Thus Spake Babaji - online Q and A, No.10

Thus Spake Babaji - online Q and A, No.10
A live online Q and A session, recorded on 5 December 2020.

In this session Shri Babaji gives guidance on the following:

0:00 Introduction from Babaji.
10:01 A story about Rama and Hanuman as heard from Babaji's Guru Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj.
21:51 How can you keep your consciousness on the Self while living in the world?
24:06 How to calm the mind in the middle of pandemic restrictions?
26:36 What is shakti?
29:09 How to overcome fear through inner surrender.
30:26 How to cope when fear wins over love.
36:14 Initiating into meditation.
39:49 Why do we watch between the eyebrows and not watch the breath in meditation?
41:39 What is happening in the mind when there is a feeling of peace and happiness when thinking of Babaji?
43:17 Meditating in a dark a room

If you are interested in joining the live online meditation classes with Babaji please visit https://www.shivarudrabalayogi.org/en/online-satsang 

Register your free place for the live online meditation and Q&A with Babaji: https://www.shivarudrabalayogi.org/en/online-satsang

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Transcript

Discourse: Thus Spake Babaji - online Q and A No. 10
You tube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbK6u0LmIlA
Recorded: 05 December 2020

Start of short discourse

   Babaji Commences with a short invocation:

   OM Shivaya Shivabalayogendraya Parabrahmanaya

   So wonderful to see you once again.  Today I am sitting in my DSM village Ashram and beautiful meditation hall. Behind me, perhaps you can see, my Guru’s idol, beautiful marble idol.  So, I am enjoying the peace and the quietness, tranquility.  That’s what we always dreamt.  When you achieve through proper meditation of remaining quiet – that’s what precisely you are trying to do; mentally you are trying to remain quiet.  Let anything happen anywhere, during meditation you practice this.  So, afterwards also, it will be helpful in such a way that mentally you are able to keep quiet, enjoy that peace and tranquility within you.  That’s what we call as “Peace Within.”  The outside world – whatever necessary that your responsibility, your care calls for, you can always attend to.  Just like while I am enjoying my peace and tranquility and Self-Awareness, I am ready to attend to your calls, whatever doubts you have, and try to inspire so that you also practice in the same way, achieving the same thing that I have achieved.  That would be possible for you!  Every time that you get a chance to sit with me, just you need to understand the technique.  Technique means what are you supposed to do when you sit and close the eyes.  You are supposed to keep quiet.  Suddenly if I give this statement, so this may appear weird and “Is that all, I am supposed to keep quiet?”  Try mentally, mentally, physically you might become a little bit successful; mentally you try to remain quiet, then you understand it is some exercise, it needs some efforts, some determination, some dedicated efforts, some discipline, and above all patience.  

   So, let me have a quick look at the gallery, all of you – so wonderful that you all are here by taking out your precious time.  As we talk spiritually, that time and space are simply imaginations, but in this world, time is so precious and important.  Just to be with you all to start the meditation at 5.30pm Indian time and whatever timings of your location, so I become alert and start moving at 5pm India time.  I go light my evening puja to my Lord, my Guru, Shivabalayogi, then quickly I get ready and come down at 5.15 so that 5 minutes before I am here.  So, I check with my assistants who help me to come on to the Zoom and on to the screen to be with you all.  5.20 exactly, we jump into this world without any illusion.

    Now we will go straightaway to meditation.  When you close the eyes, just do not bother for anything.  God is taking care of the world.  He is playing, He is doing nonsense things and He will bring back the sensible.  Everything will be alright.  

   Sitting in any comfortable posture, gently keep your eyes closed, and concentrate your mind and sight in-between eyebrows and just keep watching there by focusing the attention of your eyeballs.  Do not repeat any mantra or any name, nothing, and do not try to imagine about anything.  Do not open your eyes till I recite a pray and will ask you to open the eyes for thirty minutes short.  May you all be blessed.

