not knowledge, he teaches only how to create the situation. He teaches you methods; he cannot give you the conclusion - he can only help indirectly. That's why it is such a delicate phenomenon.

And only one who has got it within him, one who has passed through all the stages, one who has become a big tree, flowering - only he can create the situation around you. So a person who has not become enlightened himself cannot help you; on the contrary, he may hinder you.

If it was just a teaching, then even scriptures would be helpful: The Bible would do, the Koran, the Vedas, the Upanishads would do. But you can read The Bible, you can memorize it, you can become an expert, you can become a scholar - but you will not become a religious man. Just by memorizing The Bible, Christ is not going to happen to you. The Christ can happen to you only when the situation is created around you, and your own inner seed grows. Religion is not a teaching, it is a growth. And what is supreme knowledge? - when you grow, when you know, when for the first time you have your own eyes to see into reality.

So the first thing: supreme knowledge is that knowledge which happens to you but cannot be taught. The second thing: all knowledge is about something other than you - supreme knowledge is absolutely about you. Or, it may even be wrong to say that it is about you. It is not about, because whatsoever it is about is about something other than you. It will be better to say that it is you, not about you... because many things can be taught about you. It can be asked, "Who are you?"

Someone can say, "You are Brahman, you are the divine, you are the absolute, the soul, atman." But this is about you; this is not supreme knowledge - somebody else is teaching it to you.

When you become knowledge, when you become the knowing center, when your very consciousness becomes the door, then supreme knowledge has happened to you. Mathematics is about something, physics is about something else, chemistry about something else, psychology is about the mind - supreme knowledge is you. No university, no school is of any help. Directly, nothing can be done about it, only an indirect help is possible.

THE SAGE SANKRITI THEN SAID TO THE SUN GOD: O LORD, PLEASE TEACH ME THE SUPREME KNOWLEDGE.

He is asking an absurd question: PLEASE TEACH ME THE SUPREME KNOWLEDGE. It cannot be taught - but that's how a disciple has to reach the master. The disciple cannot know that there is something which cannot be taught; every disciple has to come to the master and ask to be taught.

It is absurd for the master, because he knows it cannot be taught, but every seeker thinks that everything can be taught - even the supreme knowledge can be taught.

It happened in Upanishadic days that one young boy, Svetaketu, was sent by his father to a gurukul, to a family of an enlightened master, to learn. He learned everything that could be learned, he memorized all the Vedas and all the science available in those days. He became proficient in them, he became a great scholar; his fame started spreading all over the country. Then there was nothing else to be taught, so the master said, "You have known all that can be taught. Now you can go back."

Thinking that everything had happened and there was nothing else - because whatsoever the master knew, he also knew, and the master had taught him everything - Svetaketu went back.

Of course with great pride and ego, he came back to his father.

When he was entering the village his father, Uddalak, looked out of the window at his son coming back from the university. He saw the way he was walking - very proudly, the way he was holding his head - in a very egoistic way, the way he was looking all around - very self-conscious that he knew.

The father became sad and depressed, because this is not the way of one who really knows, this is not the way of one who has come to know the supreme knowledge.

The son entered the house. He was thinking that his father would be very happy - he had become one of the suprememost scholars of the country; he was known everywhere, respected everywhere - but he saw that the father was sad, so he asked, "Why are you sad?"

The father said, "Only one question I have to ask you. Have you learned that by learning which there is no need to learn anything any more? Have you known that by knowing which all suffering ceases? Have you been taught that which cannot be taught?"

The boy also became sad. He said, "No. Whatsoever I know has been taught to me, and I can teach it to anybody who is ready to learn."

The father said, "Then you go back and ask your master that you be taught that which cannot be taught."

The boy said, "But that is absurd. If it cannot be taught, how can the master teach me?"

The father said, "That is the art of the master: he can teach you that which cannot be taught. You go back."

He went back. Bowing down to his master's feet, he said, "My father has sent me for an absolutely absurd thing. Now I don't know where I am and what I am asking you. My father has told me to come back and return only when I have learned that which cannot be learned, when I have been taught that which cannot be taught. What is it? What is this? You never told me about it."

The master said, "Unless one inquires, it cannot be told; you never inquired about it. But now you are starting a totally different journey. And remember, it cannot be taught, so it is very delicate; only indirectly will I help you. Do one thing: take all the animals of my gurukul - there were at least four hundred cows, bulls and other animals - and go to the deepest forest possible where nobody ever comes and moves. Live with these animals in silence. Don't talk, because these animals cannot understand any language. So remain silent, and when just by reproduction these four hundred animals have become one thousand, then come back."

It was going to be a long time - until four hundred animals had become one thousand. And he was to go without saying anything, without arguing, without asking, "What are you telling me to do?

