Yogis consistently stress on the nature of the observer inherent within every human being. They say this observer or the unconditioned witness is not the ordinary day to day observer who experiences this world through five sense organs by the limited individual consciousness. This ordinary observer is bound by the knowledge stored in the memory and is always caught up in the world of name and forms. In other words, this ordinary observer is conditioned by his or her memory and perceives the world through stored knowledge. In fact, this ordinary observer is nothing but observed. And the observer and the observed are nothing but vibrations in the mental body.

Physical or mental suffering happens when the individual separates themself from the one being observed. Thought splits itself and becomes observer and the observed. In this state of mental duality (observer and observed), the observer relies on memory of stored experiences and separates himself from what is being observed. There is energy loss. Suffering is imminent.

For instance, when the body is in pain, the individual feels he is different from the pain and hence need to get rid of it. So the mind gets into a perpetual cycle of pain and no pain. Here this ordinary observer is a mental vibration who says, i am in pain and this pain is different than me.

Sufferings end when there is a deeper level understanding that the ordinary observer is none other than what is being observed. This is a state of non-duality. For instance affirming that when i am in pain, I am the pain, when i am angry, i am the anger, when i am happy, i am the happiness and so on is very important for this realization. Then the observer becomes the observed. Universal life-force enters into our being and we experience tremendous energy allowing us to merge with the existence.

The Unconditioned Witness

When this state is achieved, there is supreme observer or the unconditioned witness who is present in each one of us whose consciousness is unconditioned, this is our true self. The individual remains a unconditioned witness to all the worldly phenomenon and activities of the mind without the movement of any thought. People call this state as absolute, bhraman, chaitanya, etc.,

In ‘attention’, the observer becomes the observed, there is no separation, no effort, no energy lost . In ‘concentration’ however, there is effort and energy lost because of thoughts that are invoked by the memory of stored experiences. These thoughts compares the past with the present and creates a separation between the observer and the observed.

Attention is ‘non-duality’, concentration is ‘duality’. ‘

Attention’ can be applied to many life situations like grieving, loss, rejection, anger, greed, desire, etc., Attention means merging with the ‘existence’ itself that draws the life-force within us creating more energy. This energy can be used to live in the moments of joy and beauty.