\
Editors note: All words below are
Adi Da’s except those in italics or in
(parentheticals).
Three Points of
View
A Beezone Study
Originally published in The
Basket of Tolerance Study Series, Session Three, pp. 6-12,
untitled.
Excerpt from a talk by Da Avadhoota
(Adi Da Samraj)
July 3,1988
HEART-MASTER DA: There is a book on the Epitome List of
The Basket Of
Tolerance that I suggest you read The
Wisdom of Unity. It is traditionally attributed to
Shankara. In one of the verses, the author says, addressing
the Divine (from three points of view).
From the point of view of the body I am your servant.
From the point of view of the mind I am a part of you.
From the point of view of the Self, or Consciousness,
verily I am you.
Faith, Devotion and
Service
There is a great deal of fundamental Wisdom compacted in
that verse. It relates to what I describe as the seven
stages of life, and the basic points of view associated
with the stages of life.
The point of view of the earlier stages of life – the
first three and the original dimension of the fourth stage
of life – is associated with the bodily point of view.
Therefore, in the context of the first three stages of
life, and the basic dimension of the fourth stage of
life – or, in all the stages of practice through practicing
stage three – the point of view of the body is the basis
for self-transcending practice.
It is the ordinary, conditional context of the
self-transcending practice, moved by faith, active as the
devotee, whether in the Way of Insight or the Way of Faith.
One does the sadhana of the servant of the Divine, in
constant service to the Sat-Guru, in constant contemplation,
in Satsang.
Transmission
Transmission
is active from the very beginning in that process.
According to the stage of life, the stage of
practice.
1. The individual is aware of the Divine Influence in
different ways
2. Through different kinds of experience.
In the first
three stages of life the point of view is that of
the body, or in which awareness is associated with the body,
surrendering to the Divine, rather than simply being the
ego. Through that process there is self-transcendence,
ego-transcendence, and the point of view is transformed.
There is a transition, progressively, to a more advanced
point of view.
The process, the point of view, becomes more Spiritualized
as it enters into the basic domain of the fourth stage of
life.
It is there that my Transmission is acknowledged in
Spiritual terms and practice becomes Spiritually active.
Before then, the devotional (faith, devotion and
service) life is principal.
1. The feeling-opening develops,
2. the disciplines are engaged,
3. Balance is achieved.
4. The heart is opened so that the practice can become
truly Spiritual.
The practice develops in this fashion:
1. A transition has effectively been made from the
body-based point of view
2. To the mind-based point of view.
Therefore, in the context of the advanced fourth stage of
life and the fifth stage of life, the process is one of
pursuit of union with the Divine through the vehicle of
mind. That is what those stages of life are about, in and of
themselves.
Even that orientation is transcended by the specific
sadhana of the Way of the Heart, just as, in this Way, the
sadhana associated with the first three stages of life and
the basic dimension of the fourth stage of life is
associated with a specific sadhana that transcends all
conventional aspects of the orientation naturally associated
with those stages.
As Shankara said, “From the point of view of the mind
I am a part of you“.
When the point of view of mind, transcending this body,
is realized in the advanced fourth
stage of life and the fifth stage of life, then the
bodily-based orientation and the pursuit of bodily
self-fulfillment has become a matter of renunciation, real
transcendence. The body-based point of view is fundamentally
transcended as a direct matter of responsibility and the
body itself is significantly Spiritualized. The process then
becomes one of pursuing union with the Divine through the
vehicle of mind. The ultimate result is conditional
Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the fullest form of Spiritual ascent. On
the way, there are many subtle levels of experience
associated with the pursuit of union through the vehicle of
mind.
“The fourth stage of life and beyond really doesn’t
have much significance in the common world. It’s not
desirable. It has not use. And this is why it’s so subject
to taboos. It’s why any of the stages of life higher than
the third are so subject to taboos because they don’t have
any use in this common world which depends on everybody’s
participation to guarantee, in some kind of way guarantee,
survival, you see. Everybody’s got to get down there and be
politically, socially active, productive, intentionally a
part of this movement of humanity to fulfill various goals
that are associated with survival.”
Body
From the body-based point of view, the body is the
senior informer of the mind, the definer of
mind.
In the earlier stages the body is made a devotee by
becoming a servant of the Divine.
