1. U S 81 - 29 A LAW UNTO HIMSELF This is a satsang with Gururaj Ananda Yogi, USA 1981, Number 29, recorded at Techny Towers in Illinoi s. GURURAJ:... this afternoon while doing some interviews with people someone asked me a question about baptism. I told this story in one of the courses we had so far. But for this special person I shall repeat this story. An Italian person went to this priest and wanted to have his son baptized. So he says, "Look sir, when I brought my first son, I asked you to call him Tom when you baptized him, but you baptized him Thomas. Now this time with this new son of mine I don't want you to make the same mis take again. I want you to call him Jack and not Jackass. [Laughter] Good. What shall we talk about? JAMIE: Beloved Gururaj, you have said that an enlightened man is a law into himself. On the other hand, you have also said that God Himself would be b ound by the laws of nature if He were to incarnate. Please explain this seeming contradiction. GURURAJ: Ahhm. It is a seeming contradiction, but it is no contradiction whatsoever. One is complementary to the other. Man can reach the ability whereby t he gods would bow themselves at his feet. In one of the talks when a question about angels arose, I said that angels envy men. Because in that stage what the entity is really doing is to work off or be rewarded for one's karma. So when a person has lived a good life he has a credit balance of good karma. Now this has to be repaid. Whatever you sow, that shall you reap. So the repayment would be in an angelic form which is non different from our existence here, but in a more subtle state. We call that some plane of existence in that subtle form. But in that subtle form there is only enjoyment. The angels with the harps are just enjoying themselves and with the wings, you know, flying around. Of course, that is mythology. That's mythology. It's a description. Those wings are not else but to por tray the freedom that is enjoyed, the freedom from bondage. For to experience real joy one has to be free from bondage. To experience real love one has to be free from the bondage of love, but find true freedom in loving itself and not be bound by love. F or that love would be at a far lower level. Now, these angels have to be paid back for the good things they've done and they get into a higher state of vibration. And this vibratory state is very close to the highest level possible by man. Now for exam ple, if a person has been good in any endeavor, like a good musician, a totally devoted musician would definitely, having heightened his or her personal vibration, be in that angelic state of existence for a time until the person is fully repaid. But in t hat form there is no

2. U S 81 - 29 progress you are just enjoying. There is no progress at all. And when you have been fully repaid then you get reborn again in the form of man. Now by man I don't mean the man only on this planet, for this planet is duplicated and replicated thousands of times over in this universe. So angels envy men in the sense to get away from this static position. So we get born into this life to learn the various lessons we have to learn in order to progress. And this is done by the forces o f evolution which man cannot control. He cannot control the force of evolution... although he was the ability to repattern and remodel that which he really deserves. So good, too, is binding because you are bound in that angelic state of just enjoyment. Bad, too, is binding where in the subtle body, when you relive the experiences you have had in this life in the subtle body, you re experience in the process of evaluation, you re experience all the experiences you have had in a more intense form. In a mo re intense form. Because being subtle, and anything which is subtle is always more powerful. So you re experience in order to evaluate your next birth, in order to take another form again, to which school we are going and at what place and what time and through what parents. So when one's deeds have not been conducive to natural evolution, or the process of natural evolution, one re experiences the same experiences in a more intensified form and that is what we call hell. You see. So apart from this plan e of existence, there are so many many many planes of existences. They are there. And when we leave this body we go to a particular plane that would be suitable to the vibratory state that we have created in this lifetime. For like attracts like, there' s a law of attraction, and that happens. So a child, for example, a child passes away through whatever means natural or unnatural, it's not important. The important thing is having left the body. And yet that person could have been so evolved and attu ned itself to such a high vibratory state that it would be in this heaven of the angels. Yet they would have to come back, for the lessons are not complete. The angelic state is but just a stage, as the human state is a stage. There is no difference wha tsoever. So these angels, these gods, envy men. And man has the ability, while even being in this body, to take his mind because all these planes of existences exist in the universal mind, and the entirety of the universal mind exists within us. So ma n can experience all the heavens and all the hells and all the various states of vibration within himself by going deeper and deeper within himself through spiritual practices. When a person feels uplifted he has automatically increased his rate of vibrati on which is more harmonious to that state of vibration which we know as happiness. And when at times through his deeds or doings or even indigestion he lowers his rate of vibrations, so he is attracted to that state where he suffers. And that is hel l. You see.

3. U S 81 - 29 So the point is this, that all this is existent within man. And man has the ability by going to deeper levels of the mind whe re the gods reside, and reaching there and even above that where still in this body you can command them to bow at you r feet. But you do not command, because you have reached a state of vibration which is higher and they bow themselves at your feet. Now this is the natural state that man goes through in evolution. It can be expedited by spiritual practices where the entir ety of the universe can be experienced in this lifetime. Good. Now the enlightened man, he is a man that has experienced the entirety of the universe. And having experienced the entirety of the universe, he can at will go to any plane of existence. And by having the ability to do that, to go to any plane of existence at will, he automatically controls the laws of nature. He automatically controls the laws of nature, and having the ability to be anywhere where he likes in this universe, he becomes a law unto himself. Right. So there is no contradiction between the two aspects of the question. One is a process which a man is still going through, and the other is the culmination of the process which he has already gone through. So now, when you have achi eved this mastery, where at will you can be where you like, in space and time within the realms of relativity, then you are a law into yourself. For then nature does not stop you, nature does not block you, and you go into all these various realms. And I talk of experience, I talk of experience. It is a possibility for everyone here to do, because it has been made possible for me. And what I can do you can do too. For there is no difference between you and I. You see. We always talk of this oneness. And this oneness is always found at that subtler level where everything is but one. The present conscious mind that we are aware of finds the separation. And because it finds this separation all kinds of conflicts occur, all kinds of desires occur. And when desires are fulfilled, we feel happy momentarily only. For happiness is always accompanied with the other side of the coin, pain. And when desires are unaccomplished or unrealized, unrequited, then we feel pain. So what is the difference between p ain and pleasure. None, whatsoever. There is no difference at all. But how you look at it, how you understand it. For that very pain can be pleasurable, and that very pleasure can be painful. A camel eats thorns. It knows that its mouth bleeds by eati ng thorns, and yet persists in eating the thorns. What is that camel experiencing? Pleasure or pain? Both. Or else if it was just pain it would not persist. But within the bleeding, within that state, he is also experiencing some pleasure that makes o ne continue. And this applies to everyday life. This applies to all our habits in life. This applies to our way of life. Where certain things are pain producing, but underlying that pain there is some sense of pleasure. And therefore we continue. Now I 've made many studies into various fields of human behavior. Let us take the example of an alcoholic. Every time he takes a drink, he hates himself to take that drink. We're not talking of a person who drinks socially or for the little f un of it. But we 're talking of the person who suffers of the disease of alcoholism. Every time he takes a drink he hates himself

4. U S 81 - 29 for it, and he hates his drink. But he just cannot help it. It is so so compulsive that every cell in his body is tinged wi th it. The entir e patterning of his psychological self demands and compels him. So how does he overcome that? By re patterning the mind. And how does he re pattern the mind? Through analysis, to a great extent. That helps him a bit. By understanding... understanding t he stories of others and how they, too, suffer. One way. The other way is total surrender. Surrender to a power which is above himself. But where does he start? He starts by admitting to himself that he is helpless. That he is helpless and he cannot h elp himself. He starts there. By admitting to himself. In other words it means this, that he's submitting his ego in admitting that he is helpless. And with the various cases of alcoholics that I have studied and helped the greatest difficulty is this, to find the man really admitting to himself that he is a sick man. That alcoholism is a sickness. He says, "No, no, it's fun." Rubbish. It's not. You see. So once he starts admitting that weakness and surrenders that weakness that I must now seek an outward form, an outside [??] to help me because I cannot do it myself. Then because of my studies in treating people suffering this disease, I came in contact with the AA and see their method. And to my surprise, I found that their methods are exactly t he methods that we teach. Exactly the same methods. First to subdue the ego by admitting that I am helpless, and then by surrendering to a higher power. But not only that, but also having a friend to whom you confide your problems. A friend that has g one through the same experiences and confiding those problems. So who is that friend that you confide to? The friend you confide to is a god personified. You see the subtle mechanics. These people teach it but they don't understand what the mechanics a re, really, and what works. See. Right. So Divinity is abstract. And you can talk and talk to that abstract, and it cannot answer back, but the friend can. He will encourage you. He will help you to bypass the pub. Huh? And not to enter it. That's t he role a guru does perform too. That's all. A guru is a person with whom you share: your strengths, your weaknesses, and helps you bypass the place to which you are in problems with or at loggerheads with. The problematic areas. And he pulls you somet imes. And he kicks your ass sometimes too. "Come on, come, get away." You see. Like that, like that. It starts with surrender. Now to reach the stage of enlightenment, bhakti yoga, or the yoga of surrender, is necessary. You surrender the ego self, whi ch is a very difficult thing to do, because you are so patterned over millions and millions and millions of years. You surrender your ego self to who? That is the question. To who do you surrender your ego self? The guru you really don't know. You real ly don't know the guru. In time you will, because then you will see through the blood and bones what he represents and what he consists of. You will know Jesus, but you will not know Christ. Yet, you will not know the consciousness, that universal consci ousness that is represented through the form of man. You see.

5. U S 81 - 29 So to who do you surrender yourself? You don't know the guru and you don't know God. The guru you can only see his external form. Or how he behaves or how he plays, for to the guru everythin g is but a play. And he loves playing the fool a lot of times, and in the very act of playing the fool he is teaching. Do you see? There are many methods of teaching. Many methods of teaching. Fine. So, you don't know your guru. To whom do you surr ender your ego? And many gurus do that: they find it quite profitable economically. Yea. You first surrender yourself and then you get bopped on the head with a bunch of feathers. No. No surrender first to the guru. That is only the culmination, the end point where you feel so at one with your teacher that only the teaching remains. You disappear, the guru disappears, only the teaching remains. That oneness is found. And when that oneness is found, it is an automatic surrender. It is not an act of will. It is a spontaneous happening. Like love, it is not an act of will which you can create or demand; it has to be a happening, a beautiful flowering. Never mind what you do, you cannot make this flower grow. But it requires a bursting of the seed so that it could be mixed with the elements of the earth and the sun and air for the flower to grow. Naturally, by itself. But you cannot do it. So who do you surrender to? Your ego has to burst. So when the ego bursts, you surrender the ego to the ego . Now this requires a bit of thinking. It's a totally new concept. On these courses I put forth some new concepts every time. Al l talks. You surrender the ego to the ego. Now what are the mechanics of that? Because everyone's mind wants to work mechan ically, rationally, logically. How does that work? How can the ego surrender itself to the ego? Now, people always have a misconception about the ego. The ego, very true, is the stumbling block towards reaching self realization, to become the enlightened man. That is the only stumbling block. But the ego has various facets, though it be a stumbling block. The ego contains just as much good as it contains bad. It contains elements within itself that are conducive and in flow with nature or non conduciv e and anti flow with nature. So you surrender the ego to the ego itself by surrendering things that you find non conducive to you to the higher self of the ego that is conducive to you. And yet you remain within the realms of the ego. So what happens is the grosser level of the ego is now merged into the subtler levels of the ego. For there is no person existent within this universe that is al l good or all bad. Within the worst of the worst person there is some goodness. And this is what true teachers p oint out. They don't say, "Don't do this and don't do this and don't do that," and point out the faults all the time. If you want to t each your little child how to become a good citizen, a good adult, you don't keep on hammering on his bad points, on his naughtiness, or his mischief. But also you point out, you compliment him on the goodness he has. Like that every person is a mixture. There can be no perfect man while he's still embodied. I've said this before in some talk on this course, man in an emb odied state can only reach 98 percent perfection. There has to be two percent imperfection. Otherwise this body could never be maintained. This body will just disintegrate. It is like gold. You can never have pure gold jewelry,

6. U S 81 - 29 ring or necklace or bra celet of 24 carat pure gold. You can never have that for it is too soft. So the jeweler adds on two percent alloy to give it hardness. So you require this hardness to live in this world. Even that two percent. Of course with most of us the balance is no t so fine. You see. So there was this one guru who went on a trip, and he loved gardening as our Dougji does. He loved gardening. And he had this one chela who was very fond of gardening. And he said, "I'm going away for six months touring England and America and where have you. And you look after the garden." When he came back, the chela had worked so hard and he made the garden totally perfect in every detail. Not a single blade of grass was out of place or overgrown or under grown. Perfection. So the guru came ar ound, he looked around, and the first thing he did he went to the garbage can and strewed a whole lot of garbage around. The chela was surprised. I've worked for six months to try to get this garden so so perfect. And what is the action of this guru? S ee, gurus are funny people. Don't try and understand them. They act very differently. You don't know, you don't know until you become totally at one; until you have that atonement, at one ment with the guru. Then only would you understand him. Because they act very funny ways. But in every action of theirs, in every plan of theirs, there's a method in their madness. For they're all kookie. Right. So the chela asked, "Guruji, what have you done?" So the guru says, "It's no good being too perfect. Y ou must have this little imperfection in you. This garden is too perfect." And that's the only way you can survive. So here is a matter of understanding. Understanding ourselves. And by understanding ourselves, we understand the environment or the peop le around us. There was this big dinner in Kankakee. And so many guests were invited, including one gentleman from China. He was there too. So at this banquet in Kankakee this one fellow sitting next to this foreign gentleman from China tried to be fri endly. And when the soup was served, this man said to this Chinese gentleman, "You like soupee?" So there's a broad smile on the Chinaman's face, huh, fine. Ok. Then afterwards the fish course was served and he asked, "You like fishee?" Broader smile, yea, fine. And then it came [laughter] the turn they know the joke the turn of this refined Chinese gentleman to make a speech toast time and he spoke in impeccable, perfect English. Perfect grammar, perfect pronunciation. So after that was done he sat down and he told this man from Kankakee, "You like speechee?" [Laughter] So we go on underestimating others or overestimating others. We go on doing that first to ourselves. So here this is where self confidence comes from. You see. And t hat is a great problem for most people today. To find the self confidence to surrender our grosser ego self to the higher self in us. That's still far away from Divinity, that's still far away. But that is the process where the subtler level of the ego self takes over and with the light it sheds.... You see we are a combination of cycles within cycles within cycles within cycles. So here the higher level of the ego self sheds its light

7. U S 81 - 29 upon the grosser level of ourselves, and things that are non conduci ve, non productive as far as our evolution is concerned now being empowered by the higher ego self clarifies itself to and gets rid of the dross. Part one. So to whom do you surrender? You surrender the ego to the ego. The lower self of the ego to the hi gher self of the ego so the higher self, the better self that is in everyone, covers or banishes the darkness of the lower self. Haa! Now with this clarity, when this clarity comes about in the ego self, then you start having a glimmer what the true spir itual teacher, the true guru, represents. Then you start having a glimmer. I was chatting with Sujay the other day and he was telling me of how some chelas go to some ashrams and the gurus keep them hanging around for 10, 15 years, even without initiating them. There's a purpose for it. The guru feels that this person is not ready, not ready. Puts him through all kinds of work, the most menial kinds of work scrubbing floors, and you know, cleaning the toilets and what have you. Why? To break down, t o break down the grosser ego self which has the greatest sense of I ness. For the higher ego self has the greatest sense of we ness. We ness. We. W E. It's like the me, first the grosser self, and looked as a reflection, looks like W E. Right, lovey, Dorothy. If you make a ME and put it on the mirror, the reflection would look like WE. You see. So this is how it works. So you surrender the lower ego self, the ME self, to the WE self of the ego. For there is only one ego, and the ego is mind and the mind is universal. But just because of the ME self we find the differentiation and separation, the illusion that we spoke about some time this week. Right. So that is the process. That is where we start in. The lower self of the ego is surrendered or sub mitted to the higher self of the ego. Now when that is done, a greater clarity comes in our minds which is the subtle self or the ego self. Then we get a true glimpse or some glimmer of what Krishna represented, what Christ represented, what Buddha re presented. Perhaps someone that is existing now represents. That consciousness. And he can transmit that consciousness if you but clarify the ego. So the process Sujay was telling me about in the ashram he found it to be so weird. While we here in Am erica like everything to be instant: instant coffee, instant pudding, instant illumination... everything instant. But then I explained him that this was necessary to break down that ME NESS into that WE NESS. For the ME NESS is meanness. So from that WE ness, as we progress on the path, when we regard everything to be us, then we start having a glimmer to repeat again of consciousness. Ahh! That is universal, the totality of this universe that we exist in. And when man realizes tha t totality, then he is an enlightened man. For at that level of consciousness it is all light. And therefore we call it enlightenment. It's all illumined; therefore we call it illumination. That is the real self. Therefore we call it self re alization.

8. U S 81 - 29 So you see the process that we go through. And we can do it in one lifetime. Never mind how mixed up we are. We can still achieve it in one lifetime. [END SIDE ONE] We can achieve all this in one lifetime by directing our energies just for one hour a day to a ce ntral focal point using the very same ego, the conscious level, to penetrate deeper to the higher self of the ego, the superconscious level, for the superconscious level is also part and parcel of the ego. And that is where we find true joy. And that is where having become one. So from ME NESS, WE NESS, ONE NESS. Do you see the process? ME NESS, WE NESS, ONE NESS. You see. So in the lower strata of the ego we have ME NESS. In the higher level, the higher strata we have the WE NESS. And then at its highest point of consciousness there is this oneness. And then you're back to the I again. But the "I" has expanded so much. It stops remaining the small "i" and it becomes the big "I." And yet, having this body, this rotten piece of flesh and blood.. . leave out the body for a couple of days and you see it stinks after it's dead. It does, Dorothy. Yes. And I was told that it's the chemical value of this body is just about $1.25. With inflation perhaps a bit more. It is all a delusion. Darwin went o n a visit. You know, Darwin of Origin of Species, that Darwin, Charles Darwin. He went to visit some friends on a farm. Now these friends had two sons, mischievous little boys. They thought let's play a joke on Darwin. So what they did was they got ho ld... they caught a grasshopper, and they caught a butterfly and they caught a beetle, and one or two other insects. And then they took off the wings of the butterfly and pasted it on the beetle. They took a certain part of the anatomy of one thing and p asted it on the other and created something different. Now they were making a joke on Darwin. Fine. So they took it to Darwin and said, "Sir, can you identify this bug for me please?" While nudging each other. Having fun, as little boys do and should d o. They must have their fun. We're all little boys and girls. Nothing wrong with a bit of innocent fun. Right. So Darwin looked at it and smiled to himself. He said, "When you caught this, was it humming?" They said, "Yes sir, it was humming." Then he said, "Right, then this is a humbug." So you see all this humbug going around. All this humbug going around right here within our minds. Instead of just facing a very simple truth in whichever way your temperament is bent. If it's bent towards sur render then surrender the grosser part of the ego to the higher part of the ego. That will in turn make you realize and experience what consciousness is about. Perhaps on its own, which is very difficult, perhaps through some teacher you realize this con sciousness. And then you know that this ego is nothing but humbug. Get rid of the bug and realize the hum. In Sanskrit the hum means the "I," the big "I." And that's no bug, brother, and it won't bug you either. You see. Realize the hum, the I. I an d my Father are one. When I dwelt in my ego self, I thought we were separate. But now experiencing the consciousness, I know that my Father and I are one. You see.

9. U S 81 - 29 So that is the difference how the enlightened man becomes a law unto himself. For none o f his actions are ever binding. For we are incapable of interpreting the actions of a true master. Incapable. That is why Buddha suffered, that is why Krishna suffered. That is why Christ suffered. Where no one wanted to accept him, everyone kicked his ass. Ahh, he drinks and has friends and dines with the Pharisees and money lenders and whatever. He befriends Mary Magdalene who had a notorious reputation. Who could understand him. But what was he doing? Great guru, great guru. One of the greatest th at has walked this earth of ours. One that could live as a totally ordinary man, share a plate of food with you, share a glass of wine with you. And yet so at one with you in the WE ness of that two percent ego self. And yet the oneness or the allness of his consciousness, his real self. You see. So simple. That is why they are laws unto themselves. Do you understand? Fine. Yea. You've got it. Well, we've done an hour already. You know, this Nasradin had a cousin who had a cousin. Nasradin's cousi n was Fasladin, and he had another cousin, Janudin. So Janudin picks up the telephone from a public booth and he dials. He says, "Could I have a box for two." Reminds me because we went to see Evita at the show in Chicago yesterday. Could I have a box for two. So the voice says, "We don't have a box for two." He says, "But isn't this the ticket office of the Schubert Theater?" So the voice replies, "No, this is the office of the undertaker." It's been nice. Nice evening. Beautiful, beautiful, beauti ful. ****END****