Met Countless Enlightened Masters, Yet Confusion Remains!
Questioner: Acharya Ji, Pranaam! I have received so many practices of meditation by meeting so many enlightened masters, but I am unable to get what to follow. All gave different methods.
Even if the mind intends to follow certain methods, it gets confused.
What to follow?
Acharya Prashant: Then you have come to the wrong person. In this world where nothing is definite, of one thing I am very definite – I am not Enlightened. And you have already met so many enlightened masters. The wonderful thing is that all the enlightened masters have only confused you.
(Laughter)
(Pointing at himself) Now, how can this unenlightened one clear the confusion? I swear that I am not, and would never be enlightened in this life. Of this one thing I am definitely sure – no Enlightenment for me.
Kid, where have you been roaming? Little kids wandering out at night, meeting enlightened ghosts, and getting scared and confused. I am a normal human being. If you are confused, how are you not equally confused in whether or not those people are enlightened?
If one is confused, one ought to be confused about a lot of things. Confusion after all is more fundamental than any particular matter of confusion. The confused mind would not find clarity in any matter. Or would it? Or do you want to tell me that you are confused about everything but this? Of this, you are very sure.
One doesn’t go to meet Enlightened Masters for the simple reason that Enlightenment does not make itself known in a crude or demonstrative way. The other’s Enlightenment is actually your own.
What you call as the Light of your eyes, is it not the same as the Light of the world? And if you do not have Light in your eyes, can you see any Light in the world? Can you? So without being Enlightened yourself, how did you discover that those masters were Enlightened?
Now let me drop you a hint.
If one searches, one can only search in the same dimension one is in. Fish don’t climb trees and pigs don’t fly. Do they?
If you admit that you are confused and you go out to buy even a saree, won’t you end up making a wrong choice? Similarly, if confusion is your state and you go out to meet and choose Teachers, obviously you would be choosing wrongly.
The Right One comes to you as a serendipitous occurrence.
You understand ‘serendipity’? Good Luck.
The Right One comes to you as a matter of chance. He does not come to you as a matter of planning.
You don’t say, “Oh, I am going to visit my fourteenth enlightened master today. The first thirteen ones haven’t worked, so I am going to meet the fourteenth enlightened one.”
First of all, look at the arrogance contained in your statement, only then can I come to your question. You are so utterly sure of yourself, and then you tell me, “I am confused.” First of all admit that you have been making fallacious choices, and only then can I say something to you.
You say that you have met many enlightened masters. If Enlightenment is what it is as traditionally asserted, then even one should have been sufficient. And even meeting one is considered a rare occurrence. And here you are, having met many and still confused.
First of all, clear your mind, first of all, get rid of hazy notions, and then I will take up your question. I do not belong to the same stream as those of the so-called enlightened people. That’s a stream that I do not even bother to look at.
Unless you rid yourself of the obsession with that stream, you will not be near me to find help.
Look at that stream more closely, carefully, honestly, and then if you feel like quitting that stream, come over to me.
