Lady Tsogyal asked: “Shouldn't a practitioner of Secret Mantra take all disturbing emotions as the path?”
[Padmasambhava] replied: Of course they should be brought onto the path! But only a peacock can feed on poison. The person who is able to take disturbing emotions as path without abandoning them is rarer than the udumvara flower. While for someone of the highest caliber a disturbing emotion manifests as a helper, for a person of lesser capacity it becomes a poison. For this lesser type of person, it is more profound to abandon disturbing emotions!
“After how much abandoning does one become adept?”, she asked.
When you are not attached to disturbing emotions and sense-pleasures and they are experienced as magical illusions, then you needn't suppress disturbing emotions even when they do arise, as they don't harm. When they don't arise, you have no desire to produce them as you are free from expectations. When that happens, disturbing emotions have been brought onto the path. To try to utilize disturbing emotions as path while not having turned away from clinging to solid reality is like a fly becoming stuck in honey.
Tsogyal, cut through straying in these ways!
~ from 'The Golden Rosary of Nectar' as translated in 'Advice From the Lotus Born'
[Padmasambhava] replied: Of course they should be brought onto the path! But only a peacock can feed on poison. The person who is able to take disturbing emotions as path without abandoning them is rarer than the udumvara flower. While for someone of the highest caliber a disturbing emotion manifests as a helper, for a person of lesser capacity it becomes a poison. For this lesser type of person, it is more profound to abandon disturbing emotions!
“After how much abandoning does one become adept?”, she asked.
When you are not attached to disturbing emotions and sense-pleasures and they are experienced as magical illusions, then you needn't suppress disturbing emotions even when they do arise, as they don't harm. When they don't arise, you have no desire to produce them as you are free from expectations. When that happens, disturbing emotions have been brought onto the path. To try to utilize disturbing emotions as path while not having turned away from clinging to solid reality is like a fly becoming stuck in honey.
Tsogyal, cut through straying in these ways!
~ from 'The Golden Rosary of Nectar' as translated in 'Advice From the Lotus Born'
Silence
Language is only a medium for communication of one' s thoughts, It is used after thoughts have arisen, and they arise only after the I'-thought. The 'I'-thought "is the root of all conversation.
One can understand another when one remains without thinking, by the universal language — silence. Silence is ever-speaking; it is perennial; speech interrupts it. Words obstruct that mute language.
When there is electricity flowing in a wire, and resistance occurs in its passage, it glows as a lamp or turns as a fan. The wire remains full of electric energy.
Similarly, silence is the eternal flow of language obstructed by words. What one fails to know by a conversation that extends to several years, can be known in a flash, in silence or before silence; look at Dakshinamurti's teaching, for example. That is the highest and most effective language.
People insist on asking me questions and so I must reply, but the truth is beyond words.
~ Conscious Immortality
Language is only a medium for communication of one' s thoughts, It is used after thoughts have arisen, and they arise only after the I'-thought. The 'I'-thought "is the root of all conversation.
One can understand another when one remains without thinking, by the universal language — silence. Silence is ever-speaking; it is perennial; speech interrupts it. Words obstruct that mute language.
When there is electricity flowing in a wire, and resistance occurs in its passage, it glows as a lamp or turns as a fan. The wire remains full of electric energy.
Similarly, silence is the eternal flow of language obstructed by words. What one fails to know by a conversation that extends to several years, can be known in a flash, in silence or before silence; look at Dakshinamurti's teaching, for example. That is the highest and most effective language.
People insist on asking me questions and so I must reply, but the truth is beyond words.
~ Conscious Immortality
Q. Do you have thoughts?
Sri Ramana: I usually have no thoughts.
Q. But when you are reading?
A. Then I have thoughts.
Q. And when someone asks you a question?
A. Then, too, I have thoughts when replying, not otherwise.
Q. How can I keep the idea of that real state always
before me?
A. Because you think you are a body you are not able to keep that single idea, you are not firm!
The idea that you must go to Tiruvannamalai and see Maharshi is only a function of the intellect.
Really no help is required. You are already in your original state; how can anyone help you to arrive where you already are? The help given is only to clear out your wrong notions. The great men, the gurus can help only by removing the obstacles in your way.
A child and Jnani are in some ways similar. The child ceases to think of incidents after they have passed off. Thus it shows that they do not leave deep impressions on the child's mind. So too with a Jnani.
~ Conscious Immortality
Sri Ramana: I usually have no thoughts.
Q. But when you are reading?
A. Then I have thoughts.
Q. And when someone asks you a question?
A. Then, too, I have thoughts when replying, not otherwise.
Q. How can I keep the idea of that real state always
before me?
A. Because you think you are a body you are not able to keep that single idea, you are not firm!
The idea that you must go to Tiruvannamalai and see Maharshi is only a function of the intellect.
