Beyond the Void: A Journey of Effort, Witnessing, and Grace
In meditation, the realization that you are not the mind may bring with it the sense of a vast emptiness, a void that seems to swallow everything. While you used to be overwhelmed by thoughts and emotions, now you become overwhelmed by what remains: their absence. Such vast nothingness is so profound that it swallows the familiar and feels like lack. When this arises, don’t fear it. Rather, see it as a womb of creation and an opening—a gateway through which the Infinite shines.
This void is in itself just a step, even if an important one—a threshold. But it’s not who you really are; it’s part of the veils of the mind. And, the mind, with all its judgments and experiences (or lack thereof), is merely a series of layers covering the eternal Self.
Therefore, declaring that you are not the mind is also a thought born from the mind, a subtle snare in the labyrinth toward Self-knowledge. The emptiness you encounter is yet another phenomenon of the mind. It’s like a new, unknown landscape of the inner world that must be traversed but not mistaken for the Ultimate Truth.
Remain immutable, the Witness! Each thought that arises, each insight, each experience of void, vastness, or clarity, must be embraced with the same persistent inquiry: in rapport with all of these, “Who am I?… Who experiences this emptiness?” Let yourself be consumed in the flames of this inquiry.
Where Effort Meets Grace
Can Self-Inquiry be present in mental void? Yes, because essentially, Self-Inquiry is not simply a question to be asked by/with the mind.
The mind is used to asking questions and giving you answers. Now, your heart knows a deeper stillness; in that stillness, the answer is the Beloved alone.
Like a lover who can’t help but return to the light of his Beloved’s gaze, return with all your soul to the wonderment that unveils everything: “Who am I?” This query is the kiss of the Beloved, drawing you closer, ever closer, until no “I” remains—only the radiant love of the One.
Through Self-Inquiry, long for this recognition—beyond void and fullness, beyond personal experiences and judgments—until the Supreme Self alone shines, luminous and free.
In that space, there is no “I,” no mind, no emptiness, only eternal Presence, the bliss that transcends all dualities. This is the Heart’s secret, the ultimate abode of peace.
Acknowledge the subtle interplay between effort and grace in the path of Self-Inquiry. Truly inquiring into the nature of your being requires both the effort of returning to the Source, again and again, and the grace that draws you ever inward.
As Ramana Maharshi said, “The very quest of the Self is itself a manifestation of grace… Your attempt is vichara (Self-Inquiry), the deep inner movement is Grace. That is why I say there is no real vichara without Grace, nor is there Grace active for him who is without vichara.”
Effort and grace are the wings that lift the soul to the Truth of Oneness. Without Self-Inquiry, grace remains an elusive dream; without grace, inquiry moves hesitantly in the shadows of doubt. True Self-Inquiry is simultaneously an act of effort and grace since it is a practice and a revelation, a path and the Destination.
Let the fire of your longing burn bright. Let the Love of the Self, the Beloved, guide you.
May we walk together as lovers, seekers, and mystics—returning to the One, who is never far; it is always within!
With Love and Divine Remembrance,
Sahajananda
By Sahajananda, the founder of Hridaya Yoga. You can read all of Sahaja’s posts here
