SEEKING YOUR HELP - ATMANUBHAVA -2

[Guest guest]

ATMANUBHAVA - 2

 

 

Following our conclusion that my ‘ Awareness is Brahman ‘ we proceed to further

analysis and consequent questions :

 

 

 

1.Awareness

 

 

 

I have been able to become more and more conscious of this ‘awareness’ in me .

In simplistic terms, for example, I am ‘aware’ of the world outside, the rising

sun, the garden, the birds, the leaves etc. Similarly, I am ‘aware’ of all the

varieties of objects in the house, the newspaper, the books, the coffee mug, the

computer, etc.

 

When I sit for meditation, I become ‘aware’ of my mind, the wanderings, the

pulling back, and when occasionally I am really in focused concentration on the

‘Ishta Devata’, I can take the position of being ‘aware’ of the concentration

on the form. Is this kind of ‘separate’ ‘awareness’ what is called ‘Sakshi ‘

bhavam?

 

 

 

After I picked up the advice of Sri Ramana on ‘ observing the state of

transition between dreaming and waking ‘, I became gradually more and more

‘aware’ of the transition.

 

Thus not only am I able to become ‘aware’ of the world of objects but I am able

to become ‘aware’ of my mind also. This process further got enriched by the

advice of three Western psychologists, all students of Indian spirituality, ( Dr

Samuel Sandweiss, Mrs Phyllis Krystal and Dr Goldthwaite ). In particular, Dr

Goldthwaite in his book advises one to become ‘aware’ in a ‘non-attached ‘

way to feelings of anger, desire, jealousy, etc. He treats these cases one by

one , helping the reader to avoid the pitfall of ‘identifying’ with the feeling

but ‘non-attachedly’ becoming ‘aware’ of the feelings. He suggests that this

process of ‘non-attached awareness’ will allow the feelings to freely surface in

the mind and more often than not they will disintegrate and vanish. He suggests

that this allows such ‘suppressed’ or ‘deeply embedded’ memories to surface and

dissipate, thus ,in a way, ‘purifying’ the mind.

 

Mrs Phyllis Krystal[ii] treats the matter in a similar manner, and goes on to

suggest that the deeply embedded memories ( of this life, mainly childhood, and

perhaps even of earlier births) are the cause of all the problems in the mind.

She goes one step further than Dr Goldthwaite’s simple prescription of

‘non-attached awareness’ and talks of ‘symbol-based affirmations’. She avers

that the sub-conscious understands only ‘pictures’ and ‘symbols’ and not

‘language’ or, one can say, ‘text’. Thus she suggests a kind of ‘positive

symbolic affirmation’ as a therapy for getting rid of deeply submerged memories.

She , in fact, states that this may be the basis of Hindu theology, sadhana and

religious observances.

 

Both of them indicate that the deeply submerged memories are the basis of ‘EGO’

and ‘KARMA’. Thus the adoption of these methodologies in diluting, dissipating

and destroying all these deeply submerged memories is the key to the

destruction of ‘ego’ and elimination of ‘karma’. As this process proceeds, one’s

inner self, particularly, the mind becomes purer and purer, calmer and calmer

and crystal-clear. As this process goes on, the world of ‘objects’ also takes on

calmer and more beautiful forms.

 

Sri Dalvi, my Guruji in Bombay, used to call this, ‘ Sundarathvam’.

 

 

 

I have been experimenting with all these methodologies, in a kind of amateurish

way, over the last year.

 

I have gradually realized that this process of ‘objective or non-attached

awareness’ is what is known as ‘transcending’ the mind, body and the world of

objects.

 

Sometimes, in my meditation, I experience an orange glow which seems to unfold

in ever widening circles. I think of this as God’s and Guruji’s blessings.

 

In mundane terms, when I share with my wife, I call it ‘ a good meditation’.

 

 

 

Your confirmation thrills me because this ‘awareness’ in me, which transcends

the mind, the body and the world of objects, is what is called ‘Prajna’ and is

nothing other than ‘Brahman’.

 

I take this to be the meaning of the term ‘ Brahman permeates the entire

universe’. My ‘awareness’ of the universe is the way in which It permeates the

universe.

 

 

 

This takes me to a further step in analysis. How can it then be stated that ‘

Brahman creates the universe’ ? If ‘awareness’ is ‘ Brahman’, then what is

‘creation’ ?

 

 

 

2. Creation

 

 

 

Let me give my mundane analysis.

 

I am asleep and probably dreaming. I gradually wake up. I am ‘aware’ that I have

been dreaming, I am , in fact, deeply ‘aware’ of the contents of the dream. I am

now ‘aware’ I am waking up. Slowly I realize I have to get up to put out the

milk money, open the gate, etc.

 

 

 

By an act of ‘will’, I sit up. Even my waking up can be said to be an act of

‘will’, unless someone or some sound or some thing has woken me up.

>From the moment I wake up and sit up, the contours of the world take shape. I

wonder whether this is not ‘creation’? I have ‘created’ the world, so to speak.

 

When I was asleep, the world did not exist. When I get up, the world takes form.

