Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi teachings on Self Experience

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi teachings on Self Experience

Question : Is Self-experience possible for the mind, whose nature is constant change?
Ramana Maharshi : Since sattva-guna (the constituent of prakriti which makes for purity, intelligence, etc.) is the nature of mind, and since the mind is pure and undefiled like ether, what is called mind is, in truth, of the nature of knowledge. When it stays in that natural (i.e. pure) state, it has not even the name ‘mind’.

It is only the erroneous knowledge which mistakes one for another that is called mind. What was (originally) the pure sattva mind, of the nature of pure knowledge, forgets its knowledge-nature on account of nescience, gets transformed into the world under the influence of tamo-guna (i.e. the constituent of prakriti which makes for dullness, inertness, etc.), being under the influence of rajoguna (i.e. the constituent of prakriti which makes for activity, passions, etc.), imagines “I am the body, etc.; the world is real”, it acquires the consequent merit and demerit through attachment, aversion, etc., and, through the residual impressions (vasanas) thereof, attains birth and death. But the mind, which has got rid of its defilement (sin) through action without attachment performed in many past lives, listens to the teaching of scripture from a true guru, reflects on its meaning, and meditates in order to gain the natural state of the mental mode of the form of the Self, i.e. of the form ‘I am Brahman’ which is the result of the continued contemplation of Brahman.

Thus will be removed the mind’s transformation into the world in the aspect of tamo-guna, and its roving therein in the aspect of rajo-guna. When this removal takes place the mind becomes subtle and unmoving. It is only by the mind that is impure and is under the influence of rajas and tamas that Reality (i.e. the Self) which is very subtle and unchanging cannot be experienced; just as a piece of fine silk cloth cannot be stitched with a heavy crowbar, or as the details of subtle objects cannot be distinguished by the light of a lamp flame that flickers in the wind.

But in the pure mind that has been rendered subtle and unmoving by the meditation described above, the Self-bliss (i.e. Brahman) will become manifest. As without mind there cannot be experience, it is possible for the purified mind endowed with the extremely subtle mode (vritti) to experience the Self-bliss, by remaining in that form (i.e. in the form of Brahman). Then, that one’s self is of the nature of Brahman will be clearly experienced.

Ramana Maharshi on Obstacles to Self Inquiry Meditation

Ramana Maharshi on Obstacles to Self Inquiry Meditation

Question : When one enquires into the root of ‘self conceit’ which is of the form ‘I’, all sorts of different thoughts without number seem to rise; and not any separate ‘I’ thought.
Ramana Maharshi : Whether the nominative case, which is the first case, appears or not, the sentences in which the other cases appear have as their basis the first case; similarly, all the thoughts that appear in the heart have as their basis the egoity which is the first mental mode ‘I’, the cognition of the form ‘I am the body’; thus, it is the rise of egoity that is the cause and source of the rise of all other thoughts; therefore, if the self-conceit of the form of egoity which is the root of the illusory tree of samsara (bondage consisting of transmigration) is destroyed, all other thoughts will perish completely like an uprooted tree.

Whatever thoughts arise as obstacles to one’s sadhana (spiritual discipline) - the mind should not be allowed to go in their direction, but should be made to rest in one’s self which is the Atman; one should remain as witness to whatever happens, adopting the attitude ‘Let whatever strange things happen, happen; let us see!’ This should be one’s practice.

In other words, one should not identify oneself with appearances; one should never relinquish one’s self. This is the proper means for destruction of the mind (manonasa) which is of the nature of seeing the body as self, and which is the cause of all the aforesaid obstacles. This method which easily destroys egoity deserves to be called devotion (bhakti), meditation (dhyana), concentration (yoga), and knowledge (jnana).

Because God remains of the nature of the Self, shining as ‘I’ in the heart, because the scriptures declare that thought itself is bondage, the best discipline is to stay quiescent without ever forgetting Him (God, the Self), after resolving in Him the mind which is of the form of the ‘I’-thought, no matter by what means. This is the conclusive teaching of the Scriptures.

Ramana Maharshi teachings on Enquiring "Who Am I"

Ramana Maharshi teachings on Enquiring "Who Am I"

Question : How is one to enquire: “Who am I?”
Ramana Maharshi : Actions such as ‘going’ and ‘coming’ belong only to the body. And so, when one says “I went, I came”, it amounts to saying that the body is “I”. But, can the body be said to be the consciousness “I”, since the body was not before it was born, is made up of the five elements, is non-existent in the state of deep sleep, and becomes a corpse when dead?

