The Self is like a powerful hidden magnet within us.
It draws us gradually to itself,
though we imagine
we are going to it of our own accord.
When we are near enough,
it puts an end to our other activities,
makes us still,
and then swallows up
our own personal current,
thus killing our personality.
It overwhelms the intellect
and over floods the whole being.
We think we are meditating upon it
and developing towards it,
whereas the truth is
that we are as iron filings
and it is the Atman-magnet
that is pulling us
towards itself.
Thus the process of finding Self
is a form of Divine Magnetism.
It is necessary to practise meditation
frequently and regularly
until the condition induced
becomes habitual and permanent
throughout the day.
Therefore meditate.
~ Conscious Immortality, Ch.14.
It draws us gradually to itself,
though we imagine
we are going to it of our own accord.
When we are near enough,
it puts an end to our other activities,
makes us still,
and then swallows up
our own personal current,
thus killing our personality.
It overwhelms the intellect
and over floods the whole being.
We think we are meditating upon it
and developing towards it,
whereas the truth is
that we are as iron filings
and it is the Atman-magnet
that is pulling us
towards itself.
Thus the process of finding Self
is a form of Divine Magnetism.
It is necessary to practise meditation
frequently and regularly
until the condition induced
becomes habitual and permanent
throughout the day.
Therefore meditate.
~ Conscious Immortality, Ch.14.
M.G. Shanmukam’s Tamil biography Ramana Maharshi – Life and Teachings was published in 1937. His father, a police officer, along with the Swami of Ishanya Mutt, Tiruvannamalai, was instrumental in the construction of the old hall from
1926-7, where Sri Ramana lived for two decades.
During my 24 years of personal association with Bhagavan, I found that he seldom preached elaborately. He would give hints which keen seekers had to absorb carefully. He once said categorically, for practicing atma vichara every day is auspicious. All other sadhanas require external objects and congenial environment, but for atma vichara nothing external to oneself is required. Turning the mind within is all that is necessary. While one is engaged in atma vichara one can attend to other activities also.
Traditional upbringing gradually involved me in the study of the sastras, doing japa, bhajan, and regular puja three times a day. I came to the conviction that the highest human attainment was the state of jivanmukti (full enlightenment whilst still in the body). During 1921-25, as a college student, I fervently prayed that I should meet a jivanmukta and receive his blessings.
My prayers were soon answered! My father was transferred to Tiruvannamalai. At Katpadi, while travelling in train towards Tiruvannamalai, I had a remarkable vision of Bhagavan. Thus my sadguru came to me and absorbed me even before l could have His physical darshan!
When I arrived at the Ashram, Bhagavan gave me a warm welcome with a benign smile. As He was seeing me for the first time, His two spontaneous utterances surprised me. Like an affectionate mother, He asked me, “When did you come?” and “How is your right hand?”
My right hand was badly fractured when I was 14 years old, and though it had healed up, it remained bent and short. I used to cover it up with full sleeves and even my friends did not know of this serious deformity. How did Bhagavan know about it? And what affectionate concern He showed! After Bhagavan inquired about it, my sense of inferiority, because of the defect, totally disappeared.
More than all this, He asked me to be seated in front of Him. Gazing at Him I sat down and I do not know what happened to me then. When I got up two hours had elapsed. This was an experience I had never had before and I have always cherished it as the first and foremost prasad and blessing received from my sadguru. That day I understood the purport of the statement, ‘The sadguru ever gives unasked!’ That moment I knew I had been accepted into His Fold. He allowed me to enjoy this strong bond until His mahasamadhi, and even after.
Daily I would go to Him by two in the afternoon and return home only at 8 p.m. Bhagavan would quote from Ribhu Gita, Kaivalya Navaneetha, Yoga Vasishtam, and other advaitic texts and explain to me their greatness. All the while I felt that
I was in the blissful presence of a brahmajnani (one who has realized the Self), so highly extolled in our scriptures.
Once sitting before Him, the following thoughts rose in my mind with great force and were running repeatedly for a long time: ‘Do not argue on controversial points of philosophy or read too much of philosophical books.’ ‘Silently practice either vichara or dhyana’ (meditation). ‘Do not do anything which you know to be wrong.’
Some of Bhagavan’s personal instructions to me were:
(i) If you observe the breathing one-pointedly, such attention will lead you into kumbhaka (retention), which is jnana pranayama.
(ii) The more you humble yourself, the better it is for you.
(iii) You should look upon the world only as a dream.
(iv) Except attending to the duty-work in life, the rest of the time should be spent in atma nishta (absorption in the Self).
(v) Do not cause the slightest hindrance or disturbance to others.
(vi) Do all your work yourself.
(vii) Both likes and dislikes should be discarded and eschewed.
(vii) With attention focused on the first person and on the heart within, one should relentlessly practice ‘Who am I?’ During such practice, the mind might suddenly spring up; so you have to vigilantly pursue the vichara ‘Who am I?’
Sri Ramana was a sarvajnani (all-knower). I got many proofs of it. My father gave me pocket-money of three annas a day. For that amount, I would buy sambrani (incense), which was burnt in a brazier in Bhagavan’s hall. One day I did not get the pocket money and therefore refrained from going to Bhagavan.
The next day, Bhagavan graciously remarked, “Yesterday you did not come because you could not get sambrani. Veneration in the heart is enough.”
