An End to Suffering

Advent Day 2011

2011-08-29T02:37:00.002+05:30

Once again the time comes when Sri Ramana left his home for the Holy Arunachala hill. Bhagavan started the journey on August 29 and reached Arunachala on September 1 (Advent Day).

This is an auspicious time to step up one's enquiry. Know and always hold onto the Self.

Sri Muruganar Day 2011

2011-08-28T11:36:00.000+05:30

Only by abiding in the heart as pure awareness

which lights up and shines within the mind,

can one enjoy the thrill, the throb, the bliss supreme

of being the Self.

Killing, is it necessary

2011-08-06T20:02:00.000+05:30

I came across this accidentally. Thought I'd share.
Is killing necessary ?

Bhagavan Aradhana 2011 - Who Am I

2011-04-30T07:11:00.009+05:30

By the inquiry 'Who am I?'. The thought 'who am I?' will destroy all other thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre, it will itself in the end get destroyed. Then, there will arise Self-realization.

When other thoughts arise, one should not pursue them, but should inquire: 'To whom do they arise?' It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As each thought arises, one should inquire with diligence, "To whom has this thought arisen?". The answer that would emerge would be "To me". Thereupon if one inquires "Who am I?", the mind will go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source. When the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the sense-organs, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear.

Source

Stand aware but detached

2011-04-29T07:31:00.000+05:30

You are the Self, here and now. Leave the mind alone, stand aware and unconcerned, and you will realize that to stand alert but detached, watching events come and go, is an aspect of your real nature.

(I am That, p 18)

A quiet mind

2011-04-17T11:28:00.000+05:30

When the mind is quiet, we come to know ourselves as the pure witness. We withdraw from the experience and its experiencer and stand apart in pure awareness, which is between and beyond the two. The personality, based on self-identification, on imagining oneself to be something: "I am this, I am that", continues, but only as a part of the objective world. It's identification with the witness snaps.

(from I am That, p 10)

Take refuge in Me

2010-12-05T19:18:00.006+05:30

Set aside all meritorious deeds and religious rituals, and just surrender completely to My will with firm faith and loving devotion. I shall liberate you from all sins, the bonds of Karma. Do not grieve. (18.66)

सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज ।
अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥१८- ६६॥

Path of Surrender

2010-12-02T19:14:00.000+05:30

Hear once again My most secret, supreme word. You are very dear to Me, therefore, I shall tell this for your benefit. (18.64)

सर्वगुह्यतमं भूयः शृणु मे परमं वचः ।
इष्टोऽसि मे दृढमिति ततो वक्ष्यामि ते हितम् ॥१८- ६४॥

Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, offer service to Me, bow down to Me, and you shall certainly reach Me. I promise you because you are very dear to me. (18.65)

मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु ।
मामेवैष्यसि सत्यं ते प्रतिजाने प्रियोऽसि मे ॥१८- ६५॥

(see also)

Seek refuge in the Self

2010-11-30T18:18:00.001+05:30

Seek refuge in the Supreme Lord alone with loving devotion, O Arjuna. By His grace you shall attain supreme peace and the Eternal Abode. (18.62)

तमेव शरणं गच्छ सर्वभावेन भारत ।
तत्प्रसादात्परां शान्तिं स्थानं प्राप्स्यसि शाश्वतम् ॥१८- ६२॥

as near to God as we are ...

2010-11-22T22:25:00.006+05:30

Pope John Paul II declared in a public audience
in 1990 that "also the animals possess a soul and
men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren".

He said, too, that they are the "fruit of the creative
action of the Holy Spirit and merit respect," and are
as near to God as men are."

The Pope went on to say that, "animals have the breath of life and were given it by God. In this respect, man created by the hand of God is identical with all living creatures. ... The existence therefore of all living creatures depends on the living spirit/breath of God that not only creates but also sustains and renews the face of the earth."

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders

2010-11-19T22:03:00.000+05:30

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.

Lao Tzu

Do not grieve, Arjuna

2010-11-18T21:15:00.002+05:30

The self does not kill, nor is it killed. For the self is never born and never dies, nor may it ever become non-existent. This unborn, everlasting, abiding self is not slain when the body is slain. Knowing the self to be unborn, imperishable, everlasting, changeless, Arjuna, how can a man slay anyone or be slain?

As a man gets rid of worn out clothes and puts on new ones, so the self puts away worn-out bodies and puts on others that are new. Weapons do not cut up the self, fire does not burn it, water does not wet it, the wind does not dry it. Not capable of being cut, burned, wet, or dried, the self is everlasting, present in all things, unchangeable, unmoveable, for ever the same.

