Darshan of Swami Krishnananda in 1999

by Swami Krishnananda

35. God Is Thinking Himself

(Darshan given in July 1999)

Swamiji: Everybody will say like that: inside, inside, inside. If it is inside everything, it is another way of saying it is everywhere. If it is everywhere, then what else is there? There is nothing except that. The whole universe is Atman only.

A visitor: Is not the most direct way of accessing the Atman in the cave of the heart?

Swamiji: No, it is the cave of the heart of the universe, not in one man.

Visitor: Is not this cave of the heart the same as the anahata chakra?

Swamiji: Again you are bringing the physical body. Give up the attachment to this body. It is the anahata chakra of the universe. Widen your mind – widen, widen, widen as long as it is possible, until you reach the skies, and meditate from the skies. Why do you want to be a small man? Become big.

Visitor: It seems that meditation on the Atman automatically awakens kundalini, without any effort. Is that... Would you agree?

Swamiji: When you meditate on Atman you will reach God. You will attain God. Then kundalini will follow you automatically.

Visitor: Is bringing the attention to this point an act of ego?

Swamiji: Listen to me. When it is everywhere, why you say like this?

Visitor: That's what I want to confirm with you. It seems that...

Swamiji: I am mentioning a simple technique: Everywhere, and so you must think all things at one stroke – universal meditation.

Visitor: So yogis who meditate on the third eye...

Swamiji: No third eye. Universal eye.

Visitor: Universal eye. That is an active ego then, because it's searching outside.

Swamiji: This body-consciousness is ego. That must be melted down by the awareness of the whole universe at one stroke.

Visitor: Do you know of Radha Swami? Are you familiar with that path?

Swamiji: Radha Swami? Yes, I have heard.

Visitor: They teach meeting the Guru on the astral plane and speaking to a divine form.

Swamiji: There is no necessity to do all that. You can speak to God Himself directly.

Visitor: All my questions have been answered. You just confirmed everything that I've been contemplating myself.

Swamiji: I confirmed everything in a larger circle. I made it very big. You have covered the whole universe now. You are not a small person. You are a huge universal body, and if you think like that continuously, whatever you want you will get. Your success will flow from all sides. You will have no pains, no sufferings, no sorrows, no desires, nothing. Everybody will respect you afterwards.

Visitor: Can I tell you about two childhood experiences? One is, when I was very young I used to have a recurring lucid dream, and in this dream I would find myself, I would become awake in my dream, and I would at that point relax and go down, and then fly up into light, into great light. And then when I was waking up, I would be saying that flying is so simple, natural and fun. That was one primary childhood experience. To me, I interpreted it as God is simple, natural and fun.

My second primary spiritual experience was when I was seventeen. I was in a spiritual crisis trying to decide what to study in university, and I fell asleep in my bed in a state of intense seeking, and a loud voice woke me up, saying “The answer is within.” And then I sat on my bed to make sure I was wide awake, and I heard it twice more: “The answer is within. The answer is within.” And it sounded like it was coming from the top corner of the room but it also felt like it was coming from my heart. So I'm a bit addicted to tuning into my heart for answers. And I understand that Atman is everywhere, but perhaps you can shed some light on my two primary childhood experiences.

Swamiji: Very good signs. These experiences are good signs of improvement on your spiritual path. It is a good sign. You can continue meditation like that. There is no need of changing.

Visitor: What is your sadhana? What is your practice?

Swamiji: My sadhana is immersion of oneself with God. Immerse your consciousness in God. Then no problem arises. When you are identified with God as a river entering the ocean, the river has no problem afterwards. You should not maintain an individuality of yours: I am a Canadian, I am a male, and I study economics, and all that. You have drowned yourself in the ocean of God, and then you don't exist. God only is. Then when you think, God thinks. Is it not a blissful state?

Visitor: So you're saying I should continue with my childhood practices.

Swamiji: You may continue, but do meditation also.

Visitor: Is there a specific meditation you recommend for me?

Swamiji: Centralisation of your mind in a universal existence, which is another way of saying God existence. When you think, you must think everything, not only one or two things – the whole creation. You must contemplate on the entire creation: space, time, cause, sun, moon, stars, everything. You put them together, bundle them up into one totality, and you are also included in that totality so that One Being alone is. One Being alone is. You are not existing separately there to meditate. You have gone into it, into the total. The Total Being is meditating on Total Being. God is thinking Himself. This is the highest truth. This will purify you instantaneously. All the problems will vanish.

Visitor: Is the need of Guru a time passed and not suitable for Western society? The tradition of Guru I feel is somehow...

Swamiji: Forget the word 'Guru'. Anyone who can enlighten you, anyone who is able to guide you, with whom you are very much satisfied, that can be considered as... Don't use the word 'Guru'. It has got a very dubious meaning. Say 'guide, mentor, master'. Now you have come to me. I am guiding you and saying something. With that you are satisfied. And if you want more, you will go to another, bigger Guru [chuckles]. Don't worry about Guru and all that. Actually, you don't require any Guru. Your mind will tell you what is Truth.

Okay, thank you. Om Namo Narayanaya.