O servant, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo! I am beside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba nor
in Kailash:
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in Yoga and
renunciation.
If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt
meet Me in a moment of time.
Kabîr says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."
Kabir was a Saint and a weaver by occupation born in 1440 A.D. in medieval India. His poems are an expression of the simplicity of non-traditional Advaitic teachings. In this poem, he extols the simplicity of SEEING your True Nature. He emphasizes the fact that discovery of your True Nature is not in the acts of renunciation or yoga or some ritual or ceremony. For a true seeker, the Truth is at NO distance from your own self. There is no involvement of time in discovering your True Nature. True devotion is the hallmark of a true seeker.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Trapped in the Story
You have assumed an identity which keeps changing all the time. You are unable to say with certainty that this is who I really, really am. It is because, your own image of yourself has changed many many times over the course of your life so far. The body was given a name by your parents and thereafter, without any questioning, you accepted that you are a name with a form. As the body and mind kept changing, so did your image about yourself. A story was created in the mind, a story about a 'me' who is the body and has a mind. This 'me' has opinions about everything, is judgemental and has strong belief in its own existence as a separate and independent entity. Every action is done with the idea that it is this image which is doing the action.
In this story, which you call "the story of MY life", you have become trapped. The amusing thing is that this false entity which is nothing other than an image in a story, wants to become liberated. The entity in the story goes about pursuing spiritual discourses and rituals hoping to somehow become 'liberated' from this story. Despite all pretensions to the contrary, the main hero of this story (yes, 'you'!) knows very well that he/she cannot control the way the story is unfolding. Very frustrating indeed! Yet, there is a strong desire deep within to somehow escape from the misgivings, and the uncertainty, of the story. This 'me ' wishes that if only the story could follow the pattern desired by 'me', then there can be eternal joy and happiness. If only......, if only..... and so the endless thoughts and planning go on about how to make the story proceed as per your desires. In short, this is what is called 'suffering'!
So, what is the way out? The only way out is to step out of the story and see that the story is false. The Truth lies outside the story. And yet, the story runs or appears within the Truth. The story can play itself out only as an appearance in the Truth. The unreal cannot be without the support of the Reality. The Reality needs no support whatsoever. Every story has a beginning and an end. Reality has no beginning and no end.
By falsely identifying with the character (the 'me') in the story you have totally, totally forgotten that the Real you is the witness to the story. Have you ever given thought to this totally obvious fact? The fact that you are always AWARE of the story and the events in the story? So, how can you be the one in the story? WAKE UP TO THE OBVIOUS !!
In this story, which you call "the story of MY life", you have become trapped. The amusing thing is that this false entity which is nothing other than an image in a story, wants to become liberated. The entity in the story goes about pursuing spiritual discourses and rituals hoping to somehow become 'liberated' from this story. Despite all pretensions to the contrary, the main hero of this story (yes, 'you'!) knows very well that he/she cannot control the way the story is unfolding. Very frustrating indeed! Yet, there is a strong desire deep within to somehow escape from the misgivings, and the uncertainty, of the story. This 'me ' wishes that if only the story could follow the pattern desired by 'me', then there can be eternal joy and happiness. If only......, if only..... and so the endless thoughts and planning go on about how to make the story proceed as per your desires. In short, this is what is called 'suffering'!
So, what is the way out? The only way out is to step out of the story and see that the story is false. The Truth lies outside the story. And yet, the story runs or appears within the Truth. The story can play itself out only as an appearance in the Truth. The unreal cannot be without the support of the Reality. The Reality needs no support whatsoever. Every story has a beginning and an end. Reality has no beginning and no end.
