Who is born and who dies?

A comment was left on the blog of November 29, 09. It read as follows-" When thinking or discussing this topic, I can't help but be stumped by the idea of death. Even though I may be mistakenly identified with this body, I can only be aware of things through it. So when the body dies, so does sight, hearing, etc. It seems that any consciousness left would be locked in a black box so to speak." Indeed, a great comment!! There is sure to be a lot of questioning that follows such a thought process.

To answer any questions on death, would it not be appropriate to first address the question of birth? Since, most of us assume birth to be a reality and a fact, it is natural to question the event of birth. But, are you really born? That is the first question to be answered. However, before launching off into this question, let us once again try to unravel the idea of a world and its contents. An analogy is called for at this point because the mind needs some comparison to 'things' it already knows and can associate with.

Let us look at water. It has several qualities including clarity, colorless, liquid, gaseous (as vapor), solid (as ice), white (as snow and ice) tasteless when pure, some taste if impure,flow in the liquid form, and visibility in liquid and solid forms, but quite invisible in the form of rarefied vapor, among many other qualities. All these qualities are of the same water, which to science is H2O. So, one can see that the same water is assuming different forms and qualities. Now, the ice in the glacier becomes the stream, which then joins another stream to become a river. So, in terms of appearance, the ice is 'dead' and 'reappears' as a stream. However, the content is exactly the same i.e H2O or water. The water still remains water, although in a different form and appearance. The river runs its course and joins the ocean where the water merges with the water of the ocean and once it merges with the ocean, then there is no question of separation of the water of the river from the water of the ocean- it all becomes one huge mass of water of the ocean. Again, the river 'dies' to merge with the ocean. The water from the ocean evaporates and becomes the clouds. The clouds drop the water as rain, which again becomes the stream or the river. The clouds may drop the water as snow or ice and the glaciers are formed in the mountains. In either case, it is the same water which has gone round and round in a cycle, each time assuming a different form and appearance. Each time assuming a different quality i.e. ice is different from river water or cloud. The whole cycle of ice, river, ocean, cloud, rain, snow, ice and so on is constantly going on at all times. There is no beginning point in a circle. So, one cannot say that the river is the starting point for the ocean. If so, what about the water vapor which becomes a cloud and then is it the starting point for the whole cycle? Again, all of the various appearance in this cycle are but only water!! The water is the WHOLE in this analogy. The H2O is the unchanging substratum in this analogy.

Having understood this analogy, we can apply the same to your True Nature or THAT. You say that you were born on so and so date in so and so year. Is that your experience or was that told to you? Did you experience your birth? Obviously not! If you did not experience your birth, is it not true that what you believe you are now is a product of what you were told by your parents or the society? So, in reality, what is born is a concept in the mind. A concept of a "me" with a name and associated with this form called the body. You believe you are this body with a name and a mind. The dictionary meaning of belief is "confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof". Based on this belief, you have built a concept of an individual- an individual who believes that he/she is born, lives for a length of time and must also die in the end. The mind creates the concept of time and in this concept of time is a beginning, a middle and an end. You have created a beginning called birth, a middle called the journey of life and an end called death. The concept of being an individual, with a body and mind, gets built on and added to and in the end this belief is so ingrained in the conditioned mind, that the individual believes that he/she will eventually die and then wonders or questions, "what happens to me after death?"!! It is at this stage of the conditioned mind that you are now reading this blog!!

So, now you know, that what is born is just a concept and the same concept eventually dies. What is called birth and death is nothing but the birth of a concept and death of the same concept. Your True Nature is always the same, unchanging, never born,never dies, and always present. You are the whole and not a part. There is no beginning and an end in the whole, just like there is no beginning and an end in a circle. The water remains the same, that is water, irrespective of what appearance or form it appears in. Therefore, even after the 'death of the river water', the water is still present as more water in the river or as water in the ocean or as water in the clouds or the snow or rain. It is just a constant flow in the present. In the same way, even after the appearance of the form of a body is no longer seen (so called death of a person), the functioning continues though not as that body but as other bodies and forms. Consciousness does not remain locked up in the box after death, so to speak. On the contrary, it continues to function as the Universal Consciousness. If it makes it easier to understand, you can say that the personal consciousness merges with the Universal Consciousness (or impersonal consciousness), on the death of the body. Consciousness expresses itself through the medium of a body. The body is needed for the expression of Consciousness in the form of functioning. It is the hearer behind the ear, the seer behind the eyes, the feeler, the taster, the thinker etc. However, all this discussion is just to make it easy to understand from the reference point of an individual. In reality, all of this functioning is actually just an appearance on the screen of THAT. Once the appearance is gone, the screen still remains untouched and unchanged as THAT. Appearances come and go, but THAT (screen) remains the same (Yet another analogy!). THAT is the WHOLE and there is no beginning or ending in the Whole. You are THAT!

Another analogy is presented here. The electricity is the one that makes the functioning of various appliances possible. The appliances are variable and the effects of their functioning is variable, but the electricity is the same. Meaning, the same electricity makes the fan move and blow air, the air conditioner change the temperature of a room, a bulb to provide electricity, a motor to move a machine, a furnace to provide heat, a stove to provide heat for cooking, a radio or a stereo to produce sound. Even though all these appliances are variable in their appearance and functioning, the electricity is the same and the background upon which the various appliances function. The cause (electricity) is the same and the effects (functions of various appliances) are multiple. No electricity, no functioning. If the appliance is "dead", the electricity cannot function through that appliance. It does not mean that the electricity is "dead". The electricity is still there. In the same way, there are many forms and bodies in this universe, and although they all appear different in form and function, they all function because of the Consciousness (same as the electricity!). Again, after the "death of a body", the functioning is no longer possible through that body. Yes, only through that body. It does not mean, that which makes the functioning possible (i.e the consciousness) is "dead".

A concept is not real as it can change at any time. For centuries, mankind had the concept that the earth is flat and now we know it is round and upon gaining this knowledge the concept that the world is flat got demolished, so to speak. In the same way, once the Knowledge of your True Nature or who you really, really ARE, gets established, the concept of being an individual, an individual who is born and who will die gets abolished. One KNOWS that he/she is neither born nor dies. One just always IS. So, can there be any fear of death for one who KNOWS his/her True Nature?

So, Who is Writing these and for What Purpose?

This posting is to answer the three questions from one Anonymous reader in the previous post titled "Just Stop and Be". The questions were related to this Author's notes under the "About Me" part of the Blog. The questions were related to the description by this Author under the "About me" where this Author mentions that 'the absence of individuality is the reason for these postings'. The questions were as follows: If the above mention About Me is true, then (1) Who is it that posts these writings? (2)And to Whom and (3) For What purpose?

Great questions, no doubt. These are actually not uncommon questions in the field of Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Before we move on to answer the questions, few things have to be clarified. One of the greatest doubts that many seekers and others have about Advaita is how to apply this teaching in day-to day life. On realizing your True Nature, you realize that you are NOT what you see, what you hear, what you sense, what you feel or what you taste. However, it DOES NOT MEAN that you cannot see, you cannot hear, you cannot sense, or you cannot feel or taste. This means that the body, the senses, the thought processes etc. continue despite a deep Understanding of one's own True Identity. This is well described by several teachers in the analogy with the sky. We all know that the sky is actually not blue (it is colorless!), yet we cannot deny that it appears blue. In another analogy, we all know that the water is colorless, yet the sea appears blue and that cannot be denied. So, the loss of one's individuality does not mean that the individual (or individuality) ceases to exist to others. It just becomes clear that the individual is just an appearance, appearing in THAT. Yes, the sense of "I am this body" continues with the difference that previous to the Realization it was confined to just one body. However, after Realization (if there is anything like that), there is clarity that now "I am all the bodies and every-thing". Yet, again, there is no denying that every-body appears separate and apart and distinct.

This needs to be further qualified. All questions must be answered in the state in which they are posed. Meaning, that if a question is asked in the dream state, i.e. a dream question, the answer would also be in the dream state. The answer to a dream question cannot be given in the wakeful state. The mind and duality arise simultaneously in the wakeful state. Do you ask any questions in the deep sleep state? Are you worried about who is posting these writings, for whom and for what purpose? Do you ask what will happen to the world and you? Why not? Because there is no sense of a "me" or this "world" in the deep sleep state!! There is no sense of duality in the deep sleep state. So, these questions are being posed in the wakeful state by a "you", in this dualistic state of mind, which "you" falsely believe to be the true state. Yes, in this state of dualism called the wakeful state, "you" are the "seeker" who reads these postings posted by "another body-called Advaitin", get all "blissful and happy" and then when this "you" falls asleep and goes into deep sleep state, there is no "you", no "Advaitin", no "Advaita Talk", "no feelings of bliss, etc."and yet you EXIST! Not only that, in the absence of the "you", there is actually peace and contentment ( and none of these persistent doubts or questions about Advaita!). Ask anyone about their experience of deep sleep and they answer ' I slept happily'. However, this answer is given in the wakeful state. In their state of deep sleep, can one answer " I am sleeping happily in my deep dreamless state"?!!!

