Drugs and Meditation

Preface
Spirituality and mediation are key to bliss. Sooner you start, the better. But under what
circumstances does spirituality render no help?
Youth these days are struggling with a real challenge: addiction. The world does not have
much to offer; and rebellion leads them to different forms of intoxication. The problem is
much bigger than it may look. That is why Shreee, a modern revolutionary decided to speak
about it.
In this series of talks, he shares his understanding on why people get addicted, what can be
done to avoid it, how drugs influence lives, and also whether there is any similarity between
experiences caused by drugs and spiritual experiences. In this eye-opening series of four
talks, you will know more about drugs that you did - and also how to avoid the trap in the
first place.
Please note, this eBook is a compilation of spontaneous live talks delivered by Shreee to his
disciples. These talks are meant for the modern man with examples from the real world.
YouTube links are available for each talk.
Visit School of Life at www.schooloflife.co.in
Subscribe on YouTube: YouTube.com/schooloflife11
Follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/schooloflife11

Contents
Preface .................................................................................................................................................... 2
Beyond ordinary life................................................................................................................................ 4
Drugs vs Meditation .............................................................................................................................. 10
My Choice ............................................................................................................................................. 18
Spiritual experience .............................................................................................................................. 24

Beyond ordinary life

Godly morning!
A famous Russian writer, Tolstoy used to have a dream his whole life. The dream was that
he saw two shoes without legs walking in the desert, an endless desert. There was only sand
and the blazing sun around and the shoes kept walking. He felt that hes walking aimlessly in
the desert and the journey is useless, worthless. No hope and possibility of getting to an
oasis or greenery or shade or something which can ease his pain of walking that desert. He
dreamt the same thing over and over again. He is walking in the endless desert, doesnt
know where is the destination and theres no possibility of reaching anywhere. He cant
even see himself, only shoes are visible. He was a very wise man, very intelligent. He himself
interpreted the dream and named it Life. He used to dream about life, a life where theres
no peace, a life which is aimless and worthless journey in which you never reach the
destination. And all the troubles and challenges are endless. Theres no possibility of
quenching his thirst. The more he tried to look for water, the more sand he ended up with.
There are many illusions which we call a mirage. When youre walking in the desert, you see
water at a distance. You run towards it under the illusion that a few more steps and youd
reach but the distance between you and the water remains the same. Suns rays meeting
the scorching hot sand give out an illusion of water. We are constantly under the
impression that were not running fast enough. If we are able to run faster, we will attain.
The one who runs faster achieves it and those who are slow miss it. It feels like nothing
succeeds like success. This dream is the correct interpretation of life. But the question is
who is walking? We have no idea. We dont know ourselves. Who am I? We have no idea; it
is just a blind journey. If we look closely, this is what ordinary life is. The journey starts from
childhood and soon that innocence, playfulness and carefree attitude of the child is lost.
Tensions start to build up. When youre around children, you must have heard them say; I
have a headache, or Im unhappy. And why will they not be unhappy? A child has to start
going school at the age of 3. We call it kindergarten. Its a garden of cactus! If you dont
want to go to the garden, how can it be a garden of flowers? There may be flowers in the
garden, but if you are forced to go in the garden, those flowers will feel like cactus to you.
So, a 3 year old not only has to go to school, parents also try to ensure that before he goes,
he should know the alphabet, names, colours and how to count. He has not even started to
school and he frequently gets audience; guests who visit become his audience. He has to
perform in front of them, he has to say good morning, recite Sunday-Monday. If he recites
well, he is appreciated and gets love and in case, hes not able to do well, he is a loser. And
you already know how a loser feels. Who wants to be a loser, who wants to feel what a loser
feels? So, the little child would try very hard to remember Sunday and Monday, counting,
colours, good morning, good afternoon, good night and names of months. The tension
starts from very beginning. Dont you see the ordinary life? The mundane life? He has to
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study in order to stand first in class. Hes asked things like is this the age to play? Why? Have
we become paralytic? We are not yet paralytic but still we hear this. Theres no age to play.
To me, playfulness is spiritual and seriousness is sickness, a disease, non-spiritual. From the
beginning we are asked to be serious and not to be playful. We are not allowed to be
playful. This journey has started for the child, first class, then second, then third etc. You
know you must have heard parents telling their children that the real study starts after a
particular grade all this effort so far wasnt as important. They tell them every year that
real study will start now. The child never understands. He thinks that his life has started now
the day he gets married. A few days into marriage and he realizes he was happier before.
What he felt before marriage was called happiness and he was seeking happiness is
marriage. So, ordinary life progresses from good to worse. Such is life. Even if a goal if
fulfilled like getting good marks or landing a dream job; youre still a servant. Even if your
package is 42 Lakhs per annum! Raman, Im not saying anything to you; because I cant
degrade you by saying your package is 42 Lakhs when its actually 57 lakhs. But, Raman, tell
me why have to come all the way from Bombay to attend this silly 2 day programme?
Because life is hell, life is not beautiful at all. Life has nothing to look forward to. He knows it
now; all dreams are just dreams, an illusion, and a deception to move on, to keep up with
the stupidity. Nothing fails like success, who knows better than the successful?
So, this ordinary life! The child grows up, studies well, and gets admission in a good college.
And still, theres tension of tomorrow. What will happen tomorrow? Our constant
companion in life is fear and insecurity. So, tomorrow is a nightmare for us - a dream that
we see with eyes wide open. That is why we fantasize with closed eyes. The reality is a hell
and so we create a fantasy, an illusion to feel happy. I remember one of the movies I saw:
Big Fish. Its a movie I really love. It is a story of a father and his son. The father used to
narrate various incidents about his life to his son which left the son confused. And when the
father was on the death-bed, the child had only one question, out of the incidents narrated,
what was fact and what was fiction? Because there were various things which cant be
scientifically true. Like when the son asked the father how he was born, the father gave him
a very interesting story that he was not born, he actually shot out of his mother like a bullet.
The doctor and nurses were left dumbfounded and speechless. The father told him that as a
baby he slipped on the floor like 90 km/hr speed and whoever tried to stop couldnt do it.
This is how he entered the world. How will a child believe it? In the end, he asked the same
question to the doctor who assisted with his birth. The doctor said, nothing special. Your
mother was in labour pain and you were born. It was very normal. Then the doctor asked,
which of the two versions do you like? Which one is interesting? The mundane one, the
ordinary one, the real one or the fictional? What did you achieve with the knowledge that
there was nothing special about your birth? Theres nothing special in reality. You father
knows that life is so dull, dead, flat. There is nothing interesting, everything is almost
predictable and so he decided to create interesting stories around reality. So, he mixed
fiction with facts so that you could feel better. The whole movie goes on with such fiction,
5

