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Praise be to God that such a simple path is opened in our generation of time. This joy, this presence, this power, is in the heart of every living being. This is the mystery, the paradox that it can be there unrecognized. All the while, this that we only are. What is marvellous is that I have not given to you something that is out of reach. It is not necessary to understand. Experience is greater than understanding.
Q: Why is this happening to me?
M: Because you keep being that "me".
M: Because you keep being that "me".
The psychotic drowns in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight.
Do not meditate — be
Do not think that you are — be
Don't think about being — you are
Do not think that you are — be
Don't think about being — you are
The ship is going by a mighty engine, and you are busy rowing.
Люди часто говорят, что Багаван был аватаром, желая таким образом добавить ему славы; но для подобных заявлений нет совершенно никаких оснований, кроме того, что аватаром можно назвать каждого, поскольку каждый из нас – это Бог в человеческом теле. Однажды саньясин, принадлежавший к известному ордену, считавший, что только их Гуру достиг самореализации, допрашивал Багавана в самой агрессивной и грубой манере.
Саду: «Говорят, что вы – аватар Субраманьи. Что вы об этом скажете?»
Багаван ничего не сказал.
Саду: «Если это так, почему вы молчите об этом? Почему бы вам не рассказать нам
правду?»
Багаван не ответил.
Саду: «Скажите нам, мы хотим знать».
Багаван (тихо): «Аватар – лишь частичное проявление Бога, а джняни – это сам Бог».
В этом заключается вся разница между адвайтой и другими философиями. По адвайте нет ничего, кроме Атмана. Нет места для таких особых проявлений, как аватары. Человек либо самореализован, либо нет. Нет никаких уровней.
Воспоминания саду о Рамане Махарши . Саду Аруначала (Майор А.В. Чадвик)
Саду: «Говорят, что вы – аватар Субраманьи. Что вы об этом скажете?»
Багаван ничего не сказал.
Саду: «Если это так, почему вы молчите об этом? Почему бы вам не рассказать нам
правду?»
Багаван не ответил.
Саду: «Скажите нам, мы хотим знать».
Багаван (тихо): «Аватар – лишь частичное проявление Бога, а джняни – это сам Бог».
В этом заключается вся разница между адвайтой и другими философиями. По адвайте нет ничего, кроме Атмана. Нет места для таких особых проявлений, как аватары. Человек либо самореализован, либо нет. Нет никаких уровней.
Воспоминания саду о Рамане Махарши . Саду Аруначала (Майор А.В. Чадвик)
Never discourage anyone who makes continual progress, no matter how slow.
Reality is not the result of a process; it is an explosion. It is definitely beyond the mind, but all you can do is know your mind well. Not that the mind will help you, but by knowing your mind you may avoid your mind disabling you.
I AM THAT, Ch.42
I AM THAT, Ch.42
Don't let the mind deceive you. It has been playing tricks and making a fool of you for ages, life after life. To begin with, you need to understand that the mind is a trickster, a clever liar, that stops you from being aware of your true nature, the Self.
Warriors of the Rainbow
There was an old lady, from the "Cree" tribe, named "Eyes of Fire", who prophesied that one day, because of the white mans' or Yo-ne-gis' greed, there would come a time, when the fish would die in the streams, the birds would fall from the air, the waters would be blackened, and the trees would no longer be, mankind as we would know it would all but cease to exist.
There would come a time when the "keepers of the legend, stories, culture rituals, and myths, and all the Ancient Tribal Customs" would be needed to restore us to health. They would be mankinds key to survival, they were the "Warriors of the Rainbow". There would come a day of awakening when all the peoples of all the tribes would form a New World of Justice, Peace, Freedom and recognition of the Great Spirit.
The "Warriors of the Rainbow" would spread these messages and teach all peoples of the Earth or "Elohi". They would teach them how to live the "Way of the Great Spirit". They would tell them of how the world today has turned away from the Great Spirit and that is why our Earth is "Sick".
The "Warriors of the Rainbow" would show the peoples that this "Ancient Being" (the Great Spirit), is full of love and understanding, and teach them how to make the "Earth or Elohi" beautiful again. These Warriors would give the people principles or rules to follow to make their path right with the world. These principles would be those of the Ancient Tribes. The Warriors of the Rainbow would teach the people of the ancient practices of Unity, Love and Understanding. They would teach of Harmony among people in all four comers of the Earth.
Like the Ancient Tribes, they would teach the peoples how to pray to the Great Spirit with love that flows like the beautiful mountain stream, and flows along the path to the ocean of life. Once again, they would be able to feel joy in solitude and in councils. They would be free of petty jealousies and love all mankind as their brothers, regardless of color, race or religion. They would feel happiness enter their hearts, and become as one with the entire human race. Their hearts would be pure and radiate warmth, understanding and respect for all mankind, Nature, and the Great Spirit. They would once again fill their minds, hearts, souls, and deeds with the purest of thoughts. They would seek the beauty of the Master of Life - the Great Spirit! They would find strength and beauty in prayer and the solitudes of life.
