1. UK 78- 60 Gururaj. Good. Shall we start with questions? Are you supposed to ask questions? Aide. This is the first time I've ever done it. Guruji, there are certain philosophical questions that have haunted the human race since the beginning of time, questions that well up from one's soul with an anguished yearning for an answer. And one of those questions I want to ask today. And the question is, what is Burryllll? (General laughter). Did I pronounce the Sanskrit right? What is Burrylll? Gururaj. Say pardon. Are you burping? (General laughter) Aide. Was the pronunciation correct? Perhaps I ought to practise it first. Gururaj. So, in other words it means, what is Burrryyyllll? Now, I have to answer that. (General laughter). Poor guru. Let's see what we can make of your Burrryyyllll. Now, there comes a time in evolution where a person finds things very difficult. Now, this time is more pronounced when you are about to reach the end, or the goal of evolution, when you are just about to reach home. And there is that little hill that has to be climbed over. That seems difficult to some people sometimes. Many people don't realise that how close they are to the Godhead or to illumination, or to enlightenment, because of this little hill. Now, as evolution progresses, it is like a top taking on momentum. And as you spin the top, there comes a time when it seems that the top is standing still. You do not notice the motion, as if the top is standing totally still. In other words, there is complete equilibrium within the forces of motion. Now that is the stage, that is the peak man has to reach. Man has to reach that stage of equilibrium where all the Gunas are now acting in harmony and there is no single Guna, which is dominating the other. There is harmony, equilibrium. And that is the state of evolution that man aspires to reach. But that is not the end. You have set up a momentum, and reaching that stage of equilibrium, you have reached Jivanmukta, which means freedom in life. You have become free from all bondages. All the actions that you perform, all karma has no effect upon you, because you have reached the stillness and that stillness has been achieved within the confines of motion, and therefore, the Gunas. And that is freedom in life, where you are totally free, and all actions that you perform become non- binding to you. That is the time, that is the time when realisation dawns that 'I am still'. And that is what the Scriptures say, 'Be still and know me'. That is the stillness man has to achieve. Fine.

2. UK 78- 60 Nevertheless, after achieving the stillness in the lifetime, your life still has to be lived until the body is shed. Until you shed the body and then the spirit within you merges away into the universal spirit. Like the air in the balloon, when the balloon is pricked, the air in the balloon becomes one with the air in the environment. Now, after achieving the state o f equilibrium, the top that has reached now its peak has to run off. It has to run off the momentum that has been set up. Now, if you watch the top spinning, and I'm sure most of us has played with a top, so, as it comes to its end, you'd find it goes wobbly. It goes wobbly before it becomes motionless. And that very end, where it becomes very wobbly, that difficult end before there is no motion left any more. No motion left means that you have gone beyond the three Gunas. In that state of equilibrium, you are still within the confines of the Gunas, within the confines of the laws of nature. But yet within the laws of nature, through the practices of meditation and other spiritual practices, you have become still. But you are not away from nature. You are still engrossed in all the laws of nature. So, when the top has lost all momentum, and it's lying there on the ground without motion, that means that you have gone beyond the laws of motion, and therefore, you have gone beyond the laws of nature. Now, as the top comes to stand still, transcending all the laws of nature, the last bit before it stands still, wobbles, and that little wobbling is Burrryyllllll. (Gururaj laughs) Yes. You see? So we can do a lot with any Wurrryylll. Anything can be taken to its most ultimate profound state, because everything in life is basically profound. Everything in life is basically Divine. And because of the inherent Divinity in everything, it is profound. And it is profound, because it is Divine. Same thing, just two different words. Now, to reach this stage, one has to undergo so many different stages. People