Behind My Hand

D.: People cite disasters, e.g., earthquakes, famines, etc., to disprove God. How shall we meet their contention? M.: Wherefrom have they come - those who argue? D.: They say, “Nature”. M.: Some call it “Nature” - others “God”. D.: Are we to keep anything against a rainy day; or to live a precarious life for spiritual attainments? M.: God looks after everything. Sri Ramana Maharshi in Talk 377, 22March 1937

D.: It is not necessary that the saints should mix with people and be helpful to them? M.: The Self alone is the Reality; the world and the rest of it are not. The realised being does not see the world as different from himself. D.: Thus then, the saint’s realisation leads to the uplift of humanity without the latter being aware of it. Is it so? M.: Yes. The help is imperceptible but is still there. A saint helps the whole of humanity, unknown to the latter. D.: Would it not be better if he mixed with others? M.: There are no others to mix with. The Self is the one and only Reality. Sri Ramana Maharshi in Talk 20

D.: On what should we meditate? M.: Who is the meditator? Ask the question first. Remain as the meditator. There is no need to meditate. ( Ramana Maharshi, Talk 205 ) —- — —- Why should one be meditating ‘I am Brahman’? Only the annihilation of ‘I’ is Liberation. But it can be gained only by keeping the ‘I-I’ always in view. So the need for the investigation of the ‘I’ thought. If the ‘I’ is not let go, no blank can result to the seeker. Otherwise meditation will end in sleep. There is only one ‘I’ all along, but what arises up from time to time is the mistaken ‘I-thought’; whereas the intuitive ‘I’ always remains Self-shining, i.e., even before it becomes manifest. ( Ramana Maharshi, Talk 139 ) —- —- —- Why do you wish to meditate at all? Because you wish to do so you are told Atma samstham manah krtva (fixing the mind in the Self); why do you not remain as you are without meditating? What is that manah (mind)? When all thoughts are eliminated it becomes Atma samstha (fi...

“The fact is: There is Reality. It is not affected by any discussions. Let us abide as Reality and not engage in futile discussions as to its nature, etc.” (Ramana Maharshi in Talk 201)

You give up this and that of ‘my’ possessions. If you give up ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ instead, all are given up at a stroke. The very seed of possession is lost. Thus the evil is nipped in the bud or crushed in the germ itself. Dispassion ( vairagya ) must be very strong to do this. Eagerness to do it must be equal to that of a man kept under water trying to rise up to the surface for his life. ( Sri Ramana Maharshi in Talk 28 )

(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 appearances in time and space, whereas the Reality lies beyond and behind them. They are like a mirage over the Reality. They are the result of delusion. ( Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, from Talk 28 )

Human thought evolved to help navigate the world which resulted in self consciousness. However, thought, having developed a tendency to constantly feed on itself, has created the illusion of separation from the universe upon which, in reality, it relies absolutely.

चित्तमणीयो   वित्तं   य   इदं   मूल्ये   प्रपञ्चतोऽप्यधिकम्   । हृदयगुहायां   निहितं   जानीते   स   विजहाति   बहिराशाः   ॥   ४ . २१॥ “Whoever has found that pure mind, encamped within the Cave of the Heart, worth more than the conceptual universe, gives up all desires.” ( Kavyakanta Ganapati Muni,   trans. MWright) Ramana’s explanation of the above verse as found in Nayana’s Biography by Dr G. Krishna (1978; p. 194): “Ramana explained slowly - Nayana has extolled the very precious nature of Chitta in the first sloka and then explained his own experience gained by spiritual practice. Though the radiance passing from Heart to head gets entangled in external influences due to its association with sense organs, it will be experienced in its pristine purity by those who arrest the flow of the current in between in the Amritanadi. This radiance is not anything different form the Pure Awareness of the Heart. C...

yas tu sarvāṇi bhūtani ātmany evānupaśyati | sarvabhūteṣu catmānaṁ tato na vijugupsate ||6|| One who sees all beings in the Self alone, and the Self in all beings, thence feels no disdain . (Sri Isopani śad, 6)

...regulation of breath is prescribed for making the mind quiescent. Quiescence lasts only so long as the breath is controlled. So it is transient. The goal is clearly not pranayama. It extends on to pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. Those stages deal with the control of mind. Such control becomes easier for the man who had earlier practised pranayama. Pranayama leads him to the higher stages involving control of mind. Therefore control of mind is the aim of yoga also. A more advanced man will naturally go direct to control of mind without wasting his time in practising control of breath. A simple development of pranayama alone may confer siddhis which so many hanker for. ( Ramana Maharshi in Talk 154, 5 February 1936 )

