The one who knows (the knower) is always the mind - Understanding Our True Self - Part 21
The Illusion of the Knower - The Silent Awareness Beyond Knowing - The Trap of Identifying with the Knower - Nondual Experience: Beyond Knowing and Not Knowing - Living Without the Knower - The Eternal Witness
The Illusion of the Knower
In the journey of understanding our true nature, the concept of the “Knower” arises. This Knower, which observes thoughts, feelings, and experiences, is mistakenly identified as an aspect of pure awareness. In the mystical and nondual understanding, the Knower is always the mind. It is not the ultimate reality, but a construct within the realm of duality, bound to the changing phenomena it observes.
The mind’s natural inclination is to separate, categorize, and define. It creates the Knower as an identity that seems detached from what it observes, but this separation is an illusion. The act of knowing requires an object to be known, a subject to know it, and the relationship between them. This triad is the domain of the mind, not of pure awareness.
The Silent Awareness Beyond Knowing
Pure awareness, or the true Self, does not “know” in the conventional sense. It simply is. It does not observe as a subject distinct from an object; instead, it is the ground in which both the observer and the observed arise. The Knower—the mind—functions within duality, while pure awareness remains beyond it, untouched by the fluctuations of knowing and not knowing.
This distinction is crucial for mystical realization. The Knower might feel as though it has achieved understanding, but true liberation comes when even the Knower is seen as a transient construct. Awareness requires no Knower to validate its existence; it is self-luminous, inherently complete.
The Trap of Identifying with the Knower
Identifying with the Knower perpetuates subtle forms of attachment. The Knower takes pride in its ability to discern and understand, reinforcing the illusion of separateness. This attachment can be particularly seductive for spiritual seekers who confuse intellectual clarity with true realization. Mystical insight dissolves this attachment, revealing the Knower as another creation of the mind’s ceaseless activity.
To transcend this trap, observe the Knower itself. Turn your attention inward and ask: _Who is the Knower? Who knows the Knower?_. In this inquiry, the mind’s constructs unravel, and the distinction between the Knower and the known dissolves. What remains is not an entity or an observer, but pure presence—silent, unbounded, and whole.
Nondual Experience: Beyond Knowing and Not Knowing
In the nondual experience, knowing and not knowing lose their meaning. The mind ceases its search for understanding, resting in the realization that all distinctions are fabrications. The sense of “I know” or “I do not know” gives way to the recognition that these are merely thoughts arising within awareness.
This state cannot be grasped or achieved through effort; it emerges naturally when identification with the Knower fades. In this state, there is no Knower and nothing to be known—only the seamless unfolding of existence, free from boundaries and definitions. Peace with no opposite.
Living Without the Knower
Liberation is not the annihilation of the mind, but its harmonization with awareness. The Knower still functions in practical matters, but it is no longer mistaken for the ultimate Self. This shift brings profound freedom. Life is no longer a struggle to understand or control; it is an effortless flow, where every moment is embraced as it is.
Without the Knower, there is no need to grasp or reject experience. Joy and sorrow, success and failure, arise and fade within the vast expanse of awareness, leaving no trace. This is the peace that passes all understanding, the essence of nondual living.
The Eternal Witness
The true Self is not the Knower, but the eternal awareness. It observes without dividing, without attaching, without striving. In its stillness, all appearances come and go, yet it remains unchanging. Recognizing this truth dissolves the illusion of the Knower and reveals the infinite peace and freedom of your true nature.
To realize this is to awaken to the timeless reality of who you are—not the mind, not the Knower, but the awareness in which all things appear and disappear.
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