Core Aspects of What We Speak About in Satsang - 6 Apr 2015

I see a couple of you are new here today, so let me share some core aspects of what we speak about here. When I come into Satsang, there are usually three different questions that come. The first question, the most common question that comes is: ‘I want to be free from my suffering. How do I put an end to my suffering?’ That is the first, most basic question that most Beings who come to Satsang can have. And to be free from suffering is the simplest thing. But if you’re here for the first time, we can look at it in some detail. You cannot suffer without believing a thought. So when a thought arises, you’ll see that a thought just arises. You can wait for your next thought to confirm this; and you’ll see that thought is just arising.

And when a thought arises, you will find that there are two forces that interact with this thought. The first is the force of your attention; the power of attention. This attention, when it goes to the thought, then the thought seems like it is real. If attention doesn’t go to the thought, then the thought just comes and goes. Therefore most Sadhanas in the world are focused on controlling this attention. Even when Nisargadatta Maharaj said ‘Stay. Give your attention only to the sense I Am,’ he was referring to keeping the attention, giving an anchor to the attention, in the Presence. ‘Keep the attention in the Presence.’ All Sadhanas, whether you look at mindfulness, meditation, all these practices, most of them are focused on keeping your attention at a particular place, trying to give you some mastery over your attention.

But if you were to look, you would find that just because of giving attention, also you cannot suffer. It also needs another force, another power, called the power of belief. Even if attention goes to the thought, unless it gets your belief, it causes no suffering. So, what I suggest is: Just withdraw your belief from your next thought. And belief seems like it is much more simple to handle than attention is; the more you try to control attention, the more it wants to jump around. So, if I say, ‘Don’t bring your attention to a monkey’ then very quickly the thought of a monkey will appear. So attention is not that easy to control. But if I say, ‘Don’t believe that you are a monkey,’ that is much easier.

So, let attention also go to thoughts if you want, let attention go completely free; just don’t give belief to your next thought. And in this not giving belief to your next thought, you cannot show me suffering. Unless you believe some other thought like ‘Belief is going automatically’ or some other thought like this, you cannot show me suffering. In this, you will find so much space and the ability to contemplate into your True nature. When we are just constantly distracted by our thoughts and our attention and belief, and just consumed by thought, then there is no room for further contemplation. So, first, some amount of freedom is gotten from these thoughts. These thoughts don’t seem so powerful now after you’ve withdrawn your belief from them. They get their power from your own attention and belief. So, this was the first question: 'How can I end my suffering?' The end of your suffering is just not believing your next thought.

Then, you say, ‘Yes. I have lost my ability to suffer. All thoughts are just coming and going. I’m not resisting anything at all. And so, I have lost my ability to suffer, but can you show me, God? Can you show me, God?’ And my response to that question is: ‘Yes’. Can you stop being now? And in looking at this question: ‘Can I stop being now?’ you will find that the Presence of Being is here. It cannot be stopped. That’s why this short cut is here. If I were to say, ‘Go and find your Being’ then you will say, ‘Oh, it gets confused. It feels like this and feels like that’. But when I say, ‘Can you stop being now? Can you turn it off?’ then you say, ‘No. This Presence is here. I cannot turn it off. This Presence that I am, that I exist, is here.’ So, this Presence is Consciousness, is God, is Beingness, in the light of which this entire Universe comes into play. Your own holy Presence, your own Atma, is Consciousness.