“ This is the meaning of Karma" - UG

UG & Parekhji

Most confounding question in our day to day lives: "What is the right action in a given situation?"

UG was staying at Parekhji's Santacruz apartment in Mumbai. Many of us, regulars, hung around him, including some Western friends.

UG sat in his usual 'hot seat' in the spacious main hall.

There was a lull in the conversation that had lasted the whole morning. Everyone sat idly in the silence that followed. Parekhji sat on his single bed with both legs stretched out, his usual posture, given his arthritic condition. UG insisted that he should feel free and stretch his legs out & not bother about the constant influx of people.

Parekhji was then in his late 70s. As a young man he had worked as an engineer in a famous British Civil Engineering  firm. During early part of his career, he he had supervised the construction of  Sharavati Dam as a site engineer in Karnataka. The dam supports a Hydel plant near the famous Jog Falls.

Parekhji was a simple, unassuming person, a kind-hearted soul  who played host to UG and friends for many years. His gracious wife Kaushalya Ben was a housewife and managed the affairs of home efficiently and handled a retinue of servants. She was a great support to their families and looked after education and welfare of their children.

Silence reigned supreme in the living room, everybody sat listlessly...and all of a sudden, the doorbell rang! There was a gentle attempt to push open the door! I immediately sprang to my feet, quickly reached the door, unlatched the bolt & let in the visitor and went back to my place on the floor in front of UG.

UG wasted no time, immediately turned to Parekhji, "Sir, this is the meaning of Karma ! " and  pointing to me said:  " He heard the doorbell,  got up, opened the door, came back , is there any premeditation there? Or any trace of action? It is all over, no carrying anything in the head. This action is total, complete, a response to a stimulus, this is true Karma!"

On another occasion as I sat in front of UG, lost in reverie, under the same roof, he had pushed his finger hard into my chest and said emphatically, “The only difference between the way you are functioning and I am functioning is this - you are preoccupied but I am not!”

Here is UG explicating his state, “…. My way of functioning is that I am always occupied with what is happening at that moment and there is no room for any preoccupation. You are preoccupied with the things that are not happening there. You see, this seems to be the only difference, if there is any difference…..”

                                                                                                (http://www.inner-quest.org/UG.htm)

Coming back to the episode on Karma, during the afternoon lull that day Parekhji sent word for me from his private quarters where he would retire for an afternoon siesta. Those were intimate moments when he would bare his heart and share personal matters including his ‘sadhana’ with me.

Parekhji asked me, “Do you recollect what happened this morning? I had long wished to know from UG, what is the true nature of Karma! But I couldn’t ask him for some reason or other. You see today he gave me the answer. I wrote it down in my notepad here (showed me). UG was really spot on! He explained it so beautifully using your example of opening the door! There cannot be a simpler explanation!"

The Parekh couple had practiced Vipasana Meditation for decades. UG was introduced to them by a common friend and became a frequent visitor. But UG never once interfered with their practice! Once finally when the couple decided to seek his advice on whether they were on the right track in their spiritual practice, he just told them to continue whatever they were doing and do it with whole heart. 

UG insisted that they should see the whole thing through and discover for themselves whether the meditation really helped them at all. His advice was clear - to see the whole thing through for and by themselves and not seek others’ opinion or listen to what he or anyone had to say about such matters!

Parekhji’s joy of discovering the meaning of true Karma was quite palpable! He appeared thrilled at the discovery of the true essence of action!

Having read treatises and commentaries on Karma, I too felt relieved that after all Karma is really that simple!

UG maintained all along that all action is born of conditioning including the so called responses to various stimuli. UG held that there is no such thing as Pure Action, the traditional definition of Karma as doled out by Vedantic scholars or pundits who read more into the simple conditioned response to a stimulus and complicate matters for others and themselves!

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" Reality is a movement without direction." - UG

Gutsy Mahesh Bhatt sometimes enjoyed playing the role of the 'sounding board’ in UG's portals, not an easy thing to do! Gleefully lobbing questions at the ‘raging sage’, he would tease out UG’s repartee that would benefit one and all!

UG too reciprocated the gesture and recruited Mahesh now and then to act as his sounding board to send across some powerful message or pointer to the audience.

Here is one such fascinating exchange!

UG, "Hey mister, what is your name? What do you call yourself?" 

