To Whom Do Thought Arise?

Sri Ramana Maharshi

After his return from Europe, Mr. D. had a private interview with Sri Bhagavan for a few minutes. He said that his former visit had had some effect but not as much as he wanted. He could concentrate on his work. Is not concentration indispensable for spiritual progress? Karma appealed to him because that helped towards concentration.

Sri Bhagavan: There is no karma without a karta (doer). On seeking for the doer he disappears. Where is Karma then?

Mr. D. sought practical instruction.

M.: Seek the karta. That is the practice.

Mrs. D. said there were breaks in her awareness and desired to know how the awareness might be made continuous.

M.: Breaks are due to thoughts. You cannot be aware of breaks unless you think so. It is only a thought. Repeat the old practice, “To whom do thoughts arise?” Keep up the practice until there are no breaks. Practice alone will bring about continuity of awareness.

Signs of Progress

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Q: I understand one must give up one’s family and possessions to become a disciple.

M: It varies with the Guru. Some expect their mature disciples to become ascetics and recluses; some encourage family life and duties. Most of them consider a model family life more difficulty than renunciation, suitable for a personality more mature and better balanced. At the early stages the disciple of monastic life may be advisable. Therefore, in the Hindu culture students up to the age of 25 are expected to live like monks - in poverty, chastity, and obedience - to give them a chance to build a character able to meet the hardships and temptations of married life.

Q: Who are the people in this room? Are they your disciples?

M: Ask them. It is not on the verbal level that one becomes a disciple, but in the silent depths of one's being. You do not become a disciple by choice; it is more a matter of destiny than self-will. It does not matter much who is the teacher - they all wish you well. It is the disciple that matters - his honesty and earnestness. The right disciple will always find the right teacher.

Q: I can see the beauty and feel the blessedness of a life devoted to search for truth under a competent and loving teacher. Unfortunately, we have to return to England.

M: Distance does not matter. If your desires are strong and true, they will mold your life for their fulfilment. Sow your seed and leave it to the seasons.

Q: What are the signs of progress in spiritual life?

M: Freedom from anxiety; a sense of ease and joy; deep peace within and abundant energy without.

Q: How did you get it?

M: I found it all in the holy presence of my Guru - I did nothing on my own. He told me to be quiet and I did it - as much as I could.

Q: Is your presence as powerful as he is?

M: How am I to know? For me - his is the only presence. If you are with me, you are with him.

Q: Each guru will refer me to his own guru. Where is the starting point?

M: There is a power in the universe working for enlightenment and liberation. We call it sadashiva, who is ever-present in the hearts of men. It is the unifying factor. Unity liberates. Freedom unites. Ultimately nothing is mine or yours - everything is ours. Just be one with yourself and you will be one with all, at home in the entire universe.

Q: You mean to say that all these glories will come with the mere dwelling on the feeling ‘I am’?

M: It is the simple that is certain, not the complicated. Somehow people do not trust the simple, the easy, the always available. Why not give an honest trial to what I say? It may look very small and insignificant, but it is like a seed that grows into a mighty tree. Give yourself a chance.

Q: I see so many people sitting here -- quietly. What for have they come?

M: To meet themselves. At home the world is too much with them. Here nothing disturbs them; they have a chance to take leave of their daily worries and contact the essential in themselves.

Q: What is the course of training in self-awareness?

M: There is no need of training. Awareness is always with you. The same attention that you give to the outer, you turn to the inner. No new or special kind awareness is needed.

Q: Do you help people personally?

M: People come to discuss their problems. Apparently they derive some help, or they would not come.

Q: Are the talks with people always in public, or will you talk to them privately also?

M: It is according to their wish. Personally, I make no distinction between public and private.

Q: Are you always available, or have you other work to do?

M: I am always available, but the hours in the morning and late afternoon are the most convenient.

Q: I understand that no work ranks higher than the work of a spiritual teacher.

M: The motive matters supremely.

I AM is common to all

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Q: We are two girls from England, visiting India. We know little about Yoga and we are here because we were told that spiritual teachers play an important role in Indian life.

M: You are welcome. There is nothing new you will find here. The work we are doing is timeless. It was the same ten thousand years ago. Centuries roll on, but the human problem does not change - the problem of suffering and the ending of suffering.

Q: The other day seven young foreigners have turned up asking for a place to sleep for a few nights. They came to see their Guru who was lecturing in Bombay. I met him -- a very pleasant looking young man is he -- apparently very matter-of-fact and efficient, but with an atmosphere of peace and silence about him. His teaching is traditional with stress on karma Yoga, selfless work, service of the Guru etc. Like the Gita, he says that selfless work will result in salvation. He is full of ambitious plans: training workers who will start spiritual centres in many countries. It seems he gives them not only the authority, but also the power to do the work in his name.

