IAT Session 93 - Do Not Undervalue Attention - Part 3

Listen to Ektaji talk about Nisargadatta Maharaj's book I Am That. Nisargadatta Maharaj was a teacher who did not propound any ideology or religion, but gently unwrapped the mystery of the Self. 'I Am That' preserves his dialogs with the followers who came from around the world seeking guidance in destroying false identities. It was his mission to guide the individual to an understanding of his true nature and the timelessness of Being.

Transcript

Nothing can block you so effectively as compromise,

For it shows lack of earnestness,

Without which nothing can be done.

Questioner,

I approve of austerity,

But in practice I am all for luxury.

The habit of chasing pleasure and shunning pain is so ingrained in me that all my good intentions,

Quite alive on the level of theory,

Find no roots in my day-to-day life.

How many of you are identifying with this?

To tell me that I am not honest does not help me,

For I just do not know how to make myself honest.

He is at least honest in saying that,

Look at that.

He recognises that all this is only theory for me,

When it comes to day-to-day life,

Oh,

It all fizzles out.

I know I am not honest,

But please tell me how do I make myself honest?

This is an eager person.

This is the meaning of eagerness.

So Maharaj says,

You are neither honest nor dishonest.

Giving names to mental states is good only for expressing your approval or disapproval.

The problem is not yours,

It is your mind's only.

Begin by dissociating yourself from your mind.

Please highlight.

What is he telling you to be?

Be the witness of the mind.

Whatever labels are,

Those labels belong to the mind,

Not to me.

Resolutely remind yourself that you are not the mind and that its problems are not yours.

Resolutely means very firmly you have to,

Again and again,

Convince your mind.

You have to convince the ego that,

See,

This does not belong to me,

Do not make it mine.

Resolutely.

Resolutely remind yourself that you are not the mind and that its problems are not yours.

Questioner,

I may go on telling myself I am not the mind,

I am not concerned with its problems,

But the mind remains and its problems remain just as they were.

Now,

Please do not tell me that it is because I am not honest enough and I should be more honest.

I know it and I admit it and only ask you,

How is it done?

At least he is honest,

I am not honest.

Please show me the path.

How is it done?

Maharaj says,

At least you are asking.

So at least you have that eagerness,

At least you are asking.

Good enough for a start.

Now go on pondering,

Wondering,

Being anxious to find a way.

Be conscious of yourself,

Watch your mind.

Give it your full attention.

Don't look for quick results.

Please highlight,

Very important,

Give full attention.

Don't look for quick results.

Keep watching the mind,

Be conscious of yourself.

Very important points.

Don't look for quick results.

There may be none within your noticing.

Unknown to you,

Your psyche will undergo a change.

There will be more clarity in your thinking.

Charity in your feeling.

Purity in your behavior.

Now please highlight,

Especially those who are writing the journal.

Now do you understand why you have attitude change and behavior change as important points?

Because sometimes you don't know it at the thought level that there is a little change.

But you can see it at the attitude,

You can see it suddenly in your behavior.

So those who have not started journaling,

We can begin journaling once you become very clear this is your path.

So these three things are very important.

Clarity in your thinking,

Charity in your feeling and purity in your behavior.

You need not aim at these,

You will witness the change all the same.

Your aim is only to recognize that wisdom point.

The rest automatically follows.

For what you are now is the result of inattention and what you become will be the fruit of attention.

Attention is very important here.

Questioner says,

Why should mere attention make all the difference?

Maharaj says,

So far your life was dark and restless,

Tamas and rajas.

Attention,

Alertness,

Awareness,

Clarity,

Liveliness,

Vitality are all manifestations of integrity.

Oneness with your true nature which is sattva.

It is in the nature of sattva to reconcile and neutralize tamas and rajas.

And rebuild the personality in accordance with the true nature of the self.

Sattva is the faithful servant of the self,

Ever attentive and obedient.

So this alertness,

Awareness is very important.

How did we begin this session?

I told you,

Did you take the stand of the witness?

Did you see?

What did you do?

You became like that,

You took the stand of the awareness of the witness and then we started discussing.

So I pointed it out,

Did you see you took your attention there?

