Satsang 260411 — Tapasya / Dublin 11th Anniversary

Dublin, California + Zoom · April 11, 2026 · 1:59:17

00:00 — Opening Chant (Arunachala Shiva)

0:00 Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva Arunachala Shiva

00:24 — Welcome — 11th Anniversary in Dublin

0:24 Jai Shankar. Welcome, welcome, welcome to Satsang. Thank you so much to all the Zoomers for being here and to all the beloved ones. We are so sorry. We apologize for the delay because folks here are traveling from a very long distance. So we didn't want to start without them.

0:43 Thank you so much for being here for the 11th anniversary.

0:51 You know, I don't know. I have no words to say because what can I say? been with us, spoken. It was his show from day one. It always has been a show and it will continue to be his show. So I'm very humbled that this one was chosen to do this work. You know, very few people, it's a small group, a lot of Zoomers today.

1:19 Thank you for being here. Thank you for taking the time and having the patience to work with us because we are, you know, just building a small Sangha here by grace and a few people who are helping to do that so anyway delving deep into what we wanted to

01:38 — Pure Intention & Becoming a Jivanmukta

1:38 really talk today is to take you a little bit deeper so we talked about pure intention which is your sincere intention to break free meaning freedom emancipation being a Jeevan Mukta in this

2:00 It's actually very very simple but may not be easy as we have spoken so many times to the old students of mine. It's not easy because we want to hold on to our toys. Toys meaning various, you all know what I am talking about, all different types of toys. So we are delving deep into how do we let go of that, then the Shraddha and Bhakti because we need faith.

2:30 to the idol god of form god of you know formless whatever it is part of Brahman and finally surrender

02:38 — Surrender Is Liberation (Ramana Maharshi)

2:38 so why surrender is so important what Ramana Maharishi says surrender is liberation you know end of satsang surrender is liberation but how deep can you surrender can you surrender it all your entire life this puny little life we think it's so great we are so immense and we can do so many things and all that everything is surrendered and then you see the magic after the surrender happens then you see the spectacular uh you know presentation in your life which you it just like just blow you away because you'll say i'm just such a simpleton i cannot even speak in public talking about this one you know and then he's making you do all kinds of things

3:30 I am nothing. I know nothing. Because really it comes to that space when you say, what do I know? I mean, maybe I've scratched the surface a little bit, but there's so much more to be seen and to be known. But again, very important secret I want to tell today is that what all the great master says, you don't have to know everything because you think, I have to learn the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Bible, everything.

4:04 Not needed is what I am saying. Because what happens to the mind comes and says, you know, you don't have much knowledge. I am talking about the supreme knowledge, which is knowing the effulgence of yourself, of who you are truly.

4:17 Once you know that, and to know that we are giving you all the tools. So once you know that, you don't have to go searching and say, you know, I need more knowledge. Because the knowledge of yourself is everything.

4:30 in a nutshell, you know. So anyway, so we've come to surrender and everybody is in different levels of surrender. One is like 100%, which is like almost baked. The other one is like 50%, and they say, Ma, I'm just like 85%, okay. That's 85%, not enough in my humble knowing and my experience.

5:00 I love you Shiva and all that you surrendered fully really okay so how do we get to that deep state of complete Sharanagati and how do we come to that deep state of saying you know I think I know who I am how do we come to that state the way we come to that state is by today which we want to talk about is

05:26 — Tapasya: The Heat of Purification

5:30 is your burning in that heat of salvation. Meaning, who's bringing up the burning? You. Because you have put this pure intention out that I want to be done with this little self, this little limited form. I want to be done with it. Right? If you want to be done with it. I'm not forcing into it. But since you're sitting here, you know, all the zoomers who come to and our old students. So Tapasya, I have not spoken about this before, it just came to me.

