The Perfect Way

nature is constantly present in us. Only that which is constant and continuous in us is called self-nature. Self-nature is not something of our creation, it is our foundation. We are it. We do not create it, we are sustained by it. Hence, we call it dharma, that which sustains. Dharma means self-nature; dharma means pure isness, existence.

Meditation is non-doing. Doing is something we may do if we want to or may not do if we don’t want to. But self-nature is not a doing. It is neither doing nor non-doing. For example, knowing and seeing are parts of our self-nature, parts of our being. Even if we don’t do anything they will still be there. Self-

But the words vision and seeing are also not appropriate because here there is no distinction between the knower and the known, no distinction between the subject and the object. Here there is neither the known nor the knower – simply the knowing. In this context no word is appropriate, only wordlessness.

It is seeing that has led you outward, it is seeing that will lead you inward. Simply keep watching. Watch your thoughts, your breath and the movement at your navel. No reaction to anything is needed. Then something happens which is not a creation of your mind, which is not your creation at all; rather your being, your isness, your intrinsic nature that sustains you is revealed and you find yourself face to face with the surprise of all surprises – your self.

What are you to do in this experiment? You will sit quietly, keeping the body relaxed and the spine erect. You will stop all movement of the body. You will breathe slowly and deeply and without any excitement. You will silently observe your own breathing. You will listen to any sounds coming to your ears from outside and you will not react to them in any way; you will not give them any thought. You will let go into a state of being where there are no words but only a witnessing: standing at a distance one is aware of whatever is going on. Do not concentrate on something. Simply go on remaining watchful and alert to whatever is happening.

Listen. Just close your eyes and listen. Listen quietly, in silence. Listen to the chirping of the birds, to the gusts of the winds swaying the trees, to the cry of a child, to the sound of the water wheel at the well. Simply listen, to the movement of the breath and to your heartbeat.

A new kind of peace and serenity will descend upon you. You will find that although there is noise outside there is silence inside. You will find you have entered a new dimension of peace. Then, there are no thoughts, only pure consciousness remains. And in this medium of emptiness your attention, your awareness turns toward the place that is your real abode. From the outside you turn toward your home.

The first one asked, “Are you looking for your lost cow?” The sadhu replied, “No.” Another asked, “Are you waiting for someone then?” To this he answered, “No.” The third one asked, “Are you contemplating God?” Again the sadhu replied in the negative. All the three were amazed.

Together, they asked him, “Then what are you doing here?” The sadhu said, “I am doing nothing. I am just standing. I am just being.”

soon as we look at it we say, “It is a very beautiful flower,” and a thought has been born.

This ocean and this sky, this empty space is there within everyone and if we wish to know this sky, this space, we can. There is a path that leads there and that too is present within us all. And each one also knows how to walk on this path. But we know how to walk on it in only one direction. Have you ever thought of the fact that there can be no path that leads in one direction only? Each path inevitably goes in two directions, in two opposite directions. Otherwise it is not a path; it cannot exist. The path that has brought you here to the seclusion of these hills is the same path that will take you back. There is only one path for coming as well as for going. The same path will serve both purposes. The path will be the same but the direction will not be the same.

The path to sansara, the world, and the path to the self is one and the same. The same path leads either to sansara or to the self: only the direction changes. What has been in front of you so far will now be behind you and you will have to direct your attention to what was at your back. The road is the same, you must simply turn, do an about-face. You must turn your back on what you were facing and face that which was behind you.

Ask yourself where you are facing now. What are you seeing now? In what direction is the current of your vision, of your consciousness flowing? Experience it. Observe it. You will find it is flowing outwardly. All your thoughts are about the outer. All the time you are thinking about the outer, about the world outside. When your eyes are open you see the outside. When you close them you still see the outside because the imprints of the outside forms and images surround you once again.

When there is seeing but nothing to be seen, when there is knowing but nothing to be known, then in this contentless consciousness the knower of all is known. When there is no object to be seen, the curtain in front of the seer drops away, and when there is no object to be known, knowing emerges. When there are no waves, the ocean is seen; when there are no clouds, the blue sky is seen.

Do you follow my distinction between thought and meditation?