Muktananda Swami - Awakening to the infinite : essential answers for spiritual seekers from the perspective of nonduality

Copyright English language edition 2015 by Swami Muktananda of Rishikesh (Hans Schutt). All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the written permission of the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books.

First published in French as Lveil lInfini: rponses essentielles tout chercheur spirituel by ditions A.L.T.E.S.S.
Copyright 2013 by ditions A.L.T.E.S.S.

Published by
North Atlantic Books
P.O. Box 12327
Berkeley, California 94712

Cover photo of Swami Muktananda of Rishikesh by Yves Devaddre
Cover photo by Philip Yuan/Shutterstock.com
Cover design by Claudia Smelser

Awakening to the Infinite: Essential Answers for Spiritual Seekers from the Perspective of Nonduality is sponsored and published by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences (dba North Atlantic Books), an educational nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, that collaborates with partners to develop cross-cultural perspectives, nurture holistic views of art, science, the humanities, and healing, and seed personal and global transformation by publishing work on the relationship of body, spirit, and nature.

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Muktananda, Swami.
Awakening to the infinite : essential answers for spiritual seekers from the perspective of nonduality / Swami Muktananda of Rishikesh.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-58394-866-8 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-58394-867-5 (e-book)
1. Advaita. 2. Spiritual life. I. Title.
B132.A3M78 2015
294.544dc23
2014021819

v3.1

This collection of talks was recorded at satsangs during retreats conducted by Swami Muktananda, who has read and revised the transcripts.

Many different topics are addressed during the satsangs, particularly since much time is given to questions from participants, but the guiding principle remains always the same and is identical to the teachings of the great masters of the past: You are not this body, not this mind: you are the immortal, unchanging Self. It is the tat tvam asi of the Chandogya Upanishad, the aham brahmasmi of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and the sarvam brahmamayam of Sadasiva Brahmendra. Swami Muktanandas entire teaching is aimed at leading us to this realization. To arrive there, however, requires a certain process of maturation.

The talks have been arranged to reflect the different stages in this process.

1) What is the true purpose of life? The answer given by the sages of India and other traditions is that we are here to realize God, which is to say, to become aware of our universal dimension and free ourselves from the illusion of being individuals confined within the narrow limits of our human condition. deals with the direction we need to take and the mechanismsparticularly the egoic territorythat prevent us.

2) When the desire to set out on the path makes itself felt, certain practices are required. For many people this implies a reconciliation with the concept of God. Questions about meditation, prayer, and various different techniques crop up. Answers to these are outlined in .

3) Once you are established in the practice, doubts begin to arise, created by the apparent confrontation between the spiritual path and the so-called real world, with all its conflicts and injustices. Responses to these are grouped in .

4) deals with the need that participants often experience to fly to the rescue of other people, to resolve conflicts and restore justice. To what extent can we really help? How much can an individual actually achieve?

5) Identification with the individual we think we are is deeply ingrained and is particularly difficult to break away from in situations that concern us closely, especially our relationships, family, and work. In , Swami Muktananda invites us to change our point of view, not just during times of formal practice but at every moment of our lives, and to place ourselves on the level of I Am, which is universal.

6) Everyone who wants to learn and progress needs a teacher, and this is particularly so in the spiritual sphere. In India, the tradition of transmission from teacher to disciple has been kept alive without interruption from its origins to the present day. In , Swami Muktananda touches on the relationship with a spiritual teacher through his personal recollections of his own teacher, Swami Chidananda.

7) is devoted to awakening to the Infinite, to the Spirit. It refutes our idea of being the body, overturns our concept of time and space, and dispels our notions of dreams and reality. It lifts the veil on our true nature, and when this is revealed the purpose of life is realized.

These topics are all closely related, and because some of the talks could have found a place in several different chapters, repetition is inevitable. The readers indulgence is, therefore, humbly requested!

In early childhood, all that I, a French-speaking Canadian boy, knew about the spiritual path were the teachings of Christ, the words of the Old Testament prophets, and something of the lives of the Catholic saints whose biographies I had read in my grandfathers library.

When I was nine years old, my path crossed that of a great saint: Swami Chidananda. In the summer of 1969, my uncle and aunt, who knew Swamiji, took my mother, brother, sisters, and me to see him at Val Morin, north of Montral. This first meeting is etched in my mind and I remember it as if it were yesterday: Swamiji got out of the car and came directly toward us children. My mother had bought a small box of raisins for me to give to him. He opened it immediately and with three fingers handed me a few. I tried to refuse with a wave of my handI did not like raisinsbut he insisted. So I accepted and swallowed them whole. My brother, who loved raisins, also received a few. He tried to get more by putting out his hand, but with no luck. We were both frustrated: me because I disliked raisins and had to eat them anyway, and my brother because he liked them and had asked for more without success.

By the age of eleven I had already decided to dedicate my life to God. It was not until I was twenty, however, that I felt His presence within me like a great wave of inner peace. I was an engineering student at the time, doing work-experience in a small mining town in the middle of a forest. In the evenings, I used to go for a run through the forest, and while I was running a profound peace, which I knew to be Gods, would flood my being. Soon afterward, I gave up everything for Him. I had read the words of Jesus: Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of Gods sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. Well, I thought, in that case, I renounce everything for You!

The aunt who had taken us to meet Swami Chidananda taught me to meditate in front of his photograph. One evening while I was meditating, I looked at the photo and said, Why am I meditating in front of you? I dont even know you, and anyway its Christ I want to see! That night, Swamiji appeared to me. My body spontaneously prostrated before him, my face pressed against his feet, which I could see clearly. I felt his hands lift my head; he brought it up to his face and kissed me on the cheek. Then he turned and left. When I woke the next morning, I was still bathed in divine peace, and over the next few days I had several powerful spiritual experiences.