FREEDOM IS OUR TRUE NATURE, THE REAL ‘ME’………

The ‘freedom’ which we normally understand is really not a freedom. Why it’s so is for the reason that most of the time our responses are not by conscious choice but are rather driven by our past memory, karmas, as we traditionally know them. Such auto responses are mechanical in nature and hence are not actions but reactions. A reaction is always compulsive and hence unconscious whereas an action or a response is always a conscious one.

Compulsion means unconsciousness and therefore binding in nature. Freedom on the other hand means liberation – liberation from our karmas which limit us in so many ways. A reaction is a bondage which not only binds us but also limits us from discovering our true self. A bondage makes us repetitive i.e. doing the same things again and again in our current life and also becomes a reason for another life.

The real freedom comes from awareness that is when we consciously choose our responses and when our actions are guided by our present moment awareness, the so called free will. Awareness is real freedom because it does not bind us but releases us from our past karmas which is also the basis of our suffering. Awareness means becoming a witness or an observer - creating distance from the body and mind - which is also our true self or real ‘me’. Once we are established in awareness then every action is by choice and is therefore a real freedom. A new sense of freedom is born. Whatever we do in awareness does not bind us. Awareness also makes us free from everything – pain, pleasure and the cycle of birth and rebirth. Awareness is not in the realm of physical and is beyond our body and mind.……….BeAware

One who lives his life in awareness is free of his Karmas……..

What we know as Karma is nothing but a memory which we carry forward from one life to the other. A large chunk of this past memory which we gathered over our evolutionary process as a human being is known as Sanchit karma as opposed to prarbhada karma which is a small part of our past memory which we have to live in our current life. The Sanchit karma is not in our conscious memory and hence usually not accessible though the same is very much present there with us in the form of subconscious memory.

This memory is not only there but also affects our karmas which we do in our current life in a big way and is said to be responsible for certain chronic diseases and many of those repetitive patterns including the misery which we undergo in our life. The reason past life regression and experiences are very popular now-a-days is the belief that by recalling or accessing those past memories one can get rid of these diseases or patterns.

The important thing which we need to understand is that we accumulate this past memory which is there only for the reason that we have lived our past lives and continue living our current life unconsciously i.e. in awareness. It’s only unawareness or unconscious living which gathers karmas or so called past memory. On the other hand whatever we do or live in full awareness not only releases us but also does not leave its marks behind in the form of karmas. Past lives to that extent become irrelevant.

Only because of our unconscious living the past lives or memories have become important. If we can live our life consciously then there is nothing like past life. In fact knowing about our past lives will not help us in any way because in those lives also we did the same what we are doing now i.e. doing the same things again and again. The only thing which can release us off memory of our past lives is to become aware and start living our life consciously. Once we are fully established in awareness then in a moment we are free of our past memory or karmas. If we do not do that then we will continue accumulating new karmas unawares as we did so far………..BeAware 

ONE IS SPIRITUAL IF HE IS AWARE............

Awareness is said to be the screen or stage on which is played the whole drama of creation. Though awareness is beyond the physical i.e. the creation which we can see but at the same time everything arises from awareness; survives and thrives in and around the awareness and upon dissolution everything sinks back into the awareness. The whole universe is just that i.e. sat – chit – ananda – being - consciousness -bliss.

Awareness means one has become an observer, sakshi or witness to everything. Spirituality is not what we normally understand like going to religious places or following certain religious beliefs or reading scriptures and religious books. Being spiritual means to be aware. In fact it would not be wrong to say that the other name for spirituality is awareness. Awareness is spirituality and spirituality is awareness. One is said to be spiritual when he begins to follow the path of awareness i.e. living life consciously in full awareness. The only difference whether one is spiritual or a materialist is to be seen in the fact if one is living his life consciously or not. One can be spiritual while living in the world and one can be materialist while being a sanyasi – difference is only of being conscious or unconscious. An enlightened master is one who has become pure awareness and is able to maintain and sustain his awareness all the time.

