Letting go the Frame and Framework

Letting go the Frame and Framework

In learning any concept that we do not know we try to search and choose that which we like or is recommended based upon someone's perception. Whatever the concept we choose based upon our likeness or based on someone's recommendation, we explore it and then try to spend some time in understanding it and probably practice the methodology given by the concept.

Any concept that is given by someone might have also created a framework to understand the concept. In the process of understanding the concept, we end up mostly sticking to the framework and start worshipping the frame that is the individual who has given the concept. In our ideology of worshipping the framework and the frame we rarely arrive at a realization that there will be something beyond the concept, the framework that has been introduced by the individual and beyond the individual or the frame also.

This is the time and space that we create ourselves where the concept, framework and the frame become boundaries, limit our understanding and restrict ourselves to stick within those boundaries. This is the risk and the danger that one has to understand and prepare oneself to let go the concept, framework and the frame. The analogy that can be used over here to understand is like we all chose a vehicle to travel from one place to another - may be a bicycle, a car or an aeroplane. But once we have travelled the said distance we let go those vehicles at someplace or the other and travel by foot all alone.

Similarly, we have to let go the concept, the framework and the frame, once we comprehend the concept and then make an every attempt to understand something beyond the concept, framework and the frame. 

This is what an every seeker need to understand and realize that on the spiritual path, the framework in terms of techniques that are introduced or provided by one's Guru are to regularize the wandering mind and once mind is regularized the seeker has to let go the framework of technique and go beyond the technique, the mind and the concept itself.

Most of the seekers' try to give importance to the techniques or the framework itself and then get stuck with them. The seeker need to understand and realize that the techniques are only to regularize the mind and once the techniques are mastered or practiced, he/she has to let go, move beyond the techniques, beyond the mind and beyond every concept.

This is what an every individual need to understand and realize this. The framework in terms of methodologies that are introduced are only to guide the individual to a certain concept and the individual has to let go the framework and go beyond it to arrive at a 360 degree perspective. Most individuals give importance to the framework itself and then get stuck with them. Once a concept is mastered they have to let go, and move beyond the concept, framework and the frame. .

Why every framework creates boundaries?

The people who follow certain framework will create their thought process in the beginning in such a way so that they want to stick to that framework, and slowly convert this thought process into a belief system. Once their thought process gets converted into a belief system, they like to stick to their belief system and would easily get irritated when they are challenged on their belief system. Sometimes, the individuals will not hesitate to fight or even kill on the extremes just in protecting their belief systems. This is the main reason that every individual has to be told before itself about the limitations of a framework and to what extent they need to stick to it and when to leave it also. Otherwise, every framework gets converted into a belief system over a period of time and will make the individual narrow minded, prejudiced and judgmental. It is like the metaphor "finger pointing to the moon." Over a period of time people will see the finger and worship the finger and forget completely about the moon. In this metaphor, the truth is the moon while the finger is only a pointer or a framework that is pointing to the moon or directing towards the truth.

This keeps happening so much in our day-to-day professional or personal lives. We create so many frameworks and stick to them. In organizations, innovation gets stuck completely because of attachment to the frameworks or the belief systems people have created over a period of time following those frameworks. 

CONCLUSION

Every innovator breaks frameworks, thinks completely out of the box, after knowing very well what is in the box and brings in a change or sometimes a revolution itself. Let the innovator or the seeker of truth in all of us realize this and break the boundaries that have been created by the framework - let go the framework, let go the frame and let go the concept.

Let the seeker in all of us realize this and break the boundaries that have been created by the framework - let go the framework, let go the frame and let go the concept. By doing so let us travel and enter into that realm of Nothingness that is beyond and is in everything. The seeker does not become the sought. Once the seeker dies the seeker realizes that the seeker was always the sought itself. The seeker is stopping himself/herself from this realization because of the thought process that the seeker and the sought are different. As part of this thought process the seeker keeps worshipping the sought in a frame and focusses more on the process or the framework that is provided to actually let go the process. The process is given to let go the process once the process is completed. The process gets completed the moment the seeker dies. The seeker dies the moment seeking stops. We have to become a seeker not to seek or sought something else, but to realize that the seeker is the sought itself.

Creating a Sacred Space

Creating a Sacred Space

The importance of creating a sacred space for mindfulness practices.

To carry out any activity we create a conducive space where all essential articles, objects or the required furniture, and equipment and tools are made available and the space is ensured that it is not cluttered and there is a free and appropriate flow of all the required five elements of nature - ether, air, fire/light, water/humidity and earth.

For example for cooking we need a kitchen where, water taps for washing, cleaning are available. stove, oven, food processor, cutlery, tumblers, utensils and other objects are available and are kept handy. Otherwise we get stressed out while cooking and might as well spoil the food. 

To sleep well we design our bedroom with comfortable bed, mattress and set the bedroom at right temperature.

Similarly we need to design a space that is quite conducive - which enables and enhances our formal mindfulness or meditative practices. As the practice involves with mind the space should be free from any unwanted objects and kept as much empty as possible. The space can also be made in such a way where we might keep objects of inspiration, may be a small statue, photographs of a Guru or an awakened/enlightened soul, a lamp or a candle, some very soft incense and may be some flowers. Dimensionally speaking about it, it can be anywhere from a minimum of 4ft x 4ft to any measurement on the higher side.

A good chair or cushion and props for sitting still for a longer duration of time would enable our practices and enhance them.

We use mainly three tools for our mindfulness practices apart from the cushions.

First one is the mind, second one is our body and third one is the breath that flows through our body.

Our bodies create certain memory based upon its environment - the objects, the floor and the surroundings it comes in contact with. Considering this aspect, we also need to have a dedicated space, personalized cushions, seating arrangements and mostly empty space in the area that we use for our practices.

When we enter this sacred space for meditation or mindfulness practices, it is very important that we set our intentions for how long we practice and ensure that we let go all thoughts, etc., for such a duration. In Sanskrit this is called as sankalpa सङ्कल्प. When we have the sacred space, the setting of intention becomes easy and over a period of time it also becomes a habit as it gets registered deep in the psyche and we automatically try to focus more on the practice rather than on something else.

It is very important that we anchor our mind onto our breath during mindfulness practices for it is very challenging to still the wandering mind. A sacred space also makes it easy for stilling the mind. One can use different breathing techniques initially to anchor the mind and then follow the natural flow of breath and probably go beyond breath.

Try making your own sacred space and reap the benefits that it adds to your mindfulness or meditation practices.

Reflections - 1

Reflections - 1

Mindfulness practices provides us a platform or a framework to use our faculties of thought, imagination, visualization, emotions, feelings, our wants, desires etc., to enhance our focus, make ourselves more agile, and help us in deepening our convictions of Truth. They also enable us to have those bold conversations with our heart which we might be avoiding because of some kind of guilt or a non-acceptance.

Compassionate and empathetic communication is of prime importance in nurturing and enhancing any relationship. For any relationship to be enhanced we need to build it on strong foundations of trust, open-hearted, and non-judgmental conversations. 

Mindfulness practices especially that are involved in stillness, unintimidated observation and self-reflection will make to see our life, the way we lead it and the path on which we are travelling like an image in a mirror and provide us the courage and strength to course correct and travel boldly the path of Truth.

Life’s 9 Key Questions

 Life’s 9 Key Questions

1. What is the purpose of life in general?
2. What is the purpose of my life in particular?
3. What is that I want to do to fulfil my purpose of life?
4. What are the various ways of fulfilling this purpose and which of them should I be adapting? and are these ways in symphony or asynchronous with external environment?
5. In any of my conversations with others, how am I behaving? Is it that I am trying to explore, be open and learn or contribute? Or is it that I feel superior and try to teach them or feel inferior and succumb to them?
6. In spending time with others, am I really spending time with others or am I ruminating about my own life and trying to show either my supremacy by sharing my success stories or my failures and expecting either praise, sympathy or empathy?
7. In whatever activity I perform am I doing it for its fulfilment or expecting a validation from others or the external world?
8. Can I live The Life with my True Self or am I trying to live life in search of finding myself in others for fulfilment? Am I living life Consciously or numbed?
9. What is that Truly I want from my life and The Life itself? 

