Guest guest Posted July 19, 2002 Report Share Posted July 19, 2002 Paragraph 34 Not from any desire, resolve, or effort on the part of the rising sun, but merely due to the presence of his rays, the lens emits heat, the lotus blossoms, water evaporates, and people attend to their various duties in life. In the proximity of the magnet the needle moves. Similarly the soul or jiva, subjected to the threefold activity of creation, preservation, and destruction which take place merely due to the unique Presence of the Lord, performs acts in accordance with its karma (fruits of past actions, in the present life), and subsides to rest after such activity. But the Lord Himself has no resolve; no act or event touches even the fringe of His Being. This state of immaculate aloofness can be likened to that of the sun, which is untouched by the activities of life, or to that of the all- pervasive ether, which is not affected by the interaction of the complex qualities of the other four elements. COMMENTS The jiva, the individual personality, Ramana says, appears to exist only though the Self (really by the projected superimpositions of the reality of the Self onto some imagined reality), and acts based on the laws of cause and effect. The Self, Who We Are, however is not touched by any so-called event. A meditation that is used to move towards the stand as Self is the "Witness Meditation." In this meditation, one takes the stand as witnessing consciousness. As witnessing consciousness one is the witness of all (including the most subtle internal experiences and thoughts), even the witness of the universe, and touched by nothing. This is like what is expressed in the famous poem by Hua Neng, the sixth (and last) patriarch of Ch'an, quoting the last two lines: Since all is empty from the beginning, Where can the dust alight? This is what witnessing consciousness is like. Where can the dust alight? Now, in meditation, look for the place within yourself where this is true. -- YOur comments are invited. We are Not two, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 19, 2002 Report Share Posted July 19, 2002 Dear Richard, must vichara at last not go deeper as to witnessing consciousness? Who is the witness in witnessing consciousness and who is touched by nothing? This is not meant as an advaita-game-question but that's real the point for me. In HIM Gabriele > A meditation that is used to move towards the stand as Self is > the "Witness Meditation." In this meditation, one takes the stand as > witnessing consciousness. As witnessing consciousness one is the > witness of all (including the most subtle internal experiences and > thoughts), even the witness of the universe, and touched by nothing. > This is like what is expressed in the famous poem by Hua Neng, the > sixth (and last) patriarch of Ch'an, quoting the last two lines: > > Since all is empty from the beginning, > Where can the dust alight? > > This is what witnessing consciousness is like. Where can the dust > alight? > > Now, in meditation, look for the place within yourself where this is > true. > -- > YOur comments are invited. > > We are Not two, > Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 19, 2002 Report Share Posted July 19, 2002 Dear Gabriele, Good point. You are correct. My teachers say the witness (even though this has much more of a sense of freedom than one who stands identified as body/mind/ego) is still just a half-step. Until the knower, the known and the kowning 'merge' one must keep the vichara going. We are Not two, Richard RamanaMaharshi, "gabriele_ebert" <g.ebert@g...> wrote: > Dear Richard, > must vichara at last not go deeper as to witnessing consciousness? > Who is the witness in witnessing consciousness and who is touched by > nothing? This is not meant as an advaita-game-question but that's > real the point for me. > > In HIM > Gabriele > > > A meditation that is used to move towards the stand as Self is > > the "Witness Meditation." In this meditation, one takes the stand > as > > witnessing consciousness. As witnessing consciousness one is the > > witness of all (including the most subtle internal experiences and > > thoughts), even the witness of the universe, and touched by > nothing. > > This is like what is expressed in the famous poem by Hua Neng, the > > sixth (and last) patriarch of Ch'an, quoting the last two lines: > > > > Since all is empty from the beginning, > > Where can the dust alight? > > > > This is what witnessing consciousness is like. Where can the dust > > alight? > > > > Now, in meditation, look for the place within yourself where this > is > > true. > > -- > > YOur comments are invited. > > > > We are Not two, > > Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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