Swamiji, Who Are You?" Part II

Swami Chinmayananda

oi-Staff

By Staff

Friday, March 13, 2009, 16:09

The subjective scientists prophets, saints,sages, masters investigated the 'whole' man, not merely his anatomical structure biological functions, psychological movements and intellectual abilities. These are really belonging to the objective scientists; and they have really gone deep and wide into these fields. But the subjective scientists investigated manas the "experiences" in all transactions of life. Each one of us harvest our experiences not only in our waking state but also from the fields of our dreams and even from the realm of our deep-sleep. The Western Philosophers even today recognise man only in his partial aspect as 'Waker'; for only about the last ten years they have started dabbling with the "dreamer" and his experiences.

As a result of this exhaustive observation of the total performance of an individual in his pilgrimage from the womb to the tomb the Hindu masters exploded themselves into a mind-blowing discovery.
All experiences in all my three states of experience (waking, dream and deep-sleep) all are 'My' experiences; 'I' am the subject. The search now become the search to know who is me. Who am I? experiencing the joys and sorrows of situations and circumstances in my waking, dream and deep-sleep states.

At this moment, it may help you pause a little to analyse what is the "knowledge of an experience". Please think along with me. Things are constantly happening all around you. You became conscious of them. What you are not conscious of is, no experience to you. At this moment a bosom friend of yours may be in another part of the world involved in an accident. It has happened, but you have no experience of it. The cable arrives by evening, then you become conscious of it and it becomes a tragic experience. Therefore consciousness of' a thing is the "knowledge" of the thing.

The knower in each one of us is therefore I, a chain of 'consciousness of things'(please pause here and think, before you proceed).

Supposing in contemplative moods of deep meditation, you lift your mind away from all experience of objects, should you not arrive at a state of pure consciousness, in whose light alone you become conscious of things. 'THINK!! Pause and think, please !

This 'objectless awareness' is your true nature. Light in the world illumines things: the illuminator is something other than the illumined: in the light as such there are no objects. In sunlight there is no world; the world is illumined by the sunlight.

In the quiet moments of contemplation, when I thus seek the light of consciousness bereft of all objects, including my own body, feelings or thoughts, I arrive at myself.

At this moment as we are, we live without knowing who we are- drunken fools, mad run away from some asylum! In our present condition we can never keep a right relationship with the things and beings of the world. Each one, conditioned by his own past misconceptions, goes through life panting and exhausting, running after false hopes, mad ambitions, futile uncreative ideas. Stop it!
Seek and know who you are.

I am indescribable, I don't come under any category. "I am you" you, in your purity. So whenever you are pure you are Chinmaya. In their confusions they call me master, great man, prophet, saint, etc. I am just you redeemed from your confusions !!

About the author

Swami Chinmayananda

Swami Chinmayananda's lectures were an outpour of wisdom. He introduced the Geetha Gnana Yagna. He wrote a lot of books on spirituality, commentaries to Vedantic texts, children books etc. He then started spreading His teachings globally.