AWARENESS AND AWAKENING

[Pravin Kumar]

Awareness and Awakening

A professor sat looking at a picture,
Aware that he was aware of it.
That Awareness was ever-present he was sure,
About this his mind cared not a whit…

For the mind continually denies that one is awake,
As this will undermine its starring role,
Identifying with Awareness its power will take,
Realizing that one is part of The Whole.

Now he had become of Awareness aware,
Recognizing the simplicity of awaking,
About his doubts I counselled not to care,
And ignore the objections his mind was making.

See that of each thought he was effortlessly aware,
For without Awareness he wouldn’t them know,
Reinforcing the point that It’s always there,
And, unlike the mind, doesn’t come and go.

He also wondered whether awakening is a shift,
And if identifying with Awareness needs a decision.
Between the perceived and the perceiver we must sift,
And decide which one is our essential definition.

Awake we see things with a still mind,
Unclouded by bias and self-interest,
This is the shift, for now we find,
Existence viewed directly, at its best.

It’s best to recognize Awareness throughout the day,
For although some sages say there’s nothing to do,
By following this advice fall asleep you may,
Awareness of Awareness will make you ‘come to’.

Colin Drake