My father was suddenly transferred to Vellore. None of us, particularly myself, wanted to leave Tiruvannamalai since darshan of Bhagavan would then be denied. We ventilated our grievance to Bhagavan. He gave me a benign smile. A few days after, strangely, the transfer order was canceled!
I noticed the strange way in which the doubts in one’s mind got answered. The doubt you had would mysteriously be got expressed by someone else in the hall to Bhagavan and He would not only give the answer but look at you with a smile as if to say, ‘Has your doubt been cleared?’
Bhagavan would be seated like a rock with eyes open for hours together and silence would pervade the hall, and everyone’s heart would be filled with peace and stillness. This silence was His real teaching!
- Face to Face
1926-7, where Sri Ramana lived for two decades.
During my 24 years of personal association with Bhagavan, I found that he seldom preached elaborately. He would give hints which keen seekers had to absorb carefully. He once said categorically, for practicing atma vichara every day is auspicious. All other sadhanas require external objects and congenial environment, but for atma vichara nothing external to oneself is required. Turning the mind within is all that is necessary. While one is engaged in atma vichara one can attend to other activities also.
Traditional upbringing gradually involved me in the study of the sastras, doing japa, bhajan, and regular puja three times a day. I came to the conviction that the highest human attainment was the state of jivanmukti (full enlightenment whilst still in the body). During 1921-25, as a college student, I fervently prayed that I should meet a jivanmukta and receive his blessings.
My prayers were soon answered! My father was transferred to Tiruvannamalai. At Katpadi, while travelling in train towards Tiruvannamalai, I had a remarkable vision of Bhagavan. Thus my sadguru came to me and absorbed me even before l could have His physical darshan!
When I arrived at the Ashram, Bhagavan gave me a warm welcome with a benign smile. As He was seeing me for the first time, His two spontaneous utterances surprised me. Like an affectionate mother, He asked me, “When did you come?” and “How is your right hand?”
My right hand was badly fractured when I was 14 years old, and though it had healed up, it remained bent and short. I used to cover it up with full sleeves and even my friends did not know of this serious deformity. How did Bhagavan know about it? And what affectionate concern He showed! After Bhagavan inquired about it, my sense of inferiority, because of the defect, totally disappeared.
More than all this, He asked me to be seated in front of Him. Gazing at Him I sat down and I do not know what happened to me then. When I got up two hours had elapsed. This was an experience I had never had before and I have always cherished it as the first and foremost prasad and blessing received from my sadguru. That day I understood the purport of the statement, ‘The sadguru ever gives unasked!’ That moment I knew I had been accepted into His Fold. He allowed me to enjoy this strong bond until His mahasamadhi, and even after.
Daily I would go to Him by two in the afternoon and return home only at 8 p.m. Bhagavan would quote from Ribhu Gita, Kaivalya Navaneetha, Yoga Vasishtam, and other advaitic texts and explain to me their greatness. All the while I felt that
I was in the blissful presence of a brahmajnani (one who has realized the Self), so highly extolled in our scriptures.
Once sitting before Him, the following thoughts rose in my mind with great force and were running repeatedly for a long time: ‘Do not argue on controversial points of philosophy or read too much of philosophical books.’ ‘Silently practice either vichara or dhyana’ (meditation). ‘Do not do anything which you know to be wrong.’
Some of Bhagavan’s personal instructions to me were:
(i) If you observe the breathing one-pointedly, such attention will lead you into kumbhaka (retention), which is jnana pranayama.
(ii) The more you humble yourself, the better it is for you.
(iii) You should look upon the world only as a dream.
(iv) Except attending to the duty-work in life, the rest of the time should be spent in atma nishta (absorption in the Self).
(v) Do not cause the slightest hindrance or disturbance to others.
(vi) Do all your work yourself.
(vii) Both likes and dislikes should be discarded and eschewed.
(vii) With attention focused on the first person and on the heart within, one should relentlessly practice ‘Who am I?’ During such practice, the mind might suddenly spring up; so you have to vigilantly pursue the vichara ‘Who am I?’
Sri Ramana was a sarvajnani (all-knower). I got many proofs of it. My father gave me pocket-money of three annas a day. For that amount, I would buy sambrani (incense), which was burnt in a brazier in Bhagavan’s hall. One day I did not get the pocket money and therefore refrained from going to Bhagavan.
The next day, Bhagavan graciously remarked, “Yesterday you did not come because you could not get sambrani. Veneration in the heart is enough.”
My father was suddenly transferred to Vellore. None of us, particularly myself, wanted to leave Tiruvannamalai since darshan of Bhagavan would then be denied. We ventilated our grievance to Bhagavan. He gave me a benign smile. A few days after, strangely, the transfer order was canceled!
I noticed the strange way in which the doubts in one’s mind got answered. The doubt you had would mysteriously be got expressed by someone else in the hall to Bhagavan and He would not only give the answer but look at you with a smile as if to say, ‘Has your doubt been cleared?’
Bhagavan would be seated like a rock with eyes open for hours together and silence would pervade the hall, and everyone’s heart would be filled with peace and stillness. This silence was His real teaching!
- Face to Face
‘IF THE GURU BELIEVES THIS, HE DOES NOT DESRVE THE NAME’
Q: Isn't grace the gift of the guru?
M: God, grace and guru, are all synonymous and also eternal and immanent. Isn't the Self already within? Is it for the guru to bestow It by his look? If the guru believes this, then he does not deserve the name.
