The 3 Paths of Spiritual Purification To Go From Your HEAD To Your HEART | Paramahamsa Vishwananda

people think that life just happened random it can't be random at the age of 14 I experienced something that Chang my life itself you sat down to meditate and you left your body yeah for 3 days I was in the state of zadi and what was your experience as you were ah really before that I heard about Mahar Babaji he B down look in my eyes he revealed that all these time it was on him everybody's searching for one thing which is happiness we think that something will make us happy there is a part of us which is still not satisfied and this is when your soul itself have that deep longing I want to know every day of your life there's a golden moment you have to make here your Paradise if you have not make here your Paradise what Paradise are you aiming for in everything that we do we serve the Divine we find God in everything we are not separate you know from God wherever we are the Divine is with us hey everyone welcome back to the know thyself podcast today we have the privilege of sitting down with the founder of bakti Marga an individual who is a spiritual teacher and leader uh paramahansa vishwananda pleasure to have you here yeah your mission is to open the heart of humanity yeah I would love to dive into your story how you originated here but where I first want to start off is I believe and I've come to my understanding that there is a deeper fundamental longing and searching within the mind and heart of every human being that we label as often career relationship these different manifestations in the material world so I just want to ask you what do you feel that we are fundamentally searching for what is the deeper longing actually everybody is searching for one thing which is happiness and happiness have different level some look for happiness into the materal world some look at it in relationship some look for happiness in uh spirituality so are the fundamentally everybody's searching for to be happy and uh there were like different kind of Happiness different ways to be happy why why does it seem to elude us so much why why are so many people not happy because we want things too quick now we look for happiness but uh we want it very quickly and this is we are very impatient with our with ourself and with everything else that's why we even when we search for happiness we don't achieve that happiness when you say the word happiness what do you mean by that because I think a lot of people have different perceptions of what they think happiness means it's true you see we look for happiness very often uh we think that something will make us happy but along the road we find out what there's no happiness into it our happiness disappeared it was time now we like to have something wonderful yes we enjoy it and after sometimes that happiness fade away so for me personally when I'm talking about happiness I'm talking about happiness something which carries on something that uh doesn't fade away with time or with uh let's say you're enjoying something and then it fade away like that no yeah I feel that a lot of people get joy like true happiness and joy mixed with pleasure uh like they mix the two because a lot of people say well a car makes me happy or you know a relationship that's pleasure actually right yeah so you're speaking to the deeper fundamental there's like a fulfillment there's like an imper satisfaction you have that deep satisfaction because you see we may do so many things but yet there is a part of us which is still not satisfied and that is when that which is not satisfied get satisfied that what I call real happiness yeah it feels there's a fundamental presupposition that we're trying to look for something infinite within the finite well the infinite is also in the finite you know they are not separate because very often when we especially on the spiritual path you know we try to find that infinite separate from the finite which is they are not separate yeah yeah they are together so what have you found as what really brings and unlocks that true deep happy happiness which lasts where does one look for that in order for it to last actually that happiness very often we try to like I said earlier you know we try to find it elsewhere but in reality it's not elsewhere it is in ourself and in things that we do with which attitude we do things you know that also bring that happiness out so this is the no they self podcast and we love to to dive into exploring what is the true nature of self who am I what is our purpose here how can we be most effective you know stewards to serve the planet and I think it's very much in alignment with your mission of opening the hearts of humanity actually this is a main question about spirituality about knowing thyself yeah so what do you feel it means to really become self-actualized well is every moment whatever we do we do it with a certain Consciousness awareness that uh we are Divine firstly and that Divinity can be also spread in everything that we do the when we realize that because that what bring for me personally what I'm talking about is what bring that Happiness is when we are connected with the source of everything and that when you actualize it and in your daily life itself whatever you're doing you do it with a certain awareness of yes that is also Divine yeah so it's not separate it's a powerful distinction to use the word self-realization because you're coming to discover something that's already there like you said the connection C with the Divine you're like you're realizing you you already always have been but you come to see something that always has been yeah but the Mind separate no if uh like we are talking right now yes there is a certain realization but you know about it but there is many people who know about it but didn't realize it knowing and realizing is two different thing when you realize something that knowing disappeared so it's like uh you said what when you are small you grow up the youth disappeared make way to the different stages of your life you know though you were young you become youth you know then from youth you become old age and so on but all the experience of this they day but you have transcend them so like that also though throughout life you know when whatever you have experienced you are transcending it I feel so much of our pain and suffering comes from our perceptions with the mind about the world and our problems and things and you speak very often about the shift from the mind to the heart and so I just love for you to share a little bit more about why that's such a powerful shift in one's life and how to realize that you see we have done everything with the mind and we know very well we expert in it but uh whatever we do with our mind which we are driven by the by the mind doesn't lead us to true happiness doesn't lead us to True contentment you so there must be something else but uh beyond that why some people are truly happy no matter what happen in their life they're still even if their life goes upside down there's happiness inside of them so personally I think that is the way you know where the mind have shift you know have descent into the heart itself then the heart just didn't stay like that you know when we talking about the heart we're not talking about the physical heart we're talking about the spiritual heart you know which keep opening this is where love come you know what is the nature of love very often people ask you know what is the nature of love what is what is love because this is something which is uh very mysterious everybody love you know everybody