How do you begin your day and how do you end it ?

Robert Adams : The worst thing you can do in the morning is turn on the TV and read the newspaper. That is the worst thing you can do.

The best thing you can do in the morning when you wake up is to ask yourself, " Who am I? " and "What am I doing here?"

The worst thing you can do at night before you go to sleep is to think about your job or your family or your finances or your sicknesses or your...all the other things that has been going on in your life.

The best thing you can do before you go to sleep or when you're sleeping, going to sleep is to inquire, "To whom do these activities come? To whom has the days activities come? Who has experienced these days activities".

So you see it's up to you to do the right thing. Wherever you go in this world you still have to take yourself and no-one can transcend your mind but you. No-one can cause self-realization but you. No-one can awaken you but you. You are the one. The world really has nothing to offer you. Your dreams have nothing to offer you. Look to yourself. Look to eternity within yourself. Learn to love yourself. When you're loving your self you're loving the universe for the Self is the whole universe.
Robert Adams

Wake up. You are creating the world every moment of your life., with the things you believe in.

Robert adams : When I was around ten years old my uncle took me to see a hypnotist. He was a pretty famous fellow at that time. He was also a magician. There must have been about four hundred people there at Town Hall, downtown New York. He picked out certain people. He asked for volunteers first. I told my uncle, "Why don't you volunteer?" He said, "OK," and he did.

And there were about twenty five volunteers who sat on chairs on the stage. He spoke to each one of them. He told most of them to go back to their seats. He picked five people out of the bunch. My uncle was one of them. He proceeded to hypnotize them and he made them all do funny things. What I really remember is my uncle. When he was finished, before he un-hypnotized everyone and brought them back to this reality, he said to my uncle, "When you come out of it, you will go back to your chair, but when I clap my hands, you will imagine there’s a black widow spider on your neck." And I was really laughing. He clapped his hands first and my uncle came out of it, out of the trance, and he said, "Was I hypnotized? I doubt it." He went back to his chair. The hypnotists started talking about something else. Then he stopped and clapped his hands. As soon as he did that, immediately, my uncle started squirming and slapping his neck. And he told me, "Robert, there is a spider on my neck. See where it is." And he stood up and started wiggling and slapping himself all over. The hypnotist clapped his hands again and my uncle came back to the natural state, the human state. When I looked on his neck there was a red welch on his neck, like a spider bite. Where did that come from? There was no spider. Where did the bite come from? Who put it there? Student: Did he get sick at all? Robert: No. He didn't get sick at all. When the hypnotist clapped his hands everything came back to normal. But the welch, the red mark, was still there.
The same power that caused the red mark to be there causes this universe to be here. In other words, no-thing. There is no cause for this universe. 

I recall when I was about nine years also, I used to run out every day when it snowed in my t-shirt, and play in the snow. I would do this every day. My mother didn't see me. I had fun. I'd throw snowballs, build a snowman, yet I never caught a cold. One day my mom saw me going out in a t-shirt and she screamed at me, "Robert, get back in the house and put on your coat this instant or you'll catch your death of cold." Sure enough that day I caught a cold. Why? Because I identified with what my mom told me. After all she's my mom, she must know what she's talking about. 

Lets take something else, a cancer. What we call cancer, again, is impersonal. Yet when some of us identify with it we appear to have it also. If we looked at cancer like we do a cold, the cancer would disappear by itself. Yet what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you've been diagnosed as having cancer? Death, and so you start deteriorating. But in reality there are no cancers. There are no colds. There's nothing but consciousness. Yet, you are seeing the world, you are believing the world and you are identifying with the world. It's not the world or any condition that has come upon you. You have created your own condition, by what you have accepted, believed, and identified with. 

Take a look at your life right now. Think what's going on in your life. Are you happy, are you miserable, are you healthy, are you sick, are you rich, are you poor? It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is everything you are is what you have identified with, somewhere, somehow. There is no power outside of yourself. There is no world outside of yourself. There is no creation outside of yourself. There is no universe outside of yourself. There is no God outside of yourself. You have given birth to all these things. You are playing a game with yourself. 

