The known and the unknown

Today’s English
April 17th, 2017

Many English words that we already know and use in our day-to-day life in one meaning surprisingly have the meaning that we scarcely know.  Let’s see few of them here.

1.Pen
The known: A writing instrument
The unknown: A farm
Children are so excited to see the animals in the pen.

2.English rose
The known : English, a language and rose, a flower
The unknown: Any beautiful lady with fair skin, looking like an English woman
She, being an English rose, attracted everyone there in the function.

3.Beefcake
The known : beef, meat from cattle and cake, a baked sweet dissert
The unknown: An attractive  man with big muscles
The villain was a beefcake and looked more attractive than the hero.

4.Ball
The known : that which is used in games
The unknown: A big formal party with dancing
I enjoyed the ball very much.

5.Flame
The known : the visible part of fire
The unknown: An angry or insulting message sent on Whatsapp, Facebook or the internet
He sent me a flame and I unfriended him.

“There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns- the ones we don't know we don't know.”
- Donald Rumsfeld, the 13th Secretary of Defence, America

An Enquiry about Aathma by Aathma

Where is Aathma?
Aathma is everywhere
In the universe
Beyond the universe,
Inside everything,
Outside everything.

Are aathma and God
Two different things?
No. Both are same.
Paramathma is the rice.
Jeevathma is the rice scattered.
Paraman is the tree.
Jeevan is its branches.
Are the branches not the tree?
Is the tree not the branches?
Paramathma is ocean.
Jeevathma is waves.
Are the ocean and waves different?

Is aathma with form or without form?
It’s formless.
If it’s with form,
It can be seen, touched.
It can destroy one-day.
It cannot be everywhere.
Everything that has form can be in one place at a time.
That which has no form alone can be everywhere.
Everything that has form can be destroyed.
That which has no form cannot be destroyed.

Is aathma one, two or many?

Aathma is one.
That which has no form is borderless.
There cannot be two or many borderless things.
There can be two or many visible things or persons.
There cannot be two or many invisible things.
If aathma is invisible, eternal, borderless, everywhere,
It must be one.

If aathma is one,
You and I have the same aathma.
Houses are many on the earth,
But the wind blows through all houses is one.
So has spread through the aathma in all of us.

Mind versus consciousness

Mind is the unreal you.
Consciousness is the Real You.

Mind lives in past and future.
Consciousness lives in present.

Mind thinks, chatters constantly.
Consciousness watches, feels, lives.

The source of mind is knowledge and memory.
The seed of consciousness is silence and existence.

Mind is in the absence of consciousness.
Consciousness is in the absence of mind.
You are when consciousness is.
You are not when mind is.

You are temporarily dead, when mind is.
You live when consciousness is.

Mind creates doubts, questions, worries and stress.
Consciousness clears all these.
And rejoices at truth.

Mind wanders through what you know.
Within those borders.
Consciousness transcends all.
Lives in infinite space.

You, with everlasting consciousness
Is the awakened one.
You, with chattering mind
Is the Dead One.

How to do Deathless Meditation?

Meditation 2
Name : Deathless Meditation
Duration: 10 minutes

(Request: please don’t pass any comments, don’t come to any conclusions, don’t ask any questions or doubts without trying the following personally)

Preparation: 
1. Choose a lonely peaceful place.
2. Switch off your mobile or set to silent mode. Keep away from disturbance.
3. Sit on a chair and close your hands and eyes. Feel relaxed. Keep the eyes closed until the end of the meditation.

Stage 1 (2 minutes)
Watch your body with closed eyes, first from top to toe, then totally the whole body. Don’t go away with the thoughts that may interrupt.  Silently and totally just watch your body without any expectations or thoughts about past and future.

Stage 2 (3 minutes)
Now imagine you come before the chair you are sitting.  Watch your body that is sitting on the chair.  As a third person, now, you are watching your body, first from top to toe, then totally the whole body.

Who are you now? Are you the person who is watching the body on the chair? Are you the body sitting on the chair? The question is -who are you? Are you the watcher? Or the watched? The watcher is called consciousness.  You are both the watcher and the watched (body).

Stage -3 (5 minutes)
Now imagine that the body on the chair disappeared. You are watching an empty chair on which your body was earlier.  Watch the empty chair for 5 minutes totally without any thoughts, fear, or confusion.

You are watching, so you are the watcher.  The thing watched is chair.  Your body disappeared.  Now who are you? Are you the watcher? Are you the chair that is watched? You are both.  The watcher (consciousness) is the same, though the things or persons watched may be thousands.  The watcher, the consciousness has no form that is you.  The watcher (you) never dies, though all that is watched in life may die or disappear one day.  You are Deathless.

Benefits of this meditation:
1. All your worries and stress disappear.
2. Your ego and illusion will be washed out.
3. Your consciousness will grow and unnecessary thoughts will diminish.
4. Arising self realisation and silence will result in flowering of yourself and you will enjoy the fragrance of your flower each moment.

Find Yourself

Man is identified in thousand and one ways which prevent him from understanding his real self.
I am Mani – identified by name
I am Hindu – identified by religion
I am man – identified by gender
I am Indian – identified by nationality
I am tamilian – identified by state and language
I am post graduate – identified by education
I am lecturer – identified by profession
I am father, husband, brother, son to someone – identified by relationship
I am old, lean, of average height, fair – identified by physical aspects
I am rich or poor – identified by money
I am good, or bad, short tempered or foolish – identified by character
I am buried among these identities
People see only these masks that I have worn, not my real face.
I am hidden by all these labels pasted on me.
My id card, ration card, passport, aaddhaar card, pass book, etc carry these identities.
Society gives these identities to everyone and makes them compulsory,
Though these identities are not really me.
Put aside these identities
Walk freely, live freely, feel freely,
Fly like a bird which wears no ID card.
Swim like a fish that belongs to no religion.
Grow like a tree by your own nature.
Search for identity, you miss yourself.
Be no body.  You will find yourself.