Really no help is required. You are already in your original state; how can anyone help you to arrive where you already are? The help given is only to clear out your wrong notions. The great men, the gurus can help only by removing the obstacles in your way.
A child and Jnani are in some ways similar. The child ceases to think of incidents after they have passed off. Thus it shows that they do not leave deep impressions on the child's mind. So too with a Jnani.
~ Conscious Immortality
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU DESIRE
Q: All I want is to be able to help the world.
M: Who says you cannot help? You made up your mind about what help means and needs and got yourself into a conflict between what you should and what you can, between necessity and ability.
Q: But why do we do so?
M: Your mind projects a structure and you identify yourself with it. It is in the nature of desire to prompt the mind to create a world for its fulfillment. Even a small desire can start a long line of action; what about a strong desire?
Desire can produce a universe; its powers are miraculous. Just as a small matchstick can set a huge forest on fire, so does a desire light the fires of manifestation.
The very purpose of creation is the fulfillment of desire. The desire may be noble, or ignoble, space (akash) is neutral -- one can fill it with what one likes:
You must be very careful as to what you desire.
And as to the people you want to help, they are in their respective worlds for the sake of their desires; there is no way of helping them except through their desires. You can only teach them to have the right desires so that they may rise above them and be free from the urge to create and recreate worlds of desires, abodes of pain and pleasure.
Q: A day must come when the show is wound up; a man must die, a universe come to an end.
M: Just as a sleeping man forgets all and wakes up for another day, or he dies and emerges into another life, so do the worlds of desire and fear dissolve and disappear. But the universal witness, the Supreme Self never sleeps and never dies. Eternally the Great Heart beats and at each beat, a new universe comes into being.
~ I AM THAT ch 24
Q: All I want is to be able to help the world.
M: Who says you cannot help? You made up your mind about what help means and needs and got yourself into a conflict between what you should and what you can, between necessity and ability.
Q: But why do we do so?
M: Your mind projects a structure and you identify yourself with it. It is in the nature of desire to prompt the mind to create a world for its fulfillment. Even a small desire can start a long line of action; what about a strong desire?
Desire can produce a universe; its powers are miraculous. Just as a small matchstick can set a huge forest on fire, so does a desire light the fires of manifestation.
The very purpose of creation is the fulfillment of desire. The desire may be noble, or ignoble, space (akash) is neutral -- one can fill it with what one likes:
You must be very careful as to what you desire.
And as to the people you want to help, they are in their respective worlds for the sake of their desires; there is no way of helping them except through their desires. You can only teach them to have the right desires so that they may rise above them and be free from the urge to create and recreate worlds of desires, abodes of pain and pleasure.
Q: A day must come when the show is wound up; a man must die, a universe come to an end.
M: Just as a sleeping man forgets all and wakes up for another day, or he dies and emerges into another life, so do the worlds of desire and fear dissolve and disappear. But the universal witness, the Supreme Self never sleeps and never dies. Eternally the Great Heart beats and at each beat, a new universe comes into being.
~ I AM THAT ch 24
In my world even what you call evil is the servant of the good and therefore necessary. It is like boils and fevers that clear the body of impurities. Disease is painful, even dangerous, but if dealt with rightly, it heals.
A devotee who asked for the Maharshi’s grace was told, 'You have it.'
He experienced a throb in the center of his chest, like a slight pressure, and felt happy and extraordinarily peaceful. He asked the Maharshi about it later.
M: Hold onto that sensation firmly whenever the mind is distracted. Your mantra-saying is no longer necessary. It is called sphurana, and is felt on several occasions, such as fear and excitement. It is really always there, at the Heart center. It is associated with antecedent causes and usually confused with the body. It is alone and pure; it is the Self. If the mind is fixed on it, sensing it continuously and automatically, it is realization. Now, it is a foretaste of realization.
~ Conscious Immortality
He experienced a throb in the center of his chest, like a slight pressure, and felt happy and extraordinarily peaceful. He asked the Maharshi about it later.
M: Hold onto that sensation firmly whenever the mind is distracted. Your mantra-saying is no longer necessary. It is called sphurana, and is felt on several occasions, such as fear and excitement. It is really always there, at the Heart center. It is associated with antecedent causes and usually confused with the body. It is alone and pure; it is the Self. If the mind is fixed on it, sensing it continuously and automatically, it is realization. Now, it is a foretaste of realization.
~ Conscious Immortality
Always practice Advaita in your mind but never practice it in your deeds. To attain redemption one can embrace the three worlds [this one and those above it and below it] with the Advaita [outlook, seeing everything as one] but with the pre-eminent Guru, [this attitude] is totally improper.
~ Guru Vachaka Kovai (801)
Bhagavan: My son, you should experience Advaita within your Heart at all times, but never, even for a moment, should you express it in your outward actions. Advaita is appropriate in all the three worlds, but it is never appropriate in relation to the Guru."
