Part 2: (Continued from last issue)
“Who am I?”
“What is Prana? What is the connection of Prana with the body?” Find out. Keep questioning yourself. Don’t question your master or Guru. You are your own Guru. You can question the Guru within you. Your Guru is inside you. Your Guru is not body. Your Guru is not a moving body. Your Guru is within you in your body.
Always question yourself.
Questioning is also Sadhana. Don’t bother about answer. Question yourself. Vedanta always asks you to inquire. No answer. Only question. Don’t physically ask anyone that question. If you ask someone else “Who am I?” you will get different answers based on the different experiences of others. It causes more confusion. The one you ask may have studied different Upanishads, may have done different yoga and may have different experiences. They have their own ideas. Those ideas are mixed with illusion, maya, body. It doesn’t matter, don’t ask anyone.
Yoga practice is different for different people. It’s like sugar. So many different sweets are made from sugar. That is why Yoga is ultimately the same. The sweet may have different taste, different shape and have different smell, but it’s the same sweet. All masters give their own answer. Doesn’t matter. It’s not their fault. It’s your fault. You are always asking different Gurus about Yoga, about Atman, about Prana. Time and again you keep postponing to next birth. You are always asking questions of different Gurus. You get different answers. That results in a variety of confusions. Don’t ask anyone. Ask only your Atman.
“Who am I?” That’s the Maha Mantra.
If you ask yourself, “Who am I?”, you will definitely get a good answer. Don’t tell anyone those answers. Experience for yourself. Be happy. No depression. Be happy. Many people are always unhappy. You are wasting this birth. Be happy. Whatever happens, be happy. Even if you don’t get answers, be happy. If you get your answers, be happy. If there’s confusion, be happy. That is the first step towards happiness. Definitely, you will win Yoga.
When you have a question, be happy. Don’t worry about the answer. Asking others, or asking other Gurus will get us different answers. If you pick a mantra from the Vedas, it’ll be chanted a certain way in Maharashtra. The same mantra will be chanted differently in Kerala. It’ll be chanted in a different style in Karnataka, and differently yet in Andhra Pradesh. No confusion. Each has his/her own practice. Some people even offer different meanings for the same verse. We should not find fault. You must incorporate that meaning into your understanding. Everyone speaks according to their experience. Don’t keep asking everyone who has a reputation or is wearing a Guru’s attire about Yoga. You will waste your lives. You will not understand anything. It’s like poking your own eye.
You will not get that answer anywhere. First, get rid of your doubts about Yoga. You are doubting because you are lazy. You want tasty food, you want more sleep. You have ego and ignorance. You like ego and ignorance. You get upset. You think you are the king. Your ego gets hurt. Your ignorance hurts you. It’s your fault, no one else’s. It’s not your family’s or your friends’ fault. Be careful and do dhyana within yourself (Antarmukha). Go within and practice.
Kriya Yoga is mostly Antarmukha. (Going within)
You can ask your Atma Guru all questions, you can ask about the problems. He will definitely give answer. Because, the God/Guru within is very kind, he will definitely answer. That is why, first purify yourself. For that, you need to practice. You need to practice a lot. First restrain your sense organs. You must discard the taste in food. Even if you have deep sleep, think that sleep doesn’t do anything for you. Ignore pain. When you control things well, your sadhana will progress well. Otherwise, it will not. Your attire will not benefit you.
You are doing Sadhana as if it’s your duty. Early morning, you do sadhana for one or two hours. And your day’s practice is over. Then, you move on to other work. You may practice for an hour before going to bed. Over. Finished.
Sadhana is not duty. You feel like it’s your duty. You are restricting yourself. Yoga must be practiced at all times – while walking, sleeping, talking etc. Always do Yoga. Always think about Atma Jnana. When you are talking, quarreling, when you are upset, sitting, sleeping, always practice Yoga.
Practice yoga at all times and in all states.
Bathing and dressing per schedule and doing ten minutes of Yoga is not Yoga. While eating, bathing, sleeping also there’s Yoga going on. That’s Yoga practice. Real practice. Real Sadhana. When you have time restriction, you are not a Yogi. It’s only temporary. I don’t want to call you Yogi. You are all vegetables if you do that. You are all Atman. I don’t want vegetables. We are not insects. We are angels. We must practice to achieve our goal. Come what may, we must reach our goal. Remember this well.
Last time at Jesus Datta Retreat Center, you were taught some new yoga practices – some physical, some mental. Swamiji also taught Yoga with music. Swamiji has given so many Yoga postures. Practice different asanas and different mudras.
Don’t worry if Swamiji doesn’t physically grace the occasion, He is always in your heart. Be careful. Stop questioning others.
Sri Guru Datta
(Sri Swamiji)
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