Mahesh, mimicking a schoolboy, "Sir! My name is Mahesh Bhatt!"

UG, seizing the moment, with great intensity,

"I don't care what you call yourself, there is nothing to that name! ‘Mahesh’ is what they (parents) called you - the name they gave you! In reality, there is no ‘Mahesh Bhatt’ there! In fact , there is nobody there! What you call Mahesh is a fictitious entity put ‘in there’ by society! Your parents named you, and ever since you are stuck with that name, there is nothing to that!"

This observation is not far removed from that of Ramana Maharshi who called into question the very basis of the 'I' or the 'self ' through his famous inquiry, ' Who am I? '. Ramana's was  a contemplative approach to de-construct the ‘self’ by probing into its basis.

Nisargadutta Maharaj, another great master, pointed out the falsehood of ‘I’ or ‘self’ in his characteristic style,

“….now, you may be a very great person, you might be a dictator of the world, but when you go to sleep you forget what you were—your name, your body, your age, your sex, your nationality, everything. This sense of a separate identity is very limited and not the truth; in fact, it is totally false.

So if that is the situation with Christ, what is the case with you?”1

Great thinkers, philosophers, sages from time immemorial have questioned the deep rooted ‘ folk belief ’ in the reality of the ‘I’ or ‘self’ or ‘entity’,  in line with masters like UG, Ramana or Nisargadutta.

Is the 'self' or 'I' then a fictitious entity, is it a 'cross we bear' or is this the psychological burden forced, imposed on us by society or culture through conditioning?

Whatever it is, the fact is, we are stuck with a 'subjective reality' perhaps like no other living creature. We are saddled with the 'I'  and its private, psychological world of wants, fears, opinions, likes and dislikes,  in a constant flux, ever changing and churning like the ocean!

UG explained,

Every time a thought is born, you are born. When the thought is gone, you are gone. But the 'you' does not let the thought go, and what gives continuity to this 'you' is the thinking. Actually there is no permanent entity in you, no totality of all your thoughts and experiences. You think that there is 'somebody' who is thinking your thoughts, 'somebody' who is feeling your feelings --- that's the illusion. I can say it is an illusion; but it is not an illusion to you. ( Mystique of Enlightenment)

On several occasions, UG used the analogy of the movie to explain the illusory nature of the 'self'.

When we watch a movie, a series of pictures are flashed rapidly across the screen at the rate of 24 frames per second. We begin to see the various actors come alive on the screen.

When the stream of pictures is slowed down, the reality hits and we see that there is neither a hero nor a heroine who appeared to be breathing, talking, fighting or singing.

UG emphasised, ‘ When thoughts slow down, one begins to 'see' clearly.' The ‘self’, could after all be the ‘virtual reality’ or ‘subjective reality’ coming into being due to the 'movement of knowledge'. Thoughts, in rapid succession, like picture frames in a movie, conjure up the illusory 'thinker'.

UG elaborated, “ There is no ‘I’ there ! What you call ‘I’ is nothing but the ‘movement of knowledge’! ”

UG clarified further explaining the basis for the 'self', "It is the 'observed' that creates the 'observer' " 

When we look at a tree, he explained, we do not see the tree at all - we are caught up in all kinds of mentation and ideation. Two things happen - firstly we recognise the tree as belonging to a certain species and secondly we begin to associate it with the ideas of tallness (of its form), greenness (of its leaves), the sweetness (of its fruits), the coolness (of its shade) and so on.

Looking at the tree sets off ' the movement of knowledge' about the tree, bringing the 'I' , 'the knower' into existence, much like the actor in the movie. As long as there is recognition and naming (or verbalisation), knowledge is in motion and the movement gives rise to the illusion of the 'observer', 'I' or the 'self'. 

******

UG pointed out, ' Reality is  a movement without direction.'

In our case, the ever changing, ever flowing movement of knowledge seems to be the only reality. The labeling of the movement as the 'I'  is more of a social or a cultural necessity. The society has its vested interest, has investment in bestowing reality or identity to the 'I'. It keeps resurrecting , concretising and validating the transitory 'I' for its own survival, to maintain its status quo. The entire superstructure of society revolves around the 'I' as its basic building block and will collapse like a pack of cards if the 'I' is invalidated.

