The Heart of Everything

By Kanchi

A path breaking real story of one Man's quest for Spiritual Awakening. Kanchi's spiritual memoir 'The Heart of Everything' is one of the best Indian spiritual books you will ever find. It is a first-hand, detailed account of his journey on the path of Self-Realization under the guidance of his Sadhguru.

In these pages, Kanchi talks about the arduous path of spirituality. He shares lessons from his own life about the process of energy healing, Kundalini awakening & finally the methods to master oneself through meditation & Self-Enquiry. We are ultimately led to a glimpse of the transcendent realm of Spiritual Enlightenment.

Who doesn't want to be happy? Amidst the chaos and the madness of our daily lives, each of us searches for meaning, purpose, & fulfilment in our lives. We are grappling in the dark to find a genuine sense of who we really are and why we are here. We all seek a master key to true self help. "The Heart of Everything", deals with exactly this. We call it peace, happiness and joy, but in the end, we are looking for the same thing, a sense of contentment in a chaotic world.

With this in-depth study into the realization of our true nature as pure, effortless consciousness, Kanchi takes us into the world of Yogic mysticism, secrets of the sacred life, unlocking the hidden dimensions of spirituality. We read about the days of his spiritual struggles & constant battles with his mental health, we are finally led to the methods that paved way for his own liberation. These simple yet profound instructions, anecdotes and contemplations will lead you directly into the heart of that which we call the 'Self', which is synonymous with absolute liberation. This could yet be the beginning of a great journey you make in your own spiritual life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kanchi
• Release date: Dec 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798224103102

Kanchi

Kanchi's unique work as an acclaimed Indian filmmaker and author is rooted in his deep interest in the wisdom of the ancient Vedas and the Upanishads. At the age of 12, a profound experience sparked an inner transformation and set him on a path of self-discovery. After years of self study and learning from various masters, Kanchi discovered the non-dual teachings of Advaita Vedanta under the guidance of his Guru. These teachings now serve as the subject of his writing. Kanchi's works serve as a guide for those who want to deepen their understanding of the meditative path and find spiritual upliftment.

Book preview

Introduction

Knowing Kanchi for many years, I've understood that he has something that others don't have. I never seemed to be able to put my finger on it, but something about him has always been very distinct. If only there was a better way to put this as he says it's nothing new to be found or have, it's your very own nature that needs to be understood/realised.

At the beginning of our acquaintance, I didn't know what he had but always felt calm and felt a sense of being cared for around him. It seemed very natural for me to spend time with him and learn from his words and experiences that he always shared with me. His words always seemed to have a strangely calming effect on me as it was something I couldn't just neglect or not give importance to. As I spent more time with him over the years it became natural for me to follow the purport of his words, contemplate on them, and in times of doubt even take his word as final. This was not just because I knew he had something which can be perceived as wisdom, his words were laden with a purpose and meaning, with time I understood he never simply told me things, it always had a deeper meaning and purpose which I couldn't see back then. I also knew he understood things at a deeper level and always had an interest in my growth which made it easier for me to trust in his counsel. A verse from the Avadhuta Gita resonates with this experience of mine which says The teachings of a Guru should not be judged from the standpoint of literary merit. Indeed, intelligent people accept the quintessence. Is not a boat, though unpainted and ugly, capable of carrying passengers in the ocean?

Seeing him over the years, it became evident to me that Kanchi lives in complete surrender and always lives in the moment, he seems to never carry any baggage from the past. These things are easier said than done but with Kanchi I noticed these things came very naturally to him and it never seemed like a struggle at any point. There are instances where he would do things completely new and be very comfortable with it and be completely lost doing things he regularly did. He always seemed to be learning new things and unlearning the past. He was open to the universe’s way of things and was ready to play his part as required. Though he lives in the material world doing regular things, he always seems to be away from it having a monk-like outlook not attached or having any expectations. He is at ease and in a perfect state of mind in any given situation, which any spiritual seeker would aspire for.

The book discusses in detail his spiritual journey, touching many phases in his life whether it was his initial struggles with finding the path, his transformation while on the path, his ‘Dark night of the soul’ as he calls it, and finally him finding the doorway to the truth.

Being a part of his life for quite some time now it is very difficult to point out when this transition happened even though I have been around him when various events mentioned by him in this book took place. His spiritual life and path were always kept under wraps, no one could guess the extent of his pursuit.

