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   The Ego and the True Self

Why does the mind go outwards and the intellect inward?

      Since the mind is in close association (Sat-sang) with the five sense organs (eyes, nose, mouth, hands and ears) it always tend to go outward because these sense organs react  to the external stimuli. Hence the mind also follows it.

      In the ancient Sanskrit and Tamil languages, a word "Ahamkara" is commonly used. This is roughly translated as "Ego". Ego is the "I" feeling that "I" am the body with the sense organs. So Ego is generated when the mind is associated with the body sense organs and its perception. The realm of the mind is the realm of the Ego.

      If the mind operates with the feeling of the body and senses, then it is the Ego feeling. The "I" feeling , that I am the body, mind, senses is the Ego feeling.

      There is another term used in these ancient languages, "Atma". This is  roughly translated as  the "Self". This difference between the Ego and the Self is that the Ego feels that "I" am the body, the mind and the senses. The Self on the other hand is the "perceiver" of the body and the mind and the senses. The Self "witnesses" every thing and so is the perceiver.

       Differentiating these two terms is very essential to understand every aspect in Vedic tradition. Equally important it is to know to understand healing also. The Ego is the gate -keeper that makes sure that the mind does not move inwards. Ego always wants the mind to revel with the body, sense organs and the mind. Therefore all spiritual practices were oriented to break the gate that the Ego safeguards, and transcend to the realm of the Self, that witnesses all the actions.

      We will go deep into this aspect later ,but now we will focus on healing. In the next pages we will discuss about faith in healing. This is highly debated topic in modern science. Modern science fails to understand this because of the lack of its understanding on the nature of the mind, ego and about awareness.

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   Space, the element of Awareness
 

      The ultimate stage of purification of the body and mind leads to Awareness. This awareness is the source of healing and all other creativity. It is the source of all potentiality (read more detail in awareness section).

        As we discussed earlier, Healing force is operating always within the realm of body and mind.  When we lack the space element or the awareness aspect, then diseases sets in. What we call as impurities are agents or factors that pull the mind away from the source of awareness or the source of healing. Purification of the body and mind is to remove these impurities and set the mind towards the field of awareness.

     At this juncture it is worth to discuss about the nature of the mind. The mind always wanders towards the external stimuli, through the five sense organs of action and five sense of perception (eyes, nose, mouth, hands and ears). Whereas the intellect always goes inwards to the state of awareness.

    Why does the mind go outwards and the intellect inward? 

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 Bliss - the unconditional happiness in life

        Life becomes always blissful 24 hrs a day, seven days a week if we live life with full awareness. Now our happiness in life is conditional, which means we are in the happy state the way the mind dictates so. If we live life in the happy state whatever the conditions may prevail, it leads to unconditional happiness or bliss. Bliss is unconditional happiness.

        To stay happy irrespective of all conditions in life is bliss. It is does not mean that one will not cry, feel sad, sorry, etc. These are emotions which will arise based on the situations. To get caught up in these emotions without being aware of it is the problem.

       Look at babies, how blissful they are. They do express emotions, they cry when they feel pain. But that is only for a moment. They do not have a hang over of it. They do not get caught with that emotional feeling. They express it and then they let go of it and then are in the present again.

      Children are also are found bubbling with energy. We  have a bigger  body and have more strength than the kids, yet the kids can run around the whole day and never get tired. This is because they are in the present and do not have hang over of the emotions they under go.

       If children are the present, in the awareness state, then why do they get diseases? A good question. The answer is that kids are the projection of the minds of the parents. This is why ancient masters emphasized the pregnant mother to pay attention equally to the body and mind. Unfortunately mothers pay attention only to the body and not to the mind. Stressful mind of the pregnant mother  expresses as diseases in the kids.  More details in pregnancy section.

       Getting back to our discussion of unconditional happiness, we do not let go of anything and that eats up our mind and generate stress. To let go of things, to accept the reality of the present, which means to accept what is happening around is the way to have unconditional happiness. In later chapter we will discuss more about the power of acceptance, the biggest stress reliever.

      Unconditional happiness cannot happen until fear is removed. fear is the main force behind the stress in mind. we will discuss about it.

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      Inner Silence & Meditation

         The silence one observes in meditation is the bridging state between Pure Awareness and pure consciousness. Meditation leads to the pure awareness state and we have discussed that awareness is the source of healing.  This is why meditation is very important both in healing and spiritual and helps in day to day mundane activities.

         The state of pure awareness only leads us to real Self - Pure Consciousness, which is otherwise called as Atman, Brahman or Soul. Meditation helps the individual to transcend to the state of pure awareness, which is close to the state of pure Consciousness. This is Self realization, the goal of a spiritual seeker.

Why does not one observe the silence always.
      It is again because of the mind. In a movie theater the film that is projected is a continuous exposure of frames of the film. When one frame is projected, the eye captures the frame and after a pause the next frame is projected. However the mind does not perceive the pause because the mind retains the image of the first frame even after the frame vanishes and by that time the next frame is projected and the mind captures that frame. Therefore the mind ceases to observe the thoughts. Similarly each thought that arises in the mind is like distinct frame, and the pause or the silence between two successive thoughts is never experienced. The silence between the thoughts is peace. In meditation thus one observes the inner silence , the source of all thoughts.    

Life is just watching a movie- being a witness.
    In a movie theatre the we see the images projected on a movie screen. Have you ever thought the force that project the images on the screen?. That is the LIGHT. Light is that illuminates the film and is projected on a white screen. Without the light the film cannot be projected. Similarly it is the consciousness that illuminates all the objects in the world. The body is like the screen on which all the images are projected by the source of the light. Like the whole activity of a theater is based on the light source. The same is the case with the world, where the whole world is based on the consciousness. This supreme consciousness is acknowledged as supreme power or GOD.

        The ultimate purpose of  LIFE  is to use our body, mind, intellect to realize, that our true Self is the Consciousness, the light projecting this whole universe .