Ramana Maharshi

You also are a Jnani; only, you think otherwise! | Sri Ramana Maharshi | Aham Sphurana

~ Tom Das ~ 1 Comment

Questioner: For Jnanis it is different; what of the common man?

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi: You also are a Jnani; only, you think otherwise!

Q.: How could that be?

B.: The option of turning inwards and quietly allowing the mind to plunge and dissolve in the Self is equally available for all. It is not the fiefdom of a select few. All are verily only the Self.

Q.: That does not satisfy me. I am unable to Realise it for myself.

B.: So long as worldly attachments are present the mind cannot be succesfully turned inwards.

Q.: How to eliminate worldly attchment?

B.: By turning the mind inwards.

Q.: Really!

B.: The more you hold on to the Self or retain the mind in its native state of subjective-awareness-sustained-effortlessly-and-volitionlessly, the more the mental tendancies and worldly attachments wither off; the lesser the mental tendancies and worldly attachments, the easier does become retention of the mind in its native state of subjective-awareness-sustained-effortlessly-andvolitionlessly.

Q.: Which comes first?

B.: The sadhaka [Tom: seeker] recognises and reflects upon the ephemeral nature of the objective world and the transient nature of his own body. He gets fed up with material pleasures, because they eventually lead only to sorrow, when their enjoyment becomes, for any reason, impossible. He asks himself if a more permanent experience of life might not be possible.

Then he discovers the Ajata-advaita doctrine. Initially he is not convinced, and argues that if it were a dream there would be no possibility of corroboration, but that here his relatives and friends are able to confirm the evidence provided by his senses; he also asks why the same dream should be repeated everyday, were it all only a dream – according to him, here he sees the same sun, moon and earth everyday, whereas in his dreams he finds himself in new worlds moment to moment.

Eventually it dawns upon him that everything he thinks he knows, including an understanding of the apparent permanency of the world he believes himself to live in, is only thought or imagination. Then at the intellectual level he understands the truth – that the names and forms constituting the world are fictitious. This sparks a search for the substratum said to be underlying them, which alone is said to be Real by the wise.

He hears the teaching that the source of the mind, Beingness, is the gateway to the Real Self. Then he begins the practice of quietening the mind by vichara or any other method, tackling various distractions as and when they arise, by withdrawing attention from them and fixing it on Beingness or the Self. The beginning is only becoming fed-up with the evanescent nature of the world and the fugacious attractions it has to offer.

Q.: The boubts Bhagavan mentioned – they are my doubts also. Why is everyone witnessing the same dream? The sun, moon, etc. are seen by all.

B.: In turn those “all” are seen by you only. In deep slumber when there is no mind, nothing is available to be seen, but your existence is a constant.

Q.: Why do I dream the same dream everyday? For instance yesterday I came to the ashram and had darshan of Bhagawan; he was sitting on the same sofa in exactly the same manner. Today I am seeing Bhagawan and tomorrow also it is going to be the same Bhagawan.

B.: The future is a mere mental projection. The past is a mere memory. Have you not had dreams where the places you visit look extremely familiar?

Q.: At least is the present real?

B.: Anything seen cannot be Real. What is seen is not Pratyaksha. It is not self-evident, because there is a subject-object relationship involved. It is merely sensory information that is fed into the mind by the strength of its own evil faculty of avidya maya. That alone is Real which shines by its own light.
You are asking about the objects of the world. Can such objects exist without a YOU, a perceiver? When there is no perceiver, as in swoon or deep slumber, is there anything to be perceived? No. What is the inference? The objects owe the appearance of their apparent existence to you only. They are merely mental creations. The appearance of this enormous cosmos around you is merely a mental information. The mind is fiction. Therefore the ‘objects’ manufactured by it are also fictitious. Have not the least doubt about it.

Q.: If everything is unreal, can we conclude that bondage and liberation are also unreal?

B.: Yes.

Q.: Then why should I try to obtain Liberation? Let me remain as I am.

B.: Exactly!

Q.: I do not understand.

B.: Remaining as you are is the loftiest Sadhana.

Q.: How can remaining in ignorance be sadhana?

B.: You think that you are in ignorance. When you do not think at all, what remains is only wisdom. Removal of the screen of thought is all that is required for Reality to be revealed. Since you want a sadhana by means of which you may reach this thought-free state, vichara is suggested. Actually there is no need for any sadhana for one who has mastered the art of remaining as he is – the art of Being. That is the import of the advice Summa Iru. People generally misunderstand it. It does not mean keeping the body idle. It means keeping the mind still or free from thought. Remain perpetually absorbed in the thought-free I-Current. This will automatically lead you to the Sahaja-stithi [Tom: the natural state] without requirement for further effort.

