I had planned to talk about specific practices that facilitate recognition of our essential nature in this post. But as I considered how I would approach this topic I realized that we must first establish two important points. First, what’s the goal of practice? And second, what does the accomplishment of practice look like?
There are at least two obvious dangers in recommending any sort of practice as a means to recognizing Awareness. I have noticed a tendency to engage in a certain practice for either its fruit or a belief that it will directly result in liberation. So we must first establish the goal of our practices. Why are we sitting in meditation, practicing karma yoga, and so on?
Practice is a means of preparing the apparent person for the inquiry which reveals Awareness as our true identity. Notice the key word here is “prepare”. Since we are addressing the self-assertion or ego-self it must always be clear that this entity is not going to get liberated. It’s easy to fall into the trap of the “liberated me”. For this is yet another delusion, a veiling of Awareness. Practice purifies the mind so that we no longer enjoy only short moments of Awareness but rather we abide in its infinite ocean perpetually!
One of the dangers mentioned above is engaging in a practice for the fruit it yields. In the past I’ve done a lot of work with mantras. You may have noticed when you really get into this practice a serene and calm state of mind often manifests. The absence of the monkey mind gives you a certain pleasurable feeling. This serenity and calmness is a main goal of mantra, at least as far as the mind is concerned, and it can lead to a firm basis on which to begin the investigation of your true nature. But if we become attached to this transitory pleasure we’re practicing in vain. What manifests then is an experiencer clinging to the feeling of serenity and calm.
The other danger is believing that a practice will lead directly to liberation. In other words, “If I meditate hard enough I’ll achieve liberation”. Practice can’t achieve liberation as if it were a thing to be had. Again this is another subtle attachment to the self-assertion. “I” want to achieve and acquire liberation, “I” want to possess it. Often though we can chase after this desire without even realizing we’ve been deceived. Then at some point an intuition arises and we notice how much we’ve invested in seeking such a desire.
The goal of practice is to calm and prepare the mind, the body, and the psycho/physical entity we call “I” not for the recognition of Awareness. “Work is for the purification of the mind, not for the perception of the Reality.”* In my reading I ran across a quote by Ramana Maharshi stating that practice seeks to turn the practicer into “dry wood”. Dry wood when ignited instantly bursts into flame. In contrast green wood requires significant effort to catch fire. When you achieve the goal of practice, to prepare for liberation, you are as dry wood you burst into the flame of Awareness. Liberation is as close as stepping off a high precipice into an ocean of it!
Now with the goal of practice clearly in view we can now consider what the result of successful practice looks like. From the point of view of the apparent person what evidence manifests? For this we turn to Shankara the great expositor of Advaita Vedanta. In his work titled Vivekachudamani* he points out six virtues that must be present in the individual’s life for recognition of Awareness to become an ongoing reality. For Shankara he considers these virtues within the context of right discrimination, dispassion, and the desire for liberation. In fact he calls these three along with the six virtues “qualifications” for liberation.
The six virtues are:
- Mind control – A state of serenity in which the mind no longer runs to and fro.
- Sense control – There is no longer a desire to chase sense gratification.
- Introversion – Inwardness/Introspectiveness, always being oriented inward toward Awareness.
- Forbearance – Patiently bearing all affliction.
- Faith – Traditionally in the Scriptures and Guru, basically rational faith that the message is truth.
- Single pointed concentration – Unwavering focus on the supreme goal
These six virtues are grouped under one heading called Shamadhi Shakta Sampatti. They are really one object; a state of mind and body that’s ripe for the investigation of reality. The goal here is not to make a list of these qualifications and virtues and set out to check them off our list. Rather, we want to be honest with ourselves. Ask yourself questions like: is my mind calm? am I still clinging to certain sense pleasures? Am I usually turned inward toward Awareness? How do I handle suffering? Do I have faith in the message of nonduality? Am I unwavering in my concentration on the goal of liberation?
If you notice that you are lacking in any of these areas then taking up specific practices may be beneficial for you. But as I always try to point out, since recognition of Awareness is discrimination it’s not an action or a “doing”. Therefore practice is not strictly required for recognition to take place. But it’s simply the case that for many people recognition is not initially permanent. Recognition is always possible for you right this moment. All that is required is the turning inward and the investigation of the mind; what is the mind? the body? the “I”? Do you see that they are all illusory? If so what remains after their negation?
In this post I’ve attempted to set a precedent for practice. Why? if all that is required is the inward investigation of our nature? Because, for many of you who are like me there are intervals of re-cognition interspersed with moments of forgetting. We continue to forget on account of attachments that have not been eradicated. Being mindful of the traditional qualifications and evident virtues of the rightly prepared person helps to uncover our remaining ignorance. There is still a film of delusion over our eyes which we may still be unconscious of. Practice is a means which accounts, provisionally, for the apparent person until which time ignorance no longer interferes in the calm, abiding space of pure Awareness.
In the next installment we will consider a couple different practices. Hopefully in considering them what’s been said here regarding preparation will become more clear. Again, we’re not setting up a system of practices and requirements that you must accomplish to become an enlightened being. The goal is to make the self-assertion so transparent that when recognition dawns “I” simply evaporate in the blinding light of Truth. There are no yellow, green, or black belts; nothing to gain or achieve! We are only offering assistance that will facilitate the only worthwhile endeavor…the recognition of Awareness as what you are!
*Vivekachudamani – This is a short work attributed to Shankara. I highly recommend it as a tool to investigate Awareness. There are a few copies freely available by doing a simple google search. If you can’t locate one email me and I’ll get you a copy.
