A Fantastic Way To Rediscover YourSelf

When ever you learn the scriptures or listen the discourses on vedanta, you come across few common affermations very often –  ” Brahma satyam jagat mithya”, “Aham Brahmasmi”,  “Only the Brahman is the Truth and  I am that Brahman, the Truth, “This world is the illusion”.

This is also called the Self knowledge.

Living in ignorance since time immemorial, it is not easy for us to digest this knowledge. It is very difficult to believe that the very world; we are living in;  is mithya. Surrounded by so many varieties of people, it seems impossible to accept that ” I am the Nondual Brahman, and there is no ‘other’.”

There are various types of guided meditations; where you are instructed step by step; how to remain just as an observer/ Sakshi/ the witness to our own body-mind activities.
More we practice these techniques, more we believe in our non dual nature and lesser we get affected by the dualities of the world. But it needs constant practice with perseverence.

Even in the worldly matters, ‘to be just an observer’ is not easy. Because being present in any event; without getting involed, without getting affected, without judging anything; is very difficult for us. As we have particular likes and dislikes, certain beliefs and assumptions, we cannot be 100% non-judgmental.
Just recall any event of a fight, quarrel or the argument in your home or in neighbourhood. Could you remain just as the witness/ observer ? Some judgmental thoughts must had been there in your mind about the people involved in that event. This is because our body mind intellect are made up of three gunas/ qualities and our likes and dislikes, actions and reactions, judgements, beliefs are governed by them. Only the Realised Masters; who have transcended the BMI, can remain as the witness to any happenings.

Thus to be the  perfect witness,  without getting affected and involved in any happenings,  you need to be pure, untainted and untouched by these three gunas/qualities.

It seems impossible… Isnt it ?

But you know, in reality, we are that Pure; Untainted; Witness Consciouness.
Let’s make it more clear-

Suppose;
You are a singer. Because of some reason, you forget that you are a singer. Now, you want to become a singer. You think it is impossible for you to be a singer. Someone comes and tells( reminds) you that you are a singer. Your forgetfulness goes and you start singing again.

Efforts are needed to remove this forgetfulness of your real nature. Your identity gets revealed itself at ease.

If the false notion; that ‘I am the body mind complex’ is properly negated; applying logic and reasoning;  you will surly
rediscover yourself as the Pure Consciousness.

The dream state; that we daily experience; is the fantastic practical example, we can use to understand how can we be  the Witness/ Pure consciousness.

After the hectic work throughout the day, you were tired and went to sleep. Before the deep sleep state, you entered in to the dream sleep state.
In your dream; there were people, animals, birds and other things like chairs, books, weapons, roads, vehicles, etc. You ate, walked,  fought, smiled, cried in the dream.  Someone insulted you in the dream and you took revenge against him in that dream only. Someone beat you in the dream, you experienced the pain and even you saw the  blood coming out of your wound in the dream.”

Now try to answer these questions-

Where did the people in your dream come from?

Where did the blood of your wound come from?

Because while dreaming; you were lying on the bed in your bedroom. No one else brought the things and beings of your dream world from outside.
It is your mind, who was active in the dream sleep, that created all your dream world which included the people, objects, situations, your actions and reactions, etc.

When you woke up, the things and beings in the dream world disappeared….
where did they go?

Your Intellect got active in waking state and you realised that the dream world was illusory…not real.

The dream world  was created by the mind and after waking; your intellect discarded it.
(We don’t experience dreams in deep sleep, as mind is latent in deep sleep state.)

Now just think,
Who was watching the dream events? Who was watching your actions and reactions in the dream?

And, who was enjoying and suffering in the dream?

Do you think, mind was watching the dream?
No.
Because mind is the insentient matter. It can’t do anything as its own.
Body was lying on the bed. It is also the insentient matter.

It is the real you, The pure Consciousness, watching all the activities in the dream ; as the Witness.

It is the dreamer ( Consciousness identifying with the dream personality /subtle body) enjoying and suffering in the dream. ( dreamer changes- sometimes it is a king, some times it becomes a begger in the dream world.)

Thus while dreaming; your gross body was lying on the bed, your mind was creating the dream world;  prompted by your desires and vasanas and You as the Pure Consciousness were  witnessing all the happenings in the dream. 

To see/ watch anything, we need light.

Where did the light come from;  when you were seeing things and beings in your dream? ( you slept switching off all the lights of your bed room.😅)

It is You, The Pure Consciouness illumined the dream world.

Lets understand, how the Consciousness enlivens the mind and its creation?

There is a pot filled with water in a dark room. No one can see what is in the room.
The rays of sun enters through the hole in the roof and get reflected in the pot water.  Because of this reflected light, everything in the room get illumined and visible.
Water itself cannot illumine the things. It is the light of the sun which gets reflected in the water illumined all.

Simulate water as the mind and light of the sun as the Pure Consciousness.

It is the Pure Consciousness which gets reflected in the mind and thus enlivens it.

The sun and sun rays are not different. They illumine all, without getting involved or affected. That means; it doesn’t matter for the sun, whether the the room get illumined or not. It’s very presence illumines all.

In the same way, the Pure Consciousness gets reflected in the antahkarana. It remains unaffected and uninvoled in the mind’s activities/ creativity. But its very presence alone enlivens all the dream world. Consciouness itself is not participating in the activities of the mind.
This watching and enlivening entity is real you, the Pure Consciouness.

In the light of  you; the Consciouness, your mind created the dream world and this is how you are the Sakshi chaitanya/ Witness Consciousness.
Thus dream world was created in you, sustained in you and disappeared in you. Creator was the mind enlivened by you.
When you woke up, your intellect got active/manifest and you realised that the dream world was illusion. This Intellect is also enlivened by you, the Pure Consciousness.

Dream was created, and destroyed by the mind but you the pure Consciousness remained changeless. In this way, your mere presence was enlivening all the happenings in your dream world.

You ; the pure Consciousness only functioned through other people interacting with you in your dream. You were alone/ one without second in your dream. You alone were Truth and rest the dream world was mithya.

This is how, you get convinced that ‘ Pure consciousness/ Brahma satyam,  jagat/ world mithya, and you are that Pure Consciousness/ Brahman.

Dream World was not outside but within you the Pure Consciousness ..

Thus, Once you are convinced that body mind complex is just the matter and you are the enlivener; the conglumeration of the body mind complexes in the whole world will be automatically negated. Just like you discard the things and beings in the dream world, you will discard the things and beings in the waking world also as illusory. Because, Waking state is nothing but the long dream ; Where the waker is acting and reacting , enjoying and suffering in the waking world. It is the illusion created by the maya just like mind in the dream.
As the waking person discards the dream world as illusory, the awakened masters discards the waking world also as  illusory. This is how they abide with the truth ..” Brahma satyam jagat mithya…Aham Brahmasmi.”

So, recall your dreams. And try to understand the real you as the witness consciousness through them.
  Hari Om !