Why should one become spiritual or follow the path of awareness? Only if we can raise our awareness to the level that we become a witness or observer to everything then only can we live in complete freedom i.e. be free from suffering while we are alive and be liberated from the cycle of birth and re-birth post this life also known as LIBERATION or MUKTI or MOKSHA. In Indian tradition MUKTI is also considered to be the sole objective of every human being. In fact this human potential makes us unique and different from other creatures in the sense that we can become conscious of our existence which no other creature is capable of becoming.

The fact is that most of the times except for few moments of awareness we are living our life unconsciously which means that our current actions are influenced by the information which we accumulated in the past, commonly known as karmas. We are generally ruled and guided by our karmas in the form of past conditioning, past memory, opinions ideas etc. All our vasanas (traces of past karmas in the form of desires and habits) are rooted in our sub-conscious mind which find expression unconsciously and thus feeding on each other and thus strengthening our subconscious and unconscious mind. Though the subconscious mind is there which is a product of memory of many births but this continues to rule and guide our life and hence the suffering. Suffering means to move in circles or doing the same things again and again. Reaction i.e. action which is guided by our past conditioning is unconscious and hence makes us to suffer. Also reaction binds us and we end up accumulating more karmas in the process but on the other hand an action which is conscious not only does not lead to new karmas but also frees us from the past karmas and thus help us achieve our goal of LIBERATION. The reason one of the great Indian saints said dukhia sab sansar (the whole world is suffering) is because of this reason that mostly our living is unconscious i.e. ruled and influenced by our past karmas. Since we continue living unconsciously and thus accumulating more karmas as well, not only our suffering persists but we also continue moving from one life to another because we now need more life times to settle the backlog of these past karmas also known as sanchit karmas. 

However the good thing to know is that if we want we can become free from this suffering and this is possible only by following the path of awareness i.e. becoming more n more aware and not to be ruled by our past karmas. Also if we can maintain this awareness to the last moment of our life then LIBERATION (MUKTI) becomes a certainty because awareness is liberation and liberation is awareness. Now question arises as what should we do to become spiritual i.e. to strengthen our sense of being observer or witness? In fact to be spiritual we do not have to do anything specific like renouncing the world but live our daily life with full awareness i.e. without being ruled by our past memory or karmas. If we watch the things as it is or do the things as needed but without being influenced by past karmas then it means that we are spiritual and thus becoming aware. This though appears to be simple in saying but difficult in practice because all along we have been living our life in unawareness. No sooner we try to bring in awareness than the same is hijacked by our mind and the same old game continues. Hence what is needed is practicing awareness. Beginning to meditate is the step in this direction which will definitely help us raise our awareness over a period of time. The whole purpose of meditation is to strengthen one’s awareness. In fact one can safely say that meditation is awareness and awareness is meditation. This awareness which we practice during the meditation sessions then starts spilling over to our other daily activities of the day and thus becoming still more aware. A moment comes when we become meditative all the time i.e. pure awareness. Awareness thus is the key to one’s becoming free from suffering and also to one’s liberation…..BeAware

Introduction To My Blog

Before I formally start posting my views on my blog titled as “awarenessisthekey” I would like to offer my profound gratitude and thankfulness to my Guru, the most revered Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev a great yogi, mystic, visionary and a contemporary realized master. I have been following Him for quite some time. As a result of his GRACE and blessings I can dare to say that I could make some headway on the path of spirituality. His teachings inspired me a lot and continue to do so. What I realized from his teachings is that the whole conundrum of spirituality can be summed up and understood in one word and that is – AWARENESS. In fact it will not be wrong if I can mention this that spirituality is awareness and awareness is spirituality. Spirituality is not leaving the family and becoming a monk. Spirituality is also not what we normally understand as going to the religious places or reading scriptures etc. Spirituality basically means living our daily life fully consciously and in awareness. If one begins empowering and enhancing his awareness in his daily life then he is said to be on the path of spirituality. The reason that we must follow the path of awareness is two-fold – first to become free from suffering as we live this life and secondly to be liberated from the cycle of birth and re-birth post this life, also known as MUKTI or MOKSHA which is also considered as the only purpose and possibility of a human life. Awareness therefore is the key and that’s the reason I have chosen this name for my blog. I have decided to walk this path of awareness with full determination. For me AWARENESS is my dharma and that establishes the way for my karma going forward so as to create my life in the direction I want. I wish to share more on this topic in the days to come………BeAware