Which sadhana to be done?

Annamalai Swami said, Bhagvan once told him that 'if he can stay as the Self' no other sadhana is required.

Nisarga said, 'Stay as the 'I am' and  millions of blessings will be showered on you.'

If the sadhana is not of the nature of the sadhya, it will be of little use.

Mastan Swami said, "Let cinders be poured on the head, one shouldn't allow the life in Atma to get disturbed.'

A mature aspirant knows instinctively that besides 'Self Attention', there is nothing else that is even remotely worthwhile.

Cling to the Self as an udumbu.

udumbu= monitor lizard = ghorpad.

You throw it on the wall of the fort. It clings to it. And with the rope attached to it, Shivaji's lieutenants like Tanaji could climb the fort in the middle of the night.

A tortoise once it withdraws the limbs, will not take them out even if it is cut in two.

Such is the yogi. Once he withdraws his attention from the senses, indriyas, his mind cannot go outside. It has only one way to go. which is to merge in the Self.

However if you cannot stay as the Self, then self enquiry is recommended.

The purpose is to dissolve the first person, so the real I emerges unobstructed.

You 'are', what you believe you are

By knowing you are 'not', you become 'everything' .

But if you think you 'are', you 'vanish'.

Vanish in a poor sense. Meaning, you become worthless.

And the attachment to the 'non existent' makes you cling to a shape and form in the near future....to suffer some more.

Wise inhere as the Self.

It is a holy state indeed where the idea of doership is lost.

The idea of doership, kartitva... and dnyan cannot co-exist simultaneously,

A dnyani should have no kartutva bhavana.

And hence no bhoktrutva.

When I melt like wax in The One, in Him;

Who is to do what and to whom.

 My cares would be His.

His Will should become Mine.

Which means prarabdha assumes a new meaning, 'The Will of God'.

Thy shall be done.

As only Thee exists.

In Surrender, I cannot pray.

How can I stay as the Self without Complete Surrender?

Loss of fear, loss of anxiety, loss of self concern is the hallmark of Wisdom.

Those who achieve it ...are blessed indeed.

Body is sustained by prarabdha. Who am  I to interfere?

By Thy Will.

What inkling do I have about what's good for me?

All the self concern has only made me rot in a pot of fear and stress.

Take me in your palms. Take control of me.

For, what do I know, what I am upto, anyways?

Make me want You.

But then, do I really need to pray for that?

Wouldn't you automatically make it happen without me wishing?

Since my Will is Yours.

And I have now attained the stability to realise that Your Will is mine too.

If You desire me to be sliced in half.

Even then, Thy shalt be done.

Test me Lord.

How else can I pass the grade?

By mere verbosity?

If I desire to be a king and become a king?

What exactly did I gain in a world that doesn't exist?

If You desire me to be a beggar on the street;

What exactly did I lose in a world which doesn't exist?

My gain is You.

And You alone.

And it's impossible to gain You without losing the entire world for your sake.

Those who do not have the wisdom to understand this,

Get gulped by their own unwisdom.

A straight, sure and easy path it is for the wary.

But  a turbulent vortex it is for sure, 

For the Unwise.

Can you reach the state of non clinging, non desiring?

Can you stay as a rock in a state, without fear and self concern?

The shadows and silhouettes of the unreal, Asat world trap the untrained mind.

Not the mind soaked in the freshness of reality, Sat.

Nisarga calls all self concern, a disease of the untrained mind.

Lack of Self Attention causes millions of problems in several thousand lives to come.

They all dissolve by stoic Self Attention.

Self Inherence.

Staying as the Self.

If you feel Swapna is unreal and jagrut is real.

Be sure you are unwise.

If you feel swapna is half as real as jagrut.

You are half unwise.

Wise 'knows' that there is zero difference between swapna and jagrut.

Is that your condition?

If not, be sure you have a long way to go indeed.

A very, very......very long way!

When you see a stone, do you feel it different than you?

If you feel the difference between the subject and the object,

Then be sure, God is demanding a lot of Tapa, penance from you.

If you come near Niagara Falls, Your face gets wet due to the mist.

If you come near Self Realisation,

Subject - Object difference will melt into a honey sweet oneness of fragrant Unity.

If your face has not got wet with the mist,

Then you have not arrived near Niagara Falls.

If jagrut Swapna is not sensed as 'equally' unreal,

If subject object difference has not ceased and the Unity not apparent,

Be sure you have not arrived anywhere near the Truth.

Of little import is your eloquence and scholasticism.

Sorry for the words friend, but you shall be roasted in hell.

Says Kathopansihad,

'Those who see the slightest difference,

Go from Death to Death',

Those who fail to cognise the underlying unity,

But dabble in the apparent multiplicity,

Go from Death to death.'

Dwitiyam bhayama bhavati.

Such apt words.

The one who even cognises the two, instead of instinctively dwelling in the One,

For him...a great Fear awaits.

Bhaya is guaranteed for the one who sees Two.

One might complain, that the scriptures demand Perfection.

Do you complain that your girlfriend demands that you love only her and nobody else?

It is a sahaja bhava of a dnyani to dwell in perfection.

