Namaskar.
Welcome to this session.
Today,
We are going to explore what it truly means to live a happy human life.
Not happiness as a mode that comes and goes,
But happiness as your natural state.
Actually,
Happiness is not the exact translation of what we say in Sanskrit as ānanda,
Ānanda,
Because happiness has an opposite emotion called sadness.
Joy has an opposite feeling called sorrow.
But when we use the Sanskrit term ānanda,
It's not a fleeting experience which comes and goes.
It has no opposite.
And in the English language,
There is no word which truly represents the expression ānanda.
So,
The closest expression which is commonly used is sustainable bliss.
But that is also not an exact representation because bliss also has an opposite in the English language.
That's why the word sustainable is attached to it.
Because any feeling,
Any emotion cannot be sustained because they appear and disappear.
And they are dependent on the circumstances or experiences.
But ānanda or ānanda is not dependent on the experiences.
It's not an emotion.
It's not a temporary state.
It's the background of all these emotions,
Feelings,
Thoughts.
And it is sustainable because it's always there.
In fact,
Sustainable is also not the right word because it implies as if you have to apply effort to sustain it.
That's why there is an ancient expression called sat-cid-ānanda.
When we combine these three words,
It becomes sat-cid-ānanda.
So,
Let's understand that first.
Sat means satya,
Truth.
Cid means consciousness.
And ānanda means sustainable bliss.
That's the closest word in English.
So,
Why this is the closest expression which any language can touch?
Because the absolute truth which we are talking about here,
It cannot be described with words.
No language has been able to do that.
And there is a reason for that because what we are referring to or pointing towards,
It has no qualities or attributes.
It's not physical.
From a physical perspective,
It's nothing.
From absolute perspective,
It is no thing because it's not a thing.
It's not an object which you can perceive.
But you can be it.
You can realize it because it is always there every moment.
It is the background from where the thoughts appear,
Emotions appear,
Feelings of happiness and sadness appear and disappear.
So,
Sat-cid-ānanda simply means that the absolute truth is the cit,
The chatunya,
The consciousness.
And by very nature,
It is ānanda.
By very nature,
It is untouched bliss.
Why untouched?
Because it cannot be disturbed.
Because no feeling of happiness or sadness actually disturbs the natural state of ānanda.
And one more word which is very close to ānanda is shanti,
Peace.
Now for a modern mind,
Shanti,
Peace doesn't seem interesting because mind has been trained since birth to chase experiences,
To chase fun,
To chase happiness.
So,
For a mind which is trained like this because of the conditioning,
Peace,
Shanti and even sustainable bliss may sound boring because mind is chasing the next fun,
The next high.
That's why sometimes people misunderstand that realization is some kind of ecstatic experience.
Yes,
Momentarily,
Sometimes for hours and days,
You may get some ecstatic experiences.
But any ecstatic experience cannot be sustained.
It appears and disappears.
So,
Even those who experience the kundalini rising may get ecstatic experiences.
But we encourage them,
We encourage people to not get into that trap.
There is no need to chase any experience.
What was before that experience and what remained even when the ecstatic experience disappeared?
That's what is sustainable.
So,
It's a very neutral state.
Mind cannot comprehend that.
It can only make mental model of it,
But it cannot truly understand it.
But when you are not paying unnecessary attention to the mind's story,
The thoughts,
The feelings and when the attention rests in its own source,
Which you can also call it as awareness.
So,
We'll discuss that in detail,
The role of attention,
Consciousness,
Awareness.
It's all linked together.
And yes,
The word awareness and consciousness can be used alternatively.
But it is important to understand that being conscious,
The sense of being conscious is also known by the awareness.
So,
We'll discuss that in detail for now.
So,
Most of us chase happiness in possessions,
Success,
Relationships,
Etc.
Yet,
It always slips away.
We buy something new,
We feel good,
But it fades.
We reach a milestone and the mind asks,
What next?
This endless chase keeps us restless.
But the truth is simple.
The sustainable bliss is not what you get.
It is what you are.
When you inquire within,
Who am I?
What am I here?
Am I the experience of the world?
