Then they are just there, unrelated to you; you don’t give any energy to them. They are really parasites who have been living on your blood, because you were identified with the mind. Meditation means disindentification with the mind.
It is a simple method, not something complex that only a few people can do. Just sit silently at any time, any moment, and watch. Close your eyes and watch what is going on. Just be a watcher. Don’t judge what is good, what is bad, this should not be, this should be…
No judgment, you are simply a watcher.
It takes a little time to attain pure watchfulness. And the moment you are a pure watcher, you will be surprised that the mind disappeared.
There is a proportion: if you are only one percent watcher, then ninety-nine percent is mind. If you are ten percent a watcher, then ninety percent is mind. If you are ninety percent a watcher, then only ten percent of the mind is left.
If you are one hundred percent a watcher, then there is no mind—no sadness, no anger, no jealousy—just a clarity, a silence, a benediction.
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One has to start watching the body: walking sitting, going to bed, eating. One should start from the most solid, because it is easier, and then one should move to subtler experiences. One should start watching thoughts, and when one becomes an expert in watching thoughts, then one should start watching feelings. After you feel that you can watch your feelings, then you should start watching your moods, which are even more subtler than your feeling, and more vague.
The miracle of watching is that you are watching the body, your watcher is becoming stronger; as you are watching the thoughts, your watcher is becoming stronger; as you are watching the feelings, the watcher is becoming even more strong. When you are watching your moods the watcher is so strong that it can remain itself—watching itself, just a candle in the dark night not only lights everything around it, it also lights itself.
To find the watcher in its purity is the greatest achievement in spirituality, because the watcher in you is your very soul; the watcher in you is your immortality. But never forget for a single moment, think, “I’ve got it,” because that is the moment when you miss.
Watching is the eternal process; you always go on becoming deeper and deeper, but you never come to the end where you can say, “I have got it.” In fact, the deeper you go the more you become aware that you have entered into a process that is eternal, without any beginning without any end.
But people are watching only others; they never bother to watch themselves. Everybody is watching what the other person is doing, what the other person is wearing, how he looks—that is the most superficial watching; it is not something new to be introduced into your life. It has only to be deepened, moved away from others and arrowed towards your own inner feelings, thoughts, moods—and finally, the watcher itself.
A Jew is sitting in a train opposite a priest. “Tell me, Your Worship,” the Jew ask, “why do you wear your collar back to front?”
“Because I a father,” answer the priest.
“I am also a father, and I don’t wear my collar like that,” says the Jew.
“Oh,” says the priest, “but am a father to thousands.”
“Then maybe,” replies the Jew, “it is your trousers you should wear back to front.”
People are very watchful about everybody else. You can laugh very easily about the ridiculous acts of other people, but have you ever laughed about yourself? Have you ever caught yourself doing something ridiculous? No, you keep yourself completely unwatched; your whole watching is directed to others, and that is not of any help.
Use the energy of watchfulness for a transformation of your being. It can bring you so much bliss and so much benediction that you cannot even dream about it. A simple process, but once you start using it on yourself it becomes a meditation.
One can make meditation out of anything. Anything that leads you to yourself is meditation. And it is immensely significant to find your own meditation, because in the very finding you will find great joy. And because it is your own finding, not some ritual imposed upon you, you will love going deeper into it. The deeper you go into it the happier you will feel—peaceful, more silent, more together, more dignified, more graceful.
You all know watching, so there is no question of learning it. It is just the question of changing the object of watching. Bring it closer. Watch your body and you will be surprised. I can move my hand without watching, and I can move my hand with watching. You will not see the difference, but I can feel the difference. When I move it with watchfulness there is a grace and beauty in it, a peacefulness, and a silence. You can walk, watching each step; it will give you all the benefit that walking can give you as an exercise, plus it will give you the benefit of a great, simple meditation.
The temple in Bodhgaya where Gautama Buddha became enlightened has been made in memory of two things: One is the bodhi tree under which Buddha used to sit. And just by the side of the tree there are small stones for taking a slow walk. He was meditating, sitting, and when he would feel that sitting had been too much—a little exercise is needed for the body—he would walk on those stones. That was his walking meditation.
When I was in Bodhgaya having a meditation camp there, I went to the temple. I saw Buddhist lamas from Tibet, from Japan, from China. They were paying their respect to the tree, and I saw not a single one paying respect to those stones on which Buddha had walked miles and miles. I told them, “This is not right. You should not forget those stones. They have been touched by Gautama Buddha’s feet millions of times.” But I know why there are not paying attention to them, because they had forgotten completely that Buddha was emphasizing that you should watch every act of your body: walking, sitting, lying down. You should not let a single moment go by unconsciously.
Watchfulness will sharpen your consciousness. This is the essential of religiousness; all else is simply talk. And if you can manage watchfulness, nothing else is needed.
My effort is to make the journey as simple as possible. All the religions have done just the opposite, they have made things very complex—so complex that people have never tried them. For example, in the Buddhist scriptures there are 33,000 principles to be followed by a Buddhist monk; even to remember them is impossible! Just the very number 33,000 is enough to freak you out. “I am finished! My whole life will be disturbed and destroyed.” Just find a single principle that suits you, that feels in tune with you, and that is enough.
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