Stabilizing in the Self

Self-realization is the direct experience of Self. Self-stabilization comes when one abides permanently in the experience of Self. It is necessary to internalize the understanding completely to be stabilized in Self. When the wattage of a bulb is low, it cannot handle the electric current. If the bulb has to receive electricity, it is necessary to raise its wattage capacity.

So it is with the human body-mind. The bulb represents the human body-mind. When the understanding of Truth dawns for the first time in a human body-mind, it can be called Self-realization. However, to hold onto that Truth permanently, it is essential to raise the capacity of the body-mind. The state of Self-stabilization can emerge when the capacity of the body-mind is raised. One becomes established in the experience of Self.

The main obstacles in attaining Self-stabilization are the inappropriate tendencies present in that body-mind. It is due to these tendencies that the body-mind is not able to hold the Truth at all times. Even if a single tendency remains in the body-mind, it will pull that body-mind away from Truth. It is essential to get rid of these tendencies of the body-mind. When you work on getting rid of these tendencies, the state of Self-stabilization will emerge all by itself.

First, live in the present. When you are in the present, the tendencies of the body-mind can come to light and dissolve.When the mind drops, you are in the present, in timeless existence. Initially this can be grasped only in external terms. For example, when you used to play a game, say football. Suppose you injured the foot which started bleeding. You would play for an hour and won’t realize that it is injured. You won’t sense the pain. It is only when someone else notices and tells you, “Hey… your foot is bleeding” that you would start sensing the pain. The pain was not being felt earlier because the mind had dropped while playing.

Similarly, when someone plays the piano, he is lost when the performance is at its peak. He does not exist then. The performer is lost in the performance. All that remains is the performance. Where is the mind when this is happening? It has dropped for some time. But the mind comes back later and claims that it was present during the performance. And to top that, the mind even takes credit for having been the performer. See this illusion!

Musicians love to be lost in the peak of their performance. Athletes like being in the thick of activity. The real joy that they experience is because they experience the present moment as the mind drops. However, they do so without the right understanding. They believe that it is the music performance or the athletic activity that is giving them joy. The source of joy is not in the gross external world. Without this understanding, they continue to seek the joy of the present moment in external pursuits.

What is the mind? It is nothing else but thoughts. The present moment is always happening. If you are checking whether you are in the present moment, you are trying to capture the present moment in your thoughts. There is no need to try and grasp the present moment in your thoughts.

The mind insists, “I want to grasp the present moment; I want to know how it is like.” This wish becomes a hurdle in just being in the present. When you attempt to capture the present moment in your thoughts, it eludes you. You can either think about the present moment, or just be in the present.

The past is memory; future is imagination. Past and future exist only in thoughts that arise in the present moment. Hence, the mind believes that the present can be understood in thoughts, just like past or future. When the mind drops, you experience the timeless eternal present, without the notion of past or future.

When one thinks of experiencing the Self, actually who would experience the Self? Is it the mind?This is like someone who attends a music concert and starts rubbing his eyes because he cannot hear the music. He needs to understand that listening to music or any sound in general has nothing to do with eyes. Something must be wrong with his ears. But he believes that music can be seen with eyes!

In the same way, when the mind says that I want to experience Self, it is like eyes that wish to see music. The experience of Self is constantly ongoing. When the mind is infused with this understanding, it surrenders its insistence to experience Self. As the mind is prepared to surrender, the desire to experience Self is dropped. The mind becomes still, nonexistent as it were.

So when thoughts are absent, is it that there is no one? Even in the absence of thoughts there is a knowing that is happening. With practice, the mind becomes still, making it conducive for Self to return onto Self experience. Then the real experiencer experiences the experiencer through every experience.

Summary:
Self-realization is the direct experience of Self. Self-stabilization comes when one abides permanently in the experience of Self.The mind can never experience the Self. Instead, when the mind surrenders, there is experience of the Self..The main obstacles in attaining Self-stabilization are the inappropriate tendencies present in the body-mind.