It is simply that, from the body-based point of view, the
body is the senior informer of the mind, the definer of
mind. Therefore, the mind, as a devotee in the context of
the first three stages of life and the basic fourth stage of
life, is a body-based mind. It is a devotee through the
devotion of bodily life to service, to devotion.
Mind
In the advanced stages the mind becomes a devotee.
However, the mind must be a devotee in the fullest Spiritual
sense even before then.
But when mind itself becomes the vehicle, transcending
even the body, then the mind becomes the devotee in a unique
sense.
Mind itself, rather than the body, becomes the
definer.
Thus, experiences of all kinds develop in that ascending
process, and they are all forms of mind, just as in the
earlier stages there are many unique experiences that are
all forms of body-bodily defined, psycho-physical
existence.
Therefore, in the advanced fourth stage of life and the
fifth stage of life, profound experiences of all kinds are
potential in the realms of mind, from experiences of subtler
planes of existence through experiences of conditional
ascent and conditional Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
“The highest extreme of the ascent of attention is
called “nirvikalpa samadhi,” or total Absorption of
self-consciousness in Radiant Transcendental Consciousness.
But, in fact, the seed of differentiated self remains in
such ascended Absorption of attention. Attention is yet
extended outside the heart, or the root of
self-consciousness, as a gesture toward an independent
Object, and, therefore, such “samadhi” is not only
temporary, but it remains a form of subject-object
Contemplation”.
In that case, Shankara’s point of view is fulfilled in
the realization, “From the point of view of the mind I am a
part of you.” That part achieves union by ascent.
Conditional Nirvikalpa Samadhi is a remarkable
experience, as are many of the other, lesser forms of
Samadhi by ascent.
Union through Mind
You are always achieving union through mind, but you are
achieving union with limits, limitation, egoity. You are
being defined by what dies, what suffers, what is inherently
limited. Even so:
The very process whereby you are being defined in
limitation contains a law that functions in a process of
liberation.
That law is that you become what you think. You take the
form of whatever your attention goes to. Therefore, the mind
must be a devotee. You must relinquish your attention to
these patternings that are defining you in limitation. Enter
into contemplation of the Form and State of the Realizer and
exceed the bondage of your own contraction of attention.
You are inevitably becoming what you think you know, or
what you know you think, what you feel, what you presume.
That is going to happen anyway, you see. It is always
happening.
Therefore, you should grant attention to the Ultimate and
be transformed thereby. Instead of
1. Simply being defined by mind in limitation, because it
is going to lesser objects and states,
2. Do the sadhana of the servant of the Divine until
3. That process becomes so profound that the mind becomes
a Spiritual devotee, moved toward union with the Divine.
This is the next stage in the natural progression of
evolution.
Beyond the first three stages of life and the basic
fourth stage of life, there is the potential of the advanced
fourth stage of life and the fifth stage of life.
However, just as
1. Ultimate or perfect Liberation does not take place
within the limited definitions of bodily existence,
2. Ultimate Liberation or Realization does not take
place within the limited context of the mind.
Consciousness
“From the point of view of the Self, verily I am
you”
There is a process beyond the fifth stage of life.
Certain aspects of the sadhana associated with the advanced
fourth stage of life and the fifth stage of life may be
bypassed if there is Grace and a profound and purifying
sadhana that allows the more direct transition to the
sixth stage of life.
Such sadhana, done from the ultimate point of view —
1. Not from the point of view of the body,
2. Not from the point of view of the mind,
3. But from the point of view of the Self, That which is
inherently Identical to the Divine-coincident with Grace,
allows the more direct transition to the sixth stage of
life.
The ultimate sadhana (Perfect
Practice) is necessarily based on
Identification with the Self, or Consciousness Itself.
The secondary sadhanas are first done from the point of
view of the body, then from the point of view of the mind –
in other words, from the point of view of the body-based
body-mind first, and then from the point of view of the
body-transcending mind. That is the natural progression. But
the ultimate sadhana is the sadhana that takes place when
there is free, spontaneous, inherent Identification with
Consciousness Itself.
Then, as Shankara said:
From the point of view of the body I am a servant.
From the point of view of the mind I am a part of you. I
pursue union with you.
From the point of view of the Self, verily I am you.
