Thursday 4 July 2024

Path of Ramana -2-1

 https://media.ashrama.org/1341102594

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“Love is our Being; desire is our rising”.

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We are finally brought to the conclusion that unconditional Self-surrender in which no room is given even to any kind of prayers, is the best karma (action). This is nothing but Self-abidance

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So long as a man experiences himself and the world as two separate entities, each having a distinct individual existence, he cannot in practice conceive even the mind transcending state of Parinirvana to be anything but a third which is distinct from himself and the world.

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 direct their power of attention only towards second and third person objects, and no one ever directs it towards the first person! This great error is what is called the ‘original sin’. 

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Since the eternal Self is non-dual and since there is no other path (to attain it) except (to attend to and thereby to abide as) Self, the goal to be attained is only Self and the path is only Self. Know them (the goal and the path) to be nondifferent. – Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 579

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Thus merely by our creating ourself as a limited individual soul on account of our pramada or forgetfulness of Self, we simultaneously become the one who has created the other two entities, the world and God.

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If an aspirant truly engages himself in the practice of Self-attention, he will often feel as if the state of Self-consciousness, which is his own true nature, is clearly known for some time and as if it is afterwards obscured. On such occasion he will be able to understand very clearly from his own experience how the world-appearance vanishes and how it again comes into existence. Because of the speed of forgetfulness or pramada by which he swerve from the state of Self-attention, it may be difficult in the beginning for an aspirant to notice exactly when he

loses his hold on Self-attention. In due course, however, because of the clarity and strength which he will gain by repeatedly practicing Self-attention, it will become possible for him to notice the exact moment when Self-attention is lost, and thus it will become possible for him to regain it immediately. On all the occasions when he thus clearly cognizes the moment when Self-attention is lost and the moment when it is regained, the aspirant will be able to know very easily from his own experience how the world is created by his losing Self-attention and how it is then destroyed

by his regaining Self-attention.

Thus the aspirant will come to know with absolute certainty that his giving room to slackness in Self-attention is the means by which the body and world are created, that his maintaining slackness in Self-attention on account of his lack of interest either to notice that such slackness had occurred or to put an end to it, is the means by which the world is sustained, and that his firmly abiding once again in his own real and, blissful state of pure Consciousness, which is devoid of the limitations of name and form, having vigilantly known the exact

moment when slackness in Self-attention occurred and having thereby put an end to it, is the means’ by which the world is destroyed. When the aspirant comes to know this truth from his own direct experience, he will realise himself to be the perfect Supreme Reality which transcends the three functions of creation, sustenance and destruction, and hence he will remain unshakably established in the state of absolute peace.

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But if the man described above really takes to the path of complete self-surrender in order to acquire from God the power which is necessary for him to bring about such a radical reformation in the creation, what will actually happen in the end? If and when the surrender becomes complete, the mind or ego which had risen as ‘I am so-and-so’ and which had cherished all the wonderful notions mentioned above, will surely drown and perish in Self, the source from which it had risen, thereby losing its separate individuality.

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, the fact that the real cause of all the miseries that appear to us in the world is solely due to our defective outlook that has come into existence as a result of our contracting our limitless blissful Nature of existence into a limited body through the unlimited freedom inherent in us of using our Will, it will then become obvious that the only wise thing to do, is to put an end to the disease of the appearance of the world and body (through Self-attention) and be ever blissful.

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The Path is to attend to ‘I am’ and the Goal is to remain as ‘I am’!

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“From now onwards there is no such thing for me as a need in my life. Let anything take place in my life as you will ” “… all such sorts of ups and downs, happiness or misery, prosperity or poverty, honour or dishonour, fame or ill-fame…” The only need is You alone; fulfill that one need of mine, my Lord! – Sri Ramalinga Swamy.

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“Who was it (but Thee) that ruined my living by throwing mud into my mouth?” – ‘Arunachala Aksharamanamalai’ - Verse 88.

 “Who was it, who, unknown to anyone, allured me and stole away my mind?” – ‘Arunachala Aksharamanamalai’ - Verse 89

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“Thou hast delivered me from the madness for the world and hast turned me into a mad man having madness for Thee. Now, the medicine to cure this madness also is Thy Grace.” – ‘Arunachala Aksharamanamalai’ - Verse 66.

“When will the wave of thought in me cease so that I may reach Thee, the most minute as well as the most great?” – ‘Arunachala Aksharamanamalai’ - Verse 57.

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“For Thee I am longing, but without the true knowledge, and I am weary! Do Thou grant me the Supreme Knowledge of Thee, so That my weariness may go, O Arunachala.” – ‘Arunachala Aksharamanamalai’ – Verse 40

Knowing that the present pangs of separation of our Man are due to his love for Him (God) and this in turn is due to not having the right knowledge of His reality, (Real Nature) and that the only remedy for this is to bestow upon him the Supreme Knowledge; God withdraws from the sight of the Man His unreal aspects, the name and form.

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“… realizing one’s own truth in the truth of that True Thing (the Supreme) and being one with It, having been resolved into It, is the true Seeing (realization). Thus should you know”. – ‘Ulladu Narpadu’ – Verse 8.

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Realising the oneness of one’s own Self as the true nature of God and to merge into It without any residue of individuality, alone is the true seeing and the true attainment of God. Is it not?

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Ramana that, unless one experiences one’s Self, the knowledge that everything is Brahman cannot be perfect and true; although one accepts that everything is Brahman and tries to see the world as such; it will be only an imagination

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“The dissolving of the ice - the ego sense ‘I am the body’ into the ocean – the Guru-Awareness – that is the same as the oneness of Self-Awareness, is the true worship of the Guru.” – ‘Guru Vachaka Kovai’ - Verse 315

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“Only when you know your Self, no harm can befall you….” -‘Kaivalyam’ - Chapter I - Verse 13.

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“Those who do not understand that the JnanaGuru is the formless Supreme Space though he appears in the human form, are the vilest of all criminals.” – ‘Guru Vachaka Kovai’ - Verse 274

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Your Love of the Self (Swatma Bhakti) i.e., your (ego’s) merging into the Self, is verily your true Love of the Guru (Guru-Bhakti).

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“Because one has no Love (Swatma Bhakti) to listen to the teaching of the Supreme Self ever going on in the heart, one comes out with great enthusiastic delusion. Because of this one needs a Guru outside.” – ‘Guru Vachaka Kovai’ - Verse 272

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“...Remaining in one’s own real Beingness is the very truth of Supreme Love” –‘Upadesha Undiyar’ - Verse 9

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“…One who has such ‘Love for not an other’ drowns in Thee, the Self the form of Bliss.” –‘Sri Arunachala Pancharatnam’ Verse 5

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Yes, but, why has it been said that even the Guru’s love towards the disciple is less than one’s Love towards the Self? In the view of the Guru, there is no one other than the Self. Therefore, His love is truly not a love towards a second entity as disciple. The Guru never views anyone as a disciple – an other than Himself.

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“To say the truth, he who knows the Truth (MeiJnani) is different from he who knows of the Truth in the scriptures (Vijnani). The only essential thing to do for those who want to cut the knot of the bondage of ignorance, is to quit those who know the scriptures and to join those who abide in the Self, the Knowers of Truth.” –‘Guruvachaka Kovai’ - Verse 1158

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“The only worthy disciplehood which is the steadfast Supreme Devotion that springs up with the merging of the ego into the Light of Supreme Silence (or Self-Awareness), is verily the right Guruship. Thus should you know” –‘Guruvachaka Kovai’- Verse 269

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Bhakti and Jnana pave the way to the Self. To be as the Self is Jnana; and without loving the Self how to be It?

So, if one is as Self, it is the state of fullness of

Love. If one has ‘Bhakti one cannot but be as the Self. So Bhakti and Jnana are not two but the Self, like the two faces of the same coin.

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For, a real devotee will never ask God to alter his Prarabdha 

because he has surrendered his ‘original freedom to will and act’ to Him; 

no more a real enquirer will make an effort towards any other thing except to attend to the Self, 

because he knows the right use of his ‘original freedom to will and act’

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Manikvachakar

“The very moment You took me as Your own, I lost my individuality! You may do good or wrong to me! Who am I to interfere, O my Lord!”

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“O Arunachala….O Bliss born out of Love! What is there for me to say? Thy Will is my will and Thy Will is Itself my happiness.” -‘Sri Arunachala Pathikam’ - Verse 2

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...... And it is only to such student that the method of rectifying the two mistakes in using the ‘freedom to will and act’, mentioned above, can be explained. Verily, only for the sake of such few devotees, who by experiencing the results of karmas through so many births have been maturing through dispassion towards karmas, God comes in the form of a Guru

...Thus the Guru places in front of the disciple the path of Self-enquiry and the path of Self-surrender – the path of Knowledge and the path of Love (Jnana Marga and Bhakti Marga). From that time onwards the devotee, who takes to either Self-enquiry or Self-surrender, is able to understand that whatever happens in his life is only favourable to lessen the activities of his mind and make him turn Self-ward. Not only that, he is also able to understand that whatever has happened to him in

the past through his Prarabdha as ordained by God,

before he took to his present spiritual path, were also incidents favourable to lessen the activities of his mind and make him turn Self-ward.

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To the disciple who is now wondering about his new outlook on life, these loving words of Sri Ramana flash through his mind:- “Know this to be by the Grace of your Guru who is acting from outside to push you within.” As soon as he gets this new outlook on life, he feels ashamed to pray any longer to his God or Guru to alter his destiny (Prarabdha); because, he now finds that all the activities going on in his life are only to make him turn Self-ward.

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In short, in the eyes of such a matured disciple, the Prarabdha becomes completely non-existent. 

He does not use the word ‘Prarabdha’, but points out to it as ‘The loving Will of my Lord;

 His Will is my pleasure!’. 

Now the surrender completes itself – 

the life has been changed into one immense Bliss, 

even the greatest tortures now appear to him, [as sings Saint Appar: 

* “(Where I was placed) under the shade of the Feet of my Lord, I felt as if on the cool bank of a pond in the spring full moon, under the pleasant touch of the southern breeze while the Veena is playing sweet melody”.

His mind so transformed is no longer a ‘mind’, It is Self – his very nature. 

We can say that, what was previously called ‘mind’ is now destroyed.

Thus we are able to understand that the experiencership

(Bhoktrutva) is destroyed along with the doership (Kartrutva).

Having his two aspects thus destroyed, the jeeva’s keeping quite is the ‘BE STILL’ (Summa Iru). 

And THIS is the real teaching (Upadesha) of the Guru. To BE so STILL is the real service to God and to the Guru. And to BE so STILL is really to live in the Divine. And THIS is the original Natural State.

