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In order to really grow inside,
you must first be challenged from all directions.
Things cannot just go your way.
You cannot command life or expect
it to fulfil your projections.
If things are always easy,
you go to sleep inside your being.
As you become more sensitive,
more alert, more intuitive, open and silent,
fear, resistance and lethargy subside
and are replaced with a deep calm
and a faith in the unseen one.
Though no outer company may be seen alongside you,
the one who walks with God is never alone.
The hosts of the heavens walk with them.
Welcome on the road of true life.
you must first be challenged from all directions.
Things cannot just go your way.
You cannot command life or expect
it to fulfil your projections.
If things are always easy,
you go to sleep inside your being.
As you become more sensitive,
more alert, more intuitive, open and silent,
fear, resistance and lethargy subside
and are replaced with a deep calm
and a faith in the unseen one.
Though no outer company may be seen alongside you,
the one who walks with God is never alone.
The hosts of the heavens walk with them.
Welcome on the road of true life.
Never defile your Self, by hating yourself.
Never believe there is any mistake you've made that is going to rise up against you.
Everyone has made mistakes, forget it.
Begin to realize who you are, begin to love yourself dearly, have mercy on yourself, lift yourself up and become free.
Never believe there is any mistake you've made that is going to rise up against you.
Everyone has made mistakes, forget it.
Begin to realize who you are, begin to love yourself dearly, have mercy on yourself, lift yourself up and become free.
Can you imagine meeting with God and knowing there is nothing you could say that would make him upset with you? And when you know you cannot do anything to change his love for you, then many suppressed feelings leave you. Nothing to be offended, nothing to judge, nothing to forgive nor to heal. Nothing has ever been remembered of anything wrong you think you ever did. I tell you that you don't have to imagine this, because it is true.
People worry and say, 'Man, you really don't know what kind of thoughts I have.'
They are only terrible because you think they are yours and that there is a 'you' who thinks them.
Source: Book 'White Fire'
People worry and say, 'Man, you really don't know what kind of thoughts I have.'
They are only terrible because you think they are yours and that there is a 'you' who thinks them.
Source: Book 'White Fire'
The fact is we are meant to be happy.
By nature you are happy, by nature your being is perfect, by nature you are in peace, by nature you have a love for life and for all beings.
You just have it, you didn't cultivate it, and so as you awaken more to your own reality, you are discovering something universal.
It is like you are knowing without study.
When you study you use your mind, but when you find harmony, you are in your heart.
By nature you are happy, by nature your being is perfect, by nature you are in peace, by nature you have a love for life and for all beings.
You just have it, you didn't cultivate it, and so as you awaken more to your own reality, you are discovering something universal.
It is like you are knowing without study.
When you study you use your mind, but when you find harmony, you are in your heart.
Be aware of this persistent feeling that there is something more to do in order to attain the Self.
Somehow, you have been brought to a stage where you are encouraged to leave aside all intentions, projections and fantasies, and to simply keep quiet inside your being.
Mind is inclined to say this is not enough. It is suggesting to take some action. However, the Master tells you to keep quiet and to focus on the silence of your Heart rather than the rush of the mind. You are advised to avoid the sense of waiting for something to happen. There may arise a little tension because of this advice not to go with the movements of the mind.
Learn to bear your own silence by observing the tensions encircling it.
Observe rather than react.
Again, keep quiet. Stay only as awareness.
source:'White Fire'
Somehow, you have been brought to a stage where you are encouraged to leave aside all intentions, projections and fantasies, and to simply keep quiet inside your being.
Mind is inclined to say this is not enough. It is suggesting to take some action. However, the Master tells you to keep quiet and to focus on the silence of your Heart rather than the rush of the mind. You are advised to avoid the sense of waiting for something to happen. There may arise a little tension because of this advice not to go with the movements of the mind.
Learn to bear your own silence by observing the tensions encircling it.
Observe rather than react.
Again, keep quiet. Stay only as awareness.
source:'White Fire'
The final bridge to cross is to let go of the mind-created 'spiritual' self.
Burn that bridge behind you.
Stay empty of self-image and cease looking back. Remain in the neutrality of being.
Burn that bridge behind you.
Stay empty of self-image and cease looking back. Remain in the neutrality of being.
GURU SHOPPING: 'WHEN ALL GOES, THE SELF REMAINS'
When Bhagavan was still on the hill, a postcard came in which the sender wrote:
"I am a poor elementary school teacher. My mother is old and my salary is so small that I cannot look after her properly. Kindly see that I get a raise."
Bhagavan laughed and said: "Well, why not?"
Another card came after some time in which he wrote: "By your grace, my salary was increased. Now there is a vacancy in a higher grade. If I am given that grade, I shall earn more and make my mother very happy."
Bhagavan had a good laugh and said: "Good."
Again after some days, another card: "My mother is bedridden and there is nobody to nurse her. If I could get married, my wife would look after her. But I am a poor man. Who will give me his daughter in marriage? And where shall I get the money for expenses? Bhagavan may kindly arrange."
Bhagavan laughed and said: "Well, let it be so."
After some months another postcard came: "By your kindness, I was married quite easily. My wife is already with me. My mother wants a grandchild before she dies. Please provide.
"Why not?" said Bhagavan.
After some months another card: "My wife gave birth to a child, but she has no milk for it. I cannot afford milk for the baby. Please get me a promotion."
Then another card: "I got a promotion and an increment. The child is doing well. I owe everything to your kindness."
Bhagavan remarked: "What have I done? It is his good karma that all goes well with him."