I totter out and sleepily open the front door, put the milk basket out, open the

front gate, peer out at the road, and come back inside. My mundane day-to-day

world has been ‘created’.

 

If I rolled over and slept on, the world would not have taken shape, for me. It

may still be there but my ‘awareness’ of it will not have been there.

 

 

 

I wonder whether this ‘will’ by which I bestir myself and ‘create’ the world is

‘Devi’!

 

Is ‘Devi’ ( Lalithambika, Tripurasundari) the ‘will’ of Parabrahman?

 

 

 

When the ‘will’, so to speak, wakes up, bestirs itself, then ‘ actions’ and

‘desires’ start up.

 

Are these then the ‘Chit-shakthi’, ‘ Kriya-shakthi’ and ‘Ichcha-shakthi’?

 

 

 

When I come back into the house, the ‘desire’ for coffee comes up! The ‘need’ to

go to the bathroom comes up…and so on and so on … Is this not ‘Kameswari’ or

‘Kamakshi’?

 

 

 

3. Conclusion

 

 

 

In this little write-up you will observe that I am trying to co-ordinate, unify,

rationalize from personal experience, two streams of Hindu philosophical thought

with a lot of help of Western psychology.

 

 

 

Through the experience and understanding of ‘awareness’, I am able to understand

and experience , the concept of ‘ transendence’ and ‘Brahman’ which seems at

once to be a separate observer or ‘sakshi’ and at the same time is the material

‘cause’ and the ‘raison d’etre’ of the world I experience and observe.

 

 

 

At the same time, in order to experience the world, of coffee, of the gate, the

door, of hot Dosais, of the cooling comfort of the electric fan, of the

sweetness of Sakkarai Pongal, of the cleansing water flowing over my body, of

the lovely rendition of Raga Kedara Gowla and on and on…. This experience comes

from ‘willing’. Without the ‘will’ none of it would be there.

 

 

 

Is this not the concept of Purusha and Prakriti, of Brahman and Maya, of Shiva

and Shakti ?

 

 

 

Please feel free to critically evaluate and advise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Goldthwaite , Purifying the Heart , Sri Sathya Sai Books and

Publications Trust, 2003

 

 

[ii] Phyllis Krystal, Cutting the Ties That Bind , Weiser Books, 1993

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

namaskaar s. mohan ji,

you asked--

When I sit for meditation, I become ‘aware’ of my mind,

the

wanderings,

the pulling back, and when occasionally I am really in focused

concentrati

on on the ‘Ishta Devata’, I can take the position of

being ‘aware’

of the concentration on the form. Is this kind of

‘separate’ ‘awaren

ess’ what is called ‘Sakshi ‘ bhavam?

 

i would not call it sakshi bhavam just because sakshi bhavam of the

self is always there. please note that you were aware(sakshi,witness)

that you are having sakshi bhavam(according to you). i am saying this

just because when recognition of that self (one who is sakshi) is

there, the world(prapancha) is no more(nishprapancha).who can be the

sakshi of the one which is sakshi of everything.

but there is a very good news--

Sometimes, in my meditation, I experience an orange glow which seems

to unfold in ever widening circles. I think of this as God’s

and

Guruji’s blessings.

 

surely this is the grace of god(guru) being bestowed upon you.

this is a sign of awakening of the kundalini. the colour(orange) you

have talked about is the colour of swadhistana(element water). you

may see some more colours like red(manipura,fire), blue(element

ether,vishudha) etc.it's just the time of joy but not of satisfaction

don't just get satisfied with this experience and desire for more

(experiences). it's really the grace of gurudev on you. some of the

experiences which you may have are nadas. you may listen to various

types of nadas with your ears closed(nadanusandhaan) but please,

don't do it without guidance.

you said--

When the ‘will’, so to speak, wakes up, bestirs itself,

then ‘

actions’ and ‘desires’ start up.

 

Are these then the ‘Chit-shakthi’, ‘

Kriya-shakthi’ and ‘Ichcha-

shakthi’?

 

the terms kriyashakthi & ichha shakthi are correct but the third term

is jnana shakthi. the name of three suggests their functions.

these are responsible for what you call will, desire, action etc.

the other two shakthis are anand shakthi & chitta shakthi.

chitta shakthi-->nada-->ether

anand shakthi-->bindu-->air

ichha shakthi-->makaar-->fire

jnana shakthi-->ukaar-->water

kriya shakthi-->akaar-->earth

this is how five shakthis are arranged with five components of aum

giving rise to five elements,chitta shathi arising from para shakthi.

in the same way, shiva takes the form of five types of brahman

(panchbrahman)--

shiva-->ishaan-->tattpurusha-->aghora-->vaamdeva-->sadyojaata.

in this way,the shiv tattva(parabrahman) takes the form of

panchbrahman & parashakthi takes the form of five types of shakthis.

the whole world thus being just the interaction of shiva &

shakthi.this is what you asked--

Is this not the concept of Purusha and Prakriti, of Brahman and

Maya, of Shiva and Shakti ?

 

with regards,

gautam.