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We are actually experiencing the Reality only; still, we do not know it. Is it not a wonder of wonders?
Reality is simply the loss of the ego.
The quest "Who am I?" is the axe with which to cut off the ego.
Reality is simply the loss of the ego.
The quest "Who am I?" is the axe with which to cut off the ego.
SAMADHI ALONE CAN REVEAL THE TRUTH
D: What is the use of samadhi and does thought subsist
then?
M: Samadhi alone can reveal the Truth. Thoughts cast a
veil over Reality, and so It is not realised as such in
states other than samadhi.
In samadhi there is only the feeling ‘I AM’ and no
thoughts. The experience ‘I AM’ is being still.
D: How can I repeat the experience of samadhi or the
stillness that I obtain here?
M: Your present experience is due to the influence of the
atmosphere in which you find yourself. Can you have
it outside this atmosphere? The experience is spasmodic.
Until it becomes permanent, practice is necessary.
D: One has at times vivid flashes of a consciousness
whose centre is outside the normal self, and which
seems to be all-inclusive. Without concerning
ourselves with philosophical concepts, how would
Bhagavan advise me to work towards getting,
retaining and extending those rare flashes? Does
abhyasa in such experience involve retirement?
M: Outside! For whom is the inside or outside? These
can exist only so long as there are the subject and
object. For whom are these two again? On
investigation you will find that they resolve into the
subject only. See who is the subject; and this enquiry
leads you to pure Consciousness beyond the subject.
The normal self is the mind. This mind is with
limitations. But pure Consciousness is beyond
limitations, and is reached by investigation as above
outlined.
Getting: The Self is always there. You have only to remove
the veil obstructing the revelation of the Self.
Retaining: Once you realise the Self, it becomes your direct
and immediate experience. It is never lost.
Extending: There is no extending of the Self, for it is as
ever, without contraction or expansion.
Retirement: Abiding in the Self is solitude. Because there
is nothing alien to the Self. Retirement must be
from some one place or state to another. There is
neither the one nor the other apart from the Self. All
being the Self, retirement is impossible and
inconceivable.
Abhyasa is only the prevention of disturbance to the
inherent peace. You are always in your natural State
whether you do abhyasa or not.... To remain as you
are, without question or doubt, is your natural State.
From Maharshi’s Gospel
D: What is the use of samadhi and does thought subsist
then?
M: Samadhi alone can reveal the Truth. Thoughts cast a
veil over Reality, and so It is not realised as such in
states other than samadhi.
In samadhi there is only the feeling ‘I AM’ and no
thoughts. The experience ‘I AM’ is being still.
D: How can I repeat the experience of samadhi or the
stillness that I obtain here?
M: Your present experience is due to the influence of the
atmosphere in which you find yourself. Can you have
it outside this atmosphere? The experience is spasmodic.
Until it becomes permanent, practice is necessary.
D: One has at times vivid flashes of a consciousness
whose centre is outside the normal self, and which
seems to be all-inclusive. Without concerning
ourselves with philosophical concepts, how would
Bhagavan advise me to work towards getting,
retaining and extending those rare flashes? Does
abhyasa in such experience involve retirement?
M: Outside! For whom is the inside or outside? These
can exist only so long as there are the subject and
object. For whom are these two again? On
investigation you will find that they resolve into the
subject only. See who is the subject; and this enquiry
leads you to pure Consciousness beyond the subject.
The normal self is the mind. This mind is with
limitations. But pure Consciousness is beyond
limitations, and is reached by investigation as above
outlined.
Getting: The Self is always there. You have only to remove
the veil obstructing the revelation of the Self.
Retaining: Once you realise the Self, it becomes your direct
and immediate experience. It is never lost.
Extending: There is no extending of the Self, for it is as
ever, without contraction or expansion.
Retirement: Abiding in the Self is solitude. Because there
is nothing alien to the Self. Retirement must be
from some one place or state to another. There is
neither the one nor the other apart from the Self. All
being the Self, retirement is impossible and
inconceivable.
Abhyasa is only the prevention of disturbance to the
inherent peace. You are always in your natural State
whether you do abhyasa or not.... To remain as you
are, without question or doubt, is your natural State.
From Maharshi’s Gospel
True silence is really endless speech; there is no such thing as attaining it because it is always present. All you have to do is to remove the worldly cobwebs that enshroud it; there is no question of attaining it.
