Why Looking within is the only way to know yourself

Ever since we got the senses, external world has become our primary focus. Everything we do is somehow in response to satisfying the external needs. In doing so over the years we have completely forgotten to look within, to search for a self which exists without senses. A mind which is beyond our ordinary perception.

One day when you read some wise words, you are reminded to look within, to search for your true self. Here are some of those words from Upanishads:

” The self-existent created the senses outward going; for this reason man sees the external, but not the inner Atman (self). Some wise man, however, desiring immortality, with eyes turned away (from the external) sees the Atman within!”

From the Katha Upanishad

The world outside

What we believe we are, our identity is only a reflection of the external world. It will always depend on and be modified by the external circumstances. But the self (Atman) is unaffected, unmoved by anything outside.

Since we have been only looking outwards, we have come to believe that there is nothing more in the world than what we can perceive with the senses. The world for us is nothing more than what our eyes can see and our ears can hear.

It has made our minds too narrow. Moreover, we keep this narrow mind always busy in doing something. When we have nothing to do, it gets bored! The mind is constantly searching for something outside that can absorb it.

The world outside is a reflection, but the world within is a source.We search and search for beauty and satisfaction in the external world of reflection, but we never try looking for the source!

The world within

The sad truth is that we have never been taught to look within. So, we rarely think about exploring the inner world.

I am writing this post to remind you (and myself) that your true identity may be something totally different. The true nature of your mind is yet to be explored. And the only way to explore it is to bring back your attention inside.

Even a little bit of meditation can remind you that the world inside is vast, infinite and more exciting than the external world. Looking within, you find the satisfaction which is not affected by anything outside. Looking within you find a source of joy, which frees you from any need for pleasures from the external world.

Reaching the Atman is our ultimate goal. It is the search for the source. Your mind is both the object and the subject. It is your tool for the search, and the mind itself is the object of your search. Reaching your Atman is the journey to unfold your true mind, expand it more and more till it cannot expand further.

Explore

In our everyday life, we work with the ordinary restless mind, always looking to cling to something outside. This mind is enough to carry out the living beautifully. But we need to explore. The state you aim to reach may go beyond logic, intellect and ordinary mind. So these words should be enough for you to begin.

Explore your mind! It is the mysterious entity and full of joy and wonder! Look within and realise different levels of the mind. Search for the true nature of your mind, your true self!

There is no time to be bored or distracted when there is so much left of yourself to discover! Explore! Explore now!