Talks of Sri Mahaprabu - List View

Using the four letters A, B, C, D to denote the various components of our natural system, Sri Mahaprabu gives a clear-cut understanding of the problem we are in, and the solution to come out of it. A must-read for all seekers.

The beauty of Love is expressed by Sri Mahaprabu. He stresses the importance of Love, why we are unable to bring out the Love in us, and what needs to happen to bring out this Love. He shows us how Love and Self-knowledge are together and inseparable.

One day while speaking with Sri Mahaprabu I had asked about Lust. How powerful it can be in dragging me down. We had just had a long conversation about Surrender. He responded to the question about Lust along the lines of Surrender.

These are a collection of messages from Sri Mahaprabu regarding the topic of Meditation. He has never taught meditation as a technique. Techniques are for the mind. 'The meditator needs to disappear' he says. And 'Not even meditation is needed for Unarvu (Feeling of Existence) to exist. Only IT exists.'

The Feeling of Existence is the only original feeling. The true identity. And yet we keep missing it continuously. And we look for it outside, through various Achievements. This short and beautiful talk contrasts the solution: Acceptance, with the problem: Achievement.

In my ignorance, I spoke with Sri Mahaprabu about how I saw Existence as the space in which Thoughts arise, and the distinctions between Awareness and Thought. Hoping to get affirmation from him. This was his response.

What is Attention? Why it is extremely important to be Aware of Attention. Are Attention and Love related? Can they be separated? How does one become Attentive continuously? All these topics are shared by Sri Mahaprabu. 

Who is a Disciple? You will be surprised to find out the answer. When does one need to be a Witness and when should even Witnessing disappear? Why the proximity to a living Master is crucial. How it all happens. Sri Mahaprabu describes the role of the Witness by using a beautiful example. A short and powerful talk. 

Sri Mahaprabu clearly points out the risks inherent in starting with the approach of Jnana. He then shows a time-tested and much easier path where you begin with Devotion, Surrender and Love. And most importantly he gives us a proper understanding of what the steps are to get there.

Mahaprabu shares in detail how he meditated. How he keenly observed what was going on inside him. Like us he assumed there was a Person who was the Boss. But soon found out there was a real Boss inside, and the Brain who actually serves the Boss had mistakenly taken itself to be the Boss. He shows us what the path to healing and freedom is.

Please read the post titled Boss and the Servant, first. For 2 hours Sri Mahaprabu was in Samadhi. He then spoke about how the center in us (the Boss) wants to enjoy its creations and how we (the Servant) keep getting in its way. How Awareness can clear the confusion. And why the Suffering that we feel is purely imaginary. He proves this beyond doubt. Read on!

It was past midnight in the time zone that Sri Mahaprabu was when he called me. As always there is silence at first. The issue of lust and the guilt that follows it, had been bothering me. I shared my thoughts with Mahaprabu. What followed was a brilliant explanation of the problem and its solution. 

In this tremendously insightful talk on sadness, its origin and its cure, Sri Mahaprabu once again helped me understand the problem and taught me the way to come out of it. He went into depths about Atma, the Body, Mind, Vasanas how they all play a role in sadness.

Mentioned to Mahaprabu that sometimes I go into this Worry-Loop, a kind of heavy feeling and it takes time to come out of it. Most often the cause is that I am not putting to practice the teachings, especially the 'be aware, be in the present moment' teaching. This was his response.

After Sri Mahaprabu sang a devotional song like he always does with a melting heart, he went into a deep silence. After some time he spoke these words praising the path of Love and Devotion. To attain happiness, love God. Instead, we are all chasing happiness and end up being frustrated. 

Sri Mahaprabu spoke about how routine activities such as eating and bathing should be done as Meditations. Not meditation after bathing and eating!

On the way to spending a few weeks with Sri Mahaprabu I decided to first go to the Himalayas and spend 3 days in solitude. All plans were made for travel and stay. But at the last minute, strange circumstances prevented me from taking the detour and I ended up straight at the Rest House with Mahaprabu. He spoke to me then.

From day one with Mahaprabu you will find that he uses the right words when it comes to body related tasks. And he makes us do the same. Otherwise, we are continuously feeding the wrong information to the brain and expecting to progress towards the Truth. It is not possible. A set of practical tips that we can and must apply in our daily lives. Please read.

Sitting in his car in the morning, Sri Mahprabu opened a book on Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. A devotee had asked Bhagavan about the necessity of Guru’s Grace. Bhagavan's answer was the basis for this talk. Sri Mahaprabu read that answer three times before talking further.