You’re putting on an act. Why? Ask yourself.

Difference between a seeker, disciple and a devotee - Robert Adams

There are three types of people that enter the spiritual path. 

The first is called the seeker, 
the second is called the disciple, 
and the third is called the devotee. 

The seekers are the worst ones because they never stop seeking. While they are at satsang they think about who they will see tomorrow. They never stop. They run from pillar to post; they go to India to seek a teacher, then to Hawaii or St. Louis when they hear about another teacher. They are seekers, and this is good to an extent, because they are better off than the people who do nothing and think they are human. Unfortunately you can be a seeker for a thousand lifetimes without ending it. 
                                    If you are a sincere seeker, with a heart that truly wishes to awaken, the time will come when you become a disciple. 

The disciple finds a teacher and learns all they can from that teacher. Yet they still are not sure; they still have
doubts. They still are interested in me, me, me, me, asking, “What am I getting out of this?” Also they still go to other teachers from time to time, even while staying around one particular teacher. They may be a disciple but they are not that close. 
                             If the disciple is sincere in their heart, with love and compassion, thinking kind feelings towards all, they will eventually become a devotee.
  The devotee becomes the consciousness of the teacher. A devotee forgets all about him or herself. They could be in satsang where everyone is going wild, but the devotee sees nothing but the teacher. The devotee is oblivious to anything going on in satsang, but only has love and good feelings towards all. The devotee is interested in the teacher's welfare and ultimately becomes enlightened. It is the devotees that awaken before anyone else. 

In which category are you? Ask yourself.

Robert Adams

Do not react - Robert Adams

Now what do I mean by not react.
Do you ignore the summons to go to court?
No, you don't. (students laugh)
You do what has to be done.
When you go to court, but you realize, 
"Who's going to court?
My body is.
My body's going to court, but who is my body?
There is no body.
There is no court.
It's all an illusion.
It is, really" (students laugh)
And then, really, if you look at it that way,
something good is going to happen. (more laughter)
Strange as it may seem you will overcome and
transcend that predicament.
But if you don't, if you react like everybody else does with fear,
and say, "I'm not guilty. I didn't do it."
Then you've got a problem.
You're going to have to repeat that condition over and over again,
as I mentioned before until you're able to realize that
nothing has ever happened to I.
I is free.
I has always been free.

~Robert Adams - T. 26 - Dealing With Problems 

Do not identify with what you see. Identify with reality. - Robert Adams

You can't bring peace into the world while you're still in illusion.

Become peaceful and you'll see peace.
Become loving and you'll see love.

In this kind of world in which we live, since time immemorial there has been man's inhumanity to man, there have been riots, wars, destruction, chaos, confusion. And there have been people saying we're going to make peace and turn this into a peaceful world. This is the way of the world. And the world is a mirage.

So if you identify will all the things you see you will always be confused, you have to because the nature of this world is confusion.

Do not identify with what you see. Identify with reality.

We're going back to the space again, what I was talking about. All these riots are taking place in the space.
Is the space affected?
So are you the rioter or are you the space?
With what do you identify?

If you see the rioters reality then that is the world in which you live and you suffer accordingly. But when you go beyond that and you realize the space or consciousness or pure awareness is the only reality then you leave this world.

If you are feeling little disillusioned with walking on the spiritual path, than you are here at the right time. Robert Adams explains.

Questioner : Yesterday, Robert, you mentioned something about only 80% of the people leave the spiritual path, and only about 20% continue. And there are very few out of that, that go on with it. And I wanted you to maybe elaborate a little bit on that.

