31 March 2014 - QA 1

Who is the observer? Is our goal to merge with the observer?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

There is no goal, there is nothing to merge. It is there, that is it. Got it? What is there is there. In the present moment it is always there; the witness is there. Who is asking the question, that is the witness.

All that you need to do, is to know that the mind is getting clogged by desire after desire after desire. This bombardment of desires does not allow you to see the clear sky, that you are. So, throw the desires.

'Vihaya kaman yah sarvan pumams carati nihsprhah nirmamo nirahankarah sa santim adhigacchati' (2.71)
In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna has said, throw the desires, and then you get relaxation. Otherwise, there is a burning desire for something or the other, and this keeps you running.
As long as you are running on the treadmill (i.e., after desires), there is no relaxation. Somewhere you have to press the 'stop' button and sit down!
This is what we are doing. Running and galloping on the treadmill does not take you anywhere. Time and again, when you relax, you understand the truth. But even that state cannot be there forever. So again another thought, another desire will come.

What does Yogi mean? One who gets one desire in one year.
What does Ayogi mean? One who gets a million desires in every moment; every day.
So lessen your desires. Got it?
Now you may ask, 'How can I lessen my desires?. Know that everything is going to finish! That’s all. This is Vairagya, and you don’t need any practice for this.
Everything is going to finish! This one thought is an antidote for desires. Everything is going to be finished. This is meditation. Without vairagya, meditation is next to impossible!