Abide in the Self

Satsang with Robert Adams

Problems come and problems go, yet all problems are just in the mind, in fact, are the mind. Mind and problems are the same. No mind, no problems. Yet, deeper, is there someone having problems, or are there only problems without a doer or perceiver? This is what Robert asks of us: Look within to see if there is someone who has problems.

When we look inward, not at the problem as we formulated it, but trying to find if there is someone who is having a problem, a fear, an anxiety, or a depression, what we will find, if we persevere, is a sense of presence, a feeling of me. This me is the source of all problems. But who is it that perceives this me? Is not the perceiver yet even deeper than me? Isn’t “me” something in my awareness, an object?

Robert asks us to abide in that sense of me or I, the false self, which one day will be penetrated and the illusion of our humanness will disappear replaced by a totality of awareness of all existence and the still consciousness that contains it. Oneness.

Practically, when we look inside for the source of our beingness, two things happen: we relax into ourselves and the problems disappear; we begin to see that none of anything “out there” is really us. The world, my body, happiness, sadness, all are only mindstuff and you are not that mindstuff.

To understand this, you must abide in me.

--Ed Muzika, editor

Robert Adams: It's good to be with you again. I know some of you can't wait until I start talking, but I tell you, it is in silence when you receive the best message. Silence is another name for God. Quietness is a name for consciousness. Peace.

Everything is found in the Silence and not much in words. In quietness. You should try to be quiet for as long as you can. Especially when you are at home. Try to sit in the Silence and quietness for as long as you can. It's in the Silence where you will receive the message. It's in the Silence where pure awareness reveals itself freely. You'll never be afraid to sit in the Silence. It's your greatest asset.

I get many phone calls. One of the most frequent requests I get is how to resolve personal problems. I had one this morning. This person had so many problems yet she had been meditating for 25 years. Still she has problems. There is only one way in which to remove all problems. I don't care how great the problem may be. It makes no difference how serious you think it is. There is one way to eliminate everything. And, that way is to realize that you are not the doer.

The problem has absolutely nothing to do with you. Even though it appears to. It's only an appearance. What is a problem really? A problem is something that is not going your way. The world is not spinning the way you want it to. That's a problem. Things are not going the way you'd like them to. When things are happening that you have no control over. You believe therefore you have got a problem. If you look at everybody on this earth, when one person has a problem another person has a problem usually. Where do these problems come from? We have been told what is good and what is bad, so if we don't have the good that we think we should have, we've got a problem.

But really, nothing is good and nothing is bad. The thinking makes it so. If you get rid of your mind, you will not have any problems.

The main aspect of our teaching is to annihilate the mind and the ego. When the mind and ego are transcended, some mysterious power takes over. And takes better care of you than you could ever do yourself. But, first, the mind and ego have to go. It's difficult for most Americans to do things like this because we've been taught to use the mind. Most of you believe that if you don't use your mind, you will vegetate.

On the contrary. What is your mind? It is only a conglomeration of thoughts of the past and of the future. And, you usually worry about the past and dread the future. Your mind brings up all sorts of things not only from this life but from past life experiences, Samskaras, tendencies that you have. If you begin to realize I am not the doer, where is the problem?

To begin with, the universe is your friend and can never hurt you. It is the substratum of all existence. It is love. Consequently, if you develop a consciousness of love, there will be no problems. For, love will take care of everything. Love is the same as absolute awareness, pure intelligence. Love is the same as the power of Brahman. Again it is the substratum of all existence. So, if you have enough love, there is no problem. The problem only arises when you think you are human and you think you are the doer.

In other words, when you believe that unless I do this, something terrible will happen; something terrible is only a preconceived idea. It is not the truth. Something terrible is something you've been brainwashed to believe. When you believe you have to live a certain way and if you can't live this way, it's terrible. You have to have certain possessions, certain things in your life. If you do not do this it's terrible. When you start to understand what "I am not the doer" means, you become free of all problems.

What does it mean when you say "I am not the doer"? And this is what you should do whenever You think you've got a problem. To begin with, you must first realize that everything and I mean everything was determined before you came to this earth. Everything has been planned for you, even the day you are going to give up the body.

Everything is preordained. If you accept this and feel this, where is the problem? What is the worst thing that could happen to you? If you really analyze this, nothing is bad. It appears bad but it is not. Remember how the appearance works. It's like the snake and the rope.