talk about love but what is that love of course religious would tell you religion would tell you yes it is Love Is God that's it Point finish but it can't just be that there's more more to love that's why we see love is identified to God in a certain way because it is it transcend everything it is unlimited when I come in contact with individuals who I feel live in their heart there is a sense of Freedom you know it's like the saying of being in the world but not of it you're not attached to the external circumstance actually you see when it is with the mind there's lot of judgment yeah criticism and so on you know whenever you come to somebody which is very mind oriented we think that yes that person knows everything yeah so you close yourself you don't open up yourself because you know you will be criticized you know that person will judge you you know that yes they will see you in a different negative way so you can't open up your heart to that person but when you come to somebody which Heart is Open you're free you let it flow you know there's an acceptance also there you know there's without judgment and there is this flow of love you know it is just flowing naturally so I think everybody listening has this experience probably daily where they feel they feel judgments however big or small uh whether labeling something as good as bad having attachment to certain circumstances wanting to go other way it's a natural process of the Mind how do we how do we really sink in deeper into the heart so we can start to hold this and not start to think so dualistically well dualistically it's from from the mind you know we have a mind and whatever we do into the world we do it with the Mind naturally there is good there is bad there is but we should not attach to it this is what make the differ is that when we start identifying to the Judgment whether it is good or not good both is Judgment so when the moment our mind start attaching itself to that that often I say if you judge something is good automatically you accept the bad whether you say it or not you're accepting it it is there so to come to the point of the heart itself it's like it's not what you don't care but you come to a point of the yes it is fine how it is something goes right in your way it is fine something doesn't go the way you want is also fine so you can find that both can lead you somewhere there's a beautiful Story one master and his disciple they used to go on Retreat and uh to six months they will spend in their Hut and six months they spend in the forest so on the way back when they were returning to their Hut after being in the forest they saw the Hut half of the Hut was broken the statue was gone so the master the disciples start complaining saying oh sad we we have been meditating in the forest we have been doing spiritual practice how unfair from God to look at our heart you know he canot protect our heart when he looked at the master the master was on the floor bowing down say thank you God you know you have you know you knew that we have not bath for 6 months you know we have not uh so you have we were I was wondering how this will be you know because uh of the smell all this you know so you have make it so open now so that is natural uh AC yeah so for sure the disciple must be thinking you know something have must go wrong with the master dram The Last Retreat so as they went in you know were sleeping and they looking up all the stars so all of a sudden start forecast and start R rain start falling again the master was on his knees thank you God you know you know better so we didn't take shower you send the shower down so very grateful about it [Music] so the disciple look and said what's wrong with you master you know it was broken you say thank you for that and now it's raining we are completely wet and you even say thank you for that and uh then the master said one thing listen I don't know if God really exists I have never seen him I don't know if he ever listen but one thing thing that have brought me and kept me strong on the path is my attitude towards life I take it in a positive way and I find it wonderful you know when we start we learn to to to take things in a positive way in our life we are more relaxed we are not need to as say stress ourself you because stress doesn't solve the problem it make the problem worse and but that we see the world you know when there's a problem there's a thing people attach themselves mostly to that Pro to their problem they meditate upon the [Music] problem and the problem get bigger yeah I love that yeah so much of our joy or suffering I feel like as you're mentioning is our attitude our perception about whatever is happening and one of the Vidant philosophies uh which is the visha which is more the lineage I believe that you studied I would love for you to share a little bit about what what that is in that perspective so we can dive into that understanding visha actually come from Shar you know but is uh compared to other let say form of uh adventism know and UHA is that we are not separate you from God but wherever wherever we are the Divine is with us because others said okay the formless aspect adic know the formless aspect you know we are separate we everything is God said no we are part of him and of course we have D also which is a said no no no everything is H complete separation so one say there's no separation part and complete separation so V we find that in everything that we do we serve the Divine we find God in everything he's not separated from us we are part of him I think more and more people are are getting familiarized with non ISM um and adva teachings which is which is amazing but the distinction with fishta ad is that there are some like distinctions in my understanding um could you clarify a little bit what those are this actually is a very um very long dispute okay uh for centuries actually they all have been fighting with each another between the different School of philosophy you know because the adism ADV philosophy and the Vista ADV you know and they keep we are right you are wrong you know and actually nowadays it's different you know even if we go deeper into the philosophy point of view how does it profit from for people in nowaday Society so we can talk at length about adventism andish so the different is that from shankara who portrayed you know who his philosophy was that everything is Brahman everything is only Brahman nothing you don't exist V said no everything is Brahman but you are also part of it so you see the different between the two the moment you put something but it is you are part of it in that part there is a distinction between the two even if God prevailed everything but yet the nature of relating is different how we relate to to the Divine how we relate to people otherwise we just say yes everything is God and that's it it's easy going you so this is the actually in short the different about it so I'd like to explore some of the philosophical understanding but also as a SAT Guru it's it's more so your mystical experience in understanding and perception of life right so I would love to ask you from your own personal experience some maybe more existential questions about life in reality not that we haven't already been but some of these questions of like where where did we come from before we were born and where do we go after we die in your experience what is the nature of those in my experience you see look our journey which our soul have journeyed you know it's a multitude of realities it's not just life doesn't just happen from one day to the other like people think about you know very often