Self-enquiry as taught by Sri Bhagwan is enough

[eranilkumarsinha]

I AM alone: thou only art in Me:
I am the stream of Life that flows through thee:
I comprehend all substance, fill all space:
I am pure Being, by whom all things be.

I am thy Dawn, from darkness to release:
I am the Deep, wherein thy sorrows cease;
Be still! be still! and know that I am God:
Acquaint thyself with Me, and be at peace!


I am the Silence that is more than sound:
If therewithin thou lose thee, thou art found:
The stormless, shoreless Ocean, which is I--
Thou canst not breathe, but in its bosom drowned.

I am all Love: there is naught else but I;
I am all Power: the rest is phantasy:
Evil, and anguish, sorrow, death, and hell--
These are the fear-flung shadows of a lie.

From 'Out of The Silence' Sri James Rhodes




Dear devotees, it is remarkable that the great Work 'Out of The Silence', from which the above stanzas have been cited, was composed perhaps in the late nineteenth century by the great Poet, Sri James Rhoades (1841-1923), who is also the author of the famous works, such as, 'City of Five Gates' and 'The First Thought'.

Pranam,
 Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

A science student strolls in  to the Presence of Bhagwan Sri Ramana:

Student: Science tells us that the atom is made of a nucleus in the centre, with electrons moving round it in the intervening space. Is the relation between God and the Perfect Man the same as these or different? I mean, although God and the Jnani are one unit, yet they preserve their separate identities.

Sri Bhagwan: Who is the Perfect Man?

Student: He who has perfected himself by sadhana.

Sri Bhagwan: So you think yourself imperfect that you ask this question. Will it not then be better for you to perform sadhana and perfect yourself and then you will know what happens? Why bother now about a state which comes only after Perfection. The fact is that you are even now perfect and your supposed imperfection is only your own creation.




Dear devotees, I wish to say that if one is at least intellectually convinced of the Existence of one Self, which is the Self of all selves (Sri Paul Brunton has termed It as the Overself), and one has come out of the region of probability, with regard to one's Real Self, by Divine Grace, it is better to perform sadhana and actually discover It for oneself, rather than to seek to endlessly satiate the mental curiosity about the things Divine.

Pranam,
 Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

Quote from Sri Nishta:

"M.: Simply through your powerful attention to Being, become the reality, the vast eye, the unbounded space of consciousness."


"To discover something.
To dis - cover.
To cease covering."


"Knowing only thoughts, concepts, the unbounded space of consciousness is covered and remains hidden."

"Cease covering with a simple shift of attention to that sense of Being-ness, that all without fail, possess. One need not fight thoughts, nor stop them, nor do anything other than make a simple shift to your own eternal Being-ness."

"Initially, that Being-ness is only a glimpse. It is still "seen" through the lens of attachments. Perseverance, and IT becomes the only view."





Dear Sri Nishta,

My Goodness!!! It is simply wonderful! But why have you locked this important  thread, such that others cannot share their understanding with you? Anyway, kindly keep posting such beautiful posts. Yes, perseverance, till  IT becomes the Only View, is what is required of one, on the Straight Path of Enquiry. Beautifully said, dear Sri Nishta! I am cent percent certain that Guru's Grace is showering on you!

Thanks very much.
Pranam,
 Anil 
 

[eranilkumarsinha]

Thus Spake Bhagwan Sri Ramana:

"Soul, mind and ego are words. There are no real entities of the kind. Consciousness is the only truth."

"The Truth is that the Self is constant and unintermittent Awareness. The object of enquiry is to find the true nature of the Self as Awareness. Let one practise enquiry so long as separateness is perceived. Once realisation arises there is no further need for enquiry. The question will also not arise. Can the  awareness ever think of questioning who is aware? Awareness remains pure and simple."

"To imagine Muladhara at the bottom, the Heart at the centre or the head at the top or over all these is all wrong. In one word, to think is not your real nature."

"Why is intellect developed? It has a purpose. The purpose is that it should show the way to realise the Self. It must be put to that use."

Source: Talks

[eranilkumarsinha]

The Lord is not Beyond Reach


Mighty is the Lord
The Flying Fortess He destroyed.
Thus despair not That He is your reach beyond;
Sure is the Lord to seekers true
In them He abideth, Grace abounding.

