Non-duality
Conscious sleep (Jagrat Sushupti) is Self-knowledge | Sri Ramana Maharshi | Guru Vachaka Kovai
959. O men who, caught by the dangerous snares of the world and struck by the sharp arrows of cruel miseries, are suffering greatly and are wandering in search of the attainment of supreme bliss, the sleep in which there is no loss of consciousness [i.e. wakeful sleep or jagrat-sushupti] alone is the imperishable happiness.
~Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai
Commentary by Sri Sadhu Om:
”The sleep in which there is no loss of consciousness’ [arivu-azhiya tukkam] means only the state of Self-knowledge.
‘Here consciousness [arivu] means prajna or the knowledge of one’s own existence, and not the knowledge of other things.
‘That which knows other things is not true knowledge [see Ulladu Narpadu verse 12]. The state we call sleep is the state in which we know no other things, not even the body.
‘The state we call waking is the state in which, along with the knowledge of one’s own existence [‘I am’], there is also knowledge of other things.
‘The state in which we remain conscious merely of our own existence, like in waking, but in which the mind [the knower of other things] does not rise, like in sleep, is called the state of conscious sleep or wakeful sleep.
‘Since no other thing is known in this state, it is a sleep; and since one’s own existence is shining clearly there, it is a state of consciousness or waking.’
960. Those who are sleeping, having given up the habit of [going out through] the deceitful senses and having become established in the heart-lotus, are those who are awake in the abode of real knowledge [mey-jnana]. Others are those who are asleep, being immersed in the dense darkness of this unreal world [poy-jnala].
~Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai
Has my desire to be free created another trap?
Satsang meeting recordings now available for download from the ‘Shop’ at tomdas.com – OPENING 50% SALE | Satsang with Tom Das
Dear all
Satsang recordings are now available to download from the ‘Shop’ here at tomdas.com, both as audio and/or video. Just click on ‘shop’ at the top banner to find them. Please allow me to take this opportunity to thank the volunteers who helped with this process.
To celebrate these recordings being available for the first time, for the next 7 days there will be an OPENING 50% SALE on all items – just enter the coupon code ‘OPENINGSALE‘ at the checkout.
There is an even greater discount available to those who regularly attend satsang – I have already shared this code on Thursday and will do so again at the next few satsang meetings.
I know some of you have been asking for this functionality for sometime now, so I hope this helps you better access the teachings.
There may be some initial teething issues, so do let me know if there is anything I need to address or improve upon.
With thanks & namaste
Tom
‘Bhagavan Ramana, sweet nectar of bliss’ – a poem by Markus
This beautiful poem was sent to me by Markus, someone who attends satsang with me, with the following note and is posted with his permission – many thanks to Markus for writing it and to Bhagavan Sri Ramana for inspiring us all:
‘Hi Tom! Being empowered by our 1-to-1, I wrote a thank you poem for Bhagavan and also for You:’
OM NAMO BHAGAVATE SRI RAMANAYA
Bhagavan, my Lord
You are my teacher
You are my savior
You are my protector
You are my Only One
Bhagavan Ramana, sweet nectar of bliss
where is pain, when You are here
where is confusion, when You destroy it all
where is destiny, when there is Your Self-Enquiry
where is isolation, when Your Love shines in every face
O, my Guru, my Bhagavan
Glory to You, master of the universe
Glory to You, my perfect friend
Glory to You, raging fire of wisdom
Glory to You, eternal peace
OM SRI ARUNACHALA RAMANAN
OM TAT SAT
Everyone has Self-Knowledge, the Self is ever-realised | Sri Ramana Maharshi
Everyone has self-knowledge. Self knowledge is the Self. They are one and the same. Sri Ramana Maharshi says in Talks, no 280:
‘There is no moment when the Self is not nor when the Self is not realised.’
and
‘Even now you are Self-realised.’
The problem is ignorance, meaning thinking you are the body-mind entity. Both thinking and the body-mind themselves are mere superimpositions.