The Call of the Wild!

The Call of the Wild!

Deep from within it speaks,
Every time without fail,
Heard or unheard,
To the braves' and the meeks',
Liseneth art those,
With patience and courage,
To the call of the wild!

Untamed and uncut,
Rough and tough,
Every nook and corner,
Knows thou it,
Merciless, brutal, 
Yet kind and compassionate,
Speaketh thou art,
The call of the wild!

Stripped off all identities,
Kicked out from every boundary,
Thrown apart from every entanglement,
Severed from everything,
Alone, in the dazzling darkness,
Cold, shivered, dazzled,
Beyond every amazement,
Cutting through every thought,
Beyond every humanly possible thought,
Silently heard,
The call of the wild!

Heareth only by the Listeneth,
Perceiveth only by the Unperceivable,
Beyond the inner Aurora Borealis,
Unperturbed, stilled, silent beyond the silence,
Still beyond the stillness,
Vibrationless, motionless,
Yet communicating
Through every birth and death,
Through the life eternal, and
Through the eternal Nothingness,
The call of the wild!

 

Falling into Silence!

Falling into Silence! 

On a Sunday afternoon,
As the gentle and strong sun's rays,
piercing through the passion flower vine,
Along with the buzz of bumble bee,
It entered gently and fiercely,
Emptied everything -
Silence, thou art conquered!

From the motion of thoughts,
From the movements of body,
From the movements of
plants and vines around,
It has thrown asunder everything -
Silence, thou art conquered!

What existed, no longer existed,
What did not seem to exist,
Everlastingly existed,
Unheard, unwarned,
It has catapulted everything -
Silence, thou art conquered!

From the realms of identities,
From the realms of meingness,
into the realms of beingness,
into the realms of Nothingness,
Unquestioned, unanswered,
Not caring for the world,
Caring only to Eternity,
It entered softly, gently,
Unrecognized by any - 
Silence, thou art conquered!

Mode

 Mode

In which mode am I now?

The Journey

The Journey

From Form to Formless - aakaara to niraakaara

From Sound to Silence

From Samskaras to Nishkriya, Nishkarma

From Shabda to Nishabda

From Nishabda to Shunya

Nothingness

Nothingness

What is Nothingness?

It is an ever existence of non-existent.

In the morning hours of October 9, 2021, while I was trying to set a vine of the passion flower in my terrace garden, I saw a bee flying and trying to stay still on a wall like surface to build probably something. Suddenly, a thought came - where is it flying?

And the answer is: It is flying in the air. 

But it is still - only its wings are fluttering speedily.

Then the next question came up. 

It is flying in the air and does it stay there permanently? 

No.

It is flying, it is still and at the same time it cannot exist there permanently. 

But is it really flying? What is that which is showing me that it is flying and staying still even though the wings are fluttering? 

It is actually flying in the empty space, where the air is also flying (moving) along with everything.

Is it not that everything is flying in empty space? 

This question has thrown me off guard and pushed me effortlessly into that empty space. 

Yes, everything is flying in this universe. The planets, asteroids, suns, stars, all astronomical bodies, billions of galaxies - everything is just flying and they all are flying in an empty space. 

Then it clearly means - all that is flying is actually supported by this empty space. And, anything that is flying can fly, and exist only for a little while - could be flash of a second or a trillion years. Still, the existence of everything that we see, perceive or the one which don't see or cannot perceive - everything exists only temporarily. It is like in the movie house of Cosmos, a universal movie is being projected, with all the characters of suns, stars, asteroids, comets, planets, stellar bodies, bacteria, animals, human beings, etc., etc., in myriad forms and without forms on the empty screen of eternal Nothingness.

All of these exist temporarily in an "ever existing of the non-existent" and that non-existent is "The Eternal Nothingness."

Every seeker, every aspirant, everything in the Cosmos is making an attempt to let go its existence of identity and get merged into that ever existing non-existent - The Eternal Nothingness.

Let that Grace, grace its eternal presence on everyone and everything to realize and merge into the ever existing non-existent - The Eternal Nothingness.

Significance of Jai Guru!

Significance of Jai Guru!

What does the words "Jai Guru" mean? 

What is the significance of these two words?

Whenever we utter "Jai Guru" - it means victory to Guru. 

When does Guru attain Victory? 

The individual who has attained self-realization has already attained victory in terms of the purpose of life. That individual has fulfilled the purpose of birth. What else will give that individual more victory? 

An individual after attaining self-realization and who is being always in the state of "Oneness with the Eternal Nothingness" would or may like to help other individuals to attain the same state as that of that individual's state. Then such an individual who is always in the state of "Oneness with the Eternal Nothingness" is called as Sadhguru, descends into a realm of those individuals who are not in the state of "Oneness with the Eternal Nothingness" and helps them to realize that state. 

Those individuals who are not in a state of Oneness with the Eternal Nothingness - can be called as shishyas or aspirants, and when they attain the state of "Oneness with the Eternal Nothingness," then it becomes a victory to the Guru. Thus "JAI GURU" means that an individual who is a shishya (शिष्य) has made or making an attempt to enter or realize the state of "Oneness with the Eternal Nothingness."

Is "Oneness with the Eternal Nothingness" a state means - no. It is a state beyond all the states. It is an ever existent non existential, non-state. It is such a non-existential state that it is beyond all existences and identifications. It is a state of beyond the states of Guru (गुरु) and shishya (शिष्य). The identifications generally an individual goes through are:

1. Wakeful state (Jagrat जाग्रत)
2. Dream state (Svapna स्वप्न)
3. Deep sleep - Sushupti (सुषुप्ति)
4. Turiya - Beyond sleep (तुरीय)
5. Samadhi - Conscious Turiya state (समाधि)

The state of "Oneness with the Eternal Nothingness" is beyond all the above states and is beyond any other definable state.

What is required on the path?

What is required on the path?

What is required on the path?

Is it the dry intellectualism? or
Is it the debatable skills,
 to win over others perspectives? or
Is it the dogmatic arguing conversation,
that offends and win over others? or
Is it the iconoclastic attitude,
that challenges all belief systems?

What is it, that is required on the path?

Every thought of ours makes us a prisoner.
Every thought enhances arrogance that resists Truth.

Do we believe in power of men's lies? Or
Do we believe in the Truth overpowering men's lies?

Every communication based on rationality,
Every rationality based on mockery and rebuke of Truth.
Every humane aspect corrupted by greed and desire.
Every action based on impulse and compulsion,
Demonstrating the beastly nature of man.

Man's mind fallen, rotten, rutted with ignorance,
Needs drastic reform, renew, change,
with compassionate parlance.
To think from the creation to the revelation,
To ignite the fire within, to set ablaze the light within,
To see the realms beyond the physical and subtle,
To enter the realm of Spirit,
A warm devotion set on fire by the Truth.
A humble surrender, to let go everything,
every thought, and every identity,
To melt and merge into the eternal Nothingness.

Am I Spiritual?

 Am I spiritual?

One day I was having a conversation with one of my colleagues and she said about herself that she is spiritual during the conversation. Our conversation went for almost an hour and I was asking her various questions about her life and the way she lives. After one hour of conversation, I could understand that she spends most of her time in other aspects of life rather than being spiritual.

Me being in my egoistic mentality wanted to challenge her on how she is spiritual while she spent 99% of the time in non-spiritual activities and identities. Before uttering any word, I wanted to self-reflect and stop being judgmental. Who am I to judge someone? Isn’t that the Jesus’s timeless maxim says: “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged.” I kept my mouth shut.

The question “am I spiritual?” was lingering around and was prodding within my psyche. I started self-reflecting. The way we use the words – how much do we really meant by them? I wanted to evaluate and analyze on how much time I spend on each activity, and how I really pass my 24 hours of a day.

