Pinnacle Of Awareness

My Dear Vani,

It is bound to happen to everyone and don't let the judgment in occasional situation to deter your effort to purify your mind.

We are like a fruit with five layers known as Annamaya Kosha (Food Sheath), Pranamaya Kosha (Vital-air Sheath), Manomaya Kosha (Mental Shealth), Intellectual Sheath (Vignanamaya Kosha) and Anandamaya Kosha (Bliss Sheath). Overcoming the senses come by practicing moderation in what we see, smell, hear, taste and feel allows us to penetrate food sheath. Listening to inhalation and exhalation with a thought that positive energy entering our body and negative energy leaving the body like the food intake excretion our body does allows us to pierce through vital-air sheath. Emotions are major part of our lives and they are difficult to avoid but definitely possible to evaluate and control and this will help us to pass the mental sheath. More we achieve equanimity to remain calm in all circumstances, we pass through mental sheath. Intellectual sheath is the most difficult part to penetrate as it is required for us to gain understanding of our true and inherent nature of Ananda but sometimes can stimulate our ego. Therefore, the attitude of being a detached individual receiving energy and information with no ownership to anything gets us to overcome this ordeal.

Expanding the span of awareness helps us achieve this state of mind that would defeat the selfishness and move us towards the selflessness or oneness. Once we go through all of it, we get to our inherent nature which is nothing but Anandamaya (Blissful) state. This is a state where all the instruments become neutralized empowering the true Self. We learn at this stage, we neither contribute nor receive anything. We are neither a giver nor a beneficiary and we are part of the whole. We see the whole world as powerhouse of energy and warehouse of information with Microcosm as minuscule part of the whole Macrocosm.

Lotus leaves and flowers are known to be unattached to the water in which it resides. Honey Bees extract the sweetness from the flowers and don't get carried away by the beauty of the flowers knowing fully well, their life span is very limited to blossom. Only awareness is real and everything we attach ourselves to are unreal.

Viswa

 

It is always so satisfying to hear the experiences of others validating my conclusions out of my own experiences. The conventional wisdom also states that we are not our thoughts. When I read the book "Holographic Universe", the author of the book Michael Talbot clearly articulated that when an image falls on our screen inside our eyes, our mind within a fraction of a second takes that image in the screen and analyzes with previous impression to actually provide the image of what we really see. This was a big revelation to me as well as I was under the impression that we all see the same image always. Different people seeing different things is justified through this interpretation. Our past impressions considerably influence our lives.

Emotions are major part of our lives and energizes our thoughts considerably. It is our emotions that binds us with everything our mind likes without an objective discrimination. When what we think, say and do are three separate things, the mind faces a conflict draining so much of energy. Synchronizing them into one makes life a lot easier and helps us to remain transparent. We have the ability to empower our select thoughts through determination and especially when it is for the common good of all beings, it merges it with universal energy.

Viswa

 

Dear Sabitha,

I would wait for a year to get such a wonderful response from you. I prefer this thoughtful response that is loaded with so much wisdom than a timely response. Like I said earlier, pain and pleasure are two banks of a free flowing river called life and indulging in either one of them will result in the river (life) failing to reach the destination of Ocean of love.

But we are humans and feeling those emotions resulting in pain or pleasure is inevitable. We can only reduce the reaction time by questioning ourselves like what you suggested. Most of the time, it is our own reaction that resulted in the outcome than what was happening outside of us.

I always feel each happening in our lives is an individual experience and it is our mind that connects all of them and interprets that into a life. Being aware even for a few minutes everyday gives a great sense of fulfillment. The power of now is far more valuable when compared to the embedded legacies we become due to our mind's vagaries.

Past experiences when it is soldered with emotions gets recalled quickly by the mind. It is difficult to be without any emotions but it is possible to regulate our emotions. A calmer mind is a listener/observer whereas agitated mind is an instructor. Whether it is forgiving ourselves or others, it happens only when a calmer mind prevails. In a calmer mind that is engaged in the present moment with one thought at a time, it is difficult for emotions to get encrypted. When we learn to prolong those moments, life becomes more pleasant and enjoyable. Listening/observing mind is engaged in awareness whereas instructing mind takes us into forgetfulness filled with emotions and embedded legacies.

Viswa

 

Dear Smt. Jayasala:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the subject as well as your learning experience from the Upanayas in Sringeri Mutt. Your words, "Awakening, in simple terms seems to mean to find out some space in the mind less judgement" is a profound statement by itself. Observing our thoughts, distancing ourselves from our thoughts and experiencing we are not that is a very unique experience. Ownership brings with it the burden of protection and maintenance whereas observation makes us only the Trustee. Ownership brings emotions with it while observation keeps us free from any emotions. Ownership gives us the sense of pride whereas observation gives a sense of belonging.

If the energy and knowledge are sourced from where we belong and they are subjected to use based on interpretation of our mind (cauldron of thoughts) which itself is temporary, where is the ownership? This question eliminates "I" and "Mine" completely out of the equation (body consciousness). We are not this body or mind or diminutive ego and we are part of the whole. Our only duty or obligation is to use the tool called mind to be aware and realize the infinite potential to scale our energy and knowledge. How we use it wisely is our freewill. We are a witness to the Truth that is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.

Viswa