Parcel 3 - 28 March 2020
Even ordinarily we notice that our pain is related to the attitude of our mind. When we have some acute pain, and a person we like walks in, our pain is relieved to some extent. When a person we dislike walks in, our pain becomes worse. In other words, our pain increases or decreases according to the state of our mind at a particular moment. Sri Bhagavan asks us to remove the mind altogether so that we won't feel the pain at all. He says: 'Therefore turn inwards and seek the Self and there will be an end both of the world and its miseries.. When body-consciousness goes, suffering goes. Prayer is good in that it makes us lose ourselves in the contemplation of the Supreme Being. When the mind is lost in contemplation, there is considerable reduction in pain. But prayer will not remove suffering totally. The individual will feel the suffering when his mind is not at prayer. Puja, japa, and prayer are all good in that they take our mind off our suffering for a while.
While they are all good as a temporary measure, removal of suffering is possible only through elimination of body-consciousness. Sri Bhagavan says: 'If one remains free from pain thus, there won't be any pain anywhere. The trouble now is due to your seeing the world outside yourself and thinking there is pain in it. But both the world and the pain are within you; if you turn inward, there will be no pain.'
To the charge that those who eliminate suffering thus are selfish and do not worry about others, Sri Bhagavan says: 'The world is not external to you. Because you wrongly identify yourself with the body, you see the world outside you and its suffering becomes apparent to you; but the world and its sufferings are not real. Seek the reality and get rid of this unreal feeling.' The understanding of oneself is the ending of suffering. The question of selfishness doesn't arise as in that state, only the Self will be seen in everybody and everything. But Sri Bhagavan doesn't say we should be indifferent to the sufferings of others. So long as we have body-consciousness, we shall be conscious of our sufferings and those of others and would be interested in removing them. Compassion is really 'your pain in my heart'. When we remove the sufferings of others, we become less 'me'-centered. But in this way, we cannot remove all the pain in the world. As pain is dependent on the ego, Sri Bhagavan suggests the removal of the ego; pain will also disappear.
This is not just theory. Sri Bhagavan exemplified what he said. When he had cancer, he behaved as if it belonged to another. He was as serene as ever and gave darshan to all till the very end. There wasn't a trace of pain on his face. His detachment from the body was total.
RELIGION'S VIEWS ON BIRTH AND DEATH
Sri Ramana Maharshi on Death
D: How long is the interval between death and re-birth?
Bhagavan would never admit that differences in mode of expression or formulation of doctrine between the various religions signified real contradiction, since the Truth to which they point is One and Immutable.
D.: Is the Buddhist view that there is no continuous entity answering to the idea of the individual soul right or not? Is this consistent with the Hindu doctrine of a reincarnating ego? Is the soul a continuous entity which reincarnates again and again, according to the Hindu doctrine, or is it a mere conglomeration of mental tendencies?
B.: The real Self is continuous and unaffected.
The reincarnating ego belongs to a lower plane, that of thought. It is transcended by Self-realisation.
Reincarnations are due to a spurious offshoot of Being and are therefore denied by the Buddhists. The human state is due to a mingling of the sentient with the insentient.
Sometimes it was not a question of reincarnation but grieving over the death of a loved one. A lady who had come from North India asked Bhagavan whether it was possible to know
the posthumous state of an individual.
B.: It is possible, but why try. Such facts are only as real as the person who seeks them.
L.: The birth of a person and his life and death are real to us.
B.: Because you wrongly identify yourself with the body, you think of the other also as a body. Neither you nor he is the body.
L.: But from my own level of understanding, I regard myself and my son as real.
B.: The birth of the 'I'-thought is a person's birth and its death is his death. After the 'I'-thought has arisen, the wrong identification with the body rises. Identifying yourself with the body makes you falsely identify others also with their bodies. Just as your body was born and grows and will die, so you think the other also was born, grew and died. Did you think of your son before he was born? The thought came after his birth and continues even after his death. He is your son only in so far as you think of him. Where has he gone? To the source from which he sprang. So long as you continue to exist, he does too. But if you cease to identify yourself with the body and realise the true Self, this confusion will vanish. You are eternal and others also will be found to be eternal. Until this is realised there will always be grief due to false values which are caused by wrong knowledge and wrong identification.
On the death of King George V, two devotees were discussing the matter in the hall and seemed upset.
Bhagavan said: What is it to you who dies or is lost?
Die yourself and be lost, becoming one with the Self of all (on the ego's extinction).
And finally, about the importance of death. Religions stress the importance of the frame of mind in which a person dies and his last thoughts at death. But Bhagavan reminded people that it is necessary to be well prepared beforehand; if not, undesirable tendencies will rise up at death, too powerful to be controlled.
D.: Even if I cannot realise in my lifetime, let me at least not forget on my death-bed. Let me have a glimpse of Reality at least at the moment of death, so that it may stand me in good stead in the future.
B.: It is said in the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter VIII, that whatever is a person's last thought at death determines his next birth. But it is necessary to experience Reality now, in this life, in order to experience it at death. Consider whether this present moment is any different from the last one at death and try to be in the desired state.
Source: Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi in his own words by Arthur Osborne, Chapter Two
RAMAKANT MAHARAJ
RAMAKANT Maharaj is a direct disciple of the late Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and spent 19 years with him. From 1962, he visited Nisargadatta Maharaj and listened to his lectures regularly, until his master's Mahasamadhi in 1981. During the last decade or so at his ashram in Nashik, Ramakant Maharaj has been introducing devotees from around the world to the ultimate Truth.
Ramakant Maharaj: Why all the struggle and fighting to understand words and meanings, all this intellectual analysis, comparisons and conclusions? Reality has nothing to do with words, and nothing to do with the intellect. It is beyond all body-knowledge.
You can't say how you were prior to beingness.
