Answers Sirshree

(A seeker's account of what happened to him)

This is an excerpt from an article by a disciple Tulsi Harwani where he describes how one question answer-session with Sirshree transformed his understanding.

One day I went to Sirshree and asked him some questions on meditation. I didn’t know then that the discussion would change the course of my life, my entire perception. The discussion that followed is described as follows:

Tulsi: Nowadays I am unable to practice vipassana meditation. What should I do? I am not able to concentrate and hence I feel guilty.

Sirshree: Who meditates – know that first.

Tulsi: Meditation, of course, I was the one doing it. But nowadays I have discontinued the practice.

Sirshree: First know “Who am I?”. Then you will be only in meditation. In other words, you become meditation, you become devotion.

Tulsi: I did not understand this.

Sirshree: Fine. You have to listen from the beginning. Listen by dropping all your false notions and concepts, without any comparison. Then you will come to understand that the meditation of Self (sakshi) is continuously happening. The moment the mind falls – there is meditation of Self - meditation of bright awareness – where there is awareness of consciousness and awareness of unconsciousness – both. That is bright awareness. Bright awareness is meditation. You don’t have to meditate – but just understand that “You are meditation”.

Tulsi: What! No need of meditation?

Sirshree: Not only meditation, but you will be free from all types of karma. You will get the understanding that you were the non-doer of karmas(akarta), you never did any karma right from the beginning. Then how did you become the doer of meditation?

Tulsi: So what should I do to attain this understanding?

Sirshree: Come and listen to Antim Satsang discourses. Through listening, the meditator will remain no more and what remains is only meditation. The path to end suffering, the road to happiness will emerge. You will be in the bright bliss of silence (moun).

Tulsi: I will definitely keep coming. Since then I attended the Gyan Group Retreat. I found the path to end suffering. I understood what Antim Satsang is all about. The more I listened, the more the conviction grew that everybody should come to know about Antim satsang and the final truth taught here. With this hope and conviction, I made an effort to write this small article. I believe this book will solve its purpose.

By Sirshree

What is real happiness?

Sirshree: Real happiness is not that happiness which you get when you achieve some thing. The mind has cast a shadow over the real you. When the mind falls -- then what is behind the mind -- that manifests. And when that happens it is real happiness. Suppose you have an aim, a desire to achieve something or to own something. And when you actually achieve it -- then the mind that was thriving only on that desire --falls for some moments because the desire has been quenched. And in those few moments of no-mind, you experience emptiness. This you call as happiness or bliss. All happiness you have ever experienced is only because of the mind getting empty, because of the no-mind state, because of the lifting of the shadow of the mind. But the false notion that you get is that because the target was completed -- you got happiness. Because of what you desired - you got happiness. Because of this false notion, desire for newer and more things increase. But, anything that gives you lots of happiness today does not give you the same amount of happiness later. After some time happiness diminishes. It ends. The real thing - the one that is shadowed by the mind -- after that is experienced -- then you get "bright" happiness (Tej Anand). This "bright" happiness never diminishes.

What then is "bright" happiness ?

Sirshree: That bliss that is beyond happiness and sorrow. For which there is no opposite. To site an example, the opposite of 'success' is 'failure'. Similarly: hot - cold, up - down, love - hate etc. - all words are related. But what is beyond both opposites is "bright". What is beyond love and hate is "bright" love. What is beyond happiness and grief is bright happiness. There is no opposite to "bright" happiness. Because that is 'one'. When you come to know of that "one" then, you are liberated from dualism.

Why is man unhappy?

Because of double unhappiness.

What is double unhappiness?

You are troubled by something. The body is under pain – this is first unhappiness. But on that unhappiness the mind becomes unhappy, why does this exist? Why me? Why not others? When would this pain go away? ---- Then the unhappiness of the body increases ten times over. The body was in pain. The body was curing it too. Nature on its own was curing the pain. But the thorn of the mind made it “my pain”, “my unhappiness”.

Does this mean we should not be unhappy?

This means unhappiness over unhappiness should not be there.

What does this mean?

This means that the comparing mind (contrast mind) that raises its head and defines the state of unhappiness shouldn’t be there.


