Comment:
I always thought the witness never changed but now I understand that it actually moves with the ego and it moves up the chakras as we evolve.
Sri Vasudeva:
The calmer we are, the better we listen, or the more attentive we are, the better we listen. So the stronger our power of attention or the deeper our depth of calmness, then the better is the listening. So it’s the same with observing.
Question:
In order to experience the turiya state does one have to have the crown chakra completely open or can one have experiences of it before then?
Sri Vasudeva:
The brow and the crown chakras have a relationship and on the way between the brow chakra and the crown chakra, we’ll begin to feel the state of freedom more and more as we ascend. And when it stabilizes in the crown, then it stabilizes in the turiya but I’m sure that as we move upward, we get glimpses of it. We can feel it and for some brief moment we may experience it but cannot hold it.
MASTERING ALL THE WORLDS
Comment:
What struck me most about these states was when you spoke of mastering all the worlds. It means it is achievable. So thank you for that.
Sri Vasudeva:
And that’s why I added it in here because some people may want to say, “Well this is a miserable world and we don’t like this world. We’re happier in the subtle world. ” But when you go into the subtle world you carry the same kind of negative feelings as well and soon enough you wouldn’t like the subtle world either. So the idea is not escaping these worlds but the idea is going into a higher state of consciousness where you can master all the worlds. If you can master this world then you can master all the rest. So that’s the power.
Question:
I experienced that I can work on my body consciousness, I can work on the consciousness of the energy levels of the causal experiences and I have the feeling that I can work on it and deepen it but how can one develop the awareness of the fourth state?
Sri Vasudeva:
Well that means you’re on the way to the turiya. This is the way to the turiya – from the body to the subtle body .
Question:
So the work is done on the three levels? And you fall in the fourth one?
Sri Vasudeva:
Absolutely. And you fall into the fourth one.
Question:
And can one develop an awareness in the fourth state?
Sri Vasudeva:
If you think of chakras as lotuses that open, that we work on, in a technical sense, we do not have a crown chakra. So the idea is that we have six chakras but the seventh chakra is the destination. The crown chakra is not something that we open. When the brow chakra opens up, the energy goes into the crown. So the crown chakra is the destination.
Some books say there are only six chakras and I like to think of it like that because in my own experience when the brow chakra opened up fully, the crown was there. I didn’t have to work on the crown chakra. When I was working on the brow chakra, I could feel the effect it was having on the crown area because it was opening and going further. And when the brow chakra was fully opened, the whole crown was stabilized. So I did not work for turiya. It’s not that I understood this turyia nor was I saying, “I’m going to turiya now.” I was focusing on piercing the chakras because that’s how it felt. I wanted to open every block and then finally when the brow chakra opened fully, there I was. So it’s working on these chakras - the ones you have before you that you’re working on – that’s going to take you there.
Question:
So does the feeling of development in the fourth state really refer to the length of the experience because you talked about having a glimpse of it?
Sri Vasudeva:
When the eyebrow chakra is opening up more and more, you begin to feel a sense of this state. It’s like if you’re going closer to the sea. Before you even reach the sea you may begin to feel the wind of the sea and you may begin to smell the ocean close by until you reach the ocean. So it’s the same. As you begin to go higher, you get the sense of more and more freedom and you feel that this is feeling nicer and nicer and you want more and more of it. And then finally it comes into view, like the ocean.
But for a lot of people when they hear the word ‘turiya’ and the word ‘observer,’ they think it’s something they have to find or reach or become. But all those of us who are engaged on the spiritual journey, are already beginning to work on these and even though we may not know the name or the name may seem exotic, sometimes we actually slip into this state by the grace or help of the energy around us. If we are in the field of the Guru, for example, and the Guru is strongly immersed in turiya, as the real Gurus are, then if we are ready, we can be transported by virtue of their power, to that (state of turiya) for a moment. The state may stay for a little bit and then the moment we move away from that source, it falls back. So by virtue of the strength of the Guru or the Master, or the strength of a group, we’re able to stay there. By virtue of that strength we are able to stay there. That’s how sometimes we can get a glimpse and then afterwards we are unable to support it.
REACHING THE FOURTH STATE
Question:
Do we have to work by step-by-step to get to the turiya state?