in especially in the west people think that life just happened random it can't be random so it's a journey why some people come on the SP above some people are not and it's so far away you don't even know when if it will they will even reach there so this is the Journey of life itself so where we come from you this is a mystery of it yeah so in my belief you know we ever exist no we exist in the cosmic form of God we are never separated from him so when we had our individual personality when ban God wanted us to say go and experience the world because it his creation go and experience so we came into existence so of course the soul have Jour it into any part you know like in the shastra in the scripture said 8.4 million species until you come to the point of having a human body so this human form is not just random it's a it's sacred so that's why honoring that is also [Music] important so after Journey that how many times you have come to in a form in a human form many time so it didn't just spirituality just doesn't happen randomly just appeared I say now I'm spiritual because everybody is spiritual you know the the HT mentality no it doesn't happen like that because something have to awake inside of you and this is when your Atma your soul itself have that deep longing I want to know because life can't be random now very often I speak with people they they have this question since they were small but nobody was there to answer the question because when we look at the world itself they will not give you such answer about it so we come from a very long journey and that's what have bring us into that spiritual that's why we have this deep longing for for for more you know which who will give us that Grace to to to to realize that that we call kria no we call Grace so that's why when in our belief who said that when you have that deep longing the soul send a message to the universe to God you know and God sent you where you have to be those level this step by step you will be carry on until you come to that point of complete realization now of who you are truly you have a glimpse of who you are yeah and having a glimpse of who you are doesn't finish there because very often people say okay yes I'm self realized that's it no self realiz just one step of it we have to come to a point of God realization and that we can't just say yes you know it by our own effort we can try our best and do our s do our spiritual practices do whatever we do in a positive way now put all the um right things in our life but there's one more step you know which come naturally we become a magnet to attract that Grace so you spoke to essentially how we our Origins is from this Cosmic Consciousness individuating experiencing potentially millions of different species to where we realize the sacredness of this human birth where do you feel that we are going this the the moment of self-realization what is the path of what's after this human life like where are we going to as a spirit soul this is a question which everybody ask but actually whoever have reached to that part they have not come back to tell anybody about it you know yeah but we know it through experience which great sages and Saints have experienced you know because once we have enter into that Blissful state of love you have always compassion for others you know the great sages and Saints they choose to be here because very often we talk we here oh yes let us be free but freedom is also being here you can be here and be liberated you don't need to die and be in the other side to be liberated so the sages and the Saints you know they choose to come and help Humanity so this is one thing which is very important what is vuna for me yes vun is whenever you experience a joy and happiness you know like I said that joy and that happiness which is with God at all time that is V so it's not that you have to reach to a place once you die then you go to the Loca of mahavishnu that we call vun for me personally is here you have to make here vun first thing you have to make hear your Paradise if you have not make hear your Paradise what Paradise are you aiming for you know this is the thing people have a aim yes when I once I finish life here I die then I will go to some places it's a hope yes you know but it's not like this mhm you have to make vun here your life have to become that paradise itself that open up all the way so funa is could could it be perceived as like pure light or a reference you're saying a kind of paradise and you get glimpses of it it's both the place we're going to and the place we can have experience here yes it is here itself yeah it's not a place that uh well there is for sure a place also after you depart from here where the great Souls reach you know when you have finished here your Dharma your duty here of course there's a place but of no you don't come back here but to reach to that place you have to make it here first can I ask you a few questions about your own personal path and journey to this point yes can so you're very I guess distinguished from most people's path where you came into this life very much so with the experience of the connection to the Divine whereas sometimes you know often times it kind of gets beat into people through a lot of suffering and so could you share about what it was like as an early Boy The Experience you had at five and we could start from there so my experience you know since I was small but what my grandparents told me you know my mom and my grandma since I start crawling they were never find me everywhere they will find me only in the prayer room so that was where they will always look for me first so my experience what I remember from like you said five years old something happened in uh I grew up in Marius and uh which is where is that East Africa yes near Madagascar a small island in the middle of Indian Ocean okay and um yeah it's true actually many people here in America don't know where marous is very often when I pass the passport control they ask where is that I have to explain yeah so yeah grew up in when I was small 5 years old you know playing with all the the the kids and the surrounding because we live together so one day I was just sitting under one tree actually it's a poisonous tree and I was eating the seeds of these uh of the SE from the which falling and it tastes like peanuts so for me it was peanuts I was eating it and after sometimes I lost conscious and of course I was forming in the mou and there other kids rushed to my parents and told them and my mom and my dad came took me to the hospital and of course the doctor did what they have to do so I'm here [Music] still and something happened that after all this I was in uh in the in the children Ward because it was many many many beds and the children were there there was this man outside the hospital window with long hair and he was giving sweets to all the children so everybody was attracted to him I also went to him and I asked him one question he was giving sweet and I ask him one question why are you here I don't know don't don't ask me why I asked this question I'm still thinking about why did I ask this question but it's true I asked him why are you here but in my language yeah and looking at me he said I'm here for all the all of the children but for you especially and didn't make any sense for me so he hold my hand he put one sweet and one rupee meran rupee and at that time one rupee which is 100 cents was a lot of money for small kids you know so you get lot of sweets and lot of uh because One One Sweet was one cent you get a a site so it was that was the the mind was so attached to the wow