How can a mother make attempts to not love her child?

A mother cannot be trained, taught to not love her child.

A dnyani cannot be made to live in unreality.

It takes no special attempts on the part of the mother to love her child.

It takes no special attempts on the part of the dnyani to live in the Truth, Sat.

To inhere as the Self.

Self Abidance.

Atmanusandhanam.

When the tricks of the juggler are well known,

There is no jugglery.

There is no juggler.

There is no show.

Prakriti when pointed at, when called out.

Vanishes from the sight never to re-emerge.

Leaving oneself with his Real Self.

Never again to get tainted with the cheap, slimy, dangerous , dirty tricks of the Mayavi Mind.

The bahurupi who deludes;

In the end,

Deludes only himself.

For the lack of a show.

You don't have to make special attempts to love 'only' your girlfriend and not several others.

A mother doesn't have to make any special attempts to love only her kid, instead of several others.

You don't have to splash water on your face to announce your arrival near Niagara Falls.

A dnyani does not have to make any special attempts to know that swapna and jagrut are both equally unreal.

A dnyani does not have to make any special attempts to know that the subject and object are one.

The mind that does not have 'traana' gets trapped in the 'trayi',

In the 'triputi'.

Jagrut, swapna, sushupti; subject, object , knowledge; sattva, raja, tama; aakar, ukar, makar etc.

Ramana says do not pay attention to the non-existent mind. And it will vanish.

Yogavashishtha says, 'Mind, be established in the state of your non existence'.

Vasishtha muni calls 'No mind as Pure Sattva.'

To quote, " The Dnyani's mind is no ordinary mind. It is 'No mind. And is of the nature of pure Sattva."

Nisarga says, self realisation is of the nature of understanding. Once it is achieved it is never lost.

So blessed are those who follow the wise!

It's not for the wise to worry about the unwise.

Fire has to be drawn out of the firewood.

Ghee has to be drawn out of the milk.

Annamalai Swami said, 'It takes extra ordinary efforts to realise the Self.'

Swami Rama Tirtha says, 'The Law is fire. The Little self has to be burnt to give way to the Real Self'.

Ramakrishna says, 'It is the intensity of the longing that takes you to God".

And he warns, 'if all efforts, all sadhanas and study of vedanta fails to give you that longing for God, then all those efforts were in vain.'

When Annamalai Swami was asked by an aspirant, as to why his efforts at Self Enquiry were not yielding results, he answered in One word,

'It is because you lack 'Intensity'.'

No doubt 'tel' is in 'til'.

No doubt 'aag' is in 'chakmak'.

No doubt the Real I is within the Ego I.

Ramana says that no matter what, one doesn't doubt his existence.

'I am He'

Without the strains and taints of the 'divisions'. 

In Kaivalya Navneetam, The guru asks the disciple,

'Tell me your state. Are you established in Unity.

or the state of differentiation creeps up in you?'

All we can do is to pray to God to give us extraordinary maturity to dwell as I.

...............................................................................................................................................

.

Atma Vidya Vilasa, Annamalai April 18, 2021 imp

 https://www.shastras.com/vedanta-books-other/atma-vidya-vilasa/

Atma Vidya Vilasa
By Swami Sadasiva Brahmendra
Translation by S. N. Sastri

1. I bow down to the indescribable primordial Guru (Dakshinamurti) who resides by the side of a fig tree, whose lotus hand displays brilliantly the jnana-mudra's (in which the tips of the thumb and the index finger of the right hand are joined), who is the sprout of the bliss that is liberation.

2. I salute the holy sandals of the noble Paramasivendra which are the effulgent boat that rescues the people who have fallen into this limitless ocean of transmigratory existence, and which are adept at refuting the wrong views of others.
Note. Paramasivendra was the Guru of Sadasiva Brahmendra.

3. I in whom the divine glory has been awakened by the instruction of my Guru Paramasivendra lovingly present these few passages for the purpose of abiding in my own self.

4. The supreme Self shines as incomparable, eternal, actionless, impartite, beyond the control of Maya, free from the three gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas), formless, beyond all wrong conceptions, pure, and consciousness itself.

5. Bound by his own ignorance alone, performing various actions, the individual remains deluded. By good fortune he is freed from bondage by the knowledge of the self as a result of contemplation and emerges victorious.

6. Sleeping because of Maya, the individual sees thousands of dreams. An exceptional individual is awakened from this sleep by the instruction of his Guru and shines in the ocean of bliss.
Note. In the waking state also every one is under the influence of Maya. He sees the world which is not real and so the waking state is also like dream. It is only when he attains self-knowledge that he is awakened from the sleep of Maya and realizes his identity with Brahman which is supreme bliss. Only some exceptional individuals who have acquired the necessary qualifications such as total detachment, etc., can attain to self-knowledge.

7. Giving up the state of ignorance and attaining one's own nature which is existence-consciousness-bliss by the compassionate glance of the great Guru, and thus attaining a high state, the enlightened person enjoys bliss.

8. The contemplative person whose mind is immersed in his own nature which is existence-consciousness-bliss by the grace of his Guru, is enlightened and revels, free from the notion of “I-ness's, his mind brimming with happiness.

