Freedom and Suffering
How to leave your hell and reach Heaven.
Many people feel like prisoners in the dead-end street of suffering: it is getting worse and worse, and there is no way out in sight. And yet, each of us is free to leave the self-chosen hell at any time. The door out opens in an unexpected direction.
About this Video:
Man is the only creature that suffers, and many wonder: why does God allow such things? Why all the problems and all the pain? And why is there a hell at all? Does God not love us at all?
Again and again I receive letters from people whose lives are just hard, and it's getting harder and harder and there's no way out in sight. Meditation is not for them, and a Guru certainly isn't either, so they wonder: what can I do?
In this video, I talk about the nature of Heaven and hell, and about who creates this hell and how suffering arises. And I talk about another unique quality of being human: freedom – the freedom to decide whether I say “yes” or “no” to life. It is this freedom that prepares the way to our hell, and at the same time the way out and back to Heaven.
I talk about my own experiences in life and share the essence of what my spiritual teacher Soham has taught me: the way out of the dead-end street of the ego, out of the self-chosen hell that is the normal state for so many people. And once again, I invite you to have your own experiences and find your own way.
Links to the topics in this video:
(please find the complete transcript below)
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A wondrous life full of freedom and suffering
Link to topic at 0m47s in transcript in video
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With the living guru comes the challenge
Link to topic at 9m12s in transcript in video
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The paradox of this life
Link to topic at 12m07s in transcript in video
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This meditation stands for itself
Link to topic at 19m07s in transcript in video
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In the dead-end of the 'no'
Link to topic at 22m16s in transcript in video
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The freedom to say 'yes' and 'no'
Link to topic at 27m39s in transcript in video
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The nature of Heaven and Hell
Link to topic at 31m28s in transcript in video
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Nobody expects anything from you
Link to topic at 38m34s in transcript in video
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The magic of love
Link to topic at 41m30s in transcript in video
Complete text for reading along:
Good morning.
A wondrous life full of freedom and suffering
Link to topic in video at 0m47s
This morning, I want to talk about a paradox in human life.
I want to talk about this paradox that, as humans, we are free... We are the only species on this planet which has a choice; which can choose whether I say 'yes' to something. or 'no'. I can choose or reject things. As a human, I can follow my energy, that what I feel inside, or not. I have a choice.
And at the same time, as humans, we are the only species on this planet which suffers. We are the only one here who has pain – not physical pain, but emotional pain: we suffer.
And despite the fact that we have this choice, despite the fact that we have this freedom as humans, we are unable to get out of suffering.
I received an email which touches me very much. By answering to this email, I want to talk about this topic, about this freedom we have and this inability we have as human beings to get out of suffering and into Heaven by ourselves. And, of course, I want to talk about how we can manage anyway: how it works in human life.
This email is a little bit long, but I would like to read it in its entirety because it really transports very nicely, very clearly this life feeling so many humans have. And maybe you, as a listener, maybe you find yourself also in this email.
"Dear Mikael, thank you for your loving reply. You touched me with the love that comes across. There's an extremely deep feeling of loneliness in me, always, as if I were totally lost in a cold, indifferent universe. You recommend Samarpan Meditation. That is precisely my problem, that this does not fit for us. And that is why I turned away from Soham and I couldn't go further with him.
When he first told us about this guru in 2017, my husband and I were open to going further with him and trying out everything. Then, we both did the introduction to Samarpan Meditation, and we started doing the meditation regularly. I was already registered for the next retreat with Soham, but shortly before, I felt more and more that something was wrong. It felt totally wrong for the first time in many years.
I just didn't see myself there, and it wasn't just some kind of resistance; that one I knew for many years. I had been to many spiritual places, to Osho in Oregon and also in India, to Vereesh in Holland, and so on. So, I wrote to Soham shortly before the start of the retreat, and he said I shouldn't come. Nevertheless, we both gave Samarpan Meditation a try and did it for a while until we realized more and more that it wasn't right for us.