nice so then he asked me do you know who you are I didn't answer because it didn't make any he didn't has a echo to me you know so I carry on very happy with the sweet and the rupee so then he said to me without turning with his finger pointing behind him they do you see the light I was looking there was a hill I was looking which light is he talking about there's no light I look at the hill look at the trees nothing I said no I don't see any light he bent down look in my eyes and said look properly so the second time when I look there was a ball of light like the sun surround with a dis of light it's so beautiful and then he said to me well I Heard a Voice his voice that's you how long this this Vision have lost I have no clue after sometime when I come back to myself he said I have to go your mom and Auntie is coming he just lift his hand and disappeared eventually my mom and my auntie came and I was very excited to tell the story and of course for them they think of this child children's stories you know I said okay it's Uncle you know in in uh in the island there we everybody's Uncle Auntie you know that is a respect that we have so just to finish with but those the uncle so that is the first what I remember you know the from my master mhm then later on again I was in um my tooth was painting so my mom brought me to the dentist and the dentist needed to remove the tooth so when he put the injection I bit his finger and I would not let go because it was hurting me and I would say no I don't want him to remove my tooth you know so I bit a finger hand it was not and my mom got really angry he gave me a good slap and said the D was very nice said no no no you know don't beat him it's fine my mom was super angry and said you go out so I was out crying and when I came out on the Terrace you know there was the same man was standing and he said you've been naughty I said yeah I bit the the the finger of the him because I don't want him to remove my tooth and he was smiling at that moment my mom came just dragg me and I was crying and I said mom look this is the same uncle I look nobody but there so like that he was always there so I thought you know this is [Music] normal and uh at the age of uh 14 and a half actually I experienced something that um changed my life itself at the age of 14 one night it was 2 first of uh April I think 1992 you see my parent believed but uh just like everybody they will just not very spiritual people so will go to the temple on twice a year for first of January and uh shry the great night of Shiva and that's it but for me like I said I was always attracted towards spirituality so I used to have collect all the little picture of the gods you know Krishna Shiva and I would put them my mom I was not allowed to put it on the wall so they gave me a cupboard it was inside the cupboard close so every night I would do my little prayer with a incense and then close it again for my mom not to get angry so that night I wake up because there was light coming out from from the cupboard I got so scared because I said oh it's burning so I already see the reaction of my mom and my parents okay so I rush and open the card when I open there was a picture of a saint saaba of Sheri but you have heard about all around him there was spec of light in emanating from that picture so when I open it it was a relief at the same time a calmness you know inside of me and uh it was peaceful so when this happened it dimmed again I closed a couple and went to sleep so next morning I thought it was just a dream finished then know nothing ever happen I went to I was in college at that time so I went to college and uh when I came back my mom was sitting outside crying I asked her what's wrong with you why you s sitting and crying outside whether something have happened your mom died well your mom already dead so yeah no problem maybe something happened to your to my dad or to her family said no no no go inside so I went inside the house and on the wall and and all the other things there was uh some manifest of Ash we call it holy Ash so it was just there okay it was not much actually just spe my mom was crying said oh maybe you should remove these things you know so we clean everything so this is a mistake what we did actually the more we clean it became more start coming out the whole more things start manifesting and um so that is from that on my spiritual journey started you know so like that later on I had more vision of uh of uh that same person and later in much later in 2008 you know he revealed to me but it was actually him all this time you know the then I didn't know he who he was you know so that then 200 2008 no before that I knew about you know and heard about Mahar Babaji so it was similar you know yeah so then 2008 he revealed that all these time it was on him so fascinating C what can you share what is the reality of who babui is and was in your experience I think people maybe have been familiarized or heard of him first through pman yogananda's autobiography of a yogi and they hear about this great being and uh I would just love for you to share what do you feel who he was and is actually look for me personally I think that Maham is a partial manifestation of Lord Krishna so when Lord Krishna disappeared and uh he elminate that aspect of of to remind Humanity to bring to keep a say a balance into this world you know though he manifest into M babaj and who he why he's here he's a teacher for all the other teacher he come as a reminder like he remind me when I was small of the showing that light and that's you even if that time didn't give me that deep realization of yes that is who I am no but it's a reminder of that how do you know what is true a real experience of a connection with like a non-physical being versus the potential because the mind plays all these deception per dist the Mind create lot of tricks and the mind is create lot of vision because I have met many people who you know it how how how it is on the on the spiritual part people always uh say think that they are very special and then when you see when you see what test or problem start having into their life you see how they are really whether they are really spiritual or not you know that I have met also many people so how do you know that uh you are really experiencing something genuinely or not there's no doubt into it because very often you will notice that people who also experience but it is from the mind they need validation from others they need to ask you know and they need to be they want you to confirm but what they are experiencing is right so the validation not from the sguru not from the from the the master but they want other people to acknowledge their point of view so that is not right then it is their own delusion because if it is genuine you will not even want to to to to to go around and I say put a display of it yeah because you are weak you know you have that doubt inside of you that's why there's a display and validation of others I also think there's no way externally for me or somebody listening to validate the authenticity of somebody else's personal experience each person would have their own experience my experience will be my experience it can't be your experience you know then each people will have their own unique experience and this is the beauty of of the spiritual PA you know I think it's a more important thing to look at how someone is living their life as a result of whatever they have experienced or believe and the joy that they're spreading and the love that they're you know helping unlock in people's hearts and like that to me is the true Testament to