Sri Ramana Maharshi - Key Points

8/8/2019 Sri Ramana Maharshi - Key Points

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M.: Enquiry of Who am I? means finding the source of I. When that is found, that which you seek isaccomplished.

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

M: ..It does not mean that Reality is not here and now. It is always there and eternally the same. It is also in everyone's experience. For everyone knows that he is . Who is he?Subjectively, Who am I? The false ego is associated with objects; this ego itself is its own object. Objectivityis the falsity. Subject is alone the Reality. Do not confound yourself with the object, namely the body . Thisgives rise to the false ego, consequently of the world and your movements therein with the resulting misery. Do nthink yourself to be this, that or anything; to be so and so, or to be such and such. Only leave off the falsity. The Reality will reveal itself. The scriptures say that the Self is nityasiddha, ever present, and yet speak of the removal of ajnana. If Self is (nitya) always and (siddha) present, how can there be ajnana? For whom is theajnana? These are contradictory. But such statements are for guiding the earnest seeker in the right way. Hedoes not readily understand the only Truth if mentioned in plain words as in natwam naham neme janadhipah (notthou, nor I, nor these kings ...). Sri Krishna declared the Truth, but Arjuna could not grasp it. Later Krishna plainlysays that people confound Him with the body, whereas in reality He was not born nor will He die. Still Arjunarequires the whole Gita for the Truth to be made clear to him.

M.: The same Gita says: Although all actions take place, I am not the doer. It is like the sun towards the worldactivities. The Self always remains actionless, whereas thoughts arise and subside. The Self is Perfection; itis immutable; the mind is limited and changeful. You need only to cast off your limitations. Your perfection thusstands revealed.

D.: This I-thought rises from me. But I do not know the Self.

M.: All these are only mental concepts. You are now identifying yourself with a wrong I, which is the I-thought.This I-thought rises and sinks, whereas the true significance of I is beyond both. There cannot be a break inyour being. You, who slept, are also now awake. There was not unhappiness in your deep sleep. Whereas itexists now. What is it that has happened now so that this difference is experienced? There was no I-thought inyour sleep, whereas it is present now. The true I is not apparent and the false I is parading itself. This false I isthe obstacle to your right knowledge. Find out where from this false I arises. Then it will disappear. You will beonly what you are - i.e., absolute Being.

M: . ..Look, the Self is only Be-ing, not being this or that. It is simple Being. Be - and there is an end of theignorance. Enquire for whom is the ignorance. The ego arises when you wake up from sleep. In deep sleep youdo not say that you are sleeping and that you are going to wake up or that you have been sleeping so long. But stillyou are there. Only when you are awake you say that you have slept. Your wakefulness comprises sleep also in it.Realise your pure Be-ing. Let there be no confusion with the body. The body is the result of thoughts. Ththoughts will play as usual, but you will not be affected. You were not concerned with the body whenasleep; so you can always remain.


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Mr. Cohen desired to know if trance is a sine qua non for Self-Realisation.M.: You are always in the Self - now, in trance, in deep sleep, in Realisation. If you lose hold of the Self andidentify yourself with the body or the mind, these states appear to overtake you, and it also looks like a blank intrance, etc.; whereas you are the Self and ever-present.

M: ..Therefore enquire Who am I? Sink deep within and abide as the Self. That is Siva as BE-ing.M:..To BE is to realise - Hence I AM THAT I AM. I AM is Siva.M:..The state we call realization is simple BEING oneself, not knowing anything or becoming anything.M.: Learn first what you are. This requires no sastras, no scholarship. This is simple experience. The state of BEING is now and here all along.M: ..Now you are told to hold fast to this I. If it is done the eternal Being will reveal Itself.M.: .Being That, what do you want to know? Are there two selves for the one to know the other?M: .There is really nothing to witness. IT is simple BEING.M:.. But can you forget the Self? Being the Self how can you forget it? There must be two selves for one to forgetthe other. It is absurd. So the Self is not depressed; it is not imperfect: it is ever happy.M: .. Being the Self one remains always realized, only be free from thoughts.M: ..You are That. Can you ever remain apart from the Self? To be yourself requires no effort since you arealways That.M: .. There cannot be a break in your being.M: ..Find out from where this false I arises. Then it will disappear. You will then be only what you are, that is,Absolute Being.M: . .If you are free from thoughts and yet aware, you are That Perfect Being.M: ..Be still and know that I am God. Here stillness is total surrender without a vestige of individuality. Stillness will