Knowing that the soul is immaterial and unalterable, you should not grieve, Arjuna.

Changeless Being

2010-11-17T21:12:00.001+05:30

I have always existed, you too have always existed, and those princes have always existed. The time shall never come when we shall all cease to exist.

What is not there cannot exist; what is there cannot be anything but existent. The distinction between these states has been recognized by those who study truth. That which pervades this universe is imperishable; no one can destroy that changeless being. It is these bodies that house the everlasting, imperishable, incomprehensible self that have an end

Eyes cannot see him

2010-11-16T21:12:00.000+05:30

Eye cannot see him, nor words reveal him;
by the senses, austerity, or works he is not known. When the mind is cleansed by the grace of wisdom, he is seen by contemplation--the One without parts.
Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.8

He is the one God, hidden in all beings, all-pervading, the Self within all beings, watching over all works, dwelling in all beings, the witness, the perceiver, the only one, free from qualities.
Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.11

"I am" is you

2010-07-22T13:39:00.000+05:30

"When we examine the mind of the average person, we find that he usually identifies himself with mind or body.

He either thinks that he is body or that he is mind, and therefore he can control

neither mind nor body.

The "I Am" in his nature is submerged

in a bundle of ideas, some of which are true and some of which are not, and his thought is usually controlled by those ideas without receiving any direction whatever from that principle within him

that alone was intended to give direction.

Such a man lives in the lower storey of human existence, but as we can control life only when we give directions from the upper storey, we discover just why the average person neither understands his forces nor has the power to use them.

He must first elevate himself to the upper storey of the human structure, and the first and most important step to be taken in this direction is to recognize the "I Am" as the ruling principle, and that the "I Am" is you."

- Christian D. Larson

from the book A Course In Materialization

Thought is not the Self

2010-07-20T12:33:00.001+05:30

Thought is something foreign, alien, to the true Self.

Thought pretends to be the Self.

Thought is not the Self.

Thought is an imposter.
Thought believes that it is a real entity, and that it is a real self.

Humans, are slaves to an imposter “self”.

Thinking that thinking, or thought, is your self, is a delusion, a dream-like illusion.

Stay only as the awareness

2010-07-17T08:06:00.001+05:30

Stay only as the awareness, within which the mind is playing, but hold the attention on awareness only.

Bhagavan Ramana's Enlightenment Day - July 17th.

If you seek my advice and help

2010-07-11T23:37:00.000+05:30

"If you seek my advice and help, it shall be given to you at once. I am ever living to help and guide all, who come to me, who surrender to me and who seek refuge in me."
------ Shirdi Saibaba

Advice from Amma

2010-07-11T22:29:00.001+05:30

"The real important thing is the control we have over our mind in all situations,” Amma said. “If someone becomes angry at us, we should not react and become angry also. We should reflect, ‘Whom am I becoming angry at?’ In such situations we should remember that it is all the Atma, the Supreme Self. We should think, ‘The consciousness that is within me is within that person also. Can consciousness become angry? And if all is one, to whom can it express its anger?’ We should give more importance to the Self and not the body.”

The fleeting "I", who is aware of it

2010-06-23T08:01:00.008+05:30

The mind is incessantly looking not only for food for thought; it is looking for food for its identity, its sense of self. This is how the ego comes into existence and continuously re-creates itself.

When you think or speak about yourself, when you say, "I", what you usually refer to is "me and my story". This is the "I" of your likes and dislikes, fears and desires, the "I" that is never satisfied for long. It is a mind-made sense of who you are, conditioned by the past, and seeking to find its fulfillment in the future.

Can you see that this "I" is fleeting, a temporary formation, like a wave pattern on the surface of the water.

Who is it that sees this?

Who is it that is aware of the fleetingness of your physical and psychological form?

Cow Lakshmi Day - June 23, 2010

The Nature of oneself

2010-06-06T07:56:00.005+05:30

Look into the nature of yourself.

(Mahapuja Day - June 6th, 2010)

No clinging to whatever arises

2010-05-27T07:50:00.001+05:30

Quietly sitting, body still, speech silent, mind at peace, let thoughts and emotions, whatever arises, come and go without clinging to anything.

Happy Buddha Purnima (May 27th).

Awareness - don't look for anything more

2010-05-02T11:59:00.004+05:30

You should look at it like awareness watching awareness is all there is, there is nothing more.

Never add anything to awareness watching awareness, just be content to continue with awareness watching awareness without adding anything to it.

Source.

