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The India Story - part I
Excerpts from "Only Your Thoughts Can Upset You"
By Terry Winchester

The Dilemma

I now had a dilemma. Do I still teach people to achieve their goals through the power of the mind, when in truth there was ‘nothing to do and nowhere to go?’ I was showing people how to apply the Laws of the Universe and achieve anything they wished for. In the same breath, I had to tell them that whatever they would achieve in the material world is going to bring them suffering, as all endeavours at this level are temporary, and will vanish in time. How does one come to terms with this apparent paradox?

I travelled the length and breadth of the Western world seeking clarification on this point, only to realise that our Western culture is totally obsessed with acquiring more and more possessions. We seem to believe that our next acquisition, whether it is the latest car, a better job or a new lover, will bring us that illusive happiness. Everyone would ask me how I could be so happy, if I didn’t have anything, not even a girlfriend. To me it seemed obvious that if you have nothing, everything belongs to you. You don’t have to own things to enjoy them. In fact it is this attachment to things that leads to suffering. Buddha mentioned this when he said that the whole material world involves suffering and the cause of that suffering is desire.

According to his teaching, as soon as you want something, you have set yourself up for suffering. We understand that getting what you don’t want involves suffering as does not getting what you do want. But, even when you do get what you want, you will suffer because it is in time and space and therefore, will pass away. Some people feel really threatened by this concept. No wonder they crucified Jesus when he warned them of this folly.

My search leads me to India

According to the books I had read, these Yogi types in India seemed to understand this sort of perplexing problem. So I packed my trusty rucksack and headed off to the Asian continent, once again ensuring that I didn’t have enough money to sustain myself, thus allowing the Universe to work its magic. After a few months of living with dysentery, hepatitis and bed bugs, I was actually on the point of quitting my search. The bed bugs were the worst. As I sat down on any wood or cane furniture I would be attacked. Within seconds my skin would be itching as these tiny, almost invisible, insects appeared from nowhere and began sucking my blood.   Besides cursing these evil creatures, I was doing all the right things like daily asanas, pranayama and two hours of meditation. Yet no Divine Beings had appeared before me with profound answers. Even spending six weeks in a Himalayan cave on the banks of the Ganges was not enough to attract the attention of the Great Masters. It was only when I stopped looking, that I eventually found.

I find a Master

It happened one night while I was sitting at satsang, at the Divine Live Society in Rishikesh. Rishikesh is a holy city located in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is considered to be the Gateway to the Gods. The sacred river Ganges flows through Rishikesh adding to its spiritual appeal and natural beauty. It is here that the river leaves the Himalayas and flows out into the plains of northern India. There are many famous ashrams and yoga centres along the banks of this Holy River, as well as caves—where great yogis live in the surrounding mountains. It is said that meditation in Rishikesh brings one closer to attainment of moksha, which means liberation from the illusionary world of the senses.

That is why I headed straight there after landing on Eastern shores. Why mess around, let’s seek out the ‘big boys.’ There I was, a complete novice, sitting in the half-lotus with my knees in the air, trying to look holy, when suddenly Swami Krishnananda, one of the seven or eight great Yogi’s who were seated up front, began to speak. He must have been observing mouna or silence, because in all the time I had been there, which had been many months, he had never said a word. I can’t remember exactly what he said but, whatever it had been went straight through my usual critical left brain and struck home in my heart. I didn’t know that I had a fourth chakra until then. I knew instantly that I had found the person I had been looking for.

I really wanted to get a private audience with him, so I applied my little self-hypnosis trick of bringing my three fingers together and visualising myself talking to him. But then I thought, wait, as well as being a great saint, this guy is also the secretary of a worldwide organisation, so he is probably very busy. The last thing I want to do is bother him with my mortal problem. So I put it out of my mind and consoled myself with the theory that everything is perfect and maybe this perplexing problem was none of my business anyway.

A few days later I was walking past his room when one of his young devotees beckoned me. I was ushered into this little room and seated on the floor. At first I thought I was in trouble. Maybe they had found out that I had been sneaking across the Ganges to gorge myself on those delicious sweetmeats? Every time a new Western seeker would arrive in Rishikesh, I would take it upon myself to show them the sights making sure we went past the sweet shop en route! Food at the ashram was free but because the meals were so bland, one would crave something sweet or savoury. My ‘clients’ would invariably reward me by buying me a few cents worth of sweetmeats for my tour guide services.

