The observer and the observed

Buddha encouraged people not to accept any doctrine or dogma blindly, including his own teachings, but find out by themselves with their own knowledge and worldly experiences. His suggestion is based on two factors. Once you are born into this physical world with a physical body, then there is a purpose (past karma). This purpose has a past and your present is a continuum of such a past (reincarnation). Only you can find out this purpose by your own intellect and experience. Your knowledge of the past remains elusive, as long as the veil of Maya (ignorance) covers your intellect. Secondly, each individual is unique and they have to find ways and means for their salvation by their own ways, because, they are conditioned by circumstances of their birth, language, culture, relationships and beliefs. It is extremely difficult for an individual to break this mould of ‘conditioned world’ and think ‘outside the box’. Both Hinduism and Buddhism emphasize that ‘discriminative knowledge’ alone, is the key for such wisdom. Human brain is a very powerful tool by which we come to know everything in the world.Togather with knowledge and imagination; human beings have achieved miraculous things. We are able to probe deep into the past several millions years with Carbon dating techniques, and explain how the past existed. We are able to use our imagination and able to project the future, how human beings can achieve things merely by using their ‘thought processes’ using computers. We are reaching the pinnacle of science and technology. In spite of all these advancements, there are sufferings and pain everywhere in our everyday lives. Why this anomaly? The material comforts and scientific knowledge are not sufficient to alleviate our pain and suffering in our day today lives. They are not sufficient to bring our loved ones from their past death. They are not sufficient to mend our ‘broken relationships’. They are grossly inadequate because, we have mistaken material wealth for happiness; we have mistaken this temporary life for permenance.We has mistaken a temporary relationship for permanent. We have mistaken pain for pleasure. These sufferings are our own making by our mistaken identity. In an interactive world, we need two things. One is an observer and another is observed. When there is no observer there is nothing observed. When you witness a person suffering, who feels this pain? It is your body that feels the pain and not you. When you mistake your body for you, then there is a pain and there is a suffering. The purpose of ‘Yoga’ is to teach and train you, to distinguish between your body and you. In deep meditation of Yoga, your body disappears along with pain. Then you can see clearly who you are. You stand alone. Hinduism describes you as a soul; ‘it cannot be burnt with fire, moistened with water or dried by air’. When you identify yourself with body, then there is a pain. When you identify yourself with the soul, there is no pain. During Samadhi the individual ‘I or ego’ identity is simply dissolved into a vast ocean of universal force called Iswara (the creative force).