be still

Q. I want to become a Jnani, what should I do? Sri Ramama Maharshi | Aham Sphurana

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

The following excerpt is from the text Aham Sphurana 18th August 1936 – you can download the entire text here

Questioner: I also want to Realise the Self and become a Jnani like Sri Bhagavan. What should I do?

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi: Do not do anything. Step aside and permit the Light to Shine.

Q.: I do not understand what I should do to Realise the Self.

B.: Summa Iru. It means, ‘Remain naturally without thinking.’

Q.: As distinct from suppression or control of thought?

B.: Yes.

Q.: In my case effort is needed to remain without thinking.

B.: That is the problem.

Q.: How am I to reach the state wherein I am able to effortlessly remain in the state of absence of thoughts?

B.: Only by pursuing the investigation ‘Who-am-I?’.

Q.: How long to investigate?

B.: Until investigation is no-longer possible.

Q.: If I am able to effortlessly remain in the state wherein there are no thoughts, can I also become a Jnani?

B.: Undoubtedly.

Q.: God’s Grace is said to be necessary for it.

B.: Yes.

Q.: How to win God’s Grace?

B.: Only by relentlessly pursuing the investigation.

Q.: Is not everything predetermined?

B.: That argument is not meant to be used to justify anticipation of failure.

Q.: So long as the idea or belief ‘The world is real’ is sustained within the mind, vichara will yield no benefit. Am I correct?

B.: Yes. But the vichara itself will progressively facilitate you to see the truth.

Q.: Is it belief in the objective reality of the world that is preventing me from Realising?

B.: Not only that idea, all arbitrary-mental-conceptualisations [vrittis] must be eradicated from the mind before there can be any possibility of Realisation.

Q.: Why so?

B.: Vrittis [mental modifications or arbitrary-mental-conceptualisations] act as water in a cauldron which reflects the Sun as an image upon its surface. Thoroughly empty the cauldron. That is the nivritti state of mind. When the cauldron has been toppled and broken into pieces, chance of reflection – any further – is permanently ruined. This is the Sahaja-stithi of the Jnani. [Tom: Sri Ramana is stating that all vrittis (mental modifications or thoughts) must cease for realisation. When the mind is destroyed (through self-enquiry) and can no longer generate thoughts, that is the Sahaja or natural state of self-realisation, also known as self-knowledge]

Bhagavan then turned to the attendant and asked him to pick out a certain volume of the Bengali work Sri Ramakrishna Kathamritha. But that gentleman could not succeed in identifying the same from the book-case. Bhagavan himself retrieved the same and presently read out for the Hall in Tamil:

‘One attains the state of Brahmajnana when the mind has been destroyed. When the mind disappears and the ego has scarpered without leaving behind the least residue, that which was repeating I,I is discovered to have always been non-existent. It is possible to reach this state through bhakti or jnana. The Jnana-anveshaka considers the world as a mere dream or hallucination. Once perception of the world has ceased, only the ‘I-Consciousness’ remains. Imagine that there are 10 cauldrons filled with water. They all reflect the Sun. Now, totally how many suns do you see?

A Devotee – Ten reflected suns and the one true Sun.

Sri Ramakrishna – Imagine now that one of these cauldrons shatters into pieces. Now how many suns do you see?

The Devotee – Nine reflected suns and the one true Sun.

Sri Ramakrishna – Well, supposing that nine cauldrons are broken, how many suns would you see?

The Devotee- One reflected image of the sun and the one true Sun.

Sri Ramakrishna – What remains after the last cauldron is broken?

The Devotee – The one true Sun.

Sri Ramakrishna – No. No words can possibly describe what remains. It is what really IS. When there is no reflected sun, how can you tell that there is the real sun? In the state of samadhi the ‘I’ vanishes. What a man experiences then cannot be expressed through ideas when he comes down to a lower plane.

Q.: Is Bhagawan now talking to us from a lower plane, then?

