ENLIGHTENMENT -IN THE LIGHT OF UPANISHADS (3) KENA-UPANISHAD : (SELECTIONS)(3) By Sri Ma Sadhviji There are two views and two ways to act in any situation. One is ‘responding’, another ‘reacting’. As these words suggest, responding comes from response, while, reacting comes out of reaction. There is a lot of difference between the two. Response indicates calmness, readiness, responsible behavior. Reaction betrays turmoil, unpreparedness, irresponsible nature. Which one would you choose of the two ? At once you would opt for response; it obviously is a preferred choice. Now to cull the reacting tendency and change it to a response, a certain amount of watchfulness is needed. Wherefrom does this watchfulness come ? Most of the times – almost at all the times _ mind slips, slides fast into an action while wakefulness comes only afterwards.Why does it happen so? If you are not wakeful, you cannot be watchful. Even in our awakened state- i.e., being out of sleep or dream, we would be surprised to find that we are not wakeful. The Upanishad puts it forward succinctly . Pratibodhaviditam matam amrutatvam hi vindate Atmana vindate viryam vidyaya vindate amrutam i.e., “In every wave of the intellect when the Attitude of Presence pervades then It becomes known; for, then bliss is known. From one’s own self one gets the courage/strength (to know It) and when known, It begets bliss”. It is because we are not in the awareness of the Presence that is pervading us, because we are not wakeful to it, life moves through certain conditional states of thought and feeling. The body just follows the course. Let’s see – “In every wave of the intellect when the Attitude of the Presence pervades”. Presently now what pervades the intellect is a multitude of information, cares and fears, duties and habits, memories and a strong store of reactions to them in the form of a profound array of ego’s conditionings. Let me tell you, the intellect has to be cleansed of these and this has to be, and simply can be done, by shifting the conscious to that Presence. The simpler we become, to accept and see this truth, the easier it becomes to change or shift. “From one’s own self one gets the courage and strength”. So very true ! So very simple. A deep Presence exists through and through the whole of the universe that’s best known by the word “God”, i.e., God is that Presence. It’s also termed as the Spirit-within-matter. When your intellect truly awakens to that all pervading Existence - I stress the word truly because, God, is not in believing; not in searching ;not in deifying; but it’s in the truly awakened intellect that the recognition of God comes. By “intellect”, I do not mean ‘intelligence’. One may not be intelligent by the worldly standard, in the worldly sense, yet one’s “bodha” or “buddhi”- i.e., intellect, might be awakened to this understanding. So, when the intellect truly awakens to that all pervading existence _ bliss ensures. It’s in this knowing that the thorn of ego falls off, leaving the fragrant rose of bliss to be freely touched upon. The person becomes calm, blissful and is simply in readiness.
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