Rest in pure awareness

2010-04-27T12:39:00.001+05:30

In reality, all we need do is simply to rest in the naked, pure awareness of the nature of mind, which is always present.

-- TBLD 51

Have full faith in your being-ness

2010-04-25T16:03:00.000+05:30

All of you are like beggars; you have got a begging bowl and you want to collect God in that.

Take it that this "I Amness" of yours is the unadulterated form of Godlihood; the pure Iswara state is your beingness.
It is quite proper and praiseworthy that you are listening to the talks. Nevertheless, you are not getting rid of this attachment to the body-mind. You are constantly surrounded by relations or intimacies connected with your body-mind. Have full faith in your beingness and allow it to grow into the manifest Iswara principle. It is all powerful - meditate on that. It is very simple, yet at the same time, very profound.

The consciousness is the seed of Godliness. If we give it its true importance and pray to it, then it will flower into Godliness. If we don't give it any importance, it will not flower into Godliness.

-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, 1980

Buddha Nature

2010-04-22T12:39:00.001+05:30

It is simply your flawless, present awareness, cognizant and empty, naked and awake.

-- TBLD 50

Watching awareness

2010-04-20T11:56:00.000+05:30

When awareness is watching awareness something extraordinary is happening.
You are for the first time turning inward.
Your true nature is awareness.
Who you really are at your core is awareness.
Therefore, in awareness watching awareness you are for the first time observing yourself and knowing yourself.

-- Michael Langford. See source.

Be self-aware and still

2010-04-15T11:26:00.002+05:30

Once Sri Ramana said the whole truth is contained in the words”Be Still”.

So if one is self-aware and still, one has grasped the method.

You are not what you know, you are the knower.

2010-04-10T15:59:00.002+05:30

You are not what you know, you are the knower.

-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, April 1980

Identify only with pure beingness

2010-04-07T15:48:00.000+05:30

Give attention to how this "I Am-ness" has appeared - then you will know.

Accept this identification only: that you are this manifest pure beingness,
the very soul of the universe, of this life that you observe, and presently
you are just wearing this bodily attire. Make a note of it; you have taken
down so many things in life, just for fun, why don't you take this down
also and see what happens?

See what happens when you look at the moon and know that the moon is there provided you are there; because you are, the moon is. This grand concept, this joy, you directly experience and enjoy.

-- Prior to Consciousness, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (14/04/1980)

Attention to the I-feeling

2010-03-31T11:26:00.000+05:30

This path (attention to the "I"/ I-feeling *) is the direct path; all others are indirect ways.

(* self-awareness)

Self-enquiry - awareness of "you"

2010-03-26T11:06:00.004+05:30

Self-enquiry is holding on to the simple awareness of being that ‘you already are’, the simple awareness that is reading this.

You must concentrate totally upon the awareness of ‘you’, without thought of any kind.

The I-feeling

2010-03-25T20:09:00.001+05:30

Once awareness of the "I-feeling" has been firmly established, further effort is counter-productive. From then on, it is more a process of being than doing, of effortless being, rather than an effort to be.

-Page 53 of Be As You Are, The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (edited by David Godman)

Freedom from the World Illusion

2009-09-02T11:03:00.001+05:30

Live in the present with your consciousness externalized momentarily, but without any effort: when the mind stops linking itself to the past and to the future it becomes no-mind. If from moment to moment your mind dwells on what is and drops it effortlessly at once, the mind becomes no-mind, full of purity.

It is only as long as the mind continues to be agitated that it experiences diversity of its own projection or expansion, even as rain falls only as long as there are clouds; and it is only as long as the infinite consciousness limits itself into the finite mind that such agitation and expansion take place. If consciousness ceases to be the finite mind, then know that the very roots of cyclic world-illusion (of birth and death) are burnt and there is perfection.

-- Yoga Vasishta

Sri Ramana Advent Day

2009-09-01T12:00:00.000+05:30

September 1 is Bhagavan Ramana's Advent Day, the day of reaching Arunachala.

Please see previous posts for Advent Day.
Wishing all readers a Happy Advent Day!

Stillness speaks

2009-08-20T12:00:00.003+05:30

Your innermost sense of self, of who you are , is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form.

Stillness is your essential nature.

-- Eckhart Tolle (link)

See also this post.

Drowning man

2009-08-13T11:22:00.000+05:30

Bhagavan stated that self-enquiry should be performed with the same intensity as that of a drowning man struggling for air, only then can it succeed.

Dream of thought

2009-07-29T12:00:00.003+05:30

Spiritual awakening is awakening from the dream of thought.