Q.: Is even desire for Liberation an obstacle to Liberation?

B.: Yes.

The above excerpt is taken from Aham Sphurana, 17th July 1936, see here for more information on this text.

How to do self-enquiry: a straightforward guide

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

Here is an entire playlist of videos, all focused on self-enquiry, starting with the basics and then going through the various queries and challenges you may encounter along the way.

Together, these videos could represent a do-it-yourself self-study course on self-enquiry.

The audio quality of some of the earlier videos may not be so good, but this improves with the more recent videos. Enjoy!

All by Sri Ramana’s Grace

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The sage liberated in this life (Jnani or Jivanmukta) is not a body-mind entity

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

This was first posted on Facebook here

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.

Ramana Maharshi on people ‘Mutilating’ the Truth | The 2 levels of non-dual teachings | Advaita Vedanta

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

(SEE PENULTIMATE PARAGRAPH FOR THE ‘MUTILATING TRUTH’ PART)

One devotee of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s, a certain Lakshmana Sarma (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.

Lakshmana Sarma, who was with Sri Ramana for over 20 years, was uniquely qualified to comment on Sri Ramana’s teachings as he was one of only 2 people who received personal 1 to 1 tuition from Sri Ramana on the deeper meaning of Sri Ramana’s teachings which went on for several years. He was also a Vedic and Sanskrit scholar, having studied the Upanishads and Shankara’s vast works as well as many other works too. Many of his books were published during Sri Ramana’s lifetime and were recommended by Sri Ramana himself. Ramana Maharshi said that LS’s commentary on Ramana’s work ’40 verses on reality’ was the best one availabile. Being fluent in English, LS translated his books himself into English so we can be sure the English translations are accurate.

In LS’s book entitled ‘Maha Yoga‘, he explains Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings in the context of the Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta; and he also gives Sri Ramana’s view on how the Sage sees the world.

In Maha Yoga LS explains there are 2 levels of the teaching, the higher (true) teachings for those who can accept there the world is not real and lower (ultimately untrue) teachings for those who cannot. Note that LS uses the English word ‘revelation’ to refer to Shruti (the revealed scriptures consisting primarily of the Vedas and Upanishads). Here is Maha yoga pages 59-60:

‘The ancient lore is twofold. One part of it is addressed to those who are not conscious of being in ignorance, and therefore have no use for a teaching intended to dispel that ignorance. The other part of the ancient lore is addressed to those that are conscious of the ignorance and are in earnest to escape from it. These two parts are quite distinct. But this feature of the ancient Revelation is not known to these believers. Besides they are offended by the inevitable corollary that theirs is a lower position; they also feel it a grievance that the world, which they believe to be real, should be dismissed as unreal, and often want to quarrel with us who are followers of the Sages; we however have no quarrel with them, as the Sages have pointed out, because we realise that for them it is all right to believe as they do, and, so believing, to make the best of the world while it lasts. They are like dreamers who are persuaded that their dreams are real, and do not want to awake.’

LS testifies about how he often saw Bhagavan Sri Ramana ‘water down’ the teachings to suit those who were unwilling or unable to hear the true teachings. Even many devotees of Sri Ramana were often not able to accept the higher teachings. See here in Maha Yoga pages 160-161:

‘Even among the Sage’s disciples, there are some who cannot understand the answer [that the world is not real and has never even actually appeared]; but that is so because they are believers in a fascinating, but complicated creed, in which the chief tenet is that the world is real as such; it is therefore quite natural that they should refuse to understand the Sage’s teachings, of which the essential part is that the world is not real as such. They are dualists in fact, and as such violent haters of Advaitic teaching.

‘In this connection we may take note of the tenderness the Sage shows for the weaknesses of believers. The Sage observes the rule enunciated in the Gita (3.26) that no one’s faith should be disturbed. Therefore when ardent dualists are present, the Sage is very careful in what he says. He does not, while they are present, give out clear Advaitic teaching. But as soon as the dualists go out, he turns round to the Advaitis that remain, and apologetically explains to them that he had to water down the teaching to suit the dualists.’

This is important to note, as Sri Ramana’s closest devotees were all in agreement about this point, that Sri Ramana’s highest teaching to those who knew him best was Ajata Vada (see here for more on this) and that the body-mind-world does not even appear to a Jnani, not even as an appearance. Lower teachings stating that the world still remained were often given out to those who were not willing or able to receive these higher teachings.

