Growing without changing yourself

Good morning.

This morning, I'm going to add something to the video I did previously. This is part two of that video where I shared how one cannot learn, cannot grow, when one believes to be wrong. You cannot be open when you believe that you must change. And during this video, during this part one, I talked a lot about how I listen to my Guru Swamiji, how I read his books, how I watch his videos, or the videos of Soham, my Master... how I do this without this conviction that I must learn something to become better, but that I just let it in, and growing happens by itself.

But after I did this video, since I talked so much about how I read, how I watch videos, how I listen, I saw that this could be misunderstood in a way that people might think: it is important to read a lot, it is important to watch a lot of videos, to listen a lot, and to learn this way. And this is not so. And that's when I decided that I would like to make a part two, to add to this first video.

When I meditate the Samarpan Meditation, every day early in the morning... this meditation is being done first thing in the morning, before you do anything else in your day. I get up, usually around five o'clock or 5 30. I briefly go to the bathroom, and then I immediately sit down, while I'm still totally sleepy, and I meditate. And doing the Samarpan Meditation... it takes a while, usually it takes anything between ten, 15 or 20 minutes, and then slowly, slowly, slowly, the thoughts are less in my face, slowly slowly I feel more quiet inside, and then, after a while, maybe after 20 minutes or so, I begin to feel my crown chakra. I begin to feel sort of resting there, a space, a peace. And then what happens is that often, I get this subtle but clear feeling that I'm being filled up, that something is coming to me, filling me up, nurturing me. It's like I get inspired and strengthened. Clarity flows in me. I get ideas. I get clarity of what I should do today. I get clarity of what wants to be said in this video for instance. And I immediately forget these things, I don't hold on to them, I don't try to remember them, I just rest in the crown chakra. I'm not interested in receiving anything. I'm not interested in remembering anything. I don't meditate to get something. I just meditate. I just am the way I am. I don't want to change. I'm not looking for anything. I just meditate. And yet, it is as if, after a certain point during the meditation, I am being showered with all kinds of good things. And these things change me.

Everything I said in the first video about how growing really happens, how change really happens by itself, that happens through the meditation, without me knowing anything about it. It's not that I meditate, and then I get an idea or an inspiration, and then, after the meditation, I remember this and then I do this. This is not what I mean. I just meditate, and something is working on me, something is changing me. Something is flowing into me. I don't have to know anything. And now, after a few years of meditating like this, I notice: this is what changes me. This is what lets me grow. This is the fertilizer which promotes my growth. And the cool thing is that you don't have to do anything.

You don't have to work on anything. You don't have to read; you don't have to watch videos. You don't have to know anything. It happens truly by itself. This sounds a little bit esoteric maybe to you, but what I'm sharing is my very practical experience.

For me, all these things are very practical. I don't like to believe in something and then just do it because I believe something. No. I meditate every morning, not expecting anything, not wanting anything. I don't do anything, just meditate, and then this begins to happen by itself. And the longer you meditate... I don't mean the longer in the morning. I meditate half an hour, that's enough... but what I mean is: the longer you have this meditation in your life, the more you begin to feel this flow coming to you. And the longer you do this, the more you realize: this is the only important thing I need. Everything else is secondary. But this is the only thing I need. It's like: from there I get everything I need. It's really like I get the air to breathe from there. Jesus said: put God first, everything else will follow, and this is how it is for me.

When I meditate, when I let go and just rest there, with this knowing: I don't need anything, I don't need to change, I'm just meditating, I'm just here with God so to speak... and then, everything else comes. How? I don't know. I'm just sharing with you how it happens for me. And then, slowly slowly, your life changes. Slowly slowly, you change, but not because you believe you must change, not because you believe you are a sinner or you are wrong and you must improve and that's why you meditate... no. You just are the way you are, and you meditate, and then these things happen. And I wanted to mention this in the second part of the video because all the other things I mentioned, when I read Swamiji, when I watch his videos, or listen to him, this is all secondary for me. I don't read because I need to know something from him. I don't watch a video because I need to hear something from him. I meditate, and I get this feeling: this is all I need.

