Nirdoṣhaṁ hi Samam Brahma

Ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo yeṣhāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥ
Nirdoṣhaṁ hi samaṁ brahma tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitah//5,19

If the mind is devoid of all doshams and is established in equanimity then it is not different from the Brahman.

By doing the above, the mind will be free and be one with the Brahman here and now.

Think for yourself..what makes the mind seemingly different from the Brahman?
The mind is different from the Brahman because of its sanga towards the 3 instruments of action(Tri-karanam(thoughts, speech, body)).

However, in contrast to the mind, the Brahman is devoid of any sanga hence nir-dosham and samam at all times.

Nirdoṣhaṁ hi samam Brahma..

What is sanga? How is our mind attached or to what is it attached to?

Sanga means attachment towards something that is different from it.

Here, our mind is attached to the

• Thoughts that appear in it
• Body that it possesses
• Actions that is done by the Indriyas

Dosham = Impurity Dvandvam = Duality ; Both leads to confusion

Because of this attachments, our mind is anxious, not samam. For the same reason, It is also poisoned and is filled with dosham.

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Brahman(I) is the only Truth, the very center of our existence

So, what stands between the mind from being the Brahman? Sanga

Has the sanga done any good to the mind? The answer is a definite No

Because, the Tri-karana which the mind is attached to- will erode with passage of time.

• Body will loose its agility,
• Thoughts will be displaced and
• Speech will be impaired.

So, what will then the mind be left with? Only sorrow, pain and the attachment towards them will continue to linger.

Only a realised mind can be one with the Creator and its experience is beyond elucidation. And cognition of this for a mind that is living in the illusion is close to impossible

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What does the mind wish to play in it? Random thoughts or the Brahman? Since Brahman is Formless and is the ‘I’ of the body-mind complex, Bala Krishnan is shown symbolically as the Brahman

It is NOT worth living in an illusory bubble that will burst into nothingness in no time.

It is only wise to uplift the mind beyond its own illusionary creation to the only Truth.

Picture credit: Internet

Well, I am. Thoughts or otherwise

Was watching this old movie of Image entertainment..has anyone noticed their logo?(don’t fret if you haven’t, even the mate sitting next didn’t think much of it)

However, it was interesting(for the mind, just to be precise).. presenting you the weirdest explanation which even the organisation might not have thought about when creating their logo..it is that weird😉

The excuse for this thought is that a mind sees what it sees, hoping you’ll bite..

Also, let me present you with this disclaimer before we go forward..a thought is a thought, however brilliant or vague, or spiritual or otherwise, it is still a thought. You are witnessing your thoughts, you are not the thought nor the mind. And of course, it goes without saying you are not the body either

It is important to remember this.. infact we watch our thoughts so to confirm that we exist all through even when there is none. Also, these thoughts float in us and disappear in the us. And they have no power on us.

Easy to say, you may think but truly acceptance of the fact that these are the instruments at work is the only way out. You are just a witness and not the actor.

In the process, we also observe that the thoughts are not independent but are dependent on the ‘I’ for their existence

And thank God, these thoughts exist and this is where the logo part of it comes into play..

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How can a drop of water create a forever ripple in the placid lake? And if you take note, you notice both the 💧 and the lake are all water

If not for that drop, we wouldn’t have ever noticed the placid lake beneath. Likewise, if not for the thoughts, we would have never found our real self. It would have stayed as is, as in deep 😴.

Remember: our self is not an object to be observed. It is the I . It reveals itself when the thoughts subside for the moment.

Anyhow, the idea is not to pursue the thoughtless state because that is not the goal nor is it going to get us being our self( my teacher warns)

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Water and water all through…the drop becomes the lake in no time

Also, the self remains untouched all through, thoughts or otherwise..have you noticed? So the thoughts are harmless and a friend to the one who is trying to seek his real self.

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Remember to stay an observer when there is a storm in the mind. Please also remember the storm is also mind and mind all through. Just like the ocean is just water inspite of the storm or waves

But getting entangled in the thoughts is not what a seeker ought to do..when the seeker finds out for himself that he is a witnesser/subject and not the witnessed/object then he stays a witnesser for life.

Being mindful once seemed like a pain, much like a conscious work but now it is not all that difficult. The mind willingly gives to it.

I still keep a close watch as I witness my mind, at times, being on an overdrive when the thoughts are around the self. The mind conveniently forgets that the spiritual thoughts are also thoughts; the proof to that is this blog post😄

Happy witnessing, you guys..have fun

About Atman(Cont..)

