Re: Thought watching
Dear Viraja ji,
This is such an important question ! Thank you for asking .
There are two aspects to this:
1. What should i do when i face a negative or overwhelming emotion .
2. How should i prevent a negative or a overwhelming emotion.
Managing mind is like driving a car. So there also there are two questions.
1. What to do when i am in an accident like situation.
2. What should i do to avoid accident like situation.
(2) is far more important. For (1), mindful breathing, becoming very mindful etc can be great aids. This includes observing thoughts as well.
but for (2) one needs to inquire into the reason for the negative emotion and root out the "Seed" of negative emotions. A negative emotion strives upon an "Empty Person" - the me. If you look deeply, there is a "Person" who feels empty... and the entire emotion is built around that person. This person, the hero of this whole scene ... who is he or she ? Lets inquire a little deeply.
lets take a particular case. An event took place. To take a non-controversial example, lets say i failed in a job interview or an exam... and then ... lets make a few observation ... even as i make these observations, they should be at once clear to one and all. Thats the beauty of vedantic teaching, its a "darshana shastra" ... a scripture that conveys a vision... So Lets see ...
Observation1: Even if the event took place, unless i am aware of it, i cannot suffer. Without corresponding thoughts, i cannot suffer. So suffering is in mind, not "out there", in the external situation.
Observation2: The first thought corresponding to the event is just the information about the event. Its simple thought like "I failed in the test".
Observation 3: what is the next thought ? "what next for me ?" , "what will i do now ", "I am ruined" !!
The first thought is a mere information about the event... its called "idam vritti" , or "this thought". Pure perception.
The next few thoughts have an "i" in them ... they are called "aham vrittis" or "I thoughts".
So now ... lets ask a question: "is the "I" of the first aham vritti same as the "I" of the second aham vritti" ?
Observation 4: The first thought arises, and dies and then there is the second thought. So the "I" of the first thought and the "I" of the second thought are discontinuous. They are like discontinuous dots...
but there seems to be a continuous "I" thats hurt.
Where is this "I" ?
No thought can be "I" !!
So where is the "I"!
its like a series of static pictures , one after the other creating the illusion of a continuous entity. A series of "I" thoughts create an illusion of a continuous "I" who is hurt.
in reality there is this body, which is mute to the events. There is the Awareness which is untouched too... and a few thoughts flow in between ... like disjoint dots ... if at all the dots are seen as connected ... like a rope or a snake ... its merely due to our attention...
Please ponder and come up with questions so that we can take this further.
Love!
Silence
Come up, O Lions, and shake off the delusion that you are a sheep
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