You know, I'm a simple guy. I'm easily distracted. I easily get lost in all the everyday life things, and if there's one thing, one which is important... that I can follow. I am capable of this. I I'm not capable of a long routine of all kinds of things I need to do every day or every week. I can't do this and I'm too lazy. But one thing? That's what I can do. That's what Jesus said: one thing is important: put God first. So, practically, for me, one thing: I meditate in the morning. The Samarpan Meditation. I surrender. And from there, everything comes, everything. And it really is for me like I could live in a cave somewhere without contact to anybody else, without books, without Internet, without videos, and I would know everything I need to keep growing and growing and growing, and to keep changing and changing and changing, without me wanting to change... All this comes from there. It's like I'm plugged into the source.

And I still like to read. I still like to read Swamiji's autobiography, or sometimes I read in a book from Soham, he also has a few beautiful books. Sometimes I watch a video where Swamiji speaks. But this is not necessary. This is not the important thing. Swamiji said: "I bring one thing: I bring the Samarpan Meditation. That's the one thing I bring, everything else is not important." I read Swamiji because I find it helpful. I love it. I love to read this. I feel nourished. It gives me focus. But it's not the important thing.

And I want to talk about this because I hear from quite a few people how they are really overwhelmed. They have their everyday life, they have their work, their family and their friends, all the things they do anyway, and then on top of that, they meditate, and then on top of that they have the feeling, they should read all these things, all these books, they should participate in all these online chats and WhatsApp groups and watch all the videos, and they don't know what to do. They're totally stressed out. And then, in this video, I want to tell you that for me, all these things are not important. This learning I talked about, this change I talked about in the first video, that which happens by itself... for me, that happens through the meditation, through the Samarpan Meditation.

And I still like to read, I still like to watch Swamiji's videos, but for a different reason. It helps me during my day to stay focused on what's important for me, and it replaces things which I would otherwise do. It replaces unhelpful things with something which is tremendously helpful. Maybe you know this. Maybe you like to read the newspaper. I used to read newspapers in the past. 20 years ago, or 30 years ago, I read newspapers every day. I found it entertaining, and in a way, I also found it important. I thought I should be informed. But these days I notice when I do this... and still sometimes I do this, although I know better, I know it's not good for me, but sometimes I get back into this habit... and when, instead of reading a newspaper, I read Swamiji, the effect is totally different.

When I read the newspaper, what happens is: I take in information which fills me and my brain, and which works in me, whether I want it or not. Once you read something, it's in you, and it has an effect in you, and you can't control this effect. You take in the beliefs and attitudes of the people who write the newspaper, their beliefs, their fears, their view of the world. You take in their convictions: life is a struggle, life is dangerous, the world is bad. With every line you read, you take this in.

And then you read Swamiji, and with every line you read, it's like: ah, everything is fine, everything is good. I don't need to do anything. There's no reason for any struggle. It's just the opposite. It's the opposite energy. And the same is true with movies. Sometimes maybe you go to a movie in the theater or you watch a movie on your computer or your TV, for entertainment, just for pleasure. And what you don't notice is: the same thing is happening there. You take in the beliefs transported by the story. And it doesn't matter which story it is, it can be a war movie or a love story or a drama, but it's always the same, this believe how the world is, how life works: drama, problems, misunderstandings, fight, struggle, and always this belief: I need something, I need love, I need security, I need peace.

And then you watch a few minutes of a video of a Swamiji, and maybe he speaks Hindi and you don't understand a word, and you're filled with this peace. You watch a few minutes of a movie where you don't understand a word, a video from Swamiji, and suddenly you know: everything is fine. No need for worry. No need for struggle or fight.

So, for me, the books which are available from Swamiji or from Soham, the videos which are available, all the WhatsApp groups and sharings and information included there, they are all helps offered to me, and I can take them when they are helpful for me. So instead of opening a newspaper website on my handy, I open Swamiji's book and read a few lines. The one thing transports me into an old mindset which poisons me, I can feel it more and more; and the other enriches me, makes me quiet, makes me happy, content, and brings me back to myself and back into my crown. So, instead of reading the newspaper, I read Swamiji. Instead of watching a movie when I feel like I just want to relax and watch a movie, and instead I tune into a video from Swamiji, I am lifted up. I'm encouraged, and my knowing that the world is not a fight but that God is here, my Light is burning, that gets nourished.

And at some point, you might find out... you know, all these things, maybe you don't feel them so strongly right now, but the longer you meditate, the more sensitive you become, and the more familiar you become with this peace and this rightness of things, the more you will notice how these ordinary things of the world... how different they are, how painful they are in reality, and how counterproductive they are for your path. And then at some point you notice that many of the people you are in contact with... when you're in contact with them, you take on their feelings, you take on their convictions. You're in a group with old friends, and then you come home and you feel: yes, I need to fight, I need to work hard on myself, I need to change, and life is dangerous. And only the next morning, when you meditate, you realize again: oh wow, how could I forget this.