There is a unique sadhana to be done from the point of
view of Consciousness Itself, then, but one cannot choose it
arbitrarily. It depends on one’s real point of view. The
point of view that is essential for the sixth stage sadhana
and the seventh stage Demonstration is that of Consciousness
Itself. Unless that point of view is truly, directly,
consistently, stably the point of view of your own
existence, you cannot really do the sixth stage sadhana, you
see. You can imitate it. You can be sympathetic with it
sometimes, but you cannot effectively do the sadhana.
If your point of view is that of the body, you must do
sadhana in the context of the first three stages of life and
the basic fourth stage of life.
If your point of view exceeds that through devotion,
renunciation, purification of the karmas, and
Spiritualization of the being such that the
mind-transcending body comes to the front, then you can do
the sadhana in the context of the advanced fourth stage and
the fifth stage of life.
Only when the point of view of the Witness, of
Consciousness Itself, is truly Awakened by Grace can you do
the sixth stage sadhana and, of course, only on that basis
is the seventh stage Realization and Demonstration
possible.
The Seventh Stage Way
Sadhana and Grace
In the Way of the Heart, all of these stages – all of the
practices done from the various points of view in that total
complex, the entire Process are associated with Grace,
Transmission.
Thus, there is no such thing as coming into my Company,
having some experience, and that’s it – now you are Realized
and you got what there is to get. No, it is a process, and
you must do the sadhana.
Your experience in my Company cannot be any more than
your sadhana allows it to be. You determine what you
receive. Isn’t the traditional metaphor that you come to
the ocean with a thimble? Your point of view as well as the
form of your sadhana, your stage of life, and stage of
practice, all determine the form of your reception of this
Grace.
Therefore, you must take up the sadhana from the
beginning and advance in your point of view.
Be purified of limitation by the actual sadhana.
The sadhana is inherently self-transcending.
It constantly transcends limits.
It is a process of consistent discipline.
All of that discipline takes place in the context of
Satsang, devotional Communion.
This is the Great Secret of the true practitioner.
It is that contemplation, this relationship, that makes
it possible for you to take on these disciplines, that makes
them fruitful.
It is also the context of Gracefulness, inherent
Love-Blissfulness, that makes it all tolerable, interesting,
profound, fruitful, blessed, not dry, not dark. And in those
moments when something of that quality arises, Satsang
continues.
The Way is always, from its beginning, a response to
Grace.
It is always practice in the context of my
Transmission.
You needn’t be in the same room with me at all times.
I do not have to glance at you or notice you all the
time.
Fundamentally it is a matter of your response.
I am simply here.
You must, by sadhana, stay in the Room with me.
You must make use of this Gift, this resource that is
always at work for your sake.
Transmission
The ultimate physics or structures wherein this
Transmission is taking place will perhaps be revealed to you
more and more as you grow.
There is only just so much of it you can understand, know
about, and experience from the body-based point of view.
Experiencing things from that point of view presently,
how much do you understand about Reality altogether
anyway?
You are in a position to receive this Grace, but you are
hardly in a position to speak with authority about Divine
matters, the Divine Process.
However, you can very well understand and function
intelligently and responsibly as one who is doing sadhana in
response to a Revelation that authenticates itself to you
simply in your regard of it, your reception of it.
How is the link to me established for you?
How does it become real-not just imagination,
self-consoling gestures, body-based mind, you see, but
real?
When does it become that for you?
If it does become that for you and for real, that is
there to be confessed and expressed.
If it is unreal, or merely imaginary, that will be
obvious in the signs in the individual’s life, because there
is no true involvement with me that does not change you.
If you live this Satsang for real, you will change your
life.
Your life will be changed.
You will act differently.
You will be responsive.
Your confessions about such matters, we must look at your
action, your demonstration.
Traditionally, to oblige one another and to make these
measures in order to serve one another in the matter of
relative maturity and advancement is a function of the
sangha, the community of practitioners.
Left on your own, you can imagine anything.
Unless the community functions for real and obliges you,
and you also permit yourself to make use of that measure,
that reflection, you can still live in a world of fantasy
about these matters.
The Spiritual Process, the Great Process, is not at all a
matter of imagination.
It is more tangible and vivid than all the vagaries of
your ordinary, egoic experience.