I guess somebody yes this is also a very good point because you see when you see somebody which their life itself is miserable and tell them that okay yes they are miserable themselves what Joy would they give to others it can't be yeah only like that's why we say you know only those who are liberated can liberate somebody else you know if you have something then you can give if you don't have something you can't give so at 14 there is a distinct moment whether you call it samadi or through that experience Yes actually I something happened I just see my one of my auntie said just sit and meditate no know I said okay fine let's sit and meditate it was something uh I say okay I've never did it before so let's try so my auntie tried to explain to to how to do it so we sat down everybody at um it was 8:00 in the evening we sit down and meditate you know so when we were in medit but the Pro the point is that at that moment when I sat down and meditate something happened to me so I left and I was not back uh for three days so you sat down to meditate and you felt like you left your body yeah for three days for three days I was in this this state of of of samadi and your family your auntie like that and was sitting and crying the because you see the heart was still beating very faintly and the people was there it was a big commotion yeah so in their experience your eyes were closed were you still sat seated like sitting like this or were you laying down I think I was oh well I started by sitting down I think they took me and put me there yeah for three days I was not there and what was your experience as you were ah that I've never seen to anybody actually really actually during that experience I was in a different uh place it was like a long traveling and I don't know whether you because I never say that to to to I mean if you're open to sharing I'm just so curious about that state date and what your Consciousness goes through and what it's is experiencing you know it was not a mind process see it's not but of course after I came back I could remember everything I still remember everything I still whenever I still right now when I'm talking to you can still feel everything inside of me right now you know and yeah it was a I was traveling you know to different spheres and different realities yeah and meeting different beings also I think people are starting to understand more and more how our Consciousness might potentially not be bound by time and space and if you're able to get into deep brain wave States or deep moments of meditation like this I personally have had heard many experiences where people leave their body and have different experiences around so you you it was your experience that you were like traveling to different worlds realities experiencing communicating with other beings do you want to share any more are you open to a little bit no so from that moment in that experience forward you had a different Devotion to the path that you wanted to live in this life like I said to you from small yeah devotion was there Faith was there because I come from a Hindu family also that was also the background of that you know so this like level of uncompromising devotion towards your mission to the you know beautiful asham and the people that that that are around you can you speak into that devotion that you feel from young age till now like how where you feel like this has come from and yeah like like Mah Babu have said to me you see this is from previous life itself that devotion devotion just doesn't Sprout itself like that and it is a continuation of that what is going on so like I said God remind each one what it have to be but is so my path what I am giving to to to to the devotes and to the people you know it's the love that God have for Humanity and human also have for the Divine itself M so that's why you see there through asham through temples you know through worship you know they come to feeling that love Yeah an interesting part of that Dynamic was after that samade experience if correct me if I'm wrong but you had awareness and like perfect understanding of Crea practices no that come later on 2001 actually mahu asked me to teach Kaa and I said to m would you know I will not teach CER bold bold move we have that uh connection because I said no I'm not uh I don't feel like you know said this time now okay then 2005 he asked me again I said okay fine but with one condition I had one condition put to it that uh there's an ancient technique of uh healing called om chanting the yogis and the Saints used to do that and it disappeared so I said to M if you allowed me to bring that technique then I will and then he said okay fine so because he accepted I said okay fine I we'll start teaching okay so your journey since then I'm just so curious about having these experiences as a young boy like regardless of how adventurous and expanded your Consciousness is you're still in a 14-year-old body and and from that point there started people started to come to you and I'm just curious about this transition into people perceiving you as a as a guru no that came later much later you see like I said I come from a Hindu background Hindu what we do very often we take the priest itself as a as somebody which is very Advanced which is not really but okay they're just doing their their work you know but in the normal sense people have that respect towards uh somebody which is worshiping so for me when this happened like I said this ash was coming and this was something wonderful so people start coming what they want to see want to see Miracle this is what the mind is about you know they want to see Miracle so they start coming and funny thing is that people will take the ash they will go home and they will get heal one famous thing is about one person who came with cancer and uh she was uh crying please my name was visham at that time said please help me to to to because I have little children and said okay [Music] fine I will see what I can do so said okay so onward her cancer start disappearing so she had Wonderful Life and uh her children grow up and just recently now after 20 years uh cancer came back now that people start hearing about it like for example when I start traveling I was invited to Kenya uh by a couple at the age of 15 actually uh their son eyes was getting they were getting blind you know and doctor could not do anything they did all the surgery and everything that have to do it was getting worse and worse and uh they called me I went to Kenya for 3 days and eventually the ice the ice of the the the sun it's fine get better so like that things happen so now later in your life when the asham was eventually built and I'm just curious how have you remained to have like the Purity in Clarity in your heart when the ego is very Insidious and it's very slippery and it can very quickly latch on to the admiration or worship from others and trick us into thinking you know making it more about the mind have you had any struggle with that or no I never had any struggle with it really because I don't you see I'm not looking for people you see I have experience enough in PE in in in my life people today flattered you you know people tell you how much they love you and the same people tomorrow will put you down so listening to people how they are in front of you you have not to take it seriously because they will be they will give big affirmation and that I have learned that all throughout my life you never to take it personal because the moment you take it personal your ego start you look for self-gratification you look for ah yes you know people have to give you that