There were no words, no knowledge, nothing.
Words cannot describe "nothing".
Spiritual knowledge is OK for the body-form, for as long as the body-form exists. When the body-form disappears, who knows what will happen? After conviction, this knowledge [jnana] comes quick and sharp, very quickly, with an edge. When this happens, there is no longer any need for peace or happiness.
Happiness and peace are for the body,
Because existence in the body-form is intolerable.
The moment you are convinced that the body-form is not your ultimate Truth, then whatever "negative" thing may happen to the body, is viewed with some distance, like something that has happened to your neighbour's child, and not to you. You will feel it because this body is a material body. At the same time though, you will not be involved because it is your neighbour's child, and not you.
Detachment is one of the signs of realisation.
Question: Before this stage, there is a strong sense of ownership, that people own their bodies which is very important.
Maharaj: Oh yes! But not ownership, you are not the owner. It is the five elements. You are staying on a rental basis. It is just the borrowing force of the body: you are borrowing water, borrowing food. For a few years you have a license, then the license is extended, Keep Out! As soon as you stop providing food and water?
Question: Then you get thrown out of your house!
Maharaj: It is a cage, not a house. You are staying in a cage and chewing a carrot. It may be a golden cage, silver cage, brass cage, whatever comes one's way. Rich people make a golden cage, and the poor people get an iron cage.
Question: It is still a cage.
Maharaj: The sage is staying within that cage. It is a "sage-cage". The moment you have conviction, you will break open that cage. I'm giving you courage:
You are to leave! Open the cage!
Open it wide!
You are a free bird!
These are the ways of conviction, using stories, various words, metaphors and analogies. But listen to me! The whole of spiritual science is just talking about this unborn child.
At the initial stage, people do listen.
But afterwards, there are not so many
Who continue to go deeper and deeper into the Reality.
They much prefer to dissect the teachings And contest the words that have been used to express them.
When it comes to the crunch, generally, people are not so keen to turn within and be quiet. They are more comfortable with the old ways of body-knowledge. They find it easier to discuss and debate the meaning of Reality. This is pointless!
Reality is not up for discussion or debate.
This is why I ask everyone the same question:
"What is your conclusion after reading all the spiritual books?" If you are fearless, then OK, you will hopefully be fearless when the time comes to leave the body. But make sure! If fear is still roaming around you, then all your literary pursuits have been a waste of time.
Trembling in the face of fear, is not knowledge.
Knowledge has to be useful to you on your deathbed.
Spirituality makes you fearless, with the result that you have spontaneous peace and happiness. Just like, if you have no money in your pocket, you have no reason to be afraid of the thief! Let the thief come! Your pocket is empty! Now that you have conviction, it will help you at this time. There will be no fear, nothing, just peace. Some day or other, you are to leave this house.
Every day you are to say to yourself,
"This house is not mine."Forget it!
You have an opportunity to use this body to know your Selfless Self, and how you were prior to beingness. Every moment in your life is very, very important. Every moment in your life is very, very important. Otherwise, there will be another dream, another dream, another dream.
You are to come out of this vicious circle.
You can do it with your own power.
Break the vicious circle with your own power.
You can break it because
You are ultimate Reality.
Don't sign anything blindly again! You are unborn. Be cautious! Don't ignore Reality because of pressures from external forces, invisible forces. Don't ignore Reality because of spiritual forces, physical forces, mental forces, logical forces, intellectual forces.
Don't ignore Reality.
Everyone's trying to impress his own ideas in the name of the masters. Generally, it is expected that you nod your head to them and say, "Correct, correct". Not you! Not you, not you any more!
Now you can decide what is correct or incorrect,
Authentic or inauthentic,
Using the mirror of knowledge,
In the light of that mirror of knowledge,
You can discriminate and decide.
You have conviction! You may need to use some words, just remember that words are not ultimate Truth.
Don't become a victim of words again.
Don't fall into that trap again.
It happens. I have seen it happening.
Question: I am not going to be seduced by any books or teachers, Maharaj. You don't have to worry about that. I understand their body-knowledge limitations. And why should I look for book-knowledge, when Self-knowledge is unfolding as never before?
Maharaj: Very nice! We have created the words and given them their meanings. We are using words all the time. Take the words, "God" and "donkey". We say "God" is a deity, whereas "donkey" is an animal. If we were to say that "Donkey means Deity", what happens? Nothing! It is simply the words that have changed, not the essence or substance. Forget about the words. Be with Reality! Have a nice time, enjoy your spirituality.
Be quiet and happy!
TALK NO 30
Talk 30.
you are not the sinner
------
Mr. N. Natesa Iyer, the leader of the Bar in a South Indian town, an
orthodox Brahmin, asked: “Are the gods Iswara or Vishnu and their
sacred regions Kailasa or Vaikuntha real?
M.: As real as you are in this body.
D.: Do they possess a vyavahara satya, i.e., phenomenal existence,
like my body? Or are they fictions like the horn of a hare?
M.: They do exist.
D.: If so, they must be somewhere. Where are they?
M.: Persons who have seen them say that they exist somewhere. So
we must accept their statement.
D.: Where do they exist?
M.: In you.
D.: Then it is only idea - that which I can create and control?
M.: Everything is like that.
D.: But I can create pure fictions e.g., hare’s horn or only part
truths, e.g. mirage, while there are also facts irrespective of my
imagination. Do the gods Iswara or Vishnu exist like that?
M.: Yes.
D.: Is He subject to pralaya (cosmic dissolution)?
M.: Why? Man becoming aware of the Self transcends cosmic
dissolution (pralaya) and becomes liberated (mukta). Why not
God (Iswara) who is infinitely wiser and abler?
D.: Do devas and pisachas (devils) exist similarly?
M.: Yes.
