Formless Awareness: Journey to the Heart of Realization

0:00 Hello and welcome to another episode of the Bearded Mystic podcast, and I am your host, rahul N Singh. Thank you for joining today and do like, comment, subscribe. You know what to do Rate and review the podcast on your favourite podcast streaming app. You know the drill. And join my Discord server if you haven't already join in the lively discussions there. And let's see. Today I was really thinking about what to talk about and I didn't really have anything in mind. But how, how can we understand the embodiment of realization?

0:47 So what I mean by that is what is life like after realization? Now, there's a famous Zen saying that before enlightenment, chopping wood, fetching water. After enlightenment, chopping wood, fetching water. After enlightenment, chopping wood, fetching water. Essentially, life doesn't change, but the way you view life does change. Now let's take a few steps back and let's have a look at what it's like when we aren't realized. So when we aren't realized, we consider this world to be very real, the pain in it to be very real.

1:30 It brings about suffering in our lives. We're not necessarily questioning reality. We're more or less kind of doomed into believing that this is the be-all and end-all of everything, because we are so invested in the body and mind. We do not see our true nature. So constantly there's incessant chatter of the mind. So thoughts are occurring all the time, images, sometimes, imagination and hallucination. You know so many things the world and is being perceived through the senses, and the senses have no kind of discernment.

2:14 They are chasing whatever it can desire or staying away from what it does not desire. You know, having kind of repulsion, like kind of disgusted by certain things, and so this is where we very literally begin. Then we may come across spiritual teachings and suddenly our life changes a little bit, because now we're on the path to realizing well, is there more to life? You know, normally it's after a tragedy that we tend to feel this, but we start questioning well, you know, is there a god?

2:55 How can I see god? What is the truth? What is reality? Is the world that I'm living in true or the dream world real? We start pondering. Then we start pondering about what our senses give us. Am I seeing things the way they are meant to be seen? Am I perceiving the world differently? Am I being pulled towards the world? Why am I being pulled towards the world when I know it's not going to give me happiness? It's been giving me suffering and is there a way out of this suffering?

3:37 So then you know, naturally, what happens. We start then thinking about meditating. We come across YouTube videos like this one, and we want to be free from all that, and that's a good thing. Yeah, being free Massively, it's a great thing. So we continue our spiritual practice. We get taught. Well, you know what, if you say you're not the body and mind, well, what is saying, say you're not the body and mind, well, what is saying that I'm not the body and mind, what is aware of the body and what is aware of the mind? And then you say, well, the witnessing self, well, okay, the witnessing self is aware of the mind, is aware of the body.

4:24 Where does this witness begin? Where does this witness end? And we find that, in some regard, it's the mind sometimes witnessing itself, and this is a very easy thing. That can happen and we can easily misperceive this to be true awareness. But mind awareness is, is not what we're after, and it's something that even Ramana Maharishi warned us about. So, okay, so it If I'm then aware.

5:04 But even with the mind's awareness, it has a beginning, it has an end. You know it fluctuates, but what about that awareness that has been there since this body has aged. It's gone through the six stages or is going through the six stages. So you know, childbirth, from birth to like young age, to middle age, to old age and so on. I have been the, the watcher, there has been the same, and that watcher does not belong to the mind, it seems, because it seems to be present throughout. It doesn't disappear anywhere.

5:45 It's been watching and has been unaffected by all of that. It has not changed in any way. It's unchanged. Okay, so let's delve into this nature of awareness. So that's when I say true spirituality begins. There's two ways when spirituality begins. One, that you're given the knowledge of god, so what god is in its truest sense, so you're able to see god directly. That's more done in the bhakti paths, in the jnana path. It's understanding that this self that is within, or without too, but more on that later.

6:26 What is that and what's its nature? And what we find is that it's formless, it's pure consciousness. It's beyond waking, dreaming and deep sleep. It's beyond the bunch gorshas, which is the physical body, the vital air body, which is very subtle, the mind body, the intellect body or the intellect covering, and even the bliss covering. That happens in deep sleep. Okay, so that means that the mind is beyond gross.

7:07 The physical body, the subtle body and also the causal body, which is again the causal body, is the one in deep sleep. Okay, it's prior to even a thought beginning. It's self-existent, there's no way that it's been created because it doesn't seem to have a beginning and it doesn't have an end. It doesn't finish. It's something that keeps remaining there here. Okay, so then one understands okay, maybe this is my true nature. So we go to a teacher.

7:48 A teacher guides us and says you know, this is your true nature. This is what Aham Brahmasmi truly means. This is the first part of Aham Brahmasmi, that one sees themselves as Brahman. So you then experience Brahman as your true self. Now, this Brahman wasn't separate to you. It wasn't separated at all. It was always you and has always been you. But we have unfortunately thought that we have a separate self, which is this body. So the idea of separation is the appearance.

