Vigilance

The ancient texts, such as the Upanishads or the Dhammapada, focus on distinguishing the true and ete
al, from the transitory and illusory existence upon which most people spend their time and attention. Thus, the term ‘vigilance’ means something entirely different than what a person, awake in the exte
al world, would take it to mean. In the case of the seeker of liberation or spiritual realisation, vigilance thus means the attention on that which is not transitory, that which survives the changes we undergo in the exte
al life, including the birth and death of a particular individual in a particular body. We thus have to reorient our viewpoint to understand the sense.

The Adhyatma Upanishad states this most clearly in verses 14-17 when it says: “Never should one be heedless in devotion to Brahman; ‘heedlessness is death’ so aver the philosophers of Brahman in regard to (this) science. Just as a pulled-up water-reed stays not still, even for a moment, so does Maya (ceaselessly) envelop even a wise man if he averts his face (from the Truth). With the vision of the non-dual Self through unwavering concentration comes the dissolution without residue of the knots of ignorance in the heart. Whosoever wins absoluteness while alive continues to be absolute even after death. Rooted in concentration, O sinless one, remain steadfast.” [108 Upanishads, pg. 698, Gita Society]

This theme of heedlessness or lack of vigilance is implied in other Upanishads, particularly in the Katha Upanishad which explores the question of life and death, the ete
al and immortal versus the transitory and mortal existence. The Lord of Death describes for the seeker Nachiketas, what is true and should be the object of one’s focus. He offers Nachiketas all the possible enjoyments of the exte
al world for the human individual, which Nachiketas turns down as he remains heedful of the real object of his seeking.

A similar theme appears in various places in Hindu, Buddhist or Islamic scriptures, as a recognition of what is true and what is illusion. Immortality is associated with vigilance or heedfulness, and death attends those who are unfocused, drifting in the world of samsara, maya, illusion, etc.

Vigilance in this sense implies that one pays attention to the Self which transcends birth and death. Such an individual does not ‘die’ in the sense that we ordinarily describe death, because they see a continuous cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth, one existence for which death is an illusory concept. Those who are fixated on the exte
al life of the world, and thus heedless of the Ete
al, are the ones who suffer death, as they have no foundation of awareness in the Oneness.

The Dhammapada states: “Vigilance is the way that leads to immortality (or Nirvana). Negligence is the way that leads to death. Those who are vigilant do not die. Those who are negligent are dead already.”

The Mother observes: “… Vigilance means to be awake, to be on one’s guard, to be sincere — never to be taken by surprise. When you want to do sadhana, at each moment of your life, there is a choice between taking a step that leads to the goal and falling asleep or sometimes even going backwards, telling yourself, ‘Oh, later on, not immediately’ — sittingdown on the way.”

“To be vigilant is not merely to resist what pulls you downward, but above all to be alert in order not to lose any opportunity to progress, any opportunity to overcome a weakness, to resist a temptation, any opportunity to learn something, to correct something, to master something. If you are vigilant, you can do in a few days what would otherwise take years. If you are vigilant, you change each circumstance of your life, each action, each movement into an occasion for coming nearer the goal.”

“There are two kinds of vigilance, active and passive. There is a vigilance that gives you a warning if you are about to make a mistake, if you are making a wrong choice, if you are being weak or allowing yourself to be tempted, and there is the active vigilance which seeks an opportunity to progress, seeks to utilise every circumstance to advance more quickly.”

“There is a difference between preventing yourself from falling and advancing more quickly.”

“And both are absolutely necessary.”

“He who is not vigilant is already dead. He has lost contact with the true purpose of existence and of life.”

“So the hours, circumstances, life pass in vain, bringing nothing, and you awake from your somnolence in a hole from which it is very difficult to escape.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Looking from Within, Chapter 5, Attitudes on the Path, pp. 145-146