I was 18 years old
clad in a denim miniskirt and holding a
lot of rebellion in my heart when I went
for a spiritual talk for the first time
there were Hmong and gurus and disciples
and I remember thinking to myself oh my
god
what things because I actually thought
that all these people were wasting their
lives on some kind of useless ridiculous
mumbo jumbo but sitting there my
agnostic journalistic mind was extremely
impressed because I was never asked to
come with a heart full of faith in fact
my master Swami Chidananda would often
pause in between his deep philosophical
discourses and Stroke his long flowing
beard and say think for yourself
remember longer the beard greater should
be a suspicion and that put me to eat
because all I was asked was to think
just think you have to watch this on the
other hand you must always an evasive
speech the longer the earth creator of
the
you know I don’t want your blind trait
no you must check up or a thing that I’m
talking if I find that you are all
following whatever I say I will be
tempted I know I wear a yellow saree
I wear a Rudraksha rosary I apply
sandalwood paste on my forehead and it
appears like I’m here to preach but
interestingly and thank God for that
preaching is not my real job I belong to
a Vedic path the talks of oneness and
teaches how to think it is called
advaitha the science of oneness of
course as we move ahead it became very
important for me that the approach of
Vedanta was logical and rational that
the philosophy of oneness we were
talking about was one of absolute
thinking and reality so I am here not to
tell you to do as I say I am NOT here to
tell you to do what I say just because
of the clothes I wear all the choices I
made or the life I lead I’m here only to
invite you to think because I am
actually a pilgrim of life a lover of
freedom adventurist of thoughts and so
I’m here to facilitate an expedition in
thinking and all I want from you is to
trek up the thought trajectories that
I’m going to lead you on right now
because these are the peaks that the
ancients of this holy land reached
shared and celebrated these are the
destinations for which the hundreds of
Upanishads act as the perfect route map
yes it may appear like I am here hard
selling to you the subtle philosophy
of oneness but I’m not because if I had
to sell anything at all I would be
wearing different clothes and doing
different things here on stage all of
you know that you watch more TV than I
do but selling is not the idea I’m here
only to invite you to think of course it
will be extremely productive useful and
way more fun if all of you also please
leave aside your faith and prior notions
and prejudices and allow yourselves the
luxurious opportunity of uninfluenced
free thinking because that is the method
of oneness that is the method of this
philosophy as my master Swami Chidananda
would often say undress and embrace
undress yourself of all your prior
beliefs and embrace the truth as it is
that was what he said and that is all
that we are requesting you to do undress
and embrace yes the rational approach of
the philosophy of oneness inspired me to
such an extent that it felt like
freshwater to fish and so I took the
plunge of course the journey from that
miniskirt
to this yellow sari has been wild crazy
adventurous and very fascinating but I
will save that story for another day
right now the fact is that I stand here
living my entire life dedicated to the
philosophy of oneness simply because I
revere it to that extent but I’m not
asking you to do as I say or to believe
what I say simply because of the choices
I made I am here to invite you to think
come think think along the terrific
track of Kara thinking
I often deliver spiritual discourses and
like most other spiritual speakers
I too have experienced again and again
in many of my many of my sessions that
there is always a section in the
audience which enjoys way more than the
rest of the audience because they are
sleeping no I don’t make boring speeches
but I do envy them because I don’t get
to sleep through my talks like they do
no I don’t find my talks boring either
but I love my sleep and we all love to
sleep we all love to sleep because that
state of complete absence of body
awareness that state of total
thoughtlessness that state of deep
dreamless sleep is something which is
amazing it is amazing because in that
state I am that’s all it’s amazing
because in that state I am and that I am
is not defined by our body our mind our
experiences or our life I just am I am
even in my waking I am in my dream and I
am in my deep sleep which implies that I
am the common denominator the steady
reference point of all my experiences
and therefore spirituality declares I am
the very principle of being existence I
remember there used to be an elderly
gentleman who used to attend almost all
of my classes
invariably he would always arrive at
least one hour before the class and call
me up to complain that there was nobody
yet at the classroom
somehow he used to feel very distressed
that nobody else would reach that much
before the class hour so one day when he
called me I just decided to have some
fun so I actually told him that there
was already someone he just didn’t know
he got very excited and spent the next
one hour looking for that person by the
time I arrived there he was exhausted
and frustrated I offered him a glass of
water gave him my best smile and
revealed to him that the person I was
talking about was him you are smiling
but he wasn’t as amused he got a little
