Parts of the Ordinary Mind The different parts of the ordinary mind (the thinking mind, the vital mind, and the physical mind) have been previously alluded to (Chapter 1, p. 12, fn. 17; and Chapter 5, p. 85, fn 21). Eckhart regards any and all activity of the mind as mental noise. One gets the impression that, according to Eckhart, when one rises to the realm of no-mind and stillness, the mind ceases to exist. Sri Aurobindo, on the other hand, describes as "buzz" the activity, particularly of the mechanical mind, that is closely connected with the physical mind. Silence, he says, has to be established in all parts of the ordinary mind so that the higher conscio

The Simplicity of Enlightenment To return to the paradox that enlightenment is both an immediate experience as well as what comes at the end of a long path, it is necessary to understand the truth of both the opposite perspectives in order to resolve the paradox. 34 Sri Aurobindo, On Himself, 35 Sri Aurobindo, The Hour of God and Other Writings, SABCL,Vol.17,p.174. 36 Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga, SABCL. VOL.23.p.647. Page-25 The perspective that enlightenment is an immediate experience requiring no time—a view that I had found quite incomprehensible before I came in contact with Eckhart's teachings—is beautifully illustrated by

The Grace of the Guru Another version of the story was narrated from a different perspective to Sri Ramakrishna by his guru, and subsequently by Sri Ramakrishna to his devotees. A tigress once attacked a herd of goats. As she leapt to seize one of the goats, she gave birth to a cub and died. The cub tiger grew up among the goats. It ate grass and bleared like the goats and ran away like them when attacked by a fierce animal. One day a wild tiger attacked the herd. Amazed to see a tiger eating grass, the wild tiger seized it and dragged it to the water and said: "You are a tiger and you are eating grass! Look at your face in the water. It is exactly like mine."

Perceiving through the Veil of Mind This teaching about mental noise is to be found in various schools of discipline that deal with the quieting of the mind. What is new in Eckhart's teaching is his broader and deeper view of what constitutes "mental noise." It includes not only the constant stream of thought but also all mental activity in perceiving reality, including even the rudimentary activity of the mind involved in labeling whatever one perceives. For instance, perceiving a flower and recognizing it, say, as a rose, and mentally labeling it as a rose is, from Eckhart's viewpoint, mental noise. One does not see the being that is the rose but only t

-008_Needing Ever More—Desire.htm Needing Ever More—Desire Another chief characteristic of the egoic self that Eckhart speaks about is its incurable sense of lack, insufficiency, or incompleteness. From this arises insatiable desire for various things. The things one commonly desires in order to fill the hole and feel more complete 13 The Mother, Questions and Answers, CWM,Vol.3.p.57 are wealth and possessions, success, social status, and special relationships. As the ego never achieves a permanent sense of completeness, one always lives in a state of "craving, wanting, and needing." Though such a state of inner restlessness is present all the time except for brief periods when a partic

Mind and the Witness Consciousness Perhaps a more significant difference in the perspectives of Eckhart and Sri Aurobindo regarding the role of mind in spiritual life pertains to the witness consciousness. As stated earlier in this chapter, in Eckhart's view, to be identified with the mind is to be in a stare of unconsciousness; it is a state in which one is not present. Therefore, when one is identified with the mind, one does not have a 38 Effort of the personal will. 39 Sri Aurobindo, Utters on Yoga, SABCL. Vol. 24, p. 1293. 40 The Divine Force. 41 Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga, SABCL. Vol. 24, p. 1717. Page

2 Interview with Eckhart Pondicherry, India—February 2002 (Dr. D. E. Mistry was also present and participating. Eckhart's answers have been transcribed verbatim as far as possible, with minimum editing. Most of the questions have been summarized or otherwise edited.) DALAL: "Presence of mind" is an expression which the dictionary defines as the "ability to act calmly, quickly, and sensibly." Does this presence of mind denote anything related to what you call Presence? ECKHART: Very often with words or expressions, it is a question of how the word is used. Sometimes different people use the same expression or the same word but they mean

Index A absolute self-giving, 109 Advaita process / Adwaita process, 69 of the way of knowledge, 114-117 agnosticism, 2, 4 aspiration, 3,4, 12, 107, 111, 120 attention, 38, 39, 104, 105, 117, 152 avyaktam, 78 B Bahai faith, 2 being, concept of, 77, 78 Bhagavad Gita, see Gita Buddhism aim of spiritual practice, 144 attention, 104, 105 concept of surrender, 109 egoic self, 144 enlightenment, 151 meditation, 117 perspectives of time, 20, 21 practice of living in the present moment, 151-153, 155 self concept, 77, 78, 80, 114, 115 C calm state, de

Eckhart Tolle & Sri Aurobindo TWO PERSPECTIVES ON ENLIGHTENMENT Books by A. S. Dalal Psychology, Mental Health and Yoga Essays on Sri Aurobindo's Psychological Thought Implications of Yoga for Mental Health A Greater Psychology An Introduction to the Psychological Thought of Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo and the Future Psychology Supplement to A Greater Psychology Compilations from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother Living Within The Yoga Approach to Psychological Health and Growth The Psychic Being Soul—Its Nature, Mission and Evolution The

The Witnessing Presence Becoming the witnessing Presence is the one remedy Eckhart teaches not only for eliminating mental noise but also for liberating oneself from all other characteristics of the ordinary consciousness, such as fear, desire, and all forms of egoic resistance to life. If I recall 19 Eckhart Tolle, Hollyhock Retreat, Canada, September 2000. 20 The Mother, Words of the Mother, CWM. Vol. 14.p.371. correctly, in the first letter I wrote to Eckhart several years ago, I stated two things: first, the encouraging message I found in his reaching that the witnessing Presence is not part of the old consciousness—it indicates the arising of