This attention is very important and that is what this chapter is about.

Do you remember how we began?

There,

That attention,

That much you need,

Moment to moment,

Moment to moment.

You cannot just go to sleep in waking state.

You are not the waking body-mind.

The moment you lose the attention,

You are asleep in waking state.

The moment you come back to the witness consciousness,

It's alertness.

Do you recognize it?

That alertness is required moment to moment to moment to moment.

That is sattva itself.

That will neutralize rajas and tamas.

That's why when somebody asked,

Whatever I don't know,

Do you feel tired?

I'd say,

I never feel tired.

Why?

Because the sattva neutralizes everything.

I never feel tired because I never associate with this.

Constantly alert that this is danger,

This is danger,

I cannot shift here,

This is my stand.

That is alertness,

Awareness,

Sattva.

Clear?

Questioner asked the question.

And I shall come to it through mere attention?

Maharaj says,

Do not undervalue attention.

Highlight,

This is the title of the chapter.

Do not undervalue attention.

It means interest and also love.

To know,

To do,

To discover or to create,

You must give your heart to it.

Which means attention.

All the blessings flow from it.

Is your heart into seeing?

That is the question.

Is your heart into samadhi?

That is the question for you.

Are you really doing it with that full,

The completeness of your being?

Then that is called interest,

That is called love.

Then only will you be able to discover the deeper truths.

You'll be able to learn about yourself,

You'll be able to know yourself.

Is that very clear?

If you are doing it half-heartedly,

Then samadhi does not get fulfilled.

When you just keep sitting and beating yourself,

Nothing is happening,

Nothing is happening,

Nothing is happening.

Because you are half-hearted.

It doesn't work like that.

It needs your full attention.

You've seen those little kids,

No?

Who cannot share mommy,

Not even with daddy.

Mom's full attention has to be on me.

That much is what is the demand of the witness consciousness.

Then only it can take you to primordial awareness.

Even a little bit,

You moved away.

Satchitananda is not tatpara,

Is not priority.

You'll be gone.

You'll be gone into nama and rupa,

Name and form.

Satchitananda has to be your top priority.

Not one second can you look away.

That level of alertness,

Awareness is required.

That much attention.

Is it clear?

Again,

It is not the spotlight kind of concentration.

This is also clear?

It's that diffused floodlight of awareness.

Not a concentration but awareness.

All the blessings flow from it.

Questioner,

You advise us to concentrate on I am.

Is this too a form of attention?

Maharaj says,

What else?

Give your undivided attention to the most important in your life.

Yourself.

Of your personal universe,

You are the centre.

Without knowing the centre,

What else can you know?

That's when you start seeing that you are projecting the waking thought.

You are projecting the dream thought.

And you are projecting the deep sleep thought.

When?

When you focus on the centre.

From the centre,

The world manifests.

So you have to focus on yourself.

Because you are the centre of that universe that you are so interested in.

Questioner,

But how can I know myself?

To know myself,

I must be away from myself.

But what is away from myself cannot be myself.

So it looks that I cannot know myself.

Only what I take to be myself.

Maharaj says,

Quite right.

As you cannot see your face but only its reflection in the mirror,

So you can know only your image reflected in the stainless mirror of pure awareness.

Is this clear?

Have you ever seen your own face?

Can you see yourself?

Can the eyes see themselves?

The same eyes that claim that they see the whole world,

Can they ever see themselves?

No?

Is this clear?

How much do you see?

How much do the eyes see?

Only from neck down.

Are you seeing this?

You have never seen yourself complete.

This part you imagine.

You see it in 2D.

A mirror is just two dimensional.

You see it in 2D and you imagine it as 3D.

Have you realised this?

So the head part of the body is only 2D actually.

And the rest is 3D.

Do you see what a fragmented image you have of yourself?

And all your life you think,

I am.

Look at this.

You have never seen yourself.

And so much ego about that.

Now that which cannot see itself,

Can it know itself?

Can the eyes ever know themselves?

Never directly.

Always in the mirror.

If you see this point,

You will recognise that I can only know myself in the mirror of consciousness.

I can never see myself.

I can only be myself.

I can never make consciousness an object and try to see consciousness.

