It is from Stillness and Peace that you are being informed of the death of Rory Mackay, the author of the English translation of his book which we use for the study of the Bhagavad Gita “The Divine Song”.

Rory was assiduous in his pursuit of Self-knowledge and Self-abidance. His time on Earth has left us an example to follow and he has left us material, both electronic and on paper, to encourage us in our pursuit of Self-knowledge. For that, we are grateful.

The physical death of any Jnani is celebrated because he/she has fulfilled the purpose of human life. There will be no more rebirths. The mind-body mechanism is a loan given by Ishvara and will be recalled at the appropriate time and manner as determined by Prarabdha karma.

The death of a Jnani instructs us on how valuable our human mind-body instrument is. It also instructs us on how it is to be used … wisely and fruitfully in terms of liberation from Self-ignorance and recognition of our true nature of Consciousness, Brahman, Atma, I.

The death of a Jnani means that the Physical body returns to the Physical realm, the Subtle body returns to the Subtle realm and the Causal body returns to the Causal realm. Nothing is left of the human form.

What remains is Brahman, pure, unconditioned, eternal. There is no more Rory Mackay. There was only Brahman, there is only Brahman, there will be only Brahman.

That Brahman, we are, here and now.

Om. Peace. Peace. Peace

As Jiva I definitely know that I am not independently existent. I can’t solve this apparent situation/separation looking from these means of perception. I have to accept, bow to, agree, be, be nothing and through means of perception, enjoy, revel, live whatever is left of this experiment/marriage in sickness and in health. Is it not so?  Abiding will take practice.

Om Om Om

A: It is possible for the jiva to realise that it is aware … at the level of person. This is done through perception and inference available to any intelligent and self-examining jiva who employs these means of knowledge to understand itself. However, this awareness is reflected awareness, cidabhasa.

But with Consciousness, it is a different matter. It is another dimension. Consciousness is always aware by nature. Consciousness does not need to become aware since Awareness, Cit, is its inherent nature. The nature of Consciousness is pure Presence of Be-ing, unconditioned Awareness, complete Fulfilment, permanent Peace, absolute Happiness, unconditional Lovingness. So … Consciousness is Awareness, eternally aware, or, to put it the other way, Consciousness is never ever unaware.

Only that which is unaware needs to become aware. It is the jiva who needs to become aware of the Consciousness it is. Because of ignorance, the jiva is born unaware, the default condition of human birth, and so needs to become aware.

The jiva needs the third means of knowledge, the words of scripture to recognise its true nature. The other two means of knowledge, perception and inference, can be used only for objects whether subtle or dense. But Consciousness is the Subject, I, beyond perception and inference. Only direct recognition with the help of scripture will work.

So, at this level, who is aware that it is Awareness? The jiva who is now Self-recognised, the Jnani, Jivan mukta.

Consciousness does not need to look at itself through the jiva’s means of perception and inference. Consciousness illumines and witnesses the jiva doing jnana yoga to become aware of its true nature. Consciousness even witnesses the jiva undergoing the three states of experience, including deep sleep where there is no perception nor inference. Consciousness just IS … “I, Consciousness, am Awareness itself, as such.”

Yes, nididhyasanam, Vedantic meditation, takes practice … witnessed by Consciousness, I.

But for Consciousness, there is no practice … Consciousness just IS. “I, Consciousness, AM” … am-ness, is-ness, be-ingness, Presence, always Aware.

Om Shanti.

A: … not only ‘not destroyed’ but also ‘not created’. The principle of “not created nor destroyed” applies to all matter … dense, subtle and causal. I presume by the phrase “who we are”, you mean Consciousness, Brahman, Atma, I.

This principle in physics, the Law of Conservation of mass and energy, was first presented by Antoine Lavoisier, a Parisian chemist in the late 1700’s. He discovered this when analysing his chemical reactions, that mass cannot be created nor destroyed in a closed chemical system.

Subtle matter has another name, ‘energy’. We do not have another name in English for dense nor causal matter, only the word ‘matter’.
In Sanskrit, matter in general is called ‘prapanca’. Dense matter is sthula prapanca. Subtle matter is sukshma prapanca. Causal matter is karana prapanca.

From matter, we get individual forms or bodies … shariram … sthula shariram, sukshma shariram, karana shariram.

All matter cannot be created nor destroyed. The phrase ‘all matter’ means the whole universe,
the world and all individual forms, seen-unseen, animate-inanimate, moving-unmoving, etc.

So … how did matter come to be? This consideration is now beyond the scope of that principle, the Law of Conservation of mass and energy which applies only to matter.

Vedanta explains in 3 stages, depending on the spiritual maturity of the seeker. As we progress, the prior, simpler explanations are negated and replaced by subtler explanations. The simpler ones are given in the first part of the Vedas while the subtler ones are given in the second part, Veda-anta.

For beginner seekers … matter is a creation from Ishvara, like in any religion. This means there is an origination, a beginning from Ishvara. Ishvara is the creator and matter/world is the created, the Cause-effect distinction. This is called ‘dvaita Vedanta’, duality. The Upanishads do
give such explanations, eg. the Taittiriya Upanishad (2.1) describes from Atma arose space, from space arose air, from air, fire, etc.

