Behind My Hand

  samudre na síndhavo y ā damānāḥ “ Like rivers longing for the ocean. ” (Rig-Veda VI. 19, 5) ————- “…the waters of the ocean evaporate, form clouds which are moved by winds, condense into water, fall as rain and the waters roll down the hill in streams and rivers, until they reach their original source, the ocean, reaching which they are at peace. Thus, you see, wherever there is a sense of separateness from the source there is agitation and movement until the sense of separateness is lost. So it is with yourself. Now that you identify yourself with the body you think that you are separate from the Spirit - the true Self. You must regain your source before the false identity ceases and you are happy.” (Ramana Maharshi in Talk 396) ————-

  granthamabhyasya medhAvI jnAnavijnAnatatparah / palAlamiva dhAnyArtho tyajedgranthamaSeshatah // 18 //   Having studied the word, the wise one, intent on knowledge and understanding, should abandon the word completely, like one who, in order to obtain grain, would discard the stalk. ( Amrtabindupanisad ) (Copyright: MWright)

  Faith, intense faith, in the words of your Guru will make everything easy for you. Without this all forms and rituals of religion are useless. So surrender yourself absolutely to your Guru as a kitten does to its mother. He will then look after you and provide you with everything; yours is only to have simple faith alone. Swami Brahmananda, Spiritual Teachings, p. 222 —- —- —- M.: So long as you think you are the individual you believe in God. On worshipping God, God appears to you as Guru. On serving Guru He manifests as the Self. This is the rationale. - Ramana Maharshi in Talk 271

  Under the impulse of name and fame, it is indeed easier to do a magnificent work, but through such work you cannot appraise the value of a man as he really is. In order to do so, you have to examine his daily actions; for it is the ordinary actions of a man which reveal the real man. Through such actions alone can you know how far the man has developed his character. A true Karma-Yogin (selfless worker) will lose himself heart and soul in any undertaking, even though it is of a most inferior kind. He is never actuated by the least desire of winning cheap popular applause. Swami Brahmananda in Spiritual Teachings, p. 167 —- x —- Karma yoga is that yoga in which the person does not arrogate to himself the function of being the actor. The actions go on automatically. Ramana Maharshi in Talk 643 ————-

  Sri Ramakrishna: "Meditate in your mind, in the forest, or in a quiet corner." The meaning of this is that all Sadhana must be done in strict privacy, that others may not come to know of it. If you steadily practise like this even for a little time, you will find what great joy and bliss will come to you. Swami Brahmananda in Spiritual Talks (1933), p. 227

  D.: So it is a great game of pretending?  M.:Yes. In Yoga Vasishtha it is said, “What is Real is hidden from us, but what is false, is revealed as true.” We are actually experiencing the Reality only; still, we do not know it. Is it not a wonder of wonders? The quest “Who am I?” is the axe with which to cut off the ego. - Ramana Maharshi in Talk 146

  Mr. P. Brunton: Why do religions speak of Gods, heaven, hell, etc.? M.: Only to make the people realise that they are on a par with this world and that the Self alone is real. The religions are according to the view-point of the seeker.  - from Talk 145

  Dr. Paul Brunton : What is the mystery of this Hill (Arunachala)? Maharshi : Just as you have said in Secret Egypt, “The mystery of the pyramid is the mystery of the Self,” so also the mystery of this Hill is the mystery of the Self. - from Talk 143