From Talks With Ramana Maharshi

 

Devotee: It is understood intellectually only. Is not intellect a help for realisation?

Master: Yes, up to a certain stage. Even so, realise that the Self transcends the intellect — the latter must itself vanish to reach the Self.

D.: Does my realisation help others?

Master: Yes, certainly. It is the best help possible. But there are no others to be helped. For a realised being sees the Self, just like a goldsmith estimating the gold in various jewels. When you identify yourself with the body then only the forms and shapes are there. But when you transcend your body the others disappear along with your body-consciousness.

Devotee: Is it so with plants, trees, etc.?

Master: Do they exist at all apart from the Self? Find it out. You think that you see them. The thought is projected out from your Self. Find out wherefrom it rises. Thoughts will cease to rise and the Self alone will remain.

Devotee: I understand theoretically. But they are still there.

Master: Yes. It is like a cinema-show. There is the light on the screen and the shadows flitting across impress the audience as the enactment of some piece. Similarly also will it be, if in the same play an audience also is shown. The seer, the seen, will then only be the screen. Apply it to yourself. You are the screen, the Self has created the ego, the ego has its accretions of thoughts which are displayed as the world, the trees, plants, etc., of which you are asking. In reality, all these are nothing but the Self. If you see the Self, the same will be found to be all, everywhere and always. Nothing but the Self exists.

Devotee: Yes, I still understand only theoretically. Yet the answers are simple and beautiful and convincing.

Master: Even the thought, “I do not realise” is a hindrance. In fact, the Self alone is.

Mind

Life experience is nothing but mind, and bondage or liberation are also based upon mind only.  When the mind, which is nothing but thoughts, is in motion (“I am this or that”), then the experience of the world comes into being.  When the mind ceases/is renounced, only the Self exists.

In reality, there is never anything but the Self alone.  In the same way that one who dreams experiences himself as someone else, yet upon awakening realizes that he is as he always was, the Self is all that exists – whether the mind/thoughts appear or not.  If the self is visualized as the limitless untainted expanse of sky and thoughts as nothing but clouds – consider the truth that the sky remains ever untouched and undisturbed whether or not there are clouds.  Only one’s vision is obscured.  On close examination, one will see that one’s experience is wholly dependent upon thoughts – and the nature of one’s thoughts determines the nature of one’s experience.

Day and night, birth and death, bondage and liberation are notions only.  Sage Vasistha in Vasistharamanyana advises Rama that it is best not to even think of “the world” at all – that one should consider it fiction.  He teaches that one way to liberation is to think of the world as nothing but a dream – to remain in this meditation at all times.  Doing so enables us to transcend all sorrows.

Radiations from the Realized

Ramana Maharshi:

A realized one sends out waves of spiritual influence in his aura, which draw many people towards him.  Yet he may sit in a cave and maintain complete silence.

Meditation depends upon the strength of mind. It must be unceasing even when one is engaged in work.  Particular time for it is meant for novices.

Realization is our true nature.  It is nothing new to be gained.  What is new cannot be eternal.  Therefore there is no need to be doubting whether we would gain or lose the self.

Bliss is not something to be got. 

On the other hand, you are always Bliss.

This desire (for Bliss) is born of the sense of incompleteness.

To whom is this sense of incompleteness?

Enquire.  In deep sleep you were blissful.

Now you are not so.

What has interposed between that Bliss and this non-bliss?

It is the ego.

Seek its source and find you are Bliss.

Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world

Question :  How can the terrible fear of death be overcome?

Ramana Maharshi :  When does that fear seize you?  Does it come when you do not see your body, say, in dreamless sleep?  It haunts you only when you are fully `awake’ and perceive the world, including your body.  If you do not see these and remain your pure Self, as in dreamless sleep, no fear can touch you.  If you trace this fear to the object, the loss of which gives rise to it, you will find that that object is not the body, but the mind which functions in it.  Many a man would be only too glad to be rid of his diseased body and all the problems and inconvenience it creates for him if continued awareness were vouchsafed to him.  It is the awareness, the consciousness, and not the body, he fears to lose.  Men love existence because it is eternal awareness, which is their own Self.  Why not then hold on to the pure awareness right now, while in the body, and be free from all fear?