upset and he said of course I know I’m
there I know I shouldn’t have played
that prank on him but this gentleman
leads us to the next most important and
obvious fact in our thought travel I
know that I am I am NOT an unaware in
sentient existence I am aware I know
that I am even if I forget my name even
if I forget my identity all my
experience is my entire life I don’t
forget that I am even in the state of
total amnesia people wake up asking Who
am I where am I who are you how are we
related but nobody ever asks am i there
thank God we all know we are there we
are we know I am I am is something that
we can never not know I am it’s
something that we can never forget
because I know I am way before I know
anything else because I know I am much
before I get to experience any of the
differences around it just goes to prove
that
I am that awareness that consciousness
that’s proven earlier I am existence as
proven now I am consciousness and so I
am existence consciousness at any point
in my life if I take away the
distractions of all my thoughts and
experiences all my conflicts and
confusions what remains is pure bliss
just bliss bliss in our natural state it
is so natural to us that none of us ever
feel comfortable being unhappy no
exceptions to this it is so natural to
us that all of us irrespective of who we
are from the day we are born till the
day we die
are continuously doing everything we are
doing for the sake of bliss nature
constantly leads us to our natural state
what is natural to us is never
uncomfortable to us the very fact that
our entire life is intended for
happiness the very fact that none of us
ever complain of too much of happiness
implies that we are all happiness so I
am existence I am consciousness and I am
happiness that leads us to our first
equation ladies and gentlemen I is equal
to existence plus consciousness plus
happiness now I want you to stay with me
let’s think about this world this entire
cosmos does the cosmos share with us our
existence yes of course the Ganga or the
nigra the Himalayas or the Swiss Alps
the ant or the cheetah the Hindu or the
Muslim the Jesus or Buddha whether it is
the the bacteria in my gut or the ashes
of the dead on the cremation ground
whether it is a dust below my feet or
the sprinkling
stars in the sky there is the memory
card in your camera or it’s a it’s an
atom in a piece of gold whether it is
the food in my plate or it’s the black
hole in space it doesn’t matter all of
it without an exception shares only one
thing in common
existence they all exist therefore
cosmos is existence and if there is one
thing that the cosmos cannot draw itself
away from it is consciousness that spark
of life and awareness which pervades
everything and everyone and if you are
sitting here and thinking that this mic
system this stage and this screen does
not have life and is in sentient then
you are right it does not have life but
everything that does not have life
either comes from life or supports life
everything that is in sentient has
either come from the sentient or
supports a sentient which means that
spark of life that consciousness is
intricately interwoven into the
existence of everything and everyone as
the Nobel Nobel prize-winning German
physicist Max Planck says I regard
consciousness as fundamental I regard
matter as a derivative of consciousness
we cannot get behind consciousness but
everything that we talk about everything
that we regarded existing postulates
consciousness so D our universe they are
cosmos you share with us the common
truth of existence and consciousness
cosmos is existence consciousness now
just look around yourself not just at
each other and at the screens but just
think of the of the flowers on the
plants the smile on your lover’s face
the Sun the Moon on you
pop trash there’s so much happiness in
everything always enough and always
abundant wait a minute
before you start raising eyebrows let me
explain to you it’s not that I find
happiness in a heap of trash I’m not
like that but what I mean is that a heap
of trash also gives a lot of happiness
to a lot of beings who live and breed in
it which implies that if we regard all
life with respect we cannot deny that
everything and yes I mean everything
holes in it some happiness for someone
happiness pervade the entire cosmos like
cream pervades thick milk all we have to
do is make it manifest that leads us to
our equation ladies and gentlemen cosmos
is equal to existence plus consciousness
plus happiness if I is equal to
existence plus consciousness plus
happiness and cosmos is equal to
existence plus consciousness plus
happiness then it’s not very difficult
to understand that based on this
thorough reasoning of logic me and the
world that I see are one not two this is
the great brand declaration of the
ancient Indian science of oneness
advaitha of course we are all different
to as different as the clay pot is from
the clay plate or a clay spoon but we
are all actually play just claim a claim
called existence consciousness happiness
and the interesting part of this is that
there can be only one oneness because if
there were three oneness is wait what am
I saying
three oneness is three one not possible
oneness implies oneness which means even
if we are using three terms existence
consciousness happiness existence is
actually consciousness which is actually
happiness existence is consciousness is
happiness
which means complete limitlessness
complete freedom complete infinitude and
if BR does one then the only logical way
