perfect awareness and perfect stillness combined

[Guest guest]

Here Sri Bhagavan explains very beautifully

and clearly atma-vichara as practice and goal:

from Talks, Talk 609:

 

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The incentive to realise can arise only in the

waking state and efforts can also be made only

when one is awake. We learn that the thoughts

in the waking state form the obstacle to gain the

stillness of sleep. "Be still and know that I AM

God". So stillness is the aim of the seeker.

 

Even a single effort to still at least a single

thought even for a trice goes a long way to

reach the state of quiescence. Effort is required

and it is possible in the waking state only.

 

There is the effort here; there is awareness also;

the thoughts are stilled; so there is the peace

of sleep gained. That is the state of the jnani.

 

It is neither sleep nor waking but intermediate

between the two. There is the awareness of the

waking state and the stillness of sleep.

It is called jagrat-sushupti. Call it wakeful sleep

or sleeping wakefulness or sleepless waking or

wakeless sleep. It is not the same as sleep or

waking separately. It is atijagrat (beyond wake-

fulness) or atisushupti (beyond sleep). It is the

state of perfect awareness and of perfect stillness

combined. It lies between sleep and waking; it is

also the interval between two successive thoughts.

 

It is the source from which thoughts spring; we

see that when we wake up from sleep. In other

words thoughts have their origin in the stillness

of sleep. The thoughts make all the difference

between the stillness of sleep and the turmoil

of waking. Go to the root of the thoughts and

you reach the stillness of sleep.

But you reach it in the full vigour of search,

that is, with perfect awareness.

 

That is again jagrat-sushupti spoken of before.

It is not dullness; but it is Bliss. It is not

transitory but it is eternal. From that the thoughts

proceed. What are all our experiences but thoughts?

Pleasure and pain are mere thoughts. They are

within ourselves. If you are free from thoughts and

yet aware, you are That Perfect Being.