For middling seekers … matter is a manifestation from Ishvara. Now, there can be doubt about origination. Is manifestation a creation through a Creator or simply a manifestation? Even for manifestation, is there not an origination? The mind is encouraged to question. This is called
‘vishishtadvaita Vedanta, modified non-duality.

For advanced seekers … any origination and independent existence of matter is negated. So, there is no origination nor existence. Even Ishvara with independent existence is negated. There is only an appearance of matter from Brahman, and this seemingly appearing matter, which really is Brahman
seeming to take on form, can be experienced.

Note the word ‘seeming’. So, there is no origination nor existence of matter. Yes, there is appearance and experience of matter. That is why we do experience a world but know it has no independent existence of its own. This is the Satya-mithya distinction in ‘Advaita Vedanta’ non-duality.

It is this Advaita Vedanta we follow in the lineage of Swami Paramarthananda, Swami Tadatmananda, James Swartz, Swami Dayananda, Swami Chinmayananda, many unnamed teachers to Shankara, Govindapada, Gaudapada, to the Rishis, etc. It is particularly in the Mandukya Upanishad with Karika (Chap. 3, verse 15) by Gaudapada that this principle of negation of origination-existence but acceptance of appearance-experience of matter is explained.

This is how the jnani sees the world. There is really only Brahman. The world is Brahman seeming to appear as seeming forms which are given seeming names by seeming humans! Since all forms, the world, the universe are only seeming, they are cognitively negated, ie. even though experienced, they are known not to have any origination nor existence. What is present is only Brahman.

Then the magic (from the Latin word ‘magus’ = knowledge) … which Advaita Vedanta states in 1st person singular: “That Brahman, I am, here and now” … “Tad Brahman, aham asmi” (Brhadaranyika Upanishad 1.4.10). As Brahman (not jiva), I am the Source or Matrix or Substrate of the whole universe, world, all forms. It takes a different mindset of non-duality to grasp, accept and
live this Reality. In 2nd person singular, Advaita states: “Tat, tvam asi” … “That, you are”
(Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7).

In summary, in the explanation given by Advaita Vedanta, perhaps around 3000 BC or earlier, it is only from the viewpoint of Brahman, can it be truly and ultimately stated that “matter cannot be created nor destroyed”. Since there is really no matter nor forms as such, there cannot be ‘created nor destroyed’! There is only Brahman, seeming to appear as seeming matter and seeming forms, not actually so, not ontologically so. That Brahman, I am, here and now.

What amazing knowledge which liberates!

OM, Shanti, Shanti, Shantih.
Hari OM, Shri Gurubhyoh namah, Hari OM.
With gratitude to the lineage of Teachers who gave us this Knowledge.

Background:        The word ‘mind’ can be the translation for ‘antah karana’. The word ‘mind’ is the overall term having the four sub-faculties of ahamkara-ego, buddhi-intellect, manas-heart, cittam-memory. The word ‘manas’ is being translated as heart because that is more meaningful and applicable in the English-speaking world. The usual translation for ‘manas’ is ‘mind’ which can be confusing.

At the core of every emotion is a thought which resides in the intellect. When more thoughts are added to the core-thought, eg. from memory, then that core-thought gets a ‘weight’ or ‘charge’. That is an emotion which resides in the heart. In general, this combination of thought in the intellect and emotion in the heart is powerful. It is in the domain of psychology affecting all five layers of the persona and the combination can be positive and helpful or negative and destructive. The texts describe the negative qualities present in the mind which have to be minimised and overcome … raga-craving, dvesha-aversion, kaama-desire, krodha-anger, lobha-greed, moha-delusion, mada-infatuation, matsaarya-envy, jealousy.

Before we address the topic from a Vedantic and scriptural viewpoint, it can be directly addressed from a personal-psychological viewpoint since the minds of many are not ready for the purely Vedantic viewpoint. The aim of psychotherapy is to weaken the disturbing thought-emotion by viewing it as an object to be witnessed and managed at the level of person. This is done through relaxation techniques, mindfulness training, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, etc.

This implies the individual has some degree of maturity and mental capacity to separate out and not identify too strongly with the thought-emotion combination. To facilitate this process, the individual must be able to doubt the thought, challenge it, question its validity, eg. in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. The individual is coached to distinguish the thought from the emotion, have the insight into how they arose, challenge both and replace the negative with a believe-able positive. Otherwise, the individual will continue to be identified with the thought-emotion and continue to suffer.

Questions for the enquirers …

Can you recognise that your question indicates you are strongly identified with the thought-emotion, that you take it to be who you are as a person, rather than a subtle object you have in the mind?

As an individual, at the person level, do you identify with the fear? Are you able to separate out the thought of non-existence from the resulting fear?

 Can you view them as different units existing by themselves? That will weaken their power over you.