The books say that there are so many initiations: hasta diksha (by hand), sparsa diksha (by touch), mental diksha etc, and that the guru performs some rites with fire, water, japa, and mantras. They call such fantastic performances an 'initiation', as if the disciple becomes ripe only after such processes!
If the individual is sought, he is nowhere to be found. Such is the guru. Such is a Dakshinamurti. What did he do? He was silent, the disciples appeared before him, he maintained silence and the disciples' doubts were dispelled — which means that they lost their individual identities. Such is the true guru and such is true initiation. That is jnana, and not the verbiage usually associated with it.
Silence is the most potent form of work. However vast and emphatic the Sastras may be, they fail in their effect. The guru is quiet and peace prevails in all his silence, vaster and more emphatic than all the Sastras put together.
Jnana is acquired by satsang, or rather by its atmosphere.
— Conscious Immortality
Q: Isn't grace the gift of the guru?
M: God, grace and guru, are all synonymous and also eternal and immanent. Isn't the Self already within? Is it for the guru to bestow It by his look? If the guru believes this, then he does not deserve the name.
The books say that there are so many initiations: hasta diksha (by hand), sparsa diksha (by touch), mental diksha etc, and that the guru performs some rites with fire, water, japa, and mantras. They call such fantastic performances an 'initiation', as if the disciple becomes ripe only after such processes!
If the individual is sought, he is nowhere to be found. Such is the guru. Such is a Dakshinamurti. What did he do? He was silent, the disciples appeared before him, he maintained silence and the disciples' doubts were dispelled — which means that they lost their individual identities. Such is the true guru and such is true initiation. That is jnana, and not the verbiage usually associated with it.
Silence is the most potent form of work. However vast and emphatic the Sastras may be, they fail in their effect. The guru is quiet and peace prevails in all his silence, vaster and more emphatic than all the Sastras put together.
Jnana is acquired by satsang, or rather by its atmosphere.
— Conscious Immortality
Don't believe your thoughts.
'I am the body' is a thought.
'I am the mind' is a thought.
'I am the doer' is a thought.
Worry is only a thought.
Fear is only a thought.
Death is only a thought.
'I am the body' is a thought.
'I am the mind' is a thought.
'I am the doer' is a thought.
Worry is only a thought.
Fear is only a thought.
Death is only a thought.
One Mr. Ramachandar, a gentleman from Ambala, asked
where the Heart is and what Realisation is.
Sri Ramana Maharshi.:
The Heart is not physical; it is spiritual.
Hridayam = hrit + ayam - This is the centre.
It is that from which thoughts arise,
on which they subsist and
where they are resolved.
The thoughts are the content of the mind and,
they shape the universe.
The Heart is the centre of all.
Yatova imani bhutani jayante
(that from which these beings come into existence) etc.
is said to be Brahman in the Upanishads.
That is the Heart.
Brahman is the Heart.
D.: How to realise the Heart?
Sri Ramana Maharshi .: There is no one
who even for a trice fails to experience the Self.
For no one admits that
he ever stands apart from the Self.
He is the Self.
The Self is the Heart.
D.: It is not clear.
Sri Ramana Maharshi.: In deep sleep you exist; awake, you remain.
The same Self is in both states.
The difference is only in the awareness
and the nonawareness of the world.
The world rises with the mind and sets with the mind.
That which rises and sets is not the Self.
The Self is different, giving rise to the mind,
sustaining it and resolving it.
So the Self is the underlying principle.
When asked who you are,
you place your hand on the right side of the breast and
say ‘I am’.
There you involuntarily point out the Self.
The Self is thus known.
But the individual is miserable
because he confounds the mind and the body with the Self.
This confusion is due to wrong knowledge.
Elimination of wrong knowledge is alone needed.
Such elimination results in Realisation.
D.: How to control the mind?
Sri Ramana Maharshi.: What is mind? Whose is the mind?
D.: Mind always wanders. I cannot control it.
Sri Ramana Maharshi .: It is the nature of the mind to wander.
You are not the mind.
The mind springs up and sinks down.
It is impermanent, transitory,
whereas you are eternal.
There is nothing but the Self.
To inhere in the Self is the thing.
Never mind the mind.
If its source is sought,
it will vanish leaving the Self unaffected.
D.: So one need not seek to control the mind?
Sri Ramana Maharshi.:
There is no mind to control if you realise the Self.
The mind vanishing, the Self shines forth.
In the realised man the mind may be active or inactive,
the Self alone remains for him.
For the mind, the body and the world are not separate from the Self.
They rise from and sink into the Self.
They do not remain apart from the Self.
Can they be different from the Self ?
Only be aware of the Self.
Why worry about these shadows?
How do they affect the Self?
~ Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi , 97
where the Heart is and what Realisation is.
Sri Ramana Maharshi.:
The Heart is not physical; it is spiritual.
Hridayam = hrit + ayam - This is the centre.
It is that from which thoughts arise,
on which they subsist and
where they are resolved.
The thoughts are the content of the mind and,
they shape the universe.
The Heart is the centre of all.
Yatova imani bhutani jayante
(that from which these beings come into existence) etc.
is said to be Brahman in the Upanishads.
That is the Heart.
Brahman is the Heart.
D.: How to realise the Heart?
Sri Ramana Maharshi .: There is no one
who even for a trice fails to experience the Self.
For no one admits that
he ever stands apart from the Self.
He is the Self.
The Self is the Heart.
D.: It is not clear.
Sri Ramana Maharshi.: In deep sleep you exist; awake, you remain.
The same Self is in both states.