I didn’t understand ...

Understand it like this. You got angry. It does not trouble you as such. Children get angry and the very next second, they are peacefully playing. But you are thinking as to “why did I anger?” Even after the incident has occurred, what is being thought over it for hour together --- that gives you trouble. So you get angry over anger and this troubles the mind. The more your understanding increases, you are rid of this double unhappiness.

That means unhappiness alone cannot trouble us?

Absolutely correct.

How is that?

When unhappiness is not acceptable, then double unhappiness begins i.e. unhappiness over unhappiness as to why I am unhappy? But when there is acceptance of this unhappiness, then unhappiness on that unhappiness doesn’t happen. Depression on depression doesn’t occur. And then this understanding will occur that it is only “non-acceptance” that is unhappiness and only acceptance is happiness.
Question Answer Sessions with Sirshree Tejparkhi
On this page, you will find answers given out to truth seekers by Sirshree Tejparkhi. Some answers have been given to individual seekers who later wrote from their memory. Some are excerpts from his discourses where seekers asked questions and his answers thereto were documented.

Spreading Oneness ( Courtesy Tejgyan Foundation)

Spreading Oneness

Happy Thoughts

People have added many of their own wrong beliefs and notions with meditation because of which the technique of meditation itself has become more important. The beliefs and notions that stick to the mind then become dirt and grime and spread the stench and destroy happiness. 'Meditation' is cleaning of the dirt so that we again become free from dirt, clean and pure.

Tejguru Sirshree Tejparkhiji

In this edition...

One on one with oneness: Q/A with Sirshree

What truly is the goal of man?

Oneness speaks: Gems from Sirshree

Invoke the sense of responsibility, attain the goal

Experience Oneness: Practical tips for becoming a 'Bright Householder' as taught by Sirshree

Parental responsibility

Old story, Golden moral by Sirshree

On responsibility

One on one with oneness: Q/A with Sirshree

What truly is the goal of man

Seeker: What truly is the goal of man?

Sirshree: Every person wants happiness and that is why he tries to find a reason to be happy.

His happiness is in:

· getting appreciated

· celebrating the festivities of new year

· winning the bumper prize of a lottery

· getting cured from a disease

· someone accepting what he says

· getting promotion at work

· things happening according to his wishes

· an obstacle getting removed from his path

· telling and listening to a hilarious joke

· hurting an enemy

· going to garden and parks

· eating a variety of delicacies in restaurants and hotels

· shopping items of the latest fashion

· being fashionable and wearing new dresses

· receiving and decorating awards on the shelf

· celebrating birthdays and receiving gifts

· receiving jewels and jewelry

· giving birth to a child

· reconciling with an upset friend

BUT

Real happiness is without reason or cause. The happiness because of a reason disappears with the disappearance of the reason which would leave sorrow in its wake. How can the happiness without reason disappear?

This happiness

o is not because of losing something or gaining something

o does not diminish with time

o goes on increasing with time

o will not go anywhere or bring any sorrow

To attain this happiness is the goal of man. This is the real treasure of meditation due to Self Meditation.

Oneness Speaks: Gems from Sirshree.

Invoke the sense of responsibility, attain the goal

What kind of responsibility have we become ready to shoulder? Responsibility for the desired objective of life? Who are the people who want to take responsibility? How have you felt whenever you took responsibility?

You feel good, whenever you take responsibility. Think of the time when you had taken the responsibility of doing very well in a difficult examination after hard work, and did it! You felt very good. So long as there is ignorance, taking responsibility is burdensome and people shy away from it. But on reflecting deeply, you will understand that whenever you had taken any responsibility and fulfilled it, you felt completeness. And every person desires to feel complete.

If you are overweight, then take responsibility for reducing weight by so many pounds within so many months. The moment you take responsibility, you will feel a surge of energy and just the thought of responsibility will make you fulfil it. This would become a great inspiration.

You like to transact only with those who take responsibility. Would you like to deal with:

● the grocer who promises to deliver goods to your home at a certain time and does not?

● the friends who promise to complete a task, forget to do it, and tell you at the end moment that they could not?

