I opened my eyes after meditation to this sight. It was most appropriate to experiencing the wisdom of Ashtavakara Gita today through the senses.

The whole world is made up of the 5 elements and these 5 elements are present in us as well. Our feelings, emotions and actions arise out of the dominance of any of these elements. Last evening I was annoyed to be asked why I was late to an appointment. The fire and air element were dominant making me angry and restive. Through the day today I was conscious I wasn’t getting through my pending task list. Again a case of the air element in dominance.

Na Prithvi Na Jalam Na Agnirna Vayurdyaurna Na bhava! We are none of the elements. When we become a witness to the body being a part of the elements, you can be at peace and become free from identification with the emotions. It is not you but the elements.

The sight above is how magnificent the universe is. The whole world is unpredictable and yet so predictable. At any moment many stars are bursting, elements are colliding in the universe. And the universe moves from one state to another. Everything is happening on its own. Yet we seem to get stuck in small little things as if an outcome at the level of our worry can affect our very existence. A smile comes up when we realise how small our worries our compared to the organization of the entire universe.

This whole exercise is an experience of doing while being aware of the fact that things happen on their own. The doing is needed so you can keep your mind in the present. The realisation that things happen helps us keep our attention off the outcomes.

Becoming a witness is being a witness to the doing as well as the outcomes. It is also a technique to remain happy. Na Karatasi Na Bhoktasi Mukta Evasi Sarvada. Realising you are neither the doer nor the experiencer can liberate you for ever. There is no need to be unhappy about any situations, people, events or circumstances. If that is the case then what is the reason to be unhappy at all?

I realise that this experience of trying to understand existence through blogging at the end of the day keeps me in a state of constant awareness – Saakshibhava.  And look forward to continuing this journey.

Anu tells me I wake up with a start in the morning when the alarm goes of, almost too excited to succeed in this self-imposed challenge. So thats something to be aware of. A feverishness to succeed is actually the very thing to be dropped as it runs counter to the principles of the previous chapters as well as being relaxed from moment to moment.