The difference is only in the awareness
and the nonawareness of the world.
The world rises with the mind and sets with the mind.
That which rises and sets is not the Self.
The Self is different, giving rise to the mind,
sustaining it and resolving it.
So the Self is the underlying principle.
When asked who you are,
you place your hand on the right side of the breast and
say ‘I am’.
There you involuntarily point out the Self.
The Self is thus known.
But the individual is miserable
because he confounds the mind and the body with the Self.
This confusion is due to wrong knowledge.
Elimination of wrong knowledge is alone needed.
Such elimination results in Realisation.
D.: How to control the mind?
Sri Ramana Maharshi.: What is mind? Whose is the mind?
D.: Mind always wanders. I cannot control it.
Sri Ramana Maharshi .: It is the nature of the mind to wander.
You are not the mind.
The mind springs up and sinks down.
It is impermanent, transitory,
whereas you are eternal.
There is nothing but the Self.
To inhere in the Self is the thing.
Never mind the mind.
If its source is sought,
it will vanish leaving the Self unaffected.
D.: So one need not seek to control the mind?
Sri Ramana Maharshi.:
There is no mind to control if you realise the Self.
The mind vanishing, the Self shines forth.
In the realised man the mind may be active or inactive,
the Self alone remains for him.
For the mind, the body and the world are not separate from the Self.
They rise from and sink into the Self.
They do not remain apart from the Self.
Can they be different from the Self ?
Only be aware of the Self.
Why worry about these shadows?
How do they affect the Self?
~ Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi , 97
Освобождение - это наша природа, наше другое имя, а потому очень смешно желать освобождения. Это напоминает человека, который ушел из тени на солнце, но, почувствовав палящий зной, ценой больших усилий возвращается в тень и радуется: "Как сладко в тени! Наконец я достиг тени!" Все мы делаем то же самое. Мы не отличаемся от Реальности, но представляем себя отличными от Неё, т.е. создаём чувство различия, а затем предпринимаем продолжительную садхану, чтобы избавиться от чувства различия и реализовать Единственность. Зачем воображать или творить чувство различия, а затем уничтожать его?
Visitor: What is the use of chanting Guru Mantra?
Maharaj: "For overall purification including that of the five Pranas(vital breaths). Although the vital breath is only one, it is sub-divided into five Pranas, based on their function. The pure seeker realises the Self. "
V: Why are real seekers very few in number?
M: "Only a few have the inner urge. It cannot be developed externally. One who receives the divine grace of the Self meets one's Sadguru. First, there is Atmakrupa, the grace of the Self, then Gurukrupa, the grace of the Guru, and finally Self-realization."
V: Is Atma(Self) one or many different forms?
M: "Atma is one but it expresses as 'I Am' in different forms. All the five elements come together for this sense of being to appear. For Self-Realisation one must hug 'I Am' by itself, that is, to remain without thoughts. That is called meditation. Forgetting the world, to hold its soul, that is, 'I Am'."
Maharaj: "For overall purification including that of the five Pranas(vital breaths). Although the vital breath is only one, it is sub-divided into five Pranas, based on their function. The pure seeker realises the Self. "
V: Why are real seekers very few in number?
M: "Only a few have the inner urge. It cannot be developed externally. One who receives the divine grace of the Self meets one's Sadguru. First, there is Atmakrupa, the grace of the Self, then Gurukrupa, the grace of the Guru, and finally Self-realization."
V: Is Atma(Self) one or many different forms?
M: "Atma is one but it expresses as 'I Am' in different forms. All the five elements come together for this sense of being to appear. For Self-Realisation one must hug 'I Am' by itself, that is, to remain without thoughts. That is called meditation. Forgetting the world, to hold its soul, that is, 'I Am'."
Questioner: The jnani seems to be a very lonely being, all by himself.
Nisargadatta: He is alone, but he is all. He is not even a being. He is the beingness of all beings. Not even that. No words apply. He is what he is, the ground from which all grows.
I AM THAT - p. 145
Nisargadatta: He is alone, but he is all. He is not even a being. He is the beingness of all beings. Not even that. No words apply. He is what he is, the ground from which all grows.
I AM THAT - p. 145
Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.
Fasters who died from too long a fast did not die from lack of food, but actually suffocated in and with their own waste.
Сарасвати продолжила:
Незрелому человеку, убежденному в реальности этого мира, он продолжает казаться реальным – также как ребенка верящего в привидения, они преследуют всю его жизнь. Если человек любуется внешним видом браслета, он не видит, что это всего лишь золото, – и тот, кто видит блеск дворцов, слонов и городов, не замечает, что все это - только бесконечное сознание.
Эта вселенная - всего лишь долгий сон. Чувство эго и каприз, что вокруг есть другие, - также реальны, как и предметы во сне. Единственная реальность – это бесконечное сознание, вездесущее, чистое, спокойное, всемогущее, чье тело и существо есть абсолютное сознание, и потому не объект и не познаваемое – где бы и каким бы то ни было образом это сознание хочет проявить себя, этим оно и становится. Поэтому, когда видящий воображает, что видит человеческое существо, человеческое существо оказывается именно там. Потому как субстрат, бесконечное сознание, - реален, и все, что на нем основано, также приобретает реальность, но реальность не саму по себе, а основанную на реальности субстрата. Эта вселенная и все существа в нем – только длинный сон. Для меня ты реален, и для тебя я реальна, и также другие реальны для меня и для тебя. И эта относительная реальность похожа на реальность предметов во сне.
