After many years of searching for meaning in his life, across many continents, ‘Avinash Do’ experienced enlightenment in 2009 – the state of peace and lightness in every moment (no more suffering). It became clear to him that this state can be experienced by any who wish for it, through living an ordinary life – because living in a monastery or going on a pilgrimage is not for everybody.
Avinash has also been traveling with Amma, the Hindu spiritual leader and guru (also known as the Hugging Saint). She has had a deep impact on his life.
Our enlightened teacher shows that living an ordinary life in an extraordinary way is possible, and teaches how to use everyday events as tools for our own growth and happy living.
Super Souls was lucky to connect with Avinash Do for an interview.
More about Avinash’s work can be found on his Soul Love Profile page.
Soul Love: Avinash, what is your key message and why?
Avinash: My key message is that to go through life not trying to understand what actually leads to suffering, not learning what leads to happiness, and not using specific tools and techniques to stop the suffering, is like jumping in a Formula 1 race car and not knowing how to drive it. And you pretty much know it is going to crash. And to expect it not to crash is no wisdom.
You should go through life with understanding and tools to be able to control the vehicle of your mind. This is critical for living a life that is beautiful and which enables us to have beautiful connections with others. It will also be a life in which you don’t get disturbed so easily.
So my message is, we have to learn this and we have to learn this from someone who knows how the mind works, who has done it before and who has mastered it.
It’s like tennis. If you want to master the game and play like Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, you need a master at that level and not someone from club level. When we learn in that way, then we will start doing more things that lead us to happiness.
SL: What is the most common question people come to you with?
AD: People come to me with all sorts of questions, because the students come from all different walks of life. But I have to admit that most questions are related to 2 desires: ‘How do I stop my soul from suffering?’ and secondly ‘how do I obtain enlightenment?’ That means how do I become happy every single moment of my life.
SL: And how do you help them?
AD: I am able to help them by teaching them to fully understand their mind. So that they know every single little corner in their mind. It’s like driving here in Sydney, where I know every single little street, traffic light and corner. I will be able to give someone very precise directions to their desired destination. Of course it is then up to them to walk it and experience the journey.
SL: Do you recognize this from yourself?
AD: Yes, absolutely. I recognize this from my direct experience. So I can explain it to them because I have already walked this journey. But the guidance that I offer always comes naturally, like it is natural for me to eat with chopsticks. I never have to think about it. And when the students master the techniques themselves it will also become natural to them.
SL: When were your eyes opened? When did you have these inspirational insights?
AD: My path was progressive, which means that I was using a system and noticed myself improving spiritually over time. But even the few years immediately before my enlightenment I was happy most of the time already. It was not a sudden change, it was progressive. November 11, 2009 was the moment of my enlightenment. A moment in the morning where I just knew the present moment with conviction. I always had an assumption, an idea, but this was a clear conviction. I call it my ‘A-ha moment’, it was just like “ahhh” [nodding and smiling].
SL: And would that be the moment that your eyes were opened?
AD: Not exactly, because two years before my enlightenment I was already happy 99 per cent of the time, but there was no absolute conviction yet. So, friends were asking me how I was always able to be so calm and relaxed in many different situations, but I couldn’t explain it to them. I could show them what I did as my spiritual practice, but I didn’t know how it worked. But after my enlightenment, I knew every street and every corner. I just knew it. For example, let’s say you have a dream of your mom, and then you wake up from the dream in the morning. You clearly know that this was your mom in the dream, not 99 per cent. And with my enlightenment it was not very different. It’s actually nothing very special because it is just a natural, relaxed state that we all have experienced. But at the same time it is special also, because very few are able to be in this state every moment.
SL: For four years, you were traveling with Amma. What is the single most important thing that you learned from her, as she is such an inspiration to millions of us.
AD: Amma has given me a feeling that it is possible to be happy every single moment. I traveled with Amma for 4 years and I watched her. She is always happy and when you are around her something happens to you. You get this conviction that ‘I can do this too’. It’s like when you were a child and you saw somebody playing an instrument and you thought ‘Oh I can do that too’ [laughing]. That feeling, you know.
She gave me this conviction that I can master myself. And she also showed me the way to be kind to others. Not talking about it but by action. And she lives that. Every single day.
And whatever Amma taught, I was going to experiment with that. I wondered “What’s gonna happen if I do this?” So then I truly lived her teachings and discovered… Wow, that’s beautiful!
SL: Do you meditate regularly?
AD: I used to, but since my moment of enlightenment I don’t meditate anymore because I am always in the present moment. It’s my home. You could say that I am in the present moment all the time, but it is the intensity that can be different. I use it like a light dimmer. I can turn the intensity lower so that I can have everyday interactions with people. But I always have that knowing of where I am.
SL: That must be very comforting Avinash. You have also said: “Fearlessness comes from serving others”. Can you elaborate on this?
AD: Sure. Serving others is ‘pure love in action’ or ‘love expressing itself’. So, when you’re serving others, you’re reminding yourself: ‘ehhh, I am love’. And when you know you’re pure love, you know that it is the ultimate state of fearlessness so you cannot get hurt, and fearlessness will come naturally.
SL: Do you think that one day humans will be more loving for each other?
AD: That is not how I personally look at it. I find it much more positive for myself to become more loving. I do what I can to become more loving. I am not interested in whether others will take action to become more loving or not because I have no control over that. I find it much more positive to become more loving myself. I do what I can to become more loving, and if everyone becomes more loving, the world would be in the Golden Age tomorrow.
I never hope that one day something is going to happen. I live it. And I share the message with others: ‘You should live it too, it feels great’. I have often been surprised that, although so many of us talk about love and kindness, only so few actually live it.
But I have no control over other people’s actions, so it inspires me even more to master myself and share it and be an example to others. Live it! It then becomes very contagious.
SL: Who are your 3 Super Souls?
AD: Amma has made the deepest impact on my life. I was also inspired by books, and will mention two books which are my favorites: ‘The life of Milarepa’. This book had a massive impact on me and ‘Conversations with God’ by Neale Donald Walsch. This powerful book was like my bible.
SL: What would be a final important message you would like to leave for the Soul Love readers?
AD: For those people who are struggling, suffering and searching, I want you to know that if you sincerely want to get out of that, there is a way, because suffering all the time is unnatural. I recommend to look for a spiritual master who has mastered the art and knows the way. There is absolutely a way.
For more information, please visit Avinash’s website: themeditationfarm.org
INTERVIEW BY: DIRK TERPSTRA – SOUL LOVE FOUNDER
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