Guest guest Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 THE MAHARSHI September/October 2001Vol. 10 - No. 5 Produced & Edited byDennis HartelDr. Anil K. Sharma Letters and Comments Glimpses of Reality Dear Editor, Thank you for sending me the last issue of the newsletter with my book order. I noticed that questions and comments were answered and I was wondering if you could help me understand an experience I had some months ago. One morning I woke up with the strange feeling that part of me had not slept at all but had been a witness to my dreaming. I have to say "part of me" because the awareness had been inside of me so it had to be me, but there was something very different from myself in that presence. I could remember my dream adventures and my own self participating, and at the same time, could feel that I had been "observed from within" by that presence. At the time I was only acquainted with theories about the unconscious and I explained it to myself as an encounter with my "unconscious". This happened before I had been aware of Ramana Maharshi's teachings or practiced regular meditations. One morning, some weeks later, I had another experience. I became aware of that presence on waking up, just at the point between sleeping and dreaming, as if I had "caught it unaware". It was very intense. It is difficult to find words to describe it. It felt as being inside and outside of me at the same time, aloof, unemotional, eternal, unconcerned. It left me with a feeling of awe and I called the presence for myself (I have never talked about it before today) "the silent watchman" or "the eternal watchman". At about the same period I read about the Self and thought there were many similarities. I have since wondered if it is possible to have just a glimpse of the Self (apart from Self-Realization) and if this is what has happened (I feel that these experiences were more than sleep or dream illusions). I also wonder if the memory of that impressing presence can be of spiritual help to me. - An American Seeker The experiences you had in sleep and during the transition from sleep to waking are authentic spiritual experiences. It is no coincidence that these experiences occurred during a period of your life when you were actively seeking Truth and reading teachings, such as those of Sri Ramana Maharshi. These 'glimpses' are the incentives, or the grace, given to us. They are the road signs leading us to the final destination, and also the destination itself. The Maharshi explained that when a person wakes up from sleep the head is raised and there is the light of awareness. The light is already there in the heart which is later reflected on the brain and appears as consciousness. Then the individual ego steps in and projects thoughts, identifying itself with the mind, body and world. There is a state in the interval between sleeping and waking, or between two thoughts, which is the undifferentiated Self, the Eternal Being. That state usually passes off unnoticed. You were fortunate to have been aware of it and understood that it is the "Eternal Watchman," the Self. That "Eternal Watchman" is your real nature, not the ego and multiplicity of thoughts which followed that experience. Hold on to that 'Watchman' in all the three states of waking, dreaming and sleeping. That is the ultimate purpose of taking a human birth. Still the mind and rest in this 'Watchman'. Then the game is over and you rest in eternal peace and joy - Editor ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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