Незрелому человеку, убежденному в реальности этого мира, он продолжает казаться реальным – также как ребенка верящего в привидения, они преследуют всю его жизнь. Если человек любуется внешним видом браслета, он не видит, что это всего лишь золото, – и тот, кто видит блеск дворцов, слонов и городов, не замечает, что все это - только бесконечное сознание.
Эта вселенная - всего лишь долгий сон. Чувство эго и каприз, что вокруг есть другие, - также реальны, как и предметы во сне. Единственная реальность – это бесконечное сознание, вездесущее, чистое, спокойное, всемогущее, чье тело и существо есть абсолютное сознание, и потому не объект и не познаваемое – где бы и каким бы то ни было образом это сознание хочет проявить себя, этим оно и становится. Поэтому, когда видящий воображает, что видит человеческое существо, человеческое существо оказывается именно там. Потому как субстрат, бесконечное сознание, - реален, и все, что на нем основано, также приобретает реальность, но реальность не саму по себе, а основанную на реальности субстрата. Эта вселенная и все существа в нем – только длинный сон. Для меня ты реален, и для тебя я реальна, и также другие реальны для меня и для тебя. И эта относительная реальность похожа на реальность предметов во сне.
Grant Me Salvation, Swami
One afternoon a lady from Kumbhakonam sat near Bhagavan and exclaimed: "How glad I am that I have met you, Swami. I have craved to see you for a long time, Swami. Not that I want anything, Swami. Only please be kind and grant me salvation, Swami." With that she got up and went away. Bhagavan had a hearty laugh.
"Look at her - all she wants is salvation. Give her salvation, she wants nothing else."
I said: "Is it not what we all want?"
He replied: "Is salvation something to be handed over on request? Do I keep bundles of salvation concealed about me, that people should ask me for salvation? She said 'I do not want anything.' If it is sincere, that itself is salvation. What is there I can give and what is there they can take?"
Somebody brought a bell to be rung at the arati ceremony and it was put into Bhagavan's hands. He tried its sound in various ways and laughed: "God wants us to make a fire of our past evil deeds and burn our karma in it. But these people burn a copper worth of camphor and hope to please the Almighty. Do they really believe that they can get something for nothing? They do not want to bend to God, they want God to bend to them. In their greed they would swallow God, but they would not let him swallow them. Some boast of their offerings. What have they got to offer ? The idol of Vinayaka (Ganesha) is made of jaggery. They break off a piece of it and offer it to Him. The only offering worthy of the Lord is to clear the mind of thoughts and remain steady in the peace of Self."
As I Saw Him - No.5. My Life, My Light
by Varanasi Subbalakshmi.
One afternoon a lady from Kumbhakonam sat near Bhagavan and exclaimed: "How glad I am that I have met you, Swami. I have craved to see you for a long time, Swami. Not that I want anything, Swami. Only please be kind and grant me salvation, Swami." With that she got up and went away. Bhagavan had a hearty laugh.
"Look at her - all she wants is salvation. Give her salvation, she wants nothing else."
I said: "Is it not what we all want?"
He replied: "Is salvation something to be handed over on request? Do I keep bundles of salvation concealed about me, that people should ask me for salvation? She said 'I do not want anything.' If it is sincere, that itself is salvation. What is there I can give and what is there they can take?"
Somebody brought a bell to be rung at the arati ceremony and it was put into Bhagavan's hands. He tried its sound in various ways and laughed: "God wants us to make a fire of our past evil deeds and burn our karma in it. But these people burn a copper worth of camphor and hope to please the Almighty. Do they really believe that they can get something for nothing? They do not want to bend to God, they want God to bend to them. In their greed they would swallow God, but they would not let him swallow them. Some boast of their offerings. What have they got to offer ? The idol of Vinayaka (Ganesha) is made of jaggery. They break off a piece of it and offer it to Him. The only offering worthy of the Lord is to clear the mind of thoughts and remain steady in the peace of Self."
As I Saw Him - No.5. My Life, My Light
by Varanasi Subbalakshmi.
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.
Knowledge is no guarantee of wisdom but prideful ignorance is proof of its absence.
For the faults of the many, judge not the whole. Everything on earth is of mixed character, like a mingling of sand and sugar. Be like the wise ant which seizes only the sugar and leaves the sand untouched.
Тот, кто достиг внутреннего спокойствия и мира, находит мир и спокойствие повсюду в мире. Тот, чей разум взволнован и беспокоен, обнаруживает, что весь мир полон беспокойства. Потому что только то, что ощущается внутри, ощущается и снаружи.
One thought leads to heaven, one thought leads to hell.
The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.
Не определившись с собственной само-идентификацией, мы не поймём, в чем смысл нашей жизни, а, следовательно, наша картина мира, наши ценности, наши цели будут так же неопределёнными, иллюзорными.
Srimat Puragra Parampanthi, a renowned swami of his time, has authored many books including Advaita and Modern Physics, The Cardinal Doctrines of Hinduism and The Meaning and Mystery of Reincarnation.
I saw Sri Ramana for the first time on December 10, 1949. I saw a tall, lean man in loincloth; the limbs were well proportioned and well-knit and long; the skin was smooth and glowing and the quivering head was inclined towards the right side. There was a white bandage on the left arm, which had been operated upon to remove a tumor. His eyes shone with kindness and love, his face was lit up with a beatific smile of benediction. I saw before me a yogi of the highest order – a mystic of the supreme realization, who radiated the living presence of divinity within and without.
