https://selfdefinition.org/ramana/Ramana-Maharshi-Talks-with-Ramana-Maharshi-2.pdf
Also, another important link to Ramana's works:
http://ramana-collected-works.blogspot.com/2007/06/self-enquiry.html
After the rise of the ‘I-thought’ there is the false identification of the ‘I’ with the body, the senses, the mind, etc. ‘I’ is wrongly associated with them and the true ‘I’ is lost sight of.
In order to shift the pure ‘I’ from the contaminated ‘I’ this discarding is mentioned. But it does not mean exactly discarding of the non self, but it means the finding of the real Self.
The real Self is the Infinite ‘I-I’, i.e., ‘I’ is perfection. It is eternal.
It has no origin and no end. The other ‘I’ is born and also dies. It is impermanent. See to whom are the changing thoughts. They will be found to arise after the ‘I-thought’. Hold the ‘I-thought’. They subside.
If you see the Self - pure and simple - it is nivritti;
Trace back the source of the ‘I-thought’.
The Self alone will remain.
D.: It is difficult to follow. I understand the theory. But what is the practice?
M.: The other methods are meant for those who cannot take to the investigation of the Self.
Even to repeat Aham Brahmasmi or think of it, a doer is necessary. Who is it? It is ‘I’.
Be that ‘I’. It is the direct method.
The other methods also will ultimately lead everyone to this method of the investigation of the Self.
M.: This ‘I-thought’ is not pure. It is contaminated with the association of the body and senses. See to whom the trouble is. It is to the ‘I thought’. Hold it. Then the other thoughts vanish.
D.: Yes. How to do it? That is the whole trouble.
M.: Think ‘I’ ‘I’ ‘I’ and hold to that one thought to the exclusion of all others.
M.: Swa swarupanusandhanam bhaktirityabhidheeyate (Reflection on one’s own Self is called bhakti).
Bhakti and Self-Enquiry are one and the same.
The Self of the Advaitins is the God of the bhakta.
D.: It is difficult to follow. I understand the theory. But what is the practice?
M.: The other methods are meant for those who cannot take to the investigation of the Self.
Even to repeat Aham Brahmasmi or think of it, a doer is necessary. Who is it? It is ‘I’.
Be that ‘I’. It is the direct method.
The other methods also will ultimately lead everyone to this method of the investigation of the Self.
M.: This ‘I-thought’ is not pure. It is contaminated with the association of the body and senses. See to whom the trouble is. It is to the ‘I thought’. Hold it. Then the other thoughts vanish.
D.: Yes. How to do it? That is the whole trouble.
M.: Think ‘I’ ‘I’ ‘I’ and hold to that one thought to the exclusion of all others.
M.: Swa swarupanusandhanam bhaktirityabhidheeyate (Reflection on one’s own Self is called bhakti).
Bhakti and Self-Enquiry are one and the same.
The Self of the Advaitins is the God of the bhakta.
If you see the Self - pure and simple - it is nivritti;
if you see the Self with the world, it is pravritti.
In other words, inward-turned mind (antarmukhi manas) is nivritti; outward-going mind (bahirmukhi manas) is pravritti. Anyway, there is nothing apart from the Self. Both are the same
: Sambandar had sung “The One who fascinated my heart or the captivator of my heart, I sing of Him in my mind”. The Heart is captivated: consequently the mind must have sunk into the Heart; and yet there is the remembrance which enables the saint to sing of God later.
Mano-nasha, jnana, and chitta ekagrata (annihilation of the mind, knowledge and one-pointedness) means the same.
Sri Bhagavan said, “some are born immediately after, others after some lapse of time, a few are not reborn on this earth but eventually get salvation in some higher region, and a very few get absolved here and now.”
* * *
.......... Until this truth is realised there will always be this grief due to false values arising from wrong knowledge and wrong identity.
Get rid of the ‘I-thought’. So long as ‘I’ is alive, there is grief. When ‘I’ ceases to exist, there is no grief. Consider the state of sleep.
,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
If the Real Nature is known these exist not. If you realise the Self the possessions are not perceived. That is getting rid of Maya.
Maya is not objective, that it could be got rid of in any other way.
............................ ...
Kundalini rises from any lakshya that you have. Kundalini is prana-sakti (life-current)
D.: Different deities are said to reside in different chakras. Does one see them in course of sadhana?
M.: They can be seen if desired.
D.: Does the path to Self-Realisation go through samadhi?
M.: They are synonymous.
D.: It is said that the Guru can make his disciple realise the Self by transmitting some of his own power to him? Is it true?
M.: Yes. The Guru does not bring about Self-Realisation. He simply removes the obstacles
to it. The Self is always realised
D.: Is there absolute necessity of a Guru for Self-Realisation?
M.: So long as you seek Self-Realisation the Guru is necessary.
Guru is the Self. Take Guru to be the Real Self and your self as the individual self. The disappearance of this sense of duality is removal of ignorance.
So long as duality persists in you the Guru is necessary.
Because you identify yourself with the body you think the Guru, too, to be some body.
Talk 283.
D.: How can one become jitasangadoshah (free from the stain of association)?
M.: By satsanga (association with the wise). “Satsangatve nissangatvam, nissangatve nirmohatvam, nirmohatve nischalatatvam, nischalatatve jivanmuktih.”
D.: Will Gayatri do?
M.: Can anything excel it? Only those who cannot do it look for others. It contains the whole range of truth in it. Chanting (japa) will lead to dhyana (meditation) and it is the means for realising the Self
.......... .................................
imp
102
: “Everybody complains of the restlessness of the mind.
Let the mind be found and then they will know.
True, when a man sits down to meditate thoughts rush up by dozens. The mind is only a bundle of thoughts. The attempt to push through the barrage of thoughts is unsuccessful.
Cannot abide in the Self, then chanting, meditation
If one can by any means abide in the Self it is good.
For those who are unable to do so, chanting or meditation (Japa or dhyana) is prescribed
It is the mind which obstructs your vision of your true nature.
Find out the mind. If it's ‘wandering’ stops, it will be found to be the Self - your ‘I’-consciousness which is spirit eternal. It is beyond knowledge and ignorance
112
Talk 333.
Pratyabhijna = Prati + abhijna. abhijna is direct perception; prati is to be reminded of what was already known. “This is an elephant” direct perception “This is that elephant” is pratyabhijna In technical works, pratyabhijna is used for realising the ever-present Reality and recognising it.
“Why should I do it? Above all, who am I that should be repeating the mantra?
Let me find who I am before I proceed further”; and so you will stop japa and begin investigation.
D.: Is not meditation better than investigation?
M.: Meditation implies mental imagery, whereas investigation is for the Reality. The former is objective, whereas the latter is subjective.
D.: There must be a scientific approach to this subject.
M.: To eschew unreality and seek the Reality is scientific.
,,,
Understanding depends on ripeness of mind.
....
Kshipta (active); Moodha (dull); Vikshipta (distracted); Kashaya (latent); and Ekagrya (one-pointed)
...
128
By jnana or Knowledge alone is this bliss realised, and jnana is achieved only through vichara or steady enquiry.
In order to know this method of enquiry, says Sri Sankara, one should seek the favour of a Guru,
and proceeds to describe the qualities of the Guru and his sishya and how the latter should approach and serve his master.
for libn...shravana, manana, niddhi dhyasa:
He further emphasises that in order to realise the bliss of liberation one’s own individual effort is an essential factor.
Talk 372.
D.: Horripilation, sobbing voice, joyful tears, etc., are mentioned in Atma Vidya Vilasa and other works. Are these found in samadhi, or before, or after?
....................
mediocre:
lowest: gradually through breath control
Thus the wise ones say that of the three grades of qualified aspirants,
Dhyana comes
only step by step with the gradual weakening of the vasanas by the
Grace of the Master.
M.: To whom are the thoughts? If you try to locate the mind, the mind vanishes and the Self alone remains. Being alone, there can be no one-pointedness or otherwise
D.: It is so difficult to understand this. If something concrete is said, it can be readily grasped. Japa, dhyana, etc., are more concrete.
M.: ‘Who am I?’ is the best japa.
What could be more concrete than the Self? It is within each one’s experience every moment. Why should he try to catch anything outside, leaving out the Self? Let each one try to find out the known Self instead of searching for the unknown something beyond.
D.: Where shall I meditate on the Atman? I mean in which part of the body?
M.: The Self should manifest itself. That is all that is wanted. A devotee gently added: On the right of the chest, there is the Heart, the seat of the Atman. Another devotee: The illumination is in that centre when the Self is realised.
M.: Quite so
94
Talk 82. A question was raised about the differences in the various samadhis.
M.: When the senses are merged in darkness it is deep sleep;
: Sambandar had sung “The One who fascinated my heart or the captivator of my heart, I sing of Him in my mind”. The Heart is captivated: consequently the mind must have sunk into the Heart; and yet there is the remembrance which enables the saint to sing of God later.
Mano-nasha, jnana, and chitta ekagrata (annihilation of the mind, knowledge and one-pointedness) means the same.
Sri Bhagavan said, “some are born immediately after, others after some lapse of time, a few are not reborn on this earth but eventually get salvation in some higher region, and a very few get absolved here and now.”
* * *
.......... Until this truth is realised there will always be this grief due to false values arising from wrong knowledge and wrong identity.
Get rid of the ‘I-thought’. So long as ‘I’ is alive, there is grief. When ‘I’ ceases to exist, there is no grief. Consider the state of sleep.
,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
If the Real Nature is known these exist not. If you realise the Self the possessions are not perceived. That is getting rid of Maya.
Maya is not objective, that it could be got rid of in any other way.
............................ ...
Kundalini rises from any lakshya that you have. Kundalini is prana-sakti (life-current)
D.: Different deities are said to reside in different chakras. Does one see them in course of sadhana?
M.: They can be seen if desired.
D.: Does the path to Self-Realisation go through samadhi?
M.: They are synonymous.
D.: It is said that the Guru can make his disciple realise the Self by transmitting some of his own power to him? Is it true?
M.: Yes. The Guru does not bring about Self-Realisation. He simply removes the obstacles
to it. The Self is always realised
D.: Is there absolute necessity of a Guru for Self-Realisation?
M.: So long as you seek Self-Realisation the Guru is necessary.
Guru is the Self. Take Guru to be the Real Self and your self as the individual self. The disappearance of this sense of duality is removal of ignorance.
So long as duality persists in you the Guru is necessary.
Because you identify yourself with the body you think the Guru, too, to be some body.
You are not the body, nor is the Guru.
You are the Self and so is the Guru.
This knowledge is gained by what you call Self-Realisation.
Talk 283.
D.: How can one become jitasangadoshah (free from the stain of association)?
M.: By satsanga (association with the wise). “Satsangatve nissangatvam, nissangatve nirmohatvam, nirmohatve nischalatatvam, nischalatatve jivanmuktih.”
Satsanga means sanga (association) with sat. Sat is only the Self. Since the Self is not now understood to be Sat, the company of the sage who has thus understood it is sought. That is Sat-sanga. Introversion results. Then Sat is revealed.
ahameko name kaschit nahamanyasya kasyachit naham pasyami yasyaham tam na pasyami yo mama
ahameko name kaschit nahamanyasya kasyachit naham pasyami yasyaham tam na pasyami yo mama
(I am alone; none is mine; of none else am I, I see none whose I am, none who is mine).
All that follows is meant to refute the sense of duality.
D.: What happens to the created ego when the body dies?
M.: Ego is ‘I-thought’. In its subtle form it remains a thought, whereas in its gross aspect it embraces the mind, the senses and the body. They disappear in deep slumber along with the ego. Still the Self is there; similarly it will be in death.
All that follows is meant to refute the sense of duality.
D.: What happens to the created ego when the body dies?
M.: Ego is ‘I-thought’. In its subtle form it remains a thought, whereas in its gross aspect it embraces the mind, the senses and the body. They disappear in deep slumber along with the ego. Still the Self is there; similarly it will be in death.
Ego is not an entity independent of the Self in order that it must be created or destroyed by itself. It functions as an instrument of the Self and periodically ceases to function. That is to say, it appears and disappears; this might be considered to be birth and death.
Relative knowledge pertains to the mind and not to the Self. It is therefore illusory and not permanent. Take a scientist for instance. He formulates a theory that the Earth is round and goes on to prove it and establish it on an incontrovertible basis. When he falls asleep the whole idea vanishes; his mind is left a blank; what does it matter if the world remains round or flat when he is asleep? So you see the futility of all such relative knowledge.
Relative knowledge pertains to the mind and not to the Self. It is therefore illusory and not permanent. Take a scientist for instance. He formulates a theory that the Earth is round and goes on to prove it and establish it on an incontrovertible basis. When he falls asleep the whole idea vanishes; his mind is left a blank; what does it matter if the world remains round or flat when he is asleep? So you see the futility of all such relative knowledge.
One should go beyond such relative knowledge and abide in the Self.
Real knowledge is such experience and not apprehension by the mind.
D.: Sri Ramakrishna says that nirvikalpa samadhi cannot last longer than twenty-one days. If persisted in, the person dies. Is it so?
M.: When the prarabdha is exhausted the ego is completely dissolved without leaving any trace behind. This is final liberation. Unless prarabdha is completely exhausted the ego will be rising up in its pure form even in jivanmuktas.
