Take what resonates, leave what doesn't

Question: How do you define eternal life in your meditation system? Goenkaji: It is not my meditation system! It is an Indian meditation system, ancient India’s meditation system. The life is eternal, but you have to make it purified, so that you live a better life, a good life. Don’t try to find the beginning of life, when it started—what you will gain by that? The life is starting every moment; this ball is rolling. It is rolling in a wrong way, and you are a miserable person. Come out of that misery. That is more important than anything else.

I don't speak much because I am very aware of the fact that nothing wrong, nothing which is not truth, should come from me. I am very aware of this fact. Even from my childhood it has been my nature to speak less about matters involving many people. It is better to watch, better to be watchful than to be actively participating, talking.

I don't speak much because I am very aware of the fact that nothing wrong, nothing which is not truth, should come from me. I am very aware of this fact. Even from my childhood it has been my nature to speak less about matters involving many people. It is better to watch, better to be watchful than to be actively participating, talking.

The Buddha does not bind his disciples in false beliefs. In fact he will break them of such beliefs if he sees that they are getting bound by them. He encourages them to stand on their own, telling them they must walk on their own two feet to reach the goal of liberation. No one has ever reached Nibbana on someone else's shoulders, nor could you. He would say this over and over to the sadhakas. A good student is one who accepts that he has gained a good, true and wholesome path from his guru. "I too have examined it intellectually and after having walked on it I have found it to be truly a good way. I alone have to walk, however long it may take. Reaching the destination will depend upon what stock of defilements I have accumulated within". However long it takes to reach the destination does not matter. But one must keep checking to see whether the burden of defilements is getting reduced or not, even if by just a little. There are tonnes of impurities within and even if a little is dissolved, one is lighter by that much. If a student thinks in this way, then they can know that they are on the right path. If one continues to work with determination, then sooner or later all defilements will be eradicated and one will become free from them. The entire responsibility of making progress is that of the disciple. He works, not to oblige the teacher but for his own welfare, to liberate himself. Certainly, there is a sense of gratitude towards the guru who has shown the way and has encouraged him so compassionately, but the work has to be done by each person individually.

Question: What is the effect of Vipassana on the chakras? Goenkaji: Chakras are nothing but nerve centers on the spinal cord. Vipassana takes you to the stage where you can feel activity in every little atom of your body. Chakras are just a part of that. This activity can be experienced in the entire body.

After months of chasing after relief, I returned home totally dejected. Migraine attacks now came weekly and everyone was very troubled, especially my friend U Chan Htoon. One day he said: "As migraine is a psychosomatic disease and related to mental stress, once you get free from stress, the relief will automatically follow." I perceived the rationale of his words as I saw that in the last five to seven years, not only my business but my social commitments as well had expanded immensely, putting huge pressure on my mind. Moreover, having arrogance due to the inordinate success achieved very early in life, an aggressive alpha male attitude and a huge temper added to this stress. I could not see a way out and did not know how to de-stress. I tried to rest more, tried yogic shavasana, a process to relax the muscles of the entire body as well as the mind, and sang bhajans, all to no avail.

What is dharma to him? Following such and such a vow, or a ritual, or following a particular philosophy makes him think he is very dharmic. His attention is focused on these superficial outer layers. "Am I following sila and rightful behaviour? Is my mind focused and disciplined? Is my mind getting purified or not?" He is oblivious to these observations. Nevertheless, once he starts examining himself with these yardsticks and if he is working within, then he will find that he has possibly improved a little, even if not fully. As he has begun walking on the path of Dhamma he will become dhammic. Also, if one who practises Vipassana takes it merely as a healing technique, he will devalue it. For him Vipassana will remain a technique that a teacher has taught him to alleviate physical ailments, migraine, high blood pressure or prevent heart attacks, etc. Such a person has devalued Vipassana and turned it into a way to cure his bodily ailments. For him, real dharma remains the rituals that he may be practising every morning. He may be chanting scriptural passages which speak of detachment and equanimity but he does not practice it. Not only after ten courses, such a person may find it difficult to change even after one-hundred courses. He is after all bound by his sectarian beliefs. We must understand that if a practice does not improve our daily behaviour, our demeanour, if it does not bring our mind to one-pointedness with a base of reality, if it does not eradicate our defilements from the very roots then it is not Dhamma. There is an important ritual among a particular sect whereby the practitioner tries to sit in equanimity and observe while penetrating to the depth of his mind. But without a roadmap guiding how to observe within, it remains to be seen whether one can reach those depths, and then whether one can free oneself, at least to some degree, from the deep-rooted cravings and aversions. If not, then it is nothing but an empty ritual.