<Thirty minutes later after completion of meditation>

   Wonderful, precisely you have been trying to keep quiet mentally, particularly.  So, that’s what everything is important.  First, the physical body – in a gentle way remaining unmoved and stationary – for that you need to be dedicated and disciplined and have faith in the Master’s instructions.  Everywhere had you have not exercised faith, you would not have learnt anything.  Even in the school also, when you went and the teacher was teaching you about A, B, C, D, anything, you took it in good faith, only then you could learn.  And afterwards you understood that is the right thing.  The same way, you need to have a faith when we instruct you.  Gently sit down, close the eyes – means it should be like a command for you – Close the eyes, without wasting even a moment.  And then, gently watch in-between eyebrows.  Just watch.  Don’t do anything else.  For that you take the help of your eyeballs and try to fix them at one place; through that just keep watching.  Eventually, you will realize that you are trying to watch yourself.  Because the mind is infinite. Because of the eyeballs for a while there is an illusion as if you are trying to see a different screen in front of you.  It is you, yourself.  That screen also is you.  A consciousness of existence that I keep talking about.  And when you keep quiet, slowly you will see that thoughts and visions all decrease.  First thoughts, millions of thoughts come, visions might come because we are agitated, we are worried.  We try to keep the whole world on our head.  “Why this is happening and why not this happening, who is God, why is God doing all these things?”  We expect that God must be doing what we want Him to do.  So, that’s human attitude that has become.  It’s God, if it is God, it’s God, if He is doing, He is doing.  Just like whatever you are thinking in your mind, can you be blamed?  Should we blame you – why are you doing all those things in your mind? You don’t want to be blamed because you do not know why it is coming in the mind.  You just say, “In my mind things are coming.  From where is it coming?  Why is it coming?” you would be wondering.  The answer is simple.  It is there because you have picked up the habit to imagine, to visualize, to think.  Well, in this world it is necessary that you imagine, you think and work, but during meditation, you practice so that when you don’t want to think you should be able to keep quiet, and when you want to think, you should be able to think.  But you go on worrying, you go on thinking – “Whom to be blamed?”  In the same way something is happening, this world.  We have to try.  If humans can become mature, learn to know their space, their time.  We have picked up the habit and that’s why we are worrying.  We need to become quiet.  

   Okay, now I will start taking some questions from you all. 

Start of Questions and Answers

Question:   Last time when You were talking, You told the story about Lord Rama and Hanumanji.  And Rama was giving some teaching to Hanuman, and I had never heard that story before and I was wondering if You could tell it again in a longer form and tell that advice that Rama gave to Hanuman again.  I did not understand it.  

10.40

Babaji Maharaj:   Ah, was it the story of Lord Hanuman and Lord Rama’s fight?  That might be story.  That is the familiar thing which my Master told me many times, maybe a hundred times, just to make the things about bhakti marga, devotional path.  Faith, how faith can work wonders, and how faith is very much necessary.  Another point also, Swamiji tried to teach, perhaps was – whatever the Guru tests, you must not lose faith.  Like, sometimes Swamiji would have scolded me for long time. He scolded me means, not gently one time.  It would have been tough and piercing, cold type.  And then He would talk again, “Now I have scolded you so strongly, you must be thinking of running away from me.  Idiot, look at Hanuman and Rama.  Rama planned to kill Hanuman, but even then, Hanuman did not give up repeating Lord Rama’s name.  Do you understand what it means?”  I would be just bewildered watching Him, and then He would tell this story.  Listen to this – “Once there was a conference among all the angels.  In that Sages Vishwamitra, Vasishta, they were all there, and that was the time when Lord Rama had come back to Ayodhya after killing demon-king Ravana, and rescuing His wife who was kidnapped by him. So, He brought and after the victorious thing..Rama was not interested in another’s kingdom, another’s place, or another’s land.  So, after killing Ravana, He made Ravana’s younger brother as the king of that kingdom and then came back to his own kingdom, Ayodhya.  He was ruling there.  So, He had lot of other kings under Him, under His empire, who were very much devoted to Him.  So here, in the discussions, conference, the matter was – who can be, or which is more powerful – Rama’s bows and arrows through which He killed Ravana, the demon-king, or Rama’s name itself?  Which can be more powerful?  Then, Vasishta tells, Rama’s name is more powerful.  Nobody can trouble a person who takes Rama’s name, not even His bows and arrows.  Now Vishwamitra gets annoyed, irritated – “How can you tell this?  I have seen Rama since childhood.  His bows and arrows – even today if He takes them, nobody in the entire universe can face Him.  So, let us see.”  But Vasishta insists “No, a person with total faith who can chant Rama’s name, who has that faith in the name of Rama definitely can face it and it will work wonders.”  “Okay, then we will test this.”