Can this body which is inert like a log of wood be said to shine as “I” “I”? Therefore, the “I” consciousness which at first arises in respect of the body is referred to variously as self-conceit (tarbodham), egoity (ahankara), nescience (avidya), maya, impurity (mala), and individual soul (jiva) . Can we remain without enquiring into this? Is it not for our redemption through enquiry that all the scriptures declare that the destruction of “self-conceit” is release (mukti)?

Therefore, making the corpse-body remain as a corpse, and not even uttering the word “I”, one should enquire keenly thus: “Now, what is it that rises as ‘I’”. Then, there would shine in the Heart a kind of wordless illumination of the form ‘I’ ‘I’. That is, there would shine of its own accord the pure consciousness which is unlimited and one, the limited and the many thoughts having disappeared.

If one remains quiescent without abandoning that (experience), the egoity, the individual sense, of the form ‘I am the body’ will be totally destroyed, and at the end the final thought, viz. the ‘I’- form also will be quenched like the fire that burns camphor.1 The great sages and scriptures declare that this alone is release.

Ramana Maharshi - I feel happiness in Bhagwan Presence

Ramana Maharshi - I feel happiness in Bhagwan Presence

Question : This can be realised only by the Grace of the master. I was reading Sri Bhagavata; it says that Bliss can be had only by the dust of the Master’s feet. I pray for Grace.
Ramana Maharshi : What is Bliss but your own being? You are not apart from Being which is the same as Bliss. You are now thinking that you are the mind or the body which are both changing and transient. But you are unchanging and eternal. That is what you should know.

Question : It is darkness and I am ignorant.
Ramana Maharshi : This ignorance must go. Again, who says ‘I am ignorant’? He must be the witness of ignorance. That is what you are. Socrates said, “I know that I do not know.” Can it be ignorance? It is wisdom.

Question : Why then do I feel unhappy when I am in Vellore and feel peace in Your Presence?
Ramana Maharshi : Can this feeling in this place be Bliss? When you leave the place you say you are unhappy. Therefore this peace is not permanent, nay it is mixed with unhappiness which is felt in another place. Therefore you cannot find Bliss in places and in periods of time. It must be permanent in order that it may be useful. Such permanent being is yourself. Be the Self and that is Bliss. You are always That. You say that you left Vellore, travelled in the train, arrived in
Tiruvannamalai, entered the hall and found happiness.

When you go back you are not happy in Vellore. Now, do you really move from place to place? Even considering you to be the body, the body sits in a cart at the gate of the home, the cart moves on to the railway station. Then it gets into a railway carriage which speeds on from Vellore to Tiruvannamalai. There it gets into another cart which brings the body here. Yet when you are asked, you say that you travelled all the way from Vellore. Your body remains where it was and all the places went past it.

Ramana Maharshi teachings for family people, Householders

Question - I am a man with a family. Is it possible for those in a family to get release, and if so how?
Ramana Maharshi : Now what is family? Whose family is it? If the answers to these questions are found the other questions solve themselves. Tell me: Are you in the family, or is the family in you? The visitor did not answer. Then Sri Bhagavan’s answer was continued: Who are you? You include three aspects of life, namely, the waking, the dream and the sleep states.

You were not aware of the family and their ties in your sleep and so these questions did not arise then. But now you are aware of the family and their ties and therefore you seek release. But you are the same person throughout.

Question : Because I now feel that I am in the family it is right that I should seek release.
Ramana Maharshi : You are right. But consider and say: Are you in the family or is the family in you?

Question : What is family?
Ramana Maharshi : That’s it. It must be known.

Question : There is my wife and there are also my children. They are dependent on me. That is the family.
Ramana Maharshi : Do the members of the family bind your mind? Or do you bind yourself to them? Do they come and say to you “We form your family. Be with us”? Or do you consider them as your family and that you are bound to them?

Question : I consider them as my family and feel bound to them.
Ramana Maharshi : Quite so. Because you think that so-and-so is your wife and soand- so are your children you also think that you are bound to them. These thoughts are yours. They owe their very existence to you. You can entertain these thoughts or relinquish them. The former is
bondage and the latter is release.

Question : It is not quite clear to me.
Ramana Maharshi : You must exist in order that you may think. You may think these thoughts or other thoughts. The thoughts change but not you. Let go the passing thoughts and hold on to the unchanging Self. The thoughts form your bondage. If they are given up, there is release.
The bondage is not external. So no external remedy need be sought for release. It is within your competence to think and thus to get bound or to cease thinking and thus be free.

