ramana maharshi
Is ‘Ananda’ (the bliss of the Self) the same as feeling happy? Teachings of Ramana Maharshi
Thoughts & Emotions – can these both be defined as ‘objects’ in Ramana Maharshi’s teachings?
Ramana Maharshi’s Distillery For Purification
Aham Sphurana – Scintillations of Jnana from Sri Ramana Maharshi – PDF download of the complete unedited text
Aham Sphurana [‘I Shining’ or ‘I vibration’ or ‘I Am shining’ or ‘Shining of the I AM’], an unedited text of over 1000 pages, claims to contain a collection of previously unpublished talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi as apparently recorded by a visitor to Sri Ramana Ashrama, Sri Gajapathi Aiyyer, in 1936.
This is a controversial text and the authenticity of the teachings as being genuinely from Sri Ramana Maharshi cannot be confirmed, a fact acknowledged in the manuscript preamble itself, but I share these teachings here in case they are of interest to you.
At the time of writing this post, there is also a 280 page version of this text which is available from Open Sky Press – this is a beautifully arranged set of teachings collated from Aham Sphurana – but the teachings have been edited and therefore subtly changed. Sometimes this makes the teachings easier to access, but sometimes the meaning of the text may inadvertently be altered.
For example, this post, which I have presented in unedited form, is also present in the Open Sky Press version but the word ‘solipsism’ was removed from the edited version of the text on page 57 and for some reason replaced with the word ‘egoism’; the reference to Berkeley was also removed and the Latin phrase was (slightly) wrongly translated. For some this may make it easier to access, as the word solipsism is a philosophical term that some may not be familiar with, but for others reading Sri Ramana’s alleged view on solipsism may be fascinating and useful, and the removal of this term could take away from the depth of the teaching; similarly with the reference to the philosopher Berkeley.
Having read many spiritual texts, my personal preference is to read as near to the source material as possible (and where possible to go to primary sources themselves), as this gives the most accurate presentation of the teachings. I have read many texts that try to be helpful through editing but many end up inadvertently distorting the teachings. This is also why when I make comments on texts, I try to make it very clear what is added by me as opposed to what is present in the original, so the reader has an opportunity to assess my comments in light of the actual source material. To this end I am sharing the unedited PDF here for those who find it useful.
Best wishes & Namaste
Tom
Aham Sphurana book excerpt – Solipsism and the shock of hearing the Ajata teachings | Sri Ramana Maharshi | Advaita Vedanta
The following is a teaching excerpt from a large unedited manuscript, well over 1000 pages long, called ‘Aham Sphurana’. You can download the entire text here.
Aham Sphurana [‘I Shining’ or ‘I vibration’ or ‘I Am shining’ or ‘Shining of the I AM’] claims to contain a collection of previously unpublished talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi as apparently recorded by a visitor to Sri Ramana Ashrama, Sri Gajapathi Aiyyer, in 1936.
The authenticity of the teachings as being genuinely from Sri Ramana Maharshi cannot be confirmed, a fact acknowledged in the manuscript preamble itself, but I share these teachings here in case they are of interest to you.
11th July 1936
Sri Ramana Maharshi: When a man is told he is neither the body nor the mind, he is initially puzzled, because all along his life his experience of self has been confined to these two only. When he hears the words of the Jnana-guru for the first time, he learns to his shock that these two [Tom: ie. body and mind] are suddenly to be regarded as unreal, insignificant and immaterial, and Consciousness of Being alone is to be treated as Real and material.
To one whose understanding of the world is sustained by conceptual knowledge and whose life is ruled by subject-object relationships, this can be too much of a shock to bear. He either laughs off the Ajata-advaita doctrine as sheer nonsense developed by mischievous minds that have nothing better to do, or takes it seriously and is shocked by the implications – everything he has ever known and cherished in his life is now suddenly revealed to be meaningless, fungible, evanescent and mutable, and thus unreal and unworthy of consideration, whereas what he had never before paid attention to is revealed as the only permanent, abiding Reality.
To one who has up till that point in time been regarding himself as a subject, finite across time and space, occupying an objective world, this revelation comes as a great emotional and mental upheaval, because he is attached to the things of the world.
