" As long as you are looking for ‘how’, so long you are doomed." - UG

( Source for the Blog: Audio Recording. Please scroll to bottom of the page for audio and transcript)

In this deep dive, UG unravels the knotty issue of our stubborn craving for knowledge, especially of the spiritual kind.

There is the feverish drive in all of us to know more and more, we want answers for ‘who am I?’, ‘what is life, soul, consciousness?’, ‘is there life after death? what is God?’ and so on.

The tyranny of knowledge lies in its unsatiated, monstrous appetite.

People are desperate for answers of various kinds. Many feel empty, miserable, pathetic in life and seek answers or solutions for ‘problems of life and existence’.

And there are many more who enjoy a steady source of income, a decent bank balance, enough social security, or insurance. At some point they too feel bored and ‘turn spiritual’ and begin to seek answers for questions,

“Is that all that there is to life? What next?” - UG

These are the 'made-up problems' of the well-fed. They chase after some form of spiritual excitement, engagement, or entertainment to tide over their emptiness or boredom.

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Questions are born of answers

All topical questions on life, God etc. look alike. But the context, content, intent, interest, and intensity of inquiry varies vastly from individual to individual.

Every inquiry is unique based on one’s cultural background and individual journey of life.

The fact is many of our questions are triggered off by what others have said or written. UG spotlights this irony in his remarkable observation,

“All your questions are born out of (other’s) answers” - UG

Though each of us carry unique questions, as we begin to dig deeper, we stumble into answers or solutions given by others. All too often, these ‘borrowed answers’ fall short, and fail to address the real issue behind our burning problems.

Cure, sometimes, is worse than the disease. And incomplete or incompatible answers by others could cause havoc in our lives, raising more dust and doubt, triggering off an avalanche of new questions, completely muddying the waters.

Not getting the right answer or solution, or far worse, getting stuck with a wrong solution, could easily push us into the quagmire of desperation, despondence, and delusion.

Also, there is the clear danger of walking into a trap of relationship with some self-serving guru or conman selling some cheap solution. Once we are in, it is never going to be easy to wriggle out of such exploitative relationships.

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What & How

UG says that all our inquiry revolves around two fundamental questions of ‘what’ and ‘how’?

“So, ‘what do you want (in life)?’

And then, how you can get what you want? “- UG

UG delivered a ‘knockout punch’ to all wobblers and shallow-minded questioners with this single most important counter-question,

“What is it that you want? What is that single thing that you want in your life?” - UG

At any given time, we are all chasing a dozen different goals. We lack clarity and our priorities are utterly skewed.

“The problem with you is that you want ‘this’, ‘that’ and the ‘other’.

But, if you really know what you want, there is no way you can’t get it!” - UG

None of us seem to really know what we want in our life; we simply indulge in ‘window shopping’ or ‘guru hopping’ in the bylanes of the spiritual bazaar because we have nothing else to do and nowhere to go.

Many of us squander our whole lives without knowing what we really want. With the simple ‘what’ question, UG makes us stop in our tracks and reflect on this serious screwup on our part , to grow up and act more firmly and responsibly. 

Apart from the ‘what’ question, UG also points to the dangers of yet another rogue question, the ‘how’,

“The trickiest of all questions is the ‘how’?

As long as you are looking for ‘how’, so long you are doomed…you know.

So, how to live? That’s the thing bothering people for centuries, so every religion, every teacher says, ‘This is how you should live”. So how can I be free of that? That’s the one question that transforms into millions and millions of questions, that’s all” - UG

Like greed for money, the greed for knowledge is endless. And the ‘how’ is a handy tool, the ‘master key’ to unlock the floodgates of knowledge.

Whenever we seek any answer or solution, we inevitably invoke the ‘how’ to tap into the vast reservoir of knowledge. The ‘how’ triggers the ‘movement of knowledge’ or the ‘continuity of knowledge’,

The 'how' feeding the 'you'

“What you call the ‘you’ is the ‘continuity of that knowledge’ that is put in there. “- UG

This ‘movement of knowledge’ is essentially the process of ‘thinking’. UG avers that as long as there is the ‘movement of knowledge’ (or as long as there is thinking), so long there is the illusion of the ‘you’ or the ‘self’ or the ‘thinker’.

Tom and Jerry spring to life only in movement or animation. Else they are mere drawings on paper.

The still images or drawings, rolling at twenty-four frames per second create the illusion of the ‘motion picture’.

“So, if that (movement of knowledge) is not there, ‘you’ are coming to an end, what you call ‘yourself’, that ‘you’, is coming to an end.

So, you do not want to come to an end. You want that ‘you’ to be transformed, changed into something else, into a loving (being), and you want to function on a different level, or different dimension but you do not want ‘that’ to come to an end.

You see the only way that it (the ‘you’) can maintain its continuity is through this constant demand for knowing more and more and more.

The only way it can add more and more to that knowledge is by asking this question, ‘how?’ “- UG

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The past and its tyranny

The intellect is rooted in the ‘past’ which is the sum and substance of all ‘knowledge and experience’.

Any attempt to deal with spiritual or psychological problems, all rooted in the past, with the help of intellect, that is a product of the past, is an utterly flawed exercise.

Therefore, we are all stuck and there is no way out.

“Even if you (want to) suppress your wants, the ‘past’ has to come to your help, and tell you, ‘How to suppress your wants’.

If you try to suppress that past, and try to be in the present, it will drive you crazy. You will flip.

Because you are trying to control something you see which you cannot control, you have no control over that, it a has tremendous momentum, it is not your past of thirty or forty years, but the past of the entire existence of every human being and other forms of life too.[1]

If you try to suppress that past, and try to be ‘in the present’, it will drive you crazy. You will flip.

See, it is part of your past, you know, it’s not such an easy thing and you have no way of controlling that at all.” – UG.

UG warns us not to use any force or restraint or control over thoughts as all such attempts are wrought with serious psychological and pathological consequences (‘you will flip’).

“So, if you try to control or stop the flow of a river through all these artificial means like putting a dam, and all that, then it will inundate the whole thing.