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It is said above that the destruction of the doership is itself the destruction of the experiencership also. The same power – our Perfect Freedom, which imagined a separate entity as a doer, when now, on the contrary, acts in the form of an intense Power to Will (Ichcha Shakti) and an intense Power to Act (Kriya Shakti) to BE STILL, this un-equalled Power - the DYNAMIC STILLNESS destroys the insignifican

false and imaginary ‘ichcha and kriya shakti’ used for the creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe.

At this stage, the unnatural superimposition made by the aforesaid power of imagination to see the Self, by the Self, in the Self - as many, ceases!

Now, as the aspirant experiences the real Awakening into his True Nature which ever shines as ONE with no otherness – the Perfect SELF alone, the sleep of ignorance in which the dream of birth and death of the individual (the doer) appeared, disappears!!

When the doership is thus destroyed, who stands there for

experiencership? Hence, the heap or Sanchita, with its good and bad results of the karmas performed, disappears like a dream, just as both debts and gains in a dream disappear on waking-up. It is what is mentioned in ‘Kaivalyam

 “Just as a bundle of cotton is burnt to ashes, during the Great Fire of Dissolution, Sanchita, the wonderful seed of diversified fruits – innumerable births - is utterly burnt to ashes by the Fire of Knowledge.” – ‘Kaivalyam’ - Chapter I -Verse 96.

and in Bhagavad Gita:-- “ ... The Fire of Knowledge burns ALL karmas to ashes.” –‘Bhagavad Gita’ - Chapter IV - Verse 37

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how can the experiencership still live after the doership has been destroyed by the dawn of Self-Knowledge? It cannot! When the experiencership is thus lost, who is there to experience the Prarabdha and how? No one!

Will not

the Prarabdha be nullified since there is no experiencer? Therefore, for the Jnani there is truly none of the three Karmas; but, as an ignorant and immature aspirant takes the Jnani to be a body – he cannot do otherwise - the scriptures have to tell him that the Jnani has Prarabdha alone

That is why the Supreme, who takes the form of different Gurus at different times to frame rules – the different scriptures – now appearing in the form of Sri Ramana, gives for the benefit of the highly mature souls, the following amendment to the scriptures, which He had Himself framed at different times:- “To say that Sanchita and Agamya will not adhere to a Jnani, but Prarabdha does remain (to be experienced by Him) is only a superficial reply to the question put by others. Just as none of the

wives will remain unwidowed when the husband dies, so also, all the three Karmas will cease to exist when the doer (ego) dies. Thus should you know” - ‘Ulladu Narpadu – Supplement’ - Verse 33

The aspirant who is on the path of Love (Bhakti) believes that there is a God or Guru and that He protects him, with the hope that He will do for him whatever is good. Such an aspirant, while using his ‘original freedom to will and act’, surrenders his doership to Him; therefore he, no longer has to make efforts (Agamyas), and thus BEcomes STILL.

of their efforts and activities while experiencing the different joys and trials of life and who finally come to understand the right use of their ‘original freedom to will and act’. Through their ‘original freedom to will and act’ they withdraw their attention from second and third person objects and by attending to the Self, giving no room for (imaginary) inattention in their quest, they try to regain the Truth of the Self – the state of actionless-ness. Thus they BEcome STILL.

The freedom to like either; to make a complete surrender to God or to dispel the ignorance – in the form of an imaginary inattention, through Self-enquiry, and the freedom to act accordingly is in the individual; never it is obstructed; for, it is the very nature of Brahman. But for this freedom alone, Moksha or Liberation or the complete relief from miseries would be absolutely impossible and all Gurus and scriptures from time immemorial would become unnecessary and in vain!

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But some among us may ask: “By the limited knowing power (Alpa-Chit-Shakti) of the individual which is merely an imaginary reflection of the power of the True and un-limited Knowledge (Akhanda-ChitShakti), it is impossible to attain the State of Perfection (the Supreme). Is not the Grace of the power of that True unlimited Knowledge which Itself is God or Guru necessary?” Yes, indeed it is necessary! Because help is needed, IT gives help to those who have faith in God, in their efforts to surrender their ‘I-ness’, by bestowing upon them a tremendous capacity to surrender. This is

what is meant by the saying, “Take one step towards God; He will take ten steps towards you.” While to the aspirant who, though having no faith in God or Guru, makes intense effort, with enthusiasm, in enquiring into the Self, his Reality, the Self acts as Guru and gives help from within as well as from without (external). 

IT shines in the form of that clarity of understanding that makes him understand through the outer events in his life, that the outgoing attention IS only misery. IT shines in the form of Bliss within and makes him turn within towards IT and know

‘This Bliss is my real state’, thus attracting him to merely BE. In this way the Grace of the Guru or God helps even him from within and without.

“Verily the Self is the Supreme Principle (Reality). Do Thou, Thyself reveal this to me, O Arunachala”. – Arunachala Akshramanamalai - Verse 43

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Arunachala, the Heart, is the only Thing that exists. “It is the Light of Self-Awareness. Knowing a thing or not knowing a thing is not the nature of the Self.

“That which knows objects is not the True Knowledge” says Shri Bhagavan in verse No. 12 of ‘Ulladu Narpadu’. ‘Being’ alone is the True Knowledge and not ‘knowing’.

Self-Knowledge is subjective and not objective. “Even such knowing the Self is nothing but Being the Self” says Shri Bhagavan in verse No. 26 of ‘Upadesha Undiyar’

This ‘Being the Self’ is the Pure Awareness ‘I AM’. Therefore, the knowing or not knowing other objects is the characteristic of the ego.

Only in the state of ego, these other objects can have an existence. Thus knowledge and ignorance can be only for the ego and not for the Self. For the Self there is not another. It is most important that we should not forget the fact that Shri Bhagavan Ramana once revealed even a subtler secret, “It is not only that the Self does not know other things but also does not know even: Itself!!”

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Wednesday 3 July 2024

path of Ramana 1-2

 https://www.sriramanateachings.org/The_Path_of_Sri_Ramana_Part_One.pdf

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Just as the man came out into the open space from the dark room by steadfastly holding on to and moving along the reflected ray, so the enquirer reaches the open space of Heart, coming out of the prison – the attachment to the body through the nerves (nadis) -, by assiduously holding on to the feeling ‘I am’. Let us now see how this process takes place in the body of an advanced enquirer.

Just on waking up from sleep, a consciousness ‘I’ shoots up like a flash of lightening from the Heart to the brain. From the brain, it then spreads throughout the body along the nerves (nadis). This ‘I’ consciousness is like electrical energy. Its impetus or voltage is the force of attachment (abhimana-vega) with which it identifies a body as ‘I’.

This consciousness, which spreads with such a tremendous impetus and speed all over the body as ‘I’, remains pure, having no adjunct (upadhi) attached to it, till it reaches the brain from the Heart.

But, since its force of attachment (abhimana-vega) is so great that the time taken by it to shoot up from the Heart to the brain is extremely short, one millionth of a second so to speak, ordinary people are unable to cognize it in its pure condition, devoid of any adjunct. 

This pure condition of the rising ‘I’ - consciousness is what was pointed out by Sri Bhagavan when He said, “In the space between two states or two thoughts, the pure ego (the pure condition or true nature of the ego) is experienced”, in ‘Maharshi’s Gospel’, Book One, chapter five, entitled ‘Self and Ego’.

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 For this ‘I’ – consciousness that spreads from the brain at a tremendous speed throughout the body, the nerves (nadis) are the transmission lines, like wires for electrical power, (How many they are is immaterial here.)

The mixing of the pure consciousness ‘I am’, after reaching the brain, with an adjunct as ‘I am this, I am so-and-so, I am the body’ is what is called bondage (bandham) or the knot (granthi).

 This knot has two forms: the knot of bondage to the nerves (nadi-bandha-granthi) and the knot of attachment (abhimana--granthi).

The connection of this power, the ‘I’- consciousness, with the gross nervous system is called ‘the knot of bondage to the nerves’ (nadi bandha granthi), and its connection (its dehabhimana) with the causal body, whose form is the latent tendencies, is called ‘the knot of attachment’ (abhimana-granthi), The knot of bondage to the nerves pertains to the breath (prana), while the knot of attachment pertains to the mind.

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“Mind and breath (prana) which have thought and action as their respective functions, are like two diverging branches of the trunk of a tree, but their root (the activating power) is one.” ‘Upadesa Undhiyar’, verse 12

Since the source of the mind and the prana is one (the Heart), when the knot of attachment (abhimana-granthi) is severed by the annihilation of the mind through Self-enquiry, the knot of bondage to the nerves (nadi

bandha-granthi) is also severed. In raja yoga, after removing the knot of bondage to the nerves by means of breathcontrol, if the mind which is thus controlled is made to enter the Heart from the brain (sahasrara), since it reaches its source, then the knot of attachment is also severed.

“When the mind which has been subdued by breath control is led (to the Heart) through the only path (the path of knowing Self)76, its form will die.” ‘Upadesa Undhiyar’, verse 14

However, since the knot of attachment is the basic one, until and unless the destruction of attachment (abhimana) is effected, by knowing self, even when the knot of bondage to the nerves is temporarily removed in sleep, swoon, death or by the use of anesthetics, the knot of attachment remains unaffected in the form of tendencies (vasanas), which constitute the causal body, and, hence rebirths are inescapable.

This is why Sri Bhagavan insists that one reaching kashta-nirvikalpa-samadhi 77 through raja yoga should not stop there (since it is only mano-laya, a temporary absorption of the mind), but that the mind so absorbed should be led to the Heart in order to attain sahaja-nirvikalpa-samildhi, which is the destruction of the mind (mano-nasa), the destruction of the attachment to the body (dehabhimana-nasa).

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In the body of such a Selfrealized One (sahaja jnani), the coursing of the ‘I’ - consciousness along the nerves, even after the destruction of the knot of attachment, is like the water on a lotus leaf or like a burnt rope, and thus it cannot cause bondage.

 Therefore the destruction of the knot of attachment is anyway indispensible for the attainment of the natural state (Sahaja Sthiti), the state of the destruction of the tendencies (vasanakshaya)

The nerves (nadis) are gross, but the consciousness power (chaitanya-sakti) that courses through them is subtle. The connection of the ‘I’-consciousness with the nerves is similar to that of the electrical power with the wires, that is, it is so unstable that it can be disconnected or connected in a second.

Is it not an experience common to one and all that this connection is daily broken in sleep and effected in the waking state? When this connection is effected, bodyconsciousness rises, and when it is broken, bodyconsciousness is lost.

Here it is to be remembered what has already been stated, namely that body-consciousness and world-consciousness are one and the same.