I felt like something was possessing me and I didn't feel good. Then, a very painful and long phase of turning away from Soham began, which is precisely my problem. Since he's completely devoted to this Guru, I could not go any further with him. It was all very strange for me, as if suddenly Heaven, the Divine, was divided, on the one hand Soham, Swamiji, and on the other hand, this familiar divine energy that I knew from the retreats and from Ramana, who has been a blessing in our lives for a long time, and Osho and Jesus.
And then I was so happy to see your videos and to hear about your work, but then I saw Swamiji's picture on your website, and you keep talking about him and the meditation. That's why I never wrote to you, even though I wanted to so badly. We are currently experiencing this traumatic crisis with my husband's health. He did not take care of himself during his first hospitalization, and despite flu symptoms, he took on too much. And then he got pneumonia, from which he has been recovering quite slowly since month.
A few weeks ago, I got Corona. He got infected, and he got pneumonia again, and again hospitalized. He's now back, totally weak and in need of care, and I have no idea about his company, which he still managed. The last few weeks have been like being thrown from one bank to the other of a raging river with hardly any time to catch my breath with all the demands and far too little sleep and rest for me. Nevertheless, there's also support and somehow a sense in everything for me."
Thank you for this letter. Thank you so much. I'm so happy that you write. Yes, this is how it is for us humans. We suffer. Our life slips out of our hands. We don't know what to do. We experience one crisis after another. We feel lonely – totally lonely and lost. And yet, all the things which are in our life, which could help, they are not right for us. And here we are: a life full of problems and no solution.
First, I want to touch on this one point you wrote in your email.
It's about the Guru, about Swamiji, and about these other Gurus you love so much: Ramana, Jesus, Osho.
With the living guru comes the challenge
Link to topic in video at 9m12s
It is like this... A Guru who is not in his body anymore, a Guru whose body died, he cannot help you with the one step you have to do in this life. You love this Guru –like, you love Osho or Jesus or Ramana –, and then, this Guru you love, who left his body a long time ago, he helps you in a specific way.
He can't help you with this one step you need to do, but what he can do is, and that's what he does: he makes sure that a living Guru enters your life. When you go to Ramana, when you pray to Ramana and you say: "Ramana, help me, I don't know how to handle this life. I don't know what to do. I don't know how this is supposed to work"... What Ramana then does is: he sends a living Guru to you.
Now, when this living Guru enters your life, then it gets interesting. You see, it's easy to love a Guru who is not in his body anymore. It's easy to love a Jesus, an Osho, a Ramana who is not here anymore in his body, because this Guru doesn't challenge us anymore. When he was alive, he was a tremendous challenge, but now he left his body.
But the living Guru who enters your life then, he is a big, big challenge.
When you pray to Ramana: "Help me, I don't know how to handle this life", he sends a living Guru to you, and then it gets interesting. It's easy to love a Jesus, an Osho, a Ramana who is not here anymore. When he was alive, he was a tremendous challenge, but now he left his body. But the living Guru is a big, big challenge.
Link to quote in video at 10m07s
And that is what you experience.
This Guru, Swamiji, who entered your life through Soham, and that what he brings, the Samarpan Meditation, is a challenge. That is normal; so, nothing wrong.
The paradox of this life
Link to topic in video at 12m07s
So, I always say, out of my own experience: the only way you can live is by being true to yourself. That is what I say in every one of my videos. I only do what I feel energy for. I only do what I feel joy with. I never do anything against myself. And this is how it was for me when Swamiji entered my life.
When Swamiji entered my life, I just felt a 'yes', and this is the reason why I am with him. That is the reason why you see Swamiji's energy picture in this video over there. I didn't say 'yes' to Swamiji because my Master did this. It is not that I heard from my Master: "Now you need to follow this Guru", or, "Now you need to do the Samarpan Meditation". No. I felt this 'yes', and that is why I am here where I am now.
And when you don't feel this openness, you have no choice. You can't go there. And it's good that you're true to yourself. And this way of living, this 'yes' to how it is for me, this being true to myself, to my energy, this I learned from Soham. That's why he advised you back then to not come to this retreat. If you don't feel open, if you feel this is not right for you, then you shouldn't come. So far, so good.
But now you are in your life.
You feel a 'no' to the meditation. You feel a 'no' to the Guru. But your life is a mess. You don't know what to do. How can you live this life? How can you find your path to Heaven? How can you become happy in your situation, in your life?
