*POINTS TO PONDER*

SANNYASA

Sannyasa is the giving up of the ego. Even though a person may be living as a householder in the family circle, the various occurrences of the world will not affect him if his ego is surrendered. Thus dream experiences do not really affect us.

As he quietly lies in his bed, a man dreams he is in water, but his bed is not really wet. On the other hand, a person in the sannyasa ashrama, yet who is still attached to the body, is a karmi (person of action, not renunciation).

So long as anyone thinks that they are a sannyasin they are not one. So long as one does not think of world-illusion, one is not worldly, but is a real sannyasin, The patients must themselves take the medicine prescribed by the doctor to be cured of illness. So too, the guru prescribes the path, but the aspirants must themselves follow it.

Where is renunciation? It is not outside us, it is here (pointing to the heart). Where is solitude? In the mind.

Conscious Immortality

*POINTS TO PONDER* - Ramana Maharshi

“First one sees the Self as objects, then one sees the Self as void, then one sees the Self as Self, only in this last there is no seeing because seeing is being.”

(Bhagavan in 'Day by Day with Bhagavan' 21-7-46)

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - 'Ramana Maharshi'

Yogananda: Why does God permit suffering in the world? Should He not with His omnipotence do away with it at one stroke and ordain the universal realization of God?

Maharshi: Suffering is the way for Realization of God.

Yogananda: Should He not ordain it differently?

Maharshi: It is the way.

Yogananda: Are yoga, religion, etc., antidotes to suffering?

Maharshi: Who suffers? What is suffering?

Talks With Ramana Maharshi

*Words of Wisdom*- Ramana Maharshi

Visitor: That which rises as 'I' within us is the Self, is it not?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: No, it is the ego that rises as 'I'. That from which it arises is the Self (Atma).

Source: Day by Day with Bhagavan

*Glimpses of Self-Realization*

Adi Sankaracharya's


'Dasa Sloki' or 'Nirvana Dasakam'

Translated by S. N. Sastri
-------------------------------

Introduction:
----------------
It is said that the Dasasloki was composed by Sri Sankara spontaneously when Sri Govindapada, whom he approached with a request to be accepted as a disciple, asked him who he was. The ten slokas which have become famous as 'Dasasloki' were Sri Sankara's answer to this question. The gist of these slokas is that he is the pure Atma devoid of the limiting adjuncts in the form of the body, mind and organs.

1. I am not the element earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor ether, nor any of the organs individually, nor all the elements or organs together as a whole. Because of variability (of the limiting adjuncts in the states of waking and dream), the self exists by itself only in deep sleep (without the limiting adjuncts in the form of the senses, mind, etc.). I am that most auspicious, attributeless, non-dual entity who alone remains (when all duality is negated).

2. Neither the division into castes and stages of life, nor the rules of conduct and duties of the various castes and stages of life apply to me. I have no need for dharana, dhyana or yoga, etc. Since the notions of 'I' and 'mine' which are due to identification with the not-self (body, mind and organs) have gone, I remain as the one auspicious self free from all attributes.

3. The srutis say that in deep sleep there is no mother, nor father, nor gods, nor the worlds, nor the Vedas, nor sacrifices, nor holy places. Nor is there total void, since I exist then as the one auspicious self free from all attributes.

Since the notions of caste, stage of life, etc., are based only on false knowledge (which results in identification with the body, etc.,), it is pointed out that when that (false knowledge) is not there, such notions also do not exist, as in the state of deep sleep.

This sloka is based on the Brihadaranyaka upanishad which says that in the state of deep sleep the father cease to be a father, the mother ceases to be a mother, a thief is no thief, etc.

4. Neither the Sankhya view, nor the Saiva, nor the Pancharatra, nor the Jaina nor the Mimamsaka view, etc., is tenable. Because of the realization of the partless Brahman generated by the Mahavakya, Brahman is absolutely pure (untainted). I remain as the one auspicious self free from all attributes.

5. Brahman has no such thing as upper or lower (part), it has no inside or outside, it has no middle or any 'across', and it has no eastern or western direction, because it is all-pervading like space (or pervades space also). It is one and without parts. I remain as the one auspicious self free from all attributes.

6. Brahman is not white, nor black, nor red, nor yellow; it is not tiny, nor big. It is neither short nor long. It is not knowable since it is of the nature of effulgence. I remain as the one auspicious self free from all attributes.

7. There is neither teacher nor scriptures, neither student nor instruction, neither you nor I, nor this world. The knowledge of one's real nature does not admit of different perceptions. I remain as the one auspicious self free from all attributes.

8. I do not have the state of waking, nor of dream, nor of deep sleep. I am not Visva, or Taijasa, or Praajna. Because all these three states are only the products of ignorance, I am the fourth (beyond these three states). I remain as the one auspicious self free from all attributes.

Note: Visva is the name given to the jiva in the waking state, Taijasa in the dream state, and Praajna in the deep sleep state.

9. The Atma is all-pervading, is the desired goal, is self-existent, and is not dependent on any thing else, while the entire universe which is different from it is unreal. I remain as the one auspicious self free from all attributes.

10. It is not one; how can there be a second different from it? It has neither absoluteness nor non-absoluteness. It is neither void nor non-void since it is devoid of duality. How can I describe that which is the essence of the entire Vedanta!

Sruti Gita

TThe Sruti-Gita is contained in chapter 87 of Skandha X of Srimad Bhagavata.
Raja Parikshit said:
1. Oh enlightened one! The Vedas, being constituted of words, can only describe entities coming within the scope of the three gunas of Prakrti. How can they then really reveal Brahman, the Absolute Being, who is not included in the gunas of Prakrti, who cannot be defined or described as an object before us, and who is beyond the relation of cause and effect?

Prakrti (Unmanifest) is the world of change in its unmanifest state. For this reason it is called the Unmanifest (Avyakta). It is also called the Primary (Pradhana) as it is the source, the origin of everything therein.
Prakrti has three attributes – Sattva (serenity, tendency to manifestation), Rajas (activity) and Tamas (inertia, obstruction to manifestation). Everything in the world is the product of these three attributes.
The Brahman, on the other hand, is considered the Supreme Deity. IT is not one among many. Everything in the world has its being in the Brahman. IT is concrete in the sense that IT IS and asserts itself in the form “I-AM”. We only know that IT IS. It cannot be a person, as the word is generally understood. IT IS, and yet indeterminate,beyond speech and concept.
Sri Suka said:
2. The all-powerful Lord created faculties like intellect, mind, senses and prana in the Jiva in order that they may enjoy sense contacts in the world, may perform works, gain the felicities of heaven in the hereafter, and attain to liberation from samsara.
The faculties such as the mind are in the nature of the non-physical categories that apply to human beings and other living organisms as well as all the objects in the cosmos. The difference may be in terms of degrees of applicability. As consciousness is all-pervading and permeating both the sentient beings and insentient objects, the
categories become applicable to all, though in varying degrees.
Different seers consider the non-physical categories differently. The Sankhya philosophy gives 25 categories in the nature of ontological entities. They are Purusa and Prakrti, Reason, Ego, Mind, five Sense Organs, five Organs of Action, five Subtle Elements and five Gross Elements. Sri Ramakrishna sees in his vision 24 cosmic principles created by the Divine Mother. The categories of the Sankhya philosophy and those stated by Sri Ramakrishna are the same except that Sri Ramakrishna does not include Purusa in the list. Sri Ramakrishna considers that these categories relate to Prakrti or Nature and are different from Purusa or Supreme Consciousness.