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj:

Time is in the mind, space is in the mind.  The law of cause and effect is also a way of thinking. In reality all is here and now and all is one.  Multiplicity and diversity are in the mind only.

A quiet mind is all you need.  All else will happen rightly, once your mind is quiet.  As the sun on rising makes the world active, so does self-awareness affect changes in the mind.  In the light of calm and steady self-awareness inner energies wake up and work miracles without effort on your part.

Do understand that you are destined for enlightenment.  Co-operate with your destiny, dont go against it, dont thwart it.  Allow it to fulfil itself.  All you have to do is to give attention to the obstacles created by the foolish mind.

When you are no longer attached to anything, you have done your share.  The rest will be done for you. 

Treating everything as a dream liberates.

Give up all ideas about yourself and simply be.

You are like the man in the cinema house, laughing and crying with the picture, though knowing fully well that he is all the time in his seat and the picture is but the play of light.  It is enough to shift attention from the screen to oneself to break the spell…without waiting for the death of the body – it is enough to shift attention to the Self and keep it there.  All happens as if there is a mysterious power that creates and moves everything.  Realise that you are not the mover, only the observer, and you will be at peace.

This attitude of silent observation is the very foundation of yoga.  You see the picture, but you are not the picture.

                 

Yogi Vasistha:

When pots, etc. are broken the space within

them becomes unlimited.  So also when bodies cease to

exist the Self remains eternal and unattached.

Nothing whatever is born or dies anywhere at any

time.  It is Brahman alone appearing illusorily in the form of

the world.

The Self is more extensive than space; it is pure,

subtle, undecaying and auspicious.  As such how could it

be born and how can it die?

All this is the tranquil, One without beginning,

middle or end, which cannot be said to be existent or

non-existent.  Know this and be happy

I Am Waiting to Hear You

It is important not to confuse book learning with actual realization.  The scriptures can lead the way, but true Self-knowledge comes only from within.  Even the greatest of scriptures will not make one God-realized without contemplating the meaning with a calm mind and sharp intellect – and this only with dogged perseverance and persistence over time.  It is for this reason that practice is critical.  A common saying of Paramahamsa Hariharananda and Sri Swami Sivananda was, “an ounce of practice is better than tons of theory.”  Even the followers of the path of jnana (knowledge), though they may choose to forsake all formal meditation or pranayama, must sit still and practice self-inquiry (“who am I?”).  They must silently trace their footsteps back to the unconditioned, silent Witness which is pure Awareness – timeless, ageless and eternal.

But even the jnani must be very careful.  It is easy to confuse a little progress via scriptural study and contemplation of the Self with actual Self-knowledge.  There are many who read and study for a short time before donning an ocher robe or grabbing a begging bowl after allowing their locks to mat.  They are deluded by their own ego and misguide others in the process.

Sri Ramakrishna was once asked by Bankim Chandra, a great Bengali literary figure, why he did not formally preach.  Sri Ramakrishna responded:

“Preaching?  It is only a man’s vanity that makes him think of preaching.  A man is but an insignificant creature.  It is God alone who will preach — God who has created the sun and moon and so illumined the universe.  Is preaching such a trifling affair?  You cannot preach unless God reveals Himself to you and gives you the command to preach.  Of course, no one can stop you from preaching. You haven’t received the command, but still you cry yourself hoarse.  People will listen to you a couple of days and then forget all about it.  It is like any other sensation: as long as you speak, people will say, ‘Ah!  He speaks well’; and the moment you stop, everything will disappear.

“The milk in the pot hisses and swells as long as there is heat under it.  Take away the heat, and the milk will quiet down as before.

“One must increase one’s strength by sadhana (spiritual practice); otherwise one cannot preach.  As the proverb goes:  ‘You have no room to sleep yourself and you invite a friend to sleep with you.’ There is no place for you to lie down and you say: ‘Come, friend!  Come and lie down with me.’  (laughter)

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, by Mahendranath Gupta

Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri Maharaj, Paramahansa Yogananda’s guru, was a great sage and Kriya Yogi known for his uncompromising character and strict adherence to discipline.  He was also known for being a tough teacher, yet one whose loyalty, love, and care for those disciples who sought his spiritual guidance was unwavering.

