The one asking questions is not you

(In reply to a question) The one who is asking is not you. The thoughts that come and go are not you. Whatever comes and goes is not you. Your reality is peace. If you don't forget that, that will be enough.
-- Annamalai Swami

Bhagavan is always present

Bhagavan is always present, inside you and in front of you. If you don't cover the vision of Bhagavan with your ego, that will be enough. The ego is the 'I am the body' idea. Remove this idea and you shine as the Self.

-- Annamalai Swami
(Photo of the room where Bhagavan's mother attained Nirvana)

sadhana -- a battlefied

Sadhana is a battlefield. You have to be vigilant. Don't take delivery of wrong beliefs and don't identify with the incoming thoughts that will give you pain and suffering. But if these things start happening to you, fight back by affirming, 'I am the Self; I am the Self; I am the Self;'.
These affirmations will lessen the power of the 'I am the body' arrows and eventually they will armour-plate you so successfully, the 'I am the body' thoughts that come your way will no longer have the power to touch you, affect you or make you suffer.
-- Annamalai Swami p33, Final Talks.

They happen to you

You are not in the body, the body is in you! The mind is in you. They happen to you. They are there because you find them interesting. p203

-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That

Casual search for enlightenment

This blog prefers not to print any views of the author. However, questions often are raised about various paths and persons who mislead naive seekers.
There are several ways this question can be answered. One of them is the "casual seeker". Today one sees gurus who on one hand describe the liberated state in a manner that is extremely attractive even to the average person sunk in/captivated by maya. This description is totally different from the simple "deep sleep with awareness" or "no worlds" description of Sri Ramana.
These attractive gurus and their attractive packages seems to be (IMO) creating and/or attracting the "casual seeker". The unliberated guru dilutes the pure teachings and attracts the casual seeker. The casual seeker runs from guru to guru, never finding what was promised.
Whether this phenomenon is to be condemned, or whether it actually hastens the progress of those who are "bewildered by maya" (as the scriptures so picturesquely put it) is not clear to this blogger.

If the desire for liberation is accompanied by efforts for achieving the purpose, if the aspirant can recognize and discard the pleasures and other impediments to progress, if there is a growing indifference to material and other attainments, then it can be said that dispassion is strong and abiding results will follow.
Or to put it simply, if the prime and overriding priority is liberation, and consequently one's sadhana, then the desire for liberation is true and strong. Somewhere i recall reading that hurdles to one's practice are indicative of a lack of total commitment in the seeker. Hurdles are truly attachments by another name.

Symptoms of the casual seeker are: wanting liberation along with other pleasures, wanting liberation without effort or for a fee, wanting the guru to put in the effort, and being attracted to guru's who promise the above.

This post was triggered by some links I was mailed by readers such as Careless Seeking for enlightenment and The battle for your mind and comments.

Misery

If you love others only for their bodies or their souls (egos) you will suffer from grief when their bodies die and their souls depart. Therefore, in order to be free from such grief, have true Love towards Self, which is the real Life of the soul.
--GVK 370
(Photo of Skandasramam, taken by author, free to use)

Misery

If the jiva who is ever deluded and is always suffering from a feeling of deficiency, wants to get rid of all miseries and to be happy, he need only know the Supreme One, his Lord, and be his own Self.
--GVK 367

What will make you happy

To imagine that some little thing like food, sex, power, fame will make you happy is to deceive yourself. Only something as vast and deep as your real self can make you truly and lastingly happy.

-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That, p203

Self-Enquiry - the method and its fruit

Excerpted from http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/news_self_enquiry.htm since the link has changed and could change again:

First and foremost 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.

Self-enquiry is holding on to the awareness of being that ‘you already are’. There is only one awareness, the one who is reading this article is the ego and the Self all in one, but the ego is the apparition covering the pure Self and that has to die to the real Self in order that self-realisation can take place. This is a mystery at first, but once accomplished it is very clearly understood.

