Evolution of Love 2

Words of wisdom

(A) Suppose some water accumulates; after a time, the body of an insect forms itself;
it begins to move; it KNOWS that it exists.
A piece of bread is thrown in a corner and is left there for a time; soon the form of a worm makes its appearance;
it begins to move; it KNOWS that it exists.
The egg of a hen, after the application of the body heat for a certain time, suddenly breaks open and a little chick appears;
it begins to move; it KNOWS that it exists. The sperm of the man germinates in the womb of the woman, and after the nine-month period is delivered as the baby,
and, begins to go through the states of sleeping and waking, and carries out the physical functions; after a few months, the same sperm, now in the form of an infant, begins to KNOW that it exists, and starts acquiring further information from the mother, that it is a boy or girl, etc.,
etc.

(B) In these four cases-the insect, the worm, the chicken, and the human body
-what is really born?
Is it not, says Maharaj, the knowledge "I AM," the Consciousness that is really born,
along with the two states of sleeping and
waking?
This Consciousness
-identical in all four cases
- which has suddenly appeared in each of the four types of forms, finding itself without any kind of "support," takes resort in the particular physical form and identifies with it.
In other words, what was originally without any shape or form, the message "I AM"-the mere knowledge of existence generally
(not anyone in particular)-has mistakenly
identified itself with one particular body, accepted its birth, and thereafter lives in the constant shadow of the terror of "death."

(C) This "I AM-ness," this consciousness without which, as Maharaj says, one would not know that one exists-and which, therefore, everyone loves most and would preserve at any cost as long as possible-is the only "capital" one is born with. This Consciousness cannot exist without a physical form, which is merely the consequence of the germination of the father's sperm, which is itself the essence of the food consumed by the parents. This is the analysis of the process which has resulted in the birth of an individual body containing Consciousness, a process for the start of which the concerned "individual" has never been consulted!
If one thus clearly sees the process of what has come into existence, can there be any room for an individual personality in which
one could take pride, something which is merely a bundle of memories and habits, without any substance?

(D) If, then, there can really be no individual personality, the question arises:
for whom is there any liberation or Moksha? It is only in the case of the human being that this question arises, because no other form of life has the intelligence to question its own existence or source.
Liberation comes about, says Maharaj, when the knowledge "I AM" realizes:
(I) That it has always been unlimited and totally free, and that it is itself the cause of all creation-if there is no consciousness, there can be no world.
(II) That it has, however, created its own shackles of bondage by self-limitation-by identifying itself with the individual body.
(III) That it has no form or design-that it is the "quality" of the food essence (which has taken the shape of the body), like the quality of sweetness in sugar.
(IV) That, when the food essence (the body) becomes old and "dies," its quality, the knowledge "I AM," also disappears-i.e., being no longer subject to the three Gunas,
becomes NIRGUNA, and merges with REALITY.
Who dies?!

Maharaj repeatedly sums up his teaching by asking his listeners to go beyond his words "BACK TO THE SOURCE" and abide there-the Source being REALITY,
one's true state, prior to the arrival of Consciousness, when there were no needs of any kind, the state prior to the illusion of the stream of events (like an illness in a normally healthy body)-conception, birth of the body, a lifetime, and finally the death of the body. "You" are always separate from the entire "happening," merely witnessing it; the witnessing ceases at the end of the happening:
who dies?!

To know with definite conviction, says Maharaj, that you are neither in the body nor in the mind, though aware of both, is already self-knowledge. Liberation is not a matter of acquisition, but a matter of faith and conviction that you have ALWAYS been FREE, and a matter of courage to act
on this conviction. There is nothing to change; it is only when the very idea of changing is seen as false that the
changeless can come into its own!

Maharaj's listeners are struck by the wholly different approach in his teachings. For instance, on the subject of love, the usual teaching has always been that there cannot be any spiritual progress unless one develops a feeling of love for others. This approach could quite easily be a matter of frustration to an honest seeker who knows that he does not-and cannot-love others like himself.
What a relief, therefore, when Maharaj says: "Be true to your own self. Love yourself
absolutely. Do not pretend that you love others as yourself.
Unless you have realized others as one with yourself, you cannot love them. Don't pretend to be what you are not, don't refuse to be what you are. Your love for others is the result of self-knowledge, not its cause."

And finally, what an encouragement to hear Maharaj say:
"What you have learned here becomes the seed. You may forget it apparently. But it will live, and in due season sprout and grow and bring forth flowers and fruits. ALL will happen by itself. You need not do anything: only, don't prevent it."