-- Eckhart Tolle (book)

Please also see liberation and this.

The individual is an appearance

2009-05-23T11:45:00.002+05:30

Do you not see how ridiculous all this is ? Your coming here day after day only shows that you are not prepared to accept my word that there is no such thing as an 'individual'; that the 'individual' is nothing but an appearance; that an appearance cannot have any 'bondage' and, therefore, there is no question of any 'liberation' for an appearance.

Do you even now realize that if the very basis of your seeking is wrong, what can you achieve ? Indeed, is there anything to be achieved ? By whom ? By an appearance ?

This is not all. Whatever I say is being tape-recorded by some people; some others take down their own notes. For what purpose ? To make the conditioning even more powerful ? Do you not realize that there never has been any question of 'who' ? Whatever has happened (if at all anything has happened) has been spontaneous. There never has been any room for an individual in the totality of manifestation; all the functioning is at the level of the conceptual physical space (Mahadakash), which is contained in a conceptual speck of consciousness the mental space of time, perception and cognition (Chidakash).

Nisargadatta Maharaj

Source Link

Be still

2009-05-20T19:33:00.002+05:30

Once Sri Ramana said the whole truth is contained in the words”Be Still”.

So if one is self-aware and still, one has grasped the method.

A quiet, peaceful, and content mind that is awake and turned within to its source has grasped the method and the process of Self-Inquiry. This process itself turns into the goal when the mind merges into the Heart for Self-Revelation.

Source page
Therefore, the aspirant should with confidence maintain the inner gaze focusing the “I” on “I”. Remaining in stillness with awareness aware of itself is the practice. Remaining with the sense of “I AM” is the practice.

Mind is the false I

2009-05-20T09:30:00.000+05:30

Know me as the true essence of jnana (wisdom) that shines uninterruptedly in your Heart. Destroy the objectifying awareness of the ego - mind that arrogantly cavorts as "I" .

-- Sri Ramana

Mahapuja 2009 - May 18th

2009-05-18T13:05:00.000+05:30

For performing the supreme act of Self-enquiry, there is no other auspicious day than today.

(GVK 518)

Attention to the "I"

2009-05-15T01:02:00.002+05:30

This path (attention to the "I") is the direct path; all others are indirect ways. The first leads to the Self, the others elsewhere.

Be as you are (p 110) - edited David Godman

Devote yourself to your practice all the time

2009-05-12T19:00:00.001+05:30

Sadhakas (aspirants) should only work enough to maintain the body. Try to avoid unnecessary activities. Less work is good. Devote yourself to your sadhana (practice) all the time. You dissipate your desire for the Self by undertaking all kinds of useless activities that waste your time and lead to attachments.

You think that your life is endless and you can put off meditation till a later date. ...

If you have to engage in activity to support yourself or your family, then do it, but always be aware of the Self, while you work.

Who Am I ?

2009-05-05T01:35:00.001+05:30

As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the enquiry "Who Am I?" is required.

Bhagavan is the "I"

2009-05-03T11:27:00.000+05:30

Why despair ? Know with certainty by enquiry, that I myself am present as your "I".

-- Sri Ramana Maharshi

Pleasure and happiness

2009-04-25T12:00:00.001+05:30

Pleasure depends on things, happiness does not. As long as we believe that we need things to make us happy, we shall also believe that in their absence we must be miserable. Mind always shapes itself according to it's beliefs. Hence the importance of convincing oneself that one need not be prodded into happiness; that, on the contrary, pleasure is a distraction and a nuisance, for it merely increases the false conviction that one needs to have and do things to be happy, when in reality it is
just the opposite.

But why talk of happiness at all? You do not think of happiness except when you are unhappy. A man who says "Now I am happy" is between two sorrows, past and future. This happiness is mere excitement caused by relief from pain. Real happiness is utterly
un-self-conscious. It is best expressed negatively as: "there is nothing wrong with me, I have nothing to worry about".

Once you have grasped the truth that the world is full of suffering, that to be born is a calamity, you will find the urge and the energy to go beyond. Pleasure puts you to sleep and pain wakes you up. If you do not want to suffer, don't go to sleep. You cannot know yourself through bliss alone, for bliss is your very nature. You must face the opposite, what you are not, to find enlightenment.

Worship of Siva

2009-04-22T01:32:00.002+05:30

As consciousness is the real nature of Siva, only enquiry into consciousness is the true worship of Siva.

Today, April 22 2009, is Bhagavan's Aradhana

Throw your burdens on God

2009-04-20T01:34:00.001+05:30

Whatever burdens are thrown on God, He bears them ...