Question : But it is not easy to remain without thinking.
Ramana Maharshi : You need not cease thinking. Only think of the root of the thoughts; seek it and find it. The Self shines by itself. When that is found the thoughts cease of their own accord. That is freedom from bondage.

Question : Yes. I understand it now. I have learnt it now. Is a Guru necessary?
Ramana Maharshi : So long as you consider yourself as an individual, a Guru is necessary to show to you that you are not bound by limitations and that your nature is to be free from limitations.

Ramana Maharshi teachings on overcoming Passions

Ramana Maharshi teachings on overcoming Passions

Question - How shall I overcome my passions?
Ramana Maharshi - Find their root and then it will be easy. (Later) What are the passions? Kama (lust), krodha (anger), etc. Why do they arise? Because of likes and dislikes towards the objects seen. How do the objects project themselves in your view? Because of your avidya, i.e., ignorance. Ignorance of what? Of the Self. Thus, if you find the Self and abide therein there will be no trouble owing to the passions.

(Later) Again, what is the cause of the passions? Desire to be happy or enjoy pleasure. Why does the desire for happiness arise? Because your nature is happiness itself and it is natural that you come into your own. This happiness is not found anywhere besides the Self.

Do not look for it elsewhere. But seek the Self and abide therein. Still again, that happiness which is natural is simply re-discovered, so it cannot be lost. Whereas the happiness arising from other objects are external and thus liable to be lost. Therefore it cannot be permanent and so it is not worth seeking. Moreover craving for pleasures should not be encouraged.

One cannot put out burning fire by pouring petrol over it. An attempt to satisfy your craving for the time being, so that the passion may later be suppressed, is simply foolish.There are, no doubt, other methods for the suppression of passion. They are (1) regulated food, (2) fasting, (3) yoga practice, (4) medicines. But their effects are transitory. The passions reappear with greater force as soon as the check is removed. The only way to overcome them is to eradicate them. That is done by finding their source as stated above.

Ramana Maharshi on Atma sakshatkara, Self Realisation

Ramana Maharshi on Atma sakshatkara - Self Realisation

Question : What is the Self referred to in Atma samstham (fixing it in the Self)?
Ramana Maharshi : Do you not know your Self? You certainly exist. Or do you deny your existence? The question may arise “Who is this Self”, only if you do not exist, but you cannot ask anything unless you exist at the same time. Your question shows that you exist. Find out who you are. That is all.

Question : I have read many books. But my mind does not turn to the Self.
Ramana Maharshi : Because the Self is not in the books; but it is in you. Reading books makes one learned. That is its purpose and it is fulfilled.

Question : What is Atma sakshatkara (Self-Realisation)?
Ramana Maharshi : You are the Atma (Self) and that sakshat (here and now) also. Where is the place for kara (accomplishment) in it? This question shows that you think you are the non-Self. Or you think that there are two selves, the one to realise the other. It is absurd.

That you identify yourself with the gross body lies at the root of this question. Well, this question arises now. Did it arise in your sleep? Did you not exist then? Certainly you did exist in sleep. What is the difference between these two states that the question should arise now but not in sleep? Now you think that you are the body. You see things around you and you want to see the Self in a similar manner. Such is the force of habit.

The senses are mere instruments of perception. You are the seer. Remain as the seer only. What else is there to see? Such is the state in deep sleep. Therefore this question does not arise then. Atma sakshatkara (Self-Realisation) is thus only anatma nirasana (giving up the non-Self).

Ramana Maharshi on Keeping the Mind Steady

Ramana Maharshi on Keeping the Mind Steady

Question : A group of people came on a visit to Sri Bhagavan. One of them asked: “How can I keep my mind aright?”
Ramana Maharshi : A refractory bull is lured to the stall by means of grass. Similarly the mind must be lured by good thoughts.

Question : But it does not remain steady.
Ramana Maharshi : The bull accustomed to stray takes delight in going astray. However he must be lured with luscious grass to the stall. Even so he will continue to trespass into the neighbour’s fields. He must gradually be made to realise that the same kind of good grass can
be had in his own place.

After a time he will remain in the stall without straying. Later a time will come when, even if driven out of the stall, he will return to the stall without going into the neighbouring fields. So also the mind must be trained to take to right ways. It will gradually grow accustomed to good ways and will not return to wrong ways.

Question : What are the good ways to be shown to the mind?
Ramana Maharshi : Thought of God.