B.: Sri Ramakrishna is describing nirvikalpa samadhi. In the Sahaja-stithi there is no lower plane or higher plane. [Tom: some say there are 2 aspects of reality – that which is with form and changed, and the unchanging formless, and that these 2 are actually a single inseperable whole. However, this is not the actual truth – it is an idea of truth that the ego may like and understand, but not the truth itself. Bhagavan is telling us that the Self, devoid of name, movement and form, that alone is the reality, and that is beyond words and ideas and concepts, that cannot be understood or conceived]

Q.: The example befuddles me. The Sun is never obscured by its reflection on any number of surfaces. Reflections of the Sun do not affect the Sun itself in any way.

B.: Exactly.

Q.: But the Self is obscured by the ego.

B.: Did the Self complain of being obscured by the ego?

Q.: So bondage is a fact only from the ego’s point of view.

B.: Quite so.

Q.: In that case how did the ego arise?

B.: Whose ego?

Q.: Mine. But who am I?

B.: Find out.

Advaita Vedanta – all thoughts must go! (Manonasa) The need to still the mind and end all thinking according to the Upanishads and Shankara’s commentaries | Nirvikalpa Samadhi

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

There are so many verses both in the Upanishads and in Shankara’s commentaries which state that all thoughts must be extinguished for liberation to occur. This is known as Manonasa (Mano = mind; nasa = anihiliation or destruction or dissolution), which is a traditional synonym for liberation (Moksha) or Self-Knowledge (Atma-Jnana). Here are some of these verses (and there are many many more which I have not included!):

(Note I have not included the numerous verses from Shankara’s text called Vivekachudamani which repeatedly advocates the thoughtless state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi which can be found in a separate post here)

When the five organs of perception become still, together with the mind, and the intellect ceases to be active: that is called the Supreme State [Brahma-Vidya or Self Knowledge]
~Katha Upanishad 2.3.10

Shankara’s commentary on this above verse (Katha Upanishad, verse 2.3.10) states the following:

‘At the time when the five senses…, together with the mind…, which is now no longer functioning and thinking, are at rest in the Self alone, after turning away from objects, and with the intellect…no longer engaging with its functioning, that they call the highest state [Brahma-Vidya or Self-Knowledge].’

This is reminiscent of the Amritabindu Upanishad and also of the Adhyatma Upanishad, both of which are considered to be traditional Upanishads in the Advaita Vedanta/ Jnana tradition:

The mind severed from all connection with sensual objects, and prevented from functioning out, awakes into the light of the heart, and finds the highest condition. The mind should be prevented from functioning, until it dissolves itself in the heart. This is Jnana, this is Dhyana, the rest is all mere concoction of untruth.
~ Amritabindu Upanishad

Manonasa is also known as Nirvikalpa Samadhi, see here:

The knot of the ignorance in the heart is broken completely only when one sees his Self as secondless through Nirvikalpa Samadhi
~Adhyatama Upanishad 1.17

Gaudapada writes in verse 3.38 of his Mandukya Karika:

There can be no acceptance or rejection where all mentation stops. Then knowledge is established in the Self and is unborn, and it becomes homogenous [ie. all objects disappear]

Shankara’s commentary on this verse 3.38 is as follows:

…therefore there is no rejection or acceptance in It, where thought does not exist. That is to say, how can there be rejection or acceptance where no mentation is possible in the absence of the mind? As soon as there comes the realisation of the Truth that is the Self, then, in the absence of any object, knowledge (Jnanam) is established in the Self, like the heat of fire in fire. It is then birthless (ajati) and becomes homogenous.

‘…when the mind becomes quiescent and does not give rise to appearances, it verily becomes Brahman’
~ Gaudapada, Mandukya Upanishad Karika 3.46

Shankara clarifies this further in his commentary on Mandukya Karika 3.46:

‘When the mind brought under discipline by the above-mentioned methods, does not fall into the oblivion of deep sleep, nor is distracted by external objects, that is to say, when the mind becomes quiescent like the flame of a light kept in a windless place; or when the mind does not appear in the form of an object – when the mind is endowed with these characteristics, it verily becomes one with Brahman.’

Anandagiri, a 13th century commentator on Shankara’s works, confirms this in his comments on Karika 3.46:
‘The external objects are nothing but the activities of the mind itself.’

