https://selfdefinition.org/ramana/Talks-with-Sri-Ramana-Maharshi--complete.pdf
435
D.: Vasanakshaya (total end of all predispositions) - Mano nasa (annihilation of mind) - Atma-sakshatkara (Realisation of the Self). They seem to be interdependent.
M.: The different expressions have only one meaning. They differ according to the individual’s stage of progress.
Dispassion, Realisation, all mean the same thing; also they say ‘practice and dispassion’. Why practice? Because the modes of mind once subside and then rise up; again subside and rise up, and so on
M.: What is to be done? Reality is One only. How can It be realised? Realisation is thus an illusion. Practice seems to be necessary.
Who is to practise? Looking for the doer, the act and the accessories disappear.
Moreover, if Realisation is not present here and now, how can It, newly got, be of any use? What is permanent must be eternally present. Can it be newly got and be permanent also? Realise what is present here and now.
The sages did so before and still do that only.
Hence they say that it looks as if newly got. Once veiled by ignorance and later revealed,
Reality looks as if newly realised. But it is not new.
............
438
From Sant Namdev:
The all-pervading nature of the Name can only be understood when one recognises his own ‘I’.
When one’s own name is not recognised, it is impossible to get all-pervading Name.
When one knows oneself then one finds the Name everywhere.
...
None can realise the Name by the practice of knowledge, meditation or austerity.
Surrender yourself at first at the feet of the Guru and learn to know who the ‘I’ in you is.
After finding the source of that ‘I’, merge your individuality in that Oneness
- which is Self-existent and devoid of all duality.
It is that Name that permeates the three worlds.
The Name is Paramatman Itself where there is no action arising out of dvaita (duality).
.......
Yoga Vasishta clearly defines Liberation as the abandonment of the false
and remaining as Being.
.......
M.: The world is perceived by the mind through the senses. It is of the mind.
The seer sees the mind and the senses as within the Self and not apart from it.
The agent, remaining unaffected by the actions, gets more purified until he realises the Self.
.........
Sri Bhagavan remarked:
What is to be done? The Upanishads say:
Brahmavid Brahmaiva bhavati (Knower of Brahman becomes Brahman). There are more than one Brahmavid at a time. “Are all of them the same? Are they not separate?” So ask some persons.
They look to the bodies only. They do not look to the realisation. There is no difference in the realisation of the Brahmavid. That is the Truth. But when the question is raised from the standpoint of the body the reply is necessarily bound to be “Yes. They are different”. This is the cause of the confusion.
........
Saint Namah Shivaya:
“God proves the devotee by means of severe ordeals. A washer man beats the cloth on a slab, not to tear it, but only to remove the dirt.”
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When Sri Bhagavan had read this, a certain musician came into the hall and began to sing Tyagaraja Kirtanas in Telugu.
One of them says:
“Find the source of the sound which is transcendental (mooladhara sabda) by diving deep like a pearl-diver diving for pearls.” Then again another song was: “For a man who has controlled his mind where is the use of tapasya? Give up ‘I-am-the-body’ idea and realise ‘I am not; Thou art all’.”
.....
Its meaning is as follows: Although a jivanmukta associated with body may, owing to his prarabdha, appear to lapse into ignorance or wisdom, yet he is only pure like the ether (akasa) which is always itself clear whether covered by dense clouds or cleared of clouds by currents of air.
He always revels in the Self alone, like a loving wife taking pleasure with her husband alone, though she attends on him with things obtained from others (by way of fortune, as determined by her prarabdha). Though he remains silent like one devoid of learning, yet his supineness is due to the implicit duality of the vaikhari vak (spoken words) of the Vedas; his silence is the highest expression of the realised non-duality which is after all the true content of the Vedas.
Though he instructs his disciples, yet he does not pose as a teacher, in the full conviction that the teacher and disciple are mere conventions born of illusion (maya),
and so he continues to utter words (like akasvani);
if on the other hand he mutters words incoherently like a lunatic, it is because his experience is inexpressible like the words of lovers in embrace.
If his words are many and fluent like those of an orator, they represent the recollection of his experience, since he is the unmoving non-dual One without any desire awaiting fulfilment.
