You Have a Raft to Cross

All the beings are wandering in this ocean of samsara. No one is happy, due to psychological perversions, desires and hopes. No one can attain happiness until wisdom is attained - until Self-knowledge is attained. We have spent millions of years searching for peace, and we have not been successful so far because of hope, desire, diseases of the mind.

It is not possible to get rid of this disease without Self-knowledge, without wisdom. Everyone is spending years wandering endlessly. Fortunate is the one who knows that he has a raft to cross this ocean, although most people do not make use of it. This human body can be used as a raft to cross this miserable ocean where millions of jivas are wandering in a blind well, without any result. The vehicle that you possess now could not be built; this human body is not available to the eight million kinds of jivas out there in the world, which we have passed through one by one. We have had every kind of experience as we have passed through eight million species. The raft of this human body was never available before, and if we don't make use of it we may not find it again.

Make the best of what is available to you to find wisdom, happiness, well-being and beauty. It is easily available: The moment you give rise to the desire for freedom, from that moment you are on the raft. It is this desire which leads you in search of a teacher, to sit with the teacher and find the way to be happy.

You may know how many people in the world from where you come from, the country, can give rise to this desire, "Now I want to be free." So they go to search for a teacher and to sit with the teacher and to consult with him; sit with him and find out the way how to be happy. And you can do it wherever you are. If there are two good friends, by mere conversation you can do it yourself. Mere conversations will be alright because if someone has gone to a particular country and you have not gone, and he can explain to you by a map and you can get at the map you will not have difficulty. So this mapping of the association of some of your best friends with the conversation is called satsang. Conversation with your own friends, conversation with the teacher, will help you and this is called the raft to cross over this miserable samsara.

Without this desire I don't think that it is possible for any being to get out of this. All beings are caught up in different kinds of desires for sense pleasures which are impermanent. They are satisfied with that without knowing the consequences.

A man was walking in the forest and fell into a well which was covered by an overgrowth of leaves and scrubs. While falling he caught hold of the root of a tree which was growing into the well and so he felt safe. Looking down, he found that there was a crocodile in the well which was waiting for him with open jaws. He felt very afraid. Looking up he found a tiger looking over the side of the well. The tiger was hunting in the night for some food in the forest and saw this man, but almost immediately he fell into the well. Then he looked at the root he was hanging from and saw two rats gnawing at it. But there was a beehive on a tree above the well and drop by drop the honey was trickling down into his open mouth. He was very happy licking the honey.

This is our life. Day and night are the two rats cutting through the creeper of your life. Every day and night that passes cuts into the creeper on which this life is hanging. Below is death: the fear that "I am going to die.": the crocodile waiting tomorrow. Above is the tiger: the fear of what is going to happen today. But we are happy licking the honey: enjoying the pleasure of the senses. This is everyone's situation - ignoring the trouble that is all around, trapped in the blind well of the mind.

The raft to save you is this body, the decision: "I have to be free during this incarnation somehow." Make up your mind. You have done very well to be here. Out of six billion people, how many even aspire for freedom? You have to be free right now, because you will not find it elsewhere. You have not yet looked into your own treasure; you have looked elsewhere and suffered. The treasure is within you, the diamond is within you, so don't beg. Look within and instantly you are rich. No one knows this. With this treasure within us we have still suffered due to the bad habits of wants and hopes of the mind. This is the disease of the mind. Once you have found that you are atman, that you are the substratum, you are at peace within yourself. Then everything that arises from the Self will be fulfilled. It is not coming from the mind. That which arises from the mind and hope will never satisfy you. We need some reliable person to set us straight.

There was a man who used to go on a pilgrimage to a South Indian temple from the north. In India people go from the south to the north, from the east to the west for pilgrimages; from Kashi to Rameshram, from Pouli to Dwarka. People would make friends on such pilgrimages and every five or ten years they would make a trip together to see some holy places and saints.

This man became friends with someone in the south; he used to stay with him when he was on his pilgrimage. After an interval of ten years he went to the same family to visit. The man's wife was there but in a miserable condition. She was working at the grinding mill, washing the dishes of the neighbors. He inquired about his friend.