Where will it lead?" He was to just live with animals and trees and rocks; not talking, and forgetting the human world completely. Because your mind is a human creation, if you live with human beings the mind is continuously fed. They say something, you say something - the mind goes on learning, it goes on revolving.

"So go," the master said, "to the hills, to the forest. Live alone. Don't talk. And there is no use in thinking, because these animals won't understand even your thinking. Drop all your scholarship here."

Svetaketu followed. He went to the forest and lived with the animals for many years. For a few days thoughts remained there in the mind - the same thoughts repeating themselves again and again.

Then it became boring. If new thoughts are not felt, then you will become aware that the mind is just repetitive, just a mechanical repetition; it goes on in a rut. And there was no way to get new knowledge. With new knowledge the mind is always happy, because there is something again to grind, something again to work out; the mechanism goes on moving.

Svetaketu became aware. There were four hundred animals, birds, other wild animals, trees, rocks, rivers and streams, but no man and no possibility of any human communication. There was no use in being very egoistic, because these animals didn't know what type of great scholar this Svetaketu was. They didn't consider him at all; they didn't look at him with respect, so by and by the pride disappeared, because it was futile and it even looked foolish to walk in a prideful way with the animals. Even Svetaketu started feeling, "If I remain egoistic these animals will laugh at me - so what am I doing?" Sitting under the trees, sleeping near the streams, by and by his mind became silent.

The story is beautiful. The years passed and his mind became so silent that Svetaketu completely forgot when he had to return. He became so silent that even this idea was not there. The past dropped completely, and with the dropping of the past the future drops, because the future is nothing but a projection of the past - just the past reaching into the future. So he forgot what the master had said, he forgot when he had to return. There was no when and where, he was just here and now.

He lived in the moment just like the animals, he became a cow.

The story says that when the animals became one thousand, they started feeling uncomfortable.

They were waiting for Svetaketu to take them back to the ashram and he had forgotten, so one day the cows decided to speak to Svetaketu and they said, "Now it is time enough, and we remember that the master had said that you must come back when the animals became one thousand, and you have completely forgotten. Now is the time and we must go back. We have become one thousand."

So Svetaketu went back with the animals. The master looked from the door of his hut at Svetaketu coming with one thousand animals, and he said to his other disciples, "Look, one thousand and one animals are coming." Svetaketu had become such a silent being - no ego, no self-consciousness, just moving with the animals as one of them.

The master came to receive him; the master was dancing, ecstatic. He embraced Svetaketu and he said, "Now there is nothing to say to you - you have already known. Why have you come? There is no need to come now, there is nothing to be taught. You have already known."

Svetaketu said, "Just to pay my respects, just to touch your feet, just to be grateful. It has happened, and you have taught me that which cannot be taught."

This is what a master is to do: create a situation in which the thing happens. So only indirect effort can be made, indirect help, indirect guidance. And wherever direct guidance is given, wherever your mind is taught, it is not religion. It may be theology but not religion; it may be philosophy but not religion.

The supreme knowledge is that which cannot be taught. But the sage Sankriti asked: TEACH ME THE SUPREME KNOWLEDGE.

THE SUN GOD SAID:

I SHALL NOW EXPLAIN TO YOU THIS MOST RARE KNOWLEDGE, UPON THE ATTAINMENT OF WHICH YOU WILL BECOME FREE WHILE YET DWELLING IN THIS BODY. SEE IN ALL BEINGS THE BRAHMAN, WHO IS ONE, UNBORN, STILL, IMPERISHABLE, INFINITE, IMMUTABLE AND CONSCIOUS; SO SEEING LIVE IN PEACE AND BLISS. DO NOT SEE ANYTHING EXCEPT THE SELF AND THE SUPREME. THIS STATE IS KNOWN AS YOGA. ROOTED THUS IN YOGA, CARRY OUT YOUR DEEDS.

The first thing he said was: SEE IN ALL BEINGS THE BRAHMAN. This too is to create a situation, remember. This is not a teaching, this is giving a device. What do you see? You see trees, you see rocks, you see men, you see dogs, you see cows - you see many things, but not one. You go on counting waves but you don't see the hidden ocean.

The sun god said to Sankriti that the first thing is to see the one. Apparently there are many, but behind the many the one is hidden. So whenever you see the many, remember this is the surface, not the soul. Penetrate deep; forget the surface and try to know the center, the depth. The depth is one.

Go to the sea, there are millions of waves. You never see the sea, you always see the waves, because they are on the surface. But every wave is nothing but a waving of the sea, the sea is waving through all the waves. Remember the ocean and forget the waves - because waves don't really exist, only the ocean exists.