It is the most proven of all realities, and yet from the
common or conventional point of view it is the least
acceptable, the most in doubt.
Even openly declared and presented, it remains a
secret.
Like the Pharaoh, the heart is hardened, then the Real is
not obvious, and you are left to identify with limitation,
illusion, self apart.
1. You first become a devotee by becoming a servant.
2. Then you become a devotee in the process of union,
3. Then, at last, you are a devotee by virtue of perfect
Identification, which is the ultimate form of devotion.
The sixth stage process and the seventh stage
Demonstration are the greatest of all expressions of the
devotee.
It is not true that being a devotee has something to do
with the first four stages of life, and perhaps something to
do with the yoga of the fifth stage of life, but in the
context of the sixth stage of life you just do it yourself,
you see.
All that do-it-yourself stuff is the propaganda of the
ego.
It is all about Grace, because there is no
separateness,
No separate one to be Realized.
Only That which is the Whole and Beyond can Instruct
and Awaken you.
You cannot Instruct and Awaken yourself fruitfully.
You cannot Instruct yourself and
You certainly cannot Awaken yourself.
Adi Da Samraj, Unpublished talk, July 3,1988
Originally Talk – published in The
Basket of Tolerance Study Series, Session Three, pp. 6-12,
untitled.
Excerpt from a talk by Da Avadhoota
(Adi Da Samraj)
July 3,1988
HEART-MASTER DA: There is a book on the Epitome List of
The Basket Of Tolerance that I suggest you read. I believe
it’s called The Wisdom of Unity. It is traditionally
attributed to Shankara. In one of the verses, the author
says, addressing the Divine: “From the point of view of the
body I am your servant. From the point of view of the mind I
am a part of you. From the point of view of the Self, or
Consciousness, verily I am you.” There is a great deal of
fundamental Wisdom compacted in that verse. It relates to
what I describe as the seven stages of life, and the basic
points of view associated with the stages of life. The point
of view of the earlier stages of life–the first three and
the original dimension of the fourth stage of life-is
associated with the bodily point of view. Therefore, in the
context of the first three stages of life, and the basic
dimension of the fourth stage of life-or, in all the stages
of practice through practicing stage three-the point of view
of the body is the basis for self-transcending practice. It
is the ordinary, conditional context of the
self-transcending practice, moved by faith, active as the
devotee, whether in the Way of Insight or the Way of Faith.
One does the sadhana of the servant of the Divine, in
constant service to the Sat- Guru, in constant
contemplation, in Satsang.
Transmission is active from the very beginning in that
process. According to the stage of life, the stage of
practice, the individual is aware of the Divine Influence in
different ways, through different kinds of experience and so
on. Therefore, in The Dawn Horse Testament I have described
to you the various kinds of practice. I have described the
various kinds of experience and the mechanisms of that
experience, associated with the first four stages of life,
or through practicing stage three. In other words, I have
described all those stages in which the point of view is
that of the body, or in which awareness is associated with
the body, surrendering to the Divine, rather than simply
being the ego. Through that process there is
self-transcendence, ego-transcendence, and the point of view
is transformed. There is a transition, progressively, to a
more advanced point of view.
The process, the point of view, becomes more
Spiritualized as it enters into the basic domain of the
fourth stage of life. It is there that my Transmission is
acknowledged in Spiritual terms and practice becomes
Spiritually active. Before then, the devotional life is
principal. The feeling-opening develops, the disciplines are
engaged, and a balance is achieved. The heart is opened so
that the practice can become truly Spiritual. After even the
bodily point of view is
Spiritualized in the context of the third practicing
stage of the Way of the Heart, there may be a transition to
the fourth practicing stage, perhaps even the fifth. In
other words, there may be a transition into the context of
the advanced dimension of the fourth stage of life or into
the context of the fifth stage of life.
The practice develops in this fashion: A transition has
effectively been made from the body-based point of view to
the mind-based point of view. Therefore, in the context of
the advanced fourth stage of life and the fifth stage of
life, the process is one of pursuit of union with the Divine
through the vehicle of mind. That is what those stages of
life are about, in and of themselves. Even that orientation
is transcended by the specific sadhana of the Way of the
Heart, just as, in this Way, the sadhana associated with the
first three stages of life and the basic dimension of the
fourth stage of life is associated with a specific sadhana
that transcends all conventional aspects of the orientation
naturally associated with those stages.