By falsely identifying with the character (the 'me') in the story you have totally, totally forgotten that the Real you is the witness to the story. Have you ever given thought to this totally obvious fact? The fact that you are always AWARE of the story and the events in the story? So, how can you be the one in the story? WAKE UP TO THE OBVIOUS !!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Faith in the Guru
A seeker must have complete faith in the sayings and teachings of the Guru. The Guru may sound incomprehensible at times and the mind of the seeker may have doubts about the teachings. In fact, it is not uncommon for the Guru to contradict himself/herself quite often. This can create confusion in the mind of the seeker. But, realize that the Guru is trying to quell any doubts in the mind of the seeker from all angles. The Guru wants to ensure that the ego (seeker) has no chance of escape from the sword of the Guru. The seeker must not take the contradictions in the teachings as a sign of lack of knowledge on part of the Guru. The Guru, if addressing multiple seekers, has to present different types of pointers to the Truth to different seekers depending on their mental conditioning. Hence, the numerous pointers to the one and only Truth.
Having complete faith in the Guru is extremely essential to realize the Truth. In fact, complete and unconditional surrender to the Guru is absolutely a must for one to realize the Truth. On listening to the Guru, the most common error on part of the seeker is trying to conceptualize the teachings. On the other hand, when one surrenders completely to the Guru, all conceptualizing ends and the mind and the intellect having surrendered, the subtle intuitive powers take over and reveal the Truth. On listening to the Guru, one cannot intellectually comprehend the Truth. However, on surrendering one's mind and intellect at the feet of the Guru, something clicks at an intuitive level and suddenly the Truth, which was always present but not obvious, becomes obvious.
Remember, the words of the Guru are final. Have no doubt about that. The Guru is not an individual or an entity. The Guru is none other than your Self.
Having complete faith in the Guru is extremely essential to realize the Truth. In fact, complete and unconditional surrender to the Guru is absolutely a must for one to realize the Truth. On listening to the Guru, the most common error on part of the seeker is trying to conceptualize the teachings. On the other hand, when one surrenders completely to the Guru, all conceptualizing ends and the mind and the intellect having surrendered, the subtle intuitive powers take over and reveal the Truth. On listening to the Guru, one cannot intellectually comprehend the Truth. However, on surrendering one's mind and intellect at the feet of the Guru, something clicks at an intuitive level and suddenly the Truth, which was always present but not obvious, becomes obvious.
Remember, the words of the Guru are final. Have no doubt about that. The Guru is not an individual or an entity. The Guru is none other than your Self.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Look for Your Self
The Self is not out there. The Self cannot be known by reading books out there or listening to someone out there. The Self is right here- within. The Self is self shining and self effulgent and available right here and right now. Is it not obvious that you should look within to find your self? JUST LOOK FOR YOUR SELF.
Merging into Consciousness
Right now, your only capital is this beingness. With this knowledge, you go about your worldly life taking this world of objects to be real. Having never questioned the reality of this world, there is a sense of insecurity and vulnerability as there is no certainty of what the next moment will bring for you. The world out there appears alien to you and you are always in fear of the world out there. You have tried all the methods prescribed by the self-help gurus out there and yet you are suffering. There is still something missing- and yet you cannot pin it down. What is this sense of incompleteness? This sense of incompleteness will persist till consciousness is able to know its true nature. It longs for one-ness. By creating a separate entity - the ego, the 'I-thought'-through identity with the body-mind, there is separation from the one-ness. Only when the ego merges into its Source, can this separation end and with it comes the peace.
This can come about only by Jnana or Knowledge obtained through Self-inquiry. No other method will do. All rituals are activities and they only feed the ego. The ego looks for the fruits of the action, as it believes it is the do-er of activities. No ego- no doer- no karma. That is what true Knowledge brings. Where all karma ends, then one is merged in one's Source.
This can come about only by Jnana or Knowledge obtained through Self-inquiry. No other method will do. All rituals are activities and they only feed the ego. The ego looks for the fruits of the action, as it believes it is the do-er of activities. No ego- no doer- no karma. That is what true Knowledge brings. Where all karma ends, then one is merged in one's Source.
Monday, January 3, 2011
You are the Unborn
You are the Unborn. To many, this statement is difficult and perhaps impossible to comprehend. But, to a discriminating seeker, the understanding of one's True Nature, brings together the simplicity of this statement. As is often said here, the Truth is very simple, if only one makes the effort to inquire. Let us try to figure out why you are the Unborn.
