Consciousness Is Motionless Free Fom Dualities, Meditate On It

Talk & Practice.

Happiness Here and Now is talk from the greatest master Astavakra. It is step-by-step understanding or simply understanding in an open session that helps achieve the highest meditative state. The teaching is free from yoga, mantra, tantra, meditation, mindfulness still helps us achieve freedom, permanent happiness in life.

Transcript

Okay. Good. So, We are studying and meditating based on the text Ashtavakra Gita. Gutastham bodham adhvaitam atmanam paribhavaaya abhasu aham braham muktva bhavam bhayam at antaram You know, These verses looks like that if you sing it, It takes you to a deeper level. The simple meaning of this verse is having given up external and internal self modifications and the illusion. I am, What I am? I am reflected self. So what we should do meditate on motionless awareness, Free from any dualism, Giving up the mistaken idea that you are just a derivative consciousness. So now we have to understand that. Why we should understand knowledge and the practice should go together. Knowledge without practice, You reach nowhere. Practice without knowledge creates a cult dogma belief. Someone asked who was standing on the road where this road goes, The guy said road doesn't go anywhere, Where you want to go. So the entire message is hidden in this story. The road does not go anywhere. You do not go anywhere. We remain as such as one motionless awareness from where the first chapter started the journey, The journey started how the knowledge of the real self, Dispassion and liberation are attained. Dispassion makes one a seeker. If you don't have dispassion, This text is not for you. But it doesn't mean that we should not study. Even by studying, We should keep our mind on the dispassion. And dispassion comes from discernment. Discernment is known as viveka. And the viveka comes from contemplation and reflection and contemplation and reflection comes when we start thinking consciously about our real nature. You see the series. One example, Where is our right hand? You see, We have a clarity, Conviction. There is no doubt about it that where is the right hand? Here it is. Now ask yourself, Did you do any practice to know where is your right hand? No. Action is not required. I simply know it. This is what the master is saying. Do you know your real self? Yes, I have heard it. I have read it, No. There comes the practice of dispression in the mind. So no practice of meditation or mindfulness is possible. What practice I should do to know my right hand? But ask yourself for whom this text is, That is for whom this text is meant for, Only for the seeker. The seeker is like having a license, Has gone through the return and the practical course on driving. For example, He is free to drive with responsibility because he knows the rules of the road. He knows that he has the skill sets of the driving. Do I have it? That makes one a seeker. The master is here saying that the seeker does not need any practice. You simply need to know it the way we know where the right hand is. As long as we are not a seeker. This journey will make you little happy that you see I need not to do anything. I have read it, I have understood it, And I am there. But the next moment we fall back. So now he uses one word and I will explain that delusion. He says, Brahmam muktva bhavam bhaham atva antaram that is, I am not a seeker. I am not a seeker. I am not a seeker. I am not a seeker. I am not a seeker. I am not a seeker. That is, So you see that one thing we should understand clearly and through contemplation and reflection, We should remove this ignorance, The incomplete knowledge. I have my both the eyes intact and I'm looking at you. As long as we see through my eye, Through our eyes, We have no problem. Now see that how the illusion takes place. When the eyes are not working, Say the eyes are blind. Then what I say, I am blind. How can I be blind? My eyes are blind. I am deaf. I identify myself. When the eyes are not working, Then I become blind. If the eyes are working fine, I never say. Am I my eyes? No, I'm not my eyes. But when the eyes are not working, Instant identification with the eyes, With the sense of organ, With the body, Where a lot of stuff enters into the mind. Now take up the sutra. He says, Gutas tambodham advaitam atmanam He says, Why don't you meditate here and now on motionless awareness? Did we understand it? Motionless awareness. What is this motionless awareness? Again, I can, Through an example, We can understand. Just take it. Consciousness is like a mirror. You stand before the mirror. You go out of the mirror. Your image appears, Your image disappears. Anything that comes in front of the mirror. Now compare this mirror as motionless awareness and consciousness. That consciousness doesn't go anywhere. That consciousness acts like a mirror. Whatever comes in front of that consciousness, We see those images. What are those images? My stress, My pain, My pleasure, My ego sense, My habits, My duality, My conflict, Everything appears as images in the mirror of consciousness. That consciousness doesn't move. It remains as it is. That is our real self. What you need to do to make this real what you need to do to make this mirror free from all the images? Did I ask you wrong question? We have to do nothing. Mirror is mirror. Mirror does not create any images. It does not store it. You stand across the, You stand before the mirror, Doesn't say you are 100 pounds. And if I stand before the mirror, Doesn't say, Oh, I am also feeling heavy. Mirror doesn't say. That consciousness, When revealed in the mind, We live and work in meditation, 24 by seven. This is what the master says. Remember the three questions. How dispassion is attained. So dispassion, Highest level of dispassion is attained by discernment. What is the discernment? It is the quality. It is the process happens in the intellect to filter out what is real self and what is not real self. So how the discernment happens? By contemplation and reflection. But how the contemplation and reflection happens? When not by the study. You have heard from me, Then you sit with eyes closed and then you contemplate and reflect through your own intellect. Then only the changes takes place. This is what, Now the another word he says that, He's repeating it again, That what he says, I have to draw what appears in the mind. Who am I? Am I the body? It appears in the mind. It appears in that consciousness, But as an image, But it is pure consciousness. That I am. So he's saying, Now what it takes to meditate or motionless awareness or the consciousness, It takes nothing. Am I aware? Yes. Mirror is there. Yes. In that mirror, This guy appears as a speaker. But am I a speaker? No. Am I my eyes? No. That appears in the mirror of the consciousness. So I do not take myself as a consciousness. I take myself as a speaker, As my eyes, As my body, As my breath, As my pain and as my pleasure. And that is the problem. So master says, Free yourself from any dualism. What is that dualism? From where the duality and opposing tendencies comes into the mind. I like you. The moment I say, I like you, I have divided my consciousness through the mind as you and me. Second part, Liking. Liking leads to attachment. Attachment leads to delusion. Delusion makes me doer and the enjoyer. And I have undergone entire process of ignorance and delusion. So the master says, Free yourself from the delusion. Abhasuvaham brahmam uktva bhavam bhaham atantharam That is giving up. If we drop the mistaken identity, Idea that we are just this duality, This body, This mind, This intellect, This ego sense, Whether it is external or internal, Then we become free from it. In the first chapter, The master and the seeker understands the real self and the characteristics of the real self in variety of ways. Why variety of ways? Because this intellect is obsessed with the world outside. Why it is obsessed with the world outside? This mind has become a pleasure seeking mind. It wants to understand the real nature or the pure consciousness based on the material world of people, Of place, Of objects, Of the things outside. What is the journey of the Eastern wisdom? Let me repeat it again. Sense organs are the instruments of knowledge that gives us the knowledge of variety. Whatever we perceive through the sense organs. The mind is an instrument of knowledge that gives us the knowledge of the phenomenon happening in the world. That is what we talk about the signs. The Eastern wisdom gives us, That is an instrument of knowledge that helps us to discover our real nature. All the three are instruments of knowledge. So, Eastern wisdom begins with, Is your mind pure or not? Pure reference doesn't refer to the sins and the virtues. That this mind should be relaxed, Calm, Quite focused to do the self inquiry. And the height of that purity of the mind begins with dispersion. Dispersion comes through, Discernment means viveka. So what is the viveka here? I filter what is real and unreal. I drop the unreal and I pick up the real. What are the properties of unreal? That is constantly changing. So that is why he is saying, Meditate on motionless awareness present here and now. So what is unreal? Whatever is changing is unreal. I simply drop it, Filter it out and I live into that motionless awareness. When we live, We are aware of that motionless awareness. What happens? We are in meditation. We live through meditation. We speak through meditation. We work through meditation. So how it comes through contemplation and reflection. You see, There is an instant contemplation and reflection. When I say, Where is your right hand? Here it is. So it goes through a very subtle process. You don't point out to the left hand, You simply point to the right hand. So when I say the real self is within you, Can it undergo a subtle process of contemplation, Reflection and thought stops and you are aware? No, It doesn't happen. That is why we have to become a seeker. Without becoming a seeker, This is not possible. Another example that we gave you is like a mirror. You stand before the mirror, The image appears. Ask, Check, Does the weight of the mirror increase when your image appears in the mirror? No, Similarly, The weight, The height, The color of that consciousness never undergo a change. Can I become aware of that? And the moment I become aware of that, I live into that state of meditation all the time. Journey of meditation is not reaching anywhere. Journey of meditation is peace and happiness is behind. When you are a speaker, When you are a doer, When you are an enjoyer, When you are performing all your personal, Professional, Social duties outside, Peace and happiness is behind there. It is always ever present. This is the message this master is giving. So let us start our journey. Close your eyes. We will not do anything on Saturday's journey of meditation. Eyes are closed. Become aware of the body. Become aware of the body. You see, Every time I point out, Become aware of the body. And what is this awareness? Consciousness, That we use the word differently, Sensation, Feeling, Even if I say feel the body, That is okay. What practice you need to do to feel the body? Ask you, Just know it. So when you feel the body, At the same time, When I say look inside the heart in the space or forehead in the space, Looking means you are aware, You feel, You know. Lot of words are used as synonyms. So where are you looking? Are you looking inside the heart in the space? Naturally, When I said, Where is your right hand? You know it. The way you are aware of the space within the heart or the mind is playing with you with lot of thoughts. Oh, No, I see space. I see emptiness. I see, No, I don't see this. Lot of confusion. So it means we are not a seeker. It should happen all the time. Once you have a driving license, Even after 50 years, You can drive. You never forget. Something of that sort should happen in your mind. Look at it. So we look at the neck joint. When I say look at the neck joint, It is nothing but awareness, Feeling, Sensation, Comes through the same consciousness. So in that consciousness, This neck joint is an image. And then we move the mind at a subtler level through reflection, We experience sensation, Being comfortable and steadiness. Are you looking for comfort or steadiness? No, They are the milestones. Looking at shoulder joints, Being there, Feeling, Sensation, Awareness, Sensation, Being comfortable and steadiness. Look at the hip joint, Feeling, Sensation, And comfort and steadiness, The entire body. Are you doing anything? I'm saying simply look at the entire body, All the joints. All the joints and you explore, You discover sensation, Comfort and steadiness in the body. I can explain you the steadiness in the body, Again makes you a great seeker when it is not enforced, When it is discovered. It is the steadiness in the body, Not of the body. So that seeker can easily become carefree, Not become just be carefree. What is being carefree? Thought, Feeling, Sensation, Images in the mind appear and disappear, You are standing across. Now you can use the same example. When your mind says, I have a lot of thoughts, They are images appearing in the mirror of consciousness. They come, They go. Who am I? I am motionless consciousness in which appears all the changes, The movement. So I took this being carefree at the higher level, Not as a practice, Just as an awareness. The master is pointing out to see that mirror, Become aware of the mirror. Then the images, It appears. And what are those images? All of our thoughts, Pain, Miseries, Duality, Conflict, Egoscience, Let them come, Let them go. Apply another example. Where this road goes, It goes nowhere. I go nowhere. Even when you are driving in reality, The road does not move, But it appears moving. Why? Because of identification. And the body moves, I see I am moving and the eyes flickers, We see I am. But that I am remains as it is. Look at the head and the neck. We are breaking the identification through awareness, Knowledge, Experience. Because the seeker, The higher level of the seeker doesn't need any practice. So we are mixing up together. Practice, Non-practice, Practice, Non-practice. So looking at the head and the neck. Looking means, You see that if you don't think, Contemplate, Reflect, Nothing is going to happen. Not one hour in a week. 24 by seven. Looking at the head and the neck. So the mind looking at the head and the neck leads us to an experience of sensation, Relaxation, And stillness. Sensation. Ask yourself. We normally say I feel sensation, No worries, No doubt about it, You feel. But what is that without which we do not, We cannot feel the sensation. It is consciousness. Drop the consciousness, Tell me where is the feeling. Drop the consciousness, Tell me where is the relaxation. Drop the consciousness, Tell me where you experience the stillness in the body. So what the master is saying, Your mind is naturally on the consciousness, On the awareness. If it is, You're there. Right arm. You see through the mind we bring our awareness on the right arm being there. Seeker instantly knows the difference between the real and the unreal and experiences sensation, Relaxation, And stillness. It goes to the left arm. You are there. Sensation, Relaxation, And stillness. The mind goes to the rib cage. The rib cage's enemies appears now because of the tension of the mind in the mirror of consciousness. That much as we need to know. And at the same time, We experience sensation, Relaxation, And stillness. Belly all around. Sensation, Relaxation, And stillness. This master through its wisdom in every verse explains clearly the characteristics of the real self. Right leg. Right leg. Awareness, Feelings, Sensation, All our images in the mirror of the consciousness. Nothing happens to this consciousness, But the mind says, I feel sensation, Relaxation, And stillness. Yes, These are the conditions in which we awaken ourselves. Highway is a condition where the car can be driven. Then what? Highway is not everything. You see, I try to express in a way that triggers your intellect that may trigger your intellect. Left leg. Be there. Sensation, Relaxation, And stillness. When I said, Where is your right hand? You say, Here it is. We get absorbed into the right hand as an object, And we forget who is the knower of the right hand. I am. Then who is this I am? I am not my eyes. I'm not the body. I'm not the mind. I'm not the intellect. So the real I am is pure consciousness. So through our intellect in the field of awareness, If we are in the objectless state of the mind, We instantly awaken to this real self. So we'll play with our mind, Become aware of the world outside your body. Become aware of every article. Your mind knows the names in the form of those articles, In the space in the room, In the walls in the room. Can you become aware? It is because of the sense organs and the mind. But two things, You and the world outside. You become aware of the body. Who? You and body. And that you says, Come on, I'm the body. I am alive, But body is a matter. Who says I am alive? Who is this you? That you is illusory. It says I am the body, Hence I am alive. The seeker instantly goes there. Let us go a little deeper, So to say, Deeper than the body is the breath. Keep looking at the breath, You and the breath, You and the breath, And see that if this you is simple of weirdness, Without any thought, You are there. What is discernment? Separating real from unreal. What is unreal? That is constantly changing. So the mind maintains its awareness of the unreal changing breath and the knower of the breath. Am I going a little deeper today? Not. . . It is the same thing in a different way. When you keep looking at the breath that is going in and out. One part. Second part of reflection is that there is an awareness. Because of that I feel, Here is the breath, And I feel the breath is going in and out. And then I take my mind to who says I see the breath, I feel the breath. Is it mind? Is it body? Is it my eyes? None of them. It is just an awareness, Consciousness. So I am knowledge, I am consciousness. Just keep that question mark. Let it be solved. So for the sake of intellectual understanding, When you are looking at the breath and I see it as the subtle mind looking at the breath. Let us go deeper than the breath. Deeper than the breath. Either we see thought, Feelings, Sensation, Images, Past, Memory, Pain, Pleasure, But there the images appear and disappear in the consciousness. So subtler mind is looking there. All these are images. Are you aware of the separation of what is seen? And who is the seer? Where is known and who is the knower? That much is. . . What practice I need to do to know you are there, I am here. The same way, What practice you need to do to know here are the thoughts and here I am. Here are the images appear and disappear in the mind and here I am. Check it. Make sure that every image, Feeling, Thought, Sensation appear at that subtler level. You are aware. You are none of them. Why? You cannot be an image. These are appearing as images in the mirror of consciousness. Consciousness. So then go deeper than all these images. So when we go deeper than the images, Now see the magic happens. I see you. But I see into the mirror. I look at this car. But I look into the mirror. We need to just become aware of that. What is that? So how that I have been guiding you? That now goes subtler than all the thought and images that appears in the mind means now you look into the mirror. What is that mirror? Consciousness. Is there any image there? No. Blank. That is what the mind says. There are no thoughts. I enter into the silence. In that silence reveals our true nature. Can it happen in a day? No. Can it happen to a non seeker? No. It doesn't mean it doesn't happen for a few seconds. It happens. It goes away. It happens. It goes away. It goes away. The way I know this mirror is it does not carry any image. Because the mind, The past impression, The attitude of non seeker enters. So we say no worries. You are committed on a journey. So look into that space. Pick up a point in the space. Drop Shanto Ham there. Then again move deeper into the space. Become aware of the infinite space. That is also nothing but consciousness. And then drop Shanto Ham. Forget about the Shanto Ham. After that, Continue the journey. Leave all the milestone until you reach your home. So now. Two-pointed awareness. When you look, You stand in front of the mirror, You see your image and you're also aware of the mirror. We are consciousness in which we see all the changes that is taking place. We are the seer, The newer. Kudastha Master says we are motionless awareness, Non-dual. That is our real self. Beyond any identification that causes the delusion. I am free here and now. We are already doing that. So Shanti ShantiHum Shanti Shanti Shanti We return in a specific way, We are not in a hurry, Check. Is the mind, Is your mind in a hurry? You will understand yourself. If it is in a hurry, It is looking for the world of duality outside. This is what the master is