Stillness ...

There is a field of knowing, which is the field of pure awareness of the sentient being that knows. This expands beyond the boundary of the physical body. It sees the body externally as well as knows it internally. It perceives the body as something emerging out of it, introducing limitations of boundaries of the body on the physical plane. But the knower clearly knows that is beyond the physical plane. It sees body as its extension, which is connected to it but it itself is beyond the body.  So, there is a physical entity that is subjected to the laws governing the material objects. And then there is a "beyond-physical" entity that is out of bounds of any laws governing the physical world. It is even beyond time and space. Between these two, another illusory being takes birth, which seems to exist, but it does not exist in a real sense. It feels that it is maintaining and controlling the body. It thinks that it is doing all the activities performed by the body and it is keep...

Sadhana is about getting inside slowly and gradually, piercing through layers after layers. The first layer is the most obvious one, the outer physical layer, which is of the body and the senses. This is where we live most of the time. But as soon as we close our eyes, we lose contact with the outer world, with which we were connected through the senses. Immediately we see our restless thoughts and feelings dancing in front of our close eyes. That's the layer of the mind. We get associated with these and remain with these for long. But once the thoughts and feelings settle down, we start feeling the rhythm of our breath, which is somehow also connected with the prana. We feel the vibration and movement of prana. We see prana moving up and down in the body. But once we are able to move beyond the prana layer, we get into the zone of the naad, the anahat naad or the unstruck sound aum. Naad is the original frequency, which is the way of the being for that which is the substratum. Beh...

If you are not happy here, you will not be happy there. If you are not happy with this, you will not be happy with that. If you are not happy doing this, you will not be happy doing that. Unhappiness is the feeling that something is not right, and I need to fix this. Or I am not okay with what is happening, and I try to do something to change that. But who is this "I" who is not okay?  This is everything that I think and I feel and I believe, and I know who I am. It thinks that it is this and that, possesses this and that, is capable of doing this and that, likes this and that, has this opinion or that, and wants this or that. It thinks that it has reached somewhere in life and in next few years it will reach somewhere else. It thinks that it has become someone and wants to become someone else. It thinks that it has accumulated so much of knowledge, wealth and power. It thinks that it is beautiful, smart and kind and everyone likes it.  This "I" is always unhappy an...

 Struggle is part of growth. Failure is part of success. As Buddha said, life itself is full of misery, so there is no escape from it. It is not possible for one to completely run away from the difficulties and challenges of life, but to face it and grow stronger. The purpose of their repeated occurrence in our lives is only to lead us towards self-discovery. Because in the midst of uncertainties, fear, confusion, discontent and delusion, we are able to see where we stand and start questioning existence itself. The beginning of the search for a meaningful purpose of life and self-discovery is the start of one's spiritual journey. Our struggles and challenges play a very big role in that. The first chapter in Bhagwat Gita is called Arjuna's Vishaad Yoga not without any reason. At the center of Gita is the scene on the battlefield, where Krishna is exhorting his friend Arjuna to perform what is expected of a warrior in a battle for righteousness. The eighteen chapters capture the...

We are seeking freedom. But what is this freedom that we are seeking? Freedom from what? Are we not free? Are we in bondage then? Freedom from the sufferings of our lives.  Freedom from restlessness, worries and anxieties. Freedom from anger and jealousy. Freedom from pride and arrogance. Freedom from incessant thinking, planning and calculations. Freedom from attachments and desires. Freedom from all conditioning of the mind. Freedom from the likes and dislikes and beliefs that has shaped the personality.  Freedom from the ego-self. Freedom from the mind. Freedom from identification with the body. Freedom means shining of the true Self. Silence. Peace. Contentment. Love. Bliss.  When the Self shines, in its presence, mind loses its existence as the moon loses its lustre in splendor and brilliance of the Sun. 

No where to go Nothing to achieve No one to impress Nothing to prove No statement to make No one to become No urge to act No urge to resist No motive to do anything Nothing to look forward to Offering resistance to nothing Accepting whatever happens Surrendering to the divine will Just be Fear of nothing Desire of nothing Win it or lose it Do this or do that This job or that job Success or failure This happens or that Doesn't matter When established in the Self Nothing really matters!

The path as such may not seem so difficult but the goal indeed is. It is difficult because: 1. This needs to be one's only priority (not just even the top priority) 2. Interest and hence desire for all other things and activities must die 3. One has to develop one's mind to such an extent that one is not affected by anything happening around oneself (the mind remains tranquil in all circumstances) 4. One has to be free from all likes and dislikes for things, people and activities of the world 5. One has to be free of the sankalpa (intention) behind all work (all work is discharged with body-mind though, but with a dispassionate interest)

 We are not the body nor our thoughts and feelings. We are not our desires too. We are pure beings of awareness, the consciousness, the Self, which is impersonal and non-participating but only a pure witness. We have a personality. It uses mind to think and body to perform actions. This is the personal self that thinks that "I am so and so" and "I am different from others" when it wakes up in the morning. This is the ego-self. This engages itself in the world and participates in activities. It makes plans and so on and so forth.  We are not this ego-self. If we observe ourselves carefully, we will know where we live most of the time. Do we live in the noise of the mind or in the silence of the Self? We will know why we are so restless and anxious all the time. We are restless because we live in our minds along with barrage of thoughts, endless desires and constant chattering. This is the normal state of the mind, or the natural frequency of the mind, if we can say t...

Our incessant engagements and continuous toil must indicate that we are in search of something. One thing is very clear. We can safely conclude that despite all this running around, whatever that we are seeking, we have not been to get that. So, if it has not happened so far, it is possible that it may not happen in future as well, if we continue to look for it wherever we are looking for it currently, which is outside in the world. By keeping ourselves busy, by chasing stuff, gathering things, getting into relationships, changing professions, changing locations, etc. we have not been able to get there. But it does not mean that we haven't got anything so far. Many of us have attained success, become rich, built reputations, acquired knowledge, become well-known authorities in different fields and acquired many other things. This has indeed been an outcome of the relentless pursuit and our diligent efforts in the world.  But are we satisfied. Do we feel that we have enough? Or, has...