Vedanta points out that what shine here as ‘I’ is pure
consciousness ... who is independent, timeless (indestructible) and purna
(whole) – who is ever the one who illumines, enlivens, empowers the body and
mind, who is indeed never the illumined.
There is a rule given by Vedanta – the subject ‘I’, the
conscious being who experiences life, is distinct from every object of
experience even though no object of experience is ever separate from consciousness, the one who experiences. One
can understand this in several ways. No object of experience can reveal its
presence without the presence of a conscious being who cognizes it. Again the
very being of the object of experiences, its ‘isness’ is not separate from the
‘isness’ or existence of the conscious
being who cognizes it. It is one Being-consciousness who manifests as the
conscious-experiencer as well as the experienced object.
This rule that the conscious-experiencer is distinct from,
independent of the experienced object is easy enough to understand ... I see the wall... I experience the wall
... so wall is an object of my experience of seeing ... I am different from the
wall. Easy enough.
What about I see the body,
I experience the body, I experience the mind in its various forms of
thoughts, feelings, doubts, memories, ego
.... when it comes to the body and mind that I am endowed with I am not
able to say that I am distinct from them. In my understanding the body is me,
the mind is me.
Here is where we need more knowledge. What is difference
between consciousness-I and every object of experience which includes this body
and this mind.
Vedanta points out that consciousness that shines as ‘I’ is
not the body-mind, nor is it a part of the
body-mind, not a property of the body-mind, nor is it a product of the
body-mind. It is self-existing and
self-revealing – in fact it is the only self-existing, self-revealing INDEPENDENT,
CHANGLESS REALITY (satya), ever-free of energy and matter which are its
apparent every-changing manifestations. Consciousness is oneself- so it can
never be an object of experience. Consciousness is ever the subject and never
the object. Consciousness is oneself- so it can never be an object of experience
Consciousness
illuminates, reveals everything else – we find that not even the brilliant sun
can reveal its presence in the absence of a conscious being to cognize it. No
object of experience can reveal itself – therefore objects of experience are considered
as basically inert as they do not have the capacity to reveal themselves. Thus
every object of experience is a DEPENDENT, CHANGING REALITY (mithya).
And consciousness, the independent
absolute reality is basis of, the content of the dependent changing reality of
energy and matter.
Consciousness is
indestructible, free of time – it ever was, it ever is, it ever will-be.
Whereas objects of experience are all within the purview of time – they arise
to go. They manifest and again resolve back into the unmanifest again.
Consciousness is all-pervading – it is here, there and
everywhere. Whereas objects of experience have limitations in pervasiveness.
Consciousness-I is to be recognized as it is. Recognising
Consciousness-I to be as it is is to have true knowledge of ‘I’ and this
knowledge liberates one from the sorrow of taking oneself to be the mortal
body-mind.
A very useful sadhana
which helps us to recognize that what
shine here as “I”is self-evident, self-revealing, immediate consciousness which
is indeed distinct from whatever is experienced in its presence, is the
sadhana, the discipline of ‘witnessing’ one’s thoughts. This discipline trains
us to separate self-evident
consciousness-I from thought and recognize that I am indeed independent of
thoughts/ mind. We can extend it to witnessing actions also – which will not be
considered in this article.
Witnessing means one observes one’s thoughts without
involvement. We can also put it as ‘observing’ without attachment. So I am the
one who observes the thoughts that arise in my mind, and the thoughts are what
are observed. I am the drshta, the observer of thoughts, the self-evident
conscious being, the atma and the
thoughts are drshya, the observed, which is dependent on me for being observed.
Our Shastra gives us a thorough understanding of thoughts by
guiding us to observe our thoughts, gain more understanding about them by
labelling them, and then letting them go. So we start by observing individual thoughts
as they arise, we label them and let go of any holding onto them – or subscribing
to them by allowing them to create a story. This allows us over a period of
time, to discover, that the conscious that I am is the invariable, in whose
presence thoughts are illumined, and even though I am intimately present when
thought is there, I am unaffected by the thought.
When we observe we can find out:-
1.
In which state is my mind currently – is it
a.
disturbed/troubled (kshipta)
b.
dull/heavy (mudha)
c.
Distracted, partly focussed (vikshipta)
d.
One-pointed, focussed (ekagra)
e.
Disciplined, mastered (niruddha)
2.
Is this thought
a.
coloured or afflicted (klishtha)
b.
not
colored or not afflicted (aklishtha)
3.
Is this thought
a.
Useful to our growth
b.
Not useful to growth
4.
Which qualities or gunas are dominant with this
thought
a.
Sattva –
noble, knowledgeable, light
b.
Rajas –
active, ambitious, moving
c.
Tamas - inert, stable, stagnant
5.
If the thought is coloured, which colourings are
dominant?
a.
Forgetting of one’s truth, veiling (avidya)
b.
Claiming ‘I’-ness – (asmita)
c.
Being attracted to or drawn towards (raga)
d.
Having aversion for, or wanting to avoid (dvesha)
e.
Fear of death, loss, anxiety –(abhinivesha)
6.
Which type of thought is this?
a.
Clear, correct, valid knowledge – pramana
b.
Unclear, contradictory, misunderstood – viparyaya
c.
Conceptualizing, fantasy –vikalpa
d.
Sleepy, focussed on anatma -nidra
e.
Memory, recalling –smriti
7.
How strong is this colouring? You can grade it
as low, medium, high
8.
How do I know this is true?
a.
Through perception (pratyaksha)
b.
Through reasoning /logic (Tarka)
c.
Through scriptures (pramana or Agama)
Having
labelled the thought, I can ask myself is this thought pattern who I am, or am
I the conscious being who illumines the thought, who is the one who has the
thought, who is distinct from the thought.
I
discover that like light, in whose all-pervading presence all things are
illumined, and yet light is untouched by what it illumines, I too am the
self-evident conscious being, in whose all-presence, different thought
arise and resolve, and yet I am
untouched by the thought.
Om
Tat Sat.
.