Speaker: The question is, ‘What should we do to be more attentive?’
First of all, I understand that why Aman is asking this question in this language; because all our lives we have seen that we get something only by doing.
So, Aman thinks that attention is to do something. That it can be obtained by doing something. But Aman, only an external entity can be obtained by doing something. The ways of entering attention are totally opposite.
To enter into attention, you have to stop doing what are you doing right now, not do anything extra.
What are you doing right now?
I will tell you what you are doing right now. You are fidgeting, you are vibrating, your mind is doing a lot of thinking, your eyes are doing a lot of wandering. That is what needs to be stopped. This entire game of doing is what is needed to be stopped.
Attention is there, you don’t have to fetch it from somewhere, attention is there. You don’t have to do anything extra to get attention. You only stop doing what you are obsessed with doing.
You only stop doing, which this machine (pointing at the brain) has been told day in and day out. Dreams, hopes, ambition, thoughts, wandering, gossips, imaginations, stop that and attention is there.
Right now, those of you who are listening to me would know that they are not doing anything. They are just there, simply, silently listening. Are they doing anything? They are not doing anything. On the contrary, others who are not listening, they are doing a lot. Somebody may be chewing the pen, somebody may be scratching the neighbor, a lot that is being done. Yes, that is what you are doing, mentally scratching everybody around.
Do you understand this?
Observation is about finding out that we keep doing things. Observation is about finding out, that this machine, the brain is involuntarily, mechanically, always doing something. But that doing stops the moment the light of intelligence falls on it.
Watch all that the mind keeps doing. Watch your fears. Fear is a doing of mind, because fear is thought, fear is insecurities, hopes, random motions. That’s what the mind keeps doing always. When that stops, attention is there, always there, it’s available, you don’t have to go and get it.
Excerpted from a ‘Shabd-Yog’ session. Edited for clarity.
