In a third party discussion everyone will readily agree on many broad principles and ways. But the actual happenings of life point to the ongoing pursuance of individualist goals and lifestyles as unfettered and essentially unavoidable, even as pain from common sources touches all of us.

The Sanskrit word “Guru” has concentrated significance. In essence it means “gravity”, the one who has intrinsic gravity beyond that of Mother Earth’s. Thus it can attract upwards, away from materialism of all sorts.

Our true Self offers the ultimate in natural resistance. It cannot be attacked or corrupted in any way. It is so pure and subtle that it cannot be touched by anything material. And in fact the essence of matter is pure - as it is vacuum.

He said that when living on the ground level only, one cannot even imagine that a high building exists and if someone describes Reality from the 10th floor nobody will understand. But if one is helped to climb to second floor, everything changes and the understanding of the reality of verticality is now possible.  

The analogy goes quite far. Just as commercial eggs do not have an embryo and will never give rise to a bird, when we become fully “commercial”, materialistic, the spiritual aim vanishes without trace and no further transformation is possible.

Shri Mataji, the founder of Sahaja Yoga, often says “Why be so serious ?…” It is so true. We live in a most beautiful world, endowed with everything we need to be happy and enjoy together. We have a most amazing amazing body and an even more amazing brain.

What exactly is thinking ? Of course there are many possible answers: chemical molecules moving between our neurons, activation of functional networks in the brain, subjective constructs of received information, etc.

What is about children that universally makes us happy being around them ? What makes them so sweet and yet direct, so fresh and yet wise, so confident and yet humble ? It is their innocence, the real root of all that is good within us.

To be in a witness state, our attention should be detached from both the past and the future, from both our emotions as well as our ego and future plans. But as long as our awareness is captive in either one, there is no “other” place to go to

In the medical knowledge there is still preciously little space given to the autonomous nervous system. It is rather paradoxical as this governs a huge part of our bio-psycho-immunological life and provides the backdrop on which our consciousness operates against.