Is this clear?

You can never make consciousness an object and try to see it.

Because you are the consciousness.

So you can never know yourself in the form as you know an object.

You can never know yourself like you know an object.

How do you know yourself?

Simply by sensing.

Sensing and being.

There is no seeing.

There is no objectifying of the consciousness.

The moment you objectify it,

Then it is only an imagination.

So poetically,

How do you see yourself?

In the mirror of consciousness.

In the stainless mirror of pure awareness.

That is where you will see your image.

So questioner says,

How am I to get to such a stainless mirror?

Maharaj says,

Obviously by removing the stains.

See the stains and remove them.

The ancient teaching is fully valid.

So questioner says,

What is seeing and what is removing?

Maharaj says,

The nature of the perfect mirror is such that you cannot see it.

Whatever you can see is bound to be a stain.

Turn away from it.

Give it up.

Know it as unwanted.

What is he talking about?

Perfect.

Perception,

Sensation,

Thoughts and feelings.

Only stains.

What should you do?

Upekshaya.

Give it up.

You saw it in the Samadhi verse.

Now you are seeing the same thing in I Am That.

Give it up.

Upekshaya.

Know it as unwanted.

So questioner says,

All perceivables,

Are they stained?

All perceivables means perception,

Sensation,

Thoughts,

Feelings and the I.

Are they all stains?

Maharaj says,

All are stains.

The entire world is a stain?

Maharaj says,

Yes,

It is.

Questioner,

How awful.

The universe is of no value.

Maharaj says,

It is of tremendous value.

And what is its value?

By going beyond it,

You realize yourself.

The only value of the world is in going beyond it to realize yourself.

Otherwise,

There is no other value in this world.

Everything else is a stain.

So questioner says,

But why did it come into being in the first instance?

Maharaj says,

You will know it when it ends.

So questioner says,

Will it ever end?

Maharaj says,

Yes,

For you.

So questioner says,

When did it begin?

Maharaj says,

Now.

When will it end?

Now.

It does not end now.

You don't let it.

I want to let it.

You don't.

All your life is connected with it.

Your past and future,

Your desires and fears,

All have their roots in the world.

Without the world,

Where are you?

Who are you?

So questioner says,

But that is exactly what I came to find out.

And I am telling you exactly this.

Find a foothold beyond and all will be clear and easy.

Find a foothold beyond.

So where will your foothold be?

Is it only in the witnessing consciousness?

And the witnessing consciousness there and recognizing perception sensations and absence of perception sensations?

No,

There is one more step,

One more step.

Where this witnessing also disappears,

Collapses,

It rests,

It abides in itself.

That is the foothold Maharaj is talking about.

Don't stop before that.

I have to recognize my nature.

I am the fourth,

Turiya.

And then automatically Turiya will relax into Turiyatita.

Turiyatita means beyond Turiya.

Maharaj says,

Find a foothold beyond.

Is that clear?

There is no experience there.

If it's experience,

It is witness consciousness.

There it is just rest.

Turiya is not rest.

There is a slight duality,

No?

Do you recognize it?

Witnessing consciousness.

Witness of what?

Witness and the witnessed.

There is a duality.

Though you start seeing glimpses of non-duality there,

And you start resting in non-duality,

That's a stepping stone.

You have to wait for it to rest.

For that,

Sit longer,

Be more eager to see,

Be more earnest.

Take your foot off the sin boat.

You have to be in one boat.

You can't say one foot in sin boat and one in the sainthood boat.

Doesn't work.

One direction.

Decide one direction.

Be very strong about your path and start moving.

Purity is very important.

Did you notice one impure thought and full samadhi sitting is gone?

Only one ill-will thought.

One thought of saying something wrong.

Finish.

Full samadhi is gone.

And if you really say something wrong,

Finish.

The whole day is gone.

Do you recognize?

In fact,

Two days are gone.

You are fighting with yourself to come back to that quietness.

So,

Very pure,

Very pure.

Be very,

Very serious.

I really need to get deeper into my samadhi.

I have come so far.

Just a little bit more,

Just a little bit more.

Clear?

This chapter is clear?

31 is clear?