The seed of desire is a false concept. Shum helps transcend thinking, to experience spiritual energy. Call upon your inner intelligence; guide your unfoldment from within. The soul can control the intellect or the intellect can cover the soul. When you go inside the soul then you step beyond the realm of time and desire. You've been happy for an eternity; you don't change at the soul level.

Unedited Transcript:

Good morning everyone.

Today is Master Course Lesson from "Merging With Siva." Entitled: "Not Getting Bogged Down."

"When we live in the conscious mind, we are aware of other people's ideas. We listen with our ears, we see with our eyes, we feel with our fingers. We are involved in our physical senses, functioning instinctively as far as the physical body goes. We are functioning intellectually as far as our education goes, and we are dealing and working vibrantly and vitally in the world of external form. We can live in the conscious mind and be aware of that area of consciousness life after life after life after life, because the conscious mind is ever changing, perpetuated by its own novelty. One thing or idea leads us to another, and then on to another and another and another. We listen to people talk, and we want to know what they will say next."

So that's good advice there -- conscious mind is carried on by it's own novelty. So to gain control over the conscious mind we have to realize that fact and kind of be bored with that fact. You know, one thing leads to another, leads to another, leads to another, leads to another. It's like reading newspapers all day long you know, at a certain point you get kind of bored with all the news. Just keeps going and going and going. So, to, for that to lose it's hold on us is a good step and realizing that it's carried on by novelty, and it just kind of never ends if you don't step out of it is an important insight. "The conscious mind is very curious. We taste something and we want to taste something else. We see something and we want to see something else. We feel something and we want to feel something else, and we go on and on, completely dominated by our five senses. This domination by the senses makes up the totality of the conscious mind. These five senses are constantly active, as energy continually flows out into the external world through them. The conscious mind makes up what is called the external world, and the external world is the conscious mind. We are all participating in making our own conscious mind as we go along through life."

So, we see something and we want to see something else. So, one of the ways of harnessing that tendency of just kind of going on and on and on, as we're saying, is to really get the maximum out of the first taste, so to speak. We taste something, you know it's like this morning I looked up and I saw the moon. And I enjoyed the moon. You know to really enjoy the experience, take time you know, slow down. Conscious mind doesn't like to slow down and when it's really externalized we just rush from one thing to the next, always wanting something more. But to take time to slow down and to fully enjoy each experience, as you know as much as we can in our fast paced world, is a way of harnessing this tendency as well. "Though the conscious mind is only seeming, it is very real while we are in it, as it glorifies in adding to itself. This process is called the intellect. As concepts and partial concepts are added one after another, the average person develops his or her intellect, and if it is not balanced by inner knowing, it holds the person firmly in the external realms of consciousness. Many people are trained to think, having had their conscious mind programmed in such a way, that the superconscious mind is nothing but a farce, that it doesn't exist at all, that the only reality is the external world, and pleasing the external senses is what life is about. They are coached to believe that anything of an inner life or an inner nature is just pure fantasy, imagination, which only weak-minded people believe in. Many people live this way, with their awareness bogged down in the conscious mind -- believing reality to be outside their physical body. The object of spiritual unfoldment is to transcend the conscious mind into superconsciousness and beyond."

So realizing the limitations of the intellect is important and it's one of the focuses in our approach to meditation through the Shum language. Early on we learned to differentiate between the concept of something and the experience of something. To use the simple example of taste so we know, because we've experienced it, we know what the taste of something is. The taste of a mango for example. But, the concept of the taste of a mango and the taste of the mango are two different things, right? Taste is much better. Concept is only a concept. So distinguishing between the concept of what's inside of us and the actual experience of what's inside of us is part of the Shum language. So, for example when we say: "Experience the power of the spine" (the spiritual energy in the spine) if we actually feel it, it's like tasting the mango. It's a real experience that fulfills us. If we don't then we're just stuck in the concept: OK in the spine there's spiritual energy, somewhere in there I know there's spiritual energy, but we're not experiencing it. So, that's the beauty of the Shum language is it helps us transcend thinking about something to actually experiencing it.

