Self-enquiry as taught by Sri Bhagwan is enough

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

Sri Bhagwan upheld almost all our ancient Advaitic texts and sometime or other even quoted from them.  Self-enquiry itself is also an ancient path as we saw that V. 17 and V. 18 of the Atma Sakshatkara  teaches Self-enquiry. However, Self-enquiry as taught by Sri Bhagwan is radical, comprehensive, holistic and most appropriately suited to be adopted by the modern mind obsessed with scientific discoveries, inventions, knowledge and  achievement.

I did not know anything about agamas. I learnt something about them from Sri Bhagwan’s books. Now I understand that the Agamas are as sacred and authoritative as our other ancient scriptures. No human authorship is ascribed to the Agamas and are regarded as divinely revealed like our other scriptures.   

Thank you so much, sir.

Regards,
  Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Devotees,

Devotee : How to check the mind ?
Sri Bhagwan asks, “Will a thief betray himself? Will the mind find itself?”
Sri Bhagwan says, “The mind cannot seek the mind. You have ignored what is real and are holding on to the mind which is unreal and also trying to find what it is. Was there mind in your sleep? It was not. It is now here. It is therefore impermanent. Can the mind be found by you?  The mind is not you. You think you are the mind and therefore ask me how it is checked. But it is not. UNDERSTAND THIS TRUTH BY SEARCH. SEARCH FOR UNREALITY IS FRUITLESS. THEREFORE SEEK THE REALITY, i.e. THE SELF. THAT IS THE WAY TO RULE OVER THE MIND.THERE IS ONLY ONE THING REAL !”
                                                                                                                          Talk—238

THE MIND IS NOT YOU. BE STILL AND KNOW THAT YOU ARE GOD. BE QUIET AND YOU WILL ATTAIN THE BLISS OF THE SELF.
But the problem is however much one tells his mind about this Great Truth, the mind will not listen. It is the mind alone that won’t keep quiet. MIND TELLS THE MIND. IT IS ONLY THE MIND WHICH ALWAYS TELLS THE MIND. Mind tells, “ Be still and realise the Self”. Sri Bhagwan said it. Sri Jesus Christ said it. The Great Vedanta have said it. We hear, talk and discuss every day about it.
But dear devotees, our mind’s tenacity is such that it won’t listen. It will not keep quiet. It will stray in the world of the subjects and objects. Yes. It will, nevertheless, be on the hunt seeking pleasures in the sense objects.

What to do ? Sri Bhagwan says that you are not the mind. Rising and disappearing mind cannot be found by you. Listening this from the Guru, we still are only the mind or we think that we are the mind. There will come a time during meditation when it will certainly dawn that one is not the mind. Sri Bhagwan says, “ Seek the Reality. Seek the Self. Seeking the illusory mind is futile. Seek the Truth within. There was no mind. There is no mind. There will be no mind.” We must understand this. We must never forget that although we are ever the Self only. However, to attain ‘OURSELVES’, conscious, deliberate effort with perseverance  and steady determination is sine-qua-non.

QUELLING THE MIND IS THE PRIME NECESSITY TO ATTAIN THE SUPREME STATE OF THAT BLISSFUL MOUNA.     

Thank you,
   Anil

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Saint Tirumular who lived in Tiru Avaduthurai near Chidambaram
some 1200 years back, has said in his famous book Tirumandiram:

Purity in Silence is the Way of Purity
Purity in Silence is the Lord's Name
Purity in Silence are the siddhis eight
Purity in Silence are the Holy Feet.  [Verse 2556].



Arunachala Siva.

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

This is a very sublime and divinely revealed verse. Thank you, sir, for citing this verse of Saint Sri Tirumular. What is purity in Silence? Pure Silence is that State in which the chattering ego-mind has been destroyed once and for all. Pure silence is devoid of the ‘I am the body’ imagination and that is the Silence of the Self. Sri Muruganar sings :

“Since Silence of the Self, which shines through the pure mind [the pure Existence-Consciousness which is devoid of all thoughts], alone turns out to be the gateway to Liberation, even though they proceed along any path which is agreeable [to them], that gate alone is the final refuge.”
                                                                   V. 1185, GVK,  Tr. & Comm. By Sri Sadhu Om

Dear sir, This is a great revelation indeed. Sri Muruganar reveals that whatever the path, one can enter the State of Liberation through the Gateway of the Pure Silence only. Since Pure silence is the destruction of the ego-mind, it can be also said that Gateway to the Swarupa Whose Nature is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss is through the egolessness  or mindlessness. Sri Sadhu Om mentions that Sri Bhagwan used to say, “Through whatever road one may approach the town of liberation , in order to enter that town one must pay the tollgate fee. That tollgate fee is the destruction of one’s ego or mind”.

