Connection with the inner silence of Being by Atman Nityananda

Connection with the inner silence of Being

Whenever we lose full contact with the inner peace and silence, there is a separation from it and extroversion of.mind amd attention.

Because of this, our minds become restless, and thoughts and emotions appear. This restlessness, agitation, and movement of the mind can disappear again when we connect completely with the inner silence and peace.

The methods we can use to restore a deep and complete connection with the inner silence are as follows:

1. Questioning Thoughts or Emotions: When thoughts or emotions arise, we can inquire into their source. For example, ask, “To whom have these thoughts arisen?” The answer is “To me.” Then, question further, “What is the source of the ‘me’?” This helps in tracing the origin of our sense of self and reconnecting with inner silence.

2. Focusing on the Sense of ‘Me‘: We can also direct our full attention to the sense of ‘me’ or ‘I.’ In this method, we first use the approach of questioning, but instead of seeking the inner source of ‘me’ or ‘I,’ we focus completely on the sense of ‘me’ itself. We can facilitate the concentration on the sense of ‘me’ by asking these questions: “Can I feel completely this sense of ‘me’?” or “Can I be fully aware of this sense of ‘me’?” By deeply concentrating on this sense of ‘me’, we align ourselves with the inner silence.

Meditation differs according to the degree of advancement of the seeker. If one is fit for it, one might directly hold on to the thinker, and the thinker will automatically sink into its source, namely, pure consciousness (the silent space of consciousness).

Ramana Maharshi

3. Another way to connect with inner silence and deepen it is to focus our awareness fully on the sense of “I am” or “I exist.” To make our attention and mind effortlessly focus on this sense of “I am,” we can use questions like, “Can I fully feel that I am?” “Can I be fully aware that I am?” and “Can I fully attend to the sense of ‘I am’?” By gently being aware of this sense of “I am” or “I exist,” we gradually get in touch with the background of the “I am,” the silent, empty space of consciousness.

4. Inquiring About Connection: Another method is to ask, “Can I connect with the inner silence?” After asking this once or twice, we simply turn our attention within and focus on the inner silence.

Every time our attention strays away from the sense of “I am” or the inner silence, we can use one of the above methods to reconnect with the inner silence. If we use the inquiry method, we ask, “To whom does this thought arise?” The answer is, “To me.” We then connect with the “me” and ask, “What is the source of ‘me’?” If we use the sense of “I am” method, whenever our attention strays, we can ask, “Can I feel the sense of ‘I am’?” “Can I feel that I am?” or “Can I feel that I exist?”. Our focus of attention thus returns to the Sense “I Am”, and we remain gently there, deepening in this Sense “I Am”. Through it, we connect with the silence within.

5. Another way to connect with inner silence is to mentally repeat the mantra “Om.” Repeat the mantra slowly, prolonging each sound, (Ooooommmmmm..) and focus initially on the sound itself and then on how it fades away. After the sound has completely subsided, remain fully aware of the silence that follows. Then, repeat the mantra again in the same prolonged manner, focusing first on the sound and how it gradually fades out. Finally, direct your attention to the silence that remains after the sound has completely vanished, maintaining awareness of this silence. When the mind becomes deeply quiet, we can cease repeating the mantra and focus solely on the silence. If the mind starts to wander or generate thoughts, we use the mantra to regain control and return to inner silence. Each time our mind strays, we repeat the mantra “Om” in a prolonged manner to refocus and reconnect with the inner silence.

How capable we are of maintaining a complete connection with the inner silence and avoiding the extroversion of the mind—thus preventing the loss of contact with it—or, when we do lose contact, how easily we can regain it, depends on the purity of our mind, the extent of our practice and on how much we have developed various capacities such as dispassion, discernment, concentration, devotion, and the desire for truth and liberation.

The ‘secret’ to a plentiful life, a life of harmony, happiness and contentment is to have a sattvic mind free from desires and ego and to live in every moment in conscious contact with our true Self (Consciousness).

