Does Attention Play a Role in Recognizing the Primal Witness? - 27th October 2017

Has attention a role clearly in the recognition of the witness? The right answer is no, but there is a qualification to that now. When we are talking about the final witness, that is beyond even the play of attention, beyond even the play of existence. And yet, it is not that this primal witness has forgotten who it was or is and is coming to the recognition. Awareness always has been aware. There is no play of losing recognition and coming to the recognition in that. So, from that, from the perspective of the primal witness itself, no.

So now we have to really look at what is coming to this recognition. It is this very existence, this very consciousness which is playing it. That's what we discussed: using the thoughts, it creates as if it is a limited entity and now coming towards recognition. So what we've done so far is that I have brought the conversation to this level where we have seen that 'I am.' I have this existence, and beyond this existence, there is nothing that can hurt me or make me suffer. That 'I' is the 'I am' itself.

Now, this is the end of most spiritual paths: to discover your enlightened nature, to discover that you are consciousness. In some parts, then you come to see that even of this 'I am,' there is an awareness. Now, what is the role of attention in this? Attention is divested from the phenomenal things and comes to rest in existence. When the recognition of that which is even beyond existence happens to you, then from here, even 'I am that I am' doesn't sound like it is the full truth. It is recognizing its source, where it comes from, which is independent even of 'I am.' Therefore, the soul self has never been confused and never even played confused. But consciousness has played as if 'I am something' and now, coming to the recognition, played 'I am even beyond I am, just I.' That which we are, some things are being taught to me.

So, attention plays a role only to the point where attention is brought to just this i-am-ness itself. But as we ask the question 'Who is aware of even this existence?' you find that here there is no play of attention also. So, a deeply, deeply, deeply intuitive insight which is beyond attention. You see, attention no longer performs a function here. So attention works in conventional consciousness, and consciousness divests attention from all phenomenal things and it comes to rest in the Self. But in this 'Am I aware?' that resting is happening from all phenomenal things, but we cannot even say—although conversationally sometimes we might say—that attention goes to awareness. Actually, just resting. There is no play of attention here. Beyond attention, beyond time, beyond space.

So I hope we've clarified a little bit. To put it simply, the role that attention seems to be given in the play of self-recognition is that it is divested from all phenomenal objects, and in that moment of resting, the true insight which is beyond even attention reveals itself completely.