Silence is of four kinds: silence of speech, silence of the eye, silence of the ear, and silence of the mind. Only the last is pure silence and is the most important.
The Bible says: “Be still and know that I am God”. Stillness is the sole requisite for the realization of the Self as God.
Take refuge in silence. You can be here or there or anywhere. Fixed in silence, established in the inner ‘I’, you can be as you are. The world will never perturb you if you are well founded upon the tranquility within. Gather your thoughts within. Find out the thought centre and discover your Self-equipoise. In storm and turmoil be calm and silent. Watch the events around as a witness. The world is a drama. Be a witness, inturned and introspective.
During worldly activity, if your attention is fixed on the fundamental reality, there is no difficulty. But ordinary people forget the reality and take the name alone to be real. The different "I"'s are not real. There is only one 'I'. The separate "I" is like a watchman in a fort. He is like the protector of the body. The real owner in everybody is only the one real 'I'. So, when the separate "I" surrenders to the real "I" , then, [because the idea of a separate self who 'owns' the body disappears] , "I" and 'mine' are eliminated. The true state comes into existence when, after sorting out what belongs to whom, the ego "I" surrenders itself to the real owner.
Absence of thought does not mean a blank.
There must be someone to be aware of that blank. Knowledge and ignorance pertain only to the mind and are in duality, but the Self is beyond them both. It is pure Light.
There is no need for one Self to see another.
There are no two selves.
What is not the Self is mere non-self and cannot see the Self. The Self has no sight or hearing; it lies beyond them, all alone, as pure Consciousness.
There must be someone to be aware of that blank. Knowledge and ignorance pertain only to the mind and are in duality, but the Self is beyond them both. It is pure Light.
There is no need for one Self to see another.
There are no two selves.
What is not the Self is mere non-self and cannot see the Self. The Self has no sight or hearing; it lies beyond them, all alone, as pure Consciousness.
So long as one desires liberation, so long, you may take it, one is in bondage.
Here is Bhagavan’s brief account of how he resolved this question during his ego-death experience in 1896 in Madurai.
When I scrutinised within the mind ‘Who is the seer?’ the seer became non-existent and I saw that which remained. The mind does not [now] rise to say ‘I saw’; how [therefore] can the mind rise to say ‘I did not see’. (Arunachala Ashtakam, verse two, tr. Sadhu Om)
Questioning ‘Who am I?’ within one’s mind, when one reaches the Heart the individual ‘I’ sinks crestfallen, and at once reality manifests itself as ‘I-I’. Though it reveals itself thus, it is not the ego ‘I’, but the perfect being, the Self Absolute. (Ulladu Narpadu, verse 30)
‘Whence does this ‘I’ arise? Seek this within. This ‘I’ then vanishes. This is the pursuit of wisdom. Where the ‘I’ vanished, there appears an ‘I-I’ by itself. This is the infinite [poornam]. (Upadesa Undiyar, verses 19 and 20).
When I scrutinised within the mind ‘Who is the seer?’ the seer became non-existent and I saw that which remained. The mind does not [now] rise to say ‘I saw’; how [therefore] can the mind rise to say ‘I did not see’. (Arunachala Ashtakam, verse two, tr. Sadhu Om)
Questioning ‘Who am I?’ within one’s mind, when one reaches the Heart the individual ‘I’ sinks crestfallen, and at once reality manifests itself as ‘I-I’. Though it reveals itself thus, it is not the ego ‘I’, but the perfect being, the Self Absolute. (Ulladu Narpadu, verse 30)
‘Whence does this ‘I’ arise? Seek this within. This ‘I’ then vanishes. This is the pursuit of wisdom. Where the ‘I’ vanished, there appears an ‘I-I’ by itself. This is the infinite [poornam]. (Upadesa Undiyar, verses 19 and 20).
At present we are conscious of ourselves as a set of adjuncts with object knowing consciousness in which our attention seemingly move away from the self towards the object with separation between knowing subject and known object. In self-enquiry we withdraw our attention from thoughts and objects so that attention rests in self without any oscillation. To posit our attention in this state is the aim of self-enquiry.
All the activities that the body is to go through are determined when it first comes into existence, it does not rest with you to accept or reject them. The only freedom you have is to turn your mind inward and renounce activities there.
Gradually the obstacles are all overcome and your current becomes stronger. Everything comes right in the end. Steady determination is what is required.
The state of being is permanent and the body and the world are not. They are fleeting phenomena passing on the screen of being-consciousness which is eternal and stationary.
