Sri Ramana Maharshi on the heavenly realm of Shambala and the secret of Mount Kailash | Aham Sphurana

The following is taken from Aham Sphurana 19th July 1936:

Sri Bhagavan [Ramana Maharshi] was given a sheet of paper filled with questions. He asked the interpreter to read them out:

1. The heavenly realm of Shambala is said to be located somewhere in Tibet. One who merely visits it once is said to be absorbed in Bliss forever. Is it so? Is it acceptable for ordinary mortals to aspire to locate and enter the place? Does the place actually exist, or is it a mere mythical construct? If it is there, how to find it, since the mountainous region is largely unchartered?

2. What is the secret of Mount Kailash? Does Lord Shiva really reside at the top of the peak?

3. It is said that if a sinner touches the mountain, he suddenly ages 2 decades in a span of 2 minutes. Is this true?

4. Is Mt. Kailash the axis mundi of the earth? Does it give access to the hidden realms of heaven that are frequently mentioned in the Hindu scriptures?

At this point, Bhagavan asked the interpreter to stop reading, and said to the young man who had presented the questions:

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi: Look here, I don’t know anything about such things.

Questioner: But B. is widely regarded as a Sarvagnar [Tom: ‘all knowing’ or omniscient].

B.: People foist on me whatever they like. What am I to do? The kingdom of Heaven you seek is within. It is to be found by turning the mind inward, not by journeying to all sorts of impossible places.

Q.: If all places are the same, why did Bhagavan leave Madurai and come to Tiruvannamalai?

B.: Always the same question! You want to go to all sorts of exotic locations. I did not [personally] desire to go anywhere; rather, I was pulled here.

Q.: The same fascination you have for Mount Arunachala, I have for Mount Kailash. What is wrong in it? Both are dwelling places of Shiva.

B.: Right. You may do as fancy pleases you. Why solicit my opinion?

Q.: It is difficult to reach the mountain. Not many have succeeded. I want Bhagavan’s blessings so that I may succeed in safely reaching there. If I once have darshan of the mountain, it will do. Even if I drop dead the next moment, it
matters nothing. Will Bhagavan please Bless my endeavour? I plan to start 2 weeks hence.

B.: [smiles]

Q.: Can I take it that Bhagavan’s blessings for my journey are descended upon me?

B.: Yes.

[Tom’s comments: what is it that we really need to know for liberation?]

The Role of Peace and Bliss on the Path of Liberation

Is peace and bliss the goal? Or is the experience of peace and bliss just another attachment for the ego to get trapped by? Perhaps peace and bliss and happiness…have something helpful to offer seekers on their journeys to awakening?

Tom explores these questions in this video

Ajata Vada as explained by Sage Vasistha in Yoga Vasistha

This article is an excerpt from a much longer article which you can view here, that gives further quotes on this same topic from others including Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Shankara, Suresvara and Ribhu Gita. The original article also gives disclaimer which you should read (ie. these teachings are for earnest seekers only and can have detrimental effects for those not ready for them) and makes some suggestions as how to best appraoch these teachings.

The following verses are taken from the text Voga Vasistha Sara, which you can view and download here in its entirely. As with most Advaita texts, various teachings from different levels are given in this text. In Yoga Vasistha mainly Ajata Vada and Dristi Sristi Vada teachings are given, and below I will list some of the quotes pointing to Ajata Vada:

1.17 Even the slightest thought immerses a man in sorrow; when devoid of all thoughts he enjoys imperishable bliss.

1.23 Nothing whatever is born or dies anywhere at any time. It is Brahman alone appearing illusorily in the form of the world.

2.1 Just as the great ocean of milk became still when the Mandara Mountain (with which it was churned by the Devas and the Asuras) became still, even so the illusion of samsara comes to an end when the mind is stilled.

2.2 Samsara rises when the mind becomes active and ceases when it is still. Still the mind, therefore, by controlling the breath and the latent desires (vasanas).

2.3 This worthless (lit. burnt out) samsara is born of one’s imagination and vanishes in the absence of imagination. It is certain that it is absolutely unsubstantial.

2.5 This long-living ghost of a samsara which is the creation of the deluded mind of man [ie. ignorance] and the cause of his sufferings disappears when one ponders over it.

2.8 Whatever is seen does not truly exist. It is like the mythical city of Gandharvas (fata morgana) or a mirage.

2.11 This creation, which is a mere play of consciousness, rises up, like the delusion of a snake in a rope (when there is ignorance) and comes to an end when there is right knowledge.

2.19 The bliss of a man of discrimination, who has rejected samsara and discarded all mental concepts, constantly increases.

3.22 If, by perceiving that the objects of perception do not really exist, the mind is completely freed (from those objects) there ensues the supreme bliss of liberation.

3.23 Abandonment of all latent tendencies is said to be the best (i.e. real) liberation by the wise; that is also the faultless method (of attaining liberation).

