To be aware without condemnation

Good morning everyone,

Here is today's quote:

Do not think about doing it, but actually do it now. That is, be aware of the trees, the palm tree, the sky; hear the crows cawing; see the light on the leaf, the colour of the sari, the face; then move inwardly. You can observe, you can be aware choicelessly of outward things. It is very easy. But to move inwardly and to be aware without condemnation, without justification, without comparison is more difficult. Just be aware of what is taking place inside you—your beliefs, your fears, your dogmas, your hopes, your frustrations, your ambitions, and all the rest of the things. Then the unfolding of the conscious and the unconscious begins. You have not to do a thing.

The Collected Works vol XV, p 85.

Here is my reflection.

This process that K is describing corresponds to the one in yoga where the mind moves from Dharana or concentration to Dhyana or meditation. There is a movement from objectifying the object with names and labels to experiencing a continuous flow of attention between you and it, unmeditated, one not filtered by our conditioning. Concentration on an object will create heat or tapas as we experience deeper levels of concentration. As this moves into a free flow of attention, it releases prana, which is also termed intelligence in classical yoga, to move downwards and cleanse the nadis or energy channlels. When these are blocked they prevent clear perception of what it is. They are usually clogged with all our conditioning and pre-conceptions. These are called samskaras, layers of concepts and ideas that build up over years, like sandbanks build up with the action of waves over years. The cleansing allows you to just look at the object because now you are not there looking.

K is indirectly critical of this because it begins outside yourself, because it has a method and a progression and involves time. This movement from concentration to meditation is part of an 8-limbed path, and although it appears that one might reach the end, samadhi or true compassion, from any one limb or practice, there is the idea that we are moving from here to there, and that practicing one limb sets the foundation for the next.

Best wishes

Robert