What is the Truth?

What is the truth?  What is the one most important fact in the world? 

Truth and facts have nothing to do with the physical world but rather about the innermost experiences of yourself.  An intellectual conception is not as significant or interesting as an experience that finds the truth within you - the true Being.  Reality lies within you, not outside of you.  Is it really impossible to have definite answers to questions that are thought to be incontestable?  Can an experience beyond consciousness and thoughts be described accurately with words?  Yes it can, it is possible to describe a subjective experience that is beyond consciousness and thoughts.  Let me explain.

The subjective world can be one of extreme clarity and beauty by going inside yourself, not outside. With all of the senses nullified one can exist in complete silence and go into a sea of tranquility, as it were, and then, and soon the answer will appear. The human mind likes to believe that there is a reason, a purpose for things to exist.  For example, we all want to believe that humans have a purpose for existing: that we are here to evolve into higher consciousness, that we are here to uncover the truth, or we are here to serve and worship a higher entity.  We are never at a loss for thinking up reasons for existing.

Without thought and without thinking one can go into deep tranquility and vividness and see that everything in the universe is interconnected and interplays synergistically - everything in this web affects everything else in one way or another.  However, this doesn't mean the interaction and connectedness has a purpose.  The whole thing is moving and changing within no change.  There is formless in the form, unchanging in the changing, and nameless in a name. 

Each person can reach his own conclusion by returning to the fundamental introspection of his own being and become totally aware of his own distinctiveness.  Subjective innermost personal experience is necessary for understanding the Absolute.  There is no other way.  All of the sciences, religions, material studies can never uncover the real truth of what is.

You cannot understand the truth until you have experienced it personally and inwardly.  You can fool yourself into thinking you know much more about who you are and why you exist, and so you over-estimate the process of thinking and believe that the mind will give you a true explanation.  But remember, the mind is wrong most of the time.  You cannot find the answer to the ultimate question, "Why am I," until you go beyond the mind and take possession of the innermost experience of yourself.

We cannot overlook the wisdom of the ancient sages such as the Upanishads who existed some 5,000 years ago.  The lived without modern conveniences but yet they wrote so eloquently about their inner most contemplations and findings that they are held in awe even today.

When the senses are stilled, when the mind is at rest, when the intellect wavers not - then, say the wise, is reached the highest state.  Katha Upanishad

Seeing Beyond Self

Looking out of the windows of your skull what do you see?  Are there objects and space between objects or is there something more?  The "something more" is beyond the objects and beyond your self. 

Self-centerdness is when it seems that reality is made up of only objects and space and everything revolves around the self.  The main reason for doing anything is to benefit the self.  There is no intention to help others unless something is received in return.

The self-centered "I" has no compassion for others.  Whatever is done is done for the sake of the self.
All energy (illustrated as dotted lines) is focused on and comes toward and into the self.

The opposite of the self-centered "I" is the compassionate self.  Everything is done for other beings.  One may be dying of starvation and still give sustenance to others.  In this case all of the energy is poured out from the individual self.  This person may say, "It makes me feel good to be compassionate."

The compassionate self is totally focused on helping others with very little concern for the self.  In this case one cannot accept compassion into his own little constricted "I".  Relief from suffering is found by "fixing" others.

By opening up and being aware of both self and others one can be compassionate toward the self as well as others.  Awareness allows energy to flow to and from the self. 

The aware self has compassion for the self as well as for others.  Energy flows in both directions.  There is twice as much energy and the self feels freer, energized, and full of life.

Going beyond the concept of the self one can see that the self and objects are the same thing.  Energy no longer flows and is no longer contained within objects.  This is pure awareness.

In pure awareness you are no longer constrained by concepts of objects and self.  The term "energy" is even a concept.  Everything is one and the same thing. Total and absolute freedom is realized.

The True You

Living in the world of objects we are often engaged in a "reality" outside of ourselves and not aware of the inner mechanisms of the psyche.  There is a very loose connection between "out there" and "in here." 

Being out of touch with the body and the mind is not uncommon as we go about our daily lives.  Doing this and that as we navigate through life we tend to focus on objects and events outside of our self rather than being aware of what's going on with our body and our mind. 

Take a moment to inquire within.  Ask yourself, "What am I looking at?"  And then ask yourself, "Who is the 'I' that is doing the looking?"  Notice, you are observing the 'I' which is doing the looking.  There is an awareness or a knowing of the presence of an observer.  You are the awareness of all this observing.  Another way of saying this is, you are aware of the awareness. 

If you go this far you will notice there is no difference between the observer and the observed (object).  They are both objects made of the same stuff.  And you may also notice there is a vast emptiness surrounding the awareness which is the true you.  Take a moment to dwell within the emptiness before going back to you objective world.  This practice will allow you to inch a little bit closer, each time, to a freer and more relaxed life.

Meditate

For everybody who meditates, there are practically that many was to meditate - millions.  Not staying with the practice or simply failing to meditate often, however, are two factors that contribute to one's failure.  Listening to the mind at work is often a tedious and monotonous task for most beginners.  But once the practice matures, quietness settles in and awareness broadens until it evaporates all restrictions.