🌺 Peace, Love, Harmony

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HOW EGO & DESIRE CAUSE SUFFERING ~ Atman Nityananda

HOW EGO & DESIRE CAUSE SUFFERING

 The ego and desires crause suffering by three ways:

1. By the transformation of desire itself into pain-body; viz. anger, fear, depression, greed, jealousy, sadness and all other well known psychological disorders. These psychological disorders when are activated make us experience enormous suffering.
 
2. By committing sinful actions in order to fulfill our desires. These actions create painful situations and conditions in the future (karma). We can reincarante for example in a sick body or in a problematic family or country.

3. By overusing and misusing the senses, body, mind and prana. This cause physical, vital and mental diseases. 

Desire and lust are the beginning, the middle and the end of human suffering.

The three stages of desire mechanism

First desire creates in us a sense of incompleteness, that something is missing, a sense of discontentment, uneasiness and boredom which is the beginning of suffering.

Subsequently the suffering of desire takes the form of expectations, imaginations, impatience, anxiety and agitation of mind (compulsive thinking). That happens when the impulse of desire arises in our mind and outer heart.

Finally the suffering of desire takes the form of fear, anger and depression.

Fear

Fear arises when there is possibility not to get the desired object or to lose it when we have succeeded in getting it. In addition desire transforms itself into anger when something or someone obscures the fulfillment of desire.

Anger & depression

If we lose or not get the desired object, desire itself is modified into anger, hatred, aggressiveness, violence followed by disappointment, depression, sadness etc.

Usually when the desire is fulfilled there is for a while a sense of euphoria, satisfaction, contentment and happiness* which are followed again by the feelings of emptiness, lack, discontentment, uneasiness and the fear of losing the desired object.

Thus a vicious cycle is created by desire which starts and ends with suffering. There are only some intervals in which we feel content, happy or peaceful and which last very little.

This vicious cycle of the suffering created by desire is going on without a break until we are aware of it and by diligent practice we get free of it.

It is very important to mention here that desire keeps us in its clutches by making us believe that happiness and pleasure are inherent in the sense objects and the external situations.

This is the greatest illusion because there is not even an iota of pleasure and happiness in the objects. The ego-desire creates this illusion by projection, association, superimposition, identification and imagination.

Lack of discernment and inattention keep this play of ego and desire out of our conscious observation; thus the desire mechanism functions unobstructed. 

The familiar sense ‘I am the body’ or ‘the body is me’, known as ‘ego’ or ‘Iness’ is created by the mechanism of pleasure. This pleasure-energy in the form of ‘Iness’ or ego identifies us with the physical body and make us believe that we are the physical body while in reality is the self-existence consciousness which animates the body and gives to it aliveness.

Like-dislike, attraction-aversion and attachment are also attendants and modifications of the mechanism of pleasure-lust-desire-passion.

There is only one way to escape of this miserable way of living; to purify our mind and heart of all egoic qualities, to realize our true nature which is consciousness and identical with the Divine consciousness and live with love, peace and harmony within and without.

 May God bless you realize the truth in this very life!

NOTE:

contentment and happiness* : Happiness always comes from within our heart, is an innate attribute of our true nature or consciousness, but we do not experience it because our mind is always outgoing, agitated and we are always in a state of emotional turmoil.

 The happiness and the contentment we experience when a desire is fulfilled, derives also from within ourselves, the Soul, and has nothing to do with the object of desire.

When a desire is fulfilled and we enjoy the desired object there is no separation between us and the object and thus all mental and emotional agitation (fantasies, imaginations, projections, expectations, anxiety, agony, fear, impatience etc.) subside. Thus the mind for a while becomes calm, concentrated and introverted. In this mental state the mind naturally reflects the happiness of our inner Self or Consciousness. But we do not recognize it because the ego (with the aid of tamas guna) puts a veil on this process and thus we unconsciously associate the happiness with the object. We think that happiness comes from the object itself or at least that depends on the object. This has as a result we to condition our subconscious to seek happiness through similar experiences and in general through objective experiences.