to live is the way of love oneness takes
away from us all hatred and resentment
all troubles and tribulations all ego
and selfishness and gives us the great
gift of freedom and the best part of
this is that we don’t have to become one
we are one all we need to do is drop our
limitations so I am here ladies and
gentlemen to plead to all of us to trash
our limitedness here and now like my
master Swami Chinni Ananda would often
say you are not limited beings you are
limited by your beliefs because you
believe you are limited like the wrapper
hides the chocolate that already is like
the cloud covers the Sun that already is
similarly our limited beliefs as though
bill the oneness that already is let’s
unwrap the oneness let’s throw the
wrapper
let’s crash limitedness the limits of
countries and communities mindsets and
relationships politics and economies
individual and infinity I am here to
trash everything that prevents us from
feeling that we are one for millenniums
together we have seen the hazards of
pursuing and propagating limitedness
and separation now it’s time ladies and
gentlemen let’s adopt the new world view
of oneness which also happens to be the
most ancient world view on this planet
here I have a story to share a guru and
a disciple sat on the banks of the Ganga
the Guru said look how happy the fishes
in the water the disciple said how do
you know you are not the fish the guru
said how do you know you are not mean to
be one with the Guru and the disciple
and with each other and with the fish
and with the water and with everything
and everyone else is true spirituality
true service true liberation ladies and
gentlemen
oneness is obvious we have to do nothing
about it we just have to trash
limitedness here and now
so let’s trash let’s trash the ignorance
that makes us believe in our limitations
let’s trash our ego selfishness and
sense of separation let’s flash the idea
which makes us believe that we are
anything less than infinity let’s trash
all limitedness and let only love and
oneness be I know I know
I wear a yellow saree I know I wear
Rudraksha rosary I know I apply final
good marks on my forehead but I am NOT
here to preach I’m here to plead instead
I’m here to plead to all of you I am
here to plead to all of you to not
follow me just because of what I wear I
am here to plead to all of you to think
along the logic of just what has been
shared I am here I’m here to plead to
all of you
to drop limitedness here and now I am
here to plead to all of you to drop
limitedness because oneness is nothing
less than Wow because you and I are one
I conclude my talk with the most
beautiful gesture of oneness
namaste ladies and gentlemen thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
clad in a denim miniskirt and holding a
lot of rebellion in my heart when I went
for a spiritual talk for the first time
there were Hmong and gurus and disciples
and I remember thinking to myself oh my
god
what things because I actually thought
that all these people were wasting their
lives on some kind of useless ridiculous
mumbo jumbo but sitting there my
agnostic journalistic mind was extremely
impressed because I was never asked to
come with a heart full of faith in fact
my master Swami Chidananda would often
pause in between his deep philosophical
discourses and Stroke his long flowing
beard and say think for yourself
remember longer the beard greater should
be a suspicion and that put me to eat
because all I was asked was to think
just think you have to watch this on the
other hand you must always an evasive
speech the longer the earth creator of
the
you know I don’t want your blind trait
no you must check up or a thing that I’m
talking if I find that you are all
following whatever I say I will be
tempted I know I wear a yellow saree
I wear a Rudraksha rosary I apply
sandalwood paste on my forehead and it
appears like I’m here to preach but
interestingly and thank God for that
preaching is not my real job I belong to
a Vedic path the talks of oneness and
teaches how to think it is called
advaitha the science of oneness of
course as we move ahead it became very
important for me that the approach of
Vedanta was logical and rational that
the philosophy of oneness we were
talking about was one of absolute
thinking and reality so I am here not to
tell you to do as I say I am NOT here to
tell you to do what I say just because
of the clothes I wear all the choices I
made or the life I lead I’m here only to
invite you to think because I am
actually a pilgrim of life a lover of
freedom adventurist of thoughts and so
I’m here to facilitate an expedition in
thinking and all I want from you is to
trek up the thought trajectories that
I’m going to lead you on right now
because these are the peaks that the
ancients of this holy land reached
shared and celebrated these are the
destinations for which the hundreds of
Upanishads act as the perfect route map
yes it may appear like I am here hard
selling to you the subtle philosophy
of oneness but I’m not because if I had
to sell anything at all I would be
wearing different clothes and doing
different things here on stage all of
you know that you watch more TV than I
do but selling is not the idea I’m here
only to invite you to think of course it
will be extremely productive useful and
way more fun if all of you also please
leave aside your faith and prior notions
and prejudices and allow yourselves the
luxurious opportunity of uninfluenced
free thinking because that is the method
of oneness that is the method of this