6:08 So what is really Tapasya? Heating, so what is it? So when you are coming to this manifestation,

06:17 — Vasanas, Kleshas & the Potpourri of Lifetimes

6:17 you are a potpourri of all the lifetimes with its vasanas, with its impressions,

6:30 the karma karma means action right every action that we've done in every lifetime that's far you are that cumulative of that okay you can't surpass that you can't say I'm taking a new life oh I'm all done I'm free baby you know baby is so beautiful I'm free not like that so you come with accumulation and so therefore you have certain habits right so some people have certain habits some people have don't have that like why are you struggling with that I let me think about feel that or get that you know because that's not in your vasana that's not in your you know purperi of things so how do we negate all of these things first of all you need discrimination you need discernment to see like why what is that that kind of takes me away from samyama equanimity what does take me away and

7:31 see this is a very rare path it's not so it's very simple but it's not easy like we said so we have to speak the truth because spoken the truth itself the masses have spoken the truth itself we are dragging our feet so if the truth is not spoken and we just give you this tinsel town oh like sit here for 10 years sit at my feet do this okay i'll give you a mantra you know it's that I can give you like I've got lots of stuff and pull it off and give you okay but what has come to this point of time is that there is no time to lose we have very short time the realm of the universe we just expect so in that short time you want to know that you are that universal consciousness you are that effulgent light you are the parabrahman you are the satchitananda

8:30 how do you do that is tapasya. So every aspect of us what tapasya is when a sadhaka or a student spiritual aspirant gets very serious about it. Okay you can just come and attend a few satsangs go and then go find another guru go there go there everywhere. You're fine if you want to do that I'm not you know holding you but I'm just telling you the truth. Suppose you stick in with one guru principle and you keep focusing laser sharp it has to be laser sharp. Tapasya is laser sharp you know looking at this like what is that i can delete to bring this joy and happiness of my own effulgence because let me tell you you'll get very comfortable in that space because that is your true nature why sometimes like you go into meditation here right and then you're all blessed out why i'm not blessing you out i mean you know you're you're recognizing

9:30 right so that's that's the main thing so tapasya what you do is you're simply laser-sharp you're focusing that I want to be free okay so you will go through like with a fine-tooth comb you sit here and tell what are my vasanas what are my impressions that irk me every time that can something comes up right you're saying like why did I react like that you know I didn't mean to react and I ways. We talked about witnessing also last time. You have to keep witnessing. You have

10:02 — Witnessing & Pressing the Delete Button

10:04 to keep letting go. You have to keep, you know, pressing the delete button. You're all computer visits. I'm not, but anyway, press the delete button, you know, very fast it is, right? So you keep doing that. That's the tapasya. And when you're doing that and when the vastness are coming up to be released, it's going because then you're giving the permission of Ishwara to burn you. It's actually you want to really get rid of all of your crap basically that's what it is okay so that time it's going to burn you know why because the ego is going to say no no no i'm not getting out of you like you know i own your life i own you so i'm not getting out of you that easily buddy you know so then that thing comes up and it's like you know you're not fighting with the ego you're saying like hey you know when you become the master you say if you want to come today you can visit me it does not affect me whatsoever right and then slowly you know it comes to Shuddha buddhi which is purified mind and then it just even then we go beyond the purified mind drops off. To do all of this tapasya is so important and I got this brilliant absolutely brilliant I've read it many years ago but it came again sent by a very dear friend I'll give you the analogy what that is for

11:30 You will be doing it for like for a week or a month or whatever and then you're just burning. I mean Arunachala is the fire element as you know and automatically it is here in this being. It flows through whatever. So you're going to get burned.

11:46 So welcome the burning. Welcome the burning because it is like giving you this beautiful chance. What is life really? beautiful, the mountains are beautiful, the flowers are beautiful, I love flowers, I have all these arrangements. Enjoy everything. But beyond that, what is it? One day when you are frail and old and you are in deathbed, what is that you are going to think about?

12:13 At that time, does all of this come into your... does that help you? Oh, I had a beautiful garden, I had a beautiful dog, I had a beautiful spouse, whatever. It's all fine, you enjoy

12:30 that in the deathbed really when you're dying the reason we are we really like so urge there's an urgency to let you know the truth of who you are i am that that pharmacy is because at the deathbed you know if suppose you are completely have done your uh you know your sadhana burning your sadhana that means you're deleting deleting everything you just decide okay one is really difficult at You cannot delay. It's very difficult.

13:01 So you're allowing the burning to happen and slowly you'll come to a point and say, I think I can let that go because we talk about lovingly unattached. I'm not saying don't love. Love everybody.

13:12 You have to be. You are love. God is love. So you are love as well. So you are loving unconditionally every moment with compassion, kindness because you are holding that serenity and tranquility within you.

13:26 So you can actually give to the whole world. Okay, so you have to come to that point where you're deleting yourself, your little limited, you know, little puny, little self, you're deleting, deleting, deleting, and then finally, wait a minute, what is this effulgence here, you know, I don't know what is happening, there's too much power, you know, like Shakti flows for this one, and I can't control it.

