Ajay Singh – live interview

How would you describe an awakening moment?

Not holding. Not holding back. Activities knowingly happening, but there is no regret. Generally in life we might say in the evening: “Ah, I should have done this differently” – that kind of thing is not there. There is more living; living so fully that there is no need to dream.

What is your definition for awakening in daily life?

The Sage would say: understanding not from the individual understanding. That will be the awakening. For Life it is possible to understand, somewhere Life really always understands. But somehow there is no connection to that understanding from the individual.  A better way to say it is: when Life's understanding is accessed by an individual it will be an awakening.  

When zero and ones [Analogy of Binary code of computers] of Life in Life's language could be translated to the individual, that is awakening. Then the individual and Life really go together. Many time individuals go against Life, they have their own way, and Life has its own way, then there is no meeting. If this meeting can happen, and life and individual merge into each other – that would be a spiritual awakening.

 Is the Individual no longer an individual?

Since there's a body, it would seem as if there's an individual acting as an individual, making individual choices. We may say: individual is not individual, but certainly he/she will be seen as individual. 

When we are not living without holding – is it because individuality gets in the way?

 Individuality has its own understanding and it holds on to that. If those holdings are not there, Life comes with surprises every time, but because of the holding we don't allow Life to surprise us. Which is like a really breezy way, like living in the breeze. Because of holding, because of individual control, we have to live with air-conditioning, but otherwise the whole breeze is available. ['breeze' is like a refreshing gentle wind] 

The experience of totally living without holding or completely understanding not from the understanding – is it possible for us to have a taste of that, even before we're fully there? 

Yes, without taste it's not possible to look for that, it's not possible to give our life for that.  Actually, this holding, or this individual, is because of Life. At some point, there will be an experience of Life. Also in our daily life many times that feeling comes, that breezy, light feeling. Many time we register this feeling and many time the spiritual life is because of registering this feeling: We want to know: “What is there in me which is so light?” Like I feel so heavy but there is something so light. Many times spiritual life begins because of these experiences.  

And do these experiences have a value later on in spiritual life, not only as something to motivate us in the beginning?

When these experiences come it's like... as swimming does for the body, similarly these moments do for the whole being: so fresh, that kind of feeling. 

Please share with us an insight you had recently.

Most recent insight I remember is in the Sattal retreat (April 2010), when I was asked about the planet, there are so many things going on making people worry, worry from propaganda. I was asked what I would say about this, and I said: to consider, to care about the planet, but not worry. That's what came in that moment.  I think that is the most recent insight. Afterwards I could see that that can be useful, if people don't make propaganda, don't make others fearful, but try to make people to care about, but not worry. If people who make propaganda are able to make us worry, they can really take what they want from us because, as we know, when we worry we close down, and people can even steal from us. But if we really care, maybe we do very little but if everybody does something – it's very helpful.