 So, like our clothes and ornaments which are daily removed and put on, this knot is alien to us, a transitory and false entity hanging loosely on us! This is what Sri Bhagavan referred to when He said, “We can detach ourself from what we are not”! Disconnecting the knot in such a way t

hat it will never again come into being is called by many names such as ‘the cutting of the knot’ (granthi-bheda). ‘the destruction of the mind’ (mano-nasa) and so on.

‘In such a way that it will never again come into being’ means this: by attending to it (the ego) through the enquiry ‘Does it in truth exist at present?’ in order to find out whether it had ever really come into being, there takes place the dawn of knowledge

(jnana), the real waking, where it is clearly and firmly known that no such knot has ever come into being, that no such ego has ever risen, that ‘that which exists’ alone ever exists, and that which was existing as ‘I am’ is ever existing as ‘I am’

The attainment of this knowledge (Self-knowledge or atma-jnana), the knowledge that the knot or bondage is at all times non-existent and has never risen, is the permanent disconnecting of the knot. Let us explain this with a small story

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.......The two walls in the story signify the second and third persons. The first person is the third wall said to be behind the man. There is no way at all to liberation by means of second and third person attention. Only by the first person attention ‘Who am I?’ will the right knowledge be gained that the ego, the first person, is ever non-existent, and only when the first person is thus annihilated will the truth be realized that bondage and liberation are false

‘’So long as one thinks like a madman ‘I am a bound one’, thoughts of bondage and liberation will last. But when looking into oneself ‘Who is this bound one? the eternally free and evershining Self alone will (be found to) exist. Thus,

where the thought of bondage no longer stands, can the thought of liberation still endure !” ‘Ulladhu Narpadhu’, verse 39

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Churning of the nadis

Let us now again take up our original point. When the attention of an aspirant is turned towards second and third persons, the ‘I’-consciousness spreads from the brain all over the body through the nerves (nadis) in the form of the power of spreading; but when the same attention is focused on the first person, since it is used in an opposite direction, the ‘I’ -consciousness, instead of functioning in the form of the power of spreading, takes the form of the power of Selfattention (that is, the power of ‘doing’ is transformed into the power of ‘being’). This is what is called ‘the churning of the nadis’ (nadi-mathana).

By the churning thus taking place in the nadis, the ‘I’-consciousness scattered throughout the nadis turns back, withdraws and collects in the brain, the starting point of its spreading, and from there it reaches, drowns and is established in the Heart, the pure consciousness, the source of its rising.

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. But for those who do not have such obstacles in the form of tendencies, the journey will be pleasant and without any distinguishing feature (visesha). In the former case, these experiences are due to non-vigilance (pramada) in Self-attention, for they are nothing but a second person attention taking place there! This itself betrays that the attention to Self is lost!

For those tremendously earnest aspirants who do not at all give room to non-vigilance in Self-attention, these objective experiences will never occur!

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.....Even though the ‘I’-consciousness while being withdrawn courses only along the sushumna nadi, on account of its extreme brilliance it illumines the five sense organs (jnanendriyas), which are near the sushumna, and hence the above–mentioned experiences happen.

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Since the mind is now very subtle and brilliant because it is withdrawn from all the other nadis into the sushumna, and since it is extremely pure because it is free from worldly desires, it is now able to project through the subtle five senses only the past auspicious tendencies (purva subha vasanas) as described above. However, just because of these visions and the like, one should not conclude that the mind has been transformed into Self (atman). Even now there has not be

en destruction of the mind (mono-nasa).

Whatever appears and is experienced is only a second person knowledge, which means that sadhana, the first person attention, is lost at that time! 

Being still alive with auspicious tendencies, it creates and perceives subtler and more lustrous second and third person objects, and finds enjoyment in them. So this is not at all the unqualified experience of true knowledge (nirvisesha-jnana-anubhava), which is the destruction of the tendencies (vasanakshaya)

Many are those who take these qualified experiences (visesha-anubhavas) of taste, light, sound and so on to be the final attainment of Self-knowledge (brahma-jnana), and because they have had these experiences they think that they have attained liberation and they become more and more entangled in attention to second and third persons, thus losing their foothold on Self-attention

Such aspirants are called ‘those fallen from yoga’ (yoga-bhrashtas).

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....... Whenever one is overtaken by such qualified experiences, the weapon of Ramana (Ramanastram), ‘To whom are these experiences ?’, is to be used! The feeling ‘To me’ will be the response! From this, by the enquiry ‘Who am I?’, one can immediately regain the thread of Self-attention. When Self-attention is thus regained, those qualified experiences of second and third persons will disappear of their own accord because there is no one to attend to them

....When the mind, giving up knowing those qualified external sense-objects, again turns towards its form of light 80 (consciousness), it will sink into its source, the Heart, and lose its form for ever. 

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.....During the course of sadhana, an aspirant will now be able, by the strength of practice, to cognize tangibly what is the state of the absorption of the ego and what exactly is

Self-consciousness, at which he has been aiming till now.

Although his pure Self-existence, devoid of bodyconsciousness or any other adjunct, will often be experienced by him, this is still the stage of practice and not the final attainment! Why?

Since there are still the two alternating feelings, one of being sometimes extroverted and the other of being sometimes introverted, and since there is the feeling of making effort to become introverted and of losing such effort while becoming extroverted, this stage is said to be ‘not the final attainment’,

 What Sri Bhagavan reveals in this connection is : “If the mind (the attention) is thus well fixed in sadhana (attending to Self), a power of divine Grace will then rise from within of its own accord and, Subjugating the mind, will take it to the Heart”

What is this power of divine Grace ? It is nothing but the perfect clarity of our existence the form of the Supreme Self (paramatman), ever shining with abundant Grace in the heart as ‘I-I’ !

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The nature of a needle lying within a magnetic field is to be attracted and pulled only when its rust has been removed. But we should not conclude from this that the magnetic power comes into existence only after the rust is removed from the needle. Is not the magnetic power always naturally existing in that field? Although the needle was all the while lying in the magnetic field, it is affected by the attraction of the magnet only to the extent that it loses its rust. All that we try to do by way of giving up second and third attention and clinging to Self-attention is similar to scraping off the rust. So the result of all our endeavours is to make ourself it to become a prey to the attraction of the

magnetic field of pure consciousness the Heart, which is ever shining engulfing all (that is reducing the whole

universe to non-existence) with spreading rays81 of Selfeffulgence.

Mature aspirants will willingly and without rebelling submit themselves to this magnetic power of the Grace of Self-effulgence.

Others, on the other hand, will become extroverted (that is, will turn their attention outwards) fearing the attraction of this power. Therefore, we should first make ourself fit by the intense love (bhakthi) to know Self and by the tremendous detachment (vairagya) of having no desire to attend to any second or third person.

Then, since our very individuality (as an aspirant) itself is devoured by that power, even the so-called ‘effort of ours’ becomes nil. Thus, when the ‘I’ – consciousness that was spread all over the body is made to sink into the Heart, the real waking, the dawn of knowledge (jnana), takes place. This happens in a split second

...

193

“Death is a matter of a split second! The leaving off of sleep is a matter of a split second! Likewise, the removal of the delusion ‘I am an individual soul (jiva)’ is also a matter of a split second!

The dawn of true knowledge is not such that glimpses of it will be gained once and then lost! If an aspirant feels that it appears and disappears, it is only the stage of practice (sadhana); he cannot be said to have attained true knowledge (jnana).

The perfect dawn of knowledge is a happening of a split second; its attainment is not a prolonged process. All the agelong practices are meant only for attaining maturity.

......

194

...when the mind is thus perfectly purified, then and then only does the dawn of self-knowledge suddenly break forth in a split second as ‘I am that I am’! Since, as soon as this dawn breaks, the space of Self-consciousness is found, through the clear knowledge of the Reality, to be beginningless, natural and eternal, even the effort of attending to Self ceases then!

To abide thus, having nothing more to do and nothing further to achieve, is alone the real and supreme state.” ‘Sadhanai Saram’

..........194.............

imp repeat

191

During the course of sadhana, an aspirant will now be able, by the strength of practice, to cognize tangibly what is the state of the absorption of the ego and what exactly is

Self-consciousness, at which he has been aiming till now.

Although his pure Self-existence, devoid of bodyconsciousness or any other adjunct, will often be experienced by him, this is still the stage of practice and not the final attainment! Why?

Since there are still the two alternating feelings, one of being sometimes extroverted and the other of being sometimes introverted, and since there is the feeling of making effort to become introverted and of losing such effort while becoming extroverted, this stage is said to be ‘not the final attainment’,

What Sri Bhagavan reveals in this connection is : “If the mind (the attention) is thus well fixed in sadhana (attending to Self), a power of divine Grace will then rise from within of its own accord and, Subjugating the mind, will take it to the Heart”.

 What is this power of divine Grace ?

 It is nothing but the perfect clarity of our existence the form of the Supreme Self (paramatman), ever shining with abundant Grace in the heart as ‘I-I’ !

The nature of a needle lying within a magnetic field is to be attracted and pulled only when its rust has been removed. But we should not conclude from this that the magnetic power comes into existence only after the rust is removed from the needle. Is not the magnetic power always naturally existing in that field? Although the needle was all the while lying in the magnetic field, it is affected by the attraction of the magnet only to the extent that it loses its rust. All that we try to do by way of giving up second and

third attention and clinging to Self-attention is similar to scraping off the rust. So the result of all our endeavours is to make ourself it to become a prey to the attraction of the magnetic field of pure consciousness the Heart, which is ever shining engulfing all (that is reducing the whole

universe to non-existence) with spreading rays81 of Selfeffulgence. 

Mature aspirants will willingly and without rebelling submit themselves to this magnetic power of the Grace of Self-effulgence. 

Others, on the other hand, will become extroverted (that is, will turn their attention outwards) fearing the attraction of this power. 

Therefore, we should first make ourself fit by the intense love (bhakthi) to know Self and by the tremendous detachment (vairagya) of having no desire to attend to any second or third person. 

Then, since our very individuality (as an aspirant) itself is devoured by that power, even the so-called ‘effort of ours’becomes nil. 

Thus, when the ‘I’ – consciousness that was spread all over the body is made to sink into the Heart, the real waking, the dawn of knowledge (jnana), takes place. 