After some days another card: "Mother died. She worshiped you before her death.
"Well," said Bhagavan.
After a month, another card: "Swami, my child has died."
"Sorry," said Bhagavan. Another month had passed and a card came saying: "My wife is pregnant again." Then another card: "My wife gave birth to a child. Both died."
"Ram, Ram,'' said Bhagavan. "Everything seems to be over."
Then another card: "Due to family trouble my work was very irregular and I was dismissed. I am completely destitute now.''
Bhagavan said, heaving a deep sigh:
"All that came has gone; only his Self remained with him. It is always like this. When all goes, only the Self remains."
-- from "The Bhagavan I Knew" in the Ramana Smriti Souvenir.
When Bhagavan was still on the hill, a postcard came in which the sender wrote:
"I am a poor elementary school teacher. My mother is old and my salary is so small that I cannot look after her properly. Kindly see that I get a raise."
Bhagavan laughed and said: "Well, why not?"
Another card came after some time in which he wrote: "By your grace, my salary was increased. Now there is a vacancy in a higher grade. If I am given that grade, I shall earn more and make my mother very happy."
Bhagavan had a good laugh and said: "Good."
Again after some days, another card: "My mother is bedridden and there is nobody to nurse her. If I could get married, my wife would look after her. But I am a poor man. Who will give me his daughter in marriage? And where shall I get the money for expenses? Bhagavan may kindly arrange."
Bhagavan laughed and said: "Well, let it be so."
After some months another postcard came: "By your kindness, I was married quite easily. My wife is already with me. My mother wants a grandchild before she dies. Please provide.
"Why not?" said Bhagavan.
After some months another card: "My wife gave birth to a child, but she has no milk for it. I cannot afford milk for the baby. Please get me a promotion."
Then another card: "I got a promotion and an increment. The child is doing well. I owe everything to your kindness."
Bhagavan remarked: "What have I done? It is his good karma that all goes well with him."
After some days another card: "Mother died. She worshiped you before her death.
"Well," said Bhagavan.
After a month, another card: "Swami, my child has died."
"Sorry," said Bhagavan. Another month had passed and a card came saying: "My wife is pregnant again." Then another card: "My wife gave birth to a child. Both died."
"Ram, Ram,'' said Bhagavan. "Everything seems to be over."
Then another card: "Due to family trouble my work was very irregular and I was dismissed. I am completely destitute now.''
Bhagavan said, heaving a deep sigh:
"All that came has gone; only his Self remained with him. It is always like this. When all goes, only the Self remains."
-- from "The Bhagavan I Knew" in the Ramana Smriti Souvenir.
CONVERSATIONS WITH ANNAMALAI SWAMI
Q: There is another biblical statement which is very popular among Christians: 'No man comes to the Father except through me. ‘ How does Swami understand this statement of Jesus?
AS: When Jesus said 'Except through me' he was speaking of the Self, not the body, but people have misunderstood this.
On another occasion, Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of heaven is within you’. He did not mean that it is within the body. This 'you’ Jesus spoke of is the Self, infinite consciousness.
Although a sage who has stabilized in the Self may use the word 'me’ we should not make the mistake of thinking that he is the body. Whenever the jnani, who has become one with the infinite, pure consciousness, says 'me’ he is speaking not of the body, the form, but of the one consciousness.
In the absolute, single, formless, immanent consciousness, where is Jesus or any other jnani? All is one in consciousness. It is impossible to differentiate between people there.
The one who realizes this state beyond the mind expresses the truth in his own way. Those who are seeking to understand this truth always try to understand the message through the misleading medium of words. They misinterpret with their minds and misunderstand what the teacher is really trying to say.
Many Christians take that phrase 'No man comes to the Father except through me' to mean through the form of Jesus Christ alone. Because of this interpretation, they condemn all other concepts of God and all other religions.
In essence all religions are one. Bhagavan once told me: ‘If the ego is destroyed by proper self-enquiry, and if the non-dual consciousness is realized, that alone is truth. Then, in that non-dual consciousness, where are all the different religions and different masters? All are one in that state.
Q: Does Swami understand Jesus Christ to be a jnani like so many other jnanis, or was he something more than that?
AS: If the ego is destroyed, only non-dual consciousness remains.
There is no higher or lower in that state. You cannot say that one jnani is in a different state from another. You cannot say that Jesus Christ is better than Bhagavan or vice versa. There is no higher state than that of the jnani and there is no jnani who is superior to any other jnani.
Although the inner state and experience of all jnanis is the same, their outer activities differ because each of them has a different destiny to fulfill.
Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p. 309
Q: There is another biblical statement which is very popular among Christians: 'No man comes to the Father except through me. ‘ How does Swami understand this statement of Jesus?
AS: When Jesus said 'Except through me' he was speaking of the Self, not the body, but people have misunderstood this.
On another occasion, Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of heaven is within you’. He did not mean that it is within the body. This 'you’ Jesus spoke of is the Self, infinite consciousness.
Although a sage who has stabilized in the Self may use the word 'me’ we should not make the mistake of thinking that he is the body. Whenever the jnani, who has become one with the infinite, pure consciousness, says 'me’ he is speaking not of the body, the form, but of the one consciousness.
In the absolute, single, formless, immanent consciousness, where is Jesus or any other jnani? All is one in consciousness. It is impossible to differentiate between people there.
The one who realizes this state beyond the mind expresses the truth in his own way. Those who are seeking to understand this truth always try to understand the message through the misleading medium of words. They misinterpret with their minds and misunderstand what the teacher is really trying to say.
