Stillness ...

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...