Everything is your Guru. Rocks teach you silence, trees teach you compassion, and the breeze teaches you non-attachment. ...the Satguru is one, reach with him no ego.
Satsang with Pappaji .
Most people are familiar with the illusion of a mirage. If you go on a road on a hot summer day in a car or bus, if you look forward you see some reflection on the road, which disappears as you come closer. So the mirage looks like water from a distance. In a dessert it could cause people to be misguided. We all know with hindsight, that there is no water and only an apparent illusion. But for children it is a constant thing of wonder. They almost expect water to be there and to get disappointed. But the explanation may not be sufficient for them to see that it is an illusion. They need to come closer and see. In a desert it could cause a thirsty wanderer considerable delusion and frustration. All this shows that if you believe in unreal and non existent things, all your wanderings are pointless in pursuit. A thirsty wanderer could have a horrible tale to tell as his life . The mirage is real, but not the water in it.
Similar to the mirage, there is an analogous misunderstanding in consciousness . The ego. There is a conscious activity in the mind. But this also creates a delusion of someone doing these activities.
In order to understand, consciousness we need to understand existence. What is existence? It is the fact that something exists. A tree exists, a snake exists, a rope exists and most importantly the universe exists. What exactly do we mean when we say " A tree exists". We mean that something with certain attributes like color texture smell and shape seem to be there. The next question would be what is that which helps us to know these attributes of that object. We can see it is consciousness. Suppose consciousness was not there , what happens to the poor tree?. Is it that it still exists, but would not be known?. It is a possibility. But this possibility is also something that is known in consciousness. So in order to deny consciousness , we need consciousness. So existence seems to be mingled deeply with consciousness.
Now let us ask the reverse question. Is consciousness possible without existence of something. We can see that it is possible. Consciousness can be conscious of only itself without anything existing. This pure state is what we go through every night in deep sleep. We are not conscious of anything in particular not even our body or mind, so there is consciousness without anything. Some may think , this is unconscious state. But it is not so. The absence of mind is what causes to report that it is unconsciousness. Actually this is one of the problems with our perception. Mind is equated with consciousness and any absence thereof is treated as unconsciousness. This leads into questioning whether mind is the only consciousness we know or is that there is something more fundamental than that which can be called consciousness.
This brings us back to the mirage. When we look at our mind from a distance, then it does appear as the center of consciousness.And since it is consciousness we feel that what it says about existence must be true because of the fact that existence is dependent on consciousness. The mind says that there is a world out there independent of me and it consists of various objects like trees, ropes , buildings , stars , galaxies etc. Now if we ask the mind about the existence of a special object namely our body, it would tell you it exists too and it is the body which has perceived and known this world.
Here comes the distinction in existence. The existence of body is considered as distinct from existence of the world. My body exists and there is the rest of the world. This creates a separation of me the body from the rest of the world. But if the mind had told us that the body is also one of the objects perceived , then there would not have been any special nature to our body and we would not have had this sense of separation. All existence would have been considered as one.
Now look closely at the mind. There is a whirlpool of activity just as in a summer day there would be lot of hot air circulating in the atmosphere. These activities in the mind are nothing but thoughts emotions, sensations, feelings perceptions and so on. Now look closely. Is there anything other than this activity?. Is there really someone inside that activity?. You will be unable to find anyone sitting inside that flurry of activity. There is some conscious disturbance . That is true. But there is no one at the center of it to take responsibility. So why do we feel that "I am thinking". It is because of this simple fact that these activities happen in an object called our body. So here comes the startling conclusion. There is really no I sitting at the center of the mind. There just is a whirlpool of conscious energy in our body.
Now comes another realization. If there is no I in this whirlpool, who is knowing existence?.What is the nature of existence revealed here?. You can see that existence is revealed by consciousness, but it is not a local consciousness inside our body alone. It so happens that the consciousness that is all pervading creates this disturbance in our body also. It is like a resonance. So consciousness knows existence . Since there is no special consciousness, all existence is the same. Either everything exists or nothing at all.
It can also be seen that you can view your body itself through consciousness, you can view your mind itself through consciousness. So the true center cannot be inside your body or mind. It must be everywhere.So you are actually that which is looking down on your body and mind as a witness. And yet the mind wants you to believe that the center of consciousness is inside the body mind. This is the mirage effect created by the mind. It can be quenched only by calming the mind.
So let us summarize what we found by looking at the mirage. We found that there is no water or in this case there is no subject I knowing the world from inside the world. There is activity in the mind. But no I inside it . There is no evidence for the separate I . It exists as an assumption which when closely looked at falls apart. The flurry of activity if it is not given a separate I ,will not split existence into two. There is only existence. There is no difference between existence of my body and existence of everything else.
Now look at your life problems. You always come and report , i had a horrible life experience. I am worried about so and so. All these statements implies that you have given a separate identity to the activities in your mind. In the language of mirage, you have assumed that there is water there, while in reality there is none. So the problem of ego is that it does not exist at all and yet we firmly believe in its existence just like the water in a mirage.
So what is the take on the so called life problems. Are they just unreal?. No. The problems are real. But there is no I to take sole ownership of it. It is the problem of whole existence which just happens to be perceived by our body. In essence it is not a problem, it is an appearance in consciousness.
Pappaji used to say Be quiet in order to see yourself. Yes. That is the key. All our mind is flurry of activity. All our bodily actions are guided by them. It is this flurry which circulates the notion of a separate I. If we become calm and composed by letting go of the desires , and dualistic perceptions what is revealed is the true consciousness because now there is no center in the mind.
