In Search of God

What is the seeker actually seeking? Is he or she not searching for God? The search begins by looking for God and the search ends in one's own Self.  One goes out in search, only to return back to one's own Self. God Realization and Self Realization are one and the same.

The search is not outside but within. Saint Kabir has made this so clear in this simple but profound couplet. No need for any further discussion. As simple and as clear a pointer as can be.

Jab Mein Tha Tab Hari Nahin, Jab Hari Hai Mein Nahin
Sab Andhiyara Mit Gaya, Jab Deepak Dekhya Mahin

Translation

When "I" was, then Hari (God) was not, Now Hari (God) "is" and "I" am not
All the darkness (ignorance) got erased, When I saw the Light within.

The Known is Not Real

Strange as it may seem, the seeker is on a quest of more knowledge. The seeker feels that one more bit of information may seal the deal in his search for the Truth or Reality. The seeker strongly believes that there may be a missing bit of information that will somehow solve the puzzle of the nature of Reality. Nothing can be farther from the truth.

While it is true that a Guru is a must for showing the way to Reality, the Guru actually does not tell the seeker the Truth. The Guru is a guidepost pointing in the direction of Reality. The seeker must then do a sincere inquiry into the nature of Reality and constantly keep his mind focused on this matter of interest. Why is it that the Guru will not reveal the Truth to the seeker? Is the Guru not interested in the liberation of the seeker? Of course not.  There is nothing more important to the Guru than to liberate the seeker. The Guru keeps repeating the same instructions again and again. It is the doubting seeker that fails to grasp the pointers from the Guru.

The Guru has told that whatever is known is not Real. For those of you who are still wondering what exactly does one mean by "Real", here is an explanation. In brief, Real would be anything that does not change. It thereby implies that the Real would be changeless, unmoving, immortal (beyond birth and death) and eternal (beyond time). On inquiry it becomes obvious that all that is within the realm of the known is capable of change.  All objective knowledge is therefore unreal. The only unchanging knowledge is the Self Knowledge or the Knowingness that I am. This is the closest one can get to information about Reality. However, this knowledge or sense of being or sense of 'I', is also not real. You have to investigate as to when and how you got this knowledge or sense of 'I'. Is this sense of 'I' going to last forever? Is this sense of 'I' not related to the presence of a body?  If there is no body, would there be a sense of 'I'?  This sense of 'I' came spontaneously and will go spontaneously. There is nothing you can do to hold on to it. But, as long as it is there, you love this 'I' and want it to go on forever.  Ramana Maharshi said "what comes and goes is not real".  So, you know that this 'I' is also not real.

The Knowledge itself knows that the 'I' is unreal.  There is no entity that has this knowledge. Just Knowledge itself Knowing. In the absence of the 'I', who is there is know the Reality?  The Jnani (one who has Realized) does not go about saying " I am Real and you are unreal". On the other hand, the Jnani says " I am unreal and you are unreal".  The Jnani knows that the play of dyad and triads, of knowledge and ignorance, is itself an illusion or maya.

The Jnani knows that the Unknown is the Reality.  Whatever is known cannot be Real.  Therefore, you can only know what you are not. 

My True Identity is No Identity

The problem with most seekers is that they eagerly jump from one identity to another. As the thoughts flow, so do the identities. Even on somehow arriving at the pointers to the Truth, they get fooled into thinking that they are now unique in their thinking process and so must be different from the other persons. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The fact is that you are no different from any other person. All is ONE and ONE is All.  All that appears different is just that- an appearance. When one turns one's attention to one's own self, the appearance disappears immediately. An appearance cannot be without the one to whom it appears.  The substratum is the same regardless of the appearance. The problem is that almost everyone is interested in the appearance and therefore forgets one's own self. You may say one ignores one's own self. Hence the confusion with various identities that one adopts or imposes upon one self.

When one truly turns the attention of the mind away from the objects, which are nothing but appearances, and LOOKS at one's own Source, then it becomes clear that one cannot identify with any thing.  Zero (shoonya). Upon careful inquiry, all identities dissolve into nothingness. One is left empty.   And yet, even saying emptiness or nothingness is not true since that in itself would create a mental concept and thus create another identity in itself.  All concepts are based on opposites. Emptiness versus fullness. Nothingness versus somethingness.  But your True Identity transcends all concepts.  The best way to perhaps describe THAT which is beyond any description would be to say that your True Identity is No Identity. THAT is who you really are. All else is an appearance - basically, nothing-just an illusion.

Time to Wake Up

You think you are awake right now, isn't it? You argue that this is the waking state.  No argument there unless and until you really inquire into your Real Identity. Upon careful inquiry you will come to the conclusion that you are actually not awake. This is the primary dream state or primary illusion state. The 'I am' is the primary illusion or dream state. This illusory state gives one the impression of being, being an entity. This 'I am' latches on to various thoughts and establishes various identities. Thus the confusion of one's True Nature. Yet, it is through this primary dream state that one can establish one's own True Nature and Realize the falseness of this state that one calls the "waking state" and become free.

The dream one gets in sleep is the secondary dream state. Often, the secondary dream results in images and events related to the primary dream state. Then, there is the deep sleep state or dreamless sleep. All these states come and go. YOU(the REAL You) are none of these states. YOU are the one who is AWARE of these states. You remain still and are AWARE of the movement or absence of movement in all these states. Is it not time for you to actually WAKE UP?

