We can see thousands of examples which explain the usefulness of observation and the effect it produces. However, the principle is the same. Meditation is seen as the route to achieve ‘observer status’ and as in the swimming example given in the previous article, if one meditates on a word, after sometime that will become routine.
That is why watching one’s breath is seen as the ideal method as this requires total attention. It may be true that one cannot or may not be able to reach that stage of attention always but that is immaterial. One is not able to coordinate hand and feet movement when swimming or one does badly a particular task because one is pre-occupied with other things, this does not mean it will be so always or that one should stop trying because of few failures.
Thus, we can understand that ‘to observe’ means, one would be ‘happy’ at the end and even during the period of ‘observation’. This ‘observation’ could be of an activity or even listening to somebody (with utter concentration) or even complete focus on a particular goal. The test of whether one is observing or not is how one feels at the end of the period (during the period one would not notice how one feels). Imagining something very nice will enable one feel pleasant during the process and may be for a few minutes later but soon reality will take over one’s dream state and bring one down to earth and one may even feel let down and not happy at the end of the imagined period. Nowadays medical science says the older one gets one must learn new things so that the brain gets exercised, I am sure there will be research papers later which show that this results in the ‘happiness’ side of the brain being activated and this would be due to the fact that exclusive attention and therefore non-identification with the outcome or effort actually happened during that period
In summary, practical life has got to be data based and bereft of subjectivity (when it comes to business or the material world). Emotions colour the subjectivity but are a strong motive for pursuing different experiences. Therefore, rather than imagining a reality which while seemingly visible (like the blue sky) is either an Imaged Reality or pure imagination (in the normal definition of the same) one needs to pursue observation. Imagination has its place but we cannot and should not mistake that for reality. Dreams cause one to experience almost as if it was real. One can wake up from a dream scared or joyful as much as if one had experienced the same while in the wakeful state. Thus one’s Mind lives a dream through its imagination. The problem is that the same Mind thinks of that (because of its past conditioning) as reality and this disrupts our natural state of happiness. The true test as to whether one is observing or not is how happy one feels at the end of a task or period and the intensity of the observation will determine how happy one feels. The more one pursues ‘observation’, the more happiness one will have as all of life’s experiences would be viewed in the correct and true perspective. We will see later how the various paths of work, devotion and knowledge actually are based on the bedrock of the right perspective of the Truth. Rather than be confused with various definitions or words, it is enough if one correlates every experience of calm happiness one has had or attempt to achieve that in our everyday actions or through practices like meditation so that we can correlate what ‘observation’ really means and link it with ‘True Happiness’. When the practise becomes ingrained and the identification with the Imagination or Imaged reality drops away, ultimately nothing but Happiness will remain.
(Concluded)
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(The writer is the Joint Managing Director of TVS & Sons Ltd., and MD, TVS Logistics)
via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article3717885.ece
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