13:48 So, when you've deleted, Tapasya is going through, and it may take months, or it may take longer, each time you just have to say, okay, this is my little bit tough thing, you know, like, your vasanas are and your impurities are you have to find that out okay the gurus can take you to the water and say drink drink drink this fountain of youth fountain of eternal reality but then you have to drink it you have to say oh if i drink this you know what if i lose myself now that's a big fear right like you're telling me to just let go so one time one of the students asked me

14:30 get out of this space and go for a walk otherwise i'm going to die i said darn it you missed the point you missed that beautiful one in a million situation why didn't you let go but ma like you know what's going to happen to me you know and then she went for a walk i said so this is where this is where you have to be very alert in that showing suppose you have like this meeting in your office and you are the CEO or something or CFO whatever. You have this big meeting you have to run and then God gives brings you to that state. What will you do?

15:13 Can you give up that meeting? I mean you could be dead. What is the meeting? I mean suppose you die I mean and you have no time you're dying you're having a heart attack and

15:30 you do that so it is like that experiencing death in this moment where you are letting go of everything so suppose that that my beloved student has said okay i'm this is just i'm losing everything she lost body consciousness but she was aware that she was meditating okay this years back and then you know she says no no no i have to get up and go for a walk

16:00 know kind of distract you and think it's inspiring you to just save yourself what I'm saying is be ready for death because the death is what what is death death is the death of the ego your ego only dies nothing else dies you're very much here don't worry you're not going to go now poof like that you know because God wants to make use of you because very few people come to listen to the

16:30 just keep going. It's a very, very beautiful space, humbly speaking. You don't need much, you need very little. This beloved sadhaka of ours came to Trivanna Malay. He just only came for two years, not even fully. When we were in Trivanna Malay, for one month he came the first time, second time he had to go on business, so he came only for half the time. And very simply he I realize after attending the satsangs in Tiruvannamalai and doing the meditations as was said I simply now realize how simple life is and how little we need end of story he's so finished I mean you know when you come to that right realization then all of this lifetime we are just working Working, working, working. What for?

17:34 Each time you're missing the boat, you're missing life, you're missing everything. And you're working, working, working. Working for somebody, working for yourself. You think you're working for yourself. What I'm guaranteeing you, if you select, if you choose to be in this path, and if you choose to be emancipated, you are taken care of.

18:00 of that okay how did all this happen how am I sitting here after so many major surgeries oh that's sorry so so tapasya is like keeping on looking at yourself and deleting and saying you know why do I need this because how do you find out

18:30 or when somebody says something and you have worked and worked and you are doing everything for that person and they are not appreciated. You feel a little ouch because you have given everything. That's the time you have to recognize that I don't need that person to make me happy.

18:46 I don't need the world to make me happy. I need to be happy within myself first. And if I can be happy within myself happy and satisfied with whatever is presenting in my life right now. Whatever my incapacities are also, I'm not judging, right? Everything when you drop, then what happens?

19:19 What happens then? There's a state of contentment. There's a state of peace first, right? You're dropping all of this. I'm saying like tapasya, tapasya. and you're just head is burning you're just like the whole body is saying that I can't get rid of this and the upper says to keep going okay you'll get up and have a cool water a cup of tea or something and then you get back to it okay so I'm not saying 24 7 yes you have you know work and all this you do all of that but if your pure intention is that then what the self within you will do is

20:00 It's like a given, you know, it's like so easy. All that God is saying is, are you ready? You know, so are you ready to jump? You know, bungee jump. They're saying, oh no, no, not, not right now, Lord, you know, I just have to take care of a few things. What things? What is more important than your emancipation? What is more important than your freedom this moment? Because you don't realize that after that freedom, what this presence in your life is absolutely spectacular.

20:30 You may be living in a hut. When I say absolutely spectacular, don't imagine a million dollar home and all that, okay? To come to this, it took me a long time, you know. I was moved from one house to the other, because I said like, I'm leaving, that's it, you know, God told me to leave to do this work. I'm leaving and I went on from one, you know, in San Diego, went with that. Anyway, so all that, in the purification also, what will happen is, once you have made up your mind, in the purification also, you'll be content so that is the slow in the voyage right the path so even then if you're content and if you're peaceful and all that then you'll be okay what

21:13 — Eric's Question — Seva vs. Self-Inquiry

21:13 do you think doable doable doable and Eric is going I don't know what you're

21:30 for my entire life. Right, right, exactly, yeah. Of being a servant for others. Right, right. Putting others before myself. One, one, just, yeah, yeah.