That’s why every time you control your thoughts, to watch your thoughts, to observe your thoughts, to be aware of your thoughts, you find that the thoughts are welling there all the time.” - UG

Controlling ‘thought’ with the help of ‘thought’ will multiply ‘thought’ making the problem much worse. It is like pouring gasoline over the fire to quench fire.

“Problems created by thought can never be solved by thought.” - UG

All our ‘problems of living’ including the day-to-day problems of love, resentment, hatred, jealousy, greed, fear (of the past or future), anger ( not getting what we want) etc. belong to the domain of thought and cannot be resolved by any technique using thought or thinking.

UG raises a red flag warning us against all attempts at ‘thought control’ to attain a ‘thoughtless state’ by giving us a glimpse of his own state,

‘This state’ is not in your interest. You are only interested in continuity. You want to continue, probably on a different level, and to function in a different dimension, but you want to continue somehow.

You wouldn't touch this with a barge pole. This is going to liquidate what you call "you," all of you - higher self, lower self, soul, Atman, conscious, subconscious - all of that.

(The Mystique of Enlightenment)

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World Mind (or Thought-o-sphere)

Like our biological past, inherited from other forms of life, our psychological ‘past’ too is the contribution of countless humans who have journeyed across the planet from time immemorial.

UG calls the collective past as the ‘world mind’ and refers to it in many of his talks. The ‘world mind’ or the ‘thought-o-sphere’ (rhyming with stratosphere) surrounds us on all sides like the air we breathe.

Every thought, every word from every individual, every speaker, ideologue, writer, poet, inventor, leader, saint, or sage from millennia is lodged into the ‘collective consciousness’.

Whenever there is a demand, the intellect taps into the collective past and siphons off huge chunks of knowledge from the ‘world mind’.

UG denounced thought as our enemy for a reason. Perverted thought acting out as an idea, ideology, strategy, plan or intent has immense potential for large scale death and destruction. The multitude of factions, movements, conflicts, clashes and wars we see in the world were set into motion by some perverted thought or idea or ideology. 

Nevertheless, UG highlights the benign role of thought in our day-to-day life, in the social or transactional world.

Without the help of thought or social conditioning, it is impossible to function ‘sanely and intelligently’ in this complex, complicated, conflict-ridden social world,

“That’s the purpose of thought, you see! To help, to keep this organism going, so it (thought) is bound to be there, whether you like it or not.” – UG

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The last word - taking care of basic needs

Assuming that we decide to let go of all wants so as to lead a conflict-free and peaceful life, there is still no way we can avoid the physical needs of food, clothing and shelter. They remain a concern.

“If you don’t want a thing, you (still) have to want to take care of physical needs (basic necessities of life), if you don’t do that, it’s a perverse way of living.” - UG

To ignore basic needs of life is to be socially irresponsible. We become a burden or liability to others. It is a perverse way of living.

UG decried all manipulative, self-serving gurus as freeloaders who exploit the gullible to enjoy an opulent lifestyle themselves.

UG walked the talk, remained fiercely independent till the very end,  

“I will dig trenches, if I have to.”

He abhorred any idea of dependence on others. His credo for life was,

“Uncomplaining, uncompromising self-reliance.”   

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Audio Clip

Transcription of the audio clip:

The ‘past’ will always be there as long as you want something. Even if you (want to) suppress your wants (or to do anything with motive or purpose), the past has to come to your help, and tell you, ‘How to suppress your wants’.

So, if you differentiate the wants, as they do in India, as the spiritual wants as highly desirable, the be all and end all of your existence, and that want (spiritual) is no different from any other want.

But in that particular (Indian) culture, the emphasis is laid on the spiritual wants as the most desirable wants in contradistinction to all the other wants.

So, that ‘past’ is bound to be there as long as you want, doesn’t matter what you want.

So, if you don’t want a thing in this world, it (the past or the thought) is not there. 

Whether it’s there or not is of no importance, you see. Because you have no way of finding out whether it is there or not, then if you say, ‘it is there, it isn’t there’, that means you have to necessarily to use the past, (even) to find out ‘if it is there or not?’ It is not the question at all.

The situation is very clear. If you don’t want a thing, you (still) have to want to take care of (basic necessities or) physical needs, if you don’t do that, it’s a perverse way of living. Sure, so you have to draw a line, what your needs are?

My needs are not quite different from your needs, so I can’t dictate that these needs should be everybody’s. So, that’s not it. So, that ‘want’ (basic necessities) is essential whether you like it or not, it is there! That’s the purpose of thought, you see.

To help, to keep this organism going, (so) it (want) is bound to be there, whether you like it or not.

So, that (the past or thought) cannot be used for any other purpose other than that, (the past cannot be used, say, for) understanding yourself, reaching your spiritual goals, and all that sort of a thing.

So, how not to be without wants?

The most...trickiest of all questions is the ‘how’?

As long as you are looking for ‘how’, so long you are doomed…you know.

So, how to live? That’s the thing bothering people for centuries, so every religion, every teacher says, ‘This is how you should live”. So how can I be free from of that? That’s the one question that transforms into millions and millions of questions, that’s all!

So, ‘what do you want?’ And then ‘how you can get what you want?’ It is very simple thing.

If you try to suppress that past, and try to be in the present, it will drive you crazy. You will flip. 

Because you are trying to control something you see which you cannot control, you have no control over that, it a has tremendous momentum, it is not your past of thirty or forty years, but the past of the entire existence of every human being and other forms of life too, see its part of your past, you know, it’s not such an easy thing and you have no way of controlling that at all.

So, if you try to control or stop the flow of a river through all these artificial means like putting a dam and all that, then it will inundate the whole thing.

That’s why every time you try to control your thoughts, to watch your thoughts, to observe your thoughts, to be aware of your thoughts, you find that the thoughts are welling there all the time.

When you are not concerned about that (thought), whether it is there or not, it’s not important to you. It(thought) is there when there is a need for it, and not there when there is no need for it.

If it is there or not, you have no way of knowing it. But you are constantly using it. So, that, you see, you can maintain the continuity, that’s ‘you’. There is nothing there other than ‘that’.

