Is Witnessing Also a Phenomenon? - 13th October 2017

I have a doubt. Is witnessing also a phenomenon? Is witnessing also so?

That is why I clarify often that usually in the world when we talk about witnessing, we adopt more perception. And perception is the process of consciousness using attention to bring phenomenal content to itself. So this part of the play, if this is what you mean by witnessing, then this part of the play is also phenomenal because it relies on your existence and the availability of attention. So this part which you mean. But what is it that is aware of this? What is aware of your presence, this being? What is aware of attention itself? So this witness, capital W Witness, is not phenomenal. This is that which witnesses the coming and going of all the states, coming and going ultimately of 'I am' itself, of consciousness itself. This is the eternal witness, the Sakshi.

So usually in satsang when we are saying witness, we are talking about this primary witness, that which witnesses perception and that we perceive. And yet, in spite of it being non-phenomenal, it is not just a concept. This is the only discovery like this, so direct insight about yourself, and yet it is non-phenomenal. And you are not making it up; you are it. And so it's a beautiful holy inquiry: what witnesses perception? Maybe we can take a minute to take you through this.

If one by one all the sensors were leaving us—sight has left us, hearing has left us, taste has left us, touch has left us, smell has left us, all the senses away. Suppose all of these seemingly inner objects or memories, imagination, all of this also is gone. Emotion, sensation, pain, pleasure also gone. You continue to exist. Of this existence, who witnesses this? What is aware of this? You will notice that this one is independent of all perception, all senses, and even inner perception. This is what we call the intuitive insight because it is both beyond just a regular perception.

On this space, like Ashtavakra says, you are the one solitary witness of all there is. And just before that he said you are not earth, water, fire, air; you are not even the space in which they happen. All phenomena you are not. You are the one solitary witness of all there is. Therefore, you must be something which is beyond phenomenal. And if you were beyond phenomenal, then you witness that all phenomena is a coming and going, an appearance and disappearance. That is why it is called appearance, because it occurs and it disappears. Reality does not appear and disappear. The reality is not, you know?