Behind My Hand

om namo bhagavate sri ramanaya In the second chapter of Sri Ramana Gita, Sri Bhagavan gives, in four lines of Sanskrit, the essence of His teaching. --------- hrdayakuharamadhye kevalam brahmamAtram  hyahamahamiti sAkshAdAtmarupeNa bhAti |  hrdi viSa manasA svam cinvatA majjatA vA  pavanacalanarodhAdAtmanishTho bhava tvam || (Ramana Gita 2. 2)  --------- In the inmost core, the Heart Shines as Brahman alone, As 'I-I', the Self aware. Enter deep into the Heart By searching for Self, or diving deep, Or with breath under check. Thus abide ever in Atman. (This English translation was given by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi)  --------- The verse reveals the Self and three methods for the Realisation of the Self which encompass Jnana, Bhakti and Yoga. hrdayakuharamadhye kevalam brahmamAtram "In the interior cave of the Heart, Brahman alone shines, no more-no less." This Heart is the seat of the Self. This Heart is none other tha...

1)  The concept 'I-am-the-body' is the sentient inner organ (i.e. the mind). It is also the illusory  samsara . It is the source of all groundless fears. If there is no trace of it at all, everything will be found to be  Brahman . (17) 2)  The concept 'I-am-the-body' is the primal ignorance. It is known as the firm knot of the heart ( hrdayagranthi ). It gives rise to the concepts of existence and non-existence. If there is no trace of it at all, everything will be found to be  Brahman . (19) 3)  Jiva  is a concept, God, the world, the mind, desires, action, sorrow and all other things are all concepts. (25) 4)  The mind is unreal. It is like a magic show. It is the son of a barren woman. It is absolutely non-existent. Since there is no mind there are no concepts, no  Guru , no disciple, no world, no  jiva . All concepts are really  Brahman . (36) 5)  The body, etc., are only concepts. Hearing, etc. (i.e. hearing, reaso...

I translated this some years ago and it is still available here and there on tinternet . Someone recently asked about the mantra so here is a repost -  ॐ  वचद्भुवे नमः  om vacadbhuve namah the origin of the mantra "om vacadbhuve namaḥ" --------- Chapter 18, verse 10 of sri Ramana Gita - notes below - based on Ganapati Muni's 'gurumantrabhāshyam', also known as 'anubandham 2' (Sri Ramana Gita, Tiruvannamalai; 6th Edition, 1977; p.116) In this verse, Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni, as the Seer, reveals the bījākṣaras (seed syllables and/or letters) which make up Sri Ramana Maharshi's special mantra. This mantra reveals various correspondences and is said to be endowed with śakti (power). vedādi - beginning (and end) of the Vedas - bīja - 'om' pāka damana (indra) uttara - mightier than Indra, the subduer of the demon called Pāka (symbolic of the overcoming of ignorance). Sri Maharshi lies beyond even the Lord of the senses. Lord Indra...

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hRdayakuharamadhye kevalam brahmamAtraM hyahamahamiti sAkshAdAtmarUpeNa bhAti  | hRdi viSa manasA svaM cinvatA majjatA vA pavanacalanarodhAdAtmanishTho bhava tvam  || In the inmost core, the Heart Shines as Brahman alone, As ‘I-I’, the Self aware. Enter deep into the Heart By searching for Self, or diving deep, Or with breath under check. Thus abide ever in Atman.’ (Bhagavan’s English translation as reported by Arthur Osborne in ‘Collected Works’) A selection of translations In the Centre of the heart-cave, Brahman alone shines, in the form of the Atman, with direct immediacy as I, as I. Enter into the Heart with questing mind or by diving deep, with breath controlled, and ever abide as the Self! (trans. Me :)) Brahman is glowing lustrously in the middle of the cave of the Heart in the shape of the Self, always proclaiming “I am, I am”. Become an Atmanishtha, a Self-Realised person, either by making the mind absorbed in the search...

If only One is there, then everything has value. As soon as there are two, there is friction and conflict. Therefore, live in Unity, as One, Alone. One who discards completely the sense of the "you" and "me" is the real Son of the Sadguru (Guruputra). Evening, 24-11-1934 Sri Siddharameswar Maharaj, Master of Self Realization, Vol. 1

While one might keep in mind what has been read and heard one should discriminate constantly. 

The Mahavakyas - Great Utterances ‘prajnanam Brahma (‘Consciousness is Brahman’), from Aitareya Upanishad, reveals the nature of the Self;  ‘aham brahmasmi’ (‘I am Brahman’), which is found in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, reveals the source of the enquiry;  ‘tat tvam asi’ (‘That Thou Art’) is found in the Chandogya Upanishad; this is the statement Guru Ramana reiterates again and again.  ‘ayam Atma brahma’ (‘This Atman is Brahman’), this is found in the Mandukya Upanishad; this  identifies our very Being with Brahman. 

spirituality is vichara no more no less

The Heart Sutra The Heart of the Prajna Paramita Sutra - the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara's advice to śāriputra. prajñāpāramitā hṛdaya sūtra - the heart of the great sūtras of Transcendent Wisdom (sanskrit: mahãprajñãpãramitã) - here, the Wisdom, that ferries to the other shore, is revealed, for the sake of all. --------- The Sutra The Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, deeply immersed in the practice of transcendent wisdom, looking upon the five skandhas (form, sensation, perception, samskãras, and consciousness), saw that they are empty in essence (i.e. devoid of self-nature).  The Bodhisattva said: Hey śāriputra! Right here! Right now! - Form is not separate from emptiness - emptiness is not separate from form. Form is indeed emptiness, emptiness is indeed form. It is exactly the same with sensation, perception, impulse and consciousness.Hey śāriputra! Right here! Right now! - All things are characteristically empty - they neither begin nor end; they are neither stained nor...

om namo bhagavate sri ramanaya In the second chapter of Sri Ramana Gita, Sri Bhagavan gives, in four lines of Sanskrit, the essence of His teaching. --------- hrdayakuharamadhye kevalam brahmamAtram hyahamahamiti sAkshAdAtmarupeNa bhAti | hrdi viSa manasA svam cinvatA majjatA vA pavanacalanarodhAdAtmanishTho bhava tvam || (Ramana Gita 2. 2)  --------- In the inmost core, the Heart Shines as Brahman alone, As 'I-I', the Self aware. Enter deep into the Heart By searching for Self, or diving deep, Or with breath under check. Thus abide ever in Atman. (This English translation was given by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi) --------- The verse reveals the Self and three methods for the Realisation of the Self which encompass Jnana, Bhakti and Yoga. hrdayakuharamadhye kevalam brahmamAtram In the interior cave of the Heart, Brahman alone shines, no more-no less. This Heart is the seat of the Self. This Heart is none other than Brahman. You are always in the Heart. Y...

"There is no such thing as the experience of the real. The real is beyond experience. All  experience is in the mind. You know the real by being real." - Nisargadatta Maharaj in "I Am That"

From Talk 275 When the man is ripe for receiving the instruction and his mind is about to sink into the Heart, the instruction imparted works in a flash and he realises the Self all right. Otherwise, there is always the struggle. - Ramana Maharshi - in Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi

Read a sample of B. K. S. Iyengar's Light on Life online here .

"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. Without this detachment the guru is bound to grow partial and discriminative, which is fatal to the intention of help, for it ends by dissipating the special concentrated power inherent for the purpose in him." - S. S. Cohen in Guru Ramana; p. 165

Essence of Bhagavad Gita  - an English translation of the 42 verses selected by Ramana Maharshi and which he felt contained the essence of the text. Available for free.

Take a firm stand that the mind cannot interpret you. What the mind says is not you, don't be dictated by the mind, you are not the mind. The mind takes you for a ride, you feel you are going for a ride, your mind-inclinations want to enjoy; you say I want to enjoy.  - Nisargadatta in I AM UNBORN (Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj)

Q: How can the mind be made to go? M: No attempt should be made to destroy it. To think or wish is in itself a thought. If the thinker is sought, the thoughts will disappear. Q: Will they disappear by themselves? It seems so difficult. M: They will disappear because they are unreal. The idea of difficulty is itself an obstacle to realization. It must be overcome. To remain as the Self is not difficult. This thought of difficulty is the chief obstacle. A little practice in discovering the source of ‘I’ will make you think differently. Absolute freedom from thoughts is the state conducive to such recognition of the Self. Mind is but an aggregate of thoughts. Q: I begin to ask myself ‘Who am I?’ and eliminate the body as not ‘I’, the prana as not ‘I’, the mind as not ‘I’ and I am not able to proceed further. M: Well, that is as far as the intellect goes. Your process is only intellectual. Indeed all the scriptures mention the process only to guide the seeker to know the truth. T...

It is the universe in its diversity which is generally spoken of as reality. The pairs of opposites (dvandvas) vie for our attention. Good/bad, hot/cold, rich/poor, spiritual/material etc., we give our attention to all of these in order to make judgements on their relative merits. They are the all important opposites. All important because without them the universe as we 'know' it would collapse into Unity. The task is simple. There is no mystery. Ramana Maharshi appeals to us to sacrifice everything for Truth. It is not that the mind of the jnani (Sage) and the mind of the ajnani (one who 'believes' enlightenment has yet to come) are different. This is simply thought. The sum and substance of Ramana Maharshi's enquiry (vichara) "Who am I?" is "...to remain still." The wrong identification of Self with body and senses etc. is solved with this enquiry. This state of equilibrium is not unknown to us. To think it is, is again just thought. sam...

In verse 2 of his Sanskrit work, Sri Ramanaparavidyopanisad (The Teaching of Supreme Science), K. Lakshmana Sarma refers to "the natural state of the real Self" and equates it with right awareness (v. 2). In Talk 17, 24th January, 1935, Ramana Maharshi says that "the ever-present state is the natural state sahaja ."  Sri Sarma further explains that the sahaja or natural state has been described, previously, in Upanishads such as Mandukya, where it is revealed as the firm conviction, in one's core essence, which is beyond knowledge or ignorance and without definable characteristics. In essence, this sahaja state is the absence of mindstuff ( vikalpas ), i.e. the ever-present witness centred in the here and now.

I first came across Ramana Maharshi, in 1968, mentioned in a book called "Teach Yourself Yoga." The author was James Hewitt. I still have the book. It is an excellent introduction to Yoga and continues to surpass other yoga books for beginners. Here is the short passage, from the book, which introduces the teaching of Sri Ramana Maharshi –– ""Pursue the enquiry 'Who am I?' relentlessly," advised an Indian guru, Sri Ramana Maharshi. "Analyse your entire personality. Try to find out where the I-thought begins. Go on with your meditations. Keep turning your attention within. One day the wheel of thought will slow down and an intuition will mysteriously arise. Follow that intuition, let your thinking stop and it will eventually lead you to the goal."" (p. 121) A wonderfully succinct passage. This 1968 edition of Teach Yourself Yoga also contained a rather useful bibliography which led to further research via Paul Brunton's The Quest of t...

External samadhi is holding on to the Reality while witnessing the world, without reacting to it from within. There is the stillness of a waveless ocean. The internal samadhi involves loss of body- consciousness. - Ramana Maharshi in Talks #406

From Talk 25 - "If the enquiry into the ultimate cause of manifestation of mind itself is pushed on, mind will be found to be only the manifestation of the Real which is otherwise called Atman or Brahman."  - Ramana Maharshi

Who Am I? is the question.

SURRENDER to the  Cosmick Laughter.

Wu is like a dog with a mouthful of hot sticky rice cake. It's far too hot to swallow and far too sticky to spit out. And yet a solution to the predicament must be found. ( Master Dahui Zonggao)

bhAvaSUnyasad bhAvasusthitih / bhAvanAbalAd bhaktiruttamA // A supreme Bhakti arises because of strength of meditation, an excellent state of Being which is devoid of appearances.  (Upadesa Saram v. 9, trans. MWright)

Alone, In Bliss, Uncontaminated.

Dharma comes from mind Mind comes from dharma Relative in the absolute Absolute in the relative.

An old Zen adage states: “With regard to religion, most practitioners chew on the menu rather than eat the food.” 

Brain fades, Chattering mind relents. An inadvertent bonus.

Neither beginning nor end  Neither outside nor inside  Not even in-between.  A transformation into objects. All Dharmas come from mind. (a sprig of Zen Wisdom) Dharmas from Mind Greeting Card by HereZen See other greeting card templates on zazzle.co.uk

The saints, saviors, priests, gurus,  bhagavans , seers, prophets and philosophers were all wrong, as far as I am concerned. As long as you harbor any hope or faith in these authorities, living or dead, so long this certainty cannot be transmitted to you. This certainty somehow dawns on you when you see for yourself that all of them are wrong. When you see all this for yourself for the first time, you explode. That explosion hits life at a point that has never been touched before. It is absolutely unique. So whatever I may be saying cannot be true for you. The moment you see it for yourself you make what I am saying obsolete and false. All that came before is negated in that fire. You can't come into your own uniqueness unless the whole of human experience is thrown out of your system. It cannot be done through any volition or the help of anything. Then you are on your own. - U. G. Krishnamurti in "Mind is a Myth"

Other than, "Don't grasp for that which is real," is there anything else to say?

The Guru who dispels the ego in his disciples and gives the knowledge about desirelessness, is the real Sadguru. The one who is established as Brahman, who is well-versed in words, and who is not after fame or money is truly a great Guru. He sees all as Brahman and does not put any burden on his disciples to support him. He does not relinquish sense objects nor does he relish them. He is indiffere nt as to whether his body is being carried on a platform, or is walking on a rough road. The clever pundits do not understand this sign of a good Guru. The knowledgeable scholars are proud of being philosophers and belonging to the great tradition of knowledge. Instead of being merged into the Reality, their minds become very rigid and strong with pride. They do not see that their life is being lost as they continue to increase their learning. Instead of being in complete peace, their ego is running rampant. Peace is the sign of the Sadguru. - Master of Self-Realization, 55; Siddharameswar Ma...

Dharma is your nature.