As Shankara said, “From the point of view of the mind I
am a part of you”. When the point of view of mind,
transcending this body, is realized in the advanced fourth
stage of life and the fifth stage of life, then the
bodily-based orientation and the pursuit of bodily
self-fulfillment has become a matter of renunciation, real
transcendence. The body-based point of view is fundamentally
transcended as a direct matter of responsibility and the
body itself is significantly Spiritualized. The process then
becomes one of pursuing union with the Divine through the
vehicle of mind. The ultimate result is conditional
Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the fullest form of Spiritual ascent. On
the way, there are many subtle levels of experience
associated with the pursuit of union through the vehicle of
mind.
Just as in the earlier stages the body is made a devotee
by becoming a servant of the Divine, in the advanced stages
the mind becomes a devotee. However, the mind must be a
devotee in the fullest Spiritual sense even before then. It
is simply that, from the body-based point of view, the body
is the senior informer of the mind, the definer of mind.
Therefore, the mind, as a devotee in the context of the
first three stages of life and the basic fourth stage of
life, is a body-based mind. It is a devotee through the
devotion of bodily life to service, to devotion. But when
mind itself becomes the vehicle, transcending even the body,
then the mind becomes the devotee in a unique sense. Mind
itself, rather than the body, becomes the definer. Thus,
experiences of all kinds develop in that ascending process,
and they are all forms of mind, just as in the earlier
stages there are many unique experiences that are all forms
of body-bodily defined, psycho-physical existence.
Therefore, in the advanced fourth stage of life and the
fifth stage of life, profound experiences of all kinds are
potential in
the realms of mind, from experiences of subtler planes of
existence through experiences of conditional ascent and
conditional Nirvikalpa Samadhi. In that case, Shankara’s
point of view is fulfilled in the realization, “From the
point of view of the mind I am a part of you.” That part
achieves union by ascent.
Of course, conditional Nirvikalpa Samadhi is a remarkable
experience, as are many of the other, lesser forms of
Samadhi by ascent. There is a principle in all that,
however, that you experience already, that everyone
experiences. You experience it already because even though
you may be a personality, basically identified with the
body, you function psycho-physically, you function mentally,
all the time. You can’t stop it. You can’t stop thinking. As
soon as you think of maybe getting a little meditative and
you try to sit quietly, the mind seems to go insane. It just
doesn’t stop. It produces all kinds of nonsense, always
moving you. You are just sitting there, thinking, thinking,
thinking, feeling, feeling, feeling, wanting, wanting,
wanting. The whole time you are reacting to this and that.
From anyone else’s point of view, there is absolutely
nothing happening, but you are going through a cycle of
extraordinary depth of reaction and design and imagination
and so on. Don’t you know? (laughter) Well, that same kind
of thing is going on all day long, except that you remain
bodily active. Your mind and your body function together,
and so you tend to act automatically. Whereas just sitting
there, not doing anything, you become aware of the craziness
of it all. Nevertheless, all the rest of the day you are
still crazy, because you are moved by the same thing that
you notice when you are sitting there quietly. It is
animating your entire existence. When you go to bed at night
you may get some relief from mind and body here and there,
but there are all these dreams, (laughter) which are just as
crazy, sometimes interesting-but thinking is sometimes
interesting, too. All kinds of things can be sometimes
interesting. Most of the time it is crazy and chaotic.
Therefore, mind is functioning even though you are
identified with the body. Mind is doing the same thing that
it does in the advanced process of life- it is pursuing
union. The great principle of meditation is that you become
what you meditate on. Therefore meditate on the Form and
State of the Sat-Guru, Realize the Divine Samadhi. Why is
that principle true? It is based on an understanding of how
things work altogether. You are never involved in anything
that is merely or sheerly physical. Every condition arising
in your experience is psycho-physical. Notice how the mind
operates. The mind takes the form of whatever attention goes
to. Whatever attention goes to, it becomes a form of mind,
and mind takes on that form.
You are here at this moment perceiving and thinking. You
have a sense that you are aware of reality in the ordinary
sense. You have a feeling that you are observing this room
as it is and so forth, but your thoughts and your
perceptions of all of this psycho-physical awareness are of
your own design. It is all an expression of the mechanisms
of the body-mind itself. Someone sitting at another point,
in another place in the room, has other thoughts, other
perceptions, other qualities of awareness entirely.
