SELF ENQUIRY The practice of ātma-vicāra — self-scrutiny or self-attentiveness — can be compared rather crudely to an attempt that is made to identify a minute object by examining it under a microscope. Until we are absolutely sure what the object that we are examining really is, we must continue increasing the magnification and refining the focus of the microscope. Likewise, when we scrutinise ourself — our essential consciousness of being, I-am — in order to ascertain Who am I?, we must continue refining our power of attention, making it ever more pure and subtle until we are finally able to distinguish clearly our extremely subtle consciousness I-am from all the adjuncts that now appear to be mixed with it. Only when our mind or power of attention is perfectly purified — cleansed of all its viṣaya-vāsanas, its gross desires for objective experiences — will it be refined and subtle enough to be able to focus itself entirely upon itself and thereby to know itself perfectly clearly. The only truly effective means by which we can achieve the required purity of mind is to persevere in practising self-attentiveness. Michael James: II - Blog / 090. What is self-attentiveness? - 3 - v. 9 __._,_.__
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 09:28:12 +0000
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