What you call ‘you’ is the ‘continuity of that knowledge’ that is put in there. 

So, if that is not there, ‘you’ are coming to an end, what you call ‘yourself’, that ‘you’ is coming to an end. So, you do not want to come to an end. You want that ‘you’ to be transformed, changed into something else, into loving (being), and you want to function on a different level, or different dimension but you do not want that to come to an end.

You see the only way that it (you) can maintain its continuity is through this constant demand for knowing more and more and more. The only way it can add more and more to that knowledge is by asking this question, ‘how?’

 

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[1] Science corroborates this crucial fact.

There is nothing unique about human biology that is millions of years old. Its primal building block is the gene. The gene has its origins in the likes of bacteria, viruses or other single-cell organisms.

“You're not completely human, at least when it comes to the genetic material inside your cells. You and everyone else may harbor as many as 145 genes that have jumped from bacteria, other single-celled organisms, and viruses and made themselves at home in the human genome.” 

(https://www.science.org/content/article/humans-may-harbor-more-100-genes-other-organisms))

 

" Do for others what you think I did for you " - UG to Mahesh Bhat

  There are many known, unknown and hidden dangers and traps in the shady bylanes of the spiritual bazaar.

There are plenty of impostors in the garb of gurus and swamis, and multitudes more of unsuspecting and gullible followers.

In this treacherous spiritual milieu, a naïve, blind follower could easily end up as a ‘sitting duck’ for spiritual predators.

In what could be described as the case of ‘misplaced trust’, oftentimes faithfuls get stripped of everything they possess - dignity, property, and sanity by unscrupulous conmen.

In this clip, UG debunks any show of gratitude using a parody (of a follower’s expression of gratitude),

“My encounter with you has helped me to come into my own, (you helped me) to become me.”

These words capture the sentiments of a typical follower or devotee.

Yes, there is nothing wrong per se about being grateful to those who genuinely care for us or help us or benefit us. Gratitude is considered as a virtue and being grateful, a noble act of civility and refinement. 

Remember, gratitude is not an artifact of human value system but natural instinct common among sentient beings. We witness its operation in mother nature, in birds and animals too.

However, things are highly distorted in the spiritual marketplace. It is an extremely treacherous transactional world where gurus are salesmen selling ‘cheap and shoddy piece of goods’, where bogus spiritual help carries a hefty price tag, and seekers end up being at the receiving end, relegated to the role of hapless customers.

When the source of spiritual help itself becomes suspect or spurious or untrustworthy, one must be extremely watchful. In this context, any show of gratitude could be misplaced. 

When trust and gratitude are carried to extreme forms like blind loyalty or unquestioning servility, one is stepping into the danger zone of abuse or exploitation by conmen.

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UG always downplayed his role or influence in the success of people whom he touched. And there are many beneficiaries.

The young and incredibly talented Mahesh Bhat initially met UG during his days of struggle in the film industry as a flop director, but later went on to scale dizzy heights in Bollywood, winning several national and international awards in his career.

Here is UG’s plain talk to Mahesh on expressing heartfelt gratitude for everything that he had received from the master,  

“Mahesh, if you think whatever you are today is because of me, which I don’t think so, then do for others what you think I did for you.”

Decades later, Mahesh Bhat still recalls every word of what UG said that day. This has gone deep into his bones and become the credo of his life,

“That has become my Dharma, my Kashi, my Mecca, that is what I do, I live my master’s words.”

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UG vehemently rejects all attempts to put him on a pedestal, or enshrine him into a guru or guide,

“Nor will I be fooled by what you are saying (your sweet words of gratitude). That is the end of it.”

UG raises a red flag not to be fooled or emotionally blackmailed by any speeches or acts of gratitude and not to be led up the garden path by one’s own followers, a great caveat for all wannabe gurus.

Even the best and the noblest among men meekly succumb to sentiments of gratitude, praise, and adulation and fall into the trap of gurudom and followership.

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But first, why this thirst for spiritual experiences? Why this craze for gurus?

The reason is not far to seek.

The emptiness or meaninglessness of life, the daily grind, the misery, the harsh realities of life could all be so overwhelming that even the bravest of hearts crumble under the pressure and seek for an escape route or even an alternate reality.

The desperate search for peace, fulfilment, and happiness leads seekers inevitably to the doorsteps of ashrams or spiritual gurus.

The lure of spiritual life makes even the best and finest minds to abandon all caution, give up all elemental reasoning and discrimination, and walk into the snare of unscrupulous gurus.

Like drugs, the lure of spiritual goals is extremely seductive.

The spiritual bazaar is abuzz with all kinds of fly-by-night operators - godmen, conmen, peddlers and scamsters.

There is a huge demand for spiritual services and a plethora of spiritual goodies are on offer including ‘enlightenment’, ‘awakened state’, ‘blissful state’ or ‘eternal happiness’ and, what have you!

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UG offers us a simple ‘safety net’ against all spiritual cons.

Firstly, he asks us to STOP in our tracks RIGHT NOW and stop chasing after fictitious goals.

And here are his pointers to stay safe from all kinds of con artists,

“What is a good man good for? Only for the bad man to exploit.” (To be good in a treacherous world, is to be vulnerable to predators)

“Stop looking for roses and there will be no thorns” (Stop chasing after spiritual goodies, and you are insured against all threats or traps of the spiritual kind).

“There is no such thing as ‘enlightenment’ or eternal happiness…” (All spiritual goals are mental abstractions, the conjectures of rich, productive minds).

“You don’t need crutches (gurus) of any kind.  You can walk alone without crutches. If you still fall, your knees and elbows will put you back on your two feet. You will get up and walk…” (Your single decision to walk alone is your ticket to freedom from all kinds of harmful dependencies, spiritual or otherwise).

“This body is designed to handle any crisis, physical or psychological, even when hit with the worst psychological trauma in life, the body knows how to handle it, the consciousness cuts off for some time, you fall asleep, and when you wake up, you are once again fully charged and ready to move on with your life” (Stop looking for all outside help, your natural built-in resources are enough to handle any crisis in life).  

