Question: The objective world doesn’t exist?
Karl Renz: This world? I have no idea.
Question: You see it but…
Karl Renz: But I have no idea if it’s real or not real. I only know if it’s real – I cannot get rid of it. If it’s not real – I don’t have to. So in both cases I can be quiet. In both cases I cannot do anything. If it’s real – I cannot get rid of it. If it’s not real – I don’t have to. So you cannot get rid of anything. So just be quiet. Because there is nothing to do.
Question: About view we can have over what is happening. Because it seems to me, from what I understood it consists on being interested to the things we are looking at without being interested.
Karl Renz: It is like meditating about what you see. It is called the inner view. So it is not a meditation – you sit down and close your eyes and sink going inside. It’s a permanent meditation about not seeing the form but seeing that what is the essence of it. So meditating on the essence of Life is not seeing the form, seeing that what is. Normally many think – you have to look within. But you have to look around you and you look at the form, and whatever you see there is timelessness in everything. The silence in form.
Sister-in-law of T. V. Subramania Iyer was a victim of an attack by brahma rakshas and for ten years she was acting in an uncontrollable and unpredictable manner shouting, crying, beating etc. They tried all mantras, tantra and poojas without any benefit. Ultimately, when she became emaciated almost like a dead body, she was brought to Swamiji. He called for some haldi roots, brushed them against his own breast and asked Subramania Iyer to grind them to a paste and apply all over her body. After half an hour the girl, who had been like log, woke up with loud sound and shouted for food! All her bad behaviour had gone away. She became normal in due course.
Question: Karl, did anything change in your art after this event that never happened?
Karl Renz: Yeah, it was changed. Before, there was this “wisdom of emptiness” thing, totally, and every painting was black. There were simply black paintings and black sculptures. Everything was black. Emptiness! Black!
And then there was an outburst of this “thing”. You go to the emptiness and you get totally empty of an idea and then, when you are absolutely empty, fullness comes. Totally. In that moment, total emptiness becomes fullness. That’s like what they call “an outburst of love”. When you reach an extreme point of emptiness, of wisdom, the fullness can come. Because the emptiness of Heart contains the fullness of existence.
Question: What is meant by transcending?
Karl Renz: Transcending cannot be done by anyone. It’s not a doing. It’s just being what you cannot not be – what is prior, during and beyond all what can be imagined. So your very nature, your natural state. Your nature has no likes and dislikes. And your natural state would be neither having or not having anything.
Question: Why do we misunderstand?
Karl Renz: It has to be misunderstood, because you take it personal. How else can you take it? You want to make an advantage out of it. But it’s not an advantage, so it’s not for this relative me. Because relative me wants only the advantage of having no disadvantage, and only having the advantages. But this is an absolute advantage you cannot have. No one survives in that advantage, in that absolute advantage that you don’t need any advantage – there is no me. So it’s not for you. You live by tendencies, you live by that – having or not having. You cannot even survive in not having any tendency.
Ranjit Maharaj: Forget yourself, “I am not the woman”, or not the man, or not the body, or not the name. In this way, forget and you are everywhere. He acts as the body is there, actions are sure to happen. But say -” It is not true.”
So this is nothing, but a long dream. Nobody is bad and nobody is good. Everybody is He! If you understand, then dream becomes happiness to you.
That is the point, and nothing else here. Once understand yourself. “I don’t exist.”
Question: So, I want to ask you, what advice would you give to the sincere seeker, who devotes his or her live to the pursuit of enlightenment? What advice, what would you say?
Karl Renz: Don’t listen to anybody, not even to yourself. Because all you can perceive is not what you are. All you can understand, you can forget already. And that what can get clear is not what you are.
Question: No understanding, no clarity.
Karl Renz: No freedom.
Question: No realization.
Karl Renz: See that That what you are is perfect as it is. And that what is an idea of imperfection is merely an idea in time. It cannot touch That what is Perfection itself.
Question: Yes, nothing works. Because wherever I stay, the mind is always suffering or screaming, or not happy with anything.
Karl Renz: That is the nature of the mind. It always creates – the other shore is better than this shore. This shore is greener than this one. It’s like you make it always – the other side is better than there. If you reach the other side, then you look back and then you think – Oh, it was not so bad before on the other side, so I better go back. You are always restless. That’s called mind. But what to do with it. It’s just the nature of restless phantom, always looking for something was better – advantage, advantage, advantage. And never can stop. So you have to be inspite of that phantom. Because the phantom will always be restless. There will be no final destination, final home or anything.
Karl Renz: The Self always enjoying itself by being the Self. So that what is Self enjoys even the unenjoyment of that what is not Self. Absolutely, you can never disturb the perfect happiness of the Self. This cannot be disturbed by anything. And that what can be disturbed is not the Self, that’s all. And the Self never cares about that what is not Self. The Self is not the caretaker of that what is the unfolding of the Self.
Continue reading “The Self always enjoying itself by being the Self”
Ramana Maharshi: What is Realization? Is it to see God with four hands, bearing conch, wheel, etc.? Even if God should appear in that form, how is the disciple’s ignorance wiped out? Such appearance is phenomenal and illusory. All perceptions are indirect or secondary knowledge. The truth must be eternal Realization. The direct perception is ever present Experience. There must be a seer.