Sri Vasudeva:
Well it is a work of ‘step-by-step’ to take you there but when you are there, you are free.
Question:
In the fourth state, you are no longer the observer?
Sri Vasudeva:
You can observe but it’s not like you have to practice observing. It’s natural for you to see everything around you. You don’t practice. For example when you have attention problems then you have to practice, “Let me practice staying focused here, because the mind wants to stray.” But when you’re very focused and you come and you look you don’t have to say, “Well let me practice this properly.” When it moves, when it strays then you need to practice keeping it in line but when it’s always there then you need to practice. So when you are in this place of the Observer then you don’t have to say, “Well let me observe this properly.” The observing will be already there. You’ll be actually seeing differently.
Comment:
A participant describes a meditation where she was aware of time but unaware during the experience. Is that’s a part of the turiya state?
Sri Vasudeva:
Well in turiya, you can be aware of time or not aware of time. It really doesn’t matter. It’s not time-based. It’s really being in a certain place inside of you. Whether you are conscious of the clock or not, the state continues.
Comment:
A retreat participant directs a comment to the online viewers:
I’ve been here in the ashram for about eleven days now. I’m following the program with great enthusiasm. Today was the first day I left the ashram and from the minute I left the car, it was an entirely different world so I’ve got a lot of respect for you doing the program at home. Keep up the good work. If you have advice for me, give it to me because it’s a lot more difficult doing the discipline at home than when you’re doing it right here in the ashram. So keep up the good work and I’m really proud of you.
Question:
Why does the journey to enlightenment take longer for some and shorter for others? You took three years, Swami Muktananda took nine years, so what is the difference?
Sri Vasudeva:
On Swami Muktananda’s journey, the nine years brought out many experiences that are very valuable to people, because from his experiences - he traveled to different worlds, good and bad, he had different kinds of guidance and I think, based on what he experienced, that people are able to be helped. So sometimes the drama of how any years could also be that the person is going through a journey that will help people.
Now, my journey has been different in terms of the spectrum of experiences but I think my own journey has to do with the people I’m leading as well – that I’ve gone through this as it is, how it is, so that I may be able to help people in that particular way as well.
I do believe that this is an awareness that I had before and I know that my purpose in coming in this life is to help people. So at 24 years old when I had this awareness already, I knew that this was going to be a life with a mission and that I was remembering things that I had before. And that’s how I have considered my life. So all those who come to me for guidance, I know that they are ready for the level I have to offer. So that’s why I tell you it’s achievable because if you have come to me then I know that that’s what you were sent to me for.
if you go to a university and there are certain professors at that university who are experts in a subject, then you’re sure that’s what you’re going to come out with when you leave the university. That’s why you select that particular university – because these professors are there. So it’s the same.
if you happen to meet a master and you feel this is the master for you, then you’ll know that this is what you have come to learn. And that’s why I say with so much certainty that this is what you can achieve too. That’s why you are here with me. It is for you to have faith in that and to believe that it is possible.
Question:
How can one observe in another level in another dimension? How is it possible?
Sri Vasudeva:
Well, if you close your eyes, do you think you can observe my loving presence?
Participant:
Yes.
Sri Vasudeva:
And if you know my loving presence, then when you are observing another person, can you also get a feeling for what kind of energies are coming from them?
Participant:
Yes.
Sri Vasudeva:
Well that is observing in another dimension.
BABIES AND THE SOURCE
Question:
Is a newborn baby in the Source?
Sri Vasudeva:
No, they’re not in the Source. All the impressions of the past lives are there. They appear to be in the Source because they look so loving but when they are hungry they will cry and can be miserable, right? And when they are well fed you see them happy. Yet animals are no different. When they are well fed, they are playing and happy but they are not enlightened. I’m just saying that because babies look so comfortable or so “seemingly happy,” it doesn’t mean that they are in the Source but it’s just that they don’t know better.
Question:
Does one get a new ego at birth? Does a new “I” start?
Sri Vasudeva:
Yes an “I” will begin to develop when you’re born because it’s a new body you’re coming into - a new brain. You’re coming into a different kind of scenario for this life. Certain souls that you have met before will return in a completely new scenario. So you’re going to bring the experiences of the past as you begin to grow up, and out of the present situation, you’re going to develop a new ego.