Yogananada related an incident in which an arrogant pundit proudly displayed his scriptural knowledge one day in the ashram:

“A celebrated scholar received a similar jolt.  It came during his first visit to the ashram.  The rafters resounded as the guest recited passages from the Mahabharata, Upanishads, and bhasyas (commentaries) of Shankara.

“I am waiting to hear you.”  Sri Yukteswar’s tone was inquiring, as though silence had reigned.  The pundit was puzzled.

“Quotations there have been in superabundance.” Master’s words convulsed me with mirth, as I squatted in my corner a respectful distance from the visitor.”  But what original commentary can you supply, from the uniqueness of your particular life?  In what ways have these timeless truths renovated your nature?  Are you content to be a hollow victrola, mechanically repeating the words of other men?”

“I give up!”  The scholar’s chagrin was comical.”  I have no inner realization.”

For the first time, perhaps, he understood that discerning placement of a comma does not atone for a spiritual coma.

“These bloodless pedants smelly unduly of the lamp,” my guru remarked after the departure of the chastened one.”  They consider philosophy to be a gentle intellectual setting-up exercise.  Their elevated thoughts are carefully unrelated either to the crudity of outward action or to any scourging inner discipline!”

Master stressed on other occasions the futility of mere book learning.

“Do not confuse understanding with a larger vocabulary,” he remarked.” Sacred writings are beneficial in simulating desire for inward realization, if one stanza at a time is slowly assimilated.  Otherwise, continual intellectual study may result in vanity, false satisfaction, and undigested knowledge.”

Sri Yukteswar related one of his own experiences in scriptural edification.  The scene was a forest hermitage in eastern Bengal, where he observed the procedure of a reowned teacher, Dabru Ballav.  His method, at once simple and difficult, was common in ancient India.

Dabru Ballav had gathered his disciples around him in the sylvan solitudes.  The holy Bhagavad Gita was open before them.  Steadfastly they looked at one passage for half an hour, then closed their eyes. Another half hour slipped away.  The master gave a brief comment.  Motionless,they meditated again for an hour.  Finally the guru spoke.

“Do you now understand the stanza?”

“Yes,sir.” One in the group ventured this assertion.

“No, not fully.  Seek the spiritual vitality that has given these words the power to rejuvenate India century after century.” Another hour passed in silence.  The master dismissed the students, and turned to Sri Yukteswar.

“Do you know the Bhagavad Gita?”

“No sir, not really; though my eyes and mind have run through its pages many times.”

“Hundreds have replied to me differently!” The great sage smiled at Master in blessing.”  If one busies himself with an outer display of scriptural wealth, what time is left for silent inward diving after the priceless pearls?”

Sri Yukteswar directed the study of his own disciples by the same intensive method of one-pointedness.”  Wisdom is not assimilated with the eyes, but with the atoms,” he said.”  When your conviction of truth is not merely in your brain but in your being, you may diffidently vouch for its meaning.”  He discouraged any tendency a student might have to consider book knowledge a necessary step to spiritual realization.

“The rishis wrote in one sentence profundities that commentating scholars busy themselves over for generations,” he said.”  Endless literary controversys for sluggard minds.  What more quickly liberating thought than ‘God is’ —nay, ‘God’?”

Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda  (Chapter 12:  Years in My Master’s Hermitage)

The Sanskrit word muni refers to an ascetic, yogi, or monk who has taken a vow of silence (or is habitually silent).  Indeed, many of the world’s greatest yogis and spiritual teachers taught mostly in silence.  Their only pulpit is Consciousness which, being all-pervading, transcends all space-time restrictions.  Mahamuni Babaji Maharaj, Trailanga Swami, and Ramana Maharshi are only a few examples of such exalted beings whose spiritual influence and vibrations are “heard” still today and continue to exert a benign influence, not only throughout the community in which they lived, but around the planet and into the cosmos.