Keep It Simple

Our original state of being is very clear. It is pure awareness, untainted by false perception. Our perception is false due to our mistaken identity (ego). This mistaken identity is really just an ever-changing role play which starts at the beginning of the drama of life. At that time, our consciousness is mistakenly identified with the mind and body (and their “inputs” and “outputs” in the form of impressions and expressions). This formation of ego is a natural phenomenon, just as the mind and body are natural phenomena.

At the core of our being is the supernatural consciousness beyond the body, mind, and ego. That consciousness is unaltered throughout our existence, but its expression (or manifestation through the mind and body) is constantly changing according to the condition of the mind and body. For example, if our consciousness is embodied in the form of a fly, mosquito, bee, bird, or buffalo, we will not be able to fully express the depth of our consciousness; in other words, we will not be able to realize our full potential.

When we are born as a human being we have the power to realize our True Self, which is absolutely pure consciousness. Only our True Self is capable of realizing True Love. The “realization of True Love” means the experience of the union of the Self with the Supreme Self. This is the only experience that is fully satisfying and unending (in other words, one never tires of it).

To reach the core of our being we have to get out of our ego. To do this, we first need to remove ego from the mind. The false identity is supported in the mind with our images, which are ideas rooted in ignorance of Truth, Reality. So, to break our images we need to fill the mind with wisdom (with knowledge of Truth as it is, and not as we imagine it to be). We learn the Truth from a knower of Truth; we cannot learn it from someone who does not know the Truth, which is why we cannot learn the Truth from our small self (ego). When we learn the Truth from a knower of Truth we simultaneously remove our ignorance, break our images, and overcome our own ego.

“Overcoming our own ego” means we remove the ego-infection from our mind (or at least we weaken it considerably, so that the mind is no longer ruled by false ego). Though the infection is gone, we still have “ego” because we still have self-consciousness. When the self-consciousness is removed, we are conscious of the Self (we are conscious of our Real Nature). This too is ego, but very subtle. However, even this subtle ego stands in the way of clear perception.

When ego is removed from the mind, we become established in Cosmic Ego and realize the Universal Mind. We perceive the individualized mind is nothing but the Universal Mind circumscribed by Ego. We also perceive this Cosmic Ego stands in our way, and so we let go of it. The living Self neither asserts itself nor allows it’s ego to stand in the way. Instead, the living Self (having purified the mind and realized the Universal Mind) surrenders to the Cosmic Forces (the Gunas of Prakriti, the Qualities of Nature), and dances the Cosmic Dance with no thought of Self. In other words, the living Self remains in the egoless state and ultimately becomes the Liberated Self (Jivamukta).

The Self that is completely free of ego realizes (experiences) the Highest Divine Love, the Union of the Self and the Supreme Self (the Soul and the Oversoul). This Ananda (Bliss, or Absolute Happiness) cannot be described.

Winning the Game of Life

This life is an even playing field. It is not ‘rigged’ and no one has an intrinsic advantage or handicap. The field of Prakriti (Nature) is intrinsically balanced. Appearances arise (temporary reality appears) when that balance is altered.

Though each of us is in Reality the all-knowing ATMAN (Soul), we have put on the covering of Ignorance by virtue of our own Yogic power in the form of Yog Maya. This spell of Ignorance is really an illusion; it is a proposition of superimposition that we have willingly accepted in order to play the Game.

The Supreme Self (ParamAtman, Supreme Soul, or Over-Soul) is the Referee, the Score-Keeper, the Time-Keeper, Maker of the Rules, and the Master of the Game (the Supreme Generator, Operator, and Destroyer–GOD–the Creator, Preserver, and Transformer). That Supreme Self is always with us at every step of the way. That Supreme Self is our Ultimate Friend and Eternal Companion, and the One we can always trust.

We are embodied in the human form, and cannot escape our own humanity. Each of us is intrinsically HUMAN, which means we are a ‘study in contrasts.” The dichotomy of good and evil, right and wrong, strong and weak, unselfish and selfish, and so on and so forth is built into our mind in the form of innumerable impressions from our innumerable lives in innumerable different circumstances.

We have lived in many different life forms, but the power of Life is One and indivisible. We have changed our mind many times, but the Mind is One and Universal, and appears individualized only due to the presence of ego and ignorance. Ego and Ignorance are created by the illusory power of the Self. There is no real reality to unreality; and there can be no separation of the Self from the Supreme Self. The Self is indivisible and immaculate. The dichotomy and delusion are self-induced as the introduction of this Drama or Game of Life.