How am I to look beyond the name and form? I do not see anything.

You are right. The teacher would suggest you look within before you venture out. Therefore, for now, do not try to see ‘Atman’ in all.

• First, we should know what to look for?
• Second, it doesn’t have a form; it cannot be described(like space).
• Most importantly, you and I are also part of ‘All’. So, the search should start within.

You might worry that ‘Atman’ may vary from being to being. For example, the aloe vera plant sitting in the balcony might have less of ‘Him’ compared to ‘Him’ in me. Or the Himalayas would have more of ‘Him’.

Arjuna pretty much had the same doubt. To which Krishna answered: “Ajuna, I, Atman is equally disposed to all living beings(BG 9.29). Everything rests in me, as beads strung on a thread.”-Bhagavad Gita 7.7

Since he doesn’t have a form. How do I experience him?

Let’s apply the basic meditation here-Observing the Thoughts.

• Sit with your eyes closed in a quiet place. why? Because we give way too much importance to our sense perceptions. So, shut them out for some time. Bhagavad Gita 8.12
• You see your thoughts coming & going? Do not go with them however interesting they may seem.
• Where are the thoughts appearing and disappearing? Watch that space that is helping the thoughts come and go. Hmm, interesting. That doesn’t have a form, either.
• Now, what is that which is observing that space? Your eyes are closed but there is something which is witnessing the flow & intensity of thoughts.
• If you have ever dreamed, you know that something was watching that dream too.  That is when you say I dreamt. Your body lay there like a corpse while dreaming. So, who was watching that dream?
• Even in your deep sleep state, there is that thing which is observing nothingness(cessation of activities) Who is That?

Now our scriptures say, that ‘Observer’ who is observing all the three states is ‘YOU’. Unless someone is walking in and out of you, ‘That’ should be YOU 😉

Now we may realize, what do we mean by “Man having a body and mind”?

So, the ‘Man’ is Atman. He is not different from us but He is us.

I suppose we also understand who we are addressing when we use ‘I am’. And the Vedantic phrase “Nitya Shuddha Atman”.

Why am I Nitya? Because I do not come and go. I am there as an observer in all the states at all times.

Why Shuddha? Because the thoughts/emotions/dream/waking doesn’t taint me. They exist in Me. Like what we do under the Sun, doesn’t malign the Sun. Gita in 13.33 reiterates the same with another example of space.

I observe the mind & body in the waking state and the mind building a dream. I also observe when all the activities cease.

I am there. I am That.

As my teacher would put – we are like the Musk deer which spends its entire life searching outward for its own scent. Completely unaware that the smell is from its own navel 🙂

Note: This is my understanding. I might never be able to understand another person, or for that matter, even my mind or body. Though we do not wish for situations/people in our lives to change yet they change and so do we. But you might notice that we are longing for permanence – our very nature.

We should not stay unhappy with what we get. We should find our happiness and trust me, that isn’t anywhere outside. Change is the only constant thing in this world and we are seeking the opposite. So…..

Bhagavad Gita:

Bahir antaśh cha bhūtānām Acharaṁ charam eva cha
Sūkṣhmatvāt tad avijñeyaṁ Dūra-sthaṁ chāntike cha tat// 13.16

Exists outside and inside all living beings, those that are moving and not moving. Subtle, and hence incomprehensible.  Always near yet at the unspeakable distance- such is imperishable He!

Image: Internet

 

About Atman…

When I was told by my teacher that I am neither the body nor the mind .. suddenly it felt strange, as if someone had stripped me of my Identity.

The more I pondered on it, the more desperate I became. The desperation was real. How would you feel, if you been told that you are not anything that you doubted you were? Doubted? This thought would have crossed any mind at least once- that how can I be both the body and the mind.

Now, I wanted to know who am I? How do I look? How did I end up fooling myself to be the body and the mind?

For a minute, I even doubted whether I really existed. That strange feeling of not knowing myself was disturbing. I thought if I didn’t know myself then how wrong was I interpreting everything that is around me.

When the inquiry deepens and when we start asking more questions about Self (mind you, not about the world nor about fixing worldly things) that is when the teacher would render his experience or for that matter the experiences of all those who had discovered their true self.

Teachings:

• The first thing that you would be told is that Atman is self-luminous, Svayamprakasha.

I, Atman does not require any proof to be proven. I am right there but you do not see me because you are too distracted. For example, we do not see the space or akasha around us(it doesn’t have a form) but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there(it is in our experience). Likewise, you do not see yourself nor you see your self in others but you experience yourself and that needs no proof.

