3. Existence-Consciousness-Bliss: Experience of stillness



Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Awareness-Bliss or Physical-Psychological-Spiritual) is the direct experience of Dharma. It is an experience of Bliss in becoming conscious of Life and the Laws and Force of Dharma. Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Awareness-Bliss) is embedded in the nature of Dharma. In our daily lives we experience fragments Sat-Chit-Ananda(Existence-Awareness-Bliss). That is why our thirst is never quenched and our hunger is never satiated. Once a goal is achieved, we are satisfied for a brief period of time, and then we seek to achieve more. We demand more and more, not realizing that what we want is actually a direct experience of Sat-Chit-Ananda, which will finally quench our thirst forever.


With the exception of humans, all creations on this earth - mineral, plant and animal - are born, live and die according to their nature imparted to them by Dharma. These creations are complete within the boundaries given to them by Dharma. They do not long for a conscious change. Whatever changes happen in their lives are not through their conscious effort, but are brought about by nature. Does a rose ever try to become a lotus? Or does a locust long to transform itself into a butterfly? Water doesn't strive to become wind. They are all complete and remain whole and undivided in the place appointed to them by the nature of Dharma.

Humans are different from all other components of nature. They are fragmented, incomplete and self-aware. Because of this awareness they are conscious of their fragmentation and incompleteness. It is through awareness of their incompleteness that they are propelled to become more and more complete and whole. Such striving puts them on the path of ‘becoming’. Humans are in a state of perpetual becoming, striving for more and more and never truly resting within. This striving, this longing and wanting and restlessness, is a conscious state because humans are self aware beings. Self awareness in humans is a cause of delight as well as torment. Delight is experienced because they are more conscious of vast vistas of nature and life than any other living being; torment is experienced because they are haunted by their fragmentation and unquenched thirst, and so they suffer and live in fear. Through this suffering and fear, because they are blessed with self-awareness, humans can choose to experience conscious growth and evolution. This is the extraordinary freedom available to all humans: freedom to explore, grow, evolve and move towards wholeness and Dharma consciously, in the light of full awareness.

No matter where humans live or what they do, they always want to achieve this integral state of being. They strive to become fully aware and experience total freedom. In this process, however, they are often distracted and lost; they wander in the world and are taken further away from wholeness. Eventually they realize the futility of such repetitive cycles, the same distractions and the fruitless wanderings. Such realization is the beginning of the movement towards wholeness and integral life of Dharma.

As we mentioned earlier, involvement in religions, sciences, arts, ethical living etc. are all human efforts to discover Dharma or the natural laws and force of cosmos. A scientist wants to discover the ultimate truth of physical existence, to observe and record the ultimate particles of matter and to understand the unified force which governs the universe. A religious person wants to experience the timeless divine and longs to merge in that endless light. An artist wants to capture the timeless beauty of creation in a poem, music, painting, and sculpture, while a moral and ethical person wants to live life according to specific ideals. From Dharma point of view there is no difference between a religious person, a scientist, an artist, or ordinary family person, whether theist or atheist, leftist or rightist. They all long for and try to move towards Dharma and live an aware existence full of delight. They are all travelers and pilgrims on the same path the path of Dharma and its direct experience of Sat-Chit-Ananda, a harmonious, conscious life of joy and delight.


If they are all pilgrims on the same path, taking them to the same Dharma, all wanting to live a life of harmony and delight, then why is there this seemingly unbridgeable gap between them? Why do they become each other's enemy? Why do they inflict violence on each other and plan each other's destruction? They often wander away from their path. A scientist is lost in creating unnecessary technology rather than remaining focused on discovering new realties about nature and the universe; some religious people keep on repeating forever the same rituals and dogma rather than widening and deepening prayer and meditation. In the same way an artist becomes the victim of his/her eccentricities rather then moving towards the direct experience of that beauty and truth which he/she is depicting in a poem, painting or music. Also, people living ordinary lives remain prisoners to their families, work, culture and country which don't bring them any new insights and fresh life.

The first reason for such wanderings is that the awareness which makes humans unique also makes them conscious of their own death. Humans are the only beings who are constantly conscious of their death. In order to escape from the fear of death, people want to hold on to something which can give them a sense of certainty, security and power. Life’s movement is unpredictable and constantly pushes us towards the unknown and death is an unknown. It feels safer to stay with the known at one level, to remain confined within the familiar territory, and to defend it at the cost of denial of growth and a new life.


Another reason for this state of stagnation and wandering is that people may not be fully aware of their journey, and may not have an idea of their destination. They may not realize that no matter what path they take they are going to reach the same sacredness, wholeness, Sat-Chit-Ananda and Dharma. Such partial and fragmented awareness in humans creates a narrow vision in which one sees one's own path as the only path to Truth, and all other ways as either a deviation from truth or as being altogether wrong. Many scientists think of a religious person as superstitious, living in fantasies which can never be proved. Many religious people condemn the scientist as heretic and materialistic, as a lost soul, and the artist may deny the path of a religious person and scientist as insensitive, ugly and violent. And so, on it goes.

But in spite of such difficulties and divisions it is possible to focus and move towards Dharma in which there are no divisions and which belongs to all. It is possible to live a life which will integrate all paths as the path towards Sat-Chit-Ananda. In such an integral path, the body, emotions, intellect and soul, as well as society, nation and the earth itself, are all components of the same sacred wholeness.

In the past, many people have focused in this direction of integral living and many are currently bringing this focus into their lives. Samagra (Integral) is such a focus, an effort in which we would like to emphasize integral action based on integral awareness, leading to integral living. Such integral awareness will be all inclusive, affirming various fragments of truth, yet emphasizing the movement forward and upward, to break the boundary of old, narrow visions - visions which cause division, conflict and violence.

The English translation of Samagra is Integral. Samagra, or Integral, means an awareness or action or state in which wholeness or totality is not lost in its components. Everything is perceived in their dynamic oneness, unity and harmony as well as in their diversity and individuality.


Samagra, or Integral, will be a natural meeting place for people, ideas, resources and actions in which the energy of integral awareness will help in the living of an integral life. In integral living, all components of existence, (plants, animals, mineral or matter) including humans, are different but equal partners and, according to their intrinsic qualities, are given an appropriate place in life’s movement. Samagra movement will be based on an awareness of what constitutes a person – the body, emotions, intellect and wholeness or soul - and also all that which forms the universe outside of the person – the family, society and culture, country, earth and nature. Actions will be taken to promote the growth, evolution, and stability of all those constituents.

When integral awareness initiates integral action, it leads to integral living. This takes an individual towards Sat-Chit-Ananda, the experience of Dharma. Sat- Chit-Ananda is the delight experienced in becoming aware of life. Such a state of bliss is not only experienced in an individual's body, emotions, thoughts and wholeness or soul, but also in the family, society and culture, country, and earth and nature.

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