The Gallery of Noise XII - Gratitude (The Last Part)

In the Gita, Lord Krishna says -

"Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja.

Aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayishyami ma suchah."

"Surrender thyself to Me and leave all of your doubts, doctrines and responsibilities unto My feet. I shall restore thee and give you salvation."

In this series of 12 parts under the title "The Gallery of Noise", we have learnt a lot about ourselves --- our very origin i.e. The Cosmic Consciousness.  

We saw how mind creates noise, how body creates noise, how world creates noise. We learnt to be Sakshi - the Witness.

But we cannot remain in that state by our own effort.

Witnessing is not the end. Witnessing is the door.

Without the blessings of HariHar, no one can stay there. Without two forces meeting, the journey is incomplete.

Hari - The Cosmic Order - The Force that runs the world and always takes incarnation to restore the Order of Cosmos. 

Har - The Pure Witness - The Cosmic Consciousness that watches the world.

Force and Witness. Prakriti and Purusha. They must meet.

Till now, we were trying to be the witness. That was Sadhana. But in the end, the small witness must also surrender. The drop must be ready to merge into the ocean.

And that merging does not happen by effort. It happens by Grace. By Surrender.

Krishna calls it Sharanagati.

You leave everything - your doubts, your doctrines. Leave them all at His feet.

Then what remains?

No drop left.

Once the Sakshi merges into Parabrahman, there is no Sakshi left. The small self dies. It vanishes. Not by killing, but by merging.

Then what happens to this body and this mind?

They don't die. They become tools. Tools of Cosmic Order.

Then you don't speak. Then you don't act. The Cosmic Order acts through you.

Then nothing is left. Only The Pure Witness.

No gallery. No noise. No one to see the gallery.

Only Silence watching Silence.

This series ends here, but gratitude remains.

Gratitude to HariHar who let us see the noise.

Gratitude to the noise itself, which taught us what silence is.

Gratitude to this body which bore everything.

---- End of The Gallery of Noise Series

The Gallery of Noise XI: Be Simple

In the previous part, the water evaporated.

When it evaporates, you know yourself as you are. You become Sakshi — the Silent Watcher. No more play, only pure witnessing. The noise fades and looks like a grand play.

But what happens after evaporation?

This is where simplicity begins.

Having Self-Realisation doesn't mean you won't become sad or happy. Rather, after realising your true self i.e. the Pure Consciousness, aka Absolute Stillness, you will become intensely sad and happy but still disinterested inside.

As it is said:

"आत्मज्ञानी का रोना भी सहज होता है और हँसना भी। वह न तो दुःख से भागता है और न सुख को पकड़ता है।"

A self-realized's crying is natural, and so is his laughter. S/he neither runs from sorrow, nor clings to joy.

That is simplicity.

Before realisation, we cry to show, we laugh to hide. We are fake because noise wants us to be complex. After evaporation, you can never be fake again. Now no mask required.

You confront all kinds of experiences — because you are not running.

And then, something subtle happens. You become more connected with existence and its subtle music. You start enjoying insects' and birds' songs, beautiful natural sights, sunrise and sunset. Not because you became spiritual, but because you became simple.

You evaporated. Now you don't need coldness to look strong. You become who you actually are. You acquire Sahajata — naturalness.

No more excitement to become something. Only oneness with the origin.

Be simple. That is the final freedom.

The Gallery of Noise X — When the Water Evaporates

When water flows, it plays. It becomes river, shower, storm.

When it evaporates, the play stops.

You suddenly see yourself as you are. Not the flow, not the noise, but the watcher behind it. In our tradition, we call it Sakshi — the Silent Watcher.

The noise does not fight you anymore. It simply fades. What looked so urgent yesterday, now looks like a grand play. A beautiful drama that you were part of, but not bound by.

Here you get a choice. And this choice decides everything.

If you wish to feel again, you will return as the shower. You will fall again, touch again, feel again. 

If you don't wish to, you become indifferent. Not driven by emotions — just uninterested. No more excitements. No more need to become.

You merge with the origin. Or rather, you realize you are the origin itself.

Does this give you divinity? Maybe. Maybe not.

Divinity is not a prize for watching. It is what happens after — whether you choose to come back and love the noise, or choose to stay quiet and be one with silence.

Both are freedom.

The Gallery of Noise IX: Let the Water Flow

Walk like, perform like water.

