Self-enquiry as taught by Sri Bhagwan is enough

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Dear Sri Subramanian Ji, Sri silentgreen, Sri Udai Ji and all devotees,

  Guru's Words are the nectarine Words of Grace. They are Brahm Vakyas. I quote here again from the
 Talks, No-396.
 Sri Bh:
 
 " What is life ? Life is existence which is your Self. That is life eternal. Otherwise can you imagine a time when
 you are not ?
 That life is now conditioned by the body and you wrongly identify your being with that of the body. You are life
 unconditioned. These bodies attach themselves to you as mental projections and you are now afflicted by
 'I-am-the -body' idea. If this body idea ceases you are your Self.
 Where and how were you before being born ? Were you in sleep ? How were you ? You exist then too without the
 body. Then the ego arises, and then the mind which projects the body. 'I-am-the-body' idea is the result.
 Because the body exists you say that it was born and that it will die. In fact you remain without the body in
 sleep; but now you remain with the body.The Self can remain without the body, but the body can not exist
 apart from the Self.
 'I-am-the-body' thought is ignorance; that the body is not apart from the Self is knowledge. That is the
 difference between knowledge and ignorance.
 The body is a mental projection, the mind is the ego; and the ego rises from the Self. So the body-thought
  is distracting and strays away from the Self. For whom is the body or the birth ? It is not for the Self,
  the Spirit. It is for the non-self which imagines itself separate.

                                                                                    Thank you,
                                                                                       Anil   
   
 

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Composed of flesh, bone, blood, mal, mutra etc. this ever changing block of a body is insentient like
 the log of wood.It is animated, as you are aware, by the Light and Power of the Self, which is the Only
 Unchanging, One, Transcendental Reality and which is not different  from Brahman and the Feeling of Existence,
' I-am ',  the Pure Awareness. Therefore, it would do tons of good to seekers, if , instead of being enamoured with
 this ever changing body and its comforts and which is destined to undergo the experiences under the force of
 the prarabdha whether we do something for it or not, we should make whole-hearted efforts to hold on to that
 which underlies the body, which is the substratum, and which is our real Self.
  Everything  appears to us through the mind and its notion. Therefore, everything that appears to us is a mere
  notion.
  Has not Sri Bhagwan said that the body itself is a disease ? He Himself amply demonstrated by His own
  example by remaining indifferent to the pain and torture caused by the dreadful sarcomatus in the twilight of His
  earthly life.

                                                                                                  Thank You,
                                                                                                     Anil     
   
   

[Subramanian.R]

Chandogya Upanishad says:

Not remembering the body into which He was born, just as an animal is attached to a cart, so is the vital air attached to the body."

The knower of Brahman remains without remembering his own that is near the other people.  Only the people around him see the body of the knower of the Truth.  He being mindless, does not remember as "This is my body".  As the horse driven along by the driver reaches the next destination, without the need to be directed repeatedly by the driver, so the vital air established in this body by the Supreme Lord, maintains the activities of the body irrespective of the efforts of the individual. 



Arunachala Siva.

[eranilkumarsinha]

   Dear Sri Udai Shankar,

  First, I must acknowledge that I love your as well as Sri Silentgreen's critical bent of mind. It helps strengthen
 the spirit of  enquiry.I also love Sri Subramanian ji's spontaneity.

   You have said  that when all is Brahman, body and the world is also Brahman. But Brahman is ever present,
 unchanging, and unmoving. But we see that the body and the world sometimes appear and sometime do not.
 Unlike Brahman they are transitory, ever changing,ever moving. Isn't it ?

  An analogy is often drawn between Brahman and the Ocean. Ocean is a vast body of water, ever present,
 ever still,unchanging,and unmoving... etc. But waves in it, although made of the same substance water,
 rise from the Ocean,are ever changing, ever moving, while they have their stay in the Ocean, but finally
 resolving into it. Waves are of and in the Ocean .They are not apart from the Ocean. They  verily are ocean.
 
  Likewise, we are aware, by the Grace of Sri Bhagwan, that the mind which is the indefinable and wonderous
 power of the Brahman, rise from Brahman, is never still for a moment,ever moving, ever changing much like
 the waves in the Ocean. We know that the body and the mind are merely mental projection and rise
 simultaneously with the rise of the mind. When the mind arise , all else arise. Mind, body and the world are
 made of the same substance as the Brahman. They all are verily the Brahman. However, they are never still for a
 moment,sometimes present, sometimes not,ever moving, ever changing. They all rise from the Brahman, have
 their stay in It and finally resolve into It. All are Brahman, as Sri Subramanian Ji so beautifully explained.

