Stone and Self – The Connection
Written by: Sri Madhusudan Sai
Published as part of a weekly series of articles on the bhagavad-gītā in Top Story Newspaper
Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita – “You are the free soul – the Self. The dualities of right and wrong, good and bad, happy and sad – none of this is you. It is all in your mind.” How can one access that Self? The concept of dṛg-dṛśya-viveka, which distinguishes the seer from the seen layer by layer, and percolates all the way to the real seer, can help. The world outside is seen by the eyes (the seer), the eyes are seen by the mind (the seer), the mind is seen by the Self or ātman (the seer). Who sees the ātman? – there is none. It is the witness/ the seer of everything that is seen. It is the core that is covered by the buddhi (intellect), the mind and the senses. Thus, while the body and mind experiences good and bad, the ātman within you is untouched.
What is the nature of the ātman? Go inward, shut the mind, and you will see a state of stillness and silence, where there are no thoughts, ideas and desires. This is the ātman or Self – the ever stable and unaffected, characterised by a silence like the interior of a stone, however free from inertness and sleep. It is a conscious, ever aware, still silence.
It is this silence, like that of a stone, in which the men of wisdom will be rooted, though externally they will carry out activities. They will be ever peaceful, no matter what happens around them. This wisdom keeps one away from the attachments of the world. Just as a lotus leaf remains unaffected by the water it exists in, a wise person remains unaffected by the world he lives in.
Experience the silence of the inside of a stone and connect it with the silence of your Self.