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Every time you say to yourself: “Who am I?” you are moving a step ahead on the spiritual path. That is all you have to do. “Who am I?” and you will soon discover that the ‘I’ is not you. The ‘I’ that you are referring to is not you, it’s not anything. It is merely a thought. It has absolutely nothing to do with you. When you think to yourself: “Who am I?” you keep saying I-I to yourself and the ‘I’ begins to separate from your body. The ‘I’ begins to become a different type of entity whatsoever, the ‘I’ begins to disappear. And you keep thinking about the ‘I’, following the ‘I’. You follow the ‘I’ to the heart. Once the ‘I’ disappears you are totally free and liberated. So it all begins with you. You are the one. You can either free yourself or put yourself in bondage depending on what you’re doing with your life.
Do realize that it is not you who moves from dream to dream, but the dreams flow before you, and you are the immutable witness. No happening affects your real being - that is the absolute truth.
As soon as you start to turn within, as soon as you begin to listen to the still small voice within you, as soon as you start to practice self-enquiry, your life begins to change drastically. You become happy. You no longer search for happiness, for you are beginning to realize that you cannot find it externally. You may appear to find it, but it does not last.
True joy includes both happiness and unhappiness. Recognize that, and you are no longer bound by grasping for pleasure and rejecting pain.
Discover all you are not. Body, feelings, thoughts, ideas, time, space, being and not-being, this or that - nothing concrete or abstract you can point out to is you. A mere verbal statement will not do - you may repeat a formula endlessly without any result whatsoever. You must watch yourself continuously - particularly your mind - moment by moment, missing nothing. This witnessing is essential for the separation of the self from the not-self.
We are wrongly persisting in unreality, that is, attachment to thoughts and worldly activities. Cessation of these will reveal the truth.
I leave my human nature to unfold according to it’s destiny. Whatever it’s play is, I remain as I AM.
It is there, but it does not matter. Whatever state I am in, I see it as a state of mind to be accepted as it is. He who experiences the body, experiences its pains and pleasures. I am neither the body, nor the experiencer of the body.
Every moment, in each breath, while eating, sleeping, working, remember the Lord.
Everything that you feel, hear, touch, smell and taste is maya.
Everything is maya, the grand illusion.
Most of us really do not understand what maya really is.
My trying to explain maya is maya.
Everything that your eyes behold,
that you believe is so important, is maya.
Everything that you hear,
Everything that you read,
Everything that you try to do to better yourself,
It’s all maya.
The water in the mirage, that is maya,
something that appears to be real,
but upon your investigation you find it’s not.
The whole world is like that.
The whole universe is like that.
Do not be fooled again.
Do not take anything seriously.
Turn within, do not react.
The turmoil, the chaos that appears to be in this world,
is not the truth. It is not Reality.
It is something that comes and goes.
This too shall pass.
But your center is God, Consciousness,
Absolute Reality, Brahman.
Those are all synonymous.
That is the Peace that exists.
Everything is maya, the grand illusion.
Most of us really do not understand what maya really is.
My trying to explain maya is maya.
Everything that your eyes behold,
that you believe is so important, is maya.
Everything that you hear,
Everything that you read,
Everything that you try to do to better yourself,
It’s all maya.
The water in the mirage, that is maya,
something that appears to be real,
but upon your investigation you find it’s not.
The whole world is like that.
The whole universe is like that.
Do not be fooled again.
Do not take anything seriously.
Turn within, do not react.
The turmoil, the chaos that appears to be in this world,
is not the truth. It is not Reality.
It is something that comes and goes.
This too shall pass.
But your center is God, Consciousness,
Absolute Reality, Brahman.
Those are all synonymous.
That is the Peace that exists.
Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without a doubt you shall be united with me, Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart.
As long as you are a beginner certain formalised meditations, or prayers may be good for you. But for a seeker for reality there is only one meditation - the rigorous refusal to harbour thoughts. To be free from thoughts is itself meditation. You begin by letting thoughts flow and watching them. The very observation slows down the mind till it stops altogether. Once the mind is quiet, keep it quiet. Don’t get bored with peace, be in it, go deeper into it.
Allow your mind to say and think the way it will, only don’t identify with it. Allow your body to do what it must, but do not react to it. Everything will happen of its own accord. When you allow your mind to think of its own accord, the thoughts begin to dissipate, and soon you have empty mind. Empty mind is consciousness, realization. That’s all you have to do - have empty mind. But as long as you believe, ‘I am the doer’, and you force yourself to have an empty mind, you never will, because the forcing makes the mind stronger. Rather, observe your thoughts, watch the mind thinking, and leave it alone. Do not identify with your thoughts, or with your body, for in reality there is no body and there are no thoughts, for there is only the Self, and you are that.
Why do you attach your minds to the transitory things in this world? Attach yourself to God.