21:42 That's okay. So that, you know, the Zoomers can also listen to you. So he said that, you know, other things all his life he's learned is in conflict with what we're talking right now.

21:51 So please explain, yeah. So the, my, you know, my bringing up taught me to be service to others taught me to put others before myself right the idea of escaping yeah and leaving everybody behind that's counting on me it's in conflict and I don't know how to rectify that okay you can rectify it now because see see you said like you know I was trained to What do you think after emancipation the person is doing?

22:32 What is this one doing? Am I service for the whole humanity? You cannot but do that because that is the basics of coming to emancipation. God will say, okay, you're going to sit here. You have to leave the home now.

22:46 And I'm going, excuse me, you know, like coming here. Yeah, I leave now. And I'm going, oh, okay, it's a Thursday. Now meaning like, what do you mean? So he's going to take you. but the beginning part of it when you're doing your tapasya also it's a good thing starting to say be of service to others because we say even little ones in india that no go go help your grandmother right go and be like you you you kind of culture that so you are giving all the time then you grow up then you become eric okay so then now you're thinking like who am i okay i'm

23:30 only in a limited aspect okay it can only do so much okay so much so now you're saying who am i and now you come to this satsang right which tells you there is nothing self there's nothing selfish about you wanting this freedom for yourself and knowing who you are because simply Ramana Maharishi says if you don't know who you are whom are you trying to help because what When you know very humbly, because you become very humble, you know, you can never, you know, you can never just be like very arrogant because then you're not the self.

24:10 So you always have that humility and humility comes from service. Okay. So initially, right, when I was in, I used to always go to convent schools. I was always studied in convent schools and everything. And that mother used to say, I used to go to church and say, name the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost and all that.

24:26 And I'll open my tongue to get the Holy Communion. knew i was not catholic he'll wink at me and he says okay because he knew i wanted it so badly i said father please i would just look at him and i won't say anything i'll be the little tiny you know like eight years or ten years or something i'll go to holy communion every time and he'll look at me and smile he says okay come on you know you know at that time i don't know for whatever reason everybody loved this one then i would get the holy i'd be so happy and he would just look to see my face all glowing you know and then i'll come out and there'll be the mother mary statue and the holy water and i will take the holy water so you know like and then have to help everybody you know all the time so those are part of your vasanas so if eric you want to help everybody that's part also of your vasanas some karma you have done before where you always helping everybody okay that's fine but now who are you now just a little helper for a few people for a few moments Seva will be a flowing that happens from your heart that wants to simply give unconditionally without having any expectations. No expectations. Somebody wants to give, fine. Otherwise, it's fine.

25:45 Because in that giving, you know, you feel so fulfilled.

26:00 to travel. Like he asked me, like, you're going to travel with that knee? It doesn't look very good, you know. I said, I just looked at him and said, yeah, I'm going. He says, oh, like he must have thought, you know, I'll give up with Ma, you know, she's not going to listen to me. So, you know, what happens is, you know, you may look very gentle and feeble and whatever, but there's an inner strength within you, an inner courage that keeps going. And what is that courage?

26:24 Is it me?

26:30 over your life at every moment and it's conducting your life so basically what are you saying in tapasya please conduct my life because i do not know how to do this i have no idea because i've tried doing this and haven't been very successful at it but i didn't even say that prayer because you know i'm talking about the people who are working and all that because there's a fear factor that oh if i give up my work so tapasya you got the meaning of tapasya right so you have you know witnessing you have to keep watching yourself you're the thief and you're the policeman so you got to police yourself you have to use the discrimination discernment what can i drop this moment and take it in the now you know the power of the now power of the now so take it in the now and see how everything is evolving within you and what what if if i when i dropped all of

27:30 for once I thought about this one and why you think about this one is because to clear out the impurities not for any selfish reasons you know so I told you about this beautiful example if I can find that so I hope the zoomers are okay

28:00 It's part of the Bhagavad Gita. They give a very beautiful example. And see again, so this Tapasya came, like it just came like a download. I call it downloads. I don't know anything what I'm going to be speaking, right? Call it downloads. So that came about a week ago and I just said, Okay, Frambo, we'll think about it on Saturday because, you know, you'll change it.