UG, Nisargadutta and Ramana completely exposed the myth of any permanent, psychological entity or 'I' !

Pointing to himself UG said, ‘ there is no one here ’ adding ," 'UG' comes when there is a demand . When you ask me a question, UG comes in to answer, otherwise there is no one here!”

‘I’ seems to come into being whenever there is a need or a demand. Every situation in life is unique and different. There is a constant demand for knowledge to meet every situation, every challenge in the social, cultural environment. This demand triggers the movement of knowledge conjuring up the ‘I’ or 'self', every single time.

Apart from the demand from the outside world, there exists an internal or individual demand for achieving or attaining a certain goal or to become someone. Craving for attainment or achievement breeds the internal demand and keeps the movement of knowledge going, giving a sense of permanence to the 'I'. 

******

As I am writing this piece, (my) ‘I’ is characterized by the movement of knowledge about UG and his statements, driven by the demand to narrate. But in the morning,  ‘I’ was a movement of knowledge of a different kind as I stood staring at the sprawling sea through the window. Yesterday 'I' was a different ‘entity’ while ‘I’ hosted friends and reminisced about people and events. Tomorrow, ‘I’ shall be a ‘trainer’ in the setting of a classroom, the 'I'  this time around being 'movement of technical knowledge'.

The 'I' is thus fluid and constantly changing, shifting, morphing and flowing as per the needs and demands of time or place, circumstance or situation, transaction or interaction, now appearing as ‘this’, now appearing as ‘that.’

The 'I' seems to have no fixed identity, showing up in multiple forms or flavours - wearing more than one hat - sometimes as a private entity who is a lover of nature, books, music etc., as a social entity who is a parent, teacher etc. sometimes as a political entity who is a citizen, tax payer, then again as a cultural entity who is a Hindu, Christian or Muslim or Communist.

The 'I' comes and goes but is constantly resurrected and given a new lease of life by society or culture through its incessant demands. 

UG had the last word on how to function intelligently and sanely in this imposed reality foisted on us by society, " Look, I am vulnerable,  I get affected by everything, everyone around me but I am not involved."

Only one who could see through the falsity , illusion of the 'self' could stay in society and still not get involved! 

******

1. Sri Nisargadutta Maharaj (2011-07-12). The Ultimate Medicine: Dialogues with a Realized Master (p. 1). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

"You are not enlightened as long as people think you are different from them" - Taoism

UG and Kamal, Photo Courtesy: Trisha

Was there anything different or special about UG? Did he look or behave like an Enlightened Man? How was he in his day to day dealings with friends and associates?

Let me narrate this particular episode in Bombay.

That morning Kamal, our pilot friend and I set out with UG in Kamal's car. It was UG's 'constitutional' - a ride instead of a walk in the crowded metropolis.

We drove around for quite a while, visited a few places and finally turned back towards the apartment. The ride was uneventful! 

As we reached the entrance of the building where UG was put up, restless Kamal suddenly announced his new plan, “Buddy! We shall drop UG right here! UG will go back to the flat and we both will drive back for a ' dabri choy' (Tea brewed in a brass utensil on the roadside tea shop.)"

What could I say?

Kamal is a sweet guy and is at home whether it is coffee at a 7-star hotel or a tea at one of the road-side stalls. UG enjoyed his company. He would invite Kamal to his portals all over the world. Kamal visited UG in every metro across the globe from US to Australia – a record of sorts!

Coming back to the story, Kamal explained to UG that both of us would be driving out again for a cup of tea and that UG could proceed to the flat and wait for our return. This essentially meant that I hand over the key (I played the door-boy of the flat) to UG who would climb back all the stairs to his flat (it was on the fourth floor and there was no lift!) and stay there alone!

The ‘Bhakta’ (devotee) in me rebelled at the idea! What if there were visitors? Or if UG wanted something?

Before I could react, UG turned to me, "Sir give me the key! You go with Kamal and give him company! I will be there in the flat, don't bother about me!” I could not protest, I reluctantly handed over the key and submitted to his wishes. 

Kamal didn't stop there!

He enjoyed a certain intimacy with UG. He now pleaded, "UG, if you don't mind, can you please take this bag with you? I shall collect it from you afterwards!" Without even waiting for a reply, he handed his handbag to UG! UG wasted no time, picked up the bag 'matter-of-factly' and walked away from the car!

