Authenticity Speaks: Why Being Genuine Is Never Arrogant

I want to create a community from at discord . I want us to start talking about the deeper elements of the truth .

But the other thing I want to mention is that , hopefully by the end of the summer , if all goes well and to plan , I am creating a course where we are going to be talking about resting in formless awareness , formless consciousness , into Brahman and realizing that we are Brahman , and the whole point of the course is that it's going to create a community where

we can all get together . We can discuss this . Yes , there's going to be a fee to this . There is going to be a fee to this . There is going to be a cost to that .

But the whole point is that if you really I want to get to those people that really want to be spiritual and unfortunately in today's day and age is that you know there's so much information out there but especially with spirituality and and we may go into this today , but definitely another time there's so much content about spirituality , where do you go ?

Where do you find something that's authentic ? How can you find something that's truly for you ? That's what I think is going to be important going forward . So this course I'm creating right now it's going to be around .

I think it's a 25 week course , so it's long , it's extensive , it's not going to be like , oh yeah , you know , I can just um , I can just send you a 10 week course and and you're done . It's going to be a bit more than that . It's going . There's going to be a lot more to it . So do check that out .

When it uploads , obviously , there's going to be a lot more promotion that will go into it . But the whole point is , I want real seekers who really want to be in the realization , who want to gain at least a good foundation of understanding , you know , a good foundational understanding of Advaita , vedanta and or non-duality .

So , if you've seen , I did a video recently about , you know , the dangers of neo-advaita and I also on that podcast , I shared my views and just in the past , you know , in last year I it's been , it's one of the best years , actually , for the podcast on YouTube . Even though I didn't publish as much , I somehow got a lot more views and subscribers .

Now the thing here is , while I've interviewed these people and it's been interesting , they've been great conversations , but apart from one or two , I haven't felt that that person is authentically enlightened . And let me go into this a little bit .

If you'll recall my conversation well , my conversation with Swami Sarvabriyananda Dhaji , if you look at that and you look at the way he is , the way he explains things , the humility , the kindness , the calmness that he represents , the clarity of thought , yeah , the clarity of even explaining the deeper concept , so simply is quite evident . Yeah , you can sense it .

And then you know we have these non-duality roundtables and you've got people left , right , center declaring enlightenment . And , mind you , let me make one thing clear Swami Sarvapriyanandaji never has declared his enlightenment and personally I think he is an enlightened person .

I think he's authentically realized , I think he knows what he's talking about , he understands the truth , he is the truth . That's my perception and people may disagree with that , but that's me . People may disagree with that , but that's me . But obviously the non-duality roundtables had people who claimed enlightenment . They .

They claim to have had some breakthrough , which I don't deny . Enlightenment , I'm thinking , is a stretch . And as I've gone into that kind of rabbit hole of people who are claiming enlightenment , there's been one issue and that issue is and it's been nagging me , it's been playing on my mind Like why are they saying this all the time ?

That if you are authentically self-realized or enlightened , then you can come across arrogant , come across arrogant . I'm being very specific with my words here Come across arrogant . My words here come across arrogant . Tell me , have you ever thought that Sri Krishna can be arrogant ? Can you tell me of Madhva Buddha being arrogant , sri Ram being arrogant ?

No , you read their statements . Even when Sri Krishna says I'm in all beings and all beings are in me , I don't sense arrogance in that . I don't sense superiority , even there's a certain humility . Even in that there's a certain kindness , in that there's a certain oneness that comes across .

Yet when these people talk about being enlightened and then they're arrogant , they come across arrogant , like , and they say you're not self-realized and they think there's some degree to it . Or they say I'm more enlightened than you . You know what ? You're not enlightened and you're not self-realized .

You've deluded yourself and you know , the quicker you get out of this delusion , this mind trap that you've done , the better , and I know this is going to come across harsh .

But humble yourself a little Like even if you are enlightened , I don't see any point unless you want followers to declare your enlightenment , to declare that you know the truth , that you perceive the truth , that you are the truth .

Anyone that has perceived the truth and this is something that I'm really feeling , I'm going to the raw expression as much as possible I don't see in that space where there is any way you can use language to to try to trigger someone or to try even to be arrogant , if there's true authenticity .

In this moment , in this time , I can , you can only feel humbled , you can only feel surrendered in that grace . It's interesting because you can feel that expansiveness of that oneness .

And tell me how , in the experience of oneness and that is for me the definition of enlightenment , the one that has integrated into this oneness is in the flow of this oneness I can't see anything but humility , shining through Kindness , showing through Love , showing through or shining through . I can't sense anything else .

They do not want to harm anyone , even if it means you , even the harm that telling someone they're ignorant , even that they cannot do Like . And I'm saying let's go into this when you really are in formless awareness . You know this body and mind is not real . You know it's changing , it's modifying and that definition is the supreme definition .

Anyone that claims that this is not the definition , I don't want to hear it . You detach from this body and mind . You know that whatever this body , mind and does is relevant and important for the relative reality , but for the sake of meditation or being in oneness , it has no place .