Are you able to look at each unit of the combination and see that the thought and emotion are only objects, while you, the individual at the person level, are the subject, a witness or observer? If you can do that, you will greatly reduce the fear you are currently experiencing by about 60%. It will still continue but you will be able to manage it better.

To eliminate the fear by 100% the enquirer needs to come to Vedanta. Psychotherapy can reduce the fear but cannot eliminate it completely. Only Self-knowledge can, by overcoming Self-ignorance. This is the domain of Vedanta, Self-recognition, which takes the understanding of oneself to the ultimate level. Self-knowledge will, for an advanced seeker, minimise the fear by 90% to a simple ‘pin-prick level’ (Swami Paramarthananda), with about 10% still remaining. Self-knowledge will eliminate it completely to 0% for the fully Self-recognised being, Jivan mukta. It is like getting the firm knowledge that a dream mosquito from the dream world cannot bite me, the waker in the waking world.

Through Vedanta, I recognise I am not just person, but actually Consciousness itself, the Subject, unwitnessed Witness, unobserved Observer, free from and beyond all thought and emotion. I know clearly that the thought-fear is an object in the mind of the person. That mind exists in the person and that persona / personality exists in Me, Consciousness. That body-mind person with the thought-emotion, are all merely a mithya mirage appearing in Me, Consciousness, Atma, Brahman. I can drop that thought-fear because it has nothing to do with Me, cannot touch Me. This is the freedom guaranteed by Vedanta.

What do the scriptures say? The 4 Axioms or Mahavakyas are …

Aham Brahmasmi … I am Brahman … Brhadaranyika Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Yajurveda.                 

Tat, tvam asi … That, you are … Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Samaveda.                     

Ayam Atma Brahma … This Atma is Brahman … Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharvaveda.

Prajnanam Brahma … Consciousness is Brahman … Aitareya Upanishad 3.1.1 of the Rigveda.

From a Vedantic viewpoint, further questions for those seekers to ask themselves are …

How convinced am I, what % that I am Consciousness and what % I am the mind-body instrument?

Have I strongly identified myself with the thought-fear as the reality of myself? Identification is binding, harmful and results in suffering. Can I accept that the thought-fear is merely an object in My Presence, Consciousness? Can I accept it is not Me, Consciousness.

Do I trust the scriptures? Can I, just for now, accept what the scriptures and teaching state until I can verify the result for myself? Do I accept that the scriptures and teaching are trustworthy because they have helped so many over the millenia. Do I accept that trust in the scriptures and teaching is a necessary qualification for success in Vedanta. How strong is my trust, how many %?

Or, do I trust my mind? Can I see that this trust in the mind is counter-productive, really silly, since it is this same mind which has given rise to the thought and fear?

Why do I believe my mind and whatever it raises without questioning it?

Am I ready to challenge my mind or am I still strongly identified with the mind as myself?

There are great benefits in trusting the scriptures and following the instructions of the teaching. What are they?

Even though I still have my mind-body personality, I will be firmly established as Consciousness, 100%. The process of shifting identification from person to Consciousness will most likely be gradual. That is positive because it means the re-identification as Consciousness will be solid and unshakeable.

By being freed from identification with the body-mind, I will be able to skilfully observe them as objects and deal with them the way I, Consciousness, think fit. As Consciousness, I am free. I am free to use the mind-body. I am free to not use the mind-body. This is ultimate inner freedom whatever the circumstances. The duality of life will continue unabated, driven by prarabdha karma pertaining only to the mind-body. That karma and duality have nothing to do with Me since they pertain only to the mind-body person. I am eternally free!

The mind will be mostly sattvic … clear, steady, calm and illumining. It will be ready to happily serve Me and be a powerful instrument for good in life.

The heart will be steady and raise the necessary energy for the intellect and ego to function productively, with an attitude of humility and service. The heart will rejoice in freedom. The events of life, whatever they are, negative or positive, will be experienced but known to be applicable only to the transient body-mind but not to Me, Consciousness, Atma. Life will be happy, satisfying and peaceful whatever the circumstances.

The irony is that the death of the physical body of a Self-recognised being will actually be the ultimate ‘non-existence of body and mind’. There will be no ‘fear of non-existence’! Instead, there will be the ‘fulfilment of eternal existence’ as Brahman.

If I am fully convinced that I am Brahman, pure Consciousness, here and now, then with the death of my physical body, I will continue as Brahman … forever

Reply: As an overview, the mind has four faculties of ego, intellect, heart and memory. It is the mind which moves the physical body.

The heart produces emotive power or emotional force to push the ego to act. Yes, desire does arise in the heart but any action is done by the ego.

The ego has within itself the power or force with which to make a decision whether to act or not act or act differently. That power is an inherent part of the nature of the ego. The ego makes a decision using the contribution of clarity from the intellect and emotive force from the heart. These add to the power residing in the ego.

The emotive force from the heart is of a different nature from the force in the ego. This can be verified by observing how different egos function. Some egos are forceful even when there is not much involvement of the heart, eg. cold-blooded killers. Some egos are weak even when there is a strong push from the heart, eg. those vacillating, procrastinating. These latter feel they do want to act but hesitate. Such hesitation is because the ego cannot decide on the course of action even though there is a desire to act, a push from the heart. It is the result of weak ego-power in that ego.

