N OCTOBER 3, 1959, AT OUR TEMPLE IN SAN FRANCISCO, JUST BEFORE FLYING TO THE ISLAND OF OAHU IN HAWAII, I SAT WITH A SMALL GROUP OF INITIATES IN A DISCUSSION OF THE MIND AND THE MIND’S ESSENCE. WE ATTEMPTED TO PENETRATE IN consciousness the realms attained when an individual leaves the actinodic causal body, becoming a pure state of consciousness, a pure state of actinicity, and finally merging into the Absolute, the Self God. And though no one has been able to explain adequately this experience, which is beyond the mind, I was overly inspired to explain the unexplainable. It is just as fresh and relevant today. Inner truths never change. On the following pages, you will find The Self God in my own hand.§
From this inspired explanation, we learn that man is not man, man is God, and that the inherent nature of his soul is divine, existing in perfect oneness with God. This identity of the soul with God always exists and awaits man’s awakening into realization. In the years that followed, tens of thousands of copies of the little booklet called The Self God were printed in America and in Asia and have been widely distributed. To show just how widely, one day our car experienced a flat tire on a road outside a remote village in South India. As it was being repaired, we wandered about. People were passing by now and again. After a while, an elderly villager noticed us and inquired as to our “native place.” I handed him a little pamphlet to be polite. He looked at us, refused my offer and pulled a little booklet from his shirt pocket, saying, “I am in need of nothing more. I have all I need right here.” He held up my The Self God booklet. Having made his point to these strangers, he walked on, not knowing he had been speaking to the author. In India and Sri Lanka, it is often referred to as “the little gem,” and is highly regarded as an explanation of the inexplicable nirvikalpa samādhi. As you read this unedited talk, don’t think about it, feel it. Try to feel the vibration of the room in which it was given. Try to feel it in the innermost depths of your being. §
To hear the Self God in Gurudeva’s own voice, recorded in the early days of his ministry, go to: www.himalayanacademy.com/audio/self_god.html§