Then UG goes on to offer us an invaluable tip in identifying the real guru (‘if there is one’),

“The real guru is one who frees you from himself.”  

And finally, here a golden rule to avoid all kinds of spiritual traps,

“Test every word of what I say, or someone else says, find out for yourself and by yourself whether it is true or not, else reject.” - UG

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UG not only cautions the followers, but also points to the dangers and traps awaiting even the well-meaning gurus.

"If anyone thinks he can help you, he will inevitably mislead you. And the less phony he is, the more enlightened he is, the more misery and mischief he will create for you!” - UG

UG does acknowledge here that not all wannabe gurus are conmen, there could be some fine men and women with right intentions but still deluded (‘do-gooders’).

But the decision to go public, to gather followers (loka sangraham, लोक संग्रहं), to form spiritual groups, to build ashrams, is fraught with great danger and is extremely risky. Here, even the noble ones, well-intentioned ones could go astray.

Many are initially reluctant to go public, to start ashrams or organisations but eventually they succumb to the sentiments of followers.

Many gurus lack the clarity and courage to say ‘NO’! They turn into puppets in the hands of followers.

“You (seekers) are the ones who put them(gurus) on the pedestal giving them their power, without you, they are nobodies” - UG

Playing guru or influencer is narcotizing, giving a spiritual ‘high’.

Also, when the guru goes public, he or she could easily become the target of sinister machinations by phonies and flunkies masquerading as followers.

The gurus are completely trapped in their own game and get dragged into cults and movements.

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Spiritual land is a tantalizing minefield.

Spiritual circus is all about gurus and seekers, about mutual exploitation. It is a deadly interplay of authority, power, and control.  

The real courage is to refuse to play god, or seek one!

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 Video Transcription:

Nobody like that (you) anywhere, on this planet, unique, unparalleled…It will express itself, but then you don’t go around the world telling people ‘I am unique, there is no one like me, I am the one and the only one’. No, not at all!

You are calling me unique; I will never tell myself that I am a unique being. I can tell you, but you will not come to me and thank me, ‘my encounter with you has helped me to come into my own, to become me’, no!

Nor will I be fooled by what you are saying. That is the end of it.

You will not go anywhere and ask anyone, THAT’S THE ONLY ACID TEST!

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Hacking the ‘self’ – the UG way!

UG on ‘self’ or ‘I’:

‘Self’ is the ‘movement of knowledge’ - UG

This video clip is ‘Quintessential UG’. Here, in the very beginning, UG knocks off the ‘self’, ‘I’, ‘soul’ etc., dismissing them as pure fabrications of the psychological kind, with no reality or basis whatsoever.

UG offers a whole new rationale for the appearance of the ‘self’. He maintains that the virtual ‘self’ or ‘agent’ comes into play when there is a need or demand for knowledge.

Knowledge is put into motion when there is a need, say, while planning a trip or seeking a job or finding a solution to a problem.

‘UG’ appears whenever there is a need or demand.’ – UG

Knowledge in motion is ‘thinking’ and thinking gives rise to the illusion of the ‘thinker’ or the ‘self’ or the ‘doer’. It is all a unitary process.

Even the very thought that there is a ‘thinker’ does not occur while there is thinking going on.

Thinker is a logical conclusion, a ‘post hoc’ illusion, an after-effect of thinking.

The entire structure of Western Philosophy is premised upon a single sentence, “Cogito ergo sum” – “I think, therefore I am”. This logical, verbal assertion single-handedly legitimizes the ‘thinker’ or ‘self’ making it into a reality for the philosophers.

The suggestion here is that as long as there is thinking, there is bound to be an agent or thinker associated with it. Corollaries of this statement include - one, no thinking is possible without a thinker and two, there is no thinker without thinking.

Contrast this with the Eastern traditions including observation of UG,

“There is only thought but no thinker.”

To borrow words of UG, the truth about the thinker is only a logically ascertained premise.

Thinker is a stubborn illusion like that of a shadow. As long as there is light, there is the shadow, as long as there is ‘thinking’ there is the ‘thinker’.

While there exists a physiological entity, biologically programmed to survive and operate independently in nature, the psychological agent or the ‘self’ is purely incidental and is born during every social transaction as the ‘agent’ of such transaction.

While banking, one is a 'customer', while paying tax, one is a citizen etc.

‘Self’ is therefore necessitated by the social demand or need.

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UG on 'intellect':

Let us now de-construct the ‘intellect’ in light of UG’s many utterings.

Intellect is the psychological power-center and the de-facto ‘decision maker’ birthed and shaped by culture, honed by education, experience and knowledge over the years.

Intellect is actually a formidable instrument, the tool of discretion and discrimination, of refined thought, of reasoning and logic. The accumulated, curated ‘knowledge and experience’ forms the basis for ‘intellect’.

Intellect empowers the individual to live sanely and intelligently in society and guarantees livelihood and sustenance. The key to good living is the way the intellect gets deployed. It could make for either great fortune or grave calamity.

Intellect plays a huge role in our day-to-day living.

It is a fact that every physical sensation gets filtered by the intellect.
Intellect turns physical ‘sensations’ into psychological ‘perceptions.’

The raw sensations of stimuli (‘qualia’ of philosophers) like heat, cold, soft, hard etc. are handled by biology, while ‘perceptions’ are acts of interpretations by the intellect.

Every sensation is translated, recorded and gets stored as ‘experience’ by the intellect for its future use, for its perpetuation and continuity.

The mere biological ‘sensation’ of ‘heat’ gets smeared with a psychological ‘layering’ by the intellect and gets perceived as either ‘pleasant’ or ‘moderate’ or ‘unbearable’.

This is true of everything that we see, hear or experience.

Every experience or perception is therefore a smearing act by the intellect.

UG makes this distinction clear as daylight, “There is no experience without knowledge.”

Here is an interesting observation by Sage Vasishta about perception:

“ चेत्येना रहिता यैशा चित्तंब्रह्म सनातनं ...”