I pulled up an excel sheet and started indicating the time that I have spent on each activity and took about a graphical display. To my surprise, I found that I am more of a materialistic person rather than a spiritual person.

Finally, I realized that, I hardly spent 1% of my daily time in being truly spiritual. It is high time that:

1. A course correction is required in my personal life. 
2. I take a U-turn to look within and turn my self-reflection to the Reflection of the Self.

On a Rainy Evening!

 On a Rainy Evening!

Seeing Thee within,
Seeing Thee out...
in every tiny droplet of rain,
Thy stillness spreading,
with every ripple,
moving along the wave,
revealing Thine eternal presence.

What can I say?
Thy love, Thy beauty,
Spread across the vastness of Cosmos,
Revealing to the eye that can see,
the mind that can comprehend,
the heart that can feel,
the soul that can merge,
In Thy vastness to become,
Thine eternal Nothingness.

I found Thy Presence

I found Thy Presence

In the mystic aureole of Thy darkness,

I found Thine Eternal Brightness.

In the secret realms of vastness,

I found Thine Oneness.

In the myriad forms of Thy diversity,

I found Thine Universality.

In the innumerable scenes of imperfection,

I found the presence of Thy perfection.

In the unlimited hues of light,

I found Thy sight.

In the unimaginable life's absence,

I found Thy presence.

In the silent breaths of air,

I heard Thy voice of Om snare.

In the unfathomable depths of silence,

I heard Thy whispers.

With all Thy Grace of effortlessness,
I could become Thine Eternal Nothingness.

Defining Yourself

Defining Yourself

Your body may define your mind,

but not the Heart.

To change your body,

change your mind.

To change yourself, and the world,

change your Heart.

Moving forward - to define yourself,

use your Heart rather than your mind.

Facing Tough Times

Facing Tough Times

Tough times may make us to think,

the wrong things we might have done, and brood.

However, it is also an opportunity,

to redefine and refine our ways of living.

Treating tough times as an opportunity,

to grow and evolve is the wise way.

 

Inner Tendencies

Inner Tendencies

What are inner tendencies?

The inner tendencies are Mind (मनस्), Intellect (बुद्धि), Ahaṅkāra (अहङ्कार) and Chitta (चित्त).

What is Mind (मनस्)?

Mind (मनस्)  is a part of consciousness that is used to process the information gathered, acquired and archived by the senses and each cell of the body with the help of the intellect. 

What is Intellect (बुद्धि)?

Intellect (बुद्धि) is a tool which is also a part of the consciousness and is used to arrive at a decision based upon the processed information of the mind. 

Intellect can work at different levels of consciousness. In the conscious realm it works based upon the sensory perceptions and helps in cognizance of the those sensory perceptions.

In the subconscious realm it works based upon the strong impressions that are created by the sensory perceptions and the impact that they have created.

In the unconscious realm it lets the individual to know that there was a period of time or space where no sensory perception could be processed.

In the superconscious realm it makes the mind to recollect its Divine memory that it is a soul and the soul exists as a part of the consciousness, and there is an awareness which is aware of everything and the eternal Nothingness; and that awareness and the consciousness are all a part of the eternal Nothingness. 

What is Ahaṅkāra (अहङ्कार)?

Ahaṅkāra (अहङ्कार) is that portion of the consciousness which self identifies with the various processes of mind and creates an affiliation towards the phenomena of processing and the intellect.

What is Chitta (चित्त)?

Chitta (चित्त) is a part of the consciousness that is conscious of the impressions, that the mind creates and has created over a period of time, based upon the affiliation that the individual has created or developed, through that portion of the consciousness called as Ahaṅkāra (अहङ्कार). 

Why to understand the inner tendencies?

The "tendencies - karaṇa करण" lead to "cause - kāraṇa कारण", which in turn lead to consequences in the form of "actions - karma कर्म" and the "fruits of actions - karma phala कर्म फल" or the effect, which further leads to the "karmic cycle - karma chakra कर्म चक्र" as the affiliation towards "fruits of actions - karma phala कर्म फल" increases. And, as more and more we get entangled with the affiliation of our "fruits of actions", more and more we get entangled into the karmic cycle. Hence, the best thing to do is, to let go all the affiliations/attachments and go beyond the 4 inner tendencies to enter into the starting point of the realm of Trigunas and travel beyond them and step into the unmanifest or the avyakta by surrendering to the Maha Prakruti or Mahat Tattwa.

I am not

I am not! 

I am not that I am aware of.

Where my every awareness of everything ceases,
Where my awareness of my intellect also ceases,
Where I am stripped off naked, burnt, exhumed,
Of all my impressions and the I no longer exists,

There in that gentle, soft, supple presence of Nothingness,
Revelling silently to the unknown, lost, burnt, dead,
To let it know that there was, is and will ever be Nothing. 

My Marriage

My Marriage

Married the Man of Eternity,
To step into the creation of Nothingness,
Beaten, forgotten, exhausted,
lost into the wilderness of eternal void.

Strange indeed was everything,
Strange indeed is now and going to be.
Being a stranger roaming in the wilderness,
Knowing naught about any,
The Void bestowing its eternal Grace,
Transforming everything into Nothing,
To marry unto the Eternity.

In Between

In Between

Between the known and the unknown,
Between the light and the darkness,
Between the seen and the unseen,
Between the perception and the perceiver,

Between the creator and the creation,
Between the sustainer and the sustenance,
Between the dissolver and the dissolved,
Between the phenomenon and the noumenon,

Between the existent and the non-existent,
Between the reality and the absolute,

What is that which is existing in Between?

A Pause,
A Stillness,

A Silence.
A Nothingness.

The knower knowing naught,
The existent getting extinguished,
Losing into the oblivion,
Engulfed into the eternal void,
To non-exist in the eternal Nothingness

Breathless Silence

Breathless Silence

Witnessing keenly into Eternity.
Being stilled through all movements,
Entering the realm of Absolute,
Witnessed the Breathless Silence.

The wonderment and amazement,
Themselves getting awe struck,
At the inexpressible
Beauty of the Breathless Silence,
Lost into the wilderness of It.

The Sustainer and the sustenance,
Being inapparent,
Moving beyond the apparent,
And the laws of cause and effect,
Knowing naught,
Intellect disappearing,
Devoid of all impressions,
Consciousness merged into Nothingness.

Fragment of Stillness

 Fragment of Stillness

Yet, an other day...

Touching the fragment of Stillness

Could enter the realms of Silence,

Letting go willingly the mind chatter,

Could experience the sense,

Beyond the sensations;

Realizing that the Stillness and Silence,

Are ever present!

Seeing through the fragment of Stillness,
Perceiving the One behind the Silence,
Without and beyond the senses,
Eternal Grace embellishing through out,
Allowing the eternal Nothingness,
To reveal itself unto everyone and everything.

The attuned resonating
With the fragrance of Grace,
Transcended and transformed into Nothingness.

Dancing in Silence - Part 3

Dancing in Silence - Part 3

Restlessness surfaces up,
Obscuring the eternal presence of Stillness.

Noise surfaces up,
Obscuring the eternal presence of Silence. 

Stillness and Silence,

Are neither created nor destroyed.

By the movement of senses,

And the entanglement towards sensations,
Restlessness and noise are created.

The eternal presence of Stillness and Silence is acknowledged,
When the identification with senses and sensations disappears.

The seer, experiencer witnessing everything goes beyond,

Becomes one with the experience, becomes Nothing,

And disappeared into Nothingness.

Respecting the eternal presence of Stillness and Silence,

Entered the realm of Nothingness to become Nothing.

From that Nothingness, being Nothing,

Experiencing Thine Eternal Presence,
In Everything as Nothingness.

Dancing in Silence - Part 2

Dancing in Silence - Part 2

Standing on the terrace,
Silently watching the surroundings,
Dewdrops shining intermittently with fresh drizzle,
Leaves bathed moving fresh and naked,
Gently smiling along with the movement of breeze.