Robert :  Well, on this particular plane of existence, approximately 80% of the people who pursue spiritual life, drop out.
Why?
Because they become disillusioned.
They want something to happen today, this week, right now.
They have no understanding that while they are on the spiritual path, the real spiritual path, things may appear to become progressively worse, at first, for all the karma's are coming up, and being destroyed, so you feel this, you experience this.
But all the great spiritual books tell us not to pay attention to this.
Not to respond to this.
Just let go, and let whatever happens, happen.
----------
And the example I give, is when you're building a new building, the old has to be destroyed.
So there comes this big iron ball, breaking down all the old structures, destroying everything it sees.
And if you look, you will say,
"Why is this destruction going on?"
If they didn't want to build anything new, they would have left it alone.
So the destruction is there in the beginning.
Then it's all cleared away, it's swept away, and a beautiful new edifice is built.
And so it is in your life.
When you get on a real spiritual path, everything comes up, at a fast rate of speed.
Things may seem very bad, terrible, to some people.
It doesn't happen to everybody.
It is because you are accelerating your karma.
It's all coming out of you.
It's all being totally dissolved.
And then if you hold on, become still and quiet and do not react to these things, all of a sudden you will start feeling a profound peace, a profound happiness, a profound joy.
You will finally feel freedom.
But this is not explained in most teachings.
This is the reason why 80% of the people usually drop away.

173 Turn Within Always - July 26, 1992

But you have to realize that only a live guru, a live Sage, can give you grace and self-realization. - Robert Adams

------ Self-realization comes when you no longer think about it, when you no longer want it -----

I had an interesting call this morning from a lady, an Indian lady at Phoenix which I thought was really appropriate, I'll share it with you.
She asked me,
"Robert, in my house I have a beautiful picture of Ramana Maharshi and everyday I do puja to it, in the morning and in the evening.
I play chanting tapes.
I do arati, the waving of lights.
I put prashad at his picture.
I pray to the picture of Ramana.
I've been doing this for twelve years and nothing has happened.
Isn't Ramana supposed to give me some grace or something and enlighten me?
That is how I've spent my time in twelve years, paying homage to Ramana's picture and I feel nothing.
Also when I go to sleep at night I think of Ramana's form and face".
It is written in the Upanishads when you think of the gurus form and face, the guru gives you grace, blessings.
"Am I doing anything wrong, what's going on?"
----------
I replied to her,
"The answer to both questions is no.
A picture cannot give you grace.
No matter how much you pray to the picture, what you do to the picture, you can kiss the picture, do anything you like to the picture, it will not give you anything except plenty of peace.
It improves your concentration.
It will make your mind one pointed because you keep thinking of Ramana Maharshi and do puja to him.
So it will make you more peaceful because it'll make you more relaxed.
It will improve your concentration considerably.
And as far as seeing Ramana's form when you go to sleep, his face and expect to get grace you cannot do this because he is dead, so-to-speak.
You're thinking of Ramana Maharshi like...as a human being.
Thinking he is in some astral plane.
Ramana Maharshi has merged, been absorbed in the Self.
He no longer has a form and only the form of a live Sage can give you grace.
You can either do one of two things".
----------
"You can begin to realize that you can never find self-realization looking at a picture or thinking of the form of a dead guru, or you can find another guru, or a Sage, who is alive".
----------
"This doesn't mean that you're deserting Ramana Maharshi.
You will always hold him in your heart.
But you have to realize that only a live guru, a live Sage, can give you grace and self-realization.
When a Sage drops the body, you have to understand that he is doing this for you.
For a Sage never had the body.
It is you who observes the body and sees he's got a body.
He never really had a body, the appearance is only for your sake".
----------
Therefore I said,
"Stop doing puja to Ramana.
If you want self-realization go find a Sage and surrender to the Sage, this is important".
When the ego is too big you develop pride.
When you have a lot of pride, a lot of ego, you never think of surrendering to the Sage, you think of getting something from the Sage instead of giving yourself to the Sage.
You must stop trying to get something from the Sage like self-realization.
----------
Self-realization comes when you no longer think about it, when you no longer want it.
When you totally surrender to the Sage saying, not my will but thine be done.
Keeping the Sages form and face before you all the time.
The Sage realizes when you're ready, then grace comes, liberation comes, but do not think of these things.
Your job is to develop a tremendous humility.
When I speak of developing humility, I'm not speaking of you becoming a stepping stone for people.
Real humility is strength, power.
Real humility means nothing bothers you anymore.
Nothing has the power to disturb you, to upset your equilibrium.
You have a tremendous compassion.
You develop loving kindness for everything, for the mineral kingdom, for the vegetable kingdom, for the animal kingdom, for the human kingdom.
You're stepping out of your humanhood, taking a step forward in eternity.
Not comparing yourself with other people.
Not trying to do anything to anybody else.
You simply see the Sage in your heart all of the time and then you finally become the Sage yourself.
----------
But when you let your mind loose there is a catastrophe going on.
Your mind will come up with all kinds of reasons why should not surrender to the Sage.
Why you should do this, why you should do that.
The mind will confuse you completely, this is its business, its job, its duty to confuse you, to make you go deeper in maya.
This is what the mind does.
It makes you believe that you are an important human being, that you're here to achieve great things, accomplish great works.
Take a good look at the world, where are all the great works?
----------
The most important job you have is to find yourself.
Yet the funny thing is you were never lost.
So if you were never lost where do you have to find yourself?
Due to the fact you think you're lost, we therefore use terms like finding yourself.
You believe you are a human being with all kinds of problems, attitudes, karma, dogmas, yet that is not you at all.
You are a god.
You are freedom, peace, love.
Act on these things.
Become simple in your work.
Simplicity is the key.
Do not make your life complicated.