~ Guru Vachaka Kovai (801)
Bhagavan: My son, you should experience Advaita within your Heart at all times, but never, even for a moment, should you express it in your outward actions. Advaita is appropriate in all the three worlds, but it is never appropriate in relation to the Guru."
That which is going to turn into a corpse-you are calling that “me,” “I.” This is the sin that you are committing and the obstacle between you and the knowledge.
Why do you cling to memories so much?
Is it because we have the sense that
the present is incomplete?
Why go to past or future? Or even present!
Is there not something even more alive than time?
As you come to verify this, spontaneously
you will discover that you are the timeless One.
Is it because we have the sense that
the present is incomplete?
Why go to past or future? Or even present!
Is there not something even more alive than time?
As you come to verify this, spontaneously
you will discover that you are the timeless One.
DO NOT GET DELUDED
792. If your desire is fulfilled in the way that you want, do not get deluded and feel proud by imagining that this has been achieved by the power of your tapas. Realizing the truth that this is [only] due to the blessed grace of God that has flowed towards you, you should humble yourself, feel gratitude, and have ever-increasing devotion to his feet.
793. Let whatever happens happen in the way it happens. Do not entertain the slightest thought of going against it. Without embarking on any new enterprise, become one with the seer who sees the eye, he who remains peacefully merged in the Heart.
'The seer who sees the eye' means the Self.
794. When the sadhaka's efforts result in failure, the benefit of this [effort] is to make him understand that Self-realization can only be attained by the Guru's grace, and not by personal exertion, thus preparing the sadhaka to seek the cool grace bestowed by the Guru.
~ Guru Vachaka Kovai
The Lord is impossible to attain by any stratagem. Yet for those who in their minds are clearly convinced that to attain Him is not within their power, who have become wearied by their efforts, and in whom the mischievous antics of the ego have become thoroughly stilled, He will easily fall into their grasp.
~ Sri Ramana Sannidhi Murai
792. If your desire is fulfilled in the way that you want, do not get deluded and feel proud by imagining that this has been achieved by the power of your tapas. Realizing the truth that this is [only] due to the blessed grace of God that has flowed towards you, you should humble yourself, feel gratitude, and have ever-increasing devotion to his feet.
793. Let whatever happens happen in the way it happens. Do not entertain the slightest thought of going against it. Without embarking on any new enterprise, become one with the seer who sees the eye, he who remains peacefully merged in the Heart.
'The seer who sees the eye' means the Self.
794. When the sadhaka's efforts result in failure, the benefit of this [effort] is to make him understand that Self-realization can only be attained by the Guru's grace, and not by personal exertion, thus preparing the sadhaka to seek the cool grace bestowed by the Guru.
~ Guru Vachaka Kovai
The Lord is impossible to attain by any stratagem. Yet for those who in their minds are clearly convinced that to attain Him is not within their power, who have become wearied by their efforts, and in whom the mischievous antics of the ego have become thoroughly stilled, He will easily fall into their grasp.
~ Sri Ramana Sannidhi Murai
The Self is like a powerful hidden magnet within us.
It draws us gradually to itself,
though we imagine
we are going to it of our own accord.
When we are near enough,
it puts an end to our other activities,
makes us still,
and then swallows up
our own personal current,
thus killing our personality.
It overwhelms the intellect
and over floods the whole being.
We think we are meditating upon it
and developing towards it,
whereas the truth is
that we are as iron filings
and it is the Atman-magnet
that is pulling us
towards itself.
Thus the process of finding Self
is a form of Divine Magnetism.
It is necessary to practise meditation
frequently and regularly
until the condition induced
becomes habitual and permanent
throughout the day.
Therefore meditate.
~ Conscious Immortality, Ch.14.
It draws us gradually to itself,
though we imagine
we are going to it of our own accord.
When we are near enough,
it puts an end to our other activities,
makes us still,
and then swallows up
our own personal current,
thus killing our personality.
It overwhelms the intellect
and over floods the whole being.
We think we are meditating upon it
and developing towards it,
whereas the truth is
that we are as iron filings
and it is the Atman-magnet
that is pulling us
towards itself.
Thus the process of finding Self
is a form of Divine Magnetism.
It is necessary to practise meditation
frequently and regularly
until the condition induced
becomes habitual and permanent
throughout the day.
Therefore meditate.
~ Conscious Immortality, Ch.14.
M.G. Shanmukam’s Tamil biography Ramana Maharshi – Life and Teachings was published in 1937. His father, a police officer, along with the Swami of Ishanya Mutt, Tiruvannamalai, was instrumental in the construction of the old hall from
1926-7, where Sri Ramana lived for two decades.
During my 24 years of personal association with Bhagavan, I found that he seldom preached elaborately. He would give hints which keen seekers had to absorb carefully. He once said categorically, for practicing atma vichara every day is auspicious. All other sadhanas require external objects and congenial environment, but for atma vichara nothing external to oneself is required. Turning the mind within is all that is necessary. While one is engaged in atma vichara one can attend to other activities also.
