Distinction Between the Passing and the Changeless - 21th November 2016

Then what we talk about, what Bhagavan has pointed to, is that—and what the great Adi Shankaracharya has pointed to is that—there is no distinction between what we are and this supreme Self, the Brahman. But there seems to be this play of this appearance called Maya, and Brahman himself, or itself, they choosing to play in this way. And they've said very simply that to dispose of the mind, to dispose of the mind is to come to this Mukti or liberation, you see, which is just a release, a release of the false. So to recognize the truth, we don't need the mind. To be free from our conditioning, we don't need the mind, you see.

But most of the traditional parts of Advaita Vedanta go with this idea, go with this sense that to dispose of the mind is easier said than done. Sometimes I also feel that when I see that what should be so simple and obvious doesn't seem to be that simple and obvious. And when I look back at the play of the seeker here, I recognize that it is not how it sounds: 'Just keep the mind away and it is done.' For some it could be, for some it could be, but usually it doesn't play like that, you see.

So for most of the traditional Advaitins, they have prescribed various methods and sadhanas to get to this point. But with Bhagavan, with Papaji mostly, with Papaji it started that... because Bhagavan actually was for a lot of inquiry, a lot of contemplation, he used to stress on it a lot. In spite of saying that there is really nothing to do because you are the Self, he recognized that most don't seem to see that as simply as it is said. So he used to prescribe a lot of inquiry and sitting in quiet contemplation.

With Papaji, he was very, very radical at times and he would just say, 'Forget about all practices, just leave everything and now.' So there is great, great beauty in that directness there, great joy in that. But also sometimes I feel like it is good to go back to the roots of what we are sharing, go back to what the sages have also said in the past and to look at what they have prescribed. When it seems like to dispose of this mind is beyond us and it seems like all of this world of suffering is too strong, then it is good sometimes to go back into these traditional pointings like the Ashtavakra Gita or what the other sages of Advaita have said.

So the truth is that there is no separation. We are this one Self and only the mind convinces us otherwise. That's why the sages have said as long as it continues to get relevance, meaning belief from us, we must find ways to let go of this. And all the sages have prescribed different, different ways, but in Advaita some things are very, very common. One is to clearly note the distinction between that which is eternal and that which is passing, which is ephemeral. So what is being said is that we must come to this point by now, then we must have this distinction between that which is passing and that which is eternal or timeless; that which is fleeting and that which is real. And we must not get attached to that which is passing.