M: Yes, there is such a thing as transmission of power.

Q: When I was with them I had a strange feeling of becoming invisible. The devotees, in their surrender to their Guru surrendered me also! Whatever I did for them was their Guru’s doing and I was not considered, except as a mere instrument. I was merely a tap to turn left or right. There was no personal relationship whatsoever. They tried a little to convert me to their faith; as soon as they felt resistance, they just dropped me from the field of their attention. Even between themselves they did not appear very much related; it is their common interest in their Guru that kept them together. I found it rather cold, almost inhuman. To consider oneself an instrument in God’s hands is one thing; to be denied all attention and consideration because ‘all is God’ may lead to indifference verging on cruelty. After all, all wars are made ‘in the name of God’. The entire history of mankind is a succession of ‘holy wars’. One is never so impersonal as in war!

M: To insist, to resist, are contained in the will to be. Remove the will to be and what remains? Existence and non-existence relate to something in space and time; here and now; there and then, which again are in the mind. The mind plays a guessing game; it is ever uncertain; anxiety-ridden and restless. You resent being treated as a mere instrument of some god, or Guru, and insist on being treated as a person, because you are not sure of your own existence and do not want to give up the comfort and assurance of personality. You may not be what you believe yourself to be, but it gives you continuity, your future flows into the present and becomes the past without jolts. To be denied personal existence is frightening, but you must face it and find your identity with the totality of life. Then the problem of who is used by whom is no more.

Q: All the attention I got was an attempt to convert me to their faith. When I resisted they lost all interest in me.

M: One does not become a disciple by conversion, or by accident. There is usually an ancient link maintained through many lives and flowering as love and trust, without which there is no discipleship.

Q: What made you decide to become a teacher?

M: I was made into one by being called so. Who am I to teach and whom? What I am, you are, and what you are - I am. The "I am" is common to us all; beyond the "I am" there is the immensity of light and love. We do not see it because we look elsewhere; I can only point at the sky; seeing of the star is your own work. Some take more time before they see the star, some take less; it depends on the clarity of their vision and their earnestness in search. These two must be their own. I can only encourage.

Q: What am I expected to do when I become a disciple?

M: Each teacher has its own method, usually patterned on his Guru's teachings and on the way he himself has realized, and his own terminology as well. Within that framework adjustments to the personality of the disciple are made. The disciple is given full freedom of through and enquiry and encouraged to question to his heart's content. He must absolutely be certain of the standing and competence of the Guru, otherwise his faith will not be absolute nor his action complete. It is the absolute in you that takes you to the absolute beyond you - absolute truth, love, selflessness are the decisive factors in self-realization. With earnestness there can be reached.

Grace is Always There - 5

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Source: Guru Ramana, Residual Reminiscences (Cohen, S.)

Four, five, six months have elapsed since my arrival. I waited, but began to notice a new turn in the working of my mind, a thing which I had not felt before, a peculiar, slow but extremely subtle movement was taking place within my consciousness and I wondered what it could be, and whether the Maharshi was aware of it as well. Seeing me from close quarters, always near the foot of his couch, I thought, was easier for him to guess than if I were at greater distance. Obviously, the notion that the guru always watched his disciples continued lurking in my head. But in fact, as I discovered later, Bhagavan was doing nothing of the kind. He was Supreme Detachment incarnate.

The strict aloofness which appeared to me at first as sheer callousness on the part of the Maharshi, standing against the traditional concern said to be shown by the gurus to promote the spiritual advancement of their disciples, turned out across the years to be more potent in its action to purify, reform, guide and mature the disciples' consciousness than the guru's conscious interference.

Grace is Always There - 4

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Source: The Mountain Path, January 1966 (G. L. Narasimha Rao)

My contact with him began in 1930. It was by Divine Providence, not by my planning, that I was able to spend a continuous period of three years at Sri Ramanasramam. It was a great blessing...

The essence of what Bhagavan said to me in my talks with him was: "You say that on final analysis all that I see or think or do is one; but that really comprises two notions: the all that is seen and the I that does the seeing, thinking and doing, and says 'I'. Which of these two is the more real, true and important? Obviously the seer, since the seen is dependent on it. So turn your attention to the seer who is the source of your 'I' and realize that. This is the real task. Up to now you have been studying the object, not the subject; now find out for what reality this word 'I' stands. Find the entity which is the source of the expression 'I'. That is the Self, the Self of all selves."