Traditional upbringing gradually involved me in the study of the sastras, doing japa, bhajan, and regular puja three times a day. I came to the conviction that the highest human attainment was the state of jivanmukti (full enlightenment whilst still in the body). During 1921-25, as a college student, I fervently prayed that I should meet a jivanmukta and receive his blessings.
My prayers were soon answered! My father was transferred to Tiruvannamalai. At Katpadi, while travelling in train towards Tiruvannamalai, I had a remarkable vision of Bhagavan. Thus my sadguru came to me and absorbed me even before l could have His physical darshan!
When I arrived at the Ashram, Bhagavan gave me a warm welcome with a benign smile. As He was seeing me for the first time, His two spontaneous utterances surprised me. Like an affectionate mother, He asked me, “When did you come?” and “How is your right hand?”
My right hand was badly fractured when I was 14 years old, and though it had healed up, it remained bent and short. I used to cover it up with full sleeves and even my friends did not know of this serious deformity. How did Bhagavan know about it? And what affectionate concern He showed! After Bhagavan inquired about it, my sense of inferiority, because of the defect, totally disappeared.
More than all this, He asked me to be seated in front of Him. Gazing at Him I sat down and I do not know what happened to me then. When I got up two hours had elapsed. This was an experience I had never had before and I have always cherished it as the first and foremost prasad and blessing received from my sadguru. That day I understood the purport of the statement, ‘The sadguru ever gives unasked!’ That moment I knew I had been accepted into His Fold. He allowed me to enjoy this strong bond until His mahasamadhi, and even after.
Daily I would go to Him by two in the afternoon and return home only at 8 p.m. Bhagavan would quote from Ribhu Gita, Kaivalya Navaneetha, Yoga Vasishtam, and other advaitic texts and explain to me their greatness. All the while I felt that
I was in the blissful presence of a brahmajnani (one who has realized the Self), so highly extolled in our scriptures.
Once sitting before Him, the following thoughts rose in my mind with great force and were running repeatedly for a long time: ‘Do not argue on controversial points of philosophy or read too much of philosophical books.’ ‘Silently practice either vichara or dhyana’ (meditation). ‘Do not do anything which you know to be wrong.’
Some of Bhagavan’s personal instructions to me were:
(i) If you observe the breathing one-pointedly, such attention will lead you into kumbhaka (retention), which is jnana pranayama.
(ii) The more you humble yourself, the better it is for you.
(iii) You should look upon the world only as a dream.
(iv) Except attending to the duty-work in life, the rest of the time should be spent in atma nishta (absorption in the Self).
(v) Do not cause the slightest hindrance or disturbance to others.
(vi) Do all your work yourself.
(vii) Both likes and dislikes should be discarded and eschewed.
(vii) With attention focused on the first person and on the heart within, one should relentlessly practice ‘Who am I?’ During such practice, the mind might suddenly spring up; so you have to vigilantly pursue the vichara ‘Who am I?’
Sri Ramana was a sarvajnani (all-knower). I got many proofs of it. My father gave me pocket-money of three annas a day. For that amount, I would buy sambrani (incense), which was burnt in a brazier in Bhagavan’s hall. One day I did not get the pocket money and therefore refrained from going to Bhagavan.
The next day, Bhagavan graciously remarked, “Yesterday you did not come because you could not get sambrani. Veneration in the heart is enough.”
My father was suddenly transferred to Vellore. None of us, particularly myself, wanted to leave Tiruvannamalai since darshan of Bhagavan would then be denied. We ventilated our grievance to Bhagavan. He gave me a benign smile. A few days after, strangely, the transfer order was canceled!
I noticed the strange way in which the doubts in one’s mind got answered. The doubt you had would mysteriously be got expressed by someone else in the hall to Bhagavan and He would not only give the answer but look at you with a smile as if to say, ‘Has your doubt been cleared?’
Bhagavan would be seated like a rock with eyes open for hours together and silence would pervade the hall, and everyone’s heart would be filled with peace and stillness. This silence was His real teaching!
- Face to Face
1926-7, where Sri Ramana lived for two decades.
During my 24 years of personal association with Bhagavan, I found that he seldom preached elaborately. He would give hints which keen seekers had to absorb carefully. He once said categorically, for practicing atma vichara every day is auspicious. All other sadhanas require external objects and congenial environment, but for atma vichara nothing external to oneself is required. Turning the mind within is all that is necessary. While one is engaged in atma vichara one can attend to other activities also.
Traditional upbringing gradually involved me in the study of the sastras, doing japa, bhajan, and regular puja three times a day. I came to the conviction that the highest human attainment was the state of jivanmukti (full enlightenment whilst still in the body). During 1921-25, as a college student, I fervently prayed that I should meet a jivanmukta and receive his blessings.