First, one must verify if you are really born. Did you experience your birth? No? If not, on what basis do you say that you were born on so and so day, month and year? Is it not true that you were told "you"( meaning the body) entered this world from the womb of your mother, on a particular day and time? So, what you call "my birth day" is not direct knowledge but one that is acquired from others. It is because, you identify yourself with this body, that you willingly accept what others tell you about your being born on a particular day. Can you truly say that you were not before the body came into the world from the womb? Can you deny the fact that the fetus in the womb was not you? So, what exactly is your date of birth? Is it the time of conception, which is nothing but the mating of the sperm with the ovum? The sperm and the ovum are nothing but the products of the essence of the food eaten by your parents. So, would you say that your birth was when the food was eaten by your parents and in that case, what food and when? You get the gist of this argument!! In the same way, the question of death can be resolved. You can never say "I am dead" upon dying! Only those who have the knowledge "I am" can make the claim that "so and so person identified by this body is dead". So, there is no question of you experiencing death either.
In the absence of experience of birth and death, how can you make such claims? Is it not true that your claims are based purely on hearsay and without direct experience of either event? What you know for certain though is the fact that you ARE- the fact of your existence. It is your direct experience, right here and right now. You cannot say " I am not" with any certainty at all. There is direct knowledge of your existence and it is not hearsay either.
Birth and death are events in time. Time is itself a concept in the mind. But, you as Pure Awareness, exist prior to the mind. Hence, you are timeless or prior to time. That is, there is no beginning or ending, i.e. birth or death, in the absence of time.
So, you may ask, what exactly is born? What is born is the primary concept "I am"(or the primary illusion) and with that primary concept came all other concepts including time and space. The consciousness falsely identifies itself with the body and thereby is established the idea "I am the body". As a result of these concepts, one comes to falsely believe in the concept of an entity being born and dying. The body being nothing but the five elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether) mixes back with the elements upon "death" and the consciousness mixes back (so to speak) with the Universal Consciousness. So, who is born and who dies?
First, one must verify if you are really born. Did you experience your birth? No? If not, on what basis do you say that you were born on so and so day, month and year? Is it not true that you were told "you"( meaning the body) entered this world from the womb of your mother, on a particular day and time? So, what you call "my birth day" is not direct knowledge but one that is acquired from others. It is because, you identify yourself with this body, that you willingly accept what others tell you about your being born on a particular day. Can you truly say that you were not before the body came into the world from the womb? Can you deny the fact that the fetus in the womb was not you? So, what exactly is your date of birth? Is it the time of conception, which is nothing but the mating of the sperm with the ovum? The sperm and the ovum are nothing but the products of the essence of the food eaten by your parents. So, would you say that your birth was when the food was eaten by your parents and in that case, what food and when? You get the gist of this argument!! In the same way, the question of death can be resolved. You can never say "I am dead" upon dying! Only those who have the knowledge "I am" can make the claim that "so and so person identified by this body is dead". So, there is no question of you experiencing death either.
In the absence of experience of birth and death, how can you make such claims? Is it not true that your claims are based purely on hearsay and without direct experience of either event? What you know for certain though is the fact that you ARE- the fact of your existence. It is your direct experience, right here and right now. You cannot say " I am not" with any certainty at all. There is direct knowledge of your existence and it is not hearsay either.
Birth and death are events in time. Time is itself a concept in the mind. But, you as Pure Awareness, exist prior to the mind. Hence, you are timeless or prior to time. That is, there is no beginning or ending, i.e. birth or death, in the absence of time.
So, you may ask, what exactly is born? What is born is the primary concept "I am"(or the primary illusion) and with that primary concept came all other concepts including time and space. The consciousness falsely identifies itself with the body and thereby is established the idea "I am the body". As a result of these concepts, one comes to falsely believe in the concept of an entity being born and dying. The body being nothing but the five elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether) mixes back with the elements upon "death" and the consciousness mixes back (so to speak) with the Universal Consciousness. So, who is born and who dies?
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