In other words, each apparent individual is taking a form
according to his or her thought or presumption or point of
view. You all have become what you think you know, what you
presume to know. Mark Twain once said something amusing
about somebody. He said, “This person knows a great deal,
but most of what he knows ain’t true.” (laughter) This is
the way it is with everyone, in general. This is the way the
ego is. Look at one another. I can see all of you here right
now. You can see how each one has become what he or she
knows, what he or she thinks he or she knows and presumes to
be so. A traditional word for this is “karma”.
Thus, you have achieved union through mind. You are
always achieving union through mind, but you are achieving
union with limits, limitation, egoity. You are being defined
by what dies, what suffers, what is inherently limited. Even
so, the very process whereby you are being defined in
limitation contains a law that functions in a process of
liberation. That law is that you become what you think. You
take the form of whatever your attention goes to. Therefore,
the mind must be a devotee. You must relinquish your
attention to these patternings that are defining you in
limitation. Enter into contemplation of the Form and State
of the Realizer and exceed the bondage of your own
contraction of attention.
You are inevitably becoming what you think you know, or
what you know you think, what you feel, what you presume.
That is going to happen anyway, you see. It is always
happening. Therefore, you should grant attention to the
Ultimate and be transformed thereby. Instead of simply being
defined by mind in limitation, because it is going to lesser
objects and states, do the sadhana of the servant of the
Divine until that process becomes so profound that the mind
becomes a Spiritual devotee, moved toward union with the
Divine. This is the next stage in the natural progression of
evolution.
Beyond the first three stages of life and the basic
fourth stage of life, there is the potential of the advanced
fourth stage of life and the fifth stage of life. However,
just as ultimate or perfect Liberation does not take place
within the limited definitions of bodily existence, ultimate
Liberation or Realization does not take place within the
limited context of the mind. There is a process beyond the
fifth stage of life. Certain aspects of the sadhana
associated with the
advanced fourth stage of life and the fifth stage of life
may be bypassed if there is Grace and a profound and
purifying sadhana that allows the more direct transition to
the sixth stage of life. Such sadhana, done from the
ultimate point of view–not from the point of view of the
body, not from the point of view of the mind, but from the
point of view of the Self, That which is inherently
Identical to the Divine-coincident with Grace, allows the
more direct transition to the sixth stage of life.
Thus, the ultimate sadhana is necessarily based on
Identification with the Self, or Consciousness Itself. The
secondary sadhanas are first done from the point of view of
the body, then from the point of view of the mind-in other
words, from the point of view of the body-based body-mind
first, and then from the point of view of the
body-transcending mind. That is the natural progression. But
the ultimate sadhana is the sadhana that takes place when
there is free, spontaneous, inherent Identification with
Consciousness Itself.
Then, as Shankara said, “From the point of view of the
Self, verily I am you. From the point of view of the body I
am a servant. From the point of view of the mind I am a part
of you. I pursue union with you. From the point of view of
the Self, I am you.” There is a unique sadhana to be done
from the point of view of Consciousness Itself, then, but
one cannot choose it arbitrarily. It depends on one’s real
point of view. The point of view that is essential for the
sixth stage sadhana and the seventh stage Demonstration is
that of Consciousness Itself. Unless that point of view is
truly, directly, consistently, stably the point of view of
your own existence, you cannot really do the sixth stage
sadhana, you see. You can imitate it. You can be sympathetic
with it sometimes, but you cannot effectively do the
sadhana.
If your point of view is that of the body, you must do
sadhana in the context of the first three stages of life and
the basic fourth stage of life. If your point of view
exceeds that through devotion, renunciation, purification of
the karmas, and Spiritualization of the being such that the
mind-transcending body comes to the front, then you can do
the sadhana in the context of the advanced fourth stage and
the fifth stage of life. Only when the point of view of the
Witness, of Consciousness Itself, is truly Awakened by Grace
can you do the sixth stage sadhana and, of course, only on
that basis is the seventh stage Realization and
Demonstration possible.