The secret is to say 'yes' to that what you have in you right now. There is no need to try to say 'yes' to something you don't want. That's the wrong way, and you know this. But say 'yes' to what you have in your life right now. And I know that you know this. This is what you learned from Soham over many years.
You mentioned this deep feeling of loneliness.
Can you say 'yes' to this feeling? It is here.
That is your opportunity to say 'yes'. This old friend, this deep loneliness, this feeling as if you are alone in a cold, indifferent universe: let this feeling come to you. Say 'yes' to this.
You mentioned this deep feeling of loneliness. Can you say 'yes' to this feeling? It is here. That is your opportunity to say 'yes'. This old friend, this deep loneliness, this feeling as if you are alone in a cold, indifferent universe: let this feeling come to you. Say 'yes' to this.
Link to quote in video at 15m44s
You describe that you have this feeling that you are being tossed back and forth from one bank to another in a violent, raging river. That's how life feels for you right now.
Can you say 'yes' to this feeling and all the feelings connected with this, which you have inside of yourself?
You see, the only thing you ever need to do is be where you are. You don't have to worry to get out of anything. You don't have to worry to change.
But to say 'yes' to how it is for you now, that's helpful. That will change everything for you.
The only thing you ever need to do is be where you are. You don't have to worry to get out of anything. You don't have to worry to change. But to say 'yes' to how it is for you now, that's helpful. That will change everything for you.
Link to quote in video at 16m58s
And the Samarpan Meditation is simply a tool, a practice to train this 'yes'. Samarpan Meditation is a 'yes'. You just sit there and you meditate, and the only thing you do is not wanting anything. You just accept everything the way it is for you right now inside of yourself. That's why it is so helpful. In a way, for me, personally, the Samarpan Meditation is, in a very magical way, the continuation of that, what I learned from my spiritual Master, Soham, in the 17 years before the meditation came into my life.
He told me to say 'yes' to everything inside of me, to say 'yes' to how it was and how it is for me. And I practiced this, and my life changed, and I became happy. But when the Samarpan Meditation came, it was like it taught me to say 'yes' on a totally different level. Amazing.
For me, Samarpan Meditation is the continuation of what I learned from Soham: he told me to say 'yes' to everything, and I practiced this and my life changed and I became happy. But when the Samarpan Meditation came, it was like it taught me to say 'yes' on a totally different level. Amazing.
Link to quote in video at 18m16s
This meditation stands for itself
Link to topic in video at 19m07s
I want to mention one thing about Samarpan Meditation which you might not know.
The meditation stands completely for itself. It is not connected to anything else.
When you want to do this meditation, you do not have to have a Guru. You don't have to love Swamiji in order to do the meditation. Swamiji is just the servant who brings you the meal: that's how he describes it himself. He just brings the meditation. But you can just meditate without thinking about him. It's not a package.
It might appear so to you because Soham, your former spiritual Master, he adopted the meditation and this Guru at the same time, and the same happened to me. But you can meditate the Samarpan Meditation, you can use the benefits of this amazing tool, but you don't have to accept any Guru, and you don't have to change anything else in your life. You don't have to suddenly do certain Indian things just because many people around Swamiji do them.
This is not necessary. You don't have to become a Hindu. You don't have to become part of a religion or change your diet or change your lifestyle – nothing. You can just meditate – if you want. I just wanted to mention this because for some people, it appears as if doing the meditation is connected with many other things they don't want, and that's a pity. In reality, the only thing which is important is the meditation. The entire rest happens by itself.
You can do the Samarpan Meditation, you can use the benefits of this amazing tool, but you don't have to accept any Guru. You don't have to change anything in your life. You don't have to do Indian things, become a Hindu or part of a religion or change your diet or lifestyle – nothing. You can just meditate – if you want.
Link to quote in video at 20m08s
It's like Jesus. Jesus brought his meditation. His meditation was this prayer: "Thy Will be done." And, by the way, Samarpan Meditation does exactly the same thing. And you can just adopt this way of life: saying 'yes' to life – "Thy will be done". You don't have to believe in Jesus. And it's the same with the Samarpan Meditation. But as I said in the beginning: you need to be true to yourself. If you don't like the meditation, forget it.