I still recall the last scene - UG pulling the backpack over his shoulders like a school boy and disappearing into the building!

For a moment I wondered whether this could have inconvenienced UG in anyway but I checked myself from telling Kamal how I felt about the whole thing! In front of me I could see two friends transacting spontaneously and naturally, devoid of any hangups whatsoever!

I can’t describe UG's affection for Kamal. Kamal was on 'command training’, incidentally, for a new plane while UG was on his death bed in Vellacrosia!

In those days, both of us were spending a lot of time together, exchanging notes on the technicalities of the new plane. Kamal couldn’t really focus on his studies, he was constantly reminiscing about UG. Every now and then he would call up Mahesh Bhatt to check on UG’s condition.

UG had even mentioned to Mahesh that Kamal would have surely made it to Vellacrosia but for the training! Kamal stayed on half heartedly to complete his training.

Soon after UG’s demise, I remember receiving Kamal at our home. He had tonsured his head.  Tonsuring is a practice prevalent in Hindu families on the demise of one’s parents!  Kamal like a filial son had shaved his head for the sake of his father-figure!

******

Sage and the Housewife:

Mrs. Suguna Chandrasekhar Babu, ‘the housewife’ who served UG, ‘the sage’ for decades, recollects how UG used to accompany her & Praveen Babi , the famous Bollywood star, on various errands –buying vegetables, going to shops, visiting cinemas and public places.

While Parveen tried successfully to hide her identity and shun publicity, UG would tag along, like a commoner, jostling among the masses and blending into crowds. Suguna recollects with awe and wonder how UG had been part of their daily life  and how he merged into the common mass of people in the city. 

Dr. Narayana Moorty recollected another incident while he was UG’s guest in Switzerland along with wife Wendy and their toddler son. The couple were given a room on the upper floor. Later that evening, Dr. Moorty was really surprised and moved to see UG climbing up the staircase, carrying heavy mattresses and pillows for all of them, all the way up to the first floor!

UG remained accessible and grounded in his day to day life!

******

One is reminded of a parable from the Tao land of China.

Once there lived a great sage in the high mountains of ancient China!

As a boy, he heard the ‘call’ to be with Tao! He left his home, never to look back. He went into the mountains near his village and found a great Tao Master on a high peak in the mountain. The master took care of the boy, nurtured him and guided him on the Way.

The boy survived on roots and fruits, led a life of solitude, practicing great austerity and contemplation and gradually matured into a sagely figure.

The Taoist sage had absolutely no need for society! He had turned his back on it once and for all! He spent a life of great harmony and peace. The wild animals, reptiles and birds of the mountain saw him as one of their kind, they played with him, and enjoyed his company.

And then it happened!

One fine day, he felt a sudden tug at his heart, a strong desire to revisit his native village at the foothills of the mountain. He suddenly yearned to see how his village and her people had fared in all those years since he had left his home.

He started his descent from the mountain. It took a long time before he reached the outskirts of the village.

To his surprise, he discovered that there was a lot of noise and fan-fare, a great gathering of people, a carnival was going on in the village. Make-shift tents and colourful pavilions were erected. People were enjoying festivities, the village market was busy and noisy with people buying and selling goods. Many wayside inns had opened up to feed visitors from nearby towns and villages.

Savouring the sights and sounds, the sage walked along slowly into the heart of the village. As he neared the village centre, suddenly people started rushing towards him from all sides, in great numbers. They left behind their stalls, shops and inns to get a glimpse of the sage from the mountain!

The entire village started gathering around him in utter amazement, they were awe-struck by the appearance of the Great One among them. People had heard about the boy who had turned into a sage in the distant mountain and were now overjoyed to lay their eyes on him!

Some people brought their baskets of fruit and emptied them at his feet imploring him to accept the humble gift. Others offered precious goods, yet others kowtowed to him, begging him to partake of food from their inns and stalls. The crowds surged and surrounded him on all sides and would not let him move an inch.

The sage froze in his tracks – he was stunned, overwhelmed by the simple, humble and innocent crowds all around him. After a pause, he quickly turned around and started retracing his steps back towards his hut on the distant mountain. The crowds didn’t want him to leave! They too followed him. He gathered pace, he was quick, many could not keep pace with him but others kept walking behind him!

He began to run, many could not catch up and were left behind. But there were some who were determined and they followed him all the way into the mountain. Now there were rocks everywhere, some very steep and difficult to climb but the sage knew every inch of his terrain. He effortlessly hopped, jumped and scaled the boulders in a jiffy. People couldn’t catch up any more, he managed to shrug off all of them, all save one!

This stubborn follower pursued him relentlessly! At long last, in a final bid, the follower plunged towards the sage and caught hold of his feet.

The sage chided him, "You fool! Why are you following me?”

Follower, "Master, please help me! Only you can help me to find enlightenment!"

Sage, "Fool! What makes you think I can help you? I myself am not

Enlightened!"

Follower, in disbelief and shock: "But Master! Look at the glow on your face!

You can't possibly hide it! The crowds, all those people in the village, they can’t be mistaken too! You are certainly an Enlightened Man!"

Sage:  “Yes I understand what you say, but my teacher cautioned me:

 ‘You are not really enlightened as long as people think you are different from them!’  Enlightenment, my friend, means no sense of distinction! You think that I am different from you, it goes to show that I am still not enlightened! Thanks to all of you, you made me realize that I have still a long way to go in my spiritual journey!”

That said, he doubled up his speed and silently disappeared among the steep

rocks and thickly wooded cliffs, never to be seen again!

******

“You are nothing but FEAR” – UG.

A veteran pilot and an experienced crew trainer recently recounted a traumatic experience on one of his flights. 

Sometime ago, while in cruise, someone on board raised a bomb scare! The mid-air crisis hit him hard, he explained the whole trauma that he underwent, how he fought his nerves to stay calm and in control as he finally managed to divert and safely land the plane. 

It is extraordinary how fear can wreak havoc even on a professional, experienced and trained mind.

The pilot recounted another bizarre  episode! This time he overheard the news of hospitalisation of a dear friend on the cockpit radio while he was at the controls. He had a strange premonition of his friend's death and the news left him completely shattered. His hunch proved right as he learnt soon after landing.

During the unusual landing, the Captain recalled how his co-pilot and another crew-member in the cockpit went almost hysterical, shouting over the top, asking him to stop the plane, as the plane catapulted on the runway at a terrifying clip. They were afraid that they would hit the end of the runway soon and would all perish!

The hurtling speed of a landing airplane can easily exceed 250 km an hour and this requires both ‘reverse throttles’ (a technique of applying reverse thrust on engines) and ‘pedal braking’ on wheels to stop the plane!

As the pilot in command (PIC) that day, the 'loss' of his friend had so completely shattered his nerves, he felt a total numbness in both his legs - the famous FREEZE response of the nervous system! Unable to lift his feet off the floor to apply brakes using pedals, he managed to finally stop the plane by pulling the ‘reverse-throttle levers' only using his hand!

The plane pulled to a stop just a few feet short of the runway-end!

It is a well-known and well-studied phenomenon that fears and distressing thoughts can paralyse and incapacitate people!

The built-in biological mechanisms and hard-wired neural circuitry in handling fear could respond in any one of three ways –‘FREEZE, FIGHT or FLIGHT!’

******

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of fears. UG spoke of both forms of fear during many of his talks and made a few remarkable observations.

Once UG described his experience in Jnanashram near Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore. He was invited to stay at the huge estate next to the jungle by his friend, Shivarama Sharma, popularly known as Brahmachari. UG, the guest, was offered a bed in the main hall while Brahmachari himself preferred to sleep in the veranda.

Early hours of next morning, UG was awakened by rude knocks on the door facing the backyard accompanied by loud hissing noises. He got out of the bed and opened the door to be greeted by a king cobra that had coiled up right in front of the door! Typical of UG, he says, “The cobra invited me for a walk sir!”, and thus began his famous walks with the king cobra every morning during his stay at the ashram!

For UG, the biological freak, fear ‘was thrown off’ his system during his calamity or ‘death process’ in 1967! His oft repeated advice to all was that the cobras, left to themselves, are actually peaceful creatures and they do not harm people. But when they sense odour, born of fear, they detect trouble instantly and will be the first ones to take action!

And UG observed that thought just deserts you when you are in real, physical danger! He explained: “When you are in real danger, there is no thinking, thought is not there! Thought just elopes!”

******

Biological fears are born of real threats in nature and hence are handled by neural mechanisms or neural pathways hardwired in the brain and body. These built-in safety devices have evolved over millions of years.

The famous neuroscientist Joseph E. LeDoux and his colleagues at New York University conducted the research about the neural circuitry involved in fear processing. See the pic below.

The Fear Response Circuit

LeDoux concluded that ‘amygdala’, the almond-shaped structure in the brain, is the centre that processes both the ‘fear’ and ‘conditioned fear’. It then generates the FREEZE, FIGHT OR FLIGHT response by stimulating autonomic responses such as increased heart rate and blood pressure and involuntary muscle control.

Having studied fear circuits in the brain for 30 long years, in his remarkable and humble submission about the 'amygdala' research, LeDoux adds:

“The idea that the amygdala is the home of fear in the brain is just that—an idea.  It is not a scientific finding but instead a conclusion based on an interpretation of a finding.”

 (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/i-got-mind-tell-you/201508/the-amygdala-is-not-the-brains-fear-center)

According to LeDoux, once the snake is seen by the eye and the signal is decoded by the visual thalamus, the signal takes two distinct routes to reach the amygdala, the 'fear processor' that initiates the response.

The first route is a short one, direct pathway that takes only 12 milliseconds to reach and alert the amygdala (Box 1 in pic). Please note that the signal in the direct pathway is 'noisy', not clear or distinct! The figure depicts the shape as ‘somewhat’ like a snake, it is blurred, vague and not ‘crisp’! Nevertheless the amygdala responds instantly by kicking up the heart rate and blood pressure for the well-known FLIGHT response!

This is what the neuroscientists call the Direct Pathway or Low-Road!

Here the processing of fear is unconscious, there is no conscious thinking involved as UG pointed out and people simply take to heels! 

“People have fear they don’t understand or can’t control because it is processed by the low road,” LeDoux says.

Now about the second route.

The very same threat signal from the thalamus now continues its onward journey through to the visual cortex, the thinking mechanism, before finally reaching the amygdala giving rise to some delay.

At the visual cortex, the ‘threat’ is ‘processed’, ‘recognized’ and ‘analysed’, all part of the conscious ‘thinking’ process. Here the ‘signal’ is filtered out from the ‘noise’, as it were and the threat is clearly identified. That is, the cortex recognises the threat as cobra and a crisp and clear picture of the threat is then relayed over to the amygdala. 

This is the longer route, also  called the Indirect Pathway or High-Road (Box 2 in pic). 

This results in a 'thoughtful response' but only after the instantaneous FREEZE, FLIGHT or FLIGHT response due to the first signal!

This conscious but ‘exact processing’ of threat in the visual cortex where 'memory mapping' takes place delays the alert signal and hence it takes a longer time, about 30 to 40 milliseconds, to finally reach the amygdala well behind the first alert.

Nature has worked hard over millions of years and brilliantly put in place all the safety mechanisms and devices needed for our survival in the natural environment. It is truly an extraordinary piece of bio-engineering!

Survival is fully automatic!

******

Moving away from the threats in the real jungle now to threats in the human jungle!

Whereas biological fears are associated with real threats in the natural environment, the psychological fears are associated with ‘perceived’ threats or imaginary threats in the social environment! 

By the way, social environment is only a few thousands of years old compared to the human evolution that dates back to a few million years.

Social environment is a superimposition on our natural environment, an ‘imposed reality’ – ‘the only reality is the one that is imposed on us by society’ explained UG!

As humans, we have no choice but to inherit the superimposed social environment right at the time of birth. The conditioning required for the entity to survive in the human jungle perhaps occurs partly through genetics and partly through socio-cultural influences. This happens through the agency of parents, teachers and friends over the formative years.

Being social entities, humans suffer far more than animals from fears that are imaginary, psychological, fears born of thought or thinking!

Insurance is a great testimony to our fears! Fear runs this billion-dollar industry! Pivoted on fear & uncertainty, the insurance companies make phenomenal amounts of money selling fear to people –the fear of losing health, of losing property, fear of theft, of death and so on!

Many of our fears are ‘actually and factually’  unfounded, baseless but nevertheless impact, paralyse our minds and bodies!

Pointing to our psychological predicament and fear-infested minds, UG elucidated, “You are nothing but FEAR”

Thinking and fear go hand in hand. Thought is infested with fear. Fear takes its birth in thinking.

All thinking is either about the past or the future. It is the fear about the past losses, failures, guilt that might surface or recur again or about the unknown fears regarding the future. By the way, UG emphasised that there is no such thing as the future – future is only the continuity of the past, a mere projection!

Our day to day lives are filled with anxiety, uncertainty and fear. We live in a complex, complicated, distorted, corrupt social environment. There is a tremendous demand to be prepared and be ready to handle umpteen social, psychological threats of each and every kind out there in the human jungle.

The fear of survival in this complex, treacherous world propagates thought and thinking, promotes constant chattering. We relentlessly contemplate defenses and strategies of each and every kind against the perceived threats from every nook and corner.

Let us hear what UG says about our human tragedy:

The demand to be prepared for all future actions and all situations is the cause of our problems. Every situation is so different; and our attempt to be prepared for all those situations is the one that is responsible for our not being able to deal with situations as they arise.

·         From the book, “Thought Is Your Enemy”

UG in his extraordinary observation highlights the real source of our problem, and spotlights the real issue!

Our constant thinking, continuous struggle to be always ready and ever prepared for the future is the crux of the problem. This continuous and constant preparation breeds needless, relentless thinking. This is placing a huge demand on our biological resources and is consuming phenomenal amounts of life energy.

The more we want to achieve, the more we seek, more is the need or demand for us to be prepared against competition, the anticipated threats and situations. This is the crux of many psychological problems. It guzzles up all our energy thus zapping us and leaving us helpless and weak.

By being simple (focusing more on needs than wants) and being ordinary (not trying to become someone else) we open up huge reservoirs of life energy! 

With tons of energy at our disposal, UG reiterates that we could handle any life problem or situation, even as it arises!

******

" Tell Me Honestly, Does It Operate In Your Life?" - UG

Once a famous Bollywood actress walked into UG's portal along with her friend. 

UG was 'sinking' (cycles of moon affected him terribly) and he remained unusually quiet that whole afternoon. People around him just sat about lazily and listlessly. There was no talk going on, the din and roar of traffic from the busy street below was the only sound in the room.

UG’s silence seemed a little harsh for the celeb’s comfort. At some point someone in the room broke the ice by asking her something. She immediately seized the opportunity and animatedly began talking.  For some strange reason, she started waxing eloquent on love and relationship. She began singing the glories of marriage, parenthood, the joy of bringing up children.

Strangely, she had recently gone through a divorce from her not so famous husband and had walked out of her wedlock that had lasted only for a few years, leaving behind two little darlings! The glossies were ripe with the spat between the couple and the court case. But here she was, with a straight face, glorifying the institution of marriage! There was something seriously amiss!

Someone in the audience couldn't stand it anymore and burst out saying 'Madame, please do not waste time talking of love! After all, as UG puts it, it is just a four letter word! The talk of love, relationship is nothing but nonsense!"

Being a famous celebrity, she couldn't suffer this affront from an unknown entity! She was visibly upset.  She turned furious, raising her voice to a pitch, she hysterically shrieked out arguing and defending her position on marriage and love! 

This was turning into a showdown! 

UG suddenly came out of his hibernation, ' Hey! Why are you getting so upset? What are you talking?  What he is saying is right! You talk of love and all that crap, tell me honestly, does it operate in your life?”

This sudden outburst from UG silenced her completely! UG didn’t stop there, " Look here! Don't try to be clever, you will be clobbered!'

The room fell silent!

After sometime, the man, her ‘offender’ took leave of UG and left the room. The lady quietly followed him to the door. Seems the person was shocked to see her trailing him. He apparently stopped to confront her. Still feeling smarted and seething with anger, she stood glowering at him! He stood rooted silently staring back at her! There was a pause and the lady abruptly turned around and vanished into the house.

On learning of her rage, UG remarked, “These people have no chance at all with me… I can silence them in a minute, no, not even a minute, in a second!”

“Come on sir! It's nothing! Don’t even bother" - UG

UG enjoying a moment with feline beauties.

