This book deals both with the need for self-inquiry in daily life. Everybody needs sleep for his survival. If a man does not have sleep adequately he will go insane and his life will be in disorder. Similarly everybody needs meditation in the waking state, otherwise his mind and life will be in disorder. This disorder is quite obvious both inside the mind and so outside in the present world where the majority of humanity has no understanding or time to do meditation. Meditation is to go beyond thought and establish ...
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This book deals both with the need for self-inquiry in daily life. Everybody needs sleep for his survival. If a man does not have sleep adequately he will go insane and his life will be in disorder. Similarly everybody needs meditation in the waking state, otherwise his mind and life will be in disorder. This disorder is quite obvious both inside the mind and so outside in the present world where the majority of humanity has no understanding or time to do meditation. Meditation is to go beyond thought and establish ourselves in being. But we cannot go beyond thought with the mechanics of the workings of the "me" which is an isolating and destructive factor. At present thought is dominating and directing our way of life. Thought is a reaction of past memories and experiences and with these it faces the challenge in the present which is always new, it encounters it partially which results in conflict.So thought as our master of life brings disaster and ego is nothing but thought. Thought subsides when the activity of the "me" subsides which is the result of the understanding born out of awareness, watchfulness in a state of observation in which there is not a trace of condemnation or justification of what is being observed. In that passive alertness we listen to the noise of the "me" with relaxed attention beyond the noise of words without intervening with the screen of thoughts, conclusions and prejudices. The search for truth is individual and is not possible in religious congregations. It is possible in self-inquiry where we go beyond thought and establish in being. In that way, we respond to the challenge of the present in a holistic way instead of getting lost in imagination, day dreaming and we relax totally in being with full awareness. What is it that is to be investigated in self-Inquiry? We have to investigate whether there is such an entity as the "thinker", the "me" as noun apart from thought. If we remove all thoughts from the thinker does an entity, as "thinker" remain? So thought is the thinker. One part of the mind assumes the role of thinker and it feels it is separate from other thoughts. Is the thinker separate from thought? We have to investigate. As the "I-am-the-body" idea is the root of all thoughts we have to investigate whether identity with the body through "I-am-the-body" idea is existential or not. This is an important investigation. Once we start investigating we bring awareness into the investigation and in the presence of awareness thought flow is reduced and finally comes to a standstill. Then we develop the capacity to hold on to "I-am-the-body" idea. Pure "I-am-the-body" idea is filled with pure awareness. It is not an obstruction to the revelation of self-knowledge. We can hold on to pure "I-am-the-body" idea in the interval between the transition of mind from one mode to another or in the interval between two thoughts. Then investigation becomes a piece of cake because there is no clouding of consciousness by thoughts in that interval. Till then we fall back into unawareness due to strong mental habits which are called tendencies even while doing self-inquiry. So uninterrupted Self-awareness (sada apramada) is needed for self inquiry. The practice of Self-Enquiry. The reason why the scriptures begin by teaching that the five sheaths are not "I", is that in order to practice Self-Enquiry, it is useful for an aspirant to understand intellectually that the "I" which is to be attended to is not the body or any other adjuncts which are now felt by him to be mixed with the feeling of "I". But since Bhagawan does not want us to fall a prey to the misunderstanding that pondering intellectually over the truth that five sheaths are not" I", is itself the method of negating the five sheaths. He has carefully taught us the method of practicing Self-Enquiry before revealing to us the revelation that the five sheaths are not "I".
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