This direct, simple teaching was like a tonic to me. It swept away the unrest and confusion that till then had haunted my mind. The simplicity of it made me burst out: "Then Bhagavan, Self-realisation is very easy, just as you say in the poem Atma Vidya!"

Bhagavan smiled and said: "Yes, yes, it seems so at first, but there is difficulty too. You have to overcome your present false values and wrong identification. Therefore the quest requires concentrated effort and steadfast abidance in the Source when this is reached."

However, even while warning me, he also added words of solace: "But don't let that deter you. The rise of the urge to seek for the 'I' is itself an act of Divine Grace. Once this urge gets hold of you, you are in its clutches. The grip of Divine Grace never relaxes and finally devours you, just as the prey in a tiger's jaws is never allowed to escape."

Grace is Always There - 3

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Source: "Bhagavan Ramana: His Silent Upadesa," The Mountain Path, June 1999.

A. Bose, a Bengali industrialist, as recorded by S. S. Cohen, once tried to elicit a precise statement. He said, "I am convinced that a guru is necessary for the success of the aspirant's efforts. " Then he added with a quizzical smile, "Does Bhagavan feel for us?"

But Sri Bhagavan turned the tables on him, "Practice is necessary for you; Grace is always there." After a short silence he added, "You are neck deep in water and yet you cry out that you are thirsty."

.............

Source: Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi

Talk 425

D: Is success not dependent on Guru's Grace?

M: Yes, it is. Is not your practice itself due to such Grace? The fruits are the result of the practice and follow it automatically. There is a stanza in Kaivalya which says, "O Guru! You have been always with me watching me through several reincarnations, and ordained my course until I was liberated." The Self manifests externally as Guru when occasion arises; otherwise He is always within, doing the needful.

Grace is Always There - 2

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Source: Letters from Sri Ramanansramam

Yesterday morning, a group of Andhras arrived, and started questioning Bhagavan within ten minutes of arrival.

Question: "Bhagavan teaches us always to know ourselves. He should kindly teach us how to know ourselves, and bless us."

Bhagavan's reply: "The kindness is always there. You should ask for something that is not there, and not for something that is there already. You should believe with all your heart that the kindness is there. That is all."

Source: Day by Day with Bhagavan

A barrister from Bombay asked Bhagavan, "I have tried Bhagavan's method for about six years and yet I have not made any progress. When I meditate, other thoughts come. For people like me, living in cities and doing our work and coming here only occasionally, what sadhana would Bhagavan advise so that we may succeed better than I have so far been able to do?"

Bhagavan: Your real nature is always there, your meditation, etc., come only temporarily. Reality being your Self, there is nothing for you to realise. All that is required is that you should give up regarding the unreal as real, which is what all are doing. The object of all meditation, dhyana or japa is only that, to give up all thoughts regarding the not-self, to give up many thoughts and to keep to the one thought. As for sadhana, there are many methods. You may do vichara, asking yourself "Who am I?" or, if that does not appeal to you, you may do dhyana "I am Brahman" or otherwise, or you may concentrate on a mantra or name in japa. The object is to make the mind one-pointed, to concentrate it on one thought and thus exclude our many thoughts, and if we do this, eventually even the one thought will go and the mind will get extinguished in its source.

Visitor: In actual practice I find I am not able to succeed in my efforts. Unless Bhagavan's Grace descends on me I cannot succeed.

Bhagavan: Guru's Grace is always there. You imagine it is something, somewhere high up in the sky, far away, and has to descend. It is really inside you, in your Heart, and the moment you effect subsidence or merger of the mind into its source, the Grace rushes forth, spouting as from a spring, from within you.

Grace is Always There - 1

Sri Ramana Maharshi

D: Doubts are always arising. Hence my question.

M: A doubt arises and is cleared; another arises and that is cleared, making way for another, and so it goes on. So there is no possibility of clearing away all doubts. See to whom the doubts arise. Go to their source and abide in it. Then they cease to arise. That is how doubts are to be cleared.

D: Grace alone can help me to it.

M: Grace is not exterior. In fact your very desire for grace is due to grace that is already within you.

From 'Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi'

....

Natesa Mudaliar opened his mouth and asked Maharshi: "I wish to learn and experience what your anugraham is, as people differ in their accounts of it." Maharshi replied: "I am always giving my anugraham. If you cannot apprehend it, what am I to do?" Natesa Mudaliar understood thereby that his silent samadhi was itself anugraham which all aspirants should aspire for, contact, and get into.