Am I the experience of the world?
Am I the experience of the body?
Am I the experience of the mind?
Because even mind's activities are experienced.
Your emotions,
Your feelings,
Your memories,
Your thoughts,
They all keep on changing.
They are all experiences.
You experience your thoughts,
You experience your feelings,
Your mood.
So,
This question,
What am I,
Who am I,
Points towards the experiencer.
Not the experience.
Experiences keep on changing.
Your body keeps on changing.
10-15 years ago,
Your body was different.
Every day it is changing.
So,
What is here,
Which is experiencing the changes,
But is not changing itself?
There is no need to jump to the word awareness,
Because mind has made a meaning or a mental model of what awareness may mean,
But instead of focusing on the word,
Directly try to notice it within.
What is this awareness?
What is the difference between awareness and what you are aware of?
You are aware of the world around you,
The room around you.
You are aware of your body sensations,
Your body.
You are aware of your story so far,
Your memories.
You are aware of your thoughts,
Feelings.
So,
What is it that is aware of all these objects,
All these experiences?
What is the core of this experience?
What is the center without which none of these experiences are possible?
Suppose you are in deep sleep.
Even if a tiny ant will crawl in your skin,
Or any insect will crawl into your skin,
You might not feel it,
Because you are not aware of your body at that time,
Because all the experiences,
The experience of the world,
The experience of the body,
The experience of the mind,
Memories,
Thoughts,
Emotions,
All are kept aside or subsided.
There you are just awareness.
You are still there,
You are not fully gone.
If a loud sound would happen,
You will become aware of it and you will wake up.
But you will not be aware of any mild experiences.
Even if someone will talk in the same room,
You might not hear it.
So,
Who are you when you are in deep sleep,
Or a deep meditative state,
Wherein you are not experiencing the world,
You are not experiencing your own body,
You are not experiencing your own mind,
It doesn't matter what happened in your story so far,
How good or bad your day was,
You are sleeping peacefully.
So,
Whatever you have read so far,
Or heard so far,
There is no need to take it too seriously.
Try to shift your attention to find the center of all experiences,
The source of the thoughts,
The silent field in which these thoughts appear and disappear.
I'm not saying that you will find it,
Because what I'm trying to point you towards is not an object,
It's not an experience.
So,
There will be no point in future wherein your mind would say,
Oh now I noticed it.
It's not like that.
But a shift happens when you do an honest inquiry and don't postpone it,
You directly try to look towards it within you.
Then a realization hits that what you're searching for is you yourself,
You're looking for yourself.
Awareness is not something else inside you,
It is you.
Even if you lose all your memories of your life story so far,
You forget your name,
You forget what are your likes and dislikes,
Your preferences,
What your dream aspirations are and all.
Even if everything is gone,
You forgot about your family,
You forgot about your own name,
Don't know anything,
Even then you will be there.
That personality construct might disappear,
But you would still be there as life.
A living being who is aware.
Then you may start again and look for what this object is,
What this person is,
Creating new memories.
So,
This pointer is about finding who you truly are beyond the masks.
Which you wear the layers of identification who you truly are.
And then you realize that awareness is not an object which can be experienced.
It is that light because of which all other objects,
All other experiences are experienced.
That's why it is also described as a self-illuminating.
It has no other source,
It is itself is the source.
When you see a moon at night,
Moon is shining because of the light from the sun.
It's not emitting its own light.
And you will notice that in order to experience light,
Some objects should stop the light.
Moon is visible because moon is stopping the light.
And if you look around the moon,
You will not see the light,
You will not see the rays going to the moon.
Because rays are also only visible when there is something like in the earth's surface,
There is this thick belt of air or some dust is there or cloud is there.
That's when you notice the sun rays.
Otherwise,
If there is nothing to obstruct the light flow,
You will not see the light.
That's why you don't see any light rays around the moon.
You only see the moon because moon is the one which is obstructing the light.
Similarly,
Awareness itself can never be experienced as an object.
Because awareness itself is the source because of which you are experiencing different objects.
Here object means all types of experience of the world,
Experience of your own body and the body becomes the object.
