Observation and Concentration on the Observer
Jiří Vacek’s Observation and Concentration on the Observer is a lucid and uncompromising exploration of the nature of consciousness and the method of Self-enquiry (Ātmavičāra), the direct path to spiritual liberation as taught by Śrī Ramana Maharshi. Written in clear and precise language, the book examines the essential difference between simple awareness of experience and the conscious turning of attention toward its very source — the observing consciousness itself. Vacek begins by analysing the Buddhist practice of conscious observation, in which the disciple maintains awareness of every action and moment — walking, eating, thinking — with total presence. Though valuable as an exercise in mindfulness, he argues that this practice remains incomplete because it does not question the fundamental assumption “I am the body, I am the mind.” Awareness fixed on what is observed cannot dissolve the ego, which is the root of bondage; it merely refines it. True liberation, he insists, begins only when attention turns from the observed to the observer, from the changing to the unchanging, from the phenomena to the pure consciousness that knows them.
Vacek then develops the notion of the observer — the silent witness within us that remains present throughout all experiences. In every act of perception there are three elements: the object perceived, the act of perception itself, and the consciousness that perceives. Ordinary awareness embraces only the first; full awareness must include the last. Spiritual progress begins when we realise, not intellectually but experientially, that we are not the body or mind, but that which observes them. Through systematic redirection of attention inward, the aspirant moves from identification with the world to identification with the witnessing consciousness, which is identical with the Self — the divine “I am.” This shift from loka-vichāra, attention to the world, to ātma-vichāra, attention to the Self, is the decisive movement of the whole path.
The author describes the process of Self-enquiry as a dynamic meditation in which consciousness becomes aware of itself. The practitioner begins by observing the external world, then the act of observation, and finally turns attention upon the observer itself. When this awareness deepens, the sense of separation between the seer and the seen dissolves, leaving only self-luminous being — pure, egoless awareness. Vacek emphasises that this realisation obeys the universal law of attention: wherever we direct our awareness, there our energy flows. To concentrate on the world strengthens illusion; to concentrate on the Self strengthens the divine consciousness until it absorbs the ego completely. Thus, liberation is not a matter of belief or grace alone but of disciplined, conscious redirection of attention from the outer to the inner.
The book expands this insight into a cosmic principle expressed in terms of two opposing forces: centripetal and centrifugal. Centripetal forces draw the soul toward God; centrifugal forces — desires, attachments, and identifications with the world — drive it outward into bondage. The entire spiritual struggle is the transformation of these outward-moving energies into inward-flowing ones through the practice of Self-enquiry and detachment. Vacek insists that no one, not even God or the spiritual master, can perform this work on our behalf. Grace assists, but effort is indispensable. The aspirant must personally dissolve the tendencies that maintain the ego and create new karmic chains.
A significant section of the text offers a practical demonstration of meditation on the observer, drawn from Vacek’s own teaching sessions. Here he leads the reader step by step: first observing an object with full awareness, then observing the act of observation itself, and finally turning attention to that which is conscious of both — the observer. Through this disciplined inward turn, consciousness becomes self-aware, regains its inherent luminosity, and withdraws from identification with the world. In this reversal of attention lies the true freedom of spirit: the recognition “I am the consciousness that observes all; I am not what I observe.”
In its concluding chapters, the book identifies consciousness with God — the unmanifested, eternal Reality underlying all creation. Consciousness, through the power of attention, gives existence to whatever it contemplates. Thus, to direct awareness toward the Self is to allow the divine to manifest itself within us. Vacek presents this as the highest form of prayer and surrender: not passive acceptance, but active alignment with divine will. The true meaning of “Thy will be done,” he writes, is the conscious letting of divine energy act through us, guided by wisdom rather than egoic desire.
Observation and Concentration on the Observer stands as both a philosophical exposition and a practical manual of meditation. It distils Jiří Vacek’s central teaching: that liberation lies in the direct experience of one’s own consciousness as the only reality. The style is austere, methodical, yet deeply devotional; its purpose is not to theorise but to lead the reader to inner realisation. Through reasoned clarity and spiritual intensity, Vacek unites Eastern and Western mysticism in a single message — that the path to God is the path of awareness, and that to know the Self is to return to the divine source of all being.