Self-enquiry
Except by the Lord’s Grace (Sri Ramana Maharshi | Tips for Self-Enquiry | Guru Vachaka Kovai)
‘Except by the Lord’s Grace, which begins to function when one surrenders oneself completely to His Feet with sincere devotion, It [The Reality] cannot be cognised merely by the skill of the mind of the jiva [the apparently individual person]. So subtle is the reality.’
~Sri Ramana Maharshi (Guru Vachaka Kovai, Verse 648, translated by Sri Sadhu Om and Michael James)
Here is the same verse 648 translated by T.V. Venkatasubramanian, Robert Butler and David Godman:
‘Know that reality is so extremely subtle, it cannot be known and realised through the exertions of the jiva‘s intellect, but only through the Grace of God, which manifests when you offer yourself up with love at His Feet’
Here is the next verse, verse 649 translated by T.V. Venkatasubramanian, Robert Butler and David Godman:
‘Do not wander and search, having failed to find the Abiding State in spite of receiving tuition in all the arts and sciences, and thoroughly mastering them. The Supreme State is to abide wholly as the Reality that remains enshrined as the form of Love’
Just through Being Still
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.
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A joyful spiritual practice for liberation: ‘Genuine Spiritual Feeling’
This is one of a series of introductory articles – please see the homepage of tomdas.com for more introductory articles.
Just to have and allow ‘genuine spiritual feeling’, just this is enough. If attended to and nurtured, if allowed to naturally deepen of its own accord, it will, in its own time and own way, overcome you with Love, destroying you, revealing All to be Divine Oneness-Love-Happiness-Bliss, your Own True Nature.
Like a tiny mustard seed that grows to overcome great city walls, simply by nurturing this ‘spiritual feeling’ or ‘connection with the Divine’, the vast ocean of duality is transcended, in time, effortlessly and with joy, without one even caring for concepts such as Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Progress, Liberation or Non-duality.
Beware to those who are stuck in the prison-house of concepts: those who cling to concepts of duality and non-duality, concepts doing and non-doing, concepts oneness and many – these people remain trapped in a prison of their own making, endlessly chattering to themselves, ignoring the Vast Open Fertile Pastures of Love that lie in their very midst.
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That which perceives the limited body-mind is itself the Unlimited. Growing more and more still, feeling more and more Love, following your Heart within, Infinite Truth-Reality-Oneness-Bliss is gently revealed as your Own Being
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To simply have ‘spiritual feeling’ moment by moment, to have this ‘spiritual connection’ of joy and love every day, whenever we remember, and to allow it to deepen of its own accord – this is a wonderful, intuitive & joyful way of effacing the ego and allowing the Divine Within that is All-Encompassing Love and our Own True Nature to blossom, flower and bloom.
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Those overly reliant on intellectual arguments, scriptures and concepts will never connect to the true Spiritual Way which shines from Within* with Wholeness, Oneness and Love.
We must leave behind the barren field of words to discover the fertile pastures of the Divine that is All-Embracing Love.
(*’Within’ here just means you don’t have to go anywhere ‘outside’ to find it and that it is not dependent on any particular object of perception that arises or falls)
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What is ‘Spiritual Feeling’? It is simply to feel good, wholesome, happy, connected. It is to connect with Presence. It is an Openness and Gentle Surrender to Life and Love and God and Self.
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Question: But I thought the practice of Self-Enquiry is that of Self-Attention or Awareness Watching Awareness and for that we need to turn away from objects towards the Subject-Self. How does this fit in?
Tom: This simple practice of allowing Natural Spiritual Feeling to arise by itself will take you everywhere you need to go. It is the path of Love, the path of Surrender, the path of Bhakti. It will calm and purify the mind, filling it with joy and love, removing it of negative (tamasic) qualities. It will then quieten the mind, removing the passionate and anxious aspects of mind (Rajas). Thus far the practice has not turned away from the world – it is a Saguna or Savikalpa practice (ie. practice with objects being present). Then the practice, when it is ready, will naturally turn Nirvikalpa or Nirguna (ie. practice without objects being perceived or being present) , ie. there will be a natural turning towards Source or Self, also known as God or Sri Ramana (the Guru Within). All will happen in good time. It may well happen quicker than you think!
Only when you turn within through self-enquiry is your true nature revealed as not body nor mind, but Spirit, Love, God, Bliss.
For this to happen it is useful to have read and been aware of Bhagavan Ramana’s teachings, eg. as set out in The Path of Sri Ramana, and it can also be useful to adopt Vivarta Vada, which is the view that everything perceived (ie. mind, body and world) is actually an illusory projection of ignorance/ego/maya. Often if Bhagavan’s Teachings are not known, the mind will continue to cling to objects, taking them to be real and thinking objects will lead us to our goal.