So we can see that mind activity and external objects are one and the same, and that samadhi is devoid of both

The knowers of Brahman say that absolute Jnanam, knowledge, which is akalpakam [devoid of thoughts], and is therefore ajam, birthless…
~ Shankara’s commentary on Gaudapada Karika 3.33

This duality as a whole, that is mano-drsyam, perceived by the mind; is nothing but the mind, which is itself imagined – this is the proposition [Tom: ie. meaning of the verse]. For duality endures so long as the mind does, and disappears with the disappearance of the mind.
~ Shankara’s commentary on Gaudapada Karika 3.31

It has been said that when the mind is divested of ideation by virtue of the realisation of Truth that is Brahman, and when there is an absence of external objects (of perception), it becomes tranquil, controlled, and withdrawn, like fire that has no fuel. And it has further been said that when the mind thus ceases to be mind, duality also disappears.
~ Shankara’s commentary on Gaudapada Karika 3.33

‘The controlled mind is verily the fearless Brahman’
~Gaudapada Karika 3.35

On p.149 of The Method of Vedanta by SSS, SSS quotes from Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita to explain in more detail the method of Nididhyasana, as follows:

‘That yoga should certainly be practised with resolute mind. Giving up without exception all desires that come from individual, will, restraining the sense-organs on every side through the mind, one should gradually withdraw from all activity, with will and intellect firmly controlled; keeping the mind fixed on the Self, one should not think of anything. Wherever the fickle mind wanders, one should bring it back and fix it on the Self alone, under firm control. Supreme joy comes to such a yogi, whose mind is at perfect peace, whose lusts have subsided, who is sinless and who has become the Absolute.’

I thought I would end with Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi’s view of the scriptures and their purpose:

All the jnana scriptures that teach the way to redemption proclaim in unison that restraining and stilling the mind is the best means for liberation. This is also emphasised by jnanis. If, after a certain amount of study, one knows this to be the inner purport of the scriptures, one should then direct ones whole effort towards that [practice]. What is the use of continuously studying more and more scriptures without doing this?
~Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 141

There are so many more quotes I could have included, such as quotes from Yoga Vasistha and Ribhu Gita too!

Also see:

How can the Jnani (sage) function with NO THOUGHTS? Sri Ramana Maharshi

Does stillness of mind lead to liberation?

The ‘ultimate means’ to liberation

Just through Being Still

~ Tom Das ~ 6 Comments

Be still.

Just be still.

Gently,

Without force,

Allow all thoughts to subside,

In their own time,

So that only Stillness (Subject-Self-Consciousness) remains.

All doubts, confusions and questions

Will gently fade away effortlessly,

By themselves,

Just through Being Still.

Have faith in your Self-Nature

(Or Guru or God),

Know you are One and All,

And armed with this Knowing-Faith-Intuition,

Surrender,

And Be Still

Once one starts to gain experience in Being Still/turning within,

All teachings that do not encourage stillness or turning within

To discover the Pure Subject-Self/Divine Essence,

Are seen to be utterly superficial, egoic

And of the nature of delusion.

The Simple Being

That is your own True Self or True Nature

(Also known by more grandiose terms

Such as ‘Ultimate Truth’ or ‘Thoughtless Reality’ or ‘God’)

Will be revealed as simply your own Being

Or Isness

Devoid of objective arisings,

Just through Being Still.

‘You’ will discover your own True Self,

which is naturally devoid of arising objective phenomena,

just through Being Still.

Suffering will slips away of its own accord,

there being nowhere for it to attach itself to,

just through Being Still.

Bliss overflows
Infinity Dawns,
Eternity Rises,
Consuming all:
One is thrust into Eternal Life-Joy-Bliss,
One with Source (‘The Father’)

Just through Being Still

All duality is destroyed,
And with it suffering and egoity also disappear,
As the many waters of duality,
Flow into the Ocean of Unity,
(That is my Beloved Guru Bhagavan Sri Ramana,
Who is Grace,
Oneness itself)

Just through Being Still

Without Being Still,
(Also known as Self-Enquiry, Self-Surrender, Abiding as Self,
Being with God, Being with Guru, Residing in The Heart,
Turning Within, Awareness Watching Awareness, Self-Attention,
Parabhakti, Samadhi, Meditation,
Yoga, Devotion, Loving Self/God
Nididhyasana, Silence, Just Being),
Without this Sadhana (Spiritual Practice),
Know that ego-duality-confusion-suffering-samsara will continue potentially forever until the practice is undertaken.

