 What happens in seeker's life where they are seeking for almost like the entire half of their lifetime and at one fine day they stop seeking? So what goes through that mind or what makes them just forget everything? It's a very interesting question because it's also something which one sees in many spiritual traditions seekers Not just seekers, they're also finders. They find a lot along the way. They find themselves They get closer to themselves or they get closer to enlightenment, whichever is the path that they are seeking In our case here, enlightenment is not the goal. It's about self-realization about being present here and now and tuning inward and getting closer and closer to the source. So On such a journey also, you will have that situation where people decide that they don't want to continue on that path And what it generally is is that the ego, the ahankar takes the upper hand When people start out on a spiritual path, they do that because either they want to have power over others That's a motivation Or They're just fascinated by The idea of knowing what this life is about, this truth is about knowing themselves Or they take up a spiritual path because Life is just too painful for them and they want to find a way to get out of it So for those that are interested or have that love for the truth Intrinsically They generally don't Leave the journey or Move away from themselves. They don't normally do that. But those that have taken up a spiritual path Because they wanted to escape the pain or because they wanted to dominate others or have power over others Generally are the ones who would then at one point move out of that process Leave behind that process because what happens is that as they Move more and more towards the self and start acting more and more from the truth They also become more and more joyous and more and more strong But on the other hand the ego becomes More and more devious It becomes more and more clever and will try to outsmart Which is why it's very important for a true spiritual seeker to have someone that has the courage to Point out to them when they allow the ego to take over But what happens then is because they have gathered a lot of Shakti a lot of force spiritual force they start to believe that they are actually Able to live life without listening to the truth anymore It's the ego that has taken over and it's so subtle And it comes in such subtle ways and it takes over and by the time the person even realizes what has happened They've already lost all the Shakti that they have gathered over a period of spiritual endeavor That force that strength that they have Is lost so When that strength is not there the ego has already made its inroads. It'll just keep growing and growing and growing And so obviously they are not going to want to continue with the practices that have actually led them to that State of power Also, what happens is especially when there is a spiritual master involved the Master has to point out to the disciple What is standing in the way to themselves so the stronger the disciple becomes the more devious the ego and so of course the propensity not to Listen to the truth within themselves or to the truth coming from their teacher, but to go with the ego And that's what happens especially in the case of people who start out on a spiritual journey Somewhere because they want to have power over others. Those are the most Dangerous motivations and they will always result in the mess But those are some of the pitfalls which have to be avoided One has to be very careful. One has to be alert. One has to be acutely alert Because if that happens and you fall off from that From that track or you slip off that track. It's very very hard to get back on It's more hard than it could have been before Because the ego just won't let you and people like that They say and do such stupid things one wouldn't believe that it's possible that very same person who maybe A day ago did this does something totally Contraproductive and self-harming You know Because it's the ego the ego is Very subtle the more the more Shakti you have the more Power you have You know jathar agni the The agni the fire of knowledge the fire That has come from tapas From the practices the more that fire is gathered together The faster it releases if you make a mistake And the mistake is that you don't go with the truth that you prefer to go with The ego lie And when you go with the ego lie The result we know already That it's over. It's game up. It's like in snakes and ladders But that snake swallows you down and then you have to make your way up again And not always are those ladders there, which were there When you started playing the game So it's very dangerous actually And that is why they advise to do seva Service Spiritual service For a spiritual seeker who wants to know the Truth of this life and wants to experience it and live it It's indispensable Adhyatnik seva. It's indispensable. It's not a question You have to do it And it's very painful and boring and irritating and you don't want to do it and you'd rather go and watch a movie Yes, I understand all of that But that's the fee you pay into life to receive the The nectar of truth Yeah Yes, I had a follow-up question So what happens then seeker has fallen down and that negative circle and that spiral They reached at the bottom of that pit What lies ahead Generally what would happen if a seeker gives into the ego and Stops the practices or doesn't tune in anymore to the truth and really add from that truth The fall is into suffering actually it's into physical suffering it's into emotional suffering it's into conceptual suffering It's suffering all over that energy and that jatharad mean that force and that shakti that has been built up It has suddenly left the system. So obviously the entire system is weakened drastically It's a material thing. It's an energetic Material thing. It's not about I like this. I don't like this. I like this person. I don't like person No, it's about the energy that has left the system suddenly which had been gathered over years of practice sometimes decades of practice And when that happens the entire system is left vulnerable So it will be It will be taken over And there will be suffering in the process And why that is because as A person as a seeker goes on a spiritual journey towards themselves They build up this force and because they have that force within themselves. They're also able to Attract And increase their prosperity physical health emotional strengths conceptual precision transformative ability All of that grows but it's based on the foundation of surrender To the truth being an instrument of the truth So all those gains that come they come because one is in that surrender state to the truth within and refusing The ego lies demands and and insistences and Wantings and willings and hopings and yearnings and pushings and all of that desirings The moment you Stop listening to the truth All that energy goes away that you have built up you can't just Given to the ego and then expect that everything's nicely going to be in place. No It's like you've replaced the foundation with something else And so everything crumbles And that other thing starts to determine what you're going to experience in this life, you know So there is suffering That cannot be joy. There will not be there is no way There just cannot be Because sometimes seekers think oh now I've learned this much now. I know what I have to do I know what I have to do. That's the ego immediately. You can know that that's the ego speaking Because you only know what you have to do if you tune into the truth I don't know anything I don't know anything It knows I am in surrender to that This this this is in surrender to that and when this stops being in surrender to that Then this faces life because this Is not anymore An instrument of that of the truth But has become an instrument of the ego And then it comes and it comes fast So It's a decision if a person wants to just go through life without actual conscious transformative process or They want to take up a transformative process But if you take up that process, then you've taken it up You can't just expect to stay with all the energy of that process but not continue the process It's like if you pile up money in a bank And then you just write a check A blank check to your enemy. They will just Take all that money out. There's no way that you can say well, you know I have that money in the bank. Now I can deal with the enemy and nothing will happen Even if you don't write that check the enemy will fish the checkbook out of your bag And write a check to themselves. That's how it works So it is a decision which has to be taken Seriously and taken for life You know, it's not a joke Knowing self and especially when you've had the experience of that impulse of source Self realization you better respect that experience and hold on to it. It's not going to hold on to you You hold on to it in surrender in humility Bending down always in surrender surrender surrender. I am the instrument of the soul. I'm yours. I'm yours. I'm yours Not your girlfriends or your mother or your Prime minister. No It's the soul the source You belong only to that. You don't belong to a family. You don't belong to a country. You don't belong to a nation You don't belong to anyone or anything. You don't belong to moralities and ideas and and religions and Systems you belong to that source And if you mess up there, then of course The bank account gets emptied out and you'll have to build it up again And it's not as easy because you don't have The tools anymore because you've lost the energy You have to find the tools again and you have to build it up again. That's why it's so important to hold to the truth And when seekers have practiced for many years Suddenly they start to get this feeling that they know what's going on and they they understand everything. They don't They only know what's going on when they're in touch with the truth within themselves If they are not in touch with that It's not going to happen and often what happens is that they feel that they are in touch with the truth because they don't want to Go with what their own truth is telling them. They don't want to go with it. So they create a truth which is Actually a face of falsehood. It's a very delicate thing. It's a very It's walking a tight rope You have to stay on that rope And you stay on that rope if you hold on to the truth If you keep your sights in front of you and your balance Then then you can move forward Yes