Behind My Hand

Svasvarupanusamdhanam bhaktirityabhidhiyate. Svatmatattvanusamdhanam bhaktirityapare joguh. (Vivekacudamani) ——— svasvarupa means “true nature”. svatmatattva means “principle of one’s nature”.  Translation: “Reflecting by constant enquiry into the true nature of one’s own form is called “Bhakti”.” “Others say investigation into the principle of one’s own nature is “Bhakti”.” In the second case the “Atman” is seen as an abstract concept to be investigated requiring subject and object (indirect investigation). In the first it is the fundamental state of being and not an abstract concept. No object required (direct investigation). The first should be the attitude of the vicharin.  At first glance this might be seen as a subtle and philosophical distinction. However this is a fundamental point of importance. Sanskrit quotation from Vivekacudamani 31/32 cf. Ramana Maharshi in Talks 274 & 642

D.: What does Maharshi say about hatha yoga or Tantric practices? M.: Maharshi does not criticise any of the existing methods. All are good for the purification of the mind. Because the purified mind alone is capable of grasping his method and sticking to its practice. - Talk 189

"A man was going through the forest when he was ambushed by an enemy and shot with a poisoned arrow. One of his kin stumbled upon him and raised the alarm and soon others arrived with antidotes to the poison. As they attempted to pull the arrow prior to applying the healing ointment the man prevented them and began to ask various questions such as, “You must find out for me: Who was that enemy? What was his family? Was he tall? What colour was his hair? What kind of bow did he use? What was the arrow made of? etc...” When it was suggested that the questions were irrelevant in the present situation and that without application of the healing herbs he would die he just continued to prevent treatment intent on gathering maximum information. Needless to say... the cure was not effective. [Buddhist parable of the poisoned arrow]”

"The seeker of the Absolute must have no object in life but the persistent pursuit of the Absolute, to which he bends all the power of his soul. To approach it in any other attitude, say with motives not strictly spiritual, or with a surfeited, insubordinate intellect, or to expect the Absolute to bend and yield its secrets in the first week or first month for one's own sake, for the sake of one's worldly achievements, illustrious ancestry or community, denotes a lack of the most elementary qualities that make one eligible for it. Eclecticism likewise has no place in this path: its application is poor, its understanding diffused, so are its spiritual yearnings.” S. S. Cohen in “Advaitic Sadhana” p. 2 (1975)

"It is necessary at the outset to understand that it is not possible to hound out avidya (the primeval ignorance arising out of the  sense-perceptions) with a half-hearted approach, with scanty faith, with a mind weighed down by preconceptions, stubborn worldliness,  fixed ideas, and inordinate haste, these do not qualify for the supreme Knowledge (Jnana), which exacts a steady, unwavering,  whole-hearted discipline. ” - S. S. Cohen's " Advaitic Sadhana ” p. 2 (1975)

5th May, 1937  A visitor asked the meaning of Nirvana. Bh. Nirvana is that state wherein the sense of separateness does not exist and where the ego has sunk in its source, the Heart. S. S. Cohen in “Guru Ramana” p. 88

There I quietly sat and listened to the visitors’ talks with him and to his answers, which were sometimes translated into English, particularly if the questioner was a foreigner or a north Indian – not always. His answers were fresh and sweet. His influence was all pervasive in his silence not less than in his speech. To me in the beginning this was all the more perceptible in the contrast it offered to the hustle and bustle of the life on which I had just turned my back – to  the wasted energy, the false values, the foolish expectations from ideals which are in themselves hollow reeds, the dreary intercourse with people with whom one has very little in common; to the social rules which have been laid down by many generations of selfishness, convention and superstitions, not to speak of the mess of politics, of rank and wealth, and the bitter jealousy and hatred they breed in the minds of men. It is small wonder therefore that Bhagavan appears to the serious- minded as a beacon li...