Your thoughts are experienced and thoughts become the object from the subject object perspective.
So the light is the subject and the light on the object on which it is coming.
That's what is experienced.
So awareness is the light because of which you can experience thoughts.
Problem arises when we assume that we are the thoughts as if we are the mind.
Which can't be true because even when you are in deep sleep and mind itself is absent,
There are no thoughts,
There are no emotions,
There are no memories,
There is no one to say whether I exist or not.
Even then you exist.
This is a clear evidence for you to notice that even when mind is absent,
Even when there are no thoughts at all,
I still exist.
Same happens during meditative states.
There are no thoughts,
Maybe for a small duration,
But you don't experience the world,
You don't experience your five senses,
You don't experience your own body,
You don't experience thoughts,
Memories,
But you are still there as awareness.
That is why it is very difficult to describe awareness because it's not an object.
How would you describe it?
What qualities or attributes will you describe?
So the closest any language can go is awareness is the source of experiences.
Awareness itself can't be experienced because it's not an object which can be experienced,
But without which no experience is possible.
So if you are not here,
No other experience is possible.
To experience anything,
You should be there first.
You are hearing this voice because you are aware.
Sounds are hitting the eardrums and then,
You know,
Converted into electric signal to the brain and brain,
Because it understands this language,
The cognitive function happens and it tries to make meaning out of it.
Yeah,
This process is happening very fast,
But you should be there to hear it,
To experience it in the first place.
So who are you here?
Are you just a cognitive function or the one who is experiencing how mind is interpreting this conversation?
The one who is experiencing these sounds.
So before thought,
Before any memory,
Before any identity,
You know that you exist.
That silent knowing can be called consciousness.
What is consciousness?
The sense of being conscious,
Knowing that I am,
I exist.
You don't have to constantly be aware of it.
You don't have to constantly remind yourself that I exist.
That's why it is called a knowing.
You already know it.
You don't need constant reminders.
Even if you lose all your memory,
Even if you forget your name,
Your family,
Your life story so far,
Everything is wiped out.
Even in that scenario,
You will be conscious.
You would know that I exist.
Even a newborn is conscious.
It knows I am.
It doesn't identify with any particular name or nationality or culture.
It's just a life form,
A life form which is conscious.
With the knowing that I am.
So you don't create consciousness.
You don't think about it.
Consciousness is the base,
The platform on which all other experiences come and go.
And the nature of this consciousness is to be aware.
So that's the link between consciousness and awareness in a way.
Although these words,
Awareness,
Consciousness,
Are very misleading because it doesn't represent the the the truth we are trying to point towards.
Because the common understanding of consciousness is when you are awake.
From the perspective of psychology,
You would say,
Okay,
When you are sleeping,
You are not conscious.
When,
Because of any reason,
You fainted,
Then you lost your consciousness for some time.
Well,
That is from the psychology perspective.
When we are using the word consciousness here,
We are referring to something more deeper.
You can still use the word consciousness,
Okay,
In deep sleep,
You're not conscious.
In waking state,
For example,
Right now,
You're conscious.
That's why you can experience this.
In dream state also,
When you're dreaming and experiencing different things,
You are conscious there.
But your identification is not with the physical body which is sleeping.
At that time,
When you're dreaming,
Your mind has projected a dream world in which there may be a projected dream body which you identify with.
You're not even aware that this body which I'm experiencing in the dream is not real.
It's a projection.
You consider the dream as real till the time you are in it.
You're not aware that there is a physical body sleeping on the bed at that time.
Your identification shifts from the physical body to the dream body.
So,
In dream state also,
You are conscious,
But you are conscious of a different body which is not real.
So,
To describe it,
Awareness can be used as the closest word which describes to the source,
The Chaitanya,
The Chit,
Which we are trying to point you towards.
So,
The psychological consciousness can still be used in your meditations to come to a point wherein you're aware of the sense of being conscious,
I am-ness,
Being-ness,
But awareness is deeper than that.
Awareness does not need to be conscious of itself.
Awareness is still there when there are no experiences at all,
Just like in deep sleep.
