The Best Time to Catch the "I"

The best time to catch the "I" is between two states.

In the early morning, prior to the sun rising, one can be aware:

Where do the body, mind and world come from?

Exactly how to they arise for me?

The subtle mind can be aware of the world waking up, the sun rising, without looking outward. One may be able to "feel" these within.

Prior to the "me" (the "I" thought), the mind , body and world awakening, there is a bright, radiant light, in which nothing is.

Change Your Internal Language

Change your internal language to match your experience. Normal language itself creates, acknowledges and expresses duality: a mind created "me" over here and everything else over there. Space and time are in the mind and must be transcended. Creation requires time and space in the mind. Without them, there is no creation.

Focus first on the screen behind the illusory sense objects. Focus on the radiant space in which all appears. The distance between an imagined "me" body/mind object and any other object is a mind-created distance. The stars are only there when you are seeing them. The seeing of them is yours. To see, without creating a distance, is to be the feeling of the stars. No separation. Seeing is entirely subjective, as is the whole universe. When you see something beautiful, allow it to fill your vision. Allow the distance between an imagined you and the imagined object to disappear. See without words.

Success

Success, to me, is
Moving toward the light on a vertical path;
Recognizing and celebrating my connectedness
with everyone, everything;
Holding the world in my heart;
Cleaning the prism
through which I experience the world;
Sharing, honestly, the laughter and the tears;
Creating joy, beauty, peace;
Trusting mySelf, living in my heart;
Being simple in thought, word, and action;
Abiding at the center of the circle;
Beginning each day with everything forgiven;
Asking;
Being here now;
Blessing each moment;
Dissolved by Love;
All boundaries gone;
An instrument of Peace.

The Window

There is no need
To go to the window
For further seeing.

Rather abide
At the center
Of your being.

For the more you leave it
The less you learn.

Search your heart and see
If he is wise
Who takes each turn.

The way to do
Is to BE.

Lao Tsu

Jnana

A Jnani's world is upside down and backwards when compared with the ABC world.

The whole dream of a "me" over here and "everything else" over there has been dissolved.

All language is constructed from a subject, an action and an object, time and space. If the subject, the illusory body/mind, has dissolved, none of these are real. There never was a someone located in the body.

Going all the way inward, the inside and outside dissolve. The mind which creates a "me" and "not me" has been dissolved by a giant tsunami of Light and Love a billion times greater than worldly light and love. The knot in the Heart, the block between the sentient and insentient, has dissolved. The pitcher of the Heart has become full and is running over onto everything.

The jnani, the sage IS Satsangh, but, in truth, there is no jnani object, there is just jnana.

The mind IS horizontal living. The Heart is vertical living. When the knot in the Heart is dissolved, all is arising from the Source and dissolving in each moment, now and now and now.

You will not be able to find a jnani with your eyes, but if your Heart is sensitive, is listening, your Heart will feel the Presence.

One must be very careful. To approach a jnani with a "getting" motive is to loose the greatest blessing obtainable in this life. A jnani must be approached with the sincerest humility. The jnani exists in the heart of the seeker and will not be fooled.

What is the Truth about this?

If one is sincerely on the path of Truth, one's internal language needs to change, to match and harmonize with one's direct experience.

There is a hidden assumption in saying "I went to the store.":
The dehatma buddhi "I AM the body" idea.
The experience may be "The body was moved through the mind to the store and back home."

One may continually ask oneself "What is the Truth about this?"

One has to long for the Truth, more than wanting to be "right" or to "look good". One must be willing to see that one is wrong.

Listen to all the mind has to say, asking "What else?" and "What else is true?" accepting without judgment all that arises, until the mind has no more to say and is silent.

After the mind has had it's say, keep listening, keep asking. Sometimes a deeper Truth will arise from the Heart to inform the mind which has become humble, silent, open, listening.

When this happens, one needs no external acknowledgment, no proof, as one's whole being resonates with a giant "YES!", one Knows.

The Truth is there, in the Heart. One has only to want it, to ask, to listen. Shhh.

Spiritual Truth is not in books. Words are only pointers, little black marks on a piece of paper. WHO gives them meaning? The Truth lies at the core of your being, prior to mind and senses.
The mind's beliefs, conditioning and ideas must be stripped away by the Truth in the Heart.

The whole creation spills out of a tiny pinhole in the heart. Someday you will laugh.

The Atma Vichara is the best question, but all questions are valuable, if the search is sincere.
The Atma Vichara will bring Direct Experience, unmediated by the mind, the senses, or books.

Blessings and joy rain down on one, drown one, on this path, Sri Ramana's Path.
Sri Ramana's path is Grace.

Begin over and over and over.

If you must read, use the mind like a pair of glasses and ask the Heart to read and interpret for Truth. Ask the heart everything, what to say, what to eat, what to wear, where to go. Listen and obey.

The Truth

The Truth cannot be captured with words or concepts. The Truth is direct knowing, direct, first hand experience, prior to the mind and senses.

How to read for Truth. One must bypass the conditioned ideas and concepts of the mind.

Silence the mind and allow the mind to be used like a pair of glasses or a clear glass of water. Move your consciousness down to the right-side Heart. Ask the Heart to read for you, for the essence of Truth only and to discard untruth and misinterpretations. Truth must arise from the Heart to inform an open, silent, humble mind.

Don't Give Up

Good and bad are of the mind.
The Heart on the right side is deeper and prior.
Forget about changing and improving yourself, the world, and others.
Use the ATMA VICHARA to keep bringing the mind back home to the Heart.
All directions the mind goes in are the wrong direction.
Devote the smallest, simplest acts and prayers to Bhagavan, in your Heart.
Offer Him your fears, faults, and sorrows.
Ask Him to purify and cleanse you of everything that blocks His love, light, peace and joy.
Ask Him to protect you.
Then someday, these thousands of " the tiniest offerings" will build up in the Heart, the knot will be dissolved, and like an overfilled pitcher, like a giant tsunami, an unspeakable LOVE will pour through you, dissolving you, the world, everything, the whole dream, in a Light and Love that the mind cannot conceive. The mind cannot help you here, as it must be dissolved.
"Who" you believe you are must be dissolved.
Just don't give up. Begin again, over and over and over.
Trust Him. He is in your Heart and He knows the way.

Time and Space

When asked how he could know the details of places he had not visited.....
Sri Maharshi only smiled and remarked: "It does not matter how I can tell. Enough if you know that in the Self there is no Space-Time."

"Time and space are within us. You are always in your Self. How do time and space affect it?"

On 10/4/46 a letter was read out to Maharshi which said... "that seeing Brahman alone in everything and everywhere is jnanottara bhakti. With reference to this, Bhagavan said, “This is a matter of mere words, whether you call the stage of seeing only Brahman, jnanottara bhakti or bhakti-uttara jnana. In reality, saying ‘We must see Brahman in everything and everywhere’ is also not quite correct.

Only that stage is final, where there is no seeing, where there is no time or space.

There will be no seer, seeing and an object to see. What exists then is only the infinite eye.”

