Devotee: There are widespread disasters spreading havoc in the world e.g., famine and pestilence. What is the cause of this state of affairs?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: You were not aware of the world and its sufferings in your sleep; you are conscious of them in your wakeful state. Continue in that state in which you were not afflicted by these. That is to say, when you are not aware of the world, its sufferings do not affect you. When you remain as the Self, as in sleep, the world and its sufferings will not affect you. Therefore look within. See the Self! There will be an end of the world and its miseries.
D.: But that is selfishness.
M.: The world is not external. Because you identify yourself wrongly with the body you see the world outside, and its pain becomes apparent to you. But they are not real. Seek the reality and get rid of this unreal feeling.
D.: There are great men, public workers, who cannot solve the problem of the misery of the world.
M.: They are ego-centred and therefore their inability. If they remained in the Self they would be different.
“Those who say that the reality has no form are those who do not know the reality. For the form of the Sage [sahaja nishta] who correctly knows and abides in the reality, Self, the nature of which is like the [all- pervading] nature of space, is verily the form of the reality. Know this.”
Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 656
Commentary by Sri Muruganar:
Through this verse, Sri Bhagavan disproves the saying, ‘The reality has no form’. How? Since the Sage [sahaja nishtha] who has known the reality as it is, is none other than the reality, He Himself is the very form of that reality. This is what is meant by saying, ‘Jnani Himself is Self’. Sri Muruganar here refers to the Bhagavad Gita, chapter 7, verse 18, in which Sri Krishna says that the Jnani is Atma.
If you take the Jnani (liberated sage) to be a body-mind entity, then you will think he or she eats, drinks, talks, thinks, feels, acts, does this, does that, etc.
But the Jnani is only pure objectless consciousness, one without a second, the pure true non-dual self. The Jnani has no body or mind, and sees no body or mind or world, all of which are seen by the fictional ego due to ignorance, and are known as duality.*
Metaphorically speaking, the Jnani only sees his own (formless, objectless, worldless, homogeneous) Self.
The false I, or ego, rises up, and it is this false I that experiences and perceives all gross and subtle phenomena.
Turning back towards Source/Subject/Self/I Am, with love, in silence, dissolve into that which you truly are.
This is the only way to discover the truth of yourself, and thereby end ignorance delusion ego and suffering. Anything less than this will not end suffering/confusion/delusion/duality.**
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*This is why Sri Ramana Himself wrote the following verse from Guru Vachaka Kovai:
The sage Self-realised knows not Whether the transient body comes And stays, or dies and leaves, even as The senseless drunkard knows not what Happens to his clothes. ~ SRI BHAGAVAN 24
This is also the true meaning of the Upanishadic verse, a form of which is here written by Sri Ramana, also in Guru Vachaka Kovai:
There is no creation, no destruction. None bound, none seeking, striving, Gaining freedom. Know that this Is the Truth supreme. ~ SRI BHAGAVAN 28
A version of this above verse is found in the Amritabindu Upanishad in verse 10 and in the Atma Upanishad in verse 2.31. It was later incorporated by both Gaudapada (Mandukya Karika 2.32) and Shankara (Vivekachudamani verse 574) in their writings
**This is why Sri Ramana says in Guru Vachaka Kovai:
291. For those who seek eternal life The assurance stands: the senses five Retracted tortoise-like, the mind Turned homeward to the Self and there Abiding is pure bliss.
293. Know that these countless things are pictures In a dream and none is real Apart from the beholder. Shun This phantom world of names and forms And dwell in the pure, blissful being Of Awareness.
364. When the ego-life dissolves And dies in silence, then one lives The life supreme of Pure Awareness. When the false ego dream-like fades Into its source, the true Self rises Of its own accord.
You are free to download and share these pictures quotes which contain some key teachings of Advaita Vedanta courtesy of Adi Shankara, taken from the text Upadesa Sahasri (A Thousand Teachings):
You are welcome to download and share any of the following picture quotes – many more can be found on my Facebook page here in the photo albums.
Sri Ramana often said that the Jnani (self-realised or liberate Sage) is totally unaware of the body, the mind and the world, and that the liberated sage also has no awareness of the 3 states of dream, deep sleep or waking, all of which are a projection of ignorance (aka the mind). We will see below that Sri Shankara says the same.