I’m trying to take everything away from you as you can see. Everything that you ever believed. Every concept you ever had. Every idea that you had of getting enlightened, becoming free, becoming liberated. Every idea and belief of thinking that you’re not liberated. That you have to get liberated. All of these things I’m trying to remove from your thinking patterns and then you remove your thinking patterns. You have to leave yourself empty, totally empty. To be totally fulfilled you’ve got to be totally empty first.
Realize that every mode of perception is subjective, that what is seen or heard, touched or smelt, felt or thought, expected or imagined, is in the mind and not in reality, and you will experience peace and freedom from fear.
The joy of Being, which is the only true happiness, cannot come to you through any form, possession, achievement, person, or event — through anything that happens. That joy cannot come to you — ever. It emanates from the formless dimension within you, from consciousness itself and thus is one with who you are.
Everyone has Buddha-nature in him, so don’t think that you are not worthy or fit enough to win freedom. Everyone is Buddha himself, but you don’t recognize your Buddha-nature because you want something else. You don’t love and honor your own Self. Your Self is Buddha. Yet, you don’t believe this because you are deeply attached to something else which is temporary, impermanent and false. All your attention is focused on the unreal. The genuine desire for freedom cannot rise in someone who is firmly established in ignorance. When you are in ignorance, Reality is kept hidden from you. Something else is projected within the mind which you take to be real. All this is nothing but ignorance.
Your greatest aid is your sincerity and desire for Truth above all else. You may be shocked over and over again by the depth of illusion that you find and uncover within yourself, but never fixate on it or judge yourself. Accept, forgive, and move on, for your true being is infinite and absolute. It exists as much now as it ever did or ever will. Stand still in the sacred conflagration of inquiry and let it open you to the seat of all wisdom born of spirit. Only Truth will survive; all else will perish.
It is like washing printed cloth. First the design fades, then the background, and in the end the cloth is plain white. The personality gives place to the witness, then the witness goes and pure awareness remains. The cloth was white in the beginning and is white in the end; the patterns and colours just happened - for a time.
The truth is that you already are what you are seeking.
PADAMALAI II
WORSHIP AND SURRENDER TO THE GURU
6. Since the divine form, the form of the Guru
assumed by Iswara, is actually a physical
embodiment of grace, that form is worthy of
being worshipped.
7. Siva-jnana-yoga is remaining still through
the never-diminishing grace of the Guru who
bestows true jnana.
Question: While sitting near you, what sort of mental state should
we have so as to receive the transmission from your Self?
Bhagavan: Keep your mind still. That is enough. You will get spiritual help sitting in this hall if you keep yourself still. The aim of all practices is to give up all practices. When the mind becomes still, the power of the Self will be experienced. The waves of the Self are pervading everywhere. If the mind is in peace, one begins to experience them. (The Power of the Presence, part one, p. 230.]
8. Grace will freely flow in a heart that,
meditating upon the Guru as the true form of
Lord Siva, becomes lost in adoration.
9. The greatness of noble disciples is that they
obtain clear knowledge by trusting and
believing in their heart that the Guru’s form
is the embodiment of grace.
10. It is not ordained that noble disciples who
have obtained the grace of the Guru, and who
are therefore rejoicing in the Heart, shall feel
fear and despair.
11. The disciple who completely surrenders
himself to the Guru will attain the life of true
jnana, the auspicious life.
12. If, like the goddess Uma, you offer only a
half of yourself to the Guru, that will not be
sufficient for attaining jnana.
I suspect that Bhagavan may be speaking ironically here. Uma surrendered so completely to Siva that he bestowed on her half of his physical form. Alternatively, Bhagavan may be suggesting that, for full surrender to be effective, one must cease to exist as a separate entity. Union with God is not the aim of true surrender; the real goal should be the complete extinction of the sense of being an individual who can unite with God. This interpretation is supported by the following verses, which are a continuation of the previous one
about Uma.
13. The immaculate true jnana will only shine
if you renounce the ego, the sense of
individuality, leaving no remnant behind.
14. Know that the surrender of the ego is in
no way commensurate with the immortal state
of perfection that one then attains.
15. Attaining the Self by sacrificing the ego
is like a business transaction in which one
receives the true, ancient, primal essence in
return for the reflection, the ego.
NAMASKARAM
16. The true meaning of namaskaram is the
ego bowing its head and getting destroyed at
the feet of the Guru.
Namaskaram is a gesture of obeisance, often a full-length prostration on the floor. Sadhu Natanananda made the following observations on this practice:
Some of those who came for Maharshi’s darshan used to perform ashtanga namaskaram in the traditional way. It was their belief that this practice, done devoutly, was indispensable for those who wanted the grace of the Sadguru.