Sometime later Mudaliar came again to Maharshi. Some highly gifted persons were comparing notes with the Maharshi about their advanced experiences in matters spiritual, i.e., in the highest reaches of the soul's flight. Sitting very near and drinking in ever word through his ears, Mudaliar was aghast. The words that were heard were easy, well-known Tamil or Sanskrit words. But thei sense was far above him. The talk was all far, far above him. A great sorrow overwhelmed his soul. "Shall I or shall I never have these experiences, now or in any future births?" Thus he thought within himself. His dejection must have caught the master's keen eye; as after the visitors left, Maharshi said to him: "Why are you dejected? What you seek is that which is always ready (siddha) at hand. Can anyone feel anxious, whether he will get what exists always? Do you feel just now that you have not got possession of it, i.e., that it is not in the palm of your hand? If it is not clear today it will be clear to you tomorrow. Why should you be downcast over such a matter? If you were really unfit to have it how could the thought of seeing great ones have occurred to you?" 

Peace entered Mudaliar's soul immediately.

From: 'Self-Realization' (Narasimha Swami)

Everything is Worship of the Self

Sage Vasishtha

The LORD continued:

Whatever you do and whenever you do it (or refrain from doing it) - all that is worship of the Lord who is pure consciousness. By regarding all that as the worship of the self who is the Lord - he is delighted.

Likes and dislikes, attraction and aversion are not found in the self independent of its essential nature; they are mere words. Even the concepts indicated by words like 'sovereignty', 'poverty', 'pleasure', 'pain', 'one's own' and 'others', are in fact worship of the self, for the conceiving intelligence is the self. Knowledge of the cosmic being alone is the proper worship of the cosmic being.

It is that self or cosmic consciousness alone which is indicated by expressions like 'this world'. Oh, what a mysterious wonder it is that the self which is pure consciousness or intelligence somehow seems to forget its own nature and comes to regard itself as the jiva (the individual). In fact, in that cosmic being which is the reality in everything, there is not even the division into worshipper, worship and the worshipped. It is impossible to describe that cosmic being which supports the entire universe without division;  it is impossible to teach another concerning it. And, we do not consider them worthy of being taught by us, who consider that god is limited by time and space. Hence, abandoning all such limited concepts, abandoning even the division between the worshipper and the worshipped (Lord), worship the self by the self. Be at peace, pure, free from cravings. Consider that all your experiences and expressions are the worship of the self.

(In reply to Vasishtha's request for a fuller explant ion of Shiva, Brahman, self; why they are so called and how such differences arose, the Lord continued:)

The reality is beginningless and endless and it is not even reflected in anything: that is the reality. However, since it is not possible to experience it through the mind and the senses, it is even regarded as if it were non-being.

(In reply to Vasishtha's question. "If it is beyond the mind, how is it realized?" the LORD replied:)

In the case of the seeker who is eager to attain freedom from ignorance and who is therefore equipped with that is termed 'sattvic avidya' (subtle ignorance), this 'sattvic avidya', with the help of what are known as scriptures, removes the ignorance, just as washerman removes dirt with the help of another form of dirt (soap). By his catalytic action the ignorance is removed, the self realizes the self and the self sees the self on account of its own self-luminous nature.

Worship of the Self

Sage Vasishtha

The LORD continued:

One should engage oneself in this worship at all times, established in supreme equanimity in regard to all the percepts whether they be pleasant or unpleasant. One should regard everything as good and auspicious (or one should regard everything as a mixture of good and evil). Realizing that everything is the one self, one should worship the self in this spirit. One should look with equal vision upon that which is pleasant and beautiful through and through and that which is unendurably unpleasant. Thus should one worship the self.

One should abandon the divisive notions of 'This I am' and 'This I am not' and realize that 'All this is indeed Brahman', the one indivisible and infinite consciousness. In that spirit one should worship the self. At all times, in all forms and their modifications, one should worship the self in and through all that one obtains. One should worship the self after having abandoned the distinction between the desirable and the undesirable, or even while relying on such a distinction (but using them as the materials for the worship).

Without craving and without rejecting, that which is effortlessly and naturally obtained may be enjoyed. One should not get excited or depressed when faced with insignificant or significant objects, just as neither sky nor space is so affected by the diverse objects that exist and grow in it. One should worship the self, without psychological perversion, with every object that is obtained purely on account of the coincidence of the time, place and activity - whether they are popularly known as good or as not-good.

