Spiritual Teachings With Shunyamurti

Student Question: Is it possible that Gods Lila is really creating all the suffering in the world?

When you talk about missing your window of opportunity and synchronicity I don’t really understand how that fits in with gods perfect plan. How is it that you are able to miss a window of opportunity if at the end it is only one step in the path of the perfect plan?

Student Comment: At the beginning of your talk you said something to the affect that in reality we don’t control anything and in what I would call the ‘business world’, people get so stuck in their power struggles and beliefs and certainties. They believe that they are going to make something happen in a certain way but often they actually make the situation much worse. It seems common for negotiations to be full of tensions and bad feelings and lower emotions when in reality what’s really going on or how the situation can be resolved has nothing to do with the emotional and egoic eruptions that people in business most of the time knock against each other.

Student Question: What is dharmaraj in a more formal sense?

Student Question: I felt your teaching tonight was very appropriate. I have been thinking a lot this week about a question which I have always had with Christianity. Even though I know it is a very devotional religion, I have never had that kind of experience with it. Ironically, it was this week sometime that I was listening to one of those gospel songs and all of a sudden I just broke out in tears. The closest thing that I could put it to was this feeling of being saved by Christ or God, but it was this very strong feeling of sin having been taken away by another. I know I have heard you speak in the past about how certain religions have niches or specializations or accentuations in certain areas more then others and I have just wanted to know where this fits in and what its value is? I think you kind of spoke to that tonight in how it can be used as a stepping stone and not as a hindrance.

Excerpt: “If you read the old Vedanta literature . . . they tend to divide the path into two forms: one they call ‘The Path of the Valiant’ and the other ‘The Path of the Fearful.’ And they say that those who are in fear come to God looking for refuge. . . . And they say ‘The Path of the Valiant,’ on the other hand, is not taking refuge in some god or supernatural force or supreme power or as an other, but one who has the courage to recognize that God is the Self. . . . But I tend to think that in these postmodern times that’s too simplistic a dichotomy, and that, in a way, it takes more courage to admit that one need’s help than it does to believe that one can do it all on one’s own. And it is that pseudo-valiance that may actually hold one back for a long time on the path, believing one can do it on one’s own, but being in denial of the fact that one is using a lot of props in order to hold one up. . . . But in truth, the sadhana is always a combination of the two. And when we are in our daily lives, there should be a recognition of the interdependence—and of the humility required—to continue to learn, at deeper and deeper levels of subtlety, what the great sages have taught as to how to reach this place where the valiant achievement of God-consciousness is authentic and truly possible.” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, March 29, 2012.

Student Question: Sometimes I have archetypal dreams where a person will tell me about something I have to do and even though when I wake up I can remember what it is, I have no idea how to do it. I feel like this happens to me a lot. During the day I worry because I am not sure how I can do what was told to me in the dreams. Because of this I get stressed and feel guilty about not doing what my unconscious is telling me to do and it feels like I am ignoring it and that somehow it is going to affect me in some way. I am not sure if this is correct because they never tell me in the dream but it is frustrating me to think that it is going to affect my karma.

Excerpt: “So if God made you an offer, that all you would have to do to help save the world, would be to silence your mind and immerse yourself in the divine presence within consistently, completely, once and for all, and that that would be the greatest gift you give to the universe and to yourself, would you do it? Because that is the offer that God has been making for thousands of years… it is what every spiritual tradition teaches…. Surrendering to God means surrendering the attention, the thoughts, the mind, to the presence that is already within you, at the core of your own consciousness, which is a very sweet blissful silence… and that energy that can radiate through the channel of your own mind’s focus will fill the world with peace and divine love and that energy is so powerful, that if the flow of it is continuous, it will change the course of history; it is that strong. We just need a critical mass of beings who are dedicated to that supreme holy work, and a Sat Yuga is born… a kingdom of heaven is born on earth… and yet no one seems to volunteer to do the work and it’s so simple because really it means stop working, stop struggling, stop striving, stop desiring, stop fearing, and just live in peace and acceptance in freedom from suffering and in empowerment and in love….” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, March 01, 2012.

Student Question: How is one able to realize when he/she is having access to archetypal knowledge?

Student Question: What is the relationship between Master’s Discourse and the Death Drive?

Student Question: Where are the archetypes while the ego is operating? Are they within consciousness?

Student Question: What happens with all those people who become ghosts? They are beings that are among us but no longer in a body although they still resemble the body that they were in from that past life. So is this a case of someone being too attached to his/her physical body and not being able to let go?