The Master said: The Brahma akara vritti helps to turn the mind away from other thoughts. Either some such practice is necessary or association with sadhus should be made. The sadhu has already overcome the mind and remains in Peace. His proximity helps to bring about such condition in others. Otherwise there is no meaning in seeking a sadhu’s company. Deho aham (I am the body) is limitation and is the root of all mean and selfish actions and desires. Brahma aham (I am Brahman) is passing beyond limitation and signifies sympathy, charity, love etc., which are divine and virtuous. [ note: Brahma akara vrtti - thoughts of Brahman ] ———— Ramana Maharshi in Talk 54, 16 June 1935 ———————————- Remember that both “ deha aham ” and “ brahma aham ” are in the realm of thought. This needs to be resolved hence Sri Ramana says:  “I am Brahman” is only a thought. Who says it? Brahman itself does not say so. What need is there for it to say it? Nor can the real ‘I’ say so. For ...

M.: If the eyes are closed, it is nirvikalpa; if open, it is (though differentiated, still in absolute repose) savikalpa. The ever-present state is the natural state sahaja. Ramana Maharshi in Talk 17, 24 January 1935

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 appearances in time and space, whereas the Reality lies beyond and behind them. They are like a mirage over the Reality. They are the result of delusion. (from Talk 28, Ramana Maharshi) ————- The man awake says that he did not know anything in the state of sleep. Now he sees the objects and knows that he is there; whereas in deep sleep there were no objects, no spectator, etc. The same one who is now speaking was in deep sleep also. What is the difference between these two states? There are objects and play of senses now which were not in sleep. A new entity, the ego, has risen up in the meantime, it pla...

19th January, 1936, Talk 139. Mr. Ellappa Chettiar, a Member of the Legislative Council, from Salem, asked: “Is it enough to introvert the mind or should we meditate on ‘I am Brahman’?” M.: To introvert the mind is the prime thing. The Buddhists consider the flow of ‘I’ thought to be Liberation; whereas we say that such flow proceeds from its underlying substratum - the only - Reality. Why should one be meditating ‘I am Brahman’? Only the annihilation of ‘I’ is Liberation. But it can be gained only by keeping the ‘I-I’ always in view . So the need for the investigation of the ‘I’ thought. If the ‘I’ is not let go, no blank can result to the seeker . Otherwise meditation will end in sleep. There is only one ‘I’ all along, but what arises up from time to time is the mistaken ‘I-thought’; whereas the intuitive ‘I’ always remains Self-shining, i.e., even before it becomes manifest. (Emphasis by the poster)

2nd February, 1935, Talk 23. M.: Who is a Master? He is the Self after all. According to the stages of the development of the mind the Self manifests as the Master externally. The famous ancient saint Avadhuta said that he had more than 24 Masters. The Master is one from whom one learns anything. The Guru may be sometimes inanimate also, as in the case of Avadhuta. God, Guru and the Self are identical. A spiritual-minded man thinks that God is all-pervading and takes God for his Guru. Later, God brings him in contact with a personal Guru and the man recognises him as all in all. Lastly the same man is made by the grace of the Master to feel that his Self is the Reality and nothing else. Thus he finds that the Self is the Master. (Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi)

“The thought ‘I’, ‘mine’ erroneously imposed on the body and senses, which are not the real Self, must be removed by the wise, by abiding as the real Self.” (Vivekacudamani) Misunderstanding this, all is misunderstood. Then self and other emanate relentlessly from our own consciousness. So, to reiterate, the questioning  (i.e. Enquiry - “who am I?) subverts the intellect and returns one, one-pointedly, to the Heart – i.e. Self-abidance. Here, the answer comes without words, like an irresistible pull, a quickening. This is an answer that, self-evidently, leaves no question begging (i.e. the question “To whom does this thought occur?” cannot be raised). This pull from the Heart is not under the control of the mind, all mind can do is keep itself emptied except for the thought “Who am I?” and where necessary “to whom do these thoughts arise?” in order that it remains open to the pull.” —- Excerpt From Talks on Self Enquiry Miles Wright & Gabriele Ebert https://books.apple....

30.9.2003 The Self is the primal experience. This is the only real experience. All else is modification, imagining, built on a false premise. “There is no one who even for a trice fails to experience the Self.” ( from Ramana Maharshi’s Talk 97 ) ————- Excerpt From Talks on Self Enquiry, Miles Wright & Gabriele Ebert

Mr. Dewanji asked Bhagavan, “What is the   easiest way to attain one-pointedness of mind?” Bhagavan   said, “The best way is to see the source of the mind. See if there is such a thing as the mind. It is only if there is a mind   that the question of making it one-pointed will arise. When   you investigate by turning inwards, you find there is no such   thing as the mind.”  (Ramana Maharshi on the night of 29-12-45, Day by Day with Bhagavan)