March 17 2005

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A discourse by Paramahamsa Nithyananda on Cognitive Shifts delivered in Los Angeles, California.

Transcript:

(0:17)

||Bhrmanandam Parama Sukhdam kevalam jnana murtim dvanvatitam gagan sadrasham tattva masya di lakshyam ekam nithyam vimalam achalam sarvadhi sakshi bhutam bhavatitam triguna rahitam sadgurum tam namami||

I welcome you all with My love and respects.

(01:13)

Today’s subject is: Cognitive Shift It is wonderful subject. First of all, let us understand what I mean by this word ‘cognitive shift.’ We always perceive, see, understand the world as we want to see, not as it is. Always we wanted to see only as we want to see. We see only as we wanted to see. Modern day psychologists they say, ‘If hundred things are happening around us, we record only two percent, only two things. Only two percent of the things we perceive and internalize it.’ It’s like a you have hundred page novel, beautiful book, fiction novel- hundred page. You got only two page, random two page. Based on that two page, you try to re-build, you try to rewrite the whole hundred page. How much your novel will be true to that original? Not even two percent because that two percent will be lost, it will be lost. It will not be even two percent.

(02:58)

Same thing happens with us also. In our life, continuously we see only what we want to see, we think only what we want to think, we perceive only what we want to perceive. It’s like a hundred things are happening around you, but you collect only two percent. Based on that two percent, you build your whole life. All the other gaps you fill and you come to a conclusion about the world, about society, about persons, about incidents, about places, about your own life... There is a beautiful idea in Shiva Sutras. Shiva says, “A person who can see the whole world through third eye, he will live the blissful and auspicious life.” When he says third eye, he doesn’t mean that you will have one more eye in the forehead and you will open that. Not...he doesn’t mean that. He means the person who will see the world as it is, not as he wants it to be.

(04:36)

In Vedanta, they say beautiful way ‘drishti-srishti’ and ‘srishti-drishti’. Srishti-drishti means what is there you see. Drishti-srishti means, what you want, you see. Drishti-srishti means you see as you want. Two ways of seeing: One, seeing what you want. Another one, seeing what is. We always see only what we want. Again and again I tell people, there are two kinds of thing. One is collecting all the arguments and passing judgement. Another one is, after preparing judgements, collecting the arguments to support the judgement. Lot of time, we pass judgement, we give judgement. Then to support the judgement, we collect arguments. Arguments are collected to support the judgement. Judgements are given with prejudice.

(05:51)

I have always seen, if the husband is attached to Me, wife will never come to Me, because anything husband does is wrong. You see, she may read My books without husband’s knowledge. Secretly she may read My books. She may listen My discourses. She may even come and meet Me in the other city. I have seen but in front of husband, she will never come to our program. She will never come to meet Me. Accepting Me is okay but accepting that husband is right is too much, that is too much! That we can’t do. And the same way, if the wife comes and gets attached with Me, husband will never come because always wife is wrong. That is a very clear decision-whatever she does is wrong!

(06:45)

And I have always seen, if A and B are not getting along with each other, if the B is attached, A will start blaming Me. And if the A is attached, B will start blaming Me. They know that Swami is nice person, they know. They even know Me but the difficulty is the other person cannot be right. So when you pass judgement without collecting the arguments, you start collecting the arguments to support the judgement. Husband accepting that husband is right or wife is right is too much, it is too much. We can’t afford that.

(07:31)

So we always see, we always think, we always work only what we wanted to see, only what we wanted to understand. The way in which we wanted to see the world, only in that way we see; the way in which we wanted to understand, only in that way we understand; the way in which we wanted to move, only that way we move. From that, instead of having the srishti-drishti, if your mental set up moves to drishti-srishti; instead of seeing what you want, if you start seeing what is, the cognitive shift has happened in you. When I say the word ‘cognitive shift,’ I mean instead of seeing what you want, instead of hearing what you want, instead of smelling what you want, instead of thinking what you want, start seeing what is, start smelling what is, start feeling what is, start hearing what is, start perceiving what is. From what we want, to what is - is what I call cognitive shift.

(09:00)

Even when I speak, you pick up only the statements which supports you. We don’t pick up the whole thing. We pick up only the statements which supports us. If something is contradicting our understanding or if something is hitting our personality, our being, our mental set up, immediately we start thinking, ‘I am not so bad. I think it is not for me’ or we start thinking, ‘Eh! What this Swami knows? After all, He is a young man.’ When I support you, when your ideas are supported, immediately you say, ‘I think this Swami is a well read. He knows things. He really knows things. Well said!’ When some way, I attack you or I touch you, when some way I put the knife on the puss, immediately we think, ‘I think this is not for me.’ And even if your mind, you are not convinced, you feel, ‘I think this is for me only’ and then you start thinking, ‘What this Swami knows?’ You pick up, we pick up only what we want. We don’t pick up, we don’t hear what is said. We hear only what we want.