My prayers were soon answered! My father was transferred to Tiruvannamalai. At Katpadi, while travelling in train towards Tiruvannamalai, I had a remarkable vision of Bhagavan. Thus my sadguru came to me and absorbed me even before l could have His physical darshan!
When I arrived at the Ashram, Bhagavan gave me a warm welcome with a benign smile. As He was seeing me for the first time, His two spontaneous utterances surprised me. Like an affectionate mother, He asked me, “When did you come?” and “How is your right hand?”
My right hand was badly fractured when I was 14 years old, and though it had healed up, it remained bent and short. I used to cover it up with full sleeves and even my friends did not know of this serious deformity. How did Bhagavan know about it? And what affectionate concern He showed! After Bhagavan inquired about it, my sense of inferiority, because of the defect, totally disappeared.
More than all this, He asked me to be seated in front of Him. Gazing at Him I sat down and I do not know what happened to me then. When I got up two hours had elapsed. This was an experience I had never had before and I have always cherished it as the first and foremost prasad and blessing received from my sadguru. That day I understood the purport of the statement, ‘The sadguru ever gives unasked!’ That moment I knew I had been accepted into His Fold. He allowed me to enjoy this strong bond until His mahasamadhi, and even after.
Daily I would go to Him by two in the afternoon and return home only at 8 p.m. Bhagavan would quote from Ribhu Gita, Kaivalya Navaneetha, Yoga Vasishtam, and other advaitic texts and explain to me their greatness. All the while I felt that
I was in the blissful presence of a brahmajnani (one who has realized the Self), so highly extolled in our scriptures.
Once sitting before Him, the following thoughts rose in my mind with great force and were running repeatedly for a long time: ‘Do not argue on controversial points of philosophy or read too much of philosophical books.’ ‘Silently practice either vichara or dhyana’ (meditation). ‘Do not do anything which you know to be wrong.’
Some of Bhagavan’s personal instructions to me were:
(i) If you observe the breathing one-pointedly, such attention will lead you into kumbhaka (retention), which is jnana pranayama.
(ii) The more you humble yourself, the better it is for you.
(iii) You should look upon the world only as a dream.
(iv) Except attending to the duty-work in life, the rest of the time should be spent in atma nishta (absorption in the Self).
(v) Do not cause the slightest hindrance or disturbance to others.
(vi) Do all your work yourself.
(vii) Both likes and dislikes should be discarded and eschewed.
(vii) With attention focused on the first person and on the heart within, one should relentlessly practice ‘Who am I?’ During such practice, the mind might suddenly spring up; so you have to vigilantly pursue the vichara ‘Who am I?’
Sri Ramana was a sarvajnani (all-knower). I got many proofs of it. My father gave me pocket-money of three annas a day. For that amount, I would buy sambrani (incense), which was burnt in a brazier in Bhagavan’s hall. One day I did not get the pocket money and therefore refrained from going to Bhagavan.
The next day, Bhagavan graciously remarked, “Yesterday you did not come because you could not get sambrani. Veneration in the heart is enough.”
My father was suddenly transferred to Vellore. None of us, particularly myself, wanted to leave Tiruvannamalai since darshan of Bhagavan would then be denied. We ventilated our grievance to Bhagavan. He gave me a benign smile. A few days after, strangely, the transfer order was canceled!
I noticed the strange way in which the doubts in one’s mind got answered. The doubt you had would mysteriously be got expressed by someone else in the hall to Bhagavan and He would not only give the answer but look at you with a smile as if to say, ‘Has your doubt been cleared?’
Bhagavan would be seated like a rock with eyes open for hours together and silence would pervade the hall, and everyone’s heart would be filled with peace and stillness. This silence was His real teaching!
- Face to Face
‘IF THE GURU BELIEVES THIS, HE DOES NOT DESRVE THE NAME’
Q: Isn't grace the gift of the guru?
M: God, grace and guru, are all synonymous and also eternal and immanent. Isn't the Self already within? Is it for the guru to bestow It by his look? If the guru believes this, then he does not deserve the name.
The books say that there are so many initiations: hasta diksha (by hand), sparsa diksha (by touch), mental diksha etc, and that the guru performs some rites with fire, water, japa, and mantras. They call such fantastic performances an 'initiation', as if the disciple becomes ripe only after such processes!
If the individual is sought, he is nowhere to be found. Such is the guru. Such is a Dakshinamurti. What did he do? He was silent, the disciples appeared before him, he maintained silence and the disciples' doubts were dispelled — which means that they lost their individual identities. Such is the true guru and such is true initiation. That is jnana, and not the verbiage usually associated with it.
Silence is the most potent form of work. However vast and emphatic the Sastras may be, they fail in their effect. The guru is quiet and peace prevails in all his silence, vaster and more emphatic than all the Sastras put together.
