Most of our lives are spent in three states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and sleeping. In the waking state, we experience the world through the five senses, through which we seek elevation and joy. If one of the senses is missing, the entire dimension of that sense is lost. When you cannot hear, you are deprived of the entire spectrum of sound. In the same way, if you cannot see, you miss out on all the beautiful sights and colors. Therefore, the senses are more important and far greater than the objects of the senses.
The mind is superior to the senses. It is endless, filled with many desires, yet limited by the capacity of the senses to enjoy. Greed wants more and more objects to enjoy. Even though we can enjoy things only for a limited time in our lives, we still want to possess all the wealth of the world.
Giving too much importance to the objects of the senses leads to greed; to the senses themselves, to lust; and to the mind and its desires, to delusion.
We cling to the concepts of the mind and want things to happen in a certain way. In this way, they prevent us from perceiving the infinite consciousness that is part of us. The senses and the mind are not inherently bad—learn to discern and be aware of what is happening at all times to gain clarity. This is the first step toward higher awareness.
While in the waking state, you are constantly engaged in seeing, eating, working, and chasing things. In deep sleep, you are completely switched off and unaware. This lack of awareness and heaviness often remains even after you wake up. The more you sleep, the duller you feel, as a lot of energy is released during sleep. In the dream state, you are neither awake nor fully asleep. In that phase, you are neither fully relaxed nor aware of your surroundings.
A higher state of consciousness lies somewhere between the waking state, deep sleep, and the dream state. In this state, you know that you are, but you don’t know where you are. This knowing of “I am,” but not knowing where or what you are, is called Shiva. This state gives the deepest possible rest a person can experience—and it is completely attainable.
Meditation prevents stress from entering your system and also releases accumulated stress. By incorporating meditation into our daily lives, a higher, cosmic state of consciousness becomes established within us. Cosmic consciousness perceives the whole universe as a part of itself. Then love naturally flows between us and the world, inspiring us to rise above conflicting forces and minor worries. Anger and frustration become fleeting emotions.
Higher states of consciousness will not suddenly fall from the sky one fine day. The seedling of consciousness is already within you—nourish it with spiritual practices like meditation. Some coconut trees bear fruit three times a year, others only once in ten years. And those that are never nourished? They never bear fruit at all—they just stand there.
Achieving higher consciousness doesn’t require some complicated strategy—just learn to relax. The integration of knowledge, understanding, and practice makes life complete and whole. As you grow into higher states of consciousness, you remain undisturbed by circumstances and worries. You become both strong and gentle—a delicate and beautiful person, capable of adapting to different values in life without conditions. As your consciousness expands and you feel uplifted physically, mentally, and spiritually, life truly becomes worth living.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
(First published in The Times of India)