Nothing happens except that which is divinely ordained.

Hold onto awareness

2009-04-15T09:32:00.000+05:30

Self-enquiry is holding on to the awareness of being that ‘you already are’.

You must concentrate totally upon the awareness of ‘you’, without thought of any kind, or (alternatively) try to catch the ‘I-thought’ as it rises from within and then hold on to that firmly to the exclusion of all else.

Non-attachment

2009-04-12T01:32:00.003+05:30

As thoughts arise, destroying them utterly without any residue in the very place of their origin is non-attachment.

(Who Am I?)

Drowning man

2009-04-07T20:18:00.000+05:30

Bhagavan stated that self-enquiry should be performed with the same intensity as that of a drowning man struggling for air, only then can it succeed.

do not disturb your mind

2009-03-25T12:43:00.001+05:30

Being pure consciousness, do not disturb your mind with thoughts of for and against. Be at peace and remain happily in yourself, the essence of joy.

Meditation all the time

2009-03-18T19:50:00.000+05:30

Continuous meditation is required.
Don't allocate periods of time for this.
Don't regard it as something you do when you sit with your eyes closed. This meditation has to be continuous.
Do it while eating, walking, and even talking. It has to be continued all the time.

Video - Abide as the Self

2009-03-17T15:28:00.000+05:30

Abide as the Self.

just an illusion

2009-03-15T12:39:00.001+05:30

Knowing that all this is just an illusion, one becomes free of desire, pure receptivity, and at peace, as if nothing existed.

Only one thing has existed, exists and will exist in the ocean of being. You have no bondage or liberation. Live happily and fulfilled.

Reminiscences of Bhagavan Sri Ramana

2009-03-05T20:22:00.001+05:30

Continuous Enquiry

2009-03-01T19:48:00.001+05:30

You have to keep up the enquiry, ' To whom is this happening? ', all the time.

Happy Mahasivaratri 2009

2009-02-23T19:09:00.002+05:30

Wishing our readers and all a very Happy and self-aware Maha-Shivaratri (Feb 23rd, 2009).

September 1, 1946

2008-09-01T04:43:00.000+05:30

This video was taken on September 1st (Advent Day) 1946.

Shortcuts to liberation

2008-08-08T12:05:00.001+05:30

Look carefully, one of Bhagavan's devotees has found the easiest and quickest path to liberation. Another picture of the same devotee, caught red-handed here.

Tricks of mind

2008-08-04T14:05:00.001+05:30

Every thought that leads you away from self-awareness is a trick created by the imposter (false self).

The tiny seed

2008-08-03T10:13:00.001+05:30

'I am' is a tiny seed which will grow into a mighty tree - quite naturally, without a trace of effort.

I am That, p.510

--
Ask of each activity: “Can this lead to eternal bliss, or does this just lead to that which is temporary?” - Michael Langford

Self-enquiry and "I am"

2008-08-01T12:38:00.000+05:30

"I am"
Some excellent advice on Self-enquiry and the "I am" meditation may be found on this post (Robert Adams) -- posted to us by a little friend.

Focus the mind on 'I am'

2008-07-28T10:24:00.001+05:30

I did not condition my mind by thinking: 'I am God, I am wonderful, I am beyond'. I simply followed his (my guru's) instruction which was to focus the mind on pure being 'I am'. and stay in it. I used to sit for hours together, with, nothing but the 'I am' in my mind and soon peace and joy and a deep all-embracing love became my normal state.

In it all disappeared - myself, my Guru, the life I lived, the world around me. Only peace remained and unfathomable silence.

I am That, p.239

Was I really born ?

2008-07-28T04:36:00.000+05:30

Ask yourself such questions as: 'Was I really born?' 'Am I really so-and-so? 'How do I know that I exist?' 'Who are my parents?' 'Have they created me, or have I created them?' 'Must I believe all I am told about myself?' 'Who am I, anyhow?'

I Am That, p.296

Hurt no one

2008-07-22T04:36:00.000+05:30

Live your life without hurting anybody. Harmlessness is a most powerful form of Yoga and it will take you speedily to your goal.

-- I am that (p.173)

Source link. Please also see this touching video created by a devotee of Bhagavan.

Maharshi Ramana's eyes - a video

2008-07-20T03:37:00.000+05:30

Source: Look into No thing.

Bhagavan Ramana Quotes video

2008-07-18T20:49:00.001+05:30

A friend sent this link. Thanks and wish you all a Happy Guru Purnima.