Bhagavan often made the comparison of the actor in a Play - during the Play the actor assumes a completely different role, yet retains his true nature and combines the two. A good actor truly believes he is the role that he is playing, but after it is finished he discards the role and reverts to his original nature. In our case we have forgotten who we are and believe that our role is the reality. Just as the actor is not two Beings, not two ‘I’s’, nor are we two ‘I’s’. It really is that simple. However, our ingrained belief that the role we play is in fact the Reality is so strong, that it requires intense and prolonged effort to remove it.

To do this 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.

The ‘I’ thought that you have to catch is a tangible and distinct force that rises from within the apparition created by the ego. It is this force that sustains the apparition and gives it life, just as the actor gives life to his part in the play through his own personality. There is however an acute difference. The pure ‘I’ thought is devoid of personality as we normally understand it – it just IS. This process requires intense, unbroken concentration, and in the majority of cases takes many years of hard effort and should be carried out, if possible, with eyes open. This does not involve physical or emotional strain of any kind, and strain should always be avoided.

When successful, awareness withdraws from the body into the crown of the head – this is usually very fast and experienced as receding from the feet upwards. At this point the breath becomes automatically controlled separate from that awareness of ‘being’ and it might even stop altogether. Even in this minor stage there is no concern whether the breath stops or not, because the body is already perceived as a heavy, cold and totally lifeless thing, not ‘you’, but something alien to you, a burden that you do not want. The awareness focussed in the crown of the head is however pristine in clarity and thought is suspended. This expansion of consciousness though devoid of bodily attachment is still the dark ego/mind complex.

At this point and in all of the following experiences the attention should be carefully, but powerfully turned towards the witness of all of this, with an intense thought-free longing to know who it is that sees it. The focus of attention will now move to the nape of the neck and then after further enquiry to the middle of the spine above the solar plexus, but the body and outer world are still apparent, though dreamlike.

Once again attention must be turned back to the one who witnesses all of this and it is at this point that a full expansion of consciousness takes place and the awareness moves to the so-called heart-centre, which is NOT within the body. This heart-centre is the seat of dark ignorance, the point from which the ego rises. The body, world and everything else has now vanished, to be replaced by a perception of vast energy proceeding forth to give rise to the universe. This energy is perceived as darkness, a profound ignorance covering the light of Pure Being, but is arising from ‘you’, the witness, and it is to that source that the attention has to be turned and the enquiry continued. This is the point reached by those who experience the stars and the universe withdrawing into them, it is not the finality, not self-realisation, merely one more illusion, but a very powerful one.

When attention is once more silently focussed on the one who witnesses all of this, the final stage of the enquiry takes place. The transition through the knot of ignorance at the heart-centre is accomplished and the purity of the unlimited deathless Self is known. Yet even here at the fifth stage of the quest the mind remains potential. The light of pure consciousness is perceived, but it is still only ‘perceived’. This is NOT self-realisation, but a very seductive state to remain in for those who seek the finality.

Only when this final stage is transcended is Self-realisation complete. This cannot be accomplished by the same enquiry as the previous steps, but only by complete surrender, the total dissolution of the mind into the ‘being-consciousness-bliss’ of the One Reality. This is in fact the most difficult, yet the easiest of all; how it is accomplished can be understood only when it is reached.

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi remained permanently in the Supreme State. It is the state of Supreme Solitude, where death is an impossibility, where time and timelessness are one, where a billion years and a fraction of a second are the same, where immeasurable energy and absolute stillness are one, where difference is impossible and bliss alone is. Where light brighter than a billion suns pervades all, yet pervades nothing, where awareness of Being, beyond measure, pristine and unchangeable is known as you! This is the supreme state … your true state! It is not a void, but is immeasurably full, it is pure awareness, pure Being, perfect bliss, without beginning, middle or end. You are all of That and more!

To overcome the cycle of birth and death this latter state has to become permanent, and nothing less should be accepted by the true seeker.

Bhagavan’s death experience is a clear pointer to the method of enquiry, but the English version published so far is a far cry from the reality of it. Krishna Bhikshu continuously verified the accurate version with Bhagavan over many years (in Telugu) and nowhere in that version is it mentioned that Bhagavan mimicked a corpse.