Many Christians take that phrase 'No man comes to the Father except through me' to mean through the form of Jesus Christ alone. Because of this interpretation, they condemn all other concepts of God and all other religions.
In essence all religions are one. Bhagavan once told me: ‘If the ego is destroyed by proper self-enquiry, and if the non-dual consciousness is realized, that alone is truth. Then, in that non-dual consciousness, where are all the different religions and different masters? All are one in that state.
Q: Does Swami understand Jesus Christ to be a jnani like so many other jnanis, or was he something more than that?
AS: If the ego is destroyed, only non-dual consciousness remains.
There is no higher or lower in that state. You cannot say that one jnani is in a different state from another. You cannot say that Jesus Christ is better than Bhagavan or vice versa. There is no higher state than that of the jnani and there is no jnani who is superior to any other jnani.
Although the inner state and experience of all jnanis is the same, their outer activities differ because each of them has a different destiny to fulfill.
Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p. 309
Whatever comes, do not push away, whatever goes, do not grieve. Everything appears just like clouds floating by; they just come and go. Stay only as the unmoving Awareness. Awareness and Truth are one.
Christ is the ego and the Cross, the body. When the ego is crucified and it perishes, what survives is the Absolute Being (God); cf.., ‘I and my Father are one.’ This glorious survival is called the Resurrection. God the Father represents Isvara, the Son is the Guru, and the Holy Ghost is the Atman. The Bible says, ‘Be still and know that I am God,’ Psalm 46. Found in the Ecclesiastics: ‘There is one alone and there is
no second’ and ‘The wise man’s heart is at the right hand and a fool’s heart is at the left’.
Source: Gems from Bhagavan, Chapter XIII
no second’ and ‘The wise man’s heart is at the right hand and a fool’s heart is at the left’.
Source: Gems from Bhagavan, Chapter XIII
The power of illusion is very strong,
so be vigilant in a joyful play with tendencies because when one is near freedom all demons will consolidate and attack.
Continue being self meditating on self,
do this playfully always.
so be vigilant in a joyful play with tendencies because when one is near freedom all demons will consolidate and attack.
Continue being self meditating on self,
do this playfully always.
Find the "presence", not the "present"!
The presence is timeless. The present is time bound. The present is fluid, is memory, is mind, is an idea.
People say, "the past is unreal, the future is unreal, only the present, only here & now...", but the "here & now" is also unreal, is also an idea. Because you have touched it with your mind. So it becomes a bit dirty. Only seeing it from the timeless then everything is good.
Your Being is timeless.
The presence is timeless. The present is time bound. The present is fluid, is memory, is mind, is an idea.
People say, "the past is unreal, the future is unreal, only the present, only here & now...", but the "here & now" is also unreal, is also an idea. Because you have touched it with your mind. So it becomes a bit dirty. Only seeing it from the timeless then everything is good.
Your Being is timeless.
In the light of calm and steady self awareness, inner energies wake up and work miracles without any effort on your part.
KARMA
=======
Student:
When something good happens to a person, good or bad,
we say it's his or her karma.
But the fact of the matter is they're not individuals.
So it can be said it's karma,
but not it's his karma or her karma.
Is that correct?
Robert:
As long as you believe in karma,
then karma will always grab you,
and turn you in all directions.
But when you ask
“For whom is there karma?"
and realize it's only for the personal I,
then there is no longer any karma.
As long as you believe you are the body then karma exists for you also,
for karma only exists for the body.
Karma does not exist for the self.
Karma only exists for the body and the mind. And when the body and the mind has been totally transmuted,
where is there karma?
It's gone.
It never was.
~ The Collected Works of Robert Adams
=======
Student:
When something good happens to a person, good or bad,
we say it's his or her karma.
But the fact of the matter is they're not individuals.
So it can be said it's karma,
but not it's his karma or her karma.
Is that correct?
Robert:
As long as you believe in karma,
then karma will always grab you,
and turn you in all directions.
But when you ask
“For whom is there karma?"
and realize it's only for the personal I,
then there is no longer any karma.
As long as you believe you are the body then karma exists for you also,
for karma only exists for the body.
Karma does not exist for the self.
Karma only exists for the body and the mind. And when the body and the mind has been totally transmuted,
where is there karma?
It's gone.
It never was.
~ The Collected Works of Robert Adams
Teaching in Words and Silence
On a Shivaratri day, after dinner, Bhagavan was reclining on the sofa surrounded by many devotees. A Sadhu suggested that, since this was a most auspicious night, the meaning of the verse in praise of Dakshinamurti should be made clear. Bhagavan gave his approval and all were eagerly waiting for him to say something.
He simply sat, gazing at us. We were gradually absorbed in ever deepening silence, which was not disturbed by the clock striking the hour, every hour, until 4 a.m. None moved or talked. Time and space ceased to exist. Bhagavan’s grace kept us at peace and silence for seven hours. In this silence, Bhagavan taught us the Ultimate, like Dakshinamurti. At the stroke of four Bhagavan asked us whether we had understood the meaning of the silent teaching. Like waves on the infinite ocean of bliss, we fell at Bhagavan’s feet.
- T. K. Sundaresa Iyer, Ramana Smrti Souvenir
Maharshi has been looking into the Siva Purana this day.
He says: Siva has the transcendental and immanent aspects as represented by His invisible, transcendental being and the linga aspect respectively. The linga originally manifested as Arunachala stands even to this day.