The ocean can exist without the waves but the waves cannot exist without the ocean. If there is no ocean there can be no waves - or can there be? Then what will wave in them? They cannot be, but the ocean can be. There is no need for the waves, the ocean can be silent. If there is no wind blowing the ocean will be there, silent.

The ocean can exist without the waves, but the waves cannot exist without the ocean. So waves are just the surface, and waves are accidental - through the action of the winds they have come into existence. They have come into existence from without, some accident has created them. If the wind is not blowing the ocean will be silent and non-waving. So waves are accidents created from without, on the surface; the ocean is something totally different.

And the same is the case with all beings. The tree is also a wave, and the man is also a wave, and the rock is also a wave. And behind the rock and the tree and the man the same ocean is hidden.

That ocean is called by the Upanishads the Brahman. The Brahman, the ultimate soul, the absolute soul, is just the ocean. So look at a man but don't cling to the surface, immediately move to the depth and see the Brahman hidden there.

You can do this. Just try it in this camp. Whenever you have time, sit with your friend, your beloved, your wife, your husband, or anybody - a stranger will do - just sit and look into each other's eyes without thinking, and try to penetrate the eyes without thinking. Just look deeper and deeper into each other's eyes. Soon you will become aware that the waves have been crossed and an ocean has opened unto you.

Look into each other's eyes deeply, because eyes are just the doors. And if you don't think, if you just stare into the eyes, soon the waves will disappear and the ocean will be revealed. Do it first with a human being, because you are closer to that type of wave. Then move to animals - a little more distant; then move to trees - still more distant waves; then move to the rocks.

If you can look deep down into the eyes, you will feel that the man has disappeared, the person has disappeared. Some oceanic phenomenon is hidden behind and this person was just a waving of a depth, a wave of something unknown, hidden. Try this; it will be something worth knowing. That's what the sun god said to Sankriti: SEE IN ALL BEINGS THE BRAHMAN, WHO IS ONE... not many.

So wherever you feel any distinction, know that you are on the surface. All distinctions are on the surface; "many" belongs to the surface. In English we have a word, "universe," that is almost parallel to Brahman. "Uni" means one, but whatsoever you see around you is not "universe." You may call it a universe, but it is not, it is a multiverse. Many you see, not one; names you see, not the nameless; waves you see, but not the ocean.

This is to create a situation. Look deep and don't be deceived by the surface, and soon you will become aware of an ocean all around. Then you will see that you are also just a wave, your ego is just a wave - behind that ego, the nameless, the one, is hidden.

SEE IN ALL BEINGS THE BRAHMAN, WHO IS ONE, UNBORN...

... Because only waves are born, the ocean remains the same. The many are born, the one remains the same. You are born and you will have to die; hence the fear of death, so much fear of death, but the Brahman in you is unborn and undying. Everyone is afraid of death. Why this fear? And nothing can be done about it; only one thing is certain in life, and that is death.

It is said of one Zen master, Tojo, that he remained silent his whole life, he would not speak. When he was a child it was thought that he was incapable of speaking, but he was so intelligent that sooner or later people realized that he was just keeping silence, he was not dumb. His eyes were so radiant, intelligent, wise; his behavior, his actions, were so intelligent that people became aware that he was simply keeping a deep silence - maybe continuing some vow to remain silent that he may have taken in his past life. And he remained silent for eighty years.

The first and last statement he made was on the day he was going to die. The morning he was going to die, just as the sun was rising, he collected his followers - many had started following him. He was not speaking, but he was living something, and that living something became so significant to those who could understand that there were many who followed him; many were his disciples. They would just sit around Tojo, they would just be in contact with his silence, and many were transformed.

He collected all his followers and said, "This evening when the sun sets, I will die. This is my first and last statement."

So somebody said, "But if you can speak, why did you remain silent your whole life?"

He said, "Everything else is uncertain, only death is certain. And I want only to speak about something which is certain."

Once born, death is certain; everything else is uncertain. Why is death so certain? Nothing can be done about it. Science may help to prolong life, but death cannot be destroyed, because it is implied in the very phenomenon of birth; it has happened already. Death is one pole of the same phenomenon of which birth is the beginning, the other pole.

It is just like a magnet: on a magnet you have two poles - the positive and the negative. You can cut off the negative pole, you can cut the magnet in half, but immediately the negative pole will appear on the place where you have cut. Now there are two magnets, and each magnet will have two poles.

Before there was one magnet and it had two poles, negative and positive. Now you have cut it into two pieces. The one which has the positive pole will immediately create the negative, and the one which has the negative pole will immediately create the positive. You can go on cutting the magnet, but howsoever many fragments you cut, each fragment will have two poles - because a magnet cannot exist with one pole, it is impossible.

