Brhadaaranyaka Upanishad

Gaargi, the daughter of VACHAKNU, and the Great Sage YAAJNAVALKYA, once faced each other in a discussion on BRAHMAN. Gaargi, the mischievous Seer wanted to test Sage Yaajnavalkya’s ability to comprehend the hidden meanings of the Upanishad Truths. She asked many questions and he answered them all immediately.

G: If everything here is filled with waters (experiences) what are these waters pervaded within and without (filled)?

Y: Winds, O Gaargi!

[Attachments]

G: What are the winds filled with?

Y: Worlds of space, O Gaargi!

[Antariksha- Space time conceptions- Boundaries- Limitations]

G: What are these Worlds of space covered with?

Y: Worlds of Gandharvas O Gaargi!

[Illusions- Mind conceptions]

G: What are these Worlds of Gandharvas covered with?

Y: Worlds of Sun O Gaargi!

[Conscious observer – witness]

G: What are these Worlds of Sun covered with?

Y: Worlds of Moon O Gaargi!

[Mental faculty]

G: What are these Worlds of Moon covered with?

Y: Worlds of Stars O Gaargi!

[Fixed conceptions or ideas]

G: What are these Worlds of Stars covered with?

Y: By the Worlds of Gods, O Gaargi!

[Thoughts –Flashes in Consciousness- Perturbations in the brain]

G: What are these Worlds of Gods covered with?

Y: Worlds of Indras O Gaargi!

[Sense perceptions]

G: What are these Worlds of Indras covered with?

Y: By the Worlds of Prajaapatis O Gaargi!

[Individual worlds created by Vaasanaas]

G: What are these Worlds of Prajaapatis covered with?

Y: World of Brahmas O Gaargi!

[Jeevas –Individual Creators of their own worlds-

Totality of all Jeevas- HiranyaGarbha]

G: What are these World of Brahmas covered with?

[Yaajnavalkya lost patience at her impudence. The argument had gone too far.]

He said-

“Gaargi! Do not transgress your limits lest your head fall off!

You are questioning about the deity (Brahman) who should not be reasoned about.

Do not push your enquiry too far.”

Gaargi the daughter of Vacaknu remained silent.

If the codes for these simple words are not known, the whole passage will appear to be some tribal explanation of reality!

If the hierarchy is known as-

Para Brahman

Manifestation as Jeevas

Individual worlds

Sense perceptions

Thoughts

Fixed ideas

Mind

Witness Consciousness

Illusions

Boundaries

Space Time conceptions

Contact

Experiences

- it makes better sense!

We can re-write the same passage as:

What is the world around us?

Experiences!

How does it occur?

Contact through the Praana!

What is the result?

There is some space around us and some sensation of past present and future.

What does it lead to?

The conception that we live in a solid world of a fixed time and space.

What are these worlds bound by space and time?

Just Illusory worlds!

Who perceives them actually?

Pure Consciousness which is a silent witness unaffected by all experiences.

Then who is affected?

The mental Faculty!

Why it gets affected?

Because of ascertained conceptions about the world.

What is the nature of the mind?

Flashes of unceasing thoughts or perturbations.

How is the world cognized?

Through Senses!

What is the result of all this?

Each perceives a world based on his own mental conceptions.

Who is the perceiver?

The individual Self!

Who is the individual Self?

A point in the Totality of Selves – Brahma.

What is this based on?

Since the intellect is incapable of comprehending the nature of the Para Brahman, it will shatter into million pieces if it ever tries to reason out the Para Brahman.

All analysis stops at this point of understanding.

http://www.keytoupanishads.blogspot.in/

Equanimity and eight worldly winds

Equanimity is a protection from the “eight worldly winds”: praise and blame, success and failure, pleasure and pain, fame and disrepute. Becoming attached to or excessively elated with success, praise, fame or pleasure can be a set-up for suffering when the winds of life change direction. For example, success can be wonderful, but if it leads to arrogance, we have more to lose in future challenges. Becoming personally invested in praise can tend toward conceit. Identifying with failure, we may feel incompetent or inadequate. Reacting to pain, we may become discouraged. If we understand or feel that our sense of inner well-being is independent of the eight winds, we are more likely to remain on an even keel in their midst.

One approach to developing equanimity is to cultivate the qualities of mind that support it. Seven mental qualities support the development of equanimity.

The first is virtue or integrity. When we live and act with integrity, we feel confident about our actions and words, which results in the equanimity of blamelessness. The ancient Buddhist texts speak of being able to go into any assembly of people and feel blameless.

The second support for equanimity is the sense of assurance that comes from faith. While any kind of faith can provide equanimity, faith grounded in wisdom is especially powerful. The Pali word for faith, saddha, is also translated as conviction or confidence. If we have confidence, for example, in our ability to engage in a spiritual practice, then we are more likely to meet its challenges with equanimity.

The third support is a well-developed mind. Much as we might develop physical strength, balance, and stability of the body in a gym, so too can we develop strength, balance and stability of the mind. This is done through practices that cultivate calm, concentration and mindfulness. When the mind is calm, we are less likely to be blown about by the worldly winds.

The fourth support is a sense of well-being. We do not need to leave well-being to chance. In Buddhism, it is considered appropriate and helpful to cultivate and enhance our well-being. We often overlook the well-being that is easily available in daily life. Even taking time to enjoy one’s tea or the sunset can be a training in well-being.

The fifth support for equanimity is understanding or wisdom. Wisdom is an important factor in learning to have an accepting awareness, to be present for whatever is happening without the mind or heart contracting or resisting. Wisdom can teach us to separate people’s actions from who they are. We can agree or disagree with their actions, but remain balanced in our relationship with them. We can also understand that our own thoughts and impulses are the result of impersonal conditions. By not taking them so personally, we are more likely to stay at ease with their arising.

Another way wisdom supports equanimity is in understanding that people are responsible for their own decisions, which helps us to find equanimity in the face of other people’s suffering. We can wish the best for them, but we avoid being buffeted by a false sense of responsibility for their well-being.

One of the most powerful ways to use wisdom to facilitate equanimity is to be mindful of when equanimity is absent. Honest awareness of what makes us imbalanced helps us to learn how to find balance.

The sixth support is insight, a deep seeing into the nature of things as they are. One of the primary insights is the nature of impermanence. In the deepest forms of this insight, we see that things change so quickly that we can’t hold onto anything, and eventually the mind lets go of clinging. Letting go brings equanimity; the greater the letting go, the deeper the equanimity.

The final support is freedom, which comes as we begin to let go of our reactive tendencies. We can get a taste of what this means by noticing areas in which we were once reactive but are no longer. For example, some issues that upset us when we were teenagers prompt no reaction at all now that we are adults. In Buddhist practice, we work to expand the range of life experiences in which we are free.

These two forms of equanimity, the one that comes from the power of observation, and the one that comes from inner balance, come together in mindfulness practice. As mindfulness becomes stronger, so does our equanimity. We see with greater independence and freedom. And, at the same time, equanimity becomes an inner strength that keeps us balanced in middle of all that is.

