Self-enquiry as taught by Sri Bhagwan is enough

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Dear Sri Subramanian Sir, ji, yes, the ego-mind is the culprit-in-chief. Sri Bhagwan termed it as the thief and the tyrant.  Ji, in sadhdnas other than the Atmavichara, this very  ego-mind is employed as the instrument of the practice which is akin to appointing the thief as the policeman to catch that very thief.

  Bhagwan : to a devotee-There are many ways to the 'Lakshyam' (goal). All of them lead to the same, the only goal. But Self enquiry is the best, the safest, simple and also the direct one. Why not choose this particular direct one and pursue the practice instead of going in for indirect methods. Do not worry about the technical terms in the scriptures and confuse yourself.

  Besides the above, Sri Bhagwan has also said that all other sadhanas are merely prepatory to the Self enquiry. Regards. Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Sri Bhagwan's statement in the above post has been quoted from ' More Talks With Sri Ramana Maharshi' by Sri N. N. Rajan, no. 71, p-46. Thank you. Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Dear Seekers, besides the other great advantages, the unique greatness of the ' Atmavichara' lies in the truth that the taste of ' nija vibhanakam' or the 'taste of Bliss of the Supreme Self' is available to the seeker, albeit vaguely and faintly, from the very beginning of the sadhana. This taste acts as the unmistakable scent nudging a sadhak to reach the Self tracing that very scent. As the spells of the equibrilium increases through constant 'Atmavichara', then, the Bliss is felt more and more. Thank you. Anil   

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Sri Bhagwan has said that Siva is always realised here and now and if one thinks one has not it is wrong. Thinking that one has not realised Siva is the obstacle for realising Siva. Sri Bhagwan asks to give up that thought and realisation is here and now. ( Talk 450, P-441 )

  Sri Bhagwan : Make effort. Just as water is got by boring well, so also you realise the Self by investigation.
  Devotee : Yes. But some find water readily and others with difficulty.
  Sri Bhagwan : But you already see the moisture on the surface. You are hazily aware of the Self. Pursue it. When the effort ceases the Self shines forth.
      Talk 240, P-202

  Yes, everybody is aware, however faintly, of his Self as the awareness of his existence. Holding  it and abiding in it till the haze is evaporated by the blazing ' Light of the Self ' is  what is being asked of us, the devotees and seekers. Thank you. Anil     

[eranilkumarsinha]

  " TAT TVAM ASI ". Dear seekers, we along with everything else are that only. We all are aware of the eternal Self. We see many dying of our near and dear ones but still why do we all believe ourselves to be eternal and immortal ? Sri Bhagwan says, ' Because it is the Truth.' Unwillingly and  unknown to ourselves, natural and eternal Truth asserts itself. Sri Bhagwan says that the intermingling of the conscious Self with the insentient body is responsible for this delusion which must end.

  Sri Bhagwan says that so long as there is vibhakti, there must be bhakti. So long as there is viyoga, there must be yoga. So long as there is duality, there must be God and devotee. Sri Bhagwan says that so long as there is vichara, there is duality too. Merging in the Source is the only 'Unity'. Uniting with the God of devotion is the only 'Unity'.

  Therefore, truly, ignorance is due to avichara. Atmavichara must commence. Enquiry must be set afoot to end the utterly mithya duality which has deprived us from the Bliss of our natural state. Thank you. Anil   

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

There is an interesting conversation about sat-asat vicharana, in
Talks No. 29:-

Question:  Has the discrimination between Reality and unreality
[sat asat vicharana] the efficacy in itself to lead us to the
realization of the one imperishable?

Bhagavan:  As propounded by all and realized by all true seekers,
fixity in the supreme spirit [Brahmanishta] alone can make us know
and realize it.  It being of us and in us, any amount of discrimination can lead us only one step forward, by making us
renouncers, by goading us to discard the seeming [abhasa] as
transitory and to hold fast to the eternal truth and presence alone.

In Sri Ramana Gita, 1.4. and 1.10, Bhagavan states:-

Question:  Is mukti to be had by mere discrimination between
the real and the unreal or are there other means for the ending of
bondage?

Bhagavan:  Abidance in the Self alone releases one from all bonds.
Discrimination between the real and the unreal leads to non-
attachment.

This is the significance of the Arunachala Deepa Darsanam.
Bhagavan Ramana says in His verse about the significance of
the beacon:

Getting rid of the 'I am the body' idea and merging the mind
into the Heart to realize the Self as Non-dual being and the light of all, is the real significance of darshan of the beacon of light on
Annamalai, the centre of the universe.



Arunachala Siva. 
   

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

         Pranam,

  Thank you for the nice and beutiful post. Sri Bhagwan has said that Atmavichara includes all spiritual sadhanas and practices. Therefore, fixity and abidance in the Self is the culmination of Atmavichara and all sadhanas. However, I wished to say that in the initial stages of Atmavichara or the Self enquiry , Self is hazy and remote. Hence a seeker first isolates the I-thought from the general thoughts of  you, he, it, this, that, etc. ( idam) and hold on and abide in it. This holding and abidance in the I-thought changes to the sentient part of the ego on its own accord. Since this particularised sentient part is unstable in this state, holding and abidance in it changes to undifferentiated ' I-I ' and then ultimately to the Self of its own accord. All a seeker has to do is to keep holding and abiding in the I-thought till the effortless fixity and abidance is realised. For, the greatest advantage of the Atmavichara is the availability of the taste of the Bliss of the Self to a seeker from the very beginning which acts as the unmistakable scent tracing which the he reaches his ultimate goal.