Desire, which is an effect of or arises from the heart, is not will power as such. But it is very close and can be easily confused with the power residing in the ego. It is a fine distinction.

In conclusion, will-power is a force residing in the ego but which gets support from the heart and intellect. Thus, as in common usage, will-power is associated with the ego.

The purpose of Meditation 3 is to give the mind experiences it never had nor understands and so help the mind to expand, like ‘massaging’ the mind! Note, it is the mind which expands, not Consciousness. The word ‘I’ will be used during the meditation. Personalise it to yourself. It is a simple pronoun, yet is the doorway to the infinite you are, here and now.

To help keep the focus on ‘I’, keep the attention at the confluence of the three energy lines in the head: from the top of the head, from between the eyebrows and from above the ear. This confluence point can be called the ‘nidi point’. I introvert and focus the attention at that point. Like a pivot, it is from the nidi point that the outward observation of objects begins and also the inward recognition of ‘I’, Consciousness proceeds deeper inwards.

An instruction to open and close your eyes will be made. With open eyes, the benefit is that I can apply the knowledge in a direct and pragmatic way to myself. The disadvantage is that I can get distracted by things around and the attention can wander. With closed eyes, the benefit is that I can internalise the knowledge effectively, moving it from the intellect, through the heart, into the subconsciousness. The disadvantage is that I can be distracted by memories and other thoughts arising and the attention can wander. I use the advantage of both open and closed eyes and take care not to let the attention wander. If it does, I bring it back to the nidi point.

The word ‘feel’ will be used. It is not emotionality nor restricted to just sensations. The different layers of personality are all involved. In the intellect layer, there is a thought, eg. “I am immortal”. The emotional layer or heart feels the joy of such knowing. The physical body may have physical sensations, like tingling. The features of Consciousness are deepened from the intellect, through the heart, into the subconscious. It is in the subconscious that the knowledge does its transformative work of removing ignorance and misconceptions and of establishing myself as Consciousness so that it is firm, automatic and natural. In brief, ‘feel’ means using the intellect and heart.

The word ‘feel’ is one of many methods of integrating and assimilating the cognitive recognition of Consciousness. ‘Feel’ is experience being guided by the knowledge of Consciousness. By directly experiencing these features of Consciousness, I integrate and internalise the recognition of Consciousness and own it, am it: “I am Consciousness which is immortal, eternal, etc”.  When I ‘feel’ a feature of Consciousness, I automatically abide as Consciousness, Myself, my true nature.

Please note that what one ‘feels’ are features of Consciousness, like immortal, eternal, etc. but not Consciousness itself. It is futile to try to experience Consciousness because I already am and always experiencing Consciousness. Just that I do not know this fact (cf. the ‘insect-man’). I overlook Consciousness through ignorance. To repeat this important distinction: what I ‘feel’ are the features of Consciousness and not Consciousness as such. By ‘feeling’ the features of Consciousness, I reinforceand assimilate the recognition of and abidance as Consciousness, ‘I’.

Caveat: Vedantic meditation, nididhyasanam, should be done only after much shravanam and mananam. Shravanam is the systematic and consistent study of Vedantic scripture, for a length of time, under guidance. Any questions or doubts are cleared through mananam. This means that if one is not ready to internalise the knowledge gained through shravanam and mananam, the seeker should NOT do nididhyasanam. It will be meaningless, even confuse the seeker and may lead to antagonism towards Vedanta. Also note that no new knowledge is gained during nididhyasanam. Whatever knowledge was gained through shravanam-mananam will be reviewed, reinforced and assimilated. First, shravanam-mananam, only then nididhyasanam, Vedantic meditation.

III                                I  AM  NOT ….         I  AM ….

3.1       I, PURE CONSCIOUSNESS … am not mortal.

The body is mortal … it was born … it must die.

But I am not the body.   

I am the Witness … the un-witnessed Witness … of the body …

I am the Knower … the unknown Knower … of the body.

I am the Source … from which the body appears.

The body is an object I have … an object in My Presence …

 … made from Me … appearing from Me … appearing different from Me …

… conditioned … inert … lifeless … dead in itself.

I am not mortal, like this body.

I, Consciousness … am IMMORTAL …   

… close eyes … nidi point, deeper inwards … as Consciousness, (not person) … feel being immortal …

… rest … let this feeling move from the intellect-heart into the subconscious … be convinced …

… I am immortal … I, Consciousness am immortal … always immortal.

… open eyes … here and now … pervading this mortal body …

… pervading all mortal bodies …

… and this body and all bodies … are in Me, Consciousness.

3.2       I, Consciousness … am not temporary.

I do not come and go.  

This mind-body is temporary … it comes and it goes …

… that is its nature … what it is supposed to do … come and go, be temporary.

But I am not the mind-body personality.  

I am the Observer …  the unobserved Observer … of the mind-body personality.

I am the Recogniser … the unrecognised Recogniser of the mind-body.