How are you is a question that Mahaprabu never asks. But today he did, and explained what is the one thing this question can refer to. Your thoughts. And then he dived into detail as to the one thought that really matters. The thought that you are a nameless, formless, birthless, deathless being vs. the thought that you are an individual.

A Jnani describes the play of the Supreme. Sri Mahaprabu went into a good degree of detail as to how the play happens. The inner workings. How it works. Why it works that way. The role of the Faith. And as always he ends with what must be done by the disciple. Once again the time was way past midnight. He was driving (or better: driving was happening)

It started with a question about how the Jnani relates to his body. Mahaprabu answered it through an example. This led to an in-depth talk about the role of the Brain, Who the Witness is, What is Samadhi, Who experiences Realization, and the importance of being tremendously patient in this journey.

A common trap for a seeker is to claim that it is all a dream, everything is an illusion, so why bother trying to improve; all efforts are in the dream etc. Sri Mahaprabu shatters this misconception by giving a clear picture of what is actually going on.

The call for Satsang came as always. When greeting Sri Mahaprabu my voice showed no enthusiasm today. Sri Mahaprabu caught it and stressed the importance of developing enthusiasm and cheerfulness ourselves. This became the Satsang topic, as he spoke at length about why we aren't cheerful in general and what to do about it.

Sri Mahaprabu points out that even after we develop a proper understanding that joys and sorrows are creations of the mind and have no basis in reality, when situations come, this won't come to our remembrance. Remembrance comes by Grace alone. But one has to work at it really hard to deserve Grace. And finally when the futility of effort is realized, a Surrender happens. Grace comes through this Surrender in the form of the Guru.

Sri Mahaprabu pointed out how all of us are living life totally forgetting who is in control. Thinking we are doing it all. He explained the mechanism of how IT creates, sustains and ends everything. Therefore what should be our attitude as we live life each day that is given to us by that Creator. A fantastic conversation.

A disciple was serving coffee. Sri Mahaprabu noticed that she was doing it mechanically, without awareness. That spurred this beautiful talk about how we live entire lives without becoming aware of ourselves, aware of the feeling of Existence. How this is related to Love. And what is the only way to regain this awareness: Through Surrender.

Some of us wondered why at times Mahaprabu melts in Devotion and urges us to Surrender while at other times he urges us to practice Awareness every moment. As if he were reading our minds, the following words came out of him one day.

A very important understanding about Maya is revealed by Sri Mahaprabu. Yet another in-depth discussion when he called me from his work place! Without missing a single task on his end, despite so many interruptions he devoted over an hour to move his disciple further towards the goal. With this understanding one is better equipped to come out of Maya.

Meditation is a 24-hour phenomenon, a natural one. One cannot practice it. So if you try to practice meditation it will be a failure. When you sit for meditation, the mind that says ‘I should meditate properly’ is a disturbance. Disturbance to what? The Silence… which is the state of Mediation!!

Sitting under an Almond tree, Sri Mahaprabu showed us the greatness of the Supreme Power and how insignificant we are. Being in unity with Nature is very important. As the Guru is in union with nature, be in unity with the Guru, he taught us.

It was around 10 PM. Mahaprabu had just started the Satsang. We joined him in Om chanting. A new seeker had joined the Satsang. Sri Mahaprabu began to talk to her.

Sri Mahaprabu explains in amazing depth, what Pleasure and Pain are. Do they have any existence? Who feels them? What is the result?  He shows how these two phenomena keep us oscillating throughout our lives, never allowing us to be on steady ground. And as always, he points us to the solution. How to come out of this. 

How a Master helps the disciple in the process is described by Sri Mahaprabu. What the Master can do and cannot do. He also touches on what a Disciple needs to do and the dangers that face him/her as the ego starts to dissolve

Sri Mahaprabu spoke about the importance of going beyond Sleep. It is a pre-requisite for knowing oneself, he says. Who is Sleep for? Can there be an awareness of sleep? All these questions are meticulously answered. In fact he asks the questions, as usual and answers them.

Sri Mahaprabu dives deep in a discussion with a seeker about Atma, Attention, Feelings, Thoughts, Body and World. It resulted in an absolutely brilliant unraveling of these various layers and what one needs to do to unentangle oneself from the traps in these layers. A must read for, especially for an advanced seeker.

