Devotion to One’s Own Consciousness Is a Treasure Beyond Measure

Truth-based action is spiritual deliverance

My friend, I went to the market and bought the Dark One.
You claim by night, I claim by day.
Actually I was beating a drum all the time I was buying him.
You say I gave too much; I say too little.
Actually, I put him on a scale before I bought him.
What I paid was my social body, my town body, my family body, and all my inherited jewels.
Mirabai says: The Dark One is my lord now.
Be with me when I lie down; you promised me this in an earlier life.

—Poem by Bhakti Saint Meera, “It’s True I Went To The Market”

As human beings, we actually show our tendencies through behaviors, not through our words. Said another way: “Words may flow, but actions show.” Show what, exactly? Our patterns and our changes, over time. When we live in accordance with our innermost light, there may be a world cost to pay, so to speak. We may, as Meera’s poem points out, lose social standing, or relationships, or even material possessions. For some of us, however, the worldly attempts at conformity simply led to spiritual awakening and devotion to one’s consciousness, or Heart. Grace will allow one to act as the Heart sees fit in each moment, and the strength to do this unfolds on its own in each moment.

In my experience, I notice that the only thing that blocks truly inspired action is the mind, or doubting oneself. When I notice myself drifting into self-doubt, I remember to simply shift gears and act as if I am confident. Even if I don’t yet feel confident, I act that way. Interestingly, I notice from practicing this over time, that at some point, the confidence actually shows up in me. Then, I forget I was ever doubtful. I carry on from the inner place of light. And if I find myself hesitating, I don’t take any decisions until I’m there, once again. We each find ourselves perpetually returning to the light, just as the sunrise shines after each dark night, I have found.

Devotion to one’s own consciousness will eventually inspire different action in a person. We hear many people say they want to do something new, but we all may stall when it comes time to take a real action. Indeed, we may say one thing and actually do the opposite. Have we not seen this in ourselves, an in others? This is especially the case when it comes to making behavioral changes or following a new vision that explores a different direction from the apparent, limited options provided by bosses, family, neighbors, and others.

The answer is to simply disregard, even if it’s uncomfortable, and look within oneself instead of looking at others for instructions on how to take decisions along one’s life journey. This is not to say that seeking advice or guidance is not useful; it can helpful and required, depending on the person and individual circumstances.

This is where I find discernment helpful. Why? Because without discernment, we seek advice or follow others’ guidance uncritically, blindly, without questioning. We don’t use our inner tuning fork, so to speak, and take decisions that resonate. If external advice is sound and harmonious with this innermost knowing, we can certainly follow it. Or, if advice does not resonate, we can choose to honor our innermost self and follow the Heart instead of someone else’s words.

For example, as I adjust to being in a new country, I value and seek advice as I learn new cooking skills that are important for me to survive and thrive here. There is a lot to learn, and I accept my limitations and take action to adjust and change with what I see in reality here. The fields and farms grow different crops for consumption here than I am used to. The climate is different, tropical, and the seasonal vegetables and fruits are different from colder-climate crops that I am used to preparing. There are also seemingly infinite varieties of spices and herbs here that I am only now becoming acquainted with as I learn to cook simple regional things like chai, kheera sandwich, and raita.

Now, it’s true one could live in a new place and just stick to good old, comforting, familiar foods, as much as local groceries and available ingredients would allow. Or, one could do something completely new; for example, we can try different foods, and experiment with cooking (and even risk so-called failing) while exploring new dishes in a new place.

As I grow acquainted with living in India each new day, I seek advice from people I know and like in my area, people who grew up here, and people who are open to teaching me with patience and humor about how to select and prepare tropical fruits and vegetables according to time of year. I do my level best to listen, recall, and actually practice/apply what is shared with me. Why? Because I value their experience, which far outweighs my own in this domain.

What I have observed so far is that Indian cuisine is extraordinarily diverse and can’t be summed up in some sweeping generalization. It’s like a kaleidoscope with each region having its own flavors that are unique, yet also seemingly part of a greater whole at the same time.

With this in mind, I am learning to cook things according to my most immediate needs and personal tastes. Drinking chai is something I like to do sometimes, so I started by asking people to show me how to make that. But, as I soon learned, even chai has many, many varieties, so I chose to learn to make the chai variations that I enjoy most: chai with elaichi and with adrak. The second dish I learned to make was raita with kheera, again because I enjoy those dishes, but also because I can usually access those ingredients at nearby markets. The third dish I learned to make was bhurji, which is similar to an omelet where I am from, but even better (at least, to me). Now, I’m starting to open up to learning more involved recipes, again based on my priorities of easily-accessible ingredients and personal tastes.

I noticed my mind came up with all kinds of self-doubting messages as I began to ask for guidance about how to learn the fundamentals of Indian cooking skills. Some of these self-limiting thoughts included things like, “You can’t learn new things,” and “Indian cooking is not something you will ever be able to do skillfully.” Indeed, I noticed these thoughts created some hesitation in me to proceed towards learning new skills and making changes in my daily life in this new and wonderful place.

But, when I looked at these thoughts and observed them cooly, an amazing thing happened: they dropped away. Not because I tried to shoo them away or get them to change, but simply because I saw what the non-creative mind was cooking up: self-doubt. And, by grace, witnessing happened. Then the thoughts didn’t stick to me or create behaviors anymore. I was able to laugh at myself and move forward with ease and curiosity.

Ramesh Balsekar calls non-creative thoughts the “thinking mind,” and creative thoughts the “working mind.” This resonates with me as I notice I feel more peaceful and happy in the flow of life when my so-called working mind is in the driver’s seat.

Will I master Indian cooking? Not likely, but I can see that I have the ability to learn to make some dishes that I enjoy and can share with others. I may fail a few times while exploring new things and learning new skills, but I know that failure is actually success in disguise. Each failure is actually a valuable teacher that adds to my self-knowing, I have found.

And, I see clearly that striving to perfection in anything is truly useless in spiritual living, and strenuous effort just doesn’t hold much appeal anymore. Perfection is acting in tandem with our innermost Truth.

Each moment, one must act on what feels easeful. Take decisions in the light. For me, this looks like exploring what I want to learn, and perpetually moving boldly towards what I want to create in this precious lifetime. Since turning within, I know that we can trust ourselves and what pulls at our Heart. My career, my bank account, and my social standing are not what really matters, and the cost of maintaining what no longer resonates is too high; I have found that I don’t need to waste time pursuing others’ expectations for my life anymore. The strength to realize this comes on its own, by grace, as action is taken with a devotional attitude.

Instead of looking externally, I choose to act on what brings me joy and well-being. With humility, curiosity, and the ability to adapt and make changes each new day, I continue on the pathless path. I sometimes call it the Wisdom Heart, as Ramana Maharshi is said to have expressed: “The end of all wisdom is love, love, love.” This is the most valuable and simple pointer that I carry with me as I keep going. With courage and gratitude, I take decisions and actions which are done with Love and devotion. It brings a freeing sense of peace that is beyond measure.