I am the Matrix … from which the mind-body appears.

The mind-body is an object I have … an object in My Presence …

… made from Me … appearing from Me … appearing different from Me …

… conditioned … inert … lifeless … dead in itself.

I am not temporary; I do not come and go, like this mind-body personality.

I am always present … eternal.  

I, Consciousness … am ETERNAL …

… close eyes … nidi point, deeper inwards … as Consciousness, (not person) … feel being eternal …

… rest … let this realisation move from the intellect-heart into the subconscious … be convinced …

                    … I am eternal … I, Consciousness am eternal … always eternal.

… open eyes … here and now … pervading this temporary mind-body …

… pervading all temporary mind-bodies …

… and this mind-body and all mind-bodies … … are in Me, Consciousness.

3.3       I, Consciousness … am not changing.

The mind-body changes.

The mind … a flux … of constantly fluctuating and rapidly changing …

… thoughts, ideas, beliefs, emotions, desires, moods.

The body … constantly ageing, degenerating, decaying …   

… undergoing the six modifications … six phases of life …

… gestation, birth, growth, maturity, degeneration, finally death.

But I am not the mind-body personality.

I am the Watcher, the un-watched Watcher … of the mind-body.

I am the Seer … the unseen Seer … of the mind-body.

I am the Substrate … from which the mind-body personality arises.

The mind-body is an object I have … an object in My Presence …

 … made from Me … appearing from Me … appearing different from Me …

… conditioned … inert … lifeless … dead in itself.

I am not changing, like this mind-body personality.  

I, Consciousness … am CHANGELESS …

… close eyes … nidi point, deeper inwards … as Consciousness, (not person) … feel being changeless …

… rest … let this recognition move from the intellect-heart into the subconscious … be convinced …

                    … I am changeless … I, Consciousness am changeless … always changeless.

… open eyes … here and now … pervading this changing mind-body …

… pervading all changing mind-bodies …

… and this mind-body and all mind-bodies … are in Me, Consciousness.

3.4       I, Consciousness … am not limited.

This mind-body is limited.

The mind … limited in intelligence, knowledge, faculties, powers, memory.

The body … limited in physical strength, endurance, flexibility, capability, health.

But I am not the mind-body personality.

I am the Witness … the un-witnessed Witness … of the mind-body personality.

I am the Knower … the unknown Knower of the mind-body personality.

I am the Source … from which the mind-body appears.

The mind-body is an object I have … an object in My Presence …

… made from Me … appearing from Me … appearing different from Me …

… conditioned … inert … lifeless … dead in itself.

I am not limited, like this mind-body personality.

I, Consciousness … am LIMITLESS …

… close eyes … nidi point, deeper inwards … as Consciousness, (not person) … feel being limitless …

… rest … let this knowledge move from the intellect-heart into the subconscious … be convinced …   

                    … I am limitless … I, Consciousness am limitless … always limitless.

… open eyes … here and now … pervading this limited mind-body …

… pervading all limited mind-bodies …

… and this mind-body and all mind-bodies … are in Me, Consciousness.

3.5       I, Consciousness … am not finite

This mind-body is finite.

But I am not the mind-body.   

I, pure Consciousness am INFINITE …

… close eyes … nidi point, deeper inwards … as Consciousness (not person) … feel being infinite …

… rest … let this feeling move from the intellect-heart into the subconscious … be convinced …

                    … I am infinite … I, Consciousness am infinite … always infinite.

… open eyes … here and now … pervading this finite mind-body …  

… pervading all finite mind-bodies …

… and this mind-body and all mind-bodies … are in Me, Consciousness.

3.6       I, Consciousness … am not lacking.

This mind-body lacks.

It needs objects for … survival, sustenance, comfort, pleasure, security.  

But I am not the mind-body personality.

I am the Observer … the unobserved Observer … of the mind-body.

I am the Recogniser … the unrecognised Recogniser … of the mind-body.

I am the Matrix … from which the mind-body personality appears.

The mind-body is an object I have … an object in My Presence …

 … made from Me … appearing from Me … appearing different from Me …

… conditioned … inert … lifeless … dead in itself.

I, Consciousness am complete … completely satisfied in Myself … as Consciousness …

… close eyes … nidi point, deeper inwards … as Consciousness (not person) … feel being complete …

… rest … let this realisation move from the intellect-heart into the subconscious … be convinced …

                    … I am complete … I, Consciousness am complete … always complete.

… open eyes … here and now … pervading this incomplete mind-body …

… pervading all incomplete mind-bodies …

… and this mind-body and all mind-bodies … are in Me, Consciousness.

3.7       I, Consciousness … am not unfulfilled.

This mind-body is unfulfilling.

But I am not this mind-body.

I, Consciousness am fulfilled … completely fulfilled in Myself … as Consciousness …

… close eyes … nidi point … as Consciousness (not person) … feel being fulfilled …

… rest … let this recognition move from the intellect-heart into the subconscious … be convinced …

                    … I am fulfilled … I, Consciousness am fulfilled … always fulfilled.