Water does not ask permission to move. It finds the crack, the slope, the silence, and it goes.

We have spent too much time performing like stone — hard, fixed, waiting to be noticed. A Statue wants a pedestal. Water wants only movement. Only movement; nothing else.

To perform like water is to stop fighting, to stop proving, to stop looking for validation. 

Water has no shape of its own. It takes the shape of what holds it. But it doesn't mean losing yourself. No, you do not lose yourself; you become useful -- useful for yourself, useful for your existence and useful to others too.

Walk like water. No heavy footsteps. No announcement that "You have arrived." Just a quiet presence.

Noise does not disturb water. It carries it. It keeps flowing no matter if the gallery is loud. Let them be loud. Let them do what they want to do. Let them say what they wish to say. You keep flowing effortlessly. Go back to your origin and then come again. Keep doing it.

The Gallery of Noise VIII: You are Water

Do we need to be strong physically? Yes, we should be. Physical strength is important. But there is something more important — the strength of mind.

Mind should be strong. It should be. But what does strength of mind mean?

Is it fearlessness? No, it is not. Humans can never be fearless. Fear will be there. Always.

Then what is strength of mind?

To be unaffected, just like water.

Water is delicate, yet it has insurmountable strength. For a moment, it may seem affected — affected by dirt, affected by waste. But it regains its state once it becomes still. All it needs is to be still, to be motionless. That's it.

And that is the key: the only key.

We think strength is about toughness. About becoming hard, rigid, unbreakable. But toughness breaks. What does not break is softness. What does not break is flexibility.

A hard mind carries every noise. It argues with every gallery. It wants to win every comment. And in trying to be tough, it becomes heavy.

A soft mind, like water, lets the noise pass. It gets disturbed for a moment — yes — but then it becomes still. And in its stillness, it wipes out the dirt by itself.

So strength does not lie in toughness, it lies in its softness. In its flexibility. In its ability to become still again.

Be like water. Let the gallery throw its dirt. Just be still.

The Gallery of Noise VII: Know Yourself

Know yourself so deeply that no one can take decisions for you.

When you do not know yourself, the gallery (Media, people, relatives, family, parents) decides for you. It tells you what to wear, what to like, what to post, whom to hate. And you obey, because you are empty inside.

An empty mind is always available for rent. Anyone can live there.

But when you know yourself, this game ends.

Knowing yourself does not mean knowing your name, your class, your stream, your job, your degree. It means knowing your origin. Knowing what disturbs your body, what corrupts your mind, and what disconnects you from your existence.

Once you know this, you become the witness.

The gallery will still make noise. It will still mock you subtly --- your relatives, your uncle who often visits your home specifically during your exam days: sometimes criticises you and sometimes says words of praise. Both are distractions. Remember this. But its noise will not become your decision. You will hear it and let it pass.

That is true freedom — not that the gallery becomes silent, but that it can no longer take decisions for you.

So don't fight the gallery. Know yourself (know thyself).

The Gallery of Noise VI: Let Them Be

Do we need to comprehend others? Do we need to know who they are and what they like a lot? Do we really need?

No, not at all.

Let them be who or what they are. Let them be. They are possibilities. They will create their own beliefs, their own ideas, their own principles. They too are God's manifestation. Let them be their own type. And let your mind be free of their thoughts.

We burden our minds too much by trying to understand and control everyone. And burdening our mind will never serve the purpose. Not for us, and not for them.

For example, if your child is not going as per your line of thought, you should not try to control him or her. It will cause more problems. When a person feels his freedom is curtailed, he cannot do anything in life.

Let them be of their own type. It is their life, so let them explore.

All you need to do is to provide them a disciplined environment. But discipline doesn't mean military discipline. No, that will cause more harm.

Discipline means to let them know what is right and wrong for their body, mind and existence. Let them know this only. Rest, they will do themselves.

If they have phone addiction, don't control them with harshness. And don't abandon them either. Stay as a lamp — show them the harm so vividly, so truthfully, that their own intelligence says no. But don't use harsh words. If you use harsh words, they will start hating you. You will become the villain of their life, and then they will do everything that disturbs you from inside.

And they know you better — they know how you get triggered, how to disturb you. First they will destroy themselves, and then they will destroy you. Beware!

So let your mind be free.

Let them be. Let it be.

In that letting-be, both are free — you and they. And only in freedom can anyone find their origin.