Here, when we are faced with life, we are faced with a movement, and we do not know the origin of this movement. The foundation, the structure, the nature, the basis of this movement, this is something unknown to all of us.
Here, together, we are investigating the truth about ourselves. All of our effort here is directed toward learning about Self-awareness. It is through this learning that the movement of life reveals itself, this mysterious movement that we do not know. Self-discovery is the key to seeing Life as it is truly unfolding, it is when we become aware of the movement.
The wise sage Ramana Maharshi left us an expression, and that expression is Atma Vichara. Atma Vichara, in English, would be self-observation, or self-inquiry, or self-investigation. We approach life when we approach ourselves, through this self-discovery. This direct look, into what we are, requires the presence of Meditation.
When people ask, "Meditation, what is it? What is Meditation?" They usually associate it with some technique or practice being performed. That's how people generally know or approach what is commonly referred to as meditation out there. Here, the Truth about Meditation is the approach to observing the movement of the "I," the "ego," and this requires the presence of Self-awareness, not a technique called self-awareness, or a technique called meditation.
Here, our emphasis is on discovering the truth of this movement. After all, what is it that is moving? What is the truth about this movement? So, all this movement we encounter in life, we are before a misunderstanding, a misconception, a mistaken way of perceiving, illusory and false, because we are living in our minds, living within a psychological internal condition that is illusory.
There's a short story of two monks who were having a discussion. They were looking at the temple flag-it was fluttering in the wind. One monk said to the other, "Note how the flag moves, how it flutters." The other asked, "What are you seeing?" He replied, "The flag, observe!" The second monk said, "No, there's no flag fluttering; what is moving is the wind, it's the wind that causes the movement, not the flag." One said the movement was of the flag, the other said it was of the wind.
After a few minutes, the Master approached and heard their discussion. At that moment, the Master asked, "What are you two talking about?" One of them, looking for the Master's agreement, said, "Master, note, the flag is moving! It's just the flag's movement." The other interrupted and said, "Master, notice, I've just explained to him, it's so obvious: it's the wind that moves, not the flag. It's the movement of the wind and not of the flag." At that moment, the Master looked at them both and said, "There is only one movement. It is not the movement of the flag, nor of the wind. There is one single movement present, and that movement is the movement of the mind." When the Master said that, they both fell silent and remained quiet.
Here, in life, there is only one movement, and this movement continues without being seen, comprehended, or clarified. We need to become aware of the truth about ourselves, the truth about the mind. It is the comprehension of the movement of the mind, the clear seeing of one single movement. Clarity about this movement is its end, because that is the end of the mind. Then, there is no longer a flag, no wind or mind.
There is a Reality present beyond movement. Thus, Life as it unfolds remains a mystery to us, one that thought tries to solve, that thought tries to decode, that thought tries to comprehend, but it cannot. Here, together, we are with you, investigating the truth about the mind.
What is the truth about Meditation? What is Meditation? Meditation is the encounter with the Truth of Life as it is revealed, without any thought about it, any idea, concept, or belief about it. It is the end of the movement of the known, the end of the movement of thought, the end of the movement of the mind, it is the vision of Life as it is happening. Therefore, self-observation is the beauty of this encounter with the present moment looking into its movement, toward the end of this movement.
All movement, here and now, is the mistaken movement of the evaluation of the past, the evaluation of thought. The way you deal with others, the way you deal with yourself, the way you deal with the present moment, with arising experiences, with everything that happens, when it comes from this movement, which is the movement of thought, it becomes problematic.
The presence of Divine Reality, the presence of God's Reality, is the absence of movement. Something new is present, it is no longer the movement of the mind, It is no longer the mistake, the illusion of what is external or of what appears to be internal, but which still remains illusory.
The encounter with the Truth of What You Are essentially, in your Being, in your True Nature, is the end of this internal, psychological, mistaken movement of identity present in thought, in the mind. The contact with Divine Reality, the answer to the question "How to find God?"-this is a very common question among those caught in the movement of life.
Yes, in fact, life consists of movement, or at least, life as we know it, as we recognize it, because we recognize and know through the past, through the movement of memory, which is the movement of thought itself. Therefore, what does this encounter with God mean for those who seek the encounter with the Truth?
The encounter with Divine Reality is the verification of what is present here, beyond the mind, therefore, beyond the movement of thought, beyond this internal psychological movement, and beyond any idea of something happening out there as movement. Just like in the story of the two monks, where the movement was external. When the Master approached, he pointed out where, in fact, the movement was.
Now, what is the truth about the movement? You gain the vision of the truth about the movement when you investigate yourself: that is the presence of Atma Vichara. Who am I? What is the truth about this feeling, emotion, sensation, or perception? In the ego, in this "I," in the mind, the tendency is always, invariably, to look at experience through the past. So, we are seeing the world through a colored lens, which is the lens of thought.
Your contact with people, your contact with situations, your contact with yourself, the various inner states you find yourself in, are not resolved because they are not seen through the light of this comprehension; they are not seen within this clarity and vision. The way we approach problems within ourselves, and also in the external world, is always through the movement of the mind, the movement of thought.
We don't know how to deal with resentment, hurt, sadness, anxiety, or depression. We don't know how to deal with fear. We don't know how to deal with thoughts. We don't know how to deal with the feelings that arise. We don't know how to deal with the other, with him or her. We don't know how to deal with incidents, accidents, and unexpected situations.
There is an unresolved internal condition within us, which always shows up as an unsolved problem, as an unfinished problem: it is the presence of the mind as it is, as it functions. We don't comprehend the truth about ourselves because we don't study ourselves, we don't investigate ourselves.
So, what is this contact with Meditation? It is the approach to this moment, it is the looking into this moment, it is the perceiving of this moment without movement, without the mistaken movement, the conflicting movement, the result of memory, which is the presence of the movement of thought. Can we look at life without thought? Without the coloring of lenses, of these lenses, of this particular way of feeling, thinking, and acting? Then we are facing Life as it truly is, not as the mind makes us see, not as the mind makes us perceive. Then, a new space is present; this space is the space of the encounter with God, with Truth.
So, to the question, "How to find God?" Look at the movement, become aware of the movement, then we have the end of movement; Something indescribable is present, Something beyond words, beyond thoughts, beyond the particular view that thought makes us have, makes us perceive, specifically.
Your contact with life is Life revealing itself as this Divine Reality, when the sense of "I" is not present, when the sense of ego is not present. There is nothing more important in life than approaching it in a real way. An approach that becomes possible when there is self-investigation, when there is this learning about ourselves, when there is this new space that arises out of Silence and stillness, where there is no movement. This is the vision of Wisdom, the Vision of God, it is the vision of Truth, of What is present when the ego is not there.
This is what we are here, together, working on with you. We have online meetings on weekends, Saturdays and Sundays, where we go deeper into these issues with you, into this self-inquiry, this self-investigation. You'll find the link in the video description to join us for these online meetings every Saturday and Sunday. In addition, we also have in-person meetings and retreats. If what you've just heard resonates with you in any way, go ahead and leave a "like," subscribe to the channel, and comment: "Yes, it makes sense." Okay? See you soon. Thanks for this meeting, and see you next time.
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