So,
You are not conscious at that time.
There is nothing to say,
I exist.
Even that knowing has subsided,
But there is awareness.
There is a field of awareness.
That's why if there will be a loud sound,
You will wake up.
You're not fully gone,
Even when you are not conscious.
So,
This I am-ness,
The sense of being conscious,
I exist,
This is the doorway for the awareness.
So,
Everything,
Thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations,
Appears within this awareness,
And awareness is the constant background of life.
So,
A question may arise,
If awareness is natural,
Why do we suffer?
We suffer because we are identified with the mind's story,
Because we assume that I am this body,
I am this mind,
This is my story,
These are my desires,
These are my fears,
And mind has a habit of comparing,
Judging,
Fearing,
And mind itself means movement.
Why any desire comes in the mind?
Desire comes because mind is never satisfied with this moment,
It wants something else,
That's why it wants to move.
If you would be fully satisfied and you'll feel complete in this moment,
Why would be there any need to think or desire?
You're feeling complete,
You're fully satisfied here as you are,
You're feeling the sense of completeness,
Blissfulness.
So,
There is no need for any movement,
You are in perfect stillness,
Because it feels complete,
It feels fulfilled.
Desire appears because because mind resists this moment,
Because mind doesn't accept this moment as it is,
It wants to improve it,
It wants something else,
That's how mind perpetuates itself.
We create this illusion of fear that if I will be satisfied and I'll feel complete here and now,
Then nothing else will happen,
And how my life matters will be taken care of,
How the bills will be paid,
How my desires will be fulfilled,
And I'll lose motivation to do anything.
This is how it tries to trap.
And convinces itself that,
No,
I should be restless,
I should always seek something new,
Something more.
And that's why for most people,
Meditation seems difficult,
Because of this wrong understanding that meditation means effort.
Because effort means movement,
We're trying to chase something.
The cessation of chase itself is meditation.
So you decide that,
Okay,
This is the moment,
And I accept this moment as it is,
No alteration,
This moment doesn't need any fixing,
I don't need anything else,
Just this moment,
The way it is.
And thoughts are not required.
You start feeling the bliss instantly.
Meditation starts instantly.
No effort required.
Because any effort will disturb the mind.
The silence of this moment.
As soon as you notice that mind's pattern is to not like the moment the way it is,
It resists the moment.
As soon as you see through that,
Then there will be no effort required.
As soon as you stop resisting this moment,
Everything is solved.
So this inner resistance creates suffering.
Most of the time,
Suffering is not because of external circumstances,
It's because of this inner resistance of the mind,
Not accepting the moment the way it is.
If you will make a list of all the happy moments of your life so far,
This will be the common pattern.
You only felt happy in your life so far,
Only in those moments when you were not resisting the moment the way it was.
If suppose you say,
My happiest moment was when I saw my child for the first time,
The newborn.
You found that moment magical because you were not comparing.
You were not complaining.
You were not judging.
You accepted the moment the way it was.
If you would have spent time in thinking,
Oh,
I was expecting these kind of eyes,
These kind of nose,
Or I wanted this skin color,
Then you will ruin the moment.
You will not feel happy.
Even when you are seeing your newborn baby for the first time,
You will not feel happy if you are busy resisting the moment the way it is.
You felt happy because knowingly,
Unknowingly,
You did not resist.
You accepted the moment the way it was.
So you already know how to accept it.
You already know how to accept the moment the way it is without resisting.
And that's the reason you had those few moments in your life when you felt happy.
Now here you're learning to do it consciously.
You're choosing to do it each moment.
If because if you can do it once,
You can do it always.
Here you're learning how to do it consciously at will.
Creating this series of happy moments because you have stopped resisting.
And it doesn't mean that you have to stop your mind from thinking because thoughts are just like clouds.
How long a cloud stays in the sky,
It appears and disappears.
If there is fast moving wind,
Then it disappears very quickly.
So she will be identified with the passing clouds,
Which can't be true.
Those thoughts are appearing and disappearing.
You are not appearing and disappearing.
You're not coming and going.
