The Deepest Knowing Is Knowingness Itself - 8th February 2018

Sometimes thoughts arise as a ravenous curiosity about something that is not known in the moment, accompanied by a strong belief that I must know in order to be fulfilled, as if I am missing an integral piece of the jigsaw image of myself. I see that when these thoughts are not arising, when no thoughts are arising, there is no sense of incompleteness. This is simply presence. Also, I see the play of conditioning, childish expression, the fear of the desires as it winds through the body and the words, but I recognize it is not who I am. I am not identifying with the play. I feel free in this play.

For a long time, we have relied on the lesser forms of knowing. We relied on conceptual knowing. If I have the concept about something, I presume that I know it. Actually, we just have a belief, an opinion about it; you don't really know it. This knowledge is conceptual. Then there is a greater form than conceptual knowing, but still a lesser form of knowing, which is perceptive knowing. 'Oh, I know it because I saw it. I know it because I heard it.' So, to rely on these perceptions is a greater form of knowing than concept alone, but it is still phenomenal. It is still part of this worldly play. And this perceptual knowing then we can expand into any of this sort of sensation of knowing, or this form of knowing which is part of this phenomenon.

Now, the beautiful thing is that in our motionlessness, when we renounce just this conceptual notion about ourselves, we naturally experience such deepest knowing. Truly, knowingness itself, this awareness itself, is completely apparent. But the instrument of this lesser knowing feels lost; it feels as if it is not seen. So, it tries to grab onto some beautiful concepts to explain what was actually known. Many times, when it does not do a good job of it, or doesn't have concepts to share, it can feel like, 'Oh, there is something insufficient in my existence or my awareness of my existence.' And then it tries to sell us the idea that something has to be known for you to become complete.

So, I'm glad, I am happy that you spot this. You say that when you're just here, there is no sense of lack or incompleteness. There is no need to know anything at all. This knowingness is the source of all intelligence, and that is why it is also called the supreme intelligence. What we know as some concepts cannot even come close to the intelligence which is just naturally here. So, we don't exchange this Supreme Being for just a conceptual notion about ourselves. All that we can know in this conceptual way is just that: trying to replicate the beauty, the majesty of your being in some words or concepts about yourself.

All this is gone, actually, in this moment. And as you have found, there is nothing missing here. Supreme intelligence of the Atma is at play in the play of even the phenomenal functioning of this world. So, nothing is to be done; nothing needs to be not done. Just all that appears, including the movement of the body, including the movement of these words, all of this can happen in your great openness, in your great spaciousness, in your natural presence.