The complete article lies here.
Also see:

Chapter 7: Self Enquiry

Chapter 8: Technique

body identification - Maya

There are so many thoughts in the mind. Thought after thought after thought. But there is one thought that is continuous, though it is mostly sub-conscious: 'I am the body'. This is the string on which all other thoughts are threaded. Once we identify ourselves with the body by thinking this thought, maya follows. It also follows that if we cease to identify with the body, maya will not affect us anymore.
-- Annamalai Swami p14, Final Talks.

Neither mind nor body

To know that you are neither body nor mind, watch yourself steadily and live unaffected by your body and mind, completely aloof, as if you were dead. It means you have no vested interests, either in the body or in the mind. p201

... I am not asking you to commit suicide. Nor can you. You can only kill the body, you cannot stop the mental process, nor can you put an end to the person you think you are. Just remain unaffected. This complete aloofness, unconcern with mind and body is the best proof that at the core of your being you are neither mind nor body. What happens to the body and the mind may not be within your power to change, but you can always put an end to your imagining yourself to be body and mind.

Whatever happens, remind yourself that only your body and mind are affected, not yourself. The more earnest you are at remembering what needs to be remembered, the sooner will you be aware of yourself as you are, for memory will become experience. Earnestness reveals being. What is imagined and willed becomes actuality--here lies the danger as well as the way out.
-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That

Obstacles

Discriminating and knowing well that all the sufferings that come by prarabdha in his life are send to him by God's Grace in order to make his mind stronger and thereby save him, let an aspirant bear with them patiently as tapas without being alarmed even in the least.

-- GVK 618, Sri Muruganar

Obstacles

The many afflictions which occur with severity like thunderbolts in the life of the great devotees are only to establish their pure mind more and more firmly (in tapas, that is Self-abidance) and not to shake them down from it.

-- GVK 617, Sri Murugunar

Continuous enquiry

If you can give up duality, Brahman alone remains, and you know yourself to be that Brahman, but to make this discovery 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.
-- Annamalai Swami p8, Final Talks.

Look at yourself

Before you can accept God, you must accept yourself, which is even more frightening. The first steps in self-acceptance are not at all pleasant, for what one sees is not a happy sight. One needs all the courage to go further.

What helps is silence. Look at yourself in total silence, do not describe yourself. Look at the being you believe you are and remember --you are not what you see. 'This I am not--what am l?' is the movement of self-enquiry. There are no other means to liberation, all means delay. Resolutely reject what you are not, till the real Self emerges in its glorious nothingness, its 'not-a-thing-ness.' .

-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That

Who Am I?

The individual who enquires into his real nature, "Who Am I?", will die as the I-less Self.

-- GVK 388

See also this thing called mind
When the mind appears every morning don't jump to the usual conclusion, 'This is me; these thoughts are mine'. Instead, ...

Bhagavan still at the ashram

Sadhu Arunachala (Major Chadwick) remembers the days after the maha-samadhi of Bhagavan Ramana:

At first people felt lost, they had relied too much on the personal form, though Bhagavan himself had repeatedly warned them, "You attach too much importance to this body."

Still it was only natural that this body should be missed, although as time went on, the loss became gradually less keen.

His presence was felt so strongly in the Ashram, and daily the feeling of this actual presence grew. A visitor remarked to me lately, "One does not miss the presence of Bhagavan in the Ashram, he is there just as he was before." And this is true. He is there and he is surely working and the Ashram will grow in strength and renown as time goes on. There have been dark days since that night three years ago,but those days are now past. The Ashram takes on a new life. There is a new feeling in the air and the stagnation is over. The school has been revived and pujas are performed so carefully and enthusiastically that the whole place rings with the vibrations thus set up.

I went away never to return, but he brought me back. And now I thank him every day that I have been allowed to take part in this renaissance. It is thrilling to the core to feel it happening.

One should have known that it was bound to be like this all the time. How could anything happen to the place he had sanctified with his presence for so long? The whole of India was blessed by his life, how much more so the place in which he made his home.

Kali Yuga

“This is the Kali Yuga,
Even Rakshashas (demons) will incarnate as teachers to mislead you.
Those who must be destroyed by these demons will be.