In the deepest sense of Understanding about one's True Nature, there is no one posting these writings (since there is no real "you' or a "me" or "them"), no one reading these writings (since all of this is just an appearance in THAT!), and no real purpose of these writings (if all is ONE, then who is to benefit from this teaching?)!!! There is just THAT. The writer, the writings and one reading the writings are all ONE. In the same way, the knower, the knowing and the known are all ONE. So, the question of who is writing arises only in this state of wakefulness, where duality is an accepted fact. Since mind and duality go hand in hand, the DUAL MIND CAN THEREFORE NEVER COMPREHEND NON-DUALITY. It is only when the mind just gives up, the True Nature (which is Non-dual) becomes very obvious. JUST STOP AND BE! When the thoughts are absent, that is your True Nature. In the absence of thoughts, can anyone describe that state (of absence of thoughts)? How is it ever possible?

The mind is however necessary for the sake of understanding one's True Nature. After the Understanding, the mind is still functioning in the state of duality, but it is taken to be just that - a feature of the state of duality. An analogy would be if one is pricked by a thorn, another thorn can be used to remove the thorn and then both are thrown away. In the same way, the mind is used to remove the ignorance and then the mind is "thrown away".

For whom? These writings are for the 'false' seeker. For what purpose? Till such time that the 'false' seeker realizes that he/she is a false entity. Once the seeker realizes that he/she is a false entity, then there is no need for the seeker to read such material. Actually, all of this (the writer, the writings and the reader) is just an appearance in THAT, an illusion, so to speak. The only Reality is THAT, the ONE which is every-thing.

To wrap up, you are already full and complete. There is no one and no-thing that can add or subtract anything to or from you. These writings or teachings are only a means of removal of ignorance and in no way will bring about any glory or greatness to any individual. By imbibing these timeless teachings, one's True Nature is revealed. One does not 'GET' True Nature!

So, you can see that all this discussion is only in the wakeful state and does not apply to the two other states. Just like how "you", the reader, is present now in this state of wakefulness (hopefully this reading did not put you to sleep!), but will not be present in the deep sleep or the dream state. All states come and go and hence are not Real. As Ramana Maharishi said "what comes and goes is not Real". Your True Nature is none of these states, rather it is THAT which is AWARE of these states or AWARENESS itself.

Yes, for all practical purposes, the Author is still a human being, with all the trappings that come with being a human! Nothing great about this Author whatsoever. To prevent any diversion from what is being pointed to, the Author decided not to elaborate on his/her story in this Blog. Often, the seeker tries, sometimes unknowingly, to emulate the teacher and his behaviour. It is not uncommon to see many a Guru, who has this calm and peaceful demeanor about him and the seeker wonders if that is how a Realized would behave. In confusion, the seeker, then gets frustrated if he has feelings or thoughts of anger and wonders why he/she should have these feelings but not the Guru. There is no way the seeker can truly know what thoughts or feelings are arising in the mind of the Guru. Or sometimes, the seeker may try to have the same experience that the teacher had on his way to Realization. Or else, the seeker may compare one teacher to another and get confused as to how one teacher behaves in comparison to the other, but then both are teaching and speaking the same stuff. Diversity is the nature of Duality and one has to accept this. Each object appears uniquely different and no two objects are exactly alike, and yet their True Nature is just ONE.

Yes, in this state of duality (called wakeful state), these writings are being written by a human, for other humans (and perhaps aliens? who knows?!) and for the sole purpose of revealing to these human beings that they are not really, really, really, human beings, but rather being beings!! Hopefully, that answers the questions. If not, the discussion can always continue. Who cares?!!

JUST STOP AND BE

Non-duality is all about simplicity. Unfortunately this message and pointer is not realized by many a seeker and hence the seeking. This is because the seeker, himself a concept, wishes to conceptualize whatever is pointed to. As the seeker reads more and more, hears more and more, visits several "Gurus", reads more Blogs, the more he moves away from the Reality that is being pointed to (although once the True Nature of one's own identity is realized, it becomes obvious that there is no question of anyone moving away or towards Reality!). The seeker is seeking something in the mind. Some 'thing', that the mind can comprehend as a concept. The mind can create infinite concepts and therefore the confusion and frustration keeps on increasing for the seeker. Words are a form of expression and communication. Therefore, words are necessary, yet paradoxically are also an impediment for the seeker. That is the reason why Ramana Maharishi used silence (mouna) as a form of teaching. In silence, one just IS. That is all?!! Unfortunately, many "Gurus", books or websites, and now Blogs, use abstract words like "Bliss", "Spaciousness", "Bliss of Being", "Peace of Being", "Silence" etc., and they are not wrong in using these words, except that the seeker gets more and more entangled in concepts with each word that is used to describe the Reality. Reality is simply WHAT IS!! No word or concept can describe It or get It. Knowing that the seeker, the "me", is itself a concept, a concept with no substance or independent nature, is the end of seeking. One has to stop chasing Reality. One has to STOP RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW AND QUESTION "WHO IS CHASING"? That is it.

In stopping and looking at the conceptual "me" who is chasing Reality, one literally stops in his tracks, so to speak. Then the process of going backwards begins. Backwards to where the thoughts arise from. Where do thoughts come from? Where did this very thought "I" come from? Can there be a "me" without thinking? If there are no thoughts, do I still exist? (the answer to this last question is obviously, yes). If I exist in the absence of thoughts, am I not this Existence itself?

Put these questions to yourself, right here and right now. Stop what you are doing including reading this material. Just STOP and BE! Let the One which is All, merge the "me"(which is but a thought), into Itself. Remain as THAT ONE.

Nirvana - as described by Sri Shankaracharya

This is the English translation of one of the works of Sri Shankaracharya, the great philosopher of Non-Dualism. This work points directly to who you really, really ARE. Read the stanzas carefully and ponder over the meaning behind each of the sentences. Remember, the words are just pointers to the Truth/Reality. Words by themselves are not the Truth/Reality. They just point to the Truth of who you really are. On meditating on these pointers at all times, one gains Realization of his/her True Self. Like a cow chewing on the cud, one must constantly keep the mind focused on the nature of one's True Self.

SIX STANZAS ON NIRVANA

1. Om. I am neither the mind, intelligence, ego, nor chitta (seat of memory;
Neither the ears nor the tongue, nor the senses of smell and sight;
Neither ether, nor air nor fire nor water nor earth;
I AM Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva! I am Siva!

2. I am neither the Prana (the vital force that sustains life in a physical body), nor the five vital breaths (describing the various functions of prana or vital force);
Neither the seven elements of the body (i.e. water, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow and semen), nor its five sheaths (also called Koshas in Sanskrit, the sheaths of food, prana, mind, intelligence and bliss);
Nor the hands, the feet, nor the tongue, nor the organs of action;
I AM Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva! I am Siva!

3. Neither greed nor delusion, loathing nor liking, have I;
Nothing of pride or ego, of dharma or liberation;
Neither desire of the mind nor an object for its desiring;
I AM Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva! I am Siva!

4. Nothing of pleasure and pain, virtue and vice, do I know;
Of mantra or sacred place, of Vedas or sacrifice (meaning various rituals);
Neither am I the eater, the food nor the act of eating;
I AM Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva! I am Siva!

5. Death or fear I have none, nor any distinction of caste;
Neither father nor mother nor even a birth, have I;
Neither friend nor comrade,neither disciple nor guru;
I AM Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva! I am Siva!

6. I have no form or fancy, the All-Pervading am I;
Everywhere I exist, and yet am beyond the senses;
Neither salvation am I, nor anything to be known;
I AM Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva! I am Siva!

Need anyone say more? Here the name of Siva is used to mean the Eternal Truth/Awareness/Brahman.

What makes the body sentient?

We falsely believe ourselves to be the body. Are you really the body? Let us see why we are not the body. The body itself is insentient, meaning it is inanimate. Modern science has revealed that the body is more than 90% water. The remaining is made up of carbon and other elements, oxygen and space between the molecules. We know that when a person "dies", the body is still there initially till it is buried or cremated. However, it is a non-functioning body. Obviously, something is missing, for the body is no longer sentient. So, what makes the body sentient? What is that some- thing or no-thing, which when it is missing, the body is no longer sentient. Think over this.

Now give careful thought to the following. Since the body is made up mostly of water, elements and oxygen, are these capable of functioning? Can the water speak? Can the water listen? Can the water have any sensations? Can the water think? Can the water have any sense of smell? Can the water itself have the sense of taste? In the same way, can any of the elements or oxygen or space, function in any way similar to a sentient human or animal? Can you deny the fact that the water inside the body is the same as a water that is in the lakes, the river or for that matter in the rainfall? Is the carbon inside the body any different from the carbon that is out there in the world of objects? Is the oxygen inside the body any different from the oxygen in the atmosphere? The answer to all of these questions is 'obviously not'. It therefore becomes quite clear that the body itself is incapable of functioning. There is some-thing or no-thing other than the body that makes the body function and become sentient.