Dear sir, in my view, nay, not view, rather I feel that the meaning and implication of the Verse of  Saint Sri Tirumular, as cited by you, is almost exactly the same as the meaning and implication of the Verse 1185, as cited  and explained above.

WHATEVER PATH TAKEN TO THE TOWN OF LIBERATION, ONE HAS TO PAY THE TOLLGATE FEE, I.E. DESTRUCTION OF THE EGO-MIND TO ENTER THE EXALTED TOWN.

Regards,
  Anil   

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Yes. Saint Tirumular's verse and GVK verse say one and the same
point.

To pay the toll gate fee - is a story told by Sri Bhagavan. One has to willy nilly attain God, though he may follow different paths. But the vichara is the straight path, direct path.

Sri Bhagavan says in Arunachala 8 Sri Arunachala Ashtakam, the rain clouds formed from the sea [due to evapoaration of water] comes down as rains and the rains when they pour, goes through the rivers. The rivers have to come back to the ocean, whatever path it can traverse.  Ganga for example came from Himalayas but it has to reach the Bay of Bengal. So all rivers have to ultimately attain oneness with the sea, without any separate identification. So all the individuals whatever path one can follow should attain godhead, losing its individuality.



Arunachala Siva. 

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

Ji. Yes. Very nice, sir.  “He who turns inward with untroubled mind to search where the consciousness of ‘I’ arises realises the Self and rests in Thee, Oh Arunachala ! as a river when it merges in the ocean.”  A river rises from the ocean in the form of evaporation, comes down in the form of rain drops and again merges in the ocean as a river after strenuous journey and attains oneness with its source. Likewise, a creature rises from the Self and after strenuous journey and sadhana again merges with the Self and attains oneness with the Source. Till both merges with their respective sources, both are restless. Both are unhappy. See the restlessness of the river when it is in high spates. See the restlessness of the jivas  beaten by the dark materialism !

Thank you so much, sir.

Regards,
  Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Devotees,

Enquiry is as old as the Great Vedanta. It is said that the whole Vedanta can be summed up into the four words, deham, naham,  koham, soham. The first two lines of the V. 10 of the Supplement, Reality in Forty Verses  explains why deham is naham. This deham is insentient like the log of wood. It cannot say ‘I’. If one enquires ‘koham?’, i.e. ‘Who am I ?’, ‘Whence am I ?’, then in the Heart Omnipresent Sri Arunachala shines as ‘I’, Sri Arunachala Himself will shine as ‘soham’, and such a one will know ‘That I Am’. Such a one will know “I” is “THAT”.

Sri Bhagwan, while explaining the V. !0 of the Supplement, Reality in Forty Verses, cites two verses ,one from Sri Thayumanavar and the other from Sri Nammalvar. I feel it is appropriate to cite them here as follows:

“ Searching who this ‘I’ was,
Soon I found
You only standing as the heaven of bliss,
You only blessed Lord !”
                          Thyumanavar

“ Not knowing who I was,
I used to speak of ‘I’ and ‘mine’
But I am You and mine is You,
Lord whom all the gods adore.
                           Nammalvar

Therefore, ‘I’ and ‘mine’ appear so long as thinking and appearing and disappearing ‘I’ thinks it is an independent separate entity.  But when I began to enquire about this very ‘I’, I soon found that He only stands as the Heaven of Bliss.

Yes. All shows are due to lack of enquiry. How strange is it that the imagined ego-I feels so secure although, in truth, it is not ! Apparent ‘I’ must be enquired into to be True ‘I’ and stand as the Heaven of Bliss. 

Dear devotees, I wish to add here that the Self-enquiry, as taught by Sri Bhagwan, has been so elaborately  crafted and delivered to us, out of Infinite Compassion, by He Himself, that nothing is left for the imagination. All we need do is to follow It sincerely with best, best of our capacity. WHAT USE FOR OTHER THINGS IN LIFE WHEN ‘I’ ITSELF IS UNKONWN, LIFE ITSELF IS IN THE REALM OF THE UNKNOWN.

Thank you,
   Anil
                   

 

[eranilkumarsinha]

Sri Bahgwan : You are and it is a fact. Dhyana is by you, of you, and in you. It must go on where you are. It cannot be outside you. So you are the centre of Dhyana and that is the Heart.
                                                                                                             Talk—403

Dear Devotees,

In my view, the above Statement of Sri Bhagwan is an invaluable Revelation. I respectfully invite all of you to share your understanding, with regard to the Statement as quoted above, with us all.

Thank you,
    Anil

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Nammazhwar is one of the 12 great Saints of Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya.  He is considered the foremost among them. His
1000 poems are called Tiruvoimozhi, the great utterances from
the holy mouth.  His poems have got advaitic strain on many
places.



Arunachala Siva.     

