Saint Kabir Session 13 - What Is Apparent Is Not The Truth

Listen to Ektaji talk about Saint Kabir's teachings on non-duality. These teachings are aimed at the experiential understanding of the true nature of the self and are focused on the idea of the oneness of everything.

Transcript

Viktor and Mr Joint also- the So now we go to the song Jodhiseso Henaahi.

Here again Kabir is talking about the witness consciousness.

We have all that witness.

Kabir's core teachings are about the witness and nothing else but the witness.

What is the witness?

Is the one looking through the eyes the witness?

You will say,

Oh but that is the mind.

Okay,

Go one step beyond the mind.

Is there somebody observing the mind saying yes or no or talking?

Yeah,

That is the witness.

Yes,

That is the Sakshi in Sanskrit or witness in English.

The same Sakshi or witness is called the consciousness.

Same Sakshi or witness is called the knowingness.

The name or the word that we give it is not important.

What is important is to recognize that you can get there in one second.

In one second search you can get to the witness consciousness.

So this song is completely about the witness consciousness.

Take a moment,

Go to the witness and then listen and apply whatever the words are to the witness.

Jodhiseso Henaahi hai so kaha najai.

What is apparent really is not the truth and what is the truth it just cannot be expressed.

It cannot be explained.

It cannot be put in words.

I can take you to the witness but once I tell you okay there's the witness my explanation stops.

I can't explain anymore.

It's a blank background.

It's Shunyata.

It's zero-ness.

There's nothing there to explain.

And it does not stop with just being limited by my body borders.

No,

It is limitless.

It's there.

It's there.

It's behind.

It's in the front.

It's above.

It's below.

It's everywhere but I still cannot describe it.

I cannot express it.

Kaha najai.

So what is apparent is not the truth and what is the truth the witness consciousness it cannot be expressed in words.

It cannot be described beyond a point.

Binde ke parthith na aave kahai na koi patiyana.

Without seeing it you cannot have conviction about it.

Here is your word.

Parthith.

Yesterday we did the word Vishwas.

So Vishwas is equal to parthith in Kabir's language and parthith is that conviction that comes in me only after I come face to face with the truth.

It is not a blind belief.

Kabir was not an advocate of blind beliefs.

He did not say that you believe me first you follow me for 20 years and then you will attain the truth.

No,

No.

He had no lust for making followers not at all.

He was very clear in one second you can get there.

One second that's all that is required.

That is a true guru who does not want to deceive you in any way,

Who wants you to get there quickly,

Quickly.

Get there and be done.

So Binde ke parthith na aave.

Kabir understands this that without me actually experiencing it I will never have conviction in the witness consciousness.

You just make that effort.

There it is there.

There is somebody watching me speak.

There is somebody watching my hands go up and down.

There is somebody watching the thoughts in the mind.

Yes.

Be vigilant of this observer.

That is the witness.

There you are in parthith.

You are face to face with it right here,

Right now.

But those who are not able to come face to face they will never ever have the conviction in it.

Khahe na koi patiyana.

Even if somebody talks about it,

In Hindi we say no patta hi na hai.

Jho bo le ho patta hi na hai.

It just doesn't.

You cannot wrap your brain around it.

You cannot understand it.

How much ever somebody has explained it to you before.

How many ever scriptures you have read.

Scripture after scripture.

How many ever pravachan satsangs.

How many ever teachings you have attended.

By words you don't get it unless you actually make that effort of taking that step back and being the witness.

Without that it's not happening he says.

Khahe na koi patiyana.

Samaj hoe toh rabi in chhi no achra joe aayana.

If you have the wisdom you will get it like that.

If you are ignorant you will just be wondering what is it.

Is it this?

Is it that?

Is it like this?

Is it like that?

Just a little bit of wisdom is required.

Just a little bit of calmness in the mind so that it allows you to take that step behind the mind and there it is.

I am aware of the watcher watching the body and the mind.

I am aware of that witness.

Who is aware?

Did the mind look behind the mind?

Did the mind turn inwards and has the mind become aware of it?

Don't be fooled.

It's not possible for the mind to turn behind.

It is this witness itself that had given its consciousness or its feeling of being alive to the mind.

It is this witness itself that gave its consciousness to the body which gives you the sense of this body as alive.

When you are turning in you are just taking one step back and taking one step back.

So the witness is witnessing itself.

Awareness is aware of itself.

