Namaskar - July 2009

IS THERE A WAY TO KNOW IT?
Is there a way to realise this all-pervading Consciousness? Is there a
way for the mind to seek its own source? “You are already that
which you seek” Shubhraji exclaimed, because the infinitude of joy
we endlessly search for is inherent in our own Being. It is the
spiritual ignorance of our true nature and our perpetual
identification with limited things such as the body, mind and
intellect that provoke a feeling of incompleteness and which divert
us from our blissful nature.
Consciousness alone is the Absolute Reality. It is a truth which
never ceases to be. It must be conceived as the source of all things
and beings, whose existence does not depend upon anything but
on whom all other things depend on for their existence.
Shubhraji explained our current concepts of ourselves amount to
relative identities: son, father, daughter, photographer, lawyer etc.
She elaborated, we are Consciousness that is beyond words, objects,
emotions and thoughts. A Consciousness which the Vedas point
out through the language of negation, because any description of
what it really is would be insufficient. Our true identity rests in the
Absolute Reality or Consciousness that forms the substratum of
our Being. This identity by its very nature is free.
CAN IT BE EXPERIENCED IN A WAY THAT ENHANCES OUR LIVES?
So central to Vedanta is the assertion that one must abide in this
Consciousness, the Absolute which is our true nature. In light of
this, Shubhraji offered a practical approach to experiencing the
freedom and joy that is the essence of this Self. There is no need to
empty the mind of thoughts, as if often pointed out in meditation
techniques. Instead, we must learn to recognise this Consciousness
in spite of the torrent of thoughts we experience. The task is not to
empty the mind of thoughts, but to observe, silently and without
attachment, the rise and fall of thought in our minds. Only if we
find such quiet do we have a chance of glimpsing the Truth.
Shubhraji offered a thought experiment: Think of a table and on it
put an orange cloth. Now, place a crystal over the orange cloth. The
crystal will appear orange, but its apparent orange colour belongs to
the cloth and not to the crystal. In a similar way, though various
qualities appear on Pure Consciousness or on the Self, they are mere
appearances and are not actually there.
The recognition of Consciousness requires a subtle shift in our
perception, for it is the recognition of that which we already are.
Shubhraji gave another example. “What is the state of your mind
between the fulfillment of one desire and the
beginning of the next?” It is a state of silence
and contentment, a state of joyfulness- that, is
your true Self. A state which we so endlessly
seek everywhere, but resides within our Self.
Shivina is a Vedanta student in Hong Kong.
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