prevail and there will be no agitation of mind. Agitation of mind is the cause of desire, the sense of doer ship andpersonality. If that is stopped there is quiet. There Knowing means Being. It is not the relative knowledgeinvolving the triads, knowledge, subject and object.M: ...Look, the Self is only Be-ing, not being this or that. It is simple Being. Be - and there is an end of theignorance.M.: There is no investigation into the Atman. The investigation can only be into the non-self. Elimination of the non-self is alone possible. The Self being always self evident will shine forth of itself.M.: All thoughts are inconsistent with realisation. The correct state is to exclude thoughts of ourselves and all other thoughts. Thought is one thing and realisation is quite another.M.: Can the world exist without someone to perceive it? Which is prior? The Being-consciousness or the rising-consciousness? The Being-consciousness is always there, eternal and pure. The rising-consciousness rises forthand disappears. It is transient.She: How to practice meditation? M.: Keep off thoughts.M.: Think I I I and hold to that one thought to the exclusion of all others.M:..Find out the underlying Reality behind these states. That is the Reality underlying these. In that state there isBeing alone. There is no you, nor I, nor he; no present, nor past, nor future. It is beyond time and space, beyondexpression. It is ever there.M:.. There is only being in Self-Realisation, and nothing but being.


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M.: Can the world exist without someone to perceive it? Which is prior? The Being-consciousness or the rising-consciousness? The Being-consciousness is always there, eternal and pure. The rising-consciousness rises forthand disappears. It is transient.M.: To whom are the thoughts? If you try to locate the mind, the mind vanishes and the Self alone remains. Beingalone, there can be no one-pointedness or otherwise.

D.: Mind always wanders. I cannot control it.M.: It is the nature of the mind to wander. You are not the mind. The mind springs up and sinks down. It is impermanent,transitory, whereas you are eternal. There is nothing but the Self. To inhere in the Self is the thing. Never mind the mind.its source is sought, it will vanish leaving the Self unaffected.D.: So one need not seek to control the mind?M.: There is no mind to control if you realise the Self. The mind vanishing, the Self shines forth. In the realised man the mindmay be active or inactive, the Self alone remains for him. For the mind, the body and the world are not separate from the Self.They rise from and sink into the Self. They do not remain apart from the Self. Can they be different from the Self? Only beaware of the Self. Why worry about these shadows? How do they affect the Self?M.: Concentration and all other practices are meant for recognising the absence, i.e., non-existence of ignorance. No one can deny his own being. Being is knowledge, i.e., awareness. That awareness impliesabsence of ignorance. Therefore everyone naturally admits nonexistence of ignorance. And yet why should he suffer? Because he thinks he is this or that. That is wrong. I am alone is; and not I am so and so, or

I am such and such. When existence is absolute it is right; when it is particularized it is wrong. That isthe whole truth.See how each one admits that he is. Does he look into a mirror to know his being? His awareness makeshim admit his existence or being. But he confuses it with the body, etc. Why should he do so? Is he awareof his body in his sleep? No; yet he himself does not cease to be in sleep. He exists there though withoutthe body. How does he know that he exists in sleep? Does he require a mirror to reveal his own being now?Only be aware, and your being is clear in your awareness .