Jnana is acquired by satsang, or rather by its atmosphere.
— Conscious Immortality
Q: Isn't grace the gift of the guru?
M: God, grace and guru, are all synonymous and also eternal and immanent. Isn't the Self already within? Is it for the guru to bestow It by his look? If the guru believes this, then he does not deserve the name.
The books say that there are so many initiations: hasta diksha (by hand), sparsa diksha (by touch), mental diksha etc, and that the guru performs some rites with fire, water, japa, and mantras. They call such fantastic performances an 'initiation', as if the disciple becomes ripe only after such processes!
If the individual is sought, he is nowhere to be found. Such is the guru. Such is a Dakshinamurti. What did he do? He was silent, the disciples appeared before him, he maintained silence and the disciples' doubts were dispelled — which means that they lost their individual identities. Such is the true guru and such is true initiation. That is jnana, and not the verbiage usually associated with it.
Silence is the most potent form of work. However vast and emphatic the Sastras may be, they fail in their effect. The guru is quiet and peace prevails in all his silence, vaster and more emphatic than all the Sastras put together.
Jnana is acquired by satsang, or rather by its atmosphere.
— Conscious Immortality
Don't believe your thoughts.
'I am the body' is a thought.
'I am the mind' is a thought.
'I am the doer' is a thought.
Worry is only a thought.
Fear is only a thought.
Death is only a thought.
'I am the body' is a thought.
'I am the mind' is a thought.
'I am the doer' is a thought.
Worry is only a thought.
Fear is only a thought.
Death is only a thought.
One Mr. Ramachandar, a gentleman from Ambala, asked
where the Heart is and what Realisation is.
Sri Ramana Maharshi.:
The Heart is not physical; it is spiritual.
Hridayam = hrit + ayam - This is the centre.
It is that from which thoughts arise,
on which they subsist and
where they are resolved.
The thoughts are the content of the mind and,
they shape the universe.
The Heart is the centre of all.
Yatova imani bhutani jayante
(that from which these beings come into existence) etc.
is said to be Brahman in the Upanishads.
That is the Heart.
Brahman is the Heart.
D.: How to realise the Heart?
Sri Ramana Maharshi .: There is no one
who even for a trice fails to experience the Self.
For no one admits that
he ever stands apart from the Self.
He is the Self.
The Self is the Heart.
D.: It is not clear.
Sri Ramana Maharshi.: In deep sleep you exist; awake, you remain.
The same Self is in both states.
The difference is only in the awareness
and the nonawareness of the world.
The world rises with the mind and sets with the mind.
That which rises and sets is not the Self.
The Self is different, giving rise to the mind,
sustaining it and resolving it.
So the Self is the underlying principle.
When asked who you are,
you place your hand on the right side of the breast and
say ‘I am’.
There you involuntarily point out the Self.
The Self is thus known.
But the individual is miserable
because he confounds the mind and the body with the Self.
This confusion is due to wrong knowledge.
Elimination of wrong knowledge is alone needed.
Such elimination results in Realisation.
D.: How to control the mind?
Sri Ramana Maharshi.: What is mind? Whose is the mind?
D.: Mind always wanders. I cannot control it.
Sri Ramana Maharshi .: It is the nature of the mind to wander.
You are not the mind.
The mind springs up and sinks down.
It is impermanent, transitory,
whereas you are eternal.
There is nothing but the Self.
To inhere in the Self is the thing.
Never mind the mind.
If its source is sought,
it will vanish leaving the Self unaffected.
D.: So one need not seek to control the mind?
Sri Ramana Maharshi.:
There is no mind to control if you realise the Self.
The mind vanishing, the Self shines forth.
In the realised man the mind may be active or inactive,
the Self alone remains for him.
For the mind, the body and the world are not separate from the Self.
They rise from and sink into the Self.
They do not remain apart from the Self.
Can they be different from the Self ?
Only be aware of the Self.
Why worry about these shadows?
How do they affect the Self?
~ Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi , 97
where the Heart is and what Realisation is.
Sri Ramana Maharshi.:
The Heart is not physical; it is spiritual.
Hridayam = hrit + ayam - This is the centre.
It is that from which thoughts arise,
on which they subsist and
where they are resolved.
The thoughts are the content of the mind and,
they shape the universe.
The Heart is the centre of all.
Yatova imani bhutani jayante
(that from which these beings come into existence) etc.
is said to be Brahman in the Upanishads.
That is the Heart.
Brahman is the Heart.
D.: How to realise the Heart?
Sri Ramana Maharshi .: There is no one
who even for a trice fails to experience the Self.
For no one admits that
he ever stands apart from the Self.
He is the Self.
The Self is the Heart.
D.: It is not clear.
Sri Ramana Maharshi.: In deep sleep you exist; awake, you remain.
The same Self is in both states.
The difference is only in the awareness
and the nonawareness of the world.
The world rises with the mind and sets with the mind.