devotion people have to as they bow down to you no what role do you feel the guru plays actually the guru plays a very big role you know if without the guru not possible you know because every time I have heard very often you know people say yeah we don't need the guru actually actually it's not true we need the guru because only those who have reached to that point can lead you to there you know only somebody who knows how to go out of that Forest can lead you out of the forest otherwise it is like a maze you get stuck into it and I went uh recently then we went to to to to San Francisco just for one day and we went to a maze mirram it was crazy because everything was moving around so it is like that you see without having a guide to guide you out of that maze you it's very difficult so that is the grace of the sguru itself I think that often times people associate their Humanity with the limitations and I I think everything you're speaking to is like that's equally our Humanity your humanness the the Divine and human form do you still have like do you still experience frustration and no it is there I don't say no because sometimes I have to be frustrated you know for other people to listen otherwise they don't listen uhhuh yeah especially if you have said 10 times the same thing still they don't change yeah yeah I think at least in the west there's a big perception of like transcending the small self or the ego and not like integrating it and coming along the journey and I'm just curious any thoughts you have about this idea of transcending these like what people label as negative or bad emotions but yeah like just finding more Integrity within hold well you have to transcend the easiest way to transcend it is go through it mhm very often we try to go sideways but you don't learn anything yeah so when you go through that you will be able to transcend it and once you have transcended it will not come back but when you try to go sideways it will come back again it'll come back even more stronger yeah so transcending the ego is very important and transcending the negativity it's a choice you know when let's say for example when you you're on the on the path of spirituality you're path half of happiness you want to be successful in in whatever field you want to be it's a choice no so whatever choice you make you give your thought you go deeper into that and once you go to that if you give attention to negativity that negativity will drag you down you can't expect you to flourish and really become great you know but when you give attention to to your positivity now to be away from that pride and ego you will be rise you will rise itself you know and become easy how important is it for us to find success in the Fulfillment internally to have devotion towards something greater than ourselves in our life it's easier actually you know because if you say devotion to to to to oneself is also the egoistic point you know okay you are so great you know let's flatter the ego you are so Majestic then you sing The Glory of I me in mind you know look how wonderful I am look how beautiful I am look how successful I am you know and then what you're still not satisfied because you still want more and more that is the greediness of uh of of life so when that is transcend then you thought to appreciate what you have so carrying that devotion just from the I to the Wi into the greater whole like you very much so devoted your life very deeply towards your mission and I always find there's uh like that Grace comes into the picture as you really devote your life into something greater for the collective and so I just love for you to share a little bit more about the power of devotion and how Grace comes into the picture when we talk about devotion we devoted ourself to God you know like for us we devoted to Krishna to Shana so it's not about us so we take that credit away from us we give the credit to God you know if it's the same Lord which is inside of us the same Lord which is in everything but we give that credit even just that itself make you feel yes more like because you have surrendered yourself to him so devotion is very important because people have devotion for so many things either you have Devotion to your personality Devotion to your to your to your success into life devotion have many ways so you devotion into the lower spheres or Devotion to the higher spheres so when we on the SP we give Devotion to the highest SP you know we give Devotion to God mhm and so then what's the balance between effort and Grace on the path you have to do the effort to attract the grace without effort you don't reach that Grace and what kind of effort well your sard your spiritual practices youh and then so the more that you devote yourself on that to your sad your spiritual practice and you put in that effort this is very important what is the feeling of Grace and and how that comes on that point you see very often have seen people whenever they're doing their thought and all they do it with so intense mhm they're not relaxed yeah see they feel that yes I have to do that much I have to do this you know they push themselves to yeah the brain of it you know then they collapse and like militant yes they become very militant and then they they don't achieve anything yeah because used to be me very much so you have to enjoy Also you know what you're doing you know when we talking about spirituality it's not boring at all yeah I say because very often people think that spirituality is boring you know no it is not it is one of the most joyful and most celebrating life itself you know so that is important yeah but you celebrate each moment of your life yeah and so how do you experience Grace in the people around you and in your your own personal life yeah what is How does Grace arrive what what form does it take what does it feel like in Grace come in many you know and in the smallest things of your life you know I call it the golden moment if you perceived that each day of your life there is Grace into it but you have to be to not test it see it's not just that when you fall sick then you get healed that is a Grace no not only that every day of your life there's a golden moment every day there's when you help somebody on the street when you do something good for somebody this is the grace itself it allowed you to serve you know I think part of the path of arriving there is not identifying with such a small limited self of who we are much of the path of spirituality we were a little bit in discussion a couple days ago at that event this talk of fearlessness in the path of spirituality so I'd love for you to speak to fear how does one arrive at fearlessness in the pursuit of you know attaining and and serving this is the fear this is what control the Mind actually because the mind want to be in control and the weapon that the mind use for that is fear because the mind knows your weakness and you know your weakness and you like to look at it you know you like to like I said glorifying that winess more you glorify it more fear will be there because fear it is unknown to what it is you know what will be very often when I say you know people come to me and said oh you know guruji I want to change my life but you know the moment you start thinking like that you can't change anything so we bring you know our own fear you know and we make that fear so huge but we can't uh control it anymore I love how you talked about the spiritual journey being the longest and shortest distance of 40 cenm from mind to Heart yeah it really is it's it's like the paradoxical nature of it where it's it really is from the mind to the