9. The great ascetic whose mind is cooled by the waves of the Guru's compassion revels alone and at will in incomparable bliss.

10. The noble ascetic whose inner darkness (ignorance) has been removed by the rays of the sun in the form of the compassion of the great Guru remains in the ocean of unlimited bliss.

11. The calm contemplative who has merged the five elements mentally in the order opposite to that of creation realizes the Self which is what is left.
Note. The Taittiriya upanishad says that the five subtle elements were born in the following order: Ether was first born from the Self (Brahman). From ether air was born, from air fire, from fire water and from water earth. The present verse says that the effect should be merged in the cause, mentally. The element earth should be merged in its cause, water, i.e., earth does not have any existence apart from its cause, water. Then water should be merged in its cause, fire; fire should be merged in its cause, air, and air in its cause ether. Ultimately, ether should be merged in its cause, the Self or Brahman. Thus one realizes that Brahman is the only reality and it is one's own real nature.

12. Having mentally decided that this whole world is insubstantial, being only the product of Maya, he (the enlightened person) moves about without any expectation, free from pride, conceit and envy.

13. In the pure Self there is no Maya or its effects at all. The yogi who has come to this definite conclusion is full of supreme bliss within.

14. Devoid of conceits (or distinctions) in the form I's and you's, happily accepting the varied behaviour of people, he sports alone, like a child, immersed in the ocean of pure bliss.

15. The great ascetic, who has been cleansed of all accumulated karma, roams about in the interiors of forests ever reveling in the Self, appearing outwardly like an idiot, or a deaf or blind man.

16. The knower of Brahman enjoys on the beautiful cot of his own bliss, alone, totally concealed (unknown to the world) because of his quiet nature, free from desire for all other knowledge.

17. The great ascetic, having uprooted the enemy in the form of (desire for) sense-objects, and acquired the great wealth that is detachment, reigns supreme in his own kingdom that is in the form of the glorious bliss that is his own nature.

18. Even if the sun's rays become cold, or the moon becomes hot, or a flame goes downward, the Jivanmukta is not astonished, knowing that all this is only Maya.

19. The person who has acquired supreme self-control sports in the extremely beautiful abode of bliss, having conquered the enemy in the form of ignorance, and mounted on the elephant of knowledge.

20. A rare person who enjoys the state of existence-consciousness-bliss shines, free from the defect of ego, with mind well concentrated, cool like the full moon.

21. Immersed in the enjoyment of his own natural bliss, residing in some other abode (in the body which he does not look upon as his), he sometimes meditates, sometimes sings, sometimes dances, at will.

22. The enlightened one, untouched by the taint of sin, free from worldly resolutions and confusions, who has negated the assemblage of effects (i.e., realized that the products of Maya have no reality), remains established in the fullness (of Brahman).

23. Having trapped successfully the fickle deer that is the mind in the net of meditation, tired of roaming about in the forest of the Vedas, the wise one rests in his own nature. (He fixes his mind on the Self, withdrawing even from the study of the Vedas when he has acquired the knowledge that is contained in them).

24. An extraordinary person, having killed the cruel tiger that is the mind with the sharp blade of the sword that is the brave intellect, roams about at will in the forest that is fearlessness.

25. The sun in the form of a great ascetic free from blemish moves in the sky that is pure consciousness, spreading out his rays which make the lotuses in the form of the hearts of the good blossom.

26. The moon in the form of the great blemishless sage shines in the abode of Vishnu worshipped by the gods. It is the cause of the blossoming of the water-lily in the form of knowledge and destroys the darkness of ignorance with its light. (The water-lily blossoms when the moon rises).

27. The great yogi shines in the sky of pure consciousness, removing the sorrows in the minds (of others) by the sprinkling of the nectar in the form of his own natural bliss and with his own mind remaining firm without any other thoughts.

28. He sports in the garden of bliss-consciousness, with all fatigue removed by the spreading of the lovely fragrance of his pure mind and being himself the charming breeze of self-control.

29. The wonderful peacock that is the ascetic shines in the forest, which is free from fear, in which there is the delicious fruit of liberation, and which captivates the mind with its tender leaves in the form of pure knowledge.

30. The supreme swan sports at will in the pure consciousness that is a superb lake which is full of the water of bliss, having abandoned the insubstantial desert that is the world.

31. The swan in the form of a great ascetic warble with sweet, lovely words in the cool garden of the upanishads, where all the Vedas have sprouted.

32. The lordly lion in the form of the enlightened person sports in the vast forest of bliss, after having torn to pieces the elephant in the form of delusion and pride, and driven away the tiger in the form of all evils.

33. The powerful elephant in the form of the ascetic moves about resplendently, at the top of the peak of enlightenment from which the beast of ignorance has been expelled, with mind and body as cool as water.

34. The wonderful ascetic sits on the banks of rivers, meditating on the ultimate Reality, with his eyes fixed on the tip of his nose, and his mind withdrawn from names, etc (names and forms which constitute the whole world).

35. Victory to the sage who has for clothing only the directions, who is ever contemplative, who is adorned by freedom from desire, who is calm, who has only his hands as the vessel for receiving alms, and whose dwelling place is the foot of a tree.

