Month: May 2023

Are you Doing or Being? #SelfRealization

Doing or Being, which is true? One of the fundamental questions anyone, including musicians, must come across and contemplate is this simple question, are you doing or Being? Are you (the one who seems to think and move in an individual body) instigating thought and activity as well as their associated results? Or is there something deeper within us that is just Being? Many know the age old answer intellectually, but few have actually investigated within themselves to find out and many still struggle with this question today due to a deep rooted feeling of being the thinker/doer.

Why does this matter? The feeling of being a doer results in much suffering, due to the mind identifying with (read taking credit for) actions and the apparent good and bad results. So there is much said about realizing that you are not the doer, not the thinking mind, etc. While that is important, the intellectual understanding on non-doing can create another blind spot resulting in a stance in inaction. There is an easier way and that is to recognize and realize the Source of doing, which is our own simple Being. No matter what is taking place, you can always see that you are Being. This simple Being is always aware and available in our experience when you are in activity and when you are not. This allows us to see that both doing and Being are layers of experience like waves on the ocean. The activities are like the waves and your Being spans the depth and breadth of the ocean, including everything in your experience. The movement of the waves of actions have their source and cause in the ocean of Being, Peace and Silence. Our identity in Being actually empowers us to spontaneous, natural action that is stable, responsible and peaceful. Recognizing this dissolves intellectual conflicts and leaves us in the natural Peace and spontaneous activity of the Self. After all, it is the Self that does everything, while we doing nothing at all. While you are seemingly doing, just Be. While Being, you will automatically do. All others in your life are also living this way. Realizing this, be free of all worries.

—
The music intro includes a bit of spontaneous raga meditation in Kedaaram on the alto saxophone. When there is a spontaneous silence in the talk, please use it as an opportunity to rest in Being. It is left in on purpose. 🙂

Other videos by Prasant on this Topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQYOeeKfh4Q&list=PLvRlCjx-q4ZTvB_qAfzAn2wKuzdnhZaMH

Connect with Prasant: Website: https://prasantmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prasantmusic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prasantmusic/

Satsang (held online via zoom): https://prasantmusic.com/satsang/

If you found this video useful, please share it with friends and loved ones!

Prasant is available to speak to your group or organization about Realization Through Music or on approaches to meditate with Sound and Music as well as Satsang. He is also available for concerts, masterclasses, private lessons on the saxophone. You can contact him through his website linked above. You can also support more of this work by downloading Prasant’s free meditation albums and choosing to contribute there: https://prasantmusic.bandcamp.com/album/meditations-ragas-on-saxophone-vol-2 #nonduality

Living Meditation: How to Merge Meditation Practice with Daily Natural Life

https://youtu.be/hkYffsyrP5E

Glad to share a new video with you, Living Meditation: How to Merge Meditation Practice with Daily Natural Life

You can easily make your life a natural, living meditation. Many people on the path find that balancing formal meditation practice and contemplation of Truth with an active natural life difficult. This is due to seeing spiritual practice in isolation compared to the world. This is the case even for those are steeped in teachings that embrace the world as the Divine itself.

One one side, regular meditators access peaceful states during their meditation practice, but often can become disturbed by various happenings in daily life. They can become worried or anxious that they might miss their meditation practice and then become a wreck during a stressful moment during the day. To avoid this shock, they slowly withdraw and avoid things that could cause this overwhelm and try to do more meditation. On the other side, those who live a very active life can become overly enmeshed in the happenings of their world and body and thus have difficulty finding peace during meditation. They may not want to meditate for fear of how difficult it might be and throw themselves into more and more activity to avoid arising thoughts and emotions.

The key is to discover and access the common aspect that is ever present both in formal practice and natural life. This is of course our own Awareness, or the simple feeling of just Being. This feeling of Being is there in the depths of meditation, dream and deep sleep as well as during active hours of the waking state. It is there with you right now, as you read this and watch this video. During meditation, you notice and rest in this Being, but during active hours, you may forget the Being, the natural Awareness that is aware of everything and become engaged with thoughts and external happenings.

The next step is to begin to notice the feeling of Being or Awareness while you are active. At first, it may not feel natural. So use your work or an enjoyable hobby as a doorway to this practice. Music is a perfect example, but you could use anything, like painting, running, rock climbing, writing, even washing dishes. I have described the method for this with music practice in my previous video, https://youtu.be/gYH4-kZ5ZIQ but it is as simple as noticing you are aware and resting in the feeling of Awareness or Being as you are doing the activity, gently relaxing your intention and attention and allowing it to dissolve in Being. You will notice that the activity will continue despite this shift and you will be naturally witnessing your body and arising experiences happening all by themselves. This is active meditation! It is that simple.

Once you are comfortable doing this, you will recognize the simple truth that you are already meditating! By being aware and naturally knowing this, spontaneously, without effort is itself meditation. There is nothing else you need to do to meditate. It is happening automatically, as simple as breathing. It is even simpler than breathing actually. Now outside of formal practice and hobbies, you can be at Home in any situation, anywhere. It continues unbroken, 24/7.

The merging of these two aspects of life leads to more and more freedom, lightness and Peace while continuing to lead an active life in the world as necessary.
—-
The music intro includes an excerpt from the Muthuswamy Dikshitar composition Annapurne Visalakshi in Sama raga, Adi talam.

When there is a spontaneous silence in the talk, please use it as an opportunity to rest in Being. It is left in on purpose. 🙂

Other videos by Prasant on this Topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQYOeeKfh4Q&list=PLvRlCjx-q4ZTvB_qAfzAn2wKuzdnhZaMH

Connect with Prasant:
Website: https://prasantmusic.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prasantmusic/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prasantmusic/
Satsang (held online via zoom): https://prasantmusic.com/satsang/

If you found this video useful, please share it with friends and loved ones! Prasant is available to speak to your group or organization about Realization Through Music or on approaches to meditate with Sound and Music as well as Satsang. He is also available for concerts, masterclasses, private lessons on the saxophone. You can contact him through his website linked above.

You can also support more of this work by downloading Prasant’s free meditation albums and choosing to contribute there: https://prasantmusic.bandcamp.com/album/meditations-ragas-on-saxophone-vol-2

#activemeditation #meditation