In the text Guru Vachaka Kovai (Garland of Guru’s Sayings) – a highly authoritative collection of Sri Ramana’s teachings recorded by Sri Muruganar, there are several verses that were written by Sri Ramana Maharshi himself, often highlighting key or especially important teachings. These verses were called ‘Sri Bhagavan’ – here is the 24th such verse from that text, which Sri Ramana himself wrote:
The Self-Realised Sage knows not whether the transient body comes and stays, or dies and leaves, even as a senseless drunkard knows not what happens to his clothes.
Guru Vachaka Kovai, Sri Bhagavan 24
We can see that Sri Ramana is saying that in truth the Jnani is not aware of the body at all.
This next quote is from Maharshi’s Gospel:
To him who is one with that Reality, there is neither the mind nor its three states, and therefore, neither introversion nor extroversion.
Maharshi’s Gospel (Chapter 6)
We can see here Sri Ramana is implying that it is the mind that gives rise to the 3 states (waking, dreaming, deep sleep) and for the Jnani there is no mind, nor the 3 states, therefore the Jnani’s (non-existent) mind cannot be said to be introverted nor extroverted (both of which are in relation to the body and the world of objects, of which the Jnani is unaware).
Taking about a different triad, the triad of jiva, jagat and iswara (individual person, the world, and the power that animates these – the prior verse specifies that this is the triad he is speaking of), Sri Ramana states that none of these remain in Self Realisation in the text Guru Ramana Vachana Mala:
Though these* (three) are unreal, they are not different from the Supreme Reality (Brahman); but the Supreme Reality is different (from these), because It exists without these* in the State of Self -Realisation
*the triad of jiva, jagat and Isvara; ie. the individual person, the world, and the personal God; these 3 do not exist in Self-Realisation
Guru Ramana Vachana Mala, verse 290
But doesn’t Sri Ramana teach us that for the Jnani they see the names and forms and body and mind AS THE SELF and not apart from the SELF? Yes, he does teach this, but this is a lower teaching, as he has also explained. See Sri Ramana’s own writing in Ulladu Narpadu verse 18:
18. To those who do not know and to those who do, the world is real. But to those who do not know, Reality is bounded by the world; while to those who know, Reality shines formless as the ground of the world. Such is the difference between them.
Careful readers will realised that Bhagavan Sri Ramana is saying that for the Jnani, only the substratum is real, and that the ‘world’ of the Jnani is the Pure consciousness only devoid of name and form, as he has already explained above.
Lakshmana Sarma (LS) was a close devotee of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s for over 20 years, and he was one of only 2 people to have private tuition with Sri Ramana Maharshi on the true meaning of Sri Ramana’s teachings. LS was unhappy about how Sri Ramana’s teachings had been misrepresented even by other devotees, so after consulting with Sri Ramana Maharshi he wrote several texts aimed at correcting these distorting teachings. In this post I have included some of what he said about this aspect of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings, and also given LS’s comments and explanation on verse 18 above, which Sri Ramana Maharshi allegedly said was the correct interpretation.
Here are some more teachings of Sri Ramana’s in a similar vein. When read separately they are clear. When read together they surely give a definitive teaching (please also scroll past the pictures for teachings from Shankara on this same topic further below):
So Bhagavan Sri Ramana has give these types of teachings to us many times – see the introductory articles on the homepage of this website which explore many of these teachings even further – but so has Sri Shankara given us these same teachings in various places. Here are some quotes from Upadesa Sahasri (‘A Thousand Teachings’), the only non-commentarial work attributed to Adi Shankara that is universally agreed as being a genuine work of his:
All this world is unreal and proceeds from ignorance, because it is seen only by one afflicted by ignorance
Sri Shankara, Upadesa Sahasri 17.20
Having thus effaced the triad consisting of dreamless sleep, dream and waking experience, one crosses over the great sea of ignorance. For he is then established in his own Self, void of all attributes of the empirical world, pure, enlightened, and by his very nature liberated.
Sri Shankara, Upadesa Sahasri 17.58
Because I am without an eye*, I have no sight. As I have no ear either*, how could I have hearing?As I have no voice I can have no speech. As I have no mind, how could I have thought?