Tirumantiram

[eranilkumarsinha]

राम  बुलावा  भेजिया , दिया  कबीरा  रोय  |
जो  सुख  साधू  संग  में , सो  बैकुंठ  न  होय  ||
Sri Kabir

When Ram (God) beckoned him to come, Kabir wept. The happiness that is in Satsanga cannot be attained even in heaven or paradise. (trans. by me-anil)


Dear devotees, the first line of the popular Verse ( राम  बुलावा  भेजिया , दिया  कबीरा  रोय )  has intrigued, and even time and again, overwhelmed me. Hence the posting here.  Anil 

[eranilkumarsinha]

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa:
"Nishtha leads to bhakti; bhakti, when mature, becomes bhava; bhava when concentrated, becomes mahabhava; and last of all is prema. Prema is lie a chord: by prema God is bound to the devotee; He can no longer run away. An ordinary man can at best achieve bhava. None but an Isvarakoti attains mahabhava and prema. Chaitanyadeva attained them."

"What is the meaning of jnanayoga? It is the path by which a man can realize the true nature of his own Self; it is the awareness that Brahman alone is true nature. Prahlada sometimes was aware of his identity with Brahman. And sometimes he would see that God was one and he another; at such times he would remain in the mood of bhakti."

"Hanuman said, 'O Rama, sometimes I find that You are the whole and I a part, sometimes that You are the Master and I Your servant; but O Rama, when I have the Knowledge of Reality, I see that You are I and I am You.'"

Sri Girish: 'Ah!'   

Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna



Dear Devotees,

The Master says that none but an Isvarakoti attains mahabhava and prema. What is to be done then? This is why whenever someone asked Sri Bhagwan as to how to know God, He almost always taught that there must be an 'I' who wanted to know God. 'I' is certainly immediate and intimate, whereas God is not thought be so, and is unknown. And therefore, He always taught to find out that which was more intimate and immediate. So, in my view, solution lies in the Teaching:



"Unless the supreme Reality (God or Self) Itself reveals Itself in the Heart, the delusion (maya) of this world-dream will not end. The enquiry 'Who am I who sees this dream?' is the worship (upasana) which brings forth (the Grace of the Supreme for) this revelation."
V. 729, GVK




Dear devotees, merging into Source, there is Unity Only. And realizing God of one's devotion, there will be Unity only. So, Sri Bhagwan has taught that if one is told to have bhakti for God and he does so straightaway, it is very good indeed. If one is, however, not able to do so, he must be taught Vichara. Enquiry done with great love for the Self, and realizing the I-GOD, is indeed one Infallible Means to attain the Goal of life.

Thanks very much.
Pranam,
 Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

To be thinking not any thought
Is transcendental meditation they say.
That is the state of grace.
Grace comes from meditation.
It is the state of absence of self-consciousness.

The state of Grace kindles Bliss.
The nature of Bliss is Bliss itself.
Beyond it is nothing.
Only those who have attained that Bliss
Have become birthless.

All the rest is known
As wife, children, relations
And other tainted attachments.
In a word,
They are but expressions of desire.

Sri Thaumanavar



Dear devotees, 'To be thinking not any thought is transcendental meditation' has been explained by Sri Bhagwan thus:
"Only so long as there are other thoughts in the Heart can there be a thought of God conceived by one's mind. Destruction of even that thought of God due to destruction of all other thoughts alone is the unthought thought, which is the true thought of God."
 



Dear devotees, when the actors leave the stage, only the light illuming the stage remains. So also, when all thoughts are destroyed, what remains is the Self, which is only constant and unintermittent Awareness (Light).  In pure, simple and blissful Awareness, who is to be aware of whom? Sri Bhagwan says that remaining in such a State is alone the true thought of God, which is unthought thought, as it were. And remaining in such a State, effortlessly as well as permanently, is the Realization, Sri Bhagwan speaks of.     
Pranam,
 Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear devotees, what follows is an excerpt from the book 'My Life And Quest', written by Sri Arthur Osborne:

BRIEF ETERNITY

IT WAS ABOUT 6 o'clock one June morning in 1956 that the first awakening to Reality occurred. I was alone in the room when I awoke and sat up in bed. My wife and Frania were sleeping in the next room, and Catherine had already married and left us. I just was -- my Self, the beginningless, immutable Self. I had thought 'nothing is changed'. In theory I already understood that it is not anything new; what is eternal cannot be new, what is new cannot be eternal. The only description is what Bhagavan has given: 'It is as it is.' Only now I experienced it. There was no excitement, no joy or ecstasy, just an immeasurable contentment, the natural state, the wholeness of simple being. There was the thought: 'It is impossible ever to be bored'. The mind seemed like a dark screen that had shut out true consciousness and was now rolled up and pushed away. Of course, it is a paradox to speak of the mind being rolled up and at the same time of thoughts coming. Similarly, the mind of the realized man, such as Bhagavan, is said to be dead, but he has thoughts. It seems quite natural when it happens. Perhaps the best explanation would be that the mind as an active centre originating ideas, imagination, plans, worries, hopes and fears ceases to function, but the mind as a mirror condensing pure awareness into thoughts still works.