(Day by Day With Bhagavan)

Every moment there is creation, every moment destruction.
There is no absolute creation, no absolute destruction.
Both are movement, and that is eternal.

Without time and space, nothing can happen.
Without a body, there is no doing.
The mind creates time and space, the body, subjects and objects.
Without the mind, none of this exists.
The mind is a lot of waves. Never mind what's happening on the surface of the ocean. Sink into the cool, silent place, 20,000 leagues beneath the ocean.
The mind is hot, the heart is cool.

One Pinhole in the Heart

"When the subtle mind emerges through the brain and the senses, the gross names and forms are cognized. When it remains in the Heart names and forms disappear. If the mind remains in the Heart, the 'I' or the ego which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self, the Real, Eternal 'I' alone will shine. Where there is not the slightest trace of the ego, there is the Self."

Talk 263: 20th October, 1936

Dr. Syed: Sri Bhagavan says that the Heart is the Self. Psychology has it that malice, envy, jealousy and all passions have their seat in the heart. How are these two statements to be reconciled?

M.: The whole cosmos is contained in one pinhole in the Heart. These passions are part of the cosmos. They are avidya (ignorance).

D.: How did avidya arise?

M.: Avidya is like Maya [she who is not is maya (illusion)]. Similarly that which is not is ignorance. Therefore the question does not arise. Nevertheless, the question is asked. Then ask, “Whose is the avidya? Avidya is ignorance. It implies subject and object. Become the subject and there will be no object.

D.: What is avidya?

M.: Ignorance of Self. Who is ignorant of the Self? The self must be ignorant of Self. Are there two selves?

Dive Into The Heart

THE MIND,
turned outward IS the world,
turned inward IS the Self.

Renunciation is always in the mind, not in going to forests or solitary places or giving up one’s duties.

The main thing is to see that the mind does not turn outward but inward.

It does not rest with a man whether he goes to this place or that place or whether he gives up his duties or not. All these events happen according to destiny. All the activities that the body is to go through are determined when it first comes into existence. It does not rest with you to accept or reject them. THE ONLY FREEDOM you have is to turn your mind inward and renounce activities there.

All Else Is Impermanent

Dear Bruce,

Thank you for your note. I have written a (too long) response. Maybe I will send it another day.

What I REALLY want to say is shut off all your senses and go as deep into your heart as you can, then go deeper and start talking to Bhagavan there. Tell him about your hearing loss and ask Him what to do about it, tell Him what you want to do with your life and ask His help and advice. Tell Him you are lonely and want to know Him directly. Ask to feel His Presence. Play your violin for Him. Offer your meals to Him. If you are humble and sincere, you will discover a friend that makes all experience in the world pale. Ask Him to see through your eyes, to hear for you.

When going to sleep at night, burrow down into your heart and ask Him to purify you of anything that blocks His Presence and Grace.

If you find this DIRECT RELATIONSHIP, there are no words to tell you of the happiness and bliss and peace that awaits you.

Just be like a child, simple and humble. He knows you better than you know yourself. If you can convince Him to reveal Himself, I promise you that everything else will be taken care of, so much more elegantly than the mind can even conceive. You will find what you've longed for and you will melt in love, and love will be looking through you and love will be looking back at you and love will be dancing around you. And He will be seeing through your eyes and hearing through your ears and moving through your hands and walking with your feet. Offer Him every little thing you do and you will become just a pillow case for Bhagavan.

Just don't give up, no matter how long it takes. Bhagavan is sitting quietly in your heart, waiting for you to turn in His direction.

This is THE ONLY PURPOSE that has any real worth. All else is impermanent.

with love,

Success

Success, for me, is

moving toward the light on a vertical path

recognizing and celebrating my connectedness

with everyone, everything

holding the world in my heart

cleaning the prism

through which I experience the world

sharing, honestly, the laughter and the tears

creating joy, beauty, peace

trusting myself, living in my heart

being simple in thought, word, and action

abiding at the center of the circle

beginning each day with everything released

asking

being here now

blessing each moment

an instrument of peace.

Sri Bhagavan’s Letter to Ganapati Muni

Introduction

Between March and August 1931 Ganapati Muni was living mostly in Anandashram on the outskirts of Sirsi, a town in the North Kannada District. During this period he wrote a series of more than twenty letters in Sanskrit to his Guru, Bhagavan Sri Ramana. All of these letters have been printed in the original Sanskrit together with English renderings by Viswanatha Swami in a booklet entitled Epistles of Light which was published in 1978 by the Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni Trust, Madras.1

Since Bhagavan never replied to letters, the replies which were sent to Ganapati Muni were all drafted by the Ashram Office. Although Bhagavan would have inspected them before they were posted, except on one occasion, he could not be held responsible for their contents. this one occasion was the reply to Ganapati Muni’s letter dated 20th May, 1931. Ganapati Muni expressed a doubt in his letter about the ego, and he particularly requested a devotee named TK Sundaresa Iyer to convey to him in writing the answer of Sri Bhagavan. Bhagavan gave a verbal reply to the doubt raised in the letter, and this reply was then incorporated in a letter and sent to Ganapati Muni. This reply containing Bhagavan’s answer was published by Sri Ramanasramam in 1980 in a small Tamil booklet entitled Precious Words and Stray Verses of the Maharshi.

The Doubt of Ganapati Muni
Ganapati Muni begins his letter by saying: “A doubt. Except Bhagavan, whom else can we ask? Who else can reply? It is clearly known from the teachings of Bhagavan that the ego is of three kinds.” Ganapati Muni is here alluding to the three bodies, the gross, the subtle and the causal, and in his letter he expounds on their various characteristics. He was particularly interested in the subtle body which is said to contain the intellect, and his main question revolved around the use of the intellect as a means to attain Realisation. He writes: “Is that abidance in the intellect a means for gradually attaining the perfect experience, or is it not? If it is not certainly a means for that, then for what purpose is it? Or is there any arrangement that, according to the particular outlook of the aspirant, it is sometimes a means and sometimes not? My dear child Sundara (TK Sundaresa Iyer) may kindly write to me the decision of Bhagavan regarding this matter.”

1 This booklet has since been republished by Sri Ramanasramam, 2006.

Before proceeding to give Bhagavan’s reply, it should be pointed out that Ganapati Muni’s assumption that Bhagavan taught that there are three kinds of ego is incorrect. This is best illustrated by referring to Maharshi’s Gospel, (Book 2, Chapter 6) where, in answer to a question about the three kinds of egos mentioned in Yoga Vasishta, Bhagavan replies: “The ego is described as having three kinds of bodies, the gross, the subtle and the causal, but that is only for the purpose of analytical exposition. If the method of enquiry were to depend on the ego’s form, you may take it that any enquiry would become altogether impossible, because the forms the ego may assume are legion. Therefore, for the purposes of selfenquiry, you have to proceed on the basis that the ego has but one form, namely that of the ‘I’-thought.