3. It is not proper to doubt the efficacy of the Veda. For, it is the ignorance-shattering science culminating in the knowledge of the Brahman, accepted as such by the most ancient of ancient wise men for times immemorial. A man accepting it with faith and sincerity and living a life of renunciation attains to the blessedness of abidance in the
Supreme Spirit.
In the words of Swami Vivekananda, “The knowledge of the Absolute is absolute in itself. No amount of study will give this knowledge. It is not theory; it is realization. Cleanse the dust from the mirror; purify your own mind. In a flash you realize that you are the Brahman and your self is Its reflection. In other words, the Brahman is known to every human being as “I am”. But man does not know himself as he is.
The Atman (Brahman) is self-illumined. Cause and effect do not reach the Atman. This disembodiedness is freedom. The Atman – the Brahman is beyond what was, or is, or is to be”.
4. In order to make this clear, I shall narrate to you an episode relating to sage Narayana. It is a conversation that took place between Narada and Rishi Narayana.
5-6. Once in the course of his peregrinations all over the universe, Narada, the beloved of the Lord, went over to Badaryashrama to see Rishi Narayana who has been engaged during the whole kalpa in austerity constituted of dharma (righteousness), jnana (knowledge) and sama (practice of samadhi) for the material and spiritual good of men inhabiting Bharatavarsha.
7. Narada put this very question to sage Narayana who was sitting there surrounded by rishis living in the village of Kalapagrama.
8. The worshipful Narayana narrated to Narada what had taken place during a seminar on the Brahman at a sacrificial assembly held in Jana-loka by the ancients.
Rishi Narayana said:
9. Oh son of self-born Brahma! It was in Jana-loka, under the auspices of the mind-born sons of Brahma who are lifelong celibates, and amidst the residents of that region that this prolonged discussion on the Brahman, participated in by a large number of savants and self-controlled sages, took place.
10. You had gone to Swetadweepa at that time to pay obeisance to its lord Aniruddha when this assembly for discussion on the Brahman took place in Jana-loka. The question investigated then was the very question you have now raised.
11. Though all these sages were equal in learning, austerity, character, and even-sightedness towards friends, foes and neutrals, they made one among themselves,Sanandana the speaker while the others heard him with deep attention.
Sanandana said:
12-13. In order to awaken a sleeping emperor in the morning, the minstrels attached to his court come and proclaim his glorious deeds in praise of him. In the same way, in order to awaken the Lord at the end of the pralaya from the cosmic slumber into which He had entered when the previous kalpa had ended, withdrawing into Himself the whole universe and the powers connected with it, the Srutis (the Veda) recited a hymn recalling all His distinctive majesties.

'Brahma Vidya'- by' Swami Sivananda'