So, you realize: also this might not be helpful, and then you find more helpful things. Then, instead of exchanging with people who don't know anything about this peace, you connect with people who walk in the same direction like you. You become part of a meditation group in your town, and instead of going for a beer with people who poison you... I mean they are lovely people, you know, you love them, nothing wrong with the people, but just what they believe about themselves and about life, that's coming to you. And when instead, you go to a meditation group and you hang out with people and meditate together, people who are walking in the same direction like you, then you will discover: oh wow, this is so helpful. The people might be just as crazy as the other people, they are not any better, they are not holier and maybe they go on your nerves just as well as the others, but because they are walking in the same direction like you, they're looking into the same direction, they know about the same treasures which you are discovering, and that alone, that just helps you.

So, all these things are just offers, if you want them. They are there to support you if you want. I read a letter yesterday from a lady who feels totally overwhelmed by all these things. She says: "I'm getting older, my energy gets less, and I don't know how to do all these things. My everyday life, the worries of the family, all the problems, and then on top of all this, all these things I am supposed to read and watch and all the WhatsApp groups and all this information... I don't know, why I feel totally overwhelmed."

And what we do usually is: we take all these things as a "must", like we do with everything else in life. "On top of it, I must read Swamiji, I must follow all these groups, I must watch all these videos." And that's not true. If you live your life and suddenly you notice: oh, I'm getting lost in this movie, or in this newspaper, or in my day... I'm getting lost in my life... and then you remember, and then you take the book and read a few lines and you notice how helpful this is, how quick. Then you notice: ah, this is just there to help me. And you just do it when you feel like it, when it's joyful for you, when it's a help for you, not a burden, not another burden. And that's how I use these things. I rarely read WhatsApp groups about spiritual things. I do it when I feel like, and then it's just beautiful because it fills me with the same energy which I find in the meditation.

Instead of reading a newspaper, I read a few lines of Swamiji in the morning, and it fills me with this energy which I find in the meditation. That's why I do it. It's just pure joy, and it replaces old habits which now these days are just poison for me, and that's why I find these offers which are available so helpful. But they are not mandatory. They are not the important thing. The essential thing is the meditation. That connects you directly to the source. When you read Swamiji, and you admire this wisdom which comes to you there, and this energy... Swamiji got all this through the Meditation, through his connection to the source. The meditation is your direct connection to the same source. That's the only important thing. That's the only thing you need to know.

And the same is true for Swamiji himself. I said earlier: I have the impression that I could live in a cave... and I don't want this, I'm not looking for this, I'm not a caveman... but I just experience that everything I need to know, everything I need, comes through this meditation, through the crown chakra, through this just sitting there, not doing anything, just being open. And for me...

I talk a lot about Swamiji, and for me, it's very helpful and also very natural to surrender to my Guru, to love him. He helps me to surrender, so to speak. The Samarpan Meditation is called so because Samarpan means surrender, and that's what we do in the meditation. Just this act of meditating and disregarding your thoughts, disregarding all these important things in your life, disregarding all these urgent things in your life for half an hour, this is a tremendous act of surrender. This directing your attention away from the thoughts, away from the body, away from the world, to the crown chakra, this is a tremendous act of surrender; that's what we practice in the meditation. And that's the important thing. That's the miracle.

For me, having a Guru in my life is totally helpful, because for me it's easier to surrender to somebody I can see and love. I just surrender to my Guru.

But it doesn't mean that you have to do this. It doesn't mean that one has to have a Guru to meditate. It doesn't mean that one has to have a Guru to go to Heaven. This is not so. But I must say: for me, it's totally helpful.

I remember, when I came to my spiritual master Soham 23 years ago... I didn't know anything about spiritual things, nothing. I came to him and I just loved him and I surrendered to him. I just... From the very first day on, I followed him. And I was able to do this because there was this person in front of me which I felt is amazing, and I just could surrender. I couldn't have surrendered to something abstract, to something... to an idea of God, and I probably would not have been able to do the Samarpan Meditation at that time, because this kind of surrendering probably would have felt like an abstract thing to me.