In the Way of the Heart, all of these stages-all of the
practices done from the various points of view in that total
complex, the entire Process–are associated with Grace,
Transmission. Thus, there is no such thing as coming into my
Company, having some experience, and that’s it-now you are
Realized and you got what there is to get. No, it is a
process, and you must do the sadhana. Your experience in my
Company cannot be any more than your sadhana allows it to
be. You determine what you receive. Isn’t the traditional
metaphor that you come to the ocean with a thimble? Your
point of view as well as the form of your sadhana, your
stage of life, and stage of practice, all determine the form
of your reception of this Grace.
Therefore, you must take up the sadhana from the
beginning and advance in your point of view. Be purified of
limitation by the actual sadhana. The sadhana is inherently
self-transcending. It constantly transcends limits.
Necessarily then, it is a process of consistent discipline.
But all of that discipline takes place in the context of
Satsang, devotional Communion. This is the Great Secret of
the true practitioner. It is that contemplation, this
relationship, that makes it possible for you to take on
these disciplines, that makes them fruitful. It is also the
context of Gracefulness, inherent Love-Blissfulness, that
makes it all tolerable, interesting, profound, fruitful,
blessed, not dry, not dark. And in those moments when
something of that quality arises, Satsang continues.
The Way is always, from its beginning, a response to
Grace. It is always practice in the context of my
Transmission. You needn’t be in the same room with me at all
times. I do not have to glance at you or notice you all the
time, you see. There are some meetings, some noticings, but
fundamentally it is a matter of your response. I am simply
here. You must, by sadhana, stay in the Room with me and you
must make use of this Gift, this resource that is always at
work for your sake.
The ultimate physics or structures wherein this
Transmission is taking place will perhaps be revealed to you
more and more as you grow. There is only just so much of it
you can understand, know about, and experience from the
body-based point of view. Experiencing things from that
point of view presently, how much do you understand about
Reality altogether anyway?
You are in a position to receive this Grace, but you are
hardly in a position to speak with authority about Divine
matters, the Divine Process. However, you can very well
understand and function intelligently and responsibly as one
who is doing sadhana in response to a Revelation that
authenticates itself to you simply in your regard of it,
your reception of it.
How is the link to me established for you? How does it
become real-not just imagination, self-consoling gestures,
body-based mind, you see, but real?
When does it become that for you? If it does become that
for you and for real, that is there to be confessed and
expressed. That justifies transitions, you see. If it is
unreal, or merely imaginary, that will be obvious in the
signs in the individual’s life, because there is no true
involvement with me that does not change you. In other
words, if you live this Satsang for real, you will change
your life. Your life will be changed. You will act
differently. You will be responsive. Thus, in addition to
your confessions about such matters, we must look at your
action, your demonstration.
Traditionally, to oblige one another and to make these
measures in order to serve one another in the matter of
relative maturity and advancement is a function of the
sangha, the community of practitioners. Left on your own,
you can imagine anything. Unless the community functions for
real and obliges you, and you also permit yourself to make
use of that measure, that reflection, you can still live in
a world of fantasy about these matters.
The Spiritual Process, the Great Process, is not at all a
matter of imagination. It is more tangible and vivid than
all the vagaries of your ordinary, egoic experience. It is
the most proven of all realities, and yet from the common or
conventional point of view it is the least acceptable, the
most in doubt. Even openly declared and presented, it
remains a secret, it seems. If, like the Pharaoh, the heart
is hardened, then the Real is not obvious, and you are left
to identify with limitation, illusion, self apart.
Thus, you first become a devotee by becoming a servant.
Then you become a devotee in the process of union, and then,
at last, you are a devotee by virtue of perfect
Identification, which is the ultimate form of devotion. The
sixth stage process and the seventh stage Demonstration are
the greatest of all expressions of the devotee. Therefore,
it is not true that being a devotee has something to do with
the first four stages of life, and perhaps something to do
with the yoga of the fifth stage of life, but in the context
of the sixth stage of life you just do it yourself, you see.
All that do-it-yourself stuff is the propaganda of the
ego.
It is all about Grace, because there is no separateness,
no separate one to be Realized. Only That which is the Whole
and Beyond can Instruct and Awaken you. You cannot Instruct
and Awaken yourself fruitfully. You cannot Instruct yourself
and you certainly cannot Awaken yourself.
(Unpublished talk, July 3,1988)