Monkey Sage

A squirrel came to Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi and he was feeding it with cashew-nut pieces as usual. Turning to me, he said, “Shroff sent some cashew-nuts yesterday and said, ‘They were intended for my dumb friends’.” I said, “Probably Bhagavan would object to our calling these squirrels dumb.” Bhagavan said, “They communicate with me. Sometimes I am in a nap. They come and draw attention to their presence by gently biting my finger tips. Besides, they have a lot of language of their own. There is one great thing about these squirrels. You may place any amount of food before them. They will just eat what they need and leave the rest behind. Not so the rat, for instance. It will take everything it finds and stock it in its hole.”

I remarked, “Possibly it would be said that the squirrel is a less intelligent creature than the rat, because it does not plan or provide for the future but lives in the present.” Bhagavan said, “Yes. Yes. We consider it intelligence to pl

an and live wretchedly like this. See how many animals and birds live in this world without planning and stocking. Are they all dying?”

Bhagavan then began speaking of monkeys and said, “They too don’t build nests or stock things. They eat what they can find, and go and perch on trees when night falls. They are quite happy. I have known something about their organisation, their kings, laws, regulations. Everything is so perfect and well- organised. So much intelligence behind it all. I even know that tapas is not unknown to monkeys. A monkey whom we used to call ‘Mottaipaiyan’ was once oppressed and ill-treated by a gang. He went away into the forest for a few days, did tapas, acquired strength and returned. When he came and sat on a bough and shook it, all the rest of the monkeys, who had previously ill- treated him and of whom he was previously mortally afraid, were now quaking before him. Yes. I am clear that tapas is well known to monkeys.” Day by Day, 26-2-46 Morning

Kaivalyopanishad

Apaani-paado-aham achintya saktih pasyaamy-achakshuh sa srinomy-akarnah |

Aham vijaanaami vivikta-roopo na chaasti vettaa mama chit-sadaa-aham ||21 ||

21. Without arms and legs am I, of unthinkable power; I see without eyes, and I hear
without ears. I know all, and am different from all. None can know me. I am always
the Intelligence

http://spiritual-minds.com/

http://nrsrini.blogspot.com



The Kaivalya Upanishad
Translated by Swami Madhavananda - Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta

Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

1. Then Ashvalayana approached the Lord Paramesthi (Brahma) and said: Teach,
O Lord, the knowledge of Brahman, the highest, always cultivated by the good,
hidden and by which a wise man drives away instantly all the sins and reaches the
Purusha higher than the high.
2. And to him, the Grandsire (Brahma) said, "Know (this) by means of faith, devotion
and meditation. Not by work, nor by progeny, nor by wealth, but by renunciation,
some attained immortality.
3. Higher than heaven, seated in the cave (Buddhi), that shines, (which) the selfcontrolled attain ñ the self-controlled, who being of pure minds have well
ascertained the Reality, by the knowledge of Vedanta, and through Sannyasa or
renunciation. In the sphere of Brahma, at the time of cosmic dissolution, they all get
liberated from the highest (apparent) immortality of the manifested universe.
4-5. In a secluded place, sitting in an easy posture, pure, with a neck, head, and
body erect, living in the last of the orders of religious life, having controlled all the
sense, saluting his own preceptor with reverence, meditating within the lotus of the
heart (on Brahman), untainted, pure, clear and griefless.
6. (Who is) unthinkable, unmanifest, of endless forms, the good, the peaceful,
Immortal, the origin of the worlds, without beginning, middle, and end, the only one,
all-pervading, Consciousness, and Bliss, the formless and the wonderful.
7. Meditating on the highest Lord, allied to Uma, powerful, three-eyed, blue-necked,
and tranquil, the holy man reaches Him who is the source of all, the witness of all
and is beyond darkness (i.e. Avidya).8. He is Brahma, He is Shiva, He is Indra, He is the Immutable, the Supreme, the
Self-luminous, He alone is Vishnu, He is Prana, He is Time and Fire, He is the
Moon.
9. He alone is all that was, and all that will be, the Eternal; knowing Him, one
transcends death; there is no other way to freedom.
10. Seeing the Atman in all beings, and all beings in the Atman, one attains the
highest Brahman ñ not by any other means.
11. Making the Atman the (lower) Arani, and OM the upper Arani, by the repeated
friction of knowledge, a wise man burns up the bond.
12. With his self thus deluded by Maya or ignorance, it is he who identifies himself
with the body and does all sorts of things. In the waking state it is he (the Jiva) who
attains satisfaction through the varied objects of enjoyment, such as women, food,
drink, etc.
13. In the dream-state that Jiva feels pleasure and pain in a sphere of existence
created by his own Maya or ignorance. During the state of profound sleep, when
everything is dissolved (into their causal state), he is overpowered by Tams or nonmanifestation and comes to exist in his form of Bliss.
14. Again, through his connection with deeds done in previous births, that very Jiva
returns to the dream-state, or the waking state. The being who sports in the three
cities (viz., the states of wakefulness, dream and profound sleep) ñ from Him has
sprung up all diversity. He is the substratum, the bliss, the indivisible
Consciousness, in whom the three cities dissolve themselves.
15. From This spring up Prana (Vitality), mind, all the organs, sky, air, fire, water and
the earth that supports all.
16. That which is the Supreme Brahman, the soul of all, the great support of the
universe, subtler than the subtle, and eternal ñ that is thyself, and thou art That.
17. "That which manifests the phenomena, such as the states of wakefulness,
dream and profound sleep, I am that Brahman" ñ realising thus one is liberated from
all bonds.
18. What constitute the enjoyable, the enjoyer, and the enjoyment, in the three
abodes ñ different from them all am I, the Witness, the Pure Consciousness, the
Eternal Good.
19. In me alone is everything born, in me does everything rest, and in me iseverything dissolved. I am that Brahman, the secondless.
20. I am minuter than the minute, I am likewise the greatest of all, I am the manifold
universe. I am the Ancient One, the Purusha and the Ruler, I am the Effulgent One,
and the All-good.
21. Without arms and legs am I, of unthinkable power; I see without eyes, and I hear
without ears. I know all, and am different from all. None can know me. I am always
the Intelligence.
22. I alone am taught in the various Vedas, I am the revealer of the Vedanta or
Upanishads, and I am also the Knower of the Vedas. For me there is neither merit
nor demerit, I suffer no destruction, I have no birth, nor any self-identity with the
body and the organs.
23-24. For me there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor ether. Thus
realising the Paramatman, who lies in the cavity of the heart, who is without parts,
and without a second, the Witness of all, beyond both existence and non-existence
ñ one attains the Pure Paramatman Itself.
25. He who studies the Shatarudriya, is purified as by the Fires, is purified from the
sin of drinking, purified from the sin of killing a Brahmana, from deeds done
knowingly or unawares. Through this he has his refuge in Shiva, the Supreme Self.
One who belongs to the highest order of life should repeat this always or once (a
day).
26. By means of this, one attains the Knowledge that destroys the ocean of
Samsara or repeated transmigration. Therefore, knowing thus one attains the fruit of
Kaivalya or liberation, verily one attains liberation.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Kaivalyopanishad, included in the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.