D.: Sri Ramakrishna says that nirvikalpa samadhi cannot last longer than twenty-one days. If persisted in, the person dies. Is it so?
M.: When the prarabdha is exhausted the ego is completely dissolved without leaving any trace behind. This is final liberation. Unless prarabdha is completely exhausted the ego will be rising up in its pure form even in jivanmuktas.
I still doubt the statement of the maximum duration of twenty-one days. It is said that people cannot live if they fast thirty or forty days. But there are those who have lasted longer, say a hundred days. It means that there is still prarabdha for them.
D.: How is realisation made possible?
M.: There is the absolute Self from which a spark proceeds as from fire. The spark is called the ego.
In the case of an ignorant man it identifies itself with an object simultaneously with its rise. It cannot remain independent of such association with objects.
The wrong identification with the body is dehatmabuddhi (‘I-am-the-body’ idea). This must go before good results follow.
..... ..................
Similarly, when the ego displays itself, it does so with all its paraphernalia. When it sinks, everything disappears with it
.....................................
D.: No, no, it is all theory. I have read many books. But no use. It is practically impossible to make the mind concentrate.
M.: Concentration is impossible so long as there are predispositions. They obstruct bhakti also. The interpreter advised the questioner to study Who am I? The doctor was ready with his protestations: “I have read it also. I cannot still make my mind concentrate.”
M.: By practice and dispassion — abhyasa vairagyabhyam
D.: Vairagya is necessary ...
M.: Abhyasa and vairagya are necessary. Vairagya is the absence of diffused thoughts; abhyasa is concentration on one thought only. The one is the positive and the other the negative aspect of meditation
D.: I am not able to do so by myself. I am in search of a force to help me.
M.: Yes, what is called Grace. Individually we are incapable because the mind is weak.
D.: How is realisation made possible?
M.: There is the absolute Self from which a spark proceeds as from fire. The spark is called the ego.
In the case of an ignorant man it identifies itself with an object simultaneously with its rise. It cannot remain independent of such association with objects.
The wrong identification with the body is dehatmabuddhi (‘I-am-the-body’ idea). This must go before good results follow.
..... ..................
Similarly, when the ego displays itself, it does so with all its paraphernalia. When it sinks, everything disappears with it
.....................................
D.: No, no, it is all theory. I have read many books. But no use. It is practically impossible to make the mind concentrate.
M.: Concentration is impossible so long as there are predispositions. They obstruct bhakti also. The interpreter advised the questioner to study Who am I? The doctor was ready with his protestations: “I have read it also. I cannot still make my mind concentrate.”
M.: By practice and dispassion — abhyasa vairagyabhyam
D.: Vairagya is necessary ...
M.: Abhyasa and vairagya are necessary. Vairagya is the absence of diffused thoughts; abhyasa is concentration on one thought only. The one is the positive and the other the negative aspect of meditation
D.: I am not able to do so by myself. I am in search of a force to help me.
M.: Yes, what is called Grace. Individually we are incapable because the mind is weak.
Grace is necessary. Sadhu seva is meant only for it.
There is however nothing new to get. Just as a weak man comes under the control of a stronger one, the weak mind of a man comes under control easily in the presence of the strong-minded sadhus.
That which is - is only Grace; there is nothing else.
....
To know that there never was ignorance is the goal of all the spiritual teachings. Ignorance must be of one who is aware. Awareness is jnana. Jnana is eternal and natural. Ajnana is unnatural and unreal.
....
D.: Having heard this truth, why does not one remain content?
M.: Because samskaras have not been destroyed. Unless the sanskaras cease to exist, there will always be doubt and confusion (sandeha, viparita).
....
To know that there never was ignorance is the goal of all the spiritual teachings. Ignorance must be of one who is aware. Awareness is jnana. Jnana is eternal and natural. Ajnana is unnatural and unreal.
....
D.: Having heard this truth, why does not one remain content?
M.: Because samskaras have not been destroyed. Unless the sanskaras cease to exist, there will always be doubt and confusion (sandeha, viparita).
All efforts are directed to destroying doubt and confusion.
To do so their roots must be cut. Their roots are the samskaras.
These are rendered ineffective by practice as prescribed by the Guru. The Guru leaves it to the seeker to do this much so that he might himself find out that there is no ignorance. This truth mentioned is in the stage of the hearing of the Truth (sravana). That is not drdha (firm). For making it unshaken, one has to practise reflection (manana) and one pointedness (nididhyasana).
These two processes scorch the seeds of vasanas so that they are rendered ineffective.
Some extraordinary persons get drdha jnana (unshaken knowledge) even on hearing the Truth only once (sakrchhravana matrena).
Because they are krthopasakah (advanced seekers), whereas the akrthopasakah (raw seekers) take longer to gain drdha jnana (unshaken knowledge).
People ask: “How did ignorance (avidya) arise at all?” We have to say to them: “Ignorance never arose. It has no real being. That which is, is only vidya (knowledge).”
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
M.: Samskara (predisposition) is samsara (cycle of births and deaths).
............................
Reality is always Bliss - Ananda.
D.: Bliss is the outcome of practice. What is that practice?
M.: Sadhana is the enquiry to find out to whom all these doubts arise.
D.: Guidance is necessary to show me the way.
M.: Go within and find the route. You cannot find it from without; nor should you seek it externally.
D.: The mind is not steady in meditation.
M.: Whenever it wanders, turn it inward again and again.
D.: When duhka (misery) overpowers me, enquiry is impossible.
M.: Because the mind is too weak. Make it strong.
D.: By what means?
M.: Sat-sanga, Isvara Aradhana, Pranayama - (association with the wise, worship of God, breath control).
D.: Association with the wise may strengthen the mind. There must also be practice. What practice should be made?
M.: Yes. Practice is necessary too. Practice means removal of predispositions. Practice is not for any fresh gain; it is to kill the predispositions.
D.: Abhyasa (practice) should give me that power.
M.: Practice is power. If thoughts are reduced to a single thought the mind is said to have grown strong. When practice remains unshaken it becomes sahaja (natural).
D.: What is such practice?
M.: Enquiring into the Self. That is all. Atmanyeva vasam nayet ..... Fix the mind on the SELF.
D.: What is the aim to be kept in view? Practice requires an aim.
M.: Atman is the aim. What else can there be? All other aims are for those who are incapable of atmalakshya (having the Self for the aim). They lead you ultimately to atma-vichara (enquiry into the Self). One pointedness is the fruit of all kinds of practice. One may get it quickly; another after a long time. Everything depends on the practice.
cont from feb 19 notes below ...
D.: Peace is extolled more than anything else. How shall we gain it?
M.: It is your very nature. Forgetfulness never overtakes the Self. The Self is now confounded with non-self and that makes you speak of forgetfulness of the Self, Peace, etc. Oblivion will never rear up its head if this confusion is put an end to.
D.: How is that done?
M.: Enquiry into the Self.
One-pointedness means cessation of mental activities.
Forgetfulness must be for the self - well, of what? Of the Self? Are there then two selves? Practice removes the samskaras.
D.: But samskaras are infinite and eternal - from beginningless time.
These two processes scorch the seeds of vasanas so that they are rendered ineffective.
Some extraordinary persons get drdha jnana (unshaken knowledge) even on hearing the Truth only once (sakrchhravana matrena).
Because they are krthopasakah (advanced seekers), whereas the akrthopasakah (raw seekers) take longer to gain drdha jnana (unshaken knowledge).
People ask: “How did ignorance (avidya) arise at all?” We have to say to them: “Ignorance never arose. It has no real being. That which is, is only vidya (knowledge).”
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
M.: Samskara (predisposition) is samsara (cycle of births and deaths).
............................
Reality is always Bliss - Ananda.
D.: Bliss is the outcome of practice. What is that practice?
M.: Sadhana is the enquiry to find out to whom all these doubts arise.
D.: Guidance is necessary to show me the way.
M.: Go within and find the route. You cannot find it from without; nor should you seek it externally.
D.: The mind is not steady in meditation.
M.: Whenever it wanders, turn it inward again and again.
D.: When duhka (misery) overpowers me, enquiry is impossible.
M.: Because the mind is too weak. Make it strong.
D.: By what means?
M.: Sat-sanga, Isvara Aradhana, Pranayama - (association with the wise, worship of God, breath control).
D.: Association with the wise may strengthen the mind. There must also be practice. What practice should be made?
M.: Yes. Practice is necessary too. Practice means removal of predispositions. Practice is not for any fresh gain; it is to kill the predispositions.
D.: Abhyasa (practice) should give me that power.
M.: Practice is power. If thoughts are reduced to a single thought the mind is said to have grown strong. When practice remains unshaken it becomes sahaja (natural).
D.: What is such practice?
M.: Enquiring into the Self. That is all. Atmanyeva vasam nayet ..... Fix the mind on the SELF.
D.: What is the aim to be kept in view? Practice requires an aim.
M.: Atman is the aim. What else can there be? All other aims are for those who are incapable of atmalakshya (having the Self for the aim). They lead you ultimately to atma-vichara (enquiry into the Self). One pointedness is the fruit of all kinds of practice. One may get it quickly; another after a long time. Everything depends on the practice.
cont from feb 19 notes below ...
D.: Peace is extolled more than anything else. How shall we gain it?
M.: It is your very nature. Forgetfulness never overtakes the Self. The Self is now confounded with non-self and that makes you speak of forgetfulness of the Self, Peace, etc. Oblivion will never rear up its head if this confusion is put an end to.
D.: How is that done?
M.: Enquiry into the Self.
One-pointedness means cessation of mental activities.
Forgetfulness must be for the self - well, of what? Of the Self? Are there then two selves? Practice removes the samskaras.
D.: But samskaras are infinite and eternal - from beginningless time.
M.: This itself is a samskara. Give up that idea and all samskaras will
disappear at once. That is visranti (repose), santi (peace). Peace is ever present. But you hold it down and rise over it and thus disturb
it. Then you say, “I want Peace”.
D.: Will Peace be gradual?
M.: Yes. Make the mind gradually still (Sanaissanaih uparamet) says the Bhagavad Gita
,,,
M.: Meditation is sticking to one thought.
That single thought keeps away other thoughts; distraction of mind is a sign of its weakness.
By constant meditation it gains strength, i.e., to say, its weakness of fugitive thought gives place to the enduring background free from thoughts.
This expanse devoid of thought is the Self.
Mind in purity is the Self.
Sri Bhagavan continued in reply to the former questioner: Everyone says “I am the body”. It is the experience of the sage as also of the ignorant.
The ignorant man believes that the Self is confined to the body only,
whereas the wise man believes that the body cannot remain apart from the Self.
The Self is infinite for him and includes the body also.
,,,
67/224
Talk 294.
Mr. Parkhi: How is meditation to be practised?
M.: Meditation is, truly speaking, Atmanishtha (to be fixed as the Self). But when thoughts cross the mind and an effort is made to eliminate them the effort is usually termed meditation. Atmanishtha is your real nature. Remain as you are. That is the aim.
,,,,,
: Atma - Paramatma - Satchidananda mean one and the same thing, i.e., the Self. The Self is eternally realised. Otherwise there will be no pleasure in it. If it is not eternal it must have a beginning; what begins will also end; so that it is only transient. There is no use seeking for a temporary state of affairs. The fact is that it is the state of effortless, ever alert Peace.
D.: Will Peace be gradual?
M.: Yes. Make the mind gradually still (Sanaissanaih uparamet) says the Bhagavad Gita
,,,
M.: Meditation is sticking to one thought.
That single thought keeps away other thoughts; distraction of mind is a sign of its weakness.
By constant meditation it gains strength, i.e., to say, its weakness of fugitive thought gives place to the enduring background free from thoughts.
This expanse devoid of thought is the Self.
Mind in purity is the Self.
Sri Bhagavan continued in reply to the former questioner: Everyone says “I am the body”. It is the experience of the sage as also of the ignorant.
The ignorant man believes that the Self is confined to the body only,
whereas the wise man believes that the body cannot remain apart from the Self.
The Self is infinite for him and includes the body also.
,,,
67/224
Talk 294.
Mr. Parkhi: How is meditation to be practised?
M.: Meditation is, truly speaking, Atmanishtha (to be fixed as the Self). But when thoughts cross the mind and an effort is made to eliminate them the effort is usually termed meditation. Atmanishtha is your real nature. Remain as you are. That is the aim.
,,,,,
: Atma - Paramatma - Satchidananda mean one and the same thing, i.e., the Self. The Self is eternally realised. Otherwise there will be no pleasure in it. If it is not eternal it must have a beginning; what begins will also end; so that it is only transient. There is no use seeking for a temporary state of affairs. The fact is that it is the state of effortless, ever alert Peace.
Effortlessness while remaining
aware is the state of Bliss, and that is Realisation.
,,,,
D.: What I want is realisation. I do not feel my inherent happy nature.
M.: Because the Self is now identified with the non-self. The non self too is not apart from the Self. However, there is the wrong notion that the body is apart and the Self is confounded with the body. This wrong identity must be ended for happiness to manifest.
72/224
Talk 298.
A certain visitor formulated a question, saying that meditation is more direct than investigation, because the former holds on to the truth whereas the latter sifts the truth from untruth.
M.: For the beginner, meditation on a form is more easy and agreeable.