like the child asked, how did you marry my mother? The father gave him a story full of
romance and drama and tragedy and comedy all mixed together. In the end, he asks his
mother to reveal how they actually got married. She said it was all normal, they met in a
music concert, their parents didnt object and so they got married. What version would you
choose? The interesting one, obviously. Life is dull and dead and we are just dragging
through the days. Nothing is beautiful in life. A continuous preparation to live is going on
and it takes the whole life to prepare to live. We keep making preparations to live when
do we actually live? We never live. Life is a preparation to live without living.
Mayoosiyaan samet kar sare jahaan ki,
Jab kuch na ban saka; mera dil bana diya
(My heart is nothing but a collection of all the misery and suffering put together)
People who are sitting here listening to me belong to various categories. Some want their
studies to end so that they can start working. Some have completed their studies and are
looking for a job. Becoming a servant has also become difficult. The day you become a
servant, people congratulate you saying finally you got a job. So, here there are those
whose studies are over but even they are not happy. Then, some want to getting married.
Some want training before getting married, a love affair. So, those who had love affairs are
looking for counselling. So Aamod? How are you spending your youth? Ive attended a lot of
weddings but divorce parties are happier. Such is life. People fight with the world in order to
get married. There was someone who used to come here but has shifted to Germany now.
He belongs to Uttar Pradesh. On his wedding day, there was sword fight between two
parties of the village. And he was asking me for a way to file for a divorce. Such illusions!
Such is life. People think if they get married to the person of their choice, life will be blissful.
When they do get married, their house becomes like Indo-Pak border. Peace is just a
proclamation of the upcoming storm. See, our Noor is feeling so happy. Noor, you get
married or you dont, life will be miserable either way. That is why Bhagwan Buddha said,
Life is misery. Noor is thinking misery is only for married couples. Had they been happy
bachelors, why would they marry in the first place? So, life is synonymous to misery. It has
nothing to do with whether youre married or not. In fact, marriage is essential to walk on
the spiritual path. Because the higher the hope, higher wisdom will be born that Bhagwan
Buddha was right. Happiness is within us. Where am I looking out? Outside world is just a
bait.
Theres a misconception in our society that wisdom is related to age or experience.
Experience leads to learning only when one has the attitude to learn. A Chinese or Japanese
proverb says, that human is the only animal who falls in the same pit over and over again.
Isnt falling once enough? No, because you didnt learn the lesson the first time. What will
experience do in such a case? Experience is an opportunity to learn, but what if that person
doesnt learn? What if the person doesnt have the art to learn? So, the so-called old wise
6

people advise the married couple to have a baby. Actually, they want to block all ways that
lead to freedom. So that the couple doesnt separate. To ensure that they live together. It
doesnt matter to them that living together might be hell for them. People live a hellish life
for 25 years and they advise others how to adjust in this hell and compromise. Happiness or
sadness is not a word in their dictionary. They ask, what is the problem? You tell them that
you dont get along. Then they ask, no but then what is the problem? Even if you give them
some reasons for not getting along like your taste doesnt match etc.; the wise old people
will advise you make two dishes according to different tastes. Their only criterion for a
successful marriage is whether the couple owns a house and whether their fridge is full of
milk and fruits. Thats it! That is just survival. Survival is not at stake, it is about happiness.
There is no happiness in the relationship. Then they will say how? They will not understand
how you can be unhappy when the fridge is stuffed with milk and fruits and when theres
enough to eat. Then they say, have a baby and then everything will be fine. No one thinks
of the baby that will be born out of such hatred between partners. I think that is how
Hitlers take birth. What are the qualities can you expect out a child conceived out of
hatred? My definition of adultery is when physical intimacy is without love; even between
you may be married. Loveless couples give birth to children who grow up to become
frustrated individuals; cases of road rage etc. are bound to happen. They have come from
such vibrations.
When a child is born, parents want to throw a party. But things like guests list, venue, menu
etc. become reasons for conflicts. Imagine, theyre celebrating! And now the same journey
repeats with the child first grade, second grade, etc. It is now a greater challenge for you
to teach him than when you were learning, because now it is a matter of your reputation.
Now, your child is your representative so your ego has to be satisfied. I met a mother who
bought four t-shirts on which I look like my dad was written. I asked her what was the
need of putting posters on your child? If he looks like his father, he looks like his father
people will know. Now, a journey has started for the parents too, with the child. A major
chunk of life gets spent on children, their happiness and sadness, in addition to physical,
physiological problem, someone hurt you in personal life, in business, at job etc. So, this
goes on. One day, old age comes and the person looks like an antique piece of furniture,
theres no one to talk to. He holds his money close to his chest because that is the only
resort. He thinks his children will talk to him because he has the money, otherwise no one
will bother. So, money is the only treasure left in life. This mundane life, in which our body
gets wounded, some cuts and some deep wounds. The condition is such that whenever you
talk to people, either they will be crying or angry. Life is full of frustration but theres a
mask. Spirituality motivates us to find our original face. Before you reach that original face,
there will be various faces in between. Why do we flaunt money, status? Why do we seek
power? Because we show a fake face that we are happy, but behind that faade there is
frustration, there is irritation, there is emptiness, and there are wounds all over. Such is life.
And then when such a life is given, some people not all in the age of 16-17, become rebels.
7

They dont want to subscribe to that mundane path, they want something beyond this
ordinary life, and they want some other experience. They grope desperately in darkness to
find something. Then they stumble upon to some intoxication like they may start smoking.
Now, tell me what is the fun of smoking? Inhaling and exhaling hot air, what is the fun in
that? But you see the first time when one starts smoking; his entire body language changes
as if he is above all, doing something so big that no one has ever done. Girls in metro cities
smoke. A cigarette fetches them the attention theyve been looking for their whole lives.
They think theyre modern. Theres nothing modern about this sheer stupidity. Inhaling and
exhaling smoke, what is the meaning of that? Theres no meaning but its at least something
apart from the mundane. Then there is alcohol, then theres drugs. So they eventually end
up becoming slaves to these things and make their lives worse. They rebelled against the
mundane life, but didnt rebel for the beautiful life.
This is the difference. The journey began from negativity, against something not for
something. If it were for a beautiful life, they would have never indulged in such dangerous
things but it happens. Then there are a few, very few here who found the right solution. A
life that is extraordinary, a life full of peace, meditativeness. Just compare the life I
mentioned, the ordinary life which is full of tension, stress, only dragging, no flowering, no
laughing, all superficial, no depth, no beauty and compare it with this life, a life full of
meditation and peace. You know how to switch from mind to no mind. Meditation! The
ultimate freedom. You become the master. Celebration! You enjoy for no reason at all, you
enjoy because you are. Love! Brotherhood! Creativity and wisdom to know how to handle
life situations! So life is a carnival. Life is a celebration. Life is divine. Meditation, celebration,
creativity, wisdom, love. Life is like a blossomed flower. Life worth living. Life so beautiful
that it never occurs why we are living, what is the meaning of life, nothing! Youre so
engrossed in celebrating, you are so involved in meditating, youre so ecstatic with yourself,
you dont feel lonely, and youre happy being alone and youre happy being together. So this
aloneness, together, this art, this beauty, makes life worth living and you experience life
beyond dead, mundane and ordinary life. Live in meditation, celebrate, feel love, spread
love, enjoy aloneness. Celebrate togetherness. Let your life blossom more and more. This
celebration is endless. This beauty is endless; enjoy the ecstasy of being spiritual with newage spirituality.
Now we have this opportunity here, we must realize the importance of this opportunity. Im
also watching carefully now, that if someone is taking this for granted, he has no right to get
our energy wasted on him. Of course, we need intelligent people otherwise we wont go in
the world and simply realize that you find nothing in there but when you come here, come
with a realization that this the only possibility. And Im saying it again, there is no other
possibility. This is the lifestyle which can make you happy. This is the lifestyle that can make
you get rid of this frustrating life. So congratulations for being here. Ready for meditation?
8

Click here to watch this recorded talk on YouTube.