36. The great ascetic lies down in a deserted place by the side of a river overgrown with creepers, or on a bed of lovely soft sand, ever awake to the Reality that is bliss-consciousness.

37. The king among ascetics shines with the soft earth for bed, fanned by the cool breeze, calm in mind, and with the full moon for lamp.

38. The great ascetic sleeps on a large floor of stone, surrounded by the pure water of a stream, where a gentle mountain breeze blows.

39. The great sage, always meditating on the indescribable One, roams about in the streets eating just a handful of rice received as alms, appearing outwardly like an inert thing.

40. After having merged the entire universe, surrendering himself to the part-less Reality which remains, he eats just a morsel of food got due to his praarabdha karma.

41. The yogi does not censure anybody, nor does he praise anyone. His heart is cool like sandal paste. The treasure of bliss sprouts in him.

42. The yogi remains like an un-flickering flame, having renounced (study of) all the scriptures, given up worldly activities of all kinds, and having attained the state of fullness.

43. The yogi moves about unnoticed in forests, his body smeared with the mud clinging to the grass, giving the world the same value as to a blade of grass, free from fatigue, having gone beyond old age and death.

44. The yogi remains like a log of wood in a steady posture, in an incomparable manner, not seeing any form whatever, and not speaking or hearing any word.

45. The great ascetic moves about unnoticed, free from any pride about his lineage, seeing the fullness (Brahman) in all creatures everywhere, appearing like an ignorant man though aware of the truth of all the Vedas.

46. With his shoulder for pillow, the earth for bed, and the sky for covering, he sleeps, overwhelmed by bliss, embracing the damsel of detachment.

47. The wonderful king of ascetics sports in the inner apartments of the upanishads with the lovely courtesans in the form of his own consciousness from which the notions of difference have departed.

48. Having ascended to the mansion of Realty through the broad path of detachment well illuminated by the powerful lamp of knowledge, the great ascetic enjoys with the damsel in the form of liberation.

49. The knower of the self wears a garland of lotuses in the form of places unfrequented by people, is adorned by the wish-yielding creeper in the form of detachment towards women, and consumes the pill of nectar in the form of dishonour (by the ignorant). (The idea is that he stays only in deserted places, is not at all attracted by sensual pleasures and welcomes dishonour rather than honour).

50. The sage does not reject anything on the ground that it is harmful, nor does he accept anything on the ground that it is favourable. Knowing that everything is the product of ignorance, he is indifferent. (He is completely free from notions of likes and dislikes, of what is favourable and what is not).

51. His mind does not dwell on anything that has happened in the past, nor does he think about the future. He does not see even the things in front of him, considering everything as the same (Brahman).

52. The great ascetic moves about, with all organs under control, devoid of desire for all sense-objects, and having attained the summit of supreme satisfaction.

53. The great sage stays alone, calm in mind, enjoying his internal bliss, not rejecting anything that comes, nor desiring anything that he has not got.

54. Having attained a pure indescribable state of bliss, consciousness and wakefulness, the ascetic moves about alone, at will, free from all bonds.

55. The king among those who have become free from all attachments shines, not dependent on any one, with his mind merged in the Reality in which all worldly activities have been sublated.

56. The ascetic of the highest order shines, having realized his identity with the infinite Consciousness by the side-glance of his Guru, and having become free from all notions of difference.

57. Going beyond the shackles of varna and ashrama, and beyond such limitations as fate, etc., the great ascetic remains as pure bliss and consciousness.

58. Having brought to an end all action, and having exhausted his praarabdha, freed from association with the body, the enlightened person becomes Brahman itself.

59. There is only the indescribable pure existence, calm, without beginning or end, ever a mass of bliss and consciousness, immutable, primordial, and non-dual.

60. There is the supreme Reality that is imperishable, un-decaying, unborn, extremely subtle, absolutely pure consciousness, free from all misery.

61. There is that indescribable Reality which is supremely blissful, immortal, not distant, the very essence, the shore of the ocean of transmigratory existence, homogeneous, free from fear, and infinite.

62. The indescribable Reality shines eternally. It has no taste, or smell or form. It is beyond the three gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas. It is incomparable (because there is no other to be compared with) and beyond all fear.

63. Thus, by the gracious compassionate side-glances of my Guru I have brought out the essence of the upanishads in sixty-two faultless verses in the Arya metre.

64. By meditating on this Atmavidyavilasa composed (by me) everyday the wise man acquires knowledge of the supreme Self and attains to the Reality.

...................

From Swami Ramdas:

The path of pure and simple Bhakti is one of the easiest means to reach the all-powerful feet of the Lord. 

Self-surrender is the goal. 

Pure aspiration and ceaseless meditation constitute the path. All else is secondary.

By constant practice, keep your mind ever tuned to the infinite Truth.

90

Self-surrender denotes a life lived in accordance with your exalted spiritual nature. 

Dwell in the Divine and act as inspired by Him within you, having no doubt or fear.

......

The end of all Sadhanas is total self-surrender 

which means giving over your individual life into the complete control and guidance of the supreme Lord 

and thus remain ever in a state of perfect oneness with Him.