   Vishwamitra comes down to this earth and they select a particular king who was very devoted to Rama.  Always he used to meditate a lot and chant Rama’s name, Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama.  So, then He comes to his palace (Vishwamitra).”  So, those were the days, all protocols were followed.  If a sage comes to your home, even unannounced, you are supposed to make him sit, give him proper reception, wash his feet and then enquire about his welfare, what you could do for him, all these things.  “But because the king was in meditation and chanting Rama’s name, so he could not attend to Vishwamitra’s receptive needs.  So then, Vishwamitra using this as an excuse gets annoyed.  Then he tells, straightaway he comes to Sri Rama’s court.  Sri Rama is sitting on the throne.  He tells, “O Rama there are people in your empire who are disrespectful to me.  I am going to shift my Ashram to some other empire.  You are not proper.”  Then that is the point – even Lord Rama whom we consider as an incarnation of the Divine, considered Guru as so precious and so venerable, so reverential, He comes and touches Vishwamitra’s feet. “O Venerable Sage, please do not leave our empire.  Don’t shift your monastery.  I will set right whatever wrong has happened.  Tell me what happened.  Who was that who was disrespectful to you?  Whoever it is, before sunset tomorrow, I will kill him, I will cut his head.  I promise in the name of the bows and arrows that I killed Ravana also.”  Now Vishwamitra is very satisfied, now because Rama has taken an oath, He is not going to go back.  That was guaranteed.  Once Rama uttered means, uttered – whoever it is.  “Now let us see who is that fellow who takes Rama’s name?”  Then Rama asked “Who is that?”  So Vishwamitra tells “such a king was disrespectful to me.  He did not respect me.”  So, then Vishwamitra goes satisfied; “It will happen.”  Now Sage Narada, he wanted to extend this drama of this Divine play more.  He comes to this king and tells “O king you repeat all the time Rama’s name.  What is the use?  The same Rama is going to kill you tomorrow before sunset.”  Then the king is bewildered, “My God what to do now?  What shall I do?”  “Come on there is one idea I can give you.  It is only Hanuman who can protect you.  All the twenty-four hours he will be either on a treetop on a mountain top, secluded spot he will be repeating Rama’s name.  That’s all his job.  He doesn’t have any other job at the moment.  You just go to him, surrender.  First don’t tell who is going to kill you.  Tell that your head is going to be cut and you need protection, you surrender.  Hanuman loves all Rama devotees and he will take a promise from you.”  So, this king goes to Hanuman, reaches there, surrenders – “O Hanuman, please protect me.  My head is going to be cut before sunset.” So Hanuman was in such a samadhi state bhava, immediately he promises “Come on, nobody can cut your head.  I promise in the name of Lord Rama’s name which is so dearer to me.  Nobody can cut your head.  I will protect.  Come and sit here with me.”  Then he tells, “Who is going to kill you tomorrow?  Let me know.”  Then the king says “It is your Lord Rama who is going to cut my head.”  Then Hanuman tells, “My God, you didn’t tell me.  So, now it is some Divine play.  Let us see what is going to happen.  You come and sit down here.”  He builds a fort through his tail only and he makes the king to sit down there.  Next day morning Rama sends all His army, all His brother, Shatrugna, Bharata, Lakshmana, everyone.  Everyone was driven away by Hanuman’s power.  He was a powerful warrior too.  Nobody could harm him anything.  Finally, Lord Rama Himself comes.”

   Swamiji, while talking, He used to use very funny language, not exactly in a soft-spoken way.  He used to use His own thing.  Things like murder, this that.  He never thought about what the actual meaning was.  That was the beautiful part that we enjoyed.