heart and yet it long Tak lives lives and longest way actually you know it is the shortest Journey but people don't want to to let go of the mind they don't want to let go of their ego personality I heard once saying that the longest distance between two paths is a shortcut and I I think a lot of people want to you know latch on to the bumper bumper sticker quotes cliches of spirituality without really feeling it integrating it in their body but what do you see as the direct path to living in the heart really enjoy each moment of your life you know because that moment is unique and if you can't enjoy that you will never be happy so we're all on the spiritual path I suppose whether or not we are consciously taking it up you know often times we unconsciously grasp things that we think are going to bring us happiness or a pleasant experience of life and the path of spirituality is is very much so the the conscious process of of how to live in the heart and how to realize these things and uh for everybody that's listening right now what do you feel like is another big Pitfall on the spiritual path that we haven't covered yet well spiritual ego yeah because also on the spiritual path see very often even in spite of knowing everything the ego is still there you know the spiritual Pride you know so that's what we have to be careful of you know then how to be careful of that is try to become humble yeah embrace your humanity and your humility yeah I I fully agree and you know if Enlightenment is supposed to be something approximating not having an obnoxious ego having an ego about how much you don't have an ego is one of the most unfortunate realities you know and is sad to experience and I've I've definitely encountered that you know where or you have an expanded sense of awareness or you maybe develop a little bit spiritually and then the ego makes you feel Superior you very important I have met many people like that you see they borrowed book knowledge you know yeah and through book knowledge the think that they no spirituality is about experience you see if you are under spiritual you have not experienced what you know and it's difficult yeah they still on the way MH is important you know of see often especially on on the path of of of devotion you know there's some PA who says yes knowledge is important you know you have to have knowledge and then you can have experience and U when I look at uh especially I can talk for my devote you know I look at my devote it's opposite it's they have that experience first then they get to know about it they have the knowledge of it because once you have had a knowledge and want to experience that the mind is still there you know then you want to create that experience with your mind you then the ego is still playing there you see the ego will make you think that yeah you are very special you know you're spiritual person and you can see that in the world itself you know people which is very knowledgeable uh they they have great uh knowledge about all the the the scriptures but at the same time they lack humility inside of them this knowledge who have to help them to liberate actually trap them into their own egoistic nature I agree totally I I think it's so important to have teachers and just friends who can keep us in check and make sure that we still remain humble and whenever gaining knowledge it's kind of an inevitable I think process for most people that we lose our path we lose our way a little bit and then we come back into the center and it's normal sometimes to lose it you know like when you have to shoot an arrow you have to pull it behind sometimes it's good to take some step behind and then move forward with a different strength you yeah I was just doing a podcast with somebody Dr Gilbert and he mentioned this phrase he heard of sometimes I don't know where the line is until I step over it you know and that process the zero you know it before you know it after but when it's happening you don't know yeah do you feel there's an overarching intention that Consciousness in life has in and of itself because we have our own intention of what we want in life but Consciousness itself is is seemingly almost feels like it's divinely designing and architecting experience so that we may come to know ourselves and to realize in many ways actually yes you see your Consciousness have its own Dharma then know that's why I said you are here it's not random and your Consciousness will make it for sure giving you experience but will bring you where the expansion of that awareness can happen that's why you see very often people search now you start you're searching but yet you don't feel yes this is my way this is my power until you find what you're really looking for so much of that path I feel is a process of aligning our will with the Divine will and that's much so what you spoke to about living in your Dharma what is Dharma and how can we how can we find it to live it in our life well there is a universal Dharma sure as a human being that is to love that is on the path of bti and the path of devotion that is the Dharma of your soul itself to come to that Blissful state of love this is a universal Dharma and of course in how to achieve to that everybody have their own Dharma in a unique way to approach that so for those that are struggling to find like their purpose their Dharma finding meaning in in the way that they're showing up in the planet we all desire that but a lot of people find frustration and not not having it yeah well never lose hope keep searching keep longing for that you know because this it will happen yeah firstly for you to have the frustration that you have not yet found your Dharma it's a good sign it's not bad you know that means that yes you know there is something greater you know that you destined for something better yeah it feels like not knowing our path is a part of the process of knowing our path yeah it is a process yeah so when you look at Karma Baka and Yana yoga what why do you think certain um like out of those three why does someone get attracted to one of them instead of the other and maybe you could also share what each of them are look each person like I said have their own PA you see like we are some people which is drawn towards karma yoga for example for them they feel good in serving they will go out serving but you have to understand the nature of service you know even that you can grow spiritually into that there's many Saints who have attained the realization just by service so but you have to understand the true nature of service you know like we said service to mankind is service to God n m m man m s so service to man service to n so having that deep inside that my service is towards the Divine we're serving so for some people that is easy because you know you go Services also not just say okay I write a check and I send it I'm serving no go and be with the people that is karma yog you know and then you have uh other some people who for them is through P devotion for them they serve also through an energetic point of view because when you're worshiping it generate a certain energy it's not only for yourself that energy expand the expansion of that energy also help the surrounding help nature help Mother Earth you know and then you have a g yog you know that those who are very knowledgeable you and they're also serving in a way because without knowledge would not be here all the great sages and Saints for Antiquity you know they have written length on scriptures and so on because that was needed yeah I've personally found most resonance with individuals like Krishna merti and Sh Sakara