Life has two poles: birth is the positive pole, death is the negative. You cannot destroy, you can at the most prolong. You can at the most make a bigger magnet, but the other pole will be there. You can cut it and make a small magnet, but the other pole will be there. This polarity is absolute. So whatsoever science thinks or imagines, it can never happen. Death cannot be destroyed; through science, remember, it is impossible to destroy death.

Once born you have to die. But right now, behind this ego, the unborn is flowing. If you can look and see and feel the unborn, the fear of death disappears - and there is no other way to destroy the fear.

Death is there and you are going to die, you cannot be immortal as an ego. But if you look deep, and if you can find the depth of your ego where ego is no more, if you can see the ocean beyond the wave, you are already immortal. But that one which is hidden behind was never born and it will never die. Unless you come to know something which is not born, you cannot become deathless.

SEE IN ALL BEINGS THE BRAHMAN, WHO IS ONE, UNBORN, STILL, IMPERISHABLE, INFINITE, IMMUTABLE AND CONSCIOUS; SO SEEING LIVE IN PEACE AND BLISS.

Once you can see that, bliss is just the by-product, peace simply happens. And it cannot happen before. Death is there - how can you be at peace? Death is there - how can you be at home? Death is there - how can you rest? Death will create tensions, anguish, worries. Death is there constantly hammering on your head - how can you be silent? And how can you love this existence? And how can you feel grateful to the divine? Impossible! Death is there. You can forget it for moments, but it is hidden; it is always there behind the mind. And whatsoever you do, knowingly or unknowingly, the phenomenon of death influences you. It is always there just like a shadow, it darkens your life.

People come to me and they say, "We are sad, depressed, and we don't know what the cause is.

There is no visible cause for our being sad and depressed. We have everything that life can give, still we are sad and depressed."

They will remain sad and depressed. They may not know what the cause is; the cause is there - the death always around you, around the corner, waiting for you. And wherever you are moving, you are moving to the death; whatsoever you do, every act, leads you to the death.

I have heard one Sufi tale. Once it happened that one king had a dream. In the night when he was fast asleep he dreamed he saw a shadow, a very dark, dangerous looking, ferocious shadow, standing just behind him. He asked, "Who are you?"

The shadow said, "I am your death, and before the sun sets tomorrow, I am coming to meet you. I have come just to inform you."

The king wanted to ask, "Is there any way to escape from you?" but he became so afraid that he was awakened. He couldn't ask, and the dream disappeared. So in the middle of the night he gathered all his wise men and he said, "There is no time, so you decide immediately what this dream means.

What does this symbol mean? Interpret it."

All the Freuds and Jungs and Adlers of his day were called immediately to interpret the dream. They came with their big scriptures, books and charts, and the king became afraid. He said, "Don't waste time! You have to decide immediately!"

They said, "It is a very intricate thing, very complex, and it has never happened before so there is no precedent. We cannot decide immediately, it has to be analyzed and it will take time."

But the king prayed to them, "Do it as soon as possible, because I have to decide and do something.

The sun is just going to rise, and once the sun has risen it has already set - then there is no time.

The sun will move and set, and within twelve hours everything will be finished!"

They started discussing, and there was much discussion - as it always happens with persons whose minds are filled with knowledge. Everyone was of a different opinion and the king was still more confused.

The king had one old servant. The old servant came near to him and whispered in the king's ear, "Don't wait. I know these people. Even if you have one hundred years to live, they will not come to any conclusion - they have never come to a conclusion. For centuries they have been discussing; conclusion is not their goal at all, discussion is their interest. These are philosophers. For thousands of years they have been discussing and have reached no conclusion - philosophy has no conclusion.

And every answer that has been given by these fellows creates one hundred questions, so simply don't wait for them."

The king said, "Then what am I supposed to do?"

The old man said, "I am a common man, not a learned man, and as far as I can see you should do a commonsense thing: you take your fastest horse and escape from this palace, this palace is dangerous. At least this much is certain - that you should not be here at that moment when death comes. Go as far away as possible."

It was worth considering. The king said, "Okay. There is no other possibility, because these fellows are confusing me even more. So let them discuss and let them decide, and I will escape."

When you have fear, escape seems to be the only door. So he took his fastest horse, a wonderful horse, and he escaped from the palace. When the sun was rising he was out of the town, when the sun was setting he was hundreds of miles away. And when the sun was just going to set he reached a big tree. He thought, "This will be a good place for the night." He came down from his horse and he thanked the horse, saying, "You are just wonderful. You are the only friend who helped me in such a great difficulty. When scholars were of no use, you helped me. At least you have brought me so far away."