call it different states of consciousness. Now the three that we are most familiar with are the waking, dreaming and sleep states. Good. Now, the waking state in man also reflects his inner self, his inner Divinity but reflects it through the conditioned mind. The mind can only become pattern free, ungrooved when it reaches that equilibrium, when the top reaches its peak of ultimate stillness in motion. So the waking state of mind is a state whereby you have fractional consciousness, and even that fractional consciousness you have is coloured and patterned by the mind. And as we have spoken many a times before, that the mind is nothing but a bunch of impressions. So, the Divinity within man, that total stillness without motion ¬shines through this filter. Good. It is like a piece of crystal. You put a yellow flower behind the crystal, the crystal seems yellow to you. You put a red flower behind the crystal, the crystal seems red to you. Like that; so, the light, the crystal is forever pure, but the colouration of the mind makes it seem apparently so, that that which is shining through is discoloured. Good. That is the waking state of consciousness. Now, sleep state. When man goes to sleep, he will not know this, but, at that time he is most nearest to Divinity. In deep sleep, man is most nearest to Divinity, because the conscious mind has been stilled. The subconscious mind has also achieved a certain measure of stillness and in sleep, what do you

3. UK 78- 60 experience? You experience nothingness. Now, remember this word, nothingness, because that is very similar to enlightenment with qualifications, which we will go into, as we carry on. So, in that deep sleep, dreamless sleep man is closest to his real self. The ego is gone, the ego is gone in the sense that the ego is not conscious of itself. The ego is not conscious of itself, while, in the waking state, the ego is c onscious of itself as the ego, as the individual, as the little 'i', as, I am John, or I am Jack; or I am ‘Lord Such and Such’. Good. Now, so in deep sleep, man is closest to his real nature where the ego has been subdued. Now, we have always said that the path, the goal is to be reached not by annihilating the ego, neither by subduing the ego, neither by sublimating the ego, but by expanding the ego to its ultimate limit. And the ultimateness of the ego is as vast as the universe. In other words, the ego is capable of expanding itself to the limitlessness of all existence. Fine. But in sleep, the ego is subdued and because it is subdued, it becomes unconscious which means, it is not conscious of itself. It ceases to be an impediment. It ceases to be an obstacle, so, therefore, you feel nothingness. You are asleep and while you are asleep, you are not aware that you are sleeping. It is only after you wake up that you say, 'I have slept'. All dimensions are lost, there is no space and there is not time. Most of us and all of us have the experience, that when you wake up, you look at the watch and you say, 'Oh, did I sleep for two hours'. So, there was no conception of time because the mind or the ego here, was subdued, so that it could not be conscious of linear time. That is deep sleep, when man is closest to himself. Shakespeare has so rightly said, that 'Sleep is the best nourishment in life's feast'. Sleep is the bes t nourishment in life's feast. Now, he might have referred this, this could be interpreted in so many different ways. He might have interpreted this, or meant this to be totally in a physical sense, where the body requires rest. And that very rest is renourishing to the body, as food is nourishing to the body. But we apply a different meaning to it. That in the sleep state, where the mind, the ego has been subdued, and where man is closest to his real nature, he gains the force and the energy from within, from his real nature, his real Divine nature. And that is the real source of re¬generation, rejuvenation, nourishment. That is the real source of all nourishment. Many people, you would find, eat more than they should eat and yet there's malnutrition. Man does not live by bread alone, ¬is it not true? Fine. So, the truer meaning of this what Shakespeare has said, is to find that nourishment from deep within, and sleep gives you this nourishment. Now, it has been proven in laboratories, that when a person goes to sleep and his sleep has been disturbed for the purpose of an experiment, ¬that person can be driven to become a nervous wreck because he does not have that deep, dreamless sleep.

