"The very first step in understanding what this is all about is giving up the concept of an active, volitional 'I' as a separate entity and accepting the passive role of perceiving and functioning as a process." - Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Consciousness: Unknowable but Realizable

Sage Dattatreya

KING JANAKA continued:

Although consciousness is unknowable, it is still realizable by pure mind. Even the learned are perplexed on this point. External perceptions of the mind are dependent on two conditions. The first is elimination of other perceptions and the second is fixation on the particular item of perception. If the mind is simply turned away from other perceptions, the mind is in an indifferent state, where there is absence of any kind of perception. Therefore concentration on a particular item is necessary for the perception of external things. But since consciousness is the Self and not apart from the mind, concentration on it is not necessary for its realization. It is enough that other perceptions (namely, thoughts) should be eliminated from the mind and then the Self will be realized. 

If a man wants to pick out one particular image among a series of images passing in front of him, as reflections on a mirror, he must turn his attention away from the rest of the pictures and fix it on that particular one. If on the other hand, he wants to see the space reflected, it is enough that he turns away his attention from the pictures and the space manifests without any attention on his part, for space is immanent everywhere and is already reflected there. However, it has remained unnoticed because the interspatial images dominated the scene.

Space being the supporter of all and immanent in all, becomes manifest of one the attention is diverted from the panorama. In the same way, consciousness is the supporter of all and is immanent in all and always remains perfect like space, pervading the mind also. Diversion of attention from other items is all that is necessary for Self-realization. Or do you say that the Self-illuminant can ever be absent from any nook or corner?

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सर्वभूताधिवासं यद्भूतेषु च वसत्यपि।
सर्वानुग्राहकत्वेन तद्स्म्यहं वासुदेवः॥

That in whom reside all beings and who resides in all beings,
who is the giver of grace to all, the Supreme Soul of the universe, the limitless being:
I AM THAT. -- Amritabindu Upanishad