Brahma Vidya by Swami Sivananda Brahma-Vidya (science of God), is the Science of sciences. The knower of Brahma-Vidya or the Science of Brahman or the Science of the Absolute, knows everything. His knowledge is full. He has the whole experience through intuition or revelation. Take your firm seat on the rock-bottom of the Upanishadic truths and accept the findings of science only if they tally with the Upanishadic truths, otherwise reject them ruthlessly. All secular sciences have their own limitations. A scientist works on the physical plane with a finite mind and with instruments. He knows the physical laws. He has some knowledge of the elements, atoms and physical energy. His knowledge is fragmentary. He has no experience of the whole. He has no knowledge of transcendental or super sensual things. Science is only a partially unified knowledge. A scientist infers, investigates and draws exact conclusions from his observations. He understands Nature but he knows nothing of the origin or destiny of Nature. Who made the sun and gave power to its rays? Who combined four parts of nitrogen with one part of oxygen? Who gave power to the electrons? Who gave power to the atoms to combine into molecules? Who or what made and bestowed upon the ultimate particles of matter their marvelous power of varied interaction? Science does not know this great mystery. On the contrary, Yoga is completely unified knowledge. A Yogi gets inner, divine realization. He clearly sees with his inner Yogic eye the subtle rudiments of matter. He identifies himself with the Supreme Being who is the Lord of Prakriti or matter. He gets control over the five elements. He clearly understands the whole mystery of creation through direct intuitional knowledge. The scientist lacks this sort of knowledge. He has only experimental knowledge. In the matter of evidence in psychological questions, the sense-perceptions with which science naturally deals are only second-rate criteria and are therefore to be received with caution. The closing of the external channels of sensation is usually the signal for the opening of the psychic and, from all evidence, it would seem that the psychic sense is more extensive, acute and in every way more dependable than the physical. The business of science is generalization of phenomena; it is the function of philosophy and Yoga to explain. Religion is the practical aspect of philosophy. Philosophy is the rational aspect of religion. The scientist tries to answer the "how" of the problem; the philosopher and the Yogi attempt to answer the "why" of it. It is a mistake to say that such and such an event occurs because of certain laws of Nature. The laws of Nature do not give any real explanation of the phenomena. A law of Nature is simply a statement, in terms as general as possible, of what happens under given circumstances in a natural phenomenon. Science is only concerned with the phenomena. Science shows a marvelous harmony of Nature. But it is the problem of philosophy and Yoga to solve the why" of Nature's harmony. Scientists possess a partial knowledge of the universe. They have not understood the whole code of Nature's laws. They have no knowledge of the occult side of things. They have no knowledge of the astral, mental and higher planes such as Brahma-Loka or the world of Brahma. The unseen world is of far greater importance than the sense-universe which is visible to the naked eye. A fully developed Yogi can function on all planes and so he has full knowledge of the manifested and the unmanifested Nature. The senses, by which you get a knowledge of the external objects, are not fully developed. Therefore, the knowledge obtained is partial. The external senses are exact counterparts of the internal astral senses. Scientists have no knowledge of the subtle rudiments of matter. Life will become fuller and richer when one develops this inner eyesight by the practice of Yoga. Just as blood, when seen under the microscope, reveals many mysterious things, such as leucocytes, nuclei, pigment, germs and bacilli, so also the inner Yogic eye reveals many a mystery to the hidden side of things. The knowledge of the scientists is only fragmentary or partial, whereas the knowledge of the Yogis who have realized the Truth is full and perfect. In its outlook, science differs radically from philosophical musings. Consequently, the mode of approach of science to its specific problems is different from that of philosophy. Yet there is some similarity in the findings of both science and philosophy when some broad questions are discussed. Scientists have to learn many things from the seers of the East. Who gave power to the electrons to revolve? What is at the bottom of these electrons? Who gave life to the cell or the protoplasm? Who gave intelligence to the cells to secrete milk or bile or gastric juice from the blood? The scientists are still observing and experimenting. They are still groping in darkness. What is the cause of the origin of an impulse? Who is the director of the mind? What is the cause of the origin of thought? Even if all the living scientists were to put their heads together to solve these questions, they cannot give definite and conclusive answers. The mind of a scientist cannot work on higher spiritual planes. It is gross and impure. it has outgoing tendencies. It is filled with desires, passions and worldly impressions. The scientist cannot look within, introspect and meditate. He can analyze the atoms of different elements but he cannot do self-analysis. He can bombard the atoms, watch the movements of the electrons and make discoveries in Nature. But the mind of a Rishi or a Yogi is subtle and pure. It is free from worldly desires and passions, from selfishness, lust and hatred. It is equipped with the instructions of the sages and the Srutis (revelations, i.e. The Vedas). It is filled with purity. It is free from outgoing tendencies. It is fit for divine contemplation. It is properly disciplined in a variety of ways through rigorous austerity and self-restraint. The Yogi undergoes a discipline, a rare discipline-through the practice of tranquility of mind, control of the senses, restraints, internal and external purification, etc.-which cannot be had in the universities. The scientist observes the physical phenomena, makes experiments and goes from the effects to the cause. The Rishi or the Yogi goes directly to the cause or the source. He dives deep into the source and brings forth the pearl of knowledge of the Self. The man of science sees and observes things only as they appear to be to his sense-perception. The seer perceives them as they actually are in their very essential nature. He has direct intuition and perception of the Truth through Nirvikalpa Samadhi (super conscious state). Then he comes to the effect-the manifested universe. Therefore, his utterances are infallible. They are gospel truths. The Srutis of the Upanishads are direct revelations. They are the infallible utterances of the seers or sages. They are beyond questioning, beyond the least shadow of doubt. When the Yogi attains the knowledge of the Eternal, he acquires the knowledge of all secular sciences as well, because all sciences hang upon Brahma-Vidya. If you have knowledge of clay or thread or gold, you will have knowledge of all the modifications of clay or thread or gold. Scientists are also Adwaitins or non-dualists. They say: "There is only one substance in this world. That is electron. The whole world is a mass of energy." Energy is the God of the scientists. Energy is the God of the Shaktas (a sect in Hinduism) also. Scientists have explored the physical world. They have found out numerous methods to control the physical forces of Nature. Psychologists are experimenting on the mental plane. They are trying to control the mental forces. Psychology is a branch of Raja Yoga which deals with the control of the mind. A close study of the observations and revelations of science brings a man closer to God. Who has framed the laws of Nature? Nature is blind. What is that intelligence which moves Nature? Who is the primum mobile? A study of the physical forces and the physical laws, and an understanding of the mental forces and the mental laws, are not sufficient to make us perfect. We should have a thorough knowledge and realization of the substratum that lies hidden behind these names and forms and all physical and mental phenomena. Then only will we become perfect masters or full-blown adepts or Arhats or Buddhas. Can scientific inventions make us really happy? That is the question of questions now. What has science done to us? No doubt it has added a fund of knowledge on the physical plane. But this knowledge is mere husk when compared to the knowledge of the Self-Brahma-Vidya. All sciences are founded on the knowledge of Atman (the Self). Those who have fallen into the clutches of science dislike Sandhya and prayer. They neglect the study of the Gita, Japa, Kirtan and meditation. Even if there is a study class, a discourse on the Upanishads, common prayer and meditation in an adjacent hall, they will continue their smoking, drinking and card-playing or other game in the next room. They will be busy with their raffle tickets, ranger tickets and worthless talk and gossip. What an unfortunate and deplorable state! English-educated people are carried away unduly by scientific theories and discoveries. Anything, however stupid it may be, when stamped by the seal of science, is regarded as gospel truth. A theory or doctrine, however fallacious it may be, is accepted as true wisdom for all ages when it is proclaimed in the name of and on the authority of science. Even if some fantastic and ludicrous statements are made with the stamp of science by a Haekel, an Einstein or a Tyndet, people are quite ready to swallow them with great avidity. Such is the fashion of the day! They reject as base superstition the sublime teachings of the ancient Rishis and sages. The brains of these so-called educated and cultured people need a prompt, drastic and thorough flushing for a protracted length of time. The poison has percolated into their very cells and tissues. I do not mean to condemn the wonderful discoveries and inventions that modem science has contributed to the vast store of knowledge and happiness which the present generation enjoys. The radio, the aeroplane, the microphone and other marvels of science are bound to baffle human intelligence. Scientists have found ways to fertilize an ovum with chemicals, without the aid of semen. It is a stupendous success. Some children are also born. They inject the semen that is obtained from renowned and cultured men of the world in order to improve the race. They are attempting to fix a radio in a match- stick. They are trying to get the necessary nutrition into the body by pressing an electric button so that eating and defecation may be entirely abandoned. They are endeavoring to make the streets move so that there will be no necessity of motor cars and carriages. They are trying to establish a means of communication with the planet Mars. They may succeed in all their attempts. May God bless them with roaring success in all their undertakings! But the question is: can all these comforts and scientific discoveries and inventions give immortality, eternal satisfaction and everlasting peace? Have these material comforts enhanced human happiness? is not man more restless today than ever before? is he not more dissatisfied and discontented despite all these comforts? Life has become more complex and intricate. Luxuries are increasing day by day. Even a rich man finds it difficult to make both ends meet. There is only one remedy for all these ills. You will have to abandon all luxuries and go back to simple, natural living if you want to enjoy real and lasting happiness. Immortality can be attained only by realizing the Self through simple living, practice of Yoga, self-control, mental discipline and meditation. Why do you read many books? it is of no use. The great book is within your heart. Open the pages of this inexhaustible book, the source of all knowledge. You will know everything. What is this knowledge by knowing which you will know everything? This is the knowledge of Brahman or the ultimate Reality. This is Para-Vidya (supreme science). This is Brahma- Vidya. This is the science of sciences. Close your eyes now. Withdraw your senses. Still the mind. Silence the bubbling thoughts. Make the mind wave less. Merge deep into the Atman, the Self, the Supreme Soul, the Light of lights, the Sun of suns. All knowledge will be revealed to you. You will have divine wisdom. All doubts will vanish. All mental torments will disappear. All hot discussions and heated debates will terminate. Peace, bliss, eternal happiness and knowledge alone will remain. Brahma-Vidya or the Science of the Self is not a subject that can be understood and realized by mere intellectual study, reasoning or ratiocination, or even by discussions and arguments. Mere scholarly erudition and vast study with a high degree of intelligence alone cannot help one in the practical realization of the Truth inculcated in this science. It demands perfect discipline, a discipline that is not to be found in our modem universities and colleges. It demands solid Sadhana for the achievement of the goal that is indicated by this Para-Vidya or highest science. One has to reach a realm where there is neither light nor darkness, neither east nor west, neither gain nor loss-a realm which can never be reached either by the mind or the senses. It is not, my dear brothers, an imaginary region of the Arabian Nights or the Midsummer Night's Dream. No, certainly not. It is not an illusory or chimerical place of one's mythological fabrication. It is the one and the only real, everlasting abode of perennial peace and deep, abiding joy, wherein this fluctuating, restless mind can find a permanent rest. Sages like Sankara, Dattatreya, Mansoor, Madalasa, Gargi, Chudalai, Jesus and others reached this destination after strenuous struggle and exertion. The possibility of reaching the same level is within the reach of all who are ready to struggle hard with patience, perseverance, iron determination and strong will. What one has achieved can be attained by another. This is the grand law of Nature. Prakriti is quite unbiased. A man under normal conditions has to take countless births before he attains perfection or knowledge of the Self. If a man is sincere in his spiritual Sadhana, he can evolve quickly; he can hasten his spiritual progress in a few births which otherwise would take thousands of years. He can cut short the cycle of births and deaths by means of drastic Sadhana, great self-control and determined effort. He can have Self-realization within the twinkling of an eye in one birth if he is a first-class aspirant with extremely good spiritual impressions. Stand up, O Prem! Follow me. Enjoy the bliss of Atma. The river of Atmic joy is flowing all round. There is a deluge of the bliss of the Self. Drink this nectar to your heart's content. Care not for the world. Go thy own way. Let others hoard wealth and become mill-owners and mulch-millionaires. They are misers only. Let others become barristers, high court judges and ministers. They are still ignorant men. Mind not a bit. The wealth of the three worlds is nothing, mere straws, before the spiritual wealth, the wealth of Atma-Jnana. The joy of the three worlds is a mere drop when compared to the ocean of bliss of the Self. The knowledge of all, secular sciences is mere husk when compared to the knowledge of the Self. Here are the priceless treasures of Atma for thee. Here is the inexhaustible wealth of Brahma- Jnana. Enjoy these riches. No dacoit or robber can rob thee of this imperishable wealth of divine knowledge. There is no insolvency, no failure of the bank, no bankruptcy here. Take possession of this great spiritual treasure, the splendor of Brahman, and enjoy it for ever and ever. Thou art now a real King of kings, Shah of shahs, Emperor of emperors. The gods, Indra and Brahma, will be jealous of thee now, O Prem! Go and distribute this imperishable wealth of knowledge of the Self far and wide. Glory unto thee! Peace be with thee for ever and ever! Home About UsDivine LifePaths of YogaYogasanasPranayamaMeditationStoreWhats NewGallery copyright © 2011 the divine life society. All rights reserved.