• Atman is the Only Reality, SAT/Existence

Also, Atman is not an effect of a cause and it does not appear all of a sudden from somewhere. IT is just there and everything exists because of That.

Vedanta gives examples of the mud in the pot; it was always there in the pot. Gold in the gold ornaments etc. The body cavity which contains internal organs isn’t different from the space outside the body. Space which is so invincible yet so strong and extremely important for existence perhaps is the closest proof that Atman can exist likewise.

Since the real identity hasn’t been strengthened yet, there is a possibility of the above information to be misconstrued. You might just confuse your old pseudo self to be that Atman. To break that notion, Bhagavad Gita comes forth with the below message.

• The names and forms are in me; I am not in them.(Bhagavad Gita 7.12, 13.17)

The letters are on the paper. Can you say the paper is in the words?

The 29 States and 7 Union Territories are a part of India. Do we say each state is a different India?  You cannot say there are multiple Indias as there are multiple states. The essence of India is in each state because India is one entity; the states are part of India. There is no two, in reality, India is One. Similarly, the names and forms are in the Brahman, the beings with the names and forms are unmanifest before their birth, manifest in life and again unmanifest on death. Basically, nobody is going anywhere or rightly put, there is no two things to come and go.

Sumi, in a black or pink dress, would still be Sumi. The dress does not change Sumi. Likewise, there is one Brahman, who wears different attires and is addressed differently. Long story short, we should learn to look beyond that names and forms.

to be continued…….

Image:  Internet

 

Concept Of Bondage & Liberation

If you are a seeker & a beginner, you would be first told that “You are not the body or the mind or the Intellect but you are pure Awareness/Consciousness. Also, that everything here is just a play of Consciousness and Only ‘IT’ prevails.” Even Krishna gave the highest truth to Arjuna before he started with his discourse(Chapter 2, Shlok 11-21). He had to get into the details because of Arjuna’s incapability in comprehending what was told. Many of us are like Arjuna and that is why Gita is still relevant today.

Though every teacher introduces you to yourself yet it gets messed up because it doesn’t go unfiltered. And each student is different and therefore each has a different way of introducing the idea into life. I was unaware of the number of filters that I build unconsciously and it restrained every information coming my way.

In spite of listening to numerous discourses, the whole idea didn’t sink in or rather didn’t flow like the way I wanted. It doesn’t happen overnight, it might for some but it takes time. I kept thinking where am I stuck but now I realize that the idea of duality enticed me equally then.

And that is something that does not agree with Advaitam. There is no place for duality, but nevertheless let the inward search continue. Slowly but steadily, it will take you through its lovely paradoxes into a beautiful culmination. It might look like it is contradicting itself but when understood it is pure science. It tells you everything is in me but I am not in them. I am everything but I am independent. Though ‘You are That’, you still have to earn that experience.

Within the awareness is where the whole life is staged and every bit of that drama is nothing but ‘That’. Since our attention is drawn to the characters, we fail to see the actor, one who is playing all the characters. Though we theoretically understand that we are ‘One’, for that idea to flow easily, it takes endless attention unto our ‘self’.

The drama is him, life force is him, characters and ideas are him, actors are him, the whole act is him, the audience is him, the stage is him and you are him.

So, where is the problem, you may ask? There is no problem if we received the knowledge and stayed like that. Since the idea of individuality and Oneness cannot coexist, we have to let go of one. But strangely our own small selfish creation stops us from experiencing the ultimate.

The wave is made to understand that it is nothing, but water in the form of a wave. And the foam, bubbles and the rest are all but water too. The only thing which is stopping the wave from being the water is the wave’s obsession with its form. That needs to stop then there is neither samsara nor mukti.

Brahmarpanam brahma havir brahmagnau brahmana hutam
Brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahma-karma-samadhina//Ch 4, Shlk 24

The same one is the one who is playing it, watching it, directing it, producing it and staging it.

Yo mam pasyati sarvatra sarvam ca mayi pasyati
Tasyaham na pranasyami sa ca me na pranasyati// Ch 6, Shlk 30

Sarva-bhuta-sthitam yo mam bhajaty ekatvam asthitah
Sarvatha vartamano ‘pi sa yogi mayi vartate// Chp 6, Shlk 31

Image: Photographer Clark Little ventured out at sunrise to capture this stunning shot on North Shore in Oahu, Hawaii