Jesus brought his meditation. His meditation was this prayer: "Thy Will be done." And, by the way, Samarpan Meditation does exactly the same thing. And you can just adopt this way of life: saying 'yes' to life – "Thy will be done". You don't have to believe in Jesus. And it's the same with the Samarpan Meditation.
Link to quote in video at 21m24s
In the dead-end of the 'no'
Link to topic in video at 22m16s
So... life is amazing. Maybe you wonder: how does this work?
I say: "Be true to yourself. Only do what feels right for you." But at the same time, you notice in your life that you're lost in life. Everything looks dark. You feel lonely and your life is going down the drain. Your husband will die. By the way, you will die too. All these bodies will die. Of course, you don't die.
Your soul will not die. You don't die, but your body will die – soon; just like mine; just like everybody's. So, you notice that your life is not the way you want it. You notice that you are suffering. You notice that you have difficulty, and you notice that you are unable to change all this.
So, the question is, how do you get out of this while being true to yourself? And that's what I just told you. The only thing you need to do is start saying 'yes'. It doesn't matter where. You don't have to say 'yes' to a meditation you don't want. You don't have to say 'yes' to a Guru you don't want.
You notice that your life is not the way you want it, that you are suffering, that you have difficulty, and that you are unable to change all this. So, the question is: how do you get out of this while being true to yourself? The only thing you need to do is start saying 'yes'.
Link to quote in video at 23m04s
You say 'yes' to that what is already here in you, in your life: the loneliness, the fear, the suffering. Say 'yes' to this. Allow it to be here. It doesn't matter where you start with the 'yes', but start with the 'yes'. And life gives you an opportunity to say 'yes' all the time, in every moment.
You don't have to say 'yes' to a meditation or to a Guru you don't want. You say 'yes' to that what is already here in you, in your life: the loneliness, the fear, the suffering. Say 'yes' to this. Allow it to be here. It doesn't matter where you start with the 'yes', but start with the 'yes'.
Link to quote in video at 23m51s
But we don't want this. Usually, we say 'no'. Usually, the attitude we have about life is like a stubborn child: "No. I don't want this. I don't want the suffering.
I don't want the loneliness. I don't want the meditation. I don't want the help. I don't want any of this. I don't know what I want, but not this." This is our usual state of mind: 'no'. And then, it's like we are living in a dead-end street.
We say 'no' to everything which is, and then we are stuck. That's the world of the mind. That's the world of the ego. It's a cold, indifferent universe. Really, that's the world in our thoughts.
But as soon as you say 'yes' – it doesn't matter to what... If you begin to say 'yes' to how it is in this hell for you, something magical happens.
Life gives you an opportunity to say 'yes' in every moment, but usually, we say 'no' like a stubborn child: "No. I don't want any of this. I don't know what I want, but not this." It's like living in a dead-end street – that's the world of the ego: a cold, indifferent universe. But as soon as you say 'yes' to this hell, something magical happens.
Link to quote in video at 24m25s
You are in this dead-end street. You are in this hell, in this cold and different universe. You feel utterly lonely, or you feel tossed around by this violent, brutal river of life.
As soon as you say 'yes', it is like you turn around and you walk out of the dead-end street. Suddenly, you are somewhere else. You cannot change the hell, but you can say' yes' to it, and as soon as you do this, something fundamentally changes. It's like a miracle.
You are in this dead-end street, in this hell. As soon as you say 'yes', it is like you turn around and you walk out of the dead-end street. Suddenly, you are somewhere else. You cannot change the hell, but you can say' yes' to it, and as soon as you do this, something fundamentally changes. It's like a miracle.
Link to quote in video at 26m19s
And I know that you know this. Just start doing it again wherever you can, whenever you can. Practice this 'yes' – 'yes' to what is in your life right now. More is not needed.
Practice this 'yes' – 'yes' to what is in your life right now. More is not needed.
Link to quote in video at 27m24s
The freedom to say 'yes' and 'no'
Link to topic in video at 27m39s
And most people don't have this 'yes'. They don't even know about this 'yes'. They don't know that they have this option to say 'yes'. All they know is this life of 'no'.
