घटकुड्यादिकं सर्वं मृत्तिकामात्रमेव च

तद्वद् ब्रह्म जगत् सर्वं इति वेदान्त डिण्डिमः

ghaTakuDyAdikaM sarvaM mRRittikAmAtrameva cha

tadvad brahma jagat sarvaM iti vedAnta DiNDimaH

– the pot, wall, etc., are all nothing but clay. In the same way, the entire universe is nothing but Brahman – thus vedAnta loudly asserts!

Hello, who are you?

Hello there. I am Shiva.

That’s your name. Who are you?

I just told you. I am Shiva.

I heard you. You told me your name. But who are you?

That’s what people call me…I am Shiva, son of...

Now you are telling me about your parents! You still haven’t told me who you are!

I am a student.

I did not ask you what you do…you told me your name, then about your parents and now your work. You still have not said who you are.

How else will I describe who I am? Aren’t these the normal ways of introduction?

Try something else…

Well, I am lost. How about my physical features? I am about 5’10” and about 75kg…

That’s your height and weight! You are describing yourself all right! But who you are still remains a mystery! Why don’t you add your place of birth, place of stay etc for good measure?

I was going to say that next! Who else am I? This is how people introduce themselves. I am so-and-so, son of so-and-so, living here, doing that etc. What am I beyond all this?

Exactly! What are you beyond all these? The question is, what are you intrinsically? There is a village called Mashiko in Japan. It is very famous for a particular style of pottery. Imagine this if you will. A nice beautiful pot from Mashiko happens to meet you on the way and you ask it, ‘Who are you?’ The pot replies ‘I am a pot from Mashiko, made by Miyagi San. I can be kept in your showcase or used to store about a liter of water in your kitchen. I am indigo blue in color and…’ I am sure you get the drift.

Clay? The answer is clay!

Right. And why is that?

That’s what the pot is intrinsically made of…

Correct.

I have a name. The pot from Mashiko is called…well, a pot! I am 5’10” and the pot is…about a feet tall. I weigh 75 kg and the pot 5kg. My parents are so-and-so, the pot was made by Miyagi San. I am from Madurai and the pot is from Mashiko. I am a student and the pot is…well, a container! And the pot is actually clay and I am….?

The clay-ness of the pot remains always in the pot. It was clay before it was shaped into a nice pot. It was clay before it got the name ‘pot’ and it remains clay even while being called a pot. And when it breaks and gets condemned…it still remains as clay. What is that one thing about you that always remains?

I don't know...

Look at all your earlier answers. You said you are 'Shiva.' Does that name define you completely? Will you exist bereft of that name?

Yes, of course. I will continue to exist happily...bereft of names or even if I am called by other names.

What about your height, weight etc? They are all attributes of your body. Do you carry this body in your dream and deep sleep. Do you identify this body as 'I' in those states?

No, I don't.

Then, just like the clay assumed a name 'pot' and had a particular round form with a certain type of texture and weight, 'you' have a name 'Shiva' and are about 5'10” and 75 kg. The question is who is that 'you'?

Well...

Do you have any experience without Awareness? Without Consciousness?

How can I? I am always aware...

In the waking state?

Yes

In the dream?

Yes

In deep sleep?

Mm...yes...

How? Deep sleep is mere blankness and if you claim that you are in deep sleep, well...you aren't!

...because, on waking up, I recall that I had a blissful sleep. Recollection sans experience is impossible and if experience occurred then Awareness must have been there. Its just that I did not have any faculty to express it at that time probably...

Correct. So in the waking, there is awareness with names & forms. In the dream, there is awareness with dream names & dream forms. In the deep sleep, there is awareness with blankness. The names and forms, including the blankness, come and go. What persists unbroken is Awareness. Then what is your intrinsic nature?

Awareness!

Recently I had the occasion to stay on the banks of the Tunga river at Hariharapura, about 19 km before Sringeri on the NH13. I was fortunate to spend some quiet time on the steps leading down to the river...and muse. I will put down some of those thoughts in a couple of posts.

Our whole life is spent in doing something or the other – to acquire happiness or to drive away sorrow. We work to fulfill a desire – in the belief that it will bring us happiness. That desire came about because we believe ourselves to be limited and unhappy. The acquisition of something external promises us the holy grail of eternal happiness. And where did we get the belief that we are limited beings? It stems from an ignorance of our real nature, as the naturally blissful Self. Thus ignorance leads to insufficiency. Insufficiency leads to desire. Desire leads to actions (that hope to fulfill those desires.) Thus the triad of avidya, kama and karma are born.

The question is if we accomplish a desire will we get happiness? We may get temporary pleasure however permanent happiness will still elude us. Why is that? As long as the triad of object, seeker of that object and the act of seeking exist there will be no rest. The object in itself has tons of issues in it beginning with the fact that it is not intrinsically of the nature of happiness. If it was, scriptures would have exhorted us to chase objects to kingdom come and we would have experienced permanent bliss by now...having acquired quite a load of objects by now! In that case the Vedas would only contain the karma kanda! There would be no need for vedanta.

Moreover, the objects by themselves are temporary in nature. How can that which is short lived give us permanent happiness? (yat krtakam tadanityam – whatever is made is impermanent)

The act of seeking is also flawed. The efforts required to be put in to acquire an objects is painful. Success in all endeavors is not guaranteed. What is acquired can be easily lost. Thus acquisition, preservation and the eventual loss of objects are all painful. And thirdly, the seeker himself has issues. The senses with which he enjoys the objects are not stable. A jaundiced eye shows objects in different light. What is pleasing to the tongue one time is revolting during nausea and sickness. Sinus can throw even Cleopatra's famed nose awry! The senses' ability to help us enjoy objects is limited and faltering.

Thus the objects are limited. The act of seeking is fraught with difficulties. The seeker himself is limited. Where on earth can one get permanent happiness in this set up? Then what should we do to get happiness? What if the answer is 'whatever you do, you won't get happiness'?

'Doing' something for acquiring happiness isn't working. The rajo guna in us drives us to work. Happiness seems to be the carrot dangling in front of the donkey thats pulling the load behind! No matter how fast the donkey runs the carrot will continue to remain that stick-length away from its face! It is a moving target. In the same way, no matter how much we step up our efforts, we will never reach permanent happiness by 'doing' something. If happiness is our intrinsic nature then doing something to 'get' happiness is only driving us away from what is already easily and effortlessly present. Doing is not going to acquire for us afresh what is already present.

Is 'Doing' our undoing?