THE NATURAL FLOW OF LIFE
Everything within you is entirely natural. There is nothing within you that is against nature, for being a product of nature, you have to be natural. It is because of the thought processes that go on in your mind that you feel yourself to be unnatural, “un-natural”. Why must a person be unnatural, and why not be one-natural, combining yourself with nature itself? You will feel the beauty of everything around you. You will feel yourself to be one with nature, and when you feel that oneness, there is that joy, there is that happiness that will flow through you automatically and naturally.
For the new people who are here, I would like to remind you that I never prepare any lecture. Everything is spontaneous, inspirational and flowing, and that is what I want you to achieve. To flow and not be imprisoned by the mechanisms of your minds. Flow freely, enjoy the flow. Does the river ever get involved in boundaries? No. It flows freely, and so does the sea and the ocean. That is how life has to be lived. If you allow that flow, you become free. Otherwise, you are entangled within the confines of your own personal thoughts. How important are your thoughts? None, at all.
ALL THIS IS A CREATION OF DIVINITY
The world is perfect, and if Divinity created this world, and if Divinity is regarded as perfect, then His creation, the creation of the Creator, has to be perfect too. So why does a person regard things as imperfect? That is the question. The imperfection lies in the thought processes that you allow to go through your mind, and when you allow improper, imperfect thought processes to go through your mind, then naturally you will find things to be non-perfect.
I am forever looking for perfection in things, while the normal person in the world will try to pick out the nits and find imperfections. So, who is making the imperfections? It is you who bring about your vision of imperfection, and that vision is divided by division. “Di” means two, while vision has a oneness. If you stop dividing the vision into division, naturally you will find perfection, because in division you are cutting two things up together. You are cutting one thing into two, and when you cut one thing into two, you naturally form conflicts, and those conflicts work upon your mind and your brain, making you see with dual vision in division. And when you see dual vision, naturally you have to be involved in the conflicts which you regard as imperfection, and yet everything in life is perfect. Are the flowers not perfect? Are the trees perfect? The grass is so perfect, shining in its own glory! And why should you feel imperfect? It is a fixture of your mind; it is fictitious.
When you, through the strength gained by your meditations and spiritual practices, realise that nothing will seem imperfect to you, for then you will regard all this as a creation of Divinity. And if Divinity is regarded as perfect, then how can His creation be imperfect? Divinity does not only contain sunshine; it also contains rain. Is sunshine not beautiful, and is the rain not beautiful too? For without the rain, where would there be the grain to feed you and keep you alive? And that very life, in spite of its contradictions, is perfect itself.
If you paint a picture and you only have blue there, will that picture not look totally bland or stupid, with only the colour blue? But how about putting in and interspersing, say, yellows or reds, or whatever you might prefer? That would add to the variety of your painting, and could you say that painting is imperfect? No. The general conception is that a total canvas in blue would be perfect, but by adding variety to it, it creates a greater perfection, and that perfection, that variety, is to be expressed in life and in living.
LIFE ITSELF IS GOD. LIFE ITSELF IS INCOMPARABLE
So, do not despair; there is nothing wrong at all. What is there that is wrong? Today you wear a yellow sweater; I love it. Tomorrow you might wear a blue sweater; I will still love it. It might be cloudy today, and I love those clouds. What is wrong with them? It is because of those clouds that the sunshine is produced, and because of the sunshine, the clouds are produced. So where is the idea of imperfection? When man gets rid of this idea that “I am imperfect”, then only will he become happy. I am a child of God, as all must say, and because God is perfect, the child of God must be perfect.
If you plant a seed of a flower and the flower grows, the child grows from the seed. Could you call the flower imperfect? No, do not do that. I have said before that if you say you are a sinner, you are a sinner, you are a sinner, you are a sinner, you will become a sinner, weaker and weaker and weaker. But if you have the idea in your mind that “I am Divine because I come from Divinity”, then you will become Divine. And that is the realisation one has to reach, to find the Divinity within oneself. If you do not find the Divinity, you are forever messing around in muddy waters created by your mind. But get out. Get out of the mud and swim in the clear waters of life, for Life itself is God. Life itself is Divine. Life itself is incomparable.
WITH UNDERSTANDING YOU BECOME DEVOTED, BECOME DEVOTED TO YOURSELF
Life itself is the totality of this universe in which you exist. That will be your first realisation, and then you will find that you become one with all existence. You become existence itself, and when you become existence itself, there is no conflict. There are no opposing forces that will battle in your mind. You will exist in this world, yes, I will not deny that. There will be conflicts and polarities and blah blahs, but you will rise above them and view them for their own value.