   Next day Rama came. “Hey, hand over that king to me.  Hanuman, I am supposed to murder him now.  I am going to murder him.”  Then Hanuman tells, “My Lord, once You give up Your physical body, Your bows and arrows are of no use to anybody.  Nobody else can use that one, but even in the coming ages like Kaliyuga and all places, Your name will always protect the devotional, pious and righteous people, so I cannot allow Rama’s name to go false or waste.  I won’t give up.  Now You do whatever You want to do.”  Then politely, Hanuman with all humility closes his eyes, folding his hands goes on chanting Rama’s name.  Then Rama is irritated, annoyed, “Now I will murder you first Hanuman and then I will murder that king also. Come on.”  Then Rama takes bows and arrows and starts shooting the arrows.  As Hanuman went on chanting Rama’s name, the story says that all the arrows became flower garlands and fell on Hanuman’s neck.  Then finally, all the angels, sages, they all came, they wanted to see the sense of bhakti, the power of bhakti.  They all pray to Lord Rama and Hanuman both, “We just wanted to test.  Forgive us.  Then You just protect the world.  We pray to You.”  Then Rama also cools down.  He blesses Hanuman.  Hanuman also surrenders.

Like this Swamiji used to tell the story and then tell “You see this is the story.  Hanuman was about to be killed by Rama, still Hanuman did not give up devotion to Rama.  So, if you have faith your Guru will have to protect you, have to bless you.”  Like that Swamiji made the faith and devotion sit, deep-rooted in our minds in those days, so many times.  Means why He repeated the story?  One thing was – I encourage people to keep asking questions even if you had asked the same question before, never mind.  If you are forgetting you can ask one more time, ten times, hundred times, so that it can penetrate the inner layers of your mind, then it must be ringing all the time.  So, like that Swamiji trained us for faith and devotion.  So, that’s why Swamiji Himself could not disturb that one, when He tested also.  Such is the power of faith that Swamiji told.  

21.55

Question:   Pranaams Babaji.  [Babaji Maharaj:   Blessings.]  So, Babaji I was wondering how if You are living in the world, how can you keep Your consciousness focused on the Self while You still have to do things in the world? 

Babaji Maharaj:   It’s by practice.  You see, if you regularly practice the meditation, then this ability comes mechanically.  And also I have told, you need to keep only a little bit of consciousness in touch with the brain so that the body is alive and you are able to do your work.  Now also, after tapas, to do all my Mission work, travelling, looking after the Ashrams, everything, I need to use only a little bit of my consciousness in touch with the brain; apply the brain.  Though we may not be very wise to this world, but somehow, I can manage a little bit.  So, in the same way, you can also manage in this world by practicing meditation.  Simply by listening or reading theories, this thing won’t come.  You will be bewildered.  You will be wondering.  Regularly you must practice the meditation in the same technique that we told – just watch in-between eyebrows, then the mind stops taking impressions.  It won’t absorb any more impressions also.  Only that much it can imagine and then it becomes quiet again.  So, you will remain unaffected by the happenings of the world.  Still, you can fulfill all responsibilities, duties, you can go on doing.  And your mind will be also accepting the results as they come.  It will remain contented, so the mind remains receded.  So, this happens by practice. And total devotion is also necessary to the Master.

Same questioner:  Thank You Babaji.

Question:   I have a question sort of, about how to calm the mind in the middle of pandemic restrictions.  It is like I’m feeling really lonely and bored.  And then my medications have been reduced and stuff and I imagine things a lot, not like delusions, I don’t believe them, but they are like fantasies, then I can’t stop thinking of all this rubbish.  I don’t want to, but I can’t stop.  When you are not meditating, how are you supposed to…