Knowingness knows itself.

It is not the mind.

Mind just puts it into words.

After it sinks in and experiences the peace of the witness it comes back out and says that was peaceful but it can only say it later.

Yeah.

Achra chho aaya na?

Somebody who is ignorant will always be wondering what it is.

He will never be able to comprehend it.

Again,

Ignorant is not putting down somebody or condemning somebody.

Ignorant simply means somebody who does not know.

Like a child,

A child does not know.

He is ignorant.

Yeah.

So before somebody gets this truth,

Till that time he is just ignorant.

The ignorant one is always wondering whereas the wise one.

Samaj ho ito.

Little bit also samaj you have.

And this samaj is a spiritual samaj.

Yeah.

You might be very intelligent in the outside material world.

You might be very street smart but there is another level of samaj,

Another level of intelligence,

A spiritual intelligence.

We can call it spiritual quotient.

Yeah.

That samaj we are talking about.

Little bit also if you have it,

You get it because it is just ek palki talash.

One second you are there.

Question for you.

Where do you fall between the two?

Samaj dar or the aaya na?

Ko idhya ve nirakar ko.

Ko idhya ve aakara.

Jobidhin dono tenyara jane jananhara.

Some worship the form.

Some worship the formless.

The one who goes beyond both.

Yeah.

He is the jananhara.

Yeah.

He is the knower.

Yeah.

He is the knower of the knowingness.

Yeah.

So these steps are required initially on the path because the mind is so agitated.

So you need the mind to calm down and there are different techniques to help the mind calm down.

You worship the form.

If you have graduated to a certain level in your worship,

They say worship the formless.

Yeah.

You move towards worshipping the formless but now you have to go even beyond that.

There are steps just like in the material world.

You get educated in first go to school,

Then you go to college,

Then you go to university.

Yeah.

You go to post graduation only later.

You cannot go to post graduation at step one.

Like that only.

On the spiritual path also.

Regarded as a maturity that comes with time.

Yeah.

And don't beat yourself up if you have not got to post graduation.

Yeah.

It's not too far away.

If you have the thirst within you,

You will get there.

It totally depends on the intensity of your own thirst.

Remember that.

It's got nothing to do with the scriptures.

It's got nothing to do with the external people,

Situations,

Things.

It's got nothing to do with an external teacher.

If you have that thirst,

You will get there.

And how should your thirst be?

Number one priority.

Nothing less than that will do.

Yeah.

So only when you have that kind of thirst will you reach dono tenyaara,

Beyond the two.

Yeah.

Beyond which two?

Worship of the form and worship of the formless.

If you want to go beyond the two,

Your thirst has to be that high.

The same thing applies like you want to go to medical school.

Yeah.

You can't keep it oh,

I will just study once on the weekend and I will just enjoy the whole week.

Forget medical school,

You're not getting into nursing school also.

Yeah.

Impossible that you're going to get there.

No.

You have to make an effort in that direction.

You have to have that interest in it.

Correct?

Then only can you become a doctor.

Similarly,

You have to have an interest in knowing yourself.

You cannot say,

Oh,

Once on a weekend I will study a scripture or listen to a talk and I should get there.

Not possible.

You give charana,

You will get charana.

You give a quarter of a dollar,

You will get a quarter back.

You're not getting more than that.

Remember that.

Yeah.

You check,

Do you have the real thirst to know yourself?

Yeah.

Are you still caught up in this world of beautiful people,

Beautiful situations and beautiful things or are you satiated now?

Are you in that situation where you have turned around now and started having interest here?

Yes.

Only when you turn to the correct direction,

Inwards,

Can you reach this stage,

Dono tenyara.

Beyond form,

Beyond formless.

Yeah.

You're understanding form and formless,

No?

Yeah.

Form is not just,

I'm not talking only about an external idol or external God.

I'm talking about an external teacher.

If you try to put Ekta up on a pedestal,

You are stuck in form.

Do not go that way.

Do not go that way.

I am only telling you not to deify anybody.

Not me,

Not anybody.

Yes.

From me,

You take the inspiration,

Learn the scripture,

But turn to the correct direction.

Yes.

Do not put anybody on a pedestal outside because then the mind needs nothing.

It just loves to hook onto something.

Then it'll get hooked onto that.

And then when you get hooked onto an external form,

Where are you?

You're lost again in the same body-mind complex and you are not looking beyond.