And then, a miracle happens: Somebody comes into your life, and with this somebody, with a living Guru, with a living Master, or maybe with some videos, somebody who says 'yes' comes into your life, and suddenly, you experience the power of 'yes'. Suddenly, you experience: "Wow. This is possible. I could say 'yes'." And then you have the choice – and that is where you are at in your life. You are one of those people who know: "I could say 'yes', but I don't want to." But life is very, very persistent with us. I tell you how life does it. You have the complete freedom to say 'yes' or' no'.
Most people don't know that they have this option to say 'yes'. All they know is 'no'. And then, a miracle happens: somebody who says 'yes' comes into your life, and you experience the power of 'yes'. Suddenly, you experience: "Wow. This is possible. I could say 'yes'." And then you have the choice – and that is where you are at in your life.
Link to quote in video at 27m39s
And if you say 'no', this is perfectly okay. And whenever you say 'no', life becomes very, very difficult, very hard. The more you say 'no', the more you suffer. The more you say 'no', the more painful it gets. And this pain, this suffering, is the help. It reminds you: "Hello...". At some point, you notice: "Ah! When I say 'yes', it gets easier. When I say 'no', it gets more difficult." It's your choice. You are completely free.
You are one of those people who know: "I could say 'yes', but I don't want to." You have the complete freedom to say 'yes' or' no'. And whenever you say 'no', life becomes hard. The more you say 'no', the more you suffer, and the more painful it gets. And this pain, this suffering, is the help.
Link to quote in video at 28m50s
But then you learn: "Ah, that's how life works. Interesting. I cannot change the circumstances. I cannot determine what my life should look like – this is what happens by life. But I can say 'yes', or I can say 'no'. And when I say 'yes', suddenly everything is easy, and when I say 'no', I suffer. Interesting." And that's how you learn. That's how you learn. And you have forgotten the 'yes', and I invite you to try it again. Say 'yes' to your feelings, to this day, to how it is for you today. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today, now – and this 'yes' is easy. This 'yes' is possible.
You have forgotten the 'yes', and I invite you to try it again. Say 'yes' to your feelings, to this day, to how it is for you today. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today, now – and this 'yes' is easy. This 'yes' is possible.
Link to quote in video at 30m50s
The nature of Heaven and Hell
Link to topic in video at 31m28s
You love Ramana, you wrote, and just yesterday, I read something about Ramana I would like to share with you. Ramana Maharshi was asked by a disciple. The disciple asked him: "Master, why is it that sometimes. it is so easy for me to meditate and to say 'yes', but at other times, it's impossible. It's so difficult. I just can't say 'yes'. I can't meditate. It's like impossible. Why is this change? Why is this shift?" And Ramana Maharshi answered... I don't remember his exact words, but I repeat what I understood from what I read.
He said: "It is two different states of our spirit, of our mind." Sometimes, we are in the state where we can say 'yes'. This is the elevated state – that's how Ramana put it. And then it's easy. But sometimes, we are in this other state, this lower state, and there, it is impossible. It is two different states of our mind, of our energy, like two different frequencies, and the one is Heaven, God, and the other one is the Devil, Hell. Ramana said: God and devil, God and Satan, they are not people out there. They are states of your being. They are states of your mind.
And this eternal battle between God and Satan, this is this alternating which we experience as human beings: sometimes we are in this ease, in this 'yes'. We are in Heaven. And then, we drop out again and we are in the 'no', in the hell, in the suffering.
And you get out of the hell and back into this other state by saying 'yes' to the hell as good as we can. It is impossible for you to say 'yes' when you cannot say 'yes'.
Ramana said: God and Satan are states of your being, of your mind. And this eternal battle between God and Satan is this alternating we experience: sometimes we are in this 'yes', in Heaven, and then we are in the 'no', in hell, in suffering. And you get out of hell and back into this other state by saying 'yes' to the hell.
Link to quote in video at 33m00s
But at some point, there is an opening. Suddenly, it is possible. Suddenly, you remember: "I know. I could say 'yes'."