In the same way, since we think and we believe that the mind is in the brain, we can realize that we are not the mind also, since the mind is in the body. What exactly makes one believe that they are the body or the mind? It is obvious that any belief is only a thought. The dictionary meaning of 'belief' is confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof. Therefore, the thought that you are the body or the mind, is precisely that i.e. a thought, a false belief. Since thoughts are transient and have no substance, you have falsely believed yourself to be the body or the mind. Can you have any thoughts without the life essence itself? Meaning, can you have thoughts if you were "dead"? Therefore, thoughts by themselves have no independence apart from the THAT life essence. Does it not imply that the entire belief in the idea that you are an individual with a body and mind, is nothing but just thoughts? Thoughts that have no independent existence by themselves! You are what IS, prior to thoughts. So, if you leave the thoughts alone, your existence is already THAT, pure and simple, unadulterated and beyond any concepts. So, the problem is the thinking that you are an individual, an individual with a body and mind. Stop this delusion and you realize that you are already THAT!!

Open up your heart

Very often, a seeker is very frustrated as he/she is not able to grasp what is being pointed to by the teacher. This is not uncommon and we will briefly look at what results in this frustration. The problem is that the person approaches this teaching with his head, i.e. as an individual with an independent mind. From the perspective of the mind, the subject of non-duality is beyond comprehension. For duality is the nature of the mind. Remember the mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts. All thoughts are, by nature itself, in opposites. Meaning one cannot think about black without thinking about it in contrast to white. When one thinks of good, it is the opposite of bad. When one thinks of small, it is the opposite of large. So, don't try to grasp this teaching with the mind. It is only when one stops thinking, that the essence of the teaching becomes obvious. Don't forget, that you already are THAT.

It is only when this teaching is approached from the heart rather than from the mind, the simplicity of this teaching becomes obvious. We often hear of people having a heart to heart chat or communication. In a similar way, when one approaches this teaching with an open mind, without any preconceptions, without any preconceived notions, without any thoughts or ideas of "getting it", with an open heart, there is immediately the resonance with what is being pointed to. After all, it is the consciousness itself communicating with consciousness. Upon hearing this teaching, there is immediate resonance somewhere deep within, which is what many teachers point to as the heart. Approach this teaching, with earnest desire and do not worry about the outcome.

Is there really an individual?

The basic problem is not the lack of understanding what is being told by the ancient sages. The problem is the fact that one often approaches the knowledge as an individual. As long as there is an idea or the thought that one is an individual (the dictionary meaning of 'individual' is 'a distinct indivisible entity'-how ironical!), one cannot "get it". Can there really be two selves? Obviously not! There is only one Self and that is unquestionable. In that case, who is this other self who wants to know about the Self? ( In this case Self means the pure I AM, or the Absolute Consciousness or Brahman/ Atman). Therefore, unless and until one establishes the identity of this other self, there is no way the understanding will be complete. So, let us look at who exactly is this individual, the small self, the seeker who wants to know.

One has to track backwards to where the idea of individuality first arose. As an infant there is no idea of individuality. Everything is just as it is, without idea of separation of 'I' and 'not-I'. The infant does not see himself/herself as a separate entity in this world around him/her. It is therefore not uncommon for little children to speak in third person. For instance, a kid may say "Jimmy want water", or "Jimmy hungry", meaning he wants water or that he is hungry. He does not as yet say, "I want water" or "I am hungry". He thinks that since everyone calls the body as Jimmy, he also assumes the body (his body) is Jimmy- a third person. Subsequently, somewhere between 18 months and 3 years of age, repeated reinforcement and conditioning of the mind takes place and establishes the idea that 'I' means this body. The mother may repeatedly enforce the idea that she is the Mommy and he is Jimmy. Slowly, the idea of 'I am the body" and whatever is not this body is "not-I" gets established. This is where the idea of separation starts. Separation of this 'I' from the rest of the world. A creation of a false subject called 'I', the first person, is established. He gets the idea of 'mine' and 'not-mine' or 'theirs' etc. This separation of what is essentially One into multiples is the beginning of suffering. There is thereafter a constant sense of incompleteness and a longing for completeness. This longing for completeness is called suffering. This separation results in a feeling of insecurity and vulnerability. A feeling that someone out there will eventually take away what one has. This results in one closing the open doors to the world out there. The open-ness is no longer there. One becomes more and more encased in an artificially created shell to protect this identity of individuality. The innocence that is associated with early childhood is slowly lost as the sense of being separate is reinforced more and more as the years go by. This results in suffering as there is feeling of incompleteness. The seeking (for fullness and completeness, essentially translated as peace) begins at this early stage of life. A seeking for completeness. A seeking for peace and happiness. A seeking for something, any thing which many don't know what but still look for. Unfortunately, the seeking may result in looking for a thing, an object and this may cause more suffering as it may bring only transient happiness. This seeking may manifest itself as hoarding of objects (called materialism) or plunging oneself into other ventures like religion, spirituality (called spiritualism), drugs, alcohol, relationships, or anything else, that will for a short period of time take away the thought of individuality, thus resulting in transient peace. This peace is what one is constantly seeking. However, one wants permanent peace in the world of transient objects!! Is that really possible?! This seeking for an end to suffering is the reason you are reading this material. What you are really seeking(although unknowingly) is an end to the very idea of individuality.

When one feels happy, it is the absence of individuality, meaning thereby one forgets oneself. In that momentary forgetfulness, there is a feeling of fullness and contentment. The end of separation, however transient as it may be, is what one is looking for. Although, one may not know it! It becomes clear that one can be at peace only when one loses oneself! In fact, this is experienced by all every single day. In deep sleep, there is no idea of 'I am the body' or 'I am the mind', or ' I am a man' or 'I am so and so' . Yet, there is undeniable peace experienced by all in deep sleep. Even though the individual is absent in deep dreamless sleep, one cannot deny that they exist. Who is this one that exists in deep dreamless sleep? Obviously, there is no Jimmy in deep dreamless sleep. The One who exists in deep dreamless sleep is the Real YOU! Yet, you say, I do not know who this One is. This is because, you expect this One to be an object like all other objects. Can the Subject be the object? If so, how can it be called the Subject? Can you please describe objectively your experience in deep dreamless sleep? Obviously, not! What you can say with conviction and certainty is the experience of peace in deep dreamless sleep. Is that not why we look forward to sleeping? Even though we know very well that we will kill the very idea of individuality that we so carefully preserve during the waking hours? If we really cared about the individual, would we ever sleep, knowing that the individual will be lost in deep sleep? Innately, we all want to lose the individuality, since we innately know the peace that comes with losing the sense of individuality, the sense of a separate "I".

Thus by inquiry into this individual, this "I-thought", one can come to know the falseness of this individual. By knowing what you are not, you know who you really,really ARE. For you already are THAT. Just remove this sense of being a separate individual. Knowing that there is no-one (meaning no individual) here to have knowledge or ignorance is the key to the final Understanding of the sayings of the ancient sages and rishis.

What exactly is Awareness?

O.K., so what is Awareness? It is an odd question to ask. Because Awareness is everywhere. In fact, there is no one who is reading this article who can with any certainty say that he/she is not aware at this very moment. Can you say "I am not" at this very moment? So, what exactly is this Awareness? It is not uncommon for a seeker to feel "I am so frustrated, because I cannot get this Awareness. How come the other guy gets it and I don't". The irony is that you already ARE that Awareness! "If I am already Awareness, how come I don't feel like it?", is another question that arises in the mind of the seeker. Let us explore some of these questions in further detail.

Awareness is NOT an object to be obtained. That is the first and most important thing to understand. Every object is nothing but a thought. The mind cannot conceive of any object unless it occupies space and time. Also, all objects are labeled and named. This helps the mind to categorize all thoughts. When the mind cannot put a word or thought in the category of an object(with form and shape), then it puts it in the category of abstract thought. But, it is still a thought. For instance, a word like presence or awareness, is just an abstract thought and not an object. You know you are present and aware. But when asked to describe your presence, you cannot put it in any form or shape. It just means that 'presence'. Yet, the mind still wants to put it in a category like everything else and then one feels that 'presence' has some objective nature, feels like it is another 'thing'. Can you grasp 'presence'? No. Yet, you know you are present, here and now. In the same way, Awareness is not some-'thing' to be attained. IT cannot be negated, attained, denied, grasped, or categorized.

The mind works by dividing and by contrasting. When one thinks of black, it means the opposite of white. When one says happy, the mind immediately puts it in a category of 'not-sad'. In the same way all thoughts are categorized into opposites. All this is happening subconsciously and therefore not noticed unless one investigates the very nature of the mind. The mind divides every thought into a 'Subject thought' and an 'Object thought'. When an object is seen, the mind immediately puts it into 'I am seeing'. The mind has divided just seeing, into a 'subject-I' and an 'object-seen'. The mind divides just seeing into a see-er and the seen. Feeling into Feel-er and the felt. Perceiving into perceiv-er and perceiv-ed. Of course, one does not go on saying in the mind, "I am seeing" or "I am reading", but the 'I' is subconsciously there in the background of every thought, and one feels like there is an entity that is doing the seeing and the reading. This 'I' is taken for granted and never questioned!! Actually, without this mind dividing into subject and object, all is just happening. Happening where? Happening in Awareness. All is appearing in Awareness. Without Awareness, there can be no-happening.