‘Awareness without perception’ is the eternal principle of primordial Life…
(Upashama Prakaranam, Yoga Vaasishta)

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UG on ‘understanding’:

“Understanding is nothing but hashing and rehashing of thoughts” - UG

UG maintains that ‘understanding’ is an act of the intellect, an act of clarification, an act of hashing or rehashing, ordering or reordering of thoughts, to look out for any confirming patterns. This act then throws up different and new forms of the same old knowledge and experience like the old wine in a new bottle.

Superior intellect facilitates superior understanding to form educated, informed inferences or postulates or surmises. All concepts, theories, doctrines take birth in such ‘understandings ’.

Oftentimes, simple but extraordinary outcomes born of such understanding are mistaken for flashes of ‘creativity.’

UG totally debunks human creativity,

“The fact is nature is truly creative. Every leaf, every flower, every plant, every animal and individual, is utterly unique and unparalleled. It never repeats or reproduces one like the other.”

All human imagination, invention, innovation and creativity is nothing but the ingenious ability of the intellect to recast old forms of 'knowledge and experience' into their new forms. Everything here is just a modified continuity of the old stock.

“Nothing or no one is original.” - UG

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Finally, UG on ‘insight’:

‘Intuition’ or ‘insight’ is yet another highly convoluted and misunderstood term in the psychological jargon.

It is conceived as a rare form of ‘direct perception’ beyond thought or intellect. This misconception is widespread. Insight is held to be independent, subtler and far superior to intellect, and capable of providing direct, magical results.

For UG, insight is just another piece of fabrication,

“Intellect has created what we call the 'insight'.”

The idea of insight is deeply entrenched in our minds.

One becomes an expert in any field of knowledge after putting in dozens of years of single-minded, relentless, dedicated hard work.

When the expert employs his or her ‘understanding’ (‘the lens of knowledge and experience’) to discover or uncover some hitherto unknown facet or fact in his or her particular area of work, we tend to think of it as an act of great ‘intuition’ or ‘insight.’

UG dismissed insight as nothing special but merely the outcome of constant churning of thoughts. He explained that any expert in his or her own field of expertise who spends all waking hours on solving some problem or the other is bound to discover some pattern or solution or answer.

But UG maintains that all ‘insights’ are restricted only to a particular domain of expertise, and not beyond. He concludes,

“Intellect is the only instrument we have, and there is no other instrument” - UG.

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Video Transcription

UG:  There is no self,

there is no ‘I’, there is no spirit, there is no soul, there is no mind, there is no psyche, so that knocks off the whole list…

There is no way of finding out what you are left with.

The instrument which we are using, has, in a very ingenuous way invented all kinds of things like intuition, like insight and like this, that and the other and through this very insight that we think we have come to understand something, without the help of this intellect, without the help of our thinking, is the stumbling block.

All insights, however extraordinary they may be, are worthless because it is that (intellect) that has created what we call the insight, and through that it is maintaining its continuity, it is maintaining its status quo.

Q: I think, I might understand that but what I am still trying to pursue is the physical side of this, if I could, which is this – that clearly it is observable– the human organs and their interrelated functions all work harmoniously into an integrated healthy body.

UG: They messed up even that…it is not possible to experience and understand except through the knowledge that is given to us by the physiologists.

Q: Not by our own observation? There is no experience?

UG: There is no such thing as your own observation. Your own observation is born out of the knowledge you have.

This knowledge comes from the physiologists, this knowledge comes from those who have been involved in this medical technology, trying to find out how this is functioning, how the heart is functioning, before lot of things that we have become familiar with, through the help of what they have discovered, is something which cannot be experienced by us.

Q: Then you are really saying that there is no such thing as direct, immediate experience.

UG: No experience at all without knowledge, that’s all that I am saying. There is no way you can experience reality of anything except with the help of this knowledge.

So, what I am saying is what you do not know, you cannot experience.

****

 

“We can''t (even) live together if you don't believe in what others' believe.” - UG

“You are nothing but belief, and when it dies, you are dead." - UG

We cannot live with another individual, or be part of a family or group if we don’t believe what they believe.

Belief is the entry ticket to coexistence. Not sharing or accepting beliefs of others could mean – ‘no admission’ to the group or worse, the threat of expulsion from the group.

Come to think of it, all our social or political structures are nothing but institutionalized beliefs.

In any social group (including the WhatsApp or Facebook Groups), there is always some form of group dynamic, an element of control, to ensure status quo.

Group dynamics are a ‘soft’ form of control, a power-play where willing members are reined in by ‘the group mind’, an invisible power-center.

Unspoken, unwritten rules (norms) guide activities of many social groups. Rules about how to solidify beliefs, how to recruit members into the fold, how to indoctrinate newbies, how to chastise dissenters, how to rehabilitate deviants ensure the status quo and continuity of the group.

‘Sense of belonging’ is a powerful motive deep-rooted in the human psyche.

Without subscribing to some form of belief, without affiliation to some group, one feels empty, crippled, lost and lonely.

****

Is it then possible to free oneself from the tyranny of beliefs and groups and ‘to function sanely and intelligently’ in a society?

UG emphasized three things to be on our own and not to succumb to any influence of a group or a belief system:

First, ‘Brutal honesty’ - this is the place to start with.

Honesty is to see things for what they are, to see or own one’s flaws or ugliness, to junk pretense or fakery, and to dare to be ordinary and real.  

At the same time, it is important not to escape reality by ‘trying to become someone’, or ‘following some model.’  All such efforts will only help keep the old, ugly ‘self’ continuing in a modified form.

UG therefore asked us to STOP, to drop all movement in any direction, at any level, in any dimension.

Self’ is the ‘movement of knowledge’ -UG.

Second, UG spoke of ‘uncompromising and uncomplaining self-reliance.’  

(Psychological) dependence is the beginning of all corruption or corrosion or compromise.

With self-reliance, one gains the ability to say ‘No’ to all falsehoods and fake relationships.

The more one becomes self-reliant, the less is the psychological burden, more the freedom to follow the dictates of one’s heart.

And finally, the third, the ‘the courage to stand alone.’

With ‘brutal honesty’ and ‘uncompromising self-reliance’ already in place, one is naturally freed from the stranglehold of societal dictates, norms and beliefs.