This happens in a split second

 “Death is a matter of a split second! The leaving off of sleep is a matter of a split second! Likewise, the removal of the delusion ‘I am an individual soul (jiva)’ is also a matter of a split second! The dawn of true knowledge is not such that glimpses of it will be gained once and then lost! If an aspirant feels that it appears and disappears, it is only the stage of practice (sadhana); he cannot be said to have attained true knowledge (jnana). The perfect dawn of knowledge is a happening of a split second; its attainment is not a prolonged process. All the agelong practices are meant only

for attaining maturity. Let us give an example it takes a long lime to prepare a temple cannon-blast, first putting the gunpowder into the barrel, giving the wick, adding some stones and then ramming it, but when ignited it explodes as a thunder in a

split second. Similarly, after an agelong period of listening and reading (sravana), reflecting (manana), practising (nidi-dhyasana) and weeping put in prayer (because of the inability to put what is heard into practice), when the mind is thus perfectly purified, then and then only does the dawn of self-knowledge suddenly break forth in a split second as ‘I am that I am’! Since, as soon as this dawn breaks, the space of Self-consciousness is found, through the clear knowledge of the Reality, to be beginningless, natural and eternal, even the effort of attending to Self ceases then! To

abide thus, having nothing more to do and nothing further to achieve, is alone the real and supreme state.” ‘Sadhanai Saram’

That which we are now experiencing as the waking state is not the real waking state. This waking state is also a dream! There is no difference at all between this waking and dream. In both these states, the feeling ‘I am’ catches hold of a body as ‘I am this’ and, seeing external objects, involves itself in activities. To awaken as described above from the dream of this waking state is the dawn of knowledge, our real state, or the real waking.

The definition of the correct waking is that state in which there is perfect Self-consciousness and singleness of Self- existence, without the knowledge of the existence of anything apart from Self! From this one can determine the real waking

......

It is this waking that Sri Bhagavan refers to in the following verse: “Forgetting Self, mistaking the body for Self, taking innumerable births, and at last knowing Self and being Self is just like waking from a dream of wandering all over the world. Know thus.” ‘Ekatma Panchakam’, verse 1

....

Just as one place, a big hall, is divided into three chambers when two walls are newly erected in it, so our eternal, non-dual, natural and adjunctless existenceconsciousness appears to be three states, namely waking, dream and sleep, when the two imaginary walls of waking and dream, which are due to the two body-adjuncts (the waking body and the dream body), apparently rise in the midst of it on account of tendencies (vasanas). If these two new imaginary risings, waking and dream, are not there, that which remains will be the one state of Selfconsciousness alone. It is only for the sake of immature aspirants who think the three states to be real, that the

sastras have named our natural, real state, the jnana-waking, as ‘the fourth state (turiya avastha). But since the other three states are truly unreal, this state (the fourth) is in fact the only existing state, the first, and so it need not at all be called ‘the fourth’ (turiya), nor even ‘a state’ (avastha). It is

therefore ‘that which transcends the states’ (avasthatita). It is also called that which transcends the fourth’ (turiyatita). Hence, turiyatita should not be counted as a fifth state. This is clearly said by Sri Bhagavan : 

“It is only for those who experience the waking, dream and sleep states, that the state of wakeful sleep is named turiya, a state beyond these. Since that turiya alone really exists and since the apparent three states do not exist, turiya itself is turiyatita. Thus should you bravely understand !” 

‘UIladhu Narpadhu – Anubandha’, verse 32

 “It is only for those who are not able to immerse and abide firmly in turiya (the state of Self), which shine piercing through the dark ignorance of sleep, that the difference between the first three dense states and the fourth and fifth states are (accepted in sastras).” ‘Guru Vachaka Kovai’, verse 567

When, through the aforesaid Self-attention, we are more and more firmly fixed in our existence-consciousness, the tendencies (vasanas) will be destroyed because there is no one to attend to them.

Thus, the waking and dream states, which have been apparently created by these imaginary tendencies, will also be destroyed. Then the one state which survives should no more be called by the name ‘sleep’-

“When, the beginningless, impure tendencies, which were the cause for waking and dream, are destroyed, then sleep, which was (considered to be) leading to bad results (that is, to tama,) and which was said to be a void and ridiculed as nescience, will be found to be turiyatita itself !” ‘Guru Vaehaka Kovai’, verse 460

Since that which has been experienced till now as sleep by ordinary people was liable to be disturbed and removed by waking and dream, it appeared to be trivial and temporary

That is why it was said on pages 51 to 52 of this book that sleep is a defective state, and in the footnote of the same pages that the real nature of sleep would be explained later in the eighth chapter. Therefore, our natural state, the real waking, alone is the supreme Reality.

Since this real waking is not experienced as a state newly attained, for a Liberated One (jivanmukta) the state of liberation does not become a thought! That is, since bondage is unreal for Him, He can have no thought of liberation. Then how can the thought of bondage come to Him? The thought of bondage and liberation can occur only to the ignorant one (ajnani), who thinks that he is bound.

Therefore, to remain in this state of Self, having attained tile supreme bliss (the eternal happiness which is, as pointed out in chapter one. the sole aim of all living beings), which is devoid of both bondage and liberation, is truly to be in the service of the Lord in the manner enjoined by Bhagavan Ramana. This alone is our duty. This alone is the path of Sri Ramana.

“To remain in the state (of Self), having attained the supreme bliss, which is devoid of both bondage end liberation, is truly to be in the service of the Lord.” ‘Upadesa Undhiyar’, verse 29

..........end. of path part 1......................

203

Appendix:

 As a general rule, whenever Sri Bhagavan uses the word ‘place’ (idam), He is referring to our true state, Self, rather than to any place limited by time and space. This is confirmed in the next paragraph of this work, where He says, “The place (idam) where even the slightest trace of the thought ‘I’ does not exist, alone is Self (swarupam)”

Therefore, when He says in this sentence, “If one enquires ‘in which place (idam). In the body..”, what He in fact expects us to do is to enquire ‘From what?’, in which case the answer will not be a place in the body, but only ‘we’, Self, the truly-existing Thing (refer to pages 134 to 135 of this book).

Hence, as Sri Bhagavan Himself often explained, the true Import of the word ‘heart’ (hridayam) is not a limited place in the body, but only the unlimited Self (refer to Upadesa Manjari, chapter two answer to question 9)

However, since the mind or ego can rise only by identifying I body as ‘I’, a place for its rising can also be pointed out in the body, ‘two digits to the right from the centre of the chest’, though of course such a place can never be the absolute reality.

.........

204

The mind will subside only by means of the enquiry Who am I?’. The thought ‘Who am I?’ (which is but a means for turning our attention Selfwards), destroying all other thoughts, will itself finally be destroyed like the stick used for stirring the funeral pyre.

........At the very moment that each thought rises, if one vigilantly enquires ‘To whom did this rise?’, it will be known ‘To me’. If one then enquires ‘Who am I?’, the mind (our power of attention) will turn back (from the thought) to its source (Self), (then, since no one is there to attend to it) the thought which had risen will also subside. By repeatedly practising thus, the power of the mind to abide in its source increases. When the mind (the attention), which is subtle, goes out through the brain and sense-organs (which are gross), the names-and-forms (the objects of the world), which are gross, appear; when it abides in the heart (its source, Self), the names-and-forms 

disappear. Keeping the mind in the heart (through the above-described means of fixing our attention in Self), not allowing it to go out, alone is called ‘Selfwardness’ (ahamukham) or ‘introversion’ (antarmukham).

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

205

The place (or state) where even the slightest trace of the thought ‘I’ does not exist, alone is Self (swarupam). 

That alone is called ‘Silence’ (maunam). 

To be still (summa iruppadu) in this manner alone is called ‘seeing through (the eye of) knowledge’ (jnana-drishti). 

To be still is to make the mind subside in Self (through Self-attention).  

.......

What really exists is Self (atma-swarupam) alone. The world, soul and God are superimpositions in it like the sliver in the mother-of-pearl; these three appear simultaneously and disappear simultaneously. Self itself is the world: Self itself is ‘I’ (the soul); Self itself is God; all is the Supreme Self (siva-swarupam) .

.......

Although tendencies towards sense-objects (vishaya-- vasanas), which have been recurring down the ages, rise in countless numbers like the waves of the ocean, they will all perish as Self-attention (swarupa-dhyana) becomes more and more intense.

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

212

Always keeping the mind (the attention) fixed in Self (in the feeling ‘I’) alone is called ‘Self-enquiry’ (atma-vichara);

231

Therefore, unceasing Self-attention is possible only in the state of Self-realization and not in the state of practice (sadhana). What one has to do during the period of sadhana is to cultivate ever-increasing love to attain Self-knowledge and to make intermittent but repeated attempts to turn one’s attention a full 180 degrees towards Self. If one once succeeds in doing this, then unceasing Self-attention will be found to be natural and effortless.

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


Tuesday 2 July 2024

Path of Ramana -1

 https://www.sriramanateachings.org/The_Path_of_Sri_Ramana_Part_One.pdf

 

3/233

On one occasion Bhagavan Sri Ramana is reported to have said – on the subject of sadhana – That it cannot be done : the ego cannot want Liberation (its own disappearance) and the Self needs neither the ego nor “sadhana”. What remains to be done is to let Self do the sadhana. How? By relaxing, by “doing nothing”. How? By submitting, which is devotion. How? By knowing how?

31

On the damp ground where Sri Ramana was sitting were many ants, termites, mosquitoes, flies and centipedes. They began to eat away the lower side of His thighs and blood started oozing out. The oozing blood clotted, pus formed, and both mixed with the mud, thus sealing the body to the ground. Yet He was not at all disturbed by this, for He knew nothing of it. Do we not read stories in the puranas about Rishis such as Valmiki who were immersed in tapas while ant-hills grew over their bodies and birds

made nests and lived on their heads? By living thus before our eyes, Sri Ramana has proved in modern times that these stories were not false!

....Though it was day-time, Venkatachala Mudaliar took a lantern and along with some others entered the Patala Lingam. They called Sri Ramana loudly, but as there was no response they lifted His body. Alas, because the body was sealed to the earth and was now forcibly separated, blood rushed out through the fresh wounds! On seeing this they were awe-struck. Carefully and gently they brought the body out and kept it in the Gopuram Subramania temple. Even then Sri Ramana did not regain body-consciousness, but remained in samadhi!

34

“According to the prarabdha (i.e. destiny) of each one, He, its Ordainer, being in every place [i.e. in every soul] will make it play its role. That which is not to happen will never happen, however hard one tries. That which is to happen will not stop, in spite of any amount of obstruction. This is certain! Hence, to remain silent is the best.”

“The state of one who abides unshaken in SeIf has more grandeur than the mightiest mountain:” “Tirukkural”, verse 124

36

“Silence is the unequalled eloquence – the state of Grace that rises within.” – Sri Bhagavan

71

“If one enquires–without inadvertence (pramada) – into the form of the mind, it will be found that there is no such thing as mind! This is the direct path for all!” ‘Upadesa Undhiyar’, verse 17

"The mind is only thoughts. Of all thoughts, the thought ‘I’ is indeed the root-thought. Therefore, what is called mind is only the thought ‘I’ (i.e. the feeling ‘I am the body').” 'Upadesa Undhiyar, verse 18

....