There cannot be action on the part of that which does not have life force (prana). There cannot be knowership on the part of that which has no mind. Neither can there be knowledge or ignorance on the part of me who am the Light of Pure Consciousness
*Shankara is quoting from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.8.8
Sri Shankara, Upadesa Sahasri 13.1, 13.2
Just as a dream is [apparently] real and valid until one awakens from it, so are the experiences of the waking state, such as identity with the body and the authoritativeness of perception and the other means of knowledge, real and valid until knowledge of the Self
Sri Shankara, Upadesa Sahasri 11.5
Of me who am ever-liberated, pure, rock-firm and changeless, not subject to modification, immortal, indestructible and so without a body, there is no hunger or thirst or grief or delusion or old age or death. For I am bodiless…
Sri Shankara, Upadesa Sahasri 13.3-13.4
There are many other places Shankara has given this same teaching, such as in his introduction to his commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad which you can view here and if you explore this website you will find many such similar teachings.
Below I have put together some picture quotes of Shankara’s teachings which I previously shared on Facebook (there are dozens more on Facebook!)- you are also welcome to share any picture quotes I have created:
And here are some verses of Sri Shankara’s that Sri Ramana Maharshi himself has translated (into Tamil – these are the English translations of his translations):
For those seekers who are attached to the world, the world is considered to be a divine manifestation. For the more advanced seeker, the world is considered to be an illusion. Many teachers teach this the wrong way around – this, of course, is itself due to their attachment to the world, ie. this wrong teaching is due to ignorance.
This is why Sri Ramana says, right at the start in the beginning few verses of The Garland of Gurus Sayings (Guru Vachaka Kovai), in verse 21:
21. For those who take the world appearance as real and enjoy it, it is the Lord’s creation. But for those who, free from fear, have known the Truth, the undeluded Self, it is no more than a mere mental image projected by desire.
For those who are fearful of the world, Sri Ramana gives the following even more radical advice in the same text, verse 28:
28. Ye who in fear shrink from the world, know that the place has no existence. Fear of this phenomenal world is like being frightened by a rope mistaken by you for a snake.
In verse 35 he uses the same analogy as Gaudapada (in his commentary on Mandukya Upanishad, Mandukya Karika), of a glowing flame whirled in a circle:
35. The empirical world of jostling names and forms is false and has no real existence in bright, full Awareness. Like a ring of fire formed in the dark when one whirls fast a glowing joss-stick, ’tis an illusion, mind-created.
The idea here is that in the dark (ie. in ignorance), a whirling flame appears as a world (that is a body, a mind and a world), but in the light (ie. in self-knowledge or self-realisation, also known as liberation), it is not seen at all.
Sri Ramana explains this in page 193 of Day by Day with Bhagavan when he states:
‘In reality, saying ‘We must see Brahman in everything and everywhere’ is also not quite correct. Only that state is final, where there is no seeing, where there is no time or space. There will be no seer, seeing and an object to see. What exists then is only the infinite eye.’
Similarly, Sri Ramana says in Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 87:
‘…just as the snake is, on scrutiny, found to be ever non-existent, so is the world found to be ever non-existent, even as an appearance‘
And in Guru Ramana Vachana Mala, verse 21, Sri Ramana gives us the Ajata teaching, that no-thing ever really came into existence at all:
‘There is no mind, nor body, nor world, nor anyone called a soul; the One pure Reality alone exists, without a second, unborn and unchanging, abiding in utter Peace’
Nisargadatta Maharaj often spoke about his own spiritual journey and practice, and how his guru’s teachings led him to his own eventual self-realisation.
In his most widely read book, ‘I Am That’, Nisargadatta speaks many times of his practice and the profound effect his own Guru had upon him.
The following are direct quotes from I Am That focusing on what Nisargadatta spoke of his own sadhana (spiritual practice) and the teachings of his own Guru.
This is one of a series of introductory articles – please see the homepage of tomdas.com for more introductory articles.