Test the Guru by the teaching:
without inquiry there is no teaching.
Shun every teacher who does not teach inquiry.
Directly looking at your own face is the only teaching.

If the Guru says 'I am enlightened,'
it means the ego is enlightened so stay away.
Western teachers who say this are preachers so stay away
and only write books to load more garbage on seekers,
and more money in their pockets.

They will attract so many students,
but in Kali Yuga it is the falsehood which will draw the crowds.
The Truth and the true Gurus will be neglected."

(Source)

I Am unimagined

You are a creature of memories; at least you imagine yourself to be so. I am entirely unimagined. I am what I am, not identifiable with any physical or mental state.

-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That, p507

Self Enquiry

When one thus inwardly enquires, "Is it not to me that this thought has arisen -- then who am I?", the mind will subside in its Source, and the already risen thought will also vanish.

-- Guru Vachaka Kovai, 398

Chadwick Day (April 17th)

Major Chadwick was a well-known and ardent devotee of Sri Bhagavan, who stayed at the Ashram for over a quarter of a century without any thought of return to England. He used to spend many hours in meditation adhering strictly to a regular time-table. He was a model of steadfast sadhana which he kept up after Bhagavan's Mahasamadhi till the end of his life in 1962.
April 17th is observed at the Sri Ramanasramam as Chadwick Day.

The above picture of Major Chadwick's shrine was taken in January 2007.

The site Arunachala-Ramana pays him a tribute on "One of Us".

Various articles of his are available on this link.
I might add that April 14th was the date of the Mahasamadhi of Bhagavan as per the Gregorian Calendar. The Akshara Mana Malai was chanted outside the Nirvana Room at 8pm this April 14th. This year Bhagavan's aradhana will be observed on May 14th as per the Indian Calendar.

The photograph of Major Chadwick (also known as Sadhu Arunachala) is taken from arunachala.org.

His reminiscences (A Sadhu's Reminiscences) are available in pdf format (220kb) here.

I Am

Whoever is puzzled by his very existence as a conscious being and earnestly wants to find his own source, can grasp the everpresent sense of 'I am' and dwell on it assiduously and patiently, till the clouds obscuring the mind dissolve and the heart of being is seen in all its glory.

-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That

Thinking of Arunachala

'Those who think of Arunachala will gain mukti' - the scriptures say this. But even though one may stay at Arunachala, one may not feel any devotion towards the hill. One may not regard it as God. Many people are living here without giving more than a passing thought to the mountain. How can we conclude that such people are living at Arunachala?

The truth is, one is where one's mind is.
-- Annamalai Swami

Identification with the body

The mind and the body are both inert. Any energy or peace you experience can only come from the Self. Drop the identification with the body. These experiences are making you too body-conscious. Just be aware of the Self and try to pay as little attention as possible to the body.
The Self is pure energy, pure power. Hold onto that.

Mental tendencies

In the peace of the Self, there are no vasanas. If you can establish yourself in the Self, all vasanas will be destroyed.
Witness the vasanas as they arise but don't identify with them or act on them. If you want to get rid of your vasanas you must learn to practice non-involvement.

If you feel yourself identifying with a vasana when it starts to rise, remind yourself, 'This vasana is not me' and withdraw into the Self. If you learn to ignore your vasanas in this way they will eventually stop rising.

Bhagavan is the Self

One must keep one's attention on the Self if one wants to make progress on the spiritual path. But since Bhagavan is also the Self, you can also make progress by thinking of Him. It is good to feel love and devotion towards Bhagavan. The more we love Him, the more His grace flows to us in return.

When I used to look at Bhagavan's picture He seemed to say to be saying to me, 'I went beyond this body and established myself as consciousness. Now you try and do the same.'

Bhagavan is the Self. If you concentrate on His image, He will call you towards Him. He will try to pull you towards the real Self.

It is always good to worship the Guru, but abiding in the Guru's teachings is far better. ...
You should not jump to the conclusion that you are not making progress with self-enquiry because you find it hard to do. And you should not think that you will make more progress as a bhakta simply because you find it easy to generate joyful states of mind.