For me, it was easier to surrender to this love I feel towards this master. And today, it's the same for me with Swamiji, my Guru. I just surrender to him, and that makes me open, and that makes me receptive and peaceful. And then, everything happens by itself. But with this, it's the same like with all these other offers. If you are a person who ticks differently, you don't have to do it this way.

Maybe you remember the story I told in the first video, in part one, where Swamiji talks to the alcoholics; where he said: "don't try to change; don't try to improve upon yourself, but meditate". He said: don't improve, meditate. But he didn't say: "believe in me, take me as your Guru, believe in me and meditate" – he didn't say this. He said: meditate, that's the important thing. We tend to forget this, and then people stop with the meditation because they find it totally foreign to surrender to a Guru. I know people who love the Samarpan Meditation but who don't feel the same love for Swamiji, and that's fine. Swamiji says "I bring the meditation. Nothing else." That's the important thing. This is the one thing I need to know. He doesn't say: I bring a new cult, a new religion, the religion where you worship Swamiji. He doesn't say this. He said: "I bring the meditation."

And for me... for me, this whole path in life, this path to find myself, this path to find heaven, this path to reconnect to my true being, to God... for me, this is a totally emotional thing. We humans are very emotional beings, and that's why it's so helpful for me to be in love with my Guru and to just surrender to him and to dissolve in him.

But for you, it might be different. You can do this meditation, you can discover this direct connection to the Source which brings everything to you which you need, which will grow you and change you without you wanting to grow, without you having to change... that's all you need. And you need to find your own way, what is helpful for you, what is making it easier for you. I tell you about the things which are easy for me, just to give you an example... just to show you things which you might want to try, but the main message I tell you is: you need to find your way. Meditate... I can tell you: do the meditation, you don't need anything else, but all the other things, the practical things around this in your life: find your way.

There are people who love group events, who love rituals, and for them, these Indian traditions which come with Swamiji, for them they are great. They love to go to group events and do ceremonies and party together and celebrate together, and there are other people who don't like it. I am one of them. I don't like any of these group things, and I very rarely participate in them. I do it my way. I don't need a group event to celebrate Swamiji or to celebrate God. I have this inside. My way is quiet, inside. Maybe your way is otherwise, maybe your way is celebrating and being in a group. Find your way. It's easy to get the feeling: "ah, this is important, I should do this, I should want to do this", but you notice: "I don't want to, I don't enjoy this". Well, then don't do it. That's how I do it.

I find it very helpful to frequently connect with people who look into the same direction like I'm looking, and for this, it's very very helpful to have friends who are also spiritual. It's very helpful to have a meditation group. There's this beautiful place, the Place of Meditation near Frankfurt in Germany, where people sometimes meet. It's very helpful to connect with this kind of people, but you need to do it in a way which suits you. For me for instance, doing these videos and answering the emails I receive, this is my way. I said earlier: I'm not a cave person. I think I have to correct this. I am a cave person. I really am a very withdrawn person. I'm not a group person. For me, this is a good way to connect myself to good people, to you. And sometimes, but very rarely, I meet people practically in the world. Very rarely, I visit the Place of Meditation near Frankfurt. And sometimes, I'm in Satsang with my master Soham, because I help him with some things, and I'm there to work for him. And then I'm in Satsang there, and I find it so helpful when I'm there, it's like: oh, this helps me so much. But I do it very rarely. I'm one of these people who sit in their cave, in their little world at home or however your life looks like, and it all happens for me inside.

So, there are all these offers, and you can pick from them, you can choose from them what you find helpful, joyful for you in your life. There's no need to do anything which stresses you or where you don't feel joy and energy for. There's just no need for anything like this.

So, at the end, I want to repeat the one thing which is for me important, the one thing I never forget, the one thing I do every morning without exception, no matter how I feel, is the Samarpan Meditation, and through this, I get everything I need. It's magic, really. And I do this meditation with this attitude which I described in the first video: I don't think I need to change. I am the way I am, and I meditate. And all the rest, all the things I love to do, the reading of Swamiji, watching a video, visiting a place where spiritual people meet, I do them when I feel like, but that's not the important thing, that's not what's needed for growing and for learning.

The meditation... if you look for one thing you want to take away, it's the meditation. So, also here, find your own way. Do it your way. That's why I make these videos: I show you how I do it my way, not so you do it my way too. No! I tell you: also with this, also with God, also with Swamiji, also with the Meditation, find your way.

Do the meditation first thing in the morning, and all the rest, do your way.

Thank you for listening. Thank you.

I love you.