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1.1.1 FNS

There are three ways in which a human being may approach the Divine. The first way is through the chanting of songs and devotional music. You know, many people have reached sublime states by chanting the name of God, by singing sweet, devotional songs to the Infinite with all their heart and all their soul, by using the sweet flow of the music to concentrate the mind on the Infinite Being. So, one approach to know the Supreme Entity is through the chanting of beautiful music, beautiful subtle kiirtan, beautiful songs which express the most sweet and subtle devotional sentiments. This is one approach.

The second approach for knowing and coming in contact with the Infinite Entity, is by the use of mantra and silent meditation upon the Great. In this way, a being may concentrate the mind above and beyond the mundane matters in which they are usually involved. They may focus their attention and their concentration beyond the ordinary and upon the Great. In this way, the focused and concentrated mind comes in contact with the Infinite Entity. It experiences a very close association with that Supreme Being through concentrated ideation. This is the second method by which a human being may come in close approximation with the Infinite Being.

The third method by which a human being may come in contact with the Supreme, is by ideation through pure work. That is to say, if one serves others with a pure heart, if one gives one's all to all living being seeing them as the very expressions of God in the physical world and serving them as such, then one will grow closer and closer to the Supreme Being. The seeds of selfishness will melt away from the mind and, seeing always the welfare of others, the sense of smallness and limitation will fade away. A human being will then realize "I exist, not only in this small body, but I am also existing in all of the people, all of the creatures, and all of the lovely expressions of this world. I am not a limited person. Yes, I may move in this body, but I also express in so many forms within this world. And my Lord also is in this expression." So, through serving others with a pure heart, an expanded view may come which will lead one to the very doorway of infinite awareness.

Now, if one uses all three of these approaches simultaneously, that is, taking time to sing the name of God and to open one's heart in song, taking time for meditation upon the Great and taking some time, also, to serve living beings in great and small ways, if all three of these approaches are used simultaneously, there will be maximum progress. There will be maximum ability to know that Infinite Being, for you will be opening your heart, opening your mind, and expanding your sense of self. In this way, you will come to know the Divine Entity in a short time. The awareness of that Infinite Being will dawn in your consciousness through the application of these simple approaches. You need not be a great yogi with so many sophisticated meditations, so many secret mantras, so many complicated practices which you must do hours each day. For some that is necessary, but, for others, it is superfluous.

A simple path, a gentle path, which involves the opening of the heart, the service of others, and the quiet meditation upon the Great will be most effective. Because the practice is simple does not mean it is inferior, it may be superior. It depends upon the person who is practicing. If there are the qualities of sincerity and single pointedness, then the spiritual effort will be more successful. When the heart is sincere, when the desire to know God is very sincere, then the maximum progress will be made. This sincerity is all important in spiritual life. It is the most important factor in spiritual life. When a living being has a sincere longing to come in close contact with the Great, that longing alone will carry them very close to the Infinite, and what they need, what they require, will come to them, you can be assured, if the longing is sincere.

Now, how does one acquire this sincere longing for the Infinite? How does one acquire this dedication to the Divine? It comes in several ways. When the life has become somewhat difficult, the woes, the trials and tribulations appear to be mounting, a human being, in frustration with the struggles and the trials of their life, may call to God saying, "Oh Lord, I have thought that this world was my delightful playhouse. But I have discovered that there is also much pain in this world, much tragedy in this world, much suffering in this world. Lord, I would seek that which is beyond the pleasure and pain of this worldly existence, that which can shelter me from all of the trials and tribulations of mundane life." In this way a person may begin to feel some motivation towards the Divine in order to escape the sufferings of life. They may also feel attraction because they have, at one time or another, experienced a moment of divine communion in which the heart and soul has been opened and fulfilled by the presence of God.

Now, if a person experiences this divine communion, they may find that they desire to know the Infinite, to be closer and closer to that Supreme Being, for they have seen in that momentary contact, something so lovely, so delightful, so all attracting that they cannot think to be away from that Entity. They want to discover "How may I be closer, how may I come in deeper contact with that profound expression?" Due to this inspiration they have received, they will become attracted to spiritual life. So both of these situations will bring a person to spiritual life, the pain and suffering of the world, and the experience of the Great which creates a thirst to know that Infinite Being, to know love that is unending.

Due to both of these motivations, a person may set their feet upon the path of spiritual awakening. And upon that path, they may discover that they are not what they thought themselves to be, that the small and limited being whom they have identified themselves as, Mr. so and so, Ms. so and so that lives at such and such a place, that this person is not their true identity, that their identity is far more expansive than this, that all of these limitations that they have surrounded themselves with, are nothing but misperceptions of their own nature. They do not constitute reality. As a person begins to discover this, they begin to experience an all encompassing reality that is without boundaries. They begin to experience love which is eternal, which does not need an object to be fulfilled, but which merely exists. They begin to realize that all of these limited preconceptions of their own identity were nothing but false beliefs and that their actual identity is, in fact, nothing short of the Infinite Consciousness, the Divine Love which is the very substance of all existence. This is their true identity. All other identities are false identities. When a person comes to realize that this is their true identity, they also see that all that they thought they were separate from, all that they saw as outside of themselves, is in fact part of themselves, that they have thought they were a particular body, a particular expression. But they are not anything separate. They are existing in every molecule of this universe, in all the atoms of this expressed world, and also in the pure undifferentiated consciousness which underlies manifest existence. All of this lies within the self. This understanding comes to a person when, through the simple methods that we have outlined, through spiritual practice, they come to know the reality of their own existence. That is why it is said: "Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru devo Maheshvara, Guru reva Parama Brahma." The Guru, the Infinite Being, is the creator of this universe, the preserver of this universe, and the destroyer of all illusionary existence. That Divine Entity is Parama Brahma, the Supreme Consciousness. And what is your fundamental nature? Are you a little person, a small person existing at a certain time, at a certain place, is that your nature? You are far more than this. Forget and forgo all limitation you have placed upon yourself, for beneath these layers of illusionary identity, lies the great and infinite Entity and no other. No other exists. It is a matter of perception. So, in the path of Yoga, a human being alters their perception so that one who has thought themselves to be something quite apart discovers, all along, that they have been infinite, and thus there is the yoking, the union of the little and the Great.

I will take questions.

Q: I spent so many years cultivating my mind and depending and identifying myself in an interested way as an intellectual, and now I have come to realize my mind is an obstacle in the path of spiritual development. It seems to dominate my meditative life and I can only revert to mantra in able to use my mind because it always seems to me to be used, like a machine that needs oiling, it just crunches and moves and seems to have so much energy and momentum. But I see and I perceive that it is too active, too engaged and I want to silence it. You said before that I should use my heart to silence my mind and I see this as being a useful way to go about doing it. But when I compare the use of my heart and the use of my mind, my mind seems to be more powerful, it seems to be intrusive. Is there something else I can do to silence it?

First of all, mind is not your enemy. It is your vehicle. It is like the car which you drive. You get in the car, the car is very active, it will go here, it will go there, it will go wherever you say. So you get in the car and you drive in the proper direction. It is your vehicle, not your enemy. Mind does not stand in between you and divine awareness. It is the vehicle by which you get this awareness but in order to use the mind properly, it must be properly directed, it must be properly channeled through these three methodologies which we have just discussed. Through kiirtan and song, through silent mediation, service, also through the svadyaya, the study of books, this will be helpful to some extent. But there must also be kiirtan because mind without heart can become disconnected from reality. It is best that heart and mind go hand in hand, hand in hand together down the road, and social service also is beneficial for balancing the mental faculties. Mind is your vehicle, it is strong. Utilize its strength.

Q: There is a disconnect between my inner life and my outer life in the sense that in my meditation and expressing my inner being where my talents are as a musician, I have been able to put a close correlation between my studies as a musician and my meditation. However, in my external life, for my income, I am having to do something completely different and am having a very powerful frustration between having to do one thing for my livelihood and having very little time and energy left to do my sadhana and to do my spiritual expression through my music and I feel a great need for some direct divine intervention or some breakthrough so that my external life can be in harmony with my internal life. I feel there must be something within my consciousness, some past sanskaras, something inherited from my outer parents, something inside of me that is preventing the harmony between my outer life and my inner life. And I feel the need for some direct intervention that can dissolve that veil or obstacle within me. Can you please help me?

There are three things which can be done. First of all, this problem, this pain within you should be surrendered each day at the altar of the Divine. In puja, you give this away, you say "Lord, this problem belongs to You. Here, You take it. I give You my mind, my heart, my soul and, with it, I give You the responsibility for this problem." Give it to God.

Secondly, the person that you are within, may be expressed each and every moment, in every circumstance of your life. It is the illness of this modern world from which you suffer. It is a common problem. That which you are in your inner self, must be brought forward, forward into your every word, every action. This split between your work and your music is really the outward manifestation of a deeper problem and you are not alone in this problem. Many today suffer this illness. So I recommend, each and every moment you emphasize this connectedness between your innermost self and your outermost self making them one in the same. Then, if you are in the office, if you are in the music studio, if you are with friends in all settings, you will be only yourself, simple and pure, a child of God.

Thirdly, there can be no difference between the person that you are when you are alone, by yourself, and the person that you are when you are with others. It is a barrier that can be broken. Be yourself in all settings, from your heart, from your soul, into your every action, every word. Be yourself. And when you become yourself, you will find that self who you have become is a very lovely person. It takes great courage to be yourself. To stay fully awake and aware of your innermost being at all times in the life and to move from that innermost self in the world. It does not mean you must quit your job, it does not mean you must do this and do that, it is more subtle than this, and more profound.

Q: Is there something I can do externally to make my income come from my talents as a musician?

Be yourself in all settings, the rest will follow.