Practice of it leads to Atmavichara which consists in sifting the Reality from unreality.
What is the use of holding on to truth when you are filled with antagonistic factors?
Atmavichara directly leads to realisation by removing the obstacles which make you think that the Self is not already realised.
75
He who meditates on it feels it. There are ten kinds of nadas. After the final thundering nada the man gets laya. That is his natural and eternal state. Nada, jyoti, or enquiry thus take one to the same point. (The former are indirect and the last is direct).
M.: The peace often gained must be remembered at other times. That peace is your natural and permanent state. By continuous practice it will become natural. That is called the ‘current.’ That is your true nature. Nada, photisms, etc., imply the existence of triputi (the triads of cogniser, cognition and the cognised). The current resulting from investigation for the Self is suddha triputi or pure triad - that is to say, undifferentiated triad.
Vritti is the function of the mind, whereas the continuous consciousness transcends the mind.
,,,,
D.: What I want is realisation. I do not feel my inherent happy nature.
M.: Because the Self is now identified with the non-self. The non self too is not apart from the Self. However, there is the wrong notion that the body is apart and the Self is confounded with the body. This wrong identity must be ended for happiness to manifest.
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Talk 298.
A certain visitor formulated a question, saying that meditation is more direct than investigation, because the former holds on to the truth whereas the latter sifts the truth from untruth.
M.: For the beginner, meditation on a form is more easy and agreeable.
Practice of it leads to Atmavichara which consists in sifting the Reality from unreality.
What is the use of holding on to truth when you are filled with antagonistic factors?
Atmavichara directly leads to realisation by removing the obstacles which make you think that the Self is not already realised.
75
He who meditates on it feels it. There are ten kinds of nadas. After the final thundering nada the man gets laya. That is his natural and eternal state. Nada, jyoti, or enquiry thus take one to the same point. (The former are indirect and the last is direct).
M.: The peace often gained must be remembered at other times. That peace is your natural and permanent state. By continuous practice it will become natural. That is called the ‘current.’ That is your true nature. Nada, photisms, etc., imply the existence of triputi (the triads of cogniser, cognition and the cognised). The current resulting from investigation for the Self is suddha triputi or pure triad - that is to say, undifferentiated triad.
Vritti is the function of the mind, whereas the continuous consciousness transcends the mind.
This is the
natural, primal state of the jnani or the liberated being. That is
unbroken experience. It asserts itself when relative consciousness
subsides.
Aham vritti (‘I-thought’) is broken,
Aham sphurana (the light of ‘I-I’) is unbroken, continuous.
After the thoughts subside, the light shines forth.
Talk 310.
Mr. Greenlees: After leaving this Asramam in October I was aware of Bhagavan’s peace enfolding me for about ten days. All the time while busy in work there was an undercurrent of that peace of unity; it was almost like the dual consciousness while half asleep in a dull lecture. Then it faded out entirely, and the old stupidities came in instead. Work leaves no time for separate meditation. Is the constant reminder “I am”, trying to feel it while actually at work, enough?
M.: It will become constant when the mind becomes strengthened. Repeated practice strengthens the mind; and such mind is capable of holding on to the current. In that case, engagement in work or no engagement, the current remains unaffected and uninterrupted
The same Self is now speaking. The Self who was undifferentiated in sleep is differentiated in the present state, and sees the diversity.
The Real Existence is the only One devoid of objective knowledge.
That is absolute consciousness.
That is the state of happiness, as admitted by all of us.
That state must be brought about even in this waking state. It is called jagrat sushupti. That is mukti.
It is always realised. But you say you are not aware.
It requires constant attention to itself.
Aham vritti (‘I-thought’) is broken,
Aham sphurana (the light of ‘I-I’) is unbroken, continuous.
After the thoughts subside, the light shines forth.
Talk 310.
Mr. Greenlees: After leaving this Asramam in October I was aware of Bhagavan’s peace enfolding me for about ten days. All the time while busy in work there was an undercurrent of that peace of unity; it was almost like the dual consciousness while half asleep in a dull lecture. Then it faded out entirely, and the old stupidities came in instead. Work leaves no time for separate meditation. Is the constant reminder “I am”, trying to feel it while actually at work, enough?
M.: It will become constant when the mind becomes strengthened. Repeated practice strengthens the mind; and such mind is capable of holding on to the current. In that case, engagement in work or no engagement, the current remains unaffected and uninterrupted
The same Self is now speaking. The Self who was undifferentiated in sleep is differentiated in the present state, and sees the diversity.
The Real Existence is the only One devoid of objective knowledge.
That is absolute consciousness.
That is the state of happiness, as admitted by all of us.
That state must be brought about even in this waking state. It is called jagrat sushupti. That is mukti.
It is always realised. But you say you are not aware.
It requires constant attention to itself.
No other effort is
necessary.
Your effort is only meant not to allow yourself to be distracted by other thoughts
Tripura Rahasya and other works point out that the interval between two consecutive sankalpas (ideas or thoughts) represent the pure aham (‘I’).
D.: What is unconditional surrender?
M.: If one surrenders oneself there will be no one to ask questions or to be thought of.
Your effort is only meant not to allow yourself to be distracted by other thoughts
Tripura Rahasya and other works point out that the interval between two consecutive sankalpas (ideas or thoughts) represent the pure aham (‘I’).
D.: What is unconditional surrender?
M.: If one surrenders oneself there will be no one to ask questions or to be thought of.
Either the thoughts are eliminated by holding on
to the root-thought ‘I’ or one surrenders oneself unconditionally to
the Higher Power.
These are the only two ways for Realisation.
D.: Will Gayatri do?
M.: Can anything excel it? Only those who cannot do it look for others. It contains the whole range of truth in it. Chanting (japa) will lead to dhyana (meditation) and it is the means for realising the Self
.......... .................................
imp
102
: “Everybody complains of the restlessness of the mind.
Let the mind be found and then they will know.
True, when a man sits down to meditate thoughts rush up by dozens. The mind is only a bundle of thoughts. The attempt to push through the barrage of thoughts is unsuccessful.
Cannot abide in the Self, then chanting, meditation
If one can by any means abide in the Self it is good.
For those who are unable to do so, chanting or meditation (Japa or dhyana) is prescribed
It is the mind which obstructs your vision of your true nature.
Find out the mind. If it's ‘wandering’ stops, it will be found to be the Self - your ‘I’-consciousness which is spirit eternal. It is beyond knowledge and ignorance
112
Talk 333.
Pratyabhijna = Prati + abhijna. abhijna is direct perception; prati is to be reminded of what was already known. “This is an elephant” direct perception “This is that elephant” is pratyabhijna In technical works, pratyabhijna is used for realising the ever-present Reality and recognising it.
“Why should I do it? Above all, who am I that should be repeating the mantra?
Let me find who I am before I proceed further”; and so you will stop japa and begin investigation.
D.: Is not meditation better than investigation?
M.: Meditation implies mental imagery, whereas investigation is for the Reality. The former is objective, whereas the latter is subjective.
D.: There must be a scientific approach to this subject.
M.: To eschew unreality and seek the Reality is scientific.
,,,
Understanding depends on ripeness of mind.
....
Kshipta (active); Moodha (dull); Vikshipta (distracted); Kashaya (latent); and Ekagrya (one-pointed)
...
128
By jnana or Knowledge alone is this bliss realised, and jnana is achieved only through vichara or steady enquiry.
In order to know this method of enquiry, says Sri Sankara, one should seek the favour of a Guru,
and proceeds to describe the qualities of the Guru and his sishya and how the latter should approach and serve his master.
for libn...shravana, manana, niddhi dhyasa:
He further emphasises that in order to realise the bliss of liberation one’s own individual effort is an essential factor.
Mere book learning never yields this bliss which can be realised only through
enquiry or vichara, which consists of sravana or devoted attention to
the precepts of the Guru, manana or deep contemplation and
Nididhyasana or the cultivation of steady poise in the Self
THE THREE PATHS: The three bodies - physical, subtle and causal - are non-self and are unreal. The Self, or ‘I’, is quite different from them. It is due to ignorance that the sense of
the Self or the ‘I’ notion is foisted on that which is not Self, and this indeed is bondage.
Since from ignorance arises bondage, from Knowledge ensues liberation. To know this from the Guru is sravana.
To reject the three bodies consisting of the five sheaths (physical, vital, mental, gnostic and blissful) as not ‘I’ and to extract through subtle enquiry of “Who am I?” - even as the central blade of grass is delicately drawn out from its whorl - that which is different from all the three bodies and is existent as one and universal in the heart as Aham or ‘I’ and denoted by the words Tvam (in the Scriptural dictum - ‘Tat-tvamasi’ - That thou art). This process of subtle enquiry is manana or deep contemplation.
.... ..............
imp
CHURNING THE MIND:
To install the mind firmly in the heart
until these forces are destroyed
and to awaken with unswerving, ceaseless vigilance the true and cognate tendency which is characteristic of the Atman and is expressed by the dicta, Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman), and Brahmaivaham (Brahman alone am I) is termed nididhyasana or atmanusandhana,
i.e., constancy in the Self.
This is otherwise called Bhakti, Yoga and Dhyana.
............... ............
Atmanusandhana has been likened to churning the curd to draw forth butter,
the mind being compared to the churning rod,
the heart to the curd
and the practice of constancy in the Self to the process of churning.
Just as by churning the curd, butter is extracted and by friction fire is kindled, even so, by unswerving vigilant constancy in the Self, ceaseless like the unbroken filamentary flow of oil, is generated the natural or changeless trance or nirvikalpa samadhi,
which readily and spontaneously yields that direct, immediate, unobstructed and universal perception of Brahman,
which is at once Knowledge and Experience and which transcends time and space.
LIMITLESS BLISS: This is Self-Realisation; and thereby is cut asunder the hridaya-granthi or the Knot of the Heart. The false delusions of ignorance, the vicious and age-long tendencies of the mind, which constitute this knot, are destroyed. All doubts are dispelled and the bondage of Karma is severed.
FINAL FREEDOM: Thus defining a jivanmukta, he is declared to be free from the bonds of threefold Karmas (sanchita, agami and prarabdha). The disciple who has reached this stage then relates his personal experience. The liberated one is free indeed to act as he pleases, and when he leaves the mortal frame, attains absolution, and returns not to this “birth which is death”.
131
Sri Bhagavan observed: How does one know the world to be transitory? Unless something permanent is held, the transitory nature of the world cannot be understood. Because the man is already the Self, and the Self is the Eternal Reality, his attention is drawn to it; and he is instructed to rivet his attention on the Eternal Reality, the Self.
Dhira
D.: Nevertheless, being only products of intellect they cannot turn the mind inward.
M.: Just for this reason the scriptures speak of “in-turned look”, “one pointed look” and so on. The Self being always the Self, why should only a dhira be illumined? Does it mean a man of courage? No;
dhih = intellect; rah = watch; protection. So dhira is the one who
always keeps the mind inward bent without letting it loose.
141
M.: The sastras are not meant for the wise because they do not need them; the ignorant do not want them. Only the mumukshus look up to the sastras. That means that the sastras are neither for wisdom nor for ignorance.
...
“Knowing the Self” means “Being the Self”.
...
Your duty is to be: and not to be this or that. “I AM that I AM” sums up the whole truth. The method is summed up in “BE STILL”. What does “stillness” mean? It means “destroy yourself”.
THE THREE PATHS: The three bodies - physical, subtle and causal - are non-self and are unreal. The Self, or ‘I’, is quite different from them. It is due to ignorance that the sense of
the Self or the ‘I’ notion is foisted on that which is not Self, and this indeed is bondage.
Since from ignorance arises bondage, from Knowledge ensues liberation. To know this from the Guru is sravana.
To reject the three bodies consisting of the five sheaths (physical, vital, mental, gnostic and blissful) as not ‘I’ and to extract through subtle enquiry of “Who am I?” - even as the central blade of grass is delicately drawn out from its whorl - that which is different from all the three bodies and is existent as one and universal in the heart as Aham or ‘I’ and denoted by the words Tvam (in the Scriptural dictum - ‘Tat-tvamasi’ - That thou art). This process of subtle enquiry is manana or deep contemplation.
.... ..............
imp
CHURNING THE MIND:
To install the mind firmly in the heart
until these forces are destroyed
and to awaken with unswerving, ceaseless vigilance the true and cognate tendency which is characteristic of the Atman and is expressed by the dicta, Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman), and Brahmaivaham (Brahman alone am I) is termed nididhyasana or atmanusandhana,
i.e., constancy in the Self.
This is otherwise called Bhakti, Yoga and Dhyana.
............... ............
Atmanusandhana has been likened to churning the curd to draw forth butter,
the mind being compared to the churning rod,
the heart to the curd
and the practice of constancy in the Self to the process of churning.
Just as by churning the curd, butter is extracted and by friction fire is kindled, even so, by unswerving vigilant constancy in the Self, ceaseless like the unbroken filamentary flow of oil, is generated the natural or changeless trance or nirvikalpa samadhi,
which readily and spontaneously yields that direct, immediate, unobstructed and universal perception of Brahman,
which is at once Knowledge and Experience and which transcends time and space.