In every game there is the element of Chance. The next moment in this Drama of Life is NOT predetermined; it is all a matter of our choice.

“We are the sum total of the choices we make.”

Dr. T. R. Khanna

As in every game, there are boundaries and limitations. In this game of Life we are equipped with free-will and beset with limited intelligence. This combination is bound to break boundaries from time to time, intentionally or unintentionally. But the rules of the Game will always apply. Nature is very unforgiving, even though the Supreme Being is all-merciful and full of compassion. If we break the rules or run afoul, we will have to pay the penalty.

The more skillful we become, the fewer mistakes we make. When we finally attain our Goal of Liberation (Moksha) it will NOT be by chance or good luck; it will be by virtue of our good practices. Our good practices will get the attention of our Divine Friend, the Supreme Self, and with His help and guidance we will become totally free of ego and ignorance and once again become established in our original State of Being.

Experience

What is “experience?” Experience is awareness coupled with action. The root of experience (or the root experience) is the act of being aware; or stated differently, it is awareness manifested as conscious being (the act of being conscious). The Self (ATMAN, Pure Consciousness, or Pure Awareness) manifests as Jivatman, which is the Self embodied in Prakriti and its evolutes (ego, intellect, mind, senses, and body). In this manifestation, the Self (as Jivatman) performs actions and has experiences.

No action can be done without energy. The inherent energy of the Self is called PRANA. Prana is the life-force by which the living self (Jivatman) performs actions and has experiences. The initial manifestation of the Energy of the Self is called PURUSH, the Spirit Self (Atman manifesting or embodied by its inherent Prana, lifeforce). The experience of Purush (Atman manifesting Prana) reveals Prakriti, the eternal Nature. The “joining” of Purush with Prakriti causes the manifestation of the Universe (both the subtle and material world) and the evolution of the living Self (Jivatman).

This ’joining” or uniting of Purush and Prakriti is the experience of Avidya (Ignorance). When the Ignorance is dissolved with the Wisdom of Consciousness, the eternal union of Purush (the Spirit Self) and Mahapurush (the Supreme Spirit) is made manifest (is “reflected” in Prakriti). When (by means of the highest Tapas, austerity) even this “reflection” is dissolved (Atman completely restrains its Prana), then the eternal union of the Self and the Supreme Self (Atman and Paramatman) is all there is. This is the Highest. Just prior to this is the state of Moksha (Liberation). In other words, Moksha is the state of complete freedom from Ignorance: it is the state of Purush (the most subtle Jivatman), the Spirit Self, established in eternal union with Mahapurush (Paramatman), the Supreme Spirit. The “union” is said to be “eternal” because this state of Moksha is cyclic, being the recurring achievement of the Self (Atman) as Jivatman, the Self embodied (expressed) through the eternal Prakriti.

The Experience of Love

Love is the experience of Oneness. The quality of “oneness” (LOVE) is NOT the state of “one being one;” it is the quality of “two being one,” or “many being one.”

True love is NOT a “state” of being, because “states” are by nature conditional and subject to change. True love is unconditional and changeless because it is a quality of Eternity, and all eternal qualities are by their very nature changeless.

“Eternity,” in the sense just now used, means the Self (Atman, Soul) and Supreme Self (Paramatman, Oversoul). When we say the Self and the Supreme Self are eternal, Eternity cannot be different from the Self and the Supreme Self (in other words, Eternity is the Self; it does not stand apart from the Self). Likewise, when we say the Self and Supreme Self are eternally united (in the relation of the one that is pervaded and the one that pervades), this union of Oneness is eternal and this union (or Oneness) is not different from the Self and the Supreme Self (in other words, the union is an inherent and unalterable characteristic of the Self and the Supreme Self).

The Self is conscious, and the Supreme Self is supremely conscious. The Self and the Supreme are not different from Consciousness. Thus, Consciousness, just like Love, Eternity, and Oneness is not a “state” or condition but actually “constitutes” the being of the Self and the Supreme Self.

However, since Being (the Self and Supreme Self) is not “constituted” or made up of parts, we can say: Love is the State of Being, or Oneness is the State of Being, or Eternity is the State of Being, and Consciousness is the State of Being. “State of Being” though expressed in three words is One, Complete, Whole.

SatChitAnanda is One, Complete, Whole. Supreme Soul-Soul-Nature, or Paramatman-Atman-Prakriti, is One, Complete, Whole. Though these are One Ultimate Reality, this reality is distinguishable as threefold.

