Behind My Hand

  “The time has now come to turn inwards, to learn to explore the inner space within the heart , and to make that long and exciting journey to the Centre . Compared with this, the exploration of the moon and planets is the play of children."   (Daily Readings with Bede Griffiths . Darton, Longman &Tod. 1990)  

Talk 98 Ramana Maharshi  The Self is the Heart. The Heart is self- luminous. Light arises from the Heart and reaches the brain, which is the seat of the mind. The world is seen with the mind, that is, by the reflected light of the Self. It is perceived with the aid of the mind. When the mind is illumined it is aware of the world. When it is not itself so illumined, it is not aware of the world. If the mind is turned in towards the source of light, objective knowledge ceases and Self alone shines forth as the Heart. The moon shines by the reflected light of the sun. When the sun has set, the moon is useful for revealing objects. When the sun has risen, no one needs the moon, although the pale disc of the moon is visible in the sky. So it is with the mind and the Heart. The mind is useful because of its reflected light. It is used for seeing objects. When it is turned inwards, the source of illumination shines forth by itself, and the mind remains dim and useless like the moon in day-tim

 The Heart is used in the Vedas and the scriptures to denote the place whence the notion ‘I’ springs. Does it spring only from the fleshy ball? It springs within us somewhere right in the middle of our being. The ‘I’ has no location. Everything is the Self. There is nothing but that. So the Heart must be said to be the entire body of ourselves and of the entire universe, conceived as ‘I’. But to help the practiser (abhyasi) we have to indicate a definite part of the Universe, or of the Body. So this Heart is pointed out as the seat of the Self. But in truth we are everywhere, we are all that is, and there is nothing else. - Ramana Maharshi in Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 29

  jyotishAmapi tajjyotistamasah paramucyate | jnAnam jneyam jnAnagamyam hrdi sarvasya vishThitam || “Light of lights, beyond the darkness, He is called; true knowledge, that which is to be investigated, understood through knowledge, abiding in the Heart of all.” (Bhagavad Gita 13;18)” (trans. MWright) Commentary As the sun illuminates the world, so the Light of lights (Atman) illuminates mind and senses. As the eye cannot see without the light of the sun, so the intellect cannot function without the Light of the Self.  Conceptual twaddle falls away in obeisance to this Light of all. Take to Vichara and merge yourself in this constant, eternal light of lights, the light of the Self.  — Excerpt From Talks on Self Enquiry, Miles Wright & Gabriele Ebert

D.: Which is the best of the different yogas, Karma, Jnana, Bhakti or Hatha? M.: See stanza 10 of “Upadesa Sara” [ see below ]. To remain in the Self amounts to all these in their highest sense. Maharshi added: In dreamless sleep there is no world, no ego and no unhappiness. But the Self remains. In the waking state there are all these; yet there is the Self. One has only to remove the transitory happenings in order to realise the ever-present beatitude of the Self. Your nature is Bliss. Find that on which all the rest are superimposed and you then remain as the pure Self. ( Ramana Maharshi in Talk 189 ) —- Upadesa Saram v. 10 hrtsthalemanah svasthatAkriyA / bhaktiyogabodhAScaniScitam // The act (kriyA) of abiding in one’s natural state, the mind set in the Heart, is without doubt, Devotion, Yoga and Knowledge.   Notes: Here, kriyA (action) refers to the one truly continuous, uncaused, meritorious ‘act’ (kriyAyoga). This is eternal Being, the Self. Where the mind finds

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

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. Chitta is the subtlest essence of the mind and intellect. What proceed

“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.com/

I ask you to see where the ‘I’ arises in your body, but it is really not quite correct to say that the ‘I’ rises from and merges in the heart in the right side of the chest. The heart is another name for the Reality and it is neither inside nor outside the body; there can be no in or out for it, since it alone is. I do not mean by ‘heart’ any physiological organ or any plexus of nerves or anything like that, but so long as one identifies oneself with the body and thinks he is in the body he is advised to see where in the body the ‘I’-thought rises and merges again. It must be the heart at the right side of the chest since every man, of whatever race and religion and in whatever language he may be saying ‘I’, points to the right side of the chest to indicate himself. This is so all over the world, so that must be the place. And by keenly watching the daily emergence of the ‘I’-thought on waking and its subsiding in sleep, one can see that it is in the heart on the right side. Ramana

A new page describing how to do Vichara  (Self enquiry) has been published. Although this is the simplest of practices there have been some torturous explanations over the years. The above link removes the nonsense. 

The moon shines by the reflected light of the sun. When the sun has set, the moon is useful for revealing objects. When the sun has risen, no one needs the moon, although the pale disc of the moon is visible in the sky. So it is with the mind and the Heart. The mind is useful because of its reflected light. It is used for seeing objects. When it is turned inwards, the source of illumination shines forth by itself, and the mind remains dim and useless like the moon in day-time. Ramana Maharshi in Talk 98 (Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi)

“From ‘Moments Remembered’ (p. 77), Sri M.G. Shanmugam relates: “He (Bhagavan) once said categorically: ‘For practising Atma Vichara every day is auspicious and every moment is good, ­­no discipline is prescribed at all. Any time, anywhere it can be done, even without others noticing that you are doing it. All other sadhanas require external objects and congenial environment, but for Atma Vichara nothing external to oneself is required. Turning the mind within is all that is necessary. While one is engaged in Atma Vichara one can with ease attend to other activities also. ... With attention focussed on the first person and on the Heart within, one should relentlessly practise Who am I? When this is done one-pointedly, one's breathing will subside of itself. During such controlled practice, the mind might suddenly spring up; so you have to vigilantly pursue the Vichara, Who am I?’” Recorded in Talks on Self Enquiry Miles Wright & Gabriele Ebert https://amzn.to/34TWleg Mo

“Sphurana’ can be translated in a variety of ways – flashing, glistening, quivering, vibrating, throbbing, coming into view, manifestation, etc. In essence it is the primary manifestation of the Self in the body (the real source of creation). It is experienced when the flow of consciousness is reversed and thoughts/ego are traced back to the Heart centre (Hridaya). Some have experienced this as a physical manifestation on the right side of the chest. One may continue to sense a constant sphurana after revelation of the Self. In Absolute terms however there is no location. This is simply the centre without bounds.” Excerpt From Talks on Self Enquiry Miles Wright & Gabriele Ebert https://books.apple.com/gb/book/talks-on-self-enquiry/id1078197373 This material may be protected by copyright. ————- Note: Sphurana can also be compared to a knock at the door; or a recall. Vichara is answering the call.

Talk 557. A visitor asked: “We are advised to concentrate on the spot in the forehead between the eyebrows. Is it right?” M.: Everyone is aware, ‘I am’. Leaving aside that awareness one goes about in search of God. What is the use of fixing one’s attention between the eyebrows? It is mere folly to say that God is between the eyebrows. The aim of such advice is to help the mind to concentrate. It is one of the forcible methods to check the mind and prevent its dissipation. It is forcibly directed into one channel. It is a help to concentration. But the best means of realisation is the enquiry “Who am I?” The present trouble is to the mind and it must be removed by the mind only. Ramana Maharshi in Talks.

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 expanded Self. It is not different from the Self.  Ramana Maharshi - from Talk 106

In Talk 29 - The Heart is used in the Vedas and the scriptures to denote the place whence the notion ‘I’ springs. Does it spring only from the fleshy ball? It springs within us somewhere right in the middle of our being. The ‘I’ has no location. Everything is the Self. There is nothing but that. So the Heart must be said to be the entire body of ourselves and of the entire universe, conceived as ‘I’. But to help the practiser (abhyasi) we have to indicate a definite part of the Universe, or of the Body. So this Heart is pointed out as the seat of the Self. But in truth we are everywhere, we are all that is, and there is nothing else.

hṛtsthalemanaḥ svasthatākriyā | bhaktiyogabodhāścaniścitam || 10| | The act (kriyā) of abiding in one’s natural state, the mind set in the Heart, is without doubt, Devotion, Yoga and Knowledge.   Notes: Here, kriyā (action) refers to the one truly continuous, uncaused, meritorious ‘act’ (kriyāyoga). This is eternal Being, the Self. Where the mind finds this place (dhyāna), i.e. its place of birth, there is the culmination of karma, bhakti, yoga, and jnana. For the purified mind, this takes the form of constant remembrance, also called nididhyāsana. This is realisation of one’s natural state. Referring to this verse Sri Bhagavan proclaims, “That is the whole truth in a nut-shell.” (Talk 222) —- —- —- Excerpt From Essence of Instruction (Upadesa Saram) Ramana Maharshi, Miles Wright & Gabriele Ebert https://books.apple.com/gb/book/essence-of-instruction-upadesa-saram/id908258526 This material may be protected by copyright.

Bhakti, vichara, japa are only different forms of our efforts to keep out the unreality. The unreality is an obsession at present. Reality is our true nature. We are wrongly persisting in unreality, that is, thoughts and worldly activities. Cessation of these will reveal the Truth. Our attempts are directed towards keeping them out. It is done by thinking of the Reality only. Although it is our true nature it looks as if we are thinking of the Reality. What we do really amounts to the removal of obstacles for the revelation of our true Being. Meditation or vichara is thus a reversion to our true nature. D.: Are our attempts sure to succeed? M.: Realisation is our nature. It is nothing new to be gained. What is new cannot be eternal. Therefore there is no need for doubting if one would lose or gain the Self. --- --- --- - Ramana Maharshi in Talk 401

“As the sun shines at all times even when we cannot see it, so Arunachala, as Self alone, shines in the hearts of all living beings, irrespective of any limited perspective. As the life-giving sun seems to ‘appear’ at dawn, allowing the bud of the Lotus, at last, to burst open, the plant having matured and the murky waters having been left behind, similarly, although the grace of Arunachala is forever radiating, the knot of the heart ‘appears’ to remain tightly bound until the maturing effect of atma-vichara [i.e. Self-enquiry] purifies the mind effecting the irresistible pull towards the Heart-centre, its source. Then ... the boundless light of the Self shines, as universe complete, as always, as ever, as ‘I am I’. This is the dawn longed for and requested by the devotee. Grace is never conferred. It always is. When the devotee strives hard for realisation, thereby dispersing the cloud of mindstuff, boundless grace remains.” Excerpt From Arunachala Pancharatna Ramana Maharshi ht

Realise the Self; after realisation there will be time to think of what form of death is preferable to you. It is the false identity of the Self with the body that causes the idea of preference, etc. Are you the body? Were you aware of it when you were fast asleep last night? No! What is it that exists now and troubles you? It is ‘I’. Get rid of it and be happy. Ramana Maharshi Talk 32