During one of his many visits to Bombay, our pilot friend, Kamal invited UG for breakfast to his flat. In those days, Kamal’s bachelor pad was in a thickly wooded area near Andheri. 

Early morning that day, UG and Mahesh Bhatt set out to reach Kamal's place. I was to join them with breakfast preparation from home. My wife Prasuna offered to prepare ‘idlis’ for us all. UG used to like her preparation, “When it comes to idlis, I can’t decide who makes it better –Suguna (Mrs. Chandrasekhar Babu) or your wife, both make it so well, it is difficult for me to choose between the two!”

That day, everything seemed to go awry. There was a delay in the preparation of food so I started late, the traffic snarls further delayed my arrival and it was well past breakfast time when I finally reached Kamal’s place.

After profusely apologising for the inordinate delay, I and Kamal rushed to serve food to UG. Mahesh said he had already finished his breakfast at home and come.

UG promptly went about his business and started attacking the idlis, I stood around waiting to serve ‘chutney’, a spicy serving to go with the bland idlis! All of a sudden, a frantic-looking Kamal darted across the room to my side and literally pulled me into the kitchen. He clearly looked a worried man! Obviously something had gone wrong! He wanted to know whether I had tasted the idlis myself, I said, 'No'!

Kamal gave me a shocker, “Suresh, looks like the batter for making idlis contained grains of sand"! And handed me a piece to taste! Ouch! I couldn't hold the grainy morsel on my tongue for even a second! 

For a moment, I stood there paralysed, feeling guilty of a capital crime!

Recovering from my shock & disbelief, I rushed out into the living room to see if I could salvage the situation. But it was too late! I caught a glimpse of UG as he lapped up the last piece of the sandy idli from his plate and got up to wash his hands!

He looked absolutely normal, calm and composed! There was no change in his facial expression, there was absolutely no sign to give away that he had just consumed a sandy meal!

I felt terrible and offered my unconditional apologies for the gross negligence! It was really unforgivable! It was unbecoming of me & wife to have served him such food! UG brushed aside the whole thing! With aplomb befitting a sage, he pacified me, “Come on sir! It's nothing! Don’t even bother".

I was dumbstruck! First ever time, I had witnessed what is hailed as the sagely equanimity!

****

Fast forward to 2009 !

Kamal had flown back from Dubai that morning!
We were supposed to meet Mahesh Bhatt at his office. Kamal suggested we carry along a pack of fine dates he had brought from the desert. 

After the pleasantries got over, Kamal offered the pack of dates to Mahesh who promptly ordered for a plate and poured all the dates into the plate and passed it around for everyone in the office. Meanwhile, his lady writer, Shagufta Rafeeq joined us at the table. 

For some reason, she peeled open one of the dates before popping it in! She let off a huge scream, "Ooh! There are worms inside these dates"! And showed us a crawler! Already Mahesh, I and Kamal had generously helped ourselves and munched some delicious dates, blissfully unaware of what went alongside the dates into our tummies!

It was Kamal's turn to be dumbstruck!

Mahesh, cool and unruffled, called for the boys to remove the plate and dismissed the whole episode saying, "Ok! That's alright!" And hurried on to resume his favourite topic, UG, even as Kamal and I made brave efforts to gather our wits.  Shagufta, sitting next to us, unable to get over, looked completely dazed!

An aside:

On this particular day of sandy idlis, I had travelled to Kamal’s place in an auto rickshaw. As soon as I walked in, UG greeted me asking, “Sir! Did you come in your car driving all the way?” gesturing with both hands to indicate steering. I said, “No sir! I came by rickshaw.”

After some more time, he repeated the same question all over again using the same gesture, again I answered him in the negative.

A third time this question was repeated, all within a span of one hour! I patiently repeated that I did not own a car and that I used the public transport for my commute.

But UG’s remark had hit its mark!

I mulled over UG’s words that evening. There was something there for me to think and consider! Why would he go on asking that question?

Strangely, in those days, I used to spend a fortune on renting cars for a saffron-clad guru who used to be my guest. And UG’s refrain pushed me to weigh the option of going for my own car. This made sense as it would result in a lot of savings rather than blowing up money on prohibitive car rentals.

When UG arrived on his next visit, I had already bought a new car, a Fiat Palio and UG appeared delighted and showed it to one and all. He suddenly decided to make a trip to our home in the new car!

****