You are the one who notices.
Okay,
This thought was there.
Now it's not there.
Now some other thought has started appearing.
I mean,
That has gone now.
So how can you be the thoughts?
You're not coming and going.
You are the one noticing the change.
Thoughts.
You are the one aware of it.
You can't be the object.
You can't be something which you are aware of.
You are the one who is aware.
If you are aware of the body,
You are not the body.
You are the one who is aware of the body.
If you are aware of your memories,
You are not those memories.
You are the one aware of those memories.
If you are aware of these thoughts,
Which are appearing and disappearing,
You can't be these thoughts.
You are the one aware.
So find that which is aware.
So now let's make this practical.
Step one is stop identifying with thoughts and emotions.
Whenever any thoughts appear,
Any emotions appear,
Any feelings,
Stop saying that I am feeling this.
I am thinking this.
In day-to-day language,
You can say that,
But within you,
You should question that.
Am I thinking or the mind is thinking?
When you experience any,
Let's say,
Stomach pain,
Or suppose your leg is hurting,
You do it very easily that,
Okay,
My leg is feeling pain,
My stomach is aching.
But as soon as it comes to the mind,
You say,
I am that.
When your mind is sad,
You say,
I am sad.
When your mind is anxious,
You say,
I am anxious.
Mind is feeling depressed,
You say,
I am depressed.
Today,
Why is it important?
Because if you identify with the mind,
Then it will become difficult to take the stuck back and be as awareness.
Because whatever emotions or thoughts you are experiencing,
You are identified with that.
So how can you expect to come out of it?
You are saying,
I am it.
But that's factually incorrect.
You can't be those thoughts.
You can't be those experiences.
You are the one experiencing it.
So why put it as a label on you?
Why to say,
I am sad?
No,
You're not sad.
Mind is feeling sad.
Okay,
So what?
You can shift your attention to something else.
You will forget about that sadness.
You'll receive a call from your friend.
You'll forget about what you were sad about.
Most of your suffering comes because you believe you are your thoughts and feelings.
A thought arises,
A thought arises,
A thought arises,
A thought arises,
A thought arises,
I am a failure.
If you believe it,
You will feel pain.
If you see it as just a passing cloud,
It has no power.
Okay,
A thought came.
So what?
Why do you have to feed it?
Why do you have to take it so seriously?
This too shall pass.
It can't stay for long.
So whenever a thought comes,
Silently say in your head,
This is just a thought.
Do the same with emotions,
Feelings.
Recognize them as temporary appearances,
Not who you are.
You are the one aware of these changes.
You are not the change itself.
Now,
The second step is noticing the awareness itself.
Once you stop clinging to thoughts,
You begin to sense the background in which they arise.
For example,
Close your eyes now.
Suppose a thought comes.
I need to reply to that message.
Instead of following it,
Notice the silence that was there before and after the thought.
That silence is awareness.
Notice the gap between two thoughts.
And it's very easy to notice because no thought is continuous.
It never happens.
The easiest way to break your mental pattern,
If suppose you are occupied with the thoughts and you want to shift your attention away from it,
Immediately start noticing your breath.
The shift is from being lost in objects of experience to recognizing the space of experience.
The empty space in which all these objects appear and disappear.
Like,
For example,
You can look around your room and imagine how would it be,
How the empty space would be when all the objects disappear.
Now imagine the walls also disappear.
So awareness is like that space.
It's not empty in that sense.
You may say it is nothing because it's not an object,
But it's a no-thing.
Without awareness,
None of these objects would be there.
They can't be experienced.
Without awareness,
Thoughts can't be experienced,
Your body can't be experienced,
Your world can't be experienced.
So in a way,
Awareness is the source of all experiences.
And because it is source,
The same awareness is also called God's presence.
God's presence,
God consciousness,
God's awareness.
That's why realizing the self and God realization are the same.
Now the third step is live as awareness in action.
So awareness is not just for meditation.
It is something that you must express in your daily life.
For example,
During conversations,
Instead of reacting automatically,
Pause and listen with presence.
What is presence?
