Let's do a contemplation meditation on Nisargadatta Maharaj's book,
I am that.
Chapter 11 Awareness and Consciousness In contemplation meditation,
We let the words sink into the being instead of judging and analyzing at the level of the mind.
Attempt to rest and abide as the witness of the words.
Awareness and consciousness.
Questioner,
What do you do when asleep?
Maharaj responds,
I am aware of being asleep.
Is not sleep a state of unconsciousness?
Yes,
I am aware of being unconscious.
And when awake or dreaming?
I am aware of being awake or dreaming.
I do not catch you.
What exactly do you mean?
Let me make my terms clear.
By being asleep,
I mean unconscious.
By being awake,
I mean conscious.
By dreaming,
I mean conscious of one's mind,
But not of the surroundings.
Maharaj responds,
Well,
It is about the same with me.
Yet,
There seems to be a difference.
In each state,
You forget the other two.
While,
To me,
There is but one state of being,
Including and transcending the three mental states of waking,
Dreaming and sleeping.
It is about the same with me.
Yet,
There seems to be a difference.
In each state,
You forget the other two.
While,
To me,
There is but one state of being,
Including and transcending the three mental states of waking,
Dreaming and sleeping.
Do you see in the world a direction and a purpose?
The world is but a reflection of my imagination.
Whatever I want to see,
I can see.
But why should I invent patterns of creation,
Evolution and destruction?
I do not need them.
The world is in me.
The world is myself.
I am afraid of it and have no desire to lock it up in a mental picture.
The world is but a reflection of my imagination.
Whatever I want to see,
I can see.
But why should I invent patterns of creation,
Evolution and destruction?
I do not need them.
The world is in me.
The world is myself.
I am afraid of it and have no desire to lock it up in a mental picture.
Going back to sleep,
Do you dream?
Of course.
What are your dreams?
Echoes of the waking state.
And your deep sleep?
The brain consciousness is suspended.
Are you then unconscious?
Not quite unconscious.
I remain aware that I am unconscious.
I remain aware that I am unconscious.
You use the words aware and conscious.
Are they not the same?
Awareness is primordial.
State is the original state.
Beginningless,
Endless,
Uncaused,
Unsupported,
Without parts,
Without change.
Consciousness is on contact.
A reflection against a surface.
A state of consciousness.
There can be no consciousness without awareness.
But there can be awareness without consciousness.
As in deep sleep.
Awareness is absolute.
Consciousness is relative to its content.
Consciousness is always of something.
Consciousness is partial and changeful.
Awareness is total,
Changeless,
Calm and silent.
And it is the common matrix of every experience.
Awareness is primordial.
It is the original state.
Beginningless,
Endless,
Uncaused,
Unsupported,
Without parts,
Without change.
Consciousness is on contact.
A reflection against a surface.
A state of duality.
There can be no consciousness without awareness.
But there can be awareness without consciousness.
As in deep sleep.
Awareness is absolute.
Consciousness is relative to its content.
Consciousness is always of something.
Consciousness is partial and changeful.
Awareness is total,
Changeless,
Calm and silent.
And it is the common matrix of every experience.
How does one go beyond consciousness into awareness?
Since it is awareness that makes consciousness possible,
There is awareness in every state of consciousness.
Therefore,
The very consciousness of being conscious is already a movement in awareness.
Since it is awareness that makes consciousness possible,
There is awareness in every state of consciousness.
Therefore,
The very consciousness of being conscious is already a movement in awareness.
Interest in your stream of consciousness takes you to awareness.
It is not a new state.
It is at once recognized as the original,
Basic existence,
Which is life itself and also love and joy.
Since reality is all the time with us,
What does self-realization consist of?
Self-realization is but the opposite of ignorance.
To take the world as real and oneself as unreal is ignorance,
The cause of sorrow.
To know the self as the only reality and all else as temporal and transient is freedom,
Peace and joy.
It is all very simple.
Instead of seeing things as imagined,
Learn to see them as they are.
Instead of seeing things as imagined,
Learn to see them as they are.
When you see everything as it is,
You will also see yourself as you are.
When you can see everything as it is,
You will also see yourself as you are.
It is like cleansing a mirror.
The same mirror that shows you the world as it is will also show you your own face.
The same mirror that shows you the world as it is will also show you your own face.
The thought I am is the polishing cloth.
Use it.
The thought I am is the polishing cloth.
Use it.
