Hello and welcome to episode 145 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today I want to talk about the three most important questions in your life that you need to be aware of.
Today’s question comes from Jacob and he says “I’ve been doing my journaling for the last 3 months. I write about everything and its benefiting me a lot but I still feel there should be more too it. Do you have any more tips for journaling?”
Thanks for the question Jacob. I’m glad you’re keeping a journal it will really help you gain momentum. Remember that writing a journal is like meditating and it’s not easy. Most people who are meditating make the mistake of trying to meditate.
When I tell people to journal I don’t mean like a regular diary of your day. It needs to be very structured. When I do one on one consultations with people I would usually give them some outlines to help them with it.
Nothing to know
Everyone expects something from meditation and that in itself is part of the problem. Krishna and the great ones always said that there is nothing to know when meditating. There is nothing to discover or find out. When you meditate you are not going to be hit by some magic lighting ball of enlightenment. That’s just not how it works. For the great ones the great thoughts and ideas can come anytime, whether they are meditating or not.
The great ones sit and meditate because the act in itself is acknowledging the gift. They are not seeking anything while they are meditating. They are not looking to be enlightened. It is an acknowledgement, a way of thanking God by withdrawing the gunas and going back to the shore in a more conscious way by sitting in a pose. They still do it subconsciously throughout the day.
Most people have this idea that meditation is a physiological process or that angels will appear before them and grant some other worldly secrets to them. Thinking this is only setting yourself up to fail. Sometimes if someone gets an idea while they meditate they attribute that idea to the meditation but the truth is it would have come anyway.
So sitting with your eyes closed is one way but I think that journaling is a better form of meditation. Remember there are many forms of meditation. Even silence is a form of mediation.
Three questions
So I want you to focus on three things. You can try these things for one month and see how it goes. I want you to write these three questions down and think about them.
The first one is who am I? Write down that question. Split the page in two and on the right hand side write what an ignorant person or a person of a lower nature would say. We all have this dual personality. The lower side is our likes and dislikes and the higher is our consciousness. Be creative with it and really put a lot of effort into it. The lower side would be all “I”. I did this, I am this and this happened to me.
On the left side you write things like I am God. I am the jiva. This happened through me or that happened through me. One side is too you and the other is through you. This will help you understand that you are a medium and things happen through you because of the grace of God.
The more you do this the better you will be at it. Your writing will become gradually better and you will learn a lot from it. When you it you will really be able to see the duality. There are two separate sides but they are both still you. You will be able to clearly see your lower and higher nature as you keep practicing.
Why am I here?
On the next page you need to write why am I here? Then the same as before split the page into two. On the right hand side you might right because of your parents or because of your desires or to do good things. On the left you write that you are here because of karma, the script and the gunas. This is why we are all here because of the karma, the script and the gunas. When we are here we act and then react and then if we have not formed the gold image we have to keep doing it.
It is a very important question to ask, why are you here? Why are you living and breathing? It’s important to know that you are here because of the gunas and karma.
What should I do?
The third question is what should I be doing here? So we know that we are the consciousness and that we are here because of the karma, script and gunas and finally we should ask what we should be doing while we are here. On the right side you could write whatever your desires are. Maybe you want to help the world, to make your family happy, to have a good job and make a lot of money. You can write all your dreams and desires for life on this side.
On the left hand side you write that you are here to reform yourself. The last time you were here you did not form the gold image so you had to come back again so you must try to form it again. That is why you are here. To really realise this you have to write it down again and again.
Form the gold image
To form the gold image you must go back to the consciousness. When you do this you destroy thinking and the gunas is dissolved with it. This is the only place on earth that can destroy the gunas. No doctors, medicine or intelligence can do this. Only the consciousness can make it happen. The final step is then to manifest the karma. This can only happen when we stop fighting with our likes and dislikes.
When you come back to the shore and withdraw your gunas you will become detached from the script and the events within it, both good and bad. If you do this great things will happen for you.
So keep asking who am I? Why am I here and what should I be doing while I’m here? Keep writing these questions and answering them using the dual form and in one month you will see a dramatic change in yourself for the better.
I hope I answered your questions. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