4. UK 78- 60 So, now, waking consciousness is necessary. Sleeping consciousness, if it could be called that, is necessary and dream consciousness is necessary. Now we, I think we have spoken about this where dream is a great boon, a great help to man where most of his problems that are deeply planted in the subconscious mind are being automatically released. Now when I say automatically, there is a purpose and plan to it, but it does not require your ten per cent waking consciousness to stimulate that. In other words, it can go on by its own. Although, in many cases, the waking consciousness does bring out certain deep seated impressions to the fore, because the mind functions most of the time by association of ideas. So the conscious mind could act as a stimulus, but not necessarily so. But it could act as a stimulus to bring about the dream consciousness. And this mechanism releases, ¬releases various impressions in the mind and lightens the burden of the mind. If this did not happen, man could be driven to insanity. So this is a release ¬valve, very, very necessary. Right. Now, as far as dream goes, we can really go much, much deeper, that how the impressions get together, and what you dream is not necessarily to be interpreted, interpreted literally. But it is a combination of various impressions, and not only of this life time, but of various other life times, all gathered together, and wanting it to be released so that relief can be found. Now, there have been laboratory experiments where the R.E.M. sleep, the dream state of sleep has been continually disturbed. And, by doing that over a period of time, the mind of man can be severely affected. Good. So we have seen the three states that we know of, waking, sleeping, dreaming. Good. Beyond that, there is only one state, the state of being, the state of being, which in Sanskrit is called the Turiya state. The Turiya state, which is beyond the thre e states of consciousness that man is aware of. Good. Now, this Turiya state, this state of beyondness, this state which is beyond the three states that we know, is not necessarily, or is never, that's the better word, it's never apart from these three states. That state, that dimension, if you wish to use that word, permeates the three that we know. And it is this very permeation of that state, of that energy that makes man function. But the goal of life is to make it function in its fu ll force, without any impediment, without any obstacle. And it is the impediment and the obstacles which we interpret as suffering. That is suffering, there is nothing else to it. That is the suffering. Good. So now as man progresses through meditation, and as he reaches nearer that inner state, ¬a connection forms. A recognition occurs, that there is something deeper and higher and more powerful within me. So, that is one state called the connecting state, or a state of awareness, where consciously you realise that I, the ego am connected to something else. Good. Then man goes beyond that, just beyond the sense, or the awareness of the connectedness, to something higher. Going beyond that, we come to the area of in spite of knowing this connectedness, we have not realised this connectedness. It still remains on a mind level. It remains on a analytical, rational level. Proceeding beyond that, we do

5. UK 78- 60 recognise that which we are connected with is vast, as vast as the entire existence. So, in that state, what happens is this, that you are apart from this panoramic view that you are able to see. So, the ego self of man, the individual self of man, can reach the state of consciousness where the recognition dawns of the vastness that is beyond. And he stands here, the vastness is there. And he views this vastness. But he feels separate from it. That, many people term to be cosmic consciousness. Now, that word cosmic consciousness is used by teachers in many different ways. Different teachers put different meaning to that cosmic-ness. Some teachers use that word cosmic-ness, cosmic consciousness in the sense of unity consciousness. But we shall use it as a division within the framework of the Turiya state, that one supreme consciousness, for the purpose of explanation. Good. So in the state of cosmic consciousness, you realise the vastness that composes this universe. You realise the vastness of its extent, you realise that that is limitless. But you still feel apart from it. In other words, you are the observer observing the object of observation. Three things are involved, observer, observing and the object of observation. Now, the reason for the separation that exists in this cognition of the vastness of the universe, or the greatness, the reason for this separation is the ability or the power of observing. Observer, that is what you are. Observing is the action and the object is observation. So, the thing that stands in between this state of consciousness is the act of observing, and because you can observe, you remain apart. Is that clear? Good. Fine. Now then you proceed further on. In this procession, in this proceeding rather, you find a connectedness. Now, this cognition in cosmic consciousness has more to do with the mind of man. Cognition comes with the mind. And the mind is none else