philosophy as my master Swami Chidananda
would often say undress and embrace
undress yourself of all your prior
beliefs and embrace the truth as it is
that was what he said and that is all
that we are requesting you to do undress
and embrace yes the rational approach of
the philosophy of oneness inspired me to
such an extent that it felt like
freshwater to fish and so I took the
plunge of course the journey from that
miniskirt
to this yellow sari has been wild crazy
adventurous and very fascinating but I
will save that story for another day
right now the fact is that I stand here
living my entire life dedicated to the
philosophy of oneness simply because I
revere it to that extent but I’m not
asking you to do as I say or to believe
what I say simply because of the choices
I made I am here to invite you to think
come think think along the terrific
track of Kara thinking
I often deliver spiritual discourses and
like most other spiritual speakers
I too have experienced again and again
in many of my many of my sessions that
there is always a section in the
audience which enjoys way more than the
rest of the audience because they are
sleeping no I don’t make boring speeches
but I do envy them because I don’t get
to sleep through my talks like they do
no I don’t find my talks boring either
but I love my sleep and we all love to
sleep we all love to sleep because that
state of complete absence of body
awareness that state of total
thoughtlessness that state of deep
dreamless sleep is something which is
amazing it is amazing because in that
state I am that’s all it’s amazing
because in that state I am and that I am
is not defined by our body our mind our
experiences or our life I just am I am
even in my waking I am in my dream and I
am in my deep sleep which implies that I
am the common denominator the steady
reference point of all my experiences
and therefore spirituality declares I am
the very principle of being existence I
remember there used to be an elderly
gentleman who used to attend almost all
of my classes
invariably he would always arrive at
least one hour before the class and call
me up to complain that there was nobody
yet at the classroom
somehow he used to feel very distressed
that nobody else would reach that much
before the class hour so one day when he
called me I just decided to have some
fun so I actually told him that there
was already someone he just didn’t know
he got very excited and spent the next
one hour looking for that person by the
time I arrived there he was exhausted
and frustrated I offered him a glass of
water gave him my best smile and
revealed to him that the person I was
talking about was him you are smiling
but he wasn’t as amused he got a little
upset and he said of course I know I’m
there I know I shouldn’t have played
that prank on him but this gentleman
leads us to the next most important and
obvious fact in our thought travel I
know that I am I am NOT an unaware in
sentient existence I am aware I know
that I am even if I forget my name even
if I forget my identity all my
experience is my entire life I don’t
forget that I am even in the state of
total amnesia people wake up asking Who
am I where am I who are you how are we
related but nobody ever asks am i there
thank God we all know we are there we
are we know I am I am is something that
we can never not know I am it’s
something that we can never forget
because I know I am way before I know
anything else because I know I am much
before I get to experience any of the
differences around it just goes to prove
that
I am that awareness that consciousness
that’s proven earlier I am existence as
proven now I am consciousness and so I
am existence consciousness at any point
in my life if I take away the
distractions of all my thoughts and
experiences all my conflicts and
confusions what remains is pure bliss
just bliss bliss in our natural state it
is so natural to us that none of us ever
feel comfortable being unhappy no
exceptions to this it is so natural to
us that all of us irrespective of who we
are from the day we are born till the
day we die
are continuously doing everything we are
doing for the sake of bliss nature
constantly leads us to our natural state
what is natural to us is never
uncomfortable to us the very fact that
our entire life is intended for
happiness the very fact that none of us
ever complain of too much of happiness
implies that we are all happiness so I
am existence I am consciousness and I am
happiness that leads us to our first
equation ladies and gentlemen I is equal
to existence plus consciousness plus
happiness now I want you to stay with me
let’s think about this world this entire
cosmos does the cosmos share with us our
existence yes of course the Ganga or the
nigra the Himalayas or the Swiss Alps
the ant or the cheetah the Hindu or the
Muslim the Jesus or Buddha whether it is
the the bacteria in my gut or the ashes
of the dead on the cremation ground
whether it is a dust below my feet or
the sprinkling
stars in the sky there is the memory
card in your camera or it’s a it’s an
atom in a piece of gold whether it is
the food in my plate or it’s the black
hole in space it doesn’t matter all of
it without an exception shares only one
thing in common
existence they all exist therefore
cosmos is existence and if there is one
thing that the cosmos cannot draw itself
away from it is consciousness that spark
of life and awareness which pervades
everything and everyone and if you are
sitting here and thinking that this mic
