Beyond Emotions: Discovering the Silent Awareness Within
A gentle reflection from the Ashtavakra Gita
There are times in life when something feels too heavy to explain.
You may want to talk, but words don’t come.
You may try to understand what is happening, but nothing feels clear.
Inside, there may be a quiet heaviness — emotions, confusion, or even a sense of emptiness.
In such moments, it helps to look at things in a slightly different way.
An ancient teaching says:
न त्वं देहो न ते देहो भोक्ता कर्ता न वा भवान् ।
चिद्रूपोऽसि सदा साक्षी निरपेक्षः सुखं चर ॥
This simply means that you are not just this body going through pain,
and you are not even the emotions that feel overwhelming.
You are the one who is aware of all this.
Right now, even if everything feels unclear,
there is still something in you that is quietly noticing what is happening.
That quiet awareness is steady.
It is not disturbed in the same way that thoughts and emotions are.
This understanding can bring a small but important shift.
You do not always have to explain what you feel.
You do not always have to fix everything immediately.
Sometimes, the most helpful thing is to sit quietly with yourself
and allow what you are feeling to be there, without trying to change it.
Not everything needs an immediate solution.
Some experiences just need time to be felt and to pass.
A simple way to help yourself in such moments is to change how you speak to yourself.
Instead of saying, “I am overwhelmed,”
you can gently say, “This feeling is present in me right now.”
This creates a little space between you and the feeling.
And in that space, the intensity slowly reduces.
Even if your mind feels restless
or your heart feels heavy,
there is still a part of you that is calm and aware.
That part has not been affected.
Staying connected to that awareness brings stability, even in difficult times.
You do not need to have all the answers today.
You do not need to force yourself to feel strong.
Just remember this:
You are not what is passing through you.
You are the space in which it is passing.
And that space is already peaceful.
Dr Abhay Talwalkar