One whose past sadhanas [Tom: spiritual practices] have weakened all attachment takes naturally to the idea that the world is a dream – either way it is not going to matter to him because he is not interested in it. The idea that the world does not exist as a collection of independent objects, but rather depends upon perception for its apparent existence, shocks some people. The evidence of the 5 sensory organs is merely random ‘information’. It does not denote that any such object is actually ‘out there’; there is no ‘out there’.
The inlet of consciousness is only one; therefore, all perceived depends upon the perceiver only; this consciousness, turned outside, is the world and its perceiver; turned inside it finds that it is the Self. Jagrat-prama [Tom: Knowledge of the waking state; Jagrat means the waking state, prama means knowledge] is the prama of jagrat-pramata [Tom: knower of the world; pramata means knower] [Tom: This entire sentence means that the [knowledge] of the waking state is knowledge for the knower of the waking state, ie. It is the ego that knows the waking state]. Apart from the perceiver there is no such thing as the perceived. The pramata[Tom:knower] believes he knows so many things about the world; he is merely accessing the contents of his own mind. All thoughts and perceptions are intra-mental modifications. The light of the Self falls on the aham-vritti and its children, the other vrittis, and a jiva [Tom: the (apparent) individual person] is born. It is for the aspirant to destroy all the other vrittis. The Self takes care of the nude ahamvritti – that is, destroys it. Then it will remain without reflection.
Questioner: This is pure solipsism – Berkeley’s Esse est percipi aut percipere [Tom: ‘to be is to be perceived or to perceive’ as expressed by George Berkeley].
Sri Ramana Maharshi: The solipsist says the mind is real, that everything, including the world and thoughts, that proceed from it is a phantom or shadow. He does not question the reality of the mind itself. I am asking you to go even further. I say that the mind itself is a shadow or phantom proceeding from the Self.
You will discover this as a matter of direct experience – if only you will probe into the source of the mind.
You ask why some do not Realize. You wonder whether prarabdha [Tom: fate or destiny] might be the reason. No. Prarabdha has no power to pull back into the world a jiva that is adamantly determined to disappear in its source forever. Then what is the reason, you ask. This is the reason – clinging fast to objective knowledge [Tom: this is the reason why some do not realise the Self].
There are learned pandits who have written rich commentaries volume after volume – upon various Advaitic texts which directly propound the Ajata-advaita doctrine- Ashtavakra Gita, Ribhu Gita, Panchadasi, Kaivalya Navaneetam, Ozhivil Odukkam, etc, etc. Go to their houses when a loved one has died, and ask how they feel. You may be met with a hostile stare. If you sit down then and there and explain all this, you may count yourself lucky if permitted thereafter to leave with your life. Where does the problem lie? All the learning has been in vain, because it has stopped at the level of the intellect.
It is unable to crush the Ego, because there was no practice. The only effort made was to read more books, go on writing commentaries, and go on receiving accolades for being ‘an Expert in the field of Advaita’, thus making the ego grow bigger and bigger. Never was effort made to still the ceaseless waves of thought. Even some effort in that direction might have brought a reciprocal flow of Grace from the Self. But no. Read, write, receive shawls at book-launch festivals, imagine oneself to be acting in a highly intelligent manner in saying the words, “No, no, it is all God’s work… I am an instrument in his hands, that is all…” there, receive applause, and inflate the ego further and further.
The Sun and the Earth may one day decide to interchange their positions out of boredom, but such people, who are infatuated with the poisonous wine of love for book-learning, cannot obtain True Knowledge. Objective knowledge and book-learning are the most deadly enemies on the path to Self-Realistion, because they are expertly disguised as sweet friends, and the disguise runs deep indeed.
Aham Spurana book excerpt – for complete beginners, is meditation on an object easier than Self-Enquiry? Sri Ramana Maharshi
The following is a teaching excerpt from a large unedited manuscript, well over 1000 pages long, called ‘Aham Sphurana’. You can download the entire text here.
Aham Sphurana [‘I Shining’ or ‘I vibration’ or ‘I Am shining’ or ‘Shining of the I AM’] claims to contain a collection of previously unpublished talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi as apparently recorded by a visitor to Sri Ramana Ashrama, Sri Gajapathi Aiyyer, in 1936.
The authenticity of the teachings as being genuinely from Sri Ramana Maharshi cannot be confirmed, a fact acknowledged in the manuscript preamble itself, but I share these teachings here in case they are of interest to you.
5th July 1936
Questioner: Is it true that for complete beginners, meditation on an object is easier than attempting to practise vichara [Tom: self-enquiry]?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: Yes. As the aspirant gains one-pointedness (ekagrata) of mind, then he can commence with vichara.
Questioner: Should sadhakas [Tom: seekers] then be discouraged from taking up vichara whilst yet being neophytes?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: Leave each one to take up that method or path which appeals the most to him. All other methods, if persevered with long enough, eventually lead up to vichara only. Vichara begins to have significant effect after the aspirant is able to plainly distinguish between the inward-turned and outward-turned mind, and hastens to avoid the latter and inhere in the former as soon as he observes that his mind is wandering.
Questioner: How shall I get vairagya [Tom: dispassion, ie. turining away from objects or loss of interest in objects or objective phenomena]?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: A correct understanding of the actual nature of happiness will lead you to it. Now you seek happiness but think that happiness flows into you from the outside world, or that your mind absorbs happiness from the external, objective world. But what is the truth? Far from causing happiness, the appearance of manifestation is the cause for all our wretchedness. The pleasure that is got by interaction of the mind with objects of sensory perception also has the obverse side of pain. The desire for happiness is right but you have been deluded (by avidya maya) into imagining pain-associated and transient pleasures to be real happiness. Sensory perceptions yield short-lived pleasure which moreover causes pain in its wake. Pain and pleasure alternate with one another in the world. To ascertain the difference between fleeting, momentary, and pain-associated happinesses with the Supreme Happiness of the Self and confine oneself wisely to exclusively the latter is known as vairagya. Knowing that pursuit of sensory fascinations leads only to pain, why do you go in that direction? It is owing to the pull of the old habits of the mind. After these habits (vasanas) wear off, you will have abiding peace. The habits cannot suddenly be shaken off one day. They will go only by prolonged abhyasa [Tom: practice] and steady vairagya.
Questioner: What is the role of the Guru in making the mind steady?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: The Guru will only suggest that you surrender yourself unconditionally. He will not give you anything new which you have not got already.
Questioner: The mind is peaceful for a while, but after some time, again the old mischievous tendencies assume control over the mind and lead it astray. I don’t know what to do.
Sri Ramana Maharshi: By continuous practise you will succeed in retaining the mind in its source. The state of submergence of mind in its source is its natural state. If you want to regain the natural state, a tremendous fight is inevitable.
Questioner: What is the one thing which I should know properly so as to gain the upper hand in this fight?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: That you should never trust anything revealed into the field of your consciousness that may pull you away from the path leading into further and further introversion of mind.
Questioner: So visions are not necessarily a sign of spiritual progress?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: Do not be deceived by visions. Even if I appear before you, do not believe it. Only unintermittently attend to the task of keeping the mind incessantly submerged in the Heart. This is the only thing you need to do: Remain permanently submerged in the Heart.
Questioner: Guru’s Grace or God’s Grace is required for it. Please bless me with your Grace.
Sri Ramana Maharshi: Introversion of mind and Grace are the same thing. Why go searching outside for Grace? Is it not fruitless to do so? Is there anything outside you?
Questioner: So Grace is something I can win by my own efforts?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: Certainly. Grace is the same as the Self.
Questioner: I am not able to come here as often as I would like to. My work commitments prevent it.
Sri Ramana Maharshi: You regard the physical body as real and hence all your troubles. Whereas there are no limitations in the Self. Time and space are operative on the physical plane. Since we think that we are physical, we are enslaved by time and space. Realisation means not imagining that you are this and that, not thinking that you are conditioned by so-and-so circumstances. Are you in the world or is the world in you? In deep sleep did the world come and announce itself to you? Nevertheless, did you not exist in deep sleep? Are you different from the one that existed in deep sleep? Why then bother about time and space, which are merely concepts conjured up by the effervescent mind? Know that what you are in sleep is your true nature. That sleep continues even now; hold on to the state of sleepless sleep and see if these questions arise.
Questioner: How to sleep without sleeping?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: By always retaining the mind in its source and never allowing it to stray outwards. By practise, the state will gradually become spontaneous. That perfectly spontaneous state of continuous, volitionless and effortless thoughtlessness is the coveted state of sleepless sleep. That is the object of our efforts. It will come only by long practice.
Questioner: How to remind myself that I am not the body?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: Compare the present state with deep sleep. Were you with a body in sleep? Did you not exist all the same? The same ‘I’ which slept is now also present. Hold on to Him. The experience of bodilessness that was in deep sleep is also now. Even now you are bodiless. Only rein in the malefic force that asserts contrariwise: thought.
Questioner: How shall I get nirvikalpa samadhi?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: What is nirvikalpa samadhi? It is to remain permanently submerged in the Heart. In sleep, swoon, death and so on we merge into the Heart unconsciously. In samadhi we merge into the Heart consciously. Why remain apart from the source? Who is that one who wishes to remain apart from his source? Is his existence not mere pretension? The idea of your existence as an individual being is called moola avarana [Tom: root veiling, ie. root ignorance]. The idea is false, because as soon as he is steadily called upon to investigate himself and announce his existence the ego flies away. Then only Reality is left. This process is known as Realising the Self. But there is nothing to be newly gained. The one who dissipates the clouds does not create sky.
Is your own Self-Realisation the greatest service for the world? Ramana Maharshi
FREE AUDIOBOOK – Who Am I? (Nan Yar?) by Sri Ramana Maharshi
‘Who Am I?’ was originally composed by Sri Ramana Maharshi. It provides a summary of all the teachings one needs for liberation. This version is translated by Sri Sadhu Om and read by Anne, a devotee of Sri Ramana’s who attends Satsang meetings with Tom Das.
You can find the full text of ‘Who Am I?’ here.
Many people are unable to fully understand the teachings given in ‘Who Am I?’. It is therefore recommended you read The Path of Sri Ramana by Sri Sadhu Om (free download here): which more fully explains the teachings and/or find yourself a teacher.
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Om
Aham Sphurana book excerpt: How to prevent falling asleep during meditation? | Sri Ramana Maharshi
The following is the first teaching from a large unedited manuscript, well over 1000 pages long, called ‘Aham Sphurana’. You can download the entire text here.
Aham Sphurana [‘I Shining’ or ‘I vibration’ or ‘I Am shining’ or ‘Shining of the I AM’] claims to contain a collection of previously unpublished talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi as apparently recorded by a visitor to Sri Ramana Ashrama, Sri Gajapathi Aiyyer, in 1936.
The authenticity of the teachings as being genuinely from Sri Ramana Maharshi cannot be confirmed, a fact acknowledged in the manuscript preamble itself, but I share these teachings here in case they are of interest to you.
5th July 1936
Questioner: How to prevent falling asleep in meditation?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: If you think “I must not fall asleep; I am meditating now. Falling asleep would spoil my meditation”, your meditation will be spoilt, for thinking is the anti-thesis of meditation. If you try to consciously prevent sleep, therefore, it will lead to emergence of thought.
However, if you slip into sleep while meditating, the meditation will continue even during and just after sleep. Since thoughts about sleep are also distracting thoughts, such thoughts must also be got rid of, for the native thought-free state has to be obtained consciously in jagrat [Tom: jagrat means the waking state]. The resultant state of thought-free subjective consciousness sustained effortlessly and volitionlessly is known as jagrat-sushupthi [Tom: waking sleep or conscious sleep, see here for more], and it is the same as samadhi.
Never forget that dreaming, apparent wakefulness and sleeping are mere pictures upon the screen of the inherent, effortless thought-free state. Let them pass unnoticed.
You focus on Being the abiding Reality that serves as the permanent substratum underlying the 3 states, and let the 3 states, and what transpires in them, take care of themselves. Never worry about them.
The state of absence of thought and the state in which there are no ideas present is the primordial, natural state of mind for all; this is the original state of peace, which we subsequently spoil by bringing in thoughts.
Tom Das 