                                                                                 Thank You,
                                                                                     Anil           

[eranilkumarsinha]

   Dear Devotees,

  What is Life ?
 Sri Bhagwan says that Life is Existence. And Existence is the Self or the Brahman or the feeling, ' I am '.
 As sri Bhagwan asked, if we try to imagine a time when we were not, we can not. Ours is a Life eternal.
 
  Life eternal has been conditioned by the mind-body complex from the time immemorial, birth after birth.
 And this has led us to identify our being, tenaciously but wrongly, with that of the mind-body complex.
 We are in truth Life unconditioned.

  One can become conscious of the ' Feeling of  Existence ' I am ' by stilling the mind even for a while, if one is
 sensitive enough. This is within the experience of all of us.

  Now, what is 'I am' ? Is 'I am' a thought ? Sri Bhagwan says that the egoless 'I am' is not a thought. It is the
 Realization. The meaning , significance and the true import of  'I'  is God.

                                       " THE EXPERIENCE OF 'I AM' IS TO BE STILL."

                                                                                 Thank You
                                                                                      Anil

[Subramanian.R]

Self transcends mind and body.  Everything starting from the mind,
thought [the root being I thought] takes birth, is sustained and then
dissolved in the Self.  Bhagavan Ramana says this in Verse 2 of
Sri Arunachala Pancharatnam.

As on a screen a wondrous picture
On You, fair Hill, is all this world
Formed and sustained and then withdrawn
Ever as "I" in the heart You dance,
Hence are You called the Heart.

-Tr. Prof. K. Swaminathan

Now this Arunachala can be Atma as seen outside.
It is also within us as Atma.

All the worlds [including all beings in it]  are formed, sustained and dissolved in Arunachala.

Similarly right from the time wake up, all thoughts and worlds
are formed, sustained throughout the day, and then get dissolved
in the Self when we go into deep sleep.

Arunachala is Atma, without and within.

Seeing the Atma or Atma darshan is experiencing the Atma within,
where there are no thoughts. 

Bhagavan Ramana says this in Verse 2 of Sri Arunachala Ashtakam:


Inquiring within 'Who is the seer?' I saw the seer disappearing
and That alone stands for ever.  No thought arose to say "I saw".
How then could the thought arise to say "I did not see"?  Who has
the power to explain all this in words, when You as {Sri Dakshinamurty} conveyed this of yore in Silence only?  And in order to reveal by silence, Your state transcendent, now You stand here,
a Hill resplendent soaring to the sky.

-Tr. Prof. K. Swaminathan.

This verse describes Arunachala = Atma = Silence [achalam].



Arunachala Siva.     

[eranilkumarsinha]

   Dear Sri Subramanian Ji

  Thank You so much Sir for a very, very nice post  that strengthens
  conviction about our Ends and Goal. Thank You so much.

                                                              With Regards,
                                                                  Anil     

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Dear Devotees,

  Thinking only of Him and His rich, auspicious and benignant Feet, deer devotees, we should,
 without loosing further time, start a journey whose end and goal is Bliss Supreme, as Sri Muruganar sang.

  That Sri Bhagwan is God Himself is self-obvious to all us. But His role as Sadguru in ths world is beyond
  the words and speech of an ordinary devotee like me. It is for the great devotees like Sri Muruganar,
 Sri Ganapati Muni, Sri Annamalai Swami, Sri Paul Brunton etc. to make aware the world of
 His full glory.

  I quote here a conversation that Sri Bhagwan had with a devotee to show how at once He shifted the
 attention of the enquirer on the enquirer himself, the subject, 'I'.

  D       : If you have seen God I would like you yo help me see God.
  Sri Bh : You say 'I wish to see God;First of all tell me who are you ?
  D       : My name is Devadatta Sharma.
  Sri Bh : That is your name. Who are you ?
   D      : I have already told that I am Sharma. I am a Brahmin.
  Sri Bh : That is the indication of your caste. Who are you ?
   D      : I am a lecturer in a college.
  Sri Bh : That is your profession. Who re you ?
   D      I am a human being.
  Sri Bh : That is your birth-womb. But who are you ?
  D       : I am a man.
  Sri Bh  : That is your gender. Who are you ?
  D        : It looks as if I do not know myself.

                                                            Source: New Dawn, Sri A.R. Natarajan

     That is it. We do not know ourselves. We do not know the subject who appears to
     know every thing else as objects. 

                                                                         Thank You.
                                                                             Anil   
   

[Subramanian.R]

Talks No. 371:

Devotee:  What is Jnana marga?

