If you enjoy this relaxed state here, and if you become one with this state, you will also transcend this state. You will even transcend into a state prior to the birth of Gods. With this understanding, do what you like.
Humans who consider themselves to be smarter than all others, with their skilled knowledge of food preparation, are the sickest beings of all.
The way to happiness is: keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, give much. Fill your life with love. Do as you would be done by.
Pay no attention to the ego. See only the light behind it
Q: How is one to bring the rebellious ego under control?
B: Pay no attention to the subversive ego and its unruly activities. See only the light behind it which illumines the ego; try to remain at the source of this light. If only you would scorch the ego by ignoring it, you would be free. Take no notice of the truculent ego and it’s various misdemeanors. The existence of the ego should not be accepted. If you attribute any importance to the ego by means of acknowledging its existence, you will become inextricably trapped in its vicious grip of [samsaric] bondage. Neither the existence of the ego nor its non-existence should be acknowledged; these or any other, the presence of vrittis in the mind causes the ego to become further tumid and strengthened. The tightrope-walker does not look beneath him whilst he is performing his act; he stares straight ahead.
— Aham Sphurana, page 697
Q: How is one to bring the rebellious ego under control?
B: Pay no attention to the subversive ego and its unruly activities. See only the light behind it which illumines the ego; try to remain at the source of this light. If only you would scorch the ego by ignoring it, you would be free. Take no notice of the truculent ego and it’s various misdemeanors. The existence of the ego should not be accepted. If you attribute any importance to the ego by means of acknowledging its existence, you will become inextricably trapped in its vicious grip of [samsaric] bondage. Neither the existence of the ego nor its non-existence should be acknowledged; these or any other, the presence of vrittis in the mind causes the ego to become further tumid and strengthened. The tightrope-walker does not look beneath him whilst he is performing his act; he stares straight ahead.
— Aham Sphurana, page 697
О люди всех эпох и мест, что о себе скажу я вам?
Моя религия – не Крест, не Иудейство, не Ислам.
Я все стихии перерос, я вышел из-под власти звезд,
Юг, север, запад и восток – не для меня, не здесь мой Храм!
Твердь и вода, огонь и дух – к их мощным зовам слух мой глух,
Я тотчас всё, чего достиг, за новую ступень отдам!
Не страшен мне горящий ад, не жажду райских я наград,
Я узы крови развязал – и я не сын тебе, Адам!
Я – вне событий и имен, я превозмог закон времен,
Я в каждом встречном воплощен – и неподвластен я годам!
Во множестве провижу я Одно – Единство Бытия,
И слово Истины живой читаю я не по складам!
Я жажду в мире одного – Возлюбленного своего:
Лишь вечно видеть бы Его – и по Его идти следам!
Шамс! От любви и от вина всегда душа твоя пьяна:
Давай же славу воздадим сим, лучшим на земле, плодам!..
Моя религия – не Крест, не Иудейство, не Ислам.
Я все стихии перерос, я вышел из-под власти звезд,
Юг, север, запад и восток – не для меня, не здесь мой Храм!
Твердь и вода, огонь и дух – к их мощным зовам слух мой глух,
Я тотчас всё, чего достиг, за новую ступень отдам!
Не страшен мне горящий ад, не жажду райских я наград,
Я узы крови развязал – и я не сын тебе, Адам!
Я – вне событий и имен, я превозмог закон времен,
Я в каждом встречном воплощен – и неподвластен я годам!
Во множестве провижу я Одно – Единство Бытия,
И слово Истины живой читаю я не по складам!
Я жажду в мире одного – Возлюбленного своего:
Лишь вечно видеть бы Его – и по Его идти следам!
Шамс! От любви и от вина всегда душа твоя пьяна:
Давай же славу воздадим сим, лучшим на земле, плодам!..
Pursue not the outer entanglements; Dwell not in the inner void; Be serene in the oneness of things; And dualism vanishes by itself.
D: Since Realization is not possible without 'vasana-kshaya' (destruction of all volitional inclinations), how am I to realize that State in which the 'vasanas' are effectively destroyed?
M: You are in that State now!
— Maharishi's Gospel [Book I, Ch. VI]
M: You are in that State now!
— Maharishi's Gospel [Book I, Ch. VI]
The measure of a man is what he does with power.
DO NOT WAIT …
Question: We know that the pleasures of this world are useless and even painful, yet we long for them. What is the way of ending that longing?
Bhagavan: Think of God and attachments will gradually drop from you. If you wait till all desires disappear to start your devotion and prayer, you will have to wait a very, very long time indeed.