Their children would once again be able to run free and enjoy the treasures of Nature and Mother Earth. Free from the fears of toxins and destruction, wrought by the Yo-ne-gi and his practices of greed. The rivers would again run clear, the forests be abundant and beautiful, the animals and birds would be replenished. The powers of the plants and animals would again be respected and conservation of all that is beautiful would become a way of life.
The poor, sick and needy would be cared for by their brothers and sisters of the Earth. These practices would again become a part of their daily lives.
The leaders of the people would be chosen in the old way - not by their political party, or who could speak the loudest, boast the most, or by name calling or mud slinging, but by those whose actions spoke the loudest. Those who demonstrated their love, wisdom, and courage and those who showed that they could and did work for the good of all, would be chosen as the leaders or Chiefs. They would be chosen by their "quality" and not the amount of money they had obtained. Like the thoughtful and devoted "Ancient Chiefs", they would understand the people with love, and see that their young were educated with the love and wisdom of their surroundings. They would show them that miracles can be accomplished to heal this world of its ills, and restore it to health and beauty.
The tasks of these "Warriors of the Rainbow" are many and great. There will be terrifying mountains of ignorance to conquer and they shall find prejudice and hatred. They must be dedicated, unwavering in their strength, and strong of heart. They will find willing hearts and minds that will follow them on this road of returning "Mother Earth" to beauty and plenty - once more.
The day will come, it is not far away. The day that we shall see how we owe our very existence to the people of all tribes that have maintained their culture and heritage. Those that have kept the rituals, stories, legends, and myths alive. It will be with this knowledge, the knowledge that they have preserved, that we shall once again return to "harmony" with Nature, Mother Earth, and mankind. It will be with this knowledge that we shall find our "Key to our Survival".
This is the story of the "Warriors of the Rainbow" and this is my reason for protecting the culture, heritage, and knowledge of my ancestors. I know that the day "Eyes of Fire" spoke of - will come! I want my children and grandchildren to be prepared to accept this task.The task of being one of the........"Warriors of the Rainbow".
Source : https://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/prophecy/stone.html
There was an old lady, from the "Cree" tribe, named "Eyes of Fire", who prophesied that one day, because of the white mans' or Yo-ne-gis' greed, there would come a time, when the fish would die in the streams, the birds would fall from the air, the waters would be blackened, and the trees would no longer be, mankind as we would know it would all but cease to exist.
There would come a time when the "keepers of the legend, stories, culture rituals, and myths, and all the Ancient Tribal Customs" would be needed to restore us to health. They would be mankinds key to survival, they were the "Warriors of the Rainbow". There would come a day of awakening when all the peoples of all the tribes would form a New World of Justice, Peace, Freedom and recognition of the Great Spirit.
The "Warriors of the Rainbow" would spread these messages and teach all peoples of the Earth or "Elohi". They would teach them how to live the "Way of the Great Spirit". They would tell them of how the world today has turned away from the Great Spirit and that is why our Earth is "Sick".
The "Warriors of the Rainbow" would show the peoples that this "Ancient Being" (the Great Spirit), is full of love and understanding, and teach them how to make the "Earth or Elohi" beautiful again. These Warriors would give the people principles or rules to follow to make their path right with the world. These principles would be those of the Ancient Tribes. The Warriors of the Rainbow would teach the people of the ancient practices of Unity, Love and Understanding. They would teach of Harmony among people in all four comers of the Earth.
Like the Ancient Tribes, they would teach the peoples how to pray to the Great Spirit with love that flows like the beautiful mountain stream, and flows along the path to the ocean of life. Once again, they would be able to feel joy in solitude and in councils. They would be free of petty jealousies and love all mankind as their brothers, regardless of color, race or religion. They would feel happiness enter their hearts, and become as one with the entire human race. Their hearts would be pure and radiate warmth, understanding and respect for all mankind, Nature, and the Great Spirit. They would once again fill their minds, hearts, souls, and deeds with the purest of thoughts. They would seek the beauty of the Master of Life - the Great Spirit! They would find strength and beauty in prayer and the solitudes of life.
Their children would once again be able to run free and enjoy the treasures of Nature and Mother Earth. Free from the fears of toxins and destruction, wrought by the Yo-ne-gi and his practices of greed. The rivers would again run clear, the forests be abundant and beautiful, the animals and birds would be replenished. The powers of the plants and animals would again be respected and conservation of all that is beautiful would become a way of life.
The poor, sick and needy would be cared for by their brothers and sisters of the Earth. These practices would again become a part of their daily lives.