From this it is clear that Sri Bhagavan regards all classifications such as the three bodies, the five sheaths and the three kinds of ego as being of secondary importance. For earnest aspirants who seek to know the ultimate truth of the ego (ie its nonexistence), it is sufficient that they enquire into the one basic form of the ego, which is the ‘I’-thought.

Bhagavan’s disinclination to subdivide the mind or ego is also shown in Chapter 4 of Self-Enquiry where he gives the following answer: “The mind is nothing other than the ‘I’. The mind and the ego are one and the same. The others, (ie the other two antahkAranas or inner organs) the intellect and chittam (the storehouse of tendencies) are only this. Mind (manas), intellect (buddhi), the storehouse of tendencies (chittam) and ego (ahankAra); all these are only the one mind itself. This is like different names (such as son, husband, father, clerk, Hindu, etc) being given to a man according to his different functions. The individual soul is nothing but the mind or ego...”

Whereas the tendency of the scriptures is to classify the non-Self into more and more different categories, the tendency of Sri Bhagavan is always to simplify things and to reduce them back to their fundamentals. As Sri Bhagavan has said in Who Am I?, it is futile to scrutinize and classify the garbage (ie the non-Self), all of which is to be cast aside. Therefore, though the intellect is given many names such as vijñAnAtma, vijñAna (the term used by Ganapati Muni in his letter), buddhi and so on; according to Sri Bhagavan these terms refer only to the one mind.

The reply of Sri Bhagavan
Contrary to his usual practice while replying to devotees, throughout this reply uses many obscure scriptural terms and concepts, partly because Ganapati Muni was a pandit well-versed in the scriptures and partly because his doubt was rooted in the concepts which he had learned from them. Because of this, Bhagavan’s reply will be easier to understand. if it is split up into several sections, with an explanatory note following each section. In order to make this reply intelligible to readers who do not have a good grounding in Sanskrit terminology, it will occasionally be necessary to give a free paraphrased rendering of Bhagavan’s words. Bhagavan’s answer will be given in bold type and the author’s comments will be given in ordinary type. “Though it is a fact that scriptures like Vasishtam say, as you have mentioned, that the ego is of three kinds, you should take the ‘I’-thought to be truly only one. When the mind which is the ‘I’-thought to be truly one. When the mind which is the ‘I’-thought rises, it can only do so by catching hold of something. Since this ego rises between the insentient body and the reality it is given such names as chit—jada granthi (the knot between consciousness and the insentient), jiva (the individual soul) and so on.”

In this opening paragraph Bhagavan confirms that the ego should be taken to be a single entity and not three or more entities, and that the various names such as chit—jada granthi and jiva are merely different names for the same thing. However, in the next section Sri Bhagavan abandons this stance and replies to Ganapati Muni in his own terms. According to traditional Indian philosophy the mind is compounded of three characteristics: sattva (harmony or purity) rajas (activity or restlessness) and tamas (dullness or inertia). Since Ganapati Muni structured his letter around the assumption of the reality of the three gunas, Sri Bhagavan adapts his answer to this assumption. He says:

“The ‘I’-thought which rises in this manner appears in the form of the three gunas, and of these three, the rajas and tamas aspects cling to an identify with the body. The remaining one which is sattva is alone the natural characteristic of the mind, and this stands clinging to the reality. However, in this pure sattvic state, the ‘I’-thought is no longer really a thought, it is the Heart itself.

“‘The wise understand the apparent meaning of prajñana (consciousness) to be the mind, and its true meaning to be the Heart. The Supreme is not other than the Heart.’ (Ramana Gita, V 18.”

In this section Sri Bhagavan begins to outline the nature of the mind and to show how it is possible for it to subside into the Heart. In doing so, he indirectly answers Ganapati Muni’s question concerning the role of the mind in sadhana. Sri Bhagavan is saying that when the mind is active —that is, dominated by rajas and tamas— identification with the body takes place, but when the mind is quiet and still —that is, in its pure sattvic state— it subsides into the Heart until only the Heart remains. Sri Bhagavan has stated in the quotations from Maharshi’s Gospel and Self Enquiry which were given earlier in this article that the mind is nothing other than the ‘I’-thought. When this ‘I’-thought identifies itself with objects, the rajasic and tamasic mind arises, but when the ‘I’-thought alone remains, it can be termed the sattvic mind. However, Sri Bhagavan states in this section that the term ‘sattvic mind’ is something of a misnomer, for when only the feeling of ‘I’ remains, the mind has ceased to exist. This is what Sri Bhagavan means in the last line of his own comments and in the quotation from Sri Ramana Gita when he states that the feeling ‘I’ is not really a modification of the mind but the Heart itself.

Sri Bhagavan often stated that the biggest obstacle to Self-Realisation is the ‘I-am-the-body’ idea, and so since he states that a mind dominated by rajas and tamas identifies with and clings to the body, a rajasic or tamasic mind is obviously an unproductive vehicle for sadhana. According to Sri Bhagavan, Realisation is only attained by abiding in the sattvic state. However, since the mind has ceased to exist in this state, one cannot say that abidance in this state is abidance in the mind; rather it is an abidance in the state where the mind is absent. The solution to Ganapati Muni’s question lies in this distinction between the clinging and the identifying characteristics of the rajasic and tamasic mind, and the absence of mind in the sattvic state. Ganapati Muni’s question was, “Is that abidance in the intellect a means for gradually attaining the perfect experience?” He uses the word ‘vijñana’ to describe the intellect, and in his letter, he defines the term still further by calling it the thinking faculty (vrtti-jñana). Sri Bhagavan is saying in this reply that one should not abide in this thinking faculty; instead one should abide in the sattvic state where thought has ceased and only the ‘I’-feeling remains.

Having answered the question in this somewhat oblique manner, Bhagavan goes on to give a description of the state in which the ‘I’ feeling clings to and identifies with the Self:

“When the mind, the distinctive knowledge which rises from the non-distinctive state of ‘I’ clings to and identifies with the Self, it is called true knowledge. It may also be called ‘knowledge which is the movement of the mind in the form of the Self’ or ‘knowledge in an unbroken form’. The state in which this pure sattvic mind shines clinging to the Self is called ‘aham–sphurana’.”

In this passage Sri Bhagavan is describing the state where the ‘I’-feeling alone remains and clings to the Self. This state is not the final state of Realisation, for in this state there is still the dualistic feeling that there is an ‘I’ which is clinging to the Self. Sri Bhagavan calls this state the ‘aham–sphurana’ and it may be described as the subjective experience of the feeling of ‘I’ which manifests when the mind is quiet and still. In the next section of the letter Sri Bhagavan gives a detailed description of the aham– sphurana and shows how it is related to the Self: This sphurana cannot remain independently apart from the reality, but it is the correct sign which indicates the following direct experience of that reality. The source to which this sphurana clings alone is called the reality or pure consciousness. In Vedanta this is expressed by the saying ‘prajñanam brahma’, or pure consciousness is the absolute reality. When the pure sattvic mind abides in that sphurana and attends to its source, it is called ‘upasana’ or meditation; when one is firmly established in the state which is the source of the mind, this is called jñana.