— ‘Guru Ramana’, S.S Cohen
Question: We know that the pleasures of this world are useless and even painful, yet we long for them. What is the way of ending that longing?
Bhagavan: Think of God and attachments will gradually drop from you. If you wait till all desires disappear to start your devotion and prayer, you will have to wait a very, very long time indeed.
— ‘Guru Ramana’, S.S Cohen
When the Buddhagupta perfectly understood the meaning of the primordial state and expressed his realization thus:
I am Buddhagupta.
From the beginning, one’s own mind is total bliss:
Hidden from those who do not know it, it is the great secret!
Understanding the state of enlightenment beyond effort is the best meditation;
Enlightenment transcends meditating and not meditating!
— The Supreme Source
I am Buddhagupta.
From the beginning, one’s own mind is total bliss:
Hidden from those who do not know it, it is the great secret!
Understanding the state of enlightenment beyond effort is the best meditation;
Enlightenment transcends meditating and not meditating!
— The Supreme Source
All the experiences of suffering are the result of love. Find out what is the requisite for all this play of love and hate. It is that love for beingness, existence, which gives rise to all pain and miseries. You have to face it because you love to be.
It is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple.
PRACTICE IS POWER
D.: Abhyasa (practice) should give me that power.
M.: Practice is power. If thoughts are reduced to a single thought the mind is said to have grown strong. When practice remains unshaken it becomes sahaja (natural).
D.: But samskaras are infinite and eternal – from beginningless time.
M.: This itself is a samskara. Give up that idea and all samskaras will disappear at once. That is visranti (repose), santi (peace). Peace is ever-present. But you hold it down and rise over it and thus disturb it. Then you say, “I want Peace”.
— Talks no. 290
D.: Abhyasa (practice) should give me that power.
M.: Practice is power. If thoughts are reduced to a single thought the mind is said to have grown strong. When practice remains unshaken it becomes sahaja (natural).
D.: But samskaras are infinite and eternal – from beginningless time.
M.: This itself is a samskara. Give up that idea and all samskaras will disappear at once. That is visranti (repose), santi (peace). Peace is ever-present. But you hold it down and rise over it and thus disturb it. Then you say, “I want Peace”.
— Talks no. 290
Q: Is it harmless to continue smoking?
M: No, tobacco is a poison, it's better to do without it.
Tobacco gives only a temporary stimulation to which there must be a reaction with craving for more. Also, it is not good for meditation practice.
Q: Is there any drug to promote meditation?
M: No, because afterwards the user would be unable to meditate without taking it habitually.
Those who take opium or alcohol are unconsciously seeking the blissful thoughtless state of the real Self. They get an intimation of that bliss by drugs, but afterwards they must resume their normal state and the craving comes back even stronger until they become chronic addicts and slaves to the substance.
With all such artificial stimulants there must be a fall. If the mind is subdued, everything is conquered.
CONSCIOUS IMMORTALITY
M: No, tobacco is a poison, it's better to do without it.
Tobacco gives only a temporary stimulation to which there must be a reaction with craving for more. Also, it is not good for meditation practice.
Q: Is there any drug to promote meditation?
M: No, because afterwards the user would be unable to meditate without taking it habitually.
Those who take opium or alcohol are unconsciously seeking the blissful thoughtless state of the real Self. They get an intimation of that bliss by drugs, but afterwards they must resume their normal state and the craving comes back even stronger until they become chronic addicts and slaves to the substance.
With all such artificial stimulants there must be a fall. If the mind is subdued, everything is conquered.
CONSCIOUS IMMORTALITY
NOBLE DESIRES
Q: Which desires are cogent?
M: Desires that destroy their subjects, or objects, or do not subside on satisfaction are self-contradictory and cannot be fulfilled. Only desires motivated by love, goodwill, and compassion are beneficial to both the subject and object and can be fully satisfied.
Q: All desires are painful, the holy as well as the unholy.
M: They are not the same and pain is not the same. Passion is painful, compassion - never. The entire universe strives to fulfil a desire born of compassion.
— I AM THAT ch. 20
Q: Which desires are cogent?
M: Desires that destroy their subjects, or objects, or do not subside on satisfaction are self-contradictory and cannot be fulfilled. Only desires motivated by love, goodwill, and compassion are beneficial to both the subject and object and can be fully satisfied.
Q: All desires are painful, the holy as well as the unholy.
M: They are not the same and pain is not the same. Passion is painful, compassion - never. The entire universe strives to fulfil a desire born of compassion.
