Living in Bliss

Living in Bliss

Chit ananda rupam Shivoham Shivoham

My body is like a vehicle in which I travel in this world. My senses are like the windows of this vehicle and my mind is the engine that I use to run my worldly affairs. I use the “I” thought to play a role in this world. I am not to confuse myself to be the vehicle. There is a whole lot of difference between the vehicle and the owner who runs it. The sorrow of the vehicle is not the sorrow of the owner. When there is wear and tear in the vehicle, the owner does not suffer wear and tear. All sorrow is created due to our wrong identification with the instruments which we use to work in this world. A thought “I” am sad arises in our mind. Who is this “I”? This “I” is merely a thought in the mind. If we get driven by the thought unconsciously giving it our assent, we start feeling sad. We need not feel sad when the “I am sad” thought arises. We may even just observe its occurrence and watch its death. It’s just that we are all playing our respective roles in this drama of life. The masks we use to operate in our roles are our body and the mind. The “I” thought is the “I” of the role. We are the one’s playing the role. To whom is the sorrow? Sorrow is simply a misperception.

In these 6 verses Sri Adi Shankaracharya explains to us how we are different from the masks we wear. We can use these as aids to meditation. We simply sit down and recognize the truth in these verses clearly and be with it. By thus being a witness we observe that sorrow cannot cling to it and the sorrow of the “I” thought is not our sorrow. This practice of detachment is what is suggested in bhagavad gita as “abhyasa vairagya”. In fact, to detach we need to be attached in the first place. Can something cling to us in the first place? Let’s look at this. Whatever clings, clings to the role and not to the one who plays the role.

“Chit ananda rupam Shivoham Shivoham”, “Aham Shiva:” I am shiva. Shiva is a word, so what does that mean? It is “Anada Rupa:” it’s of the form of Bliss. I am that embodied Bliss. If we are embodied bliss, why do we suffer? It’s strange, coz, just as fire cannot feel cold, coz fires very being is heat. It’s not fire’s property, but it’s being itself. Same way, Shiva is Bliss, they are not two things and Sankaracharya says in his Nirvana Shatakam, that he is that Bliss. There is therefore no question of suffering. Suffering is an error in perception. If we can simply abide within in ourselves, we discover this fact that all our sense of incompleteness is a misperception.

Satanic forces

History repeats itself… as you know very well, all the satanic forces which one had to face, one at a time… are all back on the stage… and they are to be defeated. The greatest problem of modern times is that these satanic forces have taken a very subtle form… and they enter into your psyche, and into your egos. And you are the Saints… you are the bhaktas… you are the devotees of the Goddess - so it's a very delicate situation. When the confusion is there… when the Saints are attacked, the aggressor can be removed… but, the Saints become mixed up, or confused with those negative forces… in which it is very difficult to make him see the light. But you have seen the situation very well… and the subtler you grow, the subtler they become… and they start giving you ideas which are so negative. But you cannot see them. So the problem today is very delicate - there are no absolute Saints… there are no absolute bad people… such a mixture… a confusion - that is what this Kali yuga is… these modern times are. The only way to get rid of them is to surrender… that's the only way… there is no other way out… because when you surrender… the spirits, the negativity, the satanic forces just disappear. They have no interest in a person who is surrendered to God. They cannot surrender. If they surrender… they'll also become Saints. All the time to think… 'what are my catches… what are my negativities' is not going to help you… just surrender all these ideas that are coming to you… and you will find that all absurd ideas will run away. This is the easiest way to get rid of your problems… is just to surrender


Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
January 1980