Nothing Ever Happened
What!?
By Kosi
Perhaps the most famous teaching of Papaji is his ruthlessly true statement, ‘Nothing Ever Happened.’ This quintessential teaching of Papaji is so far reaching it annihilates the mind’s natural ability to grab onto definitions or concepts that define how we perceive the world and ourselves. ‘What?!” Your mind can protest. How could nothing ever happen? Certainly, you have loads of experience that says the exact opposite. Lots of things happen every day—right? But nothing ever happened is the essence of freedom—how could anything happen right now? Nothing is now.
On closer examination, now transforms into the shockingly simple and provocative inquiry into your true nature. What is now exactly? Is this something we should strive to be in or is it more expansive? If you stop and examine this mind stopping teaching it describes the indescribable. Nothing is the essence of freedom—nothing is your true essence—not an enlightened something, a special something, an eternal something, a worthless nothing, an empty nothing—no! You are nothing at all with nothing added—period end of story! This silence is the eternal voice of freedom.
Now is Freedom. The instant you add anything to this moment you are trapped in the endless house of mirrors of your own mind. This endless mirage is a powerful force that generates how you perceive yourself, your circumstances, and your feelings. The mind is an illusion generator that drags you to the past and propels you into a non-existent future. Most of us move through our lives in a deep trance generated by the powerful illusion of our mind and suffer deeply as a result. To cut through this trance is the great challenge of freedom—the great call of the heart to remember the great power of presence.
It is rare to realize that the thoughts constantly swirling through our minds have no substance—no reality. The past is not real. The future is not real. Who we think we are has no reality—no substance—everything we use to define ourselves ultimately is simply not real. This can be quit a shock. What? Surely I exist—I must be something—the mind protests again. But when you intimately inquire you can discover for yourself the name you call yourself, your past, and imagined future is an illusion generated by your mind.
What is really strange is the truth of nothing is often twisted by the mind into something—another definition of you. Nothing is often transformed into the new mantra of freedom. ‘I am nothing,’ claims the mind, but this like believing you are God—the mind by its nature is constantly redefining you in its own image. If you believe you are a loser than that becomes your predominant experience. If you believe you aren’t free than you are in bondage—even nothing transforms into an endless conversation that is the mind’s attempt to recreate and substantiate the deep feeling that you are who you think you are—a very special someone.
Even if you are suffering you can secretly believe that no one suffers as deeply as you or as long as you have—you are a special sufferer. Or your mind can grab onto a new definition of how special you are—just how awake, free, shiny, and powerful you really are—you can even ‘think’ you are the freedom of now—so special in its infinite emptiness. Ugh—the ego is so tricky, sneaky, and sticky—so stealth. The mind simply can morph into anything.
The great AH…HA of a deeper realization simply does not occur until you surrender all ideas of you to the infinite now of you. This is not a fluffy cuddly feel good kind of surrender—this is the ruthless raging fire of freedom that devours everything. It is like acid rain that dissolves the illusion of you. But strangely, in the willingness to be devoured by now—you can experience the most profound peace and happiness of the boundless freedom you are. This can evoke the deepest belly laugh and profound contentment of now.
Yes. Now. This is the great key to your eternal freedom. Why not dive deep and let go into this eternity? In this great power—the indescribable presence of you—no words exist that can define you. How truly amazing is this? Allowing yourself to be completely devoured by now is the sacred and eternal freedom of now—a sacred holy blaze that reveals the mind itself is non-existent. No words exist to describe this freedom.
Nothing Ever Happened is the living truth of your Being. The death before death arrives. In this living presence you can simply relax and enjoy the bliss of the Now that you are and always will BE.
Nothing is the only reality—the endless freedom of now.
What a relief!