The leaders of the people would be chosen in the old way - not by their political party, or who could speak the loudest, boast the most, or by name calling or mud slinging, but by those whose actions spoke the loudest. Those who demonstrated their love, wisdom, and courage and those who showed that they could and did work for the good of all, would be chosen as the leaders or Chiefs. They would be chosen by their "quality" and not the amount of money they had obtained. Like the thoughtful and devoted "Ancient Chiefs", they would understand the people with love, and see that their young were educated with the love and wisdom of their surroundings. They would show them that miracles can be accomplished to heal this world of its ills, and restore it to health and beauty.
The tasks of these "Warriors of the Rainbow" are many and great. There will be terrifying mountains of ignorance to conquer and they shall find prejudice and hatred. They must be dedicated, unwavering in their strength, and strong of heart. They will find willing hearts and minds that will follow them on this road of returning "Mother Earth" to beauty and plenty - once more.
The day will come, it is not far away. The day that we shall see how we owe our very existence to the people of all tribes that have maintained their culture and heritage. Those that have kept the rituals, stories, legends, and myths alive. It will be with this knowledge, the knowledge that they have preserved, that we shall once again return to "harmony" with Nature, Mother Earth, and mankind. It will be with this knowledge that we shall find our "Key to our Survival".
This is the story of the "Warriors of the Rainbow" and this is my reason for protecting the culture, heritage, and knowledge of my ancestors. I know that the day "Eyes of Fire" spoke of - will come! I want my children and grandchildren to be prepared to accept this task.The task of being one of the........"Warriors of the Rainbow".
Source : https://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/prophecy/stone.html
BHAGAVAN ON SELF-ENQUIRY AND VISIONS
Bhagavan: All that is needed is to give up thinking of objects other than the Self. Meditation is not so much thinking of the Self as giving up thinking of the not-Self. When you give up thinking of outward objects and prevent your mind from going outwards and turn it inward and fix it in the Self, the Self alone will remain.
At this point, K.M. Jivrajani interposed, “Has one necessarily to pass through the stage of seeing occult visions before attaining Self-realization?”
Bhagavan: Why do you bother about visions and whether they come or not?
K.M. Jivrajani: I don’t. I only want to know so that I shan’t be disappointed if I don’t have them.
Bhagavan: Visions are not a necessary stage. To some they come and to others, they don’t, but whether they come or not you always exist and you must stick to that.
K.M. Jivrajani: I sometimes concentrate on the brain center and sometimes on the heart — not always on the same center. Is that wrong?
Bhagavan: Wherever you concentrate and on whatever center there must be a 'you' to concentrate, and that is what you must concentrate on. Different people concentrate on different centers, not only the brain and the heart but also the space between the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, the tip of the tongue, the lowermost chakra and even external objects. Such concentration may lead to a sort of laya in which you will feel a certain bliss, but care must be taken not to lose the thought ‘I Am’ in all this. You never cease to exist in all these experiences.
K.M. Jivrajani: That is to say that I must be a witness?
Bhagavan: Talking of the ‘witness’ should not lead to the idea that there is a witness and something else apart from him that he is witnessing. The ‘witness’ really means the light that illumines the seer, the seen and the process of seeing. Before, during and after the triads of seer, seen and seeing, the illumination exists. It alone exists always.
Again today a visitor put questions: I do not understand how to make the inquiry ‘Who am I?’
Bhagavan: Find out whence the ‘I’ arises. Self-inquiry does not mean argument or reasoning such as goes on when you say, “I am not this body, I am not the senses,” etc.: all that may also help but it is not the inquiry. Watch and find out where in the body the ‘I’ arises and fix your mind on that.
18.and 19.4.46, Day by Day with Bhagavan
Bhagavan: All that is needed is to give up thinking of objects other than the Self. Meditation is not so much thinking of the Self as giving up thinking of the not-Self. When you give up thinking of outward objects and prevent your mind from going outwards and turn it inward and fix it in the Self, the Self alone will remain.
At this point, K.M. Jivrajani interposed, “Has one necessarily to pass through the stage of seeing occult visions before attaining Self-realization?”
Bhagavan: Why do you bother about visions and whether they come or not?
K.M. Jivrajani: I don’t. I only want to know so that I shan’t be disappointed if I don’t have them.
Bhagavan: Visions are not a necessary stage. To some they come and to others, they don’t, but whether they come or not you always exist and you must stick to that.
K.M. Jivrajani: I sometimes concentrate on the brain center and sometimes on the heart — not always on the same center. Is that wrong?
Bhagavan: Wherever you concentrate and on whatever center there must be a 'you' to concentrate, and that is what you must concentrate on. Different people concentrate on different centers, not only the brain and the heart but also the space between the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, the tip of the tongue, the lowermost chakra and even external objects. Such concentration may lead to a sort of laya in which you will feel a certain bliss, but care must be taken not to lose the thought ‘I Am’ in all this. You never cease to exist in all these experiences.
K.M. Jivrajani: That is to say that I must be a witness?
Bhagavan: Talking of the ‘witness’ should not lead to the idea that there is a witness and something else apart from him that he is witnessing. The ‘witness’ really means the light that illumines the seer, the seen and the process of seeing. Before, during and after the triads of seer, seen and seeing, the illumination exists. It alone exists always.
