Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT) 1834 Ocean Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA www.SATRamana.org Why Reflections? Reflections is a special publication of SAT. The print version is intended for members of SAT to enhance their spiritual understandings and practices. This on-line version is offered to so that Reflections can be available to all. Reflections presents the actual teachings of Ramana Maharshi in every issue. Reflections presents enduring Wisdom from ancient texts in every issue. Reflections presents a transcript of satsang in every issue so that aspirants can have the opportunity to carefully study and reflect upon the teachings given in these sacred events. So, read, reflect on what is here, and then dive within to realize. I Reflections Table of Contents Why Reflections? ............................................................ i Invocation.................................................................................... 1 Wisdom of Ramana Maharshi...................................................... 2 Satsang: Silent Truth.................................................................... 4 From Yoga Vasishta...................................................................... 14 From Temple Archives .................................................. 16 Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT) 1834 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, California 95060 USA Phone: (831) 425-7287 ~ Fax: (831) 425-0407 e-mail: [email protected] ~ web: www.SATRamana.org Om Tat Sat © 2006 SAT II Invocation In Brahman, there is not separation. Then, who is there to see? The Reality, which is without encumbrances, is, itself, the most natural state of samadhi. It is in that state that the sorrow and scourge of worldly life have their end. That which is the end of attachment Is to be understood as the final doctrine. It is also verified by the Vedas and the Guru, And the actual experience of the Self. Enough with this. Brahman is that Eternity in which there is no illusion or maya. The one who has experienced it Will realize the meaning of this. The one thing that we must do Is to discard concepts projected by the mind, at any level, Through Self-Realization, And then there is the eternal paradise of Bliss. —- Sant Ramadasa (Samarth Ramdas) in his Dasboadh 1 From simply rediscovered, so it cannot be lost. Whereas the happiness arising from other Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi objects is external and thus liable to be lost. Therefore, it cannot be permanent, and so it is A visitor asked Bhagavan: I want not worth seeking. knowledge. ****** M.: Who wants knowledge? D.: One person says one thing one way. D.: I want it. Another says the same thing in a different way. How is the Truth to ascertained? M.: Who is that “I”? Find the “I” and see later what further knowledge is required. M.: Each one sees his own Self only, always and everywhere. He finds the world ****** and God according to what he is. D.: How shall I overcome my passions? A Nayanar went to Kalahasti for the darshan of God. He saw all the people there as M.: Find their root, and then it will be easy. Siva and Sakti because he himself was so. (Later) What are the passions? Kama (lust), Again, Dharmaputra considered the whole krodha (anger), etc. Why do they arise? world was composed of people having some Because of likes and dislikes toward the merit or other and that each of them was even objects seen. How do the objects better than himself for some reason or anoth- project themselves in your view? Because of er. Whereas Duryodhana could not find even a your avidya, i.e., ignorance. Ignorance of single good person in the world. Each reflects what? Of the Self. Thus, if you find the Self his own nature. and abide therein, there will be no trouble owing to the passions. ****** (Later) Again, what is the cause of the passions? Desire to be happy or enjoy D.: Is there no way of escape from the pleasure. Why does the desire for miseries of the world? happiness arise? Because your nature is happi- ness, itself, and it is natural that you come into M.: There is only one way, and that your own. This happiness id not found any- consists in not losing sight of one’s Self under where besides the Self. Do not look for it else- any circumstances. where, but seek the Self and abide therein. To inquire, “Who am I?” is the only Still again, that happiness which is natural is remedy for all the ills of the world. It is also 2 perfect Bliss. M.: Nididhyasana (concentration of the mind) ****** is the best. (Ed. Note: nididhyasana may also be defined as deep, continuous meditation) Annamalai asked: What is the exact difference between worldly activity and dhyana? ****** M.: There is no difference. It is like M.: So, the fact is that Brahman is all and naming one and the same thing by two remains indivisible. He is ever realized. The different words in two different languages. man does not, however, know it. He must know it. Knowledge means the overcoming ****** of obstacles that obstruct the revelation of the eternal Truth that the Self is D.: There is so much misery in the world the same as Brahman. The obstacles form because wicked men abound in the world. altogether your idea of separateness as an How can one find happiness here? individual. Therefore, the present attempt will result in the Truth being revealed M.: All are gurus to us. The wicked say by that the Self is not separate from Brahman. their evil deeds, “Do not come near me.” The good are always good. So then, all persons are like gurus