Presence is the sense of I am,
The presence of yourself,
Your authentic true self.
The presence which is pure self here,
Which remains untouched by the circumstances of the world,
The thoughts of the mind.
Pure presence.
That's why the word pure is used.
Because nothing affects that.
Mind may get disturbed,
Mind may get sad or happy or it keeps on changing its mood.
But there is a presence behind it.
So you can use the word awareness,
Consciousness,
Presence,
Whatever connects with you.
It doesn't matter,
We are referring to the same thing.
Same no thing.
So during conversations,
When you are hearing someone,
Instead of doing mental commentary on it,
Try to hear with honesty,
With truth.
With presence.
Pause and listen.
At work,
Instead of rushing to finish tasks,
Feel the body.
Notice the breath.
And act with clarity.
Ask yourself,
What is the situation in this moment?
This is the room.
This is the body.
This is how it is feeling.
These are the body sensations.
This is how the mind is.
Whatever the state of mind at that time is.
Just notice it.
We are not trying to change anything.
This itself is a very powerful method.
And it's called witnessing.
Sakshi Bhav in Sanskrit.
That was described in Bhagavad Gita also by Shri Krishna.
Stay in the Sakshi Bhav,
The Sambhav.
Which means,
Whatever is happening in this moment,
Just witness it.
No need to judge it.
No need to comment on whether it is good or bad.
Just witness what is going on.
This pause,
In which you just notice it,
You are one with awareness.
You notice what is happening around you,
What is happening in the body,
What is happening in the mind.
What kind of thoughts are appearing and disappearing.
You are not resisting it.
You are not encouraging it.
You are not trying to stop it.
It's like a passing cloud.
It comes and goes.
As soon as you witness,
You have taken a step back from the mind.
You are no longer identified with the mind.
Why?
Because you created a split there.
You started witnessing your mind.
You started witnessing your thoughts.
To witness anything,
It has to be something other than you.
You can't experience yourself.
Just like your eyes right now can see all the objects,
It cannot see the eye itself.
Yes,
You can see.
You can use a mirror.
But again,
What you are seeing is a reflection,
Not the actual eye.
So,
If you are witnessing the thoughts,
You have taken a step back.
Unconsciously or consciously,
You have created a distance.
Now,
What happens is,
Sometimes,
Suppose you are using sunglasses.
Suppose it's red-colored sunglasses.
If you will look through that lens,
Everything will seem red.
Even if you will look at a white object,
It will look red.
If you get too identified with it,
It may appear to you that everything is red.
As soon as you let go of it,
You will see the real picture.
When you see through the lens of the mind,
The world may seem as a very sad place.
It may seem that everything is unfair.
But as soon as you take a step back,
Because awareness is not commenting.
It's not judging.
It's not comparing or complaining.
Mind does all that.
When you are not identified with that,
Then there is an opportunity to let go of these conditionings.
Because it's not required It ruins the moment.
Instead of accepting the moment the way it is,
Which will result in a sense of peace,
Fulfillment,
Satisfaction,
Bliss.
Naturally,
You are not disturbing that your natural state with these unnecessary comparisons and judgments and opinions.
So it's natural that you will feel peaceful.
So far in your life,
Whenever you have felt happy,
That's what you consciously or unconsciously did.
You just didn't let that moment be ruined by your mind's judgments,
Comments.
You accepted the moment the way it was and you felt happy because it was natural.
It didn't come from outside.
It didn't come from those experiences because there might be other people who are experiencing the same thing.
They might not have felt the same level of happiness like you did.
Because maybe their mind was busy judging it,
Comparing it.
But you were not.
You accepted the moment the way it was and it felt happy.
The happiness came from within you because that's your natural state.
It's just that unconsciously maybe you created a window in which you didn't allow the mind to disturb that moment.
Disturb the bliss of that moment.
And that's why you felt happy.
Now you're learning how to stay in it consciously.
It's not something you create.
It's not something you have to learn how to do because you are that.
It's your natural state.
Stop identifying with the mind.
Stop identifying with the thoughts and unnecessary comparisons and comments.
And it doesn't mean that you have to resist the mind itself.
