The Inner Consciousness: How to Awaken and Direct ItPrakashananda, Swami
Religion
The Inner Consciousness: How to Awaken and Direct It
Prakashananda, Swami
Consciousness -- Religious aspects -- Hinduism; Vedanta
"What is that, knowing which, everything else will be known?" What is
that fountainhead, knowing which, we shall understand the meaning and
purpose of life--knowing which, everything would be explained?
Everything appears to be detached, purposeless, meaningless. What is
that, knowing which, everything would be illumined? That is the
question. That is the desire, in reality, in every human heart. We may
not be able to explain it; we may not know it properly at times; but it
is there, and only the sages have put the question definitely. That is
why we must try to get into that realm of pure consciousness, as I
explained. There are different grades of inner consciousness. The deeper
we search, the more we understand, the more will that pure consciousness
be unfolded which alone holds the key. To illuminate, to unfold, to
explain everything in our life, we must come to that.
There is another reason why we must try to go beyond the outer and
enter into the inner consciousness, and that is this: There is always
reaction in our life--that is, when we live in the external
consciousness, there is always reaction. Suffering is caused by
reaction. Our miseries, our pains, our complaints, our doubts, our
troubles, our disillusionments, our despair, have always been caused by
the outer consciousness. For instance, when we live in the midst of
sense perceptions we want to possess certain objects which we have
perceived, impressions of which have been gathered through the senses.
First of all, the senses come in touch with external things. It may be a
little food, a little form; it may be a little object; but it is there.
That impression gets hold of us, and what do we want to do? We want to
get that object; we want to possess it; we want to own it. When we
cannot own it, there is suffering, there is heart-burning.
Suppose I love some object. I try my best to possess it. I cannot do it.
Something stands in the way and takes it away from me--snatches it away.
There is suffering. There is misery. In this way we are constantly
becoming dependent on external things. These outer things, these
external things, these objects of the senses get hold of us. They enter
our lives and completely hold sway over us, and we are carried away by
them. Then we are thrown back, as it were, into ourselves; because
nature's laws work relentlessly--and there are changes--there are
separations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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