Student Question: I was wondering what your opinion is about travel? I know that travel can be a very rewarding experience and not just another way to spend time, but what do you think?

Student Question: We were talking about the breast as a symbol, and I was wondering if that relates back down to food as well?

Student Question: During our discussion on masters discourse tonight someone bought up the point that as the head of his family he has children who expect to be told what to do and to be given guidance. How does someone who finds himself in that role avoid getting into master’s discourse?

Excerpt: “What is being taught in Sat Yoga, and what has been taught since the beginning of time, is to perceive things as they are... to perceive reality as it is... and this means to perceive from the place of truth... the place within that is free of illusion - free of projection - free of distortion - free of any filters that create an inability or a block or an obstacle to realizing what is…. And what the sages teach from out of that pure realization of the self is that it is an illusion that there are entities. This is not a world made up of a bunch of separate entities, but that a single intelligence and a single real and a single truth - a single being.... Supreme Being expresses its nature in the reflection of the nature that is this phenomenal plane that we call the universe…. We meditate in order to get in touch with that highest level of truth, so that we can perceive free of all the filters which are the cause of our suffering.... The illusion of being a separate entity in a world of entities that is always therefore in power struggles and in envy and comparison and disdain, or putting some on alters and throwing others off of alters and feeling like one ultimately is the judge of all of those other entities even if one feels inferior them…. And liberation is simply liberation from these narratives that peg you into some false entityhood and don’t allow the expansion into the infinite... consciousness that you are and therefore instead of bliss there is some kind of suffering….” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, March 15, 2012

Student Question: When you are in a state of pure silence and you have to do activities in your life, how can you communicate in language without thinking and breaking the silence?

Student Question: Can old languages like Sanskrit for example be archetypes?

Student Question: I see that there is a lot of reading and study groups offered at the school and I was wondering how that’s fits in with the practice of silencing the mind?

Student Question: Is the Law of Attraction just another way to explain illusion?

Student Question: What is the relationship between thinking and knowledge and or wisdom?

Student Question: Here at Sat Yoga we focus on silencing the mind. In some other traditions they talk about the heart and opening the heart. Is there a difference between these approaches?

Student Question: If the body dies and you don’t achieve liberation, is it possible that the soul may still achieve liberation without the body?

Student Question: In English we use the terms like “she’s got it,” or “they want to have it,” or “someone wants to be it,” but always using the word “it.” When I have tried to translate it into Spanish, there is no way just to say “it.” It makes me wonder, what is the real etymology of the word “it?” I mean is “it” ultimately like “that?” God: is that what “it” is?

Student Question: How is it possible that people who have had out of body experiences and experiences from other lives still identify with the body if they know that this is not what they are?

Student Question: In your teaching you said that consciousness is bound to the ego, and I was wondering how that works?

Student Question: Why is it that there are people like monks who are living in Monasteries who have committed their lives to a path but have not achieved liberation?

Student Question: Can you talk about autistic people and what has happened with them internally and what their experience is like?

Student Question: What is phobia?

Student Question: What is the purpose and function of illusion?

Excerpt: “It is said that there are many paths. It is also said there are no paths. And it is also said that there is only one disguised as many… And here we teach what has historically been considered the most direct understanding of Self-realization and liberation… Liberation from suffering and that means liberation from illusion…. And so to say that a path is the most direct path is to say that you are not going through any indirect intellectual concepts or belief systems or practices that require you to believe that there is someone who is trying to achieve something because that is already the illusion that we are trying to break free of…. And so if you carry that further you come to the recognition that all concepts are false because they are indirect representations of what is, rather than simply being what is…. What is, is Emptiness…. There is an awareness, if you want to call it that, or consciousness that is prior to all the objects that appear in consciousness, because no objects could appear--whether sensations or concepts or images or memories or fantasies or emotions-- unless there was a container of consciousness that was empty and that could be filled with those objects. But mental objects. Not real objects. Objects that appear and disappear and have no substance….” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, March 08, 2012.

Student Question: Can you define self-esteem?

Student Question: You said tonight that it in meditation it doesn't really matter if you do not experience something amazing and the truth is that I have never experienced anything like that. All I can say is that I feel better and I am not even interested in putting it into words how I feel better, but sometimes a question does arise - How do I know that I am growing?

Student Question: Do we have to understand to really let something go?