Bhagavan:  I have been saying it so long.  What is Jnana?  Jnana
means realization of the Truth.  It is done by dhyana.  Dhyana
helps you to hold on to the Truth to the exclusion of all thoughts.

Devotee:  Why are there so many Gods mentioned?

Bhagavan:  The body is only one.  Still, how many functions are performed by the body?  The source of all the functions is only one.
It is in the same way with the Gods also. 

Devotee:  Why does a man suffer misery?

Bhagavan:  Misery is due to multifarious thoughts.  If the thoughts
are unified and centred on a single idem, there is no misery.  But happiness is the result.  Then, even the thought, "I do something"
is absent; nor will there be an eye on the fruit of action.

Talks, No. 518:

Bhagavan ......Aham kriti is not the same as Aham.  The latter is supreme reality, where as the former is the ego.  It is to be overcome before the Truth is realized.  The Supreme Being is unmanifest and the first sign of manifestation is Aham Sphurama
[the light of the "I"].  The Brahadaranyaka Upanishad says Aham Nama abhavat [He became 'I' named].  This is the original name of Reality.

Talks No. 62:

...Again sphurana is the foretaste of realization.  It is pure.  The subject and object proceed from it.  If the man mistakes himself for the subject, objects must necessarily appear different for him.  They are periodically withdrawn and projected, creating the world and the subject's enjoyment of the same.  If, on the other hand, the man feels himself to the screen on which the subject and object are projected, there can be no confusion, and he can remain watching their appearance and disappearance without any perturbation to the Self.



Arunachala Siva.       

[eranilkumarsinha]

   How does the individuality or the personality function ? My understanding is as follows :
 The first thought that arises on waking is the central or the pivotal I-thought or the 'I-Am-Body' thought.
 This root I-thought , as you are aware, has two parts. The consciousness part,'I-Am' and 'idam' part or 'this'.
 It should be noted here by seekers , rather carefully, that the 'body' is the first 'idam' or 'this' to arise. This body
 'idam' associated with the Intelligence or consciousness, 'I-Am' is the individuality. Now, the experiences,
 that this body-mind complex has to undergo, under the force of the prarabdha, are all present in thought forms
 which are connected with the root I-thought. But as we know that all thoughts including the I-thought are
 insentient, jada. Then question arises how inert and lifeless thoughts can function seemingly as one whole,
 creating individuality ? The answer is: The consciousness or  the intelligence part, 'I-Am' in the 'I-Am-Body'
 thought links and binds all thoughts as one whole which is called ego-centric mind.

 But we see that the thoughts are always moving. A thought rises , has its stay till an another thought
 takes its place. We must remember here that thoughts appear to have life and energy only because of the
 attention of the thinker. Movement in thoughts is also caused by the shift in the attention of the thinker.
 This is also within the experience of all us that a thought remains energised and lively only so long as
 attention is rivetted to it. The moment the attention of the thinker shifts to another thought, the thought
 looses all power at once and simply vanishes.

  In this way, dear devotees, 'idam' or 'this' part , starting with the body, is ever changing, depending
 on the thinker's response to various situations and events as ordained under the 'prarabdha'.

                                                                                    Thank You,
                                                                                       Anil
     
   

[Subramanian.R]

Yes.  Thoughts are not distinct from Swarupam.

Muruganar says in GVK Verse 890:

Divorced from the non-dual fullness, all the accumulated worldly
phenomena that cling to one as 'this' and 'that' are not at all real.
The conclusion to be drawn is that all these things are an entirely
imaginary superimposition upon it, the non dual fullness.

Muruganar adds here:

Here it is stressed that all the multifarious phenomena that are associated with maya are in truth non existent, when divorced of
the Self, which is non dual fullness. All the manifestations of the triputis resolve themselves and end as the creations of the mind.
There is neither mind nor thoughts distinct from Swarupam.  This illustrates the subtle truth of the world's reality.  If seen as Brahman, the world is real.  Otherwise it must be declared to be entirely false.

[Tr. David Godman]

Bhagavan Ramana also says that all thoughts are inconsistent
with realization.  The correct state is to exclude thoughts of ourselves and all other thoughts.  Thought is one thing and realization is quite another.  [Talk No. 30]



Arunachala Siva.

[eranilkumarsinha]

I"].  The Brahadaranyaka Upanishad says Aham Nama abhavat [He became 'I' named].  This is the original name of Reality.
   Dear Sri Subramaninan Ji,
 
  Thank you so much for very,very nice and beautiful posts. Sri Bhagwan while commenting on Sri Adi Shankara's
'jagat mithyam' statement said that people see only the first line (Jagat mithyam) and criticise the Acharya.
 Sri Bhagwan said that the jagat seen apart from Brahman is mithya, an illusion. Jivas are One with Brahman.
 All is Brahman.