LIMITLESS BLISS: This is Self-Realisation; and thereby is cut asunder the hridaya-granthi or the Knot of the Heart. The false delusions of ignorance, the vicious and age-long tendencies of the mind, which constitute this knot, are destroyed. All doubts are dispelled and the bondage of Karma is severed.
FINAL FREEDOM: Thus defining a jivanmukta, he is declared to be free from the bonds of threefold Karmas (sanchita, agami and prarabdha). The disciple who has reached this stage then relates his personal experience. The liberated one is free indeed to act as he pleases, and when he leaves the mortal frame, attains absolution, and returns not to this “birth which is death”.
131
Sri Bhagavan observed: How does one know the world to be transitory? Unless something permanent is held, the transitory nature of the world cannot be understood. Because the man is already the Self, and the Self is the Eternal Reality, his attention is drawn to it; and he is instructed to rivet his attention on the Eternal Reality, the Self.
Dhira
D.: Nevertheless, being only products of intellect they cannot turn the mind inward.
M.: Just for this reason the scriptures speak of “in-turned look”, “one pointed look” and so on. The Self being always the Self, why should only a dhira be illumined? Does it mean a man of courage? No;
dhih = intellect; rah = watch; protection. So dhira is the one who
always keeps the mind inward bent without letting it loose.
141
M.: The sastras are not meant for the wise because they do not need them; the ignorant do not want them. Only the mumukshus look up to the sastras. That means that the sastras are neither for wisdom nor for ignorance.
...
“Knowing the Self” means “Being the Self”.
...
Your duty is to be: and not to be this or that. “I AM that I AM” sums up the whole truth. The method is summed up in “BE STILL”. What does “stillness” mean? It means “destroy yourself”.
Because
any form or shape is the cause of trouble.
Give up the notion that “I
am so and so”. Our sastras say: ahamiti sphurati (it shines as ‘I’).
D.: How to meditate?
M.: Concentrate on that one whom you like best. If a single thought prevails, all other thoughts are put off and finally eradicated. So long as diversity prevails there are bad thoughts. When the object of love prevails only good thoughts hold the field. Therefore hold on to one thought only. Dhyana is the chief practice.
Dhyana means fight. As soon as you begin meditation other thoughts will crowd together, gather force and try to sink the single thought to which you try to hold. The good thought must gradually gain strength by repeated practice. After it has grown strong the other thoughts will be put to flight. This is the battle royal always taking place in meditation. One wants to rid oneself of misery. It requires peace of mind, which means absence of perturbation owing to all kinds of thoughts. Peace of mind is brought about by dhyana alone.
D.: What is the need then for pranayama?
M.: Pranayama is meant for one who cannot directly control the thoughts.
It serves as a brake to a car. But one should not stop with it, as I said before, but must proceed to pratyahara, dharana and dhyana.
After the fruition of dhyana, the mind will come under control even in the absence of pranayama.
The asanas (postures) help pranayama, which helps dhyana in its turn, and peace of mind results. Here is the purpose of hatha yoga. Later Sri Bhagavan continued:
When dhyana is well established it cannot be given up. It will go on automatically even when you are engaged in work, play or enjoyment. It will persist in sleep too. Dhyana must become so deep-rooted that it will be natural to one
D.: What rite or action is necessary for the development of dhyana?
M.: Dhyana is itself the action, the rite and the effort. It is the most intense and potent of all. No other effort is necessary
Nothing is as good as dhyana.
D.: What is jnana-marga?
M.: I have been saying it for so long.
D.: How to meditate?
M.: Concentrate on that one whom you like best. If a single thought prevails, all other thoughts are put off and finally eradicated. So long as diversity prevails there are bad thoughts. When the object of love prevails only good thoughts hold the field. Therefore hold on to one thought only. Dhyana is the chief practice.
Dhyana means fight. As soon as you begin meditation other thoughts will crowd together, gather force and try to sink the single thought to which you try to hold. The good thought must gradually gain strength by repeated practice. After it has grown strong the other thoughts will be put to flight. This is the battle royal always taking place in meditation. One wants to rid oneself of misery. It requires peace of mind, which means absence of perturbation owing to all kinds of thoughts. Peace of mind is brought about by dhyana alone.
D.: What is the need then for pranayama?
M.: Pranayama is meant for one who cannot directly control the thoughts.
It serves as a brake to a car. But one should not stop with it, as I said before, but must proceed to pratyahara, dharana and dhyana.
After the fruition of dhyana, the mind will come under control even in the absence of pranayama.
The asanas (postures) help pranayama, which helps dhyana in its turn, and peace of mind results. Here is the purpose of hatha yoga. Later Sri Bhagavan continued:
When dhyana is well established it cannot be given up. It will go on automatically even when you are engaged in work, play or enjoyment. It will persist in sleep too. Dhyana must become so deep-rooted that it will be natural to one
D.: What rite or action is necessary for the development of dhyana?
M.: Dhyana is itself the action, the rite and the effort. It is the most intense and potent of all. No other effort is necessary
Nothing is as good as dhyana.
D.: What is jnana-marga?
M.: I have been saying it for so long.
What is jnana?
Jnana means
realisation of the Truth. It is done by dhyana.
Dhyana helps you to
hold on to Truth to the exclusion of all thoughts.
Talk 372.
D.: Horripilation, sobbing voice, joyful tears, etc., are mentioned in Atma Vidya Vilasa and other works. Are these found in samadhi, or before, or after?
....................
D.: What is to be our sadhana?
M.: Sadhana for the sadhaka is the sahaja of the siddha. Sahaja is the original state, so that sadhana amounts to the removal of the obstacles to the realisation of this abiding truth.
D.: Is concentration of mind one of the sadhanas?
M.: Concentration is not thinking one thing. It is, on the other hand, putting off all other thoughts which obstruct the vision of our true nature.
All our efforts are only directed to lifting the veil of ignorance. Now it appears difficult to quell the thoughts. In the regenerate state it will be found more difficult to call in thoughts. For are there things to think of? There is only the Self. Thoughts can function only if there are objects. But there are no objects. How can thoughts arise at all? The habit makes us believe that it is difficult to cease thinking. If the error is found out, one would not be fool enough to exert oneself unnecessarily by way of thinking.
D.: Is not grace more effective than abhyasa?
M.: Guru simply helps you in the eradication of ignorance. Does he hand over Realisation to you?
Guru’s Grace is like a hand extended to help you out of water, or it makes your way easier for the removal of ignorance.
But the Guru, who is God or Self incarnate, works from within, helps the man to see the error of his ways, guides him in the right path until he realises the Self within.
After such realisation the disciple feels, “I was so worried before. I am after all the Self, the same as before but not affected by anything; where is he who was miserable? He is nowhere to be seen.”
What should we do now? Only act up to the words of the master, work within. The Guru is both within and without. So he creates conditions to drive you inward and prepares the interior to drag you to the centre. Thus he gives a push from without and exerts a pull from within so that you may be fixed at the centre.
184
D.: What is Self-surrender?
M.: It is the same as self-control;
M.: Sadhana for the sadhaka is the sahaja of the siddha. Sahaja is the original state, so that sadhana amounts to the removal of the obstacles to the realisation of this abiding truth.
D.: Is concentration of mind one of the sadhanas?
M.: Concentration is not thinking one thing. It is, on the other hand, putting off all other thoughts which obstruct the vision of our true nature.
All our efforts are only directed to lifting the veil of ignorance. Now it appears difficult to quell the thoughts. In the regenerate state it will be found more difficult to call in thoughts. For are there things to think of? There is only the Self. Thoughts can function only if there are objects. But there are no objects. How can thoughts arise at all? The habit makes us believe that it is difficult to cease thinking. If the error is found out, one would not be fool enough to exert oneself unnecessarily by way of thinking.
D.: Is not grace more effective than abhyasa?
M.: Guru simply helps you in the eradication of ignorance. Does he hand over Realisation to you?
Guru’s Grace is like a hand extended to help you out of water, or it makes your way easier for the removal of ignorance.
But the Guru, who is God or Self incarnate, works from within, helps the man to see the error of his ways, guides him in the right path until he realises the Self within.
After such realisation the disciple feels, “I was so worried before. I am after all the Self, the same as before but not affected by anything; where is he who was miserable? He is nowhere to be seen.”
What should we do now? Only act up to the words of the master, work within. The Guru is both within and without. So he creates conditions to drive you inward and prepares the interior to drag you to the centre. Thus he gives a push from without and exerts a pull from within so that you may be fixed at the centre.
184
D.: What is Self-surrender?
M.: It is the same as self-control;
Control is effected by removal of
samskaras which imply the functioning of the ego.
The ego submits
only when it recognises the Higher Power.
Such recognition is
surrender or submission, or self-control.
Otherwise the ego remains
stuck up like the image carved on a tower, making a pretence by its
strained look and posture that it is supporting the tower on its
shoulders.
The ego cannot exist without the Power but thinks that
it acts of its own accord.
....
No one succeeds without effort.
Mind control is not one’s birthright.
The successful few owe their success to their perseverance.
...
D.: Swami Vivekananda says that a spiritual Guru can transfer spirituality substantially to the disciple.
M.: Is there a substance to be transferred? Transfer means eradication of the sense of being the disciple. The master does it. Not that the man was something at one time and metamorphosed later into another.
D.: Is not Grace the gift of the Guru?
M.: God, Grace and Guru are all synonymous and also eternal and immanent. Is not the Self already within? Is it for the Guru to bestow It by his look? If a Guru thinks so, he does not deserve the name.
The books say that there are so many kinds of diksha (initiations - hasta diksha, sparsa diksha, chakshu diksha, mano diksha, etc.) They also say that the Guru makes some rites with fire, water, japa, mantras, etc., and call such fantastic performances dikshas, as if the disciple (sishya) becomes ripe only after such processes are gone through by the Guru.
If the individual is sought he is nowhere to be found. Such is the Guru. Such is Dakshinamurti. What did he do? He was silent; the disciples appeared before him.
....
No one succeeds without effort.
Mind control is not one’s birthright.
The successful few owe their success to their perseverance.
...
D.: Swami Vivekananda says that a spiritual Guru can transfer spirituality substantially to the disciple.
M.: Is there a substance to be transferred? Transfer means eradication of the sense of being the disciple. The master does it. Not that the man was something at one time and metamorphosed later into another.
D.: Is not Grace the gift of the Guru?
M.: God, Grace and Guru are all synonymous and also eternal and immanent. Is not the Self already within? Is it for the Guru to bestow It by his look? If a Guru thinks so, he does not deserve the name.
The books say that there are so many kinds of diksha (initiations - hasta diksha, sparsa diksha, chakshu diksha, mano diksha, etc.) They also say that the Guru makes some rites with fire, water, japa, mantras, etc., and call such fantastic performances dikshas, as if the disciple (sishya) becomes ripe only after such processes are gone through by the Guru.
If the individual is sought he is nowhere to be found. Such is the Guru. Such is Dakshinamurti. What did he do? He was silent; the disciples appeared before him.
He maintained silence, the doubts
of the disciples were dispelled, which means that they lost their
individual identities.
That is jnana and not all the verbiage usually
associated with it
Silence is the most potent form of work. However vast and emphatic the sastras may be, they fail in their effect. The Guru is quiet and peace prevails in all. His silence is more vast and more emphatic than all the sastras put together.
These questions arise because of the feeling, that having been here so long, heard so much, exerted so hard, one has not gained anything. The work proceeding within is not apparent. In fact the Guru is always within you.
Thayumanavar says: “Oh Lord! Coming with me all along the births, never abandoning me and finally rescuing me!” Such is the experience of Realisation.
Srimad Bhagavad Gita says the same in a different way, “We two are not only now but have ever been so.”
The Gita says: param bhavam ajanantah (Bh. Gita IX - II) - that those who cannot understand the transcendental nature (of Sri Krishna) are fools, deluded by ignorance.
The master appears to dispel that ignorance. As Thayumanavar puts it, he appears as a man to dispel the ignorance of a man, just as a deer is used as a decoy to capture the wild deer. He has to appear with a body in order to eradicate our ignorant “I-am-the-body” idea.
191
All of them finally resolve themselves into that One Single Reality.
Bhakti, vichara, japa are only different forms of our efforts to keep out the unreality.
The unreality is an obsession at present.
Reality is our true nature. We are wrongly persisting in unreality, that is, thoughts and worldly activities.
Cessation of these will reveal the Truth. Our attempts are directed towards keeping them out. It is done by thinking of the Reality only.
Although it is our true nature it looks as if we are thinking of the Reality.
What we do really amounts to the removal of obstacles for the revelation of our true Being. Meditation or vichara is thus a reversion to our true nature
...
If the light, i.e., the cogniser or the consciousness is seen, there will be no object to be seen. Pure light, i.e., Consciousness, will alone remain over.
...
198
Ramana's experience
I had been saying all along that the Heart centre was on the right, notwithstanding the refutation by some learned men that physiology taught them otherwise. I speak from experience. I knew it even in my home during my trances. Again during the incident related in the book Self-Realisation I had a very clear vision and experience. All of a sudden a light came from one side erasing the world vision in its course until it spread all round when the vision of the world was completely cut out
...
200
Japa means clinging to one thought to the exclusion of all other thoughts. That is the purpose of japa; it leads to dhyana which ends in Self-Realisation.
...