True Love is Oneness, Completeness, Wholeness. The experience of Oneness, Completeness, Wholeness is the experience of LOVE, it is the experience of our Highest Nature.

Nature of the Immortal Self—THAT is You

Our real nature is that we are indestructible, beginingless, deathless divine beings. What is a divine being? A divine being is one that exists irrespective of the mind and body.

All of us are divine beings, in essence. In essence, we are ever-existing, ever-new, ever-changeless (immutable) Consciousness. More specifically (at this “point” in “time”), we are embodied entities of Consciousness. Each and every soul is an indestructible, indivisible, ever-pure, self-contained conscious being. However, when we are embodied as human beings (or any other form of being) we appear to take on the qualities of duality: birth and death, good and bad, happy and sad, helpful and harmful, and so on and so forth. In fact, the play of duality takes place in the mind only. Duality is the nature of the mind-self, it is not the nature of the soul-self.

Who is this mind-self? The mind-self is the embodied soul (Jivatman; embodied Consciousness). In the context of the embodied soul, the Mind is fourfold: ego-intellect-mind-memory. In the context of this fourfold inner organ (Antahkaranachatushtaya), “mind” refers to the monitoring/coordinating/recording mechanism responsible for the bulk of our “thinking” and “feeling” (emotional) processes.

In this life, we are the players on the playing field of Prakriti, and as players or actors we are embodied in our uniforms or costumes in the form of body, senses, memory, mind, intellect, and ego. This life is a divine Sport. It is called divine because the root of this life is Consciousness. This Sport of Life is conceived of Pure Consciousness which is beyond both mind and matter. Unless we live consciously, our life is meaningless and without any real purpose: in other words, it is essenceless.

How do we reconcile the concomitant existence of the Immortal Self (Atman) and the mortal self (human being)? We have to realize that human beings are divine. This means we must manifest our own soul-force (PRANA) and actuate the mind to express the nature of our Real Self. When we do this, there is no longer any dichotomy or duality; instead, there is the expression of Reality, both directly (distinctly) and through contradistinction. In other words, (for example) the duality of birth and death resolve into the endless stream of life; good and bad are resolved into balance (tamoguna and rajoguna are balanced by satoguna); pain and enjoyment are resolved (by means of self-discipline) into spiritual joy; past and future are resolved into endless NOW (ever-new, ever-fresh awareness); bondage and freedom are resolved into Moksha (Liberation); and darkness (Ignorance) and light (Wisdom) are resolved into Enlightenment. Beyond all of this is the Ultimate Reality which is the changeless, immortal Self that is YOU (Atman) pervaded by the Supreme Self (Paramatman).

This Yajna (of Self-Realization) is accomplished by resorting to our Original Self (ATMAN, Pure Consciousness) by making the Mind atomic (one-pointed, Ekagrachit) with Divine Wisdom.

Come Back Home (to the Real Self)

Author Unknown

A Maharaja (king or emperor) was coming out of his palace for his morning walk when he met a beggar. He asked the beggar, “What do you want?”

The beggar laughed and said, “You are asking me as though you can fulfill my desire!”

The king was offended. He said, “Of course I can fulfill your desire. What is it? Just tell me.”

And the beggar replied, “Think twice before you promise anything.”

The beggar was no ordinary beggar; he was the king’s guru (spiritual teacher) in his previous incarnation, in which he had promised: “I will come and try to awaken you in your next life. This life you have missed your chance, but I will come again.”

But the king had forgotten completely—after all, who remembers past lives? So the king insisted,

“I will fulfill anything you ask. I am a very powerful emperor, what can you possibly desire that I can not give to you?”

The beggar said, “It is a very simple desire. You see this begging bowl? Can you fill it with something?”

The emperor said, “Of course!” He called one of his viziers and told him, “Fill this man’s bowl with money.” The vizier went and got some money and poured it into the bowl, and it disappeared. He poured more and more, and the moment he would pour it, it would disappear. The begging bowl always remained empty.

The whole palace gathered. By and by the rumor went throughout the whole capital, and a huge crowd gathered. The prestige of the emperor was at stake. In the king’s frustration he yelled at his viziers, “If the whole kingdom is lost, I am ready to lose it! I will not be ridiculed by this beggar!”

