Thursday, September 18, 2025
In stillness and silence we practice living in the present moment. When we are Here and Now our awareness is one with us. With practice we learn to bring the inner quietude right into the present moment. When we bask in self-recognition of our aware self we feel love, joy, peace and contentment.
Present moment has two layers: the immediate one, the one we are familiar with. It is a bundle of contents of our experience—our thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, images, events and relationships. We are constantly entangled with this content. In stillness and silence, we learn to focus on the breath or mantra instead and go beyond these mental things. For some time or at some point we stop identifying with the things and go deeper.
What do we find when we go deeper within? We discover “I” witnessing myself. Our inner witness, our awareness is always aware, watching us. Who is that who is aware of us, of me? Who is behind my floating thoughts and fleeting emotions? Awareness or as Buddhist call it “Emptiness” or sunyata.
Our mind is like this room. While this room has chairs, tables, blackboard, screen and so on mind has perceptions, thoughts, emotions, sensations, images etc. If we remove chairs, tables etc. what remains is empty space that has made this room possible. So if we take away the contents or objects of our experience from the mind what remains? Nothing. Only from this nothingness everything is possible.
Emptiness or nothingness is full of possibilities. For instance, take a newly build home with empty spaces. Each space has potential of turning into a particular room—the living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, porch. And what makes this possible? The empty spaces. Empty space is what it is but when we put particular objects in a room it becomes a particular room, gains personality and gets a name. Let’s extend this example to space. Before there were planets, stars and galaxies, there was “emptiness.” But this emptiness had tremendous cosmic possibilities and intelligence. We are an intrinsic part of that intelligence.
Similar to the “emptiness” of a room or of outer space, our mind has empty space the essential nature of which is peace, joy and contentment. But we are unaware of it because it is hidden behind the contents of our experience. When we meditate, when we sit still in silence and stop identifying with past or future we remove the veil obscuring the emptiness and awareness is revealed. Awareness that is aware of ALL we think, feel, say or do but beyond them. Its nature is peace, joy and contentment.
Awareness of our being aware is what many call divinity within. So if you are asked, “Who are you?” or you ask yourself “Who am I?” At the depth of your being you’re Awareness! The divine space which is always hidden behind “objects” of your experiences—thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, events, relationships—your personality. Remember, while personality makes us suffer. Awareness is Authentic Self, always peaceful, joyous and content.
“When I disentangle myself from the content of my experience, my true nature simply shines by itself, just as the blue sky is revealed when the clouds disperse.”
Jenn Diamond
Good morning, Madhu! Thank you for this meaningful message. I’ve seen some descriptions of “emptiness” that feel very Nihilistic… but you’ve clarified the vast connectedness and love present in our shared blue skies!
Madhu B. Wangu
Good evening, Jenn!
I’m glad the word “Emptiness” was a bit clarified from this post. It took me years to truly understand its meaning. You’re right, the first feeling the reader gets from the word is something like nihilism. However, the original Sanskrit word is Shunyata, meaning nothing or zero. In the Buddhist context interdependence of things is one of the basic concepts. They argue that each thing or event is “nothing” by itself unless taken into consideration with all other things and events. This thought takes a while to comprehend but once understood the English word “Emptiness” starts to make sense.
Jenn Diamond
Once again, I’m learning, learning, learning from you, Madhu!!!
Madhu B. Wangu
It makes me happy to read this, dear Jenn.
Lorraine
This post reminds me of moving into our new home. The emptiness was ‘noisy’. Everything echoed. Even whispers were loud. I enjoyed sitting in the empty rooms listening to the sound of emptiness— and wondering what our new place was meant to bring us… why we were blessed with it all… and a lot of time reflecting on the long journey to get there. Now the rooms are full and sounds muffled. The emptiness sometimes made me feel very lonely. Other times it was a refreshing sense of self-connection. It’s hard to get into a situation when things are empty. I’m grateful that I had the experience and took the time to embrace the good and bad feelings.
Madhu B. Wangu
Good to have you back, Lorraine!
Loved some of the phrases in your comment. “The emptiness sometimes made me feel very lonely.” “Other times it was a refreshing sense of self-connection.” “(L)istening to the sound of emptiness.” What about making them prompts for your journaling sessions. They should take you deeper into yourself and reveal deeper meanings of the Sanskrit word, Sunyaata. which is not easy to translate in English but is translated as: Nothingness, Emptiness or Zero.