In the Bhagavad Gita verse 3.26, referred to above by LS, Lord Krishna recommends that we do not disturb the minds of the ignorant who are attached to a life of doing and action (karma) and who are not yet ready to hear the higher teaching:

3.26 Let not the wise disrupt the minds of the ignorant who are attached to action, they should not be encouraged to refrain from work, but to engage in work in the spirit of devotion

LS continues:

‘He thus treats the latter as immature ones, and the Advaitis as adults who can understand that allowances have to be made to the immature. But he leaves us in no doubt at all, that the Advaitic teaching is the highest there can be.

‘On many occasions the Sage has clearly testified to this. One such occasion was this. Somebody had written in a book, that the Truth would be whole only if the world be real as such – with all its variety – not else. When this writer was reading this, the Sage [Sri Ramana Maharshi] exclaimed: ‘As if the Truth would be mutilated otherwise.’’

How many times have we heard the (false) teaching that true non-duality would and must include the world! Here above Sri Ramana is clearly refuting this.

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Sri Ramana Maharshi on great public workers trying to reduce misery and suffering in the world

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

Excerpt from Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 272

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: To whom does all this appear?

D: That won’t do. I see misery around.

M: 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…

Look – there’s no one here! (And other false teachings) The essentials of Self-Enquiry | Genuine non-dual realisation | Non-duality

~ Tom Das ~ 4 Comments

This post was originally posted on Facebook here.

‘Looking at your own direct immediate experience and not being able to find a separate self – this exercise or practice or so-called ‘investigation’ has nothing to do with genuine self-inquiry.‘

Looking at your own direct immediate experience and not being able to find a separate self – this exercise or practice or so-called ‘investigation’ has nothing to do with genuine self-inquiry.

Many times I have seen how this teaching leads to confusion and dullness of mind, and actually ensnares you in a belief system called ‘non-duality’ or ‘there is no self’ or ‘there is no person, there is no one here’. These stock phrases are said by a body-mind entity and can create a belief system in the mind that leads you away from the genuine non-dual realisation.

AN EXPLANATION

It is just like saying ‘can you in your direct and immediate experience find air?’, and when you (in this example) cannot find air or see it or touch it or feel it, then you can triumphantly exclaim ‘there is no air!’.

If this was believed, then this would mean you have now entered into a conceptual belief system, and one that is not in line with reality, and therefore needs constant reinforcement and leads to confusion about how to live and act in the world.

Or it is like saying can you find loyalty in your direct experience? No? That means there is no such thing as loyalty! Or can you find a proton or electron in your own direct experience? No? This means you have now discovered there are no protons or electrons! Of course, this kind of exploration and investigation is superficial, non-scientific, irrational and ultimately absurd.

Like loyalty, a separate self cannot always be found in one’s own direct experience, but it emerges in relationship, in daily life and through actions. Merely saying ‘I cannot find my/a separate self’ and repeatedly coming back to this practice/inquiry, will not lead to genuine liberation at all. Whilst it does involve observation and seeing, it is a mental practice as its conclusion is in the mind; ironically it is egoic, as it is for the mind.

SEPARATE SELF KEEPS ON COMING BACK! (WITH THE FLAWED TEACHINGS)

Because the sense of separate self emerges during relationship and actions, it keeps on popping up again, leading the seeker to frustration – why at one point could they (allegedly*) see there was no self, but at another point self keeps on coming back to them again, causing them suffering?

(*If no ego-self was truly ‘seen’, it never comes back again. If ego comes back again, that means it never really went away, and that it was the ego claiming there was no ego all along)

OTHER SIMILARLY FLAWED TEACHINGS

This flawed teaching is similar to other forms of so-called ‘enquiry’ that conclude ‘all is consciousness’ after simply noticing that all they can be conscious of is consciousness, or all objects (that you are conscious of) appear within consciousness. This cannot be a proof that all there is is consciousness – it is merely proof that all you are aware of is within your own awareness, or all that you are conscious of is within your own consciousness, which is self-evident but which tells us nothing about reality per se. Again, this is superficial, irrational and flawed logic.

All is consciousness, but this is only known through a genuine self-enquiry.

More than this, this kind of so-called ‘enquiry’ will also take you away from a genuinely liberating teaching that leads one to genuine discovery of the actual non-dual truth (that is far deeper and also far simpler, more natural and more intuitive than these kinds of superficial, and ultimately conceptual/intellectual, teachings).

SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI SETS US ON THE CLEAR PATH

This is why genuine teachers such as Sri Ramana never gave these kinds of teachings at all. Instead, he always advised we turn our attention inwards, away from phenomenal and objective appearances, towards the sense of self or ‘I am’, the subject, and thereby discover the non-dual truth that we actually, already always are.

See in the text he wrote called ‘The essence of instruction‘ (Upadesa Saram), in verse 16 he writes:

’16. It is true wisdom for the mind to turn away from outer objects and behold its own effulgent form.’

