Words from the Master

Just look at young children. They are so enthusiastic towards life. They are so loving. Have you ever wondered why you are not so enthusiastic as them? You were like them once upon a time, is it not? Then, where have we lost this enthusiasm and innocence? Come on tell me. Where do you think we have lost this?

(one participant ventures) We have grown up and become more mature Swamiji. We are more experienced than them...

baaah, baah! Experienced at what? Boredom?! See, be very clear: We all think that we are more mature than children and that we have the right attitude towards life while children need to go through life and acquire this maturity.

The Truth is, we have become so intellectual, that we have lost our connection with our heart. We operate purely from our minds. Even our emotions are dictated by our minds. We have stopped emoting from our Being. We have lost touch with our core.

When we arrived in this world, we were in a state of celebration and spontaneity. Over years, society conditioned us and created the mind for us. The mind then solidified itself and started dictating terms to us. The spontaneity in us got lost.

Let me tell you, in this whole process of shedding our ego, we are trying to rediscover the child in us. When we were young, we were closer to realizing God. As we grew and became so-called mature, our social conditionings simply marred the child in us.

So many people ask me, “Swamiji, how is it that although you speak on the Ultimate Truth, you appear to be so childlike?” Now you tell me, am I childlike because I have not grown up and become mature?! You simply interpret things in your own convenient ways, in your own philosophical ways; that is the problem.

But for societal conditioning, we have the ability to swim and fly without any training. It may sound absurd to you, but it is true. We have these abilities in us. We can swim and fly, until people start telling us that we are not capable of swimming and flying. If you place a new-born baby in a swimming pool, it will stay afloat without drowning.

The ego manifests itself in so many ways and we live according to it every minute of our lives. We all actually use masks in our day-to-day lives. We use one mask when we deal with our mother; we use a different mask when we deal with our father; we use a different one for our boss and so on. As long as we use the right masks with the right persons, it is alright. The moment we use the wrong mask with a person, it means that your ego has stepped in. All you have to do is switch masks efficiently and enjoy the show. Then you are a watcher and not involved in the game as a solid entity.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Guaranteed Solutions.