Drop In The Ocean

The word insight has a different connotation in the western civilization when compared to the deep meaning in the spiritual teachings in the eastern civilization. The western civilization talks about mindfulness as a process for a peaceful existence whereas the eastern civilization talks about the thoughtlessness as a process of liberation. Both civilizations figured out the ignorance must be dispelled to apprehend the truth. While mindfulness helps one to focus to observe the happenings around, insight or inner vision helps one to understand one’s nature and how it vibrates in response to the happenings around.

One must gain insight into one’s own nature to understand the nature of existence. Within one’s body containing the mind with its perception lies the universe, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation. The path is a process that requires continues application. Sudden breakthrough may come, but they are the results of sustained efforts.

If one takes the physical aspect which is observable by the senses, yet how little one really knows about how each one of the organs inside function relentlessly to sustain life. None of these are controlled and happens without one’s knowledge. At a subtler level, one never knows of incessant biochemical reactions occurring within each cell of the body. Ultimately, the seemingly solid body is composed of subatomic particles and empty space. What is more, even these subatomic particles have no real solidity, the existence span of one of them is much less than trillionth of a second. Particles continuously arise and vanish, passing into and out of existence, like a flow of vibrations.

Along with this physical process there are psychic processes, in the mind. They consist of consciousness, perception, sensation and reaction. While the first part is just like a reception desk managing the flow of information or registering the occurrences. It is the perception part that distinguishes, labels and categorizes the incoming raw data and makes evaluation, positive or negative. Once the evaluation is done, the sensation becomes pleasant or unpleasant, depending on the label given by the perception. Then the decision to react happens and if it is pleasant to prolong and unpleasant to push it away quickly.

One sees a river flowing towards the ocean but if one observes carefully, it is nothing but a body of water moving constantly and to move constantly, the body of water needs to be replaced with another. If one watches a candle, it looks like a constant light but it is the flame arising from a wick which burns for a moment only to be replaced by a new flame a moment later with fresh energy. Pure stream of blood takes oxygen to the organs in the body and on its way back to the heart it gets contaminated only to be purified again. Billions of cells in the body performs their functions and replaced constantly with new cells. The children one raises become adults and leave the nest before one could realize the elapse of time. This once admired beautiful/handsome body consist of five elements deteriorates and eventually merges with those elements.

Even though what happens in life appears to be continuous one life situation, it is a series of occurrences, received, perceived, sensationalized and reacted by the mind. What one needs to realize is that one is not a finished, unchanging entity but a process flowing from moment to moment. There is no real being merely an ongoing flow, a continuous process of becoming. When one freezes the frame of series of occurrences, one is considered as living in apparent reality whereas one recognizes the flow of occurrences and understand the aspect of constant change, is considered living in absolute reality.

A life is only a drop in the ocean and where is the scope for one to freeze the frame and stroke the ego when time never stops? It is time for everyone to observe the changes that are happening constantly and how one’s nature reacts to the occurrences when one still exists.

If one wants to search the difference between the apparent reality and ultimate truth it can be found in Bhagavad Gita 2.16:

Nasato vidyate bhavo
nabhavo vidyate satah
ubhayor api drsto 'ntas
tv anayos tattva-darsibhih

That entity which is under the influence of time and that which at a point of time is created, sustained and destructed is “unreal” or Maya. The entire world is unreal in the sense that it fades away one day. That entity or tatva which is not under the influence of kaala or time, is absolute reality. What existed always, before, now and after and Tat is absolute reality. Tat Tvam asi (That Thou art or You are that).

 

Dear Pavithra,

Very well articulated response. It is my humble opinion that observing one's nature gives a good understanding of the existence and gives the opportunity to understand how one receives, perceives, sensationalizes and reacts thereby created/creating Karma. Once a step is taken to understand the flow of occurrences without assigning labels, apparent reality collapses and the Truth will automatically be revealed.

Viswa

 

Dear Smt. Srinivasan:

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I agree thoughtlessness is easier said than done. Mindfulness is not easy either. For both, mind has to be regulated not to wander around. What I was trying to differentiate in my thread was the difference between observing the external world vs observing the reception, perception, feelings and reactions that happen inside of us when we observe. This helps us find our inherent nature encrypted and eliminate such encryption. When Sanatana Dharma suggested to look for something that is permanent and not transient (I am not that method), Buddha categorically said "Only permanent thing is the change that happens constantly. There is nothing called life and it is a sequence of occurrences that gives an impression of life. In order to understand the nature of our existence, we need to understand our nature".

Looking at the happenings around us as life is like pressing the pause button (apparent reality) and looking at the absolute reality is like playing it.

Viswa

 

Dear Smt. Jayasala:

I respectfully request you to address me as "Viswa" as I am younger not only in age but also in knowledge and experience. Your last line categorically indicates how learned you are.

When I started writing this thread, I was not sure whether I would do enough justification for selecting a topic of this kind and cover the enormity and importance of the message that one needs to convey in a short thread. After reading your response to this thread, I am now convinced, if anything I write could trigger a response such as yours, it is worth making an effort to write even if I am not well-informed. What a delightful summary of power of perception and how it can effect one's life positively or negatively! I couldn't agree more our perceptions are primarily driven by our deeply embedded beliefs that were established through family, friends, society, religion, level of school/collegiate education, etc.

"Inquiry" is the word often used by the learned people with the belief that study, research and listening to the teachings by the mind only results in intellectual stimulation and it is Self-inquiry that results in experiencing something that is not perceived at the peripheral level but to understand the root-cause of ignorance and associated sufferings. Once one studies one's inherent nature built through beliefs and deep-rooted encryption, one could understand the nature of the existence and how the world is perceived by the mind. Removing this obstacle through unlearning results in learning the ultimate Truth. Observing how the information is received, analyzed, assimilated and responded is a great way to understand life's existence.

Power of perception is extraordinary that connects each occurrence (each line in a book) into the entire book. The mind has no borders and its territory is limitless based on how much effort one puts in to perceive. If one breaks it down, the whole book is nothing but a collection of words. In fact these occurrences are created/perceived for the reason to understand our nature as to how we react to such occurrences and understand the nature of our existence. The words and sentences are irrelevant but the comprehension is extremely relevant. If one eliminates all that is irrelevant/not real, we move towards what is relevant/real.

Viswa