Exercise in psychology

[nanda chandran]

Everyday I think, something new occurs to me and the picture is clearer.
I would like to extrapolate on what I wrote earlier to make things
clearer. What I'm writing about is just my views based on self
observation, but I've to warn the members that I might've been
influenced by my advaita vedantic conditioning.

I'd written earlier that in the base condition which is devoid of
thoughts there's just a state of existence. I THINK it's just being
prana or the life breath. Ie You (ofcourse without the individuality)
are just the life breath. Since you're just the life breath there's no
individuality (as even individuality is ultimately a thought) and in
that state you just exist (without the you). It's an objectless state,
with the subject just being still and one can go as far to say that even
the subject is not aware of itself.

OK, so who is the I? The mind in general is represented in three ways :
1. Ego, 2. The Intellect and 3. The manas - that which desires. And this
is what's the I. When there's desire, it's only the mind which desires.
When there's a slight, it's only the mind in the form of Ego which rises
up in anger. And even this analysis, which is a purely intellectual
exercise, is only the mind. Inshort I who'm writing this is the mind.

So the natural question would be where's the objectless self (if it can
be called the self) during the activities of the mind. It's there all
the time, in the background, probably observing, all the antics of the
mind.

This state of existence can be reached by anybody, by just withholding
the mind and being still.
Bible : Be still and know ^Å Nagarjuna : Reality is to be had at this
moment, here and now ^Å .
Except that it would be impossible to remain in this state for even a
few seconds without a lot of practice. For this state isn't YOU. So YOU,
who're the mind will not and cannot be still and will eventually surge
up asserting your presence. So YOU have to be convince to put yourself
out of your misery.

I think all the Advaitic cliches of "nobody is trying to realize the
Self", or "nothing is happening" etc will fit quite snugly with the
above theory. Even the Changeless, Eternal and Absolute clause just
might, but again only when the mind is killed.


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