This manifestation was when the moon was in the constellation of Orion (Ardra) in December. However, it was first worshipped on Maha Sivaratri day which is held sacred even now. In the sphere of speech Pranava (the mystic sound AUM) represents the transcendental (nirguna) and the Panchakshari (NamaSivaya or SivayaNama) represents the immanent aspect (saguna).
- Talks 218
On a Shivaratri day, after dinner, Bhagavan was reclining on the sofa surrounded by many devotees. A Sadhu suggested that, since this was a most auspicious night, the meaning of the verse in praise of Dakshinamurti should be made clear. Bhagavan gave his approval and all were eagerly waiting for him to say something.
He simply sat, gazing at us. We were gradually absorbed in ever deepening silence, which was not disturbed by the clock striking the hour, every hour, until 4 a.m. None moved or talked. Time and space ceased to exist. Bhagavan’s grace kept us at peace and silence for seven hours. In this silence, Bhagavan taught us the Ultimate, like Dakshinamurti. At the stroke of four Bhagavan asked us whether we had understood the meaning of the silent teaching. Like waves on the infinite ocean of bliss, we fell at Bhagavan’s feet.
- T. K. Sundaresa Iyer, Ramana Smrti Souvenir
Maharshi has been looking into the Siva Purana this day.
He says: Siva has the transcendental and immanent aspects as represented by His invisible, transcendental being and the linga aspect respectively. The linga originally manifested as Arunachala stands even to this day.
This manifestation was when the moon was in the constellation of Orion (Ardra) in December. However, it was first worshipped on Maha Sivaratri day which is held sacred even now. In the sphere of speech Pranava (the mystic sound AUM) represents the transcendental (nirguna) and the Panchakshari (NamaSivaya or SivayaNama) represents the immanent aspect (saguna).
- Talks 218
BHAGAVAN DISCUSSES AUROBINDO WITH SWAMI MADHAVATHIRTA
Sri Aurobindo believes that the human body is not the last on this earth. Establishment in the Self, according to him, is not perfectly attained in a human body, for Self-knowledge does not operate there in its natural way. Therefore the vijnanamaya sarira [the body made of pure knowledge] in which Self-knowledge can work naturally must be brought down on this earth.
M: Self-knowledge can shine very well in the human body, so there is no need of any other body.
Q: Sri Aurobindo believes that the vijnanamaya sarira will not be attacked by disease, will not grow old, and will not die without one’s desire.
M: The body itself is a disease. To wish for a long stay of that disease is not the aim of the jnani. Anyhow, one has to give up identification with the body. Just as the I-am-the-body consciousness prevents one from attaining Self-knowledge, in the same way, one who has got the conviction that he is not the body will become liberated even if he doesn’t desire it.
Q: Sri Aurobindo wants to bring the power of God into the human body.
M: If, after surrendering, one still has this desire, then surrender has not been successful. If one has the attitude, ‘If the higher power is to come down, it must come into my body’, this will only increase identification with the body. Truly speaking, there is no need of any such descent. After the destruction of the I-am-the-body idea, the individual becomes the form of the absolute. In that state, there is no above or below, front or back.
Q: If the individual becomes the form of the absolute, then who will enjoy the bliss of the absolute? To enjoy the bliss of the absolute, we must be slightly separate from it, like the fly that tastes sugar from a little distance.
M: The bliss of the absolute is the bliss of one’s own nature. It is not born, nor has it been created. Pleasure that is created is destroyed. Sugar, being insentient, cannot taste itself. The fly has to keep a little distance to taste it. But the absolute is awareness and consciousness. It can give its own bliss, but its nature cannot be understood without attaining that state.
Q: Sri Aurobindo wants to bring down to earth a new divine race.
M: Whatever is to be attained in the future is to be understood as impermanent. Learn to understand properly what you have now so that there will be no need of thinking about the future.
Q: Sri Aurobindo says that God has created various kinds of worlds and is still going to create a new world.
M: Our present world is not real. Each one sees a different imaginary world according to his imagination, so where is the guarantee that the new world will be real? The jiva [the individual person], the world and God, all of these are relative ideas. So long as there is the individual sense of ‘I’, these three are also there.
From this individual sense of ‘I’, from the mind, these three have arisen.
If you stop the mind, the three will not remain, but Brahman alone will remain, as it remains and abides even now. We see things because of an error. This misperception will be rectified by enquiring into the real nature of this jiva. Even if this jiva enters Supermind, it will remain in the mind, but after surrendering the mind, there will be nothing left but Brahman. Whether this world is real or unreal, consciousness or inert, a place of happiness or a place of misery, all these states arises in the state of ignorance. They are not useful after realization.
The state of Atmanishta [being fixed in the Self], devoid of the individual feeling of ‘I’, is the supreme state. In this state there is no room for thinking of objects, nor this feeling of individual being. There is no doubt of any kind in this natural state of being-consciousness-bliss.
So long as there is the perception of name and form in oneself, God will appear with form, but when the vision of the formless reality is achieved there will be no modifications of seer, seeing and seen. That vision is the nature of consciousness itself, non-dual and undivided. It is limitless, infinite and perfect.
When the individual sense of ‘I’ arises in the body, the world is seen. If this sense is absent, who then will see the world?
- The Power of the Presence
Sri Aurobindo believes that the human body is not the last on this earth. Establishment in the Self, according to him, is not perfectly attained in a human body, for Self-knowledge does not operate there in its natural way. Therefore the vijnanamaya sarira [the body made of pure knowledge] in which Self-knowledge can work naturally must be brought down on this earth.