Student Question: How are we supposed to learn from people who complicate our lives? Is it a case of seeing the way not to behave and the way not to treat other people?

Student Question: What is the egos relationship to money and how can we develop a more authentic relationship with it then what it currently represents in society today?

Student Question: My whole life I was taught that we are human beings who are here to live a human experience. I mean as human beings we are afraid and we cry and experience anger and all of those things that supposedly define human beings, as well as having an ego. But here in Sat Yoga what I have learned, and I don’t know if I am misunderstood, but we are divine beings? The Atman, the True Self is the Divine. My question is, are we truly human beings? What defines human nature? Do we want to separate from the human experience and focus more on the divine self?

Student Question: How do you define humility, and is it something that you can cultivate, or does it come from the heart? Sometimes when I feel that I am practicing it, for example, if someone says something that I know is untrue, or feel that they are judging me or an injustice has been done, but I keep silent, after a while when I am alone I feel really sad and I cry.

Student Question: We learn here that every issue that one experiences in life comes from the root idea of separateness from god. Can carrying through with one particular issue and using all of our focus and will power to follow that to its core and not letting the mind become distracted be enough to then in turn dissolve other issues that are all somehow intertwined?

Student Question: Sometimes in relationships you can recognize that you are acting out and that the relationship is illusory but there is a great strength that you cannot leave that illusion. It seems like you still like to stay in that place. I am wondering if one cannot go beyond that illusion because one has not gone deep enough into the silence, or if there is something else that you can elaborate on?

Student Question: Sometimes if we observe Maya it seems like there is a higher purpose even within itself. Is this higher purpose to be a waking of the mind? Is that the only purpose of it?

I have read about so many spiritual teachers and gurus who have woken up because of suffering? Is that just the old fashion way to do it? I know of five or six who got to the point where they were so miserable and they didn't want to live anymore and then they were able to see through. What are your thoughts on that?

Excerpt: “We are here to meditate together. Do we all know what that means? It is very simple, we tend to make very complex ideas and make it difficult for ourselves. It is the simple clarification of what is meant by the word ‘I.’ That is all; nothing more difficult than that... And so a good meditation is when clarity is achieved; that is all. Don’t think a good meditation means you are seeing lights and you’re in some trance or you have achieved some exalted sublime state. No. Clarity on the nature of ‘I’ and you’re done, because when that is clear there’s really no one left to meditate anymore… Everyone seems to use the word ‘I’ a lot, but do we know what we mean when that word comes out of the mouth or in thought? Do you know what it means?.... As Sri Ramana says, tiny little word - and because we get it wrong - we don’t know accurately what it means - all the suffering in the world is created by one tiny mistake. So if you want to end all the suffering in the world, just get clarity on the word ‘I’….” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, March 01, 2012

Excerpt: “The Self comes under no laws, but is the source of all genuine law. And that law is naturally holocentric because it serves no individual, it plays no favorites. The Self is therefore the source of divine order and it brings about unity, fairness, justice, community. Community is only possible from and as the presence of divine love. No humans can create community – no human egos – they can only distort and pervert the love that is our true legacy, destiny, identity.” Recorded on the afternoon of Monday, February 27, 2012.

Student Question: You spoke about how the most important thing is to have a desire for realizing the Self. I found that while I was meditating I really needed to have an image or something that I could focus on so that I could center all of my desire into that and try to realize the self, but I couldn't find anything?

Student Question: Sometimes when I sit down and start meditating I try to focus on my heartbeat in order to get into a state. After a while I forget about my heart and start feeling my forehead getting heavy and it feels like my body goes to sleep and then all I can feel is that point on my forehead. I am wondering what is happening to me and whether it is normal or whether it is some kind of identification with my body and why is it happening if I really want to focus on my heart?

Student Question: I feel you said once but am not sure, that anxiety and kundalini are the same thing or that anxiety is kundalini trapped and misunderstood or something along those lines?

Student Question: I keep getting caught up when I ask “who am I”, because the “I” keeps me going in circles?

Student Comment: I resonate with the idea that images are at the imaginary level--or, rather, I resonated with that idea when I was growing up. It feels like the religious image is kind of a double-edged sword because it can either aid one in devotion or it can be misinterpreted. I could never relate to people loving the image of the Virgin Mary, for example, but since we have been studying great beings, like Ramakrishna or Padre Pio, who also used the medium of an image to relate to God, I see that it can be used in a completely different way.”

Student Question: What does the witness, witness?