In this procedure for the worship of the self, whatever article has been mentioned as being necessary for the worship is of the same nature as all others, though the expressions used are different. Equanimity is sweetness itself and this sweetness is beyond the senses and the mind. Whatever is touched by that equanimity instantly becomes sweet, whatever its description or definition may be. That alone is regarded as worship which is performed when one is in a state of equanimity like that of space, when the mind has become utterly quiescent without the least movement of thought, when there is effortless absence of perversity. Established in his state of equanimity, the wise man should experience infinite expansion within himself while carrying out his natural actions of the worshipper of this intelligence. In his case, delusion, ignorance and ego sense do not arise even in dream. Remain in this state, O sage, experiencing everything as a child does. Worship that Lord of this body (the intelligence that pervades it) with all that is brought to you by time, circumstances and environment, and rest in supreme peace, devoid of desire.

Jnanam = Being Aware of That which Always is

Sri Ramana Maharshi

D.: What is staying with the Guru?

M.: It means studying the sacred lore.

D.: But there is the special virtue of the Guru’s presence.

M.: Yes. That purifies the mind.

D.: That is the effect or reward. I asked about how the disciple ought to behave.

M.: That differs according to the type of disciple - student, householder, what are his own ingrained mental tendencies and so on.

D.: If so, will it naturally come out right?

M.: Yes. In former times the Rishis sent their sons to others for education.

D.: Why?

M.: Because affection stood in the way.

D.: That cannot be for the jnanis. Was it in respect of the disciples?

M.: Yes.

D.: If so would not this obstacle get removed along with all the others, through the Master’s grace?

M.: There will be delay. Owing to the disciple’s want of reverence, grace may become effective only after a long time. It is said that awaking from ignorance is like awaking from a fearful dream of a beast. It is thus. There are two taints of mind, namely veiling and restlessness (avarana and vikshepa). Of the two, the former is evil, the latter is not so. So long as the veiling effect of sleep persists there is the frightful dream; on awaking the veiling ceases; and there is no more fear. Restlessness is not a bar to happiness. To get rid of the restlessness caused by the world, one seeks the restlessness (activity) of being with the Guru, studying the sacred books and worshipping God with forms, and by these awakening is attained.

What happens in the end? Karna was ever the son of Kunti. The tenth man was such all along. Rama was Vishnu all the time. Such is jnanam. It is being aware of That which always is.

The True "I"

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Devotee: Is it not that the ‘I’ exists only in relation to a ‘this’ (aham - idam)?

Maharshi: ‘I’, ‘this’ appear together now. But ‘this’ is contained (vyaptam) in the ‘I’ - they are not apart. ‘This’ has to merge into and become one with ‘I’. The ‘I’ that remains over is the true ‘I’.

Cease to Identify with the Unreal

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Miss Merston, an English lady visitor: I have read Who am I? While inquiring who the ‘I’ is, I cannot hold it for any length of time. Secondly, I have no interest in the environment, but yet I have hopes that I shall find some interest in life.

M.: If there are no interests it is good. 

(The interpreter points out that the questioner hopes to find some interest in life).

M.: That means there are those vasanas. A dreamer dreams a dream. He sees the dream world with pleasures, pains. etc. But he wakes up and then loses all interest in the dream world. So it is with the waking world also. Just as the dream-world, being only a part of yourself and not different from you, ceases to interest you, so also the present world would cease to interest you if you awake from this waking dream (samsara) and realise that it is a part of your Self, and not an objective reality.

Because you think that you are apart from the objects around you, you desire a thing. But if you understand that the thing was only a thought-form you would no longer desire it. All things are like bubbles on water. You are the water and the objects are the bubbles. They cannot exist apart from the water, but they are not quite the same as the water.

D.: I feel I am like froth.

M.: Cease that identification with the unreal and know your real identity. Then you will be firm and no doubts can arise.

D.: But I am the froth.

M.: Because you think that way there is worry. It is a wrong imagination. Accept your true identity with the Real. Be the water and not the froth. That is done by diving in.

D.: If I dive in, I shall find........

M.: But even without diving in, you are That. The ideas of exterior and interior exist only so long as you do not accept your real identity.

D.: But I took the idea from you that you want me to dive in.

M.: Yes, quite right. It was said because you are identifying yourself with the froth and not the water. Because of this confusion the answer was meant to draw your attention to this confusion and bring it home to you. All that is meant is that the Self is infinite inclusive of all that you see. There is nothing beyond It nor apart from It. Knowing this, you will not desire anything; not desiring, you will be content.

The Self is always realised. There is no seeking to realise what is already - always - realised. For you cannot deny your own existence. That existence is consciousness - the Self.

