Sozani: needling through pure consciousness

Sozani 

Needling through pure consciousness 

Sozani or Sujani is a fine embroidery work of artisans of Kashmir, Kutch and Central Asian countries. It’s needle work in which the artisan count threads and pierce needle with colourful threads and create beautiful motifs on a cloth or a shawl. But in Kashmir, the word Sozani carry one more meaning, meant ‘a wise man’. Sheikh ul Allam (Sheikh Noor ud Din Noorani) a mystic poet of Kashmir wrote: सोजन इशारा सीतेन बोझान कोझान बोझान ना दम दुमा गाथ, meaning ‘the wise will understand by small hints, whereas fools will not understand even if we cry aloud’. 

चतुराई आध्यात्म में संसारी चतुराई दुखदाई है। To become one with the pure awareness, smartness of the world won’t be of any use. Intellect and clarity of mind do have a value and without ritbhara pragya, it is not easy to understand the Pure Self but it comes easily through pure heart and open mind. Ego is an unnecessary element. Discard it. We have been given ‘easeful state of being’ but it has been covered by three malas (impurities) therefore we have to remove the waste and earn it back through purity, sincerity and seeking. 

The Shiva and Shakti are playing as शिवौ or शक्ती; द्विवचन, शक्ति present in शिव and शिव present in शक्ति। सर्वम् सर्वात्म, everything is of the form and nature of consciousness. Chiti is solidified as Chitta but it is still shining with consciousness. We shall liquify our Chitta and attain oneness with the pure consciousness. 

There is only one meaning, there is only one form, the PURE AWARENESS. Everything is one with our awareness. Feel the life a play of our awareness and rest in it easefully. 

Didn’t you get? In the Unmesh of Shiva Shakti Nimesh, in the Nimesh of Shiva Shakti Unmesh; but awareness is common in both the states. The pure awareness, Purnahanta neither unmesha nor nimesha, instead both happen in it simultaneously. 

We have seen an Ocean of water. There is an Ocean and its waves. When waves rise from the Ocean and subsides in the Ocean, water is there in both the states. In fact, ‘water’ is the Ocean and ‘water’ is the wave. Water is manifested as ocean as well as wave. Similarly we are चैतन्य, the absolute pure awareness, the बोध in which unmesh and nimesh are happening. 

Becoming a body, mind, name, fame, etc, labels we won’t experience all pervasive unified consciousness. 

To start with identification of the ‘pure I’ the most important and the most difficult first step to come out of body identity. Till we wander around our identity as body, mind, intellect, ego, nothing will work. The smartness of Sansar is a big failure in spirituality. Purity of heart, sincerely and surrendering are essential elements to recognise the ‘pure I’, the ‘pure awareness’. 

As human we differentiate ourselves with other creatures. As male or female we differentiate with opposite sex. As Hindu-Musalman-Ishai, etc, we differentiate each other with religion. As Indian-Pakistani-American-Chinese, etc, we differentiate with nationality. As Gujarati-Marathi-Marwadi-Bengali-etc we differentiate with statehood. Where are we leaving our body? The identity of our family, education, degrees, job, status, wealth, intellectual abilities, everything is projected over the body and the ego but not over the ‘pure awareness’. Labels are the clouds over the great Sun. Remove them and be a दिगंबर। 

Do we need a proof of our existence? We just exist and don’t need somebody to give proof of our existence. We are full and the day we understand this, the realisation will happen.  

We are the present moment, the consciousness in which सृष्टि स्थिति संहार always keeps on happening but पूर्णोहम pure consciousness never leave. That (we) नित्योदित never rest. 

सदा सृष्टिविनोदाय सदा स्थितिसुखासने। 

सदा त्रिभुवनहारतृप्ताय स्वामिने नमः॥ 

Punamchand 

12 September 2022