VISIONS DURING MEDITATION
Question:
During the meditation I see a face coming up and it looks like the face of a teacher. What does this mean?
Sri Vasudeva:
When visions come to you - say you see some teacher coming to you or some other vision and you cannot make sense of it, then you don’t need to make sense of it. If it is meant to be a message for you then it will stay with you and the answers will come to you. So it is unimportant to be unnecessarily preoccupied or taken up with all the things you see. Sometimes they may have a message and when they do, the answer will come to you eventually. And sometimes they don’t mean anything and when they don’t mean anything, just let them go. So do not be attached to all those things that you see. They may have meaning or not.
Question
cont’d:
After the visions disappear, I have a headache and feel very cold.
Sri Vasudeva:
In that case, you seek help from inside. You can speak to the Energy and ask, “If this has a meaning for me, please let me know. And if there is no meaning then please let it go.”
CHANTING, MEDITATION AND THE SOURCE
Question:
Why is it easier for me to touch the Source in chanting than during meditation?
Sri Vasudeva:
For a lot of us chanting brings about a deeper experience that can lead us into meditation and it is because music captivates. So the idea of rhythm and the idea of sound and harmony, captivate us and draw our attention.
Sometimes we use music as a tool for learning. You can teach children how to say the alphabet in a song or you learn some difficult things in a song – because when you put rhythm and you put music, it seems to stay with us better. I’d say that you are more receptive to music and to sound and that’s why the mind is able to become more peaceful than when you sit just for meditation only. Of course I have had had the same experiences too. Thank you.
WHEN A KRIYA DISAPPEARS
Question:
If someone used to have pain or pressure or heat in a chakra and then this feeling goes away after a few months, does it mean that the blockages are cleared?”
Sri Vasudeva:
If you have symptoms like pressure or tension or heat and then it disappears – it could mean that the blockage is cleared or it could mean that it has become passive for a little while and will return. So you can’t be exactly sure until you observe it over a longer period of time and it does not come back again. Although the situations that brought it up are still there, it’s not coming up. So if it’s not coming up, you can actually see that perhaps there has been some change in you as a result of it – there is some growth or some development. Then you can be sure that it’s taken you the next step and it has disappeared.
Question:
You spoke of what it means when a kriya disappears. What if that feeling is coming back? Did you do something wrong?”
Sri Vasudeva:
I don’t think on the journey, Linda, that we think of “wrongness”. We’re learning so sometimes when you do things and the results are not what you expect, don’t think that there is some wrong thing about it because we learn from every step. Look for what is the learning from it.
If a state went away and came back, then it just shows you that there is more work to do. So don’t look at it as you having done something wrong. Look at what you can do now. “What is it telling me? It is telling me I need to continue to do what I am practicing or I need to continue to deal with this because this is existing.” So look for what you need to do to get it out of the way. But don’t look in terms off “What have I done wrong?” Although I know perhaps you mean that maybe you could have done something better or that you’re not doing something – but you said if as though you’re doing something wrong. But I don’t look in terms of “wrongness”. I think whenever something happens or reappears, it is telling you a story. It is telling you to work harder or you need to work differently. That is the approach that I would take.
TURIYA – A STATE OF PURE JUDGMENT
Question:
Often you say to me to learn not to judge. Is it possible to observe without judgment only in moments of the fourth state or is it also possible from the level of the other states?”
Sri Vasudeva:
If you look at the chakras, the beginning of the fourth state will be in the brow centre. As you go deeper and deeper into the brow centre, you’ll feel more and more of the presence of this fourth state of consciousness. You’ll feel more of a deep state of witness inside of you.
But on the way to that, the mind may still be prone to making judgments. It may still have the tendency to make judgments. So we need to remember that the tendency of the mind to look at something and analyze it and come to a conclusion, will be there. It’s part of the intellect. But when you label somebody as being ‘that’ or you label a situation and say “this is what it is, that’s when you’re making a judgment.
You need to be very careful about that. You can look at things and say “Well, this is a possibility, that is a possibility,” but you don’t hold it as a certainty inside of you, otherwise that’s when you make a judgment.
