A Guided Meditation and Inquiry

As you know, the Upanishads are the cream of Vedantic teachings, and there are over a hundred of them, and they're in the form of mantras, verses, aphorisms, meditations, inquiry, and they're essentially the teachers, they're essentially the teachings of the great rishis who accessed revealed truth through what is called Smriti, cosmic memory, and Shruti, that which is heard. Revealed truth is also revelation, the basis of all scripture. So today I want to share with you a inquiry and a meditation from the Gena Upanishad. Here is how it goes. Willed by whom or prompted in whose presence does the mind land upon its objects? United with whom does the breath go in and out? United by whom does the breath go in and out? Willed by whom do people speak these words? Which effulgent being unites the eyes and ear? So let's explore this mantra before we do a meditation. This mantra from the Gena Upanishad questions the fundamental force behind human perception and action. It asks who directs the mind, the breath, the speech, and the senses, implying that these faculties are not self-governing but are guided by a higher power, and that higher power is Brahman, universal consciousness. The Upanishad suggests that Brahman is the ultimate source of all actions and sensory experiences, transcending the individual self and the physical senses. And this inquiry leads to the realization that Brahman is the consciousness behind all perception and action, urging all individuals to meditate on this supreme reality to attain spiritual wisdom and enlightenment. The Gena Upanishad also explores then the relationship between Brahman and Atman by asserting that they are ultimately one and the same. Brahman is described as the ultimate reality, the source of all energy and action, which cannot be perceived through the senses or intellect, but is the essence of all experience. All experiences are modified expressions of this pure consciousness. Atman, the innermost self, is identified with this Brahman, suggesting that realizing one's true nature, realizing one's true self, is realizing pure consciousness or universal consciousness, Brahman, the projection of which is Brahman, the changing universe. The Upanishad emphasizes that this realization transcends intellectual understanding and involves a direct experiential knowledge of the unity of yourself with the self of the universe. So let's see if we can do a meditation on this. But before I do that, the Gena Upanishad also talks about the first breath, the first breath. In the Gena Upanishad, the first breath or prana is depicted as a fundamental life force that operates beyond conscious control, illustrating the presence of a higher power. In other words, you don't breathe, you're being breathed. Brahman, which governs all physiological functions, starts with breath. The Upanishad questions how this breath is initiated and sustained, emphasizing that it is not by human will but the divine essence of Brahman that life is animated and maintained. And this highlights the dependency of all processes, sensory and motor perceptions, and everything else that's going on, all depend on Brahman, reinforcing its role as the ultimate reality. The Gena Upanishad also talks about the regulator of the eye and the ear. In the Gena Upanishad, Brahman is considered the regulator of the eye and the ear. The text describes Brahman as the eye of the eye, the eye within the eye, and the ear of the ear, indicating that Brahman is the ultimate source and enabler of sensory perception and function. This highlights Brahman's role as the transcendent force behind all sensory experiences, suggesting that without Brahman, or consciousness, these faculties would not operate. Okay, now let's do some meditation. So find a quiet, comfortable place to sit. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths to relax your body. Now bring your awareness to your breath, observing the natural rhythm of inhalation and exhalation. As you breathe in, silently repeat to yourself, I am awareness. As you breathe out, silently repeat to yourself, I am the awareness of divine presence. Once again, in breath, I am awareness. Out breath, I am divine presence. In breath, I am awareness. Out breath, I am divine presence. In breath, I am awareness. Out breath, I am divine presence. Now visualize a soft, radiant light at the center of your being. Okay, since we can't visualize Brahman, let us visualize a soft, radiant light as the light of awareness. And let this symbolically represent Brahman, the ultimate reality. Imagine this light expanding gently to fill your entire body, reaching every cell. Allow the light of awareness to reach every cell. Now bring your awareness to your senses one by one. Bring your awareness to your eyes and contemplate how vision is possible because of the divine light within you. Bring your awareness to your ears and reflect on how hearing is facilitated by this inner presence. Now also contemplate on your thoughts as they arise and they dissolve within this divine presence. Every thought arises, is there, and subsides. Do this for a few minutes. And now silently repeat the mantra. I am that. All this is that. That alone is. Tat Tvam Asi, Tat Tvam Asi, Tat Tvam Asi. Now sit in silence, resting in the awareness of being part of this vast, interconnected reality, the differentiation of the one consciousness. Continue with a few questions. Reflect, who is it that sees through these eyes? Who is it who sees through the eyes? Who is it that hears through these ears? What empowers my breath and thoughts? What empowers my breath and thoughts? Allow any sensations, images, feelings to emerge and subside. Now consider how recognizing this connection might change your perception of reality and your way of being in the world and your way of being in the world. This is the path to freedom and enlightenment. Inquiry from the great sages of the Upanishads, and in this case the Ena Upanishad.