EXPAND THE EGO AND EXPERIENCE THE “IS-NESS” OF THE VAST OCEAN OF BEAUTY
This ocean of endless beauty robs one of breath and thought. Do not just observe the sea and its beauty; dive in it and drown in it, and then you will experience the beauty more. You become the beauty. By drowning in it, one is drowning one’s little self, the little self of the ego, the small “I,” which causes all this trouble on dry land. When the ego self is drowned in that beauty, the ego self merges into the beauty, and you go through a period of total forgetfulness of your little self. Although you function with the little self and do the daily chores and the daily things of life while functioning in the body, you remain submerged in that beautiful ocean of utter bliss.
As we have said before, this ego-self is nothing but thought formations that give you a personality, which is the ego. But you need a personality to live in this world. How can you live in this world without any personality? Everyone has a particular kind of personality. But the man who is drowned, submerged in that ocean of beauty, incorporates all personalities in his personality. All the personalities of the entire world, the whole universe, rocks, flowers, plants, animals, all are absorbed within him, for he is submerged in that ocean of beauty.
His personality is not annihilated, but his personality is expanded, embracing everything that there is. By embracing all that there is, he experiences the “Is-ness” of the vast ocean of beauty. This cannot come about by a mental assumption or intellectual rationalization. Mentally, you might say, “I am my brother’s keeper; my brother and I are one.” But, with that conscious analysis lurking in the dark shadows of the subconscious mind, you find a separation. You might love your brother very much, you might love someone very much, very dearly, but if something good happens to that brother, are you going to feel elated? Generally, not. Ninety-nine percent of the world’s population would not. Generally, he would develop envy, why did he win a million dollars in the lottery, not me. Envy would be there, so there is no value in that love, for in the first place, it was not a love.But if you have assimilated the other person right within yourself, in your heart of hearts, you would feel elated just by the thought that he had been given a million pounds. It is the same as if I have been given a million pounds. So, you would give him all the good wishes so that he can enjoy what he has gained.
NOTHING WRONG IN POSSESSING ITSELF, BUT DO NOT BE ATTACHED
The million pounds gained by this man is not an accident. There is no such thing as luck. He has done something to get that. We call it luck because he has not worked for it on the surface level. But yet he got it, so we call it luck. It is no luck. Perhaps he was owed that. Possibly, the doings of his past created a credit balance for him, and he got it in this life. So, by having this understanding, we would say that he deserves it, and who should feel envious of anyone who deserves it? So, to find that beauty and be submerged in the ocean, envy disappears.
Wanting to accumulate is nothing but building walls around you, building a wall so high that you cannot see, never mind being submerged in the ocean of beauty, but you cannot even see the sea. And that is produced by greed, by accumulation, and what do you accumulate? You accumulate possessions, material possessions which are none other than an illusion. A man can only eat one meal at a time. He can only sleep in one bed at a time and drive one car at a time, although he might have a dozen vehicles. So those are his necessities. But people do not think in that fashion that let me just have my necessities to keep alive, to keep this body going, or to do the work I have to do. They feel that having a bank balance of millions or whatever wealth and possession they think will give them security. But it is not so. It does not provide you with security. Those thoughts of accumulation accompanied by greed could never give you security. The most insecure people I have met in this world have been multi-millionaires. First, they work hard to make millions and work harder to look after the millions. You see the vicious circle, yet nothing is wrong with having something. There is nothing wrong with possessing an umbrella on a rainy day like this. Why must you get wet when an umbrella is available?
But here again comes the question of attachment. How much am I attached to worldly possessions? We will permanently be connected if we do not eliminate the idea of greed and accumulation. You can only eat one meal and drive one car at a time. After all, what is the difference between a small Volkswagen and a Roll Royce? They both take you from point A to point B. That is the purpose of a car. So, you can go with the Volkswagen or with the Rolls Royce. You still reach what you want to achieve. But, having the Rolls Royce, you are building up your ego. It is a status symbol. When you drive down the road, you say, “There goes Mr. Rockefeller,” and you salute him, but why do you salute him? Why do you salute that rich man? Because it is an inner desire of yours, a subconscious desire to have what he has. So, both are in trouble, the poor and the rich. The poor man wants to accumulate and is greedy and yearning for it, and the rich man has possessions and is so attached to them that both the poor and the rich are ego-bound. They have the sense of I, I, I.
DO NOT LET THE SMALL “I” AND THE BIG “I” LIVE IN SEPARATE BEDROOMS
As I said, you sleep in one bed at a time – it reminds me of a story of a Jewish man talking to his very intimate friend. He says, “I like to sleep alone.” So, the friend asks, “What about your wife?” He says, “Since we were married, we slept in separate bedrooms.” So, this friend, being an intimate friend, and friends discuss anything when they are very intimate. He says, “But what happens during the night? What do you do if you feel like a bit of cuddling?” He says, “Then I whistle, and my wife comes to my room.” This friend was very astounded, but then he asked this man, “What will happen if your wife feels like a bit of a cuddle? Then what?” So, this man explains, she comes to my door, taps, and says, “Lovey, did you whistle?” Oh yes, life is so, so funny. Life is so funny. Even man and wife live in separate bedrooms.