That bestows the strength or courage to walk alone.   

 

****

Video Transcript:

 

“IF THE BELIEF COMES TO AN END, ‘YOU’ WILL COME TO AN END”

     - UG

Q: So, you don’t have any belief system, but does that make your life a little bit empty if you don’t believe anything…

UG: I want to assert, and I have time and again asserted this point that there is only a belief there, there is no believer. So, you are that belief. What you call ‘you’. It doesn’t matter whether you believe in God or whether you believe in the assertions of the scientists or value the assertions that President Bush makes time and again that ‘I will see Americans will have the same standard of living forever.’ You invest your faith in that guy…because he is asserting you know, like that.

So, there is no believer there! You don’t have to take my word, you see, there is only a belief. You are that belief, what you call ‘you’ is that belief. It doesn’t matter what that belief is – whether you believe in God or whether you believe in love or whether you believe in this, that and the other.

So, if that belief comes to an end, you as you know yourself and you experience yourself is coming to an end.

Q: When I die, my shit box goes.

UG:  It goes first, before that, what you call clinical death cannot take place, cannot occur.

So, if that goes now, you will drop dead at this moment. What will remain after that is not your interest, is not your concern because you are not going to be there to tell yourself that you are dead.

So, those who say that you are dead, and define it as clinical death, use their knowledge and tell you that you are not breathing, you are not responding to that stimulus, there is no pulse there, using the knowledge and they say that you are dead, but the fact that you are dead is something which cannot be experienced by you or even by them or even by those beloved ones. What they experience is not the death of their dear, near ones, but the void created by what you call death makes it impossible for them to live the same kind of a life forever, you know.

So, for all practical purposes, there is no such thing as death for the body. Birth and death is a simultaneous process. The moment you are born, you have to die!

Birth is a definition, death is a definition, health is a definition, disease is a definition – all these are definitions. We swallow all those definitions. And we think we know what they are talking about. They don’t know, nothing. Nothiong at all!

So, they assert based upon what they think that they have found out through their research projects or through their beliefs passed on to us from generation to generation. So, the assertion that there is no believer but there is only belief cannot be accepted by you. IF THE BELIEF COMES TO AN END, ‘YOU’ WILL COME TO AN END. So, you cannot but replace one belief with another belief.

****

“WE CAN’T LIVE TOGETHER IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE”

                                                                                                                  - UG

So, you have to accept all that (beliefs), for what? We can’t (even) live together if you don’t believe (and accept the beliefs of others), in our (own) homes. You know they force us to eat the same kind of a food…

I was not interested in that (societal belief system), I was only interested in my want. Whatever I want, they(society) didn’t want me to want.

My family members, my teachers, everyone (society) - you should want this, and not that!

****

UG is the Blackhole - Luc Sala

UG is the Blackhole, Interview with Luc Sala:   

       

https://youtu.be/ssl77Xl1hXU?si=Ez-HJvepgweWK2gX                                                     

In this hour-long rivetting video, UG is uncompromising and throwing out everything we hold sacred and dear. He is dismantling all that is ‘known’ –theories, beliefs, institutions, and value systems.

Calling the bluff, “Life has no grander purpose than the mosquito sucking your blood”, UG makes us see things for what they are.

In UG’s hard hitting words, “To be free from the need to be free” lies the restoration of life’s balance and normalcy. 

‘To be free from the need to be free’ is true freedom, freedom from all mental chimeras or delusions. This is the real “Stopping in our tracks.”

In his ‘scorched-earth’ tirade against all spiritual undertakings or psychological adventures, UG boots out false search or hope (especially of the psychological or spiritual kind).

Hope is the dope for psychological continuity. Hope fuels thinking, spurring the mind. 

But false hope begets hopelessness and restlessness, guzzling away huge amounts of our energy and vitality.

Most importantly, hope hijacks perception, giving rise to delusions and distortions.

UG surgically goes about uprooting even the tiny remnants of search or hope. This is scary stuff. But when we begin to see the futility of false search and the profound wisdom of his words, we actually become hope-free and grounded. 

Being hope-free or goal-free, is to be free from the tyranny of the mind. It is real healing, unburdening and rejuvenating. 

   ***

Here is a close parallel from an ancient classic, Ribhu Gita, hailed as an exposition on meta-meditation:

किंचिदस्ति इति चेच्चिते सर्वं भवति शीघ्र अतः।

यत्किञ्चित किमापि क्वापि न अस्ति चेन्न प्रसाज्यति।

kincidastiti ceccitte sarvarh bhavati sighrataha.

yatkincit kimapi kvapi nasti cenna prasajyati.

(“Even if there is a little of the ‘mind’ (hope), it soon becomes all. If there is no little, nothing arises whatsoever, or wherever.”)

                             - Ribhu Gita (4-28), 

Ribhu Gita is hailed by Sri Ramana Maharshi as one of the greatest classics offering the closest description of his own state. 

In Ribhu Gita, a sagely figure Ribhu, a close parallel to UG, goes about surgically discrediting all that is ‘known’, brushing aside all gods, scriptures, institutions, traditions, names and forms, to try and quell the stirrings of the mind of his acolyte Nidagha. 

But here, the end-game is still ‘samadhi’ (spiritual goal).

UG, in a major departure from all other sagely figures, fiercely tore down one of the most acclaimed spiritual practices in the Eastern tradition – the negation approach (‘neti, neti’ - ‘not this’, ‘not this’). 

UG pointed out that negation is very much fraught with desire or hope to attain some positive outcome – a state of enlightenment or samadhi. 

For UG ‘neti, neti’ therefore, is not a rejection but quite the opposite- the affirmation, the assertion of a goal, a spiritual grail. It puts one on a merry go round, on an ego trip, once again maintaining and nourishing the false ‘self’, defeating the very purpose. 

Spiritual goals and undertakings could indeed be enticing traps. There is always the danger that false hope could push someone into a real state of despondence and delusion with dire consequences.