While he was saying this and patting the horse, suddenly he saw the same shadow behind him. He trembled and he said, "What! You have come?"

The shadow said, "Yes, I was waiting under this tree for you the whole day. And I was afraid whether your horse would come or not - the place is so far away from your palace. Let me thank your horse, he is really wonderful."

Whatsoever you do, and wherever you escape, you cannot escape death; wherever you reach, death will be waiting for you there. If you are rich you can have a fast horse; if you are poor you will have to walk, but you will reach - you will reach anyway.

Fear is there around the heart, the heart is in the grip of the fear of death. And it spoils everything.

You cannot really love. When you are in love, death is there. And love is so deathlike that lovers always become conscious of death. If you have loved anyone you will be aware of it. You may not have noticed, but whenever you love someone the lover is bound to ask, "Will you love me forever?" - the fear of death. "Will you always be with me?" - the fear of death. When you are deep in love you become more aware, because deep in love you are near the heart, and near the heart is the shadow of death. Every beat of the heart is aware that the next heartbeat may not come. Wherever you move, you cannot feel blissful.

Look at a beautiful flower. The beauty of it grips you, for a moment the mind stops; but suddenly you become aware that the flower is going to die by the evening, and just after the beauty of the flower comes the sadness of death. It is everywhere. You will find it moving with you, moment to moment.

How can you be at ease? How can you be at peace? How can you live in bliss? Impossible!

The sun god said, "But if you become aware of the one behind the many, if you become aware of the one in the many...." If this multiverse disappears and the universe appears, you will be at peace - because then you cannot die. The ocean cannot die, the life energy that is waving in you cannot die. The wave will disappear, but the energy will continue in other waves. That's what reincarnation means.

All the religions which have penetrated very deep - Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, three religions which have penetrated very deep into the soul of man - they all believe in reincarnation.

Mohammedanism, Christianity and Judaism don't believe in reincarnation, but they never worked very hard; they never penetrated the heart of man very deeply. They remained social phenomena, they were more sociopolitical, less religious. The whole history of Islam is sociopolitical, and whenever anybody in the fold of Islam tried to penetrate deeply, he was immediately destroyed and killed.

For example, al-Hillaj Mansoor: he was a man of the same caliber as Buddha, a man who penetrated deeply. When he came to feel that he is Brahman, he is God, he declared it. He said, "Ana'l haq - I am Brahman."

But this appeared blasphemy to Mohammedans, and they immediately killed him. They said, "This is impossible. At the most you can be a worshipper, but you cannot become God. This is too much, this cannot be tolerated - a human being declaring that he is God!"

They killed Mansoor, they killed many Sufis. In Islam only Sufis penetrated deeply. Sufism is the central core of Islam, the essential Islam - but Islam killed them. So just to survive Sufis disappeared. They became a secret society and they compromised. As far as their outward behavior was concerned they compromised with Islam, deep down they remained a very revolutionary sect.

But they were not accepted by the society at large; Islam remained a sociopolitical phenomenon.

Christianity also remained a sociopolitical phenomenon. It created kingdoms. Even the pope himself became a king, and he still rules a small kingdom, the Vatican. Eckhart, Boehme and Blake were never accepted, the main current never accepted them - and many were destroyed and killed. Whosoever tried to assert the deepest phenomenon of one's being, the absolute reality, he was never accepted in Christianity. That's why they couldn't penetrate to the phenomenon of reincarnation.

Millions of lives you have had, and if you don't stop in your stupidities you are going to have millions more. If you stop then waves disappear - you become the ocean. And the ocean is at peace, the ocean is always blissful. So it is not a question of how to put your mind at ease, how to relax the mind. No, that won't do. It is a question of how to move deep, so deep that the mind is left behind and you reach the base of your being, the very substantial base of your being, and the mind becomes the surface, the waving surface. Only then is there peace and bliss.

Said the sun god:

DO NOT SEE ANYTHING EXCEPT THE SELF AND THE SUPREME. THIS STATE IS KNOWN AS YOGA. ROOTED THUS IN YOGA, CARRY OUT YOUR DEEDS.

This is the state of knowing that waves are on the surface and you are the ocean, not the waves; the state of knowing that waves belong to you, but you are not the waves - they are just your clothing, just your body. You are the nameless, infinite ocean. The sun god said, "This is the state of yoga" - one of the most beautiful definitions of yoga.

Knowing oneself as the ocean is yoga. You have met, the meeting has happened. You are no longer separate, you are no longer an island - you have become one with a vast continent of consciousness. This is yoga.

The word yoga means meeting, joining together. The root from which the word yoga comes is the same as for the English word yoke: yoking together, joining together, becoming one. When you feel you are the Brahman, this is the state of yoga.