No.
Because mind itself is not tangible.
Years are passing.
Thoughts like smoke in the air disappears.
Appears and disappears.
Let's do this experiment now.
While I am speaking just hear these words.
Just perceive them as sounds without trying to understand it.
And notice that I have started speaking very slowly.
Just stay as the experiencer of these sounds.
Not trying to understand it.
Not trying to comment on it.
Notice the silence between these sounds and just stay aware which is experiencing these sounds.
You can notice that here this there is only this awareness.
Content of that experience is awareness is the reason you experience anything.
Resisting the experience you are allowing it the way it is and instantly you will feel peaceful because that's your nature.
It's your natural state.
To be aware notice that there is no effort required to be aware because you are aware all the time.
You cannot be not aware.
Yes,
Mind may try to intervene and bring some thoughts some questions some doubts but you can see through that no need to resist those thoughts.
How long can it be there?
Notice the background of these sounds sometimes thoughts Notice this silent background this space these experiences of sounds,
Thoughts body sensations moving and disappearing appearing and disappearing The space doesn't get disturbed by the movement of these experiences It's always still silent just like on a movie screen different scenes are projected Lots of movement happens in the scenes but the screen remains untouched Even if there is fire it doesn't touch the screen it doesn't burn the screen Even if there is a storm it doesn't touch or has any impact on the screen Water cannot make it wet Similarly,
This awareness always remains untouched by whatever scene is being played in front of you whatever content experience appear and disappear You are always this awareness untouched by the whole drama the play of Maya the illusions on the screen So to be as awareness you don't have to wait for a particular time slot in your day 15 minutes,
30 minutes You can be aware all the time Yes,
Initially you may have to practice bringing your attention to this empty space which is always here behind all the scenes all the experiences but gradually you will see that at any moment throughout your day you can ask what am I aware of right now what is happening around me at the level of body at the level of mind you can be aware So at first it may appear as if you are separating yourself from all these objects experiences the experience of the world the experience of the body the experience of the mind and yes initially you may say I am not this I am not that the ancient Vedic practice of Neti Neti I am neither this nor that but if you stay with it a deeper truth opens you can say it's the next stage in which you notice that even the sense of I and world are part of one awareness consciousness itself creates the illusion of two so that it can experience itself and it may lead to the final realization that reality is literally non-dual beyond subject and object beyond time and space the world you see the body you experience the mind's activities are not separate from the awareness or the consciousness there is no division between subject and object it appears to be so so initially yes we can start with the Neti Neti recognition taking a step back noticing I am awareness and thoughts are the objects body sensation is the object the world is the object but gradually it may lead to this realization that it's all one the mind would definitely try to resist it because that's what continues this Maya this illusion and that is natural and there is nothing wrong with that you can enjoy that process wherein mind may create this sense of separate self,
Ego because ego fears this surrender it wants control your mind may feel trapped in a job or a relationship the ego says if I let go,
I'll be lost what if life doesn't support me but this resistance is the true suffering the moment you let go life begins to support you in ways you didn't expect so how to live as awareness in daily life awareness must be lived in ordinary moments for example when you're walking or driving be fully with the experience of walking or driving or whatever you're doing not lost in thoughts anyhow it's not a good idea to get lost in thoughts when you're driving if any sudden change happens in the road you would not even notice it immediately so being aware of what's happening in the moment brings your attention to the now when you're eating tastefully be with every bite without any other distraction like phone or anything just be there with that experience stay aware stay in the now if any conflict arises with any person or any situation pause notice awareness and respond with love when awareness is expressed in your daily activities naturally it is expressed in the form of creativity clarity and joy and the best way to keep coming back to the state of awareness is by following your inner compass of of joy passion or excitement whatever raises your frequency you can say to a more joyful state keep choosing those experiences why it helps is the world you see around is a reflection it's like a mirror reflection of what's within you when your mind is sad the whole world around you seems sad boring and uninteresting when you feel depressed you see sorrow everywhere it's like when you stand in front of the mirror don't expect the mirror reflection of you should smile first before you when you would smile your mirror image it will show that it will reflect on you if you will say that I will only feel good once the mirror reflection will look happy and smiley then only I will smile and feel happy then it's an endless pursuit because that would