but the ego. The ego cognises and recognises that which is so vast. The individual cognises that which is universal. Fine. But that is on the mind level and only the ego functions. And as we proceed in our meditations, a different, pardon, a different connection occurs, and that connection is combining that cognition with feeling. In other words, combining the mind with the heart. So combining the mind with the heart means that you are reaching the core of your own personality. And, within the depths of man, within the core of that person, there lies nothing else but Divinity. But now this Divinity has been encapsuled or like the air in the balloon, the rubber of the balloon separates the air that is outside. So, when man firstly, man has the cognition with the mind, with the expansion of the mind through our practices, man reaches the core of his personality which is his heart, as we call it. So mind and heart starts functioning in togetherness. And when mind and heart starts functioning in togetherness, then a step forward is taken, from this total separation in cosmic consciousness, to what we would term God consciousness. And God consciousness is the feeling, - feeling is the wrong word, there is ¬there are no words to

6. UK 78- 60 describe this really - that you are inter¬connected with that, with Divinity. You are interconnected because the realisation dawns, because you experience yourself. 'Man, know thyself', you experience yourself to be inseparable with the object that is observed. So, when you, when you experience that, the observing part disappears. We shall recap. This is very important. This is the whole basis, this is the whole basis towards self-realisation. In cosmic consciousness, the observer, the act of observing and the object of observation, three things. In God consciousness, the act of observing disappears and what takes place is experiencing. So you cease to become the observer of the object but you start experiencing the object. You start experiencing the object. That means you have become God-conscious. You are experiencing that universality within the confines of your individuality. And, as you experience that universality within your individuality, and your individuality is your ego ¬self, the ego self too becomes refined and expanded because to comprehend, ¬to comprehend that universality you, too, must necessarily possess the power within you to be able to expand to that level. You can't put in two pints of milk in a one pint bottle. Your bottle must be of two pints also to put in two pints of milk. So the ego expands in refinement to the extent of that universality. But yet, although having captured and experienced that universality within the individuality, having this experience, this inter¬connectedness, that is still not the end. You experience Divinity within your¬self. Your ego self has expanded sufficiently enough to experience that Divinity in its full glory. Ah, but then, something else occurs. Because the individuality is still left of experiencing God individually, ¬however the ego is refined and expanded, there is still this trace of the ego. Because we are embodied beings, the trace of the ego, however refined, still remains. And when the ego still remains, there are very fine currents of samskaras. As long as man has a body, he will always be conscious of his body. He will be conscious of his body but conscious in a very high, refined state. But that very consciousness of his body contains within itself, although experiencing God, contains within itself fine currents, very fine currents of all the past samskaras. The currents are so fine that it could not gather other samskaras unto himself because he has passed that stage of being affected by any karma. He is a law unto himself. Now what happens is this, that after experiencing the universality in the individuality, a desire occurs because of those currents, because of those fine, samskaric currents, a desire occurs, a desire occurs to become one, so that the individuality could lose itself, melt away into that universality. Now, what is keeping the individual at that level? What is keeping the individual apart from the universal are those fine currents of samskaras. That is the barrier at that stage. Now, what do we do? The individual self wants to become one with the universal self, 'I and my Father are one.' So ¬all those samskaric values that were there, at first in its ver y gross form, have now become more and more refined and only the faintest current is left. What has happened to those