When this ignorance/superimposition has been removed, then only the Self remains. That is called Self-knowledge or the Self. Sri Ramana says in Talks 462:
‘Being the Self one remains always realised, only be free from thoughts [Tom: ie. superimpositions].’
And in Talks 490:
‘The Self is always realised. But only you do not recognise the fact. The Realisation is now obscured by the present world-idea.[Tom: ie. superimposition of the body-mind-world]’
This Self-knowledge is not knowledge in the mind, which is something that comes and goes, and this Self-Knowledge is not for the body-mind at all.
It is described as being unborn and eternal by the great sages. It cannot be taught, only obstacles (ie. ignorance) is to be removed by turning within. Sri Ramana Maharshi says in Talks 282:
‘The Guru does not bring about Self-Realisation. He simply removes the obstacles to it. The Self is always realised.’
And in Talks 164:
‘Seek within. The Self is always realised.’
And talks 490 this same point above in made again, but the importance of the desire for liberation is also stated by Bhagavan:
‘The Self is always realised. The Realisation is now obscured. When the veil is removed the person feels happy at rediscovering the ever-realised Self. The ever-present Realisation appears to be a new Realisation. Now, what should one do to overcome the present ignorance. Be eager to have the true knowledge. As this eagerness grows the wrong knowledge diminishes in strength until it finally disappears.’
May we be desirous of Self-Realisation, that Realisation which ever-is.
May we be blessed by Sri Ramana’s Grace and Presence, that is our very Own Self.
May be receive the True Teaching that is created by our own Desire (for Liberation)
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Attend for FREE – Tom Das speaking at ‘Many Paths, One Self’ conference this Saturday 22nd April 16:30pm UK time
This Saturday 22nd April I’ll be speaking at the ‘Many Paths, One Self’ conference at 16:30pm UK time.
Please use this afffiliate link to register and attend for free.
Who can conceive of the state of the Jnani? Sri Sadhu Om | The true nature of the Jnani. The true nature of Jnana | Advaita Vedanta | Sri Ramana Maharshi
The following verse is taken from Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 1105 followed by commentary by Sri Sadhu Om, a direct devotee of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s who spent several years with him. Guru Vachaka Kovai is recognised as being the most authoritative exposition of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s verbal teachings, and can be downloaded in full here. For this particular verse, Sri Ramana Maharshi has also re-written the verse so we have 2 forms of the same verse:
1105. The Jnani, the unchanging one, who is sleeping naturally within the body, does not know His activities [vyavahara] in the world, His absorption [nishtha] and His sleep, just as one who is sleeping in the cart does not know the moving of the cart, its standing still and its lying [with the bullocks unyoked].
The above verse was rewritten by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi in the form of the following verse, which is also included in Ulladu Narpadu – Anubandham (Supplement to 40 verses on reality) as verse 31:
B21. To the knower of the reality [mey-jnani], who is asleep within the fleshy body, which is [like] a cart, His activities [in waking and in dream], His absorption [nishtha] and His sleep are similar to the moving of the cart, its standing still and the cart being unyoked, to one who is sleeping in the cart
Commentary by Sri Sadhu Om: The bodily life of a Jnani appears to be real only from the perspective of others. So ignorant people [ajnanis] think, “This Jnani is performing activities here in the waking state.”
But since the Jnani is verily bodiless, He does not know those activities; to Him the body and its activities are completely non-existent.
Just as the traveler who is sleeping in a bullock cart does not know the movement of the cart, and just as a sleeping child does not know that he is taking food, so also the Jnani does not know the state in which the body, the senses and the mind are active.
When the body, the senses and the mind of a Jnani remain without activities, people think, “This Jnani is in samadhi.” This is similar to the state where the oxen remain yoked to the cart but are motionless. Even this state of samadhi or nishtha is not known to the Jnani; for Him it is completely non-existent. When people think, “This Jnani is sleeping,” this state of apparent deep sleep in which his body, his senses and his mind seem to be unconscious, is similar to the cart that is with the unyoked oxen.