never happen similarly if your mind expects that the experiences the world should be happy there should be circumstances when I will be happy it doesn't happen that way when you decide to be in a joyful state the world will reflect that to you it's not the other way round the world reflects your inner state so consciously try to remain in that state awareness peacefulness blissfulness and the world around you will reflect that in unexpected ways yes bad experiences may still happen challenges may come but suffering is optional you may have seen many people even if situation is not convenient they still choose to be happy so it's a choice which you have to take every moment whatever you choose it's okay nature will fully support you if you believe that you have to work hard then you will deserve to be happy then you will be supported in that belief because your beliefs are the lens through which you see or experience the world whatever your beliefs are that's what becomes your reality so find ways to remain in a higher state of joy whatever activities you do throughout the day if you have 4-5 options available in a given moment choose those each moment which give you a little bit of more joy than the other options and gradually you will see that it will have a snowball effect when you roll down a small ball of snow in a snowy hill while coming down it becomes bigger and bigger same happens with being in awareness and following your joy so when more and more individuals decide to live a life guided by awareness and consciousness untouched by the fluctuations of happiness and sorrow seeing them as passing clouds when more individuals start living like that then it has a ripple effect it expands it starts shaping the society like that then the greed fades because you already feel whole why would you feel greedy about anything violence fades because you see yourself in others mutual cooperation replaces competition because love flows naturally if we start teaching to be aware to our children because no one is teaching how to live a happy life to small children they are being conditioned for being competitive and chasing one milestone after another what kind of training are we giving to them because it has never happened in anyone's life that whatever they desired or whatever their preference was or their dream life was life would never happen exactly the same way there will always be challenges but we are not teaching our children how to face those challenges a small disruption shatters them I speak to many teenage children who start feeling that life is meaningless,
Worthless why to live convince me why to live because they seek validation from the society from their friends they want to be likeable but if we really teach them from the beginning that you are what you are you don't need approval you don't need validation from others around you you are a unique expression of this universe there is no one like you there will never be anyone exactly like you so feel comfortable in what you are choose your life based on what connects with you not what society expects from you it will be a beautiful society it is happening gradually if we really understand the value of this then we can consciously contribute to this era of awakening because many people are about to wake up so you can also play a role in it starting from your children or people around you but before that starting from you what you should do daily is spend five minutes at least really noticing witnessing your breath not judging it not trying to amend it just witness how it is happening ask yourself who am I?
What am I?
Not for an answer but to rest in awareness as awareness because you should not expect that mind will be able to give you an answer because answer is beyond mind before the mind and you are the answer you are the awareness when you wake up you can make a resolution that today I will live as awareness I will let the body and mind do its duties whatever is needed in the day but I will witness what my mind is doing what my body is doing what the world is doing without judging it without trying to make any opinion out of it just naturally being aware treat it as a play enjoy it not as a task not as an activity otherwise mind will resist it awareness is already here and now you only have to recognize it so no need to feel that you have to improve you have to practice more and then something will happen you are already that who will practice all practices are for the mind awareness doesn't need any practice awareness is all that is and it's impersonal it's not an individual it has no shape it has no size because it has no shape no size it is infinite it is same and common for all beings not only on this planet but if there are life forms in other planets or other realms same awareness because it has no form it allows the forms to appear and disappear within its field it doesn't need any form and you are that that's the real meaning of Shivoham I am that Tattvamasi so regardless of which form of meditation,
Spirituality practices you follow,
Ultimately you will reach the same point the same realization I am that because truth has no other version there is only one truth so be as you are live as awareness before we end this session let's sit quietly together drop all efforts drop all seeking just notice you even if mind thinks otherwise,
You cannot change this fact you cannot not be aware thoughts may come let them pass no need to resist no need to feed them sensations may arise remain as the silent awareness in which everything appears this awareness is home this is happiness itself this is Ananda Satchidananda live from here and every moment become sacred there is nothing more sacred than the awareness
