Doubt

Let us speak together about doubt. I tell you when attending Satsang, do not to bring doubt along with you. I receive many letters describing beautiful experiences, but they all end with “Am I on the right path?” Also the people who leave here begin to experience doubts.

It is like someone going to dig for rubies in the river in Bihar State, where rubies are found. A man finds a ruby on the sand at the riverside but he throws it away. He doubts his luck. “How can I find it so easily?” he says, so he throws it back in the river. “People around me are digging for 150 feet and they still have not found anything, so I will throw it away.” He doubts, “Is it a ruby or a piece of glass?”

Doubt is the only thing that is troublesome. The books of knowledge give you the highest teaching directly, only doubt stands between you and that teaching. Since time immemorial sages have been passing this ancient teaching from person to person that “You are That.” The teaching was coming directly, only doubt exists between you and That. Secondly, it is taught that “I am Brahman,” and thirdly, “All this what I see, feel, hear, touch and taste is all myself.” But doubt is in the way so that we don’t believe.

It is true of all the teachings — if we listen without doubt — one word is quite enough. When you come to Satsang do not entertain doubt by questioning, “Is it going to happen to me?” Do not use the intellect as a test stone, because it will not give you the correct indication of gold. Throw it away. But many are not ready to do that so they will not get the point. They will take this teaching and continue to suffer endlessly, for immeasurable time. Your suffering will not end unless you remove this doubt from within you.

Somehow, since my childhood I have not carried any doubt. I didn’t have doubt, I had never heard of doubt, because my first teacher was my own mother. Whatever she told me instantly happened to me. I was a child and I never knew or heard about doubt. I got it instantly. She used to tell me stories and they manifested in front of me instantly because I had no doubt that this was reality. Usually when you hear a story you entertain doubts. I tell you stories here as the mothers tell stories to their children, but they are not really stories. This is truth in an essence, in simple words, spoken in story form.

I will tell you a story about doubt which I have heard from my mother when I was six or seven years old. In ancient times people used to go to Satsang early in the morning, at four in the morning, before going to their business or office. In my own town in Pakistan, there was a bank manager. He used to conduct Satsang in his own house from four to five. About twenty people would gather and he used to speak on a book called Vichar Sagar. It’s a very ancient book of direct teachings from Vedanta, written by a Punjabi sadhu called Nichildas. I used to attend that morning meeting when I was very small, maybe seven or eight. This was happening every morning and evening. There used to be gatherings in my own town. Vedanta teaching, devotional teaching, yoga teaching and kundalini yoga — all these different teachings were there. There were also discourses in the evening. This was only seventy or eighty years ago. People used to take their food and sit near their lane to attend the Satsang till 10:30 or 11:00 and then go back home. Morning and evening Satsangs were a must for everybody whether he be an office boy, a business man, or even a worker. Even people who drove hand carts used to attend.

The story was about one bandit — a robber — this was also a profession. Some people go for Satsang and some go for their game in the night, so he goes. One evening this robber was passing by when he heard someone speaking about about a young boy who had a diamond padded cap on his head and a garland of celestial gems around his neck — and that’s all he heard, so he stopped. He sat down near the gathering and listened. At about 10:30 this Satsang was over and the priest collected whatsoever money and gifts were given to him and put them in a bag. Everyone was leaving for home and he was leaving also — his family was waiting. This was his profession, to recite stories in the evenings.

As the priest was going on his way, this man [the robber] just went and asked him, “Give me the address of this boy you spoke about — the one having the diamond imbedded cap and the garland of gems around his neck. Give me his address.” Now this Brahmin priest was only reading a story. The robber, however, demands, “Give me the address of this boy.” The priest says, “You know that path going to the river Yamuna, that side. He goes for bath every morning at four o’clock. You go there and you will see him.” “Okay,” says the bandit, “but I cannot recognize him. I’ve not seen him. You come with me.” The priest answered, “My family is waiting for me, you know.” Then the robber pulled out his pistol and insisted, “I do not know him. You come with me and you simply show me this boy, that’s all, and then you can go. Since two cannot hide behind one tree, you stay in that tree and I in this tree. You simply point out the boy and then that’s all. Then I will come.” With that the bandit tied the priest with the rope so that he couldn’t run away.

Time is now 11 p.m. He [the bandit] has tied up him [priest]. He’s hiding and now the time is passing.The priest just told a story but the robber took the story as fact. Now the priest is counting every minute until his death, and the robber is counting every minute of his luck, “I will have this diamond. I’ll be very rich, you see. I’ll be very rich.” And he’s totally concentrated. Nothing else — his mind is only concentrating on the diamond and this boy, which he described — a young boy wearing a cap imbedded with diamonds, a garland around his neck. Time is passing. The robber’s only thought is of the boy with diamonds around his neck. The time is now 4 o’clock in the morning.

And now this thought itself has manifested. You can also manifest what you think; you are not separate from your thought. You are a thought itself — you become what you think. You become what you think instantly. You are thought. You have conviction, “I am the body,” and so you are. You listen every day, “You are existence, consciousness, bliss.” This is also a thought, nothing else. Conviction of the body is stronger than the conviction that, “I am consciousness. I am bliss.” So whatever is the stronger thought so you become. There’s no doubt — you are thought itself.

So at 4 a.m. this manifested itself. The boy appeared in front of the robber and gave him the garland and the cap he was wearing. “So it’s very nice of you, but wait, don’t go away because I don’t have your address,” the robber said. “There is another partner [the priest] in this deed and you have something else that I did not hear. I only heard of the cap of the diamonds and the garland but you have something on your arm also. So this is a gift I will give to this priest. You come with me.” So the robber took the boy to the priest who was still tied up with rope. The priest thought, “He’s now going to kill me. He’s going to kill me.”

The priest folded hands saying, “Sir, I told you a story from the book. Don’t kill me. My wife, my children are waiting for me. Don’t kill me now. I told a story. It was a story only.” But the robber exclaimed, “No, no, no. You were right. I’m very thankful to you. Here is the boy; here are the diamonds. I can only take the garland and the cap but there is something on his arm and I will give you that as a gift.” Still the priest doesn’t believe. He says, “Don’t, don’t, don’t bluff me, please. You have to kill me now, that’s all. Kill me.” The robber said, “You don’t see?” “No, no, no, I don’t see. I don’t see,” answered the priest. Then the robber says, “You see this — you see this hand?” With the touch of his hand he saw who this boy was — who this boy was. And this Brahmin, this priest, now immediately saw and said, “I am confronting him.” The robber untied the priest and this priest prostrated in front of the bandit and never returned home. And this man — this is a true story — he is known as the Bandit Saint. He is known as Bandit Saint still.

So I am just speaking about doubts, you see. This doubt is the only thing that gives you trouble. So without doubt, you just listen. Anything, even if it is falsely told to you, it will materialize. You simply hear the word; it will manifest.

Let the teacher tell you, “You are consciousness.” and you simply hear without doubt — and what’s going to happen? You listen to the teacher that you are existence, you are consciousness, you are eternal, you are deathless, you are not the body. What does he tell you that is wrong? But you don’t listen to him. What wrong is there? You have a conviction, “I am suffering, I am born, I have to die because I have listened from my parents, I have listened to my priest. So nothing is going to work.” So it’s not good to have any doubt in your mind when you speak about it. And it is so simple not to have doubt — it’s so simple. So simple and there is no confusion if you don’t entertain doubt that you are what you are. Only this veil is a doubt you see. So this veil, this doubt has become this manifestation and this is your own creation, this is your own creation, you see. And if you don’t have this doubt, “Where is the creation, and who is the creator?” then instantly you will know who you really were and are.

3 July, 1992