(10:23)

I have always seen, when the couples sit in the discourse, if I support husbands, husband’s idea, then immediately he will tell, ‘Listen.’ If some way I support wife’s idea, she will tell, ‘How many times I told you, now understand.’ Separate commentary will be going on behind. And each one picks up only what they want. And one more thing, we can make anything out of anything. You can make anything out of anything. It is very easy. Anything can be made out of anything. It’s not big deal. Whenever you see what you want, you hear what you want, you feel what you want, you think what you want, again and again and again, you put yourself in suffering, because your vision is not so broad.

(11:31)

Whatever you think you want, tomorrow itself will become poison for you. Today you think you want something and you think in that way and you see in that way, you hear in that way, you feel in that way. Tomorrow itself your want has changed, your want has changed. So naturally the whole thing you have to now review. Now you have to change the whole thing. But whatever you have accumulated, that becomes poison, samskara or karma. The mental set up which you accumulated to enjoy a particular way of life, when you change your taste, naturally the old mental set up is called karma. Karma is nothing. It is your own choice. You chose it. You wanted that kind of mental set up to live a particular way of life. Suddenly when you start living only, you understand all the side effects and by-products of that life.

(12:45)

A small story. One guy went to the hotel and ordered ten masala dosa, ten idlis, five vada, what not. Finished and had a Bengal pan and ice cream. Suddenly the server brought the bill. The guy looked at that bill and said, “I didn’t order for this. Why did you bring?” But you should know if you eat, even if you don’t order, the bill will come. So when you start living the way of life which you want to live, then you understand the side effects or the bills or payments, after-effects. All those things are understood only when you start living. You understand all those things only when you start living. Then suddenly you realize, ‘Oh! I think I am paying too much for this life. Let me change.’

(13:44)

You can change the house easily, the car can be changed easily, the furniture's can be changed easily; but the mental setup can’t be changed. That take its own time. So when you want to change the whole thing in a new way, you say, ‘Let me change my mental setup also,’ but it will not happen in few days. It will take its own time. So when it take its own time, when it takes its own time, you start blaming your mental set up in the name of karma-fate. Karma or fate is nothing but your own mental set up created by you to enjoy a particular lifestyle which you liked earlier, which you don’t like now.

(14:36)

Our life continuously moves. Everyday your thinking, your perception or your way of receiving the information from the world, the way of handling the information's inside your being, the way of processing the information's and way of coming to conclusion- all these things continuously change, continuously they are changing. So your whole mental setup needs to be in form of liquid, but you try to make it as a solid. All your activities are done to make your mental set up as a solid thing. Whenever you made something solid, you master that art. For example, if the driving has entered into your unconsciousness, if you can drive without thinking about the driving, if you can just drive thinking something else or listening to music or talking to somebody, you say you have mastered the art of driving. Anything which has become solid in you, you say you have mastered that skill. You are the master of that skill. You have become master. Anything, for example cooking, if you can do cooking without putting much effort into it, you say you have mastered, means what? That has become solid part in your being. Solidifying your mental set up is what is continuously you are doing but in reality, the more solid you become, the more dead you are.

(16:30)

I have seen in many houses people don’t even walk throughout the house and live. They use only the bedroom, the bathroom and only one path which goes to kitchen, go out, that’s all-garage. See your own house. You don’t use many part of your house. You have a particular mental set up. Around 8:30 from your bedroom you walk to the hall, from hall you walk up to garage. From garage, you move. And you come back and from there you straight walk to the bedroom, that’s all. Even in your own house, you don’t use so many parts. Why? Your mental setup has become very solid. Your mental setup has become very solid. If you analyze your life a little bit, you will see many funny things. Even in your office, you will walk only in the same route. Same route you will walk and go and sit there and you will come out.

(17:42)

Actually in our own ashram once I asked one of the ashramite who is inside the ashram for two years. I asked him to go to a particular place and get Me some the bay leaf. Bay leaf what you will tell in English? Alright bay leaf, there is no other word. Bay has no English term? There must be. Alright, in Sanskrit we call it bilwa, bilwa. I told him to go and get that bilva leaf. He is shocked. He said, “Where is the bilva tree in our ashram?” I told him, “What are you doing two years here? You are staying inside the ashram two years.” He doesn’t know the bilva tree which is such a huge, big tree! He doesn’t know and he is walking through the same route and he says, “Really Swamiji, I don’t know because I have never seen that tree.” We become so mechanical, many times we don’t even see this side and that side. Our mind has become very solid. Our mind has become very solid, we are not liquid.