Although he may appear grief-stricken like any other man in bereavement, yet he evinces just the right love of and pity for the senses which he earlier controlled before he realised that they were mere instruments and manifestations of the Supreme Being. When he seems keenly interested in the wonders of the world, he is only ridiculing the ignorance born of superimposition. If he appears indulging in sexual pleasures, he must be taken to enjoy the ever-inherent Bliss of the Self, which, divided Itself into the Individual Self and the Universal Self, delights in their reunion to regain Its original Nature. If he appears wrathful he means well to the offenders. All his actions should be taken to be only divine manifestations on the plane of humanity. There should not arise even the least doubt as to his being emancipated while yet alive. He lives only for the good of the world.
.
Surrender to Him and abide by His will whether he appears or vanishes; await His pleasure. If you ask Him to do as you please, it is not surrender but command to Him. You cannot have Him obey you and yet think that you have surrendered. He knows what is best and when and how to do it. Leave everything entirely to Him. His is the burden: you have no longer any cares. All your cares are His. Such is surrender. This is bhakti.
Or, enquire to whom these questions arise. Dive deep in the Heart and remain as the Self. One of these two ways is open to the aspirant.
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451
Sri Bhagavan mentioned Manickavachagar’s: “We do bhajana and the rest. But we have not seen nor heard of those who had seen Thee.” One cannot see God and yet retain individuality. The seer and the seen unite into one Being. There is no cogniser, nor cognition, nor the cognised. All merge into One Supreme Siva only!
......
M.: Such is the firm conviction of the reality of the world that it is not easily shaken off.
The world does not become, for that reason, any more real than the individual himself.
.........
M.: What is meditation? It consists in expulsion of thoughts. All the present troubles are due to thoughts and are themselves thoughts. Give up thoughts. That is happiness and also meditation.
D.: How are thoughts given up?
M.: The thoughts are for the thinker. Remain as the Self of the thinker and there is an end of thoughts.
D.: What should one think of when meditating?
M.: What is meditation? It is expulsion of thoughts. You are perturbed by thoughts which rush one after another. Hold on to one thought so that others are expelled.
Continuous practice gives the necessary strength of mind to engage in meditation.
Meditation differs according to the degree of advancement of the seeker.
If one is fit for it one might directly hold the thinker.
The thinker will automatically sink into his source, namely Pure Consciousness.
If one cannot directly hold the thinker one must meditate on God.
In due course the same individual will have become sufficiently pure
to hold the thinker
and sink into absolute Being.
......................
M.: Leave God alone. Speak for yourself. You do not know God. He is only what you think of Him. Is he apart from you? He is that Pure Consciousness in which all ideas are formed. You are that Consciousness.
......
M.: There is confusion between the means and the end (i.e., sadhana and sadhya). Who is the enquirer? The aspirant and not the siddha.
Enquiry signifies that the enquirer considers himself separate from enquiry.
So long as this duality lasts the enquiry must be continued,
i.e., until the individuality disappears and the Self is realised to be only the eternal Be-ing (including enquiry and enquirer).
The Truth is that Self is constant and unintermittent Awareness.
The object of enquiry is to find the true nature of the Self as Awareness.
Let one practise enquiry so long as separateness is perceived.
If once realisation arises there is no further need for enquiry.
The question will also not arise.
Can awareness ever think of questioning who is aware?
Awareness remains pure and simple.
The enquirer is aware of his own individuality.
Enquiry does not stand in the way of his individual awareness; nor does external work interfere with such awareness.
If work, seemingly external, does not obstruct the individual awareness, will the work, realised to be not separate from the Self, obstruct the uninterrupted Awareness of the Self, which is One without a second and which is not an individual separate from work?
.......
D.: Sri Bhagavan’s answers do not permit us to put further questions, not because our minds are peaceful but we are unable to argue the point. Our discontent is not at an end. For the physical ailments to go the mental ailments should go. Both go when thoughts go. Thoughts do not go without effort. Effort is not possible with the present weakness of mind. The mind requires grace to gain strength. Grace must manifest only after surrender. So all questions, wittingly or unwittingly, amount to asking for Sri Bhagavan’s Grace.