Someone remarked: If Sri Bhagavan had been inclined to study there would not be a saint today
\
...
There is only He.
Silence is the most potent form of work. However vast and emphatic the sastras may be, they fail in their effect. The Guru is quiet and peace prevails in all. His silence is more vast and more emphatic than all the sastras put together.
These questions arise because of the feeling, that having been here so long, heard so much, exerted so hard, one has not gained anything. The work proceeding within is not apparent. In fact the Guru is always within you.
Thayumanavar says: “Oh Lord! Coming with me all along the births, never abandoning me and finally rescuing me!” Such is the experience of Realisation.
Srimad Bhagavad Gita says the same in a different way, “We two are not only now but have ever been so.”
The Gita says: param bhavam ajanantah (Bh. Gita IX - II) - that those who cannot understand the transcendental nature (of Sri Krishna) are fools, deluded by ignorance.
The master appears to dispel that ignorance. As Thayumanavar puts it, he appears as a man to dispel the ignorance of a man, just as a deer is used as a decoy to capture the wild deer. He has to appear with a body in order to eradicate our ignorant “I-am-the-body” idea.
191
All of them finally resolve themselves into that One Single Reality.
Bhakti, vichara, japa are only different forms of our efforts to keep out the unreality.
The unreality is an obsession at present.
Reality is our true nature. We are wrongly persisting in unreality, that is, thoughts and worldly activities.
Cessation of these will reveal the Truth. Our attempts are directed towards keeping them out. It is done by thinking of the Reality only.
Although it is our true nature it looks as if we are thinking of the Reality.
What we do really amounts to the removal of obstacles for the revelation of our true Being. Meditation or vichara is thus a reversion to our true nature
...
If the light, i.e., the cogniser or the consciousness is seen, there will be no object to be seen. Pure light, i.e., Consciousness, will alone remain over.
...
198
Ramana's experience
I had been saying all along that the Heart centre was on the right, notwithstanding the refutation by some learned men that physiology taught them otherwise. I speak from experience. I knew it even in my home during my trances. Again during the incident related in the book Self-Realisation I had a very clear vision and experience. All of a sudden a light came from one side erasing the world vision in its course until it spread all round when the vision of the world was completely cut out
...
200
Japa means clinging to one thought to the exclusion of all other thoughts. That is the purpose of japa; it leads to dhyana which ends in Self-Realisation.
...
Someone remarked: If Sri Bhagavan had been inclined to study there would not be a saint today
\
...
There is only He.
He and His Light are the same.
There is no
individual to perceive other things, because the perceiver and the
perceived are only He
...
The same Gita also says that Purushottama lies beyond Purusha and Prakriti.
D.: In the practice of meditation are there any signs of the nature of subjective experience or otherwise, which will indicate the aspirant’s progress towards Self-Realisation
M.: The degree of freedom from unwanted thoughts and the degree of concentration on a single thought are the measure to gauge the progress.
211
The more the mind expands, the farther it goes and renders Self-Realisation more difficult and complicated.
The man must directly see the seer and realise the Self.
218
M.: Mowna (silence) is the best and the most potent diksha. That was practised by Sri Dakshinamurti. Touch, look, etc., are all of a lower order. Silence (mowna diksha) changes the hearts of all. There is no Guru and no disciple
...
Sri Bhagavan said that upasana and dhyana are possible so long as there is the mind and they must cease with the cessation of the mind. They are mere preliminaries to final eradication of thoughts and the stillness of mind.
...
.......The end.............................
...
The same Gita also says that Purushottama lies beyond Purusha and Prakriti.
D.: In the practice of meditation are there any signs of the nature of subjective experience or otherwise, which will indicate the aspirant’s progress towards Self-Realisation
M.: The degree of freedom from unwanted thoughts and the degree of concentration on a single thought are the measure to gauge the progress.
211
The more the mind expands, the farther it goes and renders Self-Realisation more difficult and complicated.
The man must directly see the seer and realise the Self.
218
M.: Mowna (silence) is the best and the most potent diksha. That was practised by Sri Dakshinamurti. Touch, look, etc., are all of a lower order. Silence (mowna diksha) changes the hearts of all. There is no Guru and no disciple
...
Sri Bhagavan said that upasana and dhyana are possible so long as there is the mind and they must cease with the cessation of the mind. They are mere preliminaries to final eradication of thoughts and the stillness of mind.
...
.......The end.............................
..
36
3 grades:
Top:
36
3 grades:
Top:
Make mind firm in the Self
mediocre:
kevala kumbhaka
lowest: gradually through breath control
Thus the wise ones say that of the three grades of qualified aspirants,
the highest reach the goal by making the mind firm in the Self
through determining the nature of the real by Vedantic enquiry and by looking upon one's self and all things as of the nature of the Real;
the mediocre,
the mediocre,
by making the mind stay in the Heart through kevala kumbhaka and meditating for a long time on the Real;
and the lowest grade,
and the lowest grade,
by gaining that state in a gradual manner through breath-control, etc.
.... imp .....
The mind should be made to rest in the Heart till the destruction of the `I-thought' which is of the form of ignorance, residing in the Heart. This itself is jnana ; this alone is dhyana also.
The rest are a mere digression of words, digression of the texts.
Thus the scriptures proclaim.
Therefore, if one gains the skill of retaining the mind in one's Self through some means or other, one need not worry about other matters.
...
The great teachers also have taught that the devotee is greater than the yogi and that the means to release is devotion, which is of the nature of reflection on one's own Self.
...
37
The reflection on the Self which is thus practised constantly will destroy the mind,
.... imp .....
The mind should be made to rest in the Heart till the destruction of the `I-thought' which is of the form of ignorance, residing in the Heart. This itself is jnana ; this alone is dhyana also.
The rest are a mere digression of words, digression of the texts.
Thus the scriptures proclaim.
Therefore, if one gains the skill of retaining the mind in one's Self through some means or other, one need not worry about other matters.
...
The great teachers also have taught that the devotee is greater than the yogi and that the means to release is devotion, which is of the nature of reflection on one's own Self.
...
37
The reflection on the Self which is thus practised constantly will destroy the mind,
and thereafter will destroy itself like the stick that is used to kindle the cinders burning a corpse.
It is this state that is called release.
..
40
D: What are the characteristics of the jivanmukta (the liberated in life) and the videhamukta (the liberated at death)?
M: `I am not the body. I am Brahman which is manifest as the Self.
In me who am the plenary Reality, the world consisting of bodies, etc., is a mere appearance, like the blue of the sky'.
He who has realized the truth thus is a jivanmukta.
Yet, so long as his mind has not been resolved, there may arise some misery for him because of relation to objects on account of prarabdha(karma which has begun to fructify and whose result is the present body),
and as the movement of mind has not ceased there will not be also the experience of bliss.
The experience of Self is possible only for the mind that has become subtle and unmoving as a result of prolonged meditation.
He who is thus endowed with a mind that has become subtle, and who has the experience of the Self is called a jivanmukta.
It is the state of jivanmukti that is referred to as the attributeless Brahman and as the Turiya .
When even the subtle mind gets resolved, and experience of self ceases, and when one is immersed in the ocean of bliss and has become one with it without any differentiated existence, one is called a videhamukta . It is the state of videhamukti that is referred to as the transcendent attributeless Brahman and as the transcendent Turiya . This is the final goal. Because of the grades in misery and happiness, the released ones, the
jivanmuktas and videhamuktas, may be spoken of as belonging to four categories -- Brahmavid, Brahmavara, Brahmavariya andBrahmavarishtha.
..
40
D: What are the characteristics of the jivanmukta (the liberated in life) and the videhamukta (the liberated at death)?
M: `I am not the body. I am Brahman which is manifest as the Self.
In me who am the plenary Reality, the world consisting of bodies, etc., is a mere appearance, like the blue of the sky'.
He who has realized the truth thus is a jivanmukta.
Yet, so long as his mind has not been resolved, there may arise some misery for him because of relation to objects on account of prarabdha(karma which has begun to fructify and whose result is the present body),
and as the movement of mind has not ceased there will not be also the experience of bliss.
The experience of Self is possible only for the mind that has become subtle and unmoving as a result of prolonged meditation.
He who is thus endowed with a mind that has become subtle, and who has the experience of the Self is called a jivanmukta.
It is the state of jivanmukti that is referred to as the attributeless Brahman and as the Turiya .
When even the subtle mind gets resolved, and experience of self ceases, and when one is immersed in the ocean of bliss and has become one with it without any differentiated existence, one is called a videhamukta . It is the state of videhamukti that is referred to as the transcendent attributeless Brahman and as the transcendent Turiya . This is the final goal. Because of the grades in misery and happiness, the released ones, the
jivanmuktas and videhamuktas, may be spoken of as belonging to four categories -- Brahmavid, Brahmavara, Brahmavariya andBrahmavarishtha.
But these distinctions are from the standpoint of the others who look at them; in reality, however, there are no distinctions in release gained through jnana
...self enquiry ends...
..... .............................................. .....................
Who Am I?
4. When will the realization of the Self be gained?
When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is the seer.
...
When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition and of all actions, becomes quiescent, the world will disappear.
..
8. What is the nature of the mind?
What is called `mind' is a wondrous power residing in the Self. It causes all thoughts to arise. Apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as mind.
Therefore, thought is the nature of mind.
Apart from thoughts, there is no independent entity called the world.
In deep sleep there are no thoughts, and there is no world. In the states of waking and dream, there are thoughts, and there is a world also. Just as the spider emits the thread (of the web) out of itself and again withdraws it into itself, likewise the mind projects the world out of itself and again resolves it into itself.
When the mind comes out of the Self, the world appears.
Therefore, when the world appears (to be real), the Self does not appear; and when the Self appears (shines) the world does not appear.
When one persistently inquires into the nature of the mind, the mind will end leaving the Self (as the residue).
...self enquiry ends...
..... .............................................. .....................
Who Am I?
4. When will the realization of the Self be gained?
When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is the seer.
...
When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition and of all actions, becomes quiescent, the world will disappear.
..
8. What is the nature of the mind?
What is called `mind' is a wondrous power residing in the Self. It causes all thoughts to arise. Apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as mind.
Therefore, thought is the nature of mind.
Apart from thoughts, there is no independent entity called the world.
In deep sleep there are no thoughts, and there is no world. In the states of waking and dream, there are thoughts, and there is a world also. Just as the spider emits the thread (of the web) out of itself and again withdraws it into itself, likewise the mind projects the world out of itself and again resolves it into itself.
When the mind comes out of the Self, the world appears.
Therefore, when the world appears (to be real), the Self does not appear; and when the Self appears (shines) the world does not appear.
When one persistently inquires into the nature of the mind, the mind will end leaving the Self (as the residue).
What is referred to as the Self is the Atman.
The mind always exists only in dependence on something gross; it cannot stay alone.
It is the mind that is called the subtle body or the soul (jiva .
...
12. Are there no other means for making the mind quiescent?
Other than enquiry, there are no adequate means.
If through other means it is sought to control the mind, the mind will appear to be controlled, but will again go forth.
Through the control of breath also, the mind will become quiescent; but it will be quiescent only so long as the breath remains controlled, and when the breath resumes the mind also will again start moving and will wander as impelled by residual impressions.
The source is the same for both mind and breath. Thought, indeed, is the nature of the mind. The thought `I' is the first thought of the mind; and that is egoity. It is from that whence egoity originates that breath also originates. Therefore, when the mind becomes quiescent, the breath is controlled, and when the breath is controlled the mind becomes quiescent. .....
.......Therefore, the exercise of breath control is only an aid for rendering the mind quiescent (manonigraha); it will not destroy the mind (manonasa).
13. The residual impressions (thoughts) of objects appear unending like the waves of an ocean. When will all of them get destroyed?
As the meditation on the Self rises higher and higher, the thoughts will get destroyed.
15. How long should enquiry be practised?
As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the enquiry `Who am I?' is required.
As thoughts arise they should be destroyed then and there in the very place of their origin through enquiry.
...
12. Are there no other means for making the mind quiescent?
Other than enquiry, there are no adequate means.
If through other means it is sought to control the mind, the mind will appear to be controlled, but will again go forth.
Through the control of breath also, the mind will become quiescent; but it will be quiescent only so long as the breath remains controlled, and when the breath resumes the mind also will again start moving and will wander as impelled by residual impressions.
The source is the same for both mind and breath. Thought, indeed, is the nature of the mind. The thought `I' is the first thought of the mind; and that is egoity. It is from that whence egoity originates that breath also originates. Therefore, when the mind becomes quiescent, the breath is controlled, and when the breath is controlled the mind becomes quiescent. .....
.......Therefore, the exercise of breath control is only an aid for rendering the mind quiescent (manonigraha); it will not destroy the mind (manonasa).
13. The residual impressions (thoughts) of objects appear unending like the waves of an ocean. When will all of them get destroyed?
As the meditation on the Self rises higher and higher, the thoughts will get destroyed.
15. How long should enquiry be practised?
As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the enquiry `Who am I?' is required.
As thoughts arise they should be destroyed then and there in the very place of their origin through enquiry.
If one resorts to contemplation of the Self unintermittently, until the Self is gained, that alone would do.
As long as there are enemies within the fortress, they will continue to sally forth; if they are destroyed as they emerge, the fortress will fall into our hands.