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

Ji. Yes. There is no doubt whatever that Saint Sri Nammalvar’s  is the Holy Mouth. Tamil Land has been blessed by so many Great Sages and Saints like Saint Sri Manickavachagar, Saint Sri Thaumanavar, Saint Sri Tirujnanasambandhar, Saint Sri Appar, Saint Sri Tirumular, Saint Sri Namalvar, Saint Sri Sundaramurti  etc. Bhagwan Sri Ramana, ever shining brightest in the spiritual firmament of our nation, Himself blessed the Great Land.

Dear sir, what I wish to know from you is whether the above mentioned Great Tamil Saints and Sages are those whose Statues are installed in the Mother’s Temple in Madura.  Perhaps, there are 63 Great Saiva Saints whose Statues have been installed in the Mother’s Temple in Madura.  Kindly enlighten.

Thank you so much, sir.

Regards,
  Anil   

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Not only in Madurai temple but also in all Siva temples, in Tamizh
Nadu, there will be a row of Saiva Saints, 63 in number.  Their names are also written on top of the image in Tamizh.

Nammazhwar is not there in the group. Since he is basically in
Sri Vaishnava group of 12 Azhwars, Azhwar means those who
drowned in Naryana padam.

Saint Manikkavachagar is not also there in 63 saiints, because he
is considered as the lover of Siva and his image can be found on
the right of Nataraja in metal images in many temples.  In Tiruvannamalai Mother's Shrine, Manikkkavachagar is not there as
a meal icon but as a stone image, a little away from Nataraja.

Like a king keeps his lover in his inner chamber, Saint Manikkavachagar is held close to Nataraja. And not with other
63 saints. The details of these 63 saints are available in my serial posts written in the Forum some two years ago.



Arimachala Siva.   

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

 Thank you so much, sir, for pointing out that the Great Saint Sri Manikkavachagar's Stone Image is in the Mother's Shrine, a little away from Nataraja, in Tiruvannamalai.

So, Sri Nammalvar is from Vaishnava Sampradaya. Other Saints whom I mentioned, sir ? Are reast of then Saiva Saints ?   

Regards,
  Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Devotees,

I am the screen, and not the fleeting pictures on the screen.
I am the stage, and not the actors.
I am the substratum, and not the ephemeral, appearing and disappearing world-show on the substratum.
I am the Consciousness and not mere the thought.
I am ‘I’ and not the ‘I’-thought.
Everything except the Swarupa is in random, mysterious motion. Everything is undergoing a change except the Swarupa. Everything other than the Self, Swarupa is transitory. Nay. Everything that is being played out is of the Swarupa, by the Swarupa and within the Swarupa. But the transitory nature of the world and ego-mind is not easily discernible. Sri Bhagwan says that unless something permanent is held, transitory nature of the world cannot be understood. How else can the transitory nature of the world can be ascertained ? Self alone is permanent and ever-present without a second. Besides, all are most familiar with the Self alone, for the Self shines in all hearts as ‘I am’ and is within the experience of one and all. Sri Bhagwan says, “Hold It and merge into It”. ‘I’ alone held, all else disappears.  What remains is only the Swarupa. Ephemeral world, fleeting phenomena and the seer of them all are nowhere to be found in the Swarupa.

Dear devotees, because we are already the Self and the Self alone is the Eternal Reality,  our attention to that Eternal Reality is drawn by the Guru and taught to rivet the attention to It so that jiva-bhava is annihilated for once and all and one is ‘That I AM’ alone.

Thank you,
   Anil     

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Yes. All the 63 Saints and Manikkavachagar are Saiva Saints.



Arunachala Siva.

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Devotees,

Sri Bhagwan says : You are and it is a fact. Dyana is by you, of you, and in you. It must go on where you are. It cannot be outside you. So you are the centre of dhyana and that is the Heart.

 Heart is All-pervading and is only another name of the Self. All thoughts including the notorious ‘I’-thought rise from the Heart. Sri Bahgwan says that even all kinds of efforts are located in the Heart only. Therefore, the Heart is the Centre. Sri Bhagwan says that one says he came to Sri Ramanasramam from such and such place. But fact is that his body came to Tiruvannamalai Rly. Station by train and from there his body came to Sri Ramanasramam by a lorry. So, for That which is All-pervading, for That for whom there is no within and without, a Centre is admitted in the body on the right side of the chest. Nevertheless, the naked Truth is that the body as well as the world are in the Heart only.

Therefore, ‘I am’ and there is no denying the obvious Truth. Dhyana must continue always wherever I am.  And I issue forth from the Heart. Even all kinds of efforts are located in the Heart only. So, dhyana is by ‘I’, of ‘I’, and in ‘I’. Dyana cannot be outside ‘I’. Therefore, I am the Centre of dhyana and that is the Heart. After all, strenuous sadhana is performed only to become aware at all levels that there is only one ‘I’ and that is the Self.
                                                                             (To continue)

Thank you,
   Anil