Maharaj and the path of Gana yoga and I feel like that's very much so in alignment with this podcast and my intention here is to share this knowledge in a way that it invites us back to that self-remembrance um and so yeah you think it's just depending on someone's temperament personality get drawn to a certain SE path well depend also on the level of of uh spirituality where you stand that you will be drawn to that you know and like you said you know oldest teacher you know Maharaj and then kasham morti and all they were very finding of who you are you know like Rah Maharishi also which is important you know on the on the on the path itself without knowing who you are firstly you can't help somebody else to know themselves so then bakti there's uh there's a different quality in which uh someone on that path carries within their heart I feel like actually it's true you know Baki have a Sweetness in it which for me personally have seen all other path also but the path of devotion have a different sweetness you know that sweetness of relationship with bhagan you know relationship with God it's amazing it's say okay fine I can't reach to to to to that level but I know you are there you know no matter what know I'm not alone you know because on the path of self as say knowing it's a path of often there a loneliness you know that I have to journey to that you know I have to do that no but on the path of back he said no but one said okay fine I am with you so this is the the the beauty that's what Krishna remind urgin and say okay fine you see you do your duty on this battle fa you know you can't run away you know in the Mahabharat in the war field you know when Arjun was uh you saw in the first chapter of the BH Gita he was very I say confused and want to run away don't want to fight what want to do no Krishna remind him but uh when it come to duty you should never put your personal emotion into it it's beautiful to without that that has a guidance from the sguru from Lord Krishna himself you know Arjun would not be there so there is this sweetness of a relationship you know but it is there you know that okay you do your duty do your Dharma you have commit yourself do it but do it selflessly MH do it without any selfish motive behind you don't want to to to to have all this is fine but that is the nature of of of serving so for those that are listening that they can feel into Karma Yoga being through our action and non-attachment to circumstance we can purify ourself and go on that path or The Path of Knowledge with Gana yoga or bakti the path of devotion and infusing it with Crea yoga like supporting us on our path regardless is there anything that you could share as to helping people clarify uh like what is going to serve them most in which path well you see each path like I said have a uniquness in it and what is what will serve the most in each path is the dedication that they have MH if you're dedicated to your path and try to do it was wholeheartedly you will grow into that why do you feel that like could you share a little bit about bakim Marga and the why you feel there's been such a beautiful I guess fragrance of this devotional path all around you and um that people commit to like I say you see I have taken you know Mahar Baba's Grace and uh through different uh Grace of of of the aaras also you know and uh the power of like I said have a sweetness you know and that which you don't find in any other path and that what is lacking nowadays for me that's why when Mah said to teach I said No I say I want also B into it I want to to to spread that devotion also because that's what it is needed in this time devotion is so wrongly understand because because often we see people say okay that one is very devotion you know they're doing ritual all this stuff you know it's very downgraded if you understand what is behind all this you know this is where knowledge also is important so if you understand what lies behind that you will see that that will Elevate you one other thing I do want to touch on is I think this is all very helpful for people the Romantic relationships that we carry and find in partnership with other people can be an immense source of suffering pain but also Awakening and sharing and companionship on the journey in the path so yeah what do you feel if we so choose romantic Partnerships can help and serve on the path of spirituality well love is love you know love start firsty like I was telling in the mhm thing it start always with relating to people so that's what it is the basic of relationship and our relationships start long you know the moment we come out of The Mother We Are put on the chest of our mother to feel that Warmness that relationship so we are all constantly into that MH what do you feel most people are getting wrong in how they approach relationships in that Dynamic you see when people approach relationship they expect from each another too much and when they start expecting this is where problems start arising then they start going into the drama I said yes we start in lovely you know people come together they live together you know as long as they're dating each another it's wonderful you have seen it you know but the moment they move to together this is where the problem start chaos and yes because then you fight you you know you have to you're faced with the reality of of of the person because as long as you're far away from the person you can love each other but when you come there you have the challenge MH so are you ready to accept the challenge or not but this is also the beauty of it yeah I think so many of us struggle in that accept like acceptance of somebody cuz we often have those expectations and want things done a certain way and that that creates friction and resistance in the relationship and so yeah um anything else you want to share about the power of acceptance and when you come together in a relationship you should know what bring you together mhm that sharing together know to be to learn from each another to support each another not only to trash each another wonderful just in closing here is there anything else on your heart that you want to share with the audience today um that you feel would be supportive for them what I would like to to share with everybody is just be yourself know that God loves you the way you are you know the way he have created you and grow with that beautiful thank you so much I appreciate you coming here today and the time and you know you are you haven't been in La since seven years ago right yeah so it's been quite some time so I'm glad this synchronistically aligned and worked to come here thank you because you sent a message you know they said you will be there in the function yeah wonderful wonderful so good and just in kind of closing is there anything else you want to share about what you have going on in the world and um yeah what the path of what's to come over you feel the next decade for bakim Maro what you're creating anything you want to share well like at the beginning I said you know my aim is to spread the love of God you know and to spread This Love to everybody so that's what we carry and share it to everybody yeah everybody thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the no th self podcast uh please let us know this episode in particular has impacted you and until next [Music] time [Music]

Channel: André Duqum

Views: 315,264

Keywords: know thyself, podcast, spirituality, personal growth, transformation, andre duqum, interviews, philosophy, meditation

Id: VKSJYw8OwW8

Length: 82min 54sec (4974 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 20 2024