Drugs vs Meditation
Godly Morning!
Friends, ordinarily the pattern of life given to us is so dull and flat, its like we are being
dragged towards death. It would be right to say that ordinary life is nothing but gradual
death. If you are intelligent enough, try and contemplate on what ordinarily a life is. It is
nothing but a preparation to live and the preparation is not an easy one either. An ordinary
person is deprived of the most basic thing - a sound sleep. Today, at a very early age, a child
loses his innocence and playfulness. He is no longer carefree. Stress, tension and even
politics seep in to his mind at a very tender age. Now, even a young child can decide where
to smile and where not to. He is clever enough to know where his cries will be answered and
how he can impress others with his fake smile. He has learnt to be diplomatic in his
behaviour. To achieve such diplomacy, one has to think a lot and if a child is thinking a lot,
he is no longer a child. He is equivalent to an adult who is full of stress and tensions. He is
ambitious and all his acts are targeted towards the future.
So this whole structure which we call life is really frustrating. Nobody actually wants to live
such a life. Everyone is dissatisfied. Be it the poor or the rich, nobody is happy or satisfied
with this way of life. This preparation for a better tomorrow can be compared to someone
living in a desert, dying every day and never getting enough water to quench the thirst. The
life lived this way only brings anger, rage, competition and jealousy as the by-products. No
one is actually satisfied with this life.
People are no longer natural. They carry a fake face wherever they go. They are highly
frustrated, dissatisfied and empty from within. The mundane way of living, the ordinary life
no longer keeps them satisfied. They really wish to get away from this life pattern. I am
telling you no one wants to live such an ordinary life. People dont commit suicide because
either they are cowards or they have hopes. Hope is the tranquilizer that makes them run
after the mirage which has no real destination or end. They eventually reach the cemetery.
Nobody wants to live such a life where there is no life but only preparation, where all the
happiness lies in the future that never comes. Today is hell and tomorrow is only an
imagination. Happiness lies somewhere in the future. There are some people who rebel
against this kind of a life. There are many who adapt to this lifestyle and accept it. Nobody
accepts it willingly, but they lack the courage and intelligence to change it. They convince
themselves to adapt to the lifestyle of the masses and merely survive because that looks
like the most natural and normal way to live life. They think if this lifestyle would have been
wrong, the others would have done something to change it. In fact they think something is
wrong with them that they are dissatisfied with life. People around them usually look happy,
not dissatisfied.
10

But the happiness which they see around is not real happiness. This is because we are only
able to see faces which are masked in public. We have actually never tried to look them in
the eye. Have you ever tried to look someone straight in the eye? Try that for 5 seconds and
you will find the other person utterly disturbed as if youve caught him, as if youve found
out hes wearing a mask. Many people compromise and adapt and live the so called life with
a mask. Mostly people subscribe to this lifestyle considering it right. These people are
neither intelligent nor rebellious. Their life is dull and dead and they are always ready either
to cry or to fight. There are two categories of people - Offensive and Suppressive. The
suppressive ones will cry as soon as they get a reason to. They will have complaints about
every issue, be it relationships, with the Government, with their bosses, with their
employees. They are perpetually pissed-off. In fact, everybody falls under this category.
Breaking further down, there are two types of pissed-off people: People who are always
pissed-off and people who keep pissing (through their eyes). They cry all the time and have
no courage to fight and be offensive. They never retaliate and are non-assertive, so they
simply cry out of frustration and depression. On the other hand, the other category of
people who are always offensive make others depressed. Out of their own complaints,
anger and rage, they create hell for others. Just try to understand if they wont do this, what
would they do? Life is so uninteresting, so flat. Dont you see, deep down how delighted
people are even when there is an earthquake? Suddenly there is a lot of energy and
commotion; there is something to talk about. Even if Pakistan attacked India, I am telling
you, you will be happy in a way. You wont agree to it but deep down you will feel very alive
that something new and interesting is happening in life. Life is so non-happening otherwise.
Thats why people find idiot boxes more interesting than their own families. Families have
only 4-5 members at the most. Where will they find stories to talk about? Not all the secrets
are out anyway; at least not yet. So, this is the way. People who do not have the courage to
rebel and jump out of this mundane life, people who cannot simply live out of the box and
experiment in life, they simply drag and make hell out of their lives.
Then, there is another category, the Rebels. They are done with this lifestyle, they want
something interesting. Anything would do. But because they are groping in darkness, there
is a high possibility and probability that they will stumble upon something wrong. That is
exactly what is happening. It has been happening since ages in fact. These rebels stumble
upon the chemicals which we call drugs. They begin with smoking, then alcohol and then
towards other chemicals. Since you people sitting here are not into smoking, drinking or
drugs, you might think it isnt prevailing in the society at large. But I am telling you that it is
happening much more than you think or know. Recently, it was there on news channels too
that the whole Punjab is finished because of drugs. Now, its an open fact. It is increasing
day by day because the new generation is comparatively more rebellious and more
knowledgeable. They are exposed to the social media from the very childhood and they
have a guru too, the Google Guru. Hence, they are more knowledgeable and they are
experimental. First they try to indulge in the gadgets but soon they get frustrated. After all
11

how long can video games entertain you, how many movies can you watch, how much
YouTube will you surf, how much torrent would you download, how many Hollywood
sitcoms would you watch? Sooner or later, you will lose interest in them. Then there is a
possibility to take a jump towards drugs. I am telling you and even I am surprised, I didnt
know that its so rampant in our society. In fact, I came to know recently that in senior
secondary schools, students are consuming weed, hashish and cocaine. You must be
surprised to hear this. People of my age who have children of seventeen or eighteen years
of age do not think that their children would indulge in drugs because they themselves
didnt when they were that age. At the most, they can relate with their own times. In those
times their parents restricted them from smoking and drinking. So parents these days only
worry about their children smoking or drinking. Things like cocaine, weed and hash dont
even occur to them even in their imagination. That is why we are oblivious to what the
youth is up to. And our oblivion is their freedom. That is why I decided to speak on this
topic. I know you dont need this understanding for yourself but you need this for your
children and for your friends. I am telling you it is easily available. Just try. Approach a Paan
shop for weed. He will guide you towards its vendor. My son told me that if I searched the
internet for the availability of drugs, I could find the information on the web. Although it is
illegal but nobody cares. I dont know why, but nobody cares and it is easily available. And
the most disturbing thing is that the one who gets addicted tries his best to make the other
indulge in it. This is the dangerous thing. Thats why it spreads like fire. If one gets addicted
that implies that many would get addicted through him. He does not stop there. He tries his
best to offer it to others. He would insist them to just consume it once. This is it. There can
be various other reasons too. Firstly, the one who is addicted soon becomes a vendor. The
one who has sold to him floats some discounts and the discounted money becomes his
savings. After all there must be some expenditure involved. This way, the one who has
started consuming once becomes its vendor in two years and this is how it spreads further.
It is spreading fast in schools, colleges and to my surprise, the sharpest minds, the teenagers
who are intelligent enough to crack engineering and medical exams; who have cracked IIT
and IIM and get admission in these colleges have more exposures to these drugs. So the
teenagers, who are actually the real treasure of the nation, are spoiled because of drugs. It
is very rampant. The percentage of students who are not taking drugs is lesser than those
who are taking. But we are unaware. After 10- 15 years or so, we will come to know that
everyone is into drugs. I think it has happened in America too. Almost every teenager has
gotten addicted and then they were taken to the rehabilitation centres, etc. So, this is it. To
experience beyond the mundane life, one stumbles on to chemicals. Now, what do they get
from the chemicals? What is the solution?
We want it to be prohibited and more strict laws to be made against it. But just think about
the fact that today if we look back, we know that it has always been prohibited but at the
same time it has always been available. Now, if we talk about the most developed country
like America where there are strict laws against the selling and consumption of drugs yet
12