239 Take Refuge In Your Heart - April 15, 1993

If you think of the Sage, the Sage will think of you - Robert Adams

----- if you think of the Sage, the Sage will think of you -----

S> How can a seeker maximize his serious relationship with the Sage? What can he do to make the relationship deeper?

R> Simply by sitting with the Jnani all day long.

When you’re home, where you’re working, think of the Sage.
When you think of the sage’s form, the sage’s name, things will begin to happen to you.
Find peace.
Try it.
Then you will be with the Sage continuously.
Whenever you think of a living Sage, the Sage becomes part of your heart, it’s the complete heart and you feel the love of the Sage within you.

So if you think of the Sage, the Sage will think of you.
Whatever you think about, that you become ultimately.
So you have to be very careful what you think about.
Whatever you think about, you become.
Think of the Sage, you become the Sage.

246 Beyond Mental Concepts – July 18, 1993

*** This Guarantees that you do not return to this earth *** Robert Adams

 Do not think you're so important that you have to overcome a problem. That is all you're doing when you think you have a problem to overcome. It makes you feel important. I've got to solve this problem, I've got to overcome this situation. As if 'I' is somebody important. 'I' doesn't exist. If 'I' doesn't exist neither does your problem. You know by now that your problem exists because you believe in your 'I'. When you realize 'I' does not exist everything disappears. This is what I mean when I tell you sometimes, there are no problems, there never were any problems and there never will be any problems. But as soon as you begin to think there are problems. Even while you're sitting here listening to me, if you allow your mind to think doesn't a problem come up in your life that you're thinking about, that you think is so important at the present time? 


But if you were spontaneous and live in the eternal present, the eternal now, forget about the past, don't worry about the future but live in this particular second, in this second there are no problems. If you can only stay in this split second, no-one is hungry, no-one is ill, no-one is in need, no-one is suffering. As you begin to stay in that split second, this split second expands into a minute, into two minutes, into ten minutes and as you abide in it, it turns into eternity. You are always in that split second where nothing is happening. Where no thing is taking place. That split second is bliss, pure intelligence, absolute reality and you are that. 


 So again, it begins when you get up in the morning. You observe the 'I'. You watch yourself thinking I got up, I just woke up. 

But now here's the catch, do not allow the 'I' to go any further. 

As soon as you watch yourself saying, "I just woke up". Try to catch yourself and ask yourself the question, "Who is the 'I' that just woke up?" For in that split second prior to awakening you were in bliss, no thoughts. But as soon as you begin to think of the 'I', the world comes into play. In that split second before I came along you were awake. Yet there was no world, there were no people, there was no universe, there were no problems. In that split second. But as soon as you began to think of 'I' your troubles began. Because you're thinking about the day, I'm hungry, I have to take a shower. I have to get dressed and I begins to do its mischief. That is why it's very important to observe the 'I' coming out. 