A man gets out of his bathtub in the dark and steps on a rope and thinks it's a snake. Then he has a tremendous fear. When he finds out it is only a rope, the fear dissipates and he is never afraid again.

In the same way, when you believe and think that you have a problem, it's like the snake and the rope. It's not really a problem. It's just a preconceived idea of what's going to happen if you don't get what you want.

You have been brought up to believe that your life has to be a certain way. When in truth and reality, it does not have to be any way at all. As an example, if I go home this evening and I find somebody has robbed my house, and has cleaned everything out of my house; is that a problem?

It has all been preordained. This was determined before I came to this earth in my body. I will not react negatively. I will not react at all. Because I feel that I am the universe and all is well. There are no mistakes. Therefore, I will bless the thief. No problem what-so-ever. If I'm looking across the street and a car passes through a red light and hits me, it isn't the driver's fault. It has all been preordained. So why should I get angry?

The point is that everything, everything that happens to you, has been preordained. There is nothing wrong. Everything is unfolding as it should.

Now, how should you handle things? The first concept is to realize that I am not the doer. When you realize you are not the doer, it means that your body is going through the experience but not you. The next thing you do is you ask yourself: Who is having this experience? To whom did it come? It comes to me.

I'm feeling depression. I feel hurt. I feel out of sort. I feel that I've been robbed or hit by a car. I'm angry. I'm mad. Who is this I? How can the I be so many things: Angry, mad, depressed, hurt, out of sort. You hold onto the feeling of I. When you hold onto that feeling and you follow it through to its source; the source of I is always absolute awareness when you follow it to its source.

When you follow the problem to the source, you forget about your problem. You can't do both at once: you can’t think about the problem and follow it to its source. You have to turn resolutely away from your problem, totally away from your problem as if it doesn't exist, and, hold on to the "me". Hold onto the "me" who thinks it has a problem. As soon as you begin to hold onto "me" or "I" the problem will begin to dissipate all by itself. And, you'll start to laugh. You will. For it is virtually impossible for your real Self to have a problem, for your real Self is omnipresent, absolute. Your real Self is emptiness, nirvana, pure intelligence. Your real Self is omnipresent. When you understand who you are, nothing will ever disturb you again.

People ask me: "If I develop a sense of "I" and I follow it to its culmination, does that mean I will never have a problem again? I have to laugh when people ask me that. For as long as you identify with "I", it is the "I" that has the problem. So when you say: "Will I never have a problem again, you're defeating your own purpose. For, "I" is filled with problems, not only from this life but also from previous existences. The trick is to follow the "I" to the source. Then the "I" will disappear, totally, completely, absolutely.

(Note, when Robert talks about problems from previous existences, he does not necessarily mean “your” previous existence. All past existences leave “traces,” which affect you and everyone else. The so-called karma is one sort of these traces. But all are only appearances,)

When the "I" disappears, so does your problem. In other words, the world doesn't change, but you do. Your reaction changes, just like the movie screen and it's images. When the time comes and you have transcended ‘I’, you become like both the screen and the images on the screen, which means, the world doesn't change. Everything in the world will present itself to you like it always does. But it will be like water off a duck's back. It will not be attached to you anymore. You will now have identification with the screen, the Absolute, the Self. Am I clear in this? In other words, the screen and images are the same. But the screen is aware of itself and also of it's images, and the screen--you—are not affected by the kinds of images you show.

You can show a bank robbery taking place on the screen; a murder being committed; people making love; houses burning down; wars and so on. How does that affect the screen? It doesn't. The screen is never affected. New created images change one after the other. In the same way, your Self is like the screen. It is never affected by problems of any kind or any sort. The problems come upon the screen. They come and they go. But, you remain the Self forever. You never change.

How do you begin to become this way? Every time you think you have a problem; you must ask yourself: "To whom does the problem come"? After all, I am not the doer. I am not the body. I am not the mind. So, to whom does the problem come? And, of course, the answer will be, “To me. I feel this problem. The problem comes to me.”

Just hold onto the me. You must abide in the me. And, you go deeper and deeper and deeper within yourself. Abiding in the I-consciousness. As you keep doing this everyday, every time a problem appears, the day will finally come when you transcend your sense of I altogether. You totally transcend it. The sense of I disappears and you will become pure consciousness. That's it.