Sri Mooji
Direct experience of ‘I am’.
Interviewed by Paul Congdon
Sri Mooji is a disciple of Advaita master, Sri H.W.L. Poonja or ‘Papaji’, as he is affectionately known by devotees. Mooji’s path through life has brought him through many experiences and led him to dedicating his life to the calling of the Heart. He warmly spoke to us about truth, consciousness and the challenges each one encounters in life as a person, and how to transcend them by the grace and light of the inner Being.
What do you feel is the true nature of consciousness?
Consciousness is life itself. It is the functioning and perception of life as the manifest world of names and forms and all sentient beings including our own existence. In India, the true nature of consciousness is said to be Satchidananda. ‘Sat’ means existence, ‘chid’ is consciousness, and ‘ananda’ is pure bliss or transcendental happiness. Its most profound aspect is its play as the natural sense ‘I am’ or ‘I exist’, which is the untaught way of knowing ourself as being.
What is the ‘I am’ practice?
I don’t generally give practices as they tend to imply that truth is something other than what and where we already are, to be reached after some striving. However, if one could be offered, it would be to just rest in and as the natural and effortless feeling ‘I am’. Don’t add anything further to it nor allow it to connect up with any concepts, thoughts, feelings or intentions. If a thought comes, be aware of it but don’t engage with it. Just remain one with the sense of being and stay present as that.
Anyone from any religion or background can do this simple exercise and it will strengthen the sense of intuitive presence—the divinity within. Even people who have never meditated or read any book on spirituality find that they begin to experience some kind of vibration, a deepening silence and stillness as the attention begins to turn away from the fi eld of sensory information and rests in the emptiness of presence. Avoid expecting anything or using your imagination. With a little practice you will soon find that you are able to remain here quite naturally. This unmixed awareness is already introducing a certain spaciousness inside, a deepening tranquillity, joy and intuitive sensitivity. The more you do it, the more you will love and value it.
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