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As recorded in the text Sadhanai Saram (The Essence of Spiritual Instruction, a record of teachings from Sri Ramana Maharshi) by Sri Sadhu Om:
79.
To the extent to which love for God arises in one’s heart, to that extent will one acquire knowledge about Him. And to the extent to which one knows the nature of God, to that extent will the mind gain steadfast love for Him. Thus, knowledge (jnana) will be increased by devotion (bhakti), and devotion (bhakti) will be increased by knowledge (jnana).
80.
By means of our love for God, He will give us more knowledge of Him, and by means of our knowledge of Him, He will give us more love for Him. Therefore, of these two paths, bhakti and jnana, follow that one for which you first gain a liking, because that one path will lead you to follow the other one into the heart.
81.
In the life of an aspirant who is seeking liberation, bhakti and jnana will be experienced as inseparable, like the two sides of one sheet of paper. Hence, each one is equal to the other. They are not two different things, for the true nature of both of them is one and the same; know that bhakti and jnana are merely two names for that one thing. (Garland of Guru’s Sayings (Guru Vachaka Kovai) verses 722, 731)
82.
The state of abiding firmly in Self-alone is wisdom (jnana). Would it be possible to abide thus in Self if one did not have love for Self? Love for Self-alone is bhakti; abiding firmly in Self on account of that love alone is jnana. What difference is there between these two? Discriminate and know this truth. (Maharshi’s Gospel p.24)
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Question. What is our Goal?
Tom: Our goal is One. It is simply to be Happy and Free, without any misery, as Sri Bhagavan states in the opening paragraph of Nan Yar? (Who am I?). We just want to feel good. There is nothing wrong with this. This desire for Happiness is an innocent desire and is the greatest of our desires. It is actually the Desire for Liberation, the Desire to Know and Be What We Truly Are.
For this, the only way is Self-Enquiry. The Path of Bhakti naturally and joyfully takes us to Self-Enquiry. The only danger on this path is that we remain caught up in objects and fail to transcend them. Eventually we must ‘go Nirvikalpa’ (ie. we must turn away from objects) in order to realise the Self, our true nature, the Divine Within.
This is why Bhagavan Sri Ramana writes in his text ‘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.
Q. Will there not be realization of the Self even while the world is there?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: There will not be.
Question: When will the world which is the object seen be removed?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition’s and of all actions, becomes quiescent, the world will disappear.
Question: How will the mind become quiescent?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: By the inquiry ‘Who am I?’. The thought ‘who am I?’ will destroy all other thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre, it will itself in the end get destroyed. Then, there will arise Self-realization.
Question: Are there no other means for making the mind quiescent?
Sri Ramana Maharshi: Other than inquiry, there are no adequate means. If through other means it is sought to control the mind, the mind will appear to be controlled, but will again go forth.
But all in good time. Bhakti will turn us within and lead us to Self-Enquiry when the time is right without us (the ego) having to worry about such things – practically speaking all we have to do is connect with ‘spiritual feeling’, have faith in it, let this feeling grow and guide us. Ultimately it will consume and destroy us (ego) and reveal to us the Divine Truth that is our very own Self. It will take us Home.
!!Om Namo Sri Arunachala Ramanaya Om!!
How to turn within | Self-Enquiry & Samadhi | Ramana Maharshi
Tom answers a question asked by a participant and clarifies what is means to ‘turn within’.
This video was recorded live during a Satsang meeting with Tom Das and put together by volunteers.
To attend satsang, see here: https://tomdas.com/events
For guided meditations see the ‘guided meditation’ playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/c/TomDasNonduality/playlists
For recommended reading for liberation see here: https://tomdas.com/2020/10/19/recommended-reading-books-for-enlightenment-liberation-and-self-realisation/
To book a 1 to 1 session with Tom see here: https://tomdas.com/nondual-spiritual-counsellor/
Why is Self-Enquiry sometimes so difficult to practice? | Sadhana | Sri Sadhu Om | Sadhanai Saram
242. When we are lacking in earnestness or faith (sraddha), whatever practice (sadhana) we may take to will appear to be equally difficult. But if our earnestness is firm and one-pointed, no sadhana will be felt to be difficult, and without any aid we will be able to remain firmly established in the state of Self-abidance.
243. Where there is a will, there is a way. That is, if a sincere liking to attain something arises in one’s heart, a path whereby one can attain it will also be found, and because of that liking one’s mind will unceasingly seek the goal until it is attained. Only when the liking to attain that goal does not truly arise in one’s heart, will one experience difficulty in the practice (sadhana) or means adopted to attain it. Know that this is the secret underlying all methods of practice.
244. To the extent to which one approaches and lives close to true devotees, to that extent will the liking arise in one’s heart to attain salvation, the real goal of human life. By having more and more association with such true devotees, that liking will gradually increase until finally one will attain salvation by abiding firmly in Self.
