¨When the mind really hears, then a beam of light is thrown into the dark corners of its abode.¨ - Rohit Mehta, The Call of the Upanishads
Yogic philosophy, and many other wisdom traditions, declare that the physical is simply the densest layer of the body and that there is much more to the body than our biological makeup. This makes sense practically speaking. We have our anatomy but we also have our emotions, our mind, and the energy that’s behind all of the sense organs permitting their miraculous involuntary function. These are all refined layers of the body, each containing the prior like the Russian nesting doll. In this writing I will specifically speak to these subtle ¨bodies¨ in relation to hearing.
First of all, I would like to make a distinction between ¨that which is heard¨ and ¨that which is remembered.¨ In Sanskrit these are shruti and smriti, respectively. Sanskrit is a profoundly precise and intricate language. I’m only including these words here to help create the distinction because we are lacking such with English words.
To further elaborate on this, the wisdom of all mystical teachings have been said to be shruti, or that which were heard. The Vedas, Tao Te Ching, The Dhammapada and any other proverbial wisdom books were transmitted by people in high states of consciousness. They were downloaded from who knows where, but the point is that they were heard. Not physically with the ears but mentally and energetically. These sages were granted access to the truths of life by refining the mind enough so that they may hear them. By grace, we have inherited these messages from the infinite to serve as guideposts on our own path.
Smriti, on the other hand, is a continuation of shruti. It is born out of what was originally heard. A remembering of something that was heard. In other words, when we remember, we are participating in a recollection of what has been and when we hear, we are co-creating with life in the moment.
This is important because we all want to co-create with life. Belonging is an innate yearning we share and this is realized when we feel that we are adding our piece to the whole. Although, however much we may feel co-creation is an action, it really arises from the subtle aspects of hearing.
Our coherence with life may manifest as a creative act but this is solely a ripple effect of what was heard from the unmanifest. To make this more clear, remember a time when life seemed to just happen through you. A moment where you surprised yourself with an unconventional response or action. What state of mind brought about such an unthinking movement, surprising yet undoubtedly true? How did you feel when this happened?
More commonly, this is referred to as the intuition, inner voice, or higher self. Whatever we call it, we have an ability to hear its voice. And it’s always here, whether we want to admit it or not. Shruti is the essence of life speaking through life itself. It is a gift to those willing to hear. And it is with this gift that we can realize our wholeness.
What if we were able to hear the voice of the unmanifest, the eternal teacher, in all of our life experiences? This is the promise of the wisdom keepers. That through every conversation, every breath, every activity in life, it’s there. The voice is talking to us in everything that we do. Life is actually longing to co-create with us and simply wants to be heard for the magic to happen.
Take a breath. Relax. Look at your surroundings.
Feel your body in the space that it rests in while reading this.
Take another breath. Relax. Bring your awareness to your heart.
And listen.
What can you hear? And what can you hear beyond that? Even beyond that? Yes, even further!
A voice of Truth that resides in you.
This is hearing.