So meditation, by and large, is only for this – how we evolve our Consciousness.
And when it is the best, the most refined which is akin to Godly Consciousness,
then you can say, “I have reached home.
There is total peace.
There is no lack in me anymore”.
Imagine a person who is so egoistic, he says, “I am the best”.
Can you talk with him?
It is difficult to chit chat with such people.
Ego stops it.
Some people, the way they talk, the way they even walk or the way they also look
at each other, you feel as if you are being confronted by such a presence and
such people’s presence is so intimidating you will feel like running away from them.
While there are some individuals we like to go and be with them again and again, there
is so much of flow between two individuals.
That says a lot about such people.
Ego - people say it is your enemy.
It can become your enemy, it can be your best friend too.
At least for myself I can say, how can I refine my ego?
I cannot destroy my ego, because it is all related to my existence.
Let us say, I often give this example of a flute player and, if I am able
to play a raaga very well on a flute.
Let us say, if tonight I have this performance in Gachibowli stadium and
there are fifty thousand people and I am playing a raaga and everyone is in
silence and people are clapping away with a standing ovation at the end of it.
You feel good.
It pampers your ego very well.
Nothing wrong with it.
You did your best.
Next day we have another performance.
And you chose to play the same raaga.
Would you be happy with yesterday’s performance?
You won’t be happy.
You would like to do better than yesterday, personally for yourself.
That gives tremendous satisfaction.
So the ego will guide you, “Yes I can do better than yesterday.
This is for my personal growth, for my personal improvement, that I can do better”.
So ego can be utilised for our betterment.
But to think that, “In the entire Hyderabad, there is nobody
better than me as a flute player.
All are useless, I am the best”, this is arrogance.
That is not a good part of the ego, and the fact that I can do very well
and it makes me happy, it is a pride.
— “Garv se, abhimaan se.
Humein garv hai humse [I am proud of myself].”
There are many layers of this ego.
Ego plays out in a different way also.
Suppose if I say, Consciousness on its own cannot evolve.
But that is the thing that must evolve.
It is like, “Can I exercise my liver?” We have seen that manas [mind], buddhi
[intellect], and ahankar [ego] can evolve, provided I do meditation, I do Cleaning, and
I offer my prayers and I remain constantly active in maintaining my meditative state
enough for the evolution of these three.
I can exercise my legs, I can walk, I can jog, I can lift weights and build my muscles.
But what about my liver?
So, the indirect effect is there.
If I jog well, if I eat well, if I do physical exercises in proper balance,
then liver will also get enough of exercise - but indirect exercise.
Likewise, Consciousness cannot be influenced directly, but indirectly.
When my thinking is evolving, my intellect is evolving, my ego
is evolving, then automatically consciousness is also influenced.
I’d like to give this example: you are in your bedroom having an argument with
your wife, and suddenly your little baby comes in the bedroom, opens the
door and you are heated up so badly.
Would you continue in the same track of argument?
You will have to suddenly take a break and hold off and start smiling
and “The baby is here!” Some people will ignore it and go on fighting.
That reflects the level of consciousness.
You can indirectly understand a person’s evolution, just indirectly,
by how they display themselves, how they are able to control their speech,
control their behaviour, control all that they do with attitudes.
So, the person who is able to stop abruptly or… let me give another example.
There are few varieties of people in the world.
Some people when they do wrong thing, even after they have done the wrong
thing and they see the consequences, they don’t recognize those consequences.
They say, “Hum ne toh kuchh galat hi nahi kiya [I have done nothing wrong].
Aapko dikh raha hai [It is the way you see it].
Mujhe toh nahi dikh raha [I don’t see anything wrong].
“I don’t see anything wrong that I have done”, but the whole world sees that.
Classic example is Trump, right?
Whole world sees it.
But he is okay, “I am fine, they are misguiding you”.
Little better people than these foolish guys, they will understand, “Oh, I did
this mistake,” but after the event.
Better ones than them, while they are doing wrong things, they will say, “I am doing the
wrong thing.” The wisest of the lot, even before doing the wrong thing, they will know.
“This is not right that I am going to do.
I must stop it.” But there too there is a category: they know
it is wrong and yet they do it.
There are people who see it as wrong and stop doing it.
So, you can see the reflection of evolved Consciousness or not
such an evolved Consciousness even in mundane things like this.
So meditation, by and large, is only for this – how we evolve our Consciousness.
And when it is the best, the most refined, which is akin to Godly Consciousness,
then you can say “I have reached home.
There is total peace.
There is no lack in me anymore”.
You will feel contented.