Q: Dear Ekta, the arising of contradictory thoughts, such as ‘It would be nice to get a promotion’ and ‘I don’t think promotion is a good idea’, are part of Vichaara or the Natural Flow. Is this the correct understanding? 

A: Vichara is always ONLY the first spontaneous thought, feeling, sensation, or perception, and never the second, dear. The second is always a Vasana or a reaction to the first. That’s why the Hindi saying, ‘Pehli awaaz Bhagwaan ki doosri Shaitaan ki – The first voice is of the Angel, the second of the Devil’.

The arising of the first thought from nothingness is a plus, while its cessation into nothingness is a minus. The plus and the minus are parts of the same arising. The plus and the minus forces are not separate arisings. The plus force is from the beginning point of arising from nothingness to its peak. The minus force is from the peak to the cessation point of the arising into the nothingness. Every thought, every feeling, every sensation, every perception of sight, every perception of sound, every perception of smell, every perception of taste, and every perception of touch – every arising inherently has both positive and negative forces. The positive and negative forces are one and the same arising, but with oppositely pulling energies like two opposing poles of a magnet.

Because the negative force is intolerable, the Ego reacts with a second thought to mask the ending of the first wave. Hence, in your example, ‘It would be nice to get a promotion’, is Vichara, the first spontaneous thought. The thought, ‘I don’t think promotion is a good idea,’ is Vasana, the reaction of the Ego. 

Q: What about the contradicting thoughts that are part of the waking script? They seem to be always there – ‘Let me get up to get water and eat something’ and ‘Let me answer another email and then go eat’ or ‘Let’s donate this’ and ‘No let’s keep this’ or ‘I need a break and want to go somewhere for vacation” and ‘I like the comfort of my house, don’t want to go anywhere’. Are these contradicting thoughts not part of the Flow? If I tilt to any one of them, there is suffering. If I simply watch the thoughts appear and disappear and accept the contradictions as part of the script, I stay established as the Witness. Is each of the first thoughts in these examples vichaara, and the contradictory following thought Vasana?

A: Correct, the first is always Vichara; it is not known before the commencement of the arising. The second is a reaction to the first. It is always Vasana. Each arising, whether Vichara or Vasana, has a positive and a negative force inherent to it. That is what makes decision-making a big struggle. 

Q: Wow! So the number of contradictory thoughts is directly proportional to the number of Vasanas… There are so many every day…

A: Yup! Keep focusing on distancing from the Waker completely, dear. Simply be a Witness to all that arises and falls without tilting to one side or the other. When you abide in the center, neither weighs in on you. You are at peace with yourself because of your insights: 
– I do not work. 
– I cannot get promoted or demoted. 
– I do not have a house. 
– I do not donate. 
– I do not eat. 
– I do not write emails. 
All scenes appear on me-the-screen, but I remain untouched. Zoom out! Abide there! Balance on the rope. Steady! Steady!

Q: What about the decision?

A: Let the flow or Vichara decide. Let Karma corner one of the decisions. Let it play out. Remind yourself repeatedly, ‘The one that got me in will get me out’. 

P.S. Questioner has asked these questions in the Guru Tatva Drishti Gurukul group studying the book available in USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/1965163025 and in India – https://tinyurl.com/Guru-Tattva-Pothi.