The wife told him, "He died some seven years ago and now we are in trouble. I bring some grains and make flour out of it. I bring some clothes to wash or go to work in nearby houses, because I have three children who have not completed their education. I have to earn money for their education. Now they are doing well at school, so I will be able to find jobs for them." This man inquired, "Didn't my friend speak to you about anything?" "No, no he didn't speak about anything," replied the widow. "Why, he simply died."

The man who died had told his friend that he had some gold which he had hidden so that his children would go to school and not think that their father had enough money to support them. He wanted them to work. In olden times parents would often hide their money so that the children would get a good education. And only after that would they will give it to them, after the children were well educated and capable to conduct a business or whatever they wanted to do. Then the father would hand over the money and walk away into the forest. This was the tradition that was kept up for many years.

This friend of the family then told the widow that just under the spot where she was grinding the flour in the mill there was hidden a pot full of gold. With this word alone she jumped, even though the pot of gold was not yet found. Just the word of an authoritative man, a friend of the family, brought great pleasure.

She called her sons. "Look, look, your uncle has come! He says that we are very rich. There is gold hidden here. Bring a spade!" So they dug a few inches below the ground where she had been toiling day and night and she found the pot of gold. Instantly she became very rich. She had been willing to live in poverty; grinding at the mill, suffering greatly to provide enough clothing for the children. At that same spot there was poverty a few inches above the ground, and riches concealed a few inches underneath.

In this same way an authoritative person will tell you that there is a diamond within you, that there is treasure within you. With this assurance alone a man can become very happy. Dig it up! Take your spade and dig. You will find the treasure and then celebrate. Here we celebrate every day, even though people do not understand why. This is cause to celebrate: "I have found the treasure." Otherwise you will be like someone who finds a diamond and doesn't know it is a diamond.

There was a very poor man who used to bring bricks from the kiln to the building site, just making a few cents a day. While digging in the sands of the river he found a diamond, but still he was very poor. He tied the beautiful stone around the neck of his donkey and continued his miserable life. A merchant was passing and saw the situation. "Look at that stupid man," he thought to himself. "He is doing menial work although he owns this diamond." He asked the laborer how much he wanted for his donkey.

"Five dollars," said the laborer. That was the price of donkeys at that time. The merchant paid the price and the laborer was very happy. Then he removed the string with the diamond from around the neck of the donkey and walked away. "What a foolish man," thought the laborer. "What about the donkey?" he asked. "I didn't pay for the donkey," said the merchant. "You can keep the donkey with you, but I will still pay you a few hundred dollars for your stupidity." Both were happy. Some who come to satsang say they feel very happy here but when they go back to their country they are the same as before. This is the same stupidity - not knowing that the treasure is within you.

Once you know from an authority that this is the treasure it will shine by itself. The diamond will shine from its own luster, without looking for any help from anyone. You will not need to ask any questions. You will fall in love with it and perhaps you will not turn your attention away from it again, because it is so beautiful. Then you will never make a mistake again.

Trouble arises for those who say, "Sometimes I am happy and sometimes I am not." When they are unhappy it is because unhappiness is arising from the mind, and when they are happy it is arising from the Self. The Self alone can give you happiness. All happiness is from the Self. All trouble, sorrow and suffering is from the mind. You have to be very careful to be vigilant to see what is coming from the mind, and to see the happiness that is coming from the Self.

Even in small things this is true. You might purchase a car or buy an apartment or meet a friend and you are happy. Why do these things bring you happiness? You are attracted to a particular person, or to a particular car, or to a particular apartment made of bricks and cement. It is not the steel, the rubber, or the benzene that brings happiness with the car. Nor is it the bones, flesh, blood, or marrow in a person. When you are happy you recognize the Self within the self, and you are free of desire. When you get a car your hope is gone, your desire for the car has left you. When you meet a friend your desire for the meeting is no longer there. When you buy an apartment your wanting to have an apartment is no longer there. This emptiness without desire or hope has given you happiness. If you know that it is this emptiness from the hope and desire that brings you happiness then you can always keep your mind empty. Then where is the problem to be happy wherever you are - walking, talking, sitting, standing, sleeping - you can be happy.

This moment you can try for one instant to not entertain any hope, any desire, and see what happens. The Self will reveal itself, the Truth will reveal itself to itself. This can be seen directly here and now. Don't postpone it when you can simply get be happy without doing anything. Why miss it? This is the raft I speak about: Simply keep quiet.

14 December, 1992