The core problem in spiritual life: **Desire**, which ties us to body, mind, and the worldly plane. Although **ignorance** is technically the root cause, desire (karma) and attachment to outcomes are the practical obstacles that keep us stuck in the cycle of samsara (rebirth and suffering).
Stages of maturity regarding change and desire:
– **Immaturity:** Trying to change the external world to suit personal desires.
– **More mature:** Trying to change other people to one’s liking.
– **Deeper maturity:** Changing one’s own lifestyle, habits, and actions.
– **Greatest maturity:** Seeking and discovering one’s **real nature beyond body, mind, feelings, and ideas** — the limitless inner light.
When this light is realized, one sees it as **already perfect and unchangeable**. However, the mind, body, and world can still be engaged with as a project to manifest this inner light outwardly, leading to deep and lasting positive changes in one’s life and in the world.
According to the Buddha and Sages:
– **Suffering is a symptom.**
– The **cause of suffering is desire (trishna or thirst).**
– The disease (desire) is **curable**.
– The cure is **nirvana**.
– The treatment is the **Eightfold Path (Ashtanga).**
Ancient Indian sages are likened to doctors who diagnose symptoms, find root causes, assess curability, and prescribe treatment. Similarly, Krishna identifies desire as the root cause of bondage, emphasizing that while ignorance is the philosophical root, **desire is the practical root experienced by most people**.
Most people relate better to the idea of dissatisfaction and desire rather than abstract metaphysical ignorance.
A key contemplative exercise is described:
– Imagine oneself as **pure awareness or non-dual light**, without body, mind, memories, thoughts, or sensory input.
– In this state of **bare awareness, there are no desires, fears, anxieties, or waiting for anything**.
– This pure light **wants nothing and is free from all suffering**.
The problem arises when the non-dual light **takes on the agendas and disturbances of the body, mind, senses, and the world**, creating mental agitation and attachment.
The metaphor of a boss and delegation is used to illustrate how the enlightened self (the non-dual light) should relate to mind and sensory input:
– The enlightened self is the **“boss”** who should **not keep the problems and disturbances on its “desk.”**
– Instead, it should **delegate and not be overwhelmed or trapped by worldly issues**.
– The mind makes decisions, but the enlightened self must **decide firmly “I will continue as the non-dual light” regardless of external conditions**.
This firm decision and continuous practice is termed **“stabilized wisdom”** — a stable, unwavering awareness of one’s true nature even amidst worldly upheaval.
The speaker explains that **enlightenment is not about escaping the world or closing one’s eyes** to reality. The non-dual light can remain steady **even in the midst of life’s chaos and sensory activity**.
Using an ocean analogy:
– The ocean is always water.
– Whether calm or turbulent, it remains water.
– Likewise, one should recognize the **true self as the non-dual light regardless of mental or worldly turmoil**.
A key teaching is to **“not change a thing” or apply any external techniques immediately**. Instead, one should **accept reality as it is, however unpleasant**, and recognize the ever-present light within.
Sri Krishna recommends the practice of **yogic samadhi** — an advanced meditative absorption — to stabilize the realization of the non-dual light:
– This involves **closing the sensory gateways, calming the mind and intellect, and staying firmly in the clarity of inner light**.
– This practice is difficult but leads to **nirvikalpa samadhi** (non-dual absorption without mental modifications).
– Prolonged immersion in this state allows the realization to become a lived, unshakable reality rather than a mere intellectual understanding.
- **Mindfulness in the midst of activity:**
– When sorrows arise, the mind remains unshaken.
– When pleasant experiences come, the mind does not chase or cling to them.
– The mind becomes free of attachment, fear, anger, and hatred.
– Swami Vivekananda summarizes this as: **“Never let anything disturb the serenity of your mind.”**
- **Equanimity toward life’s events:**
– Accept both pleasant and unpleasant experiences without upset.
– Move from emotional reactivity (“what?”) to calm acceptance (“so what?”).
– This practice involves **calming down and lowering the emotional volume**.
- **Control of the senses:**
– Senses naturally perform their functions but can overwhelm the intellect if unchecked.
– **Mastery over the senses is the chief practice on the path of knowledge**.
– Swami Vivekananda calls this **“the royal road”** but notes that many understand intellectually, few realize deeply.
– **Enlightenment is not mere intellectual knowledge but the lived reality of the non-dual light manifesting in daily life.**
– **Desire and attachment are the practical causes of suffering and bondage more than abstract ignorance.**
– **Maturity in spiritual life involves progressively deeper self-inquiry, culminating in realization of the self as limitless light.**
– **The non-dual light itself is desireless, fearless, and untouched by worldly concerns.**
– **Stabilized wisdom means decisively choosing to remain as the non-dual light amidst all life’s disturbances. **
– **Advanced yogic practices like samadhi help embed this realization deeply and sustainably.**
– **Serenity of mind, equanimity in life, and control of the senses are essential practices for luminous living.**