ROOTED THUS IN YOGA, CARRY OUT YOUR DEEDS.

Then there is no need to escape to the forest. The Upanishads were never life-negative, remember this. There is a deep misunderstanding in the West, and it has been created by one of the most sincere men of this age, Albert Schweitzer. He himself was in a misunderstanding and was very confused about Eastern mysticism. He created the idea in the West that the Upanishads are life- negative, not life-affirmative. This is wrong, absolutely wrong. The Upanishads are life-affirming.

They don't say, "Move away from life"; they simply say, "Know the deepest life and then act." They don't say, "Stop waving"; they say, "Know that you are the ocean, then go on waving." But then waving becomes a play.

ROOTED THUS IN YOGA, CARRY OUT YOUR DEEDS.

These Upanishadic rishis were not lifelong brahmacharins, bachelors. They were not: they were married people, they had children, they had their families. They were not in any way negative; they had not renounced life, remember.

The whole thing became confused because of Buddha and Mahavira - they both renounced life.

That too is a way, that too is a way to reach the divine, but because of this the whole Hinduism was misunderstood. And they were so significant, they were the most important revolutionaries in India, that even Hindus started thinking in their way. Buddha and Mahavira impressed the country so much; and they renounced life, they were negative. The negative is also a path.

There are two paths, negative and positive, and you have to choose. Either be totally positive, then you transcend; or be totally negative, then you transcend. Either trust life absolutely, then you go beyond life; or mistrust life absolutely, then also you go beyond life. These are the two paths, the two outgoing doors, the positive and negative - because these are the two poles. And remember, you can jump only from a pole, you cannot jump from the middle.

If I am to go out of this room I will have to find a polarity. I cannot jump from the middle of this room, I cannot go out from the middle. There is no way from the middle, I have to find the periphery, and from the periphery I can go out.

These are the two poles: life and death, negative and positive. Either affirm life, then you can jump out; or negate life, then you can jump out. If you affirm life then birth becomes the pole, if you deny life then death becomes the pole. Both Buddha and Mahavira were more interested in death than in birth. But Hinduism is not negative, and the Upanishads are not negative, they are affirmative.

Schweitzer became confused because of Buddha and Mahavira. Not only Schweitzer, even Hindus have become confused, because Buddha's and Mahavira's impact was so deep, and they impressed the whole country so much, that even Hindus had to think about it. And Shankara, one of the greatest Hindus ever born, became almost a Buddhist in the Hindu fold.

Shankara again impressed people very much. For these one thousand years he has been the soul of Hinduism - and he was just a Buddhist. Shankara's enemies, Ramanuja, Nimbark and Vallabh, detected him. They said, "This man is not a Hindu at all; he just appears Hindu. He is a crypto- Buddhist, a hidden Buddhist." And they were right.

Hinduism is totally different from Jainism and Buddhism. The difference, the basic difference, is that Hinduism affirms life. The rishis were not unmarried men, they were householders. They had not renounced, they never renounced anything. You cannot conceive of it. The whole thing has become so distant now, you cannot conceive of these rishis. They were living in life, but living as the ocean, not as the waves. They accepted everything.

Once it happened that King Janak declared that there was going to be a great debate, and whosoever won the debate would get a very big prize. The prize was a thousand beautiful cows with horns of gold, studded with diamonds. These one thousand cows were standing before the palace. All the scholars and pundits came, many people gathered in the hall. Whosoever won would take the cows.

Then came one of the most prominent rishis of that day with his disciples from his gurukul, from his ashram. And remember, those ashrams were not for brahmacharins only, those ashrams were household affairs. The guru lived with his wife and children and his disciples, and his disciples were absorbed into his family. Yajnavalkya came with his disciples, and he said to them, "Take these cows. I will take care of the debate later on" - absolutely affirmative!

These Upanishadic rishis lived life, but from a totally different standpoint, from a totally different center. They said, "Life is good, life is a blessing, and to allow the waves is a game, a beautiful game worth playing. And if God has given you the opportunity, play it to the full - but don't get identified."

Remember, this is a game. Remember, the earth is nothing but a drama, a great drama, and you are nothing more than actors. Remain a witness within and go on acting. There is no need to escape from actions. Even to think in terms of escape shows that you are afraid, and fear cannot lead you anywhere, only love.

And these rishis loved life. They loved everything that life can give; they loved all the blessings - and there are millions of blessings. They never said that life is dukkha, they never said that life is misery. They said that you can make life a misery, but life is not a misery. You can also make a bliss out of it - it is you, not life.

ROOTED THUS IN YOGA, CARRY OUT YOUR DEEDS.