D.: How are we to conceive of Supreme Consciousness (Chaitanya
Brahman)?
M.: As that which is.
D.: Should it be thought of as Self-Effulgent?
M.: It transcends light and darkness. An individual (jiva) sees both.
The Self enlightens the individual to see light and darkness.
D.: Should it be realised as “I am not the body, nor the agent, nor the
enjoyer, etc.”?
M.: Why these thoughts? Do we now think that we are men, etc.? By
not thinking so, do we cease to be men?
D.: Should one realise it then by the scriptural text such as “There
are no differences here”.
M.: Why even that?
D.: If we think “I am the real,” will it do?
M.: All thoughts are inconsistent with realisation. The correct state is
to exclude thoughts of ourselves and all other thoughts. Thought
is one thing and realisation is quite another.
D.: Is it not necessary or at least advantageous to render the body
invisible in one’s spiritual progress?
M.: Why do you think of that? Are you the body?
D.: No. But advanced spirituality must effect a change in the body.
Is it not so?
M.: What change do you desire in the body, and why?
D.: Is not invisibility evidence of advanced Wisdom (jnana)?
M.: In that case, all those who spoke, who wrote and who passed their
lives in the sight of others must be considered ignorant (ajnanis)!
D.: But the sages Vasistha and Valmiki possessed such powers?
M.: It might have been their fate (prarabdha) to develop such powers
(siddhis) side by side with their wisdom (jnana). Why should you
aim at that which is not essential but apt to prove a hindrance to
wisdom (jnana)? Does the Sage (Jnani) feel oppressed by his body
being visible?
D.: No.
M.: A hypnotist can render himself suddenly invisible. Is he therefore
a Sage (Jnani)?
D.: No.
M.: Visibility and invisibility refer to a seer. Who is that seer? Solve
that first. Other matters are unimportant.
D.: The Vedas contain conflicting accounts of Cosmogony. Ether is
said to be the first creation in one place; vital energy (prana) in
another place; something else in yet another; water in still another,
and so on. How are these to be reconciled? Do not these impair the
credibility of the Vedas?
M.: Different seers saw different aspects of truths at different times,
each emphasising some one view. Why do you worry about their
conflicting statements? The essential aim of the Veda is to teach us the
nature of the imperishable Atman and show us that we are That.
D.: I am satisfied with that portion.
M.: Then treat all the rest as artha vada (auxiliary arguments) or
expositions for the sake of the ignorant who seek to trace the genesis
of things and matters.
D.: I am a sinner. I do not perform religious sacrifices (homas), etc.
Shall I have painful rebirths for that reason? Pray save me!
M.: Why do you say that you are a sinner?
Your trust in God is sufficient to save you from rebirths. Cast all burden on Him.
In the Tiruvachagam it is said:
“Though I am worse than a dog, you have graciously undertaken to protect me. This delusion of birth and death is maintained by you. Moreover, am I the person to sift and judge? Am I the Lord here?
Oh Maheswara! It is for you to
roll me through bodies (by births and deaths) or to keep me fixed
at your own feet.” Therefore have faith and that will save you.
D.: Sir, I have faith - and still I encounter difficulties. Weakness and
giddiness afflict me after I practise concentration.
M.: Breath-control (pranayama) properly performed should increase
one’s strength.
D.: I have my professional work and yet I want to be in perpetual
dhyana. Will they conflict with each other?
M.: There will be no conflict. As you practise both and develop
your powers you will be able to attend to both. You will begin
to look on business as a dream. Says the Bhagavad Gita: “That
which is the night of all beings, for the disciplined man is the
time of waking; when other beings are waking, then is it night
for the sage who seeth.” (11.69.)
ASHTA VAKRA CHAPTER 8
Chapter VIII. MIND
__
ASHTAVAKRA said:
1. Bondage is when the mind longs for something, grieves about something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased about something or displeased about something.
2. Liberation is when the mind does not long for anything, grieve about anything, reject anything, or hold on to anything, and is not pleased about anything or displeased about anything.
3. Bondage is when the mind is tangled in one of the senses, and liberation is when the mind is not tangled in any of the senses.
4. When there is no "me", that is liberation, and when there is "me" there is bondage. Consider this carefully, and neither hold on to anything nor reject anything.
????????????? ?? ??? ?????????????????: |
?????? ??????????? ? ???? ??? ?????? || 31|| 6th chapter
The yogi who is established in union with me, and worships me as the Supreme Soul residing in all beings, dwells only in me, though engaged in all kinds of activities.
Commentary:
God is all-pervading in the world. He is also seated in everyone’s heart as the Supreme Soul. In verse 18.61, Shree Krishna states: “I am situated in the hearts of all living beings.” Thus, within the body of each living being, there are two personalities—the soul and the Supreme Soul.
Those in material consciousness see everyone as the body, and make distinctions on the basis of caste, creed, sex, age, social status, etc.
Those in superior consciousness see everyone as the soul. Thus in verse 5.18, Shree Krishna states:
“The learned, with the eyes of divine knowledge, see with equal vision a Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater.”
The elevated yogis in even higher consciousness see God seated as the Supreme Soul in everyone. They also perceive the world, but they are unconcerned about it. They are like the hansas, the swans who can drink the milk and leave out the water from a mixture of milk and water.
The most elevated yogis are called paramahansas. They only see God, and have no perception of the world. This was the level of realization of Shukadev, the son of Ved Vyas, as stated in the Shrimad Bhagavatam:
ya? pravrajantam anupetam apeta k?itya?
dvaipayano viraha-katara ajuhava
putreti tan-mayataya taravo ’bhinedusta?
sarva-bhuta-h?idaya? munim anato ’smi (1.2.2)[v24]
When Shukadev entered the renounced order of sanyas, walking away from home in his childhood itself, he was at such an elevated level that he had no perception of the world. He did not even notice the beautiful women bathing in the nude in a lake, while he happened to pass by there. All that he perceived was God; all that he heard was God; all that he thought was God.