Sootre Maniganaa Iva

mataha parataram naanyatkinchidasti dhananjaya |
mayi sarvamidam protam sootre maniganaa iva || BG 7.7 ||
Beyond me there is none other, not even a little. Like beads are pervaded by string, all this is in me and I am in all.

mataha : my
parataram : beyond
na : no
anyat : none other
kinchit : even a little
asti : is
dhananjaya : O Dhananjaya
mayi : in me
sarvam : all
idam : this
protam : pervaded
sootre : on a string
maniganaaha : beads
iva : like

http://journeygita.blogspot.com/2012/06/bhagavad-gita-verse-7-chapter-7.html

http://aanobhadraah.blogspot.com/2007/08/sootre-maniganaa-iva-like-beads.html

Maharshi on Seva

Another visitor, who said that he was from Sri Aurobindo’s Ashram, asked Bhagavan: “But we see pain in the world. A man is hungry. It is a physical reality. It is very real to him. Are we to call it a dream and remain unmoved by his pain?”

Bhagavan: From the point of view of jnana or the reality, the pain you speak of is certainly a dream, as is the world of which the pain is an infinitesimal part. In the dream also you yourself feel hunger. You see others suffering hunger. 

You feed yourself and, moved by pity, feed the others that you find suffering from hunger. So long as the dream lasted, all those pains were quite as real as you now think the pain you see in the world to be. It was only when you woke up that you discovered that the pain in the dream was unreal. You might have eaten to the full and gone to sleep. You dream that you work hard and long in the hot sun all day, are tired and hungry and want to eat a lot. Then you get up and find your stomach is full and you have not stirred out of your bed. But all this is not to say that while you are in the dream you can act as if the pain you feel there is not real. The hunger in the dream has to be assuaged by the food in the dream. The fellow beings you found in the dream so hungry had to be provided with food in that dream. You can never mix up the two states, the dream and the waking state. 

Till you reach the state of jnana and thus wake out of this maya, you must do social service by relieving suffering whenever you see it. But even then you must do it, as we are told, without ahamkara, i.e., without the sense “I am the doer,” but feeling, “I am the Lord’s tool.” Similarly one must not be conceited, “I am helping a man below me. He needs help. I am in a position to help. I am superior and he inferior.” But you must help the man as a means of worshipping God in that man. All such service too is for the Self, not for anybody else.You are not helping anybody else, but only yourself.

Mr. T.P. Ramachandra Aiyar said in this connection, “There is the classic example of Abraham Lincoln, who helped a pig to get out of a ditch and in the process had himself and his clothes dirtied. When questioned why he took so much trouble, he replied, ‘I did it to put an end not so much to the pig’s trouble, as to my own pain in seeing the poor thing struggle to get out of the ditch’.”

Meditation on the Self - Annamalai Swami

Q: … If I try to generate this feeling ‘I am the Self’’ it will not be the real thing. It will be just another idea in the mind. Can thinking about this idea really help me?

AS: When I say, ‘Meditate on the Self’ I am asking you to be the Self, not think about it. Be aware of what remains when thoughts stop. Be aware of the consciousness that is the origin of all your thoughts. Be that consciousness. Feel that this is what you really are. If you do this you are meditating on the Self.

But if you cannot stabilize in that consciousness because your vasanas are too strong and too active, it is beneficial to hold onto the thought, ‘I am the Self; I am everything.’ If you meditate in this way you will not be cooperating with the vasanas that are blocking your Self-awareness. If you don’t cooperate with them, sooner or later they are bound to leave you.

If this method doesn’t appeal to you, then just watch the mind with full attention. Whenever the mind wanders, become aware of it. See how thoughts connect with each other and watch how this ghost called mind catches hold of all your thoughts, saying,’ This is my thought. ‘ Watch the ways of the mind without identifying with them in any way. If you give your mind your full, detached attention, you begin to understand the futility of all mental activities. Watch the mind wandering here and there, seeking out useless and unnecessary things or ideas, which will ultimately only create misery for itself. Watching the mind gives us a knowledge of its inner processes. It gives us an incentive to stay detached from all our thoughts.

Ultimately, if we try hard enough, it gives us the ability to remain as consciousness, unaffected by transient thoughts.

– ‘Living by the Words of Bhagavan’, p. 283

Notes:
Step 1: Knowing/seeing HOW the mind works. How the mind creates present experience
Step 2: Knowing/seeing WHY the mind creates my present experience the way it creates. Seeing it as fruition of past karmic seeds.
Step 3: Learning to LET GO the constructions of mind, and eventually stop all thoughts/dreams on past present and future, stop all analysis, striving and dualistic experience

Step 4: BEING the SELF and using mind only when needed for vyavahara like a hand.

Is the state of 'being still' a state involving effort or effortless?

Maharishi: It is not an effortless state of indolence. All mundane activities which are ordinarily called effort are performed with the aid of a portion of the mind and with frequent breaks. But the act of communion with the Self (atma vyavahara) or remaining still inwardly is intense activity which is performed with the entire mind and without break.

Maya (delusion or ignorance) which cannot be destroyed by any other act is completely destroyed by this intense activity which is called 'silence' (mouna)


Q.: What is the easiest way to be free of the 'little self'?

Annamalai Swami: Stop identifying with it. If you can convince yourself, 'This little self is not really me,' it will disappear.

Q.: But how to do that?

AS.: The little self is something that only appears to be real. If you understand that it has no real existence it will disappear, leaving behind it the experience of the real and only Self. Understand that it has no real existence and it will stop troubling you.
Consciousness is universal. There is no limitation or 'little self' in it. It is only when we identify with and limit ourselves to the body and the mind that this false sense of self is born. If, through enquiry, you go to the source of the 'little self', you find that it dissolves into nothingness.

Q.: But I am very accustomed to feel 'I am this 'little self' '. I cannot break this habit merely by thinking 'I am not this 'little self''.

AS.: This 'little self' will only give way to the real Self if you meditate constantly. You cannot wish it away with a few stray thoughts. Try to remember the analogy of the rope which looks like a snake in twilight. If you see the rope as snake the real nature of the rope is hidden from you. If you only see the rope the snake is not there. Not only that - you know that there never was a snake there. (Then) the question of how to kill the snake disappears... If you can understand that this 'little self' never at any time had any existence outside your imagination, you will not be concerned about ways and means of getting rid of it.

Q.: It is all very clear but I feel I need some help. I am not sure that i can generate this conviction by myself.

AS.: The desire for assistance is part of your problem. Don't make the mistake of imagining that there is a goal to be reached or attained. If you think like this you will start looking for methods to practice and people to help you. This just perpetuates the problem you are trying to end. Instead, cultivate the strong awareness, 'I am the Self. I am That. I am Brahman. I am everything.'.. The best way to (stop believing the wrong ideas about yourself) is to replace them with ideas which more accurately reflect the real state of affairs. ...
The Self is always attained, it is always realized; it is not something that you have to seek, reach or discover. Your vasanas and all the wrong ideas you have about yourself are blocking and hiding the experience of the real Self. If you don't identify with these wrong ideas, your Self-nature will not be hidden from you.

- from: 'Living By The Words Of Bhagavan' by David Godman

False perceiver and his false experience

Q: What is the reason for the spiritual experiences, which some devotees have? Are they to help us on the path, or to give us confidence? These experiences of inner light, inner sounds etc., do we need them, or do they just happen because they are natural? Why do some people get these experiences and others not?

Annamalai Swami: The experiences that come during meditation are the result of one’s previous practices. It is not necessary to have such experiences.

‘Who is the one who is having these experiences?’ Our attention should be on that only. Experiences come and go but the witness of all experiences always remains unchanged. Our attention should steadily be there. …

Remember, whatever happens to you can be perceived only through the mind. Remember also that the perceptions of the mind are not real because the perceiver himself is not real. If we always enquire ‘To whom is this experience happening?’ the false perceiver and the false experience will both subside.