As you become more and more aware - not even in this full turiya state - as you become more and more aware, as the brow centre opens up a little more, you will actually begin to see that new possibilities are there in a situation, not only one. So then your tendency to make judgments will become a little less. When this brow centre is opened up a little more, you’ll see a little more clearly. This is a centre of clear seeing.
The state of turiya is where the pure state of judgement is or the perfect state of no judgment. But before that you begin to see different possibilities. You may say, “You know what? Maybe I shouldn’t be judging. I should be listening a little more.” That can happen when the brow centre is opened and even before the full turiya is there.
When the full turiya is there then we do it so naturally, we don’t practice it. But before the full turiya is there we see different possibilities and it becomes a practice and we feel good in the practice of it. We don’t have it fully but we are happy to practice this because it opens up our minds to new possibilities.
As the brow centre opens up, we see other possibilities and we make less judgments in the way that we used to before this brow centre was awakened. So this brow is the centre of new possibilities. It is the centre that will take us to turiya consciousness. And it is the centre where the beginning of this turiya consciousness is.
Question:
I judge less. It is not black and white but then I feel I can be so wishy-washy.
Sri Vasudeva:
Really begin to think how the intellect works. When you are quiet in assessing something or if you can’t make a conclusion immediately about something, don’t think that you’re wishy-washy. It is just that you’re taking your time to make a conclusion. In order to make good decisions or to make good judgments, you need to deliberate and take time and if you really do and you look at all possibilities, then you’re more likely to come up with a better judgment eventually.
If you cannot make better judgments right away in a certain situation and you are deliberating and going inside and you are taking time to understand the situation and different possibilities, I wouldn’t call it wishy-washy at all.
When you stop making quick judgments, relax your way of looking, and you look for more possibilities, then you’ll be able to make better judgments eventually. So better judgments are made in deliberation - when you can look at all possibilities. Sometimes when you’re intuitive and you’re able to grasp other possibilities quickly, then snappy decisions can be made that are very powerful.
Question:
Sometimes I think that I should not make judgments. Is that perhaps my misconception?
Sri Vasudeva:
What I was saying before is that sometimes when we deliberate before making any judgment and you think it’s wishy-washy because you could not make a proper decision at a particular time - I was saying that good judgment requires some kind of deliberation when we can look at all the other possibilities rather than making a snappy judgment when we don’t have all the facts or we don’t feel intuitively as we should. Some of us make snappy judgments or decisions and regret it later when we see other possibilities.
I always believe that we should be more circumspect, deliberate a little more, look at other possibilities and then make a proper decision. I was saying that in deliberating that we are able to make better judgments.
Now when you sometimes feel that you should not make judgments that can be an intuitive call. That could be guidance from within telling you, “Don’t make a judgment here,” so you need to also listen to those because they may be coming from your Higher Self. And it’s always better when you don’t make judgments but when you observe a situation and you’re totally clear about it, then you know it’s not just a judgment. Then it’s the truth.
THE CAUSAL FILES OF EACH CHAKRA
Question:
In order to reach the full turiya state what do we have to do with the causal body? Do we have to solve all the problems of former lives?
Sri Vasudeva:
When we open up all the chakras fully, we are actually clearing up the causal body. In every chakra the causal memory is there from past lives. So every chakra is like a filing cabinet with certain types of files. So this anahata or heart chakra has emotional files. The vishudha or throat chakra has communication files. This agya or eyebrow chakra has mental files. And the causal body is also involved in all of the chakras. So when we are opening up chakras, we are also cleaning up files.
The joy of the Kundalini journey is that you don’t have to go to open up each individual file. You can deal with that whole filing cabinet with energy – piercing the energy. And as you begin to pierce the energy with your attention and your will, you’ll find the appropriate files coming out. And when they come up you’ll deal with them. And as you begin to deal with them, you’ll continue your quick movement through the cabinet looking at the ones that are powerful - that you’ve been hiding and you’ll clean them up. And when you clean them up, you’ll find yourself cleaning up the entire filing cabinet very quickly.