In this verse, Shree Krishna is talking about the perfected yogis who are in the third and fourth stages of the above levels of realization.
Gita??
??????????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???????? |
???? ?? ??? ?? ??:?? ? ???? ???? ??: || 32|| 6th chspter Gita
I regard them to be perfect yogis who see the true equality of all living beings and respond to the joys and sorrows of others as if they were their own.
Commentary:
We consider all the limbs of our body as ours, and are equally concerned if any of them is damaged. We are incontrovertible in the conviction that the harm done to any of our limbs is harm done to ourselves. Similarly, those who see God in all beings consider the joys and sorrows of others as their own. Therefore, such yogis are always the well-wishers of all souls and they strive for the eternal benefit of all. This is the sama-darshana (equality of vision) of perfected yogis.
ASHTAVAKRA CHAP 8
ASHTAVAKRA said:
1. Bondage is when the mind longs for something, grieves about something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased about something or displeased about something.
2. Liberation is when the mind does not long for anything, grieve about anything, reject anything, or hold on to anything, and is not pleased about anything or displeased about anything.
3. Bondage is when the mind is tangled in one of the senses, and liberation is when the mind is not tangled in any of the senses.
4. When there is no "me", that is liberation, and when there is "me" there is bondage. Consider this carefully, and neither hold on to anything nor reject anything.
Chapter 4- Astavakra Gita - Knower
--
ASHTAVAKRA said:
1. The wise person of Self-knowledge, playing the game of worldly enjoyment, bears no resemblance whatever to samsara's bewildered beasts of burden.
2. Truly the yogi feels no excitement even at being established in that state which all the devas from Indra down yearn for disconsolately.
3. He who has known That is untouched within by good deeds or bad, just as space is not touched by smoke, however much it may appear to be.
4. Who can prevent the great-souled person who has known this whole world as Himself from living as he pleases?
5. Of all four categories of beings, from Brahma down to the last clump of grass, only the man of knowledge is capable of eliminating desire and aversion.
6. Rare is the man who knows Himself as the non-dual Lord of the world, and he who knows This is not afraid of anything.
Ekatma Panchakam. (These are the last verses composed by Bhagavan.)
1. When, forgetting the Self, one thinks
That the body is oneself and goes
Through innumerable births
And in the end remembers and becomes
The Self, know this is only like
Awaking from a dream wherein
One has wandered over all the world.
2. One ever is the Self. To ask oneself
`Who and whereabouts am I?'
Is like the drunken man's enquiring
`Who am I?' and `Where am I?'
3. The body is within the Self. And yet
One thinks one is inside the inert body,
Like some spectator who supposes
That the screen on which the picture is thrown
Is within the picture.
4. Does an ornament of gold exist
Apart from the gold? Can the body exist
Apart from the Self?
The ignorant one thinks `I am the body';
The enlightened knows `I am the Self'.
5. The Self alone, the Sole Reality,
Exists for ever.
If of yore the First of Teachers
Revealed it through unbroken silence
Say who can reveal it in spoken words?
(Translated by Prof. K. Swaminathan)
SKILLFUL DEALING WITH DESIRES
Q: What is the best way of dealing with desires, with a view to getting rid of them — satisfying them or suppressing them?
Bhagavan: If a desire can be got rid of by satisfying it, there will be no harm in satisfying such a desire. But desires generally are not eradicated by satisfaction. Trying to root them out that way is like pouring spirits to quench a fire.
At the same time, the proper remedy is not forcible suppression, since such repression is bound to react sooner or later into forceful surging up with undesirable consequences.
The proper way to get rid of a desire is to find out “Who gets the desire? What is its source?” When this is found, the desire is rooted out and it will never again emerge or grow.
- Day by Day, p. 197
Q: Is there such a thing as free will?
A: Whose will is it ?
So long as there is the sense of doership, there is the sense of enjoyment and of individual will. But if this sense is lost through the practice of vichara, the divine will will act and guide the course of events. Fate is overcome by jnana, Selfknowledge,
which is beyond will and fate.
Q: I can understand that the outstanding events in a man's life, such as his country, nationality, family, career or profession,
marriage, death, etc., are all predestined by his karma, but can it be that all the details of his life, down to the minutest, have already
been determined?
Now, for instance, I put this fan that is in my hand down on the floor here. Can it be that it was already decided that on such and such a day, at such and such an hour, I should move the fan like this and put it down here?
A: Certainly. Whatever this body is to do and whatever experiences it is to pass through was already decided when it came into existence.
Q: What becomes then of man's freedom and responsibility for his actions?
A: The only freedom man has is to strive for and acquire the jnana which will enable him not to identify himself with the body. The body will go through the actions rendered inevitable by prarabdha and a man is free either to identify himself with the body and be attached to the fruits of its actions, or to be detached from it and be a mere
witness of its activities.
Q: So free will is a myth?
A: Free will holds the field in association with individuality. As long as individuality lasts there is free will. All the scriptures are based on this fact and they advise directing the free will in the right channel.
Find out to whom free will or destiny matters. Find out where they come from, and abide in their source. If you do this, both of them are transcended. That is the only purpose of discussing these questions.
To whom do these questions arise? Find out and be at peace.
Q: If what is destined to happen will happen, is there any use in prayer or effort or should we just remain idle?
A: There are only two ways to conquer destiny or be independent of it.
One is to enquire for whom is this destiny and discover that only the ego is bound by destiny and not the Self, and that the ego is non-existent.
The other way is to kill the ego by completely surrendering to the Lord, by realising one's helplessness and saying all the time, `Not I but thou, O Lord',
giving up all sense of `I' and `mine' and
leaving it to the Lord to do what he likes with you.