Babaji Maharaj:   Listen to this one word.  Lockdown.  When the government of the country locks down the entire country by ordering ‘for one month we go for lockdown’.  Nothing will fly, nothing will move, nothing can happen.  So, everybody has to listen.  So, you become the administrator, you become the prime minister, you become the government to your mind and order its lockdown.   You keep quiet.  You are not going to think, you are not going to worry, you are not going to go into fantasies.  ‘Enough is enough Shaolin, let’s go back home’, type of things.  So, you have to determinedly think positively and then you can do it.  That’s what it is.  So, if you practice meditation that ability comes., you can keep quiet also.  Because another thing you have to understand, simply by worrying and going into fantasies, you are not going to help yourself or anybody else.  You will be simply wasting the time.  So, that’s what is important.  When the government announces a lockdown, first you follow all the rules, thus you will be helping the government and you will also be helping so that the pandemic doesn’t spread, and others are not harmed when you lock down yourself.  So, when you lock down your mind also, you will be helping yourself and you can try to help others, when you are not confused, when you are not into fantasies, when you are into the reality.  Good, good girl, practice meditation.  

Same questioner:  Thanks.

26.40

Question:   I’d like to ask what is Shakti energy?  Lots of people talk about it.  I don’t know what it means.  

Babaji Maharaj:   Consciousness is made up of your mind or your Real Self.  It is made up of both consciousness and energy.  That energy is what is known as shakti.  Because of the presence of the energy, consciousness is able to become creative, imagine and this is what happens.  And using this energy only, consciousness is also active the more it imagines.  But only the problem arises when you lose control over yourself.  Thus, you lose control over the shakti and also the consciousness.  That is important.  Like when you are driving a car, the shakti is moving in it.  That is infinite form, but you need to have control over the car and you can control your energy.  You can control your energy if you have control over your mind.  So, the seeker is always taught to bother to control the mind by practicing meditation, thus you will be able to restrain your consciousness and also your energies.  You can conserve your energies instead of allowing it to get consumed and drained out.  So, that is important.  Use it wherever you need to go.  Like when the rocket needs to leave the earth’s atmosphere and go, it has use the thirst power on a particular angle to go out of earth’s atmosphere.  In the same way if you need to go back to your Self, and settle there peacefully, all that you have to need is that you have to keep yourself restrained – your consciousness and your energies.  Patience will help you.  Meditation will help you.  So, that is what the shakti.  So many myths are also built up and people have been given lots of theories.  Unnecessarily people bother about shakti, shakti, shakti, and they don’t bother about peace, wisdom, happiness and tranquility.  All these are also very important.  So, they go together, consciousness and energy go together.  

Same questioner:  Thank You very much.

29.15

Question:   If one is trying to go into relaxation or one is trying to meditate and fear keeps rising; if one is trying to watch the fear, trying to watch the spot between the eyes, can one also, will it also help to practice an inner surrender as well, so that if you surrender to the Lord, so that you’re not trying to face the fear on your own.  Do you know what I mean?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah.  A fear comes – if we entertain the fear then it makes us to dance to its tunes, so it makes us to worry, fearful, what will happen, if this happens, it doesn’t happen.  Then thinking this, let anything happen, we will see and surrender to the Divine.  Let it happen as per Your wishes, but please always inspire my wisdom that I don’t lose that wisdom.  Let me remain surrendered to you my Lord even if my head is going to be cut.  That’s it.  The fear loses its power.  

Question:   Pranaam Babaji.  My question is a little related to Henry’s.  Usually, any action that we do, it’s either due to fear or you have passion for what you do. And in a way we humans have been trained to be a survivor in our work, during studies and those kind of things and every platform that we have operated fear in a way wins over love easily.  It has become a habit of having fear in what you do.  So, how Babaji, You can probably advise on how to overcome fear.