You do not like to talk, interact or transact with irresponsible people. So also, people would like to interact with you, only when you become responsible. Ask yourself, what is your requirement today? Take responsibility for the weaknesses that you must get rid of, by doing which you would feel great. A smoker, who takes responsibility to quit smoking, feels so much blissful after actually quitting smoking which he would not have felt even while smoking. So ask yourself, what is the bad quality in me that I must eliminate? Which is the quality that I must imbibe? That quality could be faith, courage, communication skills, or knowing how to deal with different people. Feel responsible to imbibe all these qualities in you. Do not run away from taking responsibilities.

When you blame others for being irresponsible, ask yourself, 'Am I responsible enough?' The parents of a child are complaining to the principal about the school. The child was injured while trying to steal a book from the library and jumping off the window. The complaint was: Why was the glass of the window pane broken, due to which the child was hurt? But before complaining, the parents must ask this question to themselves, 'Who is responsible for the child resorting to stealing?'

Before complaining, contemplate on what your responsibility is and whether you have discharged it fully or not. When you do this, the habit of blaming breaks and you would become responsible for:

1. Making sure that no bad habit remains

2. Earning money for sustenance

3. Making a house of your own

4. Taking responsibility to help a friend

5. Striving to attain complete all-round development

When a friend is in need, and you are able to bail him out, then you would feel very good about it. Right from today, look around and see: Of all the things happening around you, what responsibility can you take? If your vicinity is dirty and you take the responsibility of cleaning it up, then you would see that the dirt gets removed. If you keep grumbling that 'people are like that. the government is like that.the municipal corporation is like that. then this work would never happen. When people do not flinch from committing to responsibilities, then all those things of the world would happen, which stand in front of you as problems.

When man gets liberated from ignorance, unconsciousness and laziness, then due to the feeling of freedom, he would desire to take responsibilities. In this state, taking responsibilities would not be a burden. A liberated person who takes responsibility for the liberation of other people considers it to be his Self Expression. The more you are liberated, the more would you desire to take responsibility. Taking responsibility is the proclamation of freedom, not of inviting troubles.

Take responsibility from today, invoke the feeling of responsibility. By taking responsibility, you would bring in all good qualities, eliminate all bad ones, and then you would be able to take the biggest of responsibilities, which is 'knowing yourself' or self-realisation. This responsibility too, must be taken by everybody, if not today, then tomorrow. Only after that is Complete Bright Development possible.

Experience Oneness: Practical tips for 'Bright householders' as taught by Sirshree...

Parental responsibility

It is often seen that parents, who are expected to give 'understanding' to their children, often force their verdict upon them. The children then conduct themselves on these ready-made verdicts. The parents have undergone some bitter-sweet experiences earlier because of which they have concluded that people are bad, and the way the world is running is wrong. They hold onto their experiences and also force them upon their children. Then how can the children develop? They will also see the world through the eyes of their parents.

What is the fact? Is the world really bad? Are people bad? The same world that appears bad to us appears good to someone else. Therefore, let us give the freedom to our children to take decisions from their viewpoint and experience. May the parents not force their experiences upon their children. Allow them to choose their paths. Help the children in making their decisions but do not force your decisions on them. Give them this kind of a new life, new light and plan to live together happily.

Old Story, Golden Moral By Sirshree

On responsibility

A mendicant was roaming in the forest when he spotted an injured jackal. He felt sorry for the lame animal, wondering how it would survive without hunting for its food. A lion came dragging its prey, ate to its full, and left the rest for the injured jackal to feed on and went its way. The mendicant was elated and thanked God for the mercy shown to the poor animal. He felt that if God can take care of an animal, then He sure can take care of a mendicant like him. There is no need to worry for food and so saying he went and sat below a tree.

A day passed and the mendicant was hungry. But he felt that God would take care of his needs and continued sitting under the tree. The second day passed and there was no sign of any food coming. He waited patiently. But at the end of the third day he could wait no longer. He complained to God, "You had shown mercy to the injured animal, but you have no mercy on me."

A voice from the skies spoke: "If at all you want to imitate, then imitate the lion, not the lame animal!"

Moral: Take responsibility for your life. Fulfill your own responsibilities and help others when you can.

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