Consciousness and the Absolute

[Guest guest]

June 9, 1981

 

 

 

Maharaj: Rajneesh is not a small personality or small principal. He is

tremendous - he is very big. He is great sage.

 

When you already have a guru {Rajneesh}, why do you visit other sages?

Since you already have a great sage as your guru, you should not sit here or

come here. I do not like those shiftings from gurus to gurus. I do not like

wanderers. What is the difference between Maharaj and Rajneesh? Once you

remove the letter {that is, the names} what is the difference? You investigate

that wanderer's "I", before you investigate others. What is the product after

you remove its name? What are you without the name of the label?

 

You investigate the investigator - investigate "I Am". Before you take up

the assignment of inquiring about others, inquire about yourself first and see

if you are real or unreal. The letters " I Am" are written spontaneously with a

certain ink. What is that ink which was used which was used to write that which

you are? In that ink with which the letters "I Am" were written, in that ink

the title of Tej Sesh Bhagavan is confirmed by the Vedas. Sesh means the

leftover, the remains. What is the left over that mean what you are? {Maharaj

then asked someone to leave and not to listen to these talks.} One who has

understood one's mystery as to what is, that one will not discuss or argue the

largeness or smallness of anybody.

 

You have become a slave to a concept, and having become a slave to one

concept you are fully involved and are immersed in more concepts. You are

drowning in concepts. Having go caught up with the concept that you are, the

first concept, you started giving names and titles and ideas to others and you

became enmeshed therein. Although one may call oneself a jnani, one enjoys

entertaining himself with a number of concepts. Although such a one knows full

well that he is not going to get anywhere, still one become busy with a number

of concepts. That Taj Sesh Bhagavan has spontaneously come and will

spontaneously go. What are you going to get for yourself as "I Am"? The firm

conviction that I am this, the three states - waking state, deep sleep and the

knowledge " I Am" are the aspects of that Tej Sesh Bhagavan. You are not that.

 

Question: Then who am I?

 

Maharaj: The prominent and firm reply is only you are. You throw the hooks

with bait into the water to catch the fish. In that way you, with the concept

that you are, throw in the bait and haul in lots of concepts for yourself. So

when the question followed by the answer is there, then anything, which is

refused {what remains}, is that rejection.

 

Prior to any other recognition, you already are. If you are not, other

people are not. You are supporting yourself on the intellect of the body and

having stabilized in the body or the intellect, you are creating or inviting a

lot of concepts, and in the concepts you are bogged down. You are talking about

others; let me know what you are. I am asking about you. What are you? You

the observer.

 

Q: Maharaj knows I do not know what I am. Why is he asking me?

 

M: I am not talking to you. Consciousness is talking to consciousness about

consciousness. Who told you that Maharaj is talking to you? Your basis itself

is wrong. One appearance noticed another appearance of a fly. That is why this

automatic gesture. If I understand what I am, that is, merely an appearance,

then I will know that the others are appearances also. Therefore, I will have

no questions arguments or quarrels with them. But if I don't understand myself,

and if I ride on the wings of a concept, then I prefer my appearance.

 

Q: Since Maharaj is only talking to consciousness; he will not talk to my

ignorance.

 

M: Ignorance will remain there for all time just as knowledge also will remain

for all time. There cannot be knowledge without ignorance and there cannot be

ignorance without the correlated knowledge. Both are the opposites in

manifestation, one cannot remain without the other. Even this concept about

knowledge is merely a concept. With a jnani, there is no concept of either

ignorance or knowledge. The total absence of all knowledge or ignorance is that

state prior to the arising of consciousness. But you try to interpret whatever

I say with various concepts. And you condition yourself with all these concepts.

 

Q: Maharaj is taking everything away from me. I have nothing to hold onto - I

will fall.

 

M: You will be broken into how many pieces with that fall? With all that, do

what you like! Another person is searching for himself, but you are hiding.

 

Q: What is reality?

 

M: What ever is permanently there, immortal, unchanging. The eternal ever is, a

non-experiential state. Subsequent to that is the consciousness, " I Amness",

the body experience and life. Your experiences are in the realm of

consciousness. In the realm of consciousness you cannot have the experience of

truth. As a matter of fact, there can be no experience of truth because you are

That in the ultimate analysis. How can there be the experience of the truth? It

is prior to the beingness.

 

Q: What can one do for the continuance of that experience?

 

M: No experiences are permanent. You are the permanent. Experiences are there

in the realm of consciousness, which is bound by time.

 

Q: How does one go beyond time?

 

M: How did you come? Experiencing things happens unconsciously or

spontaneously. Knowingly you cannot go into that.

 

Q: Can we come out of it knowingly?

 

M: You want to step out? One must know exactly what is time and what is you.

You must get to know that first. What is your step? You want to step out of

time. What is time?

 

Q: Time is desire.

 

M: Not at all, time means space.

 

Q: There is separation in space.

 

M: Whatever you have placed before Maharaj as knowledge are all mistaken

concepts. Do you have the knowledge that birth means misery?

 

Q: Pain of birth, not the knowledge.

 

M: Just by playing with words and concepts, you will not be emancipated.

 

Q: What should one do?

 

M: Don't even accept the concept that you have to do anything.

 

Q: What should I do with the pain?

 

M: The way it has come, it will go.

 

Q: Have I to become idle?

 

M: Jump about! You understand what I say but you are afraid that whatever so

-called knowledge you have collected is being devalued. Krishnamurti said

whatever he has said, very rightly, but do you assimilate it thoroughly?

Whatever Maharaj tells you, you try to absorb it through concepts.