M.: Realisation is already there. The state free from thoughts is the only real state. There is no such action asRealisation. Is there anyone who is not realising the Self? Does anyone deny his own existence? Speaking of realisation, it implies two selves - the one to realise, the other to be realised. What is not already realised, is soughtto be realised. Once we admit our existence, how is it that we do not know our Self?D.: Because of the thoughts - the mind.M.: Quite so. It is the mind that stands between and veils our happiness. How do we know that we exist? If you saybecause of the world around us, then how do you know that you existed in deep sleep?D.: How to get rid of the mind?M.: Is it the mind that wants to kill itself? The mind cannot kill itself. So your business is to find the real nature of themind. Then you will know that there is no mind. When the Self is sought, the mind is nowhere. Abiding in the Self,

one need not worry about the mind.

D.: If I am always - here and now, why do I not feel so?M.: That is it. Who says it is not felt? Does the real I say it or the false I? Examine it. You will find it is thewrong I. The wrong I is the obstruction. It has to be removed in order that the true I may not be hidden.The feeling that I have not realised is the obstruction to realisation. In fact it is already realised; there isnothing more to be realised. Otherwise, the realisation will be new; it has not existed so far, it must takeplace hereafter. What is born will also die. If realisation be not eternal it is not worth having. Therefore what


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we seek is not that which must happen afresh. It is only that which is eternal but not now known due toobstructions; it is that we seek. All that we need do is to remove the obstruction. That which is eternal is notknown to be so because of ignorance. Ignorance is the obstruction. Get over this ignorance and all will be well.

D.: How to realise the Self?M.: The Self is always directly perceived. There is no moment when it is not so. How then is it to be ascertained?Find out the Self. You are that.D.: But it is said the heart-knots are cut away and all doubts end when the Supreme is found. The word drishti isused.M.: To be the Self is the same as seeing the Self. There are no two selves for the one to see the other.Later, he continued the same question of investigation of the Self.D.: How to realise the Self?M.: It is already realised. One should know this simple fact. That is all .D.: But I do not know it. How shall I know it? M.: Do you deny your existence? D.: No: how can that be done?M.: Then the truth is admitted.D.: Yet, I do not see. How shall I realise the Self?M.: Find out who says I.D.: Yes. I say I.M.: Who is this I? Is it the body or some one besides the body?D.: It is not the body. It is someone besides itM.: Find it out.D.: I am unable to do it. How shall I find it?M.: You are now aware of the body. You were not aware of the body in deep sleep. Still you remained in sleep.

After waking up you hold the body and say I cannot realise the Self. Did you say so in your sleep? Because youwere undivided (akhanda) then, you did not say so. Now that you are contracted within the limits of the body yousay I have not realised. Why do you limit your Self and then feel miserable? Be of your true nature and happy. You did not say I in sleep. You say so now. Why? Because you hold to the body.Find out where from this I comes. Then the Self is realised. The body being insentient cannot say I. The Self being infinite cannot say I either. Who then says I?D.: I do not yet understand. How to find the I?M.: Find out where from this I arises. Then this I will disappear and the infinite Self will remain. This I isonly the knot between the sentient and the insentient. The body is not I, the Self is not I. Who, then, is the I?Wherefrom does it arise?

The questioner retired. Later, Sri Bhagavan said: Divine sight means Self-luminosity. The world divya shows it. Thefull word means the Self. Who is to bestow a divine eye? And who is to see? Again, people read in the books,hearing, reflection and one-pointedness are necessary. They think that they must pass through savikalpasamadhi and nirvikalpa samadhi before attaining Realisation. Hence all these questions. Why should theywander in that maze? What do they gain at the end? It is only cessation of the trouble of seeking. They findthat the Self is eternal and self-evident. Why should they not get that repose even this moment? A simple


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man, not learned, is satisfied with japa or worship. A Jnani is of course satisfied. The whole trouble is for the book-worms. Well, well. They will also get on.

M.: .. The ego is like ones shadow thrown on the ground. If one attempts to bury it, it will be foolish. TheSelf is only one. If limited it is the ego. If unlimited it is Infinite and is the Reality.

The bubbles are different from one another and numerous, but the ocean is only one. Similarly the egos are many,whereas the Self is one and only one. When told that you are not the ego, realise the Reality. Why do you stillidentify yourself with the ego? It is like saying, Dont think of the monkey while taking medicine - it is impossible.Similarly it happens with common folk. When the Reality is mentioned why do you continue to meditate Sivoham or Aham Brahmasmi? The significance must be traced and understood. It is not enough torepeat the bare words or think of them. Reality is simply the loss of the ego. Destroy the ego by seeking itsidentity. Because the ego is no entity it will automatically vanish and Reality will shine forth by itself. Thisis the direct method. Whereas all other methods are done, only retaining the ego. In those paths there arise somany doubts and the eternal question remains to be tackled finally. But in this method the final question is the onlyone and it is raised from the very beginning. No sadhanas are necessary for engaging in this quest.There is no greater mystery than this - viz., ourselves being the Reality we seek to gain Reality. We think that thereis something hiding our Reality and that it must be destroyed before the Reality is gained. It is ridiculous. A day willdawn when you will yourself laugh at your past efforts. That which will be on the day you laugh is also here andnow.

M.: Think I I I and hold to that one thought to the exclusion of all others.

M.: What does it matter if the mind is active? It is so only on the substratum of the Self. Hold the Self evenduring mental activities.D.: I cannot go within sufficiently deep.

M.: It is wrong to say so. Where are you now if not in the Self? Where should you go? All that is necessary is thestern belief that you are the Self. Say rather that the other activities throw a veil on you.D.: Yes, it is so.M.: That means that the conviction is weak.D.: I understand that the I is only artificial (krtrima), my attempts at realising the real I are unavailing because theartificial I is brought into action for realising the other.M.: Viveka Chudamani makes it clear that the artificial I of the vijnana kosa is a projection and through it onemust look to the significance (vachya) of I, the true principle.

M.: It is not external and therefore need not be sought elsewhere. It is internal and also eternal. It is alwaysrealised. But you say you are not aware. It requires constant attention to itself. No other effort is necessary.Your effort is only meant not to allow yourself to bedistracted by other thoughts. The person was satisfied.

M.: If the mind is distracted, ask the question promptly, To whom do these distracting thoughts arise? That takesyou back to the I point promptly.


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D.: What is the nature of the Reality?M.: (a) Existence without beginning or end - eternal.(b) Existence everywhere, endless, infinite.(c) Existence underlying all forms, all changes, all forces, all matter and all spirit. The many change and pass away(phenomena), whereas the One always endures (noumenon).

(d) The one displacing the triads, i.e., the knower, the knowledge and the known. The triads are only appearancesin time and space, whereas the Reality lies beyond and behind them. They are like a mirage over the Reality. Theyare the result of delusion.

M.: Who sees the blank?D.: I know that I see it.M.: The consciousness overlooking the blank is the Self.

Whose thought is it? All thoughts are from the unreal I. i.e., the I- thought. Remain without thinking.

Forgetfulness and thought are for I-thought only. Hold it; it will disappear as a phantom. What remains over isthe real I. That is the Self.

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

There is nothing new to get. You have, on the other hand, to get rid of your ignorance which makes youthink that you are other than Bliss. For whom is this ignorance? It is to the ego. Trace the source of theego. Then the ego is lost and Bliss remains over. It is eternal. You are That, here and now. That is themaster key for solving all doubts. The doubts arise in the mind. The mind is born of the ego. The ego rises from

the Self. Search the source of the ego and the Self is revealed. That alone remains. The universe is only expandedSelf. It is not different from the Self.

D.: How to get rid of the mind?M.: Is it the mind that wants to kill itself? The mind cannot kill itself. So your business is to find the real nature of the mind. Thenyou will know that there is no mind. When the Self is sought, the mind is nowhere. Abiding in the Self, one neednot worry about the mind .

M:.. .. If one remains as the Self there is bliss. Probably he thinks that being quiet does not bring about the state of bliss. That is due to his ignorance. The only practice is to find out to whom these questions arise.