saying. And bring the mind on the right hand. Your mind on the left hand. Raise both your palms, Place it on your eyes, Open the eyes inside. Know your experiences. Bring the hands down. Now we will share our experiences and if you have any questions, We will take up the question. So how about you, Sergey? I don't see you. Sorry, It's almost night. It's almost night, Yeah. We don't see in the night. This meditation was quite half of them, Half of the meditation I feel like I'm going deeper, Deeper, Deeper and then I'm like waking up and then I feel I'm over. I hear your voice and I'm analyzing what you're actually talking. I'm just like every phrase, Why are you delivering this or that thoughts? And how I can view that one? It's more like not maybe meditation but analysis. Yes. I'm reading the news. Yes, And that is a good way that you have expressed yourself. My master used to say that you have to see what is in between the thoughts that I express for you. So you are reflecting that sort of thing through your expression. We find there is always an interval between the thoughts but that very interval is always present. It never goes anywhere. It is lost in my noise. Why? Because of the mind. How are you David and Jerry? I don't see the picture of videos today. Maybe because of some. . . I don't see you David and Jerry. Can you hear me? Yes I can hear you. Yeah I think it was an interesting meditation because I think the internet wasn't cooperating so I wasn't able, At least at RM, Able to hear all your words so for me it was about the tone of your voice that put me into a deep meditation not the words that put me into a deep meditation. That's a good way to put it. But I was able to go very very deep and again it seemed like it was five minutes, Ten minutes long. It was great. Beautiful. How are you Jerry? I'm good. I really love the analogy of the mirror and the freedom that we have if we can drop all the images and memories and noise. Yes. One more caveat in that Jerry, That mirror does not keep impression of anything that appears into it. Means I have to do nothing. So there comes when I drop the identification with the world outside I'm already there. That is the analogy of a mirror. How are you Ashok? Yeah yeah better you talk otherwise your honey keeps disturbing you. That's also a good way to. . . I don't see you. Can you hear me? Yes I can hear you. Sir can you hear me? Yes I can hear you. Call that Shivani also. Please. She has gone outside. Now she knows she has hardened you. Today it is very progressive and I mean better. Better. Feel more relaxing. Good good good. How about you Stephen? I'm good. Very good. Today's. . . I don't see your video. Meditation. Yeah now I see. Now I see. Okay today's meditation for me started out with a conversation with myself of whether I was focusing in my mind or whether I was focusing within my heart and I instantly made the decision to just let it happen naturally and wherever I settle I settle. And it settled actually in the mind behind the mind to begin with and as I noticed as the meditation went on I was fully aware of everything that was happening at least what I could recognize and thoughts did come in and I said okay you're here and I don't need you right now and it went and it became you know listening to the dispassion and the reflection and contemplation and going through that that's what was going on in my meditation with each one of the thoughts or actions that whether I felt numbness in my body parts or whether they got heavy it was like okay I'm getting I'm getting this because this is one way to live in this practice that we're doing but the importance of how I translate that to my whole life of being able to be in that state 24 by 7 and that's what I've been really working on and thinking about and today's meditation I really felt every part of it right to the end of yes it's happening recognize this has happened it's not me this is me this yes and so on and so forth and I found it to be very intriguing. Thank you. Really beautiful. One point to mention when our contemplation and reflection reaches to the peak it converts into meditative state and that is what is happening. Beautiful how are you Terry? I want to ask my question first. I don't see you. That's okay. Yeah now I see you. You can't see? Now I can see you. Okay okay our question came to me towards it right before you said the to drop the shanti um right at that point before you said that it came to me this question why would conscious peer consciousness want to enter into matter? Why would it want to? Yeah yes it seems a very good question to the mind but as we continue the journey we say the unmanifest consciousness is matter and manifest matter matter in the consciousness seems to be two poles apart but when the consciousness matter in the consciousness appears two poles apart but matter is nothing but unmanifest consciousness and consciousness is nothing but manifest matter. Wow. That is that reveals that is what our masters have discovered and when that is the truth then what happens? Then we all are essentially one not two. You have to reflect on that we will go there. How are you Vaibhav? So it was really very relaxing and peaceful. It's like when I'm going through the steps and making myself aware of the heat.