When we sit in silence what do we do? We sit and observe
the voluntary and involuntary activities of the body and mind. Slowly the
voluntary activities come to an end, but the involuntary activities we have
inherited from birth, from our family, religion, race, nationality -which fill
the mind - go on, and we sit and observe their unfoldment.
Since we are used to working all the time we may find it difficult at first to
sit quiet, or the body may fall asleep due to accumulated fatigue. If it happens
it is desirable to rest the body for a few days till it is fresh again. While
you sit in silence, thoughts will arise, as the mind has been working for 24
hours. The thoughts cannot be suppressed nor can they be thrown away anywhere,
you can only watch them, not naming them as good or bad. Then you are free from
the roles of an experiencer and an actor, you enter into the state of an
observer of non-reactional attention.
As soon as the mind begins moving and says: “I like” or “I dislike” what it
sees, there is a disturbance, a burdening of the mind and the role of the
observer is lost and you are once more immersed into the roles of an experiencer
and actor. If you do not react to the thoughts you are observing, if they no
longer have the power to elicit any reaction from you then they will subside of
their own accord.
We have to extend this attitude of observation in
relationships. Once the observer state is awakened it changes relationships. It
is a tremendous energy that is awakened. When observation becomes a continuous
state throughout the day, then:
(1) There is no self-deception. We do not hide anything from ourselves. There is
nothing left as subconscious or unconscious it being all revealed in
observation. There is now only the conscious level.
(2) We stop deceiving others or presenting a different image of ourselves to
others. The seeing of what is, without justification or condemnation shatters
the image. We now have the courage to live and be what we are.
(3) We become aware of all that is happening within us, of the different
emotions arising within us, for example if we begin to get angry we are aware of
it and so the grip of anger loosens its hold over us.
(4) We recognise and admit our mistakes; asking for forgiveness immediately,
thus freeing the mind from the burden of residue.
(5) Through observation thoughts subside, hence the strain and pressure they
cause on the neurological and chemical systems is also lifted. It is this
tension that brings about anti-social behaviour.
(6) Pain and pleasure are not taken further then the present moment; thus no
grudges or attachments are formed. The art of living is to live completely in
the moment, not carrying any residue over to next incident, person or day.
First we sat to observe our thoughts, which not being
unlimited subside after some time. When they subside there is an awareness of
the emptiness within. There is a dimension of emptiness, like there is a
dimension of time and space. When we touch the dimension of emptiness and stay
steady in it, nothing happens, there is only emptiness. The mind is then afraid,
for it has not been educated to live in that motionlessness. When there is
functionlessness of the “I consciousness”, the “I” feels as if it is dying,
there is fear and one wants to return to the mind, to more familiar grounds. The
first touch of emptiness is like death but there is not an experiencing of
emptiness, there is no one to experience it; the “I” and its functional roles
not being there any more, even the observer is not necessary any more. There is
only a consciousness that this is emptiness and after some time even that goes.
To surrender all activity to the emptiness requires courage. Man must be able to
stick it out and not to run away from this state, he must be able to digest it.
After all, what is there to be afraid of? It is a fact of the organic Reality of
Life. It is a phase that does not last but it comes in life and if man stays
patiently with it, it will leave him as it arose.
We are in the dimension of silence, of space. In this state there is nothing to
experience, nothing to gain, nothing to see, there is only emptiness. Whenever
there is work to do, you do it, when someone comes before you, you respond, and
when there is no need to act then the emptiness within becomes the abode of the
“I consciousness". The home is no longer the mind but silence. One lives in
silence all the time. One remains steady in the emptiness.
From the attitude of an actor, of an experiencer we
moved into the attitude of an observer. From the state of observation we moved
into the dimension of silence. And from silence we move into the dimension of
dhyan. We shall see what dhyan is and what dhyan is and what dhyan is not.
The light or energy within us works in many different ways and can be utilised
in many different ways. Some people develop this energy by developing the powers
of the mind, or the powers of concentration or psychic powers, but all these are
activities and not dhyan. You can awaken energies in the body but those who want
to know what Reality is are not attracted or interested in such powers.
Dhyan is not an activity but a state of being, a dimension of being. It is a
state of motionlessness where the ego is dissolved and you have let it be
dissolved, where there is no experiencing but only a state of non-knowing,
non-doing. Some have described it as the dark night of the soul. There is no
tension at all in this state; the space within is being activated. It is a very
delicate state that has to be looked after. You need to be alone then and need
time to adjust to it.
In the dimension of dhyan you have let the activities of the mind come to an
end. The conditioned energy of the mind is quiet. The unconditioned part of the
energy, which is within and without, now begins to work. There is an awakening
of the Perceptive Intelligence. There is a new freshness and ecstasy. Universal
Consciousness has taken over. The mystics have called it the marriage of the
individual and the cosmic consciousness and in India it is described as the
union of Shiva and Shakti.
This is a new dimension and in this state it is difficult to function in society
for some time but after a period of adjustment the individual can live in
society, the difference will be that he will live in a state of egolessness. He
does not want or expect anything from others or from society. There is a divine
indifference, there is so much joy within that he needs nothing from outside or
from anyone. Living is its own fulfilment.
There is no centre or circumference of the mind ever to come back. Since there
is no centre or ego that desires things, there are no reactions of likes and
dislikes but only a response to need. Nobody can make him unhappy though he will
be affected by the unhappiness of others. There is a difference between
suffering and sorrow. Suffering is a reaction of the ego, which is always
fragmentary. In sorrow events are seen in the context of whole humanity and the
response is to the totality of life.
One of the by-products of the state of dhyan is that fearlessness is awakened.
Fearlessness is very different from bravery. Bravery is an attribute of the
mind, which can be and has been cultivated by the state, religion and family for
their own purpose, but it is an attribute that can also be lost. Once
fearlessness is awakened it can never be extinguished, fear no longer enters the
mind. Fearlessness is awakened when man has faith either in his own
understanding or has faith in the Universal Intelligence.
The mind obtains knowledge by grasping ideas. If this knowledge is not lived it
becomes a burden. But if it is lived in relationship then the knowledge gets
converted into understanding. Knowledge can be forgotten but not understanding.
Nothing is as sacred as your own understanding. You should start walking in the
light of your understanding no matter how small it may be. Faith in one's own
understanding awakens fearlessness and it brings about choiceless action.