Q: People who follow other paths sometimes experience samadhi states.
Will they also have the experience of sphurana? (a light-experience which can come before the samadhi experience)

Annamalai Swami: If one unceasingly follows the paths of japa or yoga, the mind will merge eventually in the sphurana. At the time of merging the experience will come. 
This sphurana is the light or the radiance of the ‘I am’. When you are close to merging with the real ‘I’ you feel its emanati
ons. This real ‘I’ is the real name and form of God. The first and most accurate name of God is ‘I’. The awareness ‘I am’ is the original and primordial mantra.

Q: So the ‘I’-mantra is even prior to pranava, the sound of OM?

AS: Yes, that is what Bhagavan said on several occasions.
This consciousness, the ‘I am’, is existing and shining always, but your awareness of it is obstructed by the ego in just the same way that the shadow of the earth hides the moon during an eclipse. The shadow over the moon is only visible because of the moonlight behind it. Without this light the shadow of the eclipse could not be seen. Like this we are conscious of the body, the mind and the world even when they obstruct our clear vision only because of the light of the Self. By the light of the Self all this is seen.

Q: How did this single, unbroken ‘I’ become the many different things and people that we see in the world?

AS: It didn’t. It always remains single and unbroken. Your defective vision and your misperceptions give you the impression that the one became the many. The Self has never undergone any change or transformation except in your imagination.
When we identify ourselves with the body the mind, the one appears to become many. When one’s energy is diverted from the mind and the outside world towards the Self, the illusion of multiplicity fades away.

Go deeply into this feeling of ‘I’. Be aware of it so strongly and so intensely that no other thoughts have the energy to arise and distract you. If you hold this feeling of ‘I’ long enough and strongly enough, the false ‘I’ will vanish leaving only the unbroken awareness of the real, immanent ‘I’, consciousness itself.

- Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p 298 , 299

Q.: You sometimes say that we should avoid company. That is not always possible. If one is working one has to mix with all kinds of people. One can't always avoid them.

Annamalai Swami: In such situations one should take the attitude of someone who is acting in a drama. Outwardly one should do whatever actions are necessary, but inwardly, one should be always aware of the center, the consciousness which makes itself known as the feeling 'I am'.
I say 'avoid bad company' but 
ultimately bad company is just a part of the mind. There is no bad company in the Self. While you are trying to disentangle yourself from the mind it will be helpful for you to avoid bad company. Whenever that is not possible, make an extra effort to withdraw into the Self. If you can establish yourself there, the currents from other peoples minds cannot affect you. If you do have to mix with unspiritual people, don't make any judgements about them. Don't think 'This a bad person', or 'I don't like this person.' The less you identify with the mind when you are near such people, the better. ...

Be like a big tree. When the wind comes the branches and leaves are shaken but the trunk remains stationary. If you live in the mind you are always being tossed around like the branches and the twigs in a strong wind. The less you identify with the mind, the less movement there is. When you are aware of yourself as consciousness alone, with no trace of the mind being present, there is no movement at all, only unbroken peace and absolute stillness.

Q.: Swami, you often say that we should avoid bad acts.
What exactly do you mean by a 'bad act'?

AS: In a general sense, anything which causes harm to other beings is a bad act. But one could also say that any act that keeps your attention away from the Self is a bad act. Identifying with the body and mind is the primal bad act because it is the source of all other bad acts.


Q.: Sometimes I feel that it is selfish to want Self-realization .. It seems that I must pursue sadhana by myself and be indifferent to all the suffering people that I see around me. .. How can I deliberately ignore all this suffering that I see around me without feeling guilty about it?

Annamalai Swami: There is no society, there is no suffering and there is no world. (They) are all part of your dream. They have no reality except in your own mind. ...

The world is like a reflection in a mirror. The world which we see is merely a reflection of our gunas, our own state of mind. We see the reflection, forget the mirror, and imagine that we are looking at a real world which is separate from us.

You are continuously radiating a mental energy which affects everything and everyone around you. If you are in a rajasic or tamasic state you are automatically infecting the world with your unwholesome state of mind. The jnani, who is established in the reality beyond the gunas, experiences only continuous peace and bliss. He alone can help other people by radiating this peace and bliss to them. If you try to help this world with some physical activity, the good you may do may be more than wiped out by the negative mental vibrations which you inflict on this world. ...

If you see suffering around you it is just a reflection of your own inner suffering. If you want to alleviate suffering go to the root cause which is the suffering inside yourself. Immerse yourself in the Self. End the maya dream and wake up to the real world of jnana. Your ideas about the world are all wrong because you are misperceiving it. Your mind is processing what you see in such away that it makes you think that there is a suffering world outside and apart from you. .. You must eliminate the mental processes that make you misperceive it. When you reach the state of jnana there will be no misperceptions. Your vision will be completely clear. You will be aware that there is no suffering and no world. You will be aware that the Self alone exists.
- Living by the words of Bhagavan, p. 336

Annamalai Swami on desires and Self

Q: To keep the mind in the Self one must have no desires for anything other than the Self. This is a very difficult state to attain. The desire to seek pleasures in the outside world always seems to be stronger than the desire to seek pleasure in the Self. Why is this so?

Annamalai Swami: All happiness ultimately comes from the Self. It does not come from the mind, the body or from external objects. If you have a great desire for a mango, when you finally eat one there is gr
eat feeling of pleasure. When a desire is fulfilled, the mind sinks a little way into the Self and enjoys some of the bliss that is always present there. Then it rises again. It remembers the happiness and tries to repeat the experience by eating more mangoes or gratifying other desires.

Most people are completely unaware that pleasure and happiness come from the Self, not from the mind or the body. Because most people have only experienced the peace of the Self when a great desire has been fulfilled, the come to the conclusion that the pursuit of desires is the only way to get an experience of happiness and peace.

If you try to follow this standard route to happiness you will end up with a lot of frustration and a lot of suffering. You may occasionally experience a few brief moments of pleasure, but for the rest of the time you will experience the pain of frustrated desires, of desires that don’t seem to produce any pleasure when they are fulfilled.

If you try to repeat pleasures again and again the novelty soon wears off. A mango, which you have been looking forward to for days, may give you a few seconds of happiness when you eat it, but eating five or six more will not prolong your pleasure. Prolonged indulgence is more likely to produce pain than pleasure.

Most people in the world spend their whole lives self-indulgently pursuing goals, which they think will produce happiness for them. Most of these people never stop to do mental accounts properly. If they did they would realize that each ten seconds of happiness is followed by hours or days when there is no happiness at all. Some people do realize this, but instead of giving up this way of life, they indulge in it even more. They think that with a little more effort and a little more sensory, mental or emotional indulgence they can expand the short periods of happiness and contract the longer intervening periods when happiness is not experienced.
- Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p. 295

This approach never works. If there are many strong desires in the mind, the mind cannot sink completely into the Self and experience the full peace and bliss that is there. …

The desire-filled mind only experiences the bliss of the Self in a very diluted form. If you want the full bliss of the Self, and if you want to experience it permanently, you will have to give up all our desires and attachments. There is no other way.