                Regards,
                   Anil   

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Dear Sir, Sat-Asat vicharana or the contemplation, on its own, cannot confer realisation and liberation. But it is important because it gives intellectual conviction for the need of Atmavichara. Transitory nature of i, you, he, it, this, that, etc. becomes apparent to the intellect. Then it becomes easy for the intellect to sink in the ego and for the ego to sink in the Supreme Self. After all, this is the ultimate purpose of the intellect and for which it was designed by the Creator. Regards.Anil 

[Subramanian.R]

Yes.  The purpose of intellect [buddhi] is to transcend the ego
and keep the mind  quiescent in the Self.



Arunachala Siva.

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Dear Seekers, did we come to Bhagwan Sri Ramana, learnt the technique of Self enquiry and are striving with best of our capacity ceaselessly to discover our forgotten natural state on our own ? What power this false and non-existent ego,or better to say this little ' i ' has ? Can ego take up a practice which ensures its own terminal destruction on its own ? No, it cannot be.

Devotee : It is said that Divine Grace is necessary to attain successful undistracted mind. Is that so ?
 Sri Bhagwan : We are God ( Iswara ). Iswara Drishti ( i. e., seeing ourselves as God ) is itself Divine Grace. So we need Divine Grace to get God's Grace.
 Devotee : There is also Divine Favour as distinct from Divine Grace. Is that so ?
Sri Bhagwan : The thought of God is Divine Favour ! He is by nature Grace. It is by God's Grace that you think of God.
 Devotee : Is not the Master's Grace the result of God's Grace ?
 Sri Bhagwan : Why distinguish between the two ? The Master is the same as God and not different from  him.
       Talks, no. 29, p-35

  Dear devotees, even we think of God by His Grace alone and that is Divine Favour. God is by nature Grace. Therefore, Divine Grace (seeing ourselves as God) is needed to secure God's Grace which is Himself. Truth is God's Grace is the beginning, middle and the end of all spiritual sadhanas. Thank you. Anil   

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Once Devaraja Mudaliar told Bhagavan:  "Swami, however much
we try, we seem to not making much progress.  We want your
Grace."   Bhagavan Ramana said: "Oye, Grace is always there.
But 'you' should not come in between. 

Bhagavan Ramana's grace is ever there.  It is our ego which
refuses to acknowledge it and proceed further.

Bhagavan Ramana says in Atma Vidya Kirtanam:

Verse 5:  When the mind-free of thought turns inward,
Annamalai appears as my own Self,
True,  Grace is needed.  Love is added,
Bliss wells up.



Arunachala Siva. 

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Dear Ddvotees, God's Grace is the beginning, middle and the end of all spiritual sadhanas. But then, should we wait for His Grace to make efforts to regain our forgotten natural state. Are we really happy leading our ego based lives ? We should ask whether we are at peace with ourselves ?
Sri Bhagwan says that Grace is vouchsafed only those who earnestly make efforts. See for yourselves.

  The Maharshi with an ineffable smile which lit up His Holy Face and which was all-pervasive, shining upon the coterie around Him, replied in tones of certainty and with the ring of truth; " Divine Grace is essential for Realisation. It leads one to God-realisation. But such Grace is vouchsafed only to him who is a true devotee or a yogin, who has striven hard and ceaselessly on the path towards freedom."
            Thank you.
                Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Dear Ddvotees, God's Grace is the beginning, middle and the end of all spiritual sadhanas. But then, should we wait for His Grace to make efforts to regain our forgotten natural state. Are we really happy leading our ego based lives ? We should ask whether we are at peace with ourselves ?
Sri Bhagwan says that Grace is vouchsafed only those who earnestly make efforts. See for yourselves.

  The Maharshi with an ineffable smile which lit up His Holy Face and which was all-pervasive, shining upon the coterie around Him, replied in tones of certainty and with the ring of truth; " Divine Grace is essential for Realisation. It leads one to God-realisation. But such Grace is vouchsafed only to him who is a true devotee or a yogin, who has striven hard and ceaselessly on the path towards freedom."
       Talks, no. 29, p-34
            Thank you.
                Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

  Dear devotees, since I am uploading all my posts from 29 th Nov by my mobile phone reply 282, by posting error, has been duplicated. Kindly ignore the error and any one of them can be read. Thank you. Anil 

[Subramanian.R]

In Talks No. 13, the following brief conversation is reported:

Question:  Is a Master necessary for realization?

Bhagavan:  The realization is the result of the Master's grace,
more than teachings, lectures, meditation, etc.,  They are only
secondary aids whereas the former is the primary and essential
cause.



Arunachala Siva.