Recently back from India, Mooji invites Sharon Henshall into his home and shares his words of wisdom over a few cups of tea…
by Sharon Henshall: I had followed a modern day path to stumble across the wisdom of this Brixton based man… firstly google, then Youtube, and finally I’d stepped into a real-life satsang held in London. I wrote about my experiences in the last issue and Mooji’s team had been receptive to my piece. They had promised to show Mooji upon his return from India. Imagine my surprise when, knee deep in deadline mania for this current issue, I hear Mooji has agreed to meet me. With a week until print there was no time to waste.
Mooji’s humble abode was easy enough to find, although the final stretch included an unexpected ride in a postvan… life really is full of surprises! The depth of Mooji’s warmth and love is truly astonishing and, I can also confirm, Mooji gives a great hug!
Q. Why are we here?
For me the highest opportunity of existence is to discover our true nature. Because if we discover everything else, but not our true Self, then that which we consider we do know, is not reliable. Also, discovering our True Self puts an end to a lot of misery, sorrow and anxiety about life – something which so many people feel. All of this is to do with the ignorance of our true nature and this is due to false identification. Sometimes I say our name is ‘I’… because all beings refer to themselves as ‘I’. But this ‘I’ itself we don’t truly know. Most people just assume ‘I’ to be our body, our education, our conditioning. But actually ‘I’ really refers to consciousness. The body doesn’t know itself as ‘I’, it is something inside the body that says ‘I went, I did this or I did that’. Consciousness needs a body in order to taste experiencing, to have the diversity of experience and so on, but the body itself is not the sentient root or ‘Being’. The body is the instrument.
Q. How can we live in the now and not carry our experiences with us?
First there has to be a rise of some urge to go beyond the surface identity. It is only when we’ve developed a certain amount of maturity, looking beneath the surface of our conditioned identity, that we can somehow allow experiences to be momentary. [As an identity] we cannot help holding onto the memory of experiences, to help to develop that sense of a separate being and a unique identity. Consciousness does not need to hold on. This is why sometimes I refer to the life lived from the place of consciousness as spontaneous existence or ‘like writing on water’ – you cannot refer to it in a minute because it is gone. It takes a tremendous amount of openness, and a confidence that comes through real seeing, to be able to move into our spontaneous existence. Otherwise we are very much watching life, to see what benefits us and what should be discarded. This is an anxious state to be in… very exhausting. Most people don’t realise it’s exhausting until they reach boiling point.
Q. Why is the ‘play of life’ so challenging?
Because we limit our identity to body/mind and to our unique kind of conditioning, there is a pride that goes with a sense of identity, and a kind of arrogance also. We have a feeling of ‘this life is mine, I can do what I want ‘and so on. It can seem like this until we go more deeply into our true nature, and then the picture changes. But, while we have this strong sense of identity we are not really very open – we may think we are, but we are not. Often we feel some kicks from life… illnesses and things that happen to our family. These show us that life is unpredictable and has no guarantee, which brings a sense of humility to the Beingness, and when there is humility there returns again a kind
of openness. Without openness we don’t really grow.
Q. It seems however, the more we see our ego, the more subtly it behaves. How can we free ourselves completely?
I say, however subtle the ego can come, you are subtler still! It is you who observes and recognises ego, so therefore you have the advantage. Whichever way it goes, you have the power within to expose it. The only things that may get in the way are those little memorandums or reminders… of the things that tasted nice or whatever else works to keep you back in the state of identity. It takes a very deep resolve, a very powerful determination, a grace, to really stay put and hold firm in your seeing. Sometimes momentarily you’ll be thrown off course and you’ll find yourself flapping about again. But, quickly the ability is there to compose yourself and say ‘wait a minute, but that’s not true’. The more subtle the ego gets, the weaker it is becoming. As your own power increases it has to find more subtle ways to catch you, but still the power is somehow with you.
Q. How can we find inner space in this busy life?
I think the modern disease is really a lack of inner space – this is what brings so much tension and pressure and anxiety. The power that is harnessed from your meditation, even if you are in a state of meditation or contemplation for 10 minutes, will give you back 5 or 6 hours of inner time. There is a saying “I am not seeing the world as it is, I’m seeing the world as I am’. It is very true. As you become calm and peaceful within, the world outside seems to slow down… you will not feel rushed and pressured. We underestimate, and are not aware of, the power of meditation. Meditation is our natural
activity. When in a position of observing, more space will be in your life. You are not the keeper of peace, peace is synonymous with your being, joy is synonymous with your being. It was hard to prize myself from Mooji’s sofa. After such a wonderful few hours and with so much to absorb, I returned to Bristol in a daze. A few days on, I can still hear Mooji’s infectious chuckle and see his twinkling eyes. He told me: “I’m so excited, no, excited is not the right word… I’m so available… to invite people into the direct experience of the Self, not the theory of it. This is actually simpler than the theory.” I
personally feel this is an invitation not to turn down!
Read the full interview on www.inspiredtimesmagazine.com. Details about Mooji’s satsangs can be found at: www.mooji.org