.........

It is He alone, within you and without you, that makes you act every part in this world-game.

 Realize this and be free from all bondages, and 

enjoy the ecstasy and peace of immortality.

Complete surrender to God denotes the divinisation of life.

........

Face all the vicissitudes in life by throwing yourselves completely at the mercy of the Almighty Lord. 

When you are made to go through the fire of suffering, you can come out of it purified and strengthened. 

Such suffering constitutes real Sadhana for attaining God.

 The more bitter it is, the more rapid becomes your spiritual progress.

 God-realisation does not mean living in worldly comfort and opulence. 

It means living in peace and freedom, whatever the external conditions may be.

.....

The real sadhana is not to forget the Self.

.......

Annamalai Swami: 

The Ribhu Gita advises us to remember at all times, ‘I am the Self; all is the Self’. 

The entire universe is ‘I’. 

If you can keep this permanently in your mind, millions and millions of punyas will come to you.

...........

I advise doing japa to the Self, either by repeatedly thinking about it or by repeating affirmations such as ‘I am the Self’. 

This affirmation is the greatest mantra of all. If you can do it continuously, without interruption, you will get results very quickly. There is no greater japa, no greater sadhana than this.

The one who is seeking is also that which is sought. 

The seeker and the sought are both Self.. 

If you are not able to find this Self within yourself, you will not find it anywhere else.

..........

It is more productive to keep the awareness ‘I am the Self’ than to be analysing the usefulness of effort.

 ..........

Sadhana, effort and practice, and any ideas you may have about them, 

are concepts that can only arise when you believe that you are not the Self, 

and when you believe that you have to do something to reach the Self.

......

You will know that they were just mental concepts. 

In that state you will know that mind is the Self, bondage is the Self, everything is the Self. 

With that vision, nothing will bind you; nothing will cause you misery.

..............

Teeth and tongue are both parts of you, and they both function in harmony, without fighting or struggling. When there is the knowledge that mind and Self are one, there will be no fights, no struggles, and no attempts to judge or attain. 

To have this harmony, place the mind in the Self and keep it there. 

This is the real meditation.

..........

ssing on consciousness.

Annamalai Swami: 

I don’t lose consciousness of the Self because I don’t get identified with the body and the mind.

It is only in the state in which you identify with the body and the mind that problems arise.

........

If you give up all your ideas about separateness, that will be enough. 

When those ideas have gone you realise you are everything.

........

If you want to take a full cup of water from a lake, you have fully to immerse the cup first. 

If you want to fill your mind with Grace, 

Submerge it fully in the Self.

.............

Self-enquiry is the process by which attention is put on the substratum instead of on the names and forms that are habitually imposed on it.

 Self is the substratum out of which all things appear to manifest, and the jnani is the one who is continually aware of the real substratum. 

He is never deluded into believing that the names and forms that are perceived by the senses have any real existence.

........

The infinite eye of the Self will then reveal to you that all is one and indivisible.

.........

Jnanis remain absorbed in the Self at all times

.........

If you can hold on to this knowledge “I am the Self ” at all times, no further practice or initiation will be necessary.’

..............

As these inner holy feet can be held naturally and unceasingly, hereafter, with an inward- turned mind,

cling to that inner awareness which is your own real nature. 

This alone is the proper way for the removal of bondage and the attainment of the supreme truth. ’

...............

............end..................................................................

July 2022 Talks with Ramana select-3

 Talks-part 14

https://selfdefinition.org/ramana/Talks-with-Sri-Ramana-Maharshi--complete.pdf

490

Abhyasa consists in withdrawal within the Self every time you are disturbed by thought. 

It is not concentration or destruction of the mind but withdrawal into the Self.

.......

Talk 489.

 Another group of visitors was asking the method of Realisation. 

In the course of a reply Sri Bhagavan said: 

“Holding the mind and investigating it is advised for a beginner. 

But what is the mind after all? It is a projection of the Self. 

See for whom it appears and from where it rises. 

The ‘I-thought’ will be found to be the root-cause. 

Go deeper; the ‘I-thought’ disappears and there is an infinitely expanded ‘I-consciousness’. 

That is otherwise called Hiranyagarbha. 

When it puts on limitations it appears as individuals.”

.....

M.: If Realisation be something outside you a way can be shown consistent with the safety of the individual, his capacity. etc. Then the questions if it is realisable and, if so, in what time - will also arise. But here, Realisation is of the Self. You cannot remain without the Self. The Self is always realised. But only you do not recognise the fact. 

The Realisation is now obscured by the present world idea. 

The world is now seen outside you and the idea associated with it obscures your real nature. All that is needed is to overcome this ignorance and then the Self stands revealed. 

No special effort is necessary to realise the Self. All efforts are for eliminating the present obscuration of the Truth. 

A lady is wearing a necklace round her neck. She forgets it, imagines it to be lost and impulsively looks for it here, there and everywhere. Not finding it, she asks her friends if they have found it anywhere, until one kind friend points to her neck and tells her to feel the necklace round the neck. The seeker does so and feels happy that the necklace is found. 