'KNOW THYSELF' ( Self-Realization ) - is the key for a better living ~ Swaathmaaraaman

 'In order to realize that inherent and untainted happiness, it is essential that ONE should know ONE SELF~ Ramana Maharshi

Eternal, Pure, Groundless, Death and Birth Free
Pervasive, ever Immaculate
Distant, Near, Enveloping Effulgence of Void,
The Support of all, the Fullness of Bliss.
The Cit-Form beyond thought and speech,
That which thus stood,
The Expanse Vast that generates Bliss
Let us contemplate.
- Thayumanavar

Hence 'SELF'-'GOD'-'BRAHMAN or 'TRUTH-BEING-EXISTENCE-CONSCIOUSNESS and BLISS remains beyond 'BODY-MIND-INTELLECT complex - THOUGHTS - beyond 'SPACE'-'TIME- and 'CAUSATION' ~Swaathmaaraaman

 

'Time and space are not conditions in which we live, but modes by which we think'.

- Albert Einstein

'Self-Realization'is nothing but seeing consciousness through the 'EYE' of consciousness and merging in it ~ Swaathmaaraaman

 'Who am I? Whence am I? On finding the source, you realize the state of Absolute Consciousness. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

'Everybody is 'Self-Realized' without being aware of ~ `Swaathmaaraaman`

Questioner: How am I to realize that State in which the vasanas are effectively destroyed?

 Sri Ramana Maharshi: 'You are in that State now!

'Self' or 'Athman' is nothing but 'Truth-Being-Existence-Consciousness and Bliss'~ Swaathmaaraaman.

 'Atman alone exists and is real'. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

'SELF' is 'transcendental' 'BEING' and not BECOMING ~ Swaathmaaraaman

 'The Self is only Being, not being this or that. It is simple Being ~ Ramana Maharshi

'You see the objects on forgetting your own Self. If you keep hold of your Self, you will not see the objective world. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

'NAAHAM' - 'DEHAM' (I am not the 'BODY') 'KOHAM' (Who am I ?) - 'SOHAM' ( I am pure 'CONSCIOUSNESS') ~ Swaathmaaraaman

*Glimpses of Self-Realization*- Swaathmaaraaman

'The phenomenal World appears in 'SELF-FORGETFULNESS' and disappears in 'SELF-AWARENESS' - SWAATHMAARAAMAN

*WORDS OF WISDOM*

'Engage yourself in the living present. The future will take care of itself'.

-Ramana Maharshi.

'VIJNANA BHAIRAVA TANTRA'

31. With intangible breath in center of forehead, as this reaches heart at the moment of sleep, have direction over dreams and over death itself.
32. As, subjectively, letters flow into words and words into sentences, and as, objectively, circles flow into worlds and worlds into principles, find at last these converging in our being.

33. Gracious one, play the universe is an empty shell wherein your mind frolics infinitely.
34. Look upon a bowl without seeing the sides or the material. In a few moments become aware.
35. Abide in some place endlessly spacious, clear of trees, hills, habitations. Thence comes the end of mind pressures.
36. Sweet-hearted one, meditate on knowing and not knowing, existing and not existing. Then leave both aside that you may be.
37. Look lovingly on some object Do not go on to another object. Here, in the middle of this object — the blessing.
38. Feel cosmos as translucent ever-living Presence.
39. With utmost devotion, center on the two junctions of breath and know the knower.

'ABSOLUTE TRUTH' is transcendental - beyond the field of 'KNOWN' ~ Swaathmaaraaman

Neither space nor air is the Reality;
Neither earth nor fire is the Reality.
If there's only the limitless One, all is Shiva;
Which, then, is the cloud and which is the rain?

If there's no distinction between a thought-image and the world,
If there's no distinction between a thought-image and the gods,
If there's only the limitless One, all is Shiva;
How, then, could there be a distinction between the Real and the unreal?
There's no distinction between the living and the dead;
There's no distinction between alike and different.
If there's only the limitless One, all is Shiva;
How, then, could one speak of going or coming?

~ Dattatreya's Song of the Avadhut (6.9-11)

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - 'YOGI’S PENANCE' - 'Manolaya' (stillness of mind) and ''Manonasa (destruction of mind) ~ Ramana Maharshi.

Bhagavan narrated the following story to illustrate the distinction between 'Manolaya' (stillness of mind) and ''Manonasa (destruction of mind).

A YOGI WAS doing penance (tapas) for a number of years on the banks of the Ganges. When he had attained a high degree of concentration, he believed that to remain in that state for prolonged periods constituted salvation and therefore continued practicing it. One day, before going into samadhi (a state of deep concentration), he felt thirsty and asked his disciple to bring some water for drinking from the Ganges; but before the disciple could return with the water, he had gone into samadhi, and he remained in that state for countless years. When he woke up from this experience, the first thing he did was to say, “water! water!”; but there was neither his disciple nor the Ganges in sight.

The first thing which he asked for was water because, before going into deep concentration, the topmost thought in his mind was about water; by concentration, however deep and prolonged it might have been, he had only been able to lull his thoughts temporarily; therefore when he revived consciousness this topmost thought flew up with all the speed and force of a flood breaking through the dykes. If this was the case with regard to a thought which took shape immediately before he sat for meditation, there is no doubt that other thoughts which had taken deeper root earlier would still remain annihilated. If annihilation of thoughts is salvation, can he be said to have attained salvation?

The moral is that one should not be taken away by the spell of temporary stillness but pursue the inquiry till the last vasana is eradicated.

From , Spiritual Stories'

*POINTS TO PONDER* - 'CONCENTRATION ON THAT WHICH IS FREE FROM THOUGHTS AND YET THEIR CORE' - The 'ABSOLUTE TRUTH' is there - displacing the triads, i.e., the knower, the knowledge and the known. The triads are only appearances in time and space, whereas the Reality lies beyond and behind them. They are like a mirage over the Reality. They are the result of delusion ~ Talks with 'Ramana Maharshi'

*POINTS TO PONDER*

'CONCENTRATION ON THAT WHICH IS FREE FROM THOUGHTS AND YET THEIR CORE'

D.: Distractions result from inherited tendencies. Can they be cast off too?

Bhagavan: Yes. Many have done so. Believe it! They did so because they believed they could. Vasanas (predispositions) can be obliterated. It is done by concentration on that which is free from vasanas and yet is their core.

D.: How long is the practice to continue?

M.: Till success is achieved and until yoga-liberation becomes permanent. Success begets success. If one distraction is conquered the next is conquered and so on, until all are finally conquered. The process is like reducing an enemy’s fort by slaying its man-power - one by one, as each issues out.

D.: What is the goal of this process?
M.: Realizing the Real.

D.: What is the nature of the Reality?
M.: (a) Existence without beginning or end - eternal. (b) Existence everywhere, endless, infinite.

(c) Existence underlying all forms, all changes, all forces, all matter and all spirit.

The many change and pass away (phenomena), whereas the One always endures (noumenon).

(d) The one displacing the triads, i.e., the knower, the knowledge and the known. The triads are only appearances in time and space, whereas the Reality lies beyond and behind them. They are like a mirage over the Reality. They are the result of delusion.