Turning around could see,
 the reflection of the sky on the floor,
in the fresh puddle of the drizzle,
Indicating the time for Self-reflection,
And, the stillness to enter.

Eyes closed - able to feel the soft,
gentle touch of the breeze,
able to sense the fresh smell of the rain,
emitting from the green plants,
and the soil around.
Intermittently hearing the chirping-
of birds returning to their nests,
Indicating me, it's time to turn within.

Breath getting regulated,
slowed down and went deep.
Silence showed its eternal presence,
In the stillness of the mind and beyond.
Everything so still and elegant,
Without any labels or identities.
Being part and parcel of the Eternal Cosmos,
Simultaneously part of the Eternal Empty Space.

Acknowledging the presence of Silence,
Percolating every nook and corner,
of the perceptions and sensations,
Within and without,
All realms disappearing,
Into the sacred empty space,
Nothing remained,
Nothingness only remained.

Vedānta

What is Vedānta (वेदान्त)?

The word vedānta comprises two words veda (वेद) = knowledge + anta (अन्त) end. 

Now let us try to understand it a bit deeper. If we are treating the word vedānta as a noun, than probably we might be wrong. If we consider is a verb, then it could be true to some extent, but it will not be completely true.

The meaning of the word vedānta can be considered broadly as the end of knowledge. What does this mean actually. Where the knowledge ends there the mind processing also ends. How it is? Knowledge exists as long as there is information that is received from the 5 senses is being processed continuously, and the processed information is utilized in creating a perspective. If we let go our perception, then what remains is something beyond the thought. The one that stays beyond the thought - is it ever existing or is it being created? When we question this, then the question and the questioner dissolves into the answer and becomes the answer. And, that is Vedānta.

Seeker's aspiration

Seeker's aspiration

Seeker aspiring for liberation,
Toiled incessantly,
 for the revelation of Divine comprehension.

Glimpses of aspirations getting realized,
Toiling's forgotten,
To enter the joyous celebration.

Celebration and glimpses of aspiration,
Enhanced the responsibility, and
Showed the path ahead yet to cover.

Paths envisioned,
Trotted toiled,
Perspiration reached its zenith,
Perceptions, identities lost into oblivion,
Surrendering happened all by itself,
The I in the seeker died, and
Lo the seeker's sought revealed.

The awareness has become aware of itself,
Nothingness revealing itself,
To share the joy with everyone,
everything and the whole Cosmos,
Tangible and intangible,
Sentient and insentient,
Form and formless,
Within and without.

Perceiver perceiving

Perceiver perceiving... Awareness aware

What is that hearing through the hearing of the ear?
What is that seeing through the seen of the eye?
What is that smelling through the smell of the nose?
What is that sensing through the sense of the skin?
What is that tasting through the tastes of the tongue?
What is that which is able to perceive all the perceptions of the senses?
What is that which is able to distinguish the perceptions?
What is that which is projecting the perceptions?
What is that which is aware of the perceptions?

Who is the perceiver behind all the perceptions?
Who is the one that is aware of all the perceptions?
What is that which is aware of the perceiver also?
What is that which is aware of the awareness itself?

.
.
.
To provide answer is futile,
As the provider of the answer,
is aware of itself.

.
.
.

The seeing behind the seen is the awareness that is seeing,
The hearing behind the heard is the awareness that is hearing,
The smelling behind the smelt is the awareness that is smelling,
The tasting behind the taste is the awareness that is tasting,
The senser behind the sense is the awareness that is sensing.
The perceiver behind the perception is the awareness that is perceiving

The seer behind the seen
The hearer behind the heard
The smeller behind the smelt
The taster behind the taste
The senser behind the sense
The perceiver behind every perception,
And beyond all the states of existence and nonexistence,
Is the One Awareness.
It is the awareness that is aware of the perceiver,
It is the awareness itself that is aware of the awareness,
and
It is Nothingness that is aware of the awareness itself.

Self-reflection

Self-reflection

Self-reflection is one of the most corrupt words and in terms of practice or instructions provided in many self-development or self-improvement books, the concept has been corrupted by the authors and most of the times the authors really do not know what even they are talking about. Self-aggrandizement has been depicted most of the time in the name of self-reflection. The western authors thought process is based upon consumption and hence the self-reflection concept has completely turned into self-aggrandizement. Not only the authors got confused with the term, they have more or less successfully confused the readers also. The authors from the east who got influenced by the corrupted concept of the western authors depiction, also turned astray.

Let us try to understand it deeper and in an actual manner. Let us look in terms of the Truth. Let us also understand the terms separately and together.

Primarily let us look at the word reflection. What does reflection mean? How does a reflection occur? If we can understand these questions and go deep into the physical and meta physical meaning and understanding of the answer that comes out of these questions, then we would be able to understand self-reflection. Otherwise what we understand is a shadow or a mask and walk into the understanding of self-aggrandizement rather than self-reflection.

For a reflection to happen, firstly there should be a light that is falling on a surface. Now if the light is a plain light, then what we see also is a reflection of the plain light. Let us consider an analogy of a movie being projected on an empty screen. In reality what we see or perceive in the form of a movie is a reflection of the light that is falling on the screen which is projected from the projector booth or the source of light. We see a hero, heroine, side characters, villain, comedian or any other character because of the light that is masked which is getting projected from the projector. Whenever we see the light and shadow of that of different characters, we also undergo different emotions. Out emotions are based upon the shadows and not based upon the light. We get attached to the movie because of the shadows that are in the light, which means we are in reality attached to the shadow which is created by the story teller or the director. The story is just a story and not the truth. The truth is the pure light rather than the shadow. It is the light which is true and not the shadow. Shadow is a corruption or thought process, or a taint built into the light to get us distracted from seeing the light. If we can understand this analogy, then we can understand self-reflection.

Whenever we are carrying out the exercise of self-reflection, what is that we are projecting as a shadow or as an information or a mask or a lens through which we are seeing? It is very important for us to realize what is the medium, mask or lens that we are using. Because, what we are going to see or perceive would be the reflection of that information only that we are projecting as a shadow and not any other light. 

Most of the time the self-reflection exercises or tools that are provided for these exercises are based upon goal setting. They advise you to self-reflect and ask you to check where you are today, and ask you where you would like to see yourself in future. They further advise you to perform the gap analysis and based upon the gap analysis, chalk out a methodology on how you are going to achieve all those goals. And, always the goals result in obtaining a degree from a reputed university, acquiring a posh bungalow or a 4 BBHK apartment in a posh locality, or acquire the latest gadgets, furniture, cars, social status, an annual vacation in a cruise, or a beach, etc.

All the above process is based upon the shadow of a comparison (e.g., 2BBHK vs. 4BBHK; vacation in a hill station vs. vacation on a cruise, spending time in lavish hotel vs. spending time in a jungle experiencing an adventure) which is information based, and through which when the individuals performs the exercise of self-reflection, they actually end up in self-aggrandizement rather than self-reflection. Instead, if none of the information is provided or used, then what is that, that really gets reflected in terms of the reflection? What is that, that really gets reflected if there is no shadow that is built into the light? Then the light itself completely gets reflected.

Thus whenever an individual performs the self-reflection exercise, the self has to get reflected rather than the external information or self-aggrandizement. 

To understand the self, one has to let go all the identities that of the body and the mind (all kinds of thoughts), then what remains will get reflected and from that reflection of true self one can understand what an individual in reality is and accordingly make the path to travel within.

Once an individual walks the path within and focuses on the reflection of the self, then that individual will understand that It is always that eternal Spirit rather than any other shadow or an information that is being projected on the screen of emptiness.

So, remember, next time whenever you carry out a self-reflection exercise, avoid using a shadow, a mask or a lens. Instead see only the light and through the light see your true Self on the screen of emptiness.

Guru is the one who shifts our perspective from that of the shadow to the light. Makes us to see the light, and through the light, see and merge into the eternal screen of emptiness.

"When thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light....Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness" (Luke 11:34-35).