Again, when she meets her other friends, they ask her if her lost necklace was found. She says ‘yes’ to them, as if it were lost and later recovered. Her happiness on re-discovering it round her neck is the same as if some lost property was recovered. In fact she never lost it nor recovered it. And yet she was once miserable and now she is happy. 

So also with the realisation of the Self. The Self is always realised. The Realisation is now obscured. When the veil is removed the person feels happy at rediscovering the ever-realised Self. The ever-present Realisation appears to be a new Realisation. 

Now, what should one do to overcome the present ignorance. 

Be eager to have the true knowledge. 

As this eagerness grows the wrong knowledge diminishes in strength until it finally disappears.

...........

Avidya nasa is alone Self-Realisation. 

Self-Realisation is only owpacharika. 

Self Realisation is only a euphemism for elimination of ignorance.

.......

If one knows that Bliss is none other than the Self, then the mind becomes inward turned.

If the Self is gained all the desires are fulfilled.

.......

The Master being the Self. Grace is inseparable from the Self.

.....

D.: But Yoga Vasishtha says that the chitta (mind) of a jivanmukta is achala (unchanging). 

M.: So it is. Achala chitta (unchanging mind) is the same as suddha manas (pure mind).

........

528

M.: First surrender and see. The doubts arise because of the absence of surrender. 

Acquire strength by surrender and then your surroundings will be found to have improved to the degree of strength acquired by you.

........

The thoughts change but not you. 

Let go the passing thoughts and hold on to the unchanging Self.

.....

M.: Even better than the man who thinks “I have renounced everything” is the one who does his duty but does not think “I do this” or “I am the doer”. 

.......

M.: The Bhagavad Gita says: 

Sanaissanairuparamet (The mind must gradually be brought to a standstill); 

Atma samstham manah krtva (making the mind inhere in the Self); 

Abhyasa-vairagyabhyam (by practice and dispassion). 

Practice is necessary. Progress will be slow.

...

Atma sakshatkara (Self-Realisation) is thus only anatma nirasana (giving up the non-Self).

....

575

They pray to God and finish with “Thy Will be done!”

 If His Will be done why do they pray at all? 

It is true that the Divine Will prevails at all times and under all circumstances. 

The individuals cannot act of their own accord. 

..........

Recognise the force of the Divine Will and keep quiet. 

Each one is looked after by God. He has created all. You are one among 2,000 millions. When He looks after so many will He omit you? 

.......

Even common sense dictates that one should abide by His Will.

....

A visitor asked: Sri Bhagavan said last night that God is guiding us. Then why should we make an effort to do anything? 

M.: Who asks you to do so? If there was that faith in the guidance of God this question would not have arisen. 

D.: The fact is that God guides us. Then what is the use of these instructions to people?

M.: They are for those who seek instructions.

 If you are firm in your belief in the guidance of God, stick to it, and do not concern yourself with what happens around you. 

Furthermore, there may be happiness or misery. Be equally indifferent to both and abide in the faith of God. 

That will be so only when one’s faith is strong that God looks after all of us. 

.......

Mr. Chopra asked: “How shall I secure that firm faith?” 

M.: Exactly. It is for such as these who want instructions. There are persons who seek freedom from misery. 

They are told that God guides all and so there need not be any concern about what happens.

 If they are of the best type they at once believe it and firmly abide by faith in God. 

But there are others who are not so easily convinced of the truth of the bare statement. 

They ask: “Who is God? What is His nature? Where is He? How can He be realised?” and so on. 

In order to satisfy them intellectual discussion is found necessary. 

Statements are made, their pros and cons are argued, and the truth is thus made clear to the intellect.

 When the matter is understood intellectually the earnest seeker begins to apply it practically. 

He argues at every moment, “For whom are these thoughts? Who am I?” and so forth, until he is well-established in the conviction that a Higher Power guides us. 

That is firmness of faith. 

Then all his doubts are cleared and he needs no further instructions.

......

D.: We also have faith in God. 

M.: If it had been firm no questions would have arisen. The person will remain perfectly happy in his Faith in the Omnipotent.

........

D.: Is an intellectual understanding of the Truth necessary?

 M.: Yes. Otherwise why does not the person realise God or the Self at once?

 i.e. As soon as he is told that God is all or the Self is all? 

That shows some wavering on his part. 

He must argue with himself and gradually convince himself of the Truth before his faith becomes firm.

........

D.: Can samadhi come and go? 

M.: What is samadhi? Samadhi is one’s essential nature. 

How then can it come or go?

 If you do not realise your essential nature, your sight remains obstructed. 

What is the obstruction? Find it and remove it. So one’s efforts are meant only for the removal of obstructions which hide the true vision. The real nature remains the same. 

When once it is realised it is permanent. 

.......

But the real state must be effortless.

The effortless samadhi is the true one and the perfect state. It is permanent.

...

M.: Now see which is your real nature. Is it that which is free from thoughts or that which is full of thoughts? 

Being is continuous. The thoughts are discontinuous. So which is permanent? 

D.: Being. 

M.: That is it. Realise it. That is your true nature. Your nature is simple Being, free from thoughts.