Again today a visitor put questions: I do not understand how to make the inquiry ‘Who am I?’
Bhagavan: Find out whence the ‘I’ arises. Self-inquiry does not mean argument or reasoning such as goes on when you say, “I am not this body, I am not the senses,” etc.: all that may also help but it is not the inquiry. Watch and find out where in the body the ‘I’ arises and fix your mind on that.
18.and 19.4.46, Day by Day with Bhagavan
On three accounts searching and practice
are foolishness and misleading
and are only the clever mind postponing Freedom.
The first is that it creates a searcher.
This reinforces the concept of an individual sufferer
that is separate from Freedom, and
that Self is something "other" than that Here and Now.
The second is the search.
Searching is a distraction which causes postponement
and endless needless suffering.
Searching promotes religions, traditions,
and paths to be adhered to,
which serve only to trap you deeper in illusion.
The Truth is only Here and Now,
but the search says it is tomorrow.
The third account is that search creates an object to be found,
and this can be the subtlest and most misleading trap.
As you start a search you conceptualize
what it is that you are searching for.
Since the nature of Maya, of illusion,
is that whatever you think the goal to be you will attain it.
There is no doubt about this: as you think so it becomes.
So because of your search you will create and then attain
that which you think you are searching for!
Any heaven or high spiritual state you long to attain
you will attain after you conceptualize and create it.
Then you will rest satisfied in this trap
thinking that you have attained your "Heaven."
This pie-in-the-sky freedom custom made for you
out of your very own thought and conditioning
of what the ultimate is.
The Truth is beyond thought, concept, and conditioning
and this Truth is what you are, and only the Truth Is.
So stop your search, simply be Quiet.
are foolishness and misleading
and are only the clever mind postponing Freedom.
The first is that it creates a searcher.
This reinforces the concept of an individual sufferer
that is separate from Freedom, and
that Self is something "other" than that Here and Now.
The second is the search.
Searching is a distraction which causes postponement
and endless needless suffering.
Searching promotes religions, traditions,
and paths to be adhered to,
which serve only to trap you deeper in illusion.
The Truth is only Here and Now,
but the search says it is tomorrow.
The third account is that search creates an object to be found,
and this can be the subtlest and most misleading trap.
As you start a search you conceptualize
what it is that you are searching for.
Since the nature of Maya, of illusion,
is that whatever you think the goal to be you will attain it.
There is no doubt about this: as you think so it becomes.
So because of your search you will create and then attain
that which you think you are searching for!
Any heaven or high spiritual state you long to attain
you will attain after you conceptualize and create it.
Then you will rest satisfied in this trap
thinking that you have attained your "Heaven."
This pie-in-the-sky freedom custom made for you
out of your very own thought and conditioning
of what the ultimate is.
The Truth is beyond thought, concept, and conditioning
and this Truth is what you are, and only the Truth Is.
So stop your search, simply be Quiet.
There's something within you that knows what to do.
There is a power greater than you that knows how to take care of you without your help.
All you've got to do is to surrender to it.
Surrender your thoughts, your mind, your ego, to the current that knows the way.
It will take care of you.
It will take better care of you than you can ever imagine.
There is a power greater than you that knows how to take care of you without your help.
All you've got to do is to surrender to it.
Surrender your thoughts, your mind, your ego, to the current that knows the way.
It will take care of you.
It will take better care of you than you can ever imagine.
Once you are able to see the Truth, nothing is unknown or strange to you; you are familiar with the entire universe and you smile, not occasionally, but continuously. Your life becomes a big smile.
Sometimes, Grace throws you and your ‘world’ into the washing machine, full spin, so that the fearful and controlling tendency is compelled to offer itself to the Totality—to the will and dance of the Cosmos.
When a man looks for experience he becomes the body.
When he looks for knowledge he becomes the mind.
When he looks for God he becomes the Heart.
When he looks for Truth he becomes Nothing.
When he looks for knowledge he becomes the mind.
When he looks for God he becomes the Heart.
When he looks for Truth he becomes Nothing.
SRI BHAGAVAN SPEAKS ABOUT HUMILITY:
The power of humility, which bestows immortality, is the foremost among powers that are hard to attain. Since the only benefit of learning and other similar virtues is the attainment of humility, humility alone is the real ornament of the sages. It is the storehouse of all other virtues and is therefore extolled as the wealth of divine grace. Although it is a characteristic befitting wise people in general, it is especially indispensable for sadhus.
Since attaining greatness is impossible for anyone except by humility, all the disciplines of conduct such as yama and niyama, which are prescribed specifically for aspirants on the spiritual path, have as their aim only the attainment of humility. Humility is indeed the hallmark of the destruction of the ego. Because of this, humility is especially extolled by sadhus themselves as the code of conduct befitting them.
