Self-enquiry as taught by Sri Bhagwan is enough

[eranilkumarsinha]

Sage Sri Vashishta:


O Rama, he sees the truth who sees the body as a product of deluded understanding and as the fountain source of misfortune, and who knows that the body is not the self.

He sees the truth who sees that in this body pleasure and pain are experienced on account of the passage of time and the circumstances in which one is placed, and that they do not pertain to him.

He sees the truth who sees that he is the omnipresent infinite consciousness which encompasses within itself all that takes place everywhere at all times.

He sees the truth who knows that the self, which is as subtle as the millionth part of the tip of a hair divided a million times, pervades everything.

He sees the truth who sees that there is no division at all between the self and the other, and that the one infinite light of consciousness exists as the sole reality.

He sees the truth who sees that the non-dual consciousness which indwells all beings is omnipotent and omnipresent.

He sees the truth who is not deluded into thinking that he is the body which is subject to illness, fear, agitation, old age and death.



HE  SEES  THE  TRUTH  WHO  SEES THAT  ALL THINGS  ARE  STRUNG  IN  THE  SELF  AS  BEADS  ARE  STRUNG  ON  A  THREAD,  AND  WHO  KNOWS  "I  AM  NOT  THE  MIND".



He sees the truth who sees that all this is Brahman, neither 'I'  nor 'the other'.


He sees the truth who sees all beings in the three worlds as his own family, deserving of his sympathy and protection.


He sees the truth who knows that the self alone exists and that there is no substance in objectivity.


He is unaffected who knows that pleasure, pain, birth, death, etc., are all the self only.


He is firmly established in the truth who feels: "What should I acquire, what should I renounce, when all this is one self?"


Salutation to that abode of auspiciousness who is filled with the supreme realisation that the entire universe is truly Brahman alone, which remains unchanged during all the apparent creation, existence and dissolution of the universe.

Source: Yoga Vashishta, Swami Sri Venkatesananda     
         

[eranilkumarsinha]

Sri John Grimes:

At times the question is asked: "How does the Sage give instruction? Is it from  the state of ignorance?" If this were so, the mind would not have been dissolved, the threefold differentiation of the knower, knowledge, and the known could not have been merged. So what would the Sage be able to give you? Where could he lead you? But there is a stage where this question does not arise. Is it the body that is the obstacle to Supreme Knowledge? Is there even a question of whether the body exists or not? At a certain level this question is simply not there. On the plane where this question arises, one is not in the state of Pure Being, and one thinks this question can be raised and also replied to. But the answer lies where there is no such thing as questioning and answering, where there are no 'others', no divisions.

Source: Ramana Maharshi, The Crown Jewel of Advaita     

[eranilkumarsinha]

Sri Bhagwan: "Because the mind branches out into innumerable thoughts, the power of attention of each thought becomes weak. As thought subside more and more, the mind becomes one-pointed and thereby gains strength."



Dear devotees, Sri Sadhu Om, commenting upon the above Words of Grace, in the context of Bhakti Yoga, has written in his book 'Path of Sri Ramana', Part Two, thus:



The mind which is nothing but the reflection of the Self, is very great wondrous power in its pure state. It is so powerful that it can create and see anything which it thinks of intensely, in gross form.
The main point of Yoga is to collect the scattered thoughts into one and fix the mind on that one thought only. The worship of God is a means to focus the mind on one point, setting aside the other innumerable thoughts concerning one's daily activities rising in one during the waking state. In the Path of Love (Bhakti Marga) when such confidence in God: "God will look after everything in my life; why should I think and worry about it" increases, thousands of unnecessary thoughts will depart. But this alone is not sufficient. The important point in Bhakti Yoga is to fix the mind on one name and form of God, and not change the worship from one name and form of God to another and thereby allowing the mind to branch out into so many thoughts and waver. On the other hand, composing Bhajan-slogans such as,

"Rama Krishna Namo, Rahim.
Lambodara Sri Shunmukaya,
Bhama Mary Budha Shiva,
Patvati, Allah Jesus Natha."

mentioning all names and forms of all Gods in all religions and putting them together in the form of one verse of 'Universal Prayer' or 'Japa' and recommending all people to do Japa or recitation of it, will not be a sadhana in Bhakti Marga? In doing so, the mind will not become one-pointed but will only become scattered. An interreligious Bhajan like this can be useful to a certain extent  to religious reformers as a contrivance to point out that God who is worshipped under so many names and forms in different religions is one only; to the secular masses who, not having the right discrimination, take to religious fanaticism and preaching, and who by doing so, only quarrel among themselves and waste their time and energy away; but, for an aspirant who wants to attain God, this shall in no way be the spiritual practice! Through this practice the mind cannot cling to anyone of the names and forms of God. The right sign that one has understood that God is one only, is one's clinging to one God only. Spelling and singing so many different names of God, only betrays the lack of faith and understanding of the oneness of God!
The worship of His Beloved God under a particular name and form, becomes a way for him to see the formless Supreme in that form.   