The next morning I saw him again. His ever-smiling face was completely free from the ravages of illness, which was slowly and steadily ruining his body. His spiritual presence was dynamic and clearly perceptible. It touched and inspired us and simultaneously took us to the high and rare sphere of spirituality. I felt suddenly the presence of a spiritual power, which was ambient and edifying and which raised the expectancy of all to a high pitch. The atmosphere of the hall was distinctly attuned to a higher will and power which influenced the entire gathering.
All eyes were fixed on the Maharshi. I wanted to know how and by what irresistible force it had been possible for persons – young and old, rich and poor, wise and simple, belonging to different races and religions – to gather at the feet of this great yogi. I wanted to know how and why the stubborn diversity has transformed into unity here – the persistent dissimilarity into perfect harmony – the ‘many-ness’ into oneness!
I realized that it had been possible solely due to the unifying presence of the Maharshi. He was not only the preacher of truths of unity and oneness, of identity of man and God, of spiritual brotherhood of mankind – irrespective of caste or creed, race or position – he was the living symbol of these truths. That was why his all-embracing personality had become the center of universal truth and the unifying force cementing diverse races and religions into a harmonious concord.
Our narrow understanding cannot fully comprehend him;
his greatness is too vast – too immense to be captured within our
mental orbit. Just a part of his spiritual self, a tiny fraction of it is
visible to us and we rejoice in the partial vision of him because we
are in the dark and bound by the sad limitations of our senses.
He has passed away, yet he lives perpetually in the evergreen memory of his thousands of devotees the world over, in his own undying gospels and messages which will continue to uplift, inspire and guide all along the right path towards the right and highest goal – God-realization.
— Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi
I saw Sri Ramana for the first time on December 10, 1949. I saw a tall, lean man in loincloth; the limbs were well proportioned and well-knit and long; the skin was smooth and glowing and the quivering head was inclined towards the right side. There was a white bandage on the left arm, which had been operated upon to remove a tumor. His eyes shone with kindness and love, his face was lit up with a beatific smile of benediction. I saw before me a yogi of the highest order – a mystic of the supreme realization, who radiated the living presence of divinity within and without.
The next morning I saw him again. His ever-smiling face was completely free from the ravages of illness, which was slowly and steadily ruining his body. His spiritual presence was dynamic and clearly perceptible. It touched and inspired us and simultaneously took us to the high and rare sphere of spirituality. I felt suddenly the presence of a spiritual power, which was ambient and edifying and which raised the expectancy of all to a high pitch. The atmosphere of the hall was distinctly attuned to a higher will and power which influenced the entire gathering.
All eyes were fixed on the Maharshi. I wanted to know how and by what irresistible force it had been possible for persons – young and old, rich and poor, wise and simple, belonging to different races and religions – to gather at the feet of this great yogi. I wanted to know how and why the stubborn diversity has transformed into unity here – the persistent dissimilarity into perfect harmony – the ‘many-ness’ into oneness!
I realized that it had been possible solely due to the unifying presence of the Maharshi. He was not only the preacher of truths of unity and oneness, of identity of man and God, of spiritual brotherhood of mankind – irrespective of caste or creed, race or position – he was the living symbol of these truths. That was why his all-embracing personality had become the center of universal truth and the unifying force cementing diverse races and religions into a harmonious concord.
Our narrow understanding cannot fully comprehend him;
his greatness is too vast – too immense to be captured within our
mental orbit. Just a part of his spiritual self, a tiny fraction of it is
visible to us and we rejoice in the partial vision of him because we
are in the dark and bound by the sad limitations of our senses.
He has passed away, yet he lives perpetually in the evergreen memory of his thousands of devotees the world over, in his own undying gospels and messages which will continue to uplift, inspire and guide all along the right path towards the right and highest goal – God-realization.
— Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi
He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.
The sense of 'I' pertains to the person, the body and brain. When a man knows his true Self for the first time something else arises from the depths of his being and takes possession of him. That something is behind the mind; it is infinite, divine, eternal. Some people call it the Kingdom of Heaven, others call it the Soul and others again Nirvana and Hindus call it Liberation; you may give it what name you wish. When this happens a man has not really lost himself; rather he has found himself.
Unless and until a man embarks on this quest of the true Self, doubt and uncertainty will follow his footsteps through life. The greatest kings and statesmen try to rule others when in their heart of hearts they know that they cannot rule themselves. Yet the greatest power is at the command of the man who has penetrated to his inmost depth.... What is the use of knowing about everything else when you do not yet know who you are? Men avoid this inquiry into the true Self, but what else is there so worthy to be undertaken?
— The Path of Self-Knowledge
Unless and until a man embarks on this quest of the true Self, doubt and uncertainty will follow his footsteps through life. The greatest kings and statesmen try to rule others when in their heart of hearts they know that they cannot rule themselves. Yet the greatest power is at the command of the man who has penetrated to his inmost depth.... What is the use of knowing about everything else when you do not yet know who you are? Men avoid this inquiry into the true Self, but what else is there so worthy to be undertaken?
— The Path of Self-Knowledge
SANNIDHI, NO SANKALPA
Sankalpa can be translated as 'will' or 'intention'. Bhagavan, along with many other Masters, held that jnanis have no sankalpa. In this state, the Self makes the body behave in a particular way and makes it say whatever needs to be said, but there is no individual choice involved in any of these words or actions. Narayana lyer once had a most illuminating exchange with Bhagavan on this topic, an exchange that gave a rare insight into the way that a jnani's power functions:
‘One day when I was sitting by the side of Bhagavan I felt so miserable that I put the following question to him: "Is the sankalpa of the jnani not capable of warding off the destinies of the devotees?"
'Bhagavan smiled and said: "Does the jnani have a sankalpa at all? The jivanmukta [liberated being] can have no sankalpas whatsoever. It is just impossible.
'I continued: "Then what is the fate of all us who pray to you to have grace on us and save us? Will we not be benefited or saved by sitting in front of you, or by coming to you?..."
'Bhagavan turned graciously to me and said: "...a person's bad karma will be considerably reduced while he is in the presence of a jnani. A jnani has no sankalpas but his sannidhi, his presence is the most powerful force. He need not have sankalpa, but his presiding presence, the most powerful force, can do wonders: save souls, give peace of mind, even give liberation to ripe souls. Your prayers are not answered by him but absorbed by his presence. His presence saves you, wards off the karma and gives you the boons as the case may be, but involuntarily. The jnani does save the devotees, but not by sankalpa, which is non-existent in him, only through his presiding presence, his sannidhi.’
— Narayana Iyer, The Mountain Path 1968, p. 236
Sankalpa can be translated as 'will' or 'intention'. Bhagavan, along with many other Masters, held that jnanis have no sankalpa. In this state, the Self makes the body behave in a particular way and makes it say whatever needs to be said, but there is no individual choice involved in any of these words or actions. Narayana lyer once had a most illuminating exchange with Bhagavan on this topic, an exchange that gave a rare insight into the way that a jnani's power functions:
‘One day when I was sitting by the side of Bhagavan I felt so miserable that I put the following question to him: "Is the sankalpa of the jnani not capable of warding off the destinies of the devotees?"
'Bhagavan smiled and said: "Does the jnani have a sankalpa at all? The jivanmukta [liberated being] can have no sankalpas whatsoever. It is just impossible.
'I continued: "Then what is the fate of all us who pray to you to have grace on us and save us? Will we not be benefited or saved by sitting in front of you, or by coming to you?..."
'Bhagavan turned graciously to me and said: "...a person's bad karma will be considerably reduced while he is in the presence of a jnani. A jnani has no sankalpas but his sannidhi, his presence is the most powerful force. He need not have sankalpa, but his presiding presence, the most powerful force, can do wonders: save souls, give peace of mind, even give liberation to ripe souls. Your prayers are not answered by him but absorbed by his presence. His presence saves you, wards off the karma and gives you the boons as the case may be, but involuntarily. The jnani does save the devotees, but not by sankalpa, which is non-existent in him, only through his presiding presence, his sannidhi.’
— Narayana Iyer, The Mountain Path 1968, p. 236
Q: Can I think ‘l am God’?
Nisargadatta M: Don’t identify yourself with an idea. If you mean by God, the Unknown, then you merely say: ‘I do not know what I am’. If you know God as you know your self, you need not say it. Best is the simple feeling ‘I am’. Dwell on it patiently. Here patience is wisdom; don’t think of failure. There can be no failure in this undertaking.
Q: My thoughts will not let me.
Nisargadatta M: Pay no attention. Don’t fight them Just do nothing about them, let them be, whatever they are. Your very fighting them gives them life. Just disregard. Look through. Remember to remember: ‘whatever happens — happens because I am’. All reminds you that you are. Take full advantage of the fact that to experience you must be. You need not stop thinking. Just cease being interested. It is disinterestedness that liberates. Don’t hold on, that is all. The world is made of rings. The hooks are all yours. Make straight your hooks and nothing can hold you: Give up your addictions. There is nothing else to give up. Stop your routine of acquisitiveness, your habit of looking for results and the freedom of the universe is yours. Be effortless.
Q: Life is effort. There are so many things to do.
Nisargdatta M: What needs doing, do it. Don’t resist. Your balance must be dynamic, based on doing just the right thing, from moment to moment. Don’t be a child unwilling to grow up. Stereotyped gestures and postures will not help you. Rely entirely on your clarity of thought, purity of motive and integrity of action. You cannot possibly go wrong. Go beyond and leave all behind.
Q: But can anything be left for good?
Nisargadatta M: You want something like a round-the-clock ecstasy. Ecstasies come and go, necessarily, for the human brain cannot stand the tension for a long time. A prolonged ecstasy will burn out your brain, unless it is extremely pure and subtle. In nature nothing is at stand-still, everything pulsates, appears and disappears. Heart, breath, digestion, sleep and waking — birth and death everything comes and goes in waves. Rhythm, periodicity, harmonious alternation of extremes is the rule. No use rebelling against the very pattern of life. If you seek the Immutable, go beyond experience. When I say: remember ‘I am’ all the time, I mean: ‘come back to it repeatedly’. No particular thought can be mind’s natural state, only silence. Not the idea of silence, but silence itself. When the mind is in its natural state, it reverts to silence spontaneously after every experience or, rather, every experience happens against the background of silence. Now, what you have learnt here becomes the seed. You may
forget it — apparently. But it will live and in due season sprout and grow and bring forth flowers and fruits. All will happen by itself. You need not do anything, only don’t prevent it.
Nisargadatta M: Don’t identify yourself with an idea. If you mean by God, the Unknown, then you merely say: ‘I do not know what I am’. If you know God as you know your self, you need not say it. Best is the simple feeling ‘I am’. Dwell on it patiently. Here patience is wisdom; don’t think of failure. There can be no failure in this undertaking.
Q: My thoughts will not let me.
Nisargadatta M: Pay no attention. Don’t fight them Just do nothing about them, let them be, whatever they are. Your very fighting them gives them life. Just disregard. Look through. Remember to remember: ‘whatever happens — happens because I am’. All reminds you that you are. Take full advantage of the fact that to experience you must be. You need not stop thinking. Just cease being interested. It is disinterestedness that liberates. Don’t hold on, that is all. The world is made of rings. The hooks are all yours. Make straight your hooks and nothing can hold you: Give up your addictions. There is nothing else to give up. Stop your routine of acquisitiveness, your habit of looking for results and the freedom of the universe is yours. Be effortless.
Q: Life is effort. There are so many things to do.
Nisargdatta M: What needs doing, do it. Don’t resist. Your balance must be dynamic, based on doing just the right thing, from moment to moment. Don’t be a child unwilling to grow up. Stereotyped gestures and postures will not help you. Rely entirely on your clarity of thought, purity of motive and integrity of action. You cannot possibly go wrong. Go beyond and leave all behind.
Q: But can anything be left for good?
Nisargadatta M: You want something like a round-the-clock ecstasy. Ecstasies come and go, necessarily, for the human brain cannot stand the tension for a long time. A prolonged ecstasy will burn out your brain, unless it is extremely pure and subtle. In nature nothing is at stand-still, everything pulsates, appears and disappears. Heart, breath, digestion, sleep and waking — birth and death everything comes and goes in waves. Rhythm, periodicity, harmonious alternation of extremes is the rule. No use rebelling against the very pattern of life. If you seek the Immutable, go beyond experience. When I say: remember ‘I am’ all the time, I mean: ‘come back to it repeatedly’. No particular thought can be mind’s natural state, only silence. Not the idea of silence, but silence itself. When the mind is in its natural state, it reverts to silence spontaneously after every experience or, rather, every experience happens against the background of silence. Now, what you have learnt here becomes the seed. You may
forget it — apparently. But it will live and in due season sprout and grow and bring forth flowers and fruits. All will happen by itself. You need not do anything, only don’t prevent it.
THE ECONOMY OF GOD
Many people have written about Bhagavan's dislike of wasting anything useful. This habit was often on display in the kitchen. Once, as the midday meal was being prepared, a few mustard seeds fell on the ground. The cooks ignored them but Bhagavan picked them up one by one with his fingernails and put them in a small pot.
Sama lyer, one of the brahmins who worked in the kitchen, remarked,
'Bhagavan is taking these few mustard seeds and saving them: Bhagavan is also very miserly about saving money. For whom is Bhagavan saving all this?'
'All these things are created by God,' replied Bhagavan. 'We should not waste even small things. If it is useful for someone, it is good to keep it.
Bhagavan often ignored our many faults but he rarely kept quiet if he witnessed any devotees being wasteful. In June 1939, when Bhagavan was returning from one of his walks on the hill. I saw him accost the son of T.K. Sundaresa lyer and give him a stern lecture.
'Your father tells me that you are buying many useless things,' said Bhagavan. 'Don't spend in excess of your income. You must be thrifty. Fire, debt, sense objects, and poison. Even a drop of any of these is capable of destroying us.'
Bhagavan once gave me a similar lecture while I was supervising the construction of the new dining room. He had given me a rusty, bent 11/2 inch nail and asked me to clean it, straighten it, and use it in the dining room.
But Bhagavan,' I protested, 'we have just received many kilos of brand-new nails. We don't need to use old ones like this.'
Bhagavan disagreed. After telling me that everything that was useful should be used, he repeated his instructions about renovating the nail.
— Living by the Words of Bhagavan (72)
Many people have written about Bhagavan's dislike of wasting anything useful. This habit was often on display in the kitchen. Once, as the midday meal was being prepared, a few mustard seeds fell on the ground. The cooks ignored them but Bhagavan picked them up one by one with his fingernails and put them in a small pot.
Sama lyer, one of the brahmins who worked in the kitchen, remarked,
'Bhagavan is taking these few mustard seeds and saving them: Bhagavan is also very miserly about saving money. For whom is Bhagavan saving all this?'
'All these things are created by God,' replied Bhagavan. 'We should not waste even small things. If it is useful for someone, it is good to keep it.
Bhagavan often ignored our many faults but he rarely kept quiet if he witnessed any devotees being wasteful. In June 1939, when Bhagavan was returning from one of his walks on the hill. I saw him accost the son of T.K. Sundaresa lyer and give him a stern lecture.
'Your father tells me that you are buying many useless things,' said Bhagavan. 'Don't spend in excess of your income. You must be thrifty. Fire, debt, sense objects, and poison. Even a drop of any of these is capable of destroying us.'
Bhagavan once gave me a similar lecture while I was supervising the construction of the new dining room. He had given me a rusty, bent 11/2 inch nail and asked me to clean it, straighten it, and use it in the dining room.
But Bhagavan,' I protested, 'we have just received many kilos of brand-new nails. We don't need to use old ones like this.'
Bhagavan disagreed. After telling me that everything that was useful should be used, he repeated his instructions about renovating the nail.
— Living by the Words of Bhagavan (72)
You have the knowledge of knowing only on the basis of no-knowing. First of all, you do not know; on that no-knowing platform this knowing sprouts, but the basis is ignorance only.
Beings
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