28:20 He'll change any time. He'll tell me what to tell and the next minute it'll be gone. And sometimes I'll tell him like, you know, I'm not like holding on to this because I'm not remembering anything. will have to flow again you know all this kind of conversations goes on so then this thing comes right from some friend now how can it be like you will not believe it okay so then i'm looking at him saying like this is a perfect analogy for what he wants me to speak about tapasya this is a

28:48 — The Bamboo, The Flute & The Karma Yogi

28:48 perfect analogy okay so thoughts for reflection the bamboo the flute and karma yogi the bamboo karma yogi is one who does the action who always actions like he was saying like be you know loving and helpful to everybody without having any expectations that's karma yogi so now the bamboo the word of the bamboo teaches us the secret of hard consistent work hard consistent work the bamboo teaches you i'm sure you know for five years it grows invisible roots deep in the earth leaves no applause only silent discipline this is tapasya i mean imagine the beautiful analogy i wouldn't have thought about it it just came to me it's okay you know so so it says no leaves no applause silent discipline so the moment you have said oh i press the delete

30:00 you can't just expect your spouse or somebody to say oh honey you're doing a great job so no they're not going to have freaking know what the heck you're doing you know okay so you can't explain you know expect an applause so then it rises tall and strong the same bamboo when hollow and surrendered becomes krishna's flute music when he breathes through it you know and that's what you become when Krishna is blowing through your flute the flute without ego that which is completely empty devoid of arrogance devoid of ego devoid of it I'm just getting all this vibrations I don't know if I can talk anymore anyway becomes

31:00 we talk so much about surrender. You can just surrender. You become hollow. You think, oh, because then you'll, why the burning happens is because you'll think, oh my God, all of who I think Eric is, is going away. You know, Alice is going away. It's melting off. What am I supposed to do? You know, so you have to be like the bamboo, you know. And

31:22 — Bhagavad Gita 3.19 — Action Without Attachment

31:26 so this is the Bhagavad 19. I won't go into all that because you won't remember it. Therefore, without attachment, always perform the work that must be done. Without attachment, perform the work that must be done and one attains the supreme. How simple is that? It's so difficult.

31:53 Research confirms this wisdom.

32:00 work on grit, maybe some of you know it, I don't know, shows that sustained passion and perseverance predict achievement more than talent, more than talent. Suppose you come into this life saying like, I never, even when I was a young child, I never thought about this emancipation, I never thought about this freedom, right? So by doing the discipline, you become, you become that channel

32:30 — The Chinese Bamboo Story

32:30 The Chinese bamboo story is real. Farmers water it daily for four to five years, okay? With no visible growth, then it shoots up to 80 to 90 feet in a few weeks. 80 to 90 feet, I mean, it's not like a little plant, you know, huge. And so, I mean, so the four to five years when they're watering and watering and watering, they're not getting frustrated.

33:00 you know like okay this supposed to be the bamboo where is it they already know that this is what it takes for my bamboo to become really big shoots and you know they need it for whatever we used to be in andaman islands you know when my when i was a little child and we would my brother and myself would just he was very naughty he was younger than me but he was very naughty so we're not supposed to go off the house like we had a house on slit uh stills you know like on the top

33:30 he would just say like and then there would be a little stairs to go down so he was itty bitty like i was itty bitty myself and he was one year one and a half years younger than me so he'd say come let's just go i'll just take you you know we'll just go and roam around so we'll just like one day we were just like oh on the it's beautiful meadows and it's all green we just like la-di-da just happily going and he knew he was getting me into trouble but he was doing it anyway so we go there so we go there and then there's a whole there's beautiful bamboo and he says see beautiful you always like bamboo let's go then i'm saying yeah yeah and go and then there's a whole family of elephants with a huge tusker and everything and you're not supposed to go because had two babies so when there's baby elephants you don't want to go anywhere near it and this guy is like stopped and then oh see she's like it's the elephants are there see i brought you to a nice place he's like this little you know and by the time my mom realized that these two are out somewhere and where they have gone you know so my we had like seven servants right and my dad he was the king of the jungle kind of thing, you know, so this one guy came, you know, and he came and he just, he found us, he yelled at us, master, master, you know, everybody's master, came and picked me up in one hand, picked him up, and we're just kicking and screaming, he's saying, you better not kick your mom, you go home, your mom is there, he'll give you a nice spanking, you know, so it's like that, right, so we used to love, we used to be in the out, you know, with the bamboo and everything, and now I can realize huge and the elephants would come you know it's always like a watering hole they would drink the water eat the bamboo you know bamboo the tender shoots and so can you be the bamboo you know so practical guidance to consider can for consistent hard work everybody zooming please listen because i'm going to repeat it we'll probably put it online if you want it first

