In religion, what do you say? Ishwar is there. It is a belief system. It is a dogmatic belief.
The belief system that I have that God is there, it is in my head.
But in spirituality, you experience the essence of God, through your practices.
God’s ultimate power – it is always depending on the person who is observing it. I observe the power
based on my abilities. Lalaji prescribed methods based on an individual's capacity.
Surat shabd (attention to inner voice for Self-realisation), or chanting, or reciting certain ‘OM’ words
or any mantras (sacred utterances). If you see that period, 1880, 1890, the average population of India
was not so advanced, education-wise, to understand the finer concepts. They were always thinking of food perhaps.
Vivekanand of those days used to say, “Indians do not need spirituality at the moment. They need food.”
And the understanding was a dogmatic belief system, Hinduism,
“Ye hi karna hai. Ye nahi karna hai. (This is to be done. This is not to be done).” And based on all that,
you take people from where they are and lift them up, little by little, little by little. If they say, “I am doing this”,
okay, continue doing it. Time will come when you will mature out of it and take it to the next level.
Even with the meditation that we do, do you think that it is going to be forever? No. Religious practices are there.
But a time comes when you move from ‘form’ to ‘formlessness’. You are going from quality to beyond
qualities. From religion, which is all dogmatic belief system, externalisation of worship, you enter in the field
of spirituality, which is all interiorization, experiencing. That also ends. You see, in religion, what do you say?
Ishwar is there. It is a belief system. It is a dogmatic belief. In religion, the belief system that I have that God is there,
it is in my head. But in spirituality, you experience the essence of God, through your practices.
Is one time experience good enough? Or a month long, or ten months, or ten years continuous
experiences good enough? No. You get tired of experiencing. Because experience is always either from the heart
or from the mind. It has its own limitations. You get really tired of it actually. If I come to your home
and enjoy the hospitality, “Oh, he is such a person, such a generous heart, such a hospitality kind of a thing,”
but time will come I have to go back home, two months, or three months, or three years perhaps.
Then something will happen, “Oh, I have to become like him.” Experiencing was good enough, but what if I
become like him? This is the difference, okay? So becoming becomes more important than just experiencing.
Experiencing wealth is one thing, becoming wealthy is another. Experiencing divinity is one thing,
becoming divine is another thing, you see. Experiencing love is one thing, becoming love is another thing.
So we are moving from religion to spirituality, to reality. Reality is all about becoming like Him.
But that becoming is also at an individual level, “I have become.” There is ego there, you see. It has to go.
And there comes a state that we cross, Parabrahmand Mandal (Supra-cosmic region of the mind),
just before Sahasradal Kamal (thousand petaled lotus point), which is the state of Prapanna (surrender).
Prapanna state is all about sharanagati (surrender, refuge) and it happens automatically.
You do not have to try for it. It just naturally happens. And in this sharanagati, as we advance, there is a mixture
between myself versus the Lord. There is a constant tug-of-war – myself and Him, myself and Him,
myself and Him – and ultimately bhakti (devotion) is right, He dominates in our life.
That is a state of Prabhutva (supremacy of Lord), where He takes over, it is such a very high state,
you see – Prabhutva. And then too, you get fed up. In this state of Prabhutva, where only Lord remains,
it is such a relief and blissful state, extreme relief, that is extreme bliss, incomparable. But then,
you get fed up with it also. Why? You move on further. Going beyond bliss, where there is now no ‘Being’ there,
you see, no experiences, it is like a desert land. And when Babuji Maharaj was in this state, final state like
that - but that final state is also ever expanding – He was complaining to Lalaji Maharaj, “Is this why you
have worked so hard on me and I have also worked hard? This thing is not good. It is very dry.”
Then Lalaji said, “ What if I remove this from you, this condition you call dry?” Then Babuji replied to Him,
“I would prefer to die.” So now, you understand the state. It has nothing of its own, but without which you cannot exist.