M.: Smiled and said, “Yes.”
D.: Surrender is said to be bhakti. But Sri Bhagavan is known to favour enquiry for the Self. There is thus confusion in the hearer.
M.: Surrender can take effect only when done with full knowledge.
Such knowledge comes after enquiry.
It ends in surrender.
.......
D.: The knowledge of the Supreme Being is after transcending the individual self. This is jnana. Where is the need for surrender?
M.: Quite so. There is no difference between jnana and surrender. (Smile).
D.: How is the questioner satisfied then? The only alternative left is association with the wise or devotion to God (satsanga or Isvara bhakti).
M.: Smiled and said, “Yes.”
.........
465
Talk 465.
Sri Bhagavan explained to a retired Judge of the High Court some points in the Upadesa Saram as follows:-
(1) Meditation should remain unbroken as a current. If unbroken it is called samadhi or Kundalini sakti.
(2) The mind may be latent and merge in the Self; it must necessarily rise up again; after it rises up one finds oneself only as ever before. For in this state the mental predispositions are present there in latent form to re manifest under favourable conditions.
(3) Again the mind activities can be completely destroyed. This differs from the former mind, for here the attachment is lost, never to reappear.
Even though the man sees the world after he has been in the samadhi state, the world will be taken only at its worth, that is to say it is the phenomenon of the One Reality.
The True Being can be realised only in samadhi.
What was then is also now.
Otherwise it cannot be Reality or Ever-present Being.
What was in samadhi is here and now too. Hold it and it is your natural condition of Being.
Samadhi practice must lead to it.
Otherwise how can nirvikalpa samadhi be of any use in which a man remains as a log of wood?
He must necessarily rise up from it sometime or other and face the world.
But in sahaja samadhi he remains unaffected by the world. So many pictures pass over the cinema screen: fire burns away everything; water drenches all; but the screen remains unaffected.
The scenes are only phenomena which pass away leaving the screen as it was. Similarly the world phenomena simply pass on before the Jnani, leaving him unaffected.
You may say that people find pain or pleasure in worldly phenomena. It is owing to superimposition. This must not happen. With this end in view practice is made.
Practice lies in one of the two courses: devotion or knowledge. Even these are not the goals.
Samadhi must be gained.
It must be continuously practised until sahaja samadhi results.
Then there remains nothing more to do.
Talk 466.
Mr. Vaidyalingam, an employee of the National Bank: By meditation manifestation disappears and then ananda results. It is short-lived. How is it made ever abiding?
M.: By scorching the predispositions.
D.: Is not the Self the witness only (sakshimatra)?
M.: ‘Witness’ is applicable when there is an object to be seen. Then it is duality. The Truth lies beyond both. In the mantra, sakshi cheta kevalo nirgunascha, the word sakshi must be understood as sannidhi (presence), without which there could be nothing. See how the sun is necessary for daily activities. He does not however form part of the world actions; yet they cannot take place without the sun. He is the witness of the activities. So it is with the Self.
.....
D.: Jiva is the one who makes the prayatna.
M.: So long as egoity lasts prayatna is necessary.
When egoity ceases to be, actions become spontaneous.
The ego acts in the presence of the Self. He cannot exist without the Self.
The Self makes the universe what it is by His Sakti, and yet He does not Himself act. Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, “I am not the doer and yet actions go on”. It is clear from the Mahabharata that very wonderful actions were effected by Him. Yet He says that He is not the doer. It is like the sun and the world actions.
.....
D.: But the disciple is asking the master for elucidation.
M.: True, but does the master see him as different? The ignorance of the disciple lies in not knowing that all are Self-realised. Can anyone exist apart from the Self? The master simply points out that the ignorance lies there and therefore does not stand apart as an individual. What is Realisation?
Is it to see God with four hands, bearing conch, wheel, club, etc.? Even if God should appear in that form, how is the disciple’s ignorance wiped out?
