Secret Teachings of Jesus

May 6, 2007: Session 1 Part 5

Audience: Why is there so much difficulty to access God?

Babaji: Because we’re conditioned! We’re habit-based people. Every day we get up in the morning, we’re having our coffee or whatever, and then we have our routine, going to work; for recreation, maybe even the music that we like. Everything is habit. Everything is conditioned. What we think of as normal, what really is that? It is a collection of impressions in our mind.

We do something certain every day, and with every experience, we’re gaining more impressions. Expressions are like pictures in the mind; but they’re not only pictures, but also feeling, sensations, actions, thoughts, emotions. So, we develop habits in all these areas of life. Some wise man said that “Thoughts lead to words, words lead to actions, actions lead to habits, habits develop character, and the character determines our destiny,” by building many impressions within our mind. That’s the mechanism.

So, after so many years of living a certain way, our thoughts and activities have momentum. It’s not easy to change them. That’s why in India they say, “A saint in truth is a saint in youth.” It means that we should start our spiritual life early. Some people think, “Oh when I get old and when I retire, and then I pray and think of God and all that.” But usually by then it’s too late to change our habits.

Habits are more easily changed when we’re young. We’re still flexible because there are not so many impressions in the mind. For example if we pray or chant, why do we pray or chant over and over again the same prayer, or same mantra or whatever? To create impressions again and again and again, the same impressions. Because the mantra then expresses the essence of the goal that we want to attain spiritually. So, we want to create as many impressions of that goal and fill our mind with those impressions, and then link that impression with everything else in our mind.

So, after we answer all these questions about the soul, we will go on and show how to do that.

Audience: Is the perceptual ability of the soul reduced because of being small?

Babaji: No, [it is] because consciousness is absolute, and is the nature of the soul! Just like light is the nature of the sun. Wetness is the nature of water, whether you have one drop of water, or a bucket or a whole ocean, it’s always wet. So, when the soul is present in atomic form, the consciousness is the same. Now, consciousness is not like a material thing. It’s qualitative, and not quantitative.

So, in other words, when consciousness is concentrated on itself, it seems to increase. But what’s really happening, it’s called feedback. Does anybody play guitar? Nobody here plays guitar? What’s wrong with you people? Come on. When you take a guitar, and you put it near the amplifier, what happens? (squeaky sound) Our neighbors are like that, playing rock ‘n’ roll and like that. So, what’s happening? Playing the note, it goes through the amplifier, and it comes back and resonates with the same note on the string. So, it gets louder and louder, it keeps going around and around. That’s called feedback.

Feedback is a very useful way to amplify something. Let’s say, well, the guitar is a good example; when you take the electric guitar and you unplug it, it will have a minimal sound. You can hardly hear it. But when you plug it into the amplifier, and it starts to feed back, like everybody on the whole block can hear it.

So our consciousness is limited in quantity, because it is limited to our personal self, but it’s not limited in duration, because we’re eternal. So when our consciousness is focused on itself, then we create a feedback loop, just like the guitar and the amplifier. And effect that it has is to... it seems to increase the quantity of the consciousness. And of course this is subjective to our experience, but that’s alright because consciousness is completely subjective anyway. It does not really increase our consciousness, but it feels that way. So, what’s the difference? Perception is reality when it comes to consciousness.

Audience: Does God give us a different amount of consciousness, or do we develop it?

Babaji: What you are talking right now are the different qualities of consciousness, which actually means, different context of consciousness. Next week, we’re going to go over the different qualities of the consciousness, and how we can change from a lower to a higher consciousness, by changing our activities.

Audience: Do we have all the same level of consciousness?

Babaji: Again we’re are taking about the quality of consciousness.

Audience: Do we all have the qualities of being able to develop them? Do we all have the same opportunity?

Babaji: The potential is the same for everyone! Even though we see, especially if you travel around the world like I have, you see some people are extremely primitive, almost like animals.

Audence: We call them unconscious people.