How can you view a cent as a pound? Only from the standpoint of the pound can you view the cent. But the cent cannot view the pound. So simple! So you see, this is a matter of perspective, and proper understanding is Jnana Yoga. And with proper Jnana, you will naturally develop Bhakti, that devotion. And what do you want to be devoted to? Ask yourself that question. Do not try to be devoted to God, because at the moment God is just a mental conception for you, and how can you be devoted to a mental conception that has no reality for you now? So, with understanding, you become devoted, and I tell you this, become devoted to yourself.
Become devoted to yourself for that is the only thing you know and if you are truly devoted to yourself, if you truly can love yourself, if you can truly learn to love yourself, then you can love everything around you. Most people hate themselves, but if they can truly learn to love themselves then they can love everything around them. Then they could see the beauty of life that surrounds them.
FROM GUILT TO GRACE, FINDING PEACE WITHIN
So, what do you want to choose? Do you want to be devoted to an idle mental conception, or do you want to be devoted to that which is you? This brings with it many, many advantages. One of the advantages is that by loving yourself, you will love others. Love thy neighbour as thyself. If you cannot love yourself, how can you love your neighbour? This also brings a deep confidence within yourself, which will rid you of all your insecurities. When you are rid of your insecurities, you will feel much more at peace, because the greatest enemy of peace is insecurity. And when you rid yourself of these insecurities, you feel more at peace with yourself, and you can only find the Kingdom of Heaven within if your mind is at rest and at peace.
This is the way of life; this is living, this is the joy of life. This is giving and forgiving. You might know the meaning of these words that to forgive comes before giving. Forgiving comes before giving, because the very word fore, the prefix, goes first in giving. So, forgiving comes with giving.
There is one thing I will really ask you to do. Do not forgive anyone at all, but start by forgiving yourself. Most people might feel guilty about things they have done or not done, but so what? That was far away, gone, past. So, forgive yourself first, and by doing that you will rid yourself of all guilt. When the guilty feelings evaporate, so to speak, from you, your mind will find peace. And when the mind finds peace, how close can you come to God? Because it is the mind that stands between you and God. So, find that peace by forgiving yourself, getting rid of the guilt or whatever. And when the mind reaches that peace, you will automatically draw God towards you.
IF YOU HAVE SINCERITY OF PURPOSE AND CLARITY OF MIND, YOUR THOUGHTS WILL FIND FRUITION
You do not need to go to God. All the prayers in the world are false. What do people understand about prayer? They only know about begging. Oh, my Dear Lord, give me this and give me that. Throw a million bucks on my lap and find me someone to love. No, that is not prayer. Prayer should never be asking anything from God. He knows your needs. Does he not provide for you? Who are you to ask and demand? Who are we to ask for anything? No, we do not ask, we do not beg. You are not beggars. As the children of God, you are not beggars. Does a child beg from a mother or a father? No, he has the right to the plate of food of life. So simple. So, in true prayer, through our meditation and spiritual practices, we bring the mind to ease. In other words, remove it from disease, and what is required will be there.
We have had, for example, a few experiences. I had to get a Danish visa, and it normally takes about three or four weeks. So I just went into the Danish Embassy from the airport, and within ten minutes I got my visa, just like that. London is very busy, with parking problems and things like that. So we just turned a corner, and there was an open parking space for us, just there, waiting. These things happen, and if they can happen in my life, they can also happen in your lives, for are we not one? I am none apart from any of you. We are one. The same spirit, the same Divinity, dwells within each and every one of us. The only thing is, we have got to clarify the mind, and this comes through meditation. The more the mind is cleared, the more powerful your thoughts become, and every single wish comes about. It gets fulfilled.
For example, I had this car problem, and I took my car to the garage, which quoted a thousand Rand, that is South African money, for the repair. So I said, “Where am I going to get a thousand Rand?” It is a lot of money, with a family to support and a couple of kids going to colleges and universities. It is really expensive. So I sat down one evening and did three paintings. Then two days later, someone I did not know just popped up and said, “I believe you do painting” – I compose, I write poetry, I paint, you know – all the arts combined. This person and his wife looked at the paintings. And so, “How much do you want for it?” I said, “I do not know. You make an offer.” And he gave me a thousand Rand, just like that, which paid for the car repairs. Do you see? With these examples, I am trying to illustrate that if you have sincerity of purpose and clarity of mind, every thought you want to think will find its fruition unmistakably, always. It is a law of nature, and it can be achieved by each and every one. So why hesitate? Why be so damned lazy? Do something about yourselves. And there is not much effort required, really. In the beginning, it might seem like a bit of effort, but afterwards, the effort becomes effortless. You will find it very beautiful.
… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: Satsang UK 1985 – 14