73

"If there is no ‘I'-thought, no other thing will exist...” 'Sri Arunachala Ashtakam', verse 7

"The thought ‘I am this body of flesh and blood’ is the one thread on which are strung the various other thoughts. Therefore if we turn inwards, ‘Where is this I?', all thoughts [including the ‘I'- thought] will come to an end and Self-knowledge will then spontaneously shine forth within the cave (the heart) as ‘I-I' ...” ‘Atmavidya Kirtanam', verse 2

75

Thus, the method of destroying the ‘I'-thought is also the method which will destroy all other thoughts. Therefore, what is essential is to destroy the first person thought, ‘I'. The only way to destroy it is to scrutinize its nature! There is no other way!!

“...How else to attain that state wherein ‘I’ (the ego) does not rise – the state of egolessness – unless we seek the source whence ‘I’ rises?...” ‘UIladu Narpadhu’, verse 27

81

“To know existence (sat), there is no consciousness (chit) other than existence itself; existence is therefore consciousness. . .” ‘Upadesa Undhiyar’, verse 23

.....

93

“This formless and ghostly ego (i.e. it has no form of its own) comes into existence by grasping a body-form! Having grasped a form, it endures, and having grasped a form, it waxes more by feeding upon forms, Leaving one form, it grasps another

form. When sought for, it takes to flight; what a wonder it is ! Thus should you know.” ‘Ulladhu Narpadu’ verse 25

.....

97

 The true import of the sastras cannot be learnt except from Jnanis, that is, those who have had and live in the direct experience of Reality; no one can understand the true spirit behind any of the sastras merely by his command over language or by his keenness and superiority of intellect.

.....

“Since the sastras proclaim, ‘Thou art That which is called the Supreme’, and since That itself always shines as Self, for one to meditate ‘I am That and not this (the body and so on)’, instead of knowing oneself through the enquiry ‘What am I?’ and abiding as Self, is indeed due to lack of strength (of mind) !” Ulladhu Narpadhu verase 32

...

102

Just as none of the wives will remain unwidowed when the husband dies, so all the three karmas will be extinguished when the doer (the ego) dies,

106

Concerning this, Sri Bhagavan has given clear instructions in His prose work ‘Who am I’, where He explains: “If other thoughts arise, see to whom they arise. ‘To me’ will be the answer; [this, me’ will remind you of the ‘I’-consciousness]. Then the mind can return immediately to Self. attention, ‘Who am I’. By repeatedly practising thus, the strength of the mind to abide in its source increases.”

..

106

The power which the mind derives from other spiritual practices is not that power which is required to abide in its source! Repetition of holy names (japa), meditation (dhyana), concentration on anyone of the six yogic centres in the body (the shadchakras pointed out in raja yoga). concentration on a divine effulgence (jyoti) or sound (nada) – in all these practices the mind is only made to attend to some alien object (a second or third person). The strength of mind acquired by training it to catch hold of anyone of the aforesaid alien objects is not the genuine strength of mind which is favourable for Self--knowledge. Being unfavourable, rather than calling it ‘strength of mind’

it would be more appropriate to call it ‘lack of strength of mind’ (uran inmai – the original Tamil words of Sri Bhagavan in ‘Ulladhu Narpadhu’, verse 32)! Let us suppose a man buys a cow and for various reasons keeps it tied up in another man’s shed for quite some days. When the owner one day tries to bring the cow to its own shed after it has become accustomed – through force of habit (abhyasa bala) – to its former surroundings, will it come to its own place

and keep quiet? No, it will run back to the other man’s shed. So any intelligent farmer buying a new cow will train it to remain in its own shed by tying it only there. Similarly.

aspirants who have developed mental strength by concentrating on second and third person objects (which are other than Self) struggle and find it difficult even to understand what Self-attention – knowing one’s own existence – is, and how to take the feeling of one’s own existence as the target ! It is often said, “Let me first gain strength of mind by training it in other practices, and then let me take to Self-enquiry”; but it is the experience of anyone who has trained his mind in other practices over a long period of time that such a mind is still weaker to turn Self wards than even an ordinary mind untrained in any other practice.

.109

.......But for a mind which engages in Selfattention from the very beginning, both kinds of requisite strength are naturally cultivated.

.....

114

Gita 6/25

‘By means of an extremely courageous intellect (power of discrimination), make the mind motionless little by little; fix the mind firmly in Self (atman) and never think of any other thing’ (chapter 6, verse 25), and:

‘Towards whatever thing the unsteady mind wanders, from each thing pull it back, fix it always in Self and make it firmly abide there’ (chapter 6, verse 26)

.....

Only that practice of Self-attention which Sri Bhagavan referred to in ‘Who am I?’ when He wrote, “By repeatedly practising thus, the strength of the mind to abide in its source increases”, is the right sadhana which will give the mind the real requisite strength!

.....

115

Those aspirants who came to Sri Bhagavan with a mind not already spoilt by being trained towards targets other than Self, a mind with no trace of lethargy, with immense eagerness, and with a spirit of unquestioning obedience like that of children, directly turned their mind to the practice of Self-attention in the form of ‘Who am I?’ as soon as they came to Sri Bhagavan and thereby gained the real requisite strength mentioned above. They were therefore able to proclaim from their own experience, “Ah! Knowing Self is the easiest thing! Indeed, it is the easiest!”

........

Although the enquiry ‘Who am I?’ is thus able to give the real strength of mind which is required to gain Self-knowledge (to say the truth, only Self-enquiry, and not any of the other sadhanas, can give this requisite strength), a wrong idea exists and is, spreading even among us,44 the

devotees of Sri Bhagavan, that the path of Self-enquiry is difficult while the other methods, japa, dhyana, yoga and so on, are easy. Let us see how far from true this contention is ! Now, what is the opinion of Sri Bhagavan on this subject ? Let us turn to His own words: “...of all paths, this path is the easiest! 45” ’Atmavidya Kirtanam’, verse 4 “... this is the direct path for all !” ‘Upadesa Undhiyar’, verse 17

.....

Thus it is clear that Sri Bhagavan’s opinion is that this path of Self-enquiry is not merely the easiest of all paths, but that it is also the easiest and most direct for all aspirants. Some of us, instead of trying to understand, ‘Why did Sri Bhagavan say so ? Can there be a justification for His opinion? If so, what is it?’, remark evasively, “Ah, it is easy only for Bhagavan, but it is difficult for others,” and they

become disheartened and lose courage. In order not to lose this courage, since it is the sraddha which alone will secure us the goal, let us try to find the justification in support of the opinion of Sri Bhagavan.


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

45 “To unfasten the bonds of karma and so on, end to achieve the destruction of birth and so on, of all paths, this path is the easiest ! If we remain still (that is, if we merely ‘be’), without the least action of mind, speech and body, oh what a wonder it will be I The Selfeffulgence in the heart will be (known as) the ever-present experience, all fear will cease and the ocean of bliss (will surge) !” ‘Atmavidya Kirtanam’, verse 4 It should be noted here that in describing His path, Sri Bhagavan uses the superlative ‘the easiest’. In other paths, some work or other is prescribed to be done through the mind, speech or body, and hence one may experience some difficulty in using these instruments. But, as no work is given to them in the way of sadhana in the path of Self

enquiry, this is ‘the easiest of all path’!

..........

119

“Why, certainly I exist!”. He is able to know his own existence by his Self-light (

 ..

.....when viewed in the light ot the above. mentioned definition of ‘easy’ and difficult’, one can plainly see that the effort made in the path of Self-enquiry, which is an attention towards the first person, is far easier than that made in japa, dhyana, yoga and so on, which are nothing but attention towards second and third person objects.

.....

122

“O Bhagavan, meditating upon You is nothing other than contemplating ‘I’, Contemplating ‘I’ is nothing other than remaining without thought, Remaining without thought is nothing other than being vigilantly attentive not to rise as ‘I’, But why even attend, when my very existence (sat) is itself attention (chit) ?” ‘Sri Ramana Sahasram’, verse 990

..

133

“...Since the Reality (‘I’) exists within, beyond thought, who can and how to meditate upon that Reality, which is called the Heart? To abide in the Heart as It is (that is, without thought) is truly meditating (upon It) I Thus should you know.” ‘Ulladhu Narpadhu’, benedictory verse 1

Until one gains the true experience of Brahman (Brahman-bhava), in whatever way one may meditate on Brahman, it will only be a thought about a second or third person, But instead, if one simply meditates ‘I, I’, since it is a first person attention, the ‘I’ thought which has thus started to meditate will drown in its source and lose its form and separate existence, just like the stick used for stirring the funeral pyre and like the reflection of the sun directed from a mirror towards the sun itself.

...138...

 After the conviction 'My true existence-consciousness is God or Brahman’ has been well stabilized in an aspirant

through the strength of such meditation, at an opportune moment the knowledge ‘Do I not always exist! Why then should I meditate in order to exist ?’ will flash, and thus his attention will be drawn back all of a sudden and fixed on his existence-consciousness. This Self-attention is exactly the technique of Self-enquiry. 

Since through this Selfattention the meditation ‘I am Brahman’ has now become unnecessary; the aspirant remains in his true existence, ‘I am’ (aham asmi), which is the state of thought free consciousness; this is what is mentioned in verse 9. At any

rate, what has to take place finally in the aspirant is Selfattention, which is the Self-enquiry taught by Sri Bhagavan. This love towards Self (swatma-bhakti) is the very nature of supreme devotion (parabhokti tattva, as mentioned in verse 9), and that is liberation.

....

140

Thus, from verse 16 to 29, Sri Bhagavan teaches that the enquiry ‘Who am I?’ is the correct path of knowledge, and concludes ‘Upadesa Undhiyar’ by declaring in verse 30 that the only right tapas is to know and remain in Self, and not anything else.

.........

141

 .......Because, Self (atman) does not exist as an object to be known by us who seek to know it ! Since Self shines as the very nature of him who tries to know it! Self-enquiry does not mean enquiring into a second or third person object. It is in order to make us understand this from the very beginning that Bhagavan Ramana named Self-enquiry as ‘Who am I ?’, thus drawing our attention directly to the first person. In this question, ‘Who am I?’, ‘I am’ denotes Self and ‘who’ stands for the enquiry

...

Self-enquiry is unnecessary for Self and Selfknowledge is impossible for the ego

..

143

Since, whether we know it or not, Self, which is now wrongly considered by us to be unknown, is verily our reality, the very nature of our (the Supreme Self’s) attention itself is Grace (anugraha).

....

The practice of witnessing thoughts and events, which is much recommended nowadays by lecturers and writers, was never even in the least recommended by Sri Bhagavan, 

 “Not attending to what-is-other (that is, to any second or third person) is non-attachment (vairagya) or desirelessness (nirasa)”, we should clearly understand that attending to (witnessing, watching, observing or seeing) anything other than Self is itself attachment, and when we understand thus we will realize how meaningless and impractical are such instructions as ‘Watch all thoughts and events with detachment’ or ‘Witness your thoughts, but be not attached to them’, which are taught by the so-called gurus of the present day

.........