Diamonds and gold, pearls and emeralds, his treasuries were becoming depleted. The begging bowl seemed to be bottomless. Everything that was put into it — everything!—immediately disappeared, it went out of existence. Finally it was the evening, and the people were standing there in utter silence.

The king dropped at the feet of the beggar as he said, “You are my master. Please just tell me one thing before you leave, fulfill my curiosity. What is the begging bowl made of?”

The wise man disguised as a beggar laughed as he stated, “It is made up of the human mind. There is no secret. It is simply human desire.”

* * * * *
With this understanding of the fickle mind one can transform ones life. Go into one desire — what is the mechanism of it? First there is a great excitement, great thrill, adventure. You feel a great kick. Something is going to happen; you are on the verge of it. And then you have the car, you have the yacht, you have the house, you have the woman or man, and suddenly all is meaningless again.

What happened? Your mind has dematerialized it. The car is standing in the driveway, but the excitement is no more. The excitement was only in getting it. You became so drunk with the desire that you forgot your inner nothingness; your atman, your soul. Now the desire is fulfilled, the car in the driveway, the spouse in your bed, the money in your bank account — again excitement disappears. Again the emptiness is there, ready to eat you up. Again you have to create another desire to escape this yawning abyss.

One moves from one desire to another. That’s how one remains a beggar. Your whole life proves it again and again — every desire frustrates. Whenever one desire is fulfilled, another desire arises to keep your focus off of your emptiness.

Until one realizes one’s inner fullness one will always search outside of oneself.

om purnam adah purnam idam
purnat purnam udachyate
purnasya purnam adaya
purnam evavashishyate

That (God, essence, etc.) is full. This (vessel, life, etc.) is full. From that (fullness) this (fullness) is manifested (while) that and this remain absolutely full. (Just as a Mother’s love for her child is no less when given.)

When you are firmly rooted in the understanding that you are soul, pure consciousness, all selfish desires disappear and one squanders love, compassion, understanding, solace and joy.
This journey is inwards. Let go (of mind and ego) and move inwards, come back home.

Breaking the Mind-Ego Connection

In the esoteric literature, the mind has been called the “third eye.” We see with the mind, and if the mind is confused our perception will not be clear.

The body, mind, intellect—and even the ego—are NOT obstacles in our way: they cannot prevent us from being our selves. In other words, we do not stop being the spirit-self, or SOUL, just because we happen to have a body, mind, and intellect and are conscious of all these. The presence of these phenomena (which includes the phenomenon of self-consciousness) cannot diminish or alter the State of Being. There are many souls who have attained the state of Liberation while retaining their mind, intellect, and self-identity (and in some cases even the body, as they wish).

So where does the problem lie. The problem lies in the mind-ego connection. Ego must be removed from our thought. In other words, we have to stop thinking about ourselves. Self-conceit (ASMITA) is definitely an obstacle on the path. This false ego is the perpetrator and perpetuator of ignorance, which is the root cause of all violence, pain, and suffering.

Being conscious of the Self will remove self-consciousness from the mind. Being conscious of the Self is the pure self-consciousness, which is devoid of self-involvement—in other words, the mind-ego connection has been broken.

The feelings that arise in the mind are not your feelings, they are the feelings of the mind only. The Self has only one feeling—the feeling of Absolute Love. In Absolute Love there is no animosity, depression, jeolousy, greed, ill-will, remorse, fear, or any other loathsome feeling.

True Spirituality

True spirituality has nothing at all to do with one’s self-image or ego. Since manmade religion is born out of ego, it is also correct to say that true spirituality has nothing at all to do with religion.

Manmade religion is a creation of the human mind under the influence of the ego-driven intellect. By its very nature, the ego-driven intellect is susceptible to superstition because the presence of ego (false identification) distorts one’s intelligence and creates dark corners in the mind. In a darkened state of mind, one mistakes the unreal as real, the false as true, and the unbelievable as believable. Basically, when the mind is infected by ego it makes one “think in boxes.” In other words, one becomes “boxy.” Unless one’s images are broken, one becomes a “boxy oxy-moron.’

One’s images can only be broken with the Wisdom of Consciousness. When our images are broken, our ego falls off and we stand free as the Spirit Self. This is true spirituality.

Beyond All Roles

There is absolutely nothing and no one that stands in our way of being completely fulfilled and happy—except our own small self ego and image riddled mind.

