Arun Jandial
Awareness from moment to moment of ‘what is’ without condemnation and judgement is the key to end suffering. Total attention, awarseness is real meditation. Living in awareness from moment to moment is living in the present moment without memories of the past or worries and fears about future.
Most of us are always thinking about one or the other thing and this is either about the past happenings – pleasant or unpleasant or planning about future. We are rarely free from thoughts while in the waking state. This thinking consumes a lot of our energy and we feel tired due to constant flow of unwanted thoughts in our waking state and it is only in deep sleep when we are without thoughts and that is why we feel refreshed and energised after deep sleep. Dreams also don’t let us feel fresh and energised as they are also a sort of disturbance to the rejuvenating deep sleep state. When we are aware of ‘what is’, we are also aware that our mind is moving to the past and replaying past happenings, memories, the hurts and the pleasures and this awareness of what is passing in our mind brings us in the present moment. Similarly when it starts day-dreaming, making plans about the future, or worrying and generating fears about its insecurities, uncertainties, imagining future hardships and when it comes to awareness, it recognises that it had moved to future and was not in the present. We know that the past is gone and nothing can be done about it except learning lessons, it can’t be changed and future is yet to come and it can come as present only. We build our present over the past and design our future in the present.
In this awareness of ‘what is’ we remain attuned to heart. We listen to our heart, our inner voice.
Heart is the seat of consciousness, Spirit, Life. Through mindfulness we become aware of what is passing in our mind and through our heart we feel emotions. When we learn to remain in awareness and feel the presence of Light of Spirit, Love, Consciousness, Truth, Self, Divinity, Source, Master, only God and Power or whatever we may name it; we become receptive to its inspiration and guidance. Its purification effect transforms us by freeing us from conditioning, concepts, belief systems, judgements, identifications, prejudices, grossness of ignorance, habit pattern of mind of craving and aversion. It makes us to see things as they are and not as we wish them to see or as the mind projects them because of its conditioning, samskaras, tendencies.
This living in awareness has to be without condemnation and judgement – that is, we don’t react to what we become aware of – our inner condition or outer circumstances, happenings but we try to understand them in totality with our intellect without any prejudice. We are not indifferent but do respond to the situation in a befitting manner. It is spontaneous response with love and compassion while remaining a neutral observer, non-reacting witness and a detached seer without creating any impressions, samskaras. We simply accept the situation as the outcome of the given circumstances and conditions as per the laws of cause and effect. The energy of awareness of ‘what is’ without condemnation and judgement has tremendous power of transformation. One who is truly aware doesn’t spend his time and energy in pursuit of unending desires of more and more of position, power, possessions, recognition, name, fame, sensual pleasures ……..
Once we learn to remain in awareness from moment to moment, we become attentive to our thoughts, words and actions. We stop being reckless to what we speak. The speech is always measured, truthful, without any superfluous words. It is spoken with love and never harsh or negative against any individual but always beneficial for all. Similarly the actions of the person who is aware are spontaneous, natural and beneficial for all. They are never violent or injurious to himself or others. He is not greedy so he doesn’t steal others belongings and remains contented with what he has. He is not addicted to intoxicants- smoking or drugs as they create grossness and lower awareness and impair judgement. An aware person can’t indulge in unbecoming actions and his earnings are through noble means. All useless thoughts start diminishing and one becomes receptive to divine inspirations as blockages are removed and there is free flow of energy due to removal of complexities, impurities and grossness. One who is lazy, doesn’t follow the rules of health, is depressed or given to addictions or any other shortcoming , can overcome laziness, depression addictions or shortcomings and start following the rules of health by being aware of his condition, accepting it without condemnation and judgement, taking responsibility and understanding the conditioning of mind and its functioning and the urgency for change to bring the desired results.
This awareness – mindfulness with attunement to heart – heartfulness transforms us. It expands our consciousness. It reveals knowledge of the self. We know ourselves as we are and start understanding the truth of existence, the life and its relations, mind and its conditioning, bondage and freedom not at the theoretical or intellectual level but at the experiential level. It connects us to the immeasurable, unknowable what is unnameable beyond description. It makes us calm, quiet, alert, attentive, balanced and equanimous. The individual discovers inner peace and happiness and radiates same to make the world a better place.
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