What 'Give It To The Guru' Means - 3rd August 2017

Good morning. This is nice to feel you in. I hesitated a bit because I feel like a lot of times I want to be seen and heard, so let's try to not be seen and heard. When you say 'give it to the Guru,' I know a lot of Mooji and all of that, but I discovered you a couple of weeks ago. Probably around 2013, I was folding clothes and that's when I guess I did my inquiry and I had my enlightenment experience where I'm light in everything. Everybody described before nothing was there, and I had been nothing that's in that space. I know that when I did have that experience, that's when I totally, totally, totally bought everything—even Jesus, how God—I just let everything go, right? And when you say 'give it to the Guru,' it scares me a little bit, I guess because I've always been conditioned to just turn to Jesus, you know? So to give it to the Guru is like, I love Mooji and I love you, but I'm like, 'Am I going to burn in hell?' But I know when I had that experience it was right, and I know your words are so true. But I'm still scared to have this day, you know, 'give it to the Guru.' Will I burn in hell? Okay, God, I've given it all to the Guru, right? But I kind of know that that's the way to do it, you know? And it's really just that simple to just trust, follow the words. But it's scary because I'm like, what if trusting in his words is going to end up causing me to burn in hell? I think like that. I even heard something where somebody was talking to Maharaj and wanted to argue about who to listen to, and he said that he just trusted his Guru's words and he just stuck with it and he just trusted. My heart really wants to just trust you guys and it's a big love, but it's just that small part that is just like... I can hear my grandma talking to me like, 'Boy, you're going to burn in hell!' as you say that. Yeah, so that's that. We're totally trusting a Guru and there's a fear there. And then the simplicity thing—I wanted to say something when you were reading the second verse because that's what's been on my heart lately. I'm just breaking up.

Well, saying that, maybe we'll stay on this point first and we'll look at it, and then look at the second point. Because my memory isn't that good; by the time you finish the second one, I would have forgotten the first point. So let's look at this question. I love it very much because it's so sweet, it's so emotional and shared with so much integrity. So I really appreciate this question. To 'turn to Jesus' and 'give it to the Guru' actually means precisely the same thing. There is just one. Notice this. To listen the way I mean it, because 'give it to the Guru' doesn't mean to give it to a physical embodiment. What is the physical embodiment of a Master? We can call it a body, yes, that is human, which is supposed to be being true to the light of its presence. That associated being, the presence, is the godly presence, being 'I Am' consciousness. Jesus did all those with full reverence because he was completely an instrument to this presence. Guruji is with full reverence because he is completely anchored to the light of this presence. The presence is the same. It is one thing. I Am. So it is monstrously present. Giving it to the Guru is not giving it to a physical embodiment. This person sitting in front, this body sitting in front, it's just like any other body. It is not the body. So what it embodies, what it represents... why is it that we have that? Why do I always say that the presence of a living Master is one of the greatest gifts we can get? It is just because we are so used to identifying with name and form.

Suppose I tell you—what is your name? Cat? Okay, suppose I say to you, 'Cat, you have this great friend, and actually you would be best friends with this one, but you can't see him or talk to him.' Then you play it out like a potential connection, friendship, and you say, 'What?' I say, 'No, no, it's fine, you can't see him or talk to him, just trust me.' And that's your best friend, really? You'd say, 'It's so difficult to make relationships like this.' But if I say, 'Okay, I found somebody that you get along with even at a phenomenal level,' you see? You might say, 'Ananta, can you send me their Facebook profile so I can see them? Can I add them on my Facebook page?' Because we have a better chance to be able to associate with the name and form initially. Before we go to the formless, we need something that catches us in terms of form, in terms of name. Even in the paths which are not idealistic, like Hinduism, even in those paths which are not identification, when we go to church, we find the statue of Jesus, we find Jesus on the cross. Or we find a symbol like the cup. Even for the Muslim, we will find verses from the Quran or the photo of Mecca. Why? Because although God is formless, it has for us... because the habit has become to relate to form, we need some sort of form to be able to relate. If your grandma told you to turn to Jesus, you have a visual representation of Jesus. If you've never seen a picture, you'll never become a devotee. When the teacher says 'turn to the formless,' and you find it very difficult—'How do I turn to Jesus? I don't know what that is'—in that way, the living Master, the body of the living Master, is the purest embodiment of this presence as 'I Am.' Even Guruji says the same thing: Satguru, Presence, Shabad—maybe all these are different terminologies, different ways of representation based on what appeals to you, pointing to the same thing.

So that's why I said turning towards Jesus and giving it to the Guru is exactly the same. It does not matter what you refer to it as; it is what it points to. And the one on Sri Ramana Maharshi I was reading is what the disciple/devotee said to him: 'What are we without you? Where would I go? I'm always here.' The body is just a representation in that way, but you are still there. The presence that is being pointed to is your own divine presence, your own being. When we're turning towards the Guru and turning toward Jesus, you see, this is an inward movement, moving away from the false identity into our deep, divine presence. Whether we call it Holy Spirit, or this form, or the Guru, or the Satguru, or Krishna, it does not matter. And I enjoy also—I love all the others in the world very much—and then I enjoy also Hinduism very much because these are not equipment. If you are naughty, you have a glass, you can go to Krishna. He will be the most naughty God that you will encounter. If you enjoy righteousness and doing the right thing, then you have the form of Ram. So that is why many in the West get confused about Hinduism. They say, 'God is one, God is formless, right? Why do we have all these kinds of representations?' You see, imagine whatever happens where the child is. Everyone is better at the same time. You say God is formless, then I explain to him that all of this is a representation that we use to come closer to our own formless presence, to our own formless reality. So the system is based on what attributes you enjoy, what temperament you enjoy. We have so many millions of representations; you can pick one. Now, of course, the most useful representation is the godly presence, full of love, full of knowledge, yet so willing to sacrifice life for humanity. This is what I felt with Guruji the first time. I felt like I am making one of these pages on the path.

I want to share something with you. Actually, what happened is the very first time I was there at Mooji's satsang, there was so much connection to hear the word. And there was a woman there, very small, and she was getting irritated with the people giving books to Mooji to keep the kids quiet. She led a certain way and she went and laid down. And in those days, there was a certain way for me. I said, 'No, no, come with me, I'm staying in the system.' But I knew I'd have big trouble when I go back down. What happened is then the satsang got over, Guruji came down, and all the people started coming down after him. I was on the top of the stairs, he was at the bottom of the stairs, and he had gone by then. This whole woman came in—not maybe aged, but this place was all dirty inside—and she was hugging him like a baby. He has his own baby, nothing like that. And then I saw my wife was sitting on the corner over there and she was crying. She was so touched by this being transformed as love. Among who? Typically, who seemed so repulsive on that day. In this way, five years of Advaita sounding satsang is a lesson. That day, she is often more than this level. If I only tasted my living form in the form of Mooji, reminding you that the Guru is actually my divine presence. So you don't have to worry or have conflict at all, whether you call it the living form, which is easy for students, or call it the formless, or whatever you want. Because this has all the words. Guru, Mooji—we also call it the ocean. It is actually one body of water. So if your grandma doesn't understand, this is completely fine. Tell her, 'I'm praying to Jesus.' Okay?