From the Guru Gītā

gukāraścāṃdhakāro hi rukārasteja ucyate .

ajñānagrāsakaṃ brahma gurureva na saṃśayaḥ ..

gukāro bhavarogaḥ syāt rukārastannirodhakṛt ।

bhavarogaharatyācca gururityabhidhīyate ॥

gukāraśca guṇātīto rūpātīto rukārakaḥ ।

guṇarūpavihīnatvāt gururityabhidhīyate ॥

गुकारश्चांधकारो हि रुकारस्तेज उच्यते ।

अज्ञानग्रासकं ब्रह्म गुरुरेव न संशयः ॥

गुकारो भवरोगः स्यात् रुकारस्तन्निरोधकृत् ।

भवरोगहरत्याच्च गुरुरित्यभिधीयते ॥

गुकारश्च गुणातीतो रूपातीतो रुकारकः ।

गुणरूपविहीनत्वात् गुरुरित्यभिधीयते ॥

‘Gu' stands for darkness and ‘Ru' for light. Undoubtedly Guru is one who swallows ignorance

and he is ‘Parabrahma' himself by such an act.

’Gu’ is darkness; ’Ru’ is that which drives it away. As he drives away darkness, he is called

Guru.

'Gu' stands for one who is beyond the three Gunas or qualities; 'Ru' stands for one who is

beyond Rūpa or form. Guru is the personification of the Absolute without attributes and form.

Realm of Silence!

Realm of Silence! 

On a phlegmatic evening,
Amidst the puddle of rain droplets,
Mind entered unwillingly into a reverie,
The doer transformed - doing to being,
Entered the realm of Silence!

Mind wanted to experience,
the presence of Silence.
Rarely does it know that,
to enter is its death,
As the Silence demanded Nothing.

Letting go the thought of body,
The thought of mind,
and the thought of thoughts,
Mind and all identities dead,
Entered the realm of Silence,
To be in the awareness
of eternal birth of Nothing.

Saying Yes

Saying Yes

Hesitatingly I said no,
When I have to say yes.

Rarely realized that limitation of mine,
Restricted my journey into within,
Forced me to say no to every adventure,
Forced me to always look without,
Rather than look within.

Fear sprang from my own boundaries,
Fear sprang from my own identities.
Limitations created by the identities,
Enhanced the fear of losing the identities.

Age-old fears shattered,
While all the courage gathered.
Myriad identities mercilessly tattered,
Whilst the wildest thoughts scattered.

The nights of ignorance withered,
Enabling the entry into inner wisdom,
To find the scenic beauty of Silence.
Encouraging me willingly to say yes.
To say Yes to the infinite possibilities,
Of the transformation into Being.

❦ ❦ ❦

The Question - Who I am?

Who I am?

Why is this question always and generally asked only in this manner? Can't we ask "Who I was?" or "Who I will be?" or "Who I am now?"

Whenever we ask this question, "Who I am?" it is always an unrevealed known identity or forgotten identity which is driving us to ask this question only in this manner. The day or moment we find the answer, then the question, and the questioner disappears into the answer and become the answer itself. 

Does the questioner really become the answer? 

It is quite paradoxical. I don't think the questioner can become the answer. The answer has actually created the questioner because of a thought. An illusion which is created by the thought also created the illusory questioner because of the thought. Hence, the questioner is always asking or seeking in search of that answer who it really is by asking the question - Who I am?

But does the questioner find the answer by seeking for the answer?

No. As long as the seeking is there, the questioner keeps on creating more and more thoughts and further enhances illusion. The process of seeking creates more restlessness and ripples in the lake of stillness. The moment the seeking stops, the ripples subside - the questioner does not exist anymore and since the questioner does not exist, the question also disappears and what remains is only the answer. The game of seeking to find the answer is a big illusion created by the illusory thought.

Does it mean that there should not be any seeking?

No. Anything/any one that has taken birth will seek for liberation. It is an inherent characteristic built into the very structure of each and every particle that is manifested in some or the other form. The form of human-being has an advantage over other forms due to an evolved brain structure and mind. This evolved brain and mind enables a human-being to think and pursue differently when compared to other animals, provided there is an intention and the intention along with its search are in the right direction.

The seeking in a human-being makes it (purposefully 'it' is being used instead of he/she to avoid all kinds of gender bias and intention is to go beyond the body) restless and look for happiness all around. It cannot find its happiness until and unless the seeking gets interiorized within it and by using the breath as an anchor, let go the thought process and drop all thinking. The moment the thinking is dropped, the question is dropped; the moment the question is dropped, the seeking is dropped; and the moment the seeking is dropped, the seeker or the questioner is dropped; and once the seeker/or the questioner is dropped, what remains is the answer which gets revealed all by itself.

The only thing that was hiding the answer all the time is the process of seeking and effort of seeking for the answer in the wrong direction. Once the seeking drops and effort turns effortless, in the transformation from doing mode to a being mode, the being realizes and becomes aware that it itself is the answer.

"Truth reveals itself in the being mode to the being to become the Being."

Koham? Who am I?

कोहम्?

 कोहम्?

नामं नाहम्।
अक्षरं नाहम्।
शब्दं नाहम्।।

सप्त धातुः देहं नाहम्।
पञ्च ज्ञानेन्द्रियाणम् नाहम्।
पञ्च कर्मेन्द्रियाणम् नाहम्।।

पञ्च भूतं नाहम्।
पञ्च तन्मात्र नाहम्।
दश वायुः नाहम्।।

चिन्तयित्व मनः नाहम्।
चित्तं नाहम्।
चतुरावस्था नाहम्।
अन्तः करण चतुष्टयं नाहम्।।

त्रिगुणः नाहम्।
ज्योतिः नाहम्।
अन्धकारः नाहम्।
साकार निराकार नाहम्।
न तत् न इति।।

सर्वावस्थायां निरावस्थायाम्।
ज्ञातृत्व चैतन्यमहम्।।
शिवोस्म्यहम्।।
अहाम्यहम्।।

koham?

nāmaṃ nāham।
akṣaraṃ nāham।
śabdaṃ nāham।।

sapta dhātuḥ dehaṃ nāham।
pañca jñānendriyāṇam nāham।
pañca karmendriyāṇam nāham।।

pañca bhūtaṃ nāham।
pañca tanmātra nāham।
daśa vāyuḥ nāham।।

cintayitva manaḥ nāham।
cittaṃ nāham।
caturāvasthā nāham।
antaḥ karaṇa catuṣṭayaṃ nāham।।

triguṇaḥ nāham।
jyotiḥ nāham।
andhakāraḥ nāham।
sākāra nirākāra nāham।
na tat na iti।।

sarvāvasthāyāṃ nirāvasthāyām।
jñātṛtva caitanyamaham।।
śivosmyaham।।
ahāmyaham।।

Speak Up

Speak Up - Psychologically Safe Environment

How many times people provide feedback whether it is good or not so good in meetings? When we question on any aspect of discussion in meetings and solicit feedback from the attendees, 95% to 98% of them generally remain silent. 100% of the time we consider silence as an alignment.

In reality silence in meetings is not alignment. It means that people are not interested to share either the good or not so good feedback. The reasons why participants do not want to share their feedback could be many. Some of the reasons could be as follows:

1. Participants are attending the meeting because there was a meeting invite sent to them from leadership team. Only their presence or attendance is important and nothing else. The point of discussion is either not relevant to them or it is not going to add any value to them intellectually, professionally or in any other manner.
2. Participants may not feel safe to speak up, because in the past their opinions were never acknowledged or bluntly rejected or they faced some kind of reprimand on what they have spoken.
3. The leadership has communicated both verbal and non-verbal mixed feelings which enhanced ambiguity and clarity was compromised.
4. When opinions or comments were shared, the speaker changed to a more aggressive tone in communicating the features of the conversation or point of discussion.
5. There could be many cultural influences and differences. In some cultures they don't speak till the end and may just nod a head with a smile for agreement or silently bow and leave the premises with a gentle smile.
6. During a meeting, when few of the participants speak loudly, others might feel their points are not invalid because they can't speak louder.
7. Some could be outspoken and would be able to convey. Seeing these outspoken people there could be some introverts or not so outspoken who get cornered and would prefer remaining silent.

Reasons could be many, but how to solve these? Some of the questions that one can ask are:

1. Am I spending my time on unproductive, non-value added tasks, or tasks that don't matter whether they are completed or not?
2. Why I wanted to speak up? Whatever I am going to speak - do I have a complete clarity on it? If not can I ask for complete clarity so that I can think and speak if not readily during the meeting, may be at a later stage where I need to think alone or discuss with others and get back?
3. Are my feelings based upon culture or past experiences (especially those of bad ones) still valid in the current situation? If so, to what extent and how can I change or stop getting influenced by them?
4. Is the outcome of the meeting clearly conveyed before hand and what is anticipated from the meeting and in what form from each participant?

The leaders or facilitators of a "meeting or any communication" should be able to ask the above questions and provide clarity on all of them and create a safe environment in obtaining a feedback and participants need not expect any kind of retaliation either now or at any time in the future. Leadership should be able acknowledge all types of feedback even the most challenging ones and should be able to convey the importance of negative and neutral feedback and how much time they require to address them.

In total be open to every comment, and be non-judgmental, unbiased and unprejudiced in your communication. Convey passion, assertiveness and the need for collaboration in your verbal and non-verbal communication and emphasize on the purpose of the meeting and what is in it for every participant.

Next time when you are in a meeting and you ask for feedback and you get silence in response. Be careful! No feedback does not mean everything is good and all are aligned. It means they don't want to share their feedback - whether it is positive, neutral or negative. It is also an indication as an undercurrent message that they don't feel it safe to speak or share their opinions.

I would like to end with this quote:

Silence does not mean alignment. It is also an indication they don't want to share either the good or not so good feedback. - Ravi Kiran Muddha

Brahmajñānāvalīmālā

 ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला

brahmajñānāvalīmālā

In this work attributed to Sri Sankara the characteristics of the person who has realized that he is Brahman are described. The aspirant for liberation is advised to meditate on these in order to attain to the same state.

सकृच्छ्रवणमात्रेण ब्रह्मज्ञानं यतो भवेत् ।

ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला सर्वेषां मोक्षसिद्धये ॥ १॥

సకృచ్ఛ్రవణమాత్రేణ బ్రహ్మజ్ఞానం యతో భవేత్ .

బ్రహ్మజ్ఞానావలీమాలా సర్వేషాం మోక్షసిద్ధయే .. 1..

sakṛcchravaṇamātreṇa brahmajñānaṃ yato bhavet .

brahmajñānāvalīmālā sarveṣāṃ mokṣasiddhaye .. 1..

1. The work entitled ‘brahmajnānāvalImālā, by hearing which just once knowledge of Brahman is attained, enables all to attain liberation.

* * *

असङ्गोऽहमसङ्गोऽहमसङ्गोऽहं पुनः पुनः ।

सच्चिदानन्दरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ २॥

అసంగోఽహమసంగోఽహమసంగోఽహం పునః పునః .

సచ్చిదానందరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 2..

asango’ham asango’ham asango’ham punah punah

saccidānandarUpo’ham ahamevāham avyayah—2

2. Unattached am I, unattached am I, ever free from attachment of any kind; I am of the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. I am the very Self, indestructible and ever unchanging.

* * *

नित्यशुद्धविमुक्तोऽहं निराकारोऽहमव्ययः ।

भूमानन्दस्वरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ ३॥

నిత్యశుద్ధవిముక్తోఽహం నిరాకారోఽహమవ్యయః .

భూమానందస్వరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 3..

nityaśuddhavimukto'haṃ nirākāro'hamavyayaḥ .

bhūmānandasvarūpo'hamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 3..

3. I am eternal, I am pure (free from the control of māyā). I am ever liberated. I am formless, indestructible and changeless. I am of the nature of infinite bliss. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

नित्योऽहं निरवद्योऽहं निराकारोऽहमुच्यते ।

परमानन्दरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ ४॥

నిత్యోఽహం నిరవద్యోఽహం నిరాకారోఽహముచ్యతే .

పరమానందరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 4..

nityo'haṃ niravadyo'haṃ nirākāro'hamucyate .

paramānandarūpo'hamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 4..

4. I am eternal, I am free from blemish, I am formless, I am indestructible and changeless. I am of the nature of supreme bliss. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

शुद्धचैतन्यरूपोऽहमात्मारामोऽहमेव च ।

अखण्डानन्दरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ ५॥

శుద్ధచైతన్యరూపోఽహమాత్మారామోఽహమేవ చ .

అఖండానందరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 5..

śuddhacaitanyarūpo'hamātmārāmo'hameva ca .

akhaṇḍānandarūpo'hamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 5..

5. I am pure consciousness, I revel in my own Self. I am of the nature of indivisible (concentrated) bliss. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

प्रत्यक्चैतन्यरूपोऽहं शान्तोऽहं प्रकृतेः परः ।

शाश्वतानन्दरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ ६॥

ప్రత్యక్చైతన్యరూపోఽహం శాంతోఽహం ప్రకృతేః పరః .

శాశ్వతానందరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 6..

pratyakcaitanyarūpo'haṃ śānto'haṃ prakṛteḥ paraḥ .

śāśvatānandarūpo'hamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 6..

6. I am the indwelling consciousness, I am calm (free from all agitation), I am beyond prakrti (māyā), I am of the nature of eternal bliss, I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

तत्त्वातीतः परात्माहं मध्यातीतः परः शिवः ।

मायातीतः परंज्योतिरहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ ७॥

తత్త్వాతీతః పరాత్మాహం మధ్యాతీతః పరః శివః .

మాయాతీతః పరంజ్యోతిరహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 7..

tattvātītaḥ parātmāhaṃ madhyātītaḥ paraḥ śivaḥ .

māyātītaḥ paraṃjyotirahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 7..

7. I am the supreme Self, beyond all the categories (such as prakRti, mahat, ahankāra, etc.,), I am the supreme auspicious One, beyond all those in the middle. I am beyond māyā. I am the supreme light. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

नानारूपव्यतीतोऽहं चिदाकारोऽहमच्युतः ।

सुखरूपस्वरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ ८॥

నానారూపవ్యతీతోఽహం చిదాకారోఽహమచ్యుతః .

సుఖరూపస్వరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 8..

nānārūpavyatīto'haṃ cidākāro'hamacyutaḥ .

sukharūpasvarūpo'hamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 8..

8. I am beyond all the different forms. I am of the nature of pure consciousness. I am never subject to decline. I am of the nature of bliss. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

मायातत्कार्यदेहादि मम नास्त्येव सर्वदा ।

स्वप्रकाशैकरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ ९॥

మాయాతత్కార్యదేహాది మమ నాస్త్యేవ సర్వదా .

స్వప్రకాశైకరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 9..

māyātatkāryadehādi mama nāstyeva sarvadā .

svaprakāśaikarūpo'hamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 9..

9. There is neither māyā nor its effects such as the body for me. I am of the same nature and self-luminous. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

गुणत्रयव्यतीतोऽहं ब्रह्मादीनां च साक्ष्यहम् ।

अनन्तानन्तरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ १०॥

గుణత్రయవ్యతీతోఽహం బ్రహ్మాదీనాం చ సాక్ష్యహం .

అనంతానంతరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 10..

guṇatrayavyatīto'haṃ brahmādīnāṃ ca sākṣyaham .

anantānantarūpo'hamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 10..

10. I am beyond the three gunas—sattva, rajas, and tamas. I am the witness of even Brahma and others. I am of the nature of infinite bliss. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

अन्तर्यामिस्वरूपोऽहं कूटस्थः सर्वगोऽस्म्यहम् ।

परमात्मस्वरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ ११॥

అంతర్యామిస్వరూపోఽహం కూటస్థః సర్వగోఽస్మ్యహం .

పరమాత్మస్వరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 11..

antaryāmisvarūpo'haṃ kūṭasthaḥ sarvago'smyaham .

paramātmasvarūpo'hamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 11..

11. I am the inner controller, I am immutable, I am all-pervading. I am myself the supreme Self. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

निष्कलोऽहं निष्क्रियोऽहं सर्वात्माद्यः सनातनः ।

अपरोक्षस्वरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ १२॥

నిష్కలోఽహం నిష్క్రియోఽహం సర్వాత్మాద్యః సనాతనః .

అపరోక్షస్వరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 12..

niṣkalo'haṃ niṣkriyo'haṃ sarvātmādyaḥ sanātanaḥ .

aparokṣasvarūpo'hamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 12..

12. I am devoid of parts. I am actionless. I am the self of all. I am the primordial one. I am the ancient, eternal one. I am the directly intuited self. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

द्वन्द्वादिसाक्षिरूपोऽहमचलोऽहं सनातनः ।

सर्वसाक्षिस्वरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ १३॥

ద్వంద్వాదిసాక్షిరూపోఽహమచలోఽహం సనాతనః .

సర్వసాక్షిస్వరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 13..

dvandvādisākṣirūpo'hamacalo'haṃ sanātanaḥ .

sarvasākṣisvarūpo'hamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 13..

13. I am the witness of all pairs of opposites. I am immovable. I am eternal. I am the witness of everything. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

प्रज्ञानघन एवाहं विज्ञानघन एव च ।

अकर्ताहमभोक्ताहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ १४॥

ప్రజ్ఞానఘన ఏవాహం విజ్ఞానఘన ఏవ చ .

అకర్తాహమభోక్తాహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 14..

prajñānaghana evāhaṃ vijñānaghana eva ca .

akartāhamabhoktāhamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 14..

14. I am a mass of awareness and of consciousness. I am not a doer nor an experiencer. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

निराधारस्वरूपोऽहं सर्वाधारोऽहमेव च ।

आप्तकामस्वरूपोऽहमहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ १५॥

నిరాధారస్వరూపోఽహం సర్వాధారోఽహమేవ చ .

ఆప్తకామస్వరూపోఽహమహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 15..

nirādhārasvarūpo'haṃ sarvādhāro'hameva ca .

āptakāmasvarūpo'hamahamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 15..

15. I am without any support, and I am the support of all. I have no desires to be fulfilled. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

तापत्रयविनिर्मुक्तो देहत्रयविलक्षणः ।

अवस्थात्रयसाक्ष्यस्मि चाहमेवाहमव्ययः ॥ १६॥

తాపత్రయవినిర్ముక్తో దేహత్రయవిలక్షణః .

అవస్థాత్రయసాక్ష్యస్మి చాహమేవాహమవ్యయః .. 16..

tāpatrayavinirmukto dehatrayavilakṣaṇaḥ .

avasthātrayasākṣyasmi cāhamevāhamavyayaḥ .. 16..

16. I am free from the three kinds of afflictions- those in the body, those from other beings and those caused by higher powers. I am different from the gross, subtle and causal bodies. I am the witness of the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep. I am the very Self, indestructible and changeless.

* * *

दृग्दृश्यौ द्वौ पदार्थौ स्तः परस्परविलक्षणौ ।

दृग्ब्रह्म दृश्यं मायेति सर्ववेदान्तडिण्डिमः ॥ १७॥

దృగ్దృశ్యౌ ద్వౌ పదార్థౌ స్తః పరస్పరవిలక్షణౌ .

దృగ్బ్రహ్మ దృశ్యం మాయేతి సర్వవేదాంతడిండిమః .. 17..

dṛgdṛśyau dvau padārthau staḥ parasparavilakṣaṇau .

dṛgbrahma dṛśyaṃ māyeti sarvavedāntaḍiṇḍimaḥ .. 17..

17. There are two things which are different from each other. They are the seer and the seen. The seer is Brahman and the seen is māyā. This is what all Vedanta proclaims.

* * *

अहं साक्षीति यो विद्याद्विविच्यैवं पुनः पुनः ।

स एव मुक्तः सो विद्वानिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः ॥ १८॥

అహం సాక్షీతి యో విద్యాద్వివిచ్యైవం పునః పునః .

స ఏవ ముక్తః సో విద్వానితి వేదాంతడిండిమః .. 18..

ahaṃ sākṣīti yo vidyādvivicyaivaṃ punaḥ punaḥ .

sa eva muktaḥ so vidvāniti vedāntaḍiṇḍimaḥ .. 18..

18. He who realizes after repeated contemplation that he is a mere witness, he alone is liberated. He is the enlightened one. This is proclaimed by Vedanta.

* * *

घटकुड्यादिकं सर्वं मृत्तिकामात्रमेव च ।

तद्वद्ब्रह्म जगत्सर्वमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः ॥ १९॥

ఘటకుడ్యాదికం సర్వం మృత్తికామాత్రమేవ చ .

తద్వద్బ్రహ్మ జగత్సర్వమితి వేదాంతడిండిమః .. 19..

ghaṭakuḍyādikaṃ sarvaṃ mṛttikāmātrameva ca .

tadvadbrahma jagatsarvamiti vedāntaḍiṇḍimaḥ .. 19..

19. The pot, wall, etc., are all nothing but clay. Likewise, the entire universe is nothing but Brahman. This is proclaimed by Vedanta.

* * *

ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।

अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः ॥ २०॥

బ్రహ్మ సత్యం జగన్మిథ్యా జీవో బ్రహ్మైవ నాపరః .

అనేన వేద్యం సచ్ఛాస్త్రమితి వేదాంతడిండిమః .. 20..

brahma satyaṃ jaganmithyā jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ .

anena vedyaṃ sacchāstramiti vedāntaḍiṇḍimaḥ .. 20..

20. Brahman is real, the universe is mithya (it cannot be categorized as either real or unreal). The jiva is Brahman itself and not different. This should be understood as the correct Sāstra. This is proclaimed by Vedanta.

* * *

अन्तर्ज्योतिर्बहिर्ज्योतिः प्रत्यग्ज्योतिः परात्परः ।

ज्योतिर्ज्योतिः स्वयंज्योतिरात्मज्योतिः शिवोऽस्म्यहम् ॥ २१॥

అంతర్జ్యోతిర్బహిర్జ్యోతిః ప్రత్యగ్జ్యోతిః పరాత్పరః .

జ్యోతిర్జ్యోతిః స్వయంజ్యోతిరాత్మజ్యోతిః శివోఽస్మ్యహం .. 21..

antarjyotirbahirjyotiḥ pratyagjyotiḥ parātparaḥ .

jyotirjyotiḥ svayaṃjyotirātmajyotiḥ śivo'smyaham .. 21..

21. I am the auspicious one, the inner light and the outer light, the indwelling light, higher than the highest, the light of all lights, self- luminous, the light that is the Self.

* * *

इति श्रीमत्परमहंसपरिव्राजकाचार्यस्य

श्रीगोविन्दभगवत्पूज्यपादशिष्यस्य

श्रीमच्छङ्करभगवतः कृतौ ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला सम्पूर्णा ॥

ఇతి శ్రీమత్పరమహంసపరివ్రాజకాచార్యస్య

శ్రీగోవిందభగవత్పూజ్యపాదశిష్యస్య

శ్రీమచ్ఛంకరభగవతః కృతౌ బ్రహ్మజ్ఞానావలీమాలా సంపూర్ణా ..

iti śrīmatparamahaṃsaparivrājakācāryasya

śrīgovindabhagavatpūjyapādaśiṣyasya

śrīmacchaṅkarabhagavataḥ kṛtau brahmajñānāvalīmālā sampūrṇā ..

* * *

Invasion of Ineffable

Invasion of Ineffable

Made every attempt to see the Truth Ineffable,
Kicking the walls of the mother's womb,
Crying the first cry when taken birth,
Sucking the mother's breast,
Stumbling those initial steps with tiny legs,
Trying to perceive various sounds, noises, words,
Trying to learn what is being taught,
all the knowledge tainted with ignorance,
of the false known.

Failing in every attempt of the,
methods known to world and being taught,
Turned away from the world and entered within,
To see and trod the unknown pathways,
lying deeper than the deepest,
appearing farther than the farthest,
to the illusory and egoistic mind,
tried, tried and tried in vain.

One day the Ineffable invaded,
sucking deep into its
abysmal depth of silence and stillness.
Myriad roles and identities torn asunder,
Ego torn and losing the battle of efforts,
Surrendering to the moment of moments,
loosing everything known,
to know the Unknown.

The Process

The Process

Incessant thrashing and kneading,
Husk of egoity being removed,
Seed's purity of whiteness being seen,
Could able to see the Light Eternal,

Falling on it.

Turning red hot in the forge,

Incessant beating of the hammer,
Myriad lives of rust of ignorance being removed,

Walking on the edge of blade's steel,
Could able to see the Light Eternal,

Reflecting from it.

Bashed by praise and blame,
Health and sickness, joy and sorrow,

Nature's dualities and laws inexorable,

Torn and beaten; worn out and tired,
Surrendering to the inevitability of Unknown,
Could able to hear the Light Eternal,

From within.

Stripping off all identities,

Tearing off veils of delusion,

Standing naked, shameless, formless,

Beyond time and tide, night and day,

Could able to see the Light Eternal,

Shining from within.

Knowing naught of anything,
The lover loving the beloved,
Beyond seasons, and desires,
Possessed by the Unperceived,
Entering the realm of Silence and Stillness,

Could able to become One with,
The ineffable Light Eternal.

The Heart

The Heart

Brimmed in the abyss of desires,
Extended my arms to the Infinite in despair,
Cried to the Infinite for help,
Suddenly realized that, if I am calling Infinite,
I am a part of the Infinite.

Understanding my ignorance,
And realizing the futility of my efforts,
Letting go the ignorance into oblivion,
Heart plunging over the abyss of desires,
Merged into the Infinite.

I am Nothingness

I am Nothingness

I am not the seeing that you see,
I am not the hearing that you hear,
I am not the feeling that you feel,
I am not the perception that you perceive,
I am the senseless beyond the senses,
I am the incomprehensible beyond all comprehension,
I am Nothingness that is felt only by the Awareness.

The Unknower

The Unknower

The Known trying
to know the Unknown,
Became the Unknower.

Explanation:
Known - Seeker (any individual); Unknown - Absolute or Brahman; Unknower - Merged into Brahman and became Brahman itself.

Analogy:
It is like salt finding to depth of ocean has become ocean itself.

Hugging the Emptiness

Hugging the Emptiness

Hugging the Emptiness,
Lost interest in judging, bias and prejudice.

Hugging the Emptiness,
Lost interest in body and mind.

Hugging the Emptiness,
Lost the discrimination of within and without,
difference between this and that,
here and there, far and near.
Dualities escaping into oblivion,
Nothingness showing its eternal presence,
Awareness has become aware of itself.

Unperturbed stillness

Unperturbed stillness

Having writ the unwritten,

The seer seeing the Unseen,

The perceiver perceiving the Unperceivable,

Being in Thee in the Unperturbed stillness,

The Awareness has become aware of itself.

Wondering in amazement

Wondering in amazement

Either hanging low or high,

in the realm of thoughts;

Thine all embracing joy

severed every bondage

To find Thee within.

Finding Thee within,

loosing all identities,

Engulfed in Thy joy,

Seeing Thee within and without

Wondering in amazement,

which is realized?

The lover, love and the beloved,

Becoming One - Nothingness,
Staying in the Eternal,
The Awareness has become aware of itself.

Seeing the Unseen

Seeing the Unseen

In the stilled stillness,
Seeing the Unseen,
Hearing the Unheard,
Perceiving the Unperceived,
Seeing no difference,
in Thee and I,
Melting into the Infinite,
Loosing in the Nothingness,
Blissed out and joyful,
The Awareness has become aware of itself again. 

Seeing Me in Thee

Seeing Me in Thee

I stretched my arms for Thee,
Seeing me in Thy Heart,
Hugging me eternally,
Unseen tears rolled.

Thine eternal Love,
Engulfing me,
Lost every identity.

Let me never lose You,
For Thy Hug is solacing,
empowering and joyful;
Seeing me in Thee
Life turned Blissful.

Hearing Thee

Hearing Thee

Hearing Thy Throb in the Heart,
Entered the realm of Silence and Stillness.
And lost in hearing Thee.

Neither the I nor You existed
Existed only Silence and Stillness
All existed as Nothing and One.

Dancing in Silence

Dancing in Silence

Entering the realm of stillness,
Beyond mind,
Hugging Thee in the Heart,
Whilst the eyes closed,
The Eternal Eye seeing all,
World knowing naught
Me dancing in Silence,
As You dance within me.

Sourcing Love

Sourcing Love

Looking deep within

Realizing the transiency of the person

Finding the one sans personality

Sourcing the source of Love

Merged and lost.

Joyous Living

 Joyous Living

Diving deep within,
Reflecting on the Self through self,
Realizing the triviality and transiency of the external world,
Entering the realm beyond mind,
Seeing through and through, sans physical eye,
The eternal beauty of Silence and Stillness.

Awakening

Awakening

What is awakening? Is it possible that someone or something gets awakened?

Awareness is omnipresent and is present eternally. When this Awareness itself becomes aware of its presence and acknowledged in any physical entity it can be called as Awakening.

It is not that the physical entity is awakened, but the awareness present in that physical entity is acknowledging the presence of the awareness in that physical entity.

The physical entity can be from the measurable smallest particle Quanta,... through the sub-atomic particles, atomic particles like electron so on... through different animal species right from bacteria,... fish, pig, horse, tiger, etc., through a human being, ... meteors, planets, stars, myriad stellar bodies, etc., the emptiness, the nothingness... - it could be any. In all of these the awareness is present and is being acknowledged by the awareness itself by that Eternal Grace.

The Omnipresent Awareness,
Has become aware of its eternal presence,
And is acknowledged by Itself.

The Awareness itself is awakened,
To acknowledge its omnipresence.

I am Pure

I am Pure!

I came from Purity,
I came from Joy,
I came from Eternity.

Entering the world,
my Purity got tainted with identities,
Entering the world,
 my Joy got tainted with desires,
Entering the world,
my Eternity got tainted with boundaries of greed.

Letting go my identities,
and staying Be;
Letting go my desires;
and staying Be;
Letting go all boundaries of greed;
and staying Be;
I have become aware of
The Eternal presence of Purity.
And getting awakened in Purity.
I realized that I am Pure.

Energy and Bliss

 Energy and Bliss

Energy in motion is emotion
Energy in stillness is Bliss.

Root of the Energy is Consciousness.
Root of Consciousness is Stillness.
Root of Stillness is Nothingness.
Root of Nothingness is Eternal Awareness.

The Known and Unknown

The Known and Unknown

The Known and the Unknown

Senses sensed the Known,
Mind conveyed the Known,
Neither the senses nor the mind,
could sense or convey the Unknown.

From where the Known has originated?
How the Known is made knowable?
Is there something Knowable and Unknowable?
Does the Unknowable knows all the Knowable?
Can the Unknowable be known by the Knowable?
Or is the Unknowable origin of Known, and Knowable?
How to reach the Unknowable through the Knowable?
While everything is unknown by the Known,
how can it be called as Knowable?

While the Known is sensed by the senses and conveyed by the mind,
The Unknown is neither sensed by the senses nor conveyed by the mind.
If Unknown is the origin of the Known,
then the Unknown cannot be known by staying in the Known.
The Unknown can be known only by going beyond the Known.

Breath is bridge between the Known and the Unknown.
Going beyond breath through breath the Unknown is reached.
Reaching the Unknown, the Unknowable is known.
Knowing the Unknowable,
the Known, Knower and the Knowable became Unknowable.