Yeah , it can feel the after effects , for sure , but it has no place here . There's no need to think a thought in this . There's no need to create an image , create a construct , create a vasana , create a vritti . There's no need for any movement of the mind at all in this moment of being in formless awareness . There is no need .

So we go into this formless awareness , one I've mentioned . It has no form . There's no form here . We know that this witness of thoughts , witness of emotions , this is what we call the Atma , this is what we call the Self .

Now , this Self doesn't mean that what we call the Atma , this is what we call the Self Now , this Self doesn't mean that this Self is different in another person , in another person . No , this is the one Self that is . Now . If you're from the Buddhist non-dual schools , you may say there's no Self .

That's fine , but an Atma is is in Vedanta is that there is no self and , to be honest , to deny that there is a self , even in the highest kind of level of consciousness , is a sort of delusion that sets place . I think when people mention emptiness , it's not really what Mahatma Buddha was talking about .

I think he was more or less talking about formlessness and something being contentless . So this consciousness that you know just right now , if you just become aware of the thought , the sound , just be in the awareness , just be aware of that awareness . And this may be coming to more advanced seekers , I understand that .

But even if you're a beginner , just become aware of your breath first , be aware of my voice , be aware of any sensations going on in your body and then turn to that awareness , any sensations going on in your body , and then turn to that awareness .

And what happens is when you turn into that awareness , that awareness will take you completely , because that's the only thing that really is , that's the only constant . That's the only changeless thing here .

Now , in that awareness , there's no form , there's no beginning , no end to it , there's no attribute that we can put to it , like , you know , it's this color , it's got this name , it's got this type of shape . There's no shape here . There's no shape here . There's no wall here there's , you know it's boundless . You cannot find the start or the end to it .

You do not know if it finishes , if it begins somewhere . You know you can't . There's this , it's not even space , because with space you can travel through . This is not allowing you to travel . There's a certain centeredness in it , but yet there's no physical center , there's no location in which this awareness is . You know you can't fix a location .

There's no sense of your name and form in this , no identity that you can tag on . The moment you say that this awareness is such and such , it kind of just dissolves away , it doesn't stay , it doesn't stick , and naturally you just feel this sense of surrender , this sense of grace . As you come back to the body , experience , the mind , experience .

You experience a sense of love , of compassion , of kindness , of authenticity , being authentic , being real , being honest . Where in this is the arrogance , even the appearance of arrogance , arrogance .

So the reason why I'm saying this is because if anybody tells you that the expression of a truly enlightened person is to be arrogant , something is amiss , something is not right . When we're authentic , when we are that authentic self , because everything else is inauthentic .

It's name and form , the identity is associated , it's all inauthentic because it changes with time . I have one view today , another view tomorrow . I have one belief today , another belief tomorrow . One impression today , another impression tomorrow . Those things just do not change . I mean , those keep changing , they're always in flux .

But when we're talking about being in formless awareness and you're , that's the only thing that's authentic . Now , coming out of that , if I turn around to you and say you're less enlightened than me , you're not self-realized , I've missed it , because where is the other ?

If there's only this and I come back to this name and form , unless somebody tells me they're in ignorance and they admit it , then we can deal with something on the relative reality . But on the ultimate level , everyone's enlightened , everyone is self-realized . There's only self-realization , there's only enlightenment . There's nothing more or less than that .

If that's truly the expression of oneness , then that's the only way it can be . If that's really non-duality , and this is not generated by the brain , like this awareness isn't . If it has no location , it cannot be in the brain . If it's truly Spaceless , beyond time , then it , it , it , it cannot , then it cannot restrict anyone into these harsh definitions .

So for me and please share your views , please tell me how you feel about this . And in the experiment we just did , in this process we just followed , did you feel like you became more humble or did you feel like you became more arrogant ? And if you feel like you became more arrogant , then I would question what you were doing .

But then I would question what you were doing . But humility is number one for me . I've always said this . Humility and being honest about where you are on the spiritual journey is really important and that's personal to you , unless you share that with somebody because you want to improve yourself . But right now you are liberated while alive .

You just don't know it , and until the mind is ready to cultivate that understanding , that's why in Vedanta , we learn about the four prerequisites . This has been something I've been talking about a lot is how can you get away from not doing the work to get there ?

And I'll make this very clear If you've had a psychedelic trip and that's how you got to ego death . Your ego has not died , it's coming back and it is back . You just don't know it's back and that those things can only be a gateway . Now , if you've obviously meditated and work , that's different .

But if you've truly understood this , you wouldn't put such ideas in people's head . Like you know , you can take this amount of psychedelics and it'll have no effect on you , like come on or or anything like that . Yeah , this is where I want to end the episode , but I want you to feel what I've been talking about .

I want you to experience what I've talked about . I want you to contemplate that is what , what ? What kind of spiritual community are we creating and what and what ? Forget what we're doing in the bearded mystic podcast , and that's one thing .