Talks with 'Ramana Maharshi'

*Glimpses of Self-Realization* - 'DEVIKALOTTARA'- Quotes.

The state in which the mind is bereft of any support to cling to, ever faultless and pure, and devoid of worldly attachments, is the nature of liberation attained through knowledge. Keep this firmly in mind.
Dispelling all attachments completely, and fixing that mind in the Heart firmly, persist in your practice always in order to strengthen the awareness, which then shines forth with great effulgence and clarity.
Know that whoever meditates on that supreme void, and becomes established in it by virtue of constant practice, will definitely attain the great state which is beyond birth and death.

*WORDS OF WISDOM*


The 'SELF' cannot be found in books; you have to find it-for yourself-within yourself.

`RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM*
  Knowledge of the Self, which knows all, is Knowledge in perfection. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTION (extracts) PRACTICE (Abhyasa) - Ramana Maharshi.

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 inquiry leading to Self-Realization."

2. Can this path of inquiry be followed by all aspirants?

"This is suitable only for the ripe souls. The rest should follow different methods according to the state of their minds."

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - 'SELF' is 'TURIYA'- the fourth state of consciousness- the substratum for all the other three states of consciousness-waking, dreaming and sleeping. ~SWAATHMAARAAMAN

Samadhi is one's natural state. It is the undercurrent in all the three states of waking, dreaming and sleeping. The Self is not in these states, but these states are in the Self. If we get samadhi in our waking state, that will persist in deep sleep also. The distinction between consciousness and unconsciousness belongs to the realm of mind, which is transcended by the state of the real SeIf.

Q: So one should always be trying to reach samadhi?
"Sages say that the state of equilibrium which is devoid of the ego alone is 'mouna-samadhi' [the samadhi of silence], the pinnacle of knowledge. Until one attains 'mouna-samadhi', the state in which one is the ego-less reality, seek only the annihilation of `I' as your aim.
~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*POINTS TO PONDER* - 'SATSANGAM' - “Satsangatve nissangatvam, nissangatve nirmohatvam, nirmohatve nischalatatvam, nischalatatve jivanmuktih” - (Shankara) : First you must decide what is sat sang. It means association with sat or Reality. One who knows or has realized sat is also regarded as sat. Such association with sat or with one who knows sat is absolutely necessary for all - RAMANA MAHARSHI

D.: How can one become 'jitasangadoshah' (free from the stain of association)?
M.: By satsanga (association with the wise).

“Satsangatve nissangatvam, nissangatve nirmohatvam,
nirmohatve nischalatatvam, nischalatatve jivanmuktih.” (Shankara)

Satsanga means sanga (association) with sat. Sat is only the Self. Since the Self is not now understood to be Sat, the company of the sage who has thus understood it is sought. That is Sat-sanga. Introversion results. Then Sat is revealed.
For whom is association? For whom is dosha?
D.: To the Self.
M.: No. The Self is pure and unaffected. The impurities affect only the ego.

D.: How is one to overcome regrets? M.: By realizing the Divinity in him. D.: How? M.: By practice.
D.: What kind of practice?
M.: Meditation.
D.: Mind is not steady while meditating.
M.: It will be all right by practice.
D.: How is the mind to be steadied?
M.: By strengthening it.
D.: How to strengthen it?
M.: It grows strong by satsanga (the company of the wise).

Visitor: All that I want to know is whether sat sang is necessary and whether my coming here will help me or not.
Bhagavan: First you must decide what is sat sang. It means association with sat or Reality. One who knows or has realized sat is also regarded as sat. Such association with sat or with one who knows sat is absolutely necessary for all.
Sankara has said (Bhagavan here quoted the Sanskrit verse) that in all the three worlds there is no boat like sat sang to carry one safely across the ocean of births and deaths.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*POINTS TO PONDER* - 'SELF-REMEMBRANCE' - With your consciousness hold fast to and never abandon the substratum, your real nature, the Supreme that can neither be held nor relinquished - RAMANA MAHARSHI

Remembering the Self, one’s real nature, without faltering even slightly, is the eminent victory of true jnana.

With your consciousness hold fast to and never abandon the substratum, your real nature, the Supreme that can neither be held nor relinquished.

Is the Self something far away that you have to touch? The higher Self exists as one but it is only your thoughts that make you feel it is not.
You can neither think about it nor forget it.

Other than the thought of the Self, any other thought you ay associate with, is a mere mental construct, foreign to that Self.

Thinking of the Self is to abide as that tranquil consciousness. Padam, the true swarupa, can neither be remembered nor forgotten.

The Self is self-luminous without darkness and light, and is the reality which is self-manifest. Therefore, one should not think of it as this or that.
All such thoughts would only end in bondage. The purport of meditation on the Self is to make the mind take the ‘form’ of the Self. In the middle of the heart-cave is the pure Brahman directly manifest as the Self in the form of ‘I-I’. Can there be greater ignorance than to think of It in manifold ways, without knowing it as aforementioned?

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*POINTS TO PONDER* - MEDITATION WITH 'FORMS' AND 'CONSCIOUS MERGING' - What is contemplation? It is merging into the source consciously - RAMANA MAHARSHI

We have become rooted in forms and so we require a concrete form for meditating upon. Only that which we contemplate will in the end remain over. When you contemplate the other thoughts disappear. So long as you need to contemplate there are other thoughts, Where are you? You contemplate because you exist. For the contemplator must contemplate. The contemplation can only be where he is. Contemplation wards off all other thoughts. You should merge yourself in the source. At times we merge in the source unconsciously, as in sleep, death, swoon, etc. What is contemplation? It is merging into the source consciously. Then the fear of death, of swoon, etc. will disappear, because you are able to merge into the source consciously.
Why fear death? Death cannot mean non-being. Why do you love sleep, but not death? Do you not think now? Are you not existing now? Did you not exist in your sleep? Even a child says that it slept well and happily. It admits its existence in sleep, unconsciously though. So, consciousness is our true nature. We cannot remain unconscious. We however say that we were unconscious in our sleep because we refer to qualified consciousness. The world, the body, etc., are so embedded in us that this relative consciousness is taken to be the Self. Does anyone say in his sleep that he is unconscious? He says so now. This is the state of relative consciousness. Therefore he speaks of relative consciousness and not of abstract consciousness. Absolute consciousness is beyond relative consciousness or unconsciousness.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM*

Distracted as we are by various thoughts, if we would continuously contemplate the Self, which is Itself God, this single thought would in due course replace all distraction and would itself ultimately vanish; the pure Consciousness that alone finally remains is God. This is Liberation.

~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

*WORDS OF WISDOM*

All knowledge is meant only to lead the person to the realization of the Self. The scriptures or religions are well-known to be for that purpose. What do they all mean? Leave alone what they say of the past or of the future; for it is only speculative. But the present existence is within the experience of all. Realize the pure Being. There is an end to all discourses and disputes.

~ Ramana Maharshi

The Self is ever-present. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

 

 

*WORDS OF WISDOM*

Till you reach the state of jnana and thus wake out of maya you must do social service by relieving suffering whenever you see it. But even then you must do it without ahankara, i.e., without the sense of 'I am the doer', but with the feeling 'I am the Lord’s tool'.

