Transcription
You can talk about the idea of "I" or the feeling of "I am" that Sadhanā emphasizes. Ask yourself the question, "Who am I?" or "From where does this 'I' arise?" To what extent does this meditation method differ from the method of observing the gap between inhaling and exhaling? Is there a difference when one observes the breath, focusing attention on the heart center or the lower abdomen center?
That is a very ancient meditation method, but it is full of danger. Unless you are very alert, there is a greater possibility that you will be led astray by that method rather than reach your goal. The method is simple -- focus attention on the concept of "I," close your eyes and ask: "Who am I?" The biggest problem is when you ask "Who am I?"... who will answer you? More likely, the answer will come from tradition, from your scriptures, from your limitations. You have heard: "I am not the body, I am not the mind. I am the soul, I am the Absolute, I am Brahman, I am God" -- you have heard all these ideas before. You will ask a few times: "Who am I? Who am I?" -- and then you will say: "I am the Absolute, Brahman." This is not discovery, this is pure foolishness.
If you want to use this method correctly, then do not ask the question verbally. "Who am I?" does not need to be repeated verbally. Because as long as it is a spoken question, the mind will provide a verbal answer. You have to discard the verbal question. It has to be a vague idea, like thirst. Not saying "I am thirsty," -- can you see the difference? When you are thirsty, you feel the thirst. If you are in the desert, every fiber of your body feels the thirst. You will not say: "I am thirsty, I am thirsty." That is no longer a linguistic problem. That is a problem of existence. If "Who am I?" is a problem of existence, you will not express it with words, but just the feeling of the question will settle in your center of being, then there is no need to get an answer. Then it has nothing to do with the mind, the mind will not hear the non-verbal, the mind will not answer the non-verbal question. All your scriptures are in the mind, all your collections are there. Now you enter a pure space. You will not get answers. You will get feelings, you will taste, you will smell. The deeper you go, the more you will be filled with the feeling of being, immortality, ecstasy, peace... a great blessing. But there are no answers like "I am this, I am that." All those come from the scriptures. This feeling comes from you. This feeling contains truth. That is a very effective method. One of the greatest masters of this century, Ramana Maharshi, used only one method for his disciples: "Who am I?" But I have seen hundreds of his disciples -- they are very far from the ultimate experience. The reason is because they already know the answer. I asked them: "Do you know the answer?" They said: "Yes." So I said, then why are you still asking? "If you know the answer, then why are you still asking? You cannot ask for too long -- ask two or three times, and the answer comes. The answer was already there before the question was asked." So that is just a mind game. If you want to play, you can play. But if you really want to go deep, as Ramana Maharshi and all the ancient prophets intended, that is a non-verbal thirst, not knowing who you are, being very hurt, that is a wound. Not knowing yourself makes the whole life meaningless. You may know everything, just not yourself -- but that is the first thing to know. So if you can avoid the danger of falling into a verbal question, that's good, you can move forward.
You also asked about observation, observing the breath, and where to observe. Anywhere -- because the question is not where you observe, the question is that you are observing. The emphasis is on observation, on watching. All these are excuses. You can observe the inhalation and exhalation at the tip of your nose, you can observe it as the breath comes in, you can observe it as the breath returns -- you can observe it anywhere. You can observe thoughts moving inwards. The key is not to get lost in what you should observe, whether that is important or not important... What is important is that you observe, you do not forget that you are observing, you are observing... observing... observing. Slowly, slowly, as the observer becomes more and more firm, stable, unshakable, a transformation happens. The observed disappears. For the first time, the observer becomes the observed, the observer becomes the object of observation. You have come home.
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