Surrender can never be regarded as complete so long as the devotee wants this or that from the Lord.
True surrender is love of God for the sake of love and nothing else, not even for the sake of liberation. In other words, complete effacement of the ego is necessary to conquer destiny, whether you achieve this effacement through self-enquiry or through
bhakti marga.
? Be as you are.
The teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi edited by David Godman.
While they are all good as a temporary measure, removal of suffering is possible only through elimination of body-consciousness. Sri Bhagavan says: 'If one remains free from pain thus, there won't be any pain anywhere. The trouble now is due to your seeing the world outside yourself and thinking there is pain in it. But both the world and the pain are within you; if you turn inward, there will be no pain.'
To the charge that those who eliminate suffering thus are selfish and do not worry about others, Sri Bhagavan says: 'The world is not external to you. Because you wrongly identify yourself with the body, you see the world outside you and its suffering becomes apparent to you; but the world and its sufferings are not real. Seek the reality and get rid of this unreal feeling.' The understanding of oneself is the ending of suffering. The question of selfishness doesn't arise as in that state, only the Self will be seen in everybody and everything. But Sri Bhagavan doesn't say we should be indifferent to the sufferings of others. So long as we have body-consciousness, we shall be conscious of our sufferings and those of others and would be interested in removing them. Compassion is really 'your pain in my heart'. When we remove the sufferings of others, we become less 'me'-centered. But in this way, we cannot remove all the pain in the world. As pain is dependent on the ego, Sri Bhagavan suggests the removal of the ego; pain will also disappear.
This is not just theory. Sri Bhagavan exemplified what he said. When he had cancer, he behaved as if it belonged to another. He was as serene as ever and gave darshan to all till the very end. There wasn't a trace of pain on his face. His detachment from the body was total.
RELIGION'S VIEWS ON BIRTH AND DEATH
Sri Ramana Maharshi on Death
D: How long is the interval between death and re-birth?
Bhagavan would never admit that differences in mode of expression or formulation of doctrine between the various religions signified real contradiction, since the Truth to which they point is One and Immutable.
D.: Is the Buddhist view that there is no continuous entity answering to the idea of the individual soul right or not? Is this consistent with the Hindu doctrine of a reincarnating ego? Is the soul a continuous entity which reincarnates again and again, according to the Hindu doctrine, or is it a mere conglomeration of mental tendencies?
B.: The real Self is continuous and unaffected.
The reincarnating ego belongs to a lower plane, that of thought. It is transcended by Self-realisation.
Reincarnations are due to a spurious offshoot of Being and are therefore denied by the Buddhists. The human state is due to a mingling of the sentient with the insentient.
Sometimes it was not a question of reincarnation but grieving over the death of a loved one. A lady who had come from North India asked Bhagavan whether it was possible to know
the posthumous state of an individual.
B.: It is possible, but why try. Such facts are only as real as the person who seeks them.
L.: The birth of a person and his life and death are real to us.
B.: Because you wrongly identify yourself with the body, you think of the other also as a body. Neither you nor he is the body.
L.: But from my own level of understanding, I regard myself and my son as real.
B.: The birth of the 'I'-thought is a person's birth and its death is his death. After the 'I'-thought has arisen, the wrong identification with the body rises. Identifying yourself with the body makes you falsely identify others also with their bodies. Just as your body was born and grows and will die, so you think the other also was born, grew and died. Did you think of your son before he was born? The thought came after his birth and continues even after his death. He is your son only in so far as you think of him. Where has he gone? To the source from which he sprang. So long as you continue to exist, he does too. But if you cease to identify yourself with the body and realise the true Self, this confusion will vanish. You are eternal and others also will be found to be eternal. Until this is realised there will always be grief due to false values which are caused by wrong knowledge and wrong identification.
On the death of King George V, two devotees were discussing the matter in the hall and seemed upset.
Bhagavan said: What is it to you who dies or is lost?
Die yourself and be lost, becoming one with the Self of all (on the ego's extinction).
And finally, about the importance of death. Religions stress the importance of the frame of mind in which a person dies and his last thoughts at death. But Bhagavan reminded people that it is necessary to be well prepared beforehand; if not, undesirable tendencies will rise up at death, too powerful to be controlled.
D.: Even if I cannot realise in my lifetime, let me at least not forget on my death-bed. Let me have a glimpse of Reality at least at the moment of death, so that it may stand me in good stead in the future.
B.: It is said in the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter VIII, that whatever is a person's last thought at death determines his next birth. But it is necessary to experience Reality now, in this life, in order to experience it at death. Consider whether this present moment is any different from the last one at death and try to be in the desired state.
Source: Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi in his own words by Arthur Osborne, Chapter Two
RAMAKANT MAHARAJ
RAMAKANT Maharaj is a direct disciple of the late Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and spent 19 years with him. From 1962, he visited Nisargadatta Maharaj and listened to his lectures regularly, until his master's Mahasamadhi in 1981. During the last decade or so at his ashram in Nashik, Ramakant Maharaj has been introducing devotees from around the world to the ultimate Truth.
Ramakant Maharaj: Why all the struggle and fighting to understand words and meanings, all this intellectual analysis, comparisons and conclusions? Reality has nothing to do with words, and nothing to do with the intellect. It is beyond all body-knowledge.
You can't say how you were prior to beingness.
There were no words, no knowledge, nothing.
Words cannot describe "nothing".
Spiritual knowledge is OK for the body-form, for as long as the body-form exists. When the body-form disappears, who knows what will happen? After conviction, this knowledge [jnana] comes quick and sharp, very quickly, with an edge. When this happens, there is no longer any need for peace or happiness.
Happiness and peace are for the body,
Because existence in the body-form is intolerable.