..............................
18. Of the devotees, who is the greatest?
He who gives himself up to the Self that is God is the most excellent devotee.
..............................
18. Of the devotees, who is the greatest?
He who gives himself up to the Self that is God is the most excellent devotee.
Giving one's self up to God means remaining constantly in the Self without giving room for the rise of any thoughts other than the thought of the Self.
...................................
19. What is non-attachment?
As thoughts arise, destroying them utterly without any residue in the very place of their origin is non-attachment. Just as the pearl-diver ties a stone to his waist, sinks to the bottom of the sea and there takes the pearls, so each one of us should be endowed with non-attachment, dive within oneself and obtain the Self-Pearl.
....
One can know oneself only with one's own eye of knowledge, and not with somebody else's.
...
All the texts say that in order to gain release one should render the mind quiescent
...
25. What is wisdom-insight (jnana drishti)?
Remaining quiet is what is called wisdom-insight. To remain quiet is to resolve the mind in the Self.
..
Desirelessness is wisdom. The two are not different; they are the same.
Desirelessness is refraining from turning the mind towards any object.
Wisdom means the appearance of no object.
In other words, not seeking what is other than the Self is detachment or desirelessness;
...................................
19. What is non-attachment?
As thoughts arise, destroying them utterly without any residue in the very place of their origin is non-attachment. Just as the pearl-diver ties a stone to his waist, sinks to the bottom of the sea and there takes the pearls, so each one of us should be endowed with non-attachment, dive within oneself and obtain the Self-Pearl.
....
One can know oneself only with one's own eye of knowledge, and not with somebody else's.
...
All the texts say that in order to gain release one should render the mind quiescent
...
25. What is wisdom-insight (jnana drishti)?
Remaining quiet is what is called wisdom-insight. To remain quiet is to resolve the mind in the Self.
..
Desirelessness is wisdom. The two are not different; they are the same.
Desirelessness is refraining from turning the mind towards any object.
Wisdom means the appearance of no object.
In other words, not seeking what is other than the Self is detachment or desirelessness;
not leaving the Self is wisdom.
...
27. What is the difference between enquiry and meditation?
Enquiry consists in retaining the mind in the Self
. Meditation consists in thinking that one's self is Brahman , Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
28. What is release?
Inquiring into the nature of one's self that is in bondage, and realising one's true nature is release.
......................the end ..................
vol 1 talks
...
27. What is the difference between enquiry and meditation?
Enquiry consists in retaining the mind in the Self
. Meditation consists in thinking that one's self is Brahman , Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
28. What is release?
Inquiring into the nature of one's self that is in bondage, and realising one's true nature is release.
......................the end ..................
vol 1 talks
In the absence of enquiry and devotion, the natural sedative
pranayama (breath regulation) may be tried. This is known as
Yoga Marga.
D.: How long can the mind stay or be kept in the Heart?
M.: The period extends by practice.
D.: What happens at the end of the period?
M.: The mind returns to the present normal state. Unity in the Heart
is replaced by variety of phenomena perceived. This is called the
outgoing mind. The heart-going mind is called the resting mind.
....................
Vasanas (predispositions) can be obliterated.
It is done by concentration on that which is free from vasanas and
yet is their core.
D.: How long is the practice to continue?
M.: Till success is achieved and until yoga-liberation becomes
permanent. Success begets success. If one distraction is conquered
the next is conquered and so on, until all are finally conquered.
The process is like reducing an enemy’s fort by slaying its manpower - one by one, as each issues out.
D.: What is the nature of the Reality?
M.: (a) Existence without beginning or end - eternal.
(b) Existence everywhere, endless, infinite.
(c) Existence underlying all forms, all changes, all forces, all matter
and all spirit.
The many change and pass away (phenomena), whereas the One
always endures (noumenon).
(d) The one displacing the triads, i.e., the knower, the knowledge
and the known. The triads are only appearances in time and space,
whereas the Reality lies beyond and behind them. They are like a
mirage over the Reality. They are the result of delusion
D.: If ‘I’ also be an illusion, who then casts off the illusion?
M.: The ‘I’ casts off the illusion of ‘I’ and yet remains as ‘I’. Such is
the paradox of Self-Realisation.
The realised do not see any
contradiction in it.
Take the case of bhakti - I approach Iswara and
pray to be absorbed in Him. I then surrender myself in faith and by
concentration. What remains afterwards?
In place of the original
‘I’, perfect self-surrender leaves a residuum of God in which the
‘I’ is lost.
This is the highest form of devotion (parabhakti), prapatti,
surrender or the height of vairagya.
You give up this and that of ‘my’ possessions. If you give up ‘I’
and ‘Mine’ instead, all are given up at a stroke.
The very seed of
possession is lost. Thus the evil is nipped in the bud or crushed in
the germ itself. Dispassion (vairagya) must be very strong to do
this. Eagerness to do it must be equal to that of a man kept under
water trying to rise up to the surface for his life.
....M.: Ishta Devata and Guru are aids - very powerful aids on this path.
But an aid to be effective requires your effort also. Your effort is a
sine qua non. It is you who should see the sun. Can spectacles and
the sun see for you? You yourself have to see your true nature. Not
much aid is required for doing it!
M.: All thoughts are inconsistent with realisation. The correct state is
to exclude thoughts of ourselves and all other thoughts. Thought is
one thing and realisation is quite another.
D.: Sir, I have faith - and still I encounter difficulties. Weakness and
giddiness afflict me after I practise concentration.
M.: Breath-control (pranayama) properly performed should increase
one’s strength.
YOGI RAMIAH’S ACCOUNT OF HIS EXPERIENCES
Talk 34.
Sitting in Maharshi’s presence brings peace of mind. I used to sit in
samadhi for three or four hours together. Then I felt my mind took a
form and came out from within. By constant practice and meditation it
entered the Heart and was merged into it. I conclude that the Heart is
the resting place of mind. The result is peace.
When the mind is absorbed in the Heart, the Self is realised. This could be felt even at the stage of concentration (dharana).
When the mind is absorbed in the Heart, the Self is realised. This could be felt even at the stage of concentration (dharana).
I asked Maharshi about contemplation. He taught me as follows:- When
a man dies the funeral pyre is prepared and the body is laid flat on the
pyre. The pyre is lit. The skin is burnt, then the flesh and then the
bones until the whole body falls to ashes. What remains thereafter?
The mind. The question arises, ‘How many are there in this body - one
or two?’ If two, why do people say ‘I’ and not ‘we’? There is therefore
only one. Whence is it born? What is its nature (swaroopa)? Enquiring
thus the mind also disappears. Then what remains over is seen to be
‘I’. The next question is ‘Who am I?’ The Self alone. This is
contemplation. It is how I did it. By this process attachment to the
body (dehavasana) is destroyed. The ego vanishes. Self alone shines.
One method of getting mind-dissolution (manolaya) is association with
great ones - the yoga adepts (Yoga arudhas). They are perfect adepts in
samadhi.
Self-Realisation has been easy, natural, and perpetual to them.
Those moving with them closely and in sympathetic contact gradually
absorb the samadhi habit from them.
60/209
..Otherwise, if the mind is taken to exist and one seeks to
control it, it amounts to mind controlling the mind, just like a thief
turning out to be a policeman to catch the thief, i.e., himself. Mind
persists in that way alone, but eludes itself.”
Talk 45.
A visitor asked: The path of realisation is difficult. Worldly matters
are easy of understanding, whereas this is not.
M.: Yes. The mind always seeks external knowledge, leaving aside its own inner knowledge
M.: Yes. The mind always seeks external knowledge, leaving aside its own inner knowledge
.. The
Master said that the mind is only identity of the Self with the body.
It is a false ego that is created; it creates false phenomena in its
turn, and appears to move in them; all these are false.
69
The antah pranayama (the internal breath-regulation) is as follows:-
Naham chinta ( I-am-not-the-body idea ) is rechaka (exhalation).
Koham (who am I?) is puraka (inhalation).
Soham (I am He) is kumbhaka (retention of breath).
Talk 57.
Sri Bhagavan said that sushumna is the name mostly mentioned in
scriptures. Other names also occur; e.g., para, atma, amrita. It is
also stated that sushumna becomes leena (merged in para). So it may
be said that para is the terminology of jnana, whereas sushumna is
that of Yoga.
72
The meaning is that, with Self-Realization, real and incessant tapas
results.
With the maturing of such tapas some jnanis can make their
bodies intangible and invisible. They are known as siddhas
Later, “the greatness of the siddhas is incomprehensible. They are
equal to Siva and can even grant boons.” So said Sri Bhagavan.
There is an Upanishad mantra, atmajnam hyarchayet bhutikamah
(one desirous of liberation or wealth must serve a Self-realised Sage).
Here is no mention of siddha for granting boons. The jnani can do
so. The mantras again, swe mahimni pratishtitah (abiding in his own
grandeur), anantam Brahma (Brahman is infinite), will seem
confounding when read with the slokas cited above. Sarvam Khalvidam
Brahma (All this is Brahman);
Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavati (the
knower of Brahman becomes Brahman Itself), show that a jnani is
sarvajna (all-knower).
What then is the distinction between the jnani
and the siddha, and the ability of the latter to grant boons, implying
the absence of it in the former?
Some people think that there are different stages in jnana. The Self
is nitya aparoksha, i.e., ever-realised, knowingly or unknowingly.
Sravana, they argue, should therefore be aparoksha jnana (directly
experienced) and not paroksha jnana (indirect knowledge).
But jnana
should result in duhkha nivriti (loss of misery) whereas sravana
alone does not bring it about.
Therefore they say, though aparoksha,
it is not unshaken; the rising of vasanas is the cause of its being
weak (not unchanging); when the vasanas are removed, jnana
becomes unshaken and bears fruit.
Others say sravana is only paroksha jnana. By manana (reflection) it
becomes aparoksha spasmodically. The obstruction to its continuity
is the vasanas: they rise up with reinforced vigour after manana.
They must be held in check. Such vigilance consists in remembering
= “I am not the body” and adhering to the aparoksha anubhava (direct
experience) which has been had in course of manana (reflection).
Such practice is called nididhyasana and eradicates the vasanas. Then
dawns the sahaja state. That is jnana, sure.
The aparoksha in manana cannot effect dukha nivritti (loss of misery)
and cannot amount to moksha, i.e., release from bondage because the
vasanas periodically overpower the jnana. Hence it is adridha (weak)
and becomes firm after the vasanas have been eradicated by
nididhyasana (one-pointedness).
74/209
k to a
“Rather, be fixed in the Self and act according to nature without
the thought of doership. Then the results of action will not affect
you. That is manliness and heroism.”
Thus, ‘inherence in the Self’ is the sum and substance of Gita
teaching. Finally, the Master Himself added,
“If a man be
established in the Self these doubts would not arise. They arise
only until he is established there.”
..........After hearing it, he asked: What about the reference to duality in
practice and unity at the end?
M.: Some people think that one must begin practice with dualistic
idea. It refers to them. They say that there is God; the man must
worship and meditate; ultimately the jiva merges into God. Others
say that the Supreme Being and the jiva are always apart and never
merge into each other. Howsoever it may be at the end, let us not
trouble ourselves about it now. All are agreed that the jiva IS. Let
the man find out the jiva, i.e., his Self.
Then there will be time to find out if the Self should merge in the Supreme, is a part thereof,
or remains different from it.
Let us not forestall the conclusion.
Keep an open mind, dive within and find out the Self. The truth
will itself dawn upon you. Why should you determine beforehand
if the finality is unity absolute or qualified, or duality? There is no
meaning in it. The ascertainment is now made by logic and by
intellect. The intellect derives light from the Self (the Higher Power).
How can the reflected and partial light of the intellect envisage the
whole and the original Light? The intellect cannot reach the Self
and how can it ascertain its nature?
Such is the significance of the reference.
...The ajnani takes the world to be real; whereas the jnani sees it
only as the manifestation of the Self. It is immaterial if the Self
manifests itself or ceases to do so.
...But when the Master was approached
on the subject he disentangled the skein very nicely, pointing out that
all such confusion was due to the non-differentiation of the real ‘I’
from the false ‘I’. The attributes and modes pertain to the latter and
not to the former. One’s efforts are directed only to remove one’s
ignorance. Afterwards they cease, and the real Self is found to be
always there. No effort is needed to remain as the Self.
D.: Enquiring thus helps me to concentrate. Is concentration the only
benefit?
M.: What more do you want? Concentration is the thing. What makes
you come out of your quiet?
D.: Because I am drawn out.
M.: Enquiry of “Who am I?” means finding the source of ‘I’. When
that is found, that which you seek is accomplished.
(The gist of Sri Bhagavan’s words seems to be that one should
make a concerted effort and not give it up baffled, with a defeatist
mentality.)
..........After long years of discipline and
practice I am having some mystic experiences. I feel sometimes that
Bhuma (Supreme Consciousness) is infinitude and that I am finite
consciousness. Is that correct?”
M.: Bhuma (Perfection) alone is.
It is Infinite. There arises from it
this finite consciousness taking on an upadhi (limiting adjunct).
This is abhasa or reflection. Merge this individual consciousness
into the Supreme One. That is what should be done.
D.: Bhuma is an attribute of Supreme Consciousness.