M: Self-knowledge can shine very well in the human body, so there is no need of any other body.
Q: Sri Aurobindo believes that the vijnanamaya sarira will not be attacked by disease, will not grow old, and will not die without one’s desire.
M: The body itself is a disease. To wish for a long stay of that disease is not the aim of the jnani. Anyhow, one has to give up identification with the body. Just as the I-am-the-body consciousness prevents one from attaining Self-knowledge, in the same way, one who has got the conviction that he is not the body will become liberated even if he doesn’t desire it.
Q: Sri Aurobindo wants to bring the power of God into the human body.
M: If, after surrendering, one still has this desire, then surrender has not been successful. If one has the attitude, ‘If the higher power is to come down, it must come into my body’, this will only increase identification with the body. Truly speaking, there is no need of any such descent. After the destruction of the I-am-the-body idea, the individual becomes the form of the absolute. In that state, there is no above or below, front or back.
Q: If the individual becomes the form of the absolute, then who will enjoy the bliss of the absolute? To enjoy the bliss of the absolute, we must be slightly separate from it, like the fly that tastes sugar from a little distance.
M: The bliss of the absolute is the bliss of one’s own nature. It is not born, nor has it been created. Pleasure that is created is destroyed. Sugar, being insentient, cannot taste itself. The fly has to keep a little distance to taste it. But the absolute is awareness and consciousness. It can give its own bliss, but its nature cannot be understood without attaining that state.
Q: Sri Aurobindo wants to bring down to earth a new divine race.
M: Whatever is to be attained in the future is to be understood as impermanent. Learn to understand properly what you have now so that there will be no need of thinking about the future.
Q: Sri Aurobindo says that God has created various kinds of worlds and is still going to create a new world.
M: Our present world is not real. Each one sees a different imaginary world according to his imagination, so where is the guarantee that the new world will be real? The jiva [the individual person], the world and God, all of these are relative ideas. So long as there is the individual sense of ‘I’, these three are also there.
From this individual sense of ‘I’, from the mind, these three have arisen.
If you stop the mind, the three will not remain, but Brahman alone will remain, as it remains and abides even now. We see things because of an error. This misperception will be rectified by enquiring into the real nature of this jiva. Even if this jiva enters Supermind, it will remain in the mind, but after surrendering the mind, there will be nothing left but Brahman. Whether this world is real or unreal, consciousness or inert, a place of happiness or a place of misery, all these states arises in the state of ignorance. They are not useful after realization.
The state of Atmanishta [being fixed in the Self], devoid of the individual feeling of ‘I’, is the supreme state. In this state there is no room for thinking of objects, nor this feeling of individual being. There is no doubt of any kind in this natural state of being-consciousness-bliss.
So long as there is the perception of name and form in oneself, God will appear with form, but when the vision of the formless reality is achieved there will be no modifications of seer, seeing and seen. That vision is the nature of consciousness itself, non-dual and undivided. It is limitless, infinite and perfect.
When the individual sense of ‘I’ arises in the body, the world is seen. If this sense is absent, who then will see the world?
- The Power of the Presence
THE INFINITE DIVINE BLISS
Bhagavan explained how it is said in books that the highest possible happiness, which a human being can attain or which the ten grades of beings higher than man, ending with gods like Brahma can attain, is like foam in the deluging flood of the bliss of the Self.
Imagine a man in robust health; of vigorous adult age, endowed with unsurpassed wealth and power, with intellect and all other resources, and married to a fair and faithful wife, and conceive of his happiness.
Each higher grade of being above man is capable of a hundred-fold greater happiness than that of the grade below. But the highest happiness of all the eleven grades of being is only the foam in the flooding ocean of divine bliss.
Day by Day, 22-11-45 Morning
Bhagavan explained how it is said in books that the highest possible happiness, which a human being can attain or which the ten grades of beings higher than man, ending with gods like Brahma can attain, is like foam in the deluging flood of the bliss of the Self.
Imagine a man in robust health; of vigorous adult age, endowed with unsurpassed wealth and power, with intellect and all other resources, and married to a fair and faithful wife, and conceive of his happiness.
Each higher grade of being above man is capable of a hundred-fold greater happiness than that of the grade below. But the highest happiness of all the eleven grades of being is only the foam in the flooding ocean of divine bliss.
Day by Day, 22-11-45 Morning
Bhagavan Ramana was and is unique. So too, his life and his teaching was and is unique! He was open to all and available to all – all the 24 hours. He treated anyone, everyone and everything equally. His tremendous compassion and love included humans, birds, animals, plants, trees and even rocks.
The dog Jackie would sit motionless in front of the Maharshi, meditating like all other devotees. He neither barked nor wagged his tail when he was there. He never even sniffed food kept on the stool next to him in front of the Maharshi. Seeing this, the Maharshi himself once remarked: “Jackie is in the state of samadhi.”
A monkey once came into the Hall to grab a banana from a big bunch kept in front of the Maharshi. He put his hand on them and looked at the Maharshi, who looked back intently at the monkey. The monkey stayed motionless - in a state of quietude for a long time. When he regained his habitual monkey nature, he grabbed a banana and began to rush out. Sri Bhagavan mildly asked him, “What is the urgency? Why don’t you stay quietly in that state? What kingdom are you going to conquer outside?”