That which rises and sets is not the Self.
The Self is different, giving rise to the mind,
sustaining it and resolving it.
So the Self is the underlying principle.
When asked who you are,
you place your hand on the right side of the breast and
say ‘I am’.
There you involuntarily point out the Self.
The Self is thus known.
But the individual is miserable
because he confounds the mind and the body with the Self.
This confusion is due to wrong knowledge.
Elimination of wrong knowledge is alone needed.
Such elimination results in Realisation.
D.: How to control the mind?
Sri Ramana Maharshi.: What is mind? Whose is the mind?
D.: Mind always wanders. I cannot control it.
Sri Ramana Maharshi .: It is the nature of the mind to wander.
You are not the mind.
The mind springs up and sinks down.
It is impermanent, transitory,
whereas you are eternal.
There is nothing but the Self.
To inhere in the Self is the thing.
Never mind the mind.
If its source is sought,
it will vanish leaving the Self unaffected.
D.: So one need not seek to control the mind?
Sri Ramana Maharshi.:
There is no mind to control if you realise the Self.
The mind vanishing, the Self shines forth.
In the realised man the mind may be active or inactive,
the Self alone remains for him.
For the mind, the body and the world are not separate from the Self.
They rise from and sink into the Self.
They do not remain apart from the Self.
Can they be different from the Self ?
Only be aware of the Self.
Why worry about these shadows?
How do they affect the Self?
~ Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi , 97
Освобождение - это наша природа, наше другое имя, а потому очень смешно желать освобождения. Это напоминает человека, который ушел из тени на солнце, но, почувствовав палящий зной, ценой больших усилий возвращается в тень и радуется: "Как сладко в тени! Наконец я достиг тени!" Все мы делаем то же самое. Мы не отличаемся от Реальности, но представляем себя отличными от Неё, т.е. создаём чувство различия, а затем предпринимаем продолжительную садхану, чтобы избавиться от чувства различия и реализовать Единственность. Зачем воображать или творить чувство различия, а затем уничтожать его?
Visitor: What is the use of chanting Guru Mantra?
Maharaj: "For overall purification including that of the five Pranas(vital breaths). Although the vital breath is only one, it is sub-divided into five Pranas, based on their function. The pure seeker realises the Self. "
V: Why are real seekers very few in number?
M: "Only a few have the inner urge. It cannot be developed externally. One who receives the divine grace of the Self meets one's Sadguru. First, there is Atmakrupa, the grace of the Self, then Gurukrupa, the grace of the Guru, and finally Self-realization."
V: Is Atma(Self) one or many different forms?
M: "Atma is one but it expresses as 'I Am' in different forms. All the five elements come together for this sense of being to appear. For Self-Realisation one must hug 'I Am' by itself, that is, to remain without thoughts. That is called meditation. Forgetting the world, to hold its soul, that is, 'I Am'."
Maharaj: "For overall purification including that of the five Pranas(vital breaths). Although the vital breath is only one, it is sub-divided into five Pranas, based on their function. The pure seeker realises the Self. "
V: Why are real seekers very few in number?
M: "Only a few have the inner urge. It cannot be developed externally. One who receives the divine grace of the Self meets one's Sadguru. First, there is Atmakrupa, the grace of the Self, then Gurukrupa, the grace of the Guru, and finally Self-realization."
V: Is Atma(Self) one or many different forms?
M: "Atma is one but it expresses as 'I Am' in different forms. All the five elements come together for this sense of being to appear. For Self-Realisation one must hug 'I Am' by itself, that is, to remain without thoughts. That is called meditation. Forgetting the world, to hold its soul, that is, 'I Am'."
Questioner: The jnani seems to be a very lonely being, all by himself.
Nisargadatta: He is alone, but he is all. He is not even a being. He is the beingness of all beings. Not even that. No words apply. He is what he is, the ground from which all grows.
I AM THAT - p. 145
Nisargadatta: He is alone, but he is all. He is not even a being. He is the beingness of all beings. Not even that. No words apply. He is what he is, the ground from which all grows.
I AM THAT - p. 145
Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.
Fasters who died from too long a fast did not die from lack of food, but actually suffocated in and with their own waste.
Сарасвати продолжила:
Незрелому человеку, убежденному в реальности этого мира, он продолжает казаться реальным – также как ребенка верящего в привидения, они преследуют всю его жизнь. Если человек любуется внешним видом браслета, он не видит, что это всего лишь золото, – и тот, кто видит блеск дворцов, слонов и городов, не замечает, что все это - только бесконечное сознание.