M.: Bhuma is the Supreme -
yatra naanyat pasyati yatra naanyat
srunoti sa bhuma (where one does not see any other, hears nothing,
it is Perfection).
It is indefinable and indescribable. It is as it is.
M.: Who is the worker? Let him who works ask the question. You are
always the Self. You are not the mind. It is the mind which raises
these questions. Work proceeds, always in the presence of the Self
only. Work is no hindrance to realisation. It is the mistaken identity
of the worker that troubles one. Get rid of the false identity.
The Lady: There is sometimes an irresistible desire to remain in
Brahma-akara-vritti.
M.: It is good. It must be cultivated until it becomes sahaja (natural).
Then it culminates as swarupa, one’s own self.
Later Sri Bhagavan explained:
Vritti is often mistaken for
consciousness.
It is only a phenomenon and operates in the region of abhasa (reflected consciousness). The knowledge lies beyond
relative knowledge and ignorance. It is not in the shape of vritti.
There are no subject and object in it.
Vritti belongs to the rajasic (active) mind. The satvic mind (mind
is repose) is free from it. The satvic is the witness of the rajasic. It
is no doubt true consciousness. Still it is called satvic mind because
the knowledge of being witness is the function of abhasa (reflected
consciousness) only. Mind is the abhasa. Such knowledge implies
mind. But the mind is by itself inoperative. Therefore it is called
satvic mind.
Such is the jivanmukta’s state. It is also said that his mind is dead.
Is it not a paradox that a jivanmukta has a mind and that it is dead?
This has to be conceded in argument with ignorant folk.
.. But swarupa
(the Real Self) lies beyond mind, time and space.
Talk 70. Sri Raju Sastrigal asked Sri Bhagavan about nada, bindu and kala.
M.: They are in Vedanta terminology prana, mana, buddhi (the life-current, mind and intellect). In the Tantras nada is said to be subtle sound with tejas - light - in it. This light is said to be the body of Siva. When it develops and sound is submerged, it becomes bindu. To be full of light (tejomaya) is the aim. Kala is a part of the bindu.
Talk 72.
Mr. K. S. N. Iyer, a railway officer, asked about japa.
M.: The utterance and then remembrance and later meditation are the
successive stages finally ending in involuntary and eternal japa.
The japakarta (doer of japa) of that kind is the Self. Of all the
japas, ‘Who am I?’ is the best.
89
M.: The mind is only a projection from the Self, appearing in the
waking state. In deep sleep, you do not say whose son you are and
so on. As soon as you wake up you say you are so and so, and
recognise the world and so on.
The world is only lokah, lokah =
lokyate iti lokah (what is perceived is the world). That which is seen
is lokah or the world. Which is the eye that sees it?
That is the ego
which rises and sinks periodically. But you exist always.
Therefore
That which lies beyond the ego is consciousness - the Self.
In deep sleep mind is merged and not destroyed. That which merges
reappears. It may happen in meditation also. But the mind which is
destroyed cannot reappear.
The yogi’s aim must be to destroy it and
not to sink in laya.
In the peace of dhyana, laya ensues but it is not
enough. It must be supplemented by other practices for destroying
the mind. Some people have gone into samadhi with a trifling thought and after a long time awakened in the trail of the same thought. In
the meantime generations have passed away in the world. Such a
yogi has not destroyed his mind. Its destruction is the non-recognition
of it as being apart from the Self. Even now the mind is not. Recognise
it. How can you do it if not in everyday activities. They go on
automatically. Know that the mind promoting them is not real but a
phantom proceeding from the Self. That is how the mind is destroyed.
D.: How to find the Atman?
M.: There is no investigation into the Atman.
The investigation can
only be into the non-self.
Elimination of the non-self is alone possible.
The Self being always self evident will shine forth of itself.
The Self is called by different names - Atman, God, Kundalini,
mantra, etc. Hold any one of them and the Self becomes manifest.
God is no other than the Self. Kundalini is now showing forth as
the mind. When the mind is traced to its source it is Kundalini.
Mantra japa leads to elimination of other thoughts and to
concentration on the mantra. The mantra finally merges into the
Self and shines forth as the Self.
D.: How long is a Guru necessary for Self-Realisation?
M.: Guru is necessary so long as there is the laghu. (Pun on Guru =
heavy; laghu = light). Laghu is due to the self-imposed but wrong
limitation of the Self. God, on being worshipped, bestows steadiness
in devotion which leads to surrender. On the devotee surrendering,
God shows His mercy by manifesting as the Guru. The Guru, otherwise
God, guides the devotee, saying that God is in you and He is the Self.
imp
This leads to introversion of the mind and finally to realisation.
Effort is necessary up to the state of realisation.
Even then the Self
should spontaneously become evident.
Otherwise happiness will
not be complete.
Up to that state of spontaneity there must be
effort in some form or another
D.: They say that a visit to Sages helps Self-Realisation?
M.: Yes. So it does.
D.: Will not my present visit to you bring it about?
M.: (After a short pause) What is to be brought about? To whom?
Consider; investigate. To whom is this doubt. If the source is traced
the doubt will disappear.
92...
“If a man considers he is born he cannot avoid the fear of death. Let
him find out if he has been born or if the Self has any birth. He will
discover that the Self always exists, that the body which is born
resolves itself into thought and that the emergence of thought is the
root of all mischief. Find where from thoughts emerge. Then you will
abide in the ever-present inmost Self and be free from the idea of
birth or the fear of death.”
A disciple asked how to do it.
M.: The thoughts are only vasanas (predispositions), accumulated in
innumerable births before.
Their annihilation is the aim.
The state
free from vasanas is the primal state and eternal state of purity.
M.: That which is born must end. The delusion is only concomitant
with the ego. It rises up and sinks. But the Reality never rises nor
sinks. It remains Eternal. The master who has realised says so; the
disciple hears, thinks over the words and realises the Self. There
are two ways of putting it.
The ever-present Self needs no efforts to be realised, Realisation is
already there. Illusion alone is to be removed.
Some say the word
from the mouth of the Master removes it instantaneously. Others
say that meditation, etc., are necessary for realisation. Both are
right; only the standpoints differ.
D.: How does Karma help it? Will it not add to the already heavy
load to be removed?
M.: Karma done unselfishly purifies the mind and helps to fix it in
meditation.
D.: What if one meditates incessantly without Karma?
M.: Try and see. The vasanas will not let you do it.
M.: To whom are the thoughts? If you try to locate the mind, the mind vanishes and the Self alone remains. Being alone, there can be no one-pointedness or otherwise
D.: It is so difficult to understand this. If something concrete is said, it can be readily grasped. Japa, dhyana, etc., are more concrete.
M.: ‘Who am I?’ is the best japa.
What could be more concrete than the Self? It is within each one’s experience every moment. Why should he try to catch anything outside, leaving out the Self? Let each one try to find out the known Self instead of searching for the unknown something beyond.
D.: Where shall I meditate on the Atman? I mean in which part of the body?
M.: The Self should manifest itself. That is all that is wanted. A devotee gently added: On the right of the chest, there is the Heart, the seat of the Atman. Another devotee: The illumination is in that centre when the Self is realised.
M.: Quite so
94
Talk 82. A question was raised about the differences in the various samadhis.
M.: When the senses are merged in darkness it is deep sleep;
when
merged in light it is samadhi.
Just as a passenger when asleep in a
carriage is unaware of the motion, the halting or the unharnessing
of the horses, so also a jnani in sahaja samadhi is unaware of the
happenings, waking, dream and deep sleep. Here sleep corresponds to the unharnessing of the horses. And samadhi corresponds to the halting of the horses, because the senses are ready to act just as the horses are ready to move after halting.
happenings, waking, dream and deep sleep. Here sleep corresponds to the unharnessing of the horses. And samadhi corresponds to the halting of the horses, because the senses are ready to act just as the horses are ready to move after halting.
In samadhi the head does not bend down because the senses are
there though inactive; whereas the head bends down in sleep because
the senses are merged in darkness. In kevala samadhi, the activities
(vital and mental), waking, dream and sleep, are only merged, ready
to emerge after regaining the state other than samadhi. In sahaja
samadhi the activities, vital and mental, and the three states are
destroyed, never to reappear.
However, others notice the jnani active
e.g., eating, talking, moving etc. He is not himself aware of these
activities, whereas others are aware of his activities. They pertain to
his body and not to his Real Self, swarupa. For himself, he is like
the sleeping passenger - or like a child interrupted from sound sleep
and fed, being unaware of it. The child says the next day that he did
not take milk at all and that he went to sleep without it. Even when
reminded he cannot be convinced. So also in sahaja samadhi.
Sushumna pare leena. Here sushumna refers to tapo marge whereas the para nadi refers to jnana marga.
...........
Vibhuti is of two kinds: Para vibhuti and apara vibhuti. The sacred ashes are of the latter class. The para is what remains over after all the dross has been burnt away by the Fire of Realisation. It is Absolute Being
Talk 90.
Again, the Trinity was explained: God the Father represents Isvara God the Holy Spirit represents Atman God the Son represents Guru.
Sushumna pare leena. Here sushumna refers to tapo marge whereas the para nadi refers to jnana marga.
...........
Vibhuti is of two kinds: Para vibhuti and apara vibhuti. The sacred ashes are of the latter class. The para is what remains over after all the dross has been burnt away by the Fire of Realisation. It is Absolute Being
Talk 90.
Again, the Trinity was explained: God the Father represents Isvara God the Holy Spirit represents Atman God the Son represents Guru.
Isvaro gururatmeti murti bheda vibhagine vyomavad vyapta dehaya
dakshinamurtaye namah:
Meaning that God appears to his devotee in the form of a Guru (son of
God) and points out to him the immanence of the Holy Spirit.
That is
to say that God is spirit, that this spirit is immanent everywhere and
that the Self must be realised, which is the same as realising God.
M.: In the Bhagavad Gita it is said that it is the nature of the mind to wander. One must bring one’s thoughts to bear on God. By long practice the mind is controlled and made steady. The wavering of the mind is a weakness arising from the dissipation of its energy in the shape of thoughts. When one makes the mind stick to one thought the energy is conserved, and the mind becomes stronger.
D.: What is the meaning of the strength of the mind?
M.: Its ability to concentrate on one thought without being distracted.
D.: How is that achieved?
M.: By practice.
A devotee concentrates on God; a seeker, follower of the jnana-marga, seeks the Self. The practice is equally difficult for both.
imp
D.: Even if the mind is brought to bear on the search for the Self, after a long struggle the mind begins to elude him and the man is not aware of the mischief until after some time.
M.: So it would be.
In the earlier stages the mind reverts to the search at long intervals; with continued practice it reverts at shorter intervals until finally it does not wander at all.
It is then that the dormant sakti manifests
The satvic mind is free from thoughts whereas the rajasic mind is full of them.
The sattvic mind resolves itself into the Life-current.
D.: Can one keep the mind away from entering into the phase of thoughts before one experiences the current?
M.: Yes; the current is pre-existent
Talk 92.
A visitor said: Some say that one should practise meditation on gross objects only: it may be disastrous if one constantly seeks to kill the mind.
M.: In the Bhagavad Gita it is said that it is the nature of the mind to wander. One must bring one’s thoughts to bear on God. By long practice the mind is controlled and made steady. The wavering of the mind is a weakness arising from the dissipation of its energy in the shape of thoughts. When one makes the mind stick to one thought the energy is conserved, and the mind becomes stronger.
D.: What is the meaning of the strength of the mind?
M.: Its ability to concentrate on one thought without being distracted.
D.: How is that achieved?
M.: By practice.
A devotee concentrates on God; a seeker, follower of the jnana-marga, seeks the Self. The practice is equally difficult for both.
imp
D.: Even if the mind is brought to bear on the search for the Self, after a long struggle the mind begins to elude him and the man is not aware of the mischief until after some time.
M.: So it would be.
In the earlier stages the mind reverts to the search at long intervals; with continued practice it reverts at shorter intervals until finally it does not wander at all.
It is then that the dormant sakti manifests
The satvic mind is free from thoughts whereas the rajasic mind is full of them.
The sattvic mind resolves itself into the Life-current.
D.: Can one keep the mind away from entering into the phase of thoughts before one experiences the current?
M.: Yes; the current is pre-existent
Talk 92.
A visitor said: Some say that one should practise meditation on gross objects only: it may be disastrous if one constantly seeks to kill the mind.
M.: For whom is it disastrous? Can there be disaster apart from the Self?
Unbroken ‘I-I’ is the ocean infinite, the ego, ‘I’ thought, remains only a bubble on it and is called jiva, i.e., individual soul. The bubble too is water; when it bursts it only mixes in the ocean. When it remains a bubble it is still a part of the ocean. Ignorant of this simple truth, innumerable methods under different denominations, such as yoga, bhakti, karma....... each again with many modifications, are being taught with great skill and in intricate detail only to entice the seekers and confuse their minds. So also are the religions and sects and dogmas. What are they all for? Only for knowing the Self. They are aids and practices required for knowing the Self.
Objects perceived by the senses are spoken of as immediate knowledge (pratyaksha). Can anything be as direct as the Self - always experienced without the aid of the senses?
Sense-perceptions can only be indirect knowledge, and not direct knowledge. Only one’s own awareness is direct knowledge, as is the common experience of one and all. No aids are needed to know one’s own Self, i.e., to be aware.