In order to drive home the point that in spiritual life mere
mechanical observance of any sadhana, without knowing its inner meaning and without experiencing its fruit, will not make one blessed, Sri Bhagavan, addressing one such devotee, said, ‘The benefit of performing namaskaram to the Guru is only the removal of the ego. This is not attained except by total surrender. Within the Heart of each devotee the gracious Guru is giving darshan in the form of consciousness. To surrender is to offer fully, in silence, the
subsided ego, which is a name-and-form thought, to the aham-sphurana [the effulgence of “I”], the real holy feet of the gracious Guru. Since [this is so], Self-realisation cannot be attained by a bowing of the body, but only by a bowing of the ego.’
In this way Sri Bhagavan explained the truth of namaskaram and further explained that if spiritual practices are to yield their fruits without fail, they should be observed with a full awareness of their purpose. [Sri Ramana Darsanam, pp. 40-1.]
17. When the ego is totally destroyed at the
feet of the Guru, it will then shine as the
unsurpassed sea of mauna [silence].
Bhagavan: Only the Supreme Self, which is ever shining in your Heart as the reality, is the Sadguru. The pure awareness, which is shining as the inward illumination ‘I’, is his gracious feet. The contact with these [inner holy feet] alone can give you true redemption.
Joining the eye of reflected consciousness [chidabhasa], which is your sense of individuality [jiva bodha], to those holy feet, which are the real consciousness, is the union of the feet and the head that is the
real significance of the word ‘asi’.4 As these inner holy feet can be held naturally and unceasingly, hereafter, with an inward-turned mind, cling to that inner awareness that is your own real nature. This alone is the proper way for the removal of bondage and the attainment of
the supreme truth. [Sri Ramana Darsanam, p. 35.]
18. Padam [Bhagavan] communicates this
truth: ‘The meaning of the word ‘nama’ [obeisance]
is abiding as the Self, with the ego destroyed.’
Question: Swami, I have only one desire, namely to put my head on Bhagavan’s foot and do namaskar. Bhagavan must grant me this favor.
Bhagavan: Oh, is that the desire! But then which is the foot and which is the head?
WORSHIP AND SURRENDER TO THE GURU
6. Since the divine form, the form of the Guru
assumed by Iswara, is actually a physical
embodiment of grace, that form is worthy of
being worshipped.
7. Siva-jnana-yoga is remaining still through
the never-diminishing grace of the Guru who
bestows true jnana.
Question: While sitting near you, what sort of mental state should
we have so as to receive the transmission from your Self?
Bhagavan: Keep your mind still. That is enough. You will get spiritual help sitting in this hall if you keep yourself still. The aim of all practices is to give up all practices. When the mind becomes still, the power of the Self will be experienced. The waves of the Self are pervading everywhere. If the mind is in peace, one begins to experience them. (The Power of the Presence, part one, p. 230.]
8. Grace will freely flow in a heart that,
meditating upon the Guru as the true form of
Lord Siva, becomes lost in adoration.
9. The greatness of noble disciples is that they
obtain clear knowledge by trusting and
believing in their heart that the Guru’s form
is the embodiment of grace.
10. It is not ordained that noble disciples who
have obtained the grace of the Guru, and who
are therefore rejoicing in the Heart, shall feel
fear and despair.
11. The disciple who completely surrenders
himself to the Guru will attain the life of true
jnana, the auspicious life.
12. If, like the goddess Uma, you offer only a
half of yourself to the Guru, that will not be
sufficient for attaining jnana.
I suspect that Bhagavan may be speaking ironically here. Uma surrendered so completely to Siva that he bestowed on her half of his physical form. Alternatively, Bhagavan may be suggesting that, for full surrender to be effective, one must cease to exist as a separate entity. Union with God is not the aim of true surrender; the real goal should be the complete extinction of the sense of being an individual who can unite with God. This interpretation is supported by the following verses, which are a continuation of the previous one
about Uma.
13. The immaculate true jnana will only shine
if you renounce the ego, the sense of
individuality, leaving no remnant behind.
14. Know that the surrender of the ego is in
no way commensurate with the immortal state
of perfection that one then attains.
15. Attaining the Self by sacrificing the ego
is like a business transaction in which one
receives the true, ancient, primal essence in
return for the reflection, the ego.
NAMASKARAM
16. The true meaning of namaskaram is the
ego bowing its head and getting destroyed at
the feet of the Guru.
Namaskaram is a gesture of obeisance, often a full-length prostration on the floor. Sadhu Natanananda made the following observations on this practice:
Some of those who came for Maharshi’s darshan used to perform ashtanga namaskaram in the traditional way. It was their belief that this practice, done devoutly, was indispensable for those who wanted the grace of the Sadguru.
