I am writing about some high philosophy concepts that you will probably not understand unless you have some background in Advaita Vedanta. Be warned.
Yesterday I was meditating and I felt blissful. This is not usual for me. Mostly I am caught up in my mind and trying to concentrate. But yesterday I felt bliss even when I was distracted.
I didn’t do anything new. I just stopped doing what I was doing earlier. That is, I was trying to attain the nondual state of being. And that (nondual state) involves being and not doing.
It is counterintuitive but I made some progress in meditation by ending the effort to make progress.
I let go of my desire to have a good meditation session. And I was able to just be. And being blissful was the result.
So what are the concepts of Advaita Vedanta that should help you let go of the ego and experience bliss?
- First understand that I am not I. The Body Mind complex is not you. I have linked to my earlier blog on this concept below.
- Since the Body Mind complex is not you, you do not need to get stressed about the survival and well being of yourself. The sense of a self separate from the rest of existence is a delusion. The Universe is an organic whole.
- Once you are fully convinced of point (2) above you will find it easy to let go of desire. If you are free of desire you will not need to perform actions dictated by the needs of the ego. You will be purifying your past karma and not generating new karma.
- You may also find the concept of Prarabdha karma useful. Basically it says that what you are experiencing in this life is the result of karma in some past lives. You will get what you are supposed to get in this life – nothing more and nothing less. And that includes both spiritual and worldly attainments.
There is the following quote attributed to Caliph Ali: Thy lot or portion in life is seeking after thee. Therefore be at rest from seeking after it.
The main aim of all this philosophy is that you should be able to let go of your grasping the ego and just be. If you are able to just be without doing you have reached the pinnacle. Or rather this is all that is in your hands to do. Whether or not you attain moksha depends on the will and grace of God.
It is in our hands only to let go. That is the main aim of meditation and all other Jnana yoga practices.
Below are two links that you may find useful if you are interested in knowing more:
This is a not overlong book of about a hundred pages. It explains the basics of Jnana yoga very clearly. Swami Tyagananda was a monk of the Ramakrishna order
This links to a related blog on this concept.
I hope you liked my article and it will be useful to you. Please share it on WhatsApp, FB and X and let me have your comments. Feedback from my readers keeps me going.
I am looking for paid consultancy work. If you think I can give you value please email me at nikhil dot gangoli @ gmail dot com. Do not use the Comments or the Contact Me forms