The one Infinite Unbroken Whole (plenum) becomes aware of itself as ‘I’. This is its original name. All other names, e.g., OM, are later growths.
Liberation is only to remain aware of the Self.
The mahavakya “I am Brahman” is its authority.
Though the ‘I’ is always experienced, yet one’s attention has to be drawn to it.
Only then does knowledge dawn.
Thus the need for the instruction of the Upanishads and of wise sages.
Talk 93.
All are aware of their own Self only. Wonder of wonders! They take what is not as what is, or they see the phenomena apart from the Self. Only so long as there is the knower is there knowledge of all kinds (direct, inferential, intellectual etc.); should the knower vanish they all vanish together with him; their validity is of the same degree as his.
...................
atma satyanu bodhena
na sankalpa te yadaamanastam tada yati
grahya bhavet tadagraham
when you realise yourself as ecb.the atma .then there will be nothing for M to grasp. no more to desire...non grasping m agraham = no M ..princess of kashi story.
agrahyam .
the moment duality disappeared ...sankalpa disappeared.
grahya bhavet...no seperate reality to grasp
a- mana -stama tada yati...that is no mind
...and that is freedom.
anitya drusheshu viveka nityam
tasmin samadhista ..lila ,,, (playing)
viveka vairagya vishuddha chittam
understanding not difficult...but letting go very difficult.
all...just in consciousness...not apart. water lake ..all mountain, birds, sky ..in it.......................
Talk 94.
A man prayed to the Master to pardon his sins. He was told that it would be enough if he took care to see that his mind did not trouble him.
.....
also, https://www.arunachala.org/newsletters/2009/jul-aug
Unbroken ‘I-I’ is the ocean infinite, the ego, ‘I’ thought, remains only a bubble on it and is called jiva, i.e., individual soul. The bubble too is water; when it bursts it only mixes in the ocean. When it remains a bubble it is still a part of the ocean. Ignorant of this simple truth, innumerable methods under different denominations, such as yoga, bhakti, karma....... each again with many modifications, are being taught with great skill and in intricate detail only to entice the seekers and confuse their minds. So also are the religions and sects and dogmas. What are they all for? Only for knowing the Self. They are aids and practices required for knowing the Self.
Objects perceived by the senses are spoken of as immediate knowledge (pratyaksha). Can anything be as direct as the Self - always experienced without the aid of the senses?
Sense-perceptions can only be indirect knowledge, and not direct knowledge. Only one’s own awareness is direct knowledge, as is the common experience of one and all. No aids are needed to know one’s own Self, i.e., to be aware.
The one Infinite Unbroken Whole (plenum) becomes aware of itself as ‘I’. This is its original name. All other names, e.g., OM, are later growths.
Liberation is only to remain aware of the Self.
The mahavakya “I am Brahman” is its authority.
Though the ‘I’ is always experienced, yet one’s attention has to be drawn to it.
Only then does knowledge dawn.
Thus the need for the instruction of the Upanishads and of wise sages.
Talk 93.
All are aware of their own Self only. Wonder of wonders! They take what is not as what is, or they see the phenomena apart from the Self. Only so long as there is the knower is there knowledge of all kinds (direct, inferential, intellectual etc.); should the knower vanish they all vanish together with him; their validity is of the same degree as his.
...................
atma satyanu bodhena
na sankalpa te yadaamanastam tada yati
grahya bhavet tadagraham
when you realise yourself as ecb.the atma .then there will be nothing for M to grasp. no more to desire...non grasping m agraham = no M ..princess of kashi story.
agrahyam .
the moment duality disappeared ...sankalpa disappeared.
grahya bhavet...no seperate reality to grasp
a- mana -stama tada yati...that is no mind
...and that is freedom.
anitya drusheshu viveka nityam
tasmin samadhista ..lila ,,, (playing)
viveka vairagya vishuddha chittam
understanding not difficult...but letting go very difficult.
all...just in consciousness...not apart. water lake ..all mountain, birds, sky ..in it.......................
Talk 94.
A man prayed to the Master to pardon his sins. He was told that it would be enough if he took care to see that his mind did not trouble him.
.....
also, https://www.arunachala.org/newsletters/2009/jul-aug
CHAPTER I
Kavyakantha Ganapati Sastri: For Moksha (release from the bondage of samsara) sadhana (i.e., means to be adopted for practice) has to be considered. Some seem to opine that all that is necessary is Satyaa-satya viveka, the (careful) discrimination between what is ultimate truth or reality and what is not such truth or reality. Is that sufficient? Or is it necessary to adopt other means also?
Maharshi: Moksha is release from bondage; bondage is really ignorance; and ignorance can only be expelled by enlightenment. If the expulsion is to be complete and permanent, the enlightenment also must be complete and permanent. That is, one must always remain realizing That. Remaining in the realization of That is termed Atmanishta. This alone removes all bondage, that is, secures Moksha.
K.G.S.: But is not viveka the means to secure Atmanishta?
Maharshi: Viveka is the discrimination of the (eternal) Real from the unreal. It helps to secure vairagya, dispassion or freedom from emotions such as joy, sorrow, etc., which disturb the placidity and equanimity of one's mind, and thus viveka proves to be a useful and a necessary preparation for attaining Atmanishta, i.e. firmness in Jnana (Enlightenment.) The knowledge of Satya or the Real secured by viveka (discrimination) is not the same as (but only the basis of) Jnana (Enlightenment) or Atmanishta (i.e., firm self-realization). The former is still in the stage of chitta-vritti, an intellectual process, while the latter is not that at all, but is intuition, something in which the chitta (mind or intellect) has ceased its activities. The former state still retains the duality of reality and unreality, and the contrast between the two. In the latter, i.e., the state of the Jnani, all contrasts and duality are swallowed up and there is only ineffable Realization. The intellectual viveki knows and reasons mediately (paroksha). The intuitive Jnani feels the truth, the Real, directly and immediately (aparoksha). The Jnani is not like the intellectual viveki. He regards the Jagat (Visvam), i.e., the phenomenal universe, as unreal, or as in no way different from himself, the Self.
K.G.S.: Is sastra charcha, the study and exploration of scripture, sufficient to attain Moksha, or should one seek the aid of a Guru and practice meditation (i.e., upasana) to attain Jnana (realization)?
Maharshi: Mere scriptural learning is insufficient. Certainly, practice of meditation and concentration is needed for realization. But what does that term upasana (practice) imply?
It means that the aspirant is still conscious of his separate individuality and fancies himself to be making efforts to attain something
— some Jnana not yet known to be himself.
He ultimately arrives at the truth, the realization that all the time (including the time of practice) he has been (as he is and will be) himself the Self — beyond the concept of time.
Though it is that state of realization (Sahaja Sthithi), or natural state of the Self that has been throughout all the time of practice (as nothing else exist),
he calls it "upasana" or practice of meditation, because his realization is not yet perfected;
he, the thinker, or the subject, fancies he is going through a process of thinking or meditation upon an object, viz. Ishwara.
When perfected, his state is termed Jnana, or Sahaja Sthithi, or the Atman, or Swabhava Samsthithi, or Sthitha Prajnatvam.
It may be described further as the state when vishaya dnyana ie knowledge of the objective world, the non self has been entirely effaced....and nothing remains , but a blaze of cosciousness of the Self as the Self
K.G.S.: Does the aspirant after he attains firm Enlightenment (Sthitha Prajnatvam) retain a sense of his personality (self-consciousness)? Is he aware then that he has attained perfectly firm Enlightenment; and does he perceive that (1) from the entire effacement of his knowledge of the objective world or non-self, or (2) from perfection of his Enlightenment (Prajnatvam)?
Maharshi: Yes, the perfectly Enlightened, the fully attained Jnani, the Self-realized, certainly realizes himself as such.
There can be no doubt there.
Doubt or uncertainty is for the mind or intellect, and has no place in that perfection of Realization or Enlightenment.
Perfection is seen
(1) by a negative sign, the cessation of all vasanas, i.e., tendencies of the mind to act in consequence of previous "attached karma" (action), and
(2) by the positive sign of his incessant consciousness (Chidatmakaratha), which is also termed "Mownam". As for perfection of Jnana, the distinction is often drawn between Jnana and Vijnana, the latter referring to realization.
The Jnani is said to be not merely Jnana-Swarupa, i.e., of the nature of Enlightenment, but also Swatmarama or Anandamurti, which means that he is experiencing and enjoying the Self as Jnanam or Anandam.
But this is a dualistic metaphor. In point of fact, that which is (Sat), is but one. There is no separate thing as its enjoyment, or an object, or a quality for it to enjoy. But thought has to be expressed to others "in matter-moulded forms of speech" and so we proceed into finer and finer analysis by means of similes, metaphors, etc., even as the Reality defies expression. On account of the use of such figurative language, however, the question is raised whether the Jnani experiences or realizes his Jnanam. What remains after all elimination is best described as Sat, that which is, Chit, consciousness or illumination, and Anandam or happiness — all three terms referring to one and the same substance. That is really not existence, nor illumination, nor happiness, nor substance, nor personality as we conceive them now. But these are the expressions or ideas which suggest to us that Supreme State, that goal, "Sa kashtha sa para gatih," That is Supreme, That the highest goal. (Katha Upanishad I-3-11)
K.G.S.: Well, the Jnani knows himself as such, i.e., as the fully attained. But can others know him to be such, and if so, by what indication?
Maharshi: Yes, it can be known. The mark by which perfect realization is indicated is Sarvabhuta Samattva, which means equality or sameness toward all.
When one finds the same Atma or Self in all the various moveable and immoveable objects and his behaviour indicates the sense of equality, that constitutes the hallmark of the Jnani, Gunatita, Brahman, etc., as he is variously called. Equality means here, in practice, the accordance of treatment appropriate to each, without undue preference or undue avoidance as described in the Bhagavad Gita:
32. He who, through the likeness of the Self, O Arjuna, sees equality everywhere, be it pleasure or pain, he is regarded as the highest yogi. (Chap. VI)
24 & 25. Who is the same in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth, stone and gold are alike, who is the same to the dear and the unfriendly, who is firm, and to whom censure and praise are as one, who is the same in honour and dishonour, the same to friend and foe, abandoning all undertakings — he is said to have transcended the qualities. (Chap. XIV)
K.G.S.: Does the practice of yoga culminating in samadhi (absorbed concentration or ecstasy) serve only the purpose of Self-realization or can it be utilized to secure also other and lower objects, such as the attainment of temporal ends?
Maharshi: Why, samadhi (i.e., the Yogi's perfect concentration) serves both purposes — Self-realization and the securing of lower objects.
K.G.S.: If one starts his practice of yoga and develops samadhi (absorbed concentration) to secure lesser objects, and before attaining these attains the greater object of Self-realization, what happens about the lesser objects? Does he attain these also or does he not?
Maharshi: He does. The karma (or effort) to reach lesser objects does not cease to produce its result and he may succeed in achieving these even after securing Self-realization. Of course, on account of such realization, there will be no exultation or joy at the lesser successes. For that which feels emotion, the mind, has ceased to exist in him as such, and has been transmuted into Prajna, Cosmic Consciousness.
....
Within the cavity of the heart, pure Brahman, as "I, I" shines with immediacy as the Self (i.e. as the soul or inner core of your personality). Therefore either by seeking the Self or diving in it or by means of pranayama (breath control) let thy mind enter the heart. Take thy firm stand as Atman (i.e. be firm in Self-Realization).
imp
Maharshi: Well, briefly put, the means to attain Self-realization are these:
First, the mind should be withdrawn from its objects; the objective vision of the world must cease. Secondly, the mind's internal operations also must be put an end to.
Thirdly, the mind must thereby be rendered characterless (nirupadhika) and must continue characterless firmly;
and lastly, it must rest in pure vichara, contemplation or realization of its nature, i.e. itself. This is the means for pratyagdrishti or darsana, also termed antarmukham, the inward vision or inquiry.
Gajanana (adverting to the answer to his first question, asked again): Revered Sir, as for the goal that is attained by firm, characterless vichara mentioned just now, cannot the same goal be attained by mantra japa, repetition of mantras (sacred syllables)?
Maharshi: Yes. If the mantra japa is unbroken and performed with an undeflected current of attention and with due faith, equal success is achieved. Even the mere Pranava Japa would suffice.
You see that by such a japa (of either the Pranava or other mantras) the mind is deflected from its operations regarding the objective world; and then, by identifying oneself with the mantra, one attains the (nature of) Atman.
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Thinking of Thee without thinking (i.e., play of intellect), one's form melts away as that of a sugar doll entering the sea.
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With the pure light mentioned, outside object (vishayaha) are sensed or experienced, and their impress received. But, if these impressions are colored or swallowed up in the prevailing non-differentiation of the perfected yogi (Self-realized one), his yoga or Self-realization is not marred thereby. Even when receiving outside impressions, the yogi maintains his consciousness of the unity of existence; and it is this state of central conscious-unity with a (so to speak) peripheral experience of objects (the central light swallowing up the peripheral rays), that is called Sahaja Sthiti. But when the yogi completely shuts out cognizance of outside objects, his state is described as Nirvikalpa Samadhi, i.e., pure concentration, or the Absolute Consciousness without attributes or characteristics.
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