Ramana Maharshi

Muruganar: The Pre-eminent form of worship

~ Tom Das ~ 5 Comments
Through the grace of my Lord’s glorious revelation I learned that the pre-eminent form of worship – which alone is worthy of him – who shines within the heart as the Self – is just to be. Thus did I learn to worship him without worshipping through the simple act of being.
Sri Guru Ramana Prasadam, verse 389

Sri Guru Ramana Prasadam was written by Muruganar (1890-1973), one of the most eminent of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s devotees. Muruganar was liberated shorty after meeting Ramana and thereafter continued to spend several decades alongside him. It is because of Muruganar’s questioning and urging that Ramana composed works such as ‘Self-Knowledge’, ‘The Essence of Instruction’ and ‘Forty Verses on Reality’. These succinct works contain the essence of Ramana’s (written) teachings. We are indeed indebted to Muruganar! Continue reading →

Ramana Maharshi: The 4 paths to freedom (the 4 yogas)

~ Tom Das ~ 2 Comments

In this passage below Ramana Maharshi talks about the four traditional Hindu paths to ending suffering or moksha (liberation/freedom). The four paths are traditionally called the paths of knowledge (jnana), love or devotion (bhakti), meditation (raja yoga), and doing good works (karma).

Almost every spiritual tradition around the world will fit into one of more of these four paths Continue reading →

Ramen with Ramana

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment
image
Mushroom Ramen from Bone Daddies, London

Wandering through Soho (London), I decided to treat myself to something a bit different for lunch. I soon stumbled across Bone Daddies. Not being au fait with these things I had no idea what this place actually was (restaurant? clothes shop?), but it looked pretty cool. My ears quickly picked up on a few guitar riffs emanating from inside and peeking through the windows I could see a plethora of men with beards, women clad in skin-tight pre-distressed jeans and thick rimmed black spectacles to boot. Oh, and they were eating – it seems that Bone Daddies is a restaurant after all. Continue reading →

A rant: kicking spiritual seekers in the balls

~ Tom Das ~ 4 Comments

“And yet, even as I speak, Subhuti, I must take back my words as soon as they are uttered, for there are no Buddhas and there are no teachings.”

Buddha, Diamond Sutra

I’ve been reading several blogs and other writings aimed at spiritual seekers who have everything laid out so clearly. They have the map to spiritual enlightenment all put together ready for mass consumption. They say things like you are Pure Consciousness or Pure Awareness.

All the concepts are lined up ready to be taught by the bearded guru and gobbled up by the next willing namaste-wielding student greedy for the big E. Here, let the Kunjed Gyalpo metaphorically kick the spiritual-seeker-in-you in the balls (if you’ll forgive my sexism): Continue reading →

A Quaker Silence

~ Tom Das ~ 5 Comments

AssemblyOfQuakers

I went to Quaker meeting for worship today on Easter Sunday. We sit in silence for an hour, and if anyone is moved to speak they do so. The idea is that it is the Silence that speaks, not the ego, Silence being that ever-present Presence, also known as God (or whatever other word you want to use).

‘Not by reading do you get the truth. Be quiet, that is truth. Be still, that is God.’
from Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi, ch. 100

Continue reading →

Don’t take spiritual concepts too seriously

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

pine cone

“The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao” Tao te ching, verse 1

We don’t need to take spiritual concepts too seriously. They are there to guide us, to point us in the right direction only. The reality they point to cannot be described. When we start to take teachings too seriously we miss this point and start to become dogmatic.

“Any interpretations that are set up and established as truth become meaningless phrases” Bankei

I’ve met people who follow Advaita Vedanta who say that consciousness is what we really are, and others who say what we are is beyond consciousness. Both of these are useful teachings, but don’t take them too seriously, either one of them. Both are useful and untrue. If you take a single position as being true, then that is a belief. Your attachment to a conceptual truth indicates the belief in ego/individuality that underlies it. Continue reading →

Ramana: chose the guru who gives you peace

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

Ramana smiling

Question: There are a number of spiritual teachers teaching various paths. Whom should one take for one’s Guru?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: Choose that one where you find you get shanti (peace).

From Day by Day with Bhagavan p.169

Continue reading →

The Ribhu Gita

~ Tom Das ~ 5 Comments

ribhu

Ahh, the Ribhu Gita. Its words are uncompromising: they leap off the page, smack you in the mouth and leave you speechless (and thoughtless). At first glance the ideas it unfolds are preposterous. But this text is not meant for the mind. It is meant for the heart, it is speaking directly to that Truth that we already are and always have been. Continue reading →