Unless you exist you cannot ask questions. So you must admit your own existence. That existence is the Self. It is already realised. Therefore the effort to realise results only in your realising your present mistake - that you have not realised your Self. There is no fresh realisation. The Self becomes revealed.

D.: That will take some years.

M.: Why years? The idea of time is only in your mind. It is not in the Self. There is no time for the Self. Time arises as an idea after the ego arises. But you are the Self beyond time and space; you exist even in the absence of time and space.

Exposition from Eknathi Bhagawat - 2

Now, all actions are done by you. The sense of ego which was in the body has gone and is now replaced by you. Now the kingdom of the jiva is gone, and you, Shiva, are the ruler. It is by your prana, that the body's prana works. The eyes that see out, are your eyes, and it is your nose that takes in the fragrance. You are the perceiver of the nose and the eyes. The ears listen as you want to listen. The tongue takes the taste, by your will, and the intellect understands by your Power. Whatever the mind says, is by your Power. Without you, the mind is unable to say anything, Discrimination and selective knowledge (sifting the essence from the non-essential) are possible by your will. Speech is your abandonment. Understanding is possible because of you. Being awake, or having dreams, happen by your Power. Even deep sleep is expereinced because of you. Whatever things are enjoyed are because of you. You are here, calling yourself "me." By your grace, people recognize this body as Eknath. That name is yours now. Instead of calling you Janardana, they call you Eknath, but it is only you who acts, not Eknath. By taking up the name Eknath, you have become the director.

It is you who gives life to everything in this world. You are the life of the world. You make possible all actions. You are such a great sadguru, Janardana. Salutations to you, with your own Power! Arati lamps are offered to the Sun, but the light of the lamp is given by the sun. To worship Shiva is to become Shiva. That is His worship. In this way, it is you who directs the body. When the house burns, all the pieces of wood and dung-cakes become fire along with it. Similarly, by the fire of Knowledge, the "me" with a body has become Knowledge. That means "I" became non-existing, and now, only you remain as Knowledge, By your Power, you are continuing the book of life. Sleeping, eating, taking meals, everything, is possible only because of you. Your purity is never blemished. Auspicious and inauspicious are all one in you, Lord Rama. Who is it that says, you are the doer of all? What name should be given to you? It is you, who says so, it is you who is aware of 'Awareness.' You are Yourself.

Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj's Commentary:

When your belief is that you are other than the Self, duality comes into existence, you have to be careful about attentiveness and inattentiveness. When actually only 'Pure Experience' is there, making unnecessary efforts in the mind bring into being the trinity of the observe, the observed, and the act of observation. When you have eaten a sweet, why make the distinction and say "He" has eaten? You must be very clear to say "I am Brahman" and "I enjoy all pleasures." This means that Brahman enjoys Brahman. After having known the world, and after experiencing, "you" are still there, but you are a nonentity. To feel this is essential. It is the Guru alone who resides in the body.

Exposition from Eknathi Bhagawat - 1

With palms pressed together, the disciple bows before the Master who is of the form of Shiva. After so bowing, he says to the Guru, "You bestow upon the one who bows to you, the status of Shiva." That status which you give is your own being. You do not allow the separate entity as an individual (jiva) to remain, so how can the identification with the physical body remain? You do not disturb one's life, but you accept one's service to you. This means that the disciple is apparently just like others in the physical body. The living moving principle in the disciple is as normal as that of everyone, but you change the inner consciousness into the vastness of Shiva. You give your devotee the high state of the Self that is beyond the body, yet somehow the physical body still serves you.

The great demon of doubt is that which thinks that one is an individual although one is truly Brahman. By killing this demon of doubt you carry this dead body. When the wrong notion that one is the jiva goes out, you carry his body, and you give the status of Brahman to that body. Then, as Vishnu, the all-permeating God, holds together the body, and operates through it, you reside in the body as Janardana. Now, Eknath has runaway. There is no one who is the owner, named Eknath who is in this body. There is only the Guru, the Master, who is Janardana. The sound of the conch is evident because of the one who blows it. When this body is able to speak, it is because you make it do so. This body is moving and doing its activities because of you. All actions are possible because of you, and whatever was 'mine' has gone along with 'me.'

I AM is the Root

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Q: Your working theory seems to be that the waking state is not basically different from dream and the dreamless sleep. The three states are essentially a case of mistaken self-identification with the body. Maybe it is true, but, I feel, it is not the whole truth.

M: Do not try to know the truth, for knowledge by the mind is not true knowledge. But you can know what is not true - which is enough to liberate you from the false. The idea that you know what is true is dangerous, for it keeps you imprisoned in the mind. It is when you do not know, that you are free to investigate. And there can be no salvation, without investigation, because non-investigation is the main cause of bondage.