So, I thought I'd challenge us by, I found a related statement in "Cognizantability," that's the text in the back of "Merging With Siva," aphorisms there. They're something Gurudeva wrote very early, early on in the writings. And, it speaks on the same topic.

"The intellect strengthened with opinionated knowledge is the only barrier to the superconscious."

So that's what we're talking about. Gurudeva liked to us an example an attorney. We have a number of attorneys and Gurudeva used this particular attorney as an example that the attorney could study Saiva Siddhanta and memorize it and be able to explain better than anyone, but wouldn't have actually have experienced anything. But attorneys have that kind of intellect. You know they're trained to be able to absorb knowledge in a, very quickly and explain it very articulately. But, then they just move on; it's just intellectual knowledge, they're not trying at all to experience the depth behind it. So:

"Opinionated knowledge can be harmful, for it is strictly of the subconscious realm of the mind. It is stored away in an effort to set up some security for the conscious and subconscious states of mind, something for them to cling to and lean upon -- that is, the opinions of others, intellectual assertions made on happenings of the past based upon only what the eye and ear have received. This well-formed barrier makes it possible for the mind to conceive [convince] itself of anything outside of reason, makes it possible for the mind to conceive itself of anything outside of reason or within the realm of reason. It manufactures a large percentage of the world's so-called thinkers. When, however, you ask them their own opinions, they only reformulate opinions of others and culminate them into one of their own. This makes one think that by this rearrangement of knowledge the thinking process has been stimulated. However, it has not. It has only run its natural course and is conditioned only by the faculty of memory. Memory, too, plays a part in the intellect, as you well know, for if very little memory exists, very little intellect would be present.

"When the superconscious mind is tapped, the essence of memory has been reached. All knowledge is awakened from within to the extent of the intellect. Your intellect at this very moment may be searching for a way out of accepting this treatise. That is why I say try to intellectually disprove all you read here, after you have read and reread it. Give your mind a break, and let it make you think by turning itself back on itself. You'll be pleased with the outcome."

So that's a very insightful statement on the nature of the intellect. It's based upon opinionated knowledge or the opinions of others. And quite often we just take them, or as Gurudeva says here, if we're a little bit creative we reshape them, turn them around a little bit, put a little different covering on it, but it's still based upon what we've learned from someone else. We haven't really brought through a new idea. So, one of the ways I like to talk about the intellect is say there's two ways of the intellect functioning: one is that it dominates the soul and the other is that it's a tool of the soul. So, what's the difference? Well it's like using a computer. If someone is undisciplined, say a teenager who is undisciplined gets on a computer, he or she will go all over the place, and ramify. And it's like the computer is dominating the person because they don't have the discipline to harness it. Whereas, if we sit down -- a mature adult sits down and uses the computer -- OK you use it, you search on goggle, you find something and get the information and you save it somewhere. You've used it in a controlled way. So, you, the intellect have dominated your use of a computer. Whereas, in an undisciplined teenager the instinctive mind is running wild and intellect isn't controlling it. So, similarly, the soul can control the intellect or the intellect can cover the soul. So if we're filled with opinions and don't have a connection with the inner those opinions are barrier for getting inside. So, we need to realize the limitations of those opinions and that they aren't the actual experience to get inside. But once we're inside then the intellect can become a tool of the soul. Because, we need to think about things. We need concepts quite often; we just can't sit without thinking and get through everything. We need to formulate concepts to get work done, get things done. But if it's under the control of the soul it's like an adult using a computer. You sit down and you use the intellect, soul uses the intellect, task is done, intellect is turned off. You know, it's like the computer; that's the goal. So the soul dominates the intellect or the intellect becomes a tool of the soul.

OK, tomorrow's lesson from "Merging With Siva" is "The Donkey And the Carrot." It's always a great image, huh?

