The Alpha and Omega of self-inquiry.

self-Inquiry is the Pinnacle of Religiosity
Traditionally when we use the word religion we mean doing rituals, repetition of a sacred word, following a mental discipline which further strengthens the mind, a vow of silence with mental activity intact, observing celibacy with the sexual desire intact, physical fasting hoping to change the disordered mind, beliefs, dogmas, following the sayings of a master. All these are useful to impress upon the society that we are religious and so to get recognition from such a corrupt society, but they have nothing to do with true religiosity
Human life is based on acquisitiveness which is both psychological and physical with its resultant envy, greed, ambition, fear. All these anomalies of human psyche are not touched or transformed by following a traditional religious life as dictated by the corrupt society. There can be no fundamental transformation in that way of doing things in the name of religion. Actually such a way of life brings conflict, strengthens the fear of not achieving the Self, which is a goal created by the mind and strengthens tyranny. It is odd that we worship such traditionally religious persons and consider them as men of god. The other day I was reading an interesting article in the newspaper related to this peculiar activity of human beings; a dog knowingly or unknowingly started doing Pradakshina (going around) the statue of Lord Anjaneya Swamy and 9

people immediately started worshiping what to them became that “divine dog”. Such is the poor understanding of religion of an average human being. We do not want that which is pure, true in itself. We want interpreters, masters as a medium through which to attain something sacred. People are exploited in this so called religion.
If each one of us could think very clearly or reeducate ourselves to think clearly we would free ourselves of all beliefs, dogmas, rituals, physical fasting and celibacy etc. If we do not think clearly all these rituals are mere reformation of the disorder of the mind which is nothing but the continuation of the same disorder in a modified form. In self-inquiry, on the other hand, we put aside the whole disordered entity by watchfulness of the activity of the disordered mind in passive awareness. There is no attempt to manipulate or correct the disorder because any such manipulation further strengthens it.
To do self-inquiry does not mean watching the disordered mind with another part of the disordered mind. In self-inquiry there is watching of the disordered mind with passive witnessing consciousness which brings about order to the mind. In other words, just the perception of disorder brings about order to the mind; self-inquiry is the way of intelligence of passive awareness. In self-inquiry we become a light unto ourselves and as such, we do not depend on someone else’s psychological authority so 10

we are not dependent on any belief, dogma, or religion. We go beyond all these if we are really doing self-inquiry.
A man of self-inquiry does not belong to the corrupt society with its religion and so is untouched by the ways of the society and its organized religions. Because he does not belong to any conventional religion he looks irreligious from the angle of vision of the society. But he is truly religious without belonging to any religion. So a man of self-inquiry is a pinnacle of religiosity. He is above the ways of society with its conventional religions which are nonsensical. In him there is no reformation of the old mind but qualitatively his mind is transformed through psychological transmutation which is the only real revolution brought about by self-inquiry. All other revolutions are bound to fail because they are merely a continuation of old patterns of the human mind in new form. This psychological revolution which happens through self-inquiry brings us immense psychological freedom, awareness, bliss.