(19:09)

You can see the kids how liquid they are! As long as you are liquid, you will be innocent and enjoying the life hundred percent. And that is why, kids are not only innocent, intelligent. Please be very clear, innocent does not mean ignorant. Ignorance is different; innocence is different. Innocence is always associated with intelligence. Innocent means not thinking in a particular mental set up: very liquid. If you are living with a liquid mental set up, actually you are liquid, you will have more sharp intelligence. You will have the ability to respond spontaneously. People who can’t afford spontaneity, they only start becoming intellectual. Intellectual means complicating the simple life.

(20:11)

Philosophy is nothing but saying a very simple thing in a very complicated way. No, really! Any philosophy...philosophy is nothing but saying a very simple thing in a very complicated way. The more you complicate, the greater philosopher you are. The more people should not understand and they should have the idea that they understood. If you can create a feeling in them that they understood but they should not understand. If they understand, then you are not a philosopher. You can’t be any more a philosopher. They will become philosophers. People should not understand but they should be given a idea that they understood. You should give a big, big words. You should supply big, big words and never the meaning, never the way in which people understand. The best way to become a philosopher. These are all few tips how to become great philosopher. Complicating the spontaneous life or the innocent life is what is all about philosophy.

(21:22)

When you can’t afford intelligence, you become intellectual. Actually intellect is a very poor substitute for intelligence. When you can’t use your intelligence again and again take decisions, you decide once for all and keep it with you. You have a ready-made solutions, ready-made formula. When you can’t cook everyday, you have ready-made recipes. You know readymade recipes. In India, practically they cook everyday. And the houses still now I know, morning if they cook, they don’t eat in the evening. It is called tamas food. After three hours the food can’t be… you can’t take that food. That is called tamas. In Gita also they say that you should not eat the food after a muhurta, after two muhurtas. One muhurta is one and half hour. Two muhurta is three hour. After three hours, they will not eat that food. They cook everyday. But here you have got recipes. So when you can’t cook everyday, you will have a standard recipes.

(22:34)

Same way, when you can’t afford intelligence, decision making capacity, when you are not able to be aware that much, you prepare regular standard recipes. That is what I call intellect. Intellect is a poor substitute for intelligence. You have a solid way of thinking, solid set up of thinking. You just see what you want to see, that’s all. Whatever the other person may do but you have your conclusion. This is what you must be thinking. This is what he is doing. This is what he must be doing. You have a very clear idea. Whatever he may do, that we don’t bother. We don’t want to even see that. We are very clear that this is what he is doing and the same way, situations. Not only about the persons, even the situations. Any situation, before it comes itself you know what you are going to do. You decide what you are going to do- any interview. I have seen people are prone to failures. Actually they decide before going to the exams that they are going to fail. They decide before going to the interview they are going to fail. The decision is clearly made. Actually once you make the decision your whole energy works to fulfill that decision.

(24:08)

Any decision made by your mind, immediately your hand, your head, your eyes, your words, your thinking, everything supports the decision. You try to realize the decision, that’s all. When you decide that I think I am going to fail in that interview, so naturally what happens? Your tongue will slip. Your pen will not write properly and you know the right answer, you wanted to click but without even your knowledge, you will be ticking the wrong answer and you will exactly do a big blunder and come out.

(24:53)

Once you decide, your whole unconscious supports the decision. Any decision made by you, any conscious decision done by you, your whole being supports that decision. Your thinking set up, your emotion, your internal energy and of course, the spirit behind your being: the whole thing supports your decision. Whenever you live in a solid way, as I was telling you, instead of being a liquid, if you live in a solid way, you miss many dimensions of your life. You can see the kids. They will think in a different dimension. You can never imagine the way in which they think. You cannot conceive or you cannot even think how the kids are thinking.

(25:52)

A small story. One guy who is forty years old, his hair has become white but he doesn’t want to show to the people that he has become old. He was trying to colour it, paint it with dye... Anyhow, his seven year small boy, he saw that and he asked, “Dada, what has happened to your hair? Why it has become white?” He could have told the truth that, “I am getting old, this is the way it becomes.” He wanted to teach some morality to the children, the kid. He wants to use this opportunity. He said, “No, no, if you tell one lie, one of my hair will become white. If you do one mistake, one of my hair will become white.” Immediately the kid asked, “Dada, dad, why grandfather’s hairs are all white? Why his hair is completely white?” See, you think in one way, the kid is thinking in the other way because they are spontaneous. See, they don’t have a rigid mental set up.

(27:07)

We always think wisdom is associated with age. It is otherwise. We always think the elderly people are wise. See, elderly people are having knowledge, they have knowledge; that is true. They have experience; that is true. But intelligence is totally different. They may have intellect, they may have lot of datas, they may have informations, but the processing speed or the new way of approaching, only kids have got, only kids have that new way of approaching or new way of understanding. Elders may have intellect but only kids have got intelligence, that spontaneity. You will be thinking the whole problem, you will be approaching a whole problem in a particular direction but your kid, he will be thinking in a totally different angle.