Therefore,
Be Still.

For those who find themselves unable to practice thus,

Contemplate deeply upon this:

What will bring Eternal Joy-Peace-Happiness-Bliss?

Attending to/paying attention to that which changes (ie. various objects that arise and fall)

Or paying attention to that which never changes (the Subject-Consciousness-Self)?

Contemplating thus,

Know that attending to objects/maya simply leads to more objects/maya,

And thus more ego & suffering.

Contemplate this deeply.

Contemplating deeply, and knowing thus,
Discover what You Are:
Abide as the Self,
And Be Still.

Therefore

Be still.

Just be still.

Gently,

Without force,

Allow all thoughts to subside,

In their own time,

So that only Stillness (Subject-Self-Consciousness) remains.

❤️🙏❤️

What does it really mean to ‘be still’? Summa Irru | Sri Ramana Maharshi

~ Tom Das ~ 8 Comments

Now it is true that Sri Ramana often said that we should ‘be still’ [in Tamil – ‘Summa Irru’ which means ‘be still’ or ‘just be’] and that this is the practice, but what did he mean by ‘be still’? If we read and examine Sri Ramana’s written work ‘Who Am I?’, we will see what Sri Ramana means when he says ‘be still’ or ‘keep quiet’. Note that we can trust the teachings in ‘Who Am I?’ as an authentic rendition of Sri Ramana’s teachings as they were written by Sri Ramana himself.

Let us see: the first time we come across the notion of quieting the mind in ‘Who Am I?’ is as follows:

‘When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition’s and of all actions, becomes quiescent, the world will disappear.’

Now on the face of it this is quite a strange statement for Sri Ramana to make: that the world will disappear when the mind is still. Clearly, when Sri Ramana states that the mind is to be quiet, he is perhaps using these words in a different way to how they are normally used. How can it be that when the mind becomes quiet the world disappears?

Well earlier in ‘Who Am I?’ Sri Ramana explains that it is the mind is a power that creates or projects the entire body, mind and world*, so to ‘be quiet’ means not just to still the ordinary thinking mind, but to still this world-projecting power, ie. to remove all of Maya. Ramana repeats this, see here, also from ‘Who Am I?’:

Question: When will the realization of the Self be gained?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is the seer

Question: Will there not be realization of the Self even while the world is there?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: There will not be.

I have a video here which explains the importance of this teaching. It fundamentally explains why some teachings are liberating and others are not:

Whilst some teachings may encourage us to still the mind, Sri Ramana is emphasising removing the entire body-mind-world from our consciousness. We can see that Sri Ramana’s teaching is far more extreme than many others – it is this extreme teaching that is needed to remove ignorance and realise the Self.

Sri Ramana emphasises Self-Enquiry as the only sadhana that will lead us to Liberation. Again, Sri Ramana’s teaching is more narrow and prescriptive in this way, as he maintains that Self-Enquiry is the only way. Let us see what else Sri Ramana writes in ‘Who Am I?’:

Question: Are there no other means for making the mind quiescent?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: Other than inquiry [Vichara; Self-Enquiry], there are no adequate means.

We can see that Sri Ramana is stating that sadhana or self-enquiry is essential to make the mind quiet, so that when Sri Ramana is asking us to ‘be still’ or ‘keep quiet’, he is actually asking us to do Self-Enquiry.

*What is called mind (manam) is a wondrous power existing in Self (atma-swarupam). It projects all thoughts…Other than thoughts, there is no such thing as the world….Just as the spider spins out the thread from within itself and again withdraws it into itself, so the mind projects the world from within itself and again absorbs it into itself. ~ from Who Am I? by Sri Ramana Maharshi

The above post is excerpted from a longer post entitled Is Papaji’s teaching the same as Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teaching?

Also see these videos here: