We say that the mind is mine, the intellect is mine, the senses are mine, the life-breath is mine; but we do not say that I am the mind, I am the intellect, I am the senses, I am the life-breath. With this it is established that ‘sense of I’ (I-ness) is separate from ‘sense of mine (‘mine’-ness). In other words, that I am separate from mine, ‘my so-called’ objects. If you think further, then the so-called objects that are called mine, are also in fact not mine, rather they belong to ‘Prakruti’ (Nature). Due to the identification with the gross, subtle and causal body only, they appear (i.e. they are perceived) as mine.
Our real self is separate from the gross, subtle and causal bodies. Thus, neither of the three states – waking, dream and dormancy (a deep trance) are present in the swaroop (Self). The states keep changing, but the self does not change. The self is the knower of these states; therefore, it is separate from these states. If the knower of these states was not separate from these states, then who would account for these three states? And who would see them changing? There is no doubt that these three states keep changing. From this it can be deduced that the self is separate from these states.
It is our experience that the states cannot stay without us, but we can stay without them, and we also do stay. When we go from the waking to the dream state, in between there is no state. In the same way, when one goes from the dream state to the shushupti (Deep trance), in between there is no state, but the self remains. The dream state goes away and the waking state comes, the deep trance state goes and waking state comes; in this manner, we are aware of the changing states. From this it is established that we are beyond the states.
The word ‘I’ has two meanings ‒ one is the real ‘I’ in the form of existence, and another is the assumed ‘I’. The real ‘I’ remains as-is, but the assumed ‘I’ does not remain the same at any time, rather it keeps changing; just as I am awake, I am sleeping, I am wealthy, I am poor, I am very knowledgeable, I am ignorant, I am a Sadhu (Ascetic), I am a householder etc. This assumed ‘I’ also has conflicting and opposing beliefs; just as in front of the father ‘I’ am the son, and in front of the son ‘I’ am the father. Therefore, this assumed ‘I’ is not our real self. It is due to identification and holding on to this ‘I’ that we have assumed ourselves to be separate, and we have assumed an individual identity and existence. That with whom we assume a sense of ‘I’ is the individual existence. In our real existence there is no issue of being cut-off and having a separate identity.
To wipe out the assumed separate identity, a spiritual aspirant, a seeker should accept that ‘I am God’s’ or through vivek (Power of discrimination), he should accept that his real self, swaroop, is not the assumed ‘I’, i.e. the unreal is not my true ‘self’. Just as the mind-intellect are illuminated, in the same way, the ‘I’ is also illuminated in the illumination of the self. On thinking and reflecting deeply, the knowledge (meaning, comprehension) in effect is of the unreal only, not of the real. The knowledge of one’s existence most certainly remains, in ‘I am’ ‒ in this, no one has any doubt. However, in our existence, we do not recognize that unreal with which we have blended.
It is a principle that the knowledge of the unreal is realized only on becoming disconnected with the unreal, and the knowledge of the real takes place on becoming one (meaning, connected, inseparable) with the real; because in fact, we are disconnected from the unreal, and inseparable from the real. Therefore, the moment we realize the unreal, there is disassociation from the unreal, i.e. one realizes their apartness from it. The moment this realization of apartness takes place, one is naturally established in the real, which is self-evident, one does not have to do anything for it. That real itself is the knower of the three states and the changes and their absence from waking, dream and deep trance.
In waking, the nonexistence of the dream and the deep trance state, in the dream state, the nonexistence of the waking and the deep trance state, and in the deep trance state, the nonexistence of the waking and the dream state takes place. However, the ‘self’ is never non-existent. In all states, our existence, i.e. our being, remains as it is – this is everyone’s experience.
A spiritual aspirant should want to place value, i.e. to give significance to his experience, in other words, remain adamantly, firmly, unwaveringly, steadfastly situated in the ‘self’.
आवत हर्ष न ऊपजै जावत सोक न होय । ऐसी रहनी जो रहै घर में जोगी होय ॥
इस जग की कोई वस्तु न हमें सुहाती । पल-पलमें श्यामल मूर्ति स्मरण है आती ॥
उगा सो ही आथवें फूला सो कुम्हलाय । चिण्या देवल ढह पड़े जाया सो मर जाय ॥
Narayan ! Narayan !! Narayan !!!
Comments are closed.