Moreover, for those who are residing at Arunachala, it is indispensable in every way. Arunachala is the sacred place where even the embodiments of God, Brahma, Vishnu, and Sakti, humbly subsided. Since it has the power to humble even those who would not be humbled, those who do not humbly subside at Arunachala will surely not attain that redeeming virtue anywhere else.
The Supreme Lord, who is the highest of the high, shines unrivaled and unsurpassed only because he remains the humblest of the humble. When the divine virtue of humility is necessary even for the Supreme Lord, who is totally independent, is it necessary to emphasize that it is absolutely indispensable for sadhus who do not have such independence? Therefore, just as in their inner life, in their outer life also sadhus should possess complete and perfect humility. It is not that humility is necessary only for devotees of the Lord; even for the Lord, it is the characteristic virtue.
- Sri Ramana Darsanam, Taken from http://davidgodman.org/interviews/al4.shtml
The power of humility, which bestows immortality, is the foremost among powers that are hard to attain. Since the only benefit of learning and other similar virtues is the attainment of humility, humility alone is the real ornament of the sages. It is the storehouse of all other virtues and is therefore extolled as the wealth of divine grace. Although it is a characteristic befitting wise people in general, it is especially indispensable for sadhus.
Since attaining greatness is impossible for anyone except by humility, all the disciplines of conduct such as yama and niyama, which are prescribed specifically for aspirants on the spiritual path, have as their aim only the attainment of humility. Humility is indeed the hallmark of the destruction of the ego. Because of this, humility is especially extolled by sadhus themselves as the code of conduct befitting them.
Moreover, for those who are residing at Arunachala, it is indispensable in every way. Arunachala is the sacred place where even the embodiments of God, Brahma, Vishnu, and Sakti, humbly subsided. Since it has the power to humble even those who would not be humbled, those who do not humbly subside at Arunachala will surely not attain that redeeming virtue anywhere else.
The Supreme Lord, who is the highest of the high, shines unrivaled and unsurpassed only because he remains the humblest of the humble. When the divine virtue of humility is necessary even for the Supreme Lord, who is totally independent, is it necessary to emphasize that it is absolutely indispensable for sadhus who do not have such independence? Therefore, just as in their inner life, in their outer life also sadhus should possess complete and perfect humility. It is not that humility is necessary only for devotees of the Lord; even for the Lord, it is the characteristic virtue.
- Sri Ramana Darsanam, Taken from http://davidgodman.org/interviews/al4.shtml
«Самое главное – и сейчас и позже – не поддавайтесь гордости!
Не поддавайтесь тщеславию!
Ведь, поддавшись, вы останетесь дураками и в Дхарме, и в мире. Отбросьте ложь и притворство!
И вы наверняка найдёте свой путь».
Не поддавайтесь тщеславию!
Ведь, поддавшись, вы останетесь дураками и в Дхарме, и в мире. Отбросьте ложь и притворство!
И вы наверняка найдёте свой путь».
Кали Юга такова, что
даже Ракшасы примут воплощение в облике учителей,
чтобы сбить тебя с пути.
Ты должен испытать своего Гуру!
Посмотри на его цепь преемственности, это очень важно.
Проверь его учение: без Самоисследования Учения нет.
Держись подальше от учителя, который не учит Вичаре!
Единственное учение —
направить взгляд на своё собственное лицо.
Проповедники говорят лишь о тьме,
о понимании тьмы и её устранении.
Однако нет никакой тьмы, нет понимания,
есть только Свет!
Если Гуру заявляет: «Я Просветлён»,
то это означает просветлённое эго, так что держись подальше.
Западные учителя, говорящие все это, — лишь проповедники,
они лишь пишут книги,
чтобы сгрузить на ищущих больше мусора
и положить больше денег в карманы.
Они привлекают множество учеников,
но в Кали Юге лишь то, что ложно, собирает толпы,
а Истина и Истинные Гуру остаются незамеченными.
А если отношения учитель-ученик продлятся дольше секунды,
значит оба идут в ложном направлении!
даже Ракшасы примут воплощение в облике учителей,
чтобы сбить тебя с пути.
Ты должен испытать своего Гуру!
Посмотри на его цепь преемственности, это очень важно.
Проверь его учение: без Самоисследования Учения нет.
Держись подальше от учителя, который не учит Вичаре!
Единственное учение —
направить взгляд на своё собственное лицо.
Проповедники говорят лишь о тьме,
о понимании тьмы и её устранении.
Однако нет никакой тьмы, нет понимания,
есть только Свет!
Если Гуру заявляет: «Я Просветлён»,
то это означает просветлённое эго, так что держись подальше.
Западные учителя, говорящие все это, — лишь проповедники,
они лишь пишут книги,
чтобы сгрузить на ищущих больше мусора
и положить больше денег в карманы.
Они привлекают множество учеников,
но в Кали Юге лишь то, что ложно, собирает толпы,
а Истина и Истинные Гуру остаются незамеченными.