Just as the fact that the car is undone is not known to the traveler who sleeps in the car, so also the state of deep sleep is not known to the Jnani; for him this state it is completely non-existent.
Therefore, these three different states in the life of a Jnani seem to exist only under the erroneous perspective of the ajnanis, who see the bodiless Jnani as a body.
For the Jnani, the state of activity [wakefulness and sleep], the state of samadhi and the state of deep sleep do not really exist.
That is why Sri Bhagavan says in verse 31 of Ulladu Narpadu:
“Who can conceive and how what his [the Jnani’s] state is?”
~ above text is by Sri Sadhu Om in his commentary on Guru Vachaka Kovai verses 1105 and B21
For more on the same topic, please also see here:
For those attached to the world, the world is considered to be a divine manifestation. For the advanced seeker, the world is considered to be an illusion
What exactly is Jnana (self-knowledge) according to Shankara and Gaudapada and the scriptures?
How can the Jnani (sage) function with NO THOUGHTS? Sri Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi: how to abide as the Self, the world is not real, attend to yourself
Does the Sage (Jnani) see the world? Does the world appearance exist after liberation?
Multiplicity, plurality and polarity ARE duality | Non-duality | Sri Ramana Maharshi
The nature of liberation | Manonasa by Michael Langford | Ramana Maharshi | PDF download
Does the liberated Jnani or Sage see the body, the mind, the world or the 3 states of deep sleep, waking and dream according to Sri Ramana Maharshi and Sri Adi Shankara?
A recent testimonial
I am always grateful to receive a testimonial – here is a recent testimonial I received from someone – note that ‘Guru’ simply means teacher – see here for more testimonials:
Tom is the only living Guru that I have met who speaks directly and one pointedly to the path and method of Sri Ramana. I came across Tom’s teachings while seeking some answers to questions about Sri Ramana’s methods applied to a householder’s life. After only a few 1 on 1 sessions I had strong clarity on how to deal with the obstacles I was running into. And I felt this sense of self confidence or confidence in my SELF that was being overlooked in the past. Through his loving acceptance of wherever I was, Tom kept bringing me back to the true Guru that is inside of me. The SELF. Along the way he also reminded me to honor my feelings and to drop self-judgment – another way of reinforcing my true self.
I also appreciated that Tom pointed me to the most relevant and effective texts amongst the sea of reading that is out there. It felt like every time he referred me to a text, that was exactly what I needed in that moment.
He helped me understand the true meaning of the texts and how to interpret them the way Sri Ramana had meant them, while still making it applicable to my busy lifestyle.
I’m deeply grateful to Tom’s guidance and teaching and his highly scientific and logical approach to the path of liberation.
Ramana Maharshi on those who ridicule idol-worship or image-worship | Non-duality | Bhakti
Also see:
Does Jnana (or Self-Enquiry) lead to Bhakti (or Self-Surrender) or the other way round?
Non-dual devotion, worship and prayer
Here we see Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teaching on those who ridicule and denounce idol-worship or image-worship as follows in Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 208:
208
O you that ridicule idol-worship, having not discovered through heart-melting love its secret, how is that you [daily] worship the filthy idol of your body as ‘I’?
Commentary on this verse by Sri Sadhu Om:
It is generally believed that idol worship is to mistake an idol as God and to treat it accordingly, offering it a bath, cloth, food, and all hospitality; but to mistake a body as Self, and to treat it accordingly, is also a form of idol worship. Indeed to treat and love a body as ‘I’ is the primal mistake which leads to all other forms of idol worship. So it is clear that we are all idol-worshippers, even if we take pride in scorning those that worship temple idols.
As long as one takes one’s body as ‘I’, there is no wrong in also worshipping an idol as God, and until one feels that it is wrong to treat one’s body as ‘I’, one should not be scornful and criticize others for treating an idol as God.
If one first roots out and destroys the ‘I am the body’ notion, one is then in a position to criticize idol worship, if such criticism is necessary [in the light of Jnana such criticism will of course be clearly seen as unnecessary].
Tom Das 