Evolution: Not Part of the Self by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Are you evolving? If you are evolving, you are not in the Self. And you are not out of the Self, because nothing can exist out of the Self. (Laughter)

Broadly they can be put in these 5 catagories. There are six distortions that do not exist in the Self.

– Expansion (Prasarana). Expansion indicates there is already something into which something expands. That which expands cannot be the basis for expansion.

– Contraction (Akunchana). Contraction means something shrinks from something else. Self does not withdraw or shrink from anything, so contraction does not exist in the Self.

– Evolution (Vriddhi). Evolution is becoming something which it is not already. Self is the same, so it cannot evolve.

– Decay (Kshaya). There is no devolution or decay in the Self. It doesn’t get old or stale. That’s why, when you are close to your Self, you don’t feel that you are aging.

– Beginning (Anaadi). Self has no beginning. If God has a beginning, then He is no God.

– Lack (Abhava). Self has no lack. Whatever lacks something is not complete. Self does not lack anything, it is complete. Lack indicates existence of something outside itself. That doesn’t exist for the Self. So if you feel you have not grown at all, don’t worry, you are close to the Self. (Laughter) 
When your mind is with the Self, then you don’t worry about evolution. If you are thinking about evolving, then you are stuck in the mind. And mind is part of the matter, and matter evolves and decays.

And that is how the experience of contraction and expansion is all play and display of the mind. Mind expands and contracts. When it expands, it comes close to the truth, which has no expansion.

Are you still evolving? Good luck!!

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