Bhagavan once said to me :’The one who limits the Self by believing himself to be the body and the mind has ‘killed’ his own Self. For killing the Self he has to be punished. The punishment is birth and death and continuous misery.

Q.: Is the ending of misery determined by prarabdha karma, or can we bring it nearer by personal effort?

Annamalai Swami: The misery comes to an end only by realizing the Self, not by any other means.

Q: Can this happen at any time?

AS: Here an
d now you are already the Self. You don’t need time to realize it, all you need is correct understanding. Each moment you identify yourself with the body and the mind, you are going in the direction of ego and misery. The moment you give up that identification, you are moving towards your real Self, towards happiness.

Q: … If I try to generate this feeling ‘I am the Self’’ it will not be the real thing. It will be just another idea in the mind. Can thinking about this idea really help me?

AS: When I say, ‘Meditate on the Self’ I am asking you to be the Self, not think about it. Be aware of what remains when thoughts stop. Be aware of the consciousness that is the origin of all your thoughts. Be that consciousness. Feel that this is what you really are. If you do this you are meditating on the Self. But if you cannot stabilize in that consciousness because your vasanas are too strong and too active, it is beneficial to hold onto the thought, ‘I am the Self; I am everything.’ If you meditate in this way you will not be cooperating with the vasanas that are blocking your Self-awareness. If you don’t cooperate with them, sooner or later they are bound to leave you.
If this method doesn’t appeal to you, then just watch the mind with full attention. Whenever the mind wanders, become aware of it. See how thoughts connect with each other and watch how this ghost called mind catches hold of all your thoughts, saying,’ This is my thought. ‘ Watch the ways of the mind without identifying with them in any way. If you give your mind your full, detached attention, you begin to understand the futility of all mental activities. Watch the mind wandering here and there, seeking out useless and unnecessary things or ideas, which will ultimately only create misery for itself. Watching the mind gives us a knowledge of its inner processes. It gives us an incentive to stay detached from all our thoughts. Ultimately, if we try hard enough, it gives us the ability to remain as consciousness, unaffected by transient thoughts. 

– ‘Living by the Words of Bhagavan’, p. 283

Waking and the dream states - Ramana Maharshi

Bhagavan once made the following remarks about the waking and the dream states.

‘The world vision which appears in the waking state and the world vision which appears in the dream state are both the same. There is not even a trace of a 
difference. The dream state happens merely to prove the unreality of the world which we see in the waking state. This is one of the operations of God’s grace. …

Some people dispute this by saying, ‘But the same world which we saw yesterday is existing today. Dream worlds are never the same from one night to the next. Therefore how can we believe that the world of the waking state is unreal? History tells us that the world has existed for thousands of years.’

We take the evidence that this changing world has been existing for a long time and decide that this constitutes a proof that the world is real. This is an unjustified conclusion.
The world changes every moment. How? Our body is not the same as it was when we were young. A lamp, which we light at night, may seem to be the same in the morning but all the oil in the flame has changed. Is this not so? Water flows in a river. If we see the river on two successive days we say it is the same river. But it is not the same; the water has changed completely.

The world is always changing. It is not permanent. But we exist unchanged in all the three states of waking, dreaming and sleeping. Nobody can truthfully say, ‘I did not exist during these three states.’ Therefore we must conclude that this ‘I’ is the permanent substance because everything else is in a state of perpetual flux. If you never forget this, this is liberation.”

Since this view of the world is so contrary to what we regard as common sense, Bhagavan was frequently questioned about it. Even his long-term devotees sometimes tried to get him to modify his views a little. I remember, for instance, one evening in the hall when Major Chadwick tried to persuade Bhagavan that the world did have some reality and permanence.

‘If the world exists only when my mind exists, ‘ he began, ‘when my mind subsides in meditation or sleep, does the outside world disappear also?
I think not. If one considers the experiences of others who were aware of the world while I slept, one must conclude that the world existed then. Is it not more correct to say that the world got created and is ever existing in some huge collective mind? If this is true how can one say that there is no world and that it is only a dream?’

Bhagavan refused to modify his position. ‘The world does not say that it was created in the collective mind or that it was created in the individual mind. It appears only in your small mind. If your mind gets destroyed, there will be no world. …

Bhagavan summarised these views a little later by saying, ‘Every jiva (individual self) is seeing his own separate world but a jnani does not see anything other than himself. This is the state of Truth.’

- Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p.232 and 236

Guru Vachaka Kovai 458

The ego, the embryo [of manifestation] who suffers in the two states of waking and dream, imagining, ‘I am the one who sees’, is also the one who, by thinking, ‘I did not see anything in sleep’, loses his greatness and gets mentally perplexed.

Bhagavan: The same person sleeps, dreams and wakes up. The waking state is considered to be full of beautiful and interesting things. The absence of such experiences makes one say that the sleep state is dull. Before we proceed further let us make this point clear. Do you not admit that you exist in your sleep?

Question: Yes, I do.

Bhagavan: You are the same person that is now awake. Is it not so?

Question: Yes.

Bhagavan: So there is a continuity in the sleep and the waking states. What is that continuity? It is only the state of pure being.

There is a difference in the two states. What is that difference? The incidents, namely, the body, the world and the objects appear in the waking state but they disappear in sleep.

Question: But I am not aware in my sleep.

Bhagavan: True, there is no awareness of the body or of the world. But you must exist in your sleep in order to say now ‘I was not aware in my sleep’. Who says so now? It is the wakeful person. The sleeper cannot say so. That is to say, the individual who is now identifying the Self with the body says that such awareness did not exist in sleep.

Because you identify yourself with the body, you see the world around you and say that the waking state is filled with beautiful and interesting things. The sleep state appears dull because you were not there as an individual, and therefore these things were not. But what is the fact? There is the continuity of being in all the three states, but no continuity of the individual and the objects.
( Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk no. 609)

ജനുവരി 17 1939

മഹര്‍ഷി ലേഡി ബേറ്റ്മനിനോട് പറഞ്ഞു:

നിര്‍വ്വികാരവും നിശ്ചഞ്ചലവുമായ ഒരു ശാശ്വതാവസ്ഥ എല്ലാവര്‍ക്കുമുണ്ട്. അതില്‍ ജാഗ്രത് സ്വപ്ന സുഷുപ്തി അവസ്ഥകള്‍ മാറിമാറി വന്നുപൊയ്ക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നു; സിനിമാസ്ക്രീനില്‍ ചിത്രങ്ങള്‍ എന്നപോലെ.

തീവണ്ടിയില്‍ സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്ന ഒരാള്‍ നിശ്ചലനായിരിക്കവെതന്നെ ഗ്രാമങ്ങളും പട്ടണങ്ങളും വന്നു പൊയ്ക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നു. അതുപോലെതന്നെ ഒരു ജ്ഞാനിയും മിണ്ടാതെ ഇരിക്കവെ വിഷയാദികള്‍ അവന്‍റെ മുമ്പില്‍കൂടി വന്നുപൊയ്ക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നു.

ജ്ഞാനിയും അജ്ഞാനിയും ഒരുപോലെതന്നെ കാണപ്പെടുന്നു. ജ്ഞാനി ലോക വിഷയാദികളില്‍ ഭ്രമിച്ചു പോകുന്നില്ല. ഒന്നിനെയും സ്പര്‍ശിക്കുന്നേയില്ല. അജ്ഞാനി, ദേഹമാണ് താന്‍ എന്ന അജ്ഞാനത്താല്‍ കണ്ടതെല്ലാം സത്യമാണെന്ന് വ്യാമോഹിച്ചു അതുകളോട് ചേര്‍ന്നുകൊള്ളുന്നു.