Your small “I” and the real “I” within you live in separate bedrooms. Are you not closely married in oneness with the authentic self within you? Why must you put the little “I” into a separate bedroom? So, all these qualities of accumulation, etc., build that wall around you so you cannot see the vastness, the beauty of the ocean. And yet, behind this high wall, you can still smell the sea. Would that not be proof enough that there is an ocean behind this wall because you get the smell of the salty ocean? If that is not enough to make you break down the wall that separates you from the sea, how can you enjoy the beauty of the ocean? How can you swim in the sea?
BY ADDING DIVINITY INTO OUR LIVES, WE COME TO LIVE A LIFE OF FULLNESS AND FULFILMENT
The main principle is that we have to expand the ego. You could never annihilate the ego, for the annihilation of the ego will make you insensible, because thought is contained within the ego self which is made of thought. It contains rationalizations; the left hemisphere of the brain is working. You need that; otherwise, you could never live a worldly life. You can never be in the world and yet not of the world, and that is one of the basis of our teachings.
To find greater clarity and take off those dark glasses to see the world as it is, one must expand and embrace the ego. Many philosophies talk of sublimating the ego. You cannot do it. You cannot sublimate the ego. You can only clarify the ego by getting rid of greed, hate, avarice, covetousness, and the idea of sacrifice, and more than that, the inner feeling that this little outer “me” is not the actual “me” for there is no “me” and there is no “mine.” It is all but one. And once that idea is firmly established within oneself, you enjoy the ocean’s beauty. Then you dive deep into the sea and experience the surface waves rising high and low, but more profoundly down, you experience the beautiful calm. So, it becomes one existence but also, at the same time, a co-existence between materiality and spirituality, for both could be well blended and you find the sweetness like tea. You put a teaspoon of sugar into the tea, and the sugar dissolves; you do not see the sugar. But the tea becomes sweet. Without the sugar, the tea is bitter, and the bitter tea is that little ego self. By adding that one teaspoon of Divinity, dissolving it within the ego and the ego being dissolved in the higher self of us, we live a life of total combination of fullness and fulfillment.
I have said many times in some talks that man is already fulfilled. His cup is running over; this cup is flowing over. But we put a lid on it, the lid of the ego self. So, when these qualities of avarice, greed, covetousness, envy, and hatred are removed, you cannot remain in a vacuum. Something gets filled into you. What is that something? Love, love, where you could view the saint and the sinner with an equal eye, with one eye. It is the most glorious, beautiful, and beautiful experience any man can have. This can be done quickly by bringing us to a state of integration. Only the integrated man can love from within himself. Only the integrated man can experience love, for his love is all-encompassing.
THE REAL PROFIT IN LIFE IS TO DIVE DEEP DOWN IN THE OCEAN OF BLISS AND LOVE
In this worldly life, even the self-realized man requires a point of devotion. Ramakrishna had Kali, the Goddess Kali, as his point of devotion. Vivekananda had Margaret Noble and Sister Nivedita as his point of devotion. Krishna had his Radha, another man’s wife, as his point of devotion, but the love was so pure that it was not adulterous. So, through that one point of devotion, you extend your love to the entire universe through that channel, and that devotion could take many forms. It could be your mother, your father. It must be total, in the sense of total non-attachment, for then only devotion works, for if there is attachment, then that devotion is only on the surface level and not welling up from the depth of the ocean of beauty. So, your point of devotion could be your mother, father, beloved, lover, Guru, anything, this flower, anything.
That is where we start, and a sense of sacrifice begins. What are you sacrificing in that devotion that you have for another? You are sacrificing your ego-self and sacrificing its littleness so that it can become significant, expand, and become clearer. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you must have an enormous ego. No. There is a difference between a big ego and an expanded ego, an apparent ego so expanded that the entire universe is in your arms. And that is the beauty, and everyone has the right. Everyone has it built in him. Everything is in-build. But, to people, life just becomes a business, the business of living, profiting, making a profit. The real profit is to swim and dive deep into that ocean of bliss and love, not the profit we put in the bank.
FINDING THE INNER BEAUTY WILL ENHANCE OUR PERCEPTION OF THE OUTER BEAUTY
Suppose our brains can only start working in a direction that could lead us to that infinite ocean of Divinity. I see a little child cry, tears rolling down the cheeks. To me, every drop of tears is the entire ocean and universe. Have you watched a child crying? Have you watched the expression on the child’s face? That innocence, the beauty. Man always seeks for outer beauty. Nothing is wrong with that, but he does not realize that finding inner beauty will enhance our perception of outer beauty, and everything will become more beautiful.
