Millions of people still in a primitive stage of mentality, they talk of a soul leaving the body at death, when a civilized man knows that nobody has ever seen this soul.
All the three states have to be resolutely weighed, and accurately, observed in pursuit of truth. One must inquire:-
What is this world?
What is “I”?
Hence inquiry, analysis and reasoning are a necessary foundation. Hence too, the Yogi who looks only inside and ignores the world throws away part of the materials needed to find truth.
Without knowing the nature of the world, it is impossible to know truth. What is the use of trying to find one’s inner self before he understands the world, which confronts him also is consciousness.
If one does not make his induction from facts from the world before him, the mental world, he is only drawing on his imaginations. Then he speculates “The Atman is like this, or like that." but it will be only his mental construction.
First one must inquire into the nature of the body i.e. matter. Second he must inquire into the nature of the mind, which is in the form of the universe.
One has to realize by looking at everything in nature because in everything there is consciousness. One should not avoid them, he should not shut his eyes to Nature; he should not shut himself away from the world which is as much consciousness, as anything else.
But those who are ignorant tell one to be non-observant and to withdraw: keen powers of observation are desirable and will help, not hinder one’s pursuit of truth. One has to take experiences as they come to him and he should not run away from the world in ascetic fear or shyness of them.
To say they are illusion without first examining them and inquiring into them thoroughly is to delude oneself. This world is common to everyone; therefore one must begin his inquiry with it and not avoid. It is only after he has inquired into the nature of the objective universe, that he should inquire into who is the knower. If, however he inquiries into the knower before the inquiry into the universe, then it is mere mysticism. “What is this universe?” must precede “What is’ I”?” in pursuit of truth.
In the witness state the consciousness is aware of both conscious and unconscious. But in waking or dream it is unconscious of its true nature and conscious of the individuality which perceives the world. In deep sleep it is without the individuality and the world. There is no burden and bondage in deep sleep. There is gravity in deep sleep. It is unconsciously complete un- connectedness to the world. Becoming consciously un-connectedness to the world in the midst of waking experience is the witness state. To achieve this one has to drop all accumulate dross based on the ego as self.
This witness states is the state of Brahman/Buddha/Christ, which is free from all the burden and bondage of the world or illusion. It is free from the illusory birth, life, death and the world. It is free from the illusory pain and pleasure. It is free from illusory duality and it is eternal reality.
