There’s a large Smart Television screen. You power it on. Instantly, you’re met with a sea of apps and subscriptions. Each member of the household has their own preferences—what to watch, what to stream.
It’s as if each person has their own avatar, receiving personalized recommendations based on their past choices.
Now, imagine a house where the TV is never powered off—or maybe the power button is broken. A child is born into this house. He hears about the television, but never truly sees it. For him, it’s just a constant stream of pictures, sounds, and moving images, shapeshifting as different channels flicker on and off. He can scroll, choose, switch, play.
But for one hour each night, while he sleeps, the TV actually does turn off. He doesn’t know this. He just wakes up feeling refreshed, unaware that it was the silence and stillness—free from the constant bombardment of sound and image—that allowed his senses to truly rest.
In the same way, the Pure Self is like that Smart TV screen. Still. Silent. Unattached to anything being projected onto it. Fires may rage on the screen, but the screen doesn’t burn. Thunderstorms may crash, but it doesn’t get wet. A tragic scene may unfold, but the screen doesn’t cry.
It simply is.
Undisturbed. Unjudging. Always present. It gives you the freedom to watch what you want. It allows your adventure, your emotions, your learning, your entertainment. But it never moves with the images. It remains perfectly still.
It is because of this stillness and silence that programs can be played on it. They come and go, but the screen remains.
Your mind and body are like the movies being played—constantly moving, constantly shifting. And it’s exhausting. Draining. You need rest from the movement of mind and body.
In deep sleep, the TV powers off—and you touch that stillness, that silence. You wake up feeling renewed, but you don’t realize what truly refreshed you. You don’t realize that you have the potential to consciously power off the screen.
One of the core purposes of life is to learn how to turn off the TV consciously—to know the True Self, the Divine Self.
Meditation, dhyan, sadhana, yog, jaap, or following a Self-Realized Master—these are some of the many ways we can begin to consciously recognize the Divine Self within.
Without switching off the television, it’s impossible to experientially know the depth of silence and stillness that lies beyond all suffering.
You can read about it, talk about it, debate it—but until you experience it, it remains theoretical.
Now, consider how the recommendation engine works. If you choose to watch uplifting, inspiring movies, you’ll start getting suggestions for more of the same. If you watch dark, sorrowful, or disturbing content, you’ll be recommended more of that too. The system reflects your past choices. But here’s the key: you can always choose to switch genres. It might take some time, but eventually the algorithm adapts.
This mirrors the law of Karma. Just as your viewing habits shape future recommendations, your actions—your deeds—shape your future experiences. Good actions create conditions for joy and ease; harmful actions lead to suffering. Karma is impartial. It simply reflects what has been chosen, not as reward or punishment, but as natural consequence.
Yet even good karma doesn’t bring the ultimate restfulness. Whether your deeds bring comfort or difficulty, they still keep the movie playing. True peace only comes from knowing and resting in the timeless stillness of the Divine Self—where there is no story, no role, no time.
This also explains the concept of reincarnation. If you pass away—drop the body—without realizing your Divine Self, the movie doesn’t stop. Consciousness continues, taking on a new role, a new storyline, new parents, new time and place. The TV stays on. The script just changes.
But when you learn to rest in the Self—when you consciously power off the screen—you come to know that you are not the actor, not the drama, not even the screen. You are the unchanging awareness behind it all.
Then, life becomes the Divine Play of Consciousness—Krishna Leela, Samadhi State and Turiya state as described by our Realized Masters.
Certainly! Here’s a polished version that retains your voice and essence, along with a graceful translation of the Hindi phrase:
As my Guru, Satguru Swami Mohandas Ji Maharaj, says—when you have come to rest in the Truth of your own Divinity, then “khelo phir maidan mein”—go forth and play freely in the field of life.