Extract from How-we-are-caught-in-samsara

OM! WHO IS A JIVANMUKTA ( a man liberated-in-life.) - Adisankaracharya

 

WHO IS A JIVANMUKTA ( a man liberated-in-life.)

In the next verses of his book Vivekachudamani Adisankaracharya defines the nature of a Jivanmukta.

423. If the heart’s knot of ignorance is totally destroyed, what natural cause can there be for inducing such a man to selfish action, for he is averse to sense-pleasures ?

424. When the sense-objects excite no more desire, then is the culmination of dispassion. The extreme perfection of knowledge is the absence of any impulsion of the egoistic idea. And the limit of self-withdrawal is reached when the mind-functions that have been merged, appear no more.

425. Freed from all sense of reality of the external sense-objects on account of his always remaining merged in Brahman; only seeming to enjoy such sense-objects as are offered by others, like one sleepy, or like a child; beholding this world as one seen in dreams, and having cognition of it at chance moments – rare indeed is such a man, the enjoyer of the fruits of endless merit, and he alone is blessed and esteemed on earth.

426. That Sannyasin has got a steady illumination who, having his soul wholly merged in Brahman, enjoys eternal bliss, is changeless and free from activity.

427. That kind of mental function which cognises only the identity of the Self and Brahman, purified of all adjuncts, which is free from duality, and which concerns itself only with Pure Intelligence, is called illumination. He who has this perfectly steady is called a man of steady illumination.

428. He whose illumination is steady, who has constant bliss, and who has almost forgotten the phenomenal universe, is accepted as a man liberated in this very life.

429. He who, even having his mind merged in Brahman, is nevertheless quite alert, but free at the same time from the characteristics of the waking state, and whose realisation is free from desires, is accepted as a man liberated-in-life.

430. He whose cares about the phenomenal state have been appeased, who, though possessed of a body consisting of parts, is yet devoid of parts, and whose mind is free from anxiety, is accepted as a man liberated-in-life.

431. The absence of the ideas of "I" and "mine" even in this existing body which follows as a shadow, is a characteristic of one liberated-in-life.

432. Not dwelling on enjoyments of the past, taking no thought for the future and looking with indifference upon the present, are characteristics of one liberated-in-life.

433. Looking everywhere with an eye of equality in this world, full of elements possessing merits and demerits, and distinct by nature from one another, is a characteristic of one liberated-in-life.

434. When things pleasant or painful present themselves, to remain unruffled in mind in both cases, through the sameness of attitude, is a characteristic of one liberated-in-life.

435. The absence of all ideas of interior or exterior in the case of a Sannyasin, owing to his mind being engrossed in tasting the bliss of Brahman, is a characteristic of one liberated-in-life.

436. He who lives unconcerned, devoid of all ideas of "I" and "mine" with regard to the body, organs, etc., as well as to his duties, is known as a man liberated-in-life.

437. He who has realised his Brahmanhood aided by the Scriptures, and is free from the bondage of transmigration, is known as a man liberated-in-life.

438. He who never has the idea of "I" with regard to the body, organs, etc., nor that of "it" in respect of things other than these, is accepted as one liberated-in-life.

439. He who through his illumination never differentiates the Jiva and Brahman, nor the universe and Brahman, is known as a man liberated-in-life.

440. He who feels just the same when his body is either worshipped by the good or tormented by the wicked, is known as a man liberated-in-life.

441. The Sannyasin in whom the sense-objects directed by others are engulfed like flowing rivers in the sea and produce no change, owing to his identity with the Existence Absolute, is indeed liberated.

442. For one who has realised the Truth of Brahman, there is no more attachment to the sense-objects as before: If there is, that man has not realised his identity with Brahman, but is one whose senses are outgoing in their tendency.

443. If it be urged that he is still attached to the sense-objects through the momentum of his old desires, the reply is – no, for desires get weakened through the realisation of one’s identity with Brahman.

444. The propensities of even a confirmed libertine are checked in the presence of his mother; just so, when Brahman, the Bliss Absolute, has been realised, the man of realisation has no longer any worldly tendency.”