This shows that though he was on his quest for knowledge internally, externally he appears like any ordinary man living his life. We also understand that these kinds of changes are very subtle, though he appears to be an ordinary person living the same mundane life like everyone else, there is a world of difference in who he actually is. He very rarely spoke about his path or his spiritual journey.

I have seen many people come and go out of his life, I have witnessed events in his life that could deeply impact anyone else but he has remained unchanged through all of this, his state of mind unwavering. I find this quality a hallmark of his character. I am witness to the fact that he has remained completely equanimous through all of these spiritual upheavals in his life. Knowing who he is, it is evident to me that worldly things don’t mean a thing to him & this perhaps is his greatest accomplishment.

Reading this book The Heart of Everything gives the reader an insight into his journey on achieving this state as he had his fair share of struggles through the years. We come to understand that this man who appears to be a personification of courage & strength once went through the same struggles/emotions many of us go through in daily life. Especially spiritual seekers will find in these pages many such instances which they can definitely relate to in their own lives.

This inspiring tale of courage & persistence gives us the motivation that there is a light at the end of the tunnel as long as the aspirant is ready to put in the effort. Often we get lost or deviated on the spiritual path but through Kanchi’s journey in this book, we come to understand that a deep undying quest for the right knowledge is the key to keep us on track and will ensure we reach the goal.

His enriching & illuminating spiritual experiences are only proof of grace being ever-present and bring to life the famous quote The Guru appears when the disciple is ready.

The book speaks to every reader at a personal level sharing hidden truths about the spiritual journey & he also shares subtle knowledge of the spiritual realm that can help any seeker on their path. Every spiritual aspirant comes across many challenges and obstacles in his/her journey and Kanchi throws light upon these with his personal experiences and exhibits how one can lead a spiritual life staying in the world, busting up the myth of leaving one’s home and family as prerequisites to lead a spiritual life. This book serves as a guide to any aspirant, seeker helping them with the tools & sacred knowledge so they can achieve their own spiritual goals.

We also come across an unusual state that he describes as the natural state of all beings, he suggests we already have what we are looking for, nothing new has to be realised or achieved. Rest assured that if he can achieve this state, perhaps anyone else can.

While we are on the path there is always this fear of missing out on worldly activities and we see others leading a happy life without any of this and we start to question if what we are doing is right? We begin to doubt our own spiritual lives & values. This book clears all such doubts for aspirants and spiritual seekers. The common man comes to understand that there is more to life than just earning money, working a job, and fulfilling desires. And the path described is such that the journey is itself the destination, once you are on it your work is already done and the universe will find a way for you.

Spiritual knowledge is rare to find in this world, true spiritual teachings even rarer, the best that you can do is to read attentively the words of Kanchi, his words carry the truth of the ancient knowledge, by reading you can realise that his reality is your reality as well, the truth is the same for everyone, if you regard the words with utmost care and contemplate upon them you will find that the highest knowledge is expounded in a simple, clear and direct way.

May you find in these pages that which you are looking for.

Bangalore, India

May 2021

-Siddharth Dabrai

CHAPTER ONE

Arunachala

THE FIRST STEP is the last.

On the slopes of the mystical mountain Arunachala, I sat unmoved, my breath shallow and subtle. My senses had lost all contact with the external world. In silence, I observed my mind as it flickered feebly, arrested by the powerful presence of the Holy Mountain Arunachala.

I witnessed silently, without the slightest movement in my body or consciousness, as the intention to ‘become’ arose in me, I witnessed that this intention itself is appearing with an old friend, the ‘I’, the ego. This ego hidden in plain sight appears as myriad objects in the consciousness when projected this is itself the universe. All this I saw with my inner vision, clearly, I understood, the mind is only interested in ‘becoming’ not ‘being’.

All my life I had craved for Self Realisation. I always felt it to be the sole motto of my life, but I always imagined it to be an explosion in my consciousness, a sort of a massive event that would trigger all auspiciousness. I imagined this state to be a state of all power and presence; I had imagined the individual to metamorphose into something other-worldly.

But over the years, the illusions kept falling; the desires kept dropping and finally I had arrived at a time and place where the individual himself had completely disappeared from the equation. Self-realization, for whom? Instead of gaining something for myself, I had ended up losing everything I felt was ‘mine’, everything that was ‘me’ was lost for good.

Fate had brought me to this point in life. The questions that I was always seeking were ‘Where did I come from?’ Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? But everything came down to one monumental puzzle that I could never really solve. Who am I?