The purport of teaching that one should meditate with the I am He (sahaham, Soham) thought is this:sah is the supreme Self, aham is the Self that is manifest as I. The jiva which is the Sivalinga residesin the Heart-lotus which is its seat situated in the body which is the city of Brahman; the mind which isof the nature of egoity, goes outward identifying itself with the body, etc. Now, the mind should beresolved in the Heart, i.e., the I-sense that is placed in the body, etc., should be got rid of; when onethus enquires Who am I?, remaining undisturbed, in that state, the Self-nature becomes manifest in asubtle manner as I-I; that Self-nature is all and


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yet none, and is manifest as the supreme Self everywhere without the distinction of inner and outer;that shines like a flame, as was stated above, signifying the truth I am Brahman. If, withoutmeditating on that as being identical with oneself, one imagines it to be different, ignorance will notleave. Hence, the identity-meditation is prescribed.If one meditates for a long time, without disturbance, on he Self ceaselessly, with the I am Hethought which is the technique of reflection on the Self, the darkness of ignorance which is in theHeart and all the impediments which are but he effects of ignorance will be removed, and the plenary wisdom will be gained.

Sri Sanakar: ...If, by the rejection of false ideas, all five sheaths are eliminated, the Self alone isexperienced as I-I. It alone remains, whole and Self-aware, distinct from the five sheaths, the witnessof the three states, self-effulgent, immutable, untainted, everlasting Bliss. It is like Devadatta whoneither is the pot nor partakes of its nature but is only the witness. The Self is not the five sheaths,which are objects, nor does it partake of their nature, but is a mere

witness of them.To this the disciple replies: Oh Master, after rejecting the five sheaths as unreal, I find nothingremaining except the void, so what is there to be known as I-I, as the truth of the Self?The Guru (Sri Sanakara) replies: Oh learned one, you are skillful in discrimination and have spokenthe truth. The rule of enquiry or perception is: That which is perceived by something elsehas the latter for its witness. When there is no agent of perception there can be no question of thething having been perceived at all. Accordingly, the Self, as awareness, cognizes not only itself butalso the existence of the ego with its various modifications of the transient names and forms and their nescience. Therefore it is the Self which is their witness. Beyond it there is nothing to know. It isaware of itself through its own effulgence and so is its own witness. It is single and immutable in thewaking, dream, and deep sleep states. It makes itself known as Being-Consciousness-Bliss and is self-effulgent in the Heart as I-I. Through your keen intellect,know this eternal blissful awareness to be the Self or I. The fool takes the reflection of the sun in thewater of a pot to be the sun; the wise man eliminates pot, water, and reflection and knows the sun inthe sky as it really is, single and unaffected, but illuminating all three.

30. When the mind turns inward seeking Who am I? and merges in the Heart, then the I hangs downhis head in shame and the One I appears as Itself. Though it appears as I-I, it is not the ego. It isReality, Perfection, the Substance of the Self.

In the inmost core, the HeartShines as Brahman alone,

As I-I, the Self aware.Enter deep into the HeartBy search for Self, or diving deep,


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With breath under check.Thus abide ever in Atman.

When the mind reaches the Heart by enquiring within Who am I ?, he, I (the ego), falling downabashed, the One (the Reality) appears spontaneously as I-I (I am that I am) ...Ulladhu Narpadhu, verse 30

When sought within What is the place from which it rises as I ?, I (the ego) will die. This isSelf-enquiry. Upadesa Undhiyar, verse 19

Where this I dies, there and then shines forth spontaneously the One as I-I That alone is theWhole (puranam) Upadesa Undhiyar, verse 20

Discarding the body as a corpse, not uttering the word I by mouth, but seeking with the mind diving inwards Whence does this I rise ? alone is the path of knowledge (jnana marga) ...Ulladhu Narpadhu, verse 29

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

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Sri Ramana Maharshi - Key Points