Sahaja Samadhi is the state where you realize that there is only one single thing and all the delusions end there dissolving into that one thing without any effort.
Satsang with Pappaji .
Most people are familiar with the illusion of a mirage. If you go on a road on a hot summer day in a car or bus, if you look forward you see some reflection on the road, which disappears as you come closer. So the mirage looks like water from a distance. In a dessert it could cause people to be misguided. We all know with hindsight, that there is no water and only an apparent illusion. But for children it is a constant thing of wonder. They almost expect water to be there and to get disappointed. But the explanation may not be sufficient for them to see that it is an illusion. They need to come closer and see. In a desert it could cause a thirsty wanderer considerable delusion and frustration. All this shows that if you believe in unreal and non existent things, all your wanderings are pointless in pursuit. A thirsty wanderer could have a horrible tale to tell as his life . The mirage is real, but not the water in it.
Similar to the mirage, there is an analogous misunderstanding in consciousness . The ego. There is a conscious activity in the mind. But this also creates a delusion of someone doing these activities.
In order to understand, consciousness we need to understand existence. What is existence? It is the fact that something exists. A tree exists, a snake exists, a rope exists and most importantly the universe exists. What exactly do we mean when we say " A tree exists". We mean that something with certain attributes like color texture smell and shape seem to be there. The next question would be what is that which helps us to know these attributes of that object. We can see it is consciousness. Suppose consciousness was not there , what happens to the poor tree?. Is it that it still exists, but would not be known?. It is a possibility. But this possibility is also something that is known in consciousness. So in order to deny consciousness , we need consciousness. So existence seems to be mingled deeply with consciousness.
Now let us ask the reverse question. Is consciousness possible without existence of something. We can see that it is possible. Consciousness can be conscious of only itself without anything existing. This pure state is what we go through every night in deep sleep. We are not conscious of anything in particular not even our body or mind, so there is consciousness without anything. Some may think , this is unconscious state. But it is not so. The absence of mind is what causes to report that it is unconsciousness. Actually this is one of the problems with our perception. Mind is equated with consciousness and any absence thereof is treated as unconsciousness. This leads into questioning whether mind is the only consciousness we know or is that there is something more fundamental than that which can be called consciousness.
This brings us back to the mirage. When we look at our mind from a distance, then it does appear as the center of consciousness.And since it is consciousness we feel that what it says about existence must be true because of the fact that existence is dependent on consciousness. The mind says that there is a world out there independent of me and it consists of various objects like trees, ropes , buildings , stars , galaxies etc. Now if we ask the mind about the existence of a special object namely our body, it would tell you it exists too and it is the body which has perceived and known this world.
Here comes the distinction in existence. The existence of body is considered as distinct from existence of the world. My body exists and there is the rest of the world. This creates a separation of me the body from the rest of the world. But if the mind had told us that the body is also one of the objects perceived , then there would not have been any special nature to our body and we would not have had this sense of separation. All existence would have been considered as one.
Now look closely at the mind. There is a whirlpool of activity just as in a summer day there would be lot of hot air circulating in the atmosphere. These activities in the mind are nothing but thoughts emotions, sensations, feelings perceptions and so on. Now look closely. Is there anything other than this activity?. Is there really someone inside that activity?. You will be unable to find anyone sitting inside that flurry of activity. There is some conscious disturbance . That is true. But there is no one at the center of it to take responsibility. So why do we feel that "I am thinking". It is because of this simple fact that these activities happen in an object called our body. So here comes the startling conclusion. There is really no I sitting at the center of the mind. There just is a whirlpool of conscious energy in our body.
Now comes another realization. If there is no I in this whirlpool, who is knowing existence?.What is the nature of existence revealed here?. You can see that existence is revealed by consciousness, but it is not a local consciousness inside our body alone. It so happens that the consciousness that is all pervading creates this disturbance in our body also. It is like a resonance. So consciousness knows existence . Since there is no special consciousness, all existence is the same. Either everything exists or nothing at all.
It can also be seen that you can view your body itself through consciousness, you can view your mind itself through consciousness. So the true center cannot be inside your body or mind. It must be everywhere.So you are actually that which is looking down on your body and mind as a witness. And yet the mind wants you to believe that the center of consciousness is inside the body mind. This is the mirage effect created by the mind. It can be quenched only by calming the mind.
So let us summarize what we found by looking at the mirage. We found that there is no water or in this case there is no subject I knowing the world from inside the world. There is activity in the mind. But no I inside it . There is no evidence for the separate I . It exists as an assumption which when closely looked at falls apart. The flurry of activity if it is not given a separate I ,will not split existence into two. There is only existence. There is no difference between existence of my body and existence of everything else.
Now look at your life problems. You always come and report , i had a horrible life experience. I am worried about so and so. All these statements implies that you have given a separate identity to the activities in your mind. In the language of mirage, you have assumed that there is water there, while in reality there is none. So the problem of ego is that it does not exist at all and yet we firmly believe in its existence just like the water in a mirage.
So what is the take on the so called life problems. Are they just unreal?. No. The problems are real. But there is no I to take sole ownership of it. It is the problem of whole existence which just happens to be perceived by our body. In essence it is not a problem, it is an appearance in consciousness.
Pappaji used to say Be quiet in order to see yourself. Yes. That is the key. All our mind is flurry of activity. All our bodily actions are guided by them. It is this flurry which circulates the notion of a separate I. If we become calm and composed by letting go of the desires , and dualistic perceptions what is revealed is the true consciousness because now there is no center in the mind.
Sahaja Samadhi is the state where you realize that there is only one single thing and all the delusions end there dissolving into that one thing without any effort.
No comments:
Post a Comment