Spiritual perspective

We are all seeking happiness in different ways. For some it is the end of sufferings like the miseries that they experience in life in terms of experiences. For some it is based on an ideal future that they envisage. For most it is a combination of both. Seeking happiness in life is not at all bad. It is our inherent nature. We can define happiness or bliss to be stillness whatever be the circumstances.

We are nothing but bliss. So we would seek it, as it is a natural tendency. Only problem is the perspective . 

What can be seen from spiritual life is that if we believe in what is real rather than on unreal imaginary things, with a strong urge to separate the permanent from the temporary, movement from stillness, we would be much better in this quest.

Any effort requires change. Suppose you want to go from point A to point B. For this you will have to put in effort  and this requires change. You are no longer there in A , you would have moved to B. 

What i am speaking is not about travel, it is about some event in life. This change is something that the mind may or may not accept. So you may or may not reach B, but the problem would be lot of changes have happened in between. These changes are resisted by your mind. So there is the inherent problem with our mind. It wants change, but at the same time it resists it. Point A could be that you are well in health , but not having enough money. Point B is where you have money but no health. So even if you have reached point B, you would have lost something and the mind whines. 

So our satisfaction never is complete, because of the changes involved in the effort. Why does our mind not like change?. 

That is the crucial thing to understand. Mind has created an identity of you based on the body and mind. So if they change, you also have changed and this is not good. Consciousness in its purest form is never changing and it is not affected by anything. However when it is limited by the confines of your body and mind it can be affected. But its inherent nature is to be permanent and unchanging. So on the one hand we have change, but on the other hand there is this urge of consciousness to resist change. This tug of war happens in our mind, and hence the problems.

So what is the solution to this quandary?. Identify that the change is not happening to you as the mind has led to believe. The change is happening to only the mind and its thoughts, the body and its organs. Whoever is observing it the real self is unchanged. The real I is pure consciousness and it never changes and since you are that , why do you worry about the changes?. The changes will happen but they are all occurrences that are not part of you. You are witnessing it.

So you can see that we have tried to separate the temporary from the permanent and understood this problem. Also the commitment is towards the truth rather than to the unreal ramblings of the mind. 

Efforts are seen from the right perspective and we are not worried about the changes involved as the changes are in some objects like the body , mind etc which is not part of our identity.

Another thing to understand clearly is that your identity is basically the awareness or just the presence. So you exist only this moment. The last moment has died, the next moment your body or mind need not be there. The reality is only in this moment and you cannot be out of it. Just look around you, whatever you see is the reality. What existed in the last second is not there now. Only mind can take you to yesterday , the reality does not exist last second. Similarly the future is not yet true. Only your mind can take you to tomorrow. So if you start seeing the principle of believing only in reality and not believing in unreal things , you will be in the moment. Whenever the mind comes up with a thought , see whether it is a fact or a projection from the moment. 

So you can see by our commitment to the unchanging identity and to reality we can simplify all our problems at least move in that direction. 

Fear , anxiety , sorrow, dejection are all caused by the simple misinterpretation of reality. Always be in your true nature which is watching the changes that are happening around you. The changes that you watch include the body and mind, since it is something that is subject to change you are not worried. 

So you can see that whatever be the circumstance you are not concerned about it. There is a permanence to your identity which is watching all the changes. This is what peace of mind means . There are changes , but those changes are not in you. 

Even if you dont have the expansive view of infinite consciousness , provided you identify that it is that which is your real identity and not the body-mind system, your path is made. The moment of realization comes when the effort is made but without the concerns about its changes. The happenings of everything is perceived in its right sense.

How can you be so small as the mind has asked you to believe?. Your very nature is permanency, your very nature is bliss. There is no need to seek it anywhere all you need is a dropping of your veil.