That’s the path of Energy. And that’s what I love about it very much. It’s that you don’t have to go in details about every karmic imprint that you have or every karma that is stored within you. The moment you begin to go deeper and deeper within, with your awareness and will, you’re cutting through.
And it’s especially powerful if you’re in a strong force field that helps you. Then when you’re cutting through, you have this field of power supporting you as you do it. Just like when you’re around the Guru for example, there is so much more power in the meditation or there is so much more power with things around.
But of course this doesn’t mean only physically. You can be around the energy of the Guru wherever you are, especially if you have met the Guru before or have had some kind of contact with him, then it’s easy to be in his field, to tune into him. And for those of you who may not have met me, for example, and you feel awakened by what I say, it means that I’m simply inspiring things within you that are already there. So that can also be a very powerful influence. So a book can inspire you with ideas or a person can inspire you but ultimately they’re bringing out things from deep inside of you and ultimately they become a support to you.
THE FOUR STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE CHAKRAS
Question:
Is there a connection between the four states of consciousness and the seven chakras?
Sri Vasudeva:
Yes. When the brow centre is fully opened, you get the fullness of the fourth state. And when you get the fullness of the fourth state and the brow is fully opened, you can step into any chakra with control. I have always said that the brow centre is the management centre. Once the brow centre is opened fully it allows you to manage or control all the other centres. It’s like the pituitary gland being a master gland controlling all the other glands in the endocrine system. So when the brow chakra is opened - this is the chakra of the mental space - the turiya state is achieved.
Question
cont’d:
The first chakra is connected with the physical world. What about the other chakras?
Sri Vasudeva:
Well all the chakras are involved in the waking state. All the chakras are involved in the dream state because when we are dreaming, we are using all the chakras too. All the chakras are there in all the states. But the brow chakra this one has to be fully opened for us to be able to access the turiya consciousness. The brow chakra opens up our consciousness to a higher level than the lower chakras. But all the chakras can influence the body, for example or influence things in the waking state.
Question:
When the sixth chakra is opened fully does that mean that the Kundalini stabilizes there or is that a stage before…?
Sri Vasudeva:
Well you’ll begin to feel when the brow chakra opens up. You will begin to feel when it becomes stable. You’ll actually feel this energy at the brow at all times. At all times you’ll feel it. In the beginning, in my experience, it would come and go, come and go – but after a while it stays and the moment you focus at this point, you can actually feel the power of this centre and when that happens, then stability is coming. And that stability comes even before enlightenment. You’re able to have a stable mind, manage the thoughts, but the ego is still there as a strong friend or obstacle.
And usually the ego is an obstacle when it thinks “I know so much, I can control my mind. Not only can I control my mind, I can control another persons’ mind.” (laughing)
Question:
Does the ego become your friend at the journey’s end?
Sri Vasudeva:
When you say “the ego becomes your friend,” you really mean you become your friend because you are the ego speaking right? You become your friend. It also means is that you are able to connect to the Source better. You become your own friend because you allow the ego to be a servant to the Source, to be guided by the Source within you, to be guided by the Higher Power within you. That’s why you become your own best friend. You become your friend and not your enemy.
PHYSICAL PROBLEMS OR KUNDALINI EXPERIENCES?
Question:
When I have pain in my tailbone, can this also be because I’m starting to open the first chakra more and more?
Sri Vasudeva:
Well hopefully you’re sitting properly but yes, if you feel a kind of heat. But if you have any kind of pain and its not heat or so, then you need to see a doctor. And not every sensation you have is Kundalini. So if you’ve been having spiritual experiences then it may be Kundalini but if you’ve been sitting badly or you’ve been keeping the body in improper postures, it can be physical pain. So I would say that not every pain that you feel in the tailbone area is the Kundalini.
And if it is Kundalini, it will come again and again and usually heat – heat – is a good sign that it’s the Kundalini Energy but if you mean that it’s a pain that’s related to some kind of heat. Also there might be some kind of pain but it’s…the pain is energy related, so you will also that there is some kind of energy that is there and not like it’s physical something. So you need to define what that pain is. Does it feel like energy or does it feel like something to do with muscles or ligaments or nerve…so you need to be careful of what that pain is like. So the pain in the Kundalini . Does this mean I have major blockages there or is this a health issue?