~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

*POINTS TO PONDER* - 'ATTAINMENT' (Arudha) - ‘I am not the tattvas, beginning with the body and ending with nada [sound] but the Self which is 'Existence-Consciousness-Bliss’, this is said to be the attainment of firm knowledge - RAMANA MAHARSHI

1. What is the state of attainment of knowledge?

It is firm and effortless abidance in the Self in which the mind which has become one with the Self does not subsequently emerge again at any time. Everyone, when he thinks of his body, usually and naturally has the idea, ‘I am not a goat or a cow, or any other animal, but a human being’. Similarly, when he naturally has the 'Self-awareness', ‘I am not the tattvas, beginning with the body and ending with nada [sound] but the Self which is existence-consciousness-bliss’, this is said to be the attainment of firm knowledge.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*Glimpses of Self-Realization* - ‘WHO AM I?’ (extracts) - Collected Works - Of all thoughts that arise in the mind, the thought 'I' is the first one. It is only after the rise of this [thought] that other thoughts arise. It is only after the first personal pronoun arises that the second and third personal pronouns appear. Without the first person, the second and third persons cannot exist - Ramana Maharshi

Every living being longs to be perpetually happy, without any misery. Since in everyone the highest love is alone felt for oneself, and since happiness alone is the cause of love, in order to attain that happiness, which is one's real nature and which is experienced daily in the mindless state of deep sleep, it is necessary to know oneself. To achieve that, inquiry in the form 'Who am I?' is the foremost means.

'Who am I?' The physical body, composed of the seven dhatus, is not 'I'. ...
Even the mind that thinks is not 'I'. In the state of deep sleep vishaya vasanas remain. Devoid of sensory knowledge and activity, even this [state] is not 'I'. After negating all of the above as 'not I, not I', the knowledge that alone remains is itself 'I'. The nature of knowledge is sat-chit-ananda [being-consciousness-bliss].

If the mind, which is the cause of all knowledge and all actions, subsides, the perception of the world will cease. ...

That which is called 'mind', which projects all thoughts, is an awesome power existing within the Self, one's real nature. If we discard all thoughts and look [to see what remains when there are no thoughts, it will be found that] there is no such entity as mind remaining separate [from those thoughts]. Therefore, thought itself is the nature of the mind. There is no such thing as 'the world' independent of thoughts. ...
Consequently, when the world appears, the Self is not seen, and when the Self appears or shines, the world will not appear.

That which arises in the physical body as 'I' is the mind. If one inquires, 'In what place in the body does this ''I'' first arise?' it will be known to be in the hridayam. That is the birthplace of the mind. Even if one incessantly thinks 'I, I', it will lead to that place. Of all thoughts that arise in the mind, the thought 'I' is the first one. It is only after the rise of this [thought] that other thoughts arise. It is only after the first personal pronoun arises that the second and third personal pronouns appear. Without the first person, the second and third persons cannot exist.

Collected Works- Ramana Maharshi

*POINTS TO PONDER* - Through the steady practice of Self-Inquiry the mind can be trained in such a way that it automatically flows towards the Self in the waking and dream states. It is very difficult at first, but with practice it can be done. Repeated Self-Inquiry makes the mind go back into the Self.

STEADY PRACTICE

Q: The mind is always flowing like an unstoppable river. Most of the time I am not even capable of reaching the Self. How can I hold to something that I can't even get near?

AS: When it rises, the mind automatically goes out to the world. If you do Self-Enquiry you can train it to flow towards the Self.

In deep sleep the mind automatically goes to the Self, but you are not aware of it. Through the steady practice of Self-Inquiry the mind can be trained in such a way that it automatically flows towards the Self in the waking and dream states. It is very difficult at first, but with practice it can be done. Repeated Self-Inquiry makes the mind go back into the Self.

Other methods may produce good experiences but the good experiences will not make the mind go back into the Self and stay there.

Q: How much meditation is good? How many hours a day?

AS: Meditation must be continuous. The current of meditation must be present in all your activities. With practice, meditation and work can go on simultaneously.

Living by the Words of Bhagavan , p.280

One must realize that he is not the doer, but that he is only a tool of some Higher Power. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - 'BUDDHA'

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - When, through the grace of God, devotion and ecstatic love are awakened in his heart, then he altogether forgets virtue and sin - Thoughts of repentance and penance do not bother him at all - Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

In the beginning of spiritual life a man should think about sin and how to get rid of it. But when, through the grace of God, devotion and ecstatic love are awakened in his heart, then he altogether forgets virtue and sin. Then he leaves the scriptures and their injunctions far behind. Thoughts of repentance and penance do not bother him at all.
~ Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

To bring about peace means to be free from thoughts and to abide as Pure Consciousness. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

*WORDS OF WISDOM*

The sage does not 'know' the 'Self', because he is the 'Self'.

~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

*POINTS TO PONDER* - 'Self-Forgetfulness' or 'ATHMA-VISMRUTHI ( Concealment- AVARANA ) results in manifestation ( projection- VIKSHEPA ) of the 'Phenomenal World' and 'Self-Awareness' or 'ATHMA-SMRUTHI' results in dissolution of the 'Phenomenal World'; and the Phenomenal world is nothing but 'SELF'( Pure Consciousness ) with 'names and forms'. ~SWAATHMAARAAMAN

What is the nature of maya?

Maya is that which makes us regard as nonexistent the Self, the Reality, which is always and everywhere present, all- pervasive and Self-luminous, and as existent the individual soul (jiva), the world (jagat), and God (para) which have been conclusively proved to be nonexistent at all times and places.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*POINTS TO PONDER*


  INQUIRYINTO THE 'I' AND CONCENTRATION
ON THE HEART CENTER

D.: There are said to be six (subtle) organs of different colors in the chest, of which the spiritual heart is said to be the one situated two fingers’ breadth, to the right from the center! But the heart is also said to be formless. Does that mean that we should imagine it to have a form and meditate on this?

B.: No; only the quest – ‘Who am I?’ is necessary. That which continues to exist throughout sleep and waking is the same being in both; but while waking there is unhappiness and therefore the effort to remove it. When asked who awakes from sleep, you say ‘I’. Hold fast to this ‘I’. If that is done the Eternal Being reveals itself. The most important thing is the investigation of the ‘I’ and not concentration on the heart centre. There is no such thing as the ‘inner’ and the ‘outer’. Both words mean the same or nothing at all.
Nevertheless, there is also the practice of concentration on the heart-center, which is a form of spiritual exercise. Only he who concentrates on the heart can remain aware when the mind ceases to be active and remains still, with no thoughts, whereas those who concentrate on any other center cannot retain awareness without thought but only infer that the mind was still after it has become active again.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM*

“Again, if one persists in inquiring, "what is this mind of mine" it will be found that there is no such thing as "mind". This is the direct path.”

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM* We shall keep our windows of 'Self-Inquiry' open ; let the breeze of 'Grace' come in. We shall keep our doors of 'Self-Surrender' open ; let the tempest of 'Grace' get in. Let the hurricane of 'Self-Realization' 'Sahaja Samadhi' and 'Liberation-in-Life', blow away the dry leaves of our phenomenal existence. ~Swaathmaaraaman

BUT GRACE IS NEEDED MOST ...


Realization is the result of the Guru’s grace, more than teachings, lectures, meditations, etc. They are only secondary aids, whereas the former is the primary and essential cause.

Guru’s grace is always there. You imagine it to be something somewhere high up in the sky, far away and which has to descend. It is really inside you in your Heart, and the moment, by any of the methods, you effect subsidence or merger of the mind into its source, the grace rushes forth, spouting as from a spring from within you.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - RAMANA MAHARSHI

*POINTS TO PONDER* -

SELF-ENQUIRY ... not even uttering the word “I”, one should inquire keenly thus: “Now, what is it that rises as ‘I’”. Then, there would shine in the Heart a kind of wordless illumination of the form ‘I’ ‘I’. That is, there would shine of its own accord the pure consciousness which is unlimited and one, the limited and the many thoughts having disappeared. If one remains quiescent without abandoning that (experience), the egoity, the individual sense, of the form ‘I am the body’ will be totally destroyed, and at the end the final thought, viz. the ‘I’- form also will be quenched like the fire that burns camphor. The great sages and scriptures declare that this alone is Release. -From 'Self-Inquiry'

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - MOUNA IS ETERNAL SPEECH : RAMANA MAHARSHI

A visitor asked: ‘What is mouna (silence)?’
M.: Mouna is not closing the mouth. It is eternal speech.
D.: I do not understand.
M.: That state which transcends speech and thought is mouna.

