World as a Theatre

Say there is a highly thrilling movie. Take 3 examples of it being watched. One person watches it on his mobile in the palm of his hand. Another watches it on a big TV screen. A third person watches the same movie in a theatre on a giant screen, with full sound effects, etc. Who will be most impacted by the movie? Obviously the person watching it in the theatre. Why? Because everything is amplified. And you appear so small in front of it. When the movie is in your palm, you are in control. But in the theatre it is reversed. If that is the case with a pre-recorded, unreal event such as a movie, imagine HOW BIG THE UNIVERSE IS. AND THE EVENTS ARE HAPPENING LIVE, CONTINUOUSLY. How small you feel. How impactful the world can be on you. So be very careful in this world. You will be sucked in.

The Master

The Master cannot use his own brain. There is no ‘he’ to use it. The Supreme Power uses his brain. He remains in total Surrender. Only when a person has reached this point, is he Enlightened. Everything is operated by the Supreme Power. Reaching this point is Wisdom. So from then on, he will continue to be in Surrender. He will never use his brain himself. Instead, the brain will be used by God, the Supreme Power. This is the fact.

If so, then depending on the Surrender of the disciple, automatically the Supreme Power will work through the Master. So it is not in the hands of a Master to favour a particular disciple. Equally, it is not in the hands of the Master, not to favour a good disciple. Since the Master is not taking the decision. There is no ‘he’ in there which is acting. The Supreme Power is acting. Also, the Master has no likes/dislikes to favour a disciple or not. Nothing will come from him. Everything happens as the Supreme Power intends. The Master cannot change it or stop it. That is the law of Nature. So, have faith in this law. This gives you hope. If you deserve it, whatever is needed for your improvement will come to you. No one can stop it. If you don’t deserve, no one can make it come to you. Therefore it all comes down to you, your sincerity and effort. As you climb up, it will come to you. See the nature of Surrender. The Master cannot do anything. Otherwise, Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi would have given enlightenment to everyone. The great Buddha could not give enlightenment to his wife or his son easily, nor to his mother who raised him from young.

Where the Master helps

Therefore, the one who is not ready will not get it, and the one who is ready cannot be prevented from getting it. So it comes down to what? Your readiness. There comes the role of the Master. He prepares you for that readiness. He makes you ready. He is the resource through which Godliness acts and gives the instructions to prepare the disciple to make him ready. Once a disciple is ready, no one can stop it. So, readiness is the core. Who can prepare the disciple? The Master. Just like, who can cook well? One who has cooked many times and mastered it. The Supreme Power gives certain individuals the ability to prepare disciples for enlightenment. Only they can prepare. No one else can.

The Disciple’s job

So, a day should come in your life when you say ‘Gurudeva, hereafter I will not use my brain. I have totally surrendered to you. Whatever you want me to do, tell me. I am here to execute. I will not deviate even a tiny bit.’ From that day only you can count your progress. Not before. This alignment is needed. This is preparation. Reducing all your deviations and coming into total alignment with the Master. And when can the Master prepare you? When you have the above commitment 100%: ‘I will not use my brain. Whatever you want me to do, I will do.’ That day, the real journey starts.

So what is important is the strong interest you have in knowing yourself. Can that strong desire come automatically. No. You have to develop it yourself. It will not come to you.

The danger of disowning your ego.

As you drop the ego, there is a risk of developing a ‘I don’t care’ attitude. It is like this: A person loves his wife dearly. One day he comes to know that from the next day onwards she is leaving him to go with someone else. From then on, will he have the same care and love for her? No. Similarly, a person owns a car. He takes care of it so well. Washes it, polishes it, etc. His neighbor buys it. And lets it sit in the driveway. Will he even bother to go and clean it? No. So, when we own something, the behaviour is different. When we don’t own it we behave differently. You become indifferent to that thing. A carelessness. This is natural. The same thing happens in Spirituality. So far you have owned your ego. You have taken care of it so well. But in Satsang, with continued presence of the Master, you cannot own your ego. You have to drop it. As you start to drop the ownership, YOU WILL DEVELOP AN INDIFFERENCE TO LIFE. A ‘nothing matters’ attitude creeps in. This carelessness, lack of involvement, insincerity is very destructive. A tough period. But the Master helps by saying, Now is when you have to be very sincere. Sincerity towards the Truth. A total opposite. Imagine if there was no Master. You will self-destruct. Every seeker of Truth has to cross this critical phase. Because they all have to drop their ego. When they do so, they became totally indifferent and careless. Instead, this is the point where you need 200% sincerity. It is extremely difficult to do it alone. There comes the help of the Master. At that point you have to become sincere towards the Master. So far you were very sincere about your ego, your life (a false one). But now you should be very sincere to live for the Master. If this transformation happens, where you are now living for the Master and not for you, then you can cross that tough zone. For this shift, you need a lift, from the Master who is God’s gift!!

For a simple thing as a wife or car we lose interest. For something that has been ‘you’ all your life, for so many lives (your ego) when you begin to drop that imagine how much you will suffer. Only the Guru knows this suffering. He knows that you will experience frustration but that extreme frustration needs to transform into extreme sincerity now. Imagine how difficult. It is like putting your entire life at stake. It is like you have lost all your immunity and are totally weak and lying down. But you have to take on the most strenuous task. So he will prepare you slowly, so that you get the strength. It cannot be rushed. It has to be done extremely cautiously. This preparation can only be done by the Master. Because it is easy to say ‘I don’t care’ and become totally indifferent. But what is needed is that you must be unattached (pattru indri), but responsible. Drop Patru (attachment) and develop Poruppu (responsibility). It is extremely difficult. Only the Master can help.