A look.
A glance.
A reflection.
The Eye.
It sees.
What?
The Yogis refer to the mind as the inner instrument (antakarana) and this morning, if you will indulge me, I have a little game that we can play together.
Bring your awareness to what you see before you.
A screen.
Some text.
A desk.
Perhaps a phone.
Notice that what you see.
By default, they are seen as objects.
Things.
Stuff.
Pick one object (any of the multitude before you,) and stay with it.
What do you notice?
Push further and you will notice not an object before you, but a mind engaged. Labelling. Classifying.
The mind has many functions, and I wager that right now, it is making more stuff irrelevant than it is focusing on.
You look at the phone, and to stay observing the phone, one must release the temptation to focus on the hand that holds it.
Or the desk that supports the computer.
Or the earth that holds your feet or the desk.
The mind makes things relevant, and also, necessarily, irrelevant.
Sit with the object, and allow the mind to rest. It does a bloody good job of running on autopilot, albeit with a tendency to waver, wobble and bounce around between things.
Reflect upon the mind.
Observe its fickle nature. Observe it change
Now zoom out.
Expand. Broaden.
Let go of focus.
Surrender the object.
Surrender the mind.
What remains?
A sense. A knowing.
Presence
What is it that sees the mind? What is stable amongst the coming and going of thoughts?
Awareness.
Presence.
Consciousness.
Let’s see if we can push it a little further.
How far an we zoom out?
Is there anything that holds awareness?
Sit with your consciousness.
Be present with your first person experience.
Does this sense of ‘I’ require anything beyond itself?
What sees the I?
As we investigate our experience, we come to learn that that the I that sees simply, Is.
To see an object, we need a physical organism called the eye. Light bounces from the sun, off the object, into this organ of perception.
The mind then takes this sensory input and spits out myriad thoughts, some related to the object, some seemingly unrelated.
Consciousness holds the mind that controls the eye.
Does consciousness require anything to hold it?
No.
Therefore, our nature is that very awareness.
We are the Soul.
This style of enquiry is known as drig-drisha Viveka, and it is used in the path of Vedanta to logically probe the nature of our experience.
To what end?
To gain insight into our true nature.
As we ponder, reflect and investigate our direct experience, we come to learn that awareness needs no reason, no cause, no container.
Consciousness is the most distilled essence of experience.
It IS our nature.
What happens when we anchor our life in this simple truth?
The material comings and goings of the body, the world and indeed our mind hold a little less power over us.
When we confuse our nature as Soul, when we cling to incorrect idea that “I am this body, I am this mind, I am the stuff I see, I am the mind that judges the things I see” we will be destined to suffer.
How so?
The body, and its 5 organs of perception (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin) like to be entertained. Life is the activity that tickles our perception with pleasant and unpleasant experiences.
The paths of Yoga and Vedanta do not shun our experience, nor do they require an absence of experience. At their highest, these paths push us to move beyond the limitations of the mind and body.
When this style of Vedantic enquiry, or a yogic practice like meditation, are done with regularity and discipline, we come to know our nature as Soul (consciousness,) the thing that holds it all.
As we increasingly live a life centred in this place, we live in the world more freely, precisely because we know that we are not of the world.
Who you then become when life is lived consciously as a Soul is someone who brightens the world around you.
And in the sea of chaos, change, uncertainty and suffering, shining the light of the Soul brightens that world around you and uplifts you, your family and your community.
The collective effect of this illumination should not be diminished; in many traditional cultures, spiritual practice is venerated as the most important thing that we can do for each other.
Given that you are reading a meditation musing, and that you have made it this far, it is safe for me to assume that you are either actively engaged (or are seriously contemplating) in bringing a little more light to the world.
And for that, you should be commended (bravo!)
Your spiritual practice may be through a humble 30 minute sit for meditation, or simply by pausing to reflect and enquire about your nature, whatever you are doing, you are fighting the good fight.
We pray that your endeavour to lead a Soulful life brings you all that you seek, and that you are supported by the universal principle that flows through you.
This week, if you find yourself sucked into the world and need some relief, look at something, anything, and steady the mind.
Then, watch the mind.
Then, watch the thing that watches the mind.
And finally, rest.
For you have just taken yourself Home.
–
If you would like support upon your journey through life, or would like to learn more about the path of meditation, Yoga or Vedanta, I have found that a retreat is the best way to give yourself the space and immersive environment to learn enough to make a difference.
It would be mine and Raya’s absolute joy and honour to host you on a retreat at Kailash Ashram. Please click here to learn more.
Jai Atmeshwar
Victory to the divine Soul
David
