2. Know The Peace That Is Unchanging

This series called: Eight Steps to Self-Realization give you all the tools that you need to unfold that which you are, pure, free, and forever. This state of consciousness is forever shining but you have to know where to place your attention. If your attention is only on the body and mind you will miss it as it becomes covered. Like the sun is covered by clouds and when the cloud dissolves the sun is always there. When you know the peace then peace is always there.

Transcript

Satsang Podcast by Sri. Know that peace is unchanging. In my last podcast I gave you the eight steps to enlightenment. The first one of those eight steps is know the peace in deep sleep. Peace is unchanging, Mind is changing. So I thought to take some time in the next few podcasts to go over these eight points in more detail. We start with this one because this is the one where if it is fully known, If you fully know that which is unchanging and that which is peace, Then you can deal with everything that's changing in a completely different way. You can live more in that enlightened or realized state. So this point is a key point because as we've mentioned many times, Every night when you're asleep, When you're in deep sleep, It's pure peace, It's pure freedom. So then we can see that every night for part of your life, For we'll say almost half of your life, You experience a state of peace. The deep sleep state is a state of complete peace. That's why people love to go to sleep and need to go to sleep, To get freed from that waking state with all of its troubles and problems and ideas and joys and sorrows. So that's why this point is paramount to reflect on that which you know in deep sleep. And then of course there's also the dream state because when you dream, It's as if another state where the mind is activated other than the waking state. And so many different situations or scenarios can be going on. Some of them seem very real with people that you maybe even know, Some of them people that you don't know, Some of them may even seem like premonitions, But it's a whole other world that you appear to be knowing when you're dreaming. And in that dream state, You're as if seeing something, Images, People. Sometimes people see different colors, Sometimes it might appear to be black and white, But you're seeing. You're seeing with the physical eyes, So that shows you that there's an inner eye that can also see that's not the eyes of your senses that see the forms outside of yourself. There's an inner eye that is seeing. So now as the meditator, As the sadhaka, We analyze what's going on here. We don't just focus on the waking state and say that the waking state is real. We become aware that the waking state is a state of change. And that state that we experience through all the states, In the deep sleep state, In the dream state, In the waking state, There's still a you, There is a you or an I that's knowing them all. That I or knower doesn't change, But the states of consciousness of the mind change. So now we're becoming aware that in deep sleep that peace doesn't change because you begin to dream, Doesn't change because now you're in the waking state. That stillness of pure being, Of pure consciousness should chaitin, The pure consciousness, Is forever present. So we use that which we experience in the deep sleep state, We can call that shishup diman, The silence of deep sleep. Now we bring that into the waking state because just like in the dream state, You went through all those experiences. Some seemed real, Some not real. If you died or someone died in the dream, You wake up and they didn't really die. If some situation happened in the dream, Someone was chasing you, Wake up, They're not chasing you anymore. So whatever was happening in the dream is changing. Even though you thought it was real while you were dreaming, As soon as you wake up into the waking state, You declare that it's not real, It was just a dream. So we bring this knowledge both from the deep sleep state, Where there's pure peace, Shishup diman, Peace of deep sleep, And now into the waking state, We declare that the dream was not true. But the problem is now we begin to declare that the waking state is true. So even though in deep sleep there was pure peace, Pure freedom, We can't even say there was delight because there wasn't anyone there to be delighted or not delighted. It was just as it was. You were left alone as you are. But then when the waking state comes, The waking state mind now is activated. So now you say that this waking state is the reality. This waking state is real. I am this person with my name and form and qualifications and ideas. This is my life. These are the things I have to deal with. So now whatever the mind thinks, You say is real and true. And this is who I am. So this is where the problem begins. Because now, Rather than knowing the peace that you were, The freedom that you were in deep sleep, You begin to believe that you are a mind, You are a body only, And then you are a victim to your mind and your thoughts. Now granted, In the deep sleep state you can't take care of your body. So you need the waking state because in the waking state the ego, Sense of I, Is activated and then you can take care of your body. You can clothe it, You can feed it. So this is necessary for a human being to take care of the form. However, What happens is the nature of the mind as we've analyzed it, It desires things that are not just necessary for its sustenance or to take care of the body and keep it alive and healthy. It starts to desire for its happiness, For its fulfillment, For its contentment. You start to want to have the maximum amount of happiness, The minimum amount of unhappiness. Because in the waking state it's a state that is not fulfilled. In the waking state there is no total fulfillment. It's a state of craving. It's a state of desiring. Sometimes the desires are fulfilled. Sometimes you say you love someone and they love you back for some time and you feel content and fulfilled. And other times you love someone and they're not giving love back to you as you would like so you feel unfulfilled, Unsatisfied. And this goes on and on. I don't have to give more descriptions of it because everyone knows how this mechanism works by now. So as long as you remain only in the waking state, As long as you remain the waking state, Man or woman, Then the fulfillment will not be there because the waking state doesn't function to bring you fulfillment. It functions for you to take care of the body, To take care of your health, And certainly that's why the diet, Hatha yoga, Exercises, Pranayama for the nervous system. It's all a system where you can balance the physical body. You can bring more sattva, More light, More balance in, And then it's easier to meditate. It's easier now to experience the fourth state of consciousness. Just like the peace that you experienced in deep sleep, That same peace is with you while you're awake. It's just that the mind covers that over. That peace is infinite, Is everywhere. We call that the self, We call that the knower to make it more personal. You can call it the sky or even that which is beyond the sky, But we make it personal as the knower because in the waking state there is a sense of I. Rather than limiting yourself to a sense of I am this body, I am this form, I am this person, Personality with these likes and dislikes and the striving and craving, We put the attention on the one who is knowing that, Which is putting the attention really on the one who is at peace, The one that was at peace in deep sleep, The one that was at peace and watching while you were dreaming, Is the same one that's there in the waking state. But when the attention goes to the mind, Which is forever changing, Then you will always remain defeated in terms of getting what you truly want because the craving on that level is infinite. The craving will go on forever. You'll never be completely satisfied. It just doesn't work that way. The mechanism is made that way. So as the meditator now, When you begin to meditate, You put your attention on that peace that is unchanging, That peace that was there in deep sleep. And you know that if you can remain peaceful in deep sleep for, Say, Six hours or four hours or however many hours, Then you are that peace. That peace was you during that time, And you weren't affected or bothered by whatever your problems are in your life for that amount of time. So that knowledge can be brought now to the waking state, And you can sit, As you do in meditation, And you can watch that peace and see that the attention can be directed away from all of the problems, Situations that appear to be so real in your life, That appear as if you need your mind and you have to find the solutions and you have to struggle with your mind in order to obtain what you think you need. But your attention can be shifted away from that. So just like in the dream state, All of that is going on, But then you wake up and you say, That's not who I am. That wasn't real. In the same way, You can see all of the mind situations and problems that have been created in the mind as dream figures. They're coming, They're going, They're changing. Whatever your problems or situations were, Even two years ago, Five years ago, Ten years ago, Now they've completely changed. So just like the dream, They've changed. Just takes a little longer. For the change to happen. So now we evoke a higher consciousness, A higher awareness through meditation, Through attention on that Shashup Dimaan, That peace, That silence of deep sleep. We put the attention on that pure consciousness that's not limited by your mind and desires and cravings and ideas, And by putting the attention on you, On the infinity of you, On the sky, On the wholeness, Then you're freed from the changing mind and its problems and desires. And right in this moment, You can be awake, But you can, At the same time, Like you were in deep sleep, Know the peace that you are. So for some time, That covering, That's covering you, It's not that you have to make yourself peaceful or bring in peace. The peace is already shining as you. The mind, The senses, The waking state covers that peace, That love that you are. You are pure love. But when the mind covers you, It appears that you have to find that love from outside of yourself to experience love. So the whole waking state is made for experience, That you have these experiences, Just like actors in the movies or the TV series that have all these various diverse experiences. So the waking state is made that way. But as the meditator, As the one who's seeking enlightenment or self-realization, We begin to change our view. We change our perspective from just living in the waking state, Limited mind-body experience, To knowing the source. Because without you, There is no world. Without the source of who you are, Until you open your eyes and become awake, There's no world for you. So you are there prior to the world. You are there prior to your thoughts and ideas and beliefs. You are always you. You are always you. I am always I. So we have to now change the view to I alone am, You alone are. It's all me. It's all one being everywhere. And that power, By putting your attention on the source of your power, Which is you, Then you tune in to the source of power, Not just to the one outlet that brings about power in your room, But to the very source of all the electricity. Think of the difference. You can tune in to just the limited power of your mind and senses and try to get what you want and achieve satisfaction that way, As the human being does. Or you can instead tune in to the very source that brought the light, That brought the power, Even to the mind and the senses, So that they can function. So you're tuning in to the source of power, To the source of your being, To the knower. And when you tune in to that knower, The source of who you are, The source of your power, The source of your love, The source of your fulfillment, The source of your satisfaction, You can know directly love, Fulfillment, Satisfaction as you. So your starting point now is the wholeness, The perfection, The complete being that you are, Not limited, Not afraid, Because now you're knowing you. And from that knowledge of you, You see everyone as that same you, Personalities and minds, Are different. Experiences, Conditions, Ways of thinking and acting will always be different. But the source of who they are is the same source of who you are. So when you know that source, There's a sense of acceptance, However anyone else is, Because they're not other than you, They're the same source. And there's a sense of ease in everything that you do and with every interaction, Because you know your source. So we meditate on amaramham madhiramham, Pure, Free, Forever, As that source. And we know the peace that we are, Which is unchanging. Amaramham madhiramham, Amaramham madhiramham.

Reviews

Wow. Some elements of Advaita Vedanta that I did not understand before was explained elegantly, need to listen more about Thuriya. Thank you so much