A beautiful face is experienced by others, whilst a beautiful mind is the biggest luxury for oneself. This mind is one that is childlike, innocent, happy, harmless, carefree and lovely. More importantly, it is a mind that is free from the undercurrents of desires and disappointments. In a world where there seems to be a great deal of darkness, how can it be possible to have a mind as light and as beautiful as that?
To move from darkness into light takes just one step of ‘Awakening’, then everything changes. Just as someone who wakes up from sleep finds himself in the waking reality, completely different to his dream reality. The waking reality did not exist for him a minute earlier. In the same way, the ‘awakening’ at another level opens up a new reality. You even discover a new ‘ you’, that did not exist during the sleep phase.
One who is conscious and aware of the waking dimension, sees the entire physical reality as a dream or a dream story. He is fully aware of his total independence from the story. Hence there are no experiences of sorrows or disappointments which are connected with the story. Seeing life in this way gives us a completely different perspective.
Just one step of awakening changes everything. He sees himself as an invisible observer or an invisible traveller. A traveller through time and space. He also sees himself as an invisible actor. He is acting through the costume of the body, and all the backdrops are the scenery. An actor knows the props on the stage are not his, nor can he take them away, and just as a tourist passing through a small village would not feel as though he owned anything there as he passed through, so the invisible actor acting out his part need not claim anything here.
It is the ego that poses the threat to this higher consciousness. The ego defines itself with everything within the story, becomes possessive and territorial. To shrink the ego is the way to discover the beautiful mind. But the ego too will fight back because it wants to survive. It flourishes in a state of ignorance. The moment, we give value to things within the story, the ego becomes big. The smaller we see the physical world, the smaller the ego becomes. The ego is hardwired to be an eternal beggar, needing more and more and feeling poor and empty. The soul will feel like it is living in the shadows cast by a thousand and one desires.
Taking steps to shrink the ego is a most courageous step and there are very few such courageous individuals. Removing ego is like removing the eclipse and allowing the original nature of the self to shine through. A mind like this is beautiful, childlike, full of joy and love, always.
Dr. Prashant Kakoday coordinates the Centre for Integral Health and the activities of the Brahma Kumaris Inner Space, in Cambridge, UK.
