11. The Infinite Journey.

 The current existence, by and large, is widely understood as a combination of the body (including skin, organs, internal and external systems, mind, heart, brain, and all functional aspects) and the soul (the energy, the force, the power, the very liveliness of existence).

As an analogy, consider a doll. The doll represents the body. When powered by batteries, it operates; in the absence of batteries, it becomes immobile.

The activities are not performed by the batteries themselves, yet without them, the doll cannot perform any activity.

So, is the doll the doer and the battery merely the power, the presence, the silent witness?

If this analogy holds, then the body appears as the doer, and the soul as the energy, the power, the existence, the witness, the knower.

In the absence of the soul, existence as we all perceive it vanishes. The identity through which a being was known to the world dissolves.

A simple example: when death occurs, what remains is referred to as a “body.” It is no longer addressed by the name it carried during life.

We say, “I passed away.”

The body remained.

This clearly indicates that the body and “I” are different.

So what was this “I” throughout the lifetime?

Was “I” merely the witness, the knower?

If "I" was the knower, then who was the doer? Was it the "body"?

Was I simply the knower of the doer?

If that is the case, then when the knower left, why was the doer unable to do anything?

And if I was the doer, why did I need the body at all to perform actions?

Throughout life, I identify myself as the “doer,” forgetting that I am fundamentally the “knower.”

The deeper insight is this: since infinity, at the core, I have been a knower. Yet, since that beginningless time (a notion that itself invites deep contemplation), I have been associated with karma. The deeper contemplation and the other perspectives are mentioned in the next blog. This one mainly focuses on the "knowership" perspective on the journey.

“Karma” and “I” are entirely different, yet tightly coupled.

Because of this association, I have been continuously identifying myself with karma and have been slipping into the zone of doership practically in the uninterrupted mode.

The irony is that with every instance of such identification and indulgence, more karma is attracted and accumulated.

The pile keeps growing endlessly because the identification with doership continues without interruption:

“I did this.”

“I did not do this.”

“That person did this to me.”

“They should not have done this to me.”

“I was affected, so now I will respond in a certain way (the response is in the doership mode).”

This cycle has been ongoing since an infinite past; so far back that no beginning can be established.

In fact, it appears there is no beginning at all. It is as paradoxical as asking: what came first, the chicken or the egg?

If one argues that there was a beginning, then what caused the pure knower (untainted and free) to first attract karma? In its pure state, the knower should have remained only a knower, free from doership.

So, let us proceed with the understanding that this association between the knower (self) and karma (doership) is beginningless.

Now, what happens if I continue indulging in doership without concern for karmic accumulation?

Naturally, karma will continue to pile up.

I might want to ask myself: So What?

Let it accumulate. Who cares?

Perhaps the reasoning follows: good karma will yield pleasant results, and bad karma will lead to suffering.

Ya, so I will simply focus on doing good karma.

But even here, complications arise.

There will be moments where short-term gains overshadow long-term consequences.

For example, if an opportunity arises to make money through a loophole / something that may go unnoticed, I might justify it. I may convince myself that it is acceptable, especially if my intention is not overtly harmful.

I might even reason: let me create comfort now, and from that comfort, I will do good deeds later and balance things out.

However, the law of karma does not function on personal justifications.

Every action has a precise consequence. Every consequence must be experienced. While there may be ways to mitigate or dilute karmic effects, those paths are disciplined and exacting.

Now, even if I commit to performing only good actions, another limitation arises.

As long as I operate from the identity of a “doer,” I remain within the karmic cycle.

Moreover, my ability to consistently act “well” depends on the stability of my senses, mind, and intellect. What happens when these are disturbed, weakened, or reversed?

At some point, I will falter.

And a single fall can trigger a chain of further karmic accumulation.

Karma continues to maintain its precise ledger.

The deeds of the past manifest as present circumstances. My response to these circumstances shapes future situations.

Thus, the cycle perpetuates.

In this way, I remain bound; never truly free from karma, whether auspicious (shubh) or inauspicious (ashubh).

As a knower, I am compelled to experience cycles of pleasure and pain, over and over again.

This leads to a fundamental question:

Is there a way to become free from all of this?

If such a path exists, why has liberation not occurred even once in this beginningless journey? And if liberation is attained, what is its nature?

Yes, there is a way. And it leads to a profound outcome.

The way is to remain in the state of witnessing; to observe what is happening without indulgence and without the sense of doership.

The practice appears simple, but its continuous and unwavering application is extremely challenging.

It requires:

No craving for the auspicious (shubh).

No aversion toward the inauspicious (ashubh).

A steady orientation toward the pure (shuddh).

To:

Experience the knower.

Know the experience(r).

Know the knower.

Experience the experience(r).

With sustained and sincere practice, this shift begins.

Initially, even this effort starts from a place of “doing.” But gradually, with consistency, the state of the knower begins to emerge naturally.

As this transition deepens, the impact of external and internal disturbances diminishes.

Inner cleansing begins.

The accumulated karmic load starts to reduce.

The knower recognizes this process; not as a doer, but as a witness to the gradual shedding.

Over time, purity begins to reveal itself, not as “purer” or “purest,” but as absolute purity.

Pure, in itself, is complete.

Nothing needs to be added to it.

Nothing can be taken away from it.

What happens when this pure state fully manifests?

The knower abides in its own nature; continuously, uninterruptedly, infinitely.

There is no end to this experience.

Just as there was no beginning to the cycles of suffering and perceived happiness, there is no end to the experience of the soul’s infinite qualities.

These include:

Anant Gyaan (infinite knowledge)

Anant Darshan (infinite faith)

Anant Charitra (infinite conduct)

Anant Virya (infinite energy)

Avyabaadh Sukh (unobstructed bliss)

Akshay Sthiti (eternal existence)

Arupipanu (formlessness)

Agurulaghutva (perfect equanimity)

This is not merely a philosophical framework. 

It is a direct pointer to the journey of the soul; bound since beginningless time, yet capable of a comprehensive freedom, rather freedom itself is comprehensive.

The bondage is real.

The cycle is real.

But so is liberation.

And the shift begins the moment the doer dissolves, and the knower stands revealed.