The Guru Is Not An Individual

When one starts out inquiring into one's own nature, he or she is still trapped in the false belief that he or she is an entity separate and independent of the world of objects around them. The seeker then comes across a Guru or Teacher who being Enlightened, gives the seeker Knowledge of the Truth. The Guru points one to one's own True Nature and encourages one to inquire within. However, instead of Listening to the words of the Guru, the seeker often starts looking up to the Guru as an individual who has pointed out the Truth. Because of the false assumption that the Guru is indeed the body-mind entity (individual) who is speaking the words, the words of the Guru fail to hit the intended target, which is the ego or the false self of the seeker. The seeker thus fails to grasp the real meaning of the pointers. The greater problem however is that the seeker starts to make judgements on the behavior, character, actions and personality of the Guru and begins to wonder as to how this can be reconciled with what is being heard coming from the mouth of the Guru. The Guru when seen as an individual seems like any ordinary person, full of the contradictions that make up an individual.  Your impression of what a Guru should look and behave like may not necessarily correlate to what is presented to you by the Guru. The profound words coming from the mouth of the Guru seem to be contradictory to the general impression one may get on seeing the Guru as an individual. It is one of the main reasons why the pointers from the Guru are not fully absorbed.

When one takes oneself to be an individual, it is but natural to look at all others as individuals, separate from your own self. But, when one Realizes that one is not an individual, then there is no distinction between oneself and the others. When listening to the words of the Guru, do not believe that you are listening to an individual. On the contrary, realize that it is consciousness speaking to consciousness. To state it better, speaking and listening are happening in consciousness. There is in reality, no entity involved in this process. When one lets the Message from the Guru penetrate deep into the very consciousness that one is, then there is profound and definite shift in the consciousness which leads to Self Realization.

The Guru is in fact nameless and formless. No identity can be given to the Guru. The Guru is none other than your own Self. The Guru is not separate from you. The one who thinks is separate is the ghost that you call "me". On inquiry you will realize that there is no entity here that you can call "me" or "mine". So, give up trying to analyze the personality that is trying to teach you the Truth. Instead, sit quietly and LISTEN to the words of the Guru. For the words of the Guru themselves will lead you to the Truth of who you really, really are.

The End Of Spirituality

It is indeed amazing that we take for granted that we are an entity- an entity with a name and form. One rarely if ever questions the source or the origin of this entity. In the meantime, one is busy gathering more and more knowledge from various sources to enhance their self worth, whether it be in the field of arts and sciences, material wealth, religious knowledge or spiritual knowledge. Based on this gathered knowledge, one begins to feel important or great about themselves. Often the one who has gained knowledge of scriptures and spiritual knowledge feels superior to others who are ignorant of this knowledge. The spiritualist feels that he or she can somehow save the world and solve its problems.

Sadly, such a spiritualist has obviously not found out the truth about his/her own True Identity. Such a one has failed to question the source of the knowledge "I am". One has failed to question and find out the source of beingness, the taste of beingness, and the nature of beingness. Why and how has this beingness appeared? What makes the beingness what it is? In the absence of this body, would there be any knowledge of beingness and to whom?  No one seems to be interested in getting to the bottom of these questions. One is more interested in the branches of the tree rather than the roots. Understandably, the branches are more easily seen but it is the roots that you are really after.

All knowledge is in the realm of consciousness. But have you ever wondered what exactly is this consciousness and is it really the Truth? Is this consciousness not the source of this grand illusion, that we call the world and the universe. Without consciousness, would there be a 'you' or a 'me'? Is it not true that because of this consciousness, you have come to know that you are? What happens to all this knowledge of spirituality you have collected, if there is no 'you'? Who is it that claims ownership of spirituality?

When the Truth dawns on 'you', 'you' disappear and merge into the Truth. With your disappearance, there is the end of spirituality. THAT is beyond knowledge and ignorance. THAT is who you really, really ARE. Don't get fooled by the illusion of beingness. Step backwards and beyond this illusion to submerge into the Truth. The problem with most seekers is that they are unwilling to take this step.

THAT is Beyond I Am

Presently, you KNOW you are. This knowledge of I AM, has given you this sense of being.  You have taken this knowledge to be real and because of it, you are suffering. One has to question as to how this knowledge of beingness came about. What were you prior to this knowledge of beingness?  Unless these questions are inquired into, the final answer will not come about. Did you do anything to attain this knowledge, I Am?  You may wonder, "if this knowledge, I Am, is not the Reality, then what use is it?". Don't dismiss this knowledge I AM.  In fact, the ultimate purpose of this knowledge I Am, is for you to unravel the mystery of how this all came about. In fact, I Am is your God and this God is going to pave the path to Self Discovery and Self Realization. So, hang on to the I Am for it is everything.

What you really, really ARE is beyond the knowledge I Am. Since, there is no description for that State, it is simply called THAT or the Absolute. In THAT, there is no I Am. It is beyond I Am. It is beyond all dyads and triads. Because, it is a State prior to consciousness and thereby the mind, it is impossible for the limited mind to fathom what by nature is beyond both limited and unlimited. When one says "I am That", one acknowledges the fact that I Am is a derivative of THAT.  There is no way for one to know THAT in the objective sense, since IT is beyond both the subject and the object.  You are none other than THAT. Just reach this Understanding.