The truth must be eternal realisation. The direct perception is ever-present Experience. God Himself is known as directly perceived. It does not mean that He appears before the devotee as said above. Unless the Realisation be eternal it cannot serve any useful purpose. Can the appearance with four hands be eternal realisation? It is phenomenal and illusory. There must be a seer. The seer alone is real and eternal.
Let God appear as the light of a million suns:
Is it pratyaksha? To see it, the eyes, the mind, etc. are necessary. It is indirect knowledge, whereas the seer is direct experience. The seer alone is pratyaksha. All other perceptions are only secondary knowledge. The present super-imposition of the body as ‘I’ is so deep-rooted, that the vision before the eyes is considered pratyaksha but not the seer himself.
No one wants realisation because there is no one who is not realised.
Can anyone say that he is not already realised or that he is apart from the Self? No.
Evidently all are realised. What makes him unhappy is the desire to exercise extraordinary powers. He knows that he cannot do so. Therefore he wants God to appear before him, confer all His powers on the devotee, and keep Himself in the background. In short, God should abdicate His powers in favour of the man.
.........
D.: Grace is necessary for it.
M.: Grace is ever present. All that is necessary is that you surrender to It.
D.: I surrender and pray that even if I go wrong I may be forcibly drawn to it.
M.: Is this surrender? Surrender to be complete must be unquestioning.
D.: Yes, I surrender. You say I must dive into the ocean of the Self like a pearl-diver into the sea.
M.: Because you are now thinking that you are out of the ocean of Consciousness.
......
M.: Real waking lies beyond the three states of waking, dream and sleep.
D.: I am really awake and know that I am not in sleep.
M.: Real waking lies beyond the plane of differences.
.......
Everyone is the Self, indeed infinite. Yet each one mistakes the body for the Self. To know anything, illumination is necessary. Such illuminating agency can only be in the form of light which is however lighting the physical light and darkness. So then that other Light lies beyond the apparent light and darkness. It is itself neither light nor darkness but is said to be Light because It illumines both. It is also Infinite and remains as Consciousness. Consciousness is the Self of which everyone is aware.
No one is away from the Self. So each one is Self-realised. Yet what a mystery that no one knows this fundamental fact, and desires to realise the Self?
This ignorance is due to the mistaking of the body for the Self.
Realisation now consists in getting rid of this false idea that one is not realised.
Realisation is not anything newly got.
It must be already there in order that it may be permanent.
Otherwise Realisation is not worth attempting.
After the false notion ‘I-am-the-body’ or ‘I have not realised’ is removed, Supreme Consciousness or the Self alone is left over, which is however called Realisation in the present state of knowledge.
However, the truth is that Realisation is eternal and already there, here and now. Finally, Realisation amounts to elimination of ignorance and nothing more or less.
........
D.: Engaged in other pursuits, can the mental activities be checked and the query “Who am I?” pursued? Are they not contrary to each other?
M.: These questions arise only in the absence of strength of mind.
As the mental activities diminish its strength increases.
............
Again people often ask how the mind is controlled. I say to them, “Show me the mind and then you will know what to do.”
The fact is that the mind is only a bundle of thoughts. How can you extinguish it by the thought of doing so or by a desire? Your thoughts and desires are part and parcel of the mind. The mind is simply fattened by new thoughts rising up.
Therefore it is foolish to attempt to kill the mind by means of the mind.
The only way of doing it is to find its source and hold on to it.
The mind will then fade away of its own accord.
Yoga teaches chitta vritti nirodha (control of the activities of the mind).
But I say Atma vichara (Self-investigation).
This is the practical way.
Chitta vritti nirodha is brought about in sleep, swoon or by starvation. As soon as the cause is withdrawn there is recrudescence of thoughts. Of what use is it then?
In the state of stupor there is peace and no misery. But misery recurs when the stupor is removed. So nirodha (control) is useless and cannot be of lasting benefit.
...........
........Investigate the matter and ascertain the truth of the statement. The result will be the conclusion that the objective world is in the subjective consciousness. The Self is thus the only Reality which permeates and also envelops the world.
Since there is no duality, no thoughts will arise to disturb your peace.
This is Realisation of the Self.
The Self is eternal and so also its Realisation.
..................490 ......................................
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