  Dear Sir, thank you so much for quoting 'Aham Nama abhavat', original name of the Reality from Brahadaranyaka.
 Would you kindly shed some more light on 'Aham' and 'Aham Sphurna' ?

                                                                        With Regards
                                                                            Anil

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Aham is the first name given by Rishis for Brahman. Srikanta in his
Brahmasutra Bhashya says:  Aham pathartha Sivaya Namah:  Salutations to Siva who is the meaning of the word Aham.

Muruganar says:

For those who attention is focused on the Self, only the name
aham-aham [I-I], among many known names of God will constantly reverberate in the Heart firmament once the ego has been destroyed,
and it will remain there, centre-stage, as the silent transcendental speech.  [Paravak].

Para, pasyanthi, Vaikari - says Sri Lalita Sahasranamam.

Padamalai Verse 622 says:

That trustworthy vichara exists neither in book learning nor in
learning from others, but only in one's own sense of "I" - Aham.

Bhagavan Ramana says in Verse 44 of Sri AAMM:

"If you turn within and see, it will appear,"  -- you said to me,
O Arunachala!



Arunachala Siva.     

[eranilkumarsinha]

 Padamalai Verse 622 says:

That trustworthy vichara exists neither in book learning nor in
learning from others, but only in one's own sense of "I" - Aham.


 Dear Sri Subramanian Ji,

  Thank you so much sir for such a beautiful and one of the most apt quotes in the context of the current
 discussion.

  I quote two verses from Srimad Bhagvad Gita in which Sri Lord Krishna in one verse says
 that I am both sat (being, existence ) and asat ( non-being, non-existence ) and in the other verse He says
 that I am beyond both sat and asat.

  " Tapamy aham, aham varsam nigrhnamy utsrjami ca,
    amritam c'aiva mrtyus ca sad asac c'aham Arjuna. "
 'I give heat, and I send forth as well as withhold rain. I am, O Arjuna ! both existence and non-existence.'
                                                                            Verse-19, Ch-9

  "Jneyam yat pravaksyami yat jnatva'mrtam asnute,
   anadimat param brama na sat tan n'asad ucyate."
 ' I shall now declare the Object which ought to be known, by knowing which one attains to immortality.
   It is SupremeBrahman, the eternal Being who can not be described either as existent or non-existent.
   ( in the way sense-bound material objects are described ) '

                                                                            With Regards,
                                                                               Anil         
   

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Dear Sri Subramanian Ji

 I wish to quote the Verse no 16, Ch 2, from Srimad Bhagavad  Gita  in which Lord Krishna explains 'Sat' and 'Asat' in terms of the Existence Itself.
 “ N’asato vidyate bhavo n’abhavo vidyate satah,
   ubhayor api drsto’ntas tv anayos tattva darsibhih.”
Satah-           Of the Real
Astah-           Unreal
Bhavah-        Being or Existence
Abhavah-      Non-being or Non-existence
Taatvadarshi-Truth-seer
‘The Unreal can never come into existence, and the real can never cease to be.’
Dear  Sir, how do we understand ‘Asat’ or the unreal in the above verse ? It says  ‘Asat’ has no bhava or the unreal has no existence. What does it exactly mean for us ? Is ‘Asat’ or the unreal  non-existent like the horn of a hare  or the son of a barren woman  which are merely the figment of imagination and which can not be experienced ?

 Question that is of  importance here is whether the coming into existence of ‘Asat’ can be totally denied like the horn of a hare or the  son  of a barren woman ? By the Grace of Sri Bhagwan, it can now be easily understood that coming into being of such an entity i.e. ‘Asat’, in fact, means transient and ever changing forms of the empirical existence that our body-mind complex experiences. Therefore, ‘Asat’ is the transient, ephemeral and ever changing forms of the ‘System of Forms’ i.e. empirical realities. But the verse 2-16 of the Gita says that ‘Asat’ has no being , no existence. Sir, in my opinion, ‘Asat’ in the verse means that these changing  forms have no continuity in themselves. They are fleeting ; come and go, no permanency.

 What is the most important to note is this that when all these forms cease, they leave no vestige, no residue whatsoever. And what remains is the ‘Sat’ or the Essence or the Being, the Substratum, on which all these forms appear and disappear and which is the ‘Witness of Change’.

                                                                                              With Regards,
                                                                                                  Anil