Bhagavan Ramana's Enlightenment Day

2008-07-17T08:00:00.001+05:30

Dear readers,
Wishing you the best on Bhagavan's Enlightenment Day. On this day, in 1896, Bhagavan realized the Self. This day is an approximation, we do not for sure know which that day was when Venkataraman Iyer realized the Self, but it was close to July 17th.
Guru Poornima is tomorrow and Advent Day on Sept 1st.

Lakshmi Day 14/07/2008

2008-07-11T10:37:00.001+05:30

July 14th is Cow Lakshmi Day this year, a day of immense grace for those committed to self-enquiry, or union with Bhagavan. Be sure to get as much Self-enquiry done as possible on the 14th.

Some beautiful words from Sri Nisargadatta.

My guru, before he died, told me: "Believe me, you are the Supreme Reality. Don't doubt my words, don't disbelieve me. I am telling you the truth, act on it". I could not forget his words and by not forgetting, I have realized. Once the guru told me: "You are the Supreme Reality", I ceased having visions and trances and became very quiet and simple. I found myself desiring and knowing less and less, until I could say in utter astonishment: "I know nothing, I want nothing."

I was undeceived, that is all. I used to create a world and populate it. Now I don't do it any more. Now I live in the void beyond being and non-being, beyond consciousness.

Worshipping the Unmanifest

2008-07-04T10:05:00.000+05:30

"But those who are engaged in the worship of the Imperishable, the Indefinable, the Invisible, the Omnipresent, the Unthinkable, the Immutable, the Immovable, and fixed

"Controlling all the senses, maintaining equanimity everywhere, engaged in the welfare of all beings, they also come to Me only.

"It is very difficult for those whose minds are preoccupied with the Unmanifest because for the embodied souls it is indeed very painful to make progress towards the Unmanifest."

Lord Krishna, Chapter 12.

Mind fixed on Me

2008-07-02T10:05:00.000+05:30

Asked Arjuna:

"Those devotees who are always engaged in Your worship,
or those who worship the Inexhaustible and the Unmanifested,
which of these two know the Yoga better?"

[Chapter 12 verse 1]

Said Lord Krishna:

" With their minds fixed on Me,
those who worship Me always,
with faith and sincerity,
they are considered to be the most qualified in the Yoga by Me."

[Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 12 verse 2]

Service to the Lord

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Sri Ramana advises:

Keeping one's attention on the subtle consciousness that is experienced by the extremely subtle mind, is personal service to me.

-- From Bhagavan's Promises

Does this activity give me only temporary joy ?

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Do not waste time in activities that lead only to that which is temporary and therefore futile.

Ask of each activity: “Where can this lead?”

Ask of each activity: “Can this lead to eternal bliss, or does this just lead to that which is temporary?”

Grace manifests itself when ...

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"Grace manifests itself when the quest for the Self begins. The quest itself is the result of Grace. There is not a single moment when Grace is not operating in us. Grace is beyond time and space. Grace is always there. It is the beginning, middle and end. Grace is the Self."

-- Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi.

Please see quest itself is the result of Grace.

Eagerness for liberation

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Eagerness for liberation must be equal to the eagerness someone who is being held underwater has, for trying to rise to the surface.

-- Source.

Desire for freedom

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If the desire for freedom is not great enough in you, the ego will always find a way to occupy your time with something other than spiritual practice.

-- Source.

Practice, not concepts

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The ego keeps thoughts about spiritual concepts going, to avoid the practice that leads to the ego’s final end.

Spiritual concepts do not lead to freedom.
Only practice leads to freedom.

-- Source.

Meditating on the Lord

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Knowing that what abides in your Heart is the Self, my true and real nature, you should search for it there. Only this can be regarded as meditating on me with devotion.

-- From Bhagavan's Promises.

The "I" thought

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Thinking that thinking or thought is your self is a delusion, a dream-like illusion.

Thinking that you are a body living in a world is a delusion, a dream-like illusion.

Thought has created those delusions.

All sorrow, suffering and delusions have one single root.
The single root is thought.
The root of thought is the I thought.
The root of thought is the thought, I.

-- Michael Langford.

Bringing sense back to Sri Ramana's teachings

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Over the years, Bhagavan Ramana's simple path of "clinging to oneself", or being as you are, holding onto awareness/ the feeling of "I", etc, has been complicated by various authors. This simple path has seemingly been lost in translation.

It is heartening, therefore, that Michael Langford has once again put it in simple words for all, in a manner that cannot be missed or confused. In addition, he puts in several chapters to motivate the reader to remain in self-awareness.

