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.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
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.
Friday, July 3, 2009
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 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!
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