THE MIND OF ONE WHO IS THUS ROOTED IN YOGA GRADUALLY WITHDRAWS FROM ALL DESIRES, AND THE SEEKER FEELS BLISSFUL WHILE ENGAGING HIMSELF EACH DAY IN MERITORIOUS ACTS. HE HAS NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER IN THE CONTRARY EFFORTS OF THE IGNORANT. HE NEVER BETRAYS THE SECRETS OF ONE TO ANOTHER.

HE OCCUPIES HIMSELF SOLELY WITH LOFTY DEEDS.

THE MIND OF ONE WHO IS THUS ROOTED IN YOGA GRADUALLY WITHDRAWS FROM ALL DESIRES. Desires are not to be left; rather you have to be rooted in yoga, then you will withdraw by yourself and the happening will be spontaneous. There is no need to kill desires, there is no need to fight with desires; the only thing is to know your oceanic state, your Brahman state, the one, and then get rooted into it.

The more you are rooted in it, the less and less desires will be there. But you have not renounced them; rather on the contrary, they have left you, because desires become uninterested in one who is rooted in himself. Desires leave him, because now they are not welcome guests. If they come he accepts them, if they come he is not going to destroy them and fight with them - but he is not interested. He has higher blessings with him now, the lower don't attract him. If they come he accepts, if they don't come he never thinks about them. By and by the life energy moves more and more within, withinwards; desires disappear.

Remember this distinction: in Buddhism and Jainism, desires have to be left consciously, effort has to be made to leave them and when you leave them you will be rooted in yourself. In Hinduism it is just the contrary: get rooted in yourself and desires will leave you. Buddha is negative: leave the desires and you will be rooted in yourself. Hinduism is positive: be rooted in yourself and desires will leave you.

It works both ways - it depends on you. If you are a negative type, a person to whom no comes easily, then follow the negative path. There are persons to whom no comes first, even if they want to say yes. If no is easy to you nothing is wrong in it; you are a negative type, that's all. Follow the negative path, say no to life so that you can get rooted in yourself. But if you are a yes type, then no is not your path. Then say yes to life, move with life, get rooted in yourself, and by and by desires will disappear.

AND THE SEEKER FEELS BLISSFUL WHILE ENGAGING HIMSELF EACH DAY IN MERITORIOUS ACTS.

Whatsoever such a person does is meritorious, it is punya, it is holy, it is sacred. Whatsoever is done by one who is rooted in himself becomes worship, it is meritorious, because now he engages in it just as a play, just as a life-game. He is aware that it is only overflowing energy that moves into acts; he is not interested in doing anything or reaching any goal. His action is not work, his action is play - then the seeker feels blissful.

Whenever you are in play you feel blissful, and if your whole life becomes a play you cannot imagine how blissful you can become. Why do you feel blissful while you play? Even when playing cards you become blissful, the misery disappears. Why? When playing a game - football or hockey or anything - why do you become so blissful? Why do you feel so much joy bubbling in you? What happens?

And side by side with you there may be a professional player; he is not happy. He is not happy because he is just doing work. If you are paid for your cardplaying you will not be happy, because then you are not interested in the game, you are interested in the salary, and it has become a boredom. You have to do it to get the salary. Then the end is not in it, it is only a means.

This is the difference between work and play: work means the end is not in it, and you are interested in the end. If you can reach the end without this work, you would like to leave it. You have to carry it as a burden, it is a compulsion on you. Somehow you have to finish it and reach the goal.

Play is totally different; the end is in it, it is intrinsic. There is no goal, you are not going anywhere.

You are enjoying the very thing. Think about it. A professional player becomes sad. It is something to be carried out, to be finished soon - the sooner the better.

The Upanishadic rishi is just the opposite. Even in profession he is a player; even in profession, in business, in whatsoever he is doing, in whatsoever life has created for him to do, he is a player, he goes on playing. He has no business to do, that's why he is never busy. There is nothing to be done, there is no hurry. If everything is left unfinished there is no worry because it is okay, it was just a play, it ended in the middle - really there was no end to be achieved. This is the attitude of the positive path.

THE SEEKER FEELS BLISSFUL WHILE ENGAGING HIMSELF EACH DAY IN MERITORIOUS ACTS.... HE PERFORMS ONLY SUCH GENTLE ACTS AS DO NOT DISTURB OTHERS.

When you are playing there is no need to hurt others, but when you are busy with a business you don't care for others. Rather, you will use whatsoever means are to be used, even if the others are to be destroyed, because it is not a play, it is a serious business. Whosoever comes in your way has to be destroyed and thrown out of the way. In business you are violent, and a mind which is businesslike can never be nonviolent.

That's why I go on saying that Gandhi cannot be nonviolent - he's so businesslike. Even his nonviolence is a business, he is so serious about it. He is not in a play, he is deadly serious.