Question:
The area around my third chakra gets very, very warm when I focus there. Does this mean I have major blockages there or is this a health issue?
Sri Vasudeva:
Or maybe none. Maybe it means that you are manifesting energy at that point. Does it bring vitality into the body? This is called the sun chakra, the centre of vitality and when it’s activated you can actually feel the heat there. For those people who have powerful navel chakra or manipura chakra, you can actually feel heat emanating from this space. So it can just be emanation of energy and may not be anything to do with pain or some issue to be concerned about. So it may be a symptom of energy manifesting and not necessarily mean anything negative at all or some impurity.
Question:
When people come to me with problems and I can’t help them, when do I tell them to go to a Guru or to a psychologist.
Sri Vasudeva:
Well you can say that very nicely, right? You can say, “Well I’d love to help you but this seems to be beyond me. I think you need proper guidance.” And maybe you need some recommendations but you need to say when it’s beyond you. Say, “I’d love to help you but this seems so much beyond me, I think this is what you will need.” I think you can do that – you need to do that to be fair to the other person.
MENTAL ILLNESS
Question:
Can one who is challenged by mental illness deal with causal body issues as well as anyone else?
Sri Vasudeva:
I think so - as much as grace will allow in a lifetime and as much as they have spiritual help that can cross the boundaries, opening up chakras or opening up spiritual channels. I think that is the best kind of help in certain situations. So we have to determine if someone is mentally challenged and whether it has to do with the brain itself. If the brain is challenged, it challenges the expression of the soul in the body and then some kind of medical intervention is required or some kind of miracle healing is required.
But in some cases where it’s not so much of the brain and it’s a psychological situation or deep emotional situation that’s causing some kind of depression, then sometimes strong spiritual energy or a different kind of discipline can create transformation or healing. So a lot of possibilities are there but I think the greatest challenge is when the physical body is challenged with some brain issue – then that makes it more difficult.
Usually when some people come to me and they have some kind of brain issue and I can detect it, I recommend a psychiatrist and I can work with them whilst they’re having that treatment but they need to bring the brain back to a better level to work psychologically or emotionally or spiritually with them.
Question:
If a soul decides to have another lifetime here and to come in the ill body of a ‘fool’, what has it to complete in this new life and what is there in its causal body?”
Sri Vasudeva:
Well I would say that it must be some punishment from the past – that it must have done something to deserve the life of a fool. But when I say “fool” I don’t mean it in a disrespectful way. I don’t like calling people fools. It’s not my pastime. I don’t like to make judgments on anybody because every human being has the potential for complete development. So I don’t like to use the word “fool”. So I believe if a person comes into a lifetime where they’re incapacitated mentally, where they’re challenged mentally or they cannot understand more or they’re ignorant, I think it’s a kind of punishment for something in a past life that makes this life so useless. Because everything that happens to us we deserve, so if we come into that kind of body or into that kind of situation, then it is because we deserved it in one way or another.
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SEEKER
Question:
Can you help me deepen my meditations?
Sri Vasudeva:
Well I’m already helping you by providing the kind of energy atmosphere for you and I’m already helping you by giving you these tools every day. But you need to also look at the responsibility you have, to take the knowledge before you and work with it. Especially in an atmosphere like this, during a period like this, if you begin to work with it, you’re really asking your inner teacher to help you because ultimately your inner teacher has to come in and pull you inside in your inner world. So the outer teacher might be there so the outer teacher can provide the tools for you, the inspiration, the space, but you need to also work hard to tap into the inner teacher. So using the discipline that is before you, using the information that is before you, using the tools that is before you, are all very important. So that brings us to the responsibility of the student.
Question:
I would like to ask something about your Forty Days because you were working towards the turiya state too.
Sri Vasudeva:
Well I didn’t know I was working towards any turiya state. I was working to open up all the chakras as much as I can – because that’s how I felt. I felt that I needed to focus on the brow. The brow seemed to be an obstacle to me because I couldn’t open it fully. I felt there was an obstruction here and that was what I was working on. But I wasn’t saying, “Well I’m going after the turiya now.” It wasn’t like that. I just wanted to be released from this pressure on my brow and so that’s what I was working on with my meditation.