(28:07)

That is why in the ancient days, actually the Gurukulams, the problems will be submitted in front of kids and kids will give solution. See the ancient way of living. The Shukabrahma, seven year old boy, he used to teach for the rishis. When the rishis come for health, the problems will be submitted in front of Shukabrahma, a seven year old boy and he used to give solution and Markandeya, all these people because the kids have got different way of thinking. They are not solid, they are yet to become solid. They are more liquid, alive. They are living, they are living energy. So naturally, living energy thinks everything in a different way. Kids approach the world in a different way.

(29:05)

When you become solid, we start thinking in a particular way about the whole thing, about the persons and about situations, situations and about our life. About our life also we have a our own idea. I have seen few people whatever they make, whatever money, house, car, furniture, whatever they make, they will always be sad. I used to ask them, “What happened to you? Why are you always sad?” They will tell Me, “Oh! whatever may be, whatever we may acquire, one day we have to leave and go, Swamiji, what to do?”... And I have seen the other ways also, other group also. They may not have anything but they will be just enjoying, they will be just enjoying. I used to ask them, “What is the reason you are just happy, continuously blissful?” They say, “What else is necessary? We are living, we are living. That is more than enough. We are still alive. Why not live it?... Why not live? Why not celebrate? We are just living, that itself is enough.” So the way in which you perceive the life, the way in which you understand the life...I have seen always people will be thinking, whatever good things happen, they will think, ‘Oh, now it may happen but soon some bad thing will happen.’ There is another one group. Whatever bad things happen, ‘Now it may happen but soon good things will happen.’

(31:03)

There is a beautiful story. One zen master wanted to choose his successor. In a big wall, he put a black dot, one dot. He called all the disciples one by one and asked them, “What are you seeing?” One guy said, “I am seeing black dot.” Another one guy came and said, “O, this is the way world is.” Each one came and gave his idea. One person came and told, “I am seeing a big, white wall and a small black dot.” Master said, “You are my successor.” Everybody saw only the black dot. Nobody saw the big, white wall. It is very few who can see the big, white wall. Very few who can see the life, who can see the joy, who can connect the blissful incidents and feel the whole life is bliss. You can always see, many people I have seen. They come and tell Me, “The day I came to this country, my life has become hell, Swamiji.” There are thousands of good things happened in their life. They will not connect all those things. Some bad things would have happened here and there. They will connect all those things and see the whole life as misery. It is actually your perception, your perception.

(32:32)

And one more thing, many people come to Me and they say, “Swamiji, I have psychiatric trouble. I have psychological problems. Please heal me” but if you see their energy, they will only something physical. How it happens you know? If they get some stomach trouble, some stomach pain, in the beginning, they will feel only some uncomfortable inside their system. They may not be able to exactly find it is only stomach pain. When they feel some uneasiness, they start thinking, ‘I think I have some mental problem.’ Because again and again you are hearing the word, ‘This person has got depression and that person is having mental trouble’ and so much of the anti-depression medicines advertisements you are seeing. So naturally you start thinking, ‘I think I am also having mental problem. I am also having depression.’

(33:27)

And moreover, having depression is a sort of pride. People have now-a days start feeling proud about it and they think that... See, actually taking psychiatric medicine, it has become a sort of a fashion and you think that you are a big person only if you take your sleeping tablet and they start thinking, ‘I think I have psychological problem or I think I have depression.’ They go to doctor and take some medicine and after that, they start believing it. The moment they get that uneasiness, they are not ready to trace the root of that uneasiness. You must have taken something, some wrong food which is not suiting your system. That may be the reason but you don’t have enough of patience. We don’t have enough patience to trace the root ‘why it is happening, what is happening’, that much of patience or that much we are not ready to analyze. We straight away want to come to some conclusion. We have solid set of conclusions. Any uneasiness inside the system, immediately we decide. What we do? ‘I have depression.’

(34:41)

And the sad thing, kids also learn these words. Actually there is a thing called neuro linguistic programming-programming your mind. Kids also learn these words. Ramakrishna used to say beautifully, “In front of kids, if the father, mother fight, kids also learn that words.” ‘Get lost,’ ‘Let you be damn’-all these words they learn, learn from parents and this goes inside their neuro linguistic programming. When they repeat those words again and again they create that same emotion. That is why, a person who again and again listens to the Vedas, even if you don’t understand, if you continuously listen to the Vedas, the sahasranama, Laxmi sahasranama, Lalita sahasranama, Vishnu sahasranama-all these things, even if you don’t listen, if you just listen once in a while, once in a ten days, once in fifteen days, once in a month, even that very listening will cleanse your neuro linguistic programming. Your NLP will be cleansed. The very listening will help you because feeding of the good words inside your NLP itself is a great thing. When you feed these good words inside your NLP, that itself is a great thing. If you don’t feed these great words what you will do? You will be feeding all dirty words. You will be sitting in front of TV and watching all those things. All those words will...only that words will go inside.