So, basically, since Awareness is not some 'thing', how can the mind ever know it? The only way is by being IT. Awareness can also be called Presence or Awareness of Presence or Presence of Awareness for ease of understanding. What does being IT , mean? Being IT means that one cannot be any-thing other than IT. Uh? Yes, that is precisely the meaning. So, that boils down to the primary question as to "Who is this 'I' that wants to know Awareness?". Interesting, that all discussions eventually lead to identifying the nature of this 'I', isn't it? It is imperative to know the 'questioner' who is asking this question "what is Awareness?". This investigation into the nature of who we really, really are is the very essence of the quest for Awareness.

We take ourselves to be a separate individual not realizing that the 'individual' is nothing but an appearance in that Awareness. For instance, at this very moment, if I ask "who are you?", you may give me an answer "I am John". But, could you give me that answer if you were not aware and present first? So, the correct answer would be "I am aware. I am John"! So, you have already unknowingly given away your true identity, which is Awareness! But, for ease of communication, one does not go on saying "I am aware, I am doing this thing today---" and so on. Forgetting that you are first and foremost AWARE, before any thought can arise in the mind, is all that it takes to realize your true nature. At this very moment, you are first and foremost AWARE, and then aware of reading this article. The sequence is always 'Aware'--'I-thought'--'I am reading'. It becomes obvious, that before any thought there is always the primary thought of an 'I'. This 'I-thought' assumes subjectivity and then claims ownership of all actions and further thoughts. But, knowing that this 'I' is only a thought, and like all thoughts has no permanence, it immediately vanishes on questioning its validity. In the absence of the 'I-thought', the sequence then becomes 'Aware'--'reading', which can be translated into 'reading is happening in Awareness' or 'reading is happening'. Everything is therefore just happening. Seeing is happening. Talking is happening. Listening is happening. Thinking is happening. There is no-one seeing, talking, listening, thinking etc. If the 'subject thought' is realized to be just a thought, then where is the question of a do-er of any action? Can a thought do any action?

That brings one back to the entity that is asking "what is Awareness?". KNOWING that there is no entity called 'I' (remember the 'I' is just a thought), who is asking the question? The 'questioner' is also just a thought! Like all thoughts, the thought of the 'questioner' has no substance, no permanence, and no independent nature (meaning there can be no thoughts without one being Aware first). So, all this time, this whole process of questioning, investigating, is nothing but thoughts; thought of an imaginary questioner asking questions!! KNOWING this, what is left? Only AWARENESS! THAT Awareness IS always there (whether a 'you' likes it or not!!). When thoughts ARE, Awareness IS. When thoughts ARE NOT, Awareness still IS. When one drops this notion (yes, only a notion) of an 'I' (a false subject), no 'questioner'(a false subject) remains, yet Awareness still IS. That is what is meant by Being IT. Not being this or that, but just being being.

So, who wants to know?

Who has the knowledge?

In this blog as elsewhere, it is pointed out that knowledge is the only method of dispelling ignorance. Ignorance is the main cause of suffering as pointed out by all the ancient sages; Ignorance of the fact that one is not an individual, or the 'I-thought'. Accepting the false belief that one is an individual entity with some substance and independent nature, an entity with a center in the body or the mind, is the cause of all suffering. However, if after a thorough and sincere inquiry, one comes to the conclusion that there is no entity here with a center whatsoever, one becomes free from this suffering. There is no longer any suffering as there is no entity for the suffering to latch onto. However, repeated enforcement of this understanding is required, as years of conditioning of the mind results in repeated emergence of this false belief of an individual.

Often with the advent of the knowledge of one's True Nature, there may be pride in the same. This pride is an obstacle. One must ask as to who can claim to have knowledge. It immediately becomes clear that there is no entity here that can claim ownership of any knowledge. All there is, is the ever present Knowing. In the absence of any entity, where is the question of ownership of either knowledge or ignorance. Knowledge and ignorance are both at the level of the mind. Whereas, what you really, really are is beyond the mind. Hence, one must put aside all pride, even the pride of having seen through this ignorance of who we are. Giving up this pride of having the knowledge is a significant obstacle to overcome and many are stuck at this level. With pride comes the emergence of the ego with a vengeance.

In my Absolute state, I am one without any pride, any question of knowledge or ignorance. I am beyond both knowledge and ignorance, where there is no knowing-ness or absence of knowing-ness. I remain as THAT, the Absolute.

What about Desires?

What exactly is a desire? Where does the desire arise from? These are questions that every seeker wants to be addressed. Of course, if one could get to the very root of the concept of the "me", then all questions are automatically resolved. But for many, this dispelling of the concept of a "me" may not be easy or may not occur immediately on being told about the Truth. Therefore, questions remain and as such must be answered at the level of the questioner.

According to advaita vedanta philosophy, for every individual there are vasanas (there is no English word for this Sanskrit word and the closest word is tendencies). Because of these inherent or innate tendencies(vasanas), one gets a desire, which is nothing but a thought of a want for something or other. This results in agitation of the mind. This agitation of the mind takes over the mind completely. When a desire for a cup of coffee arises, the mind cannot think of any other thoughts as the main thought of coffee overshadows all other thoughts. The mind will not focus on anything else. All that one can think of is 'coffee, coffee, coffee'. This agitation of the mind continues till the desire is fulfilled or some other desire eventually overtakes it. The agitations of the mind results in actions of the body. As soon as the cup of coffee is obtained, the agitation of the mind stops temporarily, till another desire arises! And so the mundane activities of a person continue, driven by desire, which results in agitations of the mind, which in turn results in actions of the body. The person feels like a victim of his/her own desires, completely whipped into action by these desires. The miserable person feels helpless in this never ending cycle of desires.

Let us now analyze as to why the agitations of the mind subside when a desire is fulfilled. When a desire is fulfilled, there is immediate peace or happiness or contentment. In this instance, there are actually no thoughts. When there are no thoughts there is contentment. No thoughts means no desires either. Therefore, there is a state of desireless-ness. In this momentary state of desireless-ness, one is at peace. Therefore, all desires actually bring one back to desireless-ness. This desireless-ness is your True State. It is this desireless-ness which is actually desired by all!! When analyzed properly, one realizes that all desires are actually pointing one back to the desireless state and all desires resolve in that state of desireless-ness. This repeatedly brings one back to question as to who is this 'entity' that actually gets these desires? Do desires exist in deep dreamless sleep state? Obviously not. But you still exist in deep dreamless sleep. So, these desires arise simultaneously with the arising of the "me" or the thought 'I-am" upon waking up in the morning. No 'I-thought', no desires. The 'I-thought' is the root which must be pulled out for the plant of desires to perish. It becomes obvious that unless and until one gets to the bottom of who is this "I", questions will never cease. Upon Realization of the Self, all vasanas dissolve spontaneously.

The Timeless Present

Time is a mental concept. Like all concepts, it has a beginning and an end. When we speak of time, it is taken to have a beginning, a middle and an end. For instance, when we speak of the present hour, we talk of one hour having sixty minutes, starting from minute one to minute sixty. In between the first and the last minute are the remaining 59 minutes. Therefore, time is always conceived as being a block of time, with a beginning, a middle and an end. What has a beginning must have an end. When we say "born", it indicates a beginning. When we say "dead", it indicates an end. Therefore, birth and death are events in time. And time is a concept in the mind. Therefore, birth and death are just concepts in the mind.

Now, let us look at the present or the now. We can call this the present Age (just like there was an Ice Age, Stone Age, etc.) which as we know stretches over thousands of years. We talk of the present Millenium ( a block of time extending over 1000 years). In the same way, we talk of the present century, the present decade, the present year, the present month, the present day, the present hour, the present minute, and the present second. Even a second is thought of as having a starting point and an ending point. But modern science can tell you that the second can be further divided into a microsecond, and further into a nanosecond and so on. Therefore, there can be a present microsecond, a present nanosecond, a present nano-nano second and so on till there is actually no mentally comprehensible time at all and yet there is presence. Therefore, the present or the now is timeless. Therefore, this presence is timeless or beyond time or beyond any concept of time. Meaning thereby that even when there is no concept of time ( or beyond conceptual time as shown in the above example), you are still present and aware. The present is therefore beyond time, meaning that there is no beginning or end to this presence. What has no beginning or end is called eternal or beyond time. Therefore, the present is eternal. While time has a beginning and an end, the present which is timeless, has no birth or death and is therefore eternal.

Is it not common for you to get lost in thought or in some very interesting hobby or experience and then lose all sense of time? And yet you are still present. Even though one may not be aware of time, one is always aware of one's own presence or existence.

In deep dreamless sleep, there is no concept of time. If one is asked to note down the exact moment one went to sleep, it is not possible for one to do so. Let us say, you are asked to clap your hands the moment you fall asleep so your friend can note down the exact time you fell asleep. The moment you clap your hands you are actually awake!! We can only say what time we put our head on the pillow but never the exact moment we went into deep sleep. Similarly, we can only say when we opened our eyes but not the exact moment we wake up. This shows that in the absence of the mind, there can be no time. Therefore, time is but a mental concept. Yet, you cannot deny that you exist in deep dreamless sleep. Meaning, there is awareness in deep sleep. For on waking up you immediately know that you are. The one who went to sleep is the one who is awake and he/she knows that.