“There is no oasis situated yonder; you are stuck with the mirage.” - UG

                                 ****

A note from Chandrasekhar Babu:

'Labeling U.G.'s message as "negative" is the mind's defense mechanism - an attempt to discredit and invalidate that which it perceives as an annihilating force capable of dismantling its deeply entrenched structures of thought and identity.'

                               

                                   ****

Transcription of the video clip

Luc Sala: “Not much left! …that’s the main story. UG Krishnamurti, every time I talk with you, you leave me with nothing. I would call you the big Blackhole of our knowledge. Everything that we can dream of, as being relevant, as having meaning, goes into UG’s Blackhole and disappears…

UG: I don’t see any Blackhole.

LS: Well, for me, you are! You are like the way they (what you call), our illusions disappear, I don’t know what is behind the Blackhole, neither do you…

UG: I don’t see any Blackhole there…you see a Blackhole there?

LS: Whatever I see, you make the weapon smoke !

UG: There is a very comforting thing for you to believe that I am a Blackhole.

LS: Even to believe Blackhole, isn’t there…We spoke with UG Krishnamurti, 50 years ago he came to Holland and for about 50 years , he did away with his being associated with Theosophical Society, and everything India stood for and I believe everything that the Western world…

UG: Everything human thought has come up with, everything was thrown out of my system, I am a very lucky guy, I have been freed from the stranglehold of the human thought and I CANNOT BE OF ANY HELP TO ANYBODY BECAUSE, YOU DON’T NEED ANY HELP!

LS: Wow… To feel free from the need to be…

UG: To be free from the need to be free

LS: To be free from the need to be free, That’s a paradox…

UG: It sounds like a paradox…It’s a fact!

LS: To be free from the need to be free

UG: There is nothing there to be free from…

WOW !!!

****

" What kind of human being you want in this world? " - UG

 

" What kind of human being you want in this world? "

Knowledge is a societal inheritance, the collective experience and thinking of mankind from time immemorial.

Some of our material and spiritual goals take their birth in the experience and thoughts of men and women we hold in great awe and esteem. We tend to eulogize and emulate their thoughts and behaviors.

Society showcases two contradictory models or archetypes for our emulation – the first is symbolized by the King (the ruler or the achiever or the top dog in any field) epitomizing the material goals. The second is the Savior (the saint or the philosopher or the guru) evangelizing the spiritual goals. Both models are dangled as worthy of our lifetime pursuit.

There is also the third kind, the hybrid model of the ‘Philosopher-King’ or the ‘Sage-Ruler’ (the benign-leader).

We are brainwashed from childhood to believe that achievement of material goals or the attainment of spiritual goals as the be-all and end-all of our life.

“Your spiritual goals are not different from the material goals” - UG. He maintained that both are fundamentally self-serving or self-seeking activities.

Spiritual goals are mere psychological wants. Psychology is a societal burden, a superimposition on the biology, the root cause of mental anguish.

Wanting to be someone, to be superior, to be different from others is a fake, unnatural undertaking. Not only it involves huge effort and energy, it is the root cause of frustration, restlessness and hopelessness.

“Wanting and thinking always go together – as long as you want something, there is thinking.” - UG.  

Greater the seeking, greater the needless thinking, greater is the misery!

 

****

Frustration could arise when someone is chasing some impossible or unachievable goal. Also, when there is an incompatibile goal that contradicts one’s true nature.

UG addressed both these issues in his inimitable ways. He personally helped many individuals through timely intervention. He made some give up their jobs to pursue business instead ( a la banker Nagesh who went on to establish a successful business in Realty Finance) , he made some give up their business to take up a public career ( a la Frank Noronha who gave up tea business and ended up as the Chief Spokesperson for the Government of India), he encouraged some to embrace saffron ( a la Lahiri, an Indian businessman from Europe) while influencing others to give up  saffron ( a la Udipi Swamiji).  

The guidance was always finetuned and calibrated to suit the needs of the particular individual to mitigate the suffering born of impossible or incompatible goals.

****

A note from Chandrasekhar Babu, UG's longtime friend and host:

In the year 1983 while I was employed with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bangalore, I got a lucrative offer from a private company in Hyderabad. I went to meet UG who was at the time staying at Goldie's (Film Director Vijay Anand) guest house in Mumbai.

After learning about the new job offer, UG said, "Do you have to relocate to Hyderabad? What a shame!" 

To drive home the absurdity of the choice, he quoted a Telugu proverb, " ఇంత బతకు బతికి ఇంటి వెనక చచ్చాడాన్నట్లు" ("After living life king-size, dying like an outcast!")

UG advised me not to accept the offer.

Soon after, I got a fantastic offer from Hindustan Motors, closer to Bangalore. UG readily approved. I left Hindustan Aeronautics to join HM. 

Years later, once again UG played a key role in my opting for voluntary retirement from service in 1992. I was 47 at the time, with at least a dozen more years of service under my belt. 

I complied with UG's advice, resigning from service on the 9th of July 1992, incidentally on UG's 74th birthday!

My stint with Valentine Model School commenced soon after. 

 ****

Transcript of the Video Clip:

UG: The basic question we all have to ask is, “What kind of a human being you want in this world?”

( Q: the goal of psychiatrists etc.)

UG: We have unfortunately placed before mankind the models of a perfect being. THAT PERFECT BEING IS THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER AND HIS BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS. AND THE WHOLE VALUE SYSTEM IS BORN OUT OF THAT.

And our insistence and demand, on the part of culture and the value system, to fit them all into that mold is bound to fail, because every individual is unique, UNIQUE!

Nature is not interested in creating the human species in one common mold, it is interested in creating different species, it does not use anything as a model, that’s where we have gone wrong. Because of the fear that the status quo of our culture or society or whatever you want to call it, cannot be maintained if we do not fit all the people into that value system.

I am not against the value system at all, but the demand to fit everybody into a common mold, which is the value system, is responsible for the breaking up or breaking down of many people. They have given up.

And the so-called normal man, if there is any, he lives in hope and dies in hope, (that) one day he is going to successfully fit himself into that value system very successfully, and live in harmony with that. And the mad people have given up and so, we are pushing them to make them functional and it is the very thing that is pushing them to suicide.