To be happy, all we need to do is drop our mental images (preconceptions and misconceptions) and let go of our ego (false identity). Even if our ideas are true, they will not ring true if we are in our ego. In other words, the truth will not vibrate in our being unless we get rid of our ego. Since ego is the outcome of ignorance, we must remove our ignorance, and this can only be accomplished with the Wisdom of Consciousness.

At the core of our being is the center of Consciousness called the “soul” (Atman). This pure Consciousness is devoid of the shackles of small self ego. It is only the mind that is bound by its images that creates the illusion of bondage. In fact, the soul is ever-free. It is only the mind that is bound. To free the mind, wisdom must be applied to it and put into practice. In other words, the mind must be filled with wisdom and the wisdom must be applied in our daily life. “Applying wisdom” means putting it to use in all our actions and interactions at every moment of our existence.

The Wisdom of Consciousness says that we are FREE. It says that we are NOT our mental feelings and failings. The wisdom says that we are NOT our mental coverings (including ego). The work of Consciousness is to remove all the mental coverings so that the Light of the Soul can shine forth. This is called Enlightenment.

We cannot be enlightened so long as we are hiding beneath the cover of ego, the mask of false selfhood. The True Self does not have any “hood’—it does NOT have any mental covering. Childhood, manhood, womanhood, priesthood, householder-hood, hermit-hood, monk-hood, sainthood,—these are all temporary roles assumed in a temporary drama. Beyond the drama is Reality. Beyond all roles is the Real Self.

Reaching Our Ultimate Goal (the Purpose of Life)

We need to speak the truth with love and love the truth with all our heart, mind, and soul. The “truth” is the Wisdom of Consciousness.

The “Wisdom of Consciousness” is not an objective reality separate from ourselves. The Wisdom of Consciousness is realized only when we are fully conscious and conscientious. We have to be aware of what is right and wrong and deliberately choose what is right.

Some people will say that “right and wrong” are subjective concepts; but this is not true. They are not subjective concepts; they are known by the pure subjective consciousness and objectified by the human intellect, and expressed through the human mind in conjunction with the senses and the physical body.

Atman (Pure Consciousness) knows the Truth, because Atman is eternal and unchangeable. When Atman comes in contact with the body, mind and senses it is in a state of bondage in the form of the unenlightened Jiva (living Self). In other words, when Purush (the Spirit-Self) is united with Prakriti, then Atman is manifested as Jivatman and thence commences the Journey of Life, the Sport of Creation, the Drama of the World, the Play of Light and Darkness, Good and Evil, Ignorance and Enlightenment, Bondage and Liberation.

The Truth is unclear only to the unenlightened mind. When the mind is inundated with Wisdom and that wisdom is put into practice through the body and senses under the direction of the pure creative intelligence, then (and only then) does the mind become fully enlightened. In other words, we need to use our power of discernment (higher intellect) to guide the mind to make right choices and do good actions, based on the knowledge we have acquired. If we acquire knowledge but don’t use it, we will lose it. If we know what is right but choose what is wrong, we will suffer injustice at the hands of our own ego. If we “know better” but don’t do better, our life will not get better but only worse.

Where do we go to learn Wisdom? We have to go to the Wise; we cannot rely on the mind that is a prisoner of ego and images, because that mind will twist the truth to satisfy its images. “Going to the Wise” simply means directing our mind to the Vedic teachings. By studying the Vedic teachings we fill the mind with Vedic ideals, and we are prompted to fulfill those ideals by actualizing them in our daily life.

A human being always acts (sooner or later) according to what they have in mind. This is the Law of Karma. We can change our destiny by taking control of our mind. If we do not take control of our mind, our mind will think according to its previous impressions and will repeat or compliment the actions that created those impressions. In other words, we will repeat our mistakes (or create new ones) if we don’t intercede and take control of our mind. This is part of the challenge of life. If we are going to play the Game of Life to win (and be Liberated), we have to meet the challenges head-on. If we lose our head in the excitements and thrills of temporary pleasures and ego-based relationships, we can end up sidelined in life and never reach our Ultimate Goal.

Our goal is to become completely selfless (completely free of false ego), and thus directly perceive ourselves as absolutely free. This perception is made only by the living self in possession of a pure, enlightened, mind. If we are possessed by our mind we cannot “be our Self” and realize the Presence of the Supreme Self.

When we are completely free of our false identity (which is supported by images in the mind), we are completely at ease and directly realize our Essence: the Self of our Self, the Soul of our Soul, the Supreme Soul (Paramatman), the Supreme Creator (Parabrahma), the Ultimate Reality, the Ultimate Goal.