Therefore, when Awareness IS, time IS. When time IS NOT, Awareness still IS. Awareness is independent of time but time is not independent of awareness. You are the timeless, eternal, Awareness- beyond birth and death.

The Simplicity of Truth

"The Ultimate Truth is so simple"- Ramana Maharishi. This great sage did his best in simplifying the essence of the teachings of the ancient sages. The teachings in all great traditions have been very similar. After all, the Truth is only one and yet there are a million ways to point to the Truth. The more one thinks about the various concepts, the more deeper one gets into a quagmire of concepts. So much so that the Truth actually gets more and more covered over by the mental concepts. Therefore, it is essential to keep it simple and to avoid getting involved in the mental concepts. Remember, the mind is not independent of awareness or consciousness. Therefore, any concept that arises in the mind is precisely that, a concept. But prior to the mind, the awareness is already there. The shadow is dependent on the object, just like a reflection in the mirror is dependent on the object creating the reflection. The mind(which is nothing but a bundle of thoughts) is an object of your awareness. You are aware of the thoughts currently going on in the mind. One cannot say "I am not aware" and yet say that "I am so-and-so". At this very moment, can the reader deny with certainty his/her existence or awareness of being? Can you say "I am not"? Absolutely not!! Next question is why not? Ponder over this.

The simple way of analyzing one's state of mind in deep dreamless sleep, the dream sleep state and the waking state, can be of great help in pointing one to his/her true nature. In deep dreamless sleep, there is no ego( the I-thought, or the body-consciousness), no world and no unhappiness. Yet, you cannot deny you exist in deep sleep, for upon waking you know you slept and you know that you are same entity that was sleeping and is now awake. Upon waking up, the world, the ego and the varying emotions including unhappiness all appear simultaneously. What comes and goes cannot be real. In this case, the ego, the world and the emotion of unhappiness. What exists through all three states of deep sleep, dream sleep and wakefulness is your true nature. Hence, your true nature, is the Awareness, which is present through all three states and remains unmodified, unaltered and unaffected by the various states of the mind, emotions, and the world of objects.

The problem arises in the mind trying to objectify this Awareness through concepts. This Awareness is non-conceptual and therefore the mind can never grasp it. Just relax into your True Nature and abide as That!

The question of free will-2

In part 1, there was a discussion of how free will from one perspective. The perspective being that there is no entity who can have a free will. Now, we will explore the same topic from another perspective. How about if we explore and investigate if there is any individual entity in the first place. If one can investigate for oneself and discover that there is no individual entity called a "me" ( or John, Jane etc.), then the whole argument of free will falls away since there is no foundation for the argument. If there is no individual entity, then where is the question of free will? Well, there are so many ways to approach this inquiry into the existence of an individual entity. We will try to explore in one way. Let us try to keep it simple, since simplicity is the very nature of the Truth.

No one can deny there is LIFE all around. A bug has life. A dog has life. A human has life. A plant has life. Even a micro-organism has life. Yet Life itself does not have any attributes of its own. Despite the diversity of expression, the common factor is what we call LIFE. We can call that the Life Essence, if that word suits one. There is nothing like a white Life, a black Life, a brown Life, is there? Life is just Life, period. Is there anything like a white American Life, or an African-American Life, or an African Life, or an Asian Life? We can add attributes to what we call "my life", but the fact is that there is nothing like "my life". If everyone says "my life", then who is the real owner of life?!!

Is it not true that you KNOW that you are ALIVE? Do you have to be told that you have something called LIFE without which you would not be conscious of your surroundings or yourself? Is it not true that the SAME LIFE is in you and everything that we say is ALIVE? Is it not true that the LIFE is the same in a white Frenchman, or a Black African or a Brown Asian or for that matter in the variety of animals? There is nothing like a WHITE LIFE, A BLACK LIFE or COLORED LIFE!! Would you not agree? Is it not true that the same LIFE expresses itself in a myriad variety of shapes and forms? Is it not strange and ridiculous that a person somehow feels that he is different from all others although the LIFE is the same in him and all others. In fact if the LIFE is removed from you, the body( that you so much identify yourself with) what is left behind is consisting of exactly the same elements as anyone else irrespective of color, nationality, race, education, wealth, poverty, age etc. At a more scientific and an atomic level, the body is essentially composed of the same molecules and atoms irrespective of color, race, sex, age, nationality. Then, how can it be difficult to understand the fact that you are indeed not "you" (the body-mind complex) but LIFE that is manifesting as "you"? Is it not true that "you" are not actually living, but BEING LIVED?!! Is it not true that we are all ONE ( the same LIFE manifesting in different forms, names and shapes)? Is it not true that without the LIFE, you would not be able to say 'I am so and so' and would not know if you had a body, or a mind, or intellect, or knowledge, or thoughts, or sight, or hearing, or taste, or smell, or a feeling? Is it not true that "you" are able to say "I am" because of LIFE? Conversely, can a dead man say " I am..."? Is this LIFE not the most obvious? Does IT have to be searched for? Can LIFE be described in words or does it by itself have any attributes? We look at the diverse manifestations of LIFE and mistakenly assume the forms and shapes to represent different entities. Yet, look closely, and the external appearances turn out to be nothing but the expression of the underlying Oneness. If after reading the above, we replace the word LIFE with Awareness or THAT ( or Brahman, or whatever other word that appeals to you), one can go deeper into this inquiry.

Of course, there can be many opposing arguments to what is written above. It is not a detailed exposition on Advaitic teaching. It is just another simple analogy to point one towards the Reality or encourage one to inquire into the nature of one's true nature.

Whatever way or however one is able to come to the certain conclusion that there is no entity here called "me", it does not matter. Once there is no individual entity, where is the question of free will? Whose free will? No roots, no tree. No building can stand without a solid foundation. Once the individual entity is removed, who can claim the ownership of will?

The question of free will-1

One gets accustomed to the idea that there is an entity here called a "me' with volitional control on all the actions of the body (which one calls "my body"). Voluntary means "acting in accord with one's own will". In contrast, there is the word "involuntary" which means"independent of one's own will or not by one's own choice". Now, let us examine the question of free choice or will. Before any action, a thought arises. After the thought comes the action. But, do you actually have any control over your thoughts? Or, do thoughts arise spontaneously? When one says "I have a free choice on what I do", it means that one also has free choice on what thoughts arise, since thoughts precede any action including speech. If one had a free choice over thoughts, why would one ever choose to have bad or unwanted thoughts? Can anyone deny the fact that bad or unwanted thoughts arise spontaneously and not to one's choosing? It is amazing that so much is written about why one should avoid bad or unwanted thoughts. But, the fact is that no one can control thoughts. Fortunately, not all thoughts are expressed as actions or speech. But, how often, have you not said "I wish I had not done that". Or, "I have no idea why I did that", or "what was I thinking when I said that (or did that)". If one had volitional control on one's actions, then we would never have anything like regret!

Thoughts like everything else is part of the universal functioning, functioning that is not within the control of an entity called "me". Now, the same universal functioning is also responsible for what we call the 'involuntary actions'. When we say "involuntary", we assume that these are actions which are not under the control of a "me". For instance, the process of making urine, the process of digestion, the process of beating of the heart, and the growing of the finger nails, are all not under the control of a "me". Therefore, it is very convenient to throw it into a category called "involuntary" and forget about it. That is right, forget about it. It is exactly this forgetting about IT, that is the cause of all suffering(and the reason why you are reading this message)!! But, if one starts inquiring into what exactly do we mean when we say involuntary, a lot of questions arise which need to be answered. If it is involuntary, it means not under "my control". Well, then what about your involuntary actions? The same answer is given by you. In the same way, every person will give the same answer. In that case, who is in control of these so called "involuntary actions"? Logic dictates that there has to be an answer to this question. We can't just dismiss it as just another function of the body. Because, in that case, the next question is, "why is it that a dead person no longer has these involuntary actions, like beating of the heart, or digestion, or making of urine, etc.?". If the answer is "because a dead person has no life in him/her", then another question arises " what exactly do you mean by 'life'?". Invariably, one gets drawn back to one's own source as the answer to all questions.

By using the word 'involuntary action' ( not according to one's will), one indicates the fact that there is someone or something other than you that is the cause of the action. Then, who is that someone or something? Can you answer this question? If not, would it not be appropriate to inquire further into this matter to reach a conclusive answer? Without an answer, can one still insist on the presence of a free will, a free will that is responsible for voluntary action but not know who is responsible for the other action (the involuntary action)? Or, can we not just stop using the words 'voluntary' and 'involuntary', and just relax into accepting the universal functioning just the way it IS? Accepting what IS rather than resisting what IS? Accepting what IS, rather than categorizing into "I like this" and "I don't like this"?

Where is the mind?