Q: You say that the illusion of the world begins with the sense ‘I am’, but when I ask about the origin of the sense ‘I am’, you answer that it has no origin, for on investigation it dissolves. What is solid enough to build the world on cannot be mere illusion. The ‘I am’ is the only changeless factor I am conscious of; how can it be false?

M: It is not the I AM is false, but what you take yourself to be. I can see, beyond the least shadow of doubt, that you are not what you believe yourself to be. Logic or no logic, you cannot deny the obvious. You are nothing that you are conscious of. Apply yourself diligently to pulling apart the structure you have built in your mind. What the mind has done the mind must undo.

Q: You cannot deny the present moment, mind or no mind. What is now, is. You may question the appearance, but not the fact. What is at the root of the fact?

M: The I AM is at the root of all appearance and the permanent link in the succession of events that we call life; but I am beyond the I AM.

Q: I have found that the realized people usually describe their state in terms borrowed from their religion. You happen to be a Hindu, so you talk of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and use Hindu approaches and imagery. Kindly tell us, what is the experience behind your words? What reality do they refer to?

M: It is my way of talking, a language I was taught to use.

Q: But what is behind the language?

M: How can I put it into words, except in negating them? Therefore, I use words like timeless, spaceless, causeless. These too are words, but as they are empty of meaning, they suit my purpose.

Q: If they are meaningless, why use them?

M: Because you want words where no words apply.

Q: I can see your point. Again, you have robbed me of my question!

Know Yourself First

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Q: What is the work of the mind?

M: The mind if the wife of the heart and the world is their home - to be kept bright and happy.

Q: I have not yet understood why, if nothing stands in the way of liberation, it does not happen here and now.

M: Nothing stands in the way of your liberation and it can happen here and now, but for your being more interested in other things. And you cannot fight with your interests. You must go with them, see through them and watch them reveal themselves as mere errors of judgment and appreciation.

Q: Will it not help me if I go and stay with some great holy man?

M: Great and holy people are always within your reach, but you do not recognize them. How will you know who is great and holy? By hearsay? Can you trust others in these matters, or even yourself? To convince you beyond the shadow of doubt you need more than a commendation, more even than a momentary rapture. You may come across a great and holy man or woman and not even know for a long time your good fortune. The infant son of a great man for many years will not know the greatness of his father. You must mature to recognize greatness and purify your heart for holiness. Or you will spend your time and money in vain and also miss what life offers you. There are good people among your friends - you can learn much from them. Running after saints is merely another game to play. Remember yourself instead and watch your daily life relentlessly. Be earnest, and you shall not fail to break the bonds of inattention and imagination.

Q: Do you want me to struggle all alone?

M: You are never alone. There are powers and presences who serve you all the time most faithfully. You may or may not perceive them, nevertheless they are real and active. When you realize that all is in your mind and that you are beyond the mind, that you are truly alone; then all is you.

Q: What is omniscience? Is God omniscient? Are you omniscient? We hear the expression -- universal witness. What does it mean? Does self-realization imply omniscience? Or is it a matter of specialized training?

M: To lose entirely all interest in knowledge results in omniscience. It is but the gift of knowing what needs to be known, at the right moment, for error-free action. After all, knowledge is needed for action and if you act rightly, spontaneously, without bringing in the conscious, so much the better.

Q: Can one know the mind of another person?

M: Know your own mind first. It contains the entire universe and with space to spare!

Liberation is from the Person

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Q: We settle for pleasure.

M: Each pleasure is wrapped in pain. You soon discover that you cannot have one without the other.

Q: There is the experiencer and there is his experience. What created the link between the two?

M: Nothing created it. It is. The two are one.

Q: I feel there is a catch somewhere, but I do not know where.

M: The catch is in your mind, which insists on seeing duality where there is none.

Q: As I listen you, my mind is all in the now and I am astonished to find myself without questions.

M: You can know reality only when you are astonished.

Q: I can make out that the cause of anxiety and fear is memory. What are the means for putting an end to memory?

M: Don't talk of means, there are no means. What you see as false, dissolves. It is the very nature of illusion to dissolve on investigation. Investigate - that is all. You cannot destroy the false, for you are creating it all the time. Withdraw from it, ignore it, go beyond, and it will cease to be.

Q: Christ also speaks of ignoring evil and being child-like.

M: Reality is common to all. Only the false is personal.

