Isness – In Gita Verse 13.14 Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading everything.
Krishna is saying a person who is knower of himself is present in all forms and everywhere.
A man connected with the unknowable attains to the real roots. But remember, the unknowable cannot be attained through thoughts. Thought itself is knowable and visible. And that which is visible cannot become the medium for knowing the invisible.
Isness goes beyond thoughts; existence transcends thoughts. You do not know existence; you become existence. You do not become acquainted with it as an observer, separate from it; you merge with it.
To incorporate Isness into your daily life, engage in activities that ground you in the present – gardening, walking barefoot on earth, or simply breathing with awareness. These practices encourage a state of being where thoughts are not the focus. The less clutter there is in the mind, the more you can sense Isness in your everyday routine.
Dropping thoughts and allowing calmness and emptiness within leads to non-duality, which anchors one into truth, into Isness. Like observing paper flowers, one can be a distant observer. But to truly understand a living flower, you must become the flower. Live your life with such empathy and unity that distinctions between observer and observed diminish.
Ecstasy, or blissfulness, are indeed luring toys on the path towards meditation. They make their appearance in the beginning. As meditation deepens, even ecstasy dissipates into pure Isness. Everything else falls away, including ecstasy, because it, too, bears the shadow of agony – a reflection of duality. Blissfulness, hiding suffering within its folds, is dual. Isness, by contrast, is the singularity of existence; there is no non-existence.
Engage in present awareness by performing tasks with total immersion. When you eat, taste each flavor; when you listen, hear every note. This conscious attention roots you in the present, and in doing so, connects you with the divine.
God is existence; it is not that God exists. To say God exists is to merely repeat, for the term “God” denotes Isness. The word “God” personifies, which can mislead, so perhaps it is more apt to speak of existence. The totality of existence is God.
Acceptance blossoms from understanding that God, or existence, is not separate from anything. Integrate total acceptance into your life by embracing every situation, every moment, as an expression of the divine. It is not passive resignation, but an active recognition that everything is perfect as it is because it is existence manifesting.
By treating existence as sacred, and all experiences as divine expressions, you embody total acceptance. Accounting that even challenges are part of the divine play assists you in navigating life with grace and equanimity.
Krishna says one who has attained Isness is not a person; there is nothing opposite to him. He cannot relate as “I” because there is no “thou”. He is the whole. All relationships exist within him, not beyond him.
To truly practice this in your life, seek moments of solitude where you can disconnect from the roles and relationships that define you. In this space, you can cultivate a deeper connection with existence itself. Aloneness is not loneliness, but a profound communion with the totality of being. That is the essence of Isness, Present Awareness, and Total Acceptance.
Krishna imparts wisdom that transcends the mundane. He reminds us that these practices – Isness, present awareness, and total acceptance – are more than mere checkpoints to be crossed or milestones to be achieved. They are not simply steps to be followed in rote for some distant destination. These are vibrant threads to be woven into the very fabric of our lives, creating a tapestry that reveals itself more richly with each moment lived in their embrace.
They are, essentially, a state of continuous unfoldment – a journey without end, with every step illuminating a path that is traveled not with the feet but with the heart. As we engage with these practices daily, we create a living philosophy. Thus, Krishna advises to not seek to merely ‘complete’ these practices, but to live them, breathe them, and let them become the fluid dance of our very existence.
Tags: Isness