There is an assumption that the mind is a function of the brain. Thereby, many assume that without a brain there can be no mind. Let us analyze this assumption and see if it is indeed true or false. It is assumed that action is done as a result of direction of the mind. It could be interpreted as meaning that without a mind, no action is possible. The mind is considered to be a part of a "me", an entity that assumes ownership of the mind. That is why, we speak of "my mind". Very often, you hear of people saying "my mind is going crazy". When asked where is the mind, most will point to their head naturally. Well, if the mind were a function of an anatomical site called the brain, what about a bacteria or a virus? Does the bacteria, which is single celled organism, have a brain? In the same way, does your liver (composes of billions of small cells) ask "you" if it is okay to metabolize the food? Does the digestive system (composed of billions of small cells in the form of a stomach, intestine, pancreas etc.) ask for permission from "you" to digest the food? Does the heart or the lung, for that matter, not function on its own without any constant supervision from a "you". The nails on your fingertips grow spontaneously. The hair grows spontaneously ( unless of course if you are bald!). Functioning is going on at all times of the waking hours (called daytime) and even during deep sleep. A tiny virus can cause havoc in the public health system. Yet, there is no anatomical location of a mind or brain in the virus! The virus in fact knows how to respond to threats to its survival by adapting itself fairly quickly. That is the reason, mankind has been unable to cure the common cold! The virus knows how to adapt to the vaccine that mankind keeps developing. The virus is even tinier than a bacteria. The bacteria, which are just single cell organisms, similarly adapt to threats of antibiotics by developing resistance.

Extend this to the plant kingdom, and it becomes obvious that there is an universal intelligence or mind, which controls everything (yes, including what you call "my body"). Plants know when to sprout leaves as soon as the weather warms up in spring. They know when to shed leaves in Fall. Grass grows spontaneously. Flowers bloom. Ever wonder who controls all of the functioning in the world and the universe?

The fact is that the mind has no substance by itself. When looked for, one cannot point with certainty to any particular location for what they call the mind. The mind is not a container in which thoughts, feelings and emotions can be stored. The mind is a general term that encompasses the intellect, the ego, and the will. The mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts, all of which are constantly changing. No thought can be held on to for a prolonged length of time. Since, thoughts are nothing but vibrations of the universal energy, they are in a state of constant flux. It is because of memory, that one gets a feeling of continuity of thoughts.

The mind appears along with the waking state. It disappears or subsides in the deep sleep state. When there is no mind, there are no thoughts, like in a deep dreamless sleep state. It again points to the fact that mind and thoughts are one and the same. Meaning, there can be no mind without the thoughts and no thoughts without the mind.

What appears and disappears cannot be real. The mind is something that appears and disappears. The only Reality is that which is continuous and present in all states. The only Reality is the presence-awareness or awareness of presence, which is there in all three states (deep dreamless sleep, the dream sleep state, and the waking state). You know you ARE in all the three states. If woken up in the middle of deep dreamless sleep, you immediately KNOW that you ARE. Who are YOU?

The various states of the mind and YOU

The three states of the mind can be analyzed to point one towards the Reality. Essentially, we assume that the waking state is real as we are able to perceive various objects through the senses of sight, touch, taste, hearing and smell. We also experience various thoughts, feelings and emotions. The mind is fully active in the waking state and so also are the sensory organs. With the fully active mind and sensory organs, one has the feeling that the world of objects, emotions and thoughts is real. However, with the onset of deep sleep, the mind is inactive and so also the sensory organs. In this state, there are no perceptions, feelings or thoughts. There are therefore no objective experiences as such. If one asks oneself to describe the state of deep dreamless sleep, there is no way one can really answer, since there was no sensory or mindful experience. Meaning, there is a state of forgetfulness or unknown-ness. However, if one analyzes the feeling that one had in deep sleep, there is no doubt that one felt peaceful and happy. This peace and happiness that one feels is not an objective experience that can be described in the usual way we describe objects. Yet, one is certain of the feeling of peace and happiness in deep dreamless sleep. Since there are no objects in deep sleep, but you are still there in deep sleep, it becomes clear that you are the peace and happiness. You, as the subject, are the only one present in deep sleep (and objects are absent or not perceived) and the only way to describe your own self in deep dreamless sleep is peace. Therefore, peace is your true nature and is undeniable (by every entity).

In the next state of dream sleep, the mind is partly active but the senses are not fully activated. Dream sleep is therefore a state of internal experience, whereas the wakeful state is a state of external experience. In the dream state, a mental construct of a different type of world (than what is experienced in wakeful state) or sometimes a similar world may be experienced. The dream appears real until the next state i.e. the state of wakefulness arises. The dream world and all the objects of the dream world disappear immediately. Similarly, when one enters the deep sleep state after the wakeful state, the world as experienced in the wakeful state ceases to be.

We already know that what comes and goes, or what appears and disappears is not real( real = unchanged). The world of objects appears and disappears in both the wakeful state and the dream state. Therefore, both the wakeful state and the dream state are not real. The state of deep sleep can also be described as unreal since it is not constant (meaning it is not a permanent state). But the fact is that the experience in the deep sleep state is unchanged through all your life. The absence of experience of objects and thereby the feeling of peacefulness, is constant in deep sleep state. The peace that is "experienced" in deep sleep state is constant and unchanged. The sleep dream state and the wakeful state experiences are constantly changing. The only difference between the sleep dream state and the wakeful dream state(as this writer would like to call it) is that the wakeful (dream) state is just a longer and more contiguous state and therefore appears more real.

This does not mean that the deep sleep state is the Reality. It however is an experience of the causal body. The deep sleep state is also called a state of ignorance or forgetfulness. Meaning, in that state, there is no knowledge or absence of knowledge. It is from this ignorance that the other states arise and create a dream-world or the wakeful-world. In this state of ignorance, there is no way one can analyze the status of one's experience. One can only analyze the deep sleep state in the wakeful state and come to a conclusion that one experienced deep peace in that state. There are two types of knowledge: (1) a knowledge of objects and (2) knowledge without objects. Knowledge without objects is pure consciousness. Pure consciousness is what is known in deep sleep state and since there are no objects in that state, there is only pure consciousness and nothing else. There is just knowing present in deep sleep state. This knowing is all there IS irrespective of what state the body-mind complex is in, but in the wakeful state and dream state this knowing is not appreciated due to false identity with the body-mind and the distractions from the world of objects.

Now there is another state, which is not experienced by everyone. In deep meditation, a fourth state called the Turiya state is experienced by the seeker. The turiya state is similar to the deep sleep state but the mind is just stilled into a state of no-thought. Meaning, there is forgetfulness in this state despite the fact that one is actually awake. The turiya state provides the seeker with a sense of knowing the absence of objective experience as is noted during deep sleep state. But like any other state, it also is transient. Even if one goes into deep meditation and is unaware of the world of objects, when he comes out of the meditative trance (turiya) he is immediately immersed in the world of objects, perceptions, feelings and emotions (that he had temporarily left behind). All the problems that were left behind temporarily resurface with a vengeance! So, it becomes clear that one cannot hope and desire for any one particular state (even if one feels most at peace in one state!). All states come and go, like everything else in the universe. It becomes clear that the direct way to Reality is through knowledge gained from inquiry. One has to therefore leave behind all the states to know the Reality, which is the unchanging background against which all these states appear.

The fact that you can remember your experiences in all the above three states indicates that you were aware in all the three states. The one who is aware in all three states is who you really are. The unchanging you, as awareness, is your true nature. Please note that even in the wakeful state, you are aware of what you call "my" body and "my" mind just like you are aware of the world of objects, emotions, thoughts and feelings.

All states come and go and cannot be descriptive of the Truth (which is unborn and unchanging). As discussed previously by this writer, you cannot be the object of awareness since you are the awareness itself!

The above method of analysis is just another way of discovering one's own true nature. One must explore and investigate all avenues of finding out one's own True Self.

The Journey and the Destination

This is going back to the basics. Before starting on any journey, one must have an idea of where one is going to and why one is going there. Meaning, there must be definite knowledge of the destination to be reached. Once the goal is known, then the next step is to plan the journey. The next step is to find out what instruments or methods are needed to achieve or reach the goal or destination.

For instance, if one wants to go to New York from Philadelphia, one has to know the exact address of the destination in New York. One doesn't just go to New York without knowing where one is headed to in New York. Otherwise, on reaching New York, one may wander aimlessly. Once the address (the goal or destination) is known, one has a map in hand to ensure safe arrival at the destination. One has to consider using the train, a taxi or a bus to get to the destination. What does one do after arriving at the destination? Does one continue to go on the journey? Obviously, not! Having reached the destination, the map is of no use ( but one does not necessarily discard the map). The train, taxi or bus are only modes of reaching the destination. One does not hang on to these after reaching the destination. This is just an example. Of course, one can make endless arguments about this example itself and lose sight of what the example is pointing to.

Now using the above example, we can look at the journey of the Seeker. What is it that the seeker is looking for? The goal for the seeker must be very clear before one sets off on the journey. Otherwise, the seeker will get lost ( just like landing in New York without a map or the address of the destination) even if the journey is in the correct direction.