Dear devotees, I have understood that aim of all Yogas whatever is only to make the mind one-pointed so that it either merges in the Self or in God of one's devotion.  Sri Bhagwan has taught that one-pointed mind merges easily in That Which Is.   Mind should not be allowed by an earnest aspirant to branch out and thus get scattered and weak.  I accept Sri Sadhu Om's view because I also feel that irrespective of whatever path one is following, the point is to fix it on one thought only, that is, either on the thought of Self (Atma-chintanai) or on the thought of one's God of devotion or an ideal, and make the mind thus one-pointed and gain strength. A strong, one-pointed and Laser-razor-sharp mind alone can attend to or get fixed on only one thought unwaveringly and unswervingly.

Pranam,
  Anil             
       

 
   

[Ravi.N]

Anil,
The path of devotion is essentially the path of Love-and in essence this means that it cannot be reduced to any formula;that it can only be thus and not thus ,etc.This is why sri Ramakrishna says:

"If you asked me which form of God you should meditate upon, I should say: Fix your attention on that form which appeals to you most; but know for certain that all forms are the forms of one God alone.
"Never harbour malice toward anyone. Siva, Kali, and Hari are but different forms of that One. He is blessed indeed who has known all as one. Outwardly he appears as Siva's devotee, But in his heart he worships Kali, the Blissful Mother, And with his tongue he chants aloud Lord Hari's name."

If repeating the name is only to gain one pointedness of mind ,then as J Krishnamurthi said ,even repetition of coco cola would make the mind one pointed!Here is the excerpt from 'Freedom from the Known':

" By repeating Amen or Om or Coca-Cola indefinitely you will obviously have-a certain experience because by repetition the mind becomes quiet. It is a well known phenomenon which has been practised for thousands of years in India - Mantra Yoga it is called. By repetition you can induce the mind to be gentle and soft but it is still a petty, shoddy, little mind."

Hence the Great ones like Sri Sankara have composed Hymns which call forth the 'One supreme Being' by many names:

अच्युतं केशवं रामनारायणं
कृष्णदामोदरं वासुदेवं हरिम् ।
श्रीधरं माधवं गोपिकावल्लभं
जानकीनायकं रामचंद्रं भजे ॥
Acyutam Keshavam Raama-Naaraayannam
Krssnna-Daamodaram Vaasudevam Harim |
Shrii-Dharam Maadhavam Gopikaa-Vallabham
Jaanakii-Naayakam Raamacamdram Bhaje

Even in ordinary parlance when a child is fondled,we call it by many names to express the love and affection.It is the Love and affection that is important and it is this Love that makes the mind unified and not just concentrated or one pointed.

Namaskar.

[eranilkumarsinha]

Sri Bhagwan: Patanjali's first sutra is applicable to all systems of yoga. The aim is the cessation of mental activities. The methods differ. So long as there is effort made towards the goal it is called yoga. The effort  is the yoga.
The cessation can be brought about in so many ways.
1.   By examining the mind itself. When the mind is examined, its activities cease automatically. This is the method of jnana. The pure mind is the Self.
2.   Looking for the source of the mind is another method. The source may be said to be God or consciousness.
3.   Concentrating upon one thought make all other thoughts disappear. Finally that thought also disappears; and
4.    Hatha Yoga
All methods are one and the same in as much as they all tend to the same goal.




Dear Sri Ravi,

Yes, Love cannot and should not be rationalized. But then I do not feel that Sri Sadhu Om has sought to rationalize Love  or for that matter Path of Love.  Besides, I also feel that Sri Om has only said what Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa and Sri Bhagwan have taught. 

 Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa:  Fix your attention on that form which appeals to you most; but know for certain that all forms are the forms of one God alone.

I feel that what Sri Om has said is not different from the above Words of Grace. Sri Om has said the same thing:

"The right sign that one has understood that God is one only, is one's clinging to one God only. Spelling and singing so many different names of God, only betrays the lack of faith and understanding of the oneness of God!
The worship of His Beloved God under a particular name and form, becomes a way for him to see the formless Supreme in that form."



Sri Bhagwan also taught to fix the attention on that form which appealed to one the most. All Gods and the Self are only One. I also feel that if one has this conviction , one is not likely to change daily the name and form of one's devotion and love. For instance, I see Sri Arunachala Ramana in all forms that I see.
So, yes, one should fix one's attention on that form which appeals to one the most, but at the same time know that all forms are One only.


Thanks very much, dear bhai saheb.
Pranam,
  Anil   

[eranilkumarsinha]

D:  What does samyamana mean  in Patanjali Yoga sutra?
Sri Bhagwan: One-pointedness of the mind.
D:  By such samyamana in the Heart, chitt samvit is said to result. What does it mean?
Sri Bhagwan: Chitta samvit is Atma Jnana ,i.e., Knowledge of the Self.

Talk--483

[eranilkumarsinha]

Sri John Grimes:
Just as rivers flowing to the ocean merge in it, losing their name and form, so the wise individual, freed from name and form, manifests the Divine. Do you identify with the drop of water or the water of the drop?

Self-enquiry:

To put into question the one who is asking questions is to set into motion an enquiry that may end in the veritable destruction of the questioner. The consequences of this may not be, need not be, what they seem. The consequences need not entail the destruction of whom one really is, but merely the destruction of whom one thinks one is.  THE  RIDDLE  OF  WHO  I  REALLY  AM  INVOVES  THE  ENIGMA  OF  EXISTENCE.
Source: Ramana Maharshi, The Crown Jewel of Advaita



Dear Devotees,

Drop belongs to water. Does it not? Well, the drop belongs to water but the drop is not the essential part of what really water is. So also, my name is something that belongs to me, but is not an essential part of who I am. Likewise, body, mind, prana, et al, belong to me, but they are not the essential parts of who really I am.

Dear devotees,  the  riddle of who  I really am involves the enigma of existence   because the 'I' is  always Existence-Consciousness.  Sri Bhagwan has taught that the one Infinite Unbroken Whole becomes aware of itself as 'I', and therefore, 'I' is the Original Name.  Meaning, significance and import of the 'I' is always Brahman. And Sri Bhagwan has taught that  the Self is always Brahman. The discovery of the Self through love for the Self and the Self-enquiry therefore is indeed unique and wonderful!

Thanks very much.
Pranam,
  Anil   

[eranilkumarsinha]

Sri Adi Shankara:

 Just as you do not identify yourself with your body's shadow, or your reflection, or your dream body, or when you imagine it in your heart, so too, do not identify yourself with your living body.     


Looking at a reflection of the sun, mirrored in the water of a jar, a fool thinks it is the sun itself. Similarly,, a stupid person, through delusion, imagines that the reflection of Consciousness appearing in the limiting adjunct is the Self


A wise person rejects the pot, the water, and the sun's reflection in it and, indifferent and independent of them all, so sees the self-luminous sun in the sky which illuminates these three.


Being yourself the ever-existent Reality, which is the self-luminous foundation of everything, abandon the universe and your individual body like vessels filled with impurities.


That, wherein this reflection of the world is like a city in a mirror, that Absolute am I.


Vivekachudamani




Dear devotees, just as the sun  seems to enter water in a small pot,  so also the Self appears to enter the universe and  creatures.  Just  as the sun does not really enter water but merely as reflection,  so also the Self enters the universe and jivas as mere reflection.
Pranam,
  Anil
 

[eranilkumarsinha]

Sri Bhagwan:

God means SAMASHTI--i.e., all that is, plus the Be-ing--in the same way as 'I' means the individual plus the Be-ing, and the world means the variety plus Be-ing. The Be-ing is in all cases real. The all, the variety and the individual is in each case unreal. So also in the union of the real and the unreal, the mixing up or the false identification is wrong. It amounts to saying sad-asadvilakshana, i.e., transcending the real and the unreal--sat and asat. Reality is that which transcends all concepts, including that of God. In as much as the name of God is used, it cannot be true. The Hebrew word Jehovah= (I am) expresses God correctly. Absolute Be-ing is beyond expression.

Talk--112   

[eranilkumarsinha]

A visitor: All are said to be Brahman.
Sri Bhagwan: Yes, they are. But so long as you think that they are apart they are to be avoided. If one the other hand they are found to be Self there is no need to say 'all'. For all that exists is only Brahman.
V: Ribhu Gita speaks of so many objects as unreal, adding at the end that they are all Brahman and thus real.
Sri Bhagwan: Yes. When you see them as so many they are asat, i.e., unreal. Whereas when you see them as Brahman they are real, deriving their reality from their substratum, Brahman.
V: Why then does Upadesa Sara speak of the body, etc., as jada i.e. insentient?
Sri Bhagwan: Inasmuch as you say that they are body, etc., apart from the Self. But when the Self is found this body etc., are also found to be in it. Afterwards no one will ask the question and no one will say that they are insentient.
V: Viveka is said to be discrimination between the Self and the non-self. What is the non-self?
Sri Bhagwan: There is no non-self, in fact. The non-self also exists in the Self. It is the Self which speaks of the non-self because it has forgotten itself. Having lost hold of itself, it conceives something as non-self, which is after all nothing but itself.





Dear Devotees,

What a great game of pretension is going on! We the Self have lost hold of ourselves, we  the Self have swerved from our real nature, and having thus lost our moorings, are not tired of conceiving, imagining and speaking and seeing, birth after birth, so many objects apart from us as the non-self, which, in truth,  are verily ourselves 'The Self'. This is why Sri Bhagwan has taught that if the Self is found, that is, if we gain the VVIVEKA AND THE MEMORY, they (non-self) are found to be in 'ourselves', the Self. Then, indeed, how such a one will ask questions? Such a one does not ask questions because then 'all' are found verily to be in the Self ('ourselves'), for then there is nothing but the Self, and only the Self!


Thanks very much.
Pranam,
  Anil       

[eranilkumarsinha]

Q: Will there not be realization of the Self even while the world is there  (taken as real)?
Sri Bhagwan: There will nort be.
Q: Why?
Sri Bhagwan: The seer and the objects seen are like the rope and the snake. Just as the knowledge of the rope which is substrate will not arise unless the false knowledge of the illusory serpent goes, so the realization of the Self which is the substrate will not be gained unless the belief that the world is real is removed.
Who Am I?




Dear Devotees,

Our mind flows habitually outwards towards the world and its objects, and not inward towards the Self that we are. Why does the belief that the world is real prevent us from realizing the Self that we always are? Why is it so? It is because so long as the mind believes something to be real, it will have an unobstructed access to the mind in forms of its thought. So, if the world and its objects are taken for real, their thoughts will have almost unobstructed entry to the mind. Will they not? This is why Sri Bhagwan has taught that as long as the snake on the substrate of the rope, water in the mirage, and silver in the mother of pearl are believed to be real, the rope, sand, and shell are denied. Are they not? It follows that if we take for real anything other than the Self, that very thing obscures the Self.  This is why Sri Bhagwan has taught that it is not possible to realize the Self so long as the mind regards the world and its objects as real in the sense that they are, in truth, not.
 


Sri Bhagwan: "But for your belief that the world is real, it would be quite EASY for you to obtain the revelation of the Self."



So, when we sit for sadhana and attempt to dive within toward the Self , the mind resists and flows habitually outward towards the world and its objects.  Through Shravana, Manana of Guru's Words of Grace and Satsanga, we must gain conviction that this world is not real in the sense in which it is taken as real. Then, as Sri Bhagwan said it would be quite easy for us to obtain the revelation of the Self. One may even glimpse then that this world is like a city in a mirror in verily 'oneself'.  One begins to sense the import and meaning of Sri Bhagwan's Declaration that the greatest wonder is that , being always the Self, one is striving to become the Self.


Dear devotees, having quoted and said as above, I wish that we should once again go through the following   conversation, which is part of the conversation that I quoted in my previous post. 



 
V: Why then does Upadesa Sara speak of the body, etc., as jada i.e. insentient?
Sri Bhagwan: Inasmuch as you say that they are body, etc., apart from the Self. But when the Self is found this body etc., are also found to be in it. Afterwards no one will ask the question and no one will say that they are insentient.
V: Viveka is said to be discrimination between the Self and the non-self. What is the non-self?
Sri Bhagwan: There is no non-self, in fