realisation

If God is everywhere, why do we have to turn within? Why can’t we see God in the World? How is God to be seen? Sri Ramana Maharshi

~ Tom Das ~ 1 Comment

Also see:

Ramana Maharshi: how to abide as the Self

The need to turn within according to Advaita Vedanta

‘We must see Brahman in everything and everywhere’ is also not quite correct

The following is from Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk no. 244:

Question: How is God to be seen?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: Within. If the mind is turned inward God manifests as inner consciousness.

Tom: here Bhagavan Sri Ramana gives us the essential teaching – God is to be found within – not outside, meaning not in the body, mind or world, but within, meaning in the non-conceptual Self that is the Subject. As Ramana himself wrote in the text ‘Who Am I?’:

Question: When will the realization of the Self be gained?
Answer: When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is the seer.

And in the same text, Who Am I?, in the answer to question 16 it is written:

‘the Self itself is God’

However, the questioner poses a seemingly logical question, namely that if God is everywhere, why cannot be see God everywhere? Why the need to look within when we can just as easily look outside at ‘God’s creation’, through our senses and see God there? Let us see:

Q: God is in all – in all the objects we see around us. They say we should see God in all of them.

Sri Ramana Maharshi: God is in all and in the seer. Where else can God be seen? He cannot be found outside. He should be felt within. To see the objects, mind is necessary. To conceive God in them is a mental operation. But that is not real. The consciousness within, purged of the mind, is felt as God.

Tom: here Sri Ramana is stating that to see God outside is merely to see a projection of the mind, for according to Sri Ramana, as we shall see shortly, all objective phenomena are mere thoughts, or projections of the mind, much like a dream objects are projection of the mind. An alternative explanation is that to see God in objective phenomena is actually a subtle act of the mind, a conceptual framework we are overlaying onto objects.

However, the questioner persists in pursuing their line of enquiry by challening Sri Ramana – are not various objects beautiful? Are not colours lovely to look at? Can we not see God in these objects too? Let us see:

Q: There are, say, beautiful colours. It is a pleasure to watch them. We can see God in them.
Sri Ramana Maharshi: They are all mental conceptions.
Q: There are more than colours. I mentioned colours only as an example.
Sri Ramana Maharshi: They are also similarly mental.

Tom: the questioner states that we can see God in objects and through the senses, but Sri Ramana dismisses this as mere concepts. The questioner, having raised objective qualities such as colour, then having raised other senses, not just colour now goes onto the body and the mind:

Q: There is the body also – the senses and the mind. The soul makes use of all these for knowing things.
Sri Ramana Maharshi: The objects or feelings or thoughts are all mental conceptions. The mind rises after the rise of the I-thought or the ego. Wherefrom does the ego rise? From the abstract consciousness or Pure intelligence.

Tom: Here Sri Ramana again states that the body, senses and mind are all mental conceptions (or mental projections), as are all objects, feelings and thoughts.

He then goes on to give a teaching given in the aforementioned text ‘Who Am I?’, that the first though is the ‘I-thought’ also known as the ego, and only once this has risen can other thoughts or objective phenomena arise such as the body, the mind and the world. In this way Bhagavan Sri Ramana is repeating his teaching, a teaching also taught in the Upanishads and by Sri Shankara, that the body-mind-world is actually a projection of ego or ignorance.

What is the source of this ego or I-thought? It is the Self, or Pure Consciousness as he refers to it here. The word ‘pure’ denotes the absence of arisising objective phenomena, which is consistent with the teaching explained in my above paragraph.

Later in the same dialogue (Talk 244) Sri Ramana explains that the ego or ‘I-thought’ gives rise to (or projects out) the mind, and the mind then projects out a body:

Sri Ramana Maharshi: The sense of body is a thought; the thought is of the mind, the mind rises after the ‘I-thought’, the ‘I-thought’ is the root thought. If that is held, the other thoughts will disappear. There will then be no body, no mind, not even the ego.
Q: What will remain then?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: The Self in its purity.

Tom: We can see that Sri Ramana is re-iterating that the body and mind are both projections of thought, and that their root is the ego, also known as the I-thought. When this ego-root (ie. ignorance) is cut down, by self-enquiry, all thoughts cease and the Self remains in its purity. As the body, mind and ego are all thoughts, Bhagavan Sri Ramana here explicitly states that in Self-Realisation there is no body, mind or ego. All that remains is the pure Self, again ‘pure’ denoting the lack of objective phenomena such as body, mind, world, feelings, sensations, etc.

As always, please do not simply accept teachings at face value. It is always good to read teachings in their proper context, so I encourage you to not just accept my commentary above, but to read the full talk for yourself so you can see it in its context. You will find many other valuable teachings in this talk too, such as Sri Ramana’s exposition of the three states and how he equates deep sleep with the Self, how he says that the world is a mere dream, his insistence that Self-Enquiry is the easiest path, and that Happiness or Pleasure or God can only truly be found Within.


Non-duality, Self-Realisation and the appearance of the world | Sri Sadhu Om

~ Tom Das ~ 2 Comments

The following is taken from the wonderful text Sadhanai Saram written by Sri Sadhu Om. My comments are in italiscised red:

Duality only appears due to a lack of self-enquiry:

  1. Know that the world, soul and God have all seemingly come into existence only because of our pramada or slackness in Self-attention.

It is the unreal and illusory ego that sees the (illusory and unreal) world:

  1. The entire universe composed of the five elements, earth, water, fire, air and space, appears only due to our error of mistaking as ‘I’ the ego that rises from Self like a spark rising from fire, and which appears as different from Self whose nature is Being, and as identical with the mind, whose nature is rising.

Self-enquiry ends the ego illusion and duality:

  1. The entire appearance of this world that is seen, including we (the individual or jiva) who see it, is a mere false appearance like a dream. If we keenly scrutinize the source (the real ‘I am’) from which the seeing ego rises, and thereby enter the heart and firmly abide there, the reality will shine forth (and the appearance of the triad – the seer, seeing and object seen – will disappear).

There is no desire or fear in the Self (or in Self-realisation), both of these being due to ignorance/ego or illusion:

  1. If we attain the otherness-free knowledge (ananya jnana), that this world is nothing but our own Self, seen wrongly in our self by our self through our power of imagination, then the delusion of desire for or fear of the world (the objects we see in front of us), will never rise again; and we will merge in and become one with Self. This alone is our natural state.

The formless Self alone exists:

  1. Self alone exists. Except oneself, nothing exists. But if one takes this pure consciousness, which exists and shines as ‘I’ to be the body, every thing will assume a form and appear to exist. If one inquires, “Is this ‘I’ only the body, or is it something else?” and thereby sees the true nature of “I,” every thing will cease to exist. See thus.

A summary and reiteration of what has been stated above:

  1. If you ask, “For what reason is it said, that if one inquires and knows oneself, this entire world would disappear?” The reason is that the result at tained by the inquiry “Who am I?” is the destruction of the unreal individual (jiva), the ego, who is immersed in activity due to his taking the body to be himself. (That is, since the entire world-appearance depends for its seeming existence upon the ego who sees it, and since the ego itself has no real existence of its own, when the real ‘I’ is known, the ego will be found to be truly non-existent; where upon, the world-appearance will vanish, having no one to see it and thereby to give it a seeming exis tence).

The false ‘I’ is the ego, also known as maya. Enquire into the ‘I’, that is, do self-enquiry, and this illusion will vanish, along with the body, the mind and the world. Compare to Revelation Verse 31.

  1. The ‘I’ which cannot shine without being joined with a body-form, is alone the ghost-like ego ‘I’, the great illusion (maya). If one courageously and without fear inquires, “Who is this I?” it will become non-existent, and along with it everything else will cease to exist.

  1. If this ‘I’ the self-rising ego-appearance, is destroyed by the inquiry “Who am I?”, then everything else, which till then appeared only in him (in the mind) but which was seen as if existing outside of him, will cease to exist. The ever-existing Whole or purna, which then shines forth as ‘I-I’ the blissful existence which neither appears nor disappears, is the real Self, the true import of the word ‘I’.

The true Self does not come and go, unlike the body and mind and world:

  1. The ‘I’ which is the Whole, which is the true import of ‘I’, which shines by its own light without appearing due to the functioning of the five sense-knowledges (and disappearing when they cease to function); which is the exalted and ever unleaving experience of Self, and which is the true nature of everyone, alone is the one non-dual reality; it alone is true knowledge.

The true nature of Jnana (knowledge) is simply the Self. The Self is itself the nature of Knowledge.

  1. This true knowledge is not anything other than oneself; it is our own existence-consciousness ‘I am’. Why should we suffer by imagining and seeing the soul [Jiva or ego], world and God in this knowledge? Abiding firmly as mere Being, experience this knowledge correctly; then what thing other than oneself will appear there?

True destruction of maya/duality occurs with destruction of the ego:

  1. The destruction of the entire universe together with the space and other elements that constitute it is not the state of absolute destruction (pralaya). The state in which the wicked ego, which rises in the form of the feeling “This body of flesh is I” (abhimana), drowns in Self and is destroyed entirely, is alone the glorious state of absolute destruction (maha-pralaya).

  1. After being destroyed in the ordinary destruction at the end of an eon (yuga-pralaya), the heaven and earth will appear again at the proper time. The state in which the Fire of Knowledge (Jnanagni), which blazes forth on being ignited as the churning process of investigation “Who am I?” pervades and shines everywhere, having destroyed the feeling, “I am this body” (dehatma-buddhi), is alone the absolute destruction (maha-pralaya); be cause the ego, which is thus destroyed by the Fire of Knowledge (Jnana) will never appear again.

  1. The “I,” which continues to live even after the mind has died (as a result of the above said inquiry “Who am I?”) is indeed the Supreme Reality (Brahman), which alone exists after the universal destruction (pralaya). The mind expanding as everything, having risen from the heart (that is, the mind slipping down from the true state of Brahman due to inadvertence or lack of Self-attention (pramada), and thereby becoming the cause for the creation and sustenance of the false appearance of this en tire universe), is not the state of true power; the mind merging and abiding firmly in Self is alone the true state of supreme power.

Note by Sri Sadhu Om: The supreme and truly divine power is not the power of the mind (maya), which creates and sustains the false appearance of the universe, but is only the power of Self-abidance, which reveals the truth that illusion (maya) is ever non-existent.

The cause of duality and of liberation:

  1. Your appearance as an ego, an individual soul who rises in the form “I am this body,” alone is the root-cause for the appearance of this unreal world. If this root-appearance, the rising of yourself as an individual soul, does not rise even in the least, that state will be the state of liberation, which is completely devoid of the imaginary appearances of the world and God.

  1. If one has the ability to deny oneself and thereby to destroy the rising of the ego in its very source, what other tapas need one perform? The real Self, the source in which the ego thus subsides and dies, alone is the state which is worth to purchase and attain by selling (or renouncing) all the three worlds.

Can breath control help with Self enquiry? Pranayama | Sri Ramana Maharshi | Advaita Vedanta

~ Tom Das ~ 1 Comment

Tom shares Sri Ramana’s teaching on the practice of pranayama and whether this can be an aid to Self-enquiry.

This video was recorded live during a Satsang meeting with Tom Das and put together by volunteers.

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For recommended reading for liberation see here: https://tomdas.com/2020/10/19/recommended-reading-books-for-enlightenment-liberation-and-self-realisation/

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Q. Does ego have to die or end for realisation to occur?

~ Tom Das ~ 1 Comment

Tom: Yes, ego-mind-thought must die for realisation to occur. Those who are still attached to the body-mind-world and still take themselves to be the body say otherwise.

Ego is ignorance. Ego is duality. It is the ego that creates/projects the body-mind and world, like in a dream. When ego goes, everything goes, and all that remains is the Self. It cannot be put into words or understood by the mind. In truth ego never existed at all.

Objections to this such as ‘how does the sage function without ego’ only occur in ignorance of taking the sage to be the body and in the presense of ego-ignorance seeing body-mind-world.

The paradox of this cannot be explained in words, but when the mind becomes so completely and utterly still so that time and space and personhood all cease to exist, this ‘Self’ is somehow ‘known without knowing’.

Can drugs and psychedelic substances lead to non-dual realisation or enlightenment? (Jiddu Krishnamurti)

~ Tom Das ~ 7 Comments

Question: A well-known author has written a great deal about the use of certain drugs which enable man to arrive at some visionary experience of union with the divine ground. Are those experiences helpful in finding that state of which you speak?

Jiddu Krishnamurti: You can learn tricks, or take drugs, or get drunk, and you will have intense experiences of one kind or another, depressing or exciting. Obviously the physiological condition does affect the psychological state of the mind; but drugs and practices of various kinds do not in any way bring about that state of which we are talking. All such things lead only to a variety, intensity and diversity of experience – which we all want and hunger after, because we are fed up with this world. We have had two world wars, with appalling misery and everlasting strife on every side; and our own minds are so petty, personal, limited. We want to escape from all this, either through psychology, philosophy, so-called religion, or through some exercise or drug – they are all on the same level.

The mind is seeking a sensation; you want to experience what you call reality, or God, something immense, great, vital. You want to have visions; and if you take some kind of drug, or are sufficiently conditioned in a certain religion, you will have visions. The man who is everlastingly thinking about Christ, or Buddha, or what not, will sooner or later have experiences, visions; but that is not truth, it has nothing whatever to do with reality. Those are all self-projections; they are the result of your demand for experience. Your own conditioning is projecting what you want to see.

To find out what is real, the mind must cease to demand any experience. So long as you are craving experience, you will have it, but it will not be real – real in the sense of the timeless, the immeasurable; it will not have the perfume of reality. It will all be an illusion, the product of a mind that is frustrated, that is seeking a thrill, an emotion, a feeling of vitality. That is why you follow leaders. They are always promising something new, a Utopia, always sacrificing the present for the future; and you foolishly follow them, because it is exciting. You have had that experience in this country, and you ought to know better than anyone else the miseries, the brutality of it all. Most of us demand the same kind of experience, the same kind of sensation, only at another level. That is why we take various drugs, or perform ceremonies, or practise some exercise that acts as a stimulant. These things all have significance in the sense that their use indicates that one is still craving experience; therefore the mind is everlastingly agitated. And the mind that is agitated, that is craving experience, can never find out what is true.

Truth is always new, totally unknown and unknowable. The mind must come to it without any demand, without any knowledge, without any wish; it must be empty, completely naked. Then only truth may happen. But you cannot invite it.

Hamburg, Germany 4th Public Talk 14th September 1956