Q: As I watch the sadhakas and enquire into the theories by which they live, I find they have merely replaced material cravings by ‘spiritual’ ambitions. From what you tell us it looks as if the words: ‘spiritual’ and ‘ambition’ are incompatible. If ‘spirituality’ implies freedom from ambition, what will urge the seeker on? The Yogis speak of the desire for liberation as essential. Is it not the highest form of ambition?

M: Ambition is personal, liberation is from the personal. In liberation both the subject and the object of ambition are no longer. Earnestness is not a yearning for the fruits of one's endeavors. It is an expression of an inner shift of interest away from the false, unessential, the personal.

Q: You told us the other day that we cannot even dream of perfection before realization, for the Self is the source of all perfection and not the mind. If it is not excellence in virtue that is essential for liberation, then what is?

M: Liberation is not the result of some means skillfully applied, nor of circumstances. It is beyond the causal process. Nothing can compel it, nothing can prevent it.

Q: Then why are we not free here and now?

M: But we are free here and now. It is only the mind that imagines bondage.

Q: What will put an end to imagination?

M: Why should you want to put an end to it? Once you know your mind and its miraculous powers, and remove what poisoned it - the idea of a separate and isolated person - you just leave it alone to do its work among things to which it is well suited. To keep the mind in its own place and on its own work is the liberation of the mind.

Meditation ends in jnana

Sri Ramana Maharshi

A devotee asked Sri Bhagavan: With every thought the subject and the object appear and disappear. Does not the ‘I’ disappear when the subject disappears thus? If that be so how can the quest of the ‘I’ proceed?

M.: The subject (knower) is only a mode of mind. Though the mode (vritti) passes, the reality behind it does not cease. The background of the mode is the ‘I’ in which the mind modes arise and sink.

D.: After describing the Self as srota (hearer), manta (thinker), vijnata (knower), etc., it is again described as asrota, amanta, avijnata, non-hearer, non-thinker, non-knower, Is it so?

M.: Just so. The common man is aware of himself only when modifications arise in the intellect (vijnanamaya kosa); these modifications are transient; they arise and set. Hence the vijnanamaya (intellect) is called a kosa or sheath. When pure awareness is left over it is itself the Chit (Self) or the Supreme. To be in one’s natural state on the subsidence of thoughts is bliss; if that bliss be transient - arising and setting - then it is only the sheath of bliss (Anandamaya kosa), not the pure Self. What is needed is to fix the attention on the pure ‘I’ after the subsidence of all thoughts and not to lose hold of it. This has to be described as an extremely subtle thought; else it cannot be spoken of at all, since it is no other than the Real Self. Who is to speak of it, to whom and how?

This is well explained in the Kaivalyam and the Viveka Chudamani. Thus though in sleep the awareness of the Self is not lost, the ignorance of the jiva is not affected by it. For this ignorance to be destroyed this subtle state of mind (vrittijnanam) is necessary; in the sunshine cotton does not burn; but if the cotton be placed under a lens it catches fire and is consumed by the rays of the Sun passing through the lens. So too, though the awareness of the Self is present at all times, it is not inimical to ignorance. If by meditation the subtle state of thought is won, then ignorance is destroyed. Also in Viveka Chudamani: ativa sukshmam paramatma tattvam na sthoola drishtya (the exceedingly subtle Supreme Self cannot be seen by the gross eye) and esha svayam jyotirasesha sakshi (this is Self-shining and witnesses all).

This subtle mental state is not a modification of mind called vritti. Because the mental states are of two kinds. One is the natural state and the other is a transformation into forms of objects. The first is the truth, and the other is according to the doer (kartrutantra). When the latter perishes, jale kataka renuvat (like the clearing nut paste in water) the former will remain over.

The means for this end is meditation. Though this is with the triad of distinction (triputi) it will finally end in pure awareness (jnanam) Meditation needs effort: jnanam is effortless. Meditation can be done, or not done, or wrongly done, jnanam is not so. Meditation is described as kartru-tantra (as doer’s own), jnanam as vastutantra (the Supreme’s own).

The Five States

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Sri Bhagavan has a bandage on his finger. Someone asked, “What is that?” Bhagavan replied: “The finger came upon a knife”. (The Knife is inert, and relative to it the finger is a conscious agent).

..................

Sri Bhagavan said to another devotee that there are five states:

(1) Sleep, (2) Before waking, a state free from thoughts, (3) Sense of happiness of that freedom from thoughts (rasasvada), (4) The internal movement of the vasanas (kashaya) and (5) Complete waking with (distraction) vikshepa. 

The second of those should be made permanent.