I am in reality, direct, immediate self-evident, changeless independent consciousness, time-free, space-free, object-free. Identifying with the body-mind, I as though become a personality - confined to the boundaries of the changing body and mind. Then engaging with the various thought forms taking place in the mind, I believe myself to be the different roles assumed, or different thoughts or emotions or memories...and then am more often than nought, overwhelmed by them.
To really be able to understand and assimilate that my real nature is ever auspicious, peaceful, non-dual Consciousness that is ever free of the triad of experiencer-experiencing thought-experienced object, the sadhana of japa followed by being a simple impartial observor is very useful.
Using the sadhana of japa,one disengages with all of one's roles, and assumes the role of a simple devotee, who simply lovingly occupies the mind with the name of his beloved Lord - the Lord, who is the invariable Consciousness, the Divinity within, that is always with him/her. One loves to chant His name, because one recognizes Him as the one who is always there in the background, in the past, in the present, in the future - illumining and enlivening by His mere presence, one's inner and outer life...only one has been so engaged in one's own private world of one's endless masks, stories, likes and dislikes that one never noticed His silent auspicious peaceful ever-presence.
As one disengages from every other role, and simply remains as a devotee, chanting His name, one begins to assimilate all that one learned in satsang and one begins to love Him and chant His name.
One loves to chant His name, because one recognizes that He pervades every thought, every feeling, every breath, every cell, every thing in space, as the intelligence that manifests and permeates everything, as the very essence, making everything what it is. One loves to chant His name, because one recognizes He is all this that was, is, will be....and yet He is free. One loves to chant His name because one recognizes He alone is nitya, and one cannot stand apart from Him even if one wants to. Now, one loves to disengage from every other role and remain as a devotee, simply chanting His name.
As one continues with this japa sadhana, the mind becomes very quiet...very peaceful. Now one stops chanting and assumes the role of an observor - an impartial kind observor.... Simply observing sounds, breathing, thoughts and emotions that come up and pass by. Now it's easy to recognize that observor is also a role that assumed in the ever-presence of the Consciousness that shines both the I-thought and the object of the I-thought.
The knower/observor is mithya ....dont carry a subtle form of observor in understanding of consciousness that one essentially is..the observor disappears in understanding of consciousness...one cannot retain oneself as an observor ....in consciousness there is no real observor.
In confirming the nature of consciousness, the one who confirms disappears ...that consciousness is not an object ...is understood by the buddhi ...and the pramata, the knower-status resolves in understanding the mithyatvam of the knower.
Visualize that as a new-born baby, at that time you are just simple immediate conscious presence - there is no identification with anything - now ask these questions :-
Does self evident consciousness have size, shape, weight, form, colour, movement, change, modification, growth, retardation boundary? If your answer is yes it means there is identification with body or mind. Use the atma-anatma rule to seperate Atma from anatma and ask yourself the same question again.
Does self-evident immediate consciousness have feelings, thoughts, physiological functions, sensations, breathing? If your answer is yes it means there is identification with body-mind ....
Does self-evident immediate consciousness have ego, memories, history, ignorance? If the answer is yes for you it means there is identification with body-mind.
Are there two things then- consciousness and body-mind?
No two things - Shastra says ekam Eva advitiyam. Consciousness alone is ...changelessly ever present
Then what is body-mind?
An appearance alone that does not have power to change or hurt consciousness because they are not the same order of reality ...can my shadow hurt me?
All this is to be deeply assimilated. So be a devotee first and gain samatvam. Be a simple observor and confirm for oneself what one has studied through Shastra pramanam.
Om Tat Sat