Babaji Maharaj:   Fear. This fear, when you become ready to face it, and the same fear can get converted into a positive energy.  Like, as a child a fear of death occurred to me when I listened to Bhaja Govindam song. Samprapte, Sannihite kale, Nahi Nahi rakshati dukrinkarane.  When I understood this meaning – when death happens to this body nothing can come to your rescue.  Then that fear got converted into a positive energy.  I wanted to know the secret of death and overcome the effect of death if at all I am that soul.  Then I became serious about spirituality.  So, like that also if you convert every point of fear into a positive energy and start working towards overcoming that fear, then that becomes very positive for you in the same way everywhere as you were telling.  If you are working in a company, if you have a fear that if you don’t work they will remove you, you will lose your job, then you will seriously work.  If you think that nobody can remove you, nothing will happen, the government has made a rule that you cannot be removed then you become lazy.  You don’t want to work sincerely.  That’s what happens sometimes.  So, here if you have that fear, so, that will give you that energy to push yourself into achieving that.  So, that is what is needed.  That is always good also.  So, this positive energy, sometimes the word gets converted.  Like, you need to have a fear to your Master.  That doesn’t mean you consider your Master to be a ruthless person or a person with no compassion.  Not like that.  A Master will have compassion to you.  He is like a mother to you, but at the same time, a fear in the form of reverence is essential, then only you will seriously sit for meditation.  Now sitting here, though I am not physically in front of you; I cannot even slap you also.  You are at a safe distance in the photo.  But still when you have reverence you will have that fear.  If I ask you, “Close your eyes.  Sit down for meditation for next half hour all of you, 96 persons, participants, everybody”, so when you have that fear that is reverence, then you will do that work seriously.  You will close your eyes and sit down.  If nobody is watching you, every five minutes, you are like to open your eyes and just see, relax and become casual.  “Oh let me do meditation some other time.”  So, like this you have to use the fear to convert it to a positive energy so that you get into the job, try to achieve.  So, earlier what I was talking is sometimes unnecessary fear – “Oh what happens, will something happen, will I do or not?”  Such fear we don’t have to have.  So that is how the fear can be very helpful also.  You take it as a challenge and you understand that time is so precious.  Life is so short.  We have told in our teachings also.  On this earth our physical life is so short.  Every day our body is going towards death, so we cannot afford to keep quiet any more.  We need to put an effort every day.  Time is precious – every moment.  So, when I make you to sit for half an hour meditation, all that half an hour is precious.  Every moment you get involved into the thoughts and start analyzing, you are wasting that moment.  Keep quiet.  Let the thoughts come.  Keep quiet.  Let the visions come.  Keep quiet.  Then you are utilizing the time, half an hour.  So precious.  So, that’s what you see.  Another thing, the universe technology is like that – it is not going to go back, time.  It has gone forward.  Yesterday will not come back to be today.  Only tomorrow can come to be today.  So, thus, time is so precious.  Earth keeps revolving around sun – one year, two years, three years.  So, as many years as your age it has rotated now around sun, so that many years have gone in your life.  You cannot afford to waste your time.  So, that fear can get converted as a positive energy for you, inducing you, inspiring you to go and do the sadhana and achieve the things for you.  Good. 

36.20

Question:   Babaji I am from Toronto, Canada, and this is my first Zoom, live meeting.  And only I came to know Shiva Balayogi and Shiva Rudra Balayogi just four months back introduction, and I can’t wait to take Your live paada namaskaaram and Darshan.  I am from Bengaluru actually.  And really, I like You, I love You.  I don’t know, maybe in our previous life, you know lives’ connection, I don’t know, but I have been regularly watching and that has helped me to reduce my fear and anxiety.  Lot of anxiety, lot of fear – it has been helping me, one thing.  My question is to You, Babaji – can I have initiation from You to do meditation? 

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, today in the beginning, when I made you all to sit for meditation by giving an instruction that also you can consider.  Every week I initiate like this.  So, my Guru was also a very unique Master.  He initiated seekers as a friend.  Means, He never claimed Himself to be the only Guru.  Then it is up to the student; if you want to consider us as a Guru, you are welcome, and we are ready to help you, guide you, inspire you.  So, whatever today I instructed, you can consider that you have already been initiated into this meditation, and regularly practice this and whatever questions you have about meditation, you can always ask.  Almost every Saturday, I come on Zoom on these sessions at this time, so you can participate.  So, this village is near Mulbagal, between Kolar town and Mulbagal is the village where I have built an Ashram.  I am staying here.  So, sometimes I go to Bengaluru also.  So, whenever you are next in Bengaluru, you would be able to see me.  I keep coming to South often.  So, because this year we couldn’t travel outside the country, I am just staying between Dehradun in North Indian and South India in my Devaraya Samudram village in my Ashram and sometimes in J. P. Nagar.  So, thus in the meanwhile you practice meditation in the same technique that we told you.  So, next time also when we come on to the Zoom.  We have an App also.  If you can be in touch with Mr. Michael Mepsted, he will guide you to download the App.  In that, instructions to meditate as an initiation is given.  You can set a time, the time capsule is there, ten minutes, twenty minutes, one hour, like that you can set timings also, and practice.  Whatever doubts you have, you can write on the email and you can send the phone number if you have WhatsApp also; I keep sending quotes twice a week extracting from my teachings, my Guru’s teachings.  Thus, you can be in touch with us.  You can write to us also.  All my blessings to you.  Take care.