… open eyes … here and now … pervading this unfulfilling mind-body …

… pervading all unfulfilling mind-bodies …

… and this mind-body and all mind-bodies … are in Me, Consciousness.

3.8       I, Consciousness … am not bound by space and time.

The mind-body is … bound by space … trapped in time.  

But I am not the mind-body personality.

I am the Watcher … unwatched Watcher … of this mind-body.

I am the Seer … unseen Seer … of this mind-body.

I am the Substrate … from which the mind-body … and space … and time … appear.

The mind-body … and space … and time … are objects in My Presence …

… appearing from Me… appearing different from Me …

… conditioned … and therefore bound … inert matter.

I, Consciousness, am not bound by space and time, like this mind-body personality.

I, Consciousness, am always … BEYOND space-time … FREE from space-time…

DISTINCT from space-time … OTHER than space-time …

… close eyes … nidi point, deeper inwards … as Consciousness (not person) feel being beyond …

… rest … let this knowledge move from the intellect-heart into the subconscious … be convinced …

                    … I am beyond … I am free … I, Consciousness am beyond, free … always.

… open eyes … here and now … pervading the mind-body, all mind-bodies …

… and this mind-body, all mind-bodies, space and time … are in Me, Consciousness.

I am Consciousness … pure … unconditioned … unassociated … unattached …

            Presence … Awareness … Fulfilled.   OM.

Meditation 4 is a further recognition, a much deeper and very expanded realisation from Meditation 3, that I am pure, universal Consciousness itself. I realise the mind-body and the universe is an appearance in Consciousness, Me, I, just as blue sky is an appearance in infinite colourless space or ring is an appearance of the one gold. I, Consciousness, am primary and absolute. The mind-body is secondary and relative. It may be there; it may not be there. Its presence or absence makes no difference to Me, Consciousness.

I abide as all-expansive, all-pervading, infinite Consciousness. The universe arises from, is sustained by, resolves into Me, Consciousness. The universe is a speck, a small bubble in Me, Consciousness, I.

It is the mind which gets expanded and it must be sufficiently prepared through the regular practice of Meditation 1, 2, 3. Then, Meditation 4 will be a natural progression. Having a prepared mind at this stage means I am sufficiently clear and convinced, with very little doubt, that I definitely am infinite Consciousness itself. This is the benefit of practising the first three meditations regularly.

If the mind is not sufficiently prepared, Meditation 4 may be meaningless. If there is still strong identification with the mind-body, the unprepared seeker may even turn away from Self-knowledge / Vedanta. Meditation 4 expands the mind to such a degree, the danger is that the unprepared mind may get frightened, may contract away from, or even reject this knowledge of Self-recognition.

If you find your mind is not ready to accept Meditation 4, do not get discouraged or turn away. Practise Meditations 1, 2, 3 again and again. With more time and commitment, the mind will become ready. Have trust in the scriptures and teaching until you can verify for yourself that the teaching is accurate and true: “You are pure Consciousness itself … Tat tvam asi”.

 This is a dimension subtler than the mind, logical yet beyond logic. Do not try to understand with just the mind and logic. This is the dimension of direct and immediate recognition. Trust. You are on the right path; you are not being fooled. You need time and continued effort to overcome long-standing ignorance about oneself as Brahman. The Upanishads confirm: “You are Brahman.” 

This is why a private self-evaluation is needed before starting Meditation 4 to assess how much residual ignorance and persisting identification with the body-mind is present, and conversely, how clear and strong the definition and conviction of oneself as Consciousness is. Please take time to study and truthfully answer the following questions and score yourself out of 100 …

May you recognise and abide all the days of your life as the Fullness, Consciousness you already are and always are. May you have fun and enjoyment witnessing and experiencing your mind-body instrument in life, with whatever happens, negative or positive, as driven by your prarabdha karma.                                                             

OM. Shanti. Shanti. Shantih.

Introduction:     

In Meditation 4, another threshold is crossed. Up to now, through Meditations 1 – 3, by overcoming my Self-ignorance, I have changed my definition or identity of myself from being a limited mind-body-person, jiva, to Consciousness in this form, pervading my human form – Atma. Now, through Meditation 4, I recognise that I am Consciousness-universal, Brahman.

Meditation 4 helps to expand the mind to such a degree that it ‘fades away’, is dropped, left behind. Thus, I appreciate, here and now, the vastness of Consciousness I am. As Consciousness, I am so vast that the whole universe, space, all the galaxies down to the smallest subatomic particles are all contained in Me, Consciousness (note: not person). They arise from Me as Source, are sustained by Me as Support and resolve into Me as Resolver-Renewer. I, Consciousness, am one, undivided seamless whole. I, Consciousness, am all there is. That universal-Consciousness, I am, here and now. It is a direct and immediate recognition and abidance as Consciousness, Brahman, Myself. The axiom in Vedanta is: “Aham Brahmasmi” … I am Brahman, Consciousness-universal.