Sri Mahaprabu points out the importance of slowing down in all our day to day actions. We are always hurried on the outside because we are in a hurry inside. With such a rushed mind, when we sit for meditation, most of the time goes in slowing the mind down. Not in meditation.

I was on a downward spiral the last few days. The mind using that as an excuse dropped the sadhana, which brought in guilt to make things worse. Sri Mahaprabu had called to speak with me, and the topic was 'Suffering.' I shared my situation with him. He spoke for nearly an hour during which we laughed at my own follies and Sri Mahaprabu as always gave such a clear understanding of the problem and the solution.

Sri Mahaprabu says: You are Not. Something else Is. In this destructible body there is an indestructible Brahman. You aren’t there, I am not there. Isn’t this a wonder. All these years we have been living as though ‘I’ exist. You are living a lie. You have been living a lie for many births. And the lie only gives you suffering. Now you know this is a fact. Shouldn't you take corrective action? What is needed is this:

An objective look at what actually exists. What does not. We find that what does not exist is the cause of most of our suffering. What should one do then? All these topics are eloquently discussed by Sri Mahaprabu while he was addressing a seeker who was visiting for the first time.

We had just finished a guided meditation by Sri Mahaprabu. A stillness prevails over the room and hearts. Mahaprabu asked us to contrast this state with the state of mind during our daily life. A single thought, that I am an individual is running our lives. That thought knows nothing about Love or Life. Hence the miserable condition we seem to be in. He points the way out, and exhorted us, urged us to make use of this rare opportunity that we have been blessed with.

Mahaprabu asks us to distinguish happenings from the knower, and clearly explains the reasons for doing so. He shows us why we go through life in a series of ups and downs and how to come out of it.

I have heard distinguished speakers say that it cannot be attained with effort. And that effort is the barrier. This has been causing confusion. I brought it up to Sri Mahaprabu. Within a few seconds, he gave such a clear understanding. That Effort is the bridge between Energy and Experience. This one is a must-read!

Mahaprabu is sitting still, eyes closed. After an hour glides by he stirred slightly, eventually coming out of Samadhi. He then spoke at length about the process of Enquiry. And how one must progress without getting stuck in one aspect of it. He ended with words about the resulting state of freedom.

There are two things here. That which is existing here and now, and a musculo-skeletal structure called body. The Feeling of Existence, is common to all bodies. Even though the bodies appear separate, they are all created by that which is existing here and now. Therefore they cannot be considered separate. There is no separation. Sri Mahaprabu made us dive deep to realize this fact very clearly. 

Lately I had been going back and forth between Bhakti and Jnana, Devotion and Self-Awareness. It got to a point where I could practice neither, which in made matters worse. I was blessed to have the opportunity to share my struggles with a Brahma Jnani.  Not only did he set things right, the conversation was so jovial. He showed me that all these problems are not for Atma. They are for the ego, and that (sadly), it is this maddening effect of thought that leads one to dropping thought itself.

Why do our efforts not give us the desired results? What can we do when our efforts fail? What is the easiest and most direct path to Godliness. Sri Mahaprabu one day spontaneously as always, spoke about these topics during Satsang.

Sri Mahaprabu has been in Samadhi for nearly 3 hours now. Is it night or dawn, don't know. Time has zero relevance when we are with him. Slowly he emerges. He then spoke at length about Turiya, (pronounced in Tamil as Turiyam). That which alone is and That which manifests as Waking, Dream, Sleep and all the plurality that appears to the senses. A very rewarding experience just listening to him. Not to mention a video-treat at the very end!

In this fascinating talk, Sri Mahaprabu told us the common mistake that seekers make when it comes to meditation. And how without knowing it, they fall into the trap where meditation itself becomes an addiction and worse, gives a false sense of hope that one is progressing. He explains where effort is needed and where it is not, when it comes to Meditation.

In this in-depth discussion, Sri Mahaprabu describes how we have made the primary mistake of taking on a fictitious separate identity and therefore only we can reverse it. He then shows us how Surrender is the only way the Ego can die. That too, when you Surrender at the feet of a living Master.

This conversation happened as Sri Mahaprabu was on the road, driving. Through the example of driving, he makes us understand a fundamental truth. That for things to happen, the idea of a separate "I" is just not required. A must read!

In this fascinating dialog with a seeker, Sri Mahaprabu exposes the nature of worry and goes on to answer many questions including the common one: What is the purpose of man?.  This talk is a must-read for all seekers.