Self-inquiry, May 10, 2023 in Victoria

/in /by

Self-Inquiry

With Harshad Parekh

May 10, 2023

Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavilion

 

Six of us gathered in the late afternoon on a beautiful sunny day to engage in dialogue or self-inquiry together. We sat in a lovely room very suitable for such an enterprise, with large windows giving access to a view of the trees and plants on the grounds at the Gorge Park with the river running past in the distance. Harshad, visiting us from India, asked if anyone had a specific question or issue he or she would like to explore. It seemed that there was a keen interest in the topic of awareness and its application to our lives as we are involved in the daily challenges that almost all human beings must deal with. Harshad spoke for some time about the universality of the human experience and the similarities of all people.. On the other hand, when a human being becomes deeply interested in the functioning of his own mind there is a different approach to his or her life which invites a curiosity that continuously or regularly looks into one’s own behaviour. One sees that the behaviour is not so much under one’s control but is “just happening”. This happening involves the arising of an “I” or “me” that is at the centre of almost all actions and thoughts and is the source of all problems. If one can be the witness of the thoughts and feelings, observing them from a place that is uninvolved but not separate, then there can be a dissolution of the ego “me” and a living in harmony. The “I” or “me” creates fear and all its attendant emotions and conflicts, but a life of awareness brings a freshness and clarity which has a quality of beauty.

The dialogue penetrated into the possibility of living such a life and what is required inside oneself. It was asked if outer conditions and people were important in the journey to self-realisation and the enjoyment of life. The question was looked at from a few different angles. Obsessive thinking was mentioned as one of the factors of suffering and there was some discussion of the necessary alertness and curiosity that helps us to be observing with awareness rather than being caught in thinking. This seemed to be perhaps the key factor in effective “meditation” as explained by Krishnamurti.