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Antahkaran: The Inner Core (2:65)Krishna Bhatta

prasade sarva-duhkhanam

hanir asyopajayate

prasanna-cetaso hy asubuddhih paryavatisthate

This internal happiness and contentment

Results in the end of all misery

Such a persons intellect

Stops wandering around

And gets totally established in the center ||2:65||

We are all looking for peace. We all want to be happy. And there are teachers and

Gurus who are teaching us how to be happy or how to be peaceful. A whole industry

has developed around this concept. And they are successful to an extent. I went to a

six-day program once and the program was quite useful. They incorporated concepts

from the east and that from the west.

There was a modified vipassana and there were adventures events thrown in here and

there. It was definitely a feel good program. All the participants shared their life

stories in some sessions while they expressed their emotions in another. This allowed

some catharsis.

As I said, the program had this feel good effect and lasted for a while. This is similar

to the effect of inspirational talks or inspirational songs that you hear in college orschool days. It wakes you up for a few seconds. The peace or happiness does not

really come and even if it comes, it does not stay.

So, what is Krishna talking about? Who is a happy person (prashanna-chetaso)?

Krishnas whole concept is based on the fact that our interiority (antahakaran) is

always peaceful and is always happy. That is the so. There is no need to go on a

journey to find peace or happiness. All you have to do is to find your inner core. Be

with yourself. And happiness will shower on you by itself. There is no possibility of

being unhappy in this situation.

This is worth meditating over. Our inner core is in the state of happiness. What is thisinner core and how do we get there. When Ramana Maharshi talks about who am I?

technique, this is where he wants us to get to. He wants us to keep asking this

question until there is no one to ask this question any more. And once we get there,

there is natural stillness.

And then it is easy to see all the upheavals on the periphery. You can then wonder

why and how you have been so restless all your life. This person is not a coward; he is

for the first time so strong. This person is not an escapist; he is for the first time

enjoying life to the fullest.

Osho has tried to make a distinction between conscience and this inner core and it isimportant for us to understand this distinction. Many people refer to this little voice

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that speaks to us when we see something wrong being done. And this is described as

our conscience. I go to a Walmart. I like this new after-shave and pocket it making

sure no one sees me doing so. This is termed shoplifting. I buy few things but do not

pay for the after-shave. I feel great.

But this inner voice keeps telling me, It is wrong. This is sometimes referred to bethe same as the inner core. But it is not. Conscience is acquired, but the inner core is

eternal. We learn from the society the concept of right and wrong. What is wrong for

one society may be acceptable for another. One mans terrorist is another mans

freedom fighter. A Muslim can marry his cousin, while a Hindu cannot imagine doing

so.

What is this inner core then? We have discussed before about the physical body being

at the periphery. And we have also looked at the fact that we all have a center, the

center being the Atma. The journey is from the periphery to the center.

And this is Yoga. As we get close to the Atma, we come to our inner core(antahakaran). If we merge with Atma, then there is not much to report. In Oshos

terms, the ineer core (antahkaran) is a mirror that reflects the Atma.

The other thing we need to know about this inner core is that it is purity itself.

Something so close to Atma can never be impure. So, there is no question of purifying

your or my inner core. There is no evil here. Evil only exists at the periphery; it only

exists at the level of body and indriyas (sense organs).

The third important thing to understand about this inner core is that it is universal.

There are no religions at the level of inner core. Morality is not a property of this

inner core. A Hindu may have different morality compared to a Christian or Moslem.

But they all have the same inner core. That does not mean that a person who knows

his inner core is amoral; he in fact transcends morality. He becomes incapable of

being immoral or amoral.

Lastly, Krishna emphasizes on the decisiveness or clarity of intelligence of such a

person. Krishna has mentioned this point several times before. He wants to make sure

that Arjuna thinks clearly. And clarity in Krishnas view is possible when one knows

and is established in his inner core. This person is centered. He is rooted in his inner

core. Now there is no possibility of confusion.