You could say 'yes'. That's the way out. You see, it is not about the circumstances you experience. You are very concerned about your husband's health. You are very concerned about what might happen in your life when he dies. What about his business? What about money? What about your life?
It is impossible for you to say 'yes' when you cannot say 'yes'. But at some point, there is an opening. Suddenly, it is possible. Suddenly, you remember: "I know. I could say 'yes'." That's the way out.
Link to quote in video at 34m11s
You're concerned about your feelings, your loneliness.
But these are all symptoms. This is just what happens in life when you say 'no'.
And when you say 'yes', all this will change. The way you experience life will change completely. And you know this. You have experienced this before.
It is not about the circumstances you experience. You are concerned about your husband's health, about what might happen when he dies, about your feelings, your loneliness. But these are all symptoms. This is just what happens in life when you say 'no'. And when you say 'yes', all this will change. The way you experience life will change completely.
Link to quote in video at 34m51s
But it's not enough to remember. You need to do it. You need to say yes, and then it happens.
And then you experience this alternating I was just describing, that what Ramana Maharshi was talking about. You experience the 'yes' and this elevated state, and then, before you know it, you fall out of it again, and you're back in the mud, you are back in hell. And then you remember again, and you say 'yes'. And the more you say 'yes', the easier the 'yes' becomes. The more you say 'no', the more difficult the 'yes' becomes and the easier the 'no' becomes.
It's very simple. And that's why it's so helpful to practice this 'yes' whenever you can, with every little opportunity: 'yes' to the beautiful things, 'yes' to the difficult things, 'yes' to the sunshine, 'yes' to the birds you hear, 'yes' to your hunger, 'yes' to your pain, 'yes' to your tiredness, 'yes' to the morning, 'yes' to practice 'yes' wherever you can. And this brings you out of hell, into Heaven.
The more you say 'yes', the easier the 'yes' becomes. The more you say 'no', the more difficult the 'yes' and the easier the 'no' becomes. Practice this 'yes' whenever you can, with every little opportunity: 'yes' to the beautiful things, 'yes' to the difficult things. And this brings you out of hell, into Heaven.
Link to quote in video at 36m09s
And remember: you are totally free. It is only your decision. Nobody is waiting for you. Nobody expects anything from you. You know, as human beings, the ego is like a like a stubborn child. I said this earlier in this video. The ego is like: "No, I don't want to." It's like the little child forces the parents to give him or her what he or she wants. And it works with parents.
It's the only power a little child has. But as adults, it doesn't work. You are totally free. If you choose to be stubborn, if you choose to say 'no', if you choose to stand in this dead-end street, that's okay. You can do this. Life gives you this freedom. There is nobody waiting for you. It is only your choice. Nobody expects anything from you. You are free.
The ego is like: "No, I don't want to." It's like the little child which forces the parents to give it what it wants. It's the only power a child has, but as adults, it doesn't work. If you choose to say 'no', if you choose to stand in this dead-end street, that's okay. Life gives you this freedom. Nobody expects anything from you. You are free.
Link to quote in video at 37m33s
Nobody expects anything from you
Link to topic in video at 38m34s
Swamiji says: "I bring the meditation. But who takes it, who benefits from it, who integrates it into life, this is not my concern. This is not my business." His Gurus told him that. The Gurus of Swamiji told him: "Listen. Your job is to bring the meditation to society, to all those people who are waiting for it. But who is willing to accept it, who is taking this gift and who not, this is not your concern. This is not your job. You just bring it." As I said: he is just a waiter, bringing the food. The eating you need to do yourself.
The Gurus of Swamiji told him: "Your job is to bring the meditation to society, to all those who are waiting for it. But who is willing to accept this gift and who not, this is not your concern. This is not your job. You just bring it."
He is just a waiter, bringing the food. The eating you need to do yourself.
Link to quote in video at 38m48s
So, there is no expectation. There is no Guru expecting anything from you. I don't expect anything from you. I don't want to convince you. You're free. I just share with you how I experience life. I share with you what really works, and then, it is up to you. Nobody can make you say 'yes'. That is your freedom. That is your choice.