8:29 So then you've been able to have self-realization, that you are, that you've experienced this. You see God face to face and there's a merging with God now. So the difference between you and God is different. So I know I'm mixing up traditions, but the point is the same, it goes to the same end. Point. Now, what completes Advaita Vedanta and what completes even the Path that follows believing in God Is the path of, is understanding Sat, chit, ananda.

9:11 So Sat is existence. So what happens is you. You see this world Now. At one time it was Maya, because it Perpetuated this idea that you are separate, you're a limited being in a limited world, in a limited life and in a limited universe, and and and all that. Then you realize well, actually this world is none other, its cause is none other than God, or being, or existence, or Brahman. So if everything has arisen from this ultimate reality and is appearing in this ultimate reality, so therefore its cause is the ultimate reality and therefore there is no difference between the ultimate reality and this transactional reality, so between Brahman and Maya.

10:07 And so what happens is in the state of Aham Brahmasmi, in the state of I am Brahman, I am formless awareness. One then expands this I am to include the whole universe for the whole existence, because its nature is of pure consciousness, because it's arisen from pure consciousness, and therefore, once you realize this, that this great expanse is what you truly are, everything in this is you, is the I am, is God. Then what happens? There is, we are in the nature of bliss, Because when there's separation, there's ignorance and that causes suffering.

10:52 When there's oneness, there is bliss, and that's why we get to know our true nature, and that our true nature is formless awareness. It is pure oneness with all of existence, and this is the second part of our Aham Brumasmi, atri nature's formless awareness. It is pure oneness with all of existence and this is the second part of our Aham Brahmasmi, which should not be ignored. That then everything is Brahman, not just oh, I am Brahman. Like then we're limiting the Aham Brahmasmi to the physical body again, or the mind again, so expanding it to everywhere, to everything. Then you know, everything is enlightened. There's no such thing as ignorance. People can be playing the game of ignorance.

11:32 That's up to them. But the one that has got out of the cycle of samsara, has gone out of the game, can now look at the game in a different way and therefore realizes that it's the architect, it's the player, it's the one that wins, it's the one that loses, it's the one that turns the game off and that becomes the state of the truly realized being so again. What changes before and after enlightenment? Nothing much. But what does change is that oneness defines everything and not separation. And before our senses used to separate, now our senses look to unite.

12:15 So wherever you look, whatever you do, whatever you hear, whatever you taste, you experience it as your own true nature. So there can hatred occur, can arrogance occur, can pride occur, can lust occur, can the greed for power occur? No, here only humility is here only love is Only compassion, mercy, tolerance, acceptance, kindness. And that is what we do, and that's how we are, that's who we are.

12:57 And so how does the enlightened person function in the world? It's the same as before, but the only difference is they're now in that state of oneness. So, yeah, those are my thoughts for today. So remain in this formless awareness and realize that once you realize your true nature's formless awareness, then there is only this oneness, this formless awareness. So, even though everything appears to be separate, it's all you. Even the worst things are still you, and coming to peace with that is what is really great, and that's what Ajivan Mukta does.

13:37 Ajivan Mukta herself realized being someone who is liberated while alive. That's the way they view life and that is available, accessible to each and every one of us. All we have to do is remain in the awareness of formless awareness. That's all. That's how simple it is. So whenever you feel you got yourself out, just remember, remain in the awareness of formless awareness. Naturally, you go back to that self-existent awareness, you don't have to do anything else, and that's only after all that work from those first second stages are worked out and then it all makes sense.

14:18 So do not bypass the intellectual understanding. Make sure you do that Mostly this third stage, this last stage that I talked about, where you see everything as Brahman all around you. That should open up your heart to everything. And the whole point is to open your heart. And if there's no heart in spirituality, then it's just a game of the mind. And what purpose does that hold? So ask yourself, is my spirituality, is my realization? Is it part of my mind or is it part of my heart? And if it's not part of my heart yet, how can I get it to be part of my heart?

15:03 And that's something that you can think about, and if you want to discuss this with me more, you can always set up a personal meeting. I'm more than happy to discuss these things. You know this. This is what. Even though I am not, I can't see you and I'm not interacting with you like on the zoom session, but even just now, recording this video is a satsang for me. It is company of the enlightened being. So whether you know you're enlightened or not, that's, that's up to you. But I see you as an enlightened being, and, and so that's why I normally end my talks with namaste, because this divinity in here is honoring that same divinity in you.

15:50 And with that, take care, namaste.