"When we are in the conscious mind, we are like a donkey with a carrot in front of our nose. We are always walking to try to get that carrot. We are never satisfied, and we are never happy. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. No matter how much money we have, we want more. No matter how many clothes we have, we need more. No matter how many television programs we watch, there is always a better one coming up. No matter how many sights we have seen, the next one may surpass them all. No matter how much food we eat, there is always the next big wonderful meal to enjoy. No matter how many emotions we experience, the next set of those emotional experiences will definitely be the high point of our entire life, and we are sure of it. That is the conscious mind."

Isn't that a great description? It's just going along trying to catch that carrot of happiness. "When we live in the conscious mind, we only surmise. We make guesses. We are never quite sure if we are right. Therefore, we are insecure, because the conscious mind only knows what has gone before it. It is certain only about the past. If it has been provided with a good memory, then it knows the past very well. But without a good memory, the conscious mind doesn't know the past well at all. So, when we are in the conscious mind, we have one predominant and solid quality that we really can be sure of, and that is fear. We are afraid! We're afraid of the future. And many of the things in the past petrify us, for we don't want them to happen to us again. We don't know quite how to avoid them, because with awareness caught in conscious-mind concerns, our superconscious faculties are temporarily cut off. The superconscious mind is seen as a figment of imagination, a product of superstition. "The conscious mind is the real enemy, the real barrier, the real distractor to someone on the path of enlightenment. It is intriguing. It is the temptress. It leads us on and on and on, life after life after life after life after life after life after life. It is a wonderful state of mind, however, as long as our superconscious faculties are also available for awareness to flow into once in a while to become refreshed and renewed by a change of perspective and influx of energy. Otherwise, the conscious mind is a difficult and onerous state of mind in which to live, day after day after day. The spiritual path leads us out of the morass of the darkness of the conscious mind into the mind of light, which we call superconsciousness."

So the conscious mind, the donkey and the carrot. It's amazing how dominant this consciousness is and one of the reasons is advertising. Advertising is built upon this concept that if we get this thing that we don't have we'll be happy. And everyone in the adds looks so happy. They've got the new car and they're just so happy, new house they're just delighted. You know, wonderful restaurant on vacation, they're the happiest people in the world, right? So advertising wants us to believe so it's a very much a part of modern life and, but it's not true because it doesn't make you happy.

So, here's one, that's from "Cognizantability" that relates to "The Donkey And the Carrot." The seed of desire is a false concept in relation to corresponding objects."

Of course, right? That's a challenging one. So, it's what we're talking about. The seed of desire meaning we desire something because we think it'll make us happy. We have a false concept regarding what'll make us happy. So the seed of desire is a false concept. It's not true. Nothing will give us enduring happiness but the donkey and the carrot makes us think so. So:

"The seed of desire is a false concept in relation to corresponding objects. The conscious mind throws into its subconscious a series of erroneous thoughts based upon a false concept. This creates a deep-rooted desire or complex. Single out the seed of desire by disregarding all other corresponding erroneous thoughts. Then destroy that seed through understanding its relation in itself and to all other corresponding thoughts. The deep-rooted desire or complex will then vanish."

So that's a way of speeding up your spiritual unfoldment; if you have enough clarity of mind to see something you can get rid of the false concepts that you've picked up. It's natural to pick up false concepts in growing up in the modern world that motivate us to do things that we think we need to do or we think will make us happy, but it's based upon a false concept. It's not based upon something from our intuition. It's not based upon a superconscious insight. "All your conflicts in life are caused in this way. In tracing each major conflict back through the power of concentration, of which we shall learn more later, all seeds are gradually and systematically destroyed, giving you an intense release and a burst of light from within. "Get off to a good start now and congratulate yourself on the fact that you have at last found the key to remove all your suppressions, repressions, unqualified feelings and unfulfilled desires through the application of right thought. Concentration digs up the seed in this manner and brings it before the mind as a fact, not as an elusive remnant of fiction. "Call upon your inner intelligence to help you and guide your unfoldment from within. Show to your own mind the seed of desire, which may be far divorced from the desire itself. It may be so far removed you will wonder how it was ever connected and was able to create the desire in the first place. In this wondering, you begin the birth pains of understanding, and when the birth is complete through qualified thinking, the seed will vanish, and the desire will resolve itself into the halls of memory."

