By discriminating our experience in our 3 States of Waking, Dream and Deep Dreamless Sleep, we can see that though we take ourselves to be a Body limited by Time and Space, we are in fact the Consciousness that underlies the appearance of these 3 States, in only 2 of which the sense of Existence as a Body and the consequent limitations of Time and Space are experienced.
By itself, a theoretical understanding will not and cannot give us true and lasting Happiness, because it cannot destroy our deep-rooted sense of Mis-identification with the Body, which is the root of all Ignorance, and the cause of all Suffering.
That which understands this Truth theoretically is only our Mind or Intellect, and our Mind cannot function without first identifying itself with a Body. Since our Mind or Intellect is thus a confused knowledge whose existence is rooted in Ignorance about who or what we really are, no intellectual understanding can ever by itself give us true Self-Knowledge.
Self-Knowledge can only be gained by direct experience of the pure unlimited Consciousness which is our real self, because only such experience can root out the Ignorance that we are anything other than that Consciousness.
Therefore a theoretical understanding of the Truth can be of real benefit to us only if it prompts us to investigate our essential Consciousness of Existence – our simple Self-Consciousness, "I exist" – and thereby attain through direct experience a clear knowledge of our own True Nature. Only by attaining such a clear knowledge of the Consciousness that is truly "I", can we destroy our primal Ignorance, the confused and mistaken knowledge that we are the Mind, the limited form of Consciousness that identifies a Body as "I".
Some more selected verses from the Maharshi disciple:
You need not hold on to That because you are That all the time. That is enough. You are That. How can you hold on to That, or feel separate from it, or try to get it back, or lose it ? If That is your real nature, how can you pretend that you are nearer to it in 1 of 2 places and separate from it when you are somewhere else ?
Your understanding or your lack of it does not affect the truth of what I am saying. You are That. See who you are and there will be nothing obstructing the experience of this fact.
You identify with your Body and your Mind. Your Mind is making you believe that a certain experience can only happen when you are in a particular place. Give up this identification and you will find that the Self is everywhere. You will see it, know it and be it wherever you go. Everything is Self, including you yourself.
Meditate "I am the Self." If you do this, the idea that you are the Body will go. "I am the Self" is still an idea, and as such, it belongs in Maya, along with all other ideas. But you can begin to conquer Maya by giving up utterly wrong ideas that bind you and cause you trouble. How to do this? Replace them with ideas that are a better reflection of the Truth, and which are helpful in leading you to that Truth.
If you want to cut iron, you use another piece of iron. In battle, if someone shoots an arrow at you, you shoot one back. In Maya, if the arrow of a bad idea comes speeding towards you, dodge it. Don’t let it stick to you or you will end up in pain. Then, in retaliation, fire back the arrow of "I am the Self" at the place where the wrong idea came from. Sadhana is a battlefield. You have to be vigilant. Don’t take delivery of wrong beliefs and d0n’t identify with the incoming thoughts that will give you pain and suffering.
But if these things start to happen to you, fight back by affirming, "I am the Self" – "I am the Self" – "I am the Self" – "I am the Self". These affirmations will lessen the power of the ‘I am the body’ arrows and eventually they will armor-plate you so successfully, the "I am the Body" thoughts that come your way will no longer have the power to touch you, affect you or make you suffer. This fight all takes place within Maya because in reality you are peace and peace alone. But while you are suffering in Maya you can use these thoughts as a means of ultimately conquering it.
If it is constant, it will be enough. If you don’t forget your real Self, that will be enough. Your real Self is everything. Not an atom exists apart from the Self. You, the real You, the Self, are all inclusive.
When I say give up your identification with the "I am the Body" idea, I don’t mean that you are not the Body. I mean that you should give up the idea that you are only the Body. You are all bodies, all things, all creation, but paradoxically, this knowledge will not come to you unless you give up identifying with particular objects, such as "I am the Body", and limiting thoughts such as "I am so-and-so". When you have given up all thoughts, all identifications, the true knowledge suddenly dawns on you: "I am the unmanifest Self and I am also the whole of manifestation."
"This physical Body is not you; the Mind is not you. Go beyond them to see what is really behind them." This is done to make people give up their incorrect, limiting ideas, so they can have a direct experience of what is truly Real.
[The above themes & 1600 pages more are freely available as perused or downloaded PDF’s, the sole occupants of a Public Microsoft Skydrive “Public Folder” accessible through www.jpstiga.com ]
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