There are three type of knowledge or information that we get. One is through the five senses. You see and you get some knowledge, you listen and you get some knowledge, you smell and you get information and through taste and touch you get information. The five senses bring you some knowledge, isn’t it? Most of our knowledge is gained through the five senses.
Now this is one type of knowledge.
The second is through the intellect. The knowledge gained through intellect is superior to knowledge gained through the senses. Science is knowledge gained through intellect.
See, what you see from your eyes is that the sun is setting, but what you learn through science is the sun does not set. It is the earth which revolves. You have not seen earth revolving through any of the five senses, but through the intellect you understand that the earth is revolving and that it is revolving around the sun. This is knowledge through the intellect is superior to the knowledge gained through the senses.
Let us say, in a beaker of water you keep a pen; what do you see? You see the pen is bent. That is the perception, but the intellect says no, it is not bent, it is an optical illusion. This is the knowledge through intellect. Now these two levels of knowledge is much inferior to a third level of knowledge, i.e., intuitive knowledge. That is knowledge from the spirit which comes from silence. It cannot be verified by the senses or the intellect. Knowledge which comes beyond these two is another level of knowledge. So life begins when we tap into this third level of knowledge; till that time we just exist.
Now how would you tap into this third level of knowledge? The level of knowledge which is not through the senses, nor through the intellect, is the question. For that you have to let go of the knowledge of the senses and the intellect, and relax. The moment you let go then the cravings and aversions that you gained through the senses stop.
All of our cravings and aversions are about the five sensory perceptions. It cannot be anything beyond that. Are you with me? For some time you say, ‘now I don’t want to see anything, I don’t want to hear anything, I don’t want to smell anything, I don’t want to taste anything, I don’t want to touch or know anything; I’m just going to be.’
Then intellectual concepts, judgments, decisions, to all that you say, ‘I don’t even need to know anything, I don’t care for anything.’
Letting go of concepts; how this should be? How that should not be? Things should be like this and things should be like that. All these intellectual perceptions need to be dropped.
Am I doing the right thing? Am I on the right path? Am I on the right track? Should I go on or should I not go on. All these things drop them and then silence begins. When silence begins then the knowledge from the third level dawns and that knowledge is called Ritambhara knowledge. The true knowledge that comes from beyond the intellect, that is the intuitive knowledge. Everyone has got this ability. You must have experienced in your life this gut feeling; some knowledge from somewhere, which you cannot really make out what it is.
How many of you have ever experienced? See everybody!
Somewhere you feel this is the right thing to do and something happens in your tummy.
That knowledge comes up at that time but we don’t honor it. Many times we stick onto the intellectual or sensory perceptions. Sometimes your intellect says, this is wrong what I am doing, but you don’t listen to the intellect, you keep doing the wrong things. How many of you have this experience?
What you do? You stick on to the sensory and ignore the intellectual knowledge.
And then what happens? You sometimes go beyond your intellect. Your intellect is saying something but your inner gut feeling is saying something else.
You’re feeling says no, there is something different, something more. And we ignore that and we stick onto the intellect. That’s how many times your judgments have found to be a failure. How many of you feel your judgments have been wrong?
Sometimes, beyond your judgments you have seen and you have taken a step and have been happy about it. In spite of your intellect saying ‘no’, something else says ‘yes’. Something else triggers and that is what happens when there is faith, and that is when the faith comes up. Sometimes your mind says, ‘No I want to quit doing all this spiritual practices, I don’t care for this.’ Many people do this, try to quit, but something deep inside, the impressions, samskaras, some good karma just makes them keep going, and then they are back on track. Then they are happy. They feel, ‘Good thing I didn’t quit, I didn’t walk on my impulse.’ How many of you have this experience?
Those are the moments when something beyond your intellect has taken over and worked.
This is the levels of knowledge, the intuitive knowledge which is beyond intellect.
So this is the third level of knowledge, that gut feeling, or intuitive knowledge.
Now, many times, with your emotions, with your own cravings and aversion you can think, ‘oh this is my gut feeling, this is my knowledge’, no! This is called Yogmaya, don’t get into that.
When can you honor the knowledge of the spirit or the soul? It is when you are absolutely still. Got it? So in the beginning it works for others, it doesn’t work for you because with you always there are some cravings, some aversions and so you may get confused.
So these hollow and empty meditations you do are all very useful in getting to that level of knowledge, which is beyond the senses and beyond the intellect.
Now how can you explain this to anybody? That is big trouble. It is very difficult to tell somebody, ‘Oh there is one level that’s beyond your logic’. If you say that they will think you are crazy, or denying the intellect, but it is neither. Neither are you crazy nor do you deny the intellect. You go simply one step beyond and recognize something beautiful. This is the area from where the entire cosmos works. All the knowledge in the cosmos is present there.
Every invention has happened from this area. The initial intuitive invention comes from that. Then intellect plays on it and develops it further. Every one of those great poems or music has come from that area; every one of them!
So one practical benefit from this is you now understand your intellect is judgmental and you don’t depend on it too much. Got it?
One of the steps is you see, ‘Oh yes, my mind, it goes on saying something or the other and I don’t care, I don’t mind that’. You don’t get swept into these mind games. You become a witness to them all. Have you noticed this is already happening with you? At home when there is some argument, or among the friends there is some argument, something happens. Sometimes you take one step back and say, ‘Oh come on, I have seen many of this. It’s not going to let this affect me.’
How many of you have started noticing this happening to you?
There is a gradual progression for that and it is happening in everyone’s life. Just this awareness and it will happen even faster.
Good!
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