system this stage and this screen does
not have life and is in sentient then
you are right it does not have life but
everything that does not have life
either comes from life or supports life
everything that is in sentient has
either come from the sentient or
supports a sentient which means that
spark of life that consciousness is
intricately interwoven into the
existence of everything and everyone as
the Nobel Nobel prize-winning German
physicist Max Planck says I regard
consciousness as fundamental I regard
matter as a derivative of consciousness
we cannot get behind consciousness but
everything that we talk about everything
that we regarded existing postulates
consciousness so D our universe they are
cosmos you share with us the common
truth of existence and consciousness
cosmos is existence consciousness now
just look around yourself not just at
each other and at the screens but just
think of the of the flowers on the
plants the smile on your lover’s face
the Sun the Moon on you
pop trash there’s so much happiness in
everything always enough and always
abundant wait a minute
before you start raising eyebrows let me
explain to you it’s not that I find
happiness in a heap of trash I’m not
like that but what I mean is that a heap
of trash also gives a lot of happiness
to a lot of beings who live and breed in
it which implies that if we regard all
life with respect we cannot deny that
everything and yes I mean everything
holes in it some happiness for someone
happiness pervade the entire cosmos like
cream pervades thick milk all we have to
do is make it manifest that leads us to
our equation ladies and gentlemen cosmos
is equal to existence plus consciousness
plus happiness if I is equal to
existence plus consciousness plus
happiness and cosmos is equal to
existence plus consciousness plus
happiness then it’s not very difficult
to understand that based on this
thorough reasoning of logic me and the
world that I see are one not two this is
the great brand declaration of the
ancient Indian science of oneness
advaitha of course we are all different
to as different as the clay pot is from
the clay plate or a clay spoon but we
are all actually play just claim a claim
called existence consciousness happiness
and the interesting part of this is that
there can be only one oneness because if
there were three oneness is wait what am
I saying
three oneness is three one not possible
oneness implies oneness which means even
if we are using three terms existence
consciousness happiness existence is
actually consciousness which is actually
happiness existence is consciousness is
happiness
which means complete limitlessness
complete freedom complete infinitude and
if BR does one then the only logical way
to live is the way of love oneness takes
away from us all hatred and resentment
all troubles and tribulations all ego
and selfishness and gives us the great
gift of freedom and the best part of
this is that we don’t have to become one
we are one all we need to do is drop our
limitations so I am here ladies and
gentlemen to plead to all of us to trash
our limitedness here and now like my
master Swami Chinni Ananda would often
say you are not limited beings you are
limited by your beliefs because you
believe you are limited like the wrapper
hides the chocolate that already is like
the cloud covers the Sun that already is
similarly our limited beliefs as though
bill the oneness that already is let’s
unwrap the oneness let’s throw the
wrapper
let’s crash limitedness the limits of
countries and communities mindsets and
relationships politics and economies
individual and infinity I am here to
trash everything that prevents us from
feeling that we are one for millenniums
together we have seen the hazards of
pursuing and propagating limitedness
and separation now it’s time ladies and
gentlemen let’s adopt the new world view
of oneness which also happens to be the
most ancient world view on this planet
here I have a story to share a guru and
a disciple sat on the banks of the Ganga
the Guru said look how happy the fishes
in the water the disciple said how do
you know you are not the fish the guru
said how do you know you are not mean to
be one with the Guru and the disciple
and with each other and with the fish
and with the water and with everything
and everyone else is true spirituality
true service true liberation ladies and
gentlemen
oneness is obvious we have to do nothing
about it we just have to trash
limitedness here and now
so let’s trash let’s trash the ignorance
that makes us believe in our limitations
let’s trash our ego selfishness and
sense of separation let’s flash the idea
which makes us believe that we are
anything less than infinity let’s trash
all limitedness and let only love and
oneness be I know I know
I wear a yellow saree I know I wear
Rudraksha rosary I know I apply final
good marks on my forehead but I am NOT
here to preach I’m here to plead instead
I’m here to plead to all of you I am
here to plead to all of you to not
follow me just because of what I wear I
am here to plead to all of you to think
along the logic of just what has been
shared I am here I’m here to plead to
all of you
to drop limitedness here and now I am
here to plead to all of you to drop
limitedness because oneness is nothing
less than Wow because you and I are one
I conclude my talk with the most
beautiful gesture of oneness
namaste ladies and gentlemen thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
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