Ashtavakra Gita Ch. 18, Vs. 39-43 Commentary and Contemplation - 4th September 2017

He who thinks knowledge is things and ideas, how can there be self-knowledge? Is there a greater knowingness itself than this perceptual or conceptual knowing? What is aware of your existence? What knows your presence? The wise do not see separate things, only the timeless Self. The fool tries to control the mind with the mind. The fool tries to control the mind with the mind. What folly! The wise one delights in himself alone; there is no mind to master. What is the mind? We also use the word mind very often, but one said the mind is a bundle of thoughts. Simplest in many definitions of mind, but a very, very specific way to look at the mind is this: just a bundle of thoughts. Therefore, it is not a constant. There is a thought, we say there is mind. And when we are empty of thoughts, does any Buddhist call it no-mind? Now for the Self, mind or no-mind makes no difference. The wise one delights in himself alone; there is no mind to master.

Some believe in existence, others believe nothing exists. Rare is the one who believes nothing and is never confused. Some believe in existence, others believe nothing exists. There is a deep message in this verse. There are many, many schools of thought about where even existence comes from, or what is existence, if there is something like existence. And all these ontological arguments, all of these things are dependent on: is there existence at all? Or actually, simply put, what is there now? Some can believe that there is, some believe there is nothing, there is no existence, it's just a void. Actually, blessed are those who believe nothing and yet are never confused. Exactly, the last part is important: you are never confused because you also meet many who are really fickle with their beliefs. So we're not talking about those people as fickle-minded, just switching their beliefs based on whichever room they're in because they are really not clear; they just want to fit in in some way or something like this. So we're not talking about these conclusions. We're talking about that which is empty of belief and yet he or she is never confused. They are never confused because they don't need to rely on the crutches of beliefs. They have their own insight which is present, which is undeniable. All concepts might fail us, but your truest insights cannot fail you.

Weak intellectuals may believe the Self is one without other, but being mired in illusion, they do not actually know Self, so live out their lives in misery. So if it is just intellectual belief—and so as we started today's satsang by saying—just the idea 'I am the Self' and to believe that is not enough. It must be your intuitive insight. And this intuitive insight is completely possible using the tools of inquiry, the truths that are present in these beautiful scriptures. Just the belief will not do now. Just the concept 'I am That' will not do. It must translate into your seeing, the pure seeing. Many times I've said that it is to come from our conceptual knowledge to 'I don't know.' It seems to be the longer journey, this fear of admitting that we don't know and finally coming to that point of surrendering and saying, 'I just don't know.' That seems to be the longer part of the journey. From 'I don't know' to this clarity of inner insight is very, very easy, very simple. From 'I know something' to the capital K Knowing will be the most torturous journey. If you're empty, then the recognition is just here. If the inner intuitive presence has to fight constantly with the voice of limitation, with your mind, then it can seem like a journey with great struggle. And consciousness could decide to play either way, but just as it is pointing these things out to itself, some clarification can happen.

Weak intellectuals may believe the Self is one without other, but being mired in illusion, they actually do not know Self, so live out their lives in misery. And so I spoke about suffering the other day, and why not wake up on that? We keep speaking about small suffering. Those who have come to the truth have let go of the idea of the individual sufferer. You and their average you, then we see what is our true insight. And he reported this event and something, this was happening in my life, I was fighting with my partner and all these ideas about 'I am awareness' and 'I am consciousness, unlimited being,' all this went out the window. First thing wrong with this, people, is it is not digested as a simple knowing, as a simple knowingness. If it is only conceptual, then this idea of the individual sufferer can continue. In fact, it might even become worse because the conflict might even seem deeper if there are two beliefs now, both having equal position: that I am the Self, I am awareness untouched by this play of the world, and I am a person which is completely involved and burdened with these desires as the doer. True separation actually took place, you see? Then it can seem like there's even more struggle in the conflict between these two beliefs. It seems to crush us more and more. Sometimes it's better if you have to have a concept and pick up this and some slowly, unless you're using these pointers as reminders for your own checking, for your own inquiry, for your own insight. Then just please leave it, it's better.