WHEN YOU ARE ESTABLISHED WITHIN YOURSELF, YOUR ACTIONS WILL BE THE RIGHT ACTIONS
All of you might have read a little biographical sketch about me, but to repeat something from it, when I was fifteen, that was the first time I entered the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, merging in that ocean of beauty. I was away for two hours, but it seemed like two minutes when I came out of the meditation. I had just gone in and out, but two hours had passed. When I opened my eyes, everything seemed so much more beautiful, and everything was covered in a golden haze that persists with me right up to now, just gold, gold, gold all around. Does that not make things more beautiful for me? Is it not worth living then as a householder instead of as a monk or an ascetic? Experience the joy inside and bring it to a conscious, perceptive level. The whole value of life is changed, and when you are established within yourself, your actions will be the right ones.
IF YOU TAKE ONE STEP TOWARD DIVINITY, DIVINITY TAKES TEN STEPS TOWARD YOU
You can have millions in the bank, mansions, and all your expensive motorcars and yachts; enjoy them. Why not? Enjoy it all. But at the same time, when you look at the car, or the mansion, or the beautiful antique furniture in your house, just have that in mind: when you are genuinely established within yourself, then you will always have it in your mind that this is the beauty of God. This is the beauty of God. Divinity expresses itself in a myriad of forms. In every form, there is Divinity.
This world is like a car. It has all the mechanisms: the gears and the brakes, the engine, the pistons, the carburetor, and what you have. Yet the car will not go without the gas. Divinity is the gas that makes the car go, and at the same time, it gives you the free will to take the car wherever you want. You can drive to Seattle, or you can drive to Vancouver. He has given you free will, yet, at the same time, He empowers you to drive despite your free will. You cannot lift a hand without that energy. The car will not run without gas energy. So, all is energy. All is energy. So, enjoy it, but remember that all the material things are composed of energy, for matter and energy are not two things apart. It is the same thing. Fine energy that becomes more and more condensed becomes matter. Like my old example, water vapor is excellent; you can hardly see it. That could be condensed into water or liquid, and the very liquid can be put into the freezer and made into a block of ice. Yet, the underlying principle between the vapor, the gaseous matter, and the water and the block of ice all has the principle H2O. So, we have to break down the barriers by expanding the ego, and when we break down the barriers, the ego itself merges away into that Divinity, into that vast ocean of beauty. And when you dive into that vast ocean of beauty, you come out being beauty yourself, for now, you have experienced it, you have embraced it, and you and the sea are but one. Your mind is flooded with that joy. Your heart is opened with that love. Your brain sends signals to the environment, making the environment love you, for there is one great truth: if you take one step towards Divinity, Divinity takes ten steps toward you. If you give one cent, ten cents come back to you. That is an infallible law. It comes back to you in some form or another.
THE GIVER IS ALWAYS THE GAINER
The giver is always the gainer. You have not got that one poem of mine, “Life is made to give.”
“Let my love be measured by giving and not by gain
For if gain I sought, this life lived would be in vain.
Love then, yourself to lose, I say again and again
For the giver can only give as clouds disperse in rain
Filled and complete as a teardrop on the maiden cheek without stain
For heaving breasts heave, but to give all, all to her swain
The blushing bride can blush no more; wheat becomes floured grain
The sweetness of the sugar comes from crushéd giving of the cane
Let my love be measured by giving and not by gain
For flowers to its fragrance give, let me sing this refrain forever.”
That is the meaning and purpose of life. Here, as in this poem of mine, it is in the crushing of the cane that it gives off its sweetness. The crushing of wheat gives us grain so that we can eat bread. That is sacrifice. So, as we go through this life and do our Meditations and Spiritual Practices regularly, these qualities will come unto thee.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICES AND MEDITATION GIVE YOU THE NEEDED COURAGE AND STRENGTH
If you say to yourself a million times a day, I love, I love, I love, I love, I love, it will not work. If dirty water is in a jar, just put that jar under a faucet and let the water run. Automatically, the dirty water will be replaced with clean water. Using it as an analogy, of course. So, if you want to love the entire universe, suppose you want to swim in this ocean of beauty. The only way to do this is to expand the ego by eliminating the things we have discussed. But for that, you need courage and strength, as well as spiritual practices and meditation that give you the strength to rid your jar of dirty water and fill it with clean, fresh water of love. So, swim and dive in it; it is lovely. I guarantee that. And I will always be there in my little rowboat, watching you; in case you drown, I will pull you out, and do not be afraid. Leap. Leap.
… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: Satsang CAN 1983 – 07