As I sat there alone in the forest, listening to the birds chirping around me, the sun gleaming at me and the sweet breeze gently kissing me, I realized the question itself was wrong. The questioner himself was an illusion. How then can the answer be of any use? The seeker, the sought, and the act of seeking all disappeared into the one fire burning inside of me. The fire of my years of seeking & searching, this inner fire engulfed slowly but completely the idea of Self-Realisation. The need for Realisation and finally the candidate for realisation. What was left behind was peace, a gentle silence, a deep ocean of unfettered consciousness. This was not the Self Realisation of my dreams, but a simple acknowledgement of my own natural state. Nothing really happened, nothing needed to happen. It was a recognition of that which is the essence of life, that which shines forth in the heart as ‘Iam-ness’.

Why was I the way I was? How did I become this reclusive, what drove me to seek the very secret of my human existence? I always considered my life to be a gift of great grace. I have always been extremely grateful for the gift of spirituality, for the gift of so many beautiful adventures in my life & finally for the grace of Wisdom. My life itself is a miracle of obtuse proportions.

This story begins in the 1980s in Bangalore. Born as a premature baby at only 7 months, the likelihood of my survival was very slim. But I had made it back home only to be a horrendously annoying cry baby. It was soon discovered I had developed an ear disease that was almost incurable & was the reason for my loud wailing. Then one fateful night I ended up kicking my ear drops medicine and swallowed the liquid, much to the dismay of my young parents. Needless to say, this was not going to be easy. Soon I was taken to a doctor but declared that the medicine could have really adverse effects and the doctor himself could do nothing about it.

The whole night I was in a coma and my parents really believed I would not make it, so they resolved to do the only thing they could do, ‘Pray’. I remember seeing an unusually large framed picture of a Hindu saint at home. My parents knew him as ‘Kanchi Swami’. They decided to name me after him if I recovered. Voila, the next day at daybreak I was fine and so I came to be named after the great Seer from the order of Adi Shankaracharya¹, the head of Kanchi Mutt², Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi. Apparently, they didn’t know his actual name, so I was named ‘Kanchi’ & later on with the prefix ‘Swaroop Kanchi’, the true nature of Kanchi.

As a child, I grew up lonely. I loved telling stories, but no one would listen, so I would go up against a wall, put my legs up against it and just start telling stories to myself. I was my best listener, my best audience, and this habit of storytelling never ceased. I told myself stories of mysterious characters, I would narrate to myself about the dream I had the previous night, I would go into all these little details, never missing the details, God is in the details. Dreams fascinated me, where did they come from? I would go on and on about what I saw and what else I would like to see in my dreams. I wanted to see so much, experience so much. I was so curious and always inquisitive about everything around me.

I also had this insatiable desire in me to learn, to know, and I took every opportunity to ask myself so many questions. I remember the first time I saw my aunt yawn, it was literally the first time I saw any being yawn; I had no concept of a yawn, what was this, why was she opening her mouth so wide, it felt like an eternity. I was mesmerised. I had to know the reason for this yawn, where is the need for this ‘yawn’ coming from.

Now so much of this might seem like just childish curiosity, but back then it was the most important thing in the world. I had to know it, and I had to know it that very instant.

I discovered all by myself that the earth rotated on its own axis. I would lie down on the terrace of my grandmother’s house and just stay absolutely still, without even a breath leaving my body. I would not move an inch, I felt it then, I felt the world moving, in absolute stillness. I felt the world was moving like a tick of a clock, so very slowly. So when I read about this in school a few years later, it did not surprise me at all. It was almost a feeling of ‘I already knew this, I discovered this before you all’.

But more importantly, deep down I had another doubt, a terrible lack of faith in the world, it all felt unreal. I always asked myself if these people around me were really my parents and my family or if everyone was putting on a show just for me. I felt there was a thin veil somewhere and if I somehow managed to pierce it or peel it off, I would end up seeing the real world, and not these actors and not this stage. But honestly, I wasn’t so sure about what the ‘real’ world would look like. But it wasn’t this, this doubt was carried forward well into my adulthood. There came ‘The moment’ when I uncovered this secret, but more on this later.

I was born into a fairly large family by modern standards; I grew up in my Maternal Grandparents’ house. My grandfather was a strangely humorous man, always jovial, and he always had something to give to everyone. But what defined him really was his devotion to God. Piety came naturally to him, his body frail from all the fasting he did, he spent his entire day in the ‘Pooja³’ room, where he would worship God from morning to night. He would clean the room, offer the deities food, water, he would read devotional books, chant hymns, chant mantras, turn