The moment you are convinced that the body-form is not your ultimate Truth, then whatever "negative" thing may happen to the body, is viewed with some distance, like something that has happened to your neighbour's child, and not to you. You will feel it because this body is a material body. At the same time though, you will not be involved because it is your neighbour's child, and not you.
Detachment is one of the signs of realisation.
Question: Before this stage, there is a strong sense of ownership, that people own their bodies which is very important.
Maharaj: Oh yes! But not ownership, you are not the owner. It is the five elements. You are staying on a rental basis. It is just the borrowing force of the body: you are borrowing water, borrowing food. For a few years you have a license, then the license is extended, Keep Out! As soon as you stop providing food and water?
Question: Then you get thrown out of your house!
Maharaj: It is a cage, not a house. You are staying in a cage and chewing a carrot. It may be a golden cage, silver cage, brass cage, whatever comes one's way. Rich people make a golden cage, and the poor people get an iron cage.
Question: It is still a cage.
Maharaj: The sage is staying within that cage. It is a "sage-cage". The moment you have conviction, you will break open that cage. I'm giving you courage:
You are to leave! Open the cage!
Open it wide!
You are a free bird!
These are the ways of conviction, using stories, various words, metaphors and analogies. But listen to me! The whole of spiritual science is just talking about this unborn child.
At the initial stage, people do listen.
But afterwards, there are not so many
Who continue to go deeper and deeper into the Reality.
They much prefer to dissect the teachings And contest the words that have been used to express them.
When it comes to the crunch, generally, people are not so keen to turn within and be quiet. They are more comfortable with the old ways of body-knowledge. They find it easier to discuss and debate the meaning of Reality. This is pointless!
Reality is not up for discussion or debate.
This is why I ask everyone the same question:
"What is your conclusion after reading all the spiritual books?" If you are fearless, then OK, you will hopefully be fearless when the time comes to leave the body. But make sure! If fear is still roaming around you, then all your literary pursuits have been a waste of time.
Trembling in the face of fear, is not knowledge.
Knowledge has to be useful to you on your deathbed.
Spirituality makes you fearless, with the result that you have spontaneous peace and happiness. Just like, if you have no money in your pocket, you have no reason to be afraid of the thief! Let the thief come! Your pocket is empty! Now that you have conviction, it will help you at this time. There will be no fear, nothing, just peace. Some day or other, you are to leave this house.
Every day you are to say to yourself,
"This house is not mine."Forget it!
You have an opportunity to use this body to know your Selfless Self, and how you were prior to beingness. Every moment in your life is very, very important. Every moment in your life is very, very important. Otherwise, there will be another dream, another dream, another dream.
You are to come out of this vicious circle.
You can do it with your own power.
Break the vicious circle with your own power.
You can break it because
You are ultimate Reality.
Don't sign anything blindly again! You are unborn. Be cautious! Don't ignore Reality because of pressures from external forces, invisible forces. Don't ignore Reality because of spiritual forces, physical forces, mental forces, logical forces, intellectual forces.
Don't ignore Reality.
Everyone's trying to impress his own ideas in the name of the masters. Generally, it is expected that you nod your head to them and say, "Correct, correct". Not you! Not you, not you any more!
Now you can decide what is correct or incorrect,
Authentic or inauthentic,
Using the mirror of knowledge,
In the light of that mirror of knowledge,
You can discriminate and decide.
You have conviction! You may need to use some words, just remember that words are not ultimate Truth.
Don't become a victim of words again.
Don't fall into that trap again.
It happens. I have seen it happening.
Question: I am not going to be seduced by any books or teachers, Maharaj. You don't have to worry about that. I understand their body-knowledge limitations. And why should I look for book-knowledge, when Self-knowledge is unfolding as never before?
Maharaj: Very nice! We have created the words and given them their meanings. We are using words all the time. Take the words, "God" and "donkey". We say "God" is a deity, whereas "donkey" is an animal. If we were to say that "Donkey means Deity", what happens? Nothing! It is simply the words that have changed, not the essence or substance. Forget about the words. Be with Reality! Have a nice time, enjoy your spirituality.
Be quiet and happy!
TALK NO 30
Talk 30.
you are not the sinner
------
Mr. N. Natesa Iyer, the leader of the Bar in a South Indian town, an
orthodox Brahmin, asked: “Are the gods Iswara or Vishnu and their
sacred regions Kailasa or Vaikuntha real?
M.: As real as you are in this body.
D.: Do they possess a vyavahara satya, i.e., phenomenal existence,
like my body? Or are they fictions like the horn of a hare?
M.: They do exist.
D.: If so, they must be somewhere. Where are they?
M.: Persons who have seen them say that they exist somewhere. So
we must accept their statement.
D.: Where do they exist?
M.: In you.
D.: Then it is only idea - that which I can create and control?
M.: Everything is like that.
D.: But I can create pure fictions e.g., hare’s horn or only part
truths, e.g. mirage, while there are also facts irrespective of my
imagination. Do the gods Iswara or Vishnu exist like that?
M.: Yes.
D.: Is He subject to pralaya (cosmic dissolution)?
M.: Why? Man becoming aware of the Self transcends cosmic
dissolution (pralaya) and becomes liberated (mukta). Why not
God (Iswara) who is infinitely wiser and abler?
D.: Do devas and pisachas (devils) exist similarly?
M.: Yes.
D.: How are we to conceive of Supreme Consciousness (Chaitanya
Brahman)?
M.: As that which is.
D.: Should it be thought of as Self-Effulgent?
M.: It transcends light and darkness. An individual (jiva) sees both.
The Self enlightens the individual to see light and darkness.
D.: Should it be realised as “I am not the body, nor the agent, nor the
enjoyer, etc.”?
M.: Why these thoughts? Do we now think that we are men, etc.? By
not thinking so, do we cease to be men?