— I AM THAT ch. 20
Если ты желаешь познать Истину,
ты должен обладать безграничной Любовью к Истине.
Тогда не будет различия
между путем Любви и путем Знания.
ты должен обладать безграничной Любовью к Истине.
Тогда не будет различия
между путем Любви и путем Знания.
The true Guru cannot be left. He is the Guru by his nature and he naturally fulfills all that is lacking in the disciple.
As the flower gives its fragrance naturally, so the Guru gives diksha — by sight or hearing or touch or teaching or mantra or even without any of these, just because he is the Guru.
The flower does not make an effort to give its fragrance, it does not say: 'Come and smell me'. It is there. Whoever comes near it will enjoy the scent.
As ripe fruit falls from the tree and is picked up by man or eaten by the birds, so the
Guru is all that is needed for those who are his own, whoever they may be.
— Death Must Die, p. 453
As the flower gives its fragrance naturally, so the Guru gives diksha — by sight or hearing or touch or teaching or mantra or even without any of these, just because he is the Guru.
The flower does not make an effort to give its fragrance, it does not say: 'Come and smell me'. It is there. Whoever comes near it will enjoy the scent.
As ripe fruit falls from the tree and is picked up by man or eaten by the birds, so the
Guru is all that is needed for those who are his own, whoever they may be.
— Death Must Die, p. 453
Do not suffer, wandering in the scorching heat, eating the bare earth of sense objects that are the non-Self. Feed on the bliss of the Self that exists in the home of the Heart, that immense and never-ending canopy of cool shade where perfect peace shines.
It is impossible for the jiva who has become a victim of ego-delusion to overcome even slightly the force of prarabdha. Therefore, unless he subsides in the Heart by relying primarily on God's grace, he can never, by mere effort, which is the activity of the rising ego, overcome the buffeting momentum of that prarabdha, subside by himself [in the Heart], attain Self-realization and be freed from fear-causing delusion.
— Guru Vachaka Kovai (297, 300)
It is impossible for the jiva who has become a victim of ego-delusion to overcome even slightly the force of prarabdha. Therefore, unless he subsides in the Heart by relying primarily on God's grace, he can never, by mere effort, which is the activity of the rising ego, overcome the buffeting momentum of that prarabdha, subside by himself [in the Heart], attain Self-realization and be freed from fear-causing delusion.
— Guru Vachaka Kovai (297, 300)
After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
What you are is the unlimited, which is not susceptible to the senses. By limiting yourself to the body you have closed yourself to the unlimited potential which you really are.
When man humbles himself, God cannot restrain His mercy; He must come down and pour His grace into the humble man, and He gives Himself most of all, and all at once, to the least of all. It is essential to God to give, for His essence is His goodness and His goodness is His love. Love is the root of all joy and sorrow. Slavish fear of God is to be put away. The right fear is the fear of losing God.
— Sermon III: The Angel's Greeting
— Sermon III: The Angel's Greeting
SADHANA FOR THE SADHAKA IS THE SAHAJA FOR THE SIDDHA
D.: What is to be our sadhana?
M.: Sadhana for the sadhaka is the sahaja of the siddha. Sahaja is the original state, so that sadhana amounts to the removal of the obstacles to the realization of this abiding truth.
D.: Is concentration of mind one of the sadhanas?
M.: Concentration is not thinking one thing. It is, on the other hand, putting off all other thoughts which obstruct the vision of our true nature. All our efforts are only directed to lifting the veil of ignorance. Now it appears difficult to quell the thoughts. In the regenerate state, it will be found more difficult to call in thoughts. For are there things to think of? There is only the Self. Thoughts can function only if there are objects. But there are no objects. How can thoughts arise at all?
The habit makes us believe that it is difficult to cease thinking. If the error is found out, one would not be fool enough to exert oneself unnecessarily by way of thinking.
— Talks 398
D.: What is to be our sadhana?
M.: Sadhana for the sadhaka is the sahaja of the siddha. Sahaja is the original state, so that sadhana amounts to the removal of the obstacles to the realization of this abiding truth.
D.: Is concentration of mind one of the sadhanas?
M.: Concentration is not thinking one thing. It is, on the other hand, putting off all other thoughts which obstruct the vision of our true nature. All our efforts are only directed to lifting the veil of ignorance. Now it appears difficult to quell the thoughts. In the regenerate state, it will be found more difficult to call in thoughts. For are there things to think of? There is only the Self. Thoughts can function only if there are objects. But there are no objects. How can thoughts arise at all?
