Observation: 5 Ways to Break Free

5 Distortions to Observation

• How analysis distorts pure observation
• The role of mind in creating conditioned biases
• How observation without judgment leads to clarity
• The necessity of spiritual practice for true perception
• Ways to break free from conditioned thinking

Observation and Analysis are Antipodal

We often live an “unobserved” life. Observation is an act of purity. Moreover pure observation represents Truth in its pristine form. Analysis can never be part of observation. When analysis happens, there is always involvement of the mind. Mind, with all its prior experiences and conclusions, gets into the act of slicing “observation”. It is like having just a drop of pure poison in a glass of pure hygienic milk. 

Analysis of any sort, will contort and bias, observation. The art of pure observation cannot be cultivation or massaging or manipulating “the observed” with the rusted tool called the mind. When cultivation of all sorts subsides, pure observation is all that remains. Only under these circumstances can observation open higher possibilities. As Einstein said “The mind that created the problem, can never solve it”. This is a profound statement. All of us are prejudiced and hold very strong opinions about the world around us. This polarizes everything that we think, say or do.

The World and the Individual operate in Cyclic Ways

In this regard, we have fixated ways of functioning, irrespective of factors like gender, culture/community, race, religion, financial status and other sociological orientations. Given that we are positioned with certain coordinates mentioned above, most of us are already programmed to function in a certain fixed way. 

There is a lot of data, based on observational and scientific research world wide. This data, if seen and studied, may throw up mind-boggling revelations. This data will also reveal that, over a period of time, human civilization becomes regurgitative by nature. There is nothing phenomenal happening around and life just goes around in smaller or larger circles again spiralling into larger circles just like how the Solar System functions in a pre-programmed manner where repetition is inevitable.

Pure Observation Happens only through Spiritual Practice

Yet, all this said, there is a zone of infinite possibilities. Those who graduate to this zone, shall never come back to this ever revolving hackneyed life-status that the general population is grinding through. Spiritual practice is the means to get to this zone. Observation is possible, only when a being  through spiritual practice is able to clear the distortions within the thinking process.

The thinking process may be considered as a tool for survival, nothing more. However the larger vista of human possibilities lie beyond the limited thinking process. Observation, unhindered by the thinking process, is a tool which can pave the pathways to the zone of infinity from where one never returns to the regurgitating zone. Observation or pure witnessing, as it is sometimes called, is not ordinarily possible, as our mind starts over-working as soon as we begin to observe something. This disturbance of the mind is arrested through spiritual practice alone. When the mind is rendered pure and light, the faculty of the spirit comes into being and perfect observation becomes possible.

Intuition is just a side result of Observation and not the Actual Yield

It should also be understood that hunches or intuition is not necessarily connected to observation. Intuition or hunches happen at the initial stages of the calming of the mind. One should not take intuition or hunches seriously and flaunt it as if it were a serious capability. Just as sunlight rushes in from a tiny hole in the wall of a dark room, hunches or intuition may give someone a peek into something beyond. 

However it is foolish to stop at this stage. What is needed is to break down all the walls of the room so that we are fully available to sunlight. Then there is no question of “allowing” or “getting access” to a little sunlight. It is better to be completely bathed in sunlight. It is better that there is no room at all. Observation and spiritual practice are the sledge-hammers with which one can easily knock down the barrier-walls of the dark room called life.

The Rust of Conditioned Consciousness

All of us have a backstory. The backstory usually reflects the environment in which we grew up, or those which shaped our views and perspective of life. In short, our background reflects our conditioning. Our entire personality which includes traits, habits, behavior and preferences is directly associated with our conditioning. Our conditioning decides our futuristic actions; our goals, ambitions and needs. 

The mold of society is often decided by such conditioning. A pious man, the ambitious man, the selfish man, the greedy man, the skirt-chaser; all these depend on the conditioned mind. Overall, social consciousness is built over a period of time, by conditioned consciousness. The build-up of individual minds is what creates collective-consciousness, conditioned-consciousness.

How does Conditioning Happen?

Conditioning of the mind is inevitable, whoever it may be. This conditioning or mental make-up, undergoes flavoring; across geography, demographics and culture, yet it has a common base on which the coloring or dyeing of consciousness happens. The turn of historical events is a roll-up of personal events. 

When there is a turmoil in personal life, usually it is observed that there is turmoil in the world. An occasion of happiness seems to throw-up a few happy events in the world. The key-hole that views personal events, is the same through which world events unravel. Somewhere, the nature of conditioning has a common pattern, a common formula.

When there is a loss at a personal level, a death in the family; within the next few days, similar events occur in the vicinity. We hear the news of similar deaths happening around. A case of cancer in the film-world, reveals a few other cases of cancer in the same industry, as if these events were linked.

How does Consciousness Flow?

If one were to observe events and life-styles closely, it shall not be difficult to follow the “conditioning patterns”. It is not all that difficult. If this were so, the operability of the phenomenon can be easily gauged. 

7/8 Questions from Sanatana Dharma

The scores generated in this Quiz may or may not be absolute. There may be right or wrong answers to each Question. A percentage towards 100 indicates that you are more aligned to the overall subject matter.

We come to know that the “flow” or “ends” of certain individuals or certain “blobs” of consciousness have gone through a certain mode of operation or expression, due to which life has flown or ended in a certain way. The conditioning of lives follows perfect “inner” laws and meets with finite results with immaculate precision. 

Our elders often said “See and learn”. In the current world, we have lost this very ability of seeing and learning. Life has been repeating its stringent laws to us, through the “conditioning” process, but we care little about it and let our lives go on auto-pilot.

An Unattended Mind is not an Option if Joy is our Goal

We fail to realize that “conditioning” is like the rust that corrodes the colossal chains that lie unused for years in the dockyards. This soot of conditioning is the killer of Joy that naturally exists in the heart of every being yearning to spurt to the Conscious plane. 

When the mind is not plumbed and cleansed through spiritual practice, it starts to rust with every new birth, during its course of transmigration. Birth, growth, decay and death for the mind is just “corrosion” and stench. The mind never dies but reappears in a more corroded state, with every passing birth. This “mind corrosion” is what is represented in Sanatana Dharma as the “ages” or the 4 Yugas namely Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. 

Kali Yuga is the darkest, the most corroded age, where conditioning is fully on auto-pilot. There is nothing done by the so-called conscious being towards the “mind-corrosion” and hence everything is more or less predictable. The laws of degeneration and degradation is when the mind is heavy with the slush of materialistic sediments. The covering of the soul has lost its transparency and become sooty with the darkness of carnal tendencies.

Mind Conditioning can be 100% reversed and one should do it

Conditioning, unless reversed, pure consciousness cannot be realized. When you let nature take its course, conditioning gets strengthened. The illusion of events that surround us, happens under the supervision of the conditioning auto-pilot. Unless the mind is rid of the dross, this conditioning is recast and re-enforced. The decay of modern society is spearheaded by the conditioning of the mind. To reverse this process, strangely, one does not have to clean-up society or become a social-reformer of sorts. That’s not the way. 

Doing such a thing, without cleaning up one’s own mind could only speed up the conditioning process and worsen the overall situation of the world. The world is a reflection on the individual mind, the “personal mind”. The moment this personal mind is rid of its dross, strangely but surely the world-mess starts cleaning up! This is a huge hint towards a better world.

You display your love by reading this valuable material. So kindly read and consider financially supporting us to keep our efforts going with renewed vigor! Supporters in India can donate via Razorpay while those abroad can use PayPal!