Question:

I often try (or at least do it when I am aware) to be a sakshi of whatever I am doing. This is easier in meditation but difficult when I not meditating. How do I practice this with my eyes open when I am in vyavhar (day today life).

Also, some days when I am meditating I get a feeling that I am just faking all this. Is this just my mind playing a mischief? Please guide me so I can march continuously strong and firm on this path.

Answer:

What do you mean by ‘you can practice Sakshibhava when you are aware’? This understanding is incorrect. Sakshibhava itself means being aware. It is the samskrit word for awareness! Sakshi means to be aware of yourself all the time, aware of everything around you and everything within you. It is ‘being in the present moment 100%’. When you are not lost in all that you see, all that you hear, all that you touch, all that you taste, all that you smell, when you are completely in the ‘here & now’, then you are a Sakshi. When your mind is not scattered, when you are established in your center, you are a Sakshi! Sakshi means to be aware!

When you are a Sakshi, you are constantly observing the mind and thus the mind does not get stuck in the objects of the senses. It is in the present moment. And when the mind is in the present moment, you are natural, simple. You are not acting out of raagas and dveshas. Acting out of raagas & dveshas is ‘not being natural’, in other words, it is ‘faking’. You are extremely fortunate that you have been able to recognize this within yourself. Very few people have the courage to recognize and accept this that their mind is faking. You are amongst the few brave ones. Just keep practicing ‘Sakshi Bhava’ or ‘being aware’ and you will get there soon.

Start meditating everyday come what may. In Meditation, the mind starts calming down and you come in the present moment easily, with constant practice, this meditative state comes into your everyday activity, when your eyes are open. It is a skill that you will develop gradually so keep doing your Abhyasa!