 Because you identify yourself with the body you want to know about creation. The world and the objects including your body appear in the waking state but disappear in the state of sleep. You exist all through these states. What is it then that persists through all these states? Find it out. That is your Self. 

..........

The only thing that matters is that you see the Self. 

This can be done wherever you remain.

 The Self must be sought within. 

The search must be steadfast.

 If that is gained there is no need to stay near the Master as a physical being. 

The ‘statement’ is meant for those who cannot find the Self remaining where they are.

..........

Therefore the seeker’s aim must be to drain away the vasanas from the heart and let no reflection obstruct the Light of Eternal Consciousness.

This is achieved by the search for the origin of the ego and by diving into the heart. This is the direct method for Self-Realisation. 

One who adopts it need not worry about nadis, the brain, the Sushumna, the Paranadi, the Kundalini, pranayama or the six centres. 

...........

It is useless to aspire for that which is transient.

..........

Talk 642. 

Mr. K. L. Sarma asked: Svasvarupanusandhanam bhaktirityabhidhiyate. Again - Svatmatattvanusadhanam bhaktirityapare joguh. What is the difference between the two? 

M.: The former is vichara - Who am I? (Koham?) It represents jnana.

 The latter is dhyana - Whence am I? (Kutoham?) This admits a jivatma which seeks the Paramatma.

...........

M.: Sadhanas are needed so long as one has not realised it. They are for putting an end to obstacles. Finally there comes a stage when a person feels helpless notwithstanding the sadhanas. 

He is unable to pursue the much-cherished sadhana also. 

It is then that God’s Power is realised. 

The Self reveals itself.

..........

Know the Self and there is an end of it.

 No long process is necessary to know the Self.

 Is it to be pointed out by another? 

Does not everyone know that he exists? 

....

641

Any kind of meditation is good. 

But if the sense of separateness is lost and the object of meditation or the subject who meditates is alone left behind without anything else to know, it is jnana. 

....

Jnana is said to be ekabhakti (single-minded devotion). The Jnani is the finality because he has become the Self and there is nothing more to do. He is also perfect and so fearless.

 dwitiyat vai bhayam bhavati - only the existence of a second gives rise to fear. 

This is mukti. It is also bhakti.

................

From Atma Vidya Vilasa;

Only some exceptional 
individuals who have acquired the necessary qualifications 
such as total detachment etc. can attain to self knowledge. 

The wise man, having cast off his natural propensities born of prakriti, having realized his real nature as Sat, 

Chith and Ananda, rejoices having attained to high 

state of bliss by a mere compassionate glance of the 
great teacher. 7.

He wanders about with his desires crushed and with his pride, self-esteem and envy discarded, realising in his 
mind that this universe in its entirety is unsubstantial 
and of the nature of Maya alone. 12.

The yogi, free of (all) burdens, rejoices in the bliss within,knowing for certain that, in reality, there is 
no trace of Maya or any of it's effects in the pure Self. 13.

He sports like a child without any idea of `I' or `you',
immersed in the ocean of pure happiness, (innocently)
delighted at the various actions of (worldly) men. 14.

Having discarded the (illusory) bondage of karma and delighting in the Atman,the prince of sanyasis wanders 

about in the outskirts of the jungle as if he were an idiot,
like a blind or deaf person. 15.

Having skillfully caught the fickle deer of his mind with the net of enquiry, he, the unique one, reposes in his own abode, tired of hunting in the forests of the Vedas. 23.

.................

‘I Am’ is the goal and the final Reality. 

To hold to it with effort is vichara. 

When spontaneous and natural it is Realisation. 

...........end.......................................................................................................

July 2022 Talks with Ramana select-2

 Experience gained without rooting out all the vasanas cannot remain steady. 

Efforts must be made to eradicate the vasanas. 

Otherwise rebirth after death takes place. 

.......

The cosmic mind, manifesting in some rare being, is able to effect the linkage in others of the individual (weak) mind with the universal (strong) mind of the inner recess. 

Such a rare being is called the Guru or God in manifestation.

......

vol 2 begins:

D.: How to train the mind to look within? 

M.: By practice. 

The mind is the intelligent phase leading to its own destruction, for Self to manifest.

.......

Bhagavan said that the tiny hole in the Heart remains always closed, 

but it is opened by vichara 

with the result that ‘I-I’ consciousness shines forth.

 It is the same as samadhi.

.......

Sravana removes the illusion of the Self being one with the body, etc. 

Reflection makes it clear that Knowledge is Self.

 One pointedness reveals the Self as being Infinite and Blissful.

.......

All the sastras are meant only to make the man retrace his steps to the original source.

......

M.: Surrender will make one understand the Grace.

.....

D.: How to gain Divine Grace? 

M.: By surrender. 

D.: Still I do not feel Grace. 

M.: Sincerity is wanting. Surrender should not be verbal nor conditional.

To merge into the Heart is prayer. That is also Grace.

...........

One must be like Janaka for jnana to dawn. 

One must be ready to sacrifice everything for the Truth. 

Complete renunciation is the index of fitness.

.........

D.: Will vichara alone do in the absence of meditation? 

M.: Vichara is the process and the goal also. 

