In this conversation between a questioner and Maharaj, they discuss the nature of consciousness and awareness in different states, such as sleep, dreaming, and waking. Maharaj explains that he is aware even when he is asleep, which the questioner finds confusing since sleep is typically associated with unconsciousness. However, Maharaj clarifies that he is aware of being unconscious in those moments.
The conversation then shifts to the topic of the world and its purpose. Maharaj believes that the world is a reflection of his imagination and that he can see whatever he wants to see. He sees no need for patterns of creation, evolution, and destruction. The world is within him, and he has no desire to lock it up in a mental picture.
The questioner then asks about Maharaj’s dreams, to which he replies that they are echoes of the waking state. He also describes his experience of deep sleep, where his brain consciousness is suspended, and he is unconscious of his surroundings but still aware that he is unconscious.
The conversation then turns to the difference between awareness and consciousness. Maharaj explains that awareness is primordial, beginningless, endless, uncaused, and without change. Consciousness, on the other hand, is relative to its content and always of something. Awareness is absolute, while consciousness is partial and changeful.
The questioner then asks how to go beyond consciousness into awareness. Maharaj explains that there is awareness in every state of consciousness and that interest in one’s stream of consciousness can take them to awareness. It is not a new state, but the original, basic existence, which is life itself, love, and joy.
Finally, the questioner asks about self-realization, to which Maharaj replies that it is simply the opposite of ignorance. Ignorance is taking the world as real and oneself as unreal, which causes sorrow. Realization is knowing the self as the only reality and everything else as temporal and transient. By learning to see things as they are, like cleansing a mirror, one can achieve self-realization. The thought “I am” is the polishing cloth that can be used for this purpose.
Overall, this conversation provides insight into Maharaj’s understanding of consciousness, awareness, and self-realization, emphasizing the importance of seeing things as they truly are to achieve freedom, peace, and joy.