ആഹാരം കഴിക്കുന്നതിനുമുമ്പേ ഉറങ്ങിപ്പോയ കുഞ്ഞിനെ അമ്മ ഉണര്‍ത്തി ആഹാരിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. ആഹാരം കഴിക്കുന്നു എന്ന ബോധമില്ലാതെതന്നെ കുഞ്ഞ് ആഹാരം കഴിക്കുന്നതുപോലെയാണ് ജ്ഞാനി ചെയ്യുന്ന വ്യവഹാരങ്ങളും. ഇതറിയാതെ അവനും വ്യവഹാരങ്ങള്‍ ചെയ്യുന്നു എന്നു മറ്റുള്ളവര്‍ കരുതുന്നു.

മനസ്സ് മറ്റൊരു വിഷയത്തില്‍ പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്ന ഒരുവന്‍ കഥ കേള്‍ക്കുമ്പോലെയാണ് ജ്ഞാനിയുടെ വ്യവഹാരവും. കഥ കേള്‍ക്കുന്നവന്‍ കഥ എന്താണെന്നറിയാതെ അവന്‍റെ മനസ്സ് സ്വസ്വരൂപ നിര്‍വൃതിയില്‍ ലയിച്ചിരിക്കും.

ത്രിപുടികളെ കണ്ടുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നവര്‍ക്ക് അത് സത്യമല്ലെന്ന് തോന്നുകയില്ല. സ്വപ്നത്തില്‍ നിന്നും ഉണര്‍ന്നവനേ സ്വപ്നം മനോസങ്കല്പമാണെന്നറിയൂ. ഉണര്‍ച്ചയാണെന്ന് പറയുന്ന ജാഗ്രത്ത്‌ അജ്ഞാന നിദ്രയ്ക്കിടയില്‍ തോന്നുന്ന സ്വപ്നമാണ്. അജ്ഞാന നിദ്രയില്‍ നിന്നും ഉണര്‍ന്നവന്‍ ഇപ്പറഞ്ഞ ജാഗ്രല്‍ സ്വപനം മാറി അന്യമറ്റ അഖണ്ഡാനന്ദസ്വരൂപനായി പ്രകാശിക്കും.

ചോദ്യം: അവയവങ്ങളുടെ തളര്‍ച്ചയെ മാറ്റാനാണുറക്കം. അതു മന്ദമാണ്. എന്നാല്‍ ജാഗ്രത്ത്‌ മനോഹരവും രസകരവുമാണ്‌.

മഹര്‍ഷി പക്ഷെ ജ്ഞാനിയെ സംബന്ധിച്ചിടത്തോളം നേരെമറിച്ചാണ്. ‘യാനിശാ സര്‍വ്വഭൂതാനാം തസ്യാം ജാഗ്രതി സംയമി’. മറ്റുള്ളവര്‍ ഉറങ്ങിക്കിടക്കുമ്പോള്‍ ജ്ഞാനി ഉണര്‍ന്നിരിക്കും. നിങ്ങള്‍ ജാഗ്രത്ത്‌ എന്ന് പറയുന്ന ഈ സുഷുപ്തിയില്‍ നിന്നും ഉണരുക.

രമണമഹര്‍ഷി സംസാരിക്കുന്നു - മനസ്സിന്റെ പരിശീലനം

താന്‍ (ആത്മാവ്‌) ശാശ്വതനാണ് (94)
www.sreyas.in/ramana
ഭഗവാന്‍ രമണമഹര്‍ഷി സംസാരിക്കുന്നു, ഒക്ടോബര്‍ 3, 1935

80. ഭഗവാനോട്‌ വളരെ ഭക്തിയുള്ള ഒരു എളിയ ഭക്തന്റെ മൂന്നു വയസ്സുള്ള ഒരേ പുത്രി മരിച്ചുപോയി. അദ്ദേഹം അടുത്തദിവസം തന്നെ ദാരങ്ങളുമായി ആശ്രമത്തില്‍ വന്നു. ഇവരെ ഭഗവാന്‍ ഇപ്രകാരം സമാധാനപ്പെടുത്തി.

മനസ്സിന്റെ പരിശീലനം മൂലം ഒരുത്തന്‌ എത്ര ദുഃഖങ്ങളെയും സഹിക്കാന്‍ കരുത്തുണ്ടാകുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍ തന്റെ ഒരിളം കുഞ്ഞിന്റെ വേര്‍പാട് ദുഃഖങ്ങളെക്കാളും കടുപ്പമാണ്‌. നമുക്കൊരു നിര്‍ണ്ണീത രൂപം ഉണ്ടെന്നു നാം കരുതുന്നിടത്തോളമേ ദുഃഖം നമ്മെ ബാധിക്കുകയുള്ളൂ. നാം നമ്മുടെ സാങ്കല്‍പിക രൂപത്തെ അതിക്രമിച്ചു നിന്നാല്‍ ശാശ്വതമായ ആത്മരൂപത്തില്‍ നില്‍ക്കാം. മരണവുമില്ല, ജനനവുമില്ല, ജനിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്‌ ദേഹമാണ്‌. ദേഹമെന്നത്‌ അഹന്തയുടെ പ്രദര്‍ശനമാണ്‌, എന്നാലും ദേഹത്തെക്കൂടാതെ അഹന്ത വര്‍ത്തിക്കുന്നില്ല. അതെപ്പോഴും ദേഹത്തോടു ചേര്‍ന്നേ ഇരിക്കുകയുള്ളൂ. എന്നാലും ഈ ചേരുവയില്‍ അഹന്തയാണ്‌ മുഖ്യം. ഇത്‌ ജാഗ്രത്തിലേ പ്രത്യക്ഷമാകുന്നുള്ളൂ. ഉറക്കത്തില്‍ പ്രത്യക്ഷമല്ല. അഹന്ത ഒടുങ്ങിയിരിക്കുമ്പോഴും നാമില്ലേ?

ഏതുണര്‍ന്നാല്‍ എല്ലാം ഉണരുന്നുവോ ഏതൊടുങ്ങിയാല്‍ എല്ലാം ഒടുങ്ങിയിരിക്കുന്നുവോ ആ അഹന്ത എവിടെ നിന്നുമുണ്ടാകുന്നുവെന്നു ശ്രദ്ധിച്ചാല്‍ ആത്മാവായ തന്നില്‍ (ആത്മാവില്‍) നിന്നും തന്നെയെന്നു മനസ്സിലാക്കാം. അവ്യക്തമായിട്ടെങ്കിലും ഇതിനെ ഗ്രഹിക്കാന്‍ ശ്രമിക്കുന്നിടത്ത്‌ മനസ്സ്‌ താഴുന്നത്‌ കാണാം. മനസ്സു മായുന്തോരും സ്വരൂപം മേല്‍ക്കുമേല്‍ വ്യക്തമായിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കും. മനസ്സു പൂര്‍ണ്ണമായി നശിച്ചാല്‍ സ്വസ്വരൂപം അവിടെത്തന്നെ പ്രകാശിക്കും. അവിടെ നാനാജീവന്മാരില്ല, ജനനമില്ല, മരണമില്ല, ഏതു ദുഃഖവും തെല്ലുമില്ല.

