In response To 'Jalarekhakal' by S GopalaKrishnan - Malayalam Varika, 2005 April 29

I just read your article The Ligtened Darkspot (Prakashamanamaya Thamobindu). The name itself is excellent. I would like to share some more thoughts about the ‘dark spot’ you mentioned.

You mentioned in your article that you are a non believer. It seems interesting and funny. Exactly as your friend told to you, your mind reaches the dark spot (or gets blank) at some stage - it is when the mind gets completely settled – or when you are completely in the present moment – or when you are in expanded awareness. Normally, your mind is full of thoughts – either worrying about the past or agonizing about the future.

What do you think right now? Observe your mind right now, what is there inside? What is the first thought that comes to your mind?

You’ll get blank. This is Pragya or awareness. I think Pragya is the Sanskrit word for your ‘dark spot’. This is the present moment.

It is all about experiencing the present moment or the dark spot as you put it. The dark spot is NOW. When your mind is in present moment, you don’t have any thoughts, and then you experience the formless. All your demands and thoughts will stop. Unconditional joy and bliss dawns. Children are always in this state, isn’t it? This is the dark spot. The dark spot is the present moment. It is here, right now. And realize that all the rituals, practices and customs in all religions are to bring you to that dark spot.

According to the famous theory of Einstein, matter is just energy (E=mc2) isn’t it? If we decompose anything around us, we just end up in sub atomic particles, which are waves and particles at the same time. According to the quantum theory, matter is just vibration in the level of energy. And if matter is just energy, where does this energy manifests as matter? It is in the level of observer, in the level of conscious ness. With out conscious ness this energy cannot manifest as matter. For an event to take place, there should be an observer, isn’t it? This is the basis of relativity theory.

Hence, we can say that the whole universe manifests in the observer, or with out an observer, there is no universe (or Brahma) around him. The conscious ness or such ness or divine or atman or God, itself is the Brahma or universe. This is why Rigveda says, ‘Prajnanam Brahma’ or the conscious ness itself is the whole (or universe) around you. The Human body is capable enough for experiencing this conscious ness. Experiencing this conscious ness with in you is called as Realization, enlightment, moksha etc etc, by various realized masters at various times. These days, we speak about God men, and it is quite funny that there is a scientific possibility of finding God men around us – they are people who are living in your ‘dark spot’ all the time. You will experience a trace of this conscious ness when your mind is in present moment.

That is all about the dark spot you just wrote about. It is where you are in total awareness, and it is what about Swami Vivekananda, Parama hamsa Yogananda and such people mentioned about when they experienced the same. Read the books - Autobiography of a Yogi and Yoga Vasishta - if you haven’t done that yet. And after that, start meditating for some days – Ha ha. You may get some more clues regarding the dark spot.

The nature of this dark spot is unconditional joy and bliss, and GOD is just a symbol to take you there. First you concentrate on some symbol, and in the end you even throw that symbol away – to reach this dark spot. And this is what various masters tried to convey at various times – Jesus Christ called it the ‘Kingdom of God within you’, and Hindu Philosophy called it ‘Moksha’. Krishna says to Arjuna, “Those who realize my form as formless will reach me”. It is all about reaching that dark spot, to synchronize your conscious ness with the universal conscious ness. Again, the name dark spot reminds me the concept of black hole – where time stops and all our rational views break. Realize that the dark spot you just mentioned is a trace of bliss, a trace of your conscious ness, a trace of your own source. We are discussing all these things in the level of intellect, but you can experience the dark spot only with your heart. Finding the path from your head to heart is ‘Bhakti’ or surrendering to something around you – it may be a stone, a wood piece, some forces of nature, anything. Religion is just the skin and spirituality is the Banana.

After all, it doesn’t matter whether you are a believer or skeptic to realize this dark spot. But of course, from my personal experience, it is better to gain it from some one who experienced the same – like an enlightened master.