The seeker who has never experienced "the Self", is often confused by instructions such as "abide in the Self", "cling to the Self" etc, now understands that it was the most simple fundamental awareness of oneself that was being spoken of, the awareness that wakes up in the morning, the awareness that is looking at the computer screen at this moment -- focusing on that awareness.

At any rate, let me not confuse the reader again -- it is best to read it directly from Mr. Langford himself.
Link.

Awareness, not thought

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Living from thought instead of living from Awareness is the cause of all human suffering.

Ego Tricks

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However, to go on and on reading spiritual books is an ego preservation strategy, another of the ego’s tricks.

Most reading, discussing and thinking about spiritual teachings is an ego trick.

The ego keeps thoughts about spiritual concepts going to avoid the practice that leads to the ego’s final end.

Source.

Awareness

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Turning one's attention away from thought, the body, the world, etc. and towards awareness watching awareness is the most direct means of ending the ego illusion.
Source.

Remember the Lord

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These plaintive words moved Bhagavan, and his eyes became moist. After remaining grave and serious for a while, slowly and steadily these supreme words emerged from his mouth: ‘Hereafter, remember me whenever you face calamities.’

Full story on David Godman's blog.

Mahapuja 2008

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Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

We wish our viewers a happy Mahapuja. This commemorates the day of Bhagavan's mother's Nirvana. May you receive Bhagavan's grace in abundance.

May 29, 2008

Audio resources

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Two Earthen Pots

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There is an incident in the life of Buddha. One day a young man came to him, very upset.‘What happened?’ asked the Buddha.
The young man said:
‘Sir, yesterday my father died. I have come to you with a special request. Please do something for my dead father. When ordinary priests perform some rites or rituals, he gains access to heaven. Sir, if a great man like you performs any rites or rituals for my father, he will gain not only entry but a permanent residence in heaven. Please sir, do something for my father!’

He was so unbalanced, so emotional. The Buddha knew that any kind of rational argument would have no effect at this stage but he had his own way of explaining things. He asked the young man to go to the market and buy two earthen pots.
The young man happily went and bought them, thinking that this was to prepare for some ritual. The Buddha asked him to fill one with butter and the other with stones and pebbles. He did all this. The Buddha told him to close and seal them properly, and put them both in a nearby pond. He did so and both the pots sank to the bottom. The Buddha now told him to bring a stout stick, strike at them, and break them open. He did so, thinking that now the Buddha would perform a wonderful ritual for his father.

India is a vast and ancient land, full of diversities and extremes. There are people who have attained full enlightenment like the Buddha, and on the other hand, there are people in deep ignorance, immersed in blind faiths, beliefs, and dogmas. One belief is that when a parent dies, the son must take the corpse, put it on the funeral pyre and burn it; when it is half burned, he must take a strong stick, and break open the skull. The belief is that, as the skull is broken on earth, so the gateway of heaven is broken above, and the parent enters heaven.

The young man thought that, as his father was already dead and cremated yesterday, the Buddha was asking him to break open these earthen pots as a substitute. As he did so, the butter escaped from the first and floated to the surface; the pebbles escaped
from the second pot and settled at the bottom.

‘Now,’ said the Buddha, ‘this much I have done. Now call all your priests. Let them come here and pray: ‘Oh pebbles, rise to the surface! Oh butter, sink
to the bottom!’’
‘Are you joking, sir? How is this possible? It is against the law of nature, sir. The pebbles are heavier than water; they are bound to stay down, they can’t float. Butter is lighter than water, it is bound to float; it cannot go down.’
‘Young man, you know so much about the law of nature, and yet you do not want to understand the law that is applicable to one and all. If your father kept performing actions like pebbles and stones, he was bound to go down. Who can pull him up? If he kept performing actions which are light like butter, he is bound to go up. Who can push him down?’

Our difficulty is that we think that some invisible power will somehow favour us, even though we do nothing to change our own behaviour pattern, our own actions. When we understand this eternal law of nature—that the fruits depend on our actions—we will
be careful about our actions.

This discourse was given by the Buddha to Mahanama the Sakyan. This interesting story came to me in the Vipassana newsletter.

Atma hi Krishna Parthasya

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AtmA hi Krishna pArthasya
krishnasyAtmA dhananjayaha

Source - Mahabharata, as spoken by Duryodhana.

Seek the Self within

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Bhagavan says:

Abandon the drama (of the world) and seek the Self within. Remaining within, I will protect you, ensuring that no harm befalls you.

If you enquire and know me, the indweller, in that state there will be no reason for you to worry about the world.

Taken from Bhagavan's promises.
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya.

April 14th, 1950

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It was on this day in 1950 that our Father, Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi attained Mahanirvana.