Participant:
And during that period, at a certain point, you were focused on your teacher and walking and talking like him.
Sri Vasudeva:
Yes but the teacher brought in the inner teacher as well so I was not in the presence of the physical teacher but I used the information that the physical teacher gave me through his writings and through his presence. I used that information as inspiration but the inner teacher, the Kundalini inside, the Guru inside, was very foremost there.
Participant:
I ask it because I wonder how I could make use more of focusing on the teacher.
Sri Vasudeva:
Well you need to use the inspiration that the teacher brings to you. If the teacher inspires you with certain words, certain ideas, certain aspects of the presence then you can use that to go into your own space but ultimately you need to tap into what is inside of you. The outer teacher is only there to lead you inside but you need to learn to understand the world inside of you. And the outer teacher is there to inspire you because when you see the outer teacher operating in this state of consciousness, full of self-mastery and joy then you say, “That’s what I would like. I want to be like that.” “How did you get that?” or “Let me sit and meditate in the way that you are asking or telling.” So the outer teacher is there to inspire you.
THE THROAT AND THE EYEBROW
Question:
The only chakra I experience is the throat and sometimes my third eye. It doesn’t matter which one opens up first, right?
Sri Vasudeva:
Well of course the throat will be opened up first to allow the experience of the eyebrow chakra. You cannot get to the brow chakra unless the throat chakra is open. So if you begin to feel that something is opening up here at the brow chakra, it means that the throat chakra is quite opened.
Participant:
What I experienced since I’m here was that this entire area around my throat feels really big and there’s tingling.
Sri Vasudeva:
That’s good. You can feel several chakras at the same time because a number of them will be opened at the same time, some more than others. The fact that you’re experiencing the throat chakra means that the Kundalini is very active at the throat, but the brow chakra can also be opened now. Not because you are having a deeper experience at the throat does it mean that you have to wait for the energy to move to the eyebrow. You can also have an eyebrow chakra experience now and by using the throat and the eyebrow together, you can perhaps take the energy even further up.
Participant:
So it’s possible when this throat chakra opens more, this brow chakra will open more and that will help the other ones to open up?
Sri Vasudeva:
Yes.
Question:
Is enlightenment a karmic episode in this lifetime?
Sri Vasudeva
Yes. I think that we come with different missions and if our mission before we came into this life, was to become more enlightened, then it’s a karmic episode. Whatever we desire, our deeper desires, come from the karmas from the past. So if our deeper desire is for enlightenment, then it’s a karmic episode.
As for the achievement - the achievement is always with us. If we have a teacher who is enlightened then we have a great chance for being enlightened. And if you are on a path that has enlightened many people before, then of course enlightenment is a possibility.
But that depends on you and what you do with the gifts that are given to you in the lifetime. But if there is a deep desire within you for enlightenment it means that there is a karmic contract that you have in this lifetime - part of the karmic plan for you. So that’s how you know whether it’s a karmic episode or not. It depends on the desire that you have for enlightenment.
Question:
Can you elaborate a little bit when you say that during the Forty Days you were working on the brow chakra. Was it focusing strongly on the brow area? Was there more?”
Sri Vasudeva:
Well it’s basically the brow. I felt like there was an obstruction. I felt like there was some wall - there was something I needed to penetrate. Intuitively I felt that I just needed to break this apart, that it was holding me back from something so my focus was in getting that removed. And I used all the tools that I knew about meditation. And of course I used all the advice given by the Guru. And it opened up. So it was purely an energy block that I was fighting to break open and like I said, I used all the tools that I had and finally it submitted. So that was the journey.
CLOSING REMARKS
Sri Vasudeva: We’ve had a wonderful day again today – or we’re having a wonderful day again today on the eighth day. And we continue to feel the blessings of this period and we know that you are too, wherever you are. We are very happy that we can be a global family during these days. They are very, very precious to me. Every day I feel this wonderful field of energy that is supporting all of us on this journey. And I say to you, continue your discipline. If you can be disciplined as we are, even though you are working, do it – morning discipline, evening discipline and of course the opportunity to tune into us at this time for discussion and I’m sure that the gains will be many for you. And for those of you here, let us continue the journey.
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