That is why it is impossible for the mind to negate anything by thinking60 ‘I am not this, I am not this’ (neti, neti).- On the other hand, if our (Self’s) attention is directed only towards ourself, our knowledge of our existence alone is nourished, and since the mind is not attended to, it is deprived of its strength, the support of our Grace. “Without use when left to stay, iron and mischief rust away” – in accordance with this Tamil proverb, since they are not attended to, all the ‘vasana-seeds, whose nature is

to rise stealthily and mischievously, have to stay quiet, and

thus they dry up like seeds deprived of water and become too weak to sprout out into thought-plants. Then, when the fire of Self-knowledge (jnana) blazes forth, these tendencies (vasanas), like well-dried firewood, become a prey to it. This alone is how the total destruction of all tendencies (vasanakshaya) is effected

........

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Thus Bhagavan Ramana has declared categorically that Self-attention alone is the correct technique of eliminating the five sheaths !

.....

Although we formally refer to it as ‘directed’, in truth it is not of the nature of a ‘doing’ (kriya-rupam) in the form of directing or being directed; it is of the nature of ‘being’ or ‘existing’ (sat-rupam). Because the second and third persons (including thoughts) are alien or external to us, our attention paid to them was of the nature of a ‘doing’ (krlya). But this very attention, when fixed on the non-alien first person feeling, ‘I’, loses the nature of ‘paying’ and remains in the form of ‘being’, and therefore it is of the nature of non-doing (akriya) or inaction (nishkriya). So long as our power of attention was dwelling upon second and third persons, it was called ‘the mind’ or ‘the intellect’, and

its attending was called a doing (kriya) or an action (karma). Only that which is done by the mind is an action. But on the other hand, as soon as the attention is fixed on the first person (or Self), it loses its mean names such as mind, intellect or ego sense. Moreover, that attention is no longer even an action, but inaction (akarma) or the state of ‘being still’ (summa iruttal). Therefore, the mind which attends to Self is no more the mind; it is the consciousness aspect of Self (atma-chit-rupam)! Likewise, so long as it attends to the second and third persons (the world), it is not the consciousness aspect of Self; It is the mind, the reflected

form of consciousness (chit-abhasa-rupam)! Hence, since Self-attention is not a doing (kriya), it is not an action (karma). That is, Self alone realizes Self; the ego does not !

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The mind which has obtained a burning desire for Self-attention, which is Self-enquiry, is said to be the fully mature one (pakva manas). 

Since it is not at all now inclined to attend to any second or third parson, it can be said that it has reached the pinnacle of desirelessness (vairagya).

For, do not all sorts of desires and attachments pertain only to second and third persons? Since this mind, which has very well understood that (as already seen in earlier chapters) the consciousness which shines as ‘I’ alone is the source of full and real happiness, now seeks Self because of its natural craving for happiness, this intense desire to attend to Self is indeed the highest form of devotion (bhakti). It is exactly this Self-attention of the mind which is thus fully mature through such devotion and desirelessness (bhakti-vairagya) that is to be called the enquiry ‘Who am I ?’ taught by Bhagavan Sri Ramana!

Well, will not at least such a mature mind which has come to the path of Sri Ramana, willingly agreeing to engage in Self-attention, realize Self ? No, no, it has started for its doom ! Agreeing to commit suicide, it places its neck (through Self-attention) on the scaffold where it is to be sacrificed

How ? Only so long as it was attending to second and third persons did it have the name ‘mind’, but as soon as Self-attention is begun, its name and form (its name as mind and its form as thoughts) are lost. So we can no longer say that Self-attention or Self-enquiry is performed by the mind, Neither is it the mind that attends to Self, nor is the natural spontaneous Self-attention of the consciousness aspect of Self (atma-chit-rupam), which is not the mind, an activity ! “

“A naked lie then it would be If any man were to say that he Realized the Self, diving within Through proper enquiry set in,

Not for knowing but for death The good-for-nothing ego’s worth ! ’This Arunachala alone, The Self, by which the Self is known !” ‘Sri Arunachala Venba’ verse 39

The feeling ‘I am’ is the experience common to one and all. In this, ‘am’ is consciousness or knowledge. This knowledge is not of anything external; it is the knowledge of oneself, This is chit. This consciousness is ‘we’, “We are verily consciousness”, says Sri Bhagavan in ‘Upadesa Undhiyar’ verse 23. This is our ‘being’ (that is, our true existence) or sat. This is called ‘that which is’ (ulladhu). Thus in ‘I am’, ‘I’ is existence (sat) and ‘am’ is consciousness (chit). When Self, our nature of existence-consciousness (satchit swarupam), instead of shining only as the pure consciousness ‘I am’, shines mixed with an adjunct (upadhi) as ‘I am a man, I am Rama, I am so-and-so, I am this or

that’, then this mixed consciousness is the ego. This mixed consciousness can rise only by catching hold of a name and form. When we feel ‘I am a man, I am Rama, I am sitting, I am lying’, is it not clear that we have mistaken the body for ‘I’, and that we have assumed its name and postures as ‘I am this and I am thus’? – The feeling ‘this and thus’ which has now risen mixed with the pure consciousness ‘I am’ (satchit) is what is called ‘thought’, This is the first thought.

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The feeling ‘I am a man, I am so-and-so’ is only a thought. But the consciousness ‘I am’ is not a thought; it is the very nature of our ‘being’.

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‘Whence?’, a place, conditioned by time and space, will be experienced within the body ‘two digits to the right from the centre of the chest’ (as said in ‘Ulladhu Narpadhu – Anubandham’ verse 18). Yet this experience is not the ultimate or absolute one (paramarthikam). For, Sri Bhagavan has positively asserted that Heart (hridayam) is verily Self-consciousness, which is timeless, spaceless, formless and nameless.

“He who thinks that Self (or Heart) is within the insentient body, while in fact the body is within Self, is like one who thinks that the screen, which supports the cinema picture, is contained within the picture ‘“ ‘Ekatma Panchakam’, verse 3

..

Finding a place in the body as the rising-point of the ego in reply to the question ‘Whence?’ is not the objective of Sri Bhagavan’s teachings; nor is it the fruit to be gained by Self-enquiry. Sri Bhagavan has declared clearly the objective of His teachings and the fruit to be gained by seeking the rising--place of the ego as follows:

“When sought within ‘What is the place from which it rises as I?’, ‘I’ (the ego) will die ! This is Self-enquiry (jnana-vichara) .” ‘Upadesa Undhiyar’, verse 19

Therefore, the result which is aimed at when seeking the rising-place of the ego is the annihilation of that ego and not an experience of a place in the body

It is only in reply to the immature people who – not able to have even an intellectual understanding (paroksha jnana) about the nature of Self, which shines alone as the one, non-dual thing, unlimited by (indeed, absolutely unconnected with) time and space, unlimited even in the form ‘Brahman is everywhere, Brahman is at all times, Brahman is everything’ (sarvatra brahma, sarvada brahma, sarvam brahma) – always raise the question, “Where is the seat for Self in the body?”, that the sastras and sometimes even Sri Bhagavan had to say: “... two digits to the right (from the centre of the chest)

.....

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Heart, 2 digits to the right?

......His translations of others’ works, nor even in any of the conversations with Him recorded by devotees – has Sri Bhagavan ever recommended this practice (for meditation upon the right side of the chest or upon any other part of the transient, insentient and alien body is nothing but an attention to a second person, an object other than ‘I’), and when asked about it, He in fact used to condemn it (see ‘Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi’, number 273)

...

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....... The reader may here refer to ‘Maharshi’s, Gospel’, Book II, chapter IV, ‘The Heart is the Self’ (8th edition, 1969, pages 68 to 72; 9th edition, 1979, pages 72 to 76)

....

Thus, attending to oneself in the form ‘Whence am I?’ is enquiring into the ego, the ‘rising I’, But, while enquiring ‘Who am I ?’, there are some aspirants who take the feeling ‘I’ to be their ‘being’ (existence) and not their ‘rising’ ! If it is taken thus, that is attention to Self. It is just to understand clearly the difference between these two forms of enquiry that the difference between our ‘rising’ and our ‘being’ has been explained earlier in this chapter, Just as the correct meaning of the term ‘meditation upon Brahman’ (brahmadhyanam) used by the sastras up till now is explained by Sri Bhagavan in the last two lines of the first benedictory

verse of ‘Ulladhu Narpadhu’ to be ‘abiding in the Heart as it is’ (that is to say, abiding as Self is the correct way of meditating upon it), so also, the correct meaning of the term ‘Self-enquiry’ (atma-vichara) is here rightly explained to be ‘turning Selfwards’ (or attending to Self),

In either of these two kinds of enquiry (‘Who am I’?’ or ‘Whence am I ?’), since the attention of the aspirant is focused only on himself, nothing other than Self (atman), which is the true import of the word ‘I’, will be finally experienced.

Therefore, the ultimate result of both the enquiries, ‘Whence am I ?’ and ‘Who am I ?’, is the same ! How? He who seeks ‘Whence am I ?’ is following the ego, the form of which is ‘I am so-and-so’, and while doing so, the adjunct ‘so-and-so, having no real existence, dies on the way, and thus he remains established in Self, the surviving ‘I am’. On the other hand, he who seeks ‘Who am I ? drowns effortlessly in his real natural ‘being’ (Self), which

ever shines as ‘I am that I am’, Therefore, whether done in the form ‘Whence am I?’ or ‘Who am I ?’, what is absolutely essential is that Self-attention should be pursued till the very end. Moreover, it is not necessary for sincere aspirants even to name before-hand the feeling ‘I’ either as ego or as Self, 

For, are there two persons in the aspirant, the ego and Self?

This is said because, since everyone of us has the experience ‘I am one only and not two’. we should not give room to an imaginary dual feeling – one ‘I’ seeking for another ‘I’ – by differentiating ego and Self as ‘lower self’ and higher-self’

“ ... Are there two selves, one to be an object known by the other? For, the true experience of all is ‘I am one’ !” ‘Ulladhu Narpadhu’, verse 33 - asks Sri Bhagavan.

Thus it is sufficient if we cling to the feeling ‘I’ uninterruptedly till the very end.  