In the case of a seeker of Reality, the Reality is the goal. It should be clear to the seeker that nothing short of realizing the Reality will do. If the Reality is not realized, then the journey of the seeker continues, meaning, the seeking continues. Once, Reality is realized by the seeker, the seeking will stop. In the search for Reality, one uses the mind (just like one uses a train, taxi, or bus and the map) to reach the destination ( Reality). Once the destination (Reality) is reached, the mind, which was just a vehicle and tool to reach the destination, is of no further use or real value and is left alone ( not necessarily discarded!). Having reached Reality, the seeker realizes that he/she is itself the Reality. Therefore, there is nothing to be done or undone thereafter.

Many a seeker has no clue of what is the FINAL GOAL. Often, the seeker, in the depths of his heart and mind, is unsure of what the final destination really is. Since, the goal (Reality) itself cannot be described in any objective terms and is somewhat abstract, the seeker feels lost. Also, the seeker has this sense of insecurity that what if the status quo changes and all that he/she invested in so far is lost, then "what will happen to me and this story of me?". Meaning, the seeker still has doubts about the goal or destination. Therefore, it is of prime importance, that the goal or destination is absolutely clear before setting off on this so-called spiritual journey. Also, one has to feel comfortable with whatever happens on reaching the destination. The tools that are used to reach the destination are precisely that, just tools. These tools are of no real value once the goal or destination is reached. In the case of self-enquiry, the mind is the tool that is used to reach the destination. Once the destination is reached, the mind is realized to be just that, a tool and is of no real value. One does not have to discard the tool (mind). Just realize that the tool is not who you are.

As a result of not knowing what the final destination is, many a seeker is wandering aimlessly in the field of spirituality. The fault is not with the field of spirituality. The fault is with the seeker, who refused to plunge into the goal of finding the destination with full effort and sincerity. This is what is called a sincere and earnest seeker. When nothing else ( other than reaching the destination) matters to the seeker, the destination is easily reached. With such determination, every sincere and earnest seeker will reach the destination of Reality.

Of course, all of the above is just another pointer or analogy to help seekers on their path. On reaching the final destination of Reality, the seeker realizes that there was actually no person (or seeker) on any journey, since the Reality is what he/she already was. This statement may give rise to the feeling that since one is already the Reality, why should one even seek IT? This is where the paradox is. There is no-thing to find or reach, and yet without seeking IT, IT cannot be found. Meaning, as long as there is ignorance, one continues to ignore the Reality. This is where the Guru comes into the picture. The Guru ( in whatever form, shape, matter, or just an inner thought) tells the seeker that he/she is actually the Reality and gives the map or directions of how to find out that he/she is actually the Reality. The Guru tells the seeker that he/she is indeed the Reality and it is just a matter of ignorance, a matter of ignoring his/her true nature. The Guru tells the seeker that seeker will not add or subtract anything to get to Reality, since he/she is already the Reality. On following the directions given by the Guru, and having full faith in the Guru, the seeker reaches the so-called goal or destination without difficulty. The Guru helps dispel the ignorance that one is not the Reality.

To explain this paradox, there is yet another analogy. John thinks he has lost his bunch of keys. He feels miserable and wonders how he will ever replace all the keys. He suffers and feels anxious about the future without the keys. All kinds of miserable thoughts arise in the mind. What if this happens, what if...and so on. He searches desperately for the keys everywhere but is unable to find the keys. He looks in cabinets, drawers, under the pillow, and under the stone in front of the house, but still cannot find the keys. A passerby, seeing John's misery,asks him as to what is going on. On hearing John's story, the passerby tells him to put his hands in his trouser pockets. As soon as he puts his hands in his pockets, he feels the bunch of keys. John is ecstatic that he has found the keys and thanks the passerby profusely. Simultaneously, John also realizes that the bunch of keys were always in his pocket all this time and he was unnecessarily suffering, thinking they were lost. John realizes that the entire process of searching for the keys, and the suffering and anxiety associated with the thought that the keys were lost, was futile. But he also realizes that without seeking the keys, he would never have found it. He had just ignored the fact that the keys were in his pocket and had failed to look for it in the correct place. Thankfully, the passerby (in this case the Guru) had pointed to John to look for the keys in the correct place. The passerby (the Guru) did not find the keys for John. In fact, it was John who eventually found the keys!! The keys were nowhere other than on himself, as close to him as they could be, and not out there somewhere.

All these analogies, indicate to a seeker the simplicity of what is being pointed to. The power of ignorance is so strong, that repeated pointing may be necessary before one becomes firmly established in the knowledge that one is already the Reality.

What is sincere and earnest desire to know?

What is a sincere and earnest desire to know one's true nature? It indicates the one and only strong desire to know one's true nature. Nothing else matters. This desire to know one's true nature becomes a burning desire to the exclusion of all other desires. It is like the thirst for water for a person stranded in the desert. It is like the desire for air in a person who is drowning in water.

It is not a desire to know, so that one can be called a sage. It is not a desire to know, so that one can tell others how great it is to know your true nature. It is not a desire to know, so that there can be something to gain from it. It is not a desire to know, because one cannot face the world as it is. It is not a desire to know, so that one can escape from this world of suffering. It is not a desire to become something other than what you already are. It is not a desire to know, so that there is more knowledge.

It is just the desire to know for the sake of knowing - even if it means the end of everything that was already known and believed in. When this Knowledge dawns upon one, even this knowledge is discarded, and then all that is left is pure Being, which always IS. Just BE.

What is your reference point?

It is all a matter of what reference point one uses. The entire issue of suffering is based on the reference point of a separate "me'. Based on that reference point of a "me", there is immediately the assumption of a "you", a "him" , "her", "them" or "that" ( all of these being 'not me'). There has to be a first person, for there to be a second person and a third person. This separation of a "me" from the world out there results in insecurity and vulnerability. This "me" searches for wholeness or completeness which will be the answer to his/her insecurity or vulnerability. This search continues throughout his/her life in the varied field of objects out there. Some gather more materials and objects in the hope that having more may make them more secure and less vulnerable. They may not necessarily acknowledge or know that they are actually feeling insecure or vulnerable. But their actions are based on the basic innate feeling of insecurity and fear which in return is caused by the feeling of separation from the rest of the world and universe. There is a transient feeling of happiness on possession of a desired material object or any other object including persons or pets. Yes, only transient! How often have you heard people say " this feels like heaven"! However, the novelty wears off pretty soon and what was once very satisfying becomes not so satisfying or mundane. Soon thereafter, the mind starts looking for other objects that will give it excitement. The reason that there is transient contentment is because when there is possession of a desired object, there is transient forgetfulness of this "me", a loss of separation and hence a sense of completeness ensues. This loss of separation or feeling of completeness translates as a feeling of happiness.

Others, pursue a spiritual approach, hoping that gathering more "spiritual knowledge" or doing certain "spiritual deeds" will make them whole and complete. One feels content or happy when engrossed in the spiritual activity. Why? The contentment is again because of the transient forgetfulness of the "separate me" while engrossed in that spiritual activity whatever it may be- whether it is meditation, chanting, or prayer. However, despite all such measures there is still no lasting sense of wholeness or feeling of completion. People spend years, if not decades, doing various spiritual activities or materialistic pursuits and many get frustrated and dejected because of the failure to achieve what they had set out to do- which is to get a lasting feeling of wholeness or completeness. A feeling of unqualified contentment or peace of mind.

When it is pointed out that what they have been looking for is already available right here and right now, the conditioned mind refuses to accept it. The mind counters "How can it be so simple or how can it be so clear and obvious? Why don't I get it?". The mind counters "I am not stupid or foolish to be doing all this for so long if it was so simple". Many refuse to accept the Truth despite several clear pointers, because of their vested interest in maintaining the facade of a "me". They somehow do not want to let go of this "me" with all its worldly attachments and embrace this presence or Awareness which is who they are, whether they like it or not. But, despite all the objections from the mind, if one sincerely investigates one's true nature, it becomes abundantly clear that there is nothing apart from the Awareness that one already is. All that is needed is sincere and earnest desire to know who you really, really are.

When one assumes the Awareness as the reference point from which one witnesses everything, no further questions arise. Abiding as the Awareness is all that one, who has fully investigated , needs to do. From the reference point of Awareness, can you point out a center for yourself? Is the Awareness anywhere in the body in particular? Is it anywhere out there in particular? If you say you are aware, does not the other person also say the same? Is not the Awareness therefore present everywhere at the same time ( omnipresent)? Where is the question of separation if you as Awareness are every-thing? Can Awareness be described in words? Being a no-thing in particular, is it not every-thing? What other proof do you need for Awareness, other than the fact that you are currently aware, that you currently exist?

Can you really speak from a reference point of an entity that has no existence whatsoever apart from Consciousness?

The belief in a self-center

All suffering is caused by the belief in a self-center. The belief in the independent existence of a "me", who has substance and volitional control on the body, mind and senses. A belief is defined as 'confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof'. With investigation, by none other than the entity that believes in its own independent existence, it can be proven that the "me" does not exist apart from the Consciousness or Awareness. Having thus convinced oneself that there is actually no "me" with independence or substance apart from the Consciousness, the floor literally drops off below the self-center. Although, the self-center cannot be localized anywhere and one comes up empty-handed so to say, there is still the awareness that one exists. So, it is clear that in the absence of a self-center or a "me", you still ARE. That Awareness is who you truly are.