There is nothing wrong with looking at Bhagavan's picture. It is a very good practice. But you should not get sidetracked from you main objective which is establishing yourself as consciousness. Don't get attached to states of bliss or give them priority over the quest for the Self.
-- Annamalai Swami

Keep up the enquiry

You have to keep up the enquiry, 'To whom is this happening?' all the time.
If you are having trouble remind yourself, 'This is just happening on the surface of my mind. I am not this mind or the wandering thoughts.'
Then go back into enquiry 'Who am I?'.

By doing this you will penetrate deeper and deeper and become detached from the mind. This will only come about after you have made an intense effort.

Arunachala is the Self

Attachments and desires generally produce bondage. But a desire to stay here at Arunachala is a good desire and may be encouraged. It is very good to be attached to Arunachala because Arunachala is the Self. When you think about Arunachala you are turning the mind towards the Self.
-- Annamalai Swami

Arunachala is pure conciousness

For liberation there must be continuous remembrance of Arunachala. One must also have faith in Arunachala and surrender to it.
Arunachala is pure consciousness, it is not an inert lump of rock. If you have faith that Arunachala is a Guru who will guide you, it will respond with the appropriate guidance. But to get this guidance one must surrender to the mountain and have strong faith in it.


Arunachala is like a fire; if you come near it you may get warm or even burnt. But if you are wearing insulation, even though you are physically near, you may not feel the fire.
-- Annamalai Swami

Photo of Arunachala taken from Sri Ramanasramam in Feb 2006

Arunachala is the paramatman

Arunachala radiates the grace of the Self. If you walk around it with reverence, keeping your mind quiet or thinking of the Self, you are having satsang of the Self. There is a great spiritual power emanating from Arunachala. You can feel it if you approach the mountain with humbleness, with reverence, and with a quiet mind.

If one does pradakshina of Arunachala with the right attitude, both the mind and the body are purified. If you feel like doing pradakshina, then go. Meditate while you walk.

At all times, whatever the body may be doing, one should keep a steady awareness of the Self. The main point of both pradakshina and meditation is to give up the identification with the body, to lose the I-am-the-body idea.
-- Annamalai Swami

A tiny point

The world disturbs you because you think yourself big enough to be affected by the world. It is not so. You are so small that nothing can pin you down. It is your mind that gets caught, not you. Know yourself as you are - a mere point in consciousness, dimensionless, and timeless.

You are like the point of a pencil - by mere contact with you the mind draws its picture of the world. You are single and simple - the picture is complex and extensive.

Don't be misled by the picture - remain aware of the tiny point - which is everywhere in the picture.

-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That

Loving all equally

You can start with people you know. Bhagavan taught by example that we should only see good in other people. Virtually all people are a mix of good and bad. It is very rare to find someone who is wholly good or wholly bad. If you have to come in contact with a lot of people, try to make yourself aware of their good points and don't dwell on their bad points.

If you see good in people you radiate a harmonious, loving energy which uplifts those who are around you. If you can maintain this habit, this energy will soon turn into a steady flow of love.

Try to be aware at all times that everything you see and perceive is the Self. If you see the Self in other people, your love automatically flows towards them.

You gain nothing by thinking that someone is a bad person. If negative thoughts arise each time you see or think of a particular person, these thoughts will draw you away from the Self. Try to radiate your love equally to all people instead of just a few.

Try to feel that the whole world is your Self, your God. Try to see that Self in all people. Spread your love in all directions as an act of worship and surrender, because everything in the world is a manifestation of God.

-- Annamalai Swami

A Personal Message

So here I am.
It is Bhagavan's wish that i "go slow" on this blogging thing, and keep clear of various other forms of deception/distraction that samsara offers ... so-called spiritual organizations, groups, activities, etc.

Bhagavan is in control. His message is to do what you came here for, without distraction or delay. His message is very clear.

The online books site has a lot of Bhagavan's works for regular online reading.

With love and yearning, I seek my Ramana,
Seeking Him, as Siva the Supreme, I will meet Him;
And then will I seize hold of His valorous Feet
And for ever hold to them,
Until He liberation grants.