If you can really observe it you will see that the 'I' is coming out of your spiritual heart on the right side of your chest. But a funny thing will happen. As you observe it, it will go back, isn't that interesting? As you observe the 'I' or as you question it, "Where did the 'I' come from?" It will stop. It will stop its procedure, it will stop its journey to the brain where you become body conscious. All these things happen in a split second. So you have to be aware, you have to be alert, you have to watch for it. 

I admit it takes some effort in the beginning but it's well worth it. Think about this again.

Just before you awaken to the 'I', you are already awake in that split second. In that split second there is no world but you are awake, you are conscious, you're totally happy, you're totally self-realized in that split second. But then the 'I' begins its journey from the heart to the brain. 

Now if you can observe the 'I' and question its authority, it will lose its momentum and slow down. And begin to return to the heart. If you can get it to return to the heart, you will be conscious but you will be liberated. 

You will go about your business like you always do. You will take your shower, you will eat your breakfast, it will all happen spontaneously. There will be no thoughts. The only experience you will have is total bliss. Total happiness, total joy and yet your body will go about it's business. It can happen all at once or it can take time. But it's worth the effort isn't it? Even if it takes you a lifetime, at least you will be free at that time. What is more important than this? 

Can anything be more important than this? 

This guarantees that you do not return to this earth. It guarantees that while you are alive in your body, so-to-speak, you will be a jivan-mukta, self-realized in the body. This is your only salvation. But you've got to do it. These teachings used to be handed out by the Rishis from mouth to mouth to explain it. It is most difficult to comprehend the books. Even though some of them are very clear... (tape break then Robert continues) ...something within that knows what to do to make it happen. But if you try to understand with your brain, with your head, you will forget. And when tomorrow morning comes you will get up and your 'I' will take over immediately. You will say I'm late for work, I'm in a hurry, I'm this and I'm that and you will forget everything we're talking about this evening. But if you are listening with your heart, when tomorrow morning comes you will spontaneously be able to catch yourself. I will repeat again how to do this. When you first open your eyes, in that split second you are conscious. The 'I' has not risen yet, but remember it's all happening in a second. So you've got to be aware, you've got to be awake, intelligent. Watch and you will notice that the 'I' begins very faintly and becomes stronger. You can shout out, "Who are you?" That's the same as saying, "Who am I?" Who gave you permission to awaken? Observe, watch. The 'I' will begin to lose momentum. The 'I' will become weaker and weaker. The way it usually happens with people, with most people, is they're able to catch it for maybe a few seconds and then the 'I' will take over completely. 

Do not be disappointed, that is the worst thing you can do. 

It has taken most people years, centuries perhaps to go all the way. Be happy with what you've got. But as you begin to do this practice diligently, everyday, that split second where you observe the 'I', will expand into a full second, into two-seconds, into three-seconds. In other words for those three-seconds you will be self-realized to an extent. You will be conscious, period. You will not be conscious of this or that, you will be conscious. And you will feel something you never felt before, a joy. You will know you're on the right track. Then when the 'I' takes over completely you can get up and go about your business and ask yourself, "Who am I? What is the source of the 'I'?" During the day as the thoughts come to you, be receptive, be alert, question, "To whom do these thoughts come?" They come to me, "Who's me? Who am I? What is the source of the 'I'?" Practice that all day. The next morning you do the same thing. If you do this my friends I can assure you, things will begin to happen to you that you never dreamed possible. May you all experience bliss and your true Self. ~ Robert Adams

THIS POWER WILL ALWAYS CARRY YOU, IF YOU ALLOW IT

I recall when I first saw a picture of Ramana Maharshi in my teens and I had to go to India to see him. I had no idea, why? I didn't have the funds. A couple of months later my aunt died and left me fourteen thousand dollars. And I left my family and went to India. I don't know why.
And it has been like this all of my life. So I've learnt to surrender my wants, my desires, my ego, to the power that knows the way. And this power will always carry you on a stream of blessedness to your highest good, if you allow it. But you hove to become humble and you have to let go of fear. You do this by this the methods we teach, through self-enquiry and becoming the witness.