D.: Should one realise it then by the scriptural text such as “There
are no differences here”.
M.: Why even that?
D.: If we think “I am the real,” will it do?
M.: All thoughts are inconsistent with realisation. The correct state is
to exclude thoughts of ourselves and all other thoughts. Thought
is one thing and realisation is quite another.
D.: Is it not necessary or at least advantageous to render the body
invisible in one’s spiritual progress?
M.: Why do you think of that? Are you the body?
D.: No. But advanced spirituality must effect a change in the body.
Is it not so?
M.: What change do you desire in the body, and why?
D.: Is not invisibility evidence of advanced Wisdom (jnana)?
M.: In that case, all those who spoke, who wrote and who passed their
lives in the sight of others must be considered ignorant (ajnanis)!
D.: But the sages Vasistha and Valmiki possessed such powers?
M.: It might have been their fate (prarabdha) to develop such powers
(siddhis) side by side with their wisdom (jnana). Why should you
aim at that which is not essential but apt to prove a hindrance to
wisdom (jnana)? Does the Sage (Jnani) feel oppressed by his body
being visible?
D.: No.
M.: A hypnotist can render himself suddenly invisible. Is he therefore
a Sage (Jnani)?
D.: No.
M.: Visibility and invisibility refer to a seer. Who is that seer? Solve
that first. Other matters are unimportant.
D.: The Vedas contain conflicting accounts of Cosmogony. Ether is
said to be the first creation in one place; vital energy (prana) in
another place; something else in yet another; water in still another,
and so on. How are these to be reconciled? Do not these impair the
credibility of the Vedas?
M.: Different seers saw different aspects of truths at different times,
each emphasising some one view. Why do you worry about their
conflicting statements? The essential aim of the Veda is to teach us the
nature of the imperishable Atman and show us that we are That.
D.: I am satisfied with that portion.
M.: Then treat all the rest as artha vada (auxiliary arguments) or
expositions for the sake of the ignorant who seek to trace the genesis
of things and matters.
D.: I am a sinner. I do not perform religious sacrifices (homas), etc.
Shall I have painful rebirths for that reason? Pray save me!
M.: Why do you say that you are a sinner?
Your trust in God is sufficient to save you from rebirths. Cast all burden on Him.
In the Tiruvachagam it is said:
“Though I am worse than a dog, you have graciously undertaken to protect me. This delusion of birth and death is maintained by you. Moreover, am I the person to sift and judge? Am I the Lord here?
Oh Maheswara! It is for you to
roll me through bodies (by births and deaths) or to keep me fixed
at your own feet.” Therefore have faith and that will save you.
D.: Sir, I have faith - and still I encounter difficulties. Weakness and
giddiness afflict me after I practise concentration.
M.: Breath-control (pranayama) properly performed should increase
one’s strength.
D.: I have my professional work and yet I want to be in perpetual
dhyana. Will they conflict with each other?
M.: There will be no conflict. As you practise both and develop
your powers you will be able to attend to both. You will begin
to look on business as a dream. Says the Bhagavad Gita: “That
which is the night of all beings, for the disciplined man is the
time of waking; when other beings are waking, then is it night
for the sage who seeth.” (11.69.)
ASHTA VAKRA CHAPTER 8
Chapter VIII. MIND
__
ASHTAVAKRA said:
1. Bondage is when the mind longs for something, grieves about something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased about something or displeased about something.
2. Liberation is when the mind does not long for anything, grieve about anything, reject anything, or hold on to anything, and is not pleased about anything or displeased about anything.
3. Bondage is when the mind is tangled in one of the senses, and liberation is when the mind is not tangled in any of the senses.
4. When there is no "me", that is liberation, and when there is "me" there is bondage. Consider this carefully, and neither hold on to anything nor reject anything.
????????????? ?? ??? ?????????????????: |
?????? ??????????? ? ???? ??? ?????? || 31|| 6th chapter
The yogi who is established in union with me, and worships me as the Supreme Soul residing in all beings, dwells only in me, though engaged in all kinds of activities.
Commentary:
God is all-pervading in the world. He is also seated in everyone’s heart as the Supreme Soul. In verse 18.61, Shree Krishna states: “I am situated in the hearts of all living beings.” Thus, within the body of each living being, there are two personalities—the soul and the Supreme Soul.
Those in material consciousness see everyone as the body, and make distinctions on the basis of caste, creed, sex, age, social status, etc.
Those in superior consciousness see everyone as the soul. Thus in verse 5.18, Shree Krishna states:
“The learned, with the eyes of divine knowledge, see with equal vision a Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater.”
The elevated yogis in even higher consciousness see God seated as the Supreme Soul in everyone. They also perceive the world, but they are unconcerned about it. They are like the hansas, the swans who can drink the milk and leave out the water from a mixture of milk and water.
The most elevated yogis are called paramahansas. They only see God, and have no perception of the world. This was the level of realization of Shukadev, the son of Ved Vyas, as stated in the Shrimad Bhagavatam:
ya? pravrajantam anupetam apeta k?itya?
dvaipayano viraha-katara ajuhava
putreti tan-mayataya taravo ’bhinedusta?
sarva-bhuta-h?idaya? munim anato ’smi (1.2.2)[v24]
When Shukadev entered the renounced order of sanyas, walking away from home in his childhood itself, he was at such an elevated level that he had no perception of the world. He did not even notice the beautiful women bathing in the nude in a lake, while he happened to pass by there. All that he perceived was God; all that he heard was God; all that he thought was God.
In this verse, Shree Krishna is talking about the perfected yogis who are in the third and fourth stages of the above levels of realization.
Gita??
??????????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???????? |
???? ?? ??? ?? ??:?? ? ???? ???? ??: || 32|| 6th chspter Gita
I regard them to be perfect yogis who see the true equality of all living beings and respond to the joys and sorrows of others as if they were their own.