****

Blogger's Note ( See comment below) :

The following episode was narrated by UG himself in Bombay while on a visit to our home.

This happened a few decades ago.

Once while UG was visiting Udipi in South of India, he was invited by the Swami of a Udipi Mutt who was In Charge of Udupi Sri Krishna Temple. The role of the Chief is locally termed Paryaya ( Paryaya is the term used to describe the tenure for a period of two years when a pontiff from among eight different mutts ( Ashta Muttams in Udipi) is chosen to be the Chief Worshipper / Administrator of the famous Sri Krishna Temple of Udupi in Karnataka, India.)

Paryaya is cyclic as every one of the pontiffs of the eight mutts gets his turn to be the Administrator or Head of the Temple for two years and worship Sri Krishna's idol ( Installed by Sri Madhwacharya ) once in every sixteen year cycle.

UG mentioned that his friend, Prof Dr. Ramakrishna Rao ( Principal of Sanskrit College, Udupi at the time , incidentally my uncle) happened to know the Swami (in Paryaya) well. 

Also, Dr. Rao had mentioned about UG to the Swami and about UG's calamity ( that had pushed UG into his Natural State or Sahaja Stithi) and the Swami had naturally expressed his desire to meet UG in person whenever he was visiting Udipi.

UG could not recollect the name of this particular pontiff as many such swamis from various Indian spiritual traditions ( ranging from Shankaracharya tradition, Ramakrishna tradition , Ramanuja tradition etc. ) came to see him regularly during his annual visits to India. They were curious to know about his Natural State.

UG informed Dr.Ramakrishna Rao in advance that he was not interested to see the Swami if that meant he had to remove his shirt or upper garment, as is the tradition with the South Indian spiritual mutts or ashrams. ( UG dismissed it as 'strip tease'). But the Swami was magnanimous and keen to meet and know more about UG and therefore ready to accommodate and waived all rules in the case of UG.

When UG finally arrived at the mutt, the Udupi Swami was delivering a Talk on the Bhagwad Gita. UG quietly took his seat among the audience.

During the talk, when the Swami began to explicate one of the Shlokas of the Bhagwad Gita, UG wrote on a small chit of paper what he personally thought was the real interpretation of that particular verse and sent it privately to the Swami so as not to disturb the gathering or the discourse.

Interestingly the Swami read the contents of the chit out loud and was rather appreciative of UG's take on the subject and he openly announced to the assembly that UG's interpretation of the verse was exactly the right way to understand or interpret the Bhagwad Gita. His words were to the effect, " What today's UG Krishnamurti is saying is not very different from what Sri Krishna said in the Bhagwad Gita of Dwapara Yuga ( eons ago, during the period of Mahabharata )."

Post the talk, the Swami and UG met each other. UG wasted no time, observing that while the Swami wore his saffron, he was also battling with his own inner demons. UG seems to have remarked, "You are wearing saffron but why are you carrying on an an affair with that girl? ( Pointing to some lady in the audience)

The Swami immediately pulled aside UG into his private quarters and wanted to discuss his real predicament. He was desperate for a solution to his personal turmoil, inner dichotomy that was tearing him apart. He had been initiated at the tender age of eight into a life of sanyas or renunciation by his guru and became a pontiff but as years went by, during his teenage years, this turned into burden upon reaching puberty. The Swami was brutally honest about his sexual urges that had begun to torment him. UG heard him through. He reassured him that he would offer his full support in case he wanted to lead a normal life through some of his own contacts in the US, on condition that the Swami would give up his sanyas or saffron and marry his ladylove.

Soon the Swami did give up his spiritual life and eventually married the lady and settled down in the US embracing the life of a householder with a family and several children.

This incident seems to have taken place somewhere in the late 1970s...or may be early 80s in line with UG's visits to Dr. Rao's place in Udipi during the latter's tenure as Principal of Sanskrit College.

Personally I have no reason whatsoever to disbelieve the narrative of UG given his brutal honesty about his own sexual urges, his one-night stand etc. which could be heard from the horse's mouth  in many audio and video tapes available in the public domain.

A few months after publishing this blog, I had received a painstaking , laboured writeup ( version 1.0) from Mr. Sumant, PhD ( see comment below) that was redirected to me by our long term UG friend, Chandrasekhara Babu. I personally found that it lacked any proof or evidence to refute or discount UG's narrative about the Udupi Swami or suggest an authentic alternative to it.

On dismissing it as lacking any direct witness account to prove or disprove anything about the Swami who had interacted with UG, surprisingly there appeared yet another write up by the same author ( version 2.0, generously edited version of the same version 1.0 ), once again forwarded to me by Babu.

This version had some additions and deletions which qualitatively changed nothing either about the author's claims or in anyway substantiated his misguided enthusiasm to prove that UG had no role whatsoever to play in the Swami's renunciation.

Unfortunately both versions lack any redoubtable proof to refute or contradict UG's own account. There is nothing substantive in terms of testimonials or direct witness accounts to discount or disprove UG's narrative. 

It is indeed a fact that there are now more Udupi Swamis who have shown real guts and gumption to give up ochre robes, say bye to pretentious lives, and boldly marry and lead normal lives. Their lives visibly resonate with UG's wisdom of courage to walk alone and to follow the dictates of one's conscience.

The intention or the mission of the author wanting to refute UG is still remains unclear after two versions of his rebuttal. 

For the records, let me also submit that I personally have utmost respect for giants from Sri Madhwacharya lineage, the likes of Sri Vyasa Teertha, Sri Vijayendra, Sri Raghavendra Teertha etc. who were real beacons of light, of unmatched wisdom , who touched and blessed innumerable lives in the past during their earthly sojourns.

Try as I might , I fail to find any rationale to suspect or question or ignore UG's account about the Udipi pontiff that he had met and helped , given his brutal honesty about himself or even his own sex life. And so many pontiffs giving up saffron for good.

UG remains an open book, fiercely threatening every belief structure and tearing down the citadels of spiritual power that have turned into authoritarian establishments threatening individual freedom to choose one' s path.

No offence meant for any faith or sect

Just an objective recounting of events as they happened.