We have to go beyond the body,

Beyond the mind.

The body is form.

The mind is formless.

We have to go beyond form and beyond formless.

So if you are getting attached to the form of a teacher called Ekta,

Then you are stuck in form.

Do you get this very clearly?

Yes.

If you get stuck in even the formless,

In your mind,

Some thoughts,

Some concepts,

Some ideas,

These same thoughts,

Ideas,

Concepts will again bind you.

They'll pull you down and not let you move beyond.

Yes.

So you only take inspiration from the external form,

From the external teacher,

From the external guru,

But turn inwards and then just go in.

You will have to drop the external forms.

You will have to drop the external teacher.

You have to drop the external guru.

Now you turn in.

Dhuno tenyara.

Beyond bhut.

Beyond form and formless.

That is where you will find your true self.

Very clear?

Voh raktu likhyana jai,

Matra lakhena kana,

Kahat kabir,

Supade na paltai,

Surat nirat kabir.

That music cannot be written,

Then how can there be notes about it?

Again,

This is a little signal to the one who has tasted the witness consciousness.

The mind becomes so silent,

So quiet that when you're very aware,

You can hear the sound of the creation,

The anhadvanaad.

This is again a little signal in that direction.

That music cannot be written.

There cannot be notes of that music.

That is where you go.

That is your home.

Don't compromise on anything less than that.

The sound of this creation.

And that is the milestone.

How will you know whether you have learned to become steady in the witness?

Write it down for yourself.

When I have reached this milestone where I can hear the sound of the creation,

It's got nothing to do with ears.

It's got nothing to do with the physical ear of the body or any physical sound.

It's just the mind quietens down to such an extent.

You become so silent within.

You recognize that this creation has its own sound and that sound itself was called om,

Was called amen,

Was called ameen,

Was called shalom.

It doesn't matter the little intonations here and there.

However,

You feel like expressing it.

Kahat kabir so pade na palli.

Surat nirat jin jaana.

Kabir says that one cannot get it.

It is impossible to get it.

Hindi mein bolte na pade na palli.

It is the same thing.

You just cannot get it.

Is pade na pade le.

Surat nirat jin jaana.

Without really being face to face with the witness.

Basically being steady in the witness.

Without you being steady there,

You will not get it.

Illusions will never be overcome.

Lots of people wait that no,

Let my illusions go away,

Let my attachments dissolve,

Let me stop running after this,

Stop running after that.

You will be waiting all your life.

He said no,

I am available in one second search.

Ek palki talashme.

Right now you can find it.

You can establish there.

In that awareness you find who you are.

You find yourself and then you realise that illusions belong to the mind.

The mind came up with some attachment or some aversion to that person.

Something it goes on with its own story.

I am the observer of this drama.

I am not the drama.

This becomes very clear when you keep establishing in the witness.

This becomes very clear and then you stop fueling the mind.

Who was fueling?

I was fueling the mind thinking this is who I am.

It's a false identification with the mind.

But now that I have recognised oh I am the witness,

The silent background is who I am,

Then this mind is nothing but just thought.

One thought after another thought after another thought after another thought.

That's all the mind is and it has got nothing to do with who I am.

And then when I do not become a party to this drama,

This drama then loses power,

Loses power,

Loses power and finally the mind starts becoming quieter and quieter and quieter.

Then it becomes my tool.

Then when I need the mind I pick up the tool,

I use the tool and then I put it down and back to my silence.

I have become the master of the mind.

I am no more a slave of the mind.

You get it?

You can come to this state only by Surat Nirat Jinjana,

Only by coming face to face with that awareness,

By recognising it,

By being it.

Otherwise it's not happening.

How much ever you learn this song by heart,

Oh there are people who know this song by heart,

Okay this is a very very popular Kabir song.

Put it on Google,

You'll find it.

They will sing it in this style and that raga and that folklore but if you go to ask the meaning,

Oh I don't know the meaning,

I just sing it because it sounds good.

Again this is the level of the mind.

Sounds good,

Feels good,

Is interesting level of the mind.

You are taking one step behind,

One step beyond.

Dono te nyara.

Graduation class,

Huh?

This is a post graduation class.

So nothing less than the witness are we going to discuss here.

Remember that.

So I hope this song is very very clear.

All Kabir's teachings are on Advaita Vedanta,

The non-dual teachings.

Know to.

Know I,

Know you.

There are no others.