There were about six or seven other people sitting around on grass mats on the floor. We were a mixture of budding yogis, poor local peasants and wealthy businessmen. Swami Krishnananda, who was sitting behind a little wooden desk, was busily conducting the affairs of the ashram and answering questions posed by his devotees. People were walking in and out and phones were ringing constantly, reminiscent of the rat race I had left back home in South Africa. I sat back and thought that it was all very interesting, but I had no idea what I was doing there.

Swami Krishnananda suddenly looked up from his desk, gazed directly at me with his deep black eyes and said, “Yes?”

I was about to apologise for eating the sweetmeats when he asked me “You have a question?” I was dumb-struck. These guys really can read minds! I quickly gathered my senses not wanting to miss the opportunity of a lifetime. I began to ask him if it was alright to teach people to go into the Alpha state and achieve their goals when Buddha and Jesus said we should be ‘desire-less.’ No sooner after I had started to ask my question, he began talking to somebody else. A bit confused, I sat back thinking he had lost interest.

A little later he looked at me again and said “Yes.” I had forgotten where I was, so he reminded me and I spoke for another thirty seconds before I noticed he was talking to somebody else again. He seemed to be able to do ten different things at once, without missing a beat. Each time he came back to me, he had to remind me what it was that I was asking him. This guy was good. Even with all my Alpha techniques I couldn’t do that.

I then realised that he knew more about what I was trying to say than I did. He knew that I had a question that I had to get off my chest. He knew the answer before I had even formulated the question. He knew why I’d come to India and he knew that I needed to go through the ritual of asking him. He could have given me the answer before I had asked the question, but I would not have accepted that, because where I come from, the question precedes the answer. Apparently not in the real world. That is how this Master could deal with so many things at once. There is no time or space at his level, so he is aware of everything before it even happens.

Finally, when I was satisfied that I had explained my dilemma, Swamiji nodded his head and said “Acha,” which I think meant, “Go for it.” I was just about to question his answer and ask him to elaborate, when a little voice told me to stop doubting and trust that my prayer had been answered. It is funny how ego-orientated people from the West never really listen to the answers to their prayers.

 As I walked back to my cave along the banks of the mighty Ganges, enjoying the coolness of the melted snow flowing by, it all became clear to me. It was as if Swamiji had stirred an ancient memory in me. It is all a game. We are free to play or not to play.

It is the same as playing that game of Monopoly. You can be the dog and I will be the ship. Here we are, these amazing creative human beings, hopping around in this imaginary world of little wooden houses motivated by the throw of the dice. Often bringing ourselves to the brink of murder when our brother, in the guise of a plastic dog, won’t pay us rent for landing on a square with a piece of green wood on it. We become so desperate that we call upon our father, who is sitting nearby reading the newspaper, to intervene and save us from the perils before us. What does our wise Father say? Without lifting his eyes from his paper he bellows, “Stop being so silly, it’s only a game!”

That which is real can never be threatened
-ACIM

That is why our Father, who art in heaven, reading his newspaper, does not intervene in the illusionary game we play here on planet earth. No matter how hard we pray and plead, He knows that it is only a game and in fact our true Self is never in danger. He did, however, answer our prayers by sending our elder brother Jesus down into our illusionary world to show us the way home. When Jesus showed us that we could detach ourselves from the clay tokens we had identified with and free ourselves from the frustrations of this limited expression, we didn’t believe him. In fact some of us got so upset with him for spoiling our game we knocked his token off the board.

Unperturbed he took on his old form again, sneaked back on to the board again to show his friends that he was okay and that nothing had really happened. His friends were excited and asked him to stay. “No way,” he said. “I am going home, but if you guys want to stay and muck about a bit longer, it’s up to you. However, when you have had enough, just let go and you will gravitate back to your Source, your Higher Self knows the way.”

I leave you with a guide and comforter
-Jesus

Next: Indian masters: The India Story - part II

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