Ramana Maharshi on pain and suffering to Good people

Ramana Maharshi on pain and suffering to Good people

Question : A person does something good but he sometimes suffers pain even in his right activities. Another does something wicked but is also happy. Why should it be so?

Ramana Maharshi : Pain or pleasure is the result of past Karma and not of the present Karma. Pain and pleasure alternate with each other. One must suffer or enjoy them patiently without being carried away by them. One must always try to hold on to the Self. When one is active one should not care for the results and must not be swayed by the pain or pleasure met with occasionally. He who is indifferent to pain or pleasure can alone be happy.

Question : Some one was once badly distracted by sexual thoughts. He fought against them. He fasted three days and prayed to God so that he might be free from such thoughts. Finally, he decided to ask Sri Bhagavan about it.
Sri Bhagavan listened to him and remained silent for about two minutes. Then He said: Well, the thoughts distracted you and you fought against them. That is good. Why do you continue to think of them now? Whenever such thoughts arise, consider to whom they arise and they will flee away from you.

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi Story for Grieving Devotee

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi some times used to tell stories. But most of time Ramana Maharshi used to teach through silence and Self Inquiry was Ramana Maharshi main Advise to seekers.

During one Occasion A devotee who had suddenly lost his only son came to Bhagavan Ramana in a state of acute grief, seeking relief. He asked a few questions in which his grief was evident.

Bhagavan, as usual, asked him to enquire into the Self and find out who is grieving.

The devotee was not satisfied. Bhagavan Ramana then said,
“All right. I will tell you a story from Vichara Sagaram. Listen”.

TWO YOUNGSTERS BY name Rama and Krishna, told their respective parents that they would go to foreign countries to prosecute further studies and then earn a lot of money.

After some time, one of them died suddenly. The other studied well, earned a lot and was living happily. Some time later the one that was alive requested a merchant who was going to his native place to tell his father that he was wealthy and happy and that the other boy who had come with him had passed away.

Instead of passing on the information correctly, the merchant told the father of the person who was alive, that his son was dead, and the father of the person that was dead,
that his son had earned a lot of money and was living happily.

The parents of the person that was actually dead, were happy in the thought that their son would come back after some time, while the parents of the person whose son was alive, but was reported to be dead, were in great grief.

In fact, neither of them saw their son but they were experiencing happiness or grief according to the reports they received. That is all. We too are similarly situated. We believe all sorts of things that the mind tells us and get deluded into thinking that what exists does not exist and that what does not exist exists. If we do not believe the mind but enter the heart and see the son that is inside, there is noneed to see the children outside.

Ramana Maharshi recommended Book Ribhu Gita Verses

Ramana Maharshi recommended Book Ribhu Gita Verses - chapter 26

1. I shall now expound to you the method of inhering in the All-inclusive and undifferentiated Reality. This teaching is secret and difficult to understand even with the help of the various Scriptures. Even celestial beings and practitioners of spiritual discipline who hold it dear acquire it only with great difficulty. Follow what I say and, inhering in Reality, be happy.
   
   
2. My son! Realized sages say that absolute inherence in Reality means becoming one with the immutable, tranquil, non-dual Absolute Supreme Being which is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss and the Self of all, and making the wandering mind one with it like the proverbial milk and water, absolutely free from all concepts.
   
   
3. When one scrutinizes this variety of manifestation one realizes that it does not really exist and that everything is the undifferentiated Absolute Supreme Being which is not different from the Self and oneself. Let this knowledge become firm with you by constant practice. Then, discarding everything, become one with the Supreme Absolute Reality and, remaining as that, be happy.
   
   
4. Abide as That which does not, when scrutinized, show any duality in the form of these various objects or the least trace of cause and effect, That in which, when the mind is absorbed in It, there is not fear of duality at all - and be always happy, unshakable and free the fear arising from duality.
   
   
5. Abide as That in which there are neither thoughts nor fancies, neither peace nor self-control, neither the mind nor the intellect, neither confusion nor certainly, neither being nor non-being, and no perception of duality - and be always happy, unshakable and absolutely free from the fear arising from duality.
   
   
6. Abide as That in which there is neither any defect nor good quality, neither pleasure nor pain, neither thought nor silence, neither misery nor austerities practiced for getting rid of misery, no “I-am-the-body” idea, no objects of perception whatsoever - and be always happy, free from all traces of thought.
   
   
7. Abide as That in which there is no work, physical, mental, verbal or of any other kind, neither sin nor virtue, neither attachment nor its consequences - and be always happy, free from all traces of thought.