That is the amazing love of the Universe: it doesn't touch your freedom. Because only when you, by yourself, come to the point where you say, out of yourself: "Ah. Now I want to say 'yes'", that is when the door to Heaven opens. It has to come through yourself. Then it's possible.
Nobody can make you say 'yes'. That is your freedom. That is your choice. That is the amazing love of the Universe: it doesn't touch your freedom. Because only when you, by yourself, come to the point where you say: "Ah. Now I want to say yes“, that is when the door to Heaven opens. It has to come through yourself.
Link to quote in video at 39m48s
And that is why life doesn't interfere. That is why life gives you all the time you need to come to this point: because it only works when you come to this point yourself; when you find the way yourself. That's the magic. That's the beauty of life.
The magic of love
Link to topic in video at 41m30s
And part of this freedom I'm speaking about is, as I said, this freedom to say 'no'. We have this freedom to stand in the corner and say: "No, leave me alone", and when you are in this state, as I said, there's nothing you can do. You cannot force yourself to say 'yes', and this is not good anyway. But life has an amazing trick. This trick of life is called 'Love': you are totally closed, you don't want, you say 'no', and suddenly, something touches you.
Through the wall, through the armor of your 'no', your heart is being touched. Suddenly, you open up. Suddenly, you want. It's like... You know, I am no different than Soham. I do the meditation, I am in love with Swamiji, I do the same things as Soham, but something in the way I am talking touches you. You feel this love touching you. You don't want to have anything to do with what I say. You don't want to have anything to do with the meditation, and certainly not with the Guru.
You cannot force yourself to say 'yes', but life has an amazing trick called 'Love': you are totally closed, you don't want, you say 'no', and suddenly, something touches you. Through the wall, through the armor of your 'no', your heart is being touched. Suddenly, you open up.
Link to quote in video at 41m58s
Everything I say is basically something you don't agree with, but there is this love. You are being touched. You are being opened... not by force, but it is like your walls are melting.
Maybe you know this... I'm sure you know this from your life when you fall in love with a man. You didn't choose him. There are things about him you find really strange and maybe stupid, but you find yourself opening up. You are in love, as if you start saying 'yes' against your will. This is the magic of love.
And then, this 'yes' happens, and then you experience it: "Ah. This is how life is in a 'yes'. Wow."
That's how life saves you. And if this happens to you, use this opportunity. Start saying 'yes' again. And, if you want, do the meditation. As I said: it has nothing to do with a Guru or a religion or a culture, because with this meditation, you can just practice 'yes'. But if you don't want this: hey, then just don't do it. But say 'yes'.
Everything I say you don't agree with, but there is this love. You are being touched, opened... not by force, but it is like your walls are melting. This is the magic of love. And then you experience it: "Ah. This is how life is in a 'yes'. Wow." That's how life saves you. And if this happens to you, use this opportunity. Start saying 'yes' again.
Link to quote in video at 43m26s
I know you since a long time, and I know your ability to say 'no'.
And I have the same ability. If you know my videos, I told quite a few stories where I just said 'no'. I said 'no' to my Master. I said 'no' to what he suggested. I said 'no' to what he said: "Hey, this might be helpful for you." I said: "No. This is stupid. I don't want this." I was true to myself. I said 'no'. And because I was true to myself, I could stay with him, just like you. You were true to yourself back then. You didn't continue with the meditation. You didn't go to the retreat. And that's why you are still here. This is so helpful.
So, be true to yourself. It's like you are my sister. I am just as stubborn as you are. Be true to yourself. This 'yes' to yourself is the start: "Yes, I am this way. Yes, I feel this way. Yes, I don't want this. Yes, I don't want that." Say 'yes' to yourself. And then, find all the things you can say 'yes' to in your life and extend this 'yes' more and more and more. To what? That's your choice. And the more you say 'yes', the more miracles will happen in your life. You will be liberated. You will be healed.
This 'yes' to yourself is the start: "Yes, I am this way. Yes, I feel this way. Yes, I don't want this. Yes, I don't want that." Say 'yes' to yourself. And then, find all the things you can say 'yes' to in your life. The more you say 'yes', the more miracles will happen in your life. You will be liberated. You will be healed.
Link to quote in video at 46m53s
I love you.