As if praying for the Maharshi’s personal attention and sacred touch to attain the highest state of emancipation, a crow waited three whole days on the top of a pole just outside the Hall. When Sri Bhagavan was informed of it, he got up, went near the crow and said, “Oh! You are waiting for me! ” He then opened the crow’s beak, poured a few drops of water from his kamandalu [water pot] and looked at the crow with intense love. The crow opened its eyes and dropped its body in the hands of the Maharshi. Maharshi himself built its tomb, confirming that it had attained Freedom!
Cow Lakshmi used to come to Sri Bhagavan twice every day – once in the morning and again in the evening. She would ignore everyone else and come straight to Sri Bhagavan – even if there were large crowds around him – and then bend down and lick his feet. The Maharshi used to remark, “Just as all of you prostrate, this cow’s way of conveying reverence is through licking my feet!”
Sri Bhagavan had absolutely no sense of ownership of anything, including his body. When doctors cut off the infected flesh from his cancer affected arm, he too looked on with a detached look, similar to that of the doctors.
When the devotees cried and lamented that he was leaving them all and going away, Bhagavan Ramana, declared, “ Where could I go? I AM HERE ! ” He was indicating the ‘here’ within the Heart of every one of us. On April 14, 1950, the son ‘Ramana’ merged in the Source from where he came - the Hill of the Holy Fire, Father Arunachala - in the form of light!
The light we call Sri Bhagavan had merged with the Light of lights-Arunachala Jyothi !
Source: Sri V Ganesan talks about Ramana Maharshi
The dog Jackie would sit motionless in front of the Maharshi, meditating like all other devotees. He neither barked nor wagged his tail when he was there. He never even sniffed food kept on the stool next to him in front of the Maharshi. Seeing this, the Maharshi himself once remarked: “Jackie is in the state of samadhi.”
A monkey once came into the Hall to grab a banana from a big bunch kept in front of the Maharshi. He put his hand on them and looked at the Maharshi, who looked back intently at the monkey. The monkey stayed motionless - in a state of quietude for a long time. When he regained his habitual monkey nature, he grabbed a banana and began to rush out. Sri Bhagavan mildly asked him, “What is the urgency? Why don’t you stay quietly in that state? What kingdom are you going to conquer outside?”
As if praying for the Maharshi’s personal attention and sacred touch to attain the highest state of emancipation, a crow waited three whole days on the top of a pole just outside the Hall. When Sri Bhagavan was informed of it, he got up, went near the crow and said, “Oh! You are waiting for me! ” He then opened the crow’s beak, poured a few drops of water from his kamandalu [water pot] and looked at the crow with intense love. The crow opened its eyes and dropped its body in the hands of the Maharshi. Maharshi himself built its tomb, confirming that it had attained Freedom!
Cow Lakshmi used to come to Sri Bhagavan twice every day – once in the morning and again in the evening. She would ignore everyone else and come straight to Sri Bhagavan – even if there were large crowds around him – and then bend down and lick his feet. The Maharshi used to remark, “Just as all of you prostrate, this cow’s way of conveying reverence is through licking my feet!”
Sri Bhagavan had absolutely no sense of ownership of anything, including his body. When doctors cut off the infected flesh from his cancer affected arm, he too looked on with a detached look, similar to that of the doctors.
When the devotees cried and lamented that he was leaving them all and going away, Bhagavan Ramana, declared, “ Where could I go? I AM HERE ! ” He was indicating the ‘here’ within the Heart of every one of us. On April 14, 1950, the son ‘Ramana’ merged in the Source from where he came - the Hill of the Holy Fire, Father Arunachala - in the form of light!
The light we call Sri Bhagavan had merged with the Light of lights-Arunachala Jyothi !
Source: Sri V Ganesan talks about Ramana Maharshi
The intellect is like a knife – the sharper, the better. As long as you know how to handle it.
JNANA IS INDESTRUCTIBLE
I have a sister who believes that the world is about to end in a nuclear holocaust. Many other people feel the same. Does Swami have any views on this?
Annamalai Swami: I do not think that the world will be destroyed in the near future. But even if it is about to be destroyed it is not something that you should think about or worry about. Keep your attention in the present; keep it on the Self. If you establish yourself in the Self you need not worry about the future of the world. If you realize the Self, nothing can touch you. You can destroy a jnani’s body, you can destroy the world that he lives in, but you cannot touch or change his Self-awareness.
The disappearance of the entire universe will not affect the jnani because jnana is indestructible. Consciousness, the substratum of the universe, cannot be changed in any way. When the world appears in consciousness, consciousness doesn’t undergo any change. So, even when the universe disappears, consciousness is unaffected.
Everything that appears will one day disappear. There is no permanence in the world of forms. But that unchangeable consciousness in which all forms appear can never be diminished, destroyed or altered in any way. If you learn to be that consciousness you come to understand that nothing can touch or destroy you. …
Ignorance causes us to worry about the possible destruction of the body. If you make your well-being dependent on the well-being of the body, you will always be worrying and suffering. When you know, from direct experience, that you are the Self, you realize that there is no birth and death. You realize that you are deathless and immortal. Self-realization is sometimes called the immortal state because it never ends and because it is never destroyed or even altered. If you keep your attention on the Self you can attain this immortality. If you attain it, in that ultimate state of being you will find that there is no birth, no death, no desires, no fears, no worries, no mind and no world.
- Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p. 294
I have a sister who believes that the world is about to end in a nuclear holocaust. Many other people feel the same. Does Swami have any views on this?