By April 1950, Sri Ramana was too weak to go to the hall, and visiting hours were limited. Visitors would file past the small room where he spent his final days to get one final glimpse. By April 14th, it was evident the end was near. Swami Satyananda, the attendant at the time, reports, "On the evening of 14th April 1950, we were massaging Sri Ramana’s body. At about 5 o’clock, he asked us to help him to sit up. Precisely at that moment devotees started chanting ‘Arunachala Siva’, ‘Arunachala Siva’. When Sri Bhagavan heard this his face lit up with radiant joy. Tears began to flow from his eyes and continued to flow for a long time. I was wiping them from time to time. I was also giving him spoonfuls of water boiled with ginger. The doctor wanted to administer artificial respiration but Sri Bhagavan waved it away. Sri Bhagavan’s breathing became gradually slower and slower and at 8:47 p.m. it subsided quietly." At that very moment, in many places all over India, there were independent reports of seeing a bright light rising into the sky[41]. Henri Cartier-Bresson, the French photographer, who had been staying at the ashram for a fortnight prior to Sri Ramana’s passing, recounted the event to S. S. Cohen:

"It is a most astonishing experience. I was in the open space in front of my house, when my friends drew my attention to the sky, where I saw a vividly-luminous shooting star with a luminous tail, unlike any shooting star I had before seen, coming from the South, moving slowly across the sky and, reaching the top of Arunachala, disappeared behind it. Because of its singularity we all guessed its import and immediately looked at our watches – it was 8:47 – and then raced to the Ashram only to find that our premonition had been only too sadly true: the Master had passed into mahanirvana at that very minute."

-- From wikipedia.

We wish you Bhagavan's grace and blessings.
Bhagavan's Aradhana by the Indian Calendar will be observed on May 3rd.

Om Arunachala Shiva Naham Shivaya

Om Namah Shivaya Chant

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Beautiful Om Namah Shivaya chant with Arunachaleshwara Temple and Arunachala Hill. Sung by P Balasubramaniam. Part One.

Part Two. Glory to our Father, Arunachala-Shiva !

Who looks out ?

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Who looks out with my eyes?
What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.

If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.

I didn't come here of my own accord,
and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here will have
to take me home.

Source

Be lost in the call

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Remember God so much that you are forgotten.
Let the caller and the called disappear;
be lost in the Call.

Source: Be Lost in the Call

Self-enquiry

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Self-inquiry will not make of you anything that you are not already, but it will, over time, destroy the false belief that you are this body, this mind, this story, this life.

That false belief is the root cause of all human suffering whatsoever.

— John Sherman

Self-enquiry

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Maharshi: The intellect is useful thus far, it helps you to analyse yourself, and no further. It must then be merged into the ego, and the source of the ego must be sought. If that be done the ego disappears. Remain as that source and then the ego does not arise

Devotee: There is no happiness in that state.
M.: 'There is no happiness' is only a thought. The Self is bliss, pure and simple. You are the Self. So you cannot but be bliss, being so, you cannot say here is no happiness. That which says so cannot be the Self, it is the non-Self and must be got rid of in order to realise the bliss of the Self.

D.: How is that to be done?

Maharshi: See wherefrom the thought arises. It is the mind. See for whom the mind or intellect functions.

For the ego. Merge the intellect in the ego and seek the source of the ego. The ego disappears. 'I know' and 'I do not know' imply a subject and an object. They are due to duality. The Self is pure and absolute, One and alone. There are no two selves so that one may know the other.

What is duality then? It cannot be the Self which is One and alone. It must be non-Self. Duality is the characteristic of the ego. When thoughts arise duality is present, know it to be the ego, and seek its source. The degree of the absence of thoughts is the measure of your progress towards Self-Realisation. But Self-Realisation itself does not admit of progress, it is ever the same. The Self remains always in realisation.

The obstacles are thoughts. Progress is measured by the degree of removal of the obstacles to understanding that the Self is always realised. So thoughts must be checked by seeking to whom they arise. So you go to their Source, where they do not arise.

D.: Doubts are always arising. Hence my question.
Maharshi: A doubt arises and is cleared, another arises and that is cleared , making way for another, and so it goes on. So there is no possibility of clearing away all doubts. See to whom the doubts arise. Go to their source and abide in it. Then they cease to arise. That is how doubts are to be cleared.

Talk 618, Feb 1, 1939

Ramana Maharshi - Quotes

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Arunachala Siva namah Sivaya

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Om Namah Shivaya Chant

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"Arunachala-Siva namah Sivaya"