D.: How to achieve it?
M.: Hold some concept firmly and trace it back. By such concentration silence results. When practice becomes natural it will end in silence.

Meditation without mental activity is silence. Subjugation of the mind is meditation. Deep meditation is eternal speech.

D.: How will worldly transaction go on if one observes silence?
M.: When women walk with water pots on their heads and chat with their companions they remain very careful, their thoughts concentrated on the loads on their heads. Similarly when a sage engages in activities, these do not disturb him because his mind abides in Brahman.

The Master said on another occasion: “Only the sage is a true devotee.”

Talk 231.and 232

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM*


“There is a state when words cease and silence prevails.”

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*POINTS TO PONDER*


THE PATH IS AN INDIVIDUAL MATTER


Each seeker after God should be allowed to go his own way, the way for which he alone may be built (meant). It will not do to convert him to another path by violence. The Guru will go with the disciple in his own path and then gradually turn him onto the Supreme path at the ripe moment. Suppose a car is going at top speed. To stop it at once or to turn it at once would be attended with disastrous consequences.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

GEMS

PRACTICE DURING ACTIVITY: The enquirer is the answer and no other answer can come. What comes afresh cannot be true. What always is, is true.~TALKS no 44 ( RAMANA MAHARSHI )

‘What always is, is true.’


Mr. Ekanath Rao, an Engineer, asked Sri Bhagavan if solitude is necessary for vichara.

M.: There is solitude everywhere. The individual is solitary always. His business is to find it out within, and not seek it without.

D.: The work-a-day world is distracting.
M.: Do not allow yourself to be distracted. Inquire for whom there is distraction. It will not afflict you after a little practice.

D.: Even the attempt is impossible.
M.: Make it and it will be found not so difficult.

D.: But the answer does not come for the search inward.
M.: The enquirer is the answer and no other answer can come. What comes afresh cannot be true. What always is, is true.

TALKS no 44 ( RAMANA MAHARSHI )

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the inquiry "Who am I?" is required. ~ RAMANA MAHARSHI

"Who am I"? Question No 15: How long should inquiry be practiced? Bhagawan: As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the inquiry "Who am I?" is required. As thoughts arise they should be destroyed then and there in the very place of their origin, through inquiry. If one resorts to contemplation of the Self UN-intermittently, until the Self is gained, that alone would do. As long as there are enemies within the fortress, they will continue to sally forth; if they are destroyed as they emerge, the fortress will fall into our hands.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*Glimpses of Self-Realization* - Essence of 'Mandukyopanishad' by 'Swami Sivananda' : The wise think that the fourth, Turiya, is not that which is conscious of the internal (subjective) world, nor that which is conscious of the external (objective) world, nor that which is conscious of both, nor that which is a compact mass of knowledge, nor that which is simple consciousness, nor that which is insentient. It is unseen, unrelated, incomprehensible, undefinable, unthinkable, indescribable, the sole essence of the consciousness of the Self with no trace of the conditioned world, the peaceful, all-bliss, non-dual. This is the Atman, the Self and it is to be realized.

 Essence of the 'Mandukyopanishad'

by 'Swami Sivananda'

INTRODUCTION


Om bhadram karnebhih srinuyama devah
Bhadram pasyemakshabhiryajatrah,
Sthirairangaistushtuvamsa-stanubhih
vyasema devahitam yadayuh.

Svasti na indro vriddhasravah
svasti nah pushah visvavedah,
Svasti nastarkshyo arishtanemih
svasti no brihaspatirdadhatu,

Om Santih, Santih, Santih.
Om, O gods, may we, with our ears, hear what is auspicious; O ye! Fit to be worshipped, may we, with our eyes, see what is auspicious; may we enjoy the life allotted to us by the gods, offering our praise with our bodies strong of limb. May Indra, the powerful, the ancient of fame, vouchsafe us prosperity. May He, the nourisher and the possessor of all wealth, give us what is well for us. May the Lord of swift motion be propitious to us, and may the protector of the great ones protect us too.

1. Om, the word, is all this. Its further explanation is this. All that is past, present and future is verily Om. That which is beyond the triple conception of time, is verily Om.

2. All this is verily Brahman. This Atman (the Supreme Self) is Brahman. This Atman has four quarters, four feet, not like those of a cow, but like the fractions of a coin

3. The first quarter is Vaisvanara whose sphere is the state of waking, who is conscious of the external objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths and who enjoys the gross objects.

4. The second quarter is the Taijasa whose sphere or field or place is dream, who is conscious of internal objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths and enjoys the subtle objects.

5. That is the state of deep sleep wherein the sleeper does not desire any objects nor does he see any dream. The third quarter or condition is the Prajna whose sphere is deep sleep, in whom all experiences have become one, who is verily a mass of consciousness, who is full of bliss, who enjoys bliss, and who is the way leading to the knowledge (of the two other states).

6. This is the Lord of all, this is the knower of all, this is the internal Ruler, this is the cause of all, this is verily the Origin and End of all beings.

7. The wise think that the fourth, Turiya, is not that which is conscious of the internal (subjective) world, nor that which is conscious of the external (objective) world, nor that which is conscious of both, nor that which is a compact mass of knowledge, nor that which is simple consciousness, nor that which is insentient. It is unseen, unrelated, incomprehensible, undefinable, unthinkable, indescribable, the sole essence of the consciousness of the Self with no trace of the conditioned world, the peaceful, all-bliss, non-dual. This is the Atman, the Self and it is to be realized.

8. This is that Atman even with regard to the letters (of the word Om); it is the Omkara with its parts. The quarters are the parts, and the parts the quarters. The parts of OM are 'A', 'U' and 'M'.

9. The first part 'A' is Vaisvanara whose sphere is the condition of waking, on account of all-pervasiveness, or on account of being the first. He who knows this obtains verily all desires and becomes the first.

10. Taijasa, whose sphere of activity is the dream state, is represented by the letter 'U' ,the second letter of Om, on account of superiority, or on account of being middle. He who knows this becomes great in knowledge and the equal of all. No one ignorant of Brahman is born in his family.

11. Prajna, whose sphere is deep sleep, is 'M', the third part (letter) of Om, because it is both the measure and that wherein all become one. He who knows this is able to measure all and to comprehend all within himself.

12. That which has no parts is the fourth, transcendental, destitute of phenomenal existence, all bliss and non-dual. This verily is Omkara. He who knows this merges his self in the Self.

HERE 'MANDUKYOPANISHAD' ENDS

'SELF' is nothing but TRUTH-BEING- EXISTENCE-CONSCIOUSNESS and BLISS; already attained by every body. ~SWAATHMAARAAMAN

A visitor asked, “What should one, who is an absolute beginner, do in this (i.e., spiritual) line?”

Bhagavan: The very fact that you put this question shows you know what to do. It is because you feel the want of peace, that you are anxious to take some steps to secure peace. Because I have a little pain in my foot, I am applying this ointment.

Visitor: What is the method to be adopted for securing peace?

B: The conception that there is a goal and a path to it, is wrong. We are the goal or peace always. To get rid of the notion that we are not peace is all that is required.