А если отношения учитель-ученик продлятся дольше секунды,
значит оба идут в ложном направлении!
One of Ramana Maharshi’s students; Papaji, discussed practice oriented methods:
“During the course of our conversation I said, ‘You are asking people to “be quiet” or “be still”. Some of these Buddhist meditators have been practising vipassana meditation for years, and many of them have attained a strong inner silence. Are these people not better equipped to follow your “keep quiet” teachings than those who come here with no background in meditation at all?’
I asked this because, as many people know, Papaji didn’t have a high opinion of formal meditation.
Papaji replied, ‘No, they are not better equipped, and I will tell you why. When you start to meditate, you usually have a goal that you want to reach, and a route by which you intend to attain that goal. These are just ideas that you invent, nourish and sustain. You are already the Self. You are never away from it, so there is no route to get there. You just have to stop pretending that this is not true, and the way you do that is by giving up all ideas, not by accumulating and cherishing new ones.
‘The ego is very clever and very powerful. If you set up a goal – such as inner silence – and then earnestly devote your time to a practice that you strongly believe will help you to reach that goal, your ego will then create an inner mental realm into which you can immerse yourself and dualistically enjoy peace and silence. You, the enjoyer, will immerse yourself in this inner self-created world, and there you will enjoy the experiences that you desire, or the ones that you think indicate that you are making progress towards your self-created goal. Through effort and concentration you can enter this self-created inner realm and have extraordinary experiences. However, they are all experiences of the mind, created and sustained by your powers of concentration. In ancient time rishis such as Viswamitra could create whole universes in this fashion. But all these inner worlds are imaginary; they are sustained by your belief in them and by the effort you put in to discovering them and abiding in them.
‘If you have an idea of what enlightenment is and how it can be reached, the mind will happily create a place inside itself where your idea of enlightenment, or the steps along the way to attaining it, can be experienced as a pleasant, beautiful, peaceful and blissful place. However, these experiences don’t last because they are not natural; they are created and sustained by the mental effort of the person who wants to experience them. That is why experiences wear off when you stop meditating. Everyone who meditates says, “I experienced some bliss when I meditated, but soon after I stopped meditating, the bliss went away”.
‘What comes and goes is not real. If you experience an ananda that ceases when you stop making an effort, then that ananda is not real. It is something you created yourself because you had an inner desire to enjoy it.
‘These Buddhist meditators, and all other kinds of meditators, are experts at abiding in self-created states that give them validations of their spiritual world view. These meditators get attached to their inner states of quiet and don’t want to give them up even when I tell them that their thoughts about practice and their experiences from pursuing it are actually keeping them away from the place and the state that I am trying to direct their attention to.
So, the people who come here with no mental baggage about enlightenment and how to attain it are often the ones who get what I am pointing at. The ones who have heads full of ideas about practice listen to what I say, and then they tell themselves that they are well on the way to this state of peace I am describing to them because they have been looking for this silence in their meditations for years.
‘The only true ananda, the only true peace, is that which is there all the time. You discover it when you desist from all mental activities. Permanent peace is discovered when the mind stops, not when it concentrates on an object that it thinks will give it peace.’
“During the course of our conversation I said, ‘You are asking people to “be quiet” or “be still”. Some of these Buddhist meditators have been practising vipassana meditation for years, and many of them have attained a strong inner silence. Are these people not better equipped to follow your “keep quiet” teachings than those who come here with no background in meditation at all?’
I asked this because, as many people know, Papaji didn’t have a high opinion of formal meditation.
Papaji replied, ‘No, they are not better equipped, and I will tell you why. When you start to meditate, you usually have a goal that you want to reach, and a route by which you intend to attain that goal. These are just ideas that you invent, nourish and sustain. You are already the Self. You are never away from it, so there is no route to get there. You just have to stop pretending that this is not true, and the way you do that is by giving up all ideas, not by accumulating and cherishing new ones.
‘The ego is very clever and very powerful. If you set up a goal – such as inner silence – and then earnestly devote your time to a practice that you strongly believe will help you to reach that goal, your ego will then create an inner mental realm into which you can immerse yourself and dualistically enjoy peace and silence. You, the enjoyer, will immerse yourself in this inner self-created world, and there you will enjoy the experiences that you desire, or the ones that you think indicate that you are making progress towards your self-created goal. Through effort and concentration you can enter this self-created inner realm and have extraordinary experiences. However, they are all experiences of the mind, created and sustained by your powers of concentration. In ancient time rishis such as Viswamitra could create whole universes in this fashion. But all these inner worlds are imaginary; they are sustained by your belief in them and by the effort you put in to discovering them and abiding in them.
‘If you have an idea of what enlightenment is and how it can be reached, the mind will happily create a place inside itself where your idea of enlightenment, or the steps along the way to attaining it, can be experienced as a pleasant, beautiful, peaceful and blissful place. However, these experiences don’t last because they are not natural; they are created and sustained by the mental effort of the person who wants to experience them. That is why experiences wear off when you stop meditating. Everyone who meditates says, “I experienced some bliss when I meditated, but soon after I stopped meditating, the bliss went away”.