 Same questioner:  Thank You.  Thank You Babaji.

40.00

Question:   Hello, thank You for being with us today.  My question is – could You explain why we watch between the eyebrows and not specifically watch the breath? What happens if we watch the breath? 

Babaji Maharaj:   You see, mind needs to become totally silent and not remain focused on any object or subject or anything actually.  So, that’s what precisely will happen when you practice this technique.  This is one of the most ancient and highest techniques which Lord Shiva who came as a Jangama Sage, gave this technique to my Guru, Shiva Balayogi when He was fourteen years old.  And then He did that tapas using this technique for twelve long years, meditating for twenty-two hours in a stretch, remaining in samadhi.  In this technique, in the beginning you just use the eyeballs to fix your mind also at one point.  Then, eventually you will realize, when the mind becomes quiet, it is not standing on any anchor.  It is trying to become quiet on its own, and straightaway it goes introvert.  All other methods like repeating a mantra or concentrating on breath, they are like preliminary round exercises to practice single-pointedness of the mind and then you have to abandon that habit so that the mind can go introverted.  Otherwise, mind will be stuck there.  It needs to go introvert, merge with the Self, then you achieve the self-realization.  

Same questioner:  Thank You so much.  Thank You.

41.45

Question:   Pranaams Babaji.  [Babaji Maharaj:   Blessings.] Babaji, this is a question regarding locking down the mind.  I get comfort thinking of Babaji or just having Babaji in the thought most of the time.  Does that mean that at the point of time, I am imagining or it is my conscious thought?  What is really happening at that point?  I really feel comfortable when I think of Babaji or even just having Babaji in the thought is – it gives a lot of peace and happiness.

Babaji Maharaj:   If you remember, in my earlier teachings also, I have told due to imagination mind has gone out of control.  In bhakti marga, you use the same imagination and try to bring it back to single-pointedness.  So, this imagination is not an ordinary quality; it is creativity actually.  When it becomes creative and imagines a Guru, it becomes single-pointed, it starts loving that Guru’s form, and that helps the mind to become meditative, and eventually go back to Self.  Then it feels comfortable, at peace.  So, this is also in a way to lock down into one single-pointed.  You lock down your mind to the lotus feet of your Guru.  

Question:   Pranaam Babaji.  [Babaji Maharaj:   Blessings.]  When I do meditation, I don’t really like to be under this artificial light.  Since, in Asia it is already night time, so, normally I would switch off the light so it’s dark.  I like to meditate in dark situation.

Babaji Maharaj:   Okay, I understand.  Now you see, sometimes, some people may not be sincerely sitting for meditation, so as a Master, I would like to look, but however, if you are used to switching off the light, and if you sincerely think you will do better meditation by switching off the light, you can switch off the light.  No problem.  I will permit you.  

Same questioner:  Thank You.  Thank You so much.
[Babaji] Welcome.

Babaji Maharaj now concludes the session.

Now, that’s so wonderful.  I appreciate all your participation, taking out your precious time and giving me an opportunity to teach you the meditation techniques and answer your queries based on my experience and whatever my Guru taught me.  And I would pray to my Guru’s Lotus Feet, Shiva Balayogi so that you all may be blessed with maturity, determination, discipline and patience to take out time and practice with the right technique that He gave us, and may He bless you all to achieve success in silencing the mind and experiencing the Truth.  To all of you my love and blessings.

End of Session