The habit makes us believe that it is difficult to cease thinking. If the error is found out, one would not be fool enough to exert oneself unnecessarily by way of thinking.
— Talks 398
Let your eyes see what they see, not what others want you to see. Let your ears hear what they naturally hear, not what others want you to hear. Let your mouth speak your mind freely and not be constrained by other people's approval or disapproval. Let your mind think what it wants to think and not let other people's demands dictate your thoughts. If your senses and your mind are not allowed to do what they want to do naturally, you are denying them their rights. When you cannot think, sense, feel, or act freely, then your body and mind are injured. Break these oppressions, and you will cultivate life.
— Lieh-tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living
— Lieh-tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living
May all who come
here in search of Truth,
and whose hearts and minds
beat only to discover the real,
awaken to the full realisation
of the imperishable Self
inside their hearts and
be timelessly happy and content.
Know that the true heart
and the illumined mind are one.
God and Truth are similarly one.
Know and acknowledge this
with your entire being.
Go in peace.
And may all those who meet you
along the way be so touched
and inspired by your light,
your loving kindness and compassion,
your wisdom and silent presence,
that they are compelled to search
within themselves to discover that
which they see in you,
and so find everlasting freedom.
For blessed is the one
whose life is the evidence of Truth.
May the power of Truth prevail
in all its glory and perfection
in the hearts of those
who love and honour
the Supreme Being.
This is my heart’s blessing for you,
that you will always recognise
the ever-present Grace
that is your heart’s divine activity.
And may your presence be
a true introduction to the face,
light and love of the living God.
Amen Om
here in search of Truth,
and whose hearts and minds
beat only to discover the real,
awaken to the full realisation
of the imperishable Self
inside their hearts and
be timelessly happy and content.
Know that the true heart
and the illumined mind are one.
God and Truth are similarly one.
Know and acknowledge this
with your entire being.
Go in peace.
And may all those who meet you
along the way be so touched
and inspired by your light,
your loving kindness and compassion,
your wisdom and silent presence,
that they are compelled to search
within themselves to discover that
which they see in you,
and so find everlasting freedom.
For blessed is the one
whose life is the evidence of Truth.
May the power of Truth prevail
in all its glory and perfection
in the hearts of those
who love and honour
the Supreme Being.
This is my heart’s blessing for you,
that you will always recognise
the ever-present Grace
that is your heart’s divine activity.
And may your presence be
a true introduction to the face,
light and love of the living God.
Amen Om
CONSTANT MEDITATION
As for happiness, it is one's essential nature. All suffering and misery pertain only to the body. If you do not identify yourself with the body, then the problem is not there.
Remember that the next breath may be your last and focus all your energies on self-enquiry.
Unless your spiritual practices are constant and steady, the tendency for action or inaction will gain the upper hand. You should, by effort counter these tendencies and try to remain in a state of equilibrium.
In such a state, there is only peace and perfect contentment. As the spells of equilibrium increase through constant meditation, then, happiness is felt more and more.
— N.N.Rajan, ‘More Talks With Ramana Maharshi’ p. 103
As for happiness, it is one's essential nature. All suffering and misery pertain only to the body. If you do not identify yourself with the body, then the problem is not there.
Remember that the next breath may be your last and focus all your energies on self-enquiry.
Unless your spiritual practices are constant and steady, the tendency for action or inaction will gain the upper hand. You should, by effort counter these tendencies and try to remain in a state of equilibrium.
In such a state, there is only peace and perfect contentment. As the spells of equilibrium increase through constant meditation, then, happiness is felt more and more.
— N.N.Rajan, ‘More Talks With Ramana Maharshi’ p. 103
It is not possible to to describe such a one who has realized, and has become the Reality. To conceive of this state is the highest achievement of our intelligence.
That knowledge which is cognizant of Brahman, which is all is the Supreme Knowledge. Nothing further remains to be learned.
The aspirants who study in such a way become Brahman. They attain this knowledge that is the pinnacle of intelligence, and the highest wisdom of the wisest person. They experience that there is nothing else but that one "Singular Existence".
— Master of Self-Realization - Discourse 85
That knowledge which is cognizant of Brahman, which is all is the Supreme Knowledge. Nothing further remains to be learned.
The aspirants who study in such a way become Brahman. They attain this knowledge that is the pinnacle of intelligence, and the highest wisdom of the wisest person. They experience that there is nothing else but that one "Singular Existence".
— Master of Self-Realization - Discourse 85