‘What comes and goes is not real. If you experience an ananda that ceases when you stop making an effort, then that ananda is not real. It is something you created yourself because you had an inner desire to enjoy it.
‘These Buddhist meditators, and all other kinds of meditators, are experts at abiding in self-created states that give them validations of their spiritual world view. These meditators get attached to their inner states of quiet and don’t want to give them up even when I tell them that their thoughts about practice and their experiences from pursuing it are actually keeping them away from the place and the state that I am trying to direct their attention to.
So, the people who come here with no mental baggage about enlightenment and how to attain it are often the ones who get what I am pointing at. The ones who have heads full of ideas about practice listen to what I say, and then they tell themselves that they are well on the way to this state of peace I am describing to them because they have been looking for this silence in their meditations for years.
‘The only true ananda, the only true peace, is that which is there all the time. You discover it when you desist from all mental activities. Permanent peace is discovered when the mind stops, not when it concentrates on an object that it thinks will give it peace.’
AMMA’S MANTRA
One day after finishing her meditation, Sudhamani (young Amma) came out of the tiny shrine room. She was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that she was a small child, and that Nature was the Divine Mother. In that mood she crawled like a baby on all fours to the base of a coconut tree. Sitting there shedding tears, she pleaded, “Mother... my Mother... why are You hiding from my sight? I know that You are hiding in this tree. You are in these plants, You are living in these animals, these birds! The earth is nothing but You. O Mother, how You conceal Yourself in the ocean waves and in the cooling breeze! O Mother, my elusive Mother!...” The next moment she embraced the coconut tree, feeling that it was the Divine Mother.
Sometimes Sudhamani lay down, but not to rest, as she had no fondness for sensuous pleasure. While lying on the bare ground, she would gaze endlessly at the infinite sky, the silvery clouds, the shining sun, the glittering stars, the soothing moon.
When dark storm clouds gathered overhead, Sudhamani no longer saw Sri Krishna in them, but imagined the long, cascading, curly hair of the Divine Mother. Each object suspended in the infinite heavens became a sign of the presence of Devi. As she lay under the sky, she never slept, but remained in a state of tear-filled supplication to the Supreme Mother of the Universe.
Referring to those days, Sudhamani later recalled, “While walking I used to repeat the Divine Name with every step. I took each step only after chanting the mantra. Should I forget to chant the mantra while taking a step, immediately I stepped backwards. Having withdrawn the step, I would repeat the mantra. Only then would I proceed.
If I happened to be engaged in any external activity, I used to decide beforehand to chant the mantra a certain number of times before finishing the task. While bathing in the river, before plunging into the water, I used to resolve to chant the mantra a certain number of times before coming to the surface. I never had a Guru, nor was I ever initiated by anyone and given a particular mantra. The mantra which I used to chant was ‘Amma, Amma’ (Mother Mother).”
From the biography of Mata Amritanandamayi written by Swami Amritaswarupananda
One day after finishing her meditation, Sudhamani (young Amma) came out of the tiny shrine room. She was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that she was a small child, and that Nature was the Divine Mother. In that mood she crawled like a baby on all fours to the base of a coconut tree. Sitting there shedding tears, she pleaded, “Mother... my Mother... why are You hiding from my sight? I know that You are hiding in this tree. You are in these plants, You are living in these animals, these birds! The earth is nothing but You. O Mother, how You conceal Yourself in the ocean waves and in the cooling breeze! O Mother, my elusive Mother!...” The next moment she embraced the coconut tree, feeling that it was the Divine Mother.
Sometimes Sudhamani lay down, but not to rest, as she had no fondness for sensuous pleasure. While lying on the bare ground, she would gaze endlessly at the infinite sky, the silvery clouds, the shining sun, the glittering stars, the soothing moon.
When dark storm clouds gathered overhead, Sudhamani no longer saw Sri Krishna in them, but imagined the long, cascading, curly hair of the Divine Mother. Each object suspended in the infinite heavens became a sign of the presence of Devi. As she lay under the sky, she never slept, but remained in a state of tear-filled supplication to the Supreme Mother of the Universe.
Referring to those days, Sudhamani later recalled, “While walking I used to repeat the Divine Name with every step. I took each step only after chanting the mantra. Should I forget to chant the mantra while taking a step, immediately I stepped backwards. Having withdrawn the step, I would repeat the mantra. Only then would I proceed.
If I happened to be engaged in any external activity, I used to decide beforehand to chant the mantra a certain number of times before finishing the task. While bathing in the river, before plunging into the water, I used to resolve to chant the mantra a certain number of times before coming to the surface. I never had a Guru, nor was I ever initiated by anyone and given a particular mantra. The mantra which I used to chant was ‘Amma, Amma’ (Mother Mother).”