there thousands of people in prisons for drug-abuse. It is far easier there than in India. Even
in such developed countries it is far easier to get drugs. Though these counties have better
laws, better police, less corruption but still drugs are available openly. So, prohibition is not
working for sure. Just accept this fact. And we are always up for the same solution that let
the laws be stricter. Of course it should be done but I am telling you that it wont work. Then
what should we do? We have to first find out why are they turning towards drugs in the first
place? It is because life is dull and dead. That is why I began with telling that this life is really
frustrating. I gave the reason before coming to the consequence. The lifestyle that the
people are living, drug abuse is a by-product of that lifestyle. Isnt it? What does one get
from drugs? I am not the most authentic speaker to talk about it as I have never smoked; I
have never tasted alcohol, leave aside drugs. But still for the sake of people I love, I need to
speak about this. To my knowledge, drugs give a kind of pleasure, it loosens up the mind,
one feels utterly relaxed in the present moment, and one can enjoy that moment to the
fullest. The experience they get out of drugs should be given to them without an external
aid called drugs. My people who are connected, who came here without addiction, after
joining me they never thought of addiction, they never thought of having any such things,
they never needed it. It didnt even remotely cross their minds that they should try. People
who are deeply connected to this lifestyle never even think of it. They dont need it because
without any chemical they experience bliss. Without any chemical they feel high. In fact,
when you feel high through a chemical, you fall back with a bang also, which doesnt happen
with the lifestyle we live without alcohol. When you get high the spiritual way, you dont fall
back with a bang. First of all, it is subtle; it grows gradually in a spiritual way. The bliss and
the peace grow gradually and in a subtle way but stays with you. After a spiritual
experience, you are a transformed person. You are not the same. You have earned
something which belongs to you now. However when you get high through a drug or a
chemical, you simply fall down and just after that short-lived pleasure of half an hour or one
hour, there comes a hangover. Hangover is the low that you experience after the high. You
experience an ugly feeling during the hangover. On the other hand, when you experience a
high because of meditation, celebration, creativity when you feel high the spiritual way
there is no hangover. Only levels of bliss and peace are there. You are a transformed person,
you are a changed person. Of course, you are a changed person after taking the chemicals
too but the change is for the worse. In spiritual way, you are transformed for the better.
After the chemical experience, you become worse. Even the normal state of peace, I am not
talking about deep spiritual peace, even ordinary moments of peace become impossible for
a person taking drugs. Your state of mind or your state of being is not even as peaceful as
that of normal people. You are more frustrated than a normal person, a non-spiritual person
for that matter. The comparison isnt with spiritual people, I am talking about the people
who did not choose to rebel, who chose not to be experimental, you fall even below them
now. They are happier than you. A normal non-spiritual person is happier than those who
chose the chemical experience because they become slaves, now they need it, and if they
dont get it, they dont know any other way to feel the high, to get in that good mood. They
13