See how he makes the teaching simple and clear!

WHAT ABOUT VERSE 17?

Now in verse 17, the next verse, there is a teaching which is often misunderstood. People do not usually realise that he explains what the actual meaning of verse 17 is in verse 18 and 19. He writes in verse 17:

’17. When unceasingly the mind scans its own form there is nothing of the kind. For everyone this path direct is open’

Whilst this verse seems to be an endorsement of the very teaching I’m saying here is not a genuine teaching, we can see in the next two verses he explains what verse 17 really means. In the next two verses, in verses 18 and 19, Ramana Maharshi explains the meaning of verse 17, namely that one must find the source of the ego and not simply say ‘I cannot find any separate self here’.

What is the source of the ego? It is the self, the subject, as he is already explained in verse 16 and in other verses in the same text.

(For brevity I will not quote all the verses here in this post, as you can easily look at them up yourselves here. The entire text of Upadesa Saram is only 30 verses long.)

THE TRUE TEACHING

The teaching is always to turn within, to turn away from objects, and sink and merge the mind into the Self, the pure subject, thereby attain liberation/self-knowledge. The point of a question such as the question ‘who am I?’, is only to drive one’s attention inwards towards the subject, as he is explained in his writings and verbal teachings.

Sri Ramana Maharshi assures us that this is the essential teaching when he says in The Garland of Guru’s Sayings (Guru Vachaka Kovai) verse 291:

  1. 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.

He also chides those who teach these intellectual teachings, who have never turned within and discovered their true nature:

  1. The innocent girl-bride thinking that betrothal is full conjugal union is filled with joy. Even so the learned who have yet to turn within and taste true bliss claim that the verbal wisdom which they prattle is Advaita Jnana (non-dual knowledge)

For an easy to read but comprehensive overview of the true teaching I recommend this book which you can download for free here, or alternatively check out my recommended reading list and/or introductory articles on the homepage of the same website:

The entire path explained: the Path of Sri Ramana (Parts 1 and 2; PDF downloads)

Here are some more quotes from Sri Ramana Maharshi, also taken from Guru Vachaka Kovai (click here to download the entire text for free):

391. Those who do not dive into the Heart
And there confront the Self in the five sheaths hid
Are only students answering out of books
Clever questions raised by books,
And not true seekers of the Self.

835. Renouncing this phenomenal world
Which seems to, but does not, exist
We gain (the great ones say) the Self,
The Awareness shining all unseen.

See here for more verses like the ones above together with a guided meditation.

May we listen to Bhagavan’s teachings and thereby become one with him, discovering our own self, our own glorious true nature, which is found within, shining in the heart as I Am, I Am.

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♥️ Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Arunachala Ramanaya Om ♥️

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Effort, effortlessness and choiceless awareness | Sri Ramana Maharshi

~ Tom Das ~ 8 Comments 
Sri Ramana Maharshi:

Effortless and choice-less awareness is our real nature. If we can attain that state and abide, that is all right. But one cannot reach it without effort, the effort of deliberation or meditation, whether it be upon Self inquiry, surrender or both. All the age-old vasanas (inherent tendencies) turn the mind outward to external objects. All such thoughts must be given up, the mind turned inwards. That, for most people, requires effort. Every teacher and every scripture tells the aspirant to keep quiet, but it is not so easy to do.

That is why all this effort is necessary. Even if we find somebody who has achieved this supreme state of stillness without seeming effort, you may take it that the necessary effort had already been made in a previous life. So effortless and choice-less awareness is attained only after deliberate meditation. That meditation can take whatever form that most appeals to you. See what helps you to be free of thought and adopt that for your meditation.

Bliss will ensue if you keep still, but however much you tell your mind this truth, it will not keep still. It is the ego-mind that tells itself to be still in order for it to attain bliss, but it will not do it. Though all the scriptures have said it and though we hear it daily from the great ones and even from our Guru, we are never quiet, always straying into the world of Maya (illusion) and sense objects. That is why conscious, deliberate effort is needed to attain that effortless state of stillness.

Indeed, until the supreme, effortless state is attained, it is impossible for a man not to make effort. His own nature compels him to, just as Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita told Arjuna that his own nature would compel him to fight.

If you can keep still without engaging in any other pursuits, well and good. But for so long as you are obliged to be active, do not give up the attempt to realize the Self. Often glimpses of Realization are attained before it becomes permanent, and in all such cases effort remains necessary.

Yet, the belief that you have to make an effort to get rid of this dream of a waking state and attain Realization or real awakening is also a part of the dream. When you attain Realization you will see that there was neither the dream during sleep nor the dream during the waking state, but only yourself and your real nature.

~ Sri Ramana Maharshi.

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