Annamalai Swami: I do not think that the world will be destroyed in the near future. But even if it is about to be destroyed it is not something that you should think about or worry about. Keep your attention in the present; keep it on the Self. If you establish yourself in the Self you need not worry about the future of the world. If you realize the Self, nothing can touch you. You can destroy a jnani’s body, you can destroy the world that he lives in, but you cannot touch or change his Self-awareness.
The disappearance of the entire universe will not affect the jnani because jnana is indestructible. Consciousness, the substratum of the universe, cannot be changed in any way. When the world appears in consciousness, consciousness doesn’t undergo any change. So, even when the universe disappears, consciousness is unaffected.
Everything that appears will one day disappear. There is no permanence in the world of forms. But that unchangeable consciousness in which all forms appear can never be diminished, destroyed or altered in any way. If you learn to be that consciousness you come to understand that nothing can touch or destroy you. …
Ignorance causes us to worry about the possible destruction of the body. If you make your well-being dependent on the well-being of the body, you will always be worrying and suffering. When you know, from direct experience, that you are the Self, you realize that there is no birth and death. You realize that you are deathless and immortal. Self-realization is sometimes called the immortal state because it never ends and because it is never destroyed or even altered. If you keep your attention on the Self you can attain this immortality. If you attain it, in that ultimate state of being you will find that there is no birth, no death, no desires, no fears, no worries, no mind and no world.
- Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p. 294
Leadership means partnership, cooperation, mentoring, and support. It does not mean dominance. Dominance is tyranny.
Q: Nevertheless, you are aware of the immense suffering of the world?
M: Of course l am, much more than you are.
Q: Then what do you do?
M: I look at it through the eyes of God and find that all is well.
Q: How can you say that all is well? Look at the wars, the exploitation, the cruel strife between the citizen and the state.
M: All these sufferings are man-made and it is within man’s power to put an end to them. God helps by facing man with the results of his actions and demanding that the balance should be restored. Karma is the law that works for righteousness; it is the healing hand of God.
~Nisargadatta Maharaj
I Am That, p. 24
M: Of course l am, much more than you are.
Q: Then what do you do?
M: I look at it through the eyes of God and find that all is well.
Q: How can you say that all is well? Look at the wars, the exploitation, the cruel strife between the citizen and the state.
M: All these sufferings are man-made and it is within man’s power to put an end to them. God helps by facing man with the results of his actions and demanding that the balance should be restored. Karma is the law that works for righteousness; it is the healing hand of God.
~Nisargadatta Maharaj
I Am That, p. 24
Q: Mooji, you say we don't have complete free will. I disagree.
M: For instance?
Q: For instance: If I wish to climb this tree, nothing can stop me.
M: Can you climb it now?
Q: No.
M: Why not? It would demonstrate your point very well.
Q: Well, I don't feel like it right now.
M: What makes you feel like it? Do you have any choice in that?
Q: No
M: Then where is your free will?
M: For instance?
Q: For instance: If I wish to climb this tree, nothing can stop me.
M: Can you climb it now?
Q: No.
M: Why not? It would demonstrate your point very well.
Q: Well, I don't feel like it right now.
M: What makes you feel like it? Do you have any choice in that?
Q: No
M: Then where is your free will?
People discuss whether Brahman is with form or without form, but I have seen Brahman on the slopes of Arunachala in the form of a frail man, tottering about with a stick in his hand, opening out the large lotus petals of his eyes and looking round for souls to save. He is none other than Sri Ramana.
“Understand that the false needs time and what needs time is false”
Self-interest and self-concern are the focal points of the false. Your daily life vibrates between desire and fear. Watch it intently and you will see how the mind assumes innumerable names and shapes, like a river foaming between the boulders. Trace every action to its selfish motive and look at the motive intently till it dissolves.
Discard every self-seeking motive as soon as it is seen and you need not search for truth; truth will find you. So, first of all abandon all self-identification, stop thinking of yourself as such-and-such, so-and-so, this or that. Abandon all self-concern, worry not about your welfare, material or spiritual, abandon every desire, gross or subtle, stop thinking of achievement of any kind. You are complete here and now, you need absolutely nothing.
It does not mean that you must be brainless and foolhardy, improvident or indifferent; only the basic anxiety for oneself must go. You need some food, clothing and shelter for you and yours, but this will not create problems as long as greed is not taken for a need. Live in tune with things as they are and not as they are imagined.
All you can say about yourself is: 'I am.' You are pure being -- awareness -- bliss. To realise that is the end of all seeking. You come to it when you see all you think yourself to be as mere imagination and stand aloof in pure awareness of the transient as transient, imaginary as imaginary, unreal as unreal. It is not at all difficult, but detachment is needed.
It is the clinging to the false that makes the true so difficult to see. Once you understand that the false needs time and what needs time is false, you are nearer the Reality, which is timeless, ever in the now. (...) If you need time to achieve something, it must be false. The real is always with you; you need not wait to be what you are.
Self-interest and self-concern are the focal points of the false. Your daily life vibrates between desire and fear. Watch it intently and you will see how the mind assumes innumerable names and shapes, like a river foaming between the boulders. Trace every action to its selfish motive and look at the motive intently till it dissolves.
Discard every self-seeking motive as soon as it is seen and you need not search for truth; truth will find you. So, first of all abandon all self-identification, stop thinking of yourself as such-and-such, so-and-so, this or that. Abandon all self-concern, worry not about your welfare, material or spiritual, abandon every desire, gross or subtle, stop thinking of achievement of any kind. You are complete here and now, you need absolutely nothing.