“‘During the time of practice the natural state is called upasana (meditation), and when that state becomes firmly and permanently established it is called jñana.’ “Ramana Gita 1.13”

The term ‘aham-sphurana’ denotes the new, clear, and fresh knowledge of one’s being which is experienced when the ‘I’-thought attends to and identifies with the Self. The nature of this ahamsphurana was explained by Sri Bhagavan in the answer to question 32 in Self Enquiry , and he described it in phrases which are almost identical to those used in the letter: “...The state in which this mind clings to the Self and shines as the form of the Self is called the aham–sphurana. This sphurana cannot remain independently, leaving the reality. This sphurana is the correct sign of the forthcoming direct experience of the reality. However, this sphurana cannot itself be the state of Reality. That source to which this sphurana clings, alone is called the Reality...”

Reality will be directly experienced only when this sphurana subsides or comes to an end. This process is described in the answer to question 3 in Self-Enquiry as follows:

“...Therefore, leaving the corpse-like body as an actual corpse, and remaining without even uttering the word ‘I’ by mouth, if one now keenly enquires ‘What is it that rises as “I”?, then in the heart a certain soundless sphurana, ‘I—I’ (that is an awareness which is single and undivided, the thoughts which are varied and many having disappeared) alone will shine forth of its own accord. If one remains still without leaving it, even the sphurana (having completely annihilated the sense of individuality, the form of the ego ‘I-am-the-body’), will itself in the end subside just like the flame that catches the camphor. This alone is said to be liberation by great ones and scriptures.”

In the same way that a piece of camphor, once it has caught fire, will not subside until the last trace of camphor is burnt, so when the aham–sphurana is experienced it will not subside until the last trace of ego is destroyed. That is, when the mind or ‘I’-thought turns 180 degrees away from the non-Self and turns towards the Self, it is caught in the grip of the Self and, after this, it cannot turn towards the non-Self again. This is the state of sphurana, which is the correct sign indicating that the Reality is about to be experienced directly. But since in this state there is still a feeling of attending to the Self, this sphurana is not actually the Self, the Reality; the Reality is the source to which this sphurana attends or clings. When even this feeling of attending to the Self subsides, the sphurana itself subsides, and only Being remains. This state, in which even the slightest trace of the ego or individuality has been completely annihilated, is called liberation, the direct experience of the Reality, or the natural state of the Self (sahajatma-sthiti). In portion of his letter Sri Bhagavan explains how unbroken awareness is a consequence of the subsidence of the sphurana and he relates it to the heart-centre which he locates on the right side of the chest:

“Concerning this unbroken awareness, Vivekachudamani, verse 380-2, it is said:

‘Self, which is self-effulgent and the witness of all, ever shines (as ‘I’—‘I’) in the mind. Taking this Self, which is distinct from what is unreal as the target (of your attention), experience it as ‘I’ through unbroken awareness.’

The non-existence of the sense of limitation is the fruit of meditation. This is indeed the unbroken experience. This is natural to God and liberated souls.

When the mind, have pure sattva as its characteristic remains attending to the aham–sphurana, which is the sign of the forthcoming direct experience of the Self, the downwardfacing heart3 becomes upward-facing, blossoms and remains in the form of That (the Self); (because of this) the aforesaid attention to the source of the aham –sphurana alone is the path. When thus attended to, Self, the Reality, alone will remain shining in the centre of the Heart as ‘I am I’.”

2 The reference appears to be Vivekachudamani Verse 381

3 In the middle of this sentence Bhagavan quotes in full verses 18 and 19 from the Supplement to the Forty Verses. Since this quotation makes the sentence extremely long and difficult to decipher, the two verses are given below as a footnote. “Between the two breasts, below the chest and above the stomach, there are six things of many colours. Among these the one thing which resembles a lily-bud and which is within, two digits to the right (of the centre of the chest) is the Heart. Its face is inverted (turned downwards).In the tiny hole within it there exists the dense darkness (of ignorance) together with desire and so on. All the major nerves are connected with it; it is the abode of breath, the mind and the light (of consciousness).”

After describing the Heart as being a downward-facing lily-bud that exists two digits to the right from the centre of the chest, Sri Bhagavan’s says that by attending to the source of the aham– sphurana, this lily-bud will be made to face upwards and blossom. In this context it is worth noting that in Spiritual Instruction (Chapter 2, Question 9) Sri Bhagavan explains that although the Heart is described in this way in these two verses, true import of the word ‘Heart’ (hridayam) is only the Self in which there are no differences such as ‘in’ and ‘out’ or ‘up’ and ‘down’. In Maharshi’s Gospel (Book 2, Chapter 4) he states that people “cannot help thinking in terms of the physical body” and “it is by coming down to this ordinary level of understanding that a place is assigned to the Heart in the physical body”.

Therefore, the description of the Heart as a downwardfacing lily-bud which must be made to face upwards and blossom, is only figurative and not literal, and it is given only for those whose minds are much inclined to raja yoga, which abounds with such figurative descriptions. In Self Enquiry (Chapter 7) Sri Bhagavan says: “The mind alone is the kundalini. It is described otherwise as a serpent only for those having a gross outlook. The six yogic centres and so on are meant only for beginners in yoga.” The same comments apply equally well to the description of the Heart as a downward-facing lily-bud. As Sri Bhagavan says in Sri Ramana Gita

(V.2), “That from which all the thoughts of embodied beings issue forth is called the Heart. All descriptions of it are only mental concepts.”

As regards the true significance of this figurative description of the Heart, since Sri Bhagavan says that attention to the source (ie the Self) is the only way to make the downward-facing Heart turn upwards and blossom, it is reasonable to infer that the downward-facing Heart signifies our power of attention being turned towards the non-Self, that the turning upwards of the Heart signifies that same power of attention turning towards the Self, and that the blossoming of the Heart signifies the dawn of Self-Knowledge which results from such one-pointed Self-attention.

The Response of Ganapati Muni
The following is an extract from Ganapati Muni’s letter dated 3rd June, 1931 which is of interest in this context on account of the inferences which he draws from the replies of Bhagavan. “Sundara had written in his letter the explanation given by Bhagavan. By that, all our doubts here are dispelled. The saying of Bhagavan that the experience of the non-existence of the sense of limitation is the same in God and liberated souls has removed some other doubts of ours also. From this saying we have understood that there does exist Ishvara, the controller of the universe, that there does also exist individuality for liberated souls and that their experience is the same only in respect of their non-existence of this sense of limitation. By this, the party which says that Bhagavan’s Sat-Darshana gives room for the theory of simultaneouseous creation has also been replied to. A reply to that party is in Sat- Darshana also.”

Two particularly interesting points are worthy of note in this letter of Ganapati Muni: (1) His conclusion that Bhagavan taught that liberated souls have individuality and (2) His statement that Bhagavan’s reply is an answer to those that say that Sat-Darshana supports the theory of simultaneouseous creation.