So, what's an example. Well, lets say when you're a teenager you get inspired by certain successful people. You're really attracted to someone who's successful. And so, because you're impressed with what you think they have and how happy they are and how great they are, you, you've created the seed of desire. And so, lets say you end up going to a university pursuing a certain course of study, based upon that seed of desire. And then the desire is to graduate in a certain field. So, the desire is for the university course and education but the seed of the desire is how you were impressed by this successful person when you were younger. So, that's an example of the process. So, it's, you might not realize that, where that desire came from. "Your major desires should be qualified first; then you can tackle the subtle ones. This law can be a tremendous help to you on your path of enlightenment, for the world is a place in which we learn. Therefore, all things of which we lack understanding represent a challenge to us, to qualify and resolve in our own consciousness."

OK, so here's another challenging one that relates to that, relates to the tattvas. Let's see how to keep it simple here. So, this whole process of desire and the fulfillment of desire is a process where we see ourselves as changing over time. Time's involved, change is involved, desire is involved. So, but the spiritual reality of our soul is beyond that. So, as Gurudeva says: "You are already that which you seek." It's not a question of becoming it, it's a question of being it now. So, at any point in time you can step within far enough to step out of the consciousness of being a person changing through time, fulfilling desires.

So that the realm of desire is the realm of: "The Suddhasuddha Tattvas." So what's the first one? Time! So if we can, we need to step within far enough to have no sense of time. Things are now as they always have been. I am a perfect eternal blissful being, the same being I've always been. If we can step inside far enough that consciousness is always sitting there. So it's beyond this realm of the tattvas which starts with the seventh. We've gone into the soul or into the third world consciousness where this sense of eternity, where always being the same exists. So what are the faculties here, I mean what are the not the faculties, what are the components of this reality? It's always changing based upon desire.

Time is the first one. Next one, karma. Next one, creativity. Next one, limited knowledge. Next one is the one we've been talking about, it's called raga tattva, attachment: "The arousal of desire, without which no experience of the objective world is possible." Then the twelfth one, the last one is: "Purusha tattva: soul identity." So, the idea is this: We're usually in this realm, in our mind of time and desire and change. You see, we see ourselves as a person: trying to be happier, trying to change, trying to improve and this process is taking place over time. Or, if we're desire oriented, we see ourselves as trying to fulfill desires and constantly changing and constantly having new desires. So, if we can step within far enough then we step out of that realm into our soul which is beyond the sense of time. So what's beyond the sense of time mean? Things are as they always have been. You are as you always have been. You are already that. So if you can step far enough within, then you go beyond that sense. And, getting a handle on desire is part of that, but, it's an interesting you know, component of Gurudeva's teachings that being and becoming the soul body is evolving or becoming, that the essence of the soul is being. It's always as it is. So, when we can go inside the soul then we step beyond the realm of time and desire which is a good goal. Then you're always happy; you've always been happy. You've been happy for eternity. Cause you don't change at that level. So, that's a deep one. So anyway "The Donkey And the Carrot" that's the fun one. That's, read that one more time, closing image.

"When we are in the conscious mind, we are like a donkey with a carrot in front of our nose. We are always walking to try to get that carrot. We are never satisfied, and we are never happy. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. No matter how much money we have, we want more. No matter how many clothes we have, we need more. No matter how many television programs we watch, there is always a better one coming up. (Maybe tonight!) No matter how many sights we have seen, the next one may surpass them all. No matter how much food we eat, there is always the next big wonderful meal to enjoy. No matter how many emotions we experience, the next set of those emotional experiences will be the high point of our entire life, and we are sure of it. That is the conscious mind."

Thank you very much.

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