In order to drive home the point that in spiritual life mere
mechanical observance of any sadhana, without knowing its inner meaning and without experiencing its fruit, will not make one blessed, Sri Bhagavan, addressing one such devotee, said, ‘The benefit of performing namaskaram to the Guru is only the removal of the ego. This is not attained except by total surrender. Within the Heart of each devotee the gracious Guru is giving darshan in the form of consciousness. To surrender is to offer fully, in silence, the
subsided ego, which is a name-and-form thought, to the aham-sphurana [the effulgence of “I”], the real holy feet of the gracious Guru. Since [this is so], Self-realisation cannot be attained by a bowing of the body, but only by a bowing of the ego.’
In this way Sri Bhagavan explained the truth of namaskaram and further explained that if spiritual practices are to yield their fruits without fail, they should be observed with a full awareness of their purpose. [Sri Ramana Darsanam, pp. 40-1.]
17. When the ego is totally destroyed at the
feet of the Guru, it will then shine as the
unsurpassed sea of mauna [silence].
Bhagavan: Only the Supreme Self, which is ever shining in your Heart as the reality, is the Sadguru. The pure awareness, which is shining as the inward illumination ‘I’, is his gracious feet. The contact with these [inner holy feet] alone can give you true redemption.
Joining the eye of reflected consciousness [chidabhasa], which is your sense of individuality [jiva bodha], to those holy feet, which are the real consciousness, is the union of the feet and the head that is the
real significance of the word ‘asi’.4 As these inner holy feet can be held naturally and unceasingly, hereafter, with an inward-turned mind, cling to that inner awareness that is your own real nature. This alone is the proper way for the removal of bondage and the attainment of
the supreme truth. [Sri Ramana Darsanam, p. 35.]
18. Padam [Bhagavan] communicates this
truth: ‘The meaning of the word ‘nama’ [obeisance]
is abiding as the Self, with the ego destroyed.’
Question: Swami, I have only one desire, namely to put my head on Bhagavan’s foot and do namaskar. Bhagavan must grant me this favor.
Bhagavan: Oh, is that the desire! But then which is the foot and which is the head?
1. What is the method of practice?
As the Self of a person who tries to attain Self-realization is not different from him and as there is nothing other than or superior to him to be attained by him, Self-realization being only the realization of one’s own nature, the seeker of Liberation realizes, without doubts or misconceptions, his real nature by distinguishing the eternal from the transient, and never swerves from his natural state. This is known as the practice of knowledge. This is the enquiry leading to Self-realization.
- Spiritual Instruction, chapter 2
As the Self of a person who tries to attain Self-realization is not different from him and as there is nothing other than or superior to him to be attained by him, Self-realization being only the realization of one’s own nature, the seeker of Liberation realizes, without doubts or misconceptions, his real nature by distinguishing the eternal from the transient, and never swerves from his natural state. This is known as the practice of knowledge. This is the enquiry leading to Self-realization.
- Spiritual Instruction, chapter 2
Question: Is it possible for the residual impressions of objects that come from beginningless time, as it were, to be resolved, and for one to remain as the pure Self?
Bhagavan: Without yielding to the doubt “Is it possible, or not?”, one should persistently hold on to the meditation on the Self. Even if one be a great sinner, one should not worry and weep “O! I am a sinner, how can I be saved?”; one should completely renounce the thought “I am a sinner”; and concentrate keenly on meditation on the Self; then, one would surely succeed. There are not two minds - one good and the other evil; the mind is only one. It is the residual impressions that are of two kinds - auspicious and when it is under the influence of inauspicious impressions it is regarded as evil.
The mind should not be allowed to wander towards worldly objects and what concerns other people. However bad other people may be, one should bear no hatred for them. Both desire and hatred should be eschewed. All that one gives to others one gives to one’s self. If this truth is understood who will not give to others? When one’s self arises all arises; when one’s self becomes quiescent all becomes quiescent. To the extent we behave with humility, to that extent there will result good. If the mind is rendered quiescent, one may live anywhere.
Bhagavan: Without yielding to the doubt “Is it possible, or not?”, one should persistently hold on to the meditation on the Self. Even if one be a great sinner, one should not worry and weep “O! I am a sinner, how can I be saved?”; one should completely renounce the thought “I am a sinner”; and concentrate keenly on meditation on the Self; then, one would surely succeed. There are not two minds - one good and the other evil; the mind is only one. It is the residual impressions that are of two kinds - auspicious and when it is under the influence of inauspicious impressions it is regarded as evil.
The mind should not be allowed to wander towards worldly objects and what concerns other people. However bad other people may be, one should bear no hatred for them. Both desire and hatred should be eschewed. All that one gives to others one gives to one’s self. If this truth is understood who will not give to others? When one’s self arises all arises; when one’s self becomes quiescent all becomes quiescent. To the extent we behave with humility, to that extent there will result good. If the mind is rendered quiescent, one may live anywhere.
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It's in the silence that your problems just dissolve. Try it. It really works.
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