Here is an exercise from Swami Paramarthananda using space as a metaphor for Consciousness:

Space is in this room but is overlooked.                                                                                                            

Next, space is in all rooms.                                                                                                                                 

Rooms are varied but space is only one.                                                                                                          

Space is not only inside the rooms but is also outside the rooms.                                                             

Really speaking, space is not just inside or outside the rooms;                                                                                    

all rooms, the whole house, exist in space.                                                                             

Everything exists in space; the vastness of space accommodates everything.

So, too, as Consciousness, I am so vast, I accommodate all forms, everything. Consciousness is so vast and accommodating, like space, undivided, indivisible, cannot be separated, no parts, one seamless whole present everywhere, all-pervading. That Consciousness I am, here and now.

The mind has served its purpose and is left behind, not used anymore. It helped to cognitively negate and understand that I am not the body nor mind. Neither am I ‘person’, which is a projection in the mind based on identification with the body and mind. The mind is small and thinks small. Logical processes and reasoning which worked earlier, do not work now. The mind has its use in life for cognition, for logic and inference, but is limited. It may even get frightened by vastness and may constrict, withdraw into its smallness because vastness is not its nature. Vastness is the nature of Consciousness only. Using reasoning and logic will not help and may block the appreciation of vastness.

The role of the mind and the sense of person in spirituality is to be used wisely and then dropped. It is like a springboard, used by the diver to spring into the air; once up, the springboard is left, not needed anymore. Similarly with the mind-body personality which is used as an instrument and then dropped. The nidi point is the springboard to leap from ‘person’ to Consciousness.

The quality required now is trust in and acceptance of the scripture and teaching based on scripture. Trust is not placed in the processes of the mind. Only direct recognition and abidance work at this level of recognition of Consciousness-universal. They arise from acceptance and trust in the Scriptures because the scriptures and teaching have come from Consciousness-Brahman in the form of Ishvara, the Lord. The Scriptures say that I am Consciousness-universal, Brahman, which is infinite and vast. I am Consciousness, even while living and using my limited human form in daily life. I could never have known this by myself. I trust and accept the scriptures and teaching.

In Meditation 4, I abide as Consciousness itself by using the features of Consciousness just as I did in Meditation 3. I am now beyond and cognitively free from the mind-body mechanism with its sense of ‘person’, the mistaken thought of separate individuality and independent existence and function. Since I have now clearly and firmly dis-identified with ‘person’, it will not be mentioned at all in this meditation 4. I position myself clearly and firmly as Consciousness beyond the mind and ‘person’.

The pronoun ‘I’ will again be used. Please personalise it to yourself. We will open and close the eyes at the appropriate point, as in Meditation 3. The word ‘feel’ will be used again in this meditation; it has been explained in Meditation 3. Keep the attention at the confluence of the three lines, the ‘nidi point’, to keep the attention introverted and steady.

Through the instruction of ‘feel’ as described in meditation 3, the features of Consciousness will be used as stepping-stones to lead to Consciousness itself. I abide as Consciousness in all My pervasive expansiveness and fullness, in My singularity and non-duality: “I am pure universal Consciousness itself, here and now”.  

Through the instruction of ‘recognise’, the re-definition of myself as Consciousness will be reinforced and firmly established so that I abide as Consciousness without any doubt or error. I confirm: “I am Brahman, Atma, Consciousness” and abide as That. Thus, in this meditation 4, I position myself firmly as Consciousness and am clearly aware of and solidly established in my nature of Consciousness. “I am pure universal Consciousness itself, Brahman, here and now.”

About the word ‘THE’ … in ordinary usage, the article ‘THE’ points to a specific object, eg. the cat, the individual, the house. But in Meditation 4, it will be used differently, as a superlative showing absoluteness, eg. from good, to better, to best, to THE best, the absolute best.

When used in this context, the word ‘THE’ indicates the highest, the one, the only, the supreme, nothing more, nothing else, nothing better, just that and only that. The mind expands to such a degree that it fades away, it becomes so transparent that the limitless expansiveness of Consciousness is directly recognised. There is no body, no mind, no person. There is only universal Consciousness, nothing else.

Thus, the word ‘THE’ when associated with a feature of Consciousness, is really a figurative expression for Consciousness itself, an indirect pointer to Consciousness. It indicates the nondual vastness and absoluteness of Consciousness. For example, the two words … ‘THE Immortal’ … indicate Consciousness with its immortal feature, being That which has the feature of immortality. That immortal, absolute, vast Consciousness, I am, here and now. So too, with the other features of Consciousness.

The implied understanding of all the features of Consciousness is: “There is only Consciousness, nothing else.” I recognise I am the Essence of everything, the Source of everything there is. Instead of I, Consciousness, being in everything, the reality is that everything is in Me, Consciousness. It is a cosmic reversal. I, Consciousness, accommodate all things and all beings, everything.

The meditation …

As Consciousness … I am immortal.

I am     … THE Immortal …

close eyes … as Consciousness … feel being Immortal

… recognise being THE Immortal …

… rest, be, silently confirm: “I am THE Immortal” …

… I am universal Consciousness, Brahman …

open eyes            … here and now.

As Consciousness … I am eternal.