V: All books say that the guidance of a Guru is necessary.

B: The Guru will say only what I am saying now. He will not give you anything you have not already. It is impossible for anyone to get what he has not got already. Even if he gets any such thing, it will go as it came. What comes will also go. What always is will alone remain. The Guru cannot give you anything new, which you have not already. Removal of the notion that we have not realized the Self is all that is required. We are always the Self. Only, we don’t realize it.

*POINTS TO PONDER*


1. You who wish to celebrate a birthday, inquire first who was born. One’s true birthday is when one enters into the 'Eternal Being' which shines forever without birth or death.
2. Of all days on one’s birthday one should mourn one’s fall (into samsara). To celebrate it as a festival is like adorning and glorifying a corpse. To seek one’s Self and merge in it is wisdom.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

The universe exists within the Self. Therefore, it is real, but only because it obtains its reality from the Self. We call it unreal, however, to indicate its changing appearance and transient form, whereas we call the Self real because it is changeless.

The world is represented in oneself and oneself is the world and there is no world apart from one`s own 'SELF' ( TRUTH-BEING- EXISTENCE-CONSCIOUSNESS and BLISS).
~SWAATHMAARAAMAN

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - THE GRACE OF THE GURU - I AM THAT no 71 (NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ)

Maharaj: The Guru is basically without desire. He sees what happens, but feels no urge to interfere. He makes no choices, takes no decisions. As pure witness, he watches what is going on and remains unaffected.
Q: But his work suffers.
M: Victory is always his -- in the end. He knows that if the disciples do not learn from his words, they will learn from their own mistakes. Inwardly he remains quiet and silent. He has no sense of being a separate person. The entire universe is his own, including his disciples with their petty plans. Nothing in particular affects him, or, which comes to the same, the entire universe affects him in equal measure.

I AM THAT no 71 (NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ)

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - There will come a time when one will have to forget all that one has learned. ~ RAMANA MAHARSHI

"Who am I"


Question No 23: Is there any use reading books for those who long for release?

Bhagawan: All the texts say that in order to gain release one should render the mind quiescent; therefore their conclusive teaching is that the mind should be rendered quiescent; once this has been understood there is no need for endless reading. In order to quieten the mind one has only to inquire within oneself what one's Self is; how could this search be done in books? One should know one's Self with one's own eye of wisdom. The Self is within the five sheaths; but books are outside them. Since the Self has to be inquired into by discarding the five sheaths, it is futile to search for it in books. There will come a time when one will have to forget all that one has learned.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM* - -You are an unchanging and continuous being who remains in all these states which are constantly changing and therefore transient. But you are always there. It follows that these fleeting objects are mere phenomena which appear on your being like pictures which move across a screen. The screen does not move when the picture moves. Similarly, you do not move from where you are even when the body leaves the home and mixes in society. Your body, the society, the forest and the ways are all in you; you are not in them. You are the body also but not this body only. If you remain as your pure Self, the body and its movements need not affect you ~ RAMANA MAHARSHI

Some teachers who attended the Teachers' Guild meeting in the town came on a visit to the hall. One of them asked Sri Bhagavan: "I seem to be wandering in a forest because I do not find the way."

M.: This idea of being in a forest must go. It is such ideas which are at the root of the trouble.

D.: But I do not find the way.

M.: Where is the forest and where is the way unless they are in you? You are as you are and yet you speak of a forest and ways.

D.: But I am obliged to move in society.

M.: Society is also an idea similar to that of the forest.

D.: I leave my home and go and mix in society.

M.: Who does it?

D.: The body moves and does all.

M.: Quite so. Now that you identify yourself with the body you feel the trouble. The trouble is in your mind. You think that you are the body or that you are the mind. But there are occasions when you are free from both. For example in deep slumber, you create a body and a world in your dream. That represents your mental activities. In your waking state you think that you are the body and then the idea of forest and the rest arise. Now, consider the situation. You are an unchanging and continuous being who remains in all these states which are constantly changing and therefore transient. But you are always there. It follows that these fleeting objects are mere phenomena which appear on your being like pictures which move across a screen. The screen does not move when the picture moves. Similarly, you do not move from where you are even when the body leaves the home and mixes in society. Your body, the society, the forest and the ways are all in you; you are not in them. You are the body also but not this body only. If you remain as your pure Self, the body and its movements need not affect you.

D.: This can be realized only by the Grace of the master. I was reading Sri Bhagavata; it says that Bliss can be had only by the dust of the Master's feet. I pray for Grace.

M.: What is Bliss but your own being? You are not apart from Being which is the same as Bliss. You are now thinking that you are the mind or the body which are both changing and transient. But you are unchanging and eternal. That is what you should know.

D.: It is darkness and I am ignorant.

M.: This ignorance must go. Again, who says `I am ignorant'? He must be the witness of ignorance. That is what you are. Socrates said, "I know that I do not know." Can it be ignorance? It is wisdom.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM*


In all manner of ways possible one should endeavor gradually not to forget one’s (true) Self that is God. If that is accomplished, all will be accomplished. The mind should not be directed to any other matter. Even though one may perform, like a mad person, the actions that are the result of prarabdha-karma, one should retain the mind in the Self-state without letting the thought ‘I do’ arise. Have not countless bhaktas (devotees) performed their numerous empirical functions with an attitude of indifference?

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

'SELF-REALIZATION' - On ultimate inquiry, i.e., after reaching the goal, the method and means adopted are found to be themselves the goal. The Guru turns out ultimately to be God and God turns out to be your own real “Self”. ~ RAMANA MAHARSHI

'SELF-REALIZATION'


D: Can I get knowledge of the “Self,” that is can I experience direct realization of the “Self ” ?

B: Why? Who is there without a knowledge of the “Self ”? Everyone has experience of the “Self ”.

D: But I do not realize it.

B: The fact is that all the while you know the “Self ”. How can the self not know the Self. Only you, the self, have got into the habit of thinking that you are this, you are that and you are the other. It is the wrong notion that produces or constitutes 'viparita bhavana' of the Self at present, and that is why you say you do not know the Self. What is to be done is to get rid of that wrong notion of the Self. That then clears up the Self-knowledge or Self-realization.

D: How can I get rid of that viparita bhavana? Can any ordinary man get rid of it? If so, how?

B: Yes. That is possible and is being done. There are many ways — Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, Yoga, etc., are being adopted — all for the removal of this viparita bhavana. But the main way is simple.

D: But I am ignorant of the method and of the ‘Self ’.
B: Who is ignorant of what? Ask the question and pursue the inquiry as to who it is that is said to be ignorant. Once you put the question, trying to probe into the ‘I’, the ‘I’ disappears. Then what survives is Self-knowledge or Self-realization.

D: But how to get at that? Isn’t a Guru’s help needed? Isn’t God’s help needed?
B: Why? In practice all this is adopted. But on ultimate inquiry, i.e., after reaching the goal, the method and means adopted are found to be themselves the goal. The Guru turns out ultimately to be God and God turns out to be your own real “Self”.

D: But isn’t the Guru’s grace or God’s grace necessary for one’s progress in the vichara? (Enquiry).
B: Yes. But the vichara that you are making is itself the Guru’s grace or God’s grace.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM*


Sannyasa is only the renunciation of the ‘I’ thought, and not the rejection of the external objects. He who has renounced (the “I” thought) thus remains the same whether he is alone or in the midst of the extensive samsara (empirical world).

- from 'Self-inquiry', Q&A No. 14

~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM*

The Self is here and now, it is the only Reality. There is nothing else.
~RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM*


If you know the Self there will be no darkness, no ignorance, and no misery.

~RAMANA MAHARSHI