Meditation does not need to be done for long hours.  Fifteen minutes is often sufficient, thirty minutes is better and an hour is excellent for a good sitting of quietness with the mind.  In order for you to be able to control the mind and not the other way around, the mind must be still, and this can be achieved only through daily practice of watching the mind at work.

The mind wants to constantly be figuring things out.  It might be saying, "Why are you sitting here when you could be mowing the grass or doing the dishes?"  or "Oh, I just remembered, this would be a good time to call uncle Bill.  He is probably home right now."  The mind also likes to problem solve.  While meditating, the mind might be deciding how to arrange the new furniture that's coming tomorrow or trying to figure out where you might have left the key to the front door.  The mind also loves to think about past and future experiences, anything to keep from focusing on the present moment.

I urge you to set aside a few minutes each day to listen to your mind.  Just let the mind ramble on and imagine that you are viewing it from a distance and simply enjoy its amusing antics.  Be an observer of your mind.  Get in touch with what your mind is doing.  Don't make it difficult, just subtlety notice where your thoughts are going and relax and enjoy the process.  After a while the mind will become tired of its ramblings and begin to settle down and will actually want to rest. 

Even when the mind begins to settle down, it will flare up from time to time with its silly thoughts of doing this and that and wondering about all kinds of things to keep you from sitting still.  Be patient with yourself and with your mind.  The "monkey mind" will eventually give in to quietness.  "Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all" Timothy 4:15.

Heal Yourself

Try this little exercise.  Ask yourself, "What is the difference between me and my thoughts?"  Wait long enough for some kind of answer to appear.

Notice how the thought (answer) appears to you - as an image, a sound, or something else.  Place the thought out in front of you and see it as a packet of energy.  View the thought and soon you will see it disappear. 

You, as the observer of your thoughts, are separate from your thoughts.  In other words, you are not your thoughts. You can do this exercise anytime you have a thought.  Place the thought in front of you and observe it.  You will see that you are separate from your thought and then it will disappear.

This is a handy exercise for negative thoughts such as, "I hate myself" or "I am dumb."  Negative thoughts can grow inside the body and wreck havoc on the nervous system, the digestive system - all systems of the body. If negative thoughts are allowed to grow inside they can turn into cancer, heart disease, skin disorders, digestive problems, and other illnesses. 

Learn to be aware of your thoughts.  Notice when negative thoughts appear, place them outside of yourself and watch them disappear. You will feel a lightness and a sense of relief.  The negative energy will no longer linger and fester inside of you. 

    

Who is Sitting?

As I sit here with my noisy chattering mind I can see there isn't much on the computer screen.  At the same time I can hear my dog barking outside.  I can see the keyboard on my lap and my fingers on the keys. 

If I can hear my noisy chattering mind I must not be my mind.  If I can hear my dog barking I must not be my dog.  If I can see my body I must not be my body.  I can't be anything I can see or hear.  So, who is sitting here?

What is Samadhi?

According to the Yoga Sutras the ultimate goal in yoga is to reach a state called samadhi.  So, the question is, What is samadhi?  To find the answer all we have to do is pick up a copy of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali, read it, and find out.  But it's not that easy because the original Yoga Sutras is written in Sanskrit.  If you can't read Sanskrit, like me, then the next best thing is to find a translation. 

I personally know three people who are experts at translating Sanskrit into English and who have written books on the Yoga Sutras.  They are Michael Beloved, TKV Desikachar, and Mukunda Stiles.

The last verse (34) of the last chapter (IV) of the Yoga Sutras basically sums up what samadhi is.  Let's take a look at these three people's translations of that final section.

Separation of the spirit from the mento-emotional energy (kaivalyam) occurs when there is neutrality in respect to the influence of material nature, when the yogi's psyche becomes devoid of the general aims of a human being.  Thus at last, the spirit is established in its own form as the force empowering the mento-emotional energy.  Michael Beloved

When the highest purpose of life is achieved, the three basic qualities do not excite responses in the mind.  That is freedom.  In other words, the Perceiver is no longer coloured by the mind.  TKV Desikachar
Absolute freedom results when the primal natural forces, having no further purpose to serve, become re-absorbed to the source of all, or when the power of pure consciousness becomes established in its own essential nature.  Mukunda Stiles

You might ask, "How can three experts in Sanskrit translate the same verse differently?"  Because a translation from one language to another, especially Sanskrit, is never exact.  Even in the simplest situations it can be only an approximation.  This is because different translators will, most likely, differ in cultural heritage.  Therefore their translations of Sanskrit to English, in this case, will only approximate the original form.  Also, many key words may have several unrelated interpretations.  It's not easy translating exactly what the original writer intended.

However, by taking a closer look at these three translations we can see that there are similarities.  They all mention the mind   ("mento-emotional" - "consciousness"- "psyche") and they express the importance of becoming free from it ("at last its own form" - "no longer coloured by the mind" -"becomes established in its own essential nature").

In essence what all of these translations are saying is, total freedom is achieved only when you are free from the mind.  All problems stem from the thinking mind and you are not free until you (the spirit - the true Self) are separate from it.