SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH
By choosing a spiritual path which appeals to us, we can wake up to the unchanging truth that we are, says Mohanji
At the Kumbh Mela, a young boy, Ayaan, asked me, “What are these people doing here? What have they come for? What are they searching for?” I said, in simple words, “Searching for truth, my child.”
“Will they find truth here, Mohanji?”
“Well, they are already carrying the truth. They may get that experience in this environment.”
“What is truth? Where is it sitting?”
“Within all of us, my child. What is unchangeable and eternal in us is the truth. I shall explain: Our five senses enable us to experience life on earth, constantly collecting information which goes through three processors: mind, intellect and ego. They process different things. The mind processes emotions; the intellect processes information and the ego, processes personality-related things like our status in society, our possessions, etc. Even though they process different things, the result is one —experience. And experience has only two aspects: good or bad. This is our story when we are awake.
“Now, let’s consider our dream state. Where do we get our dreams from? From the memories that we have collected and stored. While in the waking hours we depend on information from the outside world, during dreams, we use information from our inside world: our storage depot within. What do both provide? Experience-Experiences of different nature and dimensions.
“We have one more state when our processors and sensors are all totally shut down: our deep sleep state. That is the state of no experience.”
“All of these states are temporary. So, what is permanent? This is the truth that all are searching for—the God element that sits within us. We can find it only when we understand what is temporary and what is permanent. We have understood what is temporary. Everything that comes and goes is temporary—time, events, situations, emotions, days, nights, people. Even our body is constantly changing. So, what is permanent? Something which is providing energy to our body, mind, intellect and ego and helping us experience life.”
“How can we experience the one who is energising all these?”, the young boy asked.
“There are numerous paths as per our individual inclination and orientation to understand that the one and only truth is what is within you is what you are. Through devotion, knowledge and service, we can recognise the truth. Through congregation, we get reminded of what we essentially are. We are the only species on earth who can recognise what is running our life. Through silence, contemplation, meditation and practising awareness, we can witness the truth. Once we witness and establish in truth, the awareness of consciousness will stay detached despite the experiences of life, just as butter detaches itself from the curd when churned. We become a witness to our own life, just as we witness the world around us.”