From the biography of Mata Amritanandamayi written by Swami Amritaswarupananda
Thankfulness is a humble, open and prayerful attitude that helps you receive more of God's grace.
"THE TROUBLE LIES WITH YOUR DESIRE TO OBJECTIFY THE SELF"
16th February, 1937
A visitor remarks that it is cruel of God’s leela to make the knowledge of the Self so hard.
Bh. (laughing) - Knowing the Self is being the Self, and being means existence – one’s own existence, which no one denies, any more than one denies one’s eyes, although one cannot see them.
The trouble lies with your desire to objectify the Self, in the same way as you objectify your eyes when you place a mirror before them. You have been so accustomed to objectivity that you lost the knowledge of yourself, simply because the Self cannot be objectified.
Who is to know the Self? Can the insentient body know it? All the time you speak and think of your ‘I’, ‘I’, ‘I’, yet when questioned you deny knowledge of it. You are the Self, yet you ask how to know the Self. Where then is God’s leela and where its cruelty? It is because of this denial of the Self by people that the Shastras speak of maya, leela, etc.
- Guru Ramana
16th February, 1937
A visitor remarks that it is cruel of God’s leela to make the knowledge of the Self so hard.
Bh. (laughing) - Knowing the Self is being the Self, and being means existence – one’s own existence, which no one denies, any more than one denies one’s eyes, although one cannot see them.
The trouble lies with your desire to objectify the Self, in the same way as you objectify your eyes when you place a mirror before them. You have been so accustomed to objectivity that you lost the knowledge of yourself, simply because the Self cannot be objectified.
Who is to know the Self? Can the insentient body know it? All the time you speak and think of your ‘I’, ‘I’, ‘I’, yet when questioned you deny knowledge of it. You are the Self, yet you ask how to know the Self. Where then is God’s leela and where its cruelty? It is because of this denial of the Self by people that the Shastras speak of maya, leela, etc.
- Guru Ramana
Nothing has to be wrong for the mind
to launch an attack.
Nothing has to be wrong for it
to make up big stories, out of nothing actually.
There only has to be a seed of a thought
given attention, ‘Hmm, there's still some separation…?’
And the mind says, ‘You see?
I’ve been trying to tell you!’ and there you go,
sailing off down the road with the unstable
and unreliable mind. It can happen just like this.
The mind doesn’t need any substance or truth.
You can give him anything.
He is like a goat—he eats anything.
And we are quick to believe anything it says.
Our life is chiefly made up of thoughts, interpretations
—and wrong interpretations also,
based upon fear, desire and rejection.
This is why I say: pay attention
to the sense of being—the Self.
Be one with the Self, rather than trying
to pick and choose through
the innumerable thoughts and sensations
that mind tends to see
—which one is true and which is false.
You can spend lifetimes doing this
and you will never come to the end of it.
As soon as you finish pruning this tree,
new leaves are coming.
So don’t waste time cleaning up the mind.
Stay as the Self. As you train your attention
and mind to stay as the Self, the space
in which the mind and person lives vanishes.
Thus you come to experience a completeness,
a contentment in just resting in and as the Self.
And when you are content, the interest
will fall away from these other rooms
and their contents.
The feeling of separation, or even union,
all of this becomes redundant as thoughts.
You simply are. There is a unity in that.
There is a harmony in this.
And where no doubts come,
there is even no need for union or separation.
You experience real unity
beyond even the concept of unity.
This is your natural state.
to launch an attack.
Nothing has to be wrong for it
to make up big stories, out of nothing actually.
There only has to be a seed of a thought
given attention, ‘Hmm, there's still some separation…?’
And the mind says, ‘You see?
I’ve been trying to tell you!’ and there you go,
sailing off down the road with the unstable
and unreliable mind. It can happen just like this.
The mind doesn’t need any substance or truth.
You can give him anything.
He is like a goat—he eats anything.
And we are quick to believe anything it says.
Our life is chiefly made up of thoughts, interpretations
—and wrong interpretations also,
based upon fear, desire and rejection.
This is why I say: pay attention
to the sense of being—the Self.
Be one with the Self, rather than trying
to pick and choose through
the innumerable thoughts and sensations
that mind tends to see
—which one is true and which is false.
You can spend lifetimes doing this
and you will never come to the end of it.
As soon as you finish pruning this tree,
new leaves are coming.
So don’t waste time cleaning up the mind.
Stay as the Self. As you train your attention
and mind to stay as the Self, the space
in which the mind and person lives vanishes.
Thus you come to experience a completeness,
a contentment in just resting in and as the Self.
And when you are content, the interest
will fall away from these other rooms
and their contents.
The feeling of separation, or even union,
all of this becomes redundant as thoughts.
You simply are. There is a unity in that.
There is a harmony in this.
And where no doubts come,
there is even no need for union or separation.
You experience real unity
beyond even the concept of unity.
This is your natural state.
Beings
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