“Take a moment to be still, to be here, regardless of what is passing through you. Recognize that you are the hereness that all is passing through. All the changes, sights, sounds, smells, emotions, thoughts, information, events, births, and deaths are all passing through the ever-present stillness that is here now in the core of your being.” ~ Gangaji
Regardless of any conceptions of spiritual study or systems or traditions … “here” is not subject to human verification or certification … does not require years of practice or discipline … is simply here – always !… It’s here in the crowded bazaar and … on the forest road … it’s also here in the pristine solitude of utter wilderness … and also in the quiet of the monastery or ashram.
Cannot be “attained” …. can only be realized! … in an instant! … an instant of being utterly silent and dropping all fascination/obsession with “subject object relations & navigation.”
Here’s what Gangaji has to say about this :
”Any spiritual study that is worth studying points to the fact that who you are cannot be studied. The truest teachings point to who you are as that which cannot be objectified, and thereby can not be searched.”
”Self forgetting is an apparent mental veiling that gives rise to the mental activity of searching. … Stop searching in your memory and recognize what has been here all the time.”
”In the instant of ending your search, all studies are released, as everything is released each night when you drop into deep sleep. … The opportunity in waking state is to neither remember nor forget, and see what is here when you stop looking for it.”
— —- —
“The ever present possibility in your life right now is to stop trying to do anything to get who you are and simply rest in this nectar of pure consciousness that is always here.”
“To try to keep what is always here is absurd. To try to establish what is already eternally established is ridiculous. That it is impossible is good news. The bad news is that in trying to keep what is already permanently here, the “hereness” is tragically overlooked.”
— — —
“This theatre of you, me, circumstances, emotions, good events, and bad events is God’s theatre. It is not to be avoided, but enjoyed. It is to thrill with, to weep with, but also to recognize, “Oh my God, what a play! What a theatre!” — and in that recognition, to know who you are.”
“You, as consciousness, are the stage upon which the actors move, the screen upon which the film of life is projected, and the animating force present in each actor. Whoever you imagine yourself to be, whatever role you imagine yourself to play, the truth of who you are now is deeper than that role, closer than that role, and also beyond that role. Not who you will be someday, but right now: who you are and have always been.”
“The ever present possibility in any moment is to wake up to the truth of yourself as consciousness. That waking up occurs in the mind’s surrender to silence.”
Quotes from: The Diamond in your Pocket, discovering your true radiance, by Gangaji …. and …. You Are That,Volume I, Satsang with Gangaji.
Images: 1) Orgasmic Orange Overload by mendhak, CC BY-SA 2.0, (also the Featured image), #2 onwards are all CCO Public Domain : 2) Seascape by Pok_Rie, 3) Maine by tpsdave, and 4) Redwood National Forest by tpsdave.
I love everything you put up here on this wonderful site and I find what Gangaji says here particularly clear and liberating for me right now. Thank you so much!!!!
Janet,
Thank you … your kind words are very much appreciated.
Indeed I’ve always found Gangaji to be crystal clear in her words/message.
Creating posts like this one with her wisdom and teachings is always inspiring but … more importantly, for me, it deepens the resonance within 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
Sanjiv
What a BLESSING this site is!
Thank you so much for your kind compliment …
We are humbled and grateful to be able to offer this site.
Peace & Blessings,
Sanjiv
Its simple .Just be aware of everything passing thru you. Total capacity!
Indeed, “attending” to our awareness allows inexpressible “deepening” … ‘course, can we ever *not* be aware ? … 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Gordon
Sanjiv
I am so totally in accord with Janet’s comment, and yours. After a spell of “wandering like a pygmy in the mist” (Kahlil Gibran’s poetry] I have just read Gangaji’s “The ever present possibility in your life RIGHT NOW is to stop trying to do anything……and simply rest in this nectar of pure consciousness” has removed the veil of “self forgetting”.
With much gratitude I give you my thanks for your ‘life-affirming’ work.
Thank You Wyllis.
Indeed, Gangaji has the gift of being a powerful and profound dissolver of “Self forgetting.”
Earnestly (& resolutely) “stopping” takes us on an exhilarating (& terrifying – at times) journey … and Gangaji is a wonderful “illuminator” on such a journey.
with gratitude,
sanjiv
This stop trying to do anything is resonating with me so strongly right now as my life has taken such an interesting turn and the Silence is the only real refuge as I keep thinking I have to do something (actually other people tell me I have to do something) and I just keep coming back to the Silence that is beyond doing and the need for doing and fear which is actually what seems to make doing necessary, or wanting to hold onto which is just fear of losing. As I watch all this play out in my life I cannot say how blessed I feel to be reminded of what I have known and then wandered away from as I got caught up in doing. Now it is such a relief to truly surrender to Silence and the quiet joy and freedom that are immediately experienced in That. Wonderful to be part of this “sat sang”. Gratefully,Janet
Janet,
1st my apologies for this delayed response.
Indeed, our answers (at least the ones that truly matter) do arise from silence – if we can persevere and “stay with it” … plus it dissolves the “addiction of fear based doing” or at least brings it into “balance” so the “doing” is in harmony with our True nature and not driven by “fear.”
Paradoxically, silence reveals what is the “best” course of action in a given situation …. which is why, it seems, a pause is almost always (if not always) worthwhile before “jumping in.”
And you rightly say “… what I have known …” 🙂
Surrender to silence is an incredible freedom … well worth undertaking .. though it certainly has its challenges … but the more we “explore/practice” it the easier it gets.
We appreciate your stopping by – again 🙂
With gratitude,
Sanjiv
Have you read Douglas Harding—-The headless one?
Gordon,
My apologies for this delayed response.
Presumably you mean “On Having No Head?” … or are you referrbg to teh website http://www.headless.org/
No I haven’t read it …. did you have a specific question re Douglas’ work and/or re that book?
Douglas is one of the teachers in our PRE June 2016 website and will be migrated in future.
Thanks for stopping by.
Sanjiv
I love this! Thank you for this page.
Patricia,
My apologies for this delayed response.
So glad you loved Gangaji’s post.
She is one of the clearest “transmitters” of Truth 🙂
There will be more content from/about Gangaji forthcoming.
Thanks for dropping by,
Sanjiv