With regard to the first point, the question of whether a liberated soul retains his individuality even after the destruction of the ego was for long a point of contention among the devotees of Sri Bhagavan. The question is discussed in Talks (§ 446), Sat- Darshana Bhashya and Maha Yoga. The verdict of Sri Bhagavan on this question is given in Verse 119 of the Garland of Guru’s Sayings:

Ascribing individuality
To realized muktas is only
Learned folly.
In the pure sky
Of being their separateness is but
The shadow cast by the separateness is but
The shadow cast by the separateness
Of lookers-on still bound.

With regard to the second point about creation, in Sri Ramana Reminiscences by GV Subburamayya, Sri Bhagavan explains this difference between the theory of simultaneous creation by saying: “Without the seer the seen, be they worlds or gods, cannot exist. All those objects of sight depend upon the seer.”

Since this is one of the major differences between the philosophy of Ganapati Muni and that of Sri Bhagavan, it will be helpful to examine these theories in greater detail. The debate revolves around two Sanskrit terms, Srishti–drishti vada and Drishti–srishti vada.

Srishti–drishti vada means the theory of gradual creation, that is, the theory that God created the world and the soul. There are many different theories to explain how this took place, but the particular theory of gradual creation espoused by Ganapati Muni appears to have been the theory of transformation (parinama vada), since this is clearly supported in Sat-Darshana Bhashya. According to this theory, Brahman does not appear as the world and the soul, as a rope appears to be a snake, but it actually undergoes a change and becomes them in the same way that clay becomes a pot. This theory maintains that Brahman has actually (and not merely apparently) undergone transformation and change. It also maintains that the effects, namely the world and the soul, are as real as their cause, Brahman. Ganapati Muni believed that individuality was real and not imaginary, and that individuality survived even Self- Realisation. It was for this reason that he was tempted to interpret Bhagavan’s words to mean that the soul retained individuality after liberation. However, a close reading of this section of Bhagavan’s letter reveals that there is no mention of realised being retaining individuality; all it says is that realised beings experience ‘the nonexistence of the sense of liberation’ and that this is ‘natural to God and liberated souls’.

Drishti–shrishti vada means the theory of simultaneouseous creation, and is also known as the theory of false appearance. According to this theory, Brahman is the sole Reality that never undergoes any change and the world, the soul, and God are false appearances which rise into existence simultaneouseously with the seer. This theory maintains that all objects depend for their apparent existence upon the seer. Whereas in gradual creation, objects are seen because they have been created, in simultaneous creation, objects are created because they are seen. Ganapati Muni also concludes from this letter that Sat- Darshana, which is a translation of Sri Bhagavan’s work Ulladu Narpadu, does not support the theory of simultneous creation. The question of which creation theory is taught in Ulladu Narpadu has been answered by Sri Bhagavan himself in Verse 83 of the Garland of Guru’s Sayings. In this Verse Bhagavan states that since he wrote Ulladu Narpadu, it is understood that he teaches only the doctrine of false appearance, or simultaneous, and that he has set aside all other theories. It should also be clear from reading the text of this work that Sri Bhagavan is teaching that the seer and the seen rise together; in Verse 7 it states, “Although the world and the mind rise and set together, it is by the mind alone that the world shines” and in Verse 26 it states “If the ego comes into existence, all else will come into existence. If the ego does not exist, all else will not exist.”

Although Bhagavan taught the theory of simultaneous creation, this theory should not be elevated to the status of absolute truth. Sri Bhagavan’s actual experience is ajata, which is a denial of all creation theories, simultaneous or otherwise, since it is the experience that neither the world, the soul nor God has ever come into existence. Ajata is the final experience, not a theory that can be taught, for there is no room in this experience for such differences as a teacher, and a person to be taught. Bhagavan’s teachings assume that we are aware that the world rises and sets with the rising and setting of the seer. The first words of Ulladu Narpadu are ‘Because we see the world’, and this assumption that we see the world becomes the basis for his teachings on creation. If he was intending to teach ajata, he would not have admitted the existence of the world at all, and if he had intended to teach gradual creation he would have said, ‘Because the world is created’.

Although Sri Bhagavan sometimes used to speak from the standpoint of gradual creation while replying to questioners, in his main works (for example in Who Am I?, in Verses 6, 7, 14, 23 and 26 of Ulladu Narpadu, and in Verses 6 & 7 of Arunachala Ashtakam), he clearly teaches only the theory of simultaneous creation. As he has explained in Self Enquiry in answer to question 10, the theory of gradual creation is taught only to immature aspirants, while the theory of simultaneous creation is taught to mature aspirants. The same idea is expressed by him in Day by Day (15th March, 1946, afternoon) and in Talks § 651 where he concludes: “But the true seeker can be content with yugapat srishti — instantaneous creation”.

from Michael James

The Divine World

Know that to be the divine world where one is firmly established in the Divine.
Such a one is full (purna); he encompasses and transcends all that is manifest.
He is the substratum of the screen on which the whole manifestation runs like the picture film. Whether moving pictures run or not, the screen is always there and is never affected by the action of the pictures.

You are here and now in the divine world. You are like a thirsty man wanting to drink, while he is all the time standing neck deep in the Ganga.

Give up all efforts and surrender.

Let the 'I' that wants the divine world die, and the Divine in you will be realized here and now. For it is already in you as the Self, not different from the Divine (Brahman), nameless and formless. It is already in you, and how are you to obtain that which ever remains obtained? The Self (atman) in you is surely not different from US."

That is what one must do to drop the ego-sense. If that is done the Self will be experienced as 'I-I' here and now and at all times. There will be no going into the divine world or coming out of it. You will be as you really are. This is the practice (sadhana) and this is the perfection (siddhi) too.

When the subtle mind emerges through the brain and the senses, the gross names and forms are cognized.
When it remains in the Heart names and forms disappear.
If the mind remains in the Heart, the 'I' or the ego which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self, the Real, Eternal 'I' alone will shine. Where there is not the slightest trace of the ego, there is the Self.

Greedily begging for worthless occult powers (Siddhis) from God, who will readily give Himself, who is everything, is like begging for worthless stale gruel from a generous natured philanthropist who will readily give everything.

Your hands may do the work but your mind can remain still.

YOU ARE THAT WHICH NEVER MOVES.

Realize that and you will find that work is not a strain. But as long as you think that you are the body and that the work is done by you, you will feel your life to be an endless toil. In fact it is the mind that toils, not the body. Even if your body keeps quiet, will your mind keep quiet too? Even in sleep the mind is busy with its dreams."

As long as it is taken to be real, the dream cannot be recognized as one and therefore there is no awakening.

Ramana Maharshi

Place Your Burden

Place your burden at the feet of the Lord of the universe who accomplishes everything. Remain all the time steadfast in the Heart, in the absolute. God determines the future for you, God accomplishes the work. What is to be done will be done at the proper time. Don't worry. Abide in the Heart and surrender your acts to the Divine."

Creation & Distruction

Every moment there is creation, every moment destruction.
There is no absolute creation, no absolute destruction.
Both are movement, and that is eternal.

Ramana Maharshi

Seeking the seer, until all the seen disappears, the seer will become subtler and subtler until the absolute seer alone survives.
This process is called the disappearance of the objective world.