That's why he appealed to us so much: we are all businessmen and he was the supreme, the top.

He appealed to us, he had appeal for everybody all over the earth, East or West. He appealed deeply, he appealed to the business mind. He was mathematical, calculating, serious with every penny - not in any way in a play.

He was not a Hindu, he could not be. He was ninety percent a Jaina and ten percent a Christian - negative, businesslike, serious. He was not like Krishna - playful, enjoying, nonserious. Whatsoever happens Krishna is not worried. He is not going to force anything on the course of life. Wherever life leads is the goal - wherever. If life leads to death in the middle of a stream, that is the goal - nowhere to reach.

A nonachieving mind is playful. An achieving mind, always thinking of achieving something, whether in this world or the other, is a business mind.

HE PERFORMS ONLY SUCH GENTLE ACTS AS DO NOT DISTURB OTHERS.

When you are playing there is no need to disturb anybody. When you are playful you are nonviolent.

HE FEARS SIN, AND DOES NOT CRAVE ANY SELF-INDULGENCE.

But the concept of sin in Hinduism is totally different from that of Christianity. Remember, the word pap, sin, has a different connotation. The Upanishads say that which is against the law is sin, just a natural phenomenon. Christianity says that which is disobedience to God is sin. This is absolutely different: disobedience to God.

In Christianity God is something like an aristocrat, something like a dictator; we can paint him just like Hitler or Mussolini. You disobey, and you will suffer and he will punish you. And he is very ferocious in punishment. For small sins, sometimes even when you are innocent, you will be thrown into hell. And Christianity says that it is forever and forever, the hell is eternal. That doesn't seem to be justified. A small sin, falling in love with a woman, and you will suffer forever and forever.

And what did Adam do? - just a small disobedience; something that God prohibited. God said, "You are not to eat the fruit of this tree, the tree of knowledge. You can eat all the fruits available in this garden of Eden, but don't come near this tree."

And it is human to be attracted to something which is prohibited. Adam is so human and lovely, he must have become curious. If he was absolutely stupid, only then could he have followed. Even a little intelligence will say that something is there, otherwise why should God prohibit? If God had prohibited him from eating the snake, then Adam would have eaten the snake and been finished with the Devil. But he prohibited the fruit of the tree of knowledge, and then Adam was expelled from Eden because he disobeyed.

Christianity therefore is conformist; revolutionaries cannot be allowed. Adam was the first revolutionary. And why should God feel so offended for such a small thing? The Christian God cannot be playful. He is serious and ferocious, and he will take revenge. Hinduism cannot conceive of that: God taking revenge on innocent Adam who was just being curious. There was nothing else, he was just curious to know. And the Devil was able to persuade him. The Devil said, "God has prohibited you, because if you eat this fruit you will become God-like, and he is afraid and jealous."

This is the sin in Christianity - disobedience. In Hinduism there is no question of disobedience or obedience. It is a simple natural law; just as water flows downwards, if you follow natural laws you will be happy. There is no one to decide it, it is a simple happening - if you follow natural laws you will be happy. If you don't follow natural laws, you go against them, you will be unhappy. Nobody is taking any revenge, and you are not going to be thrown into eternal hell. If you don't follow, for the time being you will suffer. Immediately you come back to the law the suffering stops.

A simple thing: if you put your hand in the fire you will be burned. No God is deciding, "I prohibit you. Don't put your hand in the fire, otherwise I will take revenge." Nobody is there, it is just the way fire behaves. You have to know that if you put your hand in you will suffer. Don't put the hand in and you don't suffer. And then you can use fire to heat the room, to cook food, and the fire becomes your help - you can use it. Natural laws can be used if you know them well, flow with them; if you go against you suffer.

Sin is going against a natural law, not against any God. No one is giving you suffering, you are choosing it by moving wrongly. And no one is going to give you bliss, you will choose it by moving rightly. So it is not a question of good and bad, it is a question of right and wrong.

HE UTTERS LOVING AND AFFECTIONATE WORDS. HE LIVES IN THE COMPANY OF SAINTS AND STUDIES THE SCRIPTURES. WITH COMPLETE UNITY OF MIND, SPEECH AND ACTION, HE FOLLOWS THEM. SEEKING TO CROSS THE OCEAN THAT IS THE WORLD, HE CULTIVATES THE ABOVE-MENTIONED IDEAS. AND HE IS CALLED A BEGINNER, ONE PERFORMING HIS PRELIMINARIES. THIS IS CALLED THE FIRST STAGE.

Remember, all this is just the beginning, just the first step of creating the situation. This is not the end - just the preliminary, just the first step.

Enough for today.