Becoming Fully Aware

 

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Becoming Fully Aware

At the material level we all are awake during the day and sleep at night. But in the spiritual sphere most of us are asleep while we are awake – this is our state deep within us.

Even right now we are dreaming within - a thousand and one thoughts continue and we are not conscious of what is happening, we are not aware of what we are doing, we are not aware of who we are. We move as people move in sleep.

People walk in their sleep – this is called somnambulism – they get out of bed, go to the kitchen, eat, and go bed again. Next morning, they have no clue about what happened at night. At the most they vaguely remember some kind of dream.

Many people commit crimes in their sleep and they have no clue that they have done it. Even courts give protection to such crimes. When questioned the person does not remember anything, and when he does not remember how can he be held guilty?

Awareness means that whatever is happening in the moment is happening with complete consciousness; you are present there. If we are present when anger is happening, anger cannot happen. It can happen only when one is fast asleep. When one is present, immediate, transformation starts in one’s being, because when one is present, aware, many things are simply not possible. All that is called sin is not possible if one is aware. So, in fact, there is only one sin and that is unawareness.

The original word sin means to miss. It doesn’t mean to commit something wrong; it simply means to miss, to be absent. The Hebrew root for the word sin means to miss. That exists in a few English words: misconduct, misbehaviour. To miss means not to be there, doing something without being present there - this is the only sin.  And the only virtue - while one is doing something one is fully alert – what is called self-remembering, being rightly mindful, being in awareness.

When awareness increases, no sin can happen through us, Swamiji keeps telling us - “meditate and strengthen your aura, nothing bad will ever happen to you.”

Even while we are repenting, we are not there; that repentance is also part of sin. That’s why nothing happens. We go on trying and trying and we take many decisions and we take many vows, but nothing happens - we remain the same. We are the same as when we were born, not even a slight change has happened in us. Not that we have not tried, not that we have not tried enough - we have tried and tried and tried and failed, because it is not a question of effort. More effort won’t help. It is a question of being alert, not of effort.

If we are alert, many things simply drop; we need not drop them. In awareness certain things are not possible. When we become fully aware whatever we do or happens do not have negative connotations.