D: Why should the objects seen be eliminated? Cannot the Truth be realized even keeping the object as it is?

Ramana: No. Elimination of the seen means elimination of the separate identities of the subject and object.
The object is unreal.
All the seen (including ego) is the object.
Eliminating the unreal, the Reality survives.
When a rope is mistaken for a snake, it is enough to remove the erroneous perception of the snake for the truth to be revealed.
Without such elimination the truth will not dawn.

D: When and how is the disappearance of the objective world to be effected?

Ramana: It is complete when the relative subject, namely the mind, is eliminated.

The mind is the creator of the subject and the object and is the cause of the dualistic idea.
Therefore, it is the cause of the wrong notion of a limited self and the misery consequent on such erroneous idea.

"Where is 'coming' or 'going' or any movement whatever, for the one, all-pervading spirit which you really are?
It is your body that moved or was conveyed from place to place."

The body, which appears as the base of the differences 'inside' and 'outside', is an imagination of the thinking mind.

Heart, the source, is the beginning, the middle and the end of all. Heart, the supreme space, is never a form. It is the light of Truth.

As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the inquiry "Who am I?" is required. As thoughts arise they should be destroyed then and there in the very place of their origin, through inquiry. If one resorts to contemplation of the Self unintermittently, until the Self is gained, that alone would do. As long as there are enemies within the fortress, they will continue to sally forth; if they are destroyed as they emerge, the fortress will fall into our hands.

He who gives himself up to the Self that is God is the most excellent devotee. Giving one's self up to God means remaining constantly in the Self without giving room for the rise of any thoughts other than that of the Self. Whatever burdens are thrown on God, He bears them. Since the supreme power of God makes all things move, why should we, without submitting ourselves to it, constantly worry ourselves with thoughts as to what should be done and how, and what should not be done and how not? We know that the train carries all loads, so after getting on it why should we carry our small luggage on our head to our discomfort, instead of putting it down in the train and feeling at ease?

As thoughts arise, destroying them utterly without any residue in the very place of their origin is non-attachment. Just as the pearl-diver ties a stone to his waist, sinks to the bottom of the sea and there takes the pearls, so each one of us should be endowed with non-attachment, dive within oneself and obtain the Self-Pearl.

Wherever there is body there is misery, this is also the direct experience of all people; therefore, one should enquire into one's true nature which is ever bodiless, and one should remain as such. This is the means to gaining that state.

The "I" - "I"

In the center of the Heart-Cave
there shines alone the one Brahman
as the ‘I, I’, the Atman.
Reach the Heart
by diving deep in quest of the Self,
or by controlling the mind with the breath,
and stay established in the Atman.

Since we perceive the world in all its forms,
we must simultaneously agree that there is a Power
which is capable of becoming multiple.
The PICTURE of name and form, he who sees it,
the CANVAS on which it is painted (based)
and the LIGHT that illumines it are all Oneself.
Sri Ramana Maharshi.


Only the Supreme Self, which is ever shining in your heart as the reality, is the Sadguru. The pure awareness, which is shining as the inward illumination "I", is his gracious feet. The contact with these inner holy feet alone can give you true redemption. JOINING the eye of reflected consciousness (chidabhasa), which is your sense of individuality (jiva bodha), to those holy feet, which are the real consciousness, is the UNION of the feet and the head that is the real significance of the word "asi" ("are", as in the mahavakya "YOU ARE THAT"). As these inner holy feet can be held naturally and unceasingly, hereafter, with AN INWARD-TURNED MIND, cling to that inner awareness that is your own real nature. This alone is the proper way for the removal of bondage and the attainment of the supreme truth.

The Self IS the Heart. The Heart is self luminous. Light arises from the Heart and reaches the brain, which is the seat of the mind. The world is seen with the mind, that is, by the reflected light of the Self. It is perceived with the aid of the mind. When the mind is illumined it is aware of the world. When it is not itself so illumined, it is not aware of the world. If the mind is turned in towards the source of light, OBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE CEASES and Self alone shines forth as the Heart.

The moon shines by the reflected light of the sun. When the sun has set, the moon is useful for revealing objects. When the sun has risen, no one needs the moon, although the pale disc of the moon is visible in the sky.

So it is with the mind and the Heart.

The mind is useful because of its reflected light. It is used for seeing objects. When it is turned inwards, the SOURCE OF ILLUMINATION SHINES FORTH by itself, and the mind remains dim and useless like the moon in day-time.

Atman is realized with mruta manas (dead mind), i.e., mind devoid of thoughts and turned inward. Then the mind sees its own source and becomes That. It is not as the subject perceiving an object.

When the room is dark a lamp is necessary to illumine and eyes to cognize objects. But when the sun is risen there is no need of a lamp, and the objects are seen; and to see the sun no lamp is necessary, it is enough that you turn your eyes towards the self luminous sun.

Similarly with the mind. To see the objects the reflected light of the mind is necessary. To see the Heart it is enough that the mind is turned towards it. Then the mind loses itself and the Heart shines forth.

The essence of mind is only awareness or consciousness. When the ego, however, dominates it, it functions as the reasoning, thinking or sensing faculty. The cosmic mind being not limited by the ego, has NOTHING SEPARATE FROM ITSELF and is therefore only aware. This is what the Bible means by "I am that I AM".
Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Invoke Bhagavan's Presence

The famous Dhyana Sloka, by Ganapati Muni, said to invoke Bhagavan's Presence.

In showering grace he is like the moon, the friend of the blue water-lily.
In the same way, in luster he is like the sun, the lord of the lotus;
By his abidance in Brahman (state of pure Being) he reminds one of his Father under the banyan tree;
Firm like a rock is this my younger brother.
Him, the moveless one we lovingly remember.

from the book "Bhagavan and Nayana" by Shri Sankaranarayanan

When I came to the verse nilaravinda the Maharshi made a remark. Speaking for five to ten minutes, he stated, naming a gentleman,"he said that the verse is quite fit to be the Dhyana Sloka of the whole Gita."

Sri Kapali Sastriar from his Dedication of Ramana Gita Prakasha

The easiest way to progress on the path blazes out of the Maharshi's teachings.
Open oneself to his influence.
Learn to invoke his presence.
Surrender oneself completely to him.

How Does The One Become Many?

"The entire universe is in the body and the whole body is in the Heart.
Hence, the universe is contained in the Heart.
The Heart is to the body what the sun is to the world.
Just as the sun gives light to the moon, the Heart lights the mind."

"The whole cosmos is contained in one pinhole in the Heart."

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi

Mental repetition of Japa, (Manasic Japa), is more powerful than spoken Japa.

Get up at 4 a.m. and do the Japa. Brahmamuhurtha (4 to 6 AM) is most favourable for Japa and meditation.

Face north or east when sitting. This enhances the efficacy of the Japa.

Have four sittings for Japa daily—early morning, noon, evening and night.

Attempt to trace, first Radiant Light in which nothing is, then mind arising from the Heart, the arising of the layers of the feeling of a body, then the world spilling forth out of the Heart.