(36:17)

Especially with the kids, when all these words goes inside, again and again they repeat these words and create the same emotion. For example, if you repeat the word ’peace’-peace, peace, peace for ten times, without even your knowledge, even if you don’t want, you will start smelling that peace in you. You will start feeling that peace in you. You will start feeling that silence in you. Just very remembrance of that word will start creating that emotion in you. So if you again and again repeat the word depression, depression, depression, disease, disease, disease, what will happen? You start creating that.

(37:02)

That is why I always tell doctors should meditate. Otherwise, simply they will fall sick because they are again and again handling the patients. Again and again those same words are going to their head. It is like everyday...you see when you come back from your clinic, you wash your hands. The same way, you should wash your head. It is just like washing your head. Otherwise, those same words are continuously ringing in your head and I have seen some doctors, even in the dream, they utter the same words. They get attached with some patients and they will be continuously repeating some patient’s name, some disease name. Even in the dreams, they will be uttering all these words. What will happen to you? Naturally you are contemplating on sickness.

(37:54)

‘Yad bhavam tad bhavati.’ In Sanskrit they say, ’What you think, you become that.’ ‘What you visualize, you become that.’ Knowingly or unknowingly, continuously you are visualizing patients, sickness, disease, the word ‘depression’, what will happen to you? Naturally it is very difficult, it is very difficult to keep that high energy, to keep that up energy. So before patients meditate, doctors need to meditate. Actually it is a basic thing for doctors to meditate. It is like a cleaning themselves and even if you are a doctor, even if you can’t meditate, have some like this some mantra, some chanting, some good words. Even if you don’t like Sanskrit, at least have some English words, good words-peace, bliss, ananda, some good words and let continuously those words ring in your ears. Again and again try to infuse those words inside your system. That will help you so that the depression, disease, patient, the same words will not be going inside your head.

(39:13)

When you live in a solid way, in a particular way, you miss the reality. It is like a you see, usually you see 120 degree, only 120 degree. The other part is missing but life is not just 120 degree. Life is 360. Not only this side 360, even this side 360. It is not only one 360, it is the other 360 also -horizontal 360 and vertical 360 but all you have is only 120 degree vision. You live in a solid way. As long as you live in a solid way, you use only 120 degree vision and that also, slowly, slowly reduces. That also slowly, slowly reduces. The more prejudices, less life energy. The more judgements you carry with you; less arguments you listen. Because already the judgements are there. You are not ready to listen to the arguments. You are not ready to live the life. The more solid you become, more dead.

(40:34)

When you become completely solid, you are ready to live in your graveyard. Graveyard is the best place for the solid people. That’s why the moment you become solid, what they do? They put you in the graveyard. See actually the more you become solid, you make your house as a graveyard. Look at your own life. Analyse little bit, what we are doing in our houses. Nothing but sleeping. The joy, laughing, dancing, singing- all these things are lost. It has become a remote thing in our life. Only once in a while, rarely when you go to some party, when friends are pulling you, then you come out. All these things are lost. We have lost in touch with the reality. We have lost in touch with the living, with the life energy. All we do is we see the duets in the cinema and TV, that’s all.

(41:41)

In the life, even the laughter is missing. Even the laughing is missing. If you laugh loudly people start asking, “What happened? what happened to you?” Actually if you are morose, sad, depressed, people feel, ‘Okay, alright. You are alright, you are okay.’ Nobody questions you. Anybody questions you? If you are very silent, depressed, nobody questions you. They say, ‘Alright, you are in a right way.’ But if you are laughing loudly, if you are giggling, they ask, “What happened to you, why are you laughing, what is there? Are you okay?” That becomes something unusual.

(42:25)

See, living in a solid way has become lifestyle. Living in a solid way has become reality for us. That’s what, living with 120 degree vision, living with what we want to see. One more thing, living with a real life is risky because life takes its own course. New-new persons, new-new situations, new-new decisions, new-new understanding, even the same old person will become suddenly new. He may become suddenly intelligent but we are not ready to accept that he has become intelligent. We are never ready to accept that somebody has become intelligent, somebody has changed.

(43:15)

I have always seen people, when they are married, six to ten months they will live together. By that time they will create an idea about each other. The moment they create an idea about each other, they stop living with each other. They live only with that idea. Whatever he does, she will look only through that glass and whatever she does, he will only through the glass. Not only with husband-wife, with kids, with relations, with situations, with workers, with anything, we don’t believe, we are not ready to trust that somebody can become intelligent.

(43:57)

Leave about others, even with you, you are not ready to trust yourself. You are not ready to trust yourself that you learn from your experiences. You again and again keep your low self esteem. Again and again you under judge. You don’t judge yourself properly, why? Because you don’t trust you also grow. Again and again you think, you weigh, you come to a conclusion about yourself only based on the weakest link. In a chain, the strength of the chain is judged. How it is judged? Based on the strength of the weakest link. Same way, you also continuously judge yourself based on the weakest link but your life is not a chain. You cannot be a chain. A chain can… the strength of the chain can be judged based on the strength of the weakest link but with you, it cannot be the reality.

(45:05)

See, when you had the weakest moments, you are very dull, tired, depressed, low. You can’t say you are always in the same mood. You are supposed to judge you with your high mood with your maximum ability. Then you will bring your low moments also to that high level. If you judge yourself based on your low moods, you will bring your high moods also to that low level. ’Oh, whatever is said and done, what will I do? Finally I will wake up like this only.’ You will have a clear-cut conclusion. ‘I may start this business, anyhow I know how I end up, how I end up in other last two businesses, same thing only I am going to do now also. Let us do, what can be done?’ This is the way of thinking.

(45:57)

The problem is the worst curse you can have is this mental set up. If you have this mental set up, be sure you will not go to hell after death because you are living in the hell. You are already in the hell. This mental setup is what I call hell, nothing else. The mental setup of seeing what you want or living with your idea, living with your prejudice, living with your judgement about yourself, about others, about situation, about society, that is another one thing. Continuously everybody blames the society and it is a great pleasure to blame others actually especially for Indians, to talk about others, other Indians, other Indian community.

(46:58)

I went to so many American cities and of course usually, NRIs are the main devotees in the number, the percentage of NRIs is only more. I have always seen, they go on blaming the group. Each one, when they come near Me, they blame the other group. When that person comes near Me, they blame the other group. “Swamiji, you don’t know about this group. You be careful with that group.” And when that other group comes to Me, they start telling, “Swamiji, better be careful with them. You don’t know about them.” And continuously blame the other group. Once you decide some idea about the society you never think that person is also intelligent. He must have done some mistake some ten years ago. You are not ready to let go, you are not ready to let go.

(47:53)

See, I have always seen people who are ready to let go, they live in heaven. They live in heaven. Even if they do all sorts of mistakes, even if they do all possible wrong things, whatever you call socially, socially even if you think they are characterless or whatever you think but if they have this one mental set up of let go, that letting things disappear or letting the things happen, people who don’t keep file, I have seen, they always live in heaven. The other group is also there who are very disciplined, strict but they never let go the things. They keep a big file. They neither forgive themselves nor they forgive others. They continuously suffer.

(48:44)

People come and again and again ask Me, “Swamiji, why do good people suffer and bad people live happily?” Actually bad people can let go. They can forgive themselves and forgive others. If you have that one habit of forgiving you and forgiving others, whatever bad qualities you have, you will never suffer, you will never suffer and there is no other bad quality according to Me. According to Me, the only bad quality is keeping big file on your head, keeping a big file on your head, continuously referring that file. The moment you see her in the party, you don’t smile directly, you just refer that file and then smile. You don’t give your hand, “How are you?” You don’t directly hug. You just refer that file. What is the past and then you smile only that much. You open only two inch or one inch or you don’t open. You just turn your head and go away. And especially in Indian communities, I have always seen. In Indian communities, continuously referring files. See, according to Me, the only bad habit is the continuously referring files, continuously referring files.

(50:00)

One thing, he or she would have done some mistake in the past and how can we think that he has not grown at all? She has not grown at all? Everybody grows. Everybody grows. Everybody takes their own time. And one more thing, the people who don’t forgive others, they don’t forgive themselves also. Understand, they don’t forgive themselves also. They will be continuously torturing themselves. The guilt and the anger is one and the same. If you are angry with others, you will be creating guilt about yourself. Don’t think you can be intelligent. You will only blame others and you will not blame yourself. No! You are not so intelligent. If you have wrong words, violent words against the others, you will use those same words about yourself, with yourself.

(50:56)

The power of the spoken word is not small as you think. The spoken word is as powerful as a sword; It is just like a sword. If you try to kill other, others, naturally you will commit suicide. If you use wrong the words towards others, if you are not able to forgive others, you will see you will not be able to forgive yourself also. According to Me, the only bad quality, only bad quality is not able to forget things, not able to forget things. If you have memory loss, please be very clear, God is blessing you, you have the blessings of the divine. No, really I tell you. People come and tell Me, “Swamiji, please give me memory power, please give me past life memory.” I tell them, “Arey! Last fifty-sixty years memory itself is haunting you. If you get the past life memory also, what will happen?” The smile which you are having now once in a while, that also will disappear, that also will disappear.

(52:14)

So many people come and tell Me, “Swamiji, he drinks too much. He does all these things. She does all these things. He does this type of mistakes and she does this type of mistakes.” People come and complain to Me. I tell them, “You see, even if they do all those things, they are very happy but even if you don’t do, thinking all those things, you are unhappy. Thinking all those things, you are unhappy. Then how can you call yourself as a good person?” They come and tell Me, “She does all these things. He does all these things. They are all happy but I am not happy. I am good person. I don’t do anything.” You may not do anything but you are continuously thinking.

(53:00)

So according to Me, the people who have got the idea of easy going, even if they don’t have the so-called morality, they live happily. According to Me, the only morality, the greatest morality is forgiving and forgetting, forgiving and forgetting. If you can do that one simple thing, that is what...there is a beautiful Sufi saying who is God and who is man? If you do hundred mistake and only one good thing, God will remember that one good thing. If you do hundred good thing and only one mistake, man will remember only that one mistake. The person who remembers only one good thing is God; the person who remembers only one bad thing is man.

(53:50)

I have always seen people are not ready to let go. They have prejudice about the society and when they meet in the parties, the moment they see some particular person, they will decide, ‘I think she is going to talk about me only. He is going to talk about me only. She is going to tell something about me only.’ From a distance itself, you stand and watch. Even if he doesn’t, even if he or she never bothers you, you will be continuously waiting when you can catch them, when you can tell something. If they simply turn towards you once or twice and they talk something else also, what you do? Immediately you go that person and ask, “What did she tell about me? What did he tell about me?” And you have spies also to give material, to give information.

(54:49)

No, actually these are all I am telling, these all are the major hindrances for your cognitive shift and people come and ask Me again and again, “Swamiji, please tell us something to get enlightened. Please tell us something to get spiritual life” and they expect Me to give some technique like, ‘Close your eyes, and sit and chant Om ten times’ or ‘Do Mahamantra’ mmmmmmm. See doing just ten minutes-twenty minutes mmmmmm will not do anything. That is not going to do much. Twenty four hours how you live, that only is going to play major role. I have always seen people doing five hours-six hours they will spend in meditation, bhajan, kirtan and everything. The moment they are judging, even in the parties you will not be happy. You will be bothering about who is talking about me, who is commenting about me, what they are saying about, what they are thinking, let me go and analyze. Even if you don’t get the material directly, you will have two-three spices. “You please come and tell me what they said. You please go and talk to her and just find out what she feels about me.” And you go on collecting material.

(56:06)

The prejudice way of living, having a judgement about society, about yourself, about situations, about persons, about places, even about places. Understand one more thing, about places you have an idea. If you go to beach, you will relax, if you go to office, you will be in tension. You have a clear-cut idea. Even if there is no tension, the moment you enter into your office and go to your table, you start telling, you start shouting, “Ey! Bring this, bring that. What happened to this, what happened to that?” and you start rolling the things, and there will be no work practically. You will be simply sitting and vegetating but you start shouting because our prejudice, ‘Office means I should be stressed, I should be in tension.’ Only then you feel like you have worked, you have done your job. You have a prejudice about everything, about every place. Prejudice about places that also makes you solid, that also makes you solid, rigid. Living in the rigid way is what I call living as you want; living in a simple way, innocent way is what I call living as it is. If you can shift from as you want to as it is, the cognitive shift has happened in you!

(57:47)

Try, I am not saying you need to do some tapasya twenty four hours, no! There is no need to sit inside the fire, there is no need to sit inside the fire and do the Pancha tapas, all those things, nothing is necessary. Sit in your office and be happy, that’s enough. Sitting in your office, try to relax. Again and again consciously break these prejudices: prejudices which you have about the persons. When you see somebody next time, if you have a prejudice, try to drop and look at him or her as he is or as she is. Try in a very simple way. Decide next eleven times I will not have prejudice about her. I will not look at him with my prejudice for next eleven times. I am not saying you need to do throughout your life. Just try for eleven times. Then you will understand how big freedom to live without prejudice.

(58:56)

About any place, decide for next eleven days, I will not be prejudiced about my office. For next eleven days because in eleven days, your mental setup changes. In every eleven days, you undergo a cognitive shift, you undergo a cognitive shift. That is why they ask you do Ekadashi Vrata. Every eleventh day, you are asked to do Vrata because every eleven days, once in eleven days your mental setup changes. ‘Next eleven days, I will not be prejudiced about my office. Next eleven days, I will not be prejudiced about my relationships. Next eleven days, I will not be prejudiced about my society. Next eleven days, I will not be prejudiced about my families, family or friends or any other relation. Next eleven days, I will not be prejudiced about my body.’

(1:00:00)

One more thing, you have prejudice about your body. You decide, ‘If I stand in cold for two minute, I will have problem.’ You decide strongly. Actually you may not have a problem but you again and again touch your throat. ‘I think I am getting, I am getting’ and you get it! And you have a clear-cut idea if I don’t take coffee, I will have headache. And you are so clear and the moment that day coffee is delayed for some reason, if you are missing the coffee, you continuously concentrate on the head, ‘I think I am having headache, I think I am having headache.’ Till the headache comes, you don’t leave. You meditate and bring the headache. Only then you are satisfied. ‘Ah, now things are going properly, things are going properly.’ You have prejudice about your body. About everything, you have prejudice.

(1:01:06)

You live with the mental set up of what you want. If you can liberate yourself from that mental set up, simply the cognitive shift has happened in you. Instead of living with ‘mithya’ you will start living with ‘nithya’. From mithya to nithya, from ephemeral to eternity. It is a very simple concept. You see, I have not said anything which you don’t know. Whatever I said, you know. The problem is you know too much, that is the problem. You know too much. When you know too much, you take it for granted, you take it for granted.

(1:01:49)

A small story. One guy wanted to sell his house. He went to the real estate agent and told him, “Please sell my house.” And after a week, suddenly he ran to the same real estate agent and said, “No, no, no. I don’t want to sell my house. Please withdraw the advertisement.” The agent asked, “Why, what happened? I have already publicized in the house, in the newspaper about your house. Why suddenly you changed your mind?” This guy said, “Only after reading your advertisement about my house in the newspaper, I understood my house is exactly as I wanted it to be, exactly as I wanted it to be. Only then I understood the greatness of my house.” Same way, you do so many things in your life.

(1:02:41)

Just for next few days, drop what you know already and just try to live. Just for eleven days, try this simple experiment very playfully. Try very playfully. When you walk in your garden, you know you think that I know my whole garden. Drop that idea and look at it in a fresh way how a child looks. A child goes with all curiosity to a school. How he or she looks, same way look at it. Whenever you remember, whenever you remember, you don’t even have to create guilt. What you will do? Oh, you will take a oath- ‘Tomorrow onwards I will do this’ and you will forget two-three times. When you forget two-three times, you decide, ‘I cannot do all these things, This is not for me. Alright, better let us drop it.’ You drop. Don’t even create that much of guilt. Don’t even think you will be successful. Try in a very playful way. Think how many times I am able to remember that many times I will try.

(1:03:46)

Whenever you remember, you try. With situations, with person, with places, with relationships, what all judgments you have, try to drop and try to live. Live with a new concept or without any prejudice. Surely in eleven days, we will not die. Am I right? Is there anybody who says, “No, no, no, eleven days if I drop all my prejudice, my business will go away, my life will go away. I will die.” There is nobody. If it will go away within eleven days, then it is not worth of having it, it is not worth having. Better let it be lost. So please be very clear. Surely nothing will be lost; you will only gain. You will only gain, nothing else.

(1:04:40)

Just the other day, I was seeing a beautiful interview about the reversing the ageing process, one interview about this reversing the ageing process. Wonderful vedantic concept explained of sickness. We all continuously live in time-bound awareness because of our prejudice, our mental set up, rigid way of thinking. If you can work little bit on yourself, again and again if you can break, it’s like you see, if you have hundred mental setup, even if you break two, you will be benefitted, you are benefitted. Two is okay. That much of help you have and after a week you can break two. After a week, you can break two. If you take ‘I will break two mental setup in a week,’ that is enough. In one year you will become enlightened. Next year when I come, I will have at least hundred people enlightened in Los Angeles. We can say, “Ah! one hundred people enlightened in Los Angeles.” Simply you can become enlightened. Leave about enlightenment, we can live at least happy, blissful life, happy and blissful life.

(1:05:59)

Just try for next eleven days ‘I will drop my prejudices whenever I remember about the life, society, body.’ Actually you are prejudiced that you will die in eighty-ninety years. That is why your body is getting weak. That is an important reason you don’t know. I have met one person who is 136 years old and I asked him, “How are you able to live?” He said, “In our society, I am a middle aged man. People are living,” he said really, “people are living 200 years, 230 years.” I asked, “How?” He says, “In my elders, in our elders’ tombs, it is clearly written human beings life is 300 years old. If somebody dies in 210, 215 years, they write he had unnatural death in, when he was 210. They write.” So that is the way the people in monks, Lamas, they have even done a research on them and it is true that they live for 200-300 years. Their life system. Nothing but a simple understanding and belief that they have a clear-cut idea human beings life is 300 years old, that’s all! But you have a prejudice you will die in 80 - 90. So that is why your body is preparing only for 80 - 90 years. So your idea about yourself is a basic need to live happy life. Whenever you can, whenever you remember, again and again and again, try to break the mental set up with which you are living. Simply...

(1:07:57)

Photos

On 17th March 2005 Swamiji is seen giving a TV interview with Yogi Ramesh in Los Angeles (shake in picture!). Later he delivered a discourse titled 'Cognitive Shift' in Los Angeles. Soon after the talk he met and blessed each and everyone who came for the event. Below are some pictures taken during the day.

Tv Interview Yogiramesh

At Devotees

Discourse Cognitive shift