Fare thee well.
2007-04-02

Contact with the Guru

Bhagavan Himself taught that if we practice his teachings and remember His form, we can be in touch with Him wherever we are.
If one has received the opportunity to surrender to the Guru, physical distance does not matter. In fact if your faith is strong and if your practice is continuous, it is sometimes easier to have better contact at a distance.

Remain as witness

This is the end of Yoga, to realize independence. All that happens, happens in and to the mind, not to the source of the 'I am'. Once you realize that all happens by itself (call it destiny, or the will of God, or mere accident), you remain as witness only, understanding and enjoying, but not perturbed.
-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That, p430

purpose of life

The satisfaction that comes from the outside world is transient. At death it will all be lost.

Human life is given to you for the sole purpose of realizing the Self. If you die without realizing the Self, your life has been wasted.

Death can come at any time. If you are constantly aware of the possibility that you may die at any moment, your enthusiasm will increase. Try to cultivate this awareness and see if it makes any difference to your sadhana.

My Lord

I held Ramana in me concealed, I adored Him in my heart's depths,
Lo! He revealed Himself unto me, And blessed me -- here below,
Well may you adore Him, Revealing the rapture abounding and love endearing
That too pleases Him far.

-- Tirumantiram

Persevere, peace will come

You are saying that you have to make a great effort to experience even a little peace. Don't worry about this. Your effort will pay off sooner or later. If you persevere the peace and bliss will come unasked.

If you give up your attachment to all thoughts, except for the thought of the Self, you will find yourself being pulled automatically into the peace of the Self.

If you practice intensively and correctly you will find that the experience of this peace is addictive. When this happens you will lose interest in everything except the Self.

Reality in Forty Verses

Reality in Forty Verses

(Ulladu Narpadu)

Once Bhagavan composed twenty Tamil stanzas containing his important teachings. They were not written in any particular order to form a poem. Sri Muruganar therefore suggested that Bhagavan should write twenty stanzas more to make it the conventional forty. Accordingly, Bhagavan composed twenty more stanzas. Out of these forty, Kavyakanta
Ganapati Muni selected two as the invocatory stanzas. Then Bhagavan wrote two more to complete the forty. Some of the stanzas were translations from Sanskrit, but as devotees wanted all the forty verses to be original they were eliminated and new stanzas composed in their place. The verses were all arranged in a continuous order to form a poem. Later, a supplement consisting of a second forty verses was added. So indifferent to authorship was Bhagavan that he did not write all those supplementary verses himself. When he came upon
a suitable one he used it -- mostly translations from Sanskrit -- and when not, he made one. The verses eliminated from the original forty verses were included in the supplement.¹

¹The supplement verses he composed are italicized. Those verses which he took from other texts are the Invocation, verses 1-7, 9, the final sentence of verse 12, 18-30, 34, 37 and 39-40. The original sources of these verses have been quoted at the end of each verse. In a few cases, the exact origins have not been confirmed.

These eighty verses are the most comprehensive exposition of the Maharshi's teaching. A number of translations have been made and commentaries written on them. They have been
published as separate books by the ashram under the titles Ulladu Narpadu, Sad Vidya and Truth Revealed. Bhagavan translated these verses into Telugu prose under the name of
Unnadi Nalubadi and into Malayalam verse under the name of Saddarsanam.

Invocation

1. Unless Reality exists, can thought of it arise? Since, devoid of thought, Reality exists within as Heart, how to know the Reality we term the Heart? To know That is merely to be That in the Heart.<sup>2

2</sup>The first sentence may also be rendered thus: Can there be Knowledge of Reality other than existing as Reality?

2. When those who are in dread of death seek refuge at the feet of the deathless, birthless Lord Supreme, their ego and attachments die; and they, now deathless, think no more
of death.

The Text

1. Since we know the world, we must concede for both a common Source, single but with the power of seeming many. The picture of names and forms, the onlooker, the screen, the
light that illumines -- all these are verily He.

2. On three entities -- the individual, God and the world -- every creed is based. That `the One becomes the three' and that `always the three are three', are said only while the ego lasts. To lose the `I' and in the Self to stay is the State Supreme.