35:24 — Root Before You Rise — Finding Your Water

35:24 one is root before you rise you rise because that is Tapasya. See what is Tapasya is, it makes you, like it builds a beautiful foundation, foundation of clarity, foundation of exactly knowing what the divine knowledge is all about and not having a doubt, you know like Eric was, because if you're cultured in a certain way you have to doubt it.

35:52 It's a good question because it's a very good question. Many people say Seva, Seva and later on as they get older the seva becomes very you know hard so the moment the rooting is that you are rooted in that you have a stable foundation now how will you get a stable foundation you cannot be going from guru to guru to guru you know i've given that example so many times right and the example is in india if you want to find like if you want to do a bore

36:30 and they they tell you water so how do you know where the water is in your whole two acre lot so you get this guy who like he'll look like you know wearing little vashti and look at him and saying this guy is going to tell me said oh yeah so he'll come and roll a coconut he'll roll a coconut and the coconut will go fall in one place he says amma dig here you know and so it'll it'll be water 100 percent there'll be water right so and they've been doing for generations like you I'm saying is you found this guy he said dig here you're digging at 200 feet and you didn't find water and you said you know this guy is useless you know I didn't find water he wants you to go to 450 feet you're doing 200 feet and you didn't find water okay let me go and find another guy they have a name for that guy forget the name now so you go and find another guy who's supposed to be expert and then you say you come and find you know you come and tell me where the water is and So, like this, how many gurus are you going to be traveling is what I'm trying to tell you.

37:34 If you resonate with someone, I'm not saying sit here, but if you resonate with somebody and somebody, you feel like this in your heart that, you know what, this truth is being spoken and there's some, you know, feeling of resonance with this person, then stay. That's why I tell people, come at least for five, six satsangs together and you will have a sense of, you know, is this where I want to be, you know.

38:02 so so root before you rise master the basics daily invisible effort builds unshakable strength invisible effort brings unshakable just like the bamboo right be the flute stay hollow of ego let your skills be an instrument to his will so let your skills be an instrument to his will i didn't know what skills i had even okay then what he does if you're a bamboo he just puts the talents also into you he just makes you walk talk whatever you have nothing to do with it how easy is that life you know i'm telling you it's like the jobless job you know and there's so much joy with it you know so water with uh utsaha utsaha means it's like

39:00 word right so so work like the bamboo bamboo patient persistent unseen serve like the flute empty of eye full of surrender trust the rhythm results have their season your job is effort not timing is so important you have to trust

39:30 what do you say like no patience you know we don't have any patience right we have to say you have to get it tomorrow well i went for four satsangs nothing is happening you know it's like so you have to trust this is where the surrender comes you also surrender that timing to god because he knows what is highest and best for you at all times you do not know trust me on this one okay you have no idea i want to use a word between that but i have to frame myself Then we say, work like the bamboo, patient, persistent, unseen, serve like the flute, empty of eye, full of surrender.

40:10 That is a karma yogi. When the roots are deep, no storm can shake you. This is what I talked about, building the foundation. If you become a master of yourself and you have that firm foundation, you can be like living in a hut with a little cotton sari.

40:30 unshakable reality. You are in that irrevocable state. Nobody can come and touch you. Even if they come and say, oh, you know what, that old lady lives in the... I'm going to go and see what she has and I'm going to rob her of everything. And the guy, big guy, you know, robber, thief, he comes and he comes and she says, oh, hi, darling, how are you? And he just melts. He says, oh, gosh, you know, like, you know, so your vibration, it's surrounding you at every moment and nobody can

41:02 sometimes so work like the bamboo patient persistent this persistence is very important because this is not going to come tomorrow oh yeah darling i'll give you enlightenment god is not good he's going to give you all the you know tests and everything he's going to work with you because you have surrendered your life he's going to work with so that is karma yogi when the roots