‘I Am’ is the goal and the final Reality. 

To hold to it with effort is vichara. 

When spontaneous and natural. it is Realisation.

.........

M.: (1) Holding on to Reality is samadhi. 

(2) Holding on to Reality with effort is savikalpa samadhi. 

(3) Merging in Reality and remaining unaware of the world is nirvikalpa samadhi.  

(4) Merging in Ignorance and remaining unaware of the world is sleep. (Head bends but not in samadhi).

 (5) Remaining in the primal, pure natural state without effort is sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi.

........talks part 11 ends

I do not feel the ever present help. 

M. Surrender and you will find it. 

.......

Those who have limited the unlimited Self have committed suicide by putting on such limitations.

..

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.

..........

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!

.........

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.

......

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?

...........

Samadhi must be gained. 

It must be continuously practised until sahaja samadhi results. 

.....

How is it made ever abiding? 

M.: By scorching the predispositions. 

......

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. 

........

........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    ......................................

...........................end............................................................................

July 2022 Talks with Ramana select-1

 https://selfdefinition.org/ramana/Talks-with-Sri-Ramana-Maharshi--complete.pdf

Dec 26, 2021

49/704

Self-surrender leads to realisation just as enquiry does. 

Complete self-surrender means that you have no further thought of ‘I’. 

Then all your predispositions (samskaras) are washed off and you are free. 

You should not continue as a separate entity at the end of either course.

..............

Yogi Ramaiah's observation:

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. 

........

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.

.,,

58/704

What is, namely the Self, will be revealed as the inescapable residue.

......

D.: I meditate neti-neti (not this - not this). 

M.: No - that is not meditation.

 Find the source. 

You must reach the source without fail. 

The false ‘I’ will disappear and the real ‘I’ will be realised. 

The former cannot exist apart from the latter.

...........

If you have surrendered, you must be able to abide by the will of God 

and not make a grievance of what may not please you. 

....

the Self is only Be-ing.

 Not being this or that. 

.....

The Master pointed out that Dakshinamurti did not teach anything of the kind. He did not say that Brahman is related to Sakti or not related. All that was, was only silence; and the doubts of the sishyas (disciples) were cleared. 

The significance is that there is nothing to be learnt, discussed and concluded. 

Everyone knows ‘I am.’ 

There is the confusion that the ‘I’ is the body. 

..........

The Self is nitya aparoksha, i.e. ever-realised, knowingly or unknowingly. 

.....

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.

..........

M.: Sphurana is felt on several occasions, such as in fear, excitement, etc. Although it is always and all over, yet it is felt at a particular centre and on particular occasions. It is also associated with antecedent causes and confounded with the body. 

Whereas, it is all alone and pure; it is the Self. 

If the mind be fixed on the sphurana and one senses it continuously and automatically it is realisation.

Again sphurana is the foretaste of Realisation. It is pure.

......

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.: Is then hearing the Truth meant only for a limited few?

 M.: It is of two kinds. 

The ordinary one is to hear it enunciated and explained by a master. 

However, the right one is to raise the question for oneself and seek and find the answer in oneself as the unbroken ‘I-I’. 

To be reflecting on this experience is the second stage. 

To remain one-pointed in it is the third stage.

..........

kritopasaka and akritopasaka.

The former having already overcome his predisposition by steady devotion, his mind thus made pure, has had some kind of experience but does not comprehend it; as soon as he is instructed by a competent master, permanent experience results. 

.....

D.: So one need not seek to control the mind? 

M.: There is no mind to control if you realise the Self. 

The mind vanishing, the Self shines forth.

 In the realised man the mind may be active or inactive, the Self alone remains for him.

..................

Talk 99

M.: Atman is realised with Mruta Manas. Dead mind.

 i.e. Mind devoid of thoughts and turned inward.

 Then the mind sees its own source

and becomes That. 

.......

(9) An insincere man is hurt by the touch of fire test. His insincerity is brought out by fire. 

Sincerity is Self-evident. A true man or a Self realised man remains happy, without being affected by the false appearances (namely the world, birth and death, etc.), whereas the false or ignorant man is miserable.

.......

D.: What is this Self again? 

M.: The Self is known to everyone but not clearly. You always exist. 

The Be-ing is the Self. 

‘I am’ is the name of God. 

.......

Search the source of the ego and the Self is revealed. 

........

Thus the disciple gains true knowledge and right experience in the presence of the master. 

To remain unshaken in it further efforts are necessary. 

.......

M.: Those who have discovered great Truths have done so in the still depths of the Self. 

...........

We think that there is something hiding our Reality and that it must be destroyed before the Reality is gained. It is ridiculous. 

A day will dawn when you will yourself laugh at your past efforts. 

That which will be on the day you laugh is also here and now.

D.: So it is a great game of pretending? 

..........

When you see the world you have lost hold of the Self. 

On the contrary, hold the Self and the world will not appear.

........

M.: Long for it intensely so that the mind melts in devotion. 

After the camphor burns away no residue is left. 

The mind is the camphor; when it has resolved itself into the Self without leaving even the slightest trace behind, it is Realisation of the Self.

.................................................................end..............