Babaji: But actually they’re conscious just like we are. The difference is, they don’t have any knowledge. If they had the same knowledge, their consciousness would be just like ours. Similarly there are some people whose consciousness is extremely advanced, way beyond our stage. But they’re just like we are, the difference is that they have more advanced knowledge.

Audience: Or more interest to know.

Babaji: Well, that is linked. Just like we were talking about, “Why are you here?” Because you have a sincere desire to know the truth. And so God created the opportunity for you to come here. And similarly, even if a person is living in the middle of the jungle, if they have the same sincere desire, God can make some arrangement for them to get the truth. It’s not a problem for Him. Any more questions about the soul? Because everything we will do from now on will be based on this.

Audience: So, we have a soul and when we are moving, the soul follows us. So, what happens with the soul when the body dies?

Babaji: Well, first you have to understand that we are not a material being who has a soul. That’s the wrong point of view. We are a spiritual being who has a body. The body can’t have soul, the body can’t do anything. It’s just a piece of meat, I mean it’s a very wonderful piece of meat, but without the presence of the soul, the body is just inert, useless, like throw it away as soon as possible. Isn’t it? When the soul leaves the body, then come on lets dig a hole and throw it in before it starts to stink. Isn’t it?

So, the presence of the soul is what makes the body beautiful, what makes it desirable, useful, and valuable. There is even a statement to that in the Upanishads, “What makes my relatives dear? Because the soul is present within their bodies! And what makes the soul dear? Because the soul is in similar quality to God.”

Audience: So, that means that it takes to a different body?

Babaji: Exactly! Now, what kind of body? If we take another material body, we will have the same problems again. Plus, when we leave the body, we leave the mind, because the mind is part of the body. So, all our memories, all our knowledge will be all gone. We have to start all over again, because everything material is temporary. But if we take a spiritual body, or actually I should say: if we rediscover our original spiritual body, then there is no need to take another material body.

So, the whole point of realization is to overcome the material desires. Every self-realized soul gives up this material sense enjoyment, because these things limit us and trap us in this material world. When we taste the wonderful joy of God, we naturally give up these material things. We loose the taste, just like if I ride in a Mercedes car one time; I want no other car in the world again. Isn’t it? Or if I taste really gourmet food, then I don’t want to eat on the street.

So, once I taste this joy of spiritual love, then those material things don’t have any taste or appeal. Why would I want to pay the price of becoming like a prisoner of this material body, just to enjoy these temporary things? I mean, I have to put up with so many problems, just for what? Just for some limited happiness? When I can have unlimited happiness in the spiritual world. So, the question is then; how to taste that? How do we contact that? We have another question.

Audience: Do animals have a group soul? And can one become an animal?

Babaji: What is a group soul?

Audience: I have an understanding that we have an individual soul, but animals have a big common soul, so if it drops it creates a dog, and then the dog returns back to the ocean. Something like that.

Babaji: To me that sounds like a nice rationalization for killing animals. “Oh, they’re not individual, so it doesn’t matter if we kill them.”

Audience: So, do they have a soul?

Babaji: Do they have consciousness?

Audience: Yes!

Babji: Then the soul is there. Then all of the qualities of the soul are there. Only the bodily covering is different. Just like you can have a fire, and the fire can be blazing, or it can be smoky, or it can be just coals. The same fire is there, but it is more covered or less covered. So, in the human form of life, the qualities of the soul are less covered. More of the original nature of the soul can shine through. In the animal forms, it is more covered. And the plant forms, it is very much covered. And in minerals and stuff like that, it is completely covered. But the soul is there, the soul is everywhere. The soul is everywhere.

Audience: So, is it possible to become an animal, reincarnate as an animal?

Babaji: Yes, if our consciousness is in the same mood as an animal, when we leave this body, we will automatically take that kind of body. The scriptures say: “Whatever state of consciousness we are in at the time of leaving the body, that’s the state we attain in the next life.” So, our consciousness can be on God, or it can on dog. It’s our choice.