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Such attention to the feeling ‘I’, the common daily experience of everyone, is what is meant by Self-attention,

For those who accept as their basic knowledge the ‘I am the body’ – consciousness (jiva bhaval, being unable to doubt its (the ego’s) existence, it is suitable to take to Self-attention (that is, to do Self-enquiry) in the form ‘Whence am I ?’, On the other hand, for those who instead of assuming that they have an individuality (jiva bhava) such as ‘I am so-and-so’ or ‘I am this’, attend thus, ‘What is this feeling which shines as I am?’, it is suitable to be fixed in Self-attention in the form ‘Who am I ?’ What is important to be sure of during practice (sadhana) is that our attention is turned only towards ‘I’, the first person singular feeling.

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My existence is shining clearly and unobstructed! So this perishable body is not ‘I’! I am verily the immortal ‘I’ (Self) !! Of all things, I alone am the reality ! This body is subject to death; but I who transcend the body am eternally living ! Even the death that came to the body was unable to touch me !’ Thus it dawned directly, and along with it the fear of death that had come at first also vanished, never to appear again! All this was experienced in a split second as direct knowledge (pratyaksham) and not as mere

reasoning thoughts. From that time onwards, the consciousness (chit) of my existence (sat) transcending the body has ever continued to remain the same” – thus Sri Ramana narrated.

.........On account of this fear of death, the concentration of Sri Bhagavan was fixed and deeply immersed in Selfattention in order to find out ‘What is my existence ? What is it that dies ?’. Thus it is proved by what Sri Bhagavan Himself did that, as we have been explaining all along, only such a firm fixing of our attention on Self is ‘Self-enquiry’ (atma-vichara). He has confirmed the same idea in the work’ Who am I’?”, where He says: “Always keeping the mind (the attention) fixed In Self (in the feeling ‘I’) alone is called Selfenquiry’... Remaining firmly in Self-abidance, without giving even the least room to the rising of any thought other thanthe thought of Self (that is, without giving even the least

attention to any second or third person, but only to Self),

is surrendering oneself to God (which alone is called parabhakti, the supreme devotion65)”. When Sri Bhagavan was asked, ‘What is the means and technique to hold constantly on to the ‘I’ -consciousness?’, He revealed in His works the technique of Self-enquiry which, as explained above, He had undertaken in His early age, but in a more detailed manner as follows:-

“Self (atman) is that which is self-shining in the form ‘I am that I am’. One should not imagine it to be anything such as this or that (light or sound). Imagining’ or thinking thus is itself bondage. 

Since Self is the consciousness which is neither light nor darkness, let it not be imagined as a light of any kind. That thought itself would be a bondage. 

The annihilation of the ego (the primal thought) alone is liberation (mukti). 

All the three bodies consisting of the five sheaths are contained in the feeling ‘I am the body’; therefore if, by the enquiry ‘Who is this I ?’ (that is, by Selfattention), the identification with (attachment to) the gross body alone is removed, the identification with the other two bodies will automatically cease to exist. As it is only by clinging to this that the identifications with the subtle and casual bodies live, there is no need to annihilate these identifications separately

“How to enquire? Can the body, which is insentient like a log and such things, shine and function as ‘I’? It cannot.

“The body cannot say ‘I’ ...” ‘Ulladhu Narpadhu’, verse 23

Therefore, discarding the corpse-like body as an actual corpse and remaining without even uttering the word ‘I’ vocally -– “Discarding the body as a corpse, not uttering the word ‘I’ by mouth, but seeking with the mind diving inwards ‘Whence does this I rise ?’ alone is the path of knowledge (jnana marga) ...” ‘Ulladhu Narpadhu’, verse 29

if keenly observed what that feeling is which now shines’ as ‘I’, a sphurana66 alone will be experienced without sound as ‘I-I’ in the heart. “When the mind reaches the Heart by enquiring within ‘Who am I ?’, he, ‘I’ (the ego), falling down abashed, the One (the Reality) appears spontaneously as ‘I-I’ (I am that I am) ...” ‘Ulladhu Narpadhu’, verse 30

.........

“When sought within ‘What is the place from which it rises as I ?’, ‘I’ (the ego) will die. This is Self-enquiry.” ‘Upadesa Undhiyar’, verse 19 

“Where this ‘I’ dies, there and then shines forth spontaneously the One as ‘I-I’ That alone is the Whole (puranam)” ‘Upadesa Undhiyar’, verse 20 “If without leaving it we just be, the sphurana,

completely annihilating the feeling of individuality – the

ego, ‘I am the body’, finally will come to an end just as the camphor flame dies out. This alone is proclaimed to be liberation by Sages and scriptures.

“Although in the beginning, on account of the tendencies towards sense-objects (vishaya-vasanas) which have been recurring down the ages, thoughts rise in countless numbers like the waves of the ocean, they will all perish as the aforesaid Self-attention becomes more and more intense. Since even the doubt “Is it possible to destroy all of them and to remain as Self alone ?’ is only a thought, without giving room even to that thought, one should persistently cling fast to Self-attention.

However great a sinner one may be, if, not lamenting ‘Oh, I am a sinner! How can I attain salvation?’ but completely giving up even the thought that one is a sinner, one is steadfast in Selfattention, one will surely be saved. Therefore everyone, diving deep within himself with desirelessness (vairagya), can attain the pearl of Self.

......

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.By repeatedly practising thus, the power of the mind to, abide in its source increases. When the mind thus abides in the Heart, the first thought, ‘I’ (‘I am the body’, the rising ‘I’), which is the root of all other thoughts, itself having vanished, the ever-existing Self (the being ‘I’) alone will shine. The place (or state) where even the slightest trace of the thought ‘I’ (‘I am this, that, the body, Brahman and so on’) does not exist, alone is Self. That alone is called Silence (maunam).

....

“After coming to know that the final decision of all the scriptures (sastras) is that such destruction of the mind alone is liberation (mukti), to read scriptures unlimitedly is fruitless. In order to destroy the mind, it is necessary to enquire who one is; then how, instead of enquiring thus within oneself, to enquire and know who one, is in scriptures ? For Rama to know himself to be Rama, is a mirror necessary ? (That is to say, for one to know oneself through Self-attention to be ‘I am’, are scriptures necessary ?) ‘Oneself’ is within the five sheaths, whereas the scriptures are outside them. Therefore, how can oneself, who is to be attended to within, setting aside even the five sheaths, be found in scriptures? Since scripture-enquiry is futile, one should give it up and take to Self-enquiry” – thus says Bhagavan Sri Ramana.

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........“Two digits ‘to the right from the centre of the chest is the heart”). But, does the sun really lie thus on the ground at that spot ? No, that is only the place whence the reflected beam rises ! What should he do if he wants to see the real sun ! He must keep his eyes positioned along the straight line in which the reflected beam comes and, without moving them to either side of it. follow it towards the reflected sun which is then visible to him

...........

.....Just as the man in the dark room, deciding to see the source of the reflected beam which has come into the room, gives up the desire either to enjoy or to make research about the things there with the help of that reflected beam, so a man who wants to know the real Light (Self) must give up all efforts towards enjoying or knowing about the various worlds which shine only by means of the mind-light functioning through the five senses, since he cannot know 

Self either if he is deluded by cognizing and desiring external objects (like a worldly man) or if he is engaged in investigating them (like our modern scientists). This giving up of attention towards external sense-objects is desirelessness (vairagya) or inward renunciation. 

The eagerness to see whence the reflected ray comes into the room corresponds to the eagerness to see whence the ego. ‘I’, the mind-light, rises.

 This eagerness is love for Self (swatma-bhakti). 

Keeping the eyes positioned along the straight line of the beam without straying away to one side or the other corresponds to the one-pointed attention fixed unswervingly on the ‘I’ – consciousness. 

Is not the man now

moving along the straight line of the reflected beam from the dark room towards the piece of mirror lying outside? This moving corresponds to diving within towards the Heart

“Just as one would dive in order to find something that had fallen into the water, so one should dive within with a keen (introverted) mind, controlling breath and speech, and know the rising-place of the rising ego. Know thus !” ‘Ulladhu Narpadhu’, verse 28

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.......Until there is a rising of a thought on account of non-vigilance (pramada) in Self-attention, this retention (kumbhaka) will continue in an enquirer quite effortlessly

....

1667

......Similarly, the breath will stop automatically as soon as the mind, with an intense longing to see its original form of light and with earnest onepointedness, begins to turn keenly and remain within

In this state of retention (kumbhaka), no matter how long it continues, the enquirer does not experience suffocation, that is, the urge to exhale or inhale.

......

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.....But what you are now experiencing is the direct (saksha) sunlight. When the place where you are now is nothing but the unlimited space of light, can a darkness come into existence because of the void created by the disappearance of the reflected ray? Can its disappearance be a loss? Know that its disappearance itself is the true light; it is not darkness”.

.......

"...Know that I (Self) is the true knowledge; It is not a void!” 'Ulladhu Narpadhu', verse 12

.....

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....Therefore, know that you, who know even the void as ‘this is a void’, alone are the true knowledge; you are not a void70 !”, in an instant as a direct experience of the shining of his own existence-consciousness by touching (flashing as sphurana) in Heart as Heart! The aspirant who started the search ‘Whence am I?’ or ‘Who am I ?’ now attains the nondual Self-knowledge, the true knowledge ‘I am that I am’, which is devoid of the limitations of a particular place or time.

Clinging to the consciousness ‘I’ and thereby acquiring a greater and greater intensity of concentration upon it, is diving deep within. Instead of thus diving within, many, thinking that they are engaged in Self-enquiry, sit down for hours together simply repeating mentally or vocally, “Who am I ?” or “Whence am I?”. There are others again who, when they sit for enquiry, face their thoughts and endlessly repeat mentally the following questions taught by Sri Bhagavan. “To whom come these thoughts? To me; who am I?”, or sometimes they even wait for the next thought to come up so that they can fling these questions at it! Even this is futile Did we sit to hold thus a court of enquiry, calling one thought after another! Is this the sadhana of diving within! Therefore, we should not remain watching ‘What is the next thought?’. Merely to keep on questioning in this manner is not Self-attention.

Concerning those who thus merely float on the surface of the thought-waves; keeping their mind on these questions instead of diving within by attending to the existenceconsciousness with a keen mind, thereby controlling mind, breath and all the activities of the body and senses, Sri Bhagavan says:

“Compare him who asks himself ‘Who am I?’ and ‘From which place am I?’, though he himself exists all the while as Self, to a drunken man who prattles ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where am I?’.” ‘Ekatma Panchakam’, verse 2

and further, He asks: “…How to attain that state wherein ‘I’ does not rise the state of egolessness (the great void or maha sunya) – unless (instead of floating like this) we seek the place whence ‘I’ rises? And unless we

attain that (egolessness), say, how to abide in the state of Self, where ‘We are That’ (soham)?” ‘Ulladhu Narpadhu’, versa 27

.........

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Therefore, all that we are to practise is to be still (summa iruppadu) with the remembrance of the feeling ‘I’. It is only when there is a slackness of vigilance during Selfattention that thoughts, which are an indication of it, will rise.