are always in a bad mood if they are not with the chemical. If they are not under the
influence of the chemical, they are frustrated, depressed, they are not happy at all.
First of all my point is, life is really frustrated. So this will go on and many people would opt
for drugs and chemicals. If an alternate lifestyle isnt given to them, they will keep choosing
drugs. More and more people would keep on joining the gang. So a new way of life has to
be introduced to them. That is why I have been repeatedly trying to help you understand
that this new way of living is very much needed - a life full of meditation, a life full of
celebration, a life full of creativity, a life full of love, a life full of wisdom. We badly need this
because nobody, as I said before, is ready to live the horrible life. If people are choosing the
pattern given by the society to live, they cannot be happy. They dont want it but they have
no other option. But, those who jumped out, they fell even for the worse. So this must be
spread. The new lifestyle with meditation, celebration, creativity, love must be spread. It is
badly needed. Drugs deteriorate the body. Theyre harmful for the body, whereas in
spiritual way of living, body becomes healthier and healthier. Psychologically, drugs make
your judgment impaired. It means your control over your mind diminishes. You are simply
your mood. You have no judgment of right or wrong, your mind does not work that way.
The mind only craves, so much so that it does not think about right and wrong. The quality
of the mind deteriorates. Its sharpness decreases. The memory weakens. The capacities of
the mind weaken. In fact, now the mind needs the medicine or a chemical to work. When do
you need a medicine? For example, if you are unable to walk then you are prescribed a
medicine. That means your body is not healthy. The drug addict needs a medicine for his
mood too. It implies that he is psychologically weak. On the other hand, for a spiritual
person, who is meditating, who is walking on the spiritual path, his life balances
automatically. He becomes the master of his moods. He is not attached with his mood. He
doesnt stick to his mind and thoughts. He can watch his thoughts. He is not empowered by
his thoughts. Therefore, emotional intelligence is a natural by-product of walking the
spiritual path. Your life is full of meditation; your life is full of wisdom so you are
automatically emotionally intelligent. What it means is that your emotions or impulses are
not overpowering you. You still have the willpower to go against your impulses. In case of
drugs, you see there is no willpower at all. I would say that the first thing these chemicals kill
is your willpower. And without the willpower, there is no life. If your life is beautiful, to
some extent its beautiful to the extent of your will power. Somehow, to some degree,
everyone has willpower and that is the thing which makes your life. If you dont have this
willpower, you wont even leave your bed, you would keep sleeping. But there is a
willpower that you have to go to work, so you rise. But in case of drugs, willpower gradually
disappears. So you are a slave of your moods and impulses. You would do what your
impulse says. You would do what your mood says. You wont even feel like leaving your bed.
There is no willpower. Thats why the drug addicts agree to the fact to the counsellor but
they are unable to do. Even if they are convinced to do something right, they have no
willpower left to implement the right because they are the slaves of their impulses and
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cravings. This happens. The fact is that they started taking drugs for a better life and a
momentary experience is given to them which is perceived to be better than the mundane
life but afterwards there whole life is worse than the ordinary life, worse than the normal
lives. It happens.
Chemicals bring hallucinations. The experiences are not real. It is a hallucination, a dream
created by some chemical, whereas in spirituality you encounter the reality. In meditation,
you encounter and realise your reality. Yes, it is comparatively difficult to meditate. Only
comparatively, otherwise meditation is not difficult. Taking a drug is definitely cheaper. Just
sniff, smoke, drink or inject something and in just a matter of fifteen seconds comes
pleasure, bliss and peace. It is easy. As for meditation it is just something people dont do.
I have never seen people taking drugs alone. They always have a group. But it is very difficult
to find company for meditation and then you have to practice regularly for at least half an
hour daily. Then gradually you will see the changes coming and the change or the bliss or
the peace is subtle because it is real. And not only subtle, it settles too in you but you wont
recognise easily. That is why I always ask you that if you want to see your growth, just look
yourself as you were six months ago and then you will be able to see the apparent or the
obvious difference in you. But if I ask you to see the difference in two days then maybe you
miss out because it is so subtle. With drugs, you get a sudden experience. You become a
different person the minute you have drugs. So people choose the cheap and easier way but
I am telling you that experience is a hallucination. That experience later on brings out
frustration. You call it hang over; you say you are not in good mood. You are constantly in a
bad mood except for the period when youre under the influence. Moreover, the body
deteriorates. Psychologically too you are finished. When I said you are a different person, I
am talking about both the spiritual path and the drug path also. In both the cases you are
altogether a different person. When addicted to drugs, you are not the same as you were.
There was a time when you had ethics in life. There was a time when you were honest in
life. There was a time when you were truthful. There was a time when you had the courage
but now you have only one thing in life. You live for that and you die for that and you know
what that thing is? Addiction. You live for addiction alone. Now you can do anything when
there is a craving. You become different person. You are not who you are. You are a
different person at that moment. You can even steal whereas in a normal state you cant
even think or imagine stealing. To satisfy your craving you can end up doing anything in life.
I have known girls who never allowed anyone to touch them, but once addicted, they dont
bother who is touching. The only thing matters is who is providing them the material. That
matters. Thats it. Even if your mother is dying and she wants to hold your hand for the last
minutes of her life but you dont care, you end up going to the washroom to satisfy your
craving to sniff your stuff. You are no more. Addiction brings out the worst in you. There is
no limit because you are actually not there, only craving persists. The craving needs the
money and drugs. The medium to get that doesnt matter. Either it is stolen from your
sister, mother or your father or it is about stealing your own home stuff doesnt matter. You
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just need money to buy the stuff. You do not agree with your stealing. You have that
philosophical belief and the understanding that stealing and deceiving your own parents is
wrong. You will continuously live in guilt too but you cannot do anything about it because at
that very moment when the craving is there, you are simply helpless. On the other hand, if I
talk about spirituality, what do we attain? We attain the real freedom, freedom from the
mind. You are independent. You dont even need the other for your pleasure. You are happy
in your aloneness too. You are so satisfied and contented. In spirituality, day by day, you
start becoming the master of yourself. What can be higher and bigger than being a master
of your own self? You are the master of your moods, you are the master of your impulses,
and you are the master of your cravings. You have a balanced life. You have the will power.
You have a sound judgment which tells you what is to be done and what is not to be done.
You have peace in life. You dance, you create something, you create a piece of music and
you enjoy like anything. You have beautiful relationships. You cannot have more beautiful
relationships other than on the spiritual path and just see the contrast when someone is
addicted to drugs, he has all ugly relationships. First of all, there is only one love, nothing
else matters and that one love is drugs. Even very close people, parents, brothers and sisters
are also living in that hell because of that person. They feel helpless and are unable to help
him. No one can be helped if they dont want to help themselves. If you are ready to help
yourself, I can be of help but in the case of drugs, you are not capable of helping yourself.
You are actually no more, only the craving is there. So, who will decide, who will help? You
are a dead man walking. Who will help you?
So, try to understand that addiction is a curse. Spirituality is freedom. Moksha means the
ultimate liberation. If Moksha is the ultimate freedom, then addiction is the ultimate
imprisonment. They are the polar opposites. In spirituality, one starts rising above ones
thoughts. In drug abuse, one falls below their mental level. Now the worst thing is that with
drugs, one deteriorates his capacity to meditate. In meditation, we rise above our mind. In
drugs we fall below our mind. It is not only a matter of mind but also a matter of feelings
and emotions. A drug addict is just concerned about fetching the drug, be it from anywhere.
So, you are finished. Your freedom ends. The most beautiful and valuable thing in life is
freedom and the worst punishment in life is imprisonment or slavery. Every drug addict is a
slave. At least the people who are in the middle path are not as much slaves as the drug
addicts. Thus, drugs kill the capacity to meditate, to be spiritual. That is why spirituality has
condemned drugs since ages because after addiction, even spirituality is not a help. You
cannot walk on that path. How can you meditate with a specific craving in your mind?
Addiction means your body; your blood is in the need of something. What would you do?
Therefore, physically, drugs are fatal and harmful and with meditation one gains health.
Psychologically, drugs weaken the mind, whereas spirituality strengthens the capacity to use
your mind the way you want. Spiritually, drugs not only kill your soul but also end the
possibility of the spirit within. One becomes soul less and boneless. In spirituality, you
16

cultivate your spirit. You are a man of spirit, you are soulful. So this is the comparison. You
have to choose the higher. You have to tell others to choose the higher.
Let me tell you that once one is addicted, even spirituality cannot help. Medical science
might be able to, but not spirituality. Going to the doctors, counsellors, the rehabilitation
centres would help a drug addict. Of course, spirituality is a protective therapy. If you are on
this path, you would not indulge in these things. You are already blissful. I dont think
anybody else has created so many new techniques. Since last ten years, I have been
introducing new techniques every Mahotsav. So, everything is happening here. Every time,
we dance a new way. Every time we dance, we enjoy. We sing, we enjoy. Each one of us
enjoys. So we are really fortunate for having this beautiful path where we are living life
beyond that mundane way of living, where we are experiencing life beyond that ordinary
life and we are full of peace. We are the masters of our moods. We are celebrants. We know
how to enjoy aloneness. We dont feel lonely. We feel blissful even if we are not doing
anything and we enjoy togetherness as well.
We are creative people. We live out of
the box, we are always new. So we all have a fortune and I want this fortune for all. I want a
blissful life for all. I want a peaceful life for all. I want this Godly way of living for all.
Click here to watch this recorded talk on YouTube.