3.24 Liberation is not on the other side of the sky, nor is it in the nether world, nor on the earth; the extinction of the mind resulting from the eradication of all desires is regarded as liberation.

3.25 O Rama, there is no intellect, no nescience, no mind and no individual soul (jiva). They are all imagined in Brahman.

3.26 To one who is established in what is infinite, pure consciousness, bliss and unqualified non-duality, where is the question of bondage or liberation, seeing that there is no second entity?

4.1 Consciousness which is undivided imagines to itself desirable objects and runs after them. It is then known as the mind.

4.9 The mind is the cause of (i.e. produces) the objects of perception. The three worlds depend upon it. When it is dissolved the world is also dissolved. It is to be cured (i.e. purified) with effort.

4.12 O Rama, he who, with in-turned mind, offers all the three worlds, like dried-grass, as an oblation in the fire of knowledge, becomes free from the illusions of the mind.

4.13 When one knows the real truth about acceptance and rejection and does not think of anything but abides in himself, abandoning everything, (his) mind does not come into existence.

4.14 The mind is terrible (ghoram) in the waking state, gentle (santam) in the dream state, dull (mudham) in deep sleep and dead when not in any of these three states [ie. when in the fourth state, Turiya, self-realisation].

4.16 The mind is samsara; the mind is also said to be bondage;

6.2 The mind, the intellect, the senses, etc. are all the play of Consciousness. They are unreal and seem to exist only due to lack of insight [ie. objects only appear due to lack or self-knowledge, which is also known as ignorance].

6.9 The world which has come into existence on account of my ignorance has dissolved likewise in me.

7.16 It is again strange that while the Supreme Brahman is forgotten by men, the idea ‘this is mine’ called avidya is firmly held by them (lit. strongly confronts them).

10.1 Supreme Bliss cannot be experienced through contact of the senses with their objects. The supreme state is that in which the mind is annihilated through one-pointed enquiry.

10.2 The bliss arising from the contact of the senses with their objects is inferior. Contact with the sense objects is bondage; freedom from it is liberation.

10.5 The belief in a knower and the known is called bondage. The knower is bound by the known; he is liberated when there is nothing to know.

10. 6 Abandoning the ideas of seer, seen and sight along with latent desires (vasanas) of the past, we meditate on that Self which is the primal light that is the basis of sight.

10.11 The rock-like state in which all thoughts are still and which is different from the waking and dream states, is one’s supreme state.

10.16 There is only the one waveless and profound ocean of pure nectar, sweet through and through (i.e. blissful) everywhere

Siddhis: Are Spiritual Powers a Trap? (Enlightenment and Liberation)

In this Satsang, Tom offers a nuanced and insightful teaching on “Siddhis” — a Sanskrit term meaning “accomplishment,” “perfection,” or “attainment.” Siddhis often refer to extraordinary abilities or yogic powers said to arise through deep spiritual practice, such as levitation, invisibility, or telepathy. Tom explores how these phenomena are sometimes sought by spiritual seekers or arise spontaneously as by-products of genuine practice.

This video was recorded live during a Satsang meeting with Tom Das on November 20th , 2025 and put together by volunteers.

To download full unedited satsang recordings see here: https://payhip.com/tomdas 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/

Tejobindu Upanishad: what is Jivanmukti?

CHAPTER – IV

The Kumara asked the great Lord: “Please explain to me the nature of Jivanmukti and Videhamukti.” To which the great Shiva replied:

1. “I am Chidatma. I am Para-Atma. I am the Nirguna, greater than the great. One who will simply stay in Atman is called a Jivanmukta.

2. He who realises: ‘I am beyond the three bodies, I am the pure consciousness and I am Brahman’, is said to be a Jivanmukta.

3. He is said to be a Jivanmukta, who realises: ‘I am of the nature of the blissful and of the supreme bliss, and I have neither body nor any other thing except the certitude ‘I am Brahman’ only.

4-6. He is said to be a Jivanmukta who has not at all got the ‘I’ in myself, but who stays in Chinmatra (absolute consciousness) alone, whose interior is consciousness alone, who is only of the nature of Chinmatra, whose Atman is of the nature of the all-full, who has Atman left over in all, who is devoted to bliss, who is undifferentiated, who is all-full of the nature of consciousness, whose Atman is of the nature of pure consciousness, who has given up all affinities (for objects), who has unconditioned bliss, whose Atman is tranquil, who has got no other thought (than Itself) and who is devoid of the thought of the existence of anything.

7-11(a). He is said to be a Jivanmukta who realises: ‘I have no Chitta [mind], no Buddhi [intellect], no Ahamkara [ego, sense of doership and enjoyership], no senses, no body at any time, no Pranas, no Maya, no passion and no anger, I am the great, I have nothing of these objects or of the world and I have no sin, no characteristics, no eye, no Manas [mind], no ear, no nose, no tongue, no hand, no waking, no dreaming, or causal state in the least or the fourth state.’

~ Tejobindu Upanishad

Tom: Tejo means radiant; Bindu means point (or drop)