41:30 Krishna will play his song through you you know so your yoga okay is excellent in action yoga karmasu kausalam kausalam is you know you'll be happy that excellence in action okay so how do you like that one so how about Eric is still are you feeling now? Is it doable? Oh, okay. So, how about all of you? Yes, I was

42:26 — Donna's Question — Discernment & Surrender

42:30 discernment and I realize that I think sometimes I might be applying the idea of discernment but it's just another part of the mind discerning and it's just then I can't move. Right, right. So can you give me an example? Because you know I can, discernment can be so many areas and situations you know. A lot of the time it's like not knowing what to

43:01 And then they may be presented many options. How do you know if that option will take you closer to where you're wanting to go or taking you in that direction? But they seem like kind of the same. Right. Because then you're going with the mind.

43:18 Right now, the way your question is asked is coming from the mind only. So that's when surrender comes. Suppose you have different options and you kind of intellectually think like, option sounds good let me just go with it I think this is you know this will kind of drop my ego a little bit so that is where your inner presence helps you because your awareness is not absent now awareness is not absent at any moment awareness is always present so you have to use that suppose you use that in the kind of you thought you know maybe the mind came and told made me do this you know the decision and you surrender you have to surrender that positionalities moment and give it some time because in my situation i used to give it like sometimes the answer will come in five minutes sometimes it will take five days sometimes it will take a month i just have to be surrendered in it making sure like completely accepting that god is taking care of me and that's total that is total surrender that's when you catch yourself right because otherwise the mind will come and say all this kind of different things make sense so you have the situations come up that I need to surrender more, then you keep surrendering. Because what is that you're going to lose? All this time you've spent in your life, okay, without knowing this knowledge, maybe it's some extent, you know, the knowledge you've been in the spiritual path.

44:42 Suppose you came to this intensification of this knowledge and you can say that, okay, I can just let it go and just be there with this for a couple of days or something. And it's so funny, you will be chopping zucchini and it comes, boom, you know, it'll come, the answer will come, be eating like an apple or something. Oh, yeah, I got it, you know, like it's just, and at that time you won't have the ego coming and sabotaging. You will just know brilliantly that this is what I need to do. So for you to come to that, only tapasya has to be done. Understanding of the spiritual knowledge has to be completely acclimatized and drunk, and then you will just become that conduit where, you know, all-knowing conduit, it'll take some time, and you just have you know, what's being said and practice it.

45:32 That's the tapasya. You have to do more tapasya. So, good. Is that doable? Yeah, I think I'm just feeling the cult, like, trust is a big...

45:43 The word trust, when you say surrender, it's like, whoa, what does it actually mean to surrender and trust something other than... Other than your little self. So that's where the faith comes. Faith and

45:53 — Faith, Trust & the Metaphysical

45:54 trust is similar, you know, faith and trust. So if you just trust that... because we're talking about something metaphysical that you cannot see and we're telling you trust that trust that and where is that and we're actually looking out there not really you have to look in here you know it's right here not even there's no even distance there's not even a distance between you and the effulgent light because it's your true nature so keep trying so any questions from the satsang you can send us through the Seva team and we will answer and Eric you want to answer another ask another question no okay you can talk to me in person anytime and we want to

46:36 — Shiv Gayatri Mantra (Krishna)

46:36 play a beautiful bhajan and krishna will give you the meaning the brief meaning which is the sloka is tat purushaya vidmahe mahadevaya deemahe tanno rudro prachoyadath so you're

47:00 the purusha is like in a human form which is the highest form of humanity is shiva so we want to connect with that and connect with this rudra form which is very powerful so more meaning he'll tell you

47:21 this is the shiv kayatri mantra a powerful vedic chant dedicated to lord shiva the maha dev It brings immense mental peace, clarity of thought, and spiritual protection. So the meaning is, Om, let me meditate on the great Purusha. Oh, greatest God, give me higher intellect and let Lord Rudra illuminate my mind.

47:58 Thank you, dear.

48:03 you know something just came about answer to where is eric yeah eric's question about seva doing seva karma yoga so when you are doing that selfless service also that brings you good karma that's why you're here that was what i got because automatically god takes care of those who are

48:30 — Guided Meditation (60 min)

48:30 Sit comfortably, taking a deep breath, inhaling light, peace, love and exhale, dropping everything

49:01 dropping even further letting go letting go of your name and form and all of the positionalities that go with it one last time deep inhalation inhaling light

49:30 this or that, not even wanting to be a spiritual sadhaka. This moment is letting go and feeling the freedom. Thank you.

[58 minutes of silent meditation]

1:49:32 — Closing Reflection & Eric's 3-Yogas Clarification

1:49:32 Slowly come out. Don't open your eyes yet. Slowly come out.

1:50:02 love and exhale dropping everything that was released

1:50:30 One last time, inhale deeply, inhaling light, peace, love, and exhale, dropping and just being, trying to keep the silence even though we are coming out.

1:51:21 Slowly open your eyes when you're ready

1:51:39 Thank you, thank you so much.

1:52:05 OK.

1:52:33 I don't know.

1:53:21 Thank you so much for coming I just wanted to confirm something with Eric's question again. See, there are three yogas. The first one is Karma Yoga, the second one is Bhakti Yoga, and the third one is Jnana Yoga.

1:53:48 So, Karma Yoga is doing action without expectation. That's what he was explaining. So, there's actually no conflict.

1:54:00 Slowly, you know, that will bring you to bhakti yoga. It may not be in that order for everybody is different according to your karmas. But as long as you are not expecting, you know, anything from your service, karma means action. So what Krishna says, and then finally it's the jnana yoga, which is what we are talking about.

1:54:20 Realization of your own self. Giving you the knowledge, the knowledge which brings you to the realization that you are the supreme reality. Krishna says karma karo, he says. Krishna says karma karo, means do the action and finally he says, and finally come to me. Finally come to me. What is that? That means surrender.

1:54:43 Unless you are surrendered, you cannot go and tell God, okay, take me. So, there's no conflict whatsoever. I got more clarity because I had time to think about it. See, the thing as long as we are doing good to anybody, it's fantastic. How many people want to do good for others?

1:55:06 Actually, that's how it starts. The spiritual life starts that way. And the moment you are giving that unconditional duty for somebody, then God is watching. God is watching and picking you up and saying, okay, you need to be here.

1:55:21 Then everything is kind of orchestrated in your life. Everything is just being a flow. I was talking to one of the sadhakas recently. And she was telling me, you know, I've not quite come to this full surrender and everything. But I'm also seeing many situations in my life, which is being a flow.

1:55:45 So parallel path, right? You may be doing your tapasya, you may be doing your intense meditations and getting some clarity and all of this. But at the same time, also you will be receiving a lot. he wants you to sustain in your path because you know like you'll get like boom a whole bunch of like you know stuff that you have to because you needed to clear out yeah I this one needed to clear a lot of stuff maybe I so at that time you're still see you have to understand and have the full like somebody said trust that you said trust so you have to have the trust that which is your unlimited self, is taking care of you. Especially the ones in the path. You're not going to just go poof, you know. Something within you will sustain you through whatever you have to go through. This one can write a book.

1:56:51 Because there's no idea, you cannot even fathom what you can come to after thinking oh my god like it's dragging me to the fire and it's like putting me in the dryer and drinking me like i was telling one of my friends where do you get all these concepts of dryer that's like intense i say yeah it isn't tapasya is intense you know so thank you so much for being

1:57:17 — 11th Anniversary Gratitude & SEVA Team

1:57:17 here and we're on 11th year and i just don't want to forget i don't want to mention any names but thank you to all the seva team who have been with us for 11 some of them for 11 years and still who joined later on and was still there and you know i don't want to say the names but i appreciate it so much because without them i'm nobody you know and that's where god sends people who are who are willing to help and giving of unconditional love and that's why the satsang still goes on so thank you so much thank you to everybody and thank you to all of

1:58:00 Thank you. Thank you to all the Zoomers who are there and my beloved ones. All of you are beloved ones now. Have become beloved. So thank you for being here and thank you for supporting. And see, the support is what is like, nothing is needed here. But the support is when you are listening and when you are saying, OK, you know, I'm going to be free.

1:58:26 That is any guru principles fulfillment. At the point, the gurus, they don't need anything, you know, at that point, something, some bhiksha is given, they will take it. If they don't have also, they'll say, it'll be fine. But they're not going to stop what they're, you know, come here to do. So, just keep that in thing and don't hesitate to ask any questions.

1:58:49 Send it through the seva team and also Krishna is very capable of answering anything that I'm not able to, you know, physically, not there. take over and answer. So thank you Krishna for being here. Thank you. Thank you darlings and for coming such a long distance and making it there, you know. Thank you. Jai Shankar.