17

My Choice
Godly morning to you all!
In a garden with the same quality of soil, two seeds of the same kind were sown. They both
sprouted in due course of time. Both seeds started with their respective journeys of life.
Their journey of life will be similar to the other's isn't necessary - even if they meet similar
opportunities and had similar capacities. In the same garden, some seeds sprout and some
don't even reach that far. Some sprouts move on to become plants; some die before they
grow into plants. Some plants grow into trees and some plants die as plants. Some trees
bear fruit but some trees do not bear fruit and withers away without bearing fruit. Some
trees grow up to bear flowers and spread fragrance. Fragrance must have risen in the tree;
that is why the tree is able to spread it. Flowering must have taken place; that is why the
tree bore flowers. The most beautiful moments in the life of a seed are when its flowers
bloom and spread their fragrance. If you look at a flower and a seed; there is no comparison
between the two. The flower is matchless. But the seed is a journey and the flower is its
destination. When two seeds with the same potential are given the same environment to
grow, it is not necessary that their journeys will be the same. There could be a garden where
the seed would to grow into a plant - and the plant turns out to be limp, lifeless, dry. A plant
that has no hope of bearing any flowers. There are gardens like that. That is why gardeners
and manicures are required to take care of the garden.
Imagine two seeds which were sown at the same time and are growing up together. One of
them is steadily turning into a healthy plant and the other is dying slowly. It is possible that
when they were just sprouts, one of them was quiet and calm in nature and the other was
naughty. The latter did silly stuff, looked here and there, and had a lot of fun. The calm
sprout thought that the other sprout had a life full of fun. The naughty sprout also kept
sharing stories of his euphoria and adventure to the calm one. It kept encouraging the calm
one to follow its example and live life to the fullest. There were moments when the naughty
sprout looked like he was in the seventh heaven - singing, dancing, laughing and carefree. As
if it was enjoying life to the fullest. I remember a story. It's about dogs. A dog calls the other,
and the other dog doesn't answer the phone. He calls again and there is still no response.
He tries one more time. This time the other dog answers, "Tony here." The first dog asks the
other why he hasn't been answering the phone. The second dog replies that he is busy living
and enjoying my life.
First dog, "wow dude! What's up?"
Second dog, "you won't imagine - I am chewing a bone. I'm living my life to the fullest!!!"
There is a long sigh from the first dog and then they hang up.
The first dog felt like Alas! Wish I could enjoy life like my brother is.
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You know what the brother is enjoying? His own blood!!! He is just chewing a dry bone and
blood comes out of his own gums. He thinks there's something coming out of the bone - and
hence declares that he's enjoying life.
So this is it. Hurting your own jaws and making them bleed, and then thinking that the bone
is giving out blood. Coming back to the sprouts - possibly the naughty sprout looks euphoric
and the calm one might want try to adapt to its lifestyle. Or the calm one can think deeply
and focus on strengthening itself. It takes nutrition and water from the earth and grows. Its
leaves will turn out to be greener; its growth will be more evident. The naughty one starts to
wilt slowly and gradually. It looks desperate all the time - there are only a few moments of
peace but mostly its restless. The calm sprout grows into a plant and continues on its
journey towards a tree but the other remains a plant and keeps wilting away. The calm plant
also sings and dances with the sway of the wind and is becoming healthier and more
beautiful. It is more immune and strong. The other plant looks ugly and ill, it has lost its
euphoria. There's no growth for it. By the time the calm plant became a mighty tree and
bore flowers, the naughty one had died. The calm one bore many flowers and spread its
fragrance - it because home to many birds. People rested in its shade. It's life because a
celebration. The other plant could not even become a tree - even though it had the same
potential. It was just a matter of the choices it made. Life is all about choices. When God
made man (manushya), man was given a mind (mann). Mind means freedom - the freedom
to choose. That is why human being is the only creature who is free to choose. Below
human, only nature works. A dog cannot be a lesser dog or a higher dog. A dog is a dog. It
will grow naturally. There's only evolution, no revolution. Evolution is a very slow process. It
happens because of nature, no credit goes to the dog. But human beings have the freedom
to choose. What do we choose?
So far we have chosen a lifestyle that is dull and dead. It's is full of tension, frustration,
insecurity, jealousy, greed, enmity, diplomacy. There is no brotherhood, no laughter, no
celebration, no peace. Just an ambition to keep running the rat race. Life is more about
showing off and less about living. This dull and dead life is so empty and meaningless that
nobody wants to live it. Nobody wants to continue this way. Most people continue living the
mundane ordinary way and get nothing out of it. Look around yourself and contemplate
what people are living and how they feel about it. You will realise that life is nothing but
turmoil - so much noise and turbulence with no significance. It's a mad, blind rat race - it's
like dead people are walking. There's no flowering, no bliss, no songs, no ecstasy. So this
ordinary and mundane life has been chosen by human beings for ages. Life is so frustrating
that men start groping in darkness to find some resort, to be able to jump out of it. They
must choose the new way of living. They must add meditation in their lives. They must add
celebration in their live. They must be creative. They should do something non economical.
They should give time to their hobbies. They should have the wisdom to understand what
they are living and what they should live. Unless they choose the right thing, either they will
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keep on walking towards the wrong choice which they have been doing already or they will
stumble upon to something worse. That worse is Drugs, addiction. Addiction is a dangerous
thing. It makes the person a slave. Spirituality is the highest thing because it makes the
person free, it liberates. That is why it is called Moksha which means the ultimate liberation.
Addiction makes the person a slave. Addiction brings craving. You know craving. Craving is
synonymous for misery. Think about it. When you're craving for something, you are
unhappy because you badly need the thing you are craving. You will be ready to do
anything. You will put aside your wisdom, you will put aside your will power, you will put
aside your own self, you will put aside your resolution. When you're craving you just need
the craving to be fulfilled, nothing else matters. So when there is craving, you are no more.
When there is addiction, there will be craving. When there is craving, there is misery. When
you crave, you cannot choose any more, you cannot decide. Craving will choose. Craving has
no mind. Craving has no wisdom. The situation will be similar to you riding a chariot run by
mad horses running after a mare that doesn't exist. Sooner or later you will fall into the
abyss and destroy your life.
The plant that claimed to be enjoying its life wasn't actually enjoying it. It was destroying its
life. It might have told the other plant, "Dude, I'm cool" but it's a dead body that is cold.
Only a dead body should ideally say I'm cool. How can you keep declaring yourself cool?
Only dead bodies are cold. Ridiculous. You should say I'm hot - nobody believes it, I know :)
So think about it. A short-lived pleasure through some chemical puts your potential in
threat. If you get addicted (and sooner or later you will get addicted) - I haven't seen a single
person who claims to be addicted. Everyone says I'm just taking it but am not addicted. Who
the hell is addicted then? Those who are not taking it? So everyone keeps saying they are
not addicted until they reach a point where they can't even utter the words - I'm addicted.
Until it is evident and apparent to everyone, they don't admit even to themselves that
they're addicted. They keep saying they can quit whenever they want. They might even brag
about quitting it for 3 days in a row!!! It's like someone pledging celibacy 7 times. Of course
it is possible that you are really not addicted because even addicted takes time to get to
you. It doesn't happen overnight, or by doing it once, twice, thrice. Before addiction comes
habits. It may be habitual. The first step is becoming habitual of something. Then that habit
becomes addiction. So I agree there may be case where people are really not addicted, but
if they don't stop and if they don't stop believing they're not addicted - they will become
addicted. When you feel the need to declare you're not addicted, simply drop the habit
before addiction takes hold of you. Anyway, as far as drugs are concerned I would say
prevention is the best cure. From the very beginning, understand the whole process and
stay away from it that is the best way to go. Understand the reasons people start taking
drugs. One of the reasons is that life is dead and dull. Focus on finding positive experiences
which are beyond the mundane. Start laughing again; cultivate your sense of humour. Start
meditating to find peace and bliss. Rise above your mind; watch your thoughts; and see how
your life is balanced how you have emotional intelligence to deal with cravings and
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impulses. Make your life a carnival celebrate! Im telling you, no chemical is needed for
celebration. If you can breathe without ventilator, you can dance without alcohol. So just
celebrate. Make life beautiful. Love people. Enjoy togetherness. And you can enjoy
togetherness if you can enjoy aloneness. Aloneness means when you are not miserable
when youre lonely; your loneliness is blissful. Meditation, celebration, creativity, love,
wisdom these will make life beyond ordinary. Life will flower. So choose this. Dont choose
addictions. So the thing is prevention is better than cute. The journey usually begins with
smoking and drinking. Nobody starts smoking and drinking to get addicted. Nobody! No one
wants to get addicted. They start just like that, or perhaps to look cool, or when they were
with a group of people they felt left out. They started in order to fit in. But why do you want
to be one of those? This is very important to understand. When were young, when we want
to become friends with someone, we try to become like them. Now tell me, what if you are
given admission in a college where all other students are dogs and youre the only human,
will you start walking on all fours? Will you start barking? Will you start eating straight with
your tongue just so that you could fit in?
My point is if a group of people is doing something, it doesnt mean what theyre doing is
better. It doesnt mean theyre doing the right thing because theyre a majority. There is no
democracy involved here. On the contrary, what the masses are doing is most likely wrong.
Look around yourself. We are told democracy is the way to form governments. But dont
you see the hell it brings? Every Tom, Dick, Harry has the right to vote even if they have no
intelligence, understanding and maturity. And you know what politicians do? They just
follow the mob. What do you think is the percentage of people in the society who are
actually mature and intelligent? How many people can really change the world for the
better? And whats the percentage need to form a government? Do you see governments
are made by dumb people only. The percentage of people who are really intelligent,
progressive and mature is only very meagre. So in order to make a government, one will
have to reach out to the mob. And a mob is a mob. Every new thought has been brought by
an individual, not by the mob. The mob is always against new ideas and practices. When the
Sati practice was demolished, the mob would have been against it. When widow
remarriages were allowed, the mob would have been against it too. Its always an individual
who brings about change; sometimes even at the cost of his life. Even in this era and despite
so much progress, Khap Panchayats exist. These people decide on the destiny of the others
basis their caste. Someone was joking about America having legalized gay marriages and
when will India follow suit? The other responded, forget gay marriages. It will take a while
before Indians let their kids marry the person of the opposite gender as per their choice.
People who will not share your marital bed will decide who you should marry. People who
dont have to spend their lives with you will decide who you should marry. People who do
not know the meaning of the word compatibility decide who you should marry. People who
judge a household basis whether theres fruit in the refrigerator decide who you should
marry. So why dont you understand, if you feel left out it might be because you have higher
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understanding, you are wiser. The more mature you become, the less you will want to be
part of a crowd. As you mature, you will find only a very few people whose company you
really enjoy. As you mature, your social circle will become smaller. The attitude of
friendliness will grow. You will be loving towards all. You will be compassionate towards all.
You will be helpful towards all. But the number of people you would like to spend your
leisure time with will go down. It becomes very difficult to find people with the same level of
maturity and wavelength. That is why Sanghas are needed, for like-minded people. So when
you talk about peer pressure I agree there is one pressure that you cant bear for long
but peer pressure is basically just a story your mind creates. What is peer pressure? Peer
pressure is when you take it. Nobody literally sits on your head and pressurizes you. Peer
pressure is actually just the pressure of your own stupidity. The peer pressure excuse isnt
valid. You had misunderstood that the other people are enjoying life and theyre cool and
youre not cool enough. This is nothing but lack of trust towards your own intelligence. I
know people who are living in such groups where people are addicted but they still dont
indulge is such things. These people are the hottest, I know. Neither they drink, nor they
smoke let alone drugs.
If you dont indulge in these things despite being around people who do, it doesnt make
you dull or dumb. Chances are that the case is exactly the opposite. Respect yourself. And
the best thing to do is dont begin it if you havent already. In my understanding, the
journey begins with smoking; you might be tempted to taste at least once. OK! Taste it.
Done with it? Now move on. I think most of you have at least tasted it once. I remember
when I was 5 years old; I picked up my dads bidi and took a drag. So Im done with it now.
Rasmalai tastes much better! So if youve tasted once, its ok. Dont begin it. Dont spoil your
life. Im telling you, you might become cool but cool in the sense of a corpse. No warmth
in life. Prevention is the best cure. And you have a choice. Im not talking about the people
who are not here. You have a choice. You can meditate, you can celebrate, you can be
creative and you have a platform for creativity, celebration, meditation, love,
brotherhood. This is prevention. Your prevention isnt even negative that we are not doing
it. Your prevention is positive we are not doing it because we are choosing the higher, the
better.
Now for those who are already addicted first of all if theyre not addicted they should quit
it and they should start giving importance to this lifestyle. But for those who are addicted,
Im telling you spirituality isnt a cure. Spirituality can be just a complementary thing that
can be added with medical support. If one is addicted, medical support is the best way out.
They are specialized. They will cut the chemical with the help of other chemicals. Theyll give
you medicines. They know which medicine is to be given and when. They understand you
better than you. There are psychiatrists and counselors who will talk to you and ask you
about everything starting from your lifestyle to your family and how much time you spend
in the office, etc. After that they will prescribe medicines. So nothing is more helpful that
22