Dear devotees, how else Natural State can be described but by the Revelation 'IT  IS  AS  IT  IS?' However, the line 'the mind as a mirror condensing pure awareness into thoughts still works' needs to be explained. The meaning of 'condensing' here, in my view, is the same as in the statement 'steam condenses to water when it touches a cold surface'. So also, mind is the mirror of the pure awareness condensing into thoughts. And this is the Pure Mind, which is only aware.  Such a mind can no longer project ideas, imaginations, plans, worries, hopes and fears anymore. This is what is implied in the Biblical Mahavakya 'I  AM  THAT  I AM'. 

Pranam,
 Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

आतम अनुभव जब भयो, तब नहि हर्श विशाद
चितरा दीप सम ह्बै रहै, तजि करि बाद-विवाद।
Sri Kabir
Aatam anubhav jab bhayo,tab nhi harsh Vishad
Chitra deep sam habai rahai,taji kari bad-Vivad.
जब हृदय में परमात्मा की अनुभुति होती है तो सारे सुख दुख का भेद मिट जाता है।
वह किसी चित्र के दीपक की लौ की तरह स्थिर हो जाता है, और उसके सारे मतांतर समाप्त हो जाते है।

When Self (Atma) is realized in the Heart, all pain and pleasure disappear. Such a one lives like the constant flame of a lamp in a picture (or like a constant, unwavering flame of a lamp in a windless place). He shuns all arguments and polemics. (trans. by me-anil)

[eranilkumarsinha]

Sri Paul Brunton:
"Once we push the gate of the mind slightly ajar and let the light stream in, the meaning of life becomes silently revealed to us. The gate may be open for one minute or for one hour, but in that period we discover the secret and neither weary time nor bitter woe can tear that priceless knowledge away from us. Words fall dead when I try to express that meaning, but whoever has felt his whole inner being melt away and dissolve into the mysterious Infinite during such meditation, as a result of constant aspiration or by the Grace of some Adept, will understand this thought I feebly trying to convey. In the still presence of that mighty power the soul walks on tip-toe."

"It is the most wonderful moment in a man's or woman's life, this illumination of the heart and mind."

"Find yourself--your Overself, and you will begin to find the meaning of life and begin to unveil the mystery of the universe. Back of each one of us there is this Overself--calm as an unruffled sky.............."






Dear Devotees,

'Pushing the gate of the mind slightly ajar', in my view, only means going within, opening the Inner Eye, and perceiving the Existence that is the Self or the Swarupa. Even a brief glimpse of the Eternity helps in the extinction of the ego totally, for, even during that brief experience of the Atma-swarupa; the universe of names and forms, including the ego-mind-body complex, is revealed to be false, floating as tiny straws on the periphery of Infinite Ocean of Consciousness. Who can express that Experience through words when even God-Guru Incarnate Sri Dakshinamurti conveyed it to Lord Brahma's Sons in Silence? However, undoubtedly, it brings about a great qualitative change in one who glimpses It, even if it be for a split of a moment. Life is no longer about only eating, sleeping, acting, desiring and achieving, in short, conducting worldly business anymore. Old ideas, concepts, achievements, et al, which were once so important, begin to appear redundant. The world which appeared so interesting loses sheen. Yes, one begins to find new, fulfilling meaning and purpose of life, and ceases to drift aimlessly and meaninglessly in an otherwise mundane life. 