Эта вселенная - всего лишь долгий сон. Чувство эго и каприз, что вокруг есть другие, - также реальны, как и предметы во сне. Единственная реальность – это бесконечное сознание, вездесущее, чистое, спокойное, всемогущее, чье тело и существо есть абсолютное сознание, и потому не объект и не познаваемое – где бы и каким бы то ни было образом это сознание хочет проявить себя, этим оно и становится. Поэтому, когда видящий воображает, что видит человеческое существо, человеческое существо оказывается именно там. Потому как субстрат, бесконечное сознание, - реален, и все, что на нем основано, также приобретает реальность, но реальность не саму по себе, а основанную на реальности субстрата. Эта вселенная и все существа в нем – только длинный сон. Для меня ты реален, и для тебя я реальна, и также другие реальны для меня и для тебя. И эта относительная реальность похожа на реальность предметов во сне.
Незрелому человеку, убежденному в реальности этого мира, он продолжает казаться реальным – также как ребенка верящего в привидения, они преследуют всю его жизнь. Если человек любуется внешним видом браслета, он не видит, что это всего лишь золото, – и тот, кто видит блеск дворцов, слонов и городов, не замечает, что все это - только бесконечное сознание.
Эта вселенная - всего лишь долгий сон. Чувство эго и каприз, что вокруг есть другие, - также реальны, как и предметы во сне. Единственная реальность – это бесконечное сознание, вездесущее, чистое, спокойное, всемогущее, чье тело и существо есть абсолютное сознание, и потому не объект и не познаваемое – где бы и каким бы то ни было образом это сознание хочет проявить себя, этим оно и становится. Поэтому, когда видящий воображает, что видит человеческое существо, человеческое существо оказывается именно там. Потому как субстрат, бесконечное сознание, - реален, и все, что на нем основано, также приобретает реальность, но реальность не саму по себе, а основанную на реальности субстрата. Эта вселенная и все существа в нем – только длинный сон. Для меня ты реален, и для тебя я реальна, и также другие реальны для меня и для тебя. И эта относительная реальность похожа на реальность предметов во сне.
Grant Me Salvation, Swami
One afternoon a lady from Kumbhakonam sat near Bhagavan and exclaimed: "How glad I am that I have met you, Swami. I have craved to see you for a long time, Swami. Not that I want anything, Swami. Only please be kind and grant me salvation, Swami." With that she got up and went away. Bhagavan had a hearty laugh.
"Look at her - all she wants is salvation. Give her salvation, she wants nothing else."
I said: "Is it not what we all want?"
He replied: "Is salvation something to be handed over on request? Do I keep bundles of salvation concealed about me, that people should ask me for salvation? She said 'I do not want anything.' If it is sincere, that itself is salvation. What is there I can give and what is there they can take?"
Somebody brought a bell to be rung at the arati ceremony and it was put into Bhagavan's hands. He tried its sound in various ways and laughed: "God wants us to make a fire of our past evil deeds and burn our karma in it. But these people burn a copper worth of camphor and hope to please the Almighty. Do they really believe that they can get something for nothing? They do not want to bend to God, they want God to bend to them. In their greed they would swallow God, but they would not let him swallow them. Some boast of their offerings. What have they got to offer ? The idol of Vinayaka (Ganesha) is made of jaggery. They break off a piece of it and offer it to Him. The only offering worthy of the Lord is to clear the mind of thoughts and remain steady in the peace of Self."
As I Saw Him - No.5. My Life, My Light
by Varanasi Subbalakshmi.
One afternoon a lady from Kumbhakonam sat near Bhagavan and exclaimed: "How glad I am that I have met you, Swami. I have craved to see you for a long time, Swami. Not that I want anything, Swami. Only please be kind and grant me salvation, Swami." With that she got up and went away. Bhagavan had a hearty laugh.
"Look at her - all she wants is salvation. Give her salvation, she wants nothing else."
I said: "Is it not what we all want?"
He replied: "Is salvation something to be handed over on request? Do I keep bundles of salvation concealed about me, that people should ask me for salvation? She said 'I do not want anything.' If it is sincere, that itself is salvation. What is there I can give and what is there they can take?"
Somebody brought a bell to be rung at the arati ceremony and it was put into Bhagavan's hands. He tried its sound in various ways and laughed: "God wants us to make a fire of our past evil deeds and burn our karma in it. But these people burn a copper worth of camphor and hope to please the Almighty. Do they really believe that they can get something for nothing? They do not want to bend to God, they want God to bend to them. In their greed they would swallow God, but they would not let him swallow them. Some boast of their offerings. What have they got to offer ? The idol of Vinayaka (Ganesha) is made of jaggery. They break off a piece of it and offer it to Him. The only offering worthy of the Lord is to clear the mind of thoughts and remain steady in the peace of Self."
As I Saw Him - No.5. My Life, My Light
by Varanasi Subbalakshmi.
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.
Knowledge is no guarantee of wisdom but prideful ignorance is proof of its absence.
For the faults of the many, judge not the whole. Everything on earth is of mixed character, like a mingling of sand and sugar. Be like the wise ant which seizes only the sugar and leaves the sand untouched.
Beings
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