Then attempt to stay in the heart for as long as possible in the morning (experiencing that there is nothing "out there").

Watch the mind at night, as you are going to sleep. Track it carefully as it withdraws from the world and enters the Heart (on the right side).

Know for yourself, directly.

Aids On The Path

Practices: The best practices arise from Self within to inform the mind. The Self in the Heart knows what's best for you. The mind does not. Turn within, ask, listen.

Remember:
As often as possible, each day, remind yourself silently that you are not the body or mind. Dehatma buddhi (I-am-the-body idea) must go.

Change your internal language: "The body is being moved to the store." not "I AM going to the store."

Abhyasa (practice):
Abhyasa is to keep the mind turned inward. (The mind, turned outward, IS the world, turned inward, IS the Self.) Trace a circle. The subtle mind arises from the Heart each morning and shines out through the gross senses, dreaming the body and the world outside. At night, the subtle mind dreams inside itself, or lies in the Heart, in darkness. The body in the world is a dream in the same way that a body in dreaming sleep is a dream.

Ahimsa:
Humility, gratitude, sincerity, honesty and consistency are more important than knowledge or perfection.

Atma Vichara:
Asking "Who am I?" drives the mind deeper and deeper while creating a churning in the nadis (causing a natural disidentification with the body/mind sheaths). One is looking for a direct experience of where the feeling of "I" comes from. Atma Vichara dissolves the knot in the heart between the sentient and insentient. It helps the mind to withdraw from all second and third person (unreal) objects.

Turn Inward:
The five sheaths and the world are superimposed on the Self and must be discarded. Keep diving inward. Focus on the Seer. Keep aware of the screen (substratum) on which the three states appear.

Purification:
Of the body/mind. Abstain from anything that does not "feel peaceful". Both love and hatred or anger upset the mind. Pure sattvic mind is peaceful. Rajas, excitement and tamas, dullness and not healthy for the mind.

Selfless Service:
Work is Love, No Doer: Seeing the world as the form of the Self, all as an aspect of yourSelf. The Self is doing the service through me. Attempt to do whatever you do as service, with love for Him, without any expectation of results/reward. Attempt to be lived by love. Thousands of the tiniest acts of love will eventually grow together until only love is shining and acting.

Japa:
Mind set in the right-side Heart: (unbroken silent repetition of Arunachala, Ramana, or mantra, in the Heart). Begin each breath back in the right-side heart.

One Pointed thought:
Try to place yourself in the right-side heart, in silence, while the body works. Dedicate your work to Him. When a thought appears "For whom is this? Me." Who am I?" Try not to forget Ramana and Arunachala for a moment.

Silence:
Since the Self is at the core of your being, when you have questions, place your hand on your right side heart, turn away from the world and drop down within and ask your heart, then listen in silence for help. Both the body and mind should be made silent.

Pranayama (Control of the Breath):
Restrain the breath within to help control thoughts. Outbreath (1) "I am not the body." Inbreath (1) "Who am I?" Hold breath (4) "I Am He.'

Vairagya (dispassion, non-attachment, desirelessness):
These bring about the result. Restrain the mind from projecting outwards. Prompt extinguishment of every thought, as and when it arises, in its source (the Heart), by the practice of the Quest.

Moderation:
Moderation in food, sleep and speech. Pure Sattvic Diet. Sattvic food affects the mind, making it peaceful.

Surrender and Humility:
Not my will, but Thine. Ask your heart what to do, eat, wear, say, and listen. Ask to hear for you, see for you, read for you, speak for you. All the love and wisdom and help you need is there. Give your problems to Him there.

Giripradakshina:
In the morning, try to awaken before daybreak, stay in the heart in silence, and walk around the block or some circle, walking always to the right/clockwise, picturing yourself circling Arunachala.

Pratyahara:
Prior to going to sleep, at night, withdraw into your heart, deeper and deeper, while letting your mind expand outward infinitely, in every direction, outward to Arunachala/Ramana. Ask Him to surround you with His peace and grace and to purify all the aspects of yourself, while you sleep. Ask Him to take it all, everything that blocks love, peace, grace, presence.

Dhyana:
Repetition of the names, etc., mentally (japa) with feelings of devotion, without contacting the objects of the senses, abiding in the Self.
The body and the world are in the mind. If the mind becomes sufficiently pure and humble and silent, it will be absorbed into the heart. If you stay in the heart, the rest will be done for you by your Self within the heart. Try to be very aware of what resonates with your heart and how it feels about each thing the body/mind says or does.

Tapas:
"When the mind enquires from where the notion 'I' arises and dissolves right there at the origin of its birth, that is tapas. On the enquiry as to the exact origin from where the sound of mantra arises, the mind dissolves at the origin itself and that is tapas."

Watch for the pulsation of "I" - "I" in the heart. Watch for radiant light and love to well up from the heart and begin filling the mind and dissolving the world.

What matters is the sincerity, integrity, passionate longing to know your Source. Never give up. Begin over and over and over again. Everything you learn, gain, or become in this worldly life will be lost.
Absolute and un-qualified surrender and the consequent state of one-pointedness. If you go outward for advice, you can be misled, but if you go inward, your Self, Ramana, will guide you from within. You are looking for direct experience, the "I" “I" pulsation, a direct relationship with the One in the heart.

Satsang:
See yourself in all and all in yourSelf.
When the mind becomes still in the Heart, He Himself becomes manifest as the Real Self.

Inwardly change your speech. "The body was moved to the store and back." not "I went to the store." "The body is waking up." not "I am waking up."

Ramana: If the longing is there, Realisation will be forced on you even if you do not want it. Subhechcha (desire for enlightenment) is the doorway for realisation.

War

At the end of a talk someone from the audience asked the Dalai Lama,

"Why didn't you fight back against the Chinese?"

The Dalai Lama looked down, swung his feet just a bit, then looked back up at us and said with a gentle smile,

"Well, war is obsolete, you know".

Then, after a few moments, he said,

"Of course the mind can rationalize fighting back…. but the heart, the heart would never understand. Then you would be divided in yourself, the heart and the mind, and the war would be inside you."

Love

Love itself is the actual form of God.

If by saying, "I do not love this, I do not love that", you reject all things, that which remains is swarupa, that is the real form of the Self. That is pure bliss. Call it pure bliss, God, atma, or what you will. That is devotion, that is realization and that is everything.

If you thus reject everything, what remains is the Self alone. That is real love. One who knows the secret of that love finds the world itself full of universal love.

The experience of not forgetting consciousness alone is the state of devotion which is the relationship of unfading real love, because the real knowledge of Self, which shines as the undivided supreme bliss itself, surges up as the nature of love.

Only if one knows the truth of love, which is the real nature of Self, will the strong entangled knot of life be untied. Only if one attains the height of love will liberation be attained. Such is the heart of all religions.

The experience of Self is only love, which is seeing only love, hearing only love, feeling only love, tasting only love and smelling only love.