Thanks very much.
Pranam,
 Anil         

[eranilkumarsinha]

To be read in continuation with my previous post:
Dear devotees, yet, Sri Paul Brunton has written, and I concur, that we do not wake up to the Truth of our own Real Self, though in the Heart within, of our own accord. The aspirational call must come to us. Let us go through what he has said in this regard in his own words:


Sri Paul Brunton:
"Hard to grasp this truth, that the aspirational call must come to us; we do not stir it into sound of our own accord. We must   cast ourselves prostrate at the feet of the Real Self and pray for its grace. When the fire of divine aspiration awakens in our hearts, we may know that some modicum of Grace has been granted to us."
"We who are servitors of that high king must wait upon his mood. Grace is a gift, a favour to be received at the hands of the god within. It cannot descend at any arbitrary moment, however. It usually comes when the necessary bodily, environmental and experiential conditions are ripe. The spirit takes its own time, not ours. For--"

'We cannot kindle when we will
The fire which in the heart resides;
The Spirit bloweth and is still
In mystery the soul abides.'

Sri Matthew Arnold

"The ripening of the soul for this profound experience of union with the Overself takes place gradually, as does the ripening of fruit. But once the growth is complete, then union overwhelms the soul with sudden downpouring and man is really born new."




Dear devotees, the great Sage Sri Kabir has also sung that everything, gradually, gradually is accomplished in time (dheere   dheere   re   mana,  dheere  sab  kuchh  hoye). However, it must be understood that there is no grade in Reality. Only there are grades of experiences for the individual but not at all for the Reality Itself, for, experiences may vary depending upon the extent to which ignorance covering the Swarupa has been removed; however, the Reality remains one and the same. 
Therefore, it follows that we cannot hasten things of our own accord. We must pray for His Grace, continue to do our part, and await His Pleasure, irrespective of His appearnces and disappearances.

Pranam,
 Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

As Much as You Strive, So Much is His Grace Bestowed

Even as you strive to reach Wisdom's bounds,
Even so on you, Hara, the Being First, His Grace bestows,
In Sabha unique He dances for Uma to behold.
Like a Flaming Ruby in the Flaming Sky.
Tirumantiram

And Thus Spake Bhagwan Sri Ramana:
"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."

[eranilkumarsinha]

ज्ञानी भुलै ज्ञान कथि निकट रहा निज रुप
बाहिर खोजय बापुरै, भीतर वस्तु अनूप।

Sri Kabir

Gyani bhulai gyan kathi nikat nij roop
Bahir khojay bapurai,bhitar vastu anoop.

तथाकथित ज्ञानी अपना ज्ञान बघारता है जबकी प्रभु उसके अपने स्वरुप में उसके अत्यंत निकट हीं रहते है।
वह प्रभु को बाहर खोजता है जबकी वह अनुपम आकर्षक प्रभु हृदय में हीं विराजमान है।

A self-proclaimed (or a so called) jnani is lost in describing his jnana (knowledge), while God is so intimate, always abiding within, as his own Swarupa. But he is searching Him outside when inside him is the Substance (वस्तु, Vastu)  Most Excellent. (trans. by me-anil)

[eranilkumarsinha]

Quote
"we do not wake up to the Truth of our own Real Self, of our own accord."

"Ego confidently asserts that through its own efforts Truth is dis-covered. For many years I puffed my chest and alleged the same. But in fact it is the Higher Power's (Self) doing."

"RM.: The ego submits only when it recognises the Higher Power."






Dear Sri Nishta,

Yes, Sri Bhagwan has enjoined rather explicitly that all the actions that the body is to perform are already decided at the time it comes into existence. The only freedom we have is whether or not to identify ourselves with the ego-body-mind complex, as it were. The world is a stage and all men and women are mere actors. The whole part is written out beforehand and one acts faithfully and efficiently according to the script whether one is Caesar who is stabbed or Brutus who stabs, he (actor) himself remaining unaffected by it because he knows that he is not the character being played on the stage.

Dear Sri Nishta, this is why ajnanis are always apprehensive as to what is going to become of them or going to happen the next moment or the next day, while he who realizes his identity with the deathless, immortal Self acts his part on the world and human stage without fear or anxiety, hope or regret, remaining untouched by the role being played out.   
 
Dear friend, if such is the state of affairs, if everything is predetermined even before we are born, the most spontaneous and sensible question in that case would be to ask what reality then we have when all our actions whatsoever are predetermined. It is sure to lead only to the ultimate and cataclysmic question: Who, then, am I? If the ego that thinks it makes decisions is not real and yet I know that I exist, what is the reality of me?

Dear friend, the above discussion itself may turn out for some to be a preparatory, mental version of the Great Quest Sri Bhagwan speaks of. However, this may though be an excellent preparation for the Great Quest, for the Real Experience, Grace is needed, and for That, Love and our Effort must be added.

Thanks very much.
Pranam,
 Anil