medical support in order to get rid of the addiction. Dont hesitate just seek medical help.
When addiction becomes apparent, all the bliss, euphoria, ecstasy vanish. One feels more
frustrated and lifeless than ever. So a person who is addicted also wants a way out of the
addiction. But you cant help yourself even if you want to. Thats because when craving
comes, you are no more. Who will help you if you are no more there? So it is better to get
help from professionals and get out of it.
So my point is human being is like a seed which has the potential to grow into a tree and
bloom. That is the meaning of the whole human journey. Human being is a journey from
animal instincts to Godliness. Till the time a human being doesnt walk this path, his life will
remain dissatisfied. He might go astray and take the wrong path in the hope to find
satisfaction.
Choose the right path. Make your life beautiful. Make your potential flower. Meditate,
celebrate, be creative and make life really worth living.
Click here to watch this recorded talk on YouTube.

23

Spiritual experience
There is a question relating to intoxication. Do drugs give spiritual experiences?
First understand spirituality. What does spirituality search for? What do spiritual people
seek? We are not seeking experiences. Spirituality, real spirituality, essential, true
spirituality is not about experiences. Here we are not seeking experiences. No experience is
spiritual. Spirituality is to find the one who is experiencing everything. We are not looking
for an experience but for the one to whom the experience happens. Experience comes and
goes but the one who experiences it, remains. The watcher, the witness, the pure
consciousness which is detached from the experience, the knower. To find that knower is
spirituality. The real spiritual experience is not an experience at all. But because language
has its limitations, such words have to be used. It is not that Buddha experienced God or
Nanak experienced God. There is no one separate to experience something. God is our inner
most core, the one who is searching is the sought. One is searching oneself. So, you can see
me, you can experience me but how can you experience yourself? Who will experience?
There are no two entities. To experience something two entities are needed, the subject
that experiences and the object that is being experienced. Like, you can watch your
thoughts, you can have a vision and you can see colours. Then, there is this subject who is
watching and this object who is being watched. So there is a watcher and the watched. They
are two. This is not the ultimate spiritual incident. All experiences are of the mind, all!
Whether they have emerged because of a chemical, drugs, alcohol or some yogic kriya etc.
Both are non-spiritual. Yes, you can say when you are on the path of drugs, the experiences
are induced by drugs and when youre on the spiritual path and do some yogic kriya or
pranayama, you might experience colour, vision or energy. Hallucinations or something like
that might happen. We can term them as spiritual experiences: I saw this, I saw that, this
happened to me, that happened to me. So, you can say they are spiritual experiences
because they happened while you were walking the spiritual path. But Im telling you all
these experiences belong to the mind. They are all from the mind. They are your own
projections, or something hidden deeper in the mind. So when you enter a little deep, the
mind reveals what is lying under its layers. You might have some experiences, but again, in
these experiences there are two entities.
Prem gali ati saakri, tame do na samaye,
jab main tha tab hari nahi, jab hari tab main naahi.
If you are not there, who will experience? When you go back to yourself; to the ultimate
core of your being then there will be no one to experience anything. It is not even the same
as witnessing, because witnessing feels like Im witnessing something else so Im also
knowing that Im witnessing. In the beginning, it is alright. But when it really happens; you
24

dont even notice, you dont even say that Im witnessing. In that very sheer consciousness
you dont even say that Im witnessing, you dont even feel that Im witnessing. You are no
more. It is utter silence. Like when you meditate, if your mind starts telling you that it is
experiencing something. Just ask your mind to shut up and disappear totally. Utter silence, a
silence where everything disappears along with words. There is nothing, nothing at all.
Where will the experiences come from and who will experience them? There are no two
entities. There is no one. When there is no one, we say theres God. When there is no one
and when youre no more, then what remains is God or the spiritual state. That is what we
call a true spiritual experience. I am calling it an experience for the lack of words in the
language. But it is not an experience, who will experience? There is no one to experience. It
is not difficult. If you really understand it, you can simply drop yourself right this moment
and feel it. Dont try to analyse, dont try to understand, dont judge, dont justify or dont
criticize, simply drop yourself as if youre no more. Just feel that youre dead, youre no
more. What remains? Utter silence. If theres a ripple of thought like yeah, I can feel it
then its not that. It is the mind. I met a few people who were practicing witnessing. They
had questions like, if Im witnessing then there is someone else also witnessing, me
witnessing and Im also thinking whatever it is it is nothing! It is just mind its playing
games. Youre so entangled with the mind, you cant detach yourself from the mind. So the
mind simply starts discussing something that you would not deny. During meditation if your
mind brings up a movie or a business matter, you would like to drop these thoughts. So the
mind starts thinking about meditation: I must watch my thoughts, I must concentrate, or no
concentration is not mediation, or I must drop myself. You will not drop these thoughts
because these are spiritual. Thoughts are thoughts, spiritual or non-spiritual. Thoughts are
always non-spiritual. Even spiritual thoughts are non-spiritual. They are just thoughts in the
name spirituality. Same way, no experience is spiritual whether it comes from spiritual
practices or intoxication. So the goal is going beyond experiences and reaching a state
where we not looking for experiences. That is why when you get this knack using meditation
techniques, which I call tricks, you suddenly jump out of the mind. No mind, no attachment,
youre no more. No personality. Nothing, just an is-ness but nobody is feeling that. Utter
silence. Nothing to judge, nothing to achieve, nothing doing. Youre no more, youre
finished. Not a question of experience at all. Always remember, God is ever-present,
experiences are not always present; they come and go. Whatever comes and goes is not a
spiritual experience and of course no experience is a spiritual experience. Of course when
you are on the path, there might be some experiences which will make you feel youre
making progress. Like when if you have to go from Delhi to Chandigarh, you will see
milestones and that is ok. But they are just there to show that you are on the right track.
Remember this was just an example. Dont take it literally because no fixed experience tells
you whether youre on the path or youve gone awry. No experience determines that.
Because in a moment youre here, another moment youre there. Everything changes. So
my point is experiences are not important. Who is, what is life, what is consciousness that
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experiences all, what is that? You will have to look back. Youre watching the breath, who is
watching the breath? That is more important.
So, try to understand that there are experiences which give short-lived pleasures; there are
experiences, short term experiences which give ego satisfaction, which is also a kind of
pleasure. Like, you like cheese burst pizza, a short lived pleasure. When your taste buds
taste it you like it, a short lived pleasure, an experience. But processed cheese with those
many calories for a person whose lifestyle is so modern that he doesnt even breathe
regularly; and is constantly looking for a machine that can breathe for him instead? Im
simply saying the lifestyle we are living is so lethargic where we dont do anything. There is
hardly any physical activity and we live for short term pleasures. What will happen? This
short lived pleasure is wasteful? No! You can taste it once in a while, but if you make it a
regular diet what will happen to you? You wont like that to happen to you, right? So, short
lived pleasures are ego pleasures. Ego pleasure comes from things you do that you would
tell others about. When I started my programs, I used to conduct Dasam Dwar meditation
technique. People came to me and told me about their experiences. Someone said I saw
Kirshna, someone saw Osho. Those who had visions gave an inferiority complex to those
who didnt. People had an intense desire to be able to have visions like the others. The
other person saw a lotus flower; I must at least see a cauliflower that is how people
thought. People who had visions are the same people who kept day dreaming and could
never move on from their past thats why they created imaginary visions too. I discourage
such people. I dont give weightage to their experience and they get really offended as if
they have been insulted. Its such a big thing to see Krishna, how can it be ignored?! People
think Krishna darshan is such a big deal that they can declare themselves a saint. I know
people who declare themselves as saints because they experienced someone, this is
hallucination! If someone worships a deity 24 hours in a day and reads about visions and
experiences the odds are they will have visions too. Who would want to experience and
meet god before he dies? The mind consoles you by giving you experiences and visions. So
the inner projector will project and console you. Tell me, Hindus see Shiva but I have various
Muslims too doing Dasam Dwar. They never said they saw Shiva in their visions. Now, think
if people are meditating in remote villages of Africa, they will also have experiences, but do
you think they will experience your Shera vali Mata? These are just projections of the mind.
How can these deities come in real? Krishna is gone. If youre seeing them in real, it is a
hallucination because it is not about Krishna but krishnatva. Meera ultimately stopped
talking to Krishna, right? Left the idol and started singing payo ji maine raam ratam dhan
paayo
We dont want Krishna, we want godliness where Krishna disappears and krishnatva is
there. That is beyond experience. If you are hankering for experience, you are trapped in an
ego game. There is nothing spiritual about it. That is why I dont admire experiences
because the real thing is your level of consciousness. iI that growing? The detachment from
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the mind, is that growing? That matters. And that is the utmost thing. What happens on the
way, what you saw while going to Chandigarh, whether you saw Jhilmil dhaba or Zamindar
dhaba or none of them, it doesnt matter because it depends upon your hunger. If youre
hungry, if youre thirsty, you will find it everywhere. Otherwise who cares! If there are
projections on the way, let them be. But dont wait for them because theyre not the
criterion. Your destination is Chandigarh. Stop at the dhabas only if youre hungry. Not
because youve heard from people that parathas are a must.
So the main thing is experiences are not the target. Experiences are not what we are
seeking. If you are really attached to experiences, how would you go beyond misery because
sadness is also an experience? Trauma is also an experience. Pain is also an experience. All
these emotions from which you want to get rid of are experiences. You will have to move
beyond all experiences pleasurable and non-pleasurable alike. Dont get attached to them.
That is why on the journey, it is not necessary for everyone to have the same experiences.
Some may have no experiences at all. Experiences dont decide whether youre growing or
not.
So, my simple advice is dont look for experiences. Always try to stay a watcher, a witness.
When there will be no object to witness, you will suddenly disappear totally as a
consciousness. Nothing at all will remain. And after coming back you wont be able to
articulate what happened because it is not an experience. It is only subjective. Neither
subject nor object, nothing at all. That is why Buddha used the word shunya and Im
telling that is worth finding. No pleasure. No experience is worth sacrificing this blissful
immortal liberated ultimate state of godliness. No experience is worth sacrificing this great
state of being for. Dont hanker for experiences. Whether it comes from drugs, whether it
comes from meditation. Experience is not what we are looking for. We are on our way to
find reality, the consciousness, life that is within us, which we are, which is in immediate
forms, but one life beyond all what is. That is the ultimate liberation. That is the ultimate
freedom. That is the ultimate bliss. That is the actually worth knowing.
Click here to watch this recorded talk on YouTube.

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