Let's do a self-exploration meditation on Shraddha is neither faith nor belief.
Let the waker close the eyes and relax.
Take a step beyond and be the witness of the waker.
Standing as the witness,
Evaluate the strength of your witnessing.
If you are able to discriminate between the waker and the witness,
Viveka has developed.
If you can resist the temptation to slip back into the waker's body-mind illusion,
Vairagya has developed.
If the witness does not even have to make an effort to resist,
But is naturally still and steady at a distance,
Then shama has developed.
If the witness does not get carried away by the knowledge waves of sight,
Sound,
Smell,
Taste or touch,
Then dhamma has developed.
If the witness has toughened to the extent that there is absolute non-reaction to all knowledge waves,
Then titiksha has developed.
If the witness has become completely withdrawn from the waking world temptations,
Like a tortoise that recoils itself within its shell,
Then uparate has developed.
If the eye collapses easily,
Strengthening its conviction in the nature of its true self,
The pure consciousness,
Then shraddha has blossomed.
Has shraddha blossomed yet?
Do you have the conviction in being the pure consciousness yet?
Do you see that attaining the conviction in the self is a personal,
Intricate,
Inward-turned happening?
Do you realise that to get to shraddha,
Everything external needed to be renounced?
Do you see that shraddha or conviction has got nothing to do with an external deity?
Shraddha or conviction has nothing to do with an external guru?
Shraddha or conviction has nothing to do with an external waking world belief?
Shraddha or conviction has nothing to do with anything that influences from the waking world,
Including these words of the so-called spiritual mentor.
Is it clear that shraddha or conviction in the nature of your true self cannot be attained without the collapse of the I-thought?
Is it clear that the collapse of the I cannot be attained without withdrawing from the waking world?
Is it clear that the withdrawal from the world cannot be attained without the development of the skill of non-reaction to the world?
Is it clear that the skill of non-reaction cannot be developed without the mastery over the senses?
Is it clear that the mastery over the senses cannot be developed without the stillness and steadiness of the witness?
Is it clear that the steadiness of the witness cannot be attained without the development of dispassion?
Is it clear that dispassion cannot be developed without developing the proper skill of discernment?
Only the self-realisation of being pure consciousness itself can bring about shraddha or conviction.
Shraddha or conviction is not something that can be believed.
It is not something in which you can have faith because someone in authority says so.
It is not even trust in something unknown.
Shraddha or conviction is simply direct seeing of the supreme truth.
Has conviction blossomed in you yet?
Are you able to see that you got there without an external God,
Guru or a spiritual mentor?
Do you see that a God,
A Guru or a spiritual mentor are limited to the waking world illusion while you lie beyond the waking?
Do you see that an attachment to God,
Guru or a spiritual mentor can hinder your viveka?
Have you been able to rise beyond this attachment?
Become spiritually independent.
Look within.
Find the shraddha in your own true self.
Apply viveka.
Discern between the waking illusion and the reality of pure consciousness.
Be dispassionate to the illusion.
Allow vairagya.
Become steady as the witness.
Strengthen your shama.
Don't get lured by false promises of sight,
Sound,
Smell,
Taste,
Touch.
Strengthen your dhamma.
Become spiritually tough.
Allow titiksha to develop.
Knowing that you can never ever enjoy the waking or the dream worlds or the absence of these worlds in deep sleep,
Withdraw from these temptations.
Allow uparati to blossom.
The inner withdrawal will easily collapse the I and reveal the true nature of your own self.
Make room for shraddha.
Turn inwards.
Turn inwards.
Become spiritually independent.
Shraddha or conviction is the direct seeing of your own true nature.
Shraddha is not a belief,
Not faith.
See.
Don't believe.
See.
Don't have faith.
See.
Don't get conditioned.
Only direct seeing will take you home.
Thank you.