It does not mean that you must be brainless and foolhardy, improvident or indifferent; only the basic anxiety for oneself must go. You need some food, clothing and shelter for you and yours, but this will not create problems as long as greed is not taken for a need. Live in tune with things as they are and not as they are imagined.
All you can say about yourself is: 'I am.' You are pure being -- awareness -- bliss. To realise that is the end of all seeking. You come to it when you see all you think yourself to be as mere imagination and stand aloof in pure awareness of the transient as transient, imaginary as imaginary, unreal as unreal. It is not at all difficult, but detachment is needed.
It is the clinging to the false that makes the true so difficult to see. Once you understand that the false needs time and what needs time is false, you are nearer the Reality, which is timeless, ever in the now. (...) If you need time to achieve something, it must be false. The real is always with you; you need not wait to be what you are.
Many beings come to me and say, ‘Life is flowing very beautifully now. I am in a state of peace. My intuitive powers are opening up. Life is a sweet flow. I see sensations and thoughts coming and going but I am unchanging.'
They feel they are enjoying the complete state of Self-realization.
But then unexpectedly, this state is suddenly changing. Many thoughts are coming now and they are not nice ones.
Before, there was a shield of protection but now all ugly things are coming through. The awakening honeymoon seems to be over.
Now please pay attention. Listen well.
This is a form of Grace actually. This phase has come and signals that you must mature further in order to attain complete realization of the Self.
I sometimes say, 'You want to taste the honey, you don't want to be the honey'. What is this honey? It is the satchitananda state — the perfume of the Self experienced as existence, consciousness and bliss. All beings enjoy this state and wish to prolong it, believing it to be the ultimate state.
Through these intense satsangs, ego is thinning away and you are beginning to experience an expansion within your being.
You are enjoying. You are tasting the honey. Why not? Very nice. Best honey. But then somehow you get a bee sting and the tongue hurts. The honey is gone or feels polluted.
What happened? Your beautiful spiritual world has changed. Your spontaneity has gone.
Don't panic. You haven't done anything wrong.
What is important now is that you recognize that you are still totally here as pure quality-less awareness.
Grace says, 'You must experience only awareness without the taste of the honey.' But this is not acceptable to the 'experiencer' self. It wants the tasting to continue uninterrupted. It wants nothing more.
Where is the taste?
There is only the tasteless awareness.
This 'experiencer' self is a mix of presence and ego and must be transcended before Self-realization is complete.
Remember, just as the flower is not attached to its smell, awareness is not addicted to any state.
Now you must be the Self beyond quality.
Don't rely on the fragrance.
The initial fragrance is still the subtlest part of phenomenality, but it can and will disappear.
But the Self cannot disappear.
It cannot even appear for it is infinite and timeless.
As soon as you, the true Self, recognize and start marinating in your own emptiness, the attachment to fragrances weaken.
Before arriving to this stage, there was no attraction for the ultimate Self, only for its dynamic aspect as presence.
Now, as a result of listening to and following these direct pointings you come to find the Supreme joy — the immutable Self.
Here is the unfading peace that cannot be described.
You are not merely tasting peace.
You are peace itself.
You are not feeling happy.
You are happiness itself.
You are beyond the play of interrelated opposites. Beyond the spell of duality.
This Realization few have attained.
Here in satsang today, you may discover and be one of them.
They feel they are enjoying the complete state of Self-realization.
But then unexpectedly, this state is suddenly changing. Many thoughts are coming now and they are not nice ones.
Before, there was a shield of protection but now all ugly things are coming through. The awakening honeymoon seems to be over.
Now please pay attention. Listen well.
This is a form of Grace actually. This phase has come and signals that you must mature further in order to attain complete realization of the Self.
I sometimes say, 'You want to taste the honey, you don't want to be the honey'. What is this honey? It is the satchitananda state — the perfume of the Self experienced as existence, consciousness and bliss. All beings enjoy this state and wish to prolong it, believing it to be the ultimate state.
Through these intense satsangs, ego is thinning away and you are beginning to experience an expansion within your being.
You are enjoying. You are tasting the honey. Why not? Very nice. Best honey. But then somehow you get a bee sting and the tongue hurts. The honey is gone or feels polluted.
What happened? Your beautiful spiritual world has changed. Your spontaneity has gone.
Don't panic. You haven't done anything wrong.
What is important now is that you recognize that you are still totally here as pure quality-less awareness.
Grace says, 'You must experience only awareness without the taste of the honey.' But this is not acceptable to the 'experiencer' self. It wants the tasting to continue uninterrupted. It wants nothing more.
Where is the taste?
There is only the tasteless awareness.
This 'experiencer' self is a mix of presence and ego and must be transcended before Self-realization is complete.
Remember, just as the flower is not attached to its smell, awareness is not addicted to any state.
Now you must be the Self beyond quality.
Don't rely on the fragrance.
The initial fragrance is still the subtlest part of phenomenality, but it can and will disappear.
But the Self cannot disappear.
It cannot even appear for it is infinite and timeless.
As soon as you, the true Self, recognize and start marinating in your own emptiness, the attachment to fragrances weaken.
Before arriving to this stage, there was no attraction for the ultimate Self, only for its dynamic aspect as presence.
Now, as a result of listening to and following these direct pointings you come to find the Supreme joy — the immutable Self.
Here is the unfading peace that cannot be described.
You are not merely tasting peace.
You are peace itself.
You are not feeling happy.
You are happiness itself.
You are beyond the play of interrelated opposites. Beyond the spell of duality.
This Realization few have attained.
Here in satsang today, you may discover and be one of them.
Beings
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