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Ep. 15 ~ Our State of Mind Is Everything
How does one’s state of mind color one’s world view?
“I remember the first rainy season. Oh, everything was wet. The bed is wet. The hair was wet. The clothes were wet. You sat down, it was wet. You stood up, it was wet. You got on the bus, wet came down on you. There was no place it wasn’t wet. For three months, I was like…
And then, I remember like the second year, wet. By the third year, wet. Nothing. It didn’t, I hardly noticed. It was strange. I go to India now, it’s so hot. I lived there in those days. There was no air conditioning. There was nothing. It was 120 degrees and I don’t remember being hot. Now, it’s like oof. So, it’s, state of mind is everything. Everything. Everything.”
– Krishna Das
We used to sit in front of Maharajji and nothing would happen. You know, we saw people who went to these Gurus down south who could bounce around the room and squawk like chickens and stuff like that. But nothing would ever happen. I kept wanting something to happen. And even though nothing was happening, there was still no place in the whole world I wanted to be other than sitting right there because it was home. And you know, we used to say to Him, you know, “How do we find God?” We figured He knew, He would tell us. He seemed to like us. At least, He let us hang around. “How do we find God?” He said, “Serve people.” You know, what? Serve people? Well, ok. How do you raise Kundalini? “Feed people.” What? Serve everyone. Feed everyone. And then He used to say, “From going on repeating these names,” these Names of God as they call them in India, “Everything is made full and complete. Everything is brought to completion. Everything is made full.”
He said it 100 times and it’s been about how many years? 43 years since He left the body. I still don’t believe it. And I heard Him say it. I mean, I figure, it possibly could be true. Maybe. Ok. I know that He’s telling the truth but I don’t know what He’s talking about. But little by little, the guy who can’t understand what He’s talking about is being worn away. Disappearing. Becoming more transparent. So all those thoughts about like, what the fuck does He mean? Are disappearing. They’re not arising. So when those thoughts don’t arise, you don’t feel a certain way, right? But what you do with thoughts, you can’t stop those thoughts. You can’t stop thoughts. Because all we do is think all day long. All we do. Think think think. Think about this, think about that. Think about me me me me me. So that’s what that means. By cultivating these, opening up these passageways, training the mind to remember to do something else other than think about yourself all the time, little by little, even when those thoughts arise, even when those stories arise, even when we notice that we’re really involved in something, they don’t get us the same way. They don’t grab us the same way. They don’t grab us for so long. And there’s no timeline on this. It’s not written out anyplace we can see it as when we’ll finally figure it out or wake up. You don’t ever figure it out. We’re asleep. One of these days, we’ll wake up. That’s it. But while we’re asleep, in our sleep, there are things we can do, like chanting, meditation, different types of practices. These are the things that slowly move us closer to the edge of the bed, then we fall off and wake up when we hit the ground. So, when we chant, just chant. When you notice that you’re not paying attention, just chant. Let it go. Come back to the chanting. It’s not rocket science. There’s nothing to figure out. Sing. When you notice you’re not singing, sing. That’s it. At least for today, these few hours, and time we’re chanting, that’s the deal. Nothing’s gonna happen. I guarantee you, when you leave here you’ll be the same person you were when you walked in. But maybe, you won’t care so much. At least for a few minutes. Because we’re kind of stepping out of the traffic here for a minute by releasing those thoughts. Practicing releasing the thoughts. It’s not a negative thing. When you release the thoughts, feelings arise that are very beautiful, little by little. A little piece of mind, a little less anxious about things. A little bit less involved in the story line. It’s little by little, spontaneous enlightenment takes millions of births to develop. So I figure I’m about my third birth. I might as well relax, it’s a long way to go. No sense hurrying. Suzuki Roshi once said, “Come take a walk with me in the rain. Don’t hurry. Don’t run. It’s raining everywhere.” So, this is it. We’re in the rain. So we might as well just relax. There’s no place that it’s not raining. Get used to it. And the more you get used to it, it’s like when I was in India the first, I was there for three years, the first time I went. Three complete cycles of the seasons. I remember the first rainy season. Oh, everything was wet. The bed is wet. The hair was wet. The clothes were wet. You sat down, it was wet. You stood up, it was wet. You got on the bus, wet came down on you. There was no place it wasn’t wet. For three months, I was like…
And then, I remember like the second year, wet. By the third year, wet. Nothing. It didn’t, I hardly noticed. It was strange. I go to India now, it’s so hot. I lived there in those days. There was no air conditioning. There was nothing. It was 120 degrees and I don’t remember being hot. Now, it’s like oof. So, it’s, state of mind is everything. Everything. Everything.
Suggestions for your practice: Hungry Hearts Chant & Door of Faith Album
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Hungry Hearts Chant
Made especially for you. This recording is a 7 min 11 sec loop of the chant. This track is FREE and available for download in our digital library (thats where we offer other free stuff too) for you to use at anytime.
Door of Faith
An unusual recording, a departure from the call-and-response (kirtan) style, the deep longing to connect with his guru that comes through makes one feel as if you are listening in on Krishna Das’s personal puja offerings. Also included is Bernie’s Chalisa/Gate of Sweet Nectar. Find out more in our online shop.
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