Ramesh Balsekar

My Comment: One of the many awesome gurus who lived like an ordinary person. 

I have also realized the truth that all wants, including the want for freedom / love, make you imprisoned in your mind.

God uses the body/mind programming to execute his actions when the working mind is fully active. There is no 'I' in such a state of being and you become a superhuman. 

Ramesh Balsekar (1917–2009) was a prominent Indian spiritual teacher of Advaita Vedanta (non-duality) and a former President of the Bank of India. He is best known for his modern, practical interpretation of non-dualism, which he simplified for a global audience through daily talks in his Mumbai home. 

Deprogramming the mind (AI): 

Here are the key aspects of Ramesh Balsekar’s approach to deprogramming the mind:

1. Understanding Non-Doership (The Core Mechanism)

The Conceptual Ego: Balsekar taught that the ego is merely a concept, not a real entity, which cannot be "killed" but rather "converted" through understanding.

The Illusion of Choice: He argued that every action happens through a body-mind organism driven by its programming (conditioning). Realizing that you are not the "doer" of your actions is the ultimate deprogramming.

Total Acceptance: True deprogramming happens when you accept that "Thy Will be done"—that everything is a manifestation of the Source/Consciousness—thereby eliminating the personal ego's desire to control outcomes. 

2. The Distinction Between Minds

Balsekar differentiated between two types of mental activity to explain how to navigate daily life: 

The Thinking Mind: This is the ego-based, noisy mind involved in judgment, anxiety, personal desires, and the "past-future" loop.

The Working Mind: This is the mind engaged in the present moment, doing a task without personal involvement or expectation (e.g., a surgeon operating, an artist painting).

Deprogramming Action: Balsekar suggested utilizing the "working mind" to perform necessary actions without the "thinking mind" attaching a sense of "me" to them. 

3. "Watching" as Dispassionate Witness

Silent Observation: Rather than fighting thoughts, Balsekar advised (quoting his guru, Nisargadatta Maharaj) to silently watch the thoughts and feelings appear in the mind’s mirror.

Non-Reaction: By being a dispassionate witness—without being attracted or repelled by thoughts—you stop reinforcing them. This acts to dissolve (deprogram) the conditioning.

Releasing the Past: By being fully present in the moment and observing the "warp" of one’s thoughts, motives, and hypocrisy without judgment, the accumulation of new conditioning stops. 

4. Acceptance Instead of Fighting the Ego

Unique Teaching: Balsekar’s unique teaching was not to fight or destroy the ego (which he called a "tiger"), but to accept it.

The "Tiger" Snaps: He argued that fighting the ego reinforces it. Total acceptance of "what is"—including your own egoistic tendencies—causes the ego's power to evaporate, as there is no longer a "doer" fighting to keep it alive. 

5. Final Liberation: "Who Cares?"

The Ultimate State: When the conviction dawns that one has no control over actions, a sense of total freedom ("Who cares?!") takes over.

Ending the Search: Deprogramming is the end of the belief that there is someone who needs to become enlightened. 

In summary, Balsekar’s "deprogramming" is the understanding that the "me" is just an, albeit complex, computer program (conditioning) and that when this is seen, the "me" dissolves, leaving only impersonal Consciousness.