People ask me, when I see peace, what do I mean? I don’t have to see peace where it’s peaceful. I feel and see peace in every situation. Whatever there appears to be going on, there is peace. Just as in the center of a hurricane, there is a peaceful circle, total stillness at the center of a hurricane. The same is true in the center of a tornado, in the cyclone. There is a Center of Peace. We are all that Center. The true peace is YOU.

There is a greater power that knows the way, that takes care of this world, this Universe. And it needs no help from you. - Robert Adams

NO HELP IS NEEDED

Do not concern yourself about this world. For mortal man can never understand this world at all. This world appears very confusing, very chaotic. There seems to be so many wonderful things in this world, and yet there seems to be so much destruction, man's inhumanity to man. Dastardly things going on everywhere intermingled with the beauty and joy of this world. It becomes very confusing to the mortal man. Then you see yourself getting older and older. All of your material plans have gone by the wayside. And even if you have accomplished great things, you have to leave them when it's time to go. You start to think to yourself, what is life all about? Who am I? What am I really? What is the Source of everything?
And no one has ever explained these things to you. So you believe life is a chance. A chance that you've been born, you've gone through prevailing conditions. You get old and you die. You have no idea what's going on. Therefore I say to you, leave the world alone. Do not believe you have to bring peace to this world. There is a greater power that knows the way, that takes care of this world, this Universe. And it needs no help from you.

ROBERT ADAMS IN ‘SILENCE OF THE HEART’

There's only your Self. If you think something is horrible, you're speaking about your Self. - Robert Adams.

Again, what I'm saying is this. Every position that you find yourself in every situation that you find yourself in, with whomever you find yourself, the positions that you have or don't have, whatever you may be in this world, is your right place at this moment. Bless this, love it. I know it sounds hard when you think of a horrible condition and you say, “I must
love it?"

Let me explain again. The reason you love it, is because
GOD is ALL THERE is.
Try to remember this.

THERE is NOTHING BUT GOD.

Therefore if you hate something, you're hating God which is your Self. It's all coming OUT Of YOU. YOU ARE THAT.
You must learn to trust and love your Self, your precious Self.

When you become despondent, depressed, hateful, feeling sorry for yourself, this is what blasphemy really means, for you're feeling this way about your Self. Can't you see? There's only your Self. If you think something is horrible, you're speaking about your Self. You look at a situation, you watch it you observe it you never react, you leave it alone.

And then you'll be given the power that you need to handle it, to go through it, without thinking, without any commotion, without any noise….

ROBERT IN 'SILENCE OF THE HEART'

Everytime the world shakes you up..........................Remember - Robert Adams.

Every time the world shakes you up, you feel something has happened not to your liking, you're accruing karma.
You have to be aware of these points all of the time.
Point number one:
This world is a dream, just like the dream I dream at night.
Everything in this world is karmic.
Nothing is real.
So I will never again allow this world to dictate to me what is right, what is wrong, what is good, what is bad.
Point number two:
My nature is divine.
I am not the body nor this world nor have I got anything to do with this world or this body.
The body goes through its own karma, it takes care of itself, does whatever it's supposed to do.
It has absolutely nothing to do with me.
Point number three:
Everything I observe in this world is myself, nothing else.
I only see myself wherever I look.
Whatever I'm involved in.
I see myself and nothing else.
Point number four:
In order to transcend this world and become totally free, I have to somehow awaken from this mortal dream.
And I can only do this by becoming non-judgmental, peaceful within myself, looking at this world like a moving picture, in all kinds of scenes in a movie.
I know I'm not affected by these things, by the things of this world or any other world.
Point number five:
I-am the substratum of all existence.
"I-am the screen in which the movie is being shown.
"I-am the director and producer of the movie.
"I-am also the actor.
I play all of the parts.
Therefore I will never again become confused in the picture or the screen.
You should ponder these things every morning when you get out of bed, when you first wake up.
Become aware of this.

226 Whatever You See Is The Self - February 25, 1993