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ЁЯМ║ ASHTAVAKRA GITAЁЯМ║
ЁЯМ┐Chapter - 1ЁЯМ┐
~ Introduction ~
ЁЯМ▒ Day - 4 ЁЯМ▒
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The third step is culturing the mind. One who has never meditated has no right too even touch the book of Ashtavakra. One who has never experienced stillness of mind at any time, even for a few minutes or hours and one who has not had restful alertness, should not touch this book or go anywhere near this knowledge. Then, it can become dangerous - dangerous in the sense that one can easily make a concept out of this. It can create false notions in a person's mind, i.e. without knowing anything, he will think that he knows it all. Unfortunately, this has happened to many good and sincere seekers. They had studied a bit, listened a bit and read some books. Then, they felt that they know better than everybody; that they know it all. No doubt an ignorant person is ignorant, but a person who thinks he is knowledgeable is more ignorant!
So, one who has done some form of meditation for at least for some period of time, is eligible to know more about this.
During meditation nothing else should be done. If there is a choice between going to the laundry or doing meditation, most of you will go to the laundry! You tell yourself that you have to do your work. Meditation can be done later. It doesn't matter anyway. You just sit and thoughts keep coming. Nothing happens. So why waste time.
What would you choose, if there is a choice between meditation and eating? Most will think that it is dinner time and that you better eat. You will meditate a little later. This is not wrong. You should just be aware of what is happening.
Don't judge yourself thinking that you are a bad person, and are not disciplined. Never think that you are a bad person. This is very important. You are disqualifying yourself. This is the first step! You are tearing down your own application form if you think that you are a bad person. You are not bad. So, the third qualification or requirement, is to do some practice and seva every day.
Janaka asked Ashtavakra how he could be free. What was the way to free himself. He said that he knew it all intellectually; that he understood everything. But how was he to do it practically! That was the problem. We will see how he was led, step-by-step.
It is a matter of recognition. First, recognize that there is a rose in your garden. How to gain freedom? We are stuck in unpleasant things as well as pleasant things. We are stuck in good as well as bad. We are stuck in something which is joyful, and we are also stuck in something which is not joyful. We are stuck with what we have, and we are stuck with what we don't have.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji
ASHTAVAKRA GITA
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