I am     … THE Eternal …

close eyes … as Consciousness … feel being Eternal

… recognise being THE Eternal …         

open eyes             … rest, be, silently claim: “I am THE Eternal” …

… I am universal Consciousness, Brahman …

                        … here and now.

As Consciousness … I am changeless.

I am     … THE Changeless …

close eyes … as Consciousness … feel being Changeless

… recognise being THE Changeless …

… rest, be, silently confirm: “I am THE Changeless” …

… I am universal Consciousness, Brahman …

open eyes             … here and now.

As Consciousness … I am limitless.

I am     … THE Limitless …

close eyes … as Consciousness … feel being Limitless

… recognise being THE Limitless …

open eyes             … rest, be and silently claim: “I am THE Limitless” …

… I am universal Consciousness, Brahman …

                        … here and now.

As Consciousness … I am infinite.

I am     … THE Infinite …

close eyes … as Consciousness … feel being Infinite

… recognise being THE Infinite …

… rest, be, silently confirm: “I am THE Infinite” …

… I am universal Consciousness, Brahman …

open eyes            … here and now.

As Consciousness … I am complete.

I am     … THE Complete …

close eyes … as Consciousness … feel being Complete

… recognise being THE Complete …

open eyes             … rest, be, silently claim: “I am THE Complete” …

… I am universal Consciousness, Brahman …

                        … here and now.

As Consciousness … I am fulfilled.

I am     … THE Fulfilled …

close eyes … as Consciousness … feel being Fulfilled

… recognise being THE Fulfilled …

… rest, be, silently confirm: “I am THE Fulfilled” …

… I am universal Consciousness, Brahman …

open eyes            … here and now.

As Consciousness … I am beyond.

I am     … THE Beyond …

close eyes … as Consciousness… feel being Beyond

… recognise being THE Beyond …

open eyes             … rest, be, silently claim: “I am THE Beyond” …

… I am universal Consciousness, Brahman …

                        … here and now.

As Consciousness … I am free.

I am     … THE Free …

close eyes … as Consciousness … feel being Free

… recognise being THE Free …

… rest, be, silently confirm: “I am THE Free” …

… I am universal Consciousness, Brahman …

open eyes            … here and now.

Applying this recognition of Consciousness-universal, Brahman, to my daily Life …

As Consciousness … I am not a speck, a point, a minuscule, a dot in the universe.

This mind-body is … it is an insignificant dot in the universe …

… made from the same material as the universe …  

… from total causal matter … comes the individual causal body …

… from total subtle matter, energy … arises the individual subtle body …  

… from total dense matter, stardust … is formed the individual dense physical body.  

But I am not this mind-body personality …   

I am the … unwitnessed Witness … the unknown Knower … the unobserved Observer …

            … unrecognised Recogniser … the unwatched Watcher … the unseen Seer …

of this mind-body.

I am the Source … the Matrix … the Substrate … from which the mind-body …   

… indeed, from which … the whole universe … the entire cosmos … appears.

The whole universe … is an object in My Presence …  

… made from Me … appearing from Me … appearing different from Me …

… conditioned … and therefore bound … inert matter.

I, Consciousness … am not a speck in the universe.  

The whole universe … is a speck, a bubble in ME, Consciousness-universal… here and now.

The whole universe arises from ME … I, Consciousness, am its Source.

The whole universe is sustained by ME … I, Consciousness, am its Support.

The whole universe resolves into ME … I, Consciousness, am its Rest …

… cycle after cycle after cycle …

… eon after eon after eon …

… the whole universe is present in ME …

… the whole universe is ME … Consciousness …

… appearing as different temporary forms … with corresponding names …

… all minerals … the whole mineral kingdom … IS ME … appearing as minerals …

… all plants … the whole plant kingdom … IS ME … appearing as plants …

… all animals … the whole animal kingdom … IS ME … appearing as animals …

… all humans … the whole human kingdom … IS ME … appearing as humans …

… all are manifestations of Me, universal Consciousness, I …

… everything IS ME … manifested.

I am Consciousness-universal … formless … pure … unconditioned … unassociated … unattached … non-dual … Presence … Awareness … Fulfilled.

Everything is just Me, Consciousness-universal, Brahman.

Reply: As a person, it is very hard to watch without feeling upset and judgmental. That is because such a stance indicates a persisting identification with the mind. It is the mind which experiences such feelings, in fact all types of feelings, negative and positive.

As Vedanta states, I am not my mind. I am Consciousness, the Witness, Observer of the mind and body and of what arises in either. As Consciousness, my nature is Peace and Happiness, whatever the circumstances in life, even painful ones. Events, experiences, situations affect the body and mind but do not affect me, Consciousness.

Thus, I can stop identifying with the body-mind by recognising and being Consciousness, my true nature. In any situation, pleasant or unpleasant, I remain established as pure Consciousness. There will be peace in the mind because Peace is my nature as Consciousness.

If there is something I can do about a situation or event, I will act by using my body-mind structure as an instrument of service and peace. If I cannot do anything about it, I can pray and let God or Ishvara take care of it. In either case, I am at peace.