ഒരാള്‍ ജനിച്ചതു, താനാണെന്നു കരുതുകയാണെങ്കില്‍ അയാള്‍ക്കു മരണഭയത്തില്‍ നിന്നും ഒഴിഞ്ഞു നില്‍ക്കാനാവില്ല. ജനിക്കുന്നത്‌ ദേഹമാണ്‌, നാമല്ല, ശരീരം മനസ്സിന്റെ ഉള്ളടക്കമാണ്‌. അതിനാല്‍ അഹന്ത മനസ്സിന്റെ ഉദയമാണ്‌ ജനനം. ഈ ജനനമാണ്‌ ദുഃഖത്തിനു മൂലകാരണം. അഹന്ത എവിടെ നിന്നും ഉദിക്കുന്നു എന്നു ഉറ്റുനോക്കിയാല്‍ അത് അതിന്റെ ആദികാരണമായ ആത്മാവിലൊടുങ്ങും. ജനമൃതിയറ്റ ശാശ്വത അഖണ്ഡാത്മസ്വരൂപമായി നാം മാത്രമവശേഷിക്കും. ജനനമെന്നും മരണമെന്നും സങ്കല്‍പിച്ചു ദുഃഖിക്കുന്ന അഹന്ത നിര്‍വ്വിശേഷം നശിച്ച സ്ഥാനമാണത്‌.

ചോദ്യം: ഈ അവസ്ഥയെ പ്രാപിക്കുന്നതെങ്ങനെ?
മഹര്‍ഷി: ജനനമരണം. വൃദ്ധിക്ഷയങ്ങള്‍, എല്ലാം സങ്കല്‍പങ്ങള്‍ മാത്രം. സങ്കല്‍പങ്ങള്‍ പൂര്‍വ്വജന്മാര്‍ജിത വാസനയുടെ ഫലമാണ്‌. അവ തീരെ ഒഴിഞ്ഞു മാറണം. അതൊന്നേ നാം ചെയ്യേണ്ടിയുള്ളൂ. വാസനയറ്റിടത്ത്‌ നമ്മുടെ ശുദ്ധ ആത്മസ്വരൂപം പ്രകാശിക്കും.

ചോദ്യം: ശരിയായി മനസ്സിലാകുന്നില്ല.
മഹര്‍ഷി: താന്‍ (ആത്മാവ്‌) ശാശ്വതനാണെന്നെല്ലാവര്‍ക്കും മനസ്സിലാക്കാം. അതുകൊണ്ടാണ്‌ മറ്റു മരണങ്ങളെ കണ്ടിട്ടും തന്റെ മരണത്തെ ആരും ഓര്‍മ്മിക്കാതിരിക്കുന്നത്‌. അത്‌ സത്യമാണ്‌. തന്റെ മരണത്തെ ആരും കാണുന്നുമില്ലല്ലോ. ഇതില്‍ക്കൂടി പ്രകൃതി തന്നെ ആ സത്യത്തെ ബലപ്പെടുത്തുകയാണ്‌. എങ്ങനെയെന്നറിയാന്‍ പാടില്ലെങ്കിലും അത്തരമൊരു വിശ്വാസം പ്രകൃത്യാ തന്നെ എല്ലാവരിലും രൂഢമൂലമായിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്‌. ആത്മാവിന്റെ അനശ്വര പ്രതിഭയെ ദേഹത്തില്‍ പകര്‍ന്നു വച്ച്‌ അനര്‍ത്ഥങ്ങളെ ക്ഷണിച്ചു വരുത്തുന്നതാണ്‌ നാം ചെയ്യുന്ന ദോഷം. ഈ അനര്‍ത്ഥവും ഭ്രാന്തിയും ഒഴിയണം.

ചോദ്യം: അതെങ്ങനെ ഒഴിയും?
മഹര്‍ഷി: ജനിച്ചതു മരിച്ചേ തീരൂ. ഉണ്ടായത്‌ ഇല്ലാതാവുകയും ചെയ്യും. ഭ്രാന്തി അഹന്തയോടു ചേര്‍ന്നു നില്‍ക്കുന്ന ഒന്നാണ്‌. അഹന്ത തോന്നുകയും ഒഴിയുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നതായിരിക്കുന്നു. ആത്മാവോ ഉദിക്കുകയോ മറയുകയോ ചെയ്യുന്നില്ല. പാരമാര്‍ത്ഥികനായ സദ്‌ഗുരുവിന്റെ ഈ അരുള്‍ വചനങ്ങളെ കേട്ട്‌ അതിന്റെ പൊരുളിനെ മനനം ചെയ്തു, ധ്യാനിച്ച്‌ ശിഷ്യനും ആ ഉണ്മയെ അനുഭവിച്ചറിയുന്നു. ശാശ്വതനായ ആത്മാവിന്റെ അനുഭവവും ശാശ്വതമാണ്‌. അതിനെ മറക്കുന്ന ഭ്രാന്തിയെയാണ്‌ നാം മാറ്റേണ്ടത്‌. ഗുരുശ്രവണമാത്രം‍തന്നെ ഈ ഭ്രാന്തിയൊഴിഞ്ഞു മാറുന്നുവെന്നു ചിലര്‍ പറയുന്നു. ശ്രവിച്ചതിനെ മനനം ചെയ്തശേഷമേ മാറുകയുള്ളൂവെന്നു മറ്റു ചിലര്‍ പറയുന്നു. രണ്ടും സത്യമാണ്‌, അധികാരിഭേദത്താല്‍ ഇരുവിധത്തിലുമാകാം.

ചോദ്യം: ധ്യാനം ഒഴിച്ചുകൂടാത്തതാണോ?
മഹര്‍ഷി: മണ്ണും മലയും കൂടി ധ്യാനത്തിലിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ടെന്ന്‌ ഉപനിഷത്തുകള്‍ ഘോഷിക്കുന്നു.

ചോദ്യം: പരിശ്രമവും കര്‍മ്മമാണോ? കര്‍മ്മം കര്‍മ്മഭാരത്തെ വര്‍ദ്ധിപ്പിക്കുകയല്ലേ ചെയ്യൂ? അതെങ്ങനെ ജ്ഞാനസാധനയാകും?
മഹര്‍ഷി: ‘ഞാന്‍, എന്റേതുകള്‍’ എന്ന അഭിമാനം വിട്ടു ചെയ്താല്‍ കര്‍മ്മം ചിത്തശുദ്ധിയെയും അതുമുഖേന ഏകാഗ്രതയെയും ഉളവാക്കും. ഏകാഗ്രമായ ഹൃദയത്തില്‍ സത്യം സ്വയം പ്രകാശിക്കും.

ചോദ്യം: മറ്റു കര്‍മ്മങ്ങളെയെല്ലാം ഒഴിച്ചിട്ട്‌ ധ്യാനത്തില്‍പെട്ടു കഴിയുന്നത്‌ നല്ലതല്ലേ?
മഹര്‍ഷി: ചെയ്തുനോക്കിയാലറിയാം. വാസനകള്‍ അതിനനുവദിക്കുകയില്ല. വാസനകള്‍ ഒഴിഞ്ഞൊഴിഞ്ഞു വരവേ, ഗുരുകാരുണ്യവശാല്‍ പരിപാകതവന്ന്‌ ധ്യാനം നിലച്ചു നില്‍ക്കും.


Courtesy : http://sreyas.in/atma-immortal-ramana-94
VACHANAMRUTHAM by SREE RAMANA MAHARSHI, Translation : Saraswathi S Warrier, Publisher : DC BOOKS, Language : MALAYALAM, Face Value : RS 110
http://www.dcbookshop.net/author/sree-ramana-maharshi

191. യോഗത്തെപ്പറ്റി, ആശ്രമത്തിനു സമീപം താമസിച്ചിരുന്ന എസ്‌. എസ്‌. കോഹന്റെ ഒരു ചോദ്യത്തിനു ഭഗവാന്‍ സമാധാനം പറഞ്ഞു:
പതജ്ഞലിയുടെ യോഗസൂത്രം ‘ചിത്തവൃത്തി നിരോധമേ യോഗം’ എന്നത്‌ എല്ലാ യോഗങ്ങള്‍ക്കും പൊതുവാണ്‌. ആര്‍ക്കും ലക്ഷ്യമായിരിക്കേണ്ടത്‌ മനോവൃത്തിയുടെ ഒഴിവാണ്‌. മാര്‍ഗ്ഗങ്ങളിലേ വ്യത്യാസമുള്ളൂ. ഈ ലക്ഷ്യപ്രാപ്തിയ്ക്കായുള്ള ഏതു പരിശ്രമവും സാധനകളും യോഗം തന്നെ.
1. മനോവൃത്തികളെ പല വിധത്തില്‍ ഒടുക്കാം. മനസ്സെന്നതെന്താണെന്നു ശ്രദ്ധിച്ചാല്‍ അതിന്റെ സഞ്ചാരം ഇല്ലാതാവും. വിഷയങ്ങളൊടുങ്ങിയ ശുദ്ധമനസ്സ്‌ ആത്മാകാരമായിത്തീരും. ഇത്‌ ജ്ഞാനമാര്‍ഗ്ഗം.
2. അഹന്തയുദിക്കുന്നതെവിടെ, എങ്ങനെ എന്നും ഉള്ള അന്തര്‍മുഖവിചാരണയാല്‍ അഹന്ത തന്‍ മൂലകാരണമായ ആത്മസ്വരൂപത്തിലൊടുങ്ങും. ആത്മബോധമവശേഷിക്കും.,
3. ഒരു വസ്തുവില്‍ മാത്രം മനസ്സിനെ ഊന്നിയാല്‍ മറ്റു ചിന്തകളെല്ലാമൊഴിഞ്ഞു ഒറ്റപ്പെട്ട മനസ്സ്‌ ആത്മാകാരമായിത്തീരും.
4. ചിലര്‍ക്ക്‌ പ്രാണായാമാദി, ഹഠയോഗാദി സാധനയാല്‍ മനോനാശം എളുപ്പമാണെന്നു തോന്നും.
മറ്റു മാര്‍ഗ്ഗങ്ങള്‍ മൂലം മനോലയത്തില്‍ വീണുപോകാതെ ജാഗ്രത പാലിക്കണം. അത്മബോധം തെറ്റിപ്പോകാതിരിക്കാന്‍വേണ്ടി പതജ്ഞലി പിന്നീട്‌ പ്രത്യാഹാരം, ധ്യാനം, സമാധി എന്നീ അനന്തര നടപടികളെ എടുത്തു പ്രസ്താവിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്‌. പ്രാണായാമത്താലുണ്ടാകുന്ന താല്‍ക്കാലിക മനോലയമാണ്‌ നമ്മുടെ ഉദ്ദേശമെങ്കില്‍ അത്‌ മയക്കുമരുന്നാലും സാധ്യമാണ്‌. മോക്ഷമെന്നത്‌ ആത്മോദയമല്ല, മനോനാശമാണ്‌.
ഭഗവാന്‍ രമണമഹര്‍ഷി സംസാരിക്കുന്നു, ഫെബ്രുവരി 12, 1936

159. കോഹന്‍: ആത്മസാക്ഷാല്‍ക്കാരത്തിന്‌ സമാധി അത്യന്താപേക്ഷിതമാണോ?
മഹര്‍ഷി: ജാഗ്രദ്‌, സ്വപ്ന, സുഷുപ്തികളിലും നാം ആത്മാവില്‍ തന്നെ ഇരിക്കുന്നു. നാമതില്‍ നിന്നും വ്യതിചലിച്ചു നമ്മെ ഇന്ദ്രിയദേഹാദികളോട്‌ ബന്ധിപ്പിച്ചാല്‍ നാം ആളു മാറും. സമാധി ഒരു മാതിരി ലയം പോലെ തോന്നപ്പെടാം. ആത്മാവായ താന്‍ സങ്കല്‍പവികല്‍‍പങ്ങളെ കൂടാതെ ഉള്ള നാളൊക്കെയുമുള്ളതായിട്ടിരിക്കും.

ചോദ്യം: ശിരസ്സിലിരിക്കുന്ന ഒളിയെ ഹൃദയത്തിലുണരണമെന്നു ചിലര്‍ പറയുന്നതിന്റെ താല്‌പര്യമെന്താണ്‌?
മഹര്‍ഷി: ഹൃദയത്തില്‍ മുന്‍പിനാലേ തന്നെ പ്രകാശമില്ലേ? സര്‍വ്വ വ്യാപകമായ ആത്മ പ്രകാശം അവിടവിടെയിരിക്കുന്നതല്ല.

ചോദ്യം: കര്‍മ്മയോഗിക്കും ഭക്തനും സമാധിയില്‍ കൂടെത്തന്നെ സാക്ഷാല്‍ക്കാരം ഉണ്ടാകണമെന്നുണ്ടോ?
മഹര്‍ഷി: ഏതോ ഒന്നില്‍ മനം ഏകാഗ്രമായാല്‍ മനസ്സതില്‍ ഒടുങ്ങുന്നു. അതിനെയാണ്‌ സമാധി എന്നു പറയുന്നത്‌. മറ്റെല്ലാം മറയും. ആത്മാവ് അവശേഷിക്കും. കര്‍മ്മയോഗിയ്ക്കോ ഭക്തനോ ആര്‍ക്കും ഈ നിലയുണ്ടാകണം.

160. ചോദ്യം: ഹൃദയമെന്താണ്‌? അതിന്റെ സ്ഫുരണമെന്താണ്‌?
മഹര്‍ഷി: ഹൃദയവും സ്ഫുരണവും ആത്മാവ്‌ തന്നെയാണ്‌. സ്ഫുരണത്തിനൊരാധാരം. ആവശ്യമാണ്‌. അതിനെപ്പറ്റി വിചാരസംഗ്രഹത്തില്‍ പറഞ്ഞിട്ടുണ്ട്‌.
സ്ഫുരണം ആത്മാവു തന്നെ. അതില്‍ ഇതെല്ലാമടങ്ങും. അത്‌ അവര്‍ണ്ണ്യമായ ഒരനുഭവമാണ്‌. സര്‍വ്വാതീതമായ അതില്‍ മനസ്സൊടുങ്ങി നില്‍ക്കണം.

Courtesy : http://sreyas.in/manam-ekagratha-ramana-149