3. `The World is true'; `No, it is a false appearance'; `The World is Mind'; `No, it is not'; `The World is pleasant';`No, it is not' -- What avails such talk?
To leave the world alone and know the Self, to go beyond all thought of `One' and `Two', this egoless condition is the common goal of all.

4. If Self has form, the world and God likewise have form. If Self is without form, by whom and how can form (of world and God) be seen? Without the eye, can there be sight or spectacle? The Self, the real Eye, is infinite.

5. The body is made up of the five sheaths;³ in the term body all the five are included. Without the body the world is not. Has one without the body ever seen the world?

6. The world is made up of the five kinds of sense perceptions and nothing else. And those perceptions are felt as objects by the five senses. Since through the senses the mind alone perceives the world, is the world other than the mind?

7. Though the world and mind rise and fade together, the world shines by the light of the mind. The ground whence the world and mind arise, and wherein they set, that Perfection
rises not nor sets but ever shines. That is Reality.

8. Under whatever name or form we worship It, It leads us on to knowledge of the nameless, formless Absolute. Yet, to see one's true Self in the Absolute, to subside into It and be one with It, this is the true Knowledge of the Truth.

9. `Twos' and `threes' depend upon one thing, the ego.
If one asks in one's Heart, `What is this ego?' and finds it, they slip away. Only those who have found this know the Truth, and they will never be perplexed.⁴

³The five sheaths include the mental.

⁴"Twos" are pairs like pleasure-pain, knowledge-ignorance; "threes" are triads like the knower, knowledge and the known.

10. There is no knowledge without ignorance; and without knowledge ignorance cannot be. To ask, `Whose is this knowledge? Whose this ignorance?' and thus to know the primal Self, this alone is Knowledge.

11. Without knowing the Self that knows, to know all objects is not knowledge; it is only ignorance. Self, the ground of knowledge and the non-Self, being known, both knowledge
and ignorance fall away.

12. True Knowledge is being devoid of knowledge as well as ignorance of objects. Knowledge of objects is not true knowledge. Since the Self shines self-luminous, with nothing else for It to know, with nothing else to know It, the Self is Knowledge. Nescience It is not.

13. The Self that is Awareness, that alone is true. The knowledge which is various is ignorance. And even ignorance, which is false, cannot exist apart from the Self. False are the
many jewels, for apart from gold, which alone is true, they cannot exist.

14. `You' and `he' -- these appear only when `I' does.
But when the nature of the `I' is sought and the ego is destroyed, `you' and `he' are at an end. What shines then as the One alone is the true Self.

15. Past and future are dependent on the present. The past was present in its time and the future will be present too.
Ever-present is the present. To seek to know the future and the past, without knowing the truth of time today, is to try to count without the number `One'.

16. Without us there is no time nor space. If we are only bodies, we are caught up in time and space. But are we bodies?
Now, then and always -- here, now and everywhere -- we are the same. We exist, timeless and spaceless we.

17. To those who do not know the Self and to those who do, the body is the `I'. But to those who do not know the Self the `I' is bounded by the body; while to those who within the body know the Self the `I' shines boundless. Such is the difference between them.

18. To those who do not know and to those who do, the world is real. But to those who do not know, Reality is bounded by the world; while to those who know, Reality shines formless
as the ground of the world. Such is the difference between them.

19. The debate, `Does free will prevail or fate?' is only for those who do not know the root of both. Those who have known the Self, the common source of freewill and of fate, have passed beyond them both and will not return to them.

20. To see God and not the Self that sees is only to see a projection of the mind. It is said that God is seen by him alone who sees the Self; but one who has lost the ego and seen the Self is none other than God.

21. When scriptures speak of `seeing the Self' and `seeing God', what is the truth they mean? How to see the Self? As the Self is one without a second, it is impossible to see it.
How to see God? To see Him is to be consumed by Him.

22. Without turning inwards and merging in the Lord -- it is His light that shines within the mind and lends it all its light -- how can we know the Light of lights with the borrowed light of the mind?

23. The body says not it is `I'. And no one says, "In sleep there is no `I'." When `I' arises all (other) things arise. Whence this `I' arises, search with a keen mind.