The importance and power of satsang
The following are the first 5 verses of a composition by Sri Ramana Maharshi, all on the topic of ‘the company of sages’:
1. In the company of sages, attachment vanishes; and with attachment, illusion. Freed from illusion, one attains stability, and thence liberation while yet alive. Seek therefore the company of sages. (from Bhajagovindam, the “Mohamudagaram Hymn,” by Shankaracharya)
2. Not by listening to preachers, nor by study of books, not by meritorious deeds nor by any other means can one attain that Supreme State, which is attainable only through association with the sages and the clear quest of the Self. (a verse from the Yoga Vasishta, 5 – 12 – v.17)
3. When one has learned to love the company of sages, wherefore all these rules of discipline? When a pleasant, cool southern breeze is blowing, what need is there for a fan? (a verse from the Yoga Vasishta)
4. Fever is overcome by the cool light of the moon; want, by the good wish-yielding tree; and sin by the Holy Ganges. Those three – fever and want and sin – all flee at the august sight of the peerless sage. (Subhashita Ratna Bhandargara, chapt. 3, v. 6)
5. Holy rivers, which are only water, and idols, which are made of stone and clay, are not as mighty as the sages. For while they make one pure in course of countless days, the sage’s eyes by a mere glance purify at once. (from Srimad Bhagavatam, chapt. 48, v. 31, tenth canto)
~ above verses are taken from the Supplement to the 40 verses on Reality by Sri Ramana Maharshi. In these specific verses, rather than writing new verses himself, he incorporated verses from traditional scriptures (source given in brackets). You can read the original text in full here.
How to gain from satsang: Silence and Satsang
Questioner: I want to ask a question. May I do so?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: Yes, what question? You said you had read Paul Brunton’s book ‘The Secret Path’. Read it a thousand times — Paul Brunton has expressed me correctly; then why do you not practice it? Turn to page 73 and see if you don’t find an answer to your question in paragraph 2 [see later in the post for this text].
Silence is never-ending speech. Vocal speech obstructs silent speech. More things are achieved by silence and more thoughts are conveyed by silence to a wider world. Oral questions and answers may appear to benefit the questioner and a few listeners in this hall, but actually they obstruct, delay and interrupt the silent communication of thought-waves to thousands of spiritual aspirants all over the world.
So many sadhaks who come to me for inquiry and elucidation would amply benefit themselves and others by sitting before me silently — absolutely speechless. The greatest and most effective forces are those which are invisible, such as the ether or electricity. Any query you desire to make, ask your own mind or thought — you will, readily find the answer there. The most effective help is with silence.
– above dialogue taken from the book ‘Conscious Immortality’
In the above dialogue Sri Ramana Maharshi referred to page 73 paragraph 2 of Paul Brunton’s book ‘The Secret Path’, which you can read here:
Only in deep silence may we hear the voice of the soul; argument but beclouds it and too much speech stops its appearance. When you have caught your fish you may share it, but while you are angling for it, talk breaks the spell and frightens the fish away. If we could occupy ourselves less with the activities of the larynx and more with the activities of the deeper mind, we might arrive at something worth saying. Speech is an ajunct, no an obligation. To be is the prime duty of man.
Life teaches us silently while men utter their instruction in loud voices.
The treasure-trove of the real self is within us, but it can be lifted only when the mind is still.
– excerpt from ‘The Secret Path’ by Paul Brunton, pages 73-74
The importance of the Guru
Question 4. If it be true that the Guru is one’s own Self (atman), what is the principle underlying the doctrine which says that, however learned a disciple may be or whatever occult powers he may possess, he cannot attain self-realisation (atma-siddhi) without the grace of the Guru?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: Although in absolute truth the state of the Guru is that of oneself it is very hard for the Self which has become the individual soul (jiva) through ignorance to realise its true state or nature without the grace of the Guru.
All mental concepts are controlled by the mere presence of the real Guru. If he were to say to one who arrogantly claims that he has seen the further shore of the ocean of learning or one who claims arrogantly that he can perform deeds which are well-nigh impossible, “Yes, you learnt all that is to be learnt, but have you learnt (to know) yourself? And you who are capable of performing deeds which are almost impossible, have you seen yourself?”, they will bow their heads (in shame) and remain silent. Thus it is evident that only by the grace of the Guru and by no other accomplishment is it possible to know oneself.
~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Spiritual Instruction (Upadesa Manjari)
Tom Das 