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi

Grace

In Nirvikalpa, the agency of all experiences, Maya, the Great Mother, the Shakti, the Supreme Goddess, the Inherent Power of the Self, Whose Nature is That of Grace takes the mind and merges it in the Heart and Reveals HerSelf to Be the Heart. The ancients called it "Entering the Cave of the Heart." For lack of better words, this state of Being may be called "Deep Awake". It has no reference point as It Is Self. Only You. Only Self - Awake - Sat Chit Ananda, devoid of the mind and all suffering.

God's grace consists in the act that He shines in the heart of every one as the Self; that power of grace does not exclude any one, whether good or otherwise.

Bhagavan: It is difficult indeed, but not impossible once you are earnest about it. That is why they say you must have the touch of Grace. The influence of a Jnani (one who is enlightened) steals into you in silence. He need not talk.

Bhagavan: What to do? Pictures, names of God and pujas have been formed for this purpose. Only those who have attained the grace of Iswara will get the grace of the Guru. Only through the grace of the Guru can one attain the grace of the Self which is within. That alone is môksha or liberation.

Kindly bestow your grace on me.

Bhagavan: The attainment of mukti is not some new achievement. We are all in the form of mukti. Because we forget this and instead wrongly think, "I am this body," many thousands of thoughts arise in wave after wave and conceal what we really are. Mukti will only shine when this thought ["I am the body"] is destroyed.

If you seek God with your whole heart, then you may be assured that the Grace of God is also seeking you.

Bhagavan: What is this talk of guru's grace? Does the guru hold you by the hand and whisper something in your ear? You imagine him to be what you are yourself. Because you are identified with the body, you think that he is also a body, and will do something tangible to you. But his work lies within. How is a guru found? If a devotee prays to God unselfishly, God who is immanent, in his grace takes pity on the loving devotee and manifests Himself as a being according to the devotee's standard. The devotee thinks that it is a person and expects a relationship between them as bodies, but the guru, who is God or Self incarnate, works from within, helps the person to see the error of his ways, and guides him along the right path until he realizes the Self within. After such a realization, he feels, "I was so worried before, I am after all the Self, the same as before but not affected by anything. Where is he now who was so miserable? He is nowhere to be found." What should we do now? Only live up to the words of the master.

Bhagavan: We are Iswara. By seeing ourselves as Him we are having his grace. His nature is grace. Leave it to Him. Surrender unreservedly, either because you admit your inability and require a higher power to help you, or investigate, go into the source and merge in the Self. God never forsakes one who has surrendered. A higher power is leading you; let it. It knows what to do and how to do it. Trust it.

Question: I pray for your grace as human effort is futile without it.

Bhagavan: Both are necessary. The sun is shining, but you must turn and look at it in order to catch a glimpse. Similarly, individual effort is necessary as well as grace.

Grace is within you; if it were external it would be useless. Grace is the Self; you are never out of its reach. If you remember the guru, it is because you have been prompted by the Self. Isn't grace already there? Is there a moment when grace is not operating in you? Your remembrance of the guru is the forerunner of grace. Grace is both the response and the stimulus. That is the Self and that is grace. There is no cause for anxiety.

The "Vichara" or Inquiry which you are making (that is, its presence in the life of those who practice it regularly) is itself the guru's or God's grace.

It is like the elephant, which wakes up on seeing a lion in its dream. Even as an elephant wakes up at the mere sight of the lion, so too it is certain that the disciple wakes up from the deep sleep of ignorance into wakefulness of true knowledge through the guru's benevolent look of grace.

Grace is there all along. Grace is the Self. It is not something to be acquired. All that is necessary is to know its existence. In the same way, the sun is pure brightness. It is ever there and shines and you are surrounded by sunlight; still, if you want to know the sun, you must turn your eyes in its direction and look at it. Similarly, grace is only to be found by effort, although it is here and now.

We cannot attain realization of the Self by our mind, unaided by God's grace.

Right and Wrong

Q: If it is a question of doing something one considers wrong, and thereby saving someone else from a great wrong, should one do it or refrain?

Bhagavan: What is right and wrong? There is no standard by which to judge something to be right another to be wrong. Opinions differ according to the nature of the individual and according to the surroundings. They are again ideas and nothing more. Do not worry about them. But get rid of thoughts. If you always remain in the right, then right will prevail in the world.

When asked for further elucidation Sri Bhagavan then pointed out that to see wrong in another is one's own wrong. The discrimination between right and wrong is the origin of sin. One's own sin is reflected outside and the individual in ignorance superimposes it on another. The best course for one is to reach the state in which such discrimination does not arise. Do you see wrong or right in your sleep? Be asleep even in the wakeful state, abide as the Self and remain uncontaminated by what goes on around. Moreover, however much you might advise them, your hearers may not rectify themselves. Be in the right yourself and remain silent. Your silence will have more effect than your words or deeds.

The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi edited by Arthur Osborne

Silence

Close your eyes, and you will see clearly.

Cease to listen, and you will hear truth.

Be silent, and your heart will sing.

Seek no contacts, and you will find union.

Be still, and you will move with the tide of the Spirit.

Be gentle, and you will need no strength.

Be patient, and you will achieve all things.

Be humble, and you will remain entire.


Silence is our real nature.

What we are fundamentally is only silence.

Silence is free from beginning and end.

It was before the beginning of all things.

It is causeless.

Its greatness lies in the fact that it simple is.

In silence all objects have their home ground.

It is the light that gives objects their shape and form.

All movement, all activity is harmonized by silence.

Silence has no opposite in noise.

It is beyond positive and negative.

Silence dissolves all objects.

It is not related to any counterpart which belongs to the mind.

Silence has nothing to do with mind.

It cannot be defined but it can be felt directly because it is our nearness.

Silence is freedom without restriction or enter.

It is our wholeness, neither inside nor outside the body.

Silence is joyful, not pleasurable.

It is not psychological.

It is feeling without a feeler.

Silence needs no intermediary.

Silence is holy.

It is healing.

There is no fear in silence.

Silence is autonomous like love and beauty.

It is untouched by time.

Silence is meditation, free from any intention, free from anyone who meditates.

Silence is the absence of oneself.

Or rather, silence is the absence of absence.

Sound which comes from silence is music.

All activity is creative when it comes from silence.

It is constantly a new beginning.

Silence precedes speech and poetry and music and all art.

Silence is the home ground of all creative activity.

What is truly creative is the word, is Truth.

Silence is the word.

Silence is Truth.

The one established in silence lives in constant offering, in prayer without asking, in thankfulness, in continual love.

Only in our absence are we truly present.

In stillness there is nobody who is still, and this stillness doesn't refer to any object; it is absolutely objectless; it is our real nature.

Liberation does not concern the person, for liberation is freedom from the person.

It is only through silent awareness that our physical and mental nature can change. This change is completely spontaneous. If we make an effort to change we do no more than shift our attention from one level, from one thing to another. We remain in a vicious circle. It still leaves us oscillating between suffering and pleasure, each leading inevitably back to the other. Only living stillness, stillness without someone trying to be still, is capable of undoing the conditioning our biological, emotional and psychological nature has undergone.

Jean Klein