‘Thoughtlessness’- ‘beingness’- ‘being the cosmic play’...seemingly abstract words… are NOT some woozy passive state of being…they do imply NOT some delirious thoughtlessness…it is NOT doing nothing! Indeed it is a focused, active and very practical-in- the- now state of being!

Let me use Ramesh balsekar concepts of the 'working mind" and "thinking mind” to enumerate!  To me -in this context: The thinking mind is the personal ego you: thus your thoughts... your worries... you’re likewise life experiences! The working mind is the impersonal you... the non self... the cosmic play…! The very term ‘working mind’ gives it a more   here & now understanding rather than the abstraction of words like beingness/cosmic flow/thoughtlessness etc! It hints to us how we abide as the cosmic play in practical human ways- by using a mind and its thoughts- but the universal mind and its flow/impulses!

Indeed the working mind cannot... not... exist while we are alive!  Or we cannot exist without the working mind! It’s that part of the cosmos within us that orchestrates our day to day actions and all that is required for us to life on a physical plane...! It is the chopping wood boiling water that Zen speaks about- but translated into what each ones daily living (chopping wood/boiling water) is made up of - whether it is mothering or teaching or doing business or some other service ….or whatever your life comprises of! It’s made up of all those seeming thoughts one needs through the day….knowing when to awake and eat and sleep etc … how and what to speak or write or do a business transaction…or any task… from the mundane to the vaster tasks of life! It has its own planning! It has its own systems! You do not become a woozy zombie! Yet as these ‘thoughts’ are not yours but the ‘cosmos’- they are not really thoughts but the cosmos/cosmic impulses/play/flow playing out through a you! Thus is the working mind synonymous with terms like non-self, cosmic play and thoughtlessness! Whereas the thinking mind is synonymous with terms like personal- ego -separated -limited self!

This brings us to work! This is why Work is Worship! a) Because when we are working- we are operating from the working mind- connected to the cosmos and our personal thoughts/ego self (thinking mind) is kept at bay! b) This is why we say that men/working people are simpler…or have no time to worry…gossip etc…its not a question of time…but when one is engaged with the working mind… the thinking mind is less used! One is automatically more one with the cosmos rather than the separated illusory ego self!

This is why physical activity - work in its unadulterated form- is so important! a) During physical work, the working mind/cosmos is what you are engaged with, and the thinking mind/personal ego self is at bay! We need this dose of universal self everyday!  b) This is why physical activity, tiring as it might appear, gives us a certain feel good factor in its aftermath- because the thinking mind/ego self and its toll was somewhat absent! c) Indeed this is why, during strenuous physical activity- be it running or working – one can’t think! Try it! And thus as the thinking mind /ego self is on all time low guidance, inspired ideas, eureka’s, strength, beyond human skills…come through (from the working mind/cosmos)! One enters the ‘zone’ sportsman speak about!  d) Often this also happens in time of extreme danger- the thinking mind gives up- and as the working mind/cosmos - we do feats and display courage beyond all expectations!  e) On the flip side, when our thinking mind is kept at bay by aids like music, a scene of beauty etc … we feel love, we feel good , we feel expanded…because the personal separated ego self is out of the way and we are one with the cosmos/working mind! This also happens when we are doing menial tasks like bathing or driving etc which don’t need us to think… then the working mind /cosmos kicks  in instead- and we get those eureka’s, inspired ideas, guidance etc!

This is why it is important for us as humans to be engaged in some activity … be it work or something creative or even chanting… it keeps us connected to the working mind, to the cosmos and its qualities and life force, it gives us ‘our daily bread’ so to say…and helps us distance from the thinking mind (personal ego self) and its limitations!

This is why Masters can get so much done in a day- what seems impossible to others- as they abide wholly in their working mind! Thus even as the cosmic play -thoughtlessness- no self- they live in practical ways and get practical tasks done with super efficiency! This is also why they can sit still … as ‘stillness’ is really the fastest frequency…and thus as the cosmos…pure momentum…they can appear still as and when required! Perhaps this is why they can sit in a cave or under a tree…because the working mind/cosmos looks after their physical needs!

This brings us to what we began with but you may better understand this now:

-The ‘working mind’- ‘the  cosmic play’-‘thoughtlessness’ – call it what you may – is not some woozy passive state of being but a state of  pure momentum and action as required in the now.. indeed the pure action without a personal self desiring the fruit! (For it is the ‘thinking mind/ personal ego self’ and its personal concerns, doubts & confusions that arrest activity and lead to passiveness)

-Thus is the working mind - the  cosmic play’- ‘thoughtlessness’ not a delirious doing nothing state …but a wholly focused state of being (without  the personal self/thinking mind and its different roles and aspects of self which tear it apart  with diverse ideas, dreams and temptations)

-Thus is the working mind- the cosmic play’-‘thoughtlessness not a state of ennui but a full-of-life and positive state of being (without the personal identity/thinking mind and its limitations- fears lack and worries!)

-Thus does the working mind - the cosmic play’-‘thoughtlessness  not live in some nebulous afterworld but is established in the very practical ‘here & now’… acceptance, non resistance (as it is only the thinking personal identity that has notions of past & future and worries & hopes based in time)

-Thus is the working mind - the cosmic play’-‘thoughtlessness not a frivolous giddy beingness but yields the most effective  results- (without the personal self/thinking mind and its personal ambitions- hopes and fears of personal gain coming in the way!)

-Thus is why working mind -the cosmic play’-‘thoughtlessness’ not about selfishly sitting out or on the sidelines of the human game…but a state  of pure service/seva… pure expression… wholly involved yet detached…

Thus beloveds, the concept of the ‘working mind’ helps us understand the more abstract terms   ‘cosmic play’- ‘thoughtlessness’ -‘non self’- ‘pure beingness’… call it what you may…. in practical terms! It enables us to know that this is not some woozy state of being…but is indeed made up of practical inputs to best live in the now- wherever and in whatever roles- the cosmos has placed you!

So yes, thoughtlessness but not - no practical thoughts! Cosmic play but not - no work!  The cosmic flow but based in your here and now! Pure beingness but the practicality of day to day life! Non self- yet a you through whom the cosmos itself lives and functions! Welcome beloveds to this state of being!