to us. ****** D.: How is it that Atma vidya is said to be the easiest? M.: Any other vidya requires a knower, knowledge, and the object to be known, whereas this does not require any of them. It is the Self. Can anything be so obvious as that? Hence, it is the easiest. All that you need do is to inquire, “Who am I?” A man’s true name is mukti (liberation). ****** D.: There are several asanas mentioned. Which of them is the best? 3 the same. As for the fourfold sadhana, or Silent Truth requisites for Self-Realization, you may view them as sequential or as four ingredients Satsang that mingled together are the qualities, or May 14, 2006 attributes, of successful, fruitful spiritual practice. What is most essential is to know Om Om Om yourself. (Silence for a long period of time) You spoke of going beyond the mind. What is it that goes beyond the mind? N: Thus the Truth. If you have a Q.: That, in me, I see in inquiry. I see in question this morning or if you would like to inquiry that there is something there that is relate your own experience or wish to speak always constant, and the mind is not always about Self-Realization, which Sri Bhagavan there. has so graciously revealed, please, at any point, feel free to speak or ask. N.: The mind is not always there, but that “thing” that is you is always there. Q.: I have been reading the Crest Jewel of Discrimination with a commetary. I Q.: Yes. am seeing now that when discrimination is N.: So, we can only loosely speak of deep, the seeker starts to see the Reality with- going beyond the mind. That which goes in instead of the things in the world. He sees beyond the mind is already beyond the mind. the actions and the fruits of the actions come back to some imagined individual. Then, You can consider it like this. I am sure detachment flows naturally. How can one be that the same is mentioned by Sri Sankara in attached to something that he sees is not real? his Vivekacudamani. As the Maharshi has When there is detachment, then sama, peace said, the mind is considered to be only a of mind, etc. come. This, then, makes me bundle of thoughts. It has a great variety of focus again even more intensely upon the dis- permutations. Are any of those thoughts you? crimination. Sankara says that for the process The mind is spoken of as manas, citta, and to deepen, the discrimination must be com- buddhi. Manas refers to those mental activities plete. that deal with sensory cognition and associa- tion with the same. It is concerned with the Inquiry cuts through so much and focus- registration of sensation, which is merely es on identity. What clarity and what a won- imagined in the mind and is not external, and derful teaching! It is a focus beyond the mind. the associations of good and bad, pleasant and N.: Whether we refer to this as unpleasant, painful and pleasurable, and such. discrimination, as inquiry to know the Self, as Citta is memory. Since the thoughts of mem- inquiry to destroy the illusion, inwardly focus- ory, with its sense of continuity through time, ing, or going beyond the mind, it amounts to often go into one’s thoughts about the 4 future, as well as the present thoughts, we can to, and that is nondual. regard all such thoughts as the movement of Is this clear for you? citta. Buddhi is usually spoken of as “intel- lect.” It may be understood as that which Q.: Yes, it is clear. In practice, seeing the seems to direct the focus or attention of the limited adjuncts that I hold, I come back to mind, as well as that which deals with things examining the senses again. The sense of sight that are not sensory in character, such as to me is not binding. Likewise is it with sound. abstract thought and spiritual thought. Your There is still, in me, an internal body sense. It Self is beyond manas, citta, and buddhi. is more continuous, and I do not know how to close my internal feeling. How can that which is beyond the bud- dhi be reached by the buddhi? How can that N.: Do you refer to the sense of touch or which is beyond the reach of the to the sense of being alive? intellect or mind be reached by the mind? The Q.: It is internal body sensations. One of Maharshi points out that the mind, the ways I inquire is to ask if it feels like me. itself, is inert. In the text, it is said to shine by This feels like me. reflected light. This means that it is inert by N.: But you know it. itself. Trace the light to its origin. The origin is Consciousness. Consciousness is neither an Q.: Yes, I know it. object of the mind nor a director of the mind. N.: If it is the known, or objective, how Consciousness, being innately transcendent of can it be you? thought, is that in which the mind is nonexistent; for the real does not subsist Q.: Exactly. in the unreal, and the unreal does not subsist in N.: Have you ever had an experience the real. Consciousness does not become a without that particular feeling being mind, and there is no mind arising in present? Consciousness. This Consciousness is your real Being. In Being, there is no non-Being. In Q.: Well, or course. the Self, there is no non-Self. N.: But you did not cease to exist. Only the Self is capable of knowing Q.: Of course. itself. Brahman alone knows Brahman. No other can do so, because of the illusory N.: So, where is the connection? Where limitations of that illusion, and because it is can be the identity of what you are with that illusion. That which never is cannot know that sensation? which ever is. You are not the body, and you do not If, like this, you discriminate through have any of the attributes of the body. The inquiry as to what is your identity, you see that limitations of the body, including its birth and the Real alone is and that there is no second. death, are not yours. Similarly, you are not the That is the inquiry and discrimination referred senses. Anything that has the 5 attributes of the senses, on the objective side with objective, phenomenal illusions. So it is as something sensed or on the supposedly sub- with identity. jective side as a sensing entity, is not you. If you continue to trace your identity, the Everything that you know of the senses one who traces is absorbed in that which he is is contained in your mind. How can you be the trying to trace. That is pure Being- content of something that you are not? Consciousness-Bliss. It is entirely free of the body, senses, prana, or the sense or energy of (silence) being alive, an aspect of the mind. It has no individuality, no ego sense. That can know itself. Indeed, That is the Knowledge. You need not attempt to maintain the sensation. You need not attempt to cause the (silence) cessation of that sensation. Whether the sensa- tion is there or not, you are. It cannot exist apart from you, but you exist just fine, with or Another Q.: Inquiry is a process of without it. If this much is grasped fully, you keeping the thoughts at bay. Sometimes while are not bound by it. inquiring, I daydream. Thoughts rise up, and I become a thought. So, I am looking at what it Will you be unhappy if the sensation dis- is that causes veiling, that appears to have appears? changed my identity and covered up the deep Q.: No. experience of myself. It has certain qualities. It is a memory. It appears to be in this time N.: Alright. called “the past.” So, I ask, what is the sub- Q.: Any of the sensation is (missing stance of all that? When I look at it clearly, it word in recording). doesn’t seem to have much substance. Then, N.: So, it has nothing to do with your the one who seems to have the veil and the Being, nothing to do with your veil itself seem to collapse. It is like being able Consciousness, and nothing to do with your to remember a dream when one is awake. Bliss. N.: (silence). What are you looking for? Q.: I know that it feels like a Q.: I am looking for myself. sensation in the chest or the head. N.: Are you looking for confirmation of N.: Everything with which you have your idea or Realization of the Self? misidentified at any time has supposedly felt Q.: It is confirmation of some idea. like you. All you need do is to trace out from where the sense of identity derives. Similarly, N.: And, if you get that idea for discrimination, you need only trace confirmed, what then happens? out from where the sense of Q.: Not much. (laughter) reality derives, so that you do not mix it up 6 N.: You first spoke of keeping thought in Q.: Yes. This is clear. abeyance. Actually, when reading the N.: In the description of your experi- Maharshi’s words, “keeping off thoughts” ence, you traced it to a kind of memory. The refers to being transcendent and undefined by experience is good, but you will any thought. It has little to do with the probably find it more fruitful to examine how increase and decrease in the number of you have put together the causality. Any thoughts. description of illusion is necessarily as illuso- Q.: Okay. That is so important. I have ry as the illusion, itself. Your attempt to define this idea that I must get rid of the thoughts. It it is purposeful only to the extent that it helps is like there is a hole in the ground with you to eliminate it. To that extent, any expla- thoughts coming out of it like water, and I nation, no matter who gives it, of how duality, need to put my foot on it. illusion, or ignorance comes to be is helpful but will have its limitations. The limitations N.: No, it is a mirage. The number of are of the illusion, itself. thoughts is like counting the waves, few or greater, in the mirage, thinking that the desert If you say that there is memory and then sand is becoming wet and that you are drown- veiling comes about. Whose memory was it? ing in it. Does the true Self have a memory? The space- like, timeless, location-less, unborn, uncreated Q.: What you just said pointed out some- Reality has a memory? It is not so. thing that I consider real. Q.: It does not have a mirage. N.: When you consider something to be real and try to eliminate it at its own level, the N.: If you speak of multiplicity or most for which you can hope is a change in projection, in this case, the mental phenomena, in this case a subtle phenomenon projection in the form of memory, of what- called “thought.” The Realization of the True ever kind of memory, as having come prior to Self comes about by discerning what is real. the veiling, the causality is somewhat invert- Implicit in that is the negation of all that is ed. It would be better to say that there is veil- unreal. It does come about by “monkeying ing, and, because of veiling, there is then a pro- around” with the unreal, with the plumbing in jection of the illusory multiplicity. You can see this the mirage. (laughter) in your everyday experience. In deep sleep, there is no projection of multiplicity. There is Q.: Okay. no body, no mind, no world, and no experi- N.: It is like turning on and off the valves ence of any of that, but there is veiling of your of a mirage. (laughter) real nature. Out of sleep comes dream, and one of those dreams you refer to as “waking.” Q.: That is exactly what I have been Out of veiling comes the projection of multi- doing. plicity, which is an illusion. N.: Is this clear? Q.: Yes, I can see that veiling occurs and 7