Transcription
You can talk about the idea of "I" or the feeling of "I am" that Sadhana teaches. Ask yourself the question "Who am I?" or where does this "I" arise from? To what extent does this meditation method differ from the method of observing the gap between inhaling and exhaling? Is there a difference if one observes the breath with attention focused on the heart center or the center of the lower abdomen?
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 your 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 Brahma, 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, Brahma." 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 thirsty. You will not say: "I am thirsty, I am thirsty." It is no longer a linguistic problem. It is a problem of existence.
If "Who am I?" is a problem of existence, you will not express it with language, 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 knowledge is collected there. Now you enter a pure space. You will not get an answer. You will get a feeling, you will taste a flavor, you will smell an aroma. The deeper you go, the more you will be filled with the feeling of the Self, 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 met hundreds of his disciples -- they are very far from the ultimate experience. The reason is that 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 is already there before the question is 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, but not know yourself -- and that is the first thing you need to know.
So if you can avoid the danger of falling into verbal questions, that's good, you can move forward. You also asked about observing, observing the breath and where to observe. Anywhere -- because the problem is not where you observe, the problem is that you are observing. The focus is on observation, on contemplation. All these are excuses. You can observe the inhale and exhale 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 inward. 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, unwavering, a transformation happens. The object of observation 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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