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!!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, September 7, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
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?
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?
Monday, August 3, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
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.
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.
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