In other words, if thoughts rise it means that our Selfattention is lost. 

It is only as a contrivance to win back Selfattention from thought – attention that Sri Bhagavan advised us to ask, ’To whom do these thoughts appear?’ 

’ Since the answer ‘To me’ is only a dative form of ‘I’, it will easily remind us of the nominative form, the feeling ‘I’

’. However, if we question, ‘Who thinks these thoughts?’, since the nominative form, the feeling ‘I’, is obtained as an answer, will not Self-attention, which has been lost unnoticed, be regained directly?

This regaining of Self-attention is actually being Self (that is, remaining or abiding as Self)! Such ‘being’ alone is the correct sadhana; sadhana is not doing, but being!! 

 ..

Some complain, “When the very rising of the ego from sleep is so surreptitious as to elude our notice, how can we see whence it rises? It seems to be impossible!” That is true, because the mind’s effort of attention is absent in sleep, since the mind itself is not at all there! As ordinary people are not acquainted with the knowledge of their ‘being’ but only with the knowledge of their ‘doing’ (that is, the knowledge of their making efforts), for such people it is

impossible to know from sleep the rising of the ego from there. Since the effort considered by them as necessary is absent in sleep, it is no wonder that they are unable to commence the enquiry from sleep itself! But, since the whole of the waking state is a mere sportive play of the ego and since the effort of the mind here is under the experience of everyone, at least in the waking state one can turn and attend to the pseudo ‘I’ shining in the form ‘I am so-and-so’.

........

“What our Lord Ramana firmly advises us to take to, as the greatest and most powerful tapas is only this much, ‘Be still’ (summa iru), and not anything (dhyana, yoga and so on) as the duty to be performed by the mind.” ‘Guru Vachaka Kovai’ verse 773

...........

......impossible to know from sleep the rising of the ego from there. Since the effort considered by them as necessary is absent in sleep, it is no wonder that they are unable to commence the enquiry from sleep itself! But, since the whole of the waking state is a mere sportive play of the ego and since the effort of the mind here is under the experience of everyone, at least in the waking state one can turn and attend to the pseudo ‘I’ shining in the form ‘I am so-and-so’

“ ‘Turning inwards, daily see thyself with an Introverted look and it (the Reality) will be known’ – thus didst Thou tell me, O my Arunachala!” ‘Sri Arunachala Aksharamanamalai’, verse 44

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The enquiry begins only during the leisure hours of the waking state when one sits for practice. Just as a thing comes to our memory when its name, is thought of, does not the first person feeling come to everyone’s memory as soon as the name (pronoun) ‘I’ is thought of? Although this first person feeling is only the ego, the pseudo ‘I’- consciousness, it does not matter. Having our attention withdrawn from second and third persons and clinging to the first person – that alone is sadhana.

As soon as the attention turns towards the first person feeling, not only do other thoughts disappear, but also the first thought, the rising and expanding pseudo ‘I’-consciousness, itself begins contracting !

“When the mind, the ego, which wanders outside knowing only other objects (second and third persons), begins to attend to its own nature, all other objects will’ disappear and, by experiencing its true nature (Self), the pseudo ‘I’ will also die.” ‘Guru Vachaka Kovai’, verse 193

.......

“...If the fickle mind turns towards the first person, the first person (the ego) will become non-existent and That which really exists will then shine forth…” ‘Atma Vichara Patikam’, verse 6

 “...Attending to the first person is equal to committing suicide...” ‘Atma Vichara Patikam’, verse 7

This is the great revelation made by Bhagavan Sri Ramana and bestowed by Him as a priceless boon upon the world of spiritual aspirants in order to bring Vedanta easily under practical experience.

.....

Just as a rubber ball72 gains greater and greater momentum while bouncing down the staircase, the more the concentration in clinging to the first person consciousness is intensified the faster is the contraction of the first thought (the ego), till finally it merges in its source. That which now merges thus is only the adjunct (upadhi), the feeling ‘so-and-so’ which, at the moment of waking, came and mixed with the pure existence-consciousness, which was shining in sleep as ‘I am’, to constitute the form of the ego, ‘I am so-and-so’, ‘I am this’ or ‘I am that’. That is, what has come and mixed now slips away. All that an

aspirant can experience in the beginning of his practice is only the slipping away (subsidence) of the ego. Since the

aspirant tracks down the ego from the waking state, where it is in full play, in the beginning it is possible for him to cognize only its removal. But to cognize its rising (how it rises and holds on to ‘I am’) from sleep will be more difficult for him at this stage

......

rubber ball simile

The simile of the rubber ball: Let us suppose that a rubber ball is bouncing down from the top of a staircase, the steps of which are one foot high, After falling on to the second step, if it bounces to a height of half a foot, will it not now fall on to the third step from a height of one-and-a-half feet? It will then bounce to a height of three-quarters of a foot. Hence, the height from which it falls on to the next step will be one-and-three-quarter feet. Does it not thus gain greater and greater momentum? Likewise, the shrinking of the first thought, ‘I’, gains greater and greater momentum till finally it merges in its source.

.........

When Self-attention is started from the waking consciousness ‘I am so-and-so’, since it is only the adjunct, the feeling ‘so-and-so’, that slips away (because it is merely non-existent, an unreal thing [the unreal dies and the Reality alone survives, ‘satyameva jayate’), the aspirant even now (when ‘so-and-so’ has dropped off) feels no loss to the consciousness ‘I am’ which he had experienced in the waking state. Now he attains a state which is similar to the sleep he has experienced every day and which is devoid of

all and everything (because, ‘The ego is verily all – sarvam’73, since the whole universe, which is nothing but thoughts, is an expansion of the ego). But a great difference is now experienced by him between the sleep that, without his knowledge, has been coming and overwhelming him all these days due to the complete exhaustion of mind and body, and this sleep which is now voluntarily brought on and experienced by him with the full consciousness of the waking state. How?

“Because there is consciousness, this is not sleep, and because there is the absence of thoughts, it is not the waking state it is therefore the existenceconsciousness (sat-chit), the unbroken nature of Siva (akhanda siva-swarupam). Without leaving it, abide in it with great love.” ‘Sadhanai Saram’ 

...........

Whenever the aspirant during the time of sadhana becomes extroverted from this voluntarily brought-about sleep-like state, he feels absolutely certain, ‘I was not sleeping, but was all the while fully conscious of myself’.

But, though his real aspect (existence-consciousness) is ever knowing without he least doubt its own existence in sleep as ‘I am’, whenever he becomes extroverted from everyday sleep, since he (the mind) did not even once have the experience of continuing to know ‘I am’ from the waking state, he can only say, ‘I slept, I did not know myself at that time’, The truth is this: since the state of his Self-existence, devoid of the adjunct ‘so-and-so’, is traced out and caught hold of in the voluntarily brought-about sleep with the full consciousness (prajna) continuing from the waking state, the knowledge that the pure existence-consciousness (sat-chit} knows itself as ‘I am’ is clear in this sleep state. That is why

the aspirant now says, ‘I did exist throughout, I did not sleep’ ! But prior to his sadhana, since he was throughout the waking state identifying as ‘I’ the mind, which is the form of the adjunct ‘so-and-so’, after waking up from the ordinary daily sleep, where the mind did not exist, this mind (the man) says, ‘I did not exist in sleep’! That is all !!

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Those who experience many times this removal of the ego through practice, since they have an acquaintance with the experience of their pure existence-consciousness as ‘I am’ even after the removal of the ego, 

can minutely cognize, 

even at the moment of just waking up from sleep, how the adjunct ‘so-and-so’ comes and mixes. 

........

Those who do not have such strength of practice cannot cognize, from sleep itself, the ego at its place of rising

The only thing that is easy for them is to find the ego’s place of setting (which is also its place of rising) through the effort started from the waking state.

In either case, the end and the achievement will be the same.

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When the attention is focused deeper and deeper within towards the feeling ‘I am’ and when the ego thereby shrinks more and more into nothingness, our power of attention becomes subtler than the subtlest atom and thereby grows sharper and brighter.

Hence, the strength of abidance (nishtha-bala) will now be achieved to remain balanced between two states, that is, in a state after the end of sleep and before waking up, in other words, before being possessed by the first thought.

Through this strength, the skill will now be gained by the aspirant to find out the adjunct ‘so and so’, which comes and mixes, to be a mere second person (that is, although it has hitherto been appearing as if it were the first person, it will now be clearly seen to be his mere shadow, non-Self, the primal sheath, a thing alien to him). 

This is what Janaka, the royal Sage, meant when he said, “I have found out the thief (the time of his coming – the time and place. of the ego’s rising) who has been ruining me all along; I will inflict the right punishment upon him”.

Since the ego, which was acting till now as if it were the first person, is found to be a second person alien to us, the right punishment is to destroy it at its very place of rising (just as the reflected ray is destroyed at its place of rising) by clinging steadfastly to the real first person (the real import of the word ‘I’), existenceconsciousness, through the method of regaining Selfattention taught by Bhagavan Sri Ramana (‘To whom? To me; who am I?’), 

“As you practise more and more abiding in this existence-consciousness (that is, remaining in the state between sleep and waking), the ordinary sleep which had previously been taking possession of you will melt away, and the waking which was full of sense-knowledges (vishayas) will not creep

in again, Therefore repeatedly and untiringly abide in it,” ‘Sadhanai Saram’

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177

By greater and more steadfast practice of abiding in this existence-consciousness, we will experience that this state seems to come often and take possession of us of its own accord whenever we are free from our daily work. But, since this state of existence-consciousness is in fact nothing but ‘we’, it is wrong to think that such a state comes and takes possession of us!

While at work, we attend to other things; after that work is over and before we attend to some other second or third person, we naturally abide in our real state, existence-consciousness. Though this happens to one and all every day, it is only to those who have the experience of Self-consciousness through the aforesaid practice that the state of Self-abidance will be clearly discerned after leaving one second parson thought and before catching another one (that is, between two thoughts).

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177

“Why has it been said (in the above two verses of ‘Sadhana Saram’) that one ought to make effort repeatedly to be in that state (our existenceconsciousness) and ought to abide in it with more and more love? Because, until all the tendencies (vasanas) which drive one out of it are completely exhausted, this state will seem to come and go75. Hence the need for continued effort and love to abide in Self.”

“When, through this practice, our state of existence consciousness is experienced always as inescapably natural, then there will be no harm even if waking, dream and sleep pass across,” “For those who are well established in the unending Self-consciousness, which pervades and transcends all these three so-called states (waking, dream and sleep), there is but one state, the Whole, the All, and that alone is real! This state, which is devoid even of the feeling ‘I am making effort’, is your natural state of being! Be!!” ‘Sadhanai Saram’

.................cont ..........