Commentary:
We consider all the limbs of our body as ours, and are equally concerned if any of them is damaged. We are incontrovertible in the conviction that the harm done to any of our limbs is harm done to ourselves. Similarly, those who see God in all beings consider the joys and sorrows of others as their own. Therefore, such yogis are always the well-wishers of all souls and they strive for the eternal benefit of all. This is the sama-darshana (equality of vision) of perfected yogis.
ASHTAVAKRA CHAP 8
ASHTAVAKRA said:
1. Bondage is when the mind longs for something, grieves about something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased about something or displeased about something.
2. Liberation is when the mind does not long for anything, grieve about anything, reject anything, or hold on to anything, and is not pleased about anything or displeased about anything.
3. Bondage is when the mind is tangled in one of the senses, and liberation is when the mind is not tangled in any of the senses.
4. When there is no "me", that is liberation, and when there is "me" there is bondage. Consider this carefully, and neither hold on to anything nor reject anything.
Chapter 4- Astavakra Gita - Knower
--
ASHTAVAKRA said:
1. The wise person of Self-knowledge, playing the game of worldly enjoyment, bears no resemblance whatever to samsara's bewildered beasts of burden.
2. Truly the yogi feels no excitement even at being established in that state which all the devas from Indra down yearn for disconsolately.
3. He who has known That is untouched within by good deeds or bad, just as space is not touched by smoke, however much it may appear to be.
4. Who can prevent the great-souled person who has known this whole world as Himself from living as he pleases?
5. Of all four categories of beings, from Brahma down to the last clump of grass, only the man of knowledge is capable of eliminating desire and aversion.
6. Rare is the man who knows Himself as the non-dual Lord of the world, and he who knows This is not afraid of anything.
Ekatma Panchakam. (These are the last verses composed by Bhagavan.)
1. When, forgetting the Self, one thinks
That the body is oneself and goes
Through innumerable births
And in the end remembers and becomes
The Self, know this is only like
Awaking from a dream wherein
One has wandered over all the world.
2. One ever is the Self. To ask oneself
`Who and whereabouts am I?'
Is like the drunken man's enquiring
`Who am I?' and `Where am I?'
3. The body is within the Self. And yet
One thinks one is inside the inert body,
Like some spectator who supposes
That the screen on which the picture is thrown
Is within the picture.
4. Does an ornament of gold exist
Apart from the gold? Can the body exist
Apart from the Self?
The ignorant one thinks `I am the body';
The enlightened knows `I am the Self'.
5. The Self alone, the Sole Reality,
Exists for ever.
If of yore the First of Teachers
Revealed it through unbroken silence
Say who can reveal it in spoken words?
(Translated by Prof. K. Swaminathan)
SKILLFUL DEALING WITH DESIRES
Q: What is the best way of dealing with desires, with a view to getting rid of them — satisfying them or suppressing them?
Bhagavan: If a desire can be got rid of by satisfying it, there will be no harm in satisfying such a desire. But desires generally are not eradicated by satisfaction. Trying to root them out that way is like pouring spirits to quench a fire.
At the same time, the proper remedy is not forcible suppression, since such repression is bound to react sooner or later into forceful surging up with undesirable consequences.
The proper way to get rid of a desire is to find out “Who gets the desire? What is its source?” When this is found, the desire is rooted out and it will never again emerge or grow.
- Day by Day, p. 197
Q: Is there such a thing as free will?
A: Whose will is it ?
So long as there is the sense of doership, there is the sense of enjoyment and of individual will. But if this sense is lost through the practice of vichara, the divine will will act and guide the course of events. Fate is overcome by jnana, Selfknowledge,
which is beyond will and fate.
Q: I can understand that the outstanding events in a man's life, such as his country, nationality, family, career or profession,
marriage, death, etc., are all predestined by his karma, but can it be that all the details of his life, down to the minutest, have already
been determined?
Now, for instance, I put this fan that is in my hand down on the floor here. Can it be that it was already decided that on such and such a day, at such and such an hour, I should move the fan like this and put it down here?
A: Certainly. Whatever this body is to do and whatever experiences it is to pass through was already decided when it came into existence.
Q: What becomes then of man's freedom and responsibility for his actions?
A: The only freedom man has is to strive for and acquire the jnana which will enable him not to identify himself with the body. The body will go through the actions rendered inevitable by prarabdha and a man is free either to identify himself with the body and be attached to the fruits of its actions, or to be detached from it and be a mere
witness of its activities.
Q: So free will is a myth?
A: Free will holds the field in association with individuality. As long as individuality lasts there is free will. All the scriptures are based on this fact and they advise directing the free will in the right channel.
Find out to whom free will or destiny matters. Find out where they come from, and abide in their source. If you do this, both of them are transcended. That is the only purpose of discussing these questions.
To whom do these questions arise? Find out and be at peace.
Q: If what is destined to happen will happen, is there any use in prayer or effort or should we just remain idle?
A: There are only two ways to conquer destiny or be independent of it.
One is to enquire for whom is this destiny and discover that only the ego is bound by destiny and not the Self, and that the ego is non-existent.
The other way is to kill the ego by completely surrendering to the Lord, by realising one's helplessness and saying all the time, `Not I but thou, O Lord',
giving up all sense of `I' and `mine' and
leaving it to the Lord to do what he likes with you.
Surrender can never be regarded as complete so long as the devotee wants this or that from the Lord.
True surrender is love of God for the sake of love and nothing else, not even for the sake of liberation. In other words, complete effacement of the ego is necessary to conquer destiny, whether you achieve this effacement through self-enquiry or through
bhakti marga.
? Be as you are.
The teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi edited by David Godman.
Labels: Ramana Kendram
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