Author: Tom Das

Shankara: The Self or Brahman cannot be known!

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

The unknowable Self

Tom Das's avatarTom Das

A definition of Jnana by Shankara

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, verse 4.4.20, states the following:

20. It [Brahman] should be realised in one form only, (for) It is unknowable and eternal. The Self is taintless, beyond the (subtle) ether, birthless, infinite and constant.

Here we can see that the Upanishad is stating that Brahman is unknowable. So what of Self-Knowledge or knowledge of Brahman that is so often spoken about? Shankara explains this contradiction in his commentary on this verse:

The knowledge of Brahman too means only the cessation of the identification with extraneous things (such as the body). The relation of identity with It [Brahman] has not to be directly established, for it is already there. Everybody always has that identity with It, but it appears to be related to something else. Therefore the scriptures do not enjoin that identity with Brahman should be established, but that the false identification…

View original post 297 more words

Seven Steps to Awakening | PDF download | Michael Langford | Sri Ramana Maharshi | Nisargadatta Maharaj | Shankara | Yoga Vasistha

~ Tom Das ~ 2 Comments

One of the best books ever written for spiritual liberation/self-realisation is the Seven Steps to Awakening, compiled by Michael Langford, incorporating teachings from Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Muruganar, Sri Sadhu Om, Sri Vasistha and Sri Shankara to name a few.

It is one of my recommended books for liberation. Of particular interest is the introduction to the text which is very instructive. As with other books by Michael Langford, all of which are highly recommended, the style may not suit everyone, but serious seekers of liberation will hopefully find the content to be of great benefit and overlook any perceived stylistic deficits.

I am therefore sharing the full text here as a PDF (see below), but I highly recommend you buy a paper copy of the book for yourself to support the author.

It is best read together with The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss, another book also by Michael Langford.

Again, please do read the introduction, reflect upon the teachings therein and follow the suggestions given.

Namaste and best wishes!

You can download the entire text as a PDF here

Gaining a deeper understanding of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings: Sri Muruganar, Sri Sadhu Om & Lakshmana Sarma

~ Tom Das ~ 1 Comment

To my knowledge, the only living human being who was said by Sri Ramana Maharshi to have attained Self-Realisation was Sri Muruganar, a devotee of Sri Ramana’s for over 25 years.

Muruganar also was one of 2 people who had personal one-to-one tuition from Sri Ramana on the actual deeper meaning of the teachings (the other person was K. Lakshmana Sarma).

Muruganar recorded Sri Ramana’s teaching in the text Guru Vachaka Kovai, which is said by Sri Ramana Ashram to be ‘the most precise, systematic and authoritative exposition of Sri Bhagavan’s teaching, explaining step by step the theory, the practice and the experience of jnana, the Truth supreme which is Being as Life Eternal, Pure Awareness, Perfect Bliss. Thus, the most comprehensive collection of the Maharshi’s sayings is Guru Vachaka Kovai…’

Sri Sadhu Om spent many years with Sri Ramana Maharshi and after Sri Ramana’s death he spent many years with Muruganar. Muruganar said that Sri Sadhu Om was the only person who really understood Sri Ramana’s teachings. Sri Sadhu Om wrote several books on Sri Ramana’s teachings such as The Path of Sri Ramana and Sadhanai Saram (the essence of spiritual practice) and translated them into English himself.

K. Lakshmana Sarma, another long time devotee of Sri Ramana’s, was the only other person (other than Sri Muruganar) to have 1 to 1 tuition on the true meaning of Sri Ramana’s teachings; this tuition lasted several years. Lakshmana Sarma was often unhappy to see people misinterpreting and misunderstanding Sri Ramana’s teachings and he wrote several books such as Maha Yoga and a commentary on 40 verses on reality to explain Sri Ramana’s true teachings, and he translated them into English himself.

Most people, when they hear the teachings, their ego-mind immediately distorts the teaching, and this often converts a liberating teaching into a non-liberating teaching. So the person recording the teaching is of utmost importance if we want to understand the true teaching that will lead to liberation.

I therefore recommend you read the above texts if you want to discover a truly liberating teaching, free from distortion, that will quickly and effectively lead to liberation, which is eternal bliss and the cessation of suffering.

We also have the texts that Sri Ramana Maharshi himself wrote.

You may be pleased to know that I have compiled all of the above (and some more), which you can download for free, on my Recommended Reading List.

The above text has also been added as an appendix to the recommended reading list

Q. What about other books on Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings not mentioned in your recommended reading list?

~ Tom Das ~ 1 Comment

I have updated the recommended reading list with the following 2 questions:

Q. Why is my favourite spiritual book not on your list of books?

It may be that I haven’t read it, or it may be that it doesn’t in my view fulfil the criteria I have outlined at the top of the post.

If a well-known teacher is not mentioned in the above list, the chances are that I do not recommend them.

Q. What about other books on Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings not mentioned in your recommended reading list? What about books

A. It is very easy for the teachings to be distorted and misunderstood by the ego-mind. Apart from the above books listed, I do not generally recommend other books on Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings. I have found almost all other books on Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings that I have come across contain a level of distortion and misinterpretation. I have found that this often leads seekers away from liberation, even if the author or editor is well-meaning and well-intentioned.