17.
The Ever-Present
Questioner:
The highest powers of the mind are understanding,
intelligence and insight. Man has
three
bodies -- the physical, the mental and the causal (prana,
mana, karana). The physical reflects
his
being; the mental -- his knowing and the causal -- his
joyous creativity. Of course, these are all
forms
in consciousness. But they appear to be separate, with
qualities of their own. Intelligence
(buddhi)
is the reflection in the mind of the power to know (chit).
It is what makes the mind
knowledgeable.
The brighter the intelligence, the wider, deeper and truer
the knowledge. To know
things,
to know people and to know oneself are all functions of
intelligence: the last is the most
important
and contains the former two. Misunderstanding oneself and
the world leads to false ideas
and
desires, which again lead to bondage. Right understanding of
oneself is necessary for freedom
from
the bondage of illusion. I understand all this in theory,
but when it comes to practice, I find that
I
fail hopelessly in my responses to situations and people and
by my inappropriate reactions I
merely
add to my bondage. Life is too quick for my dull and slow
mind. I do understand but too late,
when
the old mistakes have been already repeated.
Nisargadatta:
What then is your problem?
Questioner:
I need a response to life, not only intelligent, but also
very quick. It cannot be quick unless it is
perfectly
spontaneous. How can I achieve such spontaneity?
Nisargadatta:
The mirror can do nothing to attract the sun. It can only
keep bright. As soon as the mind is
ready,
the sun shines in it.
Questioner:
The light is of the Self, or of the mind?
Nisargadatta:
Both. It is uncaused and unvarying by itself and coloured by
the mind, as it moves and changes.
It
is very much like a cinema. The light is not in the film,
but the film colours the light and makes it
appear
to move by intercepting it.
Questioner:
Are you now in the perfect state?
Nisargadatta:
Perfection is a state of the mind, when it is pure. I am
beyond the mind, whatever its state, pure
or
impure. Awareness is my nature; ultimately I am beyond being
and non-being.
Questioner:
Will meditation help me to reach your state?
Nisargadatta:
Meditation will help you to find your bonds, loosen them,
untie them and cast your moorings.
When
you are no longer attached to anything, you have done your
share. The rest will be done for
you.
Questioner:
By whom?
Nisargadatta:
By the same power that brought you so far, that prompted
your heart to desire truth and your
mind
to seek it. It is the same power that keeps you alive. You
may call it Life or the Supreme.
Questioner:
The same power kills me in due course.
Nisargadatta:
Were you not present at your birth? Will you not be present
at your death? Find him who is
always
present and your problem of spontaneous and perfect response
will be solved.
Questioner:
Realisation of the eternal and an effortless and adequate
response to the ever-changing
temporary
event are two different and separate questions. You seem to
roll them into one. What
makes
you do so?
Nisargadatta:
To realise the Eternal is to become the Eternal, the whole,
the universe, with all it contains.
Every
event is the effect and the expression of the whole and is
in fundamental harmony with the
whole.
All response from the whole must be right, effortless and
instantaneous.
It
cannot be otherwise, if it is right. Delayed response is
wrong response. Thought, feeling and
action
must be one and simultaneous with the situation that calls
for them.
Questioner:
How does it come?
Nisargadatta:
I told you already. Find him who was present at your birth
and will witness your death.
Questioner:
My father and mother?
Nisargadatta:
Yes, your father-mother, the source from which you came. To
solve a problem you must trace it
to
its source. Only in the dissolution of the problem in the
universal solvents of enquiry and
dispassion,
can its right solution be found.