But there's a load of other people on the spiritual community that are claiming enlightenment , claiming self-realization , claiming all this stuff . What are you trying to get from this ? What are you trying to achieve from this ?

If it's to get more people to the truth , then that's great , but if it's just to Play devil's advocate in everything , then you're not really progressing people spiritually . All you can be doing is giving them another identity , that they're enlightened and they're better than other people .

I would say that in our community that we've created here , if anyone has become self-realized or enlightened I haven't heard of anyone that has but if they have , don't ever . If you're arrogant or come across arrogant , there's something there , there's an impression that you need to look at .

There's a Varsana there , there's a vritti there , there's something there where the ego is still attached , and this is something to really observe , because the other day I spoke about the 14 qualities that an enlightened person should have according to the Bhagavad Gita . First one is humility , not having a sense of pride that oh yeah , I'm enlightened .

You're not authentic , for whatever reason . So I just want us to be very clear . Let me know how you feel about these episodes . They can be really random and they may not be as coherent , but it's just me chatting , but I think it might be good to do these more explorations and and giving you my deeper insights .

And if you have any questions , anything you want me to discuss , anything you want me to address , I'm more than happy to . But , like I said , I want to create a community at least anyone that's associated with this podcast , who who listens to this podcast .

The whole point is that , whether you have self-realized or enlightened or you're on the path , be humble , be kind . People should come across you and feel you know what , they've got something . They're nice , they understand who I am . Have compassion , have empathy . They've got something . They're nice , they understand who I am , have compassion , have empathy .

And in today's day and time , that is really needed . You know , empathy is a big thing . We don't have enough empathy , and I say this very honestly .

If you are spiritual and you don't have enough empathy , and and I I say this very honestly if you are spiritual and you don't have empathy , you don't have compassion , you cannot relate to the other person's pain and suffering , that whose experiences you do not know . On a relative level , that means from the ultimate level , things haven't penetrated down .

That shower of grace has not occurred . That shower of grace has not occurred . That shower of surrender has not occurred . And you know this goes back to when we were discussing , you know , when people voted and stuff . We discussed this . Just remember your spiritual values . Never forget your spiritual values . Never forget your spiritual values .

And I'll be more than happy to go into some of those values as we speak , and actually I think I should , but I want you to know the main idea that I'm wanting you to leave from this podcast is that if you're honest , if you're authentic , it will never come across as arrogant . If you self-realize , you're enlightened .

Humility is the number one thing , not arrogance .

Not calling someone else a narcissist , calling them that they're full of hatred that is not how an enlightened person would approach things , not even the harshest like I think of yuji krishnamurti as like kind of the ultimate expression of just direct , just bashing you , not caring even he wouldn't do that , caring , even he wouldn't do that .

There's a certain , there's a code that's there . You know it's interesting . Okay , we've come across something really interesting here , an insight . There's a code of things that you can or cannot do , and that code that I'm talking about , of being kind and being humble , not being arrogant .

There's a certain code that's written or unwritten code that's like , if you do this , you're kind of like , yeah , there's doubts about you . Now , yuji krishnamurti the reason why I mentioned him is because he was really direct . He was really harsh .

I harsh , I don't agree with everything he said , but I really appreciated his honesty and he never put the other person down . There was , even if the interviewer asked the dumbest questions , never saw arrogance in him . Never saw arrogance in J Krishnamurti or in Osho or in Adyashanti . Never seen arrogance at all .

Never seen arrogance in Swami Sarvapriyananda or any of the Ramakrishna mission monks or gurus . Swami Chinmayanandaji , you know the sampradaya , I'm part of the traditional . They've never showed any arrogance . I'm telling you , like everyone that I've come across who's ever been enlightened or self-realized , that I've come across who's ever been enlightened or self-realized .

I've never come across anyone being even appearing as arrogant . I just haven't . And for anyone claiming that they can be like that , this has missed the point . There's something missing . Missing . I don't know why . It is because they're not my students , they're not my listeners , I'm not there helping them or coaching them or anything .

But that's why always build a strong foundation and that's why our course , that I'm doing that's going to be really beneficial for anyone that's really wanting to create that foundation .

So , whenever you do come across an authentic , a real , genuine teacher , a guru , a sattguru , whenever you take , whenever they speak their jnana to you , their wisdom , you would be able to grasp it in a second , like it wouldn't even take a second . You would just grasp it and that's the intention .

So I'm going to get back to writing those classes , but let me know what you thought about this episode . Tell me what you think you know , um , about this topic and , uh , I'll see you next time .

I'm going to do more of these because they're just quick and easy to do , and just want to say I love you all , I care about you all , and if you've been listening for a long time , just say hi , just message me , email me , you know , write a comment . I just want to say how much I appreciate you .

I haven't done like a , an episode where I've been able to do that recently , but I just want you to know that I really thank you for being there with me since 2021 and being with me on the journey . The podcast is where it is today because of you and only because of you . So thank you for letting me share my voice . Thank you , thank you , namaste .