24. The body which is matter says not `I'. Eternal Awareness rises not nor sets. Betwixt the two, bound by the body, rises the thought of `I'. This is the knot of matter and Awareness. This is bondage, jiva ^[?], subtle body, ego. This is samsara, this is the mind.

25. Holding a form it rises; holding a form it stays; holding and feeding on a form it thrives. Leaving one form, it takes hold of another. When sought, it takes to flight. Such is the ego-ghost with no form of its own.

26. When the ego rises all things rise with it. When the ego is not, there is nothing else. Since the ego thus is everything, to question `What is this thing?' is the extinction of all things.

27. `That' we are, when `I' has not arisen. Without searching whence the `I' arises, how to attain the self-extinction where no `I' arises? Without attaining self-extinction, how to stay in
one's true state where the Self is `That'?

28. Controlling speech and breath, and diving deep within oneself -- like one who, to find a thing that has fallen into water, dives deep down -- one must seek out the source whence the aspiring ego springs.

29. Cease all talk of `I' and search with inward diving mind whence the thought of `I' springs up. This is the way of wisdom. To think, instead, `I am not this, but That I am,' is helpful in the search, but it is not the search itself.

30. When the mind turns inward seeking `Who am I?' and merges in the Heart, then the `I' hangs down his head in shame and the One `I' appears as Itself. Though it appears as `I-I', it is not the ego. It is Reality, Perfection, the Substance of the Self.

31. For him who is the Bliss of Self arising from extinction of the ego, what is there to do? He knows nothing other than this Self. How to conceive the nature of his state?

32. When the Vedas have declared, `Thou art That' -- not to seek and find the nature of the Self and abide in It, but to think `I am That, not This' is want of strength. Because, That abides for ever as the Self.

33. To say `I do not know myself' or `I have known myself' is cause for laughter. What? Are there two selves, one to be known by the other? There is but One, the Truth of the experience of all.

34. The natural and true Reality forever resides in the Heart of all. Not to realize It there and stay in It but to quarrel `It is', `It is not', `It has form', `It has not form', `It is one', `It is two', `It is neither', this is the mischief of maya ^[?].

35. To discern and abide in the ever-present Reality is true attainment. All other attainments are like powers enjoyed in a dream. When the sleeper wakes, are they real? Those who stay in the state of Truth, having cast off the unreal -- will they ever be deluded?

36. If we think we are the body, then to tell ourselves, `No, I am That', is helpful to abide as That. Yet -- since ever we abide as That -- why should we always think, `I am That?'
Does one ever think, `I am a man'?

37. `During the search, duality; on attainment, unity' -- This doctrine too is false. When eagerly he sought himself and later when he found himself, the tenth man in the story was the tenth man and none else (ten men crossed a stream and wanted to make sure they were all safe. In counting, each one left himself out and found only nine. A passer-by gave each a blow and made them count the ten blows).

38. If we are the doers of deeds, we should reap the fruits they yield. But when we question, `Who am I, the doer of this deed?' and realize the Self, the sense of agency is lost and the
three karmas slip away. Eternal is this Liberation.

39. Thoughts of bondage and of freedom last only as long as one feels, `I am bound'. When one inquires of oneself,`Who am I, the bound one?' the Self, Eternal, ever free, remains. The thought of bondage goes; and with it goes the thought of freedom too.

40. If asked, `Which of these three is final liberation: With form, without form, or with-and-without-form?' I say, Liberation is the extinction of the ego which enquires `With form, without form, or with-and-without-form?'

(Translated by Prof. K. Swaminathan)

Wake up

What you are you must find out. I can only tell you what you are not.

You are not of the world, you are not even in the world. The world is not, you alone are. You create the world in your imagination like a dream. As you cannot separate the dream from yourself, so you cannot have an outer world independent of yourself. You are independent, not the world.

Don't be afraid of a world you yourself have created. Cease looking for happiness and reality in a dream and you will wake up. You not know all the 'why' and 'how', there is no end to questions. Abandon all desires, keep your mind silent and you shall discover.
-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That