Question:

Dear Ektaji,
When sitting quietly, remaining as the awareness that notices the breath arise, peak, and melt away, the gap between the breaths is noticed. This gap is indescribable; there is nothing I can say about it, only that it seems the same as the indescribable void after the I sense has collapsed and before it arises again. Is this Primordial awareness only? The question is incorrect because it seems to be the one noticing the void, but it cannot ask the question, so the thought of a question arises. The void after the I sense collapses and the gap; is it the same?

 

Answer:

There are different layers of superimposition.

The first is the layer of arisings. It consists of perceptions, sensations, thoughts, and feelings. These arise in a wave-like fashion, not that they appear like waves, but they have a beginning point, a peak point, and a cessation point. They appear, and they disappear. It might be a flash; it might be a short wave; it might be a medium wave. It might be a long, humongous Tsunami wave. It might be like a ripple. It might be like a bubble that quickly bursts.

Arisings have their own commencement, duration, and cessation.

• • The witness consciousness, when it is standing dispassionately at a distance from the arising, is the true Witness of the arising.
  • When it pretends to become one with the arising, it assumes to be the Waker, Dreamer, or Deep Sleeper. At that time, there is no knowing of the arising. There is only the becoming of the illusory person in an illusory world.

Now, when the Witness is knowing the arising from a distance, it is naturally knowing the gap between two arisings. The gap between two arisings is nothing but the interim between the cessation point of either a perception, sensation, thought, or a feeling, and the beginning point of the next perception, sensation, thought, or a feeling. In any given instance, there can be only one arising; therefore, it is easy for the Witness to know the gap between two arisings.

It is the Witness consciousness that knows the gap between two arisings. There is the realization that the Witness Consciousness is the second layer of superimposition. But this is not the end.

As the spiritual seeker progresses on the path and recognizes the gap between two waking arisings, two dream arisings, and two deep sleep arisings, a recognition occurs that ‘I-the-Witness-Consciousness’ am the gap itself. I am knowing myself in the gap.

As this seeing deepens, the Witness now remains more inward-turned and interested in its own nature of peacefulness and void. This happens easily in closed-eyed samadhi. It is tougher in a simply open-eyed daily routine. The Witness Consciousness that remains inward, turned disinterested in the waking, dreaming, and sleeping arisings, finally learns to rest in its own glory. This may take some discipline and earnest effort.

Finally, a moment arrives when the Witness Consciousness merges and becomes one with the pure consciousness. This may happen for just a little bit, but a huge realization soon follows repeated mergers. The Witness knows that it is not different from the Pure. The drop merges with the ocean. This is where a higher realization occurs that all the void as well as the arisings are made of the Pure. There is no two. Advaitam. The void is Consciousness at rest. The arisings are Consciousness in motion.When this stage is reached, then arisings continue to arise. The gaps are still known, but now they are all known as the Pure Consciousness by the Pure Consciousness. Only Pure Consciousness is!