The question naturally for most seekers is how can one function in a world if the "me" does not exist. If one investigates thoroughly, it is obvious and clear that the "me" has no existence apart from the Consciousness. In the wakeful state, the "me' arises simultaneously with the world. In the deep dreamless state, there is no "me" and no world of objects either. In the dream state, there is a different "me" with a different kind of world. Of course, if one calls a sage(jnani) by his or her name, he or she does respond. It only means that the sage is fully aware of the false nature of this "me" and does not assume the do-ership of the "me". Functioning happens spontaneously. Life becomes effortless for one who has given up the "me" as a false entity with no independent existence or substance apart from the Consciousness.

The changing world of objects and you

What is not changing in the world of objects that is perceived? Every-thing is constantly changing. Even the objects which appear to be stationary and visually unchanged are actually changing. Or else, your house would never need maintenance! The water in the river is not the same water that you saw just one second ago. The body that you think you are is changing all the time. You don't have to prove that to yourself. Just look at your old photographs! The mind, that you think you are, is also constantly changing. What gave you pleasure a few months or years ago, no longer satisfies you. Your thoughts about who and what constitutes you, is also constantly changing. One moment, you say 'I am a happy person'. The next moment, you say 'I am not feeling that good or happy'. In the morning, you wake up as one entity and by the end of the day, you realize you have played so many roles (yes, roles such as father or mother, wife or husband, dad or mom, manager, worker, doctor, engineer, including role as a sage etc.) that you cannot pinpoint which one of the entities is really, really, the "you". Because you fail to realize your true unchanging nature, this "you" that you think you are, is constantly in search of a bigger, better, source of joy, peace, happiness and looking in the wrong place (the world of objects) for that. If at all, you think you can find some peace or joy in the world of changing objects, would that be permanent and unchanging. Is that not been your experience so far? Whatever you get you will lose at some time. Is it not clear that the sense of existence, the sense of being, the sense of awareness, the certainty that you ARE, has never changed despite every other thing changing? Is that not your REAL nature? REALITY means unchanging.

All perceptions are constantly of change. However, the only fact that is certain is of perceiving. Perceiving is going on. It is happening irrespective of the nature of the thoughts. Seeing is happening. Hearing is happening. Feeling is happening. It is only after the fact that seeing is happening, that a thought arises, "I see" and in doing so, one has immediately created a Seer ( the false subject) and the Seen ( the false object). You as an entity did nothing to see, as seeing will happen even if the thoughts are elsewhere. An example would be when one day dreams. When day dreaming, while seeing is happening, you do not associate with the objects seen and therefore the mind does not give rise to the thought "I see". Instead, the mind is associated with thoughts of distant objects based on memory or anticipated future- and this is what one calls day dreaming. This shows that seeing is happening independent of your thoughts.

In the same way, being is happening. What do "you" have to do to be? Can you ever not be at this moment? Just relax into this being that you are. Do not put a label on this Being. A label like human Being, supreme Being, or being good or being bad or being this or that. Being is Being-period. Instead of calling yourself a human being, how about being being?

Investigate, know and BE as you are

Who is actually seeing? Who is actually knowing? Who is the real perceiver? These are the questions that every seeker for the Truth should ask oneself. The pointers here may make the answers come easier. Remember, the pointers are not the Truth itself.

There is just this knowing, seeing, hearing, thinking, and doing. The eye does not say it is seeing. The ear does not say it is hearing. The body does not say it is doing something. The brain does not say it is thinking and knowing. The organs by themselves do not claim ownership of the function that is being performed through them. The eye cannot see by itself, can it? If it could, then one could take his one eye out and leave it at home and say "I am keeping one eye on things happening at home"! The ear cannot hear by itself. Obviously, this functioning is possible only when some other power is already present.

What is actually happening in that case? Let us take the example of knowing. Knowing is happening as an appearance in this ever present Awareness. The thought "I", which is merely a thought, a thought of a personality, a mental construct of an entity based on memory and conditioning of the mind, comes into play. This "I-thought" cannot exist without attaching itself to some event or object, be it the mind or the body or another thought or object of perception. The "I-thought" interprets the pure knowing as "I am the knower". The object of the knowledge then becomes the known. In this way, what was pure knowing, becomes split into a subject and an object, a knower and the known.

In the same way, there is seeing. The eye does not say "I see". Seeing is happening even without anyone claiming ownership of the function. However, the "I-thought", immediately takes ownership of the function, and claims it as "I am seeing, I am the seer", thereby creating in the thought pattern a subject (seer) and the object (seen). The fact is that a thought cannot see!! Just think over this carefully. Can a thought actually see? Can a thought actually hear? Can a thought actually do anything?

What you think you are is just that. A thought!! If you just stop thinking, even for a moment, you still exist. Try this yourself. Why is that? It is because, you are obviously not a thought. The Awareness that you are, is prior to any thought. It is just that this Awareness, gets translated into a thought, "I am". You do not have to repeatedly remind yourself, " I am, I am" to know that you exist!! Obviously, existence or Awareness is the background on which all thoughts appear including the primary thought "I am". This primary thought "I am" must be investigated for what it is, just a thought. In deep dreamless sleep, there are no thoughts including the thought "I am" and yet you exist. What is your identity then ( in deep dreamless sleep)? In deep dreamless sleep, you still exist despite absence of identity of the body, mind, or the world. For, in the morning, you wake up and with certainty say "I slept". This continuous Awareness, was there throughout the states of deep dreamless sleep, dream sleep and wakeful state.

It is because, one becomes stuck (or firmly believes in) with the identity assumed during the wakeful state, that there is unnecessary suffering. Be free of this false identity assumed during the waking state and see what happens. You realize that everything just is happening spontaneously. Investigate, know and BE.

With what effort are you existing?

Are you awake at this moment? Can you deny you exist at this moment? Can you say "I am not here" at this moment? Have you ever wondered as to why you can say so with certainty? The knowledge that "you are" was not obtained by any effort on part of the entity called "you". Would you agree with what is written above? If so, then why is this "you" still seeking? Is it not because of your strong ( but false and we will see why "false" later on) belief in the independent existence of the entity called "you". This "you" that you call "me" is the belief that it is the body that is sitting in front of the computer right now. You are very certain that this body is what you call a "me". Let us look at the definition of the word "belief". Belief is defined in the dictionary ( and not by this writer) as " confidence in the existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof".

Now, where exactly or what is the locus (a center or source, as of activities or power- dictionary meaning of locus) of this entity called "me" in the body? Is it in the hands or feet, or is it in the heart or in the stomach or in the brain? Can you find an exact location for this "me"? OK, you say it is in the brain- frequent answer, right? If so, when the brain is in deep sleep mode and there is no"me" (or for that matter no world or any other object) does the heart stop beating or the digestion stop or the other functions of the body halt? OK, alright, let us look at the example of the wakeful state. You say the entity "me" is in the brain (your head!), then can this "me" stop the food once it is beyond the palate and in the throat? Can the "me" say "let me stop the process of digestion since I dislike this digestive process" and actually stop it? Can the "me' stop the formation of urine by the kidneys? Can the "me" decide on which cells the skin must shed today? So on and so forth. The answer is obvious. There is no locus for the "me" anywhere in the body in particular. If so, you would have found it on your own investigation (not based on any belief system or what is written here).

The body itself is formed from a sperm and ovum. The sperm and the ovum are formed from the essence of the food consumed by the parents. The life essence or prana or chi (call it what you like) is present in the sperm and the ovum. Who gives the orders to a particular sperm to make its way up to the uterus? Mind you, there are millions of sperms and only one makes it and that too not everytime there is conjugal love.

This sperm and ovum, then multiply and divide into specialized organ systems, all without the entity called "me" being there. In fact, the original sperm and ovum are no longer even existing in this body that you call "me" sitting in front of the computer and reading this message. In fact, every single moment millions of cells in the body are dying and being replaced by new ones. The body is constantly changing and if indeed you were the body, then you are constantly dying and being born again and again every moment!! But, that is not what you THINK this "me" is. You think the "me" dies only when the body as a whole dies. But, you now cannot deny the fact that the body is constantly changing (dying and recreated every moment). Correct? The "me" is just an imagination, an entity in the mind, a picture in the mind. It has no reality whatsoever.

Can this thought of a "me" even come up without the life force or consciousness at this very moment? The idea ( and that is all that the "me" is, just an idea, a thought) of a "me" cannot exist independent of the consciousness (or awareness, if you like). As noted above the "me" has no substance whatsoever!

After investigation as above, is it not fair to say that the whole idea of a "me" wanting to "attain" this enlightenment or nirvana or moksha(liberation) or gaining knowledge of the Awareness or Brahman, is but a figment of the imagination? A figment of the imagination of the "me", which in itself is an imaginary entity, with no independent nature or substance whatsoever apart from the Awareness (intelligence energy, life force, Brahman or whatever else you like to call THAT).

Rest in the awareness that you already are. You cannot be anything else (even if you don't like it!!). All there is, IS AWARENESS. You cannot say " I am NOT aware", "I do NOT exist" with certainty.