The above are verses from the wonderfully clarifying text Sadhanai Saram, written by Sri Sadhu Om, a direct devotee of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. You can read the full text here.
I have not written any commentary on the above verses as hopefully the meaning of the verses are self-evident, and any lack of clarity can hopefully be remedied by simply reading the verses more slowly and reflecting upon them.
Using Breath for Self-Attention or Self-Enquiry | Pranayama |Ramana Maharshi | Sadhanai Saram | Sri Sadhu Om
In Satsang this week some people were asking about the relationship between the breath and Self-Enquiry – this prompted me to put the following verses and videos together which hopefully gives the full context for the teachings.
The Breath and Self-Enquiry
229. If one takes to Self-attention, the practice of keenly observing only the consciousness ‘I’, then one need not perform any other practice (sadhana). But let those who cannot take to this practice of Self Attention from the very outset, practice for a short while either repetition of mantras (japa) or watching of the movement of the breath, and then let them give up all such practices and cling only to Self Attention.
231. For those who attend keenly to both the inward-going and the outward-coming movements of the breath, the length of both these movements will decrease, and within a short time the breath will be rising and subsiding only within a very slight manner. If they attain this state, it is a sufficient sign (to show that the agitated activity of the mind has decreased). (Therefore at that stage let them give up attending to the breath, and let them attend instead only to the Self.)
234. Relating to the breath, there are two suitable methods of practice (sadhana): one method is, after watching the movements of the breath for a short while, in order that the raging activity of the wavering mind may subside, to leave that breath attention and to engage in Self-attention. The other method is to attend within oneself to the one power that draws in and pushes out the breath, knowing that that one power is not other than the consciousness ‘I’. For some people these methods are appropriate.
The True Path
230. The path that Sadguru Sri Ramana was for fifty-four years repeatedly teaching to us for our salvation was only this primary practice of Self-Attention. Know that the practice of watching the breath was only one among the hundreds of thousands of other methods that He taught so as to guide on the path towards salvation even those people who were not ready to come to the path of Self-inquiry, which alone was His principle teaching.
236. For those who listen and pay heed to what Sri Ramana Bhagavan has said, the path of Self Inquiry is very easy. Only to those who ask, ‘What is this path? What is that path?’, having already confused their mind by learning so much, does it become necessary to teach all the other superficial and extroverted methods of sadhana saying, ‘First subdue the breath (by practicing pranayama), subdue the tongue (by observing silence), and subdue the mischief of the mind (by practicing meditation).’
Developing One-Pointedness through Self-Attention
238. If the mind practices any one thing incessantly, it will naturally gain one-pointedness in that one thing. However, rather than any external object, the first person consciousness ‘I’ is alone the most worthy thing for the mind to have as the target of its attention, is it not? By taking any second person object, such as the movement of the breath, or the right side of the chest, as the target of its attention, the mind will attain only a state of temporary absorption in that object.
239. The state in which the mind, by the strength of practice (abhyasa-bala), abides or immerses itself in the attention to any second person object, however exalted that object may be, is only a state of temporary absorption of the mind (manolaya). On the other hand, by abiding in the state of Self-attention, the natural state of true awakening, the state of destruction of the mind (mano-nasa) will be attained. Since this natural state of Self Knowledge alone is our goal, cling firmly only to this flawless practice (sadhana), or incessantly thinking ‘I, I’.
240. The one-pointedness of mind, which is gained by the practice of repetition of a mantra (japa) or meditation (dhyana), will also be gained by practicing Self-inquiry; but in a very easy manner without the need of any restriction or restraint, such as those that are to be observed while practicing other methods of practice (sadhana). Rather than the common existence-consciousness ‘I am’, which is always experienced by all people, what more worthy and easy target of attention (dhyana-lakshana) is now needed?
241. Whatever kind of person they may be, everyone says, ‘I am’; so what obstacle can there be for anyone to attend unceasingly to that Self- consciousness ‘I am?’ Therefore, without giving room for even an iota of doubt, attend with love and joy only to your own being.
The above verses are taken from the wonderfully clarifying text Sadhanai Saram by Sri Sadhu Om, a direct devotee of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. You can read the entire text here.
‘Therefore, without giving room for even an iota of doubt, attend with love and joy only to your own being.‘
Grace of God vs Sadhana (practice) for attaining moksha (liberation)
‘It is mainly through enquiry (vichara) that he who is competent achieves knowledge of the Self; circumstance, time, and the grace of the Lord are but aids to the quest.’
~ Shankara (Vivekachudamani)
Tom: Some say that grace of god is required for liberation and so slacken and shy away from their sadhana. Grace of God is certainly needed, but Grace of God is always here. Shankara reminds us that it is Sadhana ie. Self-enquiry, that is the foremost factor that leads directly to liberation
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Tom Das 