The Bliss of Self is always yours and you will find it if you seek it earnestly.
The cause of your misery is not in your outer life; it is in you, as your ego. You impose limitations on yourself and then make a vain struggle to transcend them.
All unhappiness is due to the ego. With it comes all your trouble.
The cause of your misery is not in your outer life; it is in you, as your ego. You impose limitations on yourself and then make a vain struggle to transcend them.
All unhappiness is due to the ego. With it comes all your trouble.
PRAYERS
They pray to God and finish with: ‘Thy will be done’. If
His will be done, why do they pray at all? It is true that the
Divine will prevails at all times and under all circumstances.
Individuals cannot act of their own accord. Recognise the force
of the Divine will and keep quiet. Everyone is looked after by
God. He created all. You are only one among two thousand
millions. When He looks after so many, will He omit you?
Even common sense dictates that one should accept His will.
There is no need to tell Him your requirements. He knows
them Himself and will look after them.
They pray to God and finish with: ‘Thy will be done’. If
His will be done, why do they pray at all? It is true that the
Divine will prevails at all times and under all circumstances.
Individuals cannot act of their own accord. Recognise the force
of the Divine will and keep quiet. Everyone is looked after by
God. He created all. You are only one among two thousand
millions. When He looks after so many, will He omit you?
Even common sense dictates that one should accept His will.
There is no need to tell Him your requirements. He knows
them Himself and will look after them.
It is stupor which you must guard against. That sleep which alternates with waking is not the true sleep. That waking which alternates with sleep is not the true waking. Are you awake now? No. What you have to do is to wake up to your true state.
To be still is not to think you have lost hold of yourself. Turn inward. If the mind's source is sought, it will vanish leaving the Self behind.
Any kind of activity does not affect a Jnani; his mind remains ever in eternal Peace.
The Self does not come from anywhere nor does it enter the
body through the crown of the head. It is as it is, ever shining, ever steady, unmoving and unchanging. The changes which are noticed are not inherent in the Self, for the Self abides in the heart and is self-luminous like the sun. The changes are seen in Its light. The relationship between the Self and the body or the mind may be compared to that of a clear crystal and its background. If the crystal is placed against a red flower it shines red, if against green it shines green, and so on. The individual confines himself to the limits of the changeable body or of the mind which derives its existence from the unchanging Self. All that is necessary is to give up this mistaken identity and, that done, the ever shining Self will be seen to be the single, non-dual Reality.
body through the crown of the head. It is as it is, ever shining, ever steady, unmoving and unchanging. The changes which are noticed are not inherent in the Self, for the Self abides in the heart and is self-luminous like the sun. The changes are seen in Its light. The relationship between the Self and the body or the mind may be compared to that of a clear crystal and its background. If the crystal is placed against a red flower it shines red, if against green it shines green, and so on. The individual confines himself to the limits of the changeable body or of the mind which derives its existence from the unchanging Self. All that is necessary is to give up this mistaken identity and, that done, the ever shining Self will be seen to be the single, non-dual Reality.
Why raise questions of what happens after death? Why ask whether you were born, whether you are reaping the fruits of your past karma, and so on? You will not raise such questions in a little while when you fall asleep. Why? Are you a different person now from the one you are when asleep? No, you are not. Find out why such questions do not occur to you when you are asleep.
Brahman or the Self, is like a cinema screen and the world like
the pictures on it. You can see the picture only so long as there
is a screen. But when the observer himself becomes the screen
only the Self remains.
the pictures on it. You can see the picture only so long as there
is a screen. But when the observer himself becomes the screen
only the Self remains.
When you come out of prison you will see your mind is there intact. All your knowledge is intact, but you're out of it. It'll be working automatically and it will beautifully run your life. The problem is when you get involved. When you merely become a witness consciousness the mind is automatically functioning.
You are spirit in truth. However that spirit is wrongly identifying itself with the gross body. The body has been projected by the mind; the mind itself has originated from the spirit. If the wrong identification ceases, there will be peace and permanent untellable bliss.
Your search to attain me is like searching all over the world, ceaselessly straining to find the necklace around your own neck.
Just as a man would dive in order to get something that had fallen into the water, so one should dive into oneself with a keen, one-pointed mind, controlling speech and breath, and find the place whence the 'I' originates.
The only enquiry leading to Self-realization is seeking the source of the word 'I'.
The only enquiry leading to Self-realization is seeking the source of the word 'I'.
Beings
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