You are not what you think :: You are Bliss ::

----- from Ashtavakra Gita (अष्टावक्रगीता)

देहाभिमानपाशेन चिरं बद्धोऽसि पुत्रक ।
बोधोऽहं ज्ञानखंगेन तन्निष्कृत्य सुखी भव ॥१-१४॥

dehābhimānapāśena ciraṁ baddho'si putraka |
bodho'haṁ jñānakhaṁgena taḥnikṛtya sukhī Bhava || 1 - 14 ||

Translation :-

हे पुत्र ! बहुत समय से आप - मैं शरीर हूँ इस भाव बंधन से बंधे हैं स्वयं को अनुभव कर ज्ञान रूपी तलवार से इस बंधन को काटकर सुखी हो जाएँ |

You have long been trapped in the snare of identification with the body. Sever it with the knife of the knowledge that “I am Pure Consciousness”, and be happy, my son.



Comments :

Here it would be wise to bring up an ancient tale from India about a lion cub who was raised by a flock of sheep, instead of his own mother. The sheep were very kind and raised the lion cub (we will call it the ‘sheeplion’) as their own. The sheep-lion cub grew up among them, believing he too was a sheep. He slept with them, played with them, ate grass with them, and bleated when they did. He became as fearful as them at the appearance of a potential threat. Years went by. One day an enormous lion leapt out from behind some trees and threatened the flock of sheep. They huddled together, terrified. That's when the lion noticed the sheep-lion shaking and hiding in middle of the flock. The sheep-lion was bleating instead of roaring. The lion asked, “Why are you bleating instead of roaring? Why are you living among sheep? You're a lion.”
The sheep-lion didn’t believe this at all. He had been a sheep all his life. Frightened, he tried to run away. But the larger lion caught him and dragged him to a lake, where he told the sheep-lion to look at his reflection in the water. The sheep-lion leaned over and saw his face for the first time. He saw that he wasn’t a sheep; he was a lion after all. From that moment everything changed for the sheep-lion. He roared instead of bleating and became who he was meant to be. He wasn't meant to live a fearful life, following the herd of sheep and doing what they did without question. He was a lion. He was powerful, noble, and strong.

This analogy provides us a very deep insight into the spiritual journey and puts a few misconceptions surrounding our spiritual life to rest. First of all, bliss is NOT an attainment. It is our own reflection, our own inner nature. The lion was always a lion. He was never a sheep. The sheep-lion cub had wrongly identified himself as a sheep. Similarly, we too have wrongly identified with the herd mentality, which is, “I am so and so” – the body, the
mind, the intellect, the energies. We have failed to look into the lake of our heart. Once we see our true selves clearly, the false identification drops completely. The memory of the flock is no longer predominant.

Bliss takes over completely. We have only to ‘look’ inwards deep enough, and then we will see the reflection clearly. This Bliss is what you’ve always been, so there is no question of it coming and going. What comes and goes is only a state of mind. This bliss is often referred to as SAT-CHIT-ANANDA.

This means that the bliss stays forever, never to leave. SAT-CHITANANDA may merely seem like three separate words meaning
EXISTENCE-ONSCIOUSNESS-BLISS, but together they denote a very important deeper meaning, which is ‘The Consciousness which ever exists as Bliss.’ Once we see it, we will know that we were always that bliss. It stays forever. How can it ever leave me? It is known that it has never left me in the first place.

Note: A few key components and features of the Bliss of SAT-CHITANANDA and my own experience regarding it are mentioned through the following points:

• It is what you already are, so it is not a question of attainment or of becoming that Bliss.

• It is continuous, ever flowing and ever new Joy.
• All it takes to realize it is an intense looking inwards (towards the lake of our inner heart) and away from outward sense gratifications (the herd mentality.) The journey the sheep-lion makes towards the lake represents the inward journey every sadhaka or spiritual practitioner has to undertake. It is not enough merely to assume that we are already that ‘lion’ and so nothing needs to be done, as neo-Advaita declares.

Without looking at one’s reflection in the ‘lake’ (Bliss flowing from
the heart) any knowledge is mere mental knowing. Wisdom lies in
direct realization or else doubts will always persist. The sheep-lion
has to take the journey to the lake to see its true reflection. This is a must in the spiritual quest. Only then it becomes Jnana (true
knowledge).

Without firm conviction derived through direct experience, no matter how hard the sheep-lion tries to roar he will only be bleating. Most seekers on their spiritual journey don’t undertake the inner journey as a discipline (formal meditation,) and many of them who do are easily distracted midway along the journey, or drop the journey altogether.

Many go ‘guru shopping’ and read various books, trying to seek a
technique or an insight which can reveal the ‘Truth’ to them in a very short period of time. They mentally grasp various different concepts and try to find the Truth through these mental concepts. This is like trying to find fish in a pot-hole. Fish can only be found in a lake.

Therefore it is of vital importance to limit reading and rather dive
within, into the lake of one’s heart. All doubt vanishes when the lake is reached (when the life energy is stabilized in the heart.)
Only then can the spiritual journey be called complete, not before.

• Two sure signs that one has reached the ‘lake’, which is the end of seeking, are:

Firstly, there must be a moment when the ‘sheep’ memory
(body/ mind/ ego) is completely gone and the lion consciousness (pure uninterrupted bliss) takes over. This means that the knowledge I EXIST cannot be of both, the lion and the sheep (body/ mind/ ego). In that knowledge BOTH CANNOT CO-EXIST. There must be a time where one finds a new reality has emerged INDEPENDENT of the body/ mind/ ego. This means the experiencer is not this body/ mind/ ego. Many talk about bliss rising and falling, oneness experiences, alertness and mindfulness experiences or a background SELF (often another mental concept); but none of these constitute real awakening because they are experienced through the normal waking state, where the experiencer is still the body/ mind/ ego. This is another flaw of the neo-Advaitins and of those who shy away from formal meditation. They have not gone deeper than the waking and dream states to see their true reflection.

Secondly, seeking will automatically come to an end when there is no abidance by you. Rather, Bliss will abide in you, captivate you and possess you. It will hold you so close to itself that the outer sense gratifications will lose their charm and effect on you. Nothing outer or inner will enchant you. All forms of practice and searching will drop automatically.

The bliss which comes and goes (as a glimpse) is nothing but a state of mind. The temporary joy and bliss which appear take place when the mind gets purified through sadhana (formal meditation and inquiry). But, they disappear too, as they come from the mind. Many aspirants chase this joy and bliss, and feel dejected and de-motivated to pursue their sadhana when the joy and bliss elude them, but this is a big mistake. It is here that a teacher advises the students not to worry whether bliss is manifesting or not. The student is asked to let go of whatever the mind brings in – sorrow or joy, and to identify with neither of them; simply to dive deeper without worrying about any results appearing in the form of joy and bliss. However, there will be no question of letting go the Bliss of SAT-CHIT-ANANDA, because it won’t allow you to let go. You will be powerless. Can a drunk remain in his senses and let go of his intoxication by merely willing it? Obviously, this is not to imply that drunks are similar in any way, because the state of SAT-CHIT-ANANDA (Divine intoxication) is a highly alert state unlike that of a drunk, and the joy far exceeds that of drinking or any pleasures of this world.