7. UK 78- 60 samskaras in this process, in this evolutionary progression? They have not been destroyed. They have not been destroyed, because as we have said, over and over again, that nothing is destructible. Nothing can be destroyed; it can only disintegrate and go back to its original elements. Dust to dust, air to air. Man is composed of these five elements, fire, water, air, etc. and all those elements merge back into its original self. And there again they start weaving up, and become supportive to the other entities that are coming along the path. So man is helping another, even unconsciously, all the time. All the time. Because I have said this before, in other tours of mine, that you can not detract a single ounce of energy from this universe and you cannot add on a single ounce of energy to this universe. So what happens, it’s the same amount of energy churning around and around and around. And where certain elements are required, the proper attraction is set up, the proper gravitational force, or magnetic force, is set up where it will attract these elements. So ¬these samskaric elements, which is also of very fine matter, go or dis¬integrate and it goes even beyond sub-atomic particles and merge away in the areas where it is most needed. Fine. Good. So these fine currents now remain for the ultimate mergence between the individual and the universal; between man and God. Here, a different process takes place. Remember one thing: that the entire tree exists in the seed. The entire tree exists in the seed, and the seed exists in the tree. These fine currents, at its level, has not much as its counterpart to disintegrate to. So, these fine currents revert back to its seed state. And when it reverts back to its seed state, the individual is finally freed. Totally freed. Not be living free, this is still at the far higher stage, which, totally freed, and you become one with God. You become God. That is unity consciousness. That is the unification between man and God. You see the process, you see the mechanics. And it seems so far away. What a great journey it is? It's not so far, really. Ah, it's not so far. Just get over the Burryylllll and you're there. Good. So that is how man achieves the state of total union, total oneness with God, where worship is not necessary. Who is there to worship who? In the state of God consciousness, the subject worships the object. But in the state of unity consciousness, when all is but one, who worships who? There is only oneness. So now when this fine, very fine, minute samskaric currents, which I hope science will discover one day, which is not very likely, nevertheless it has to be realised and experienced and not put into a test tube. Nevertheless, these very fine currents revert back into its seed state. And that is how the entire creation, - we’re using an individual case now, - but that is how the entire universe reverts back into its seed state. And when it reverts into its seed state, there is no eternal stillness, then, we all start again. There is eternal stillness, and, at the same time, we all start again. But remember, it is not you, as the individual, this individua l that starts again. You're only the motivating force for energy and matter to take upon itself different shapes, different names, different forms, and that energy starts again, not you as the individual, as you know yourself today.

8. UK 78- 60 So, many people might think, what is the use of it all? I gain enlightenment, become one with God, and there I go again, on the merry go round. (Gururaj laughs) It's not that. It is not that. You become one with the force. You become one with that energy, if you wish to call it. You become one with that Divinity. And Divinity re-expresses itself in another cycle of existence. Isn't that beautiful? It is not you, Tom, Jack, Harry, you know, that would think 'Oh, I reach there, and now I've got to re-go all'. Not that, not that, not that. It doesn't work that way. Okay. I think we - what is it? We can still do another question or so. Fine. Next. Is that one also on Buurrryyylllll? No? Aide. Sort of? Questioner. Guruji, I think it's fair to say that most, if not all of us, go through periods of depression or despair for one reason or another. At times like these, our whole being seems so full of pain, that we feel unable to cope. We know all about growing through these experiences, we know that the next time it will be easier, but at the time this does not help our gut reaction to whatever has happened. What can one do in really practical terms to cope with that kind of depression, when help seems so inaccessible, and happiness and contentment so very far away? Gururaj. Beautiful. And you said it very forcefully, too. (Gururaj laughs) Lovely, yes, yes. Yeah. That is the tragedy of life and that is why teachers come to talk about suffering and depressions because depression is suffering. That is what is meant by showing the way, how to get out of this maze, how to find that freedom. It is fine if you are standing far apart, on a high hill, and you see the maze below, and you could see how you could get out. You can see the entrance and the exit. But if you are in the maze, how to get out? That has always been the eternal question of man. That has always been the eternal quest of man. But that does not mean it is answerless. There is a solution. Firstly, we know this, and admit to ourselves this, that I am the maker of this maze, and I am the person that has put myself into this maze. I am the person that, through various kinds of repressions, I am suffering these depressions. I am responsible for it, and no one else. But, having done that, what to do? That is the question. We do all admit, we have studied a bit, we know that all these our circumstances, be they good or bad, or otherwise were created by us. And, what we have sown, we are reaping. We know that. But in the process of reaping, how can we make it easier for ourselves? Now, of course the IFSU or B.M.S. will say, meditate. But that's not enough. That is not enough. We meditate to give us strength to run around in the maze, to find the way out. But then, also ask yourself, why do I want to be out of the maze? What's wrong with the maze? What's wrong with the depression? Let me become more depressed. Now, this sounds

9. UK 78- 60 funny. It is, it is. It's like saying, 'Oh, I've got a pain, so let me have more pain', instead of saying, 'Look, let me do something to alleviate the pain'. But there's a different meaning to this. The meaning is this, that I am depressed because of my own doings, and I know that this very, very depression is going to be the cure of my depression. Do you see the subtle difference? Do you see how, through that attitude of mind, you are not escaping from yourself? Oh, it's so easy; you feel depressed; go to the pub and get drunk. And the next morning, you'll be more depressed. (General laughter) Yah, yah. That's no way out. The only way which any theology or philosophy would teach is to accept that depression for its value, with the knowledge that I am responsible for it and go through that pain. For you know that after the rain, the sun is going to shine. Be assured of that. That is why all theologies, real religions, the major religions of the world speak of hope. It does not speak of escape. If we want to get rid of our depressions with the wave of a wand, we are looking for miracles. Miracles do occur, but do I deserve that miracle? I am only getting what I deserve. And I must only demand that which I deserve and nothing more. So we are in a state of depression. Fine. Now, if an understanding is applied to that depression, that depression lifts away amazingly. Amazingly. And the best way to make that depression disappears is by invoking a higher force or he that represents this higher force, on this planet earth today. So simple; just a direction of one's attention. And you infuse this power within you where this depression just lifts off. You've heard how rain can be made where things are shot up into the sky and clouds gather, and they come down as rain, cool showers of blessings. That can be done. It is so easy. But, there are other things associated with that. Firstly, admitting to oneself that I am depressed, and I have brought this upon myself. Secondly, I am going to do something about it. Right. And you work out the plan what you are going to do about it. Fine. End of the month, the rent has to be paid. Today's the fifteenth and I've got to pay the rent for where I live. Now, if you are going to sit at home and feeling depresse d - oh, rent, rent, rent, rent, rent, probably it's not going to be solved. Get up and start doing something. Find some job, so that you know end of the month, the rent money would be there. That's doing something about it. So, what this means is analysing the cause of the depression, why am I depressed? Secondly, infusing action to the analysis. And thirdly, channelling one's mind, that I am not strong enough. I am weak in this respect, for this moment, although great strength lies within me and let me through this channel ¬ (bell ringing) - okay quiet - and through this

10. UK 78- 60 channel invoke within myself, those energies that act as a balm, soothing, uplifting, uplifting, it lifts your depression away. That is uplifting, for otherwise, why do you want to be lifted up? You don't need to be lifted up, be where you are, on the ground. Yeah. Uplifting means the removing these depressions and repressions that we have. So, to recap, three steps analysis of the reason. If you can't analyse yourself, go to a good friend, who really loves you as a friend, and say, 'Look, I'm feeling terrible, and this, this, this'. Go to one of the B.M.S. Counsellors, who are qualified, go to them. If not, I am here, couple of days. Yes, analysis of the problem. The will to act on the problem. And thirdly, channelling to oneself that force, that energy that can do nothing else but uplift. And that is the cure for depression. That takes depression away. Never, ever ask for a miracle. Because you know what happens then? That depression becomes more intense and you become more depressed because, you are expecting something for nothing, and nothing comes for nothing. And when you do not get that which you expect, you become more depressed. So that is never the way. Okay. And, when all is lost and nothing seems to help, you just sit back just sit back become quiet in your meditation, and say, 'Oh well, what to do? It is your will that I need this experience for my own evolution. I need this experience for my own evolution'. I met a man - ¬I might have mentioned this story to you - a man that was in jail for seven years, and he came out of jail a very highly evolved being. The world spat on him, he lost all his friends, he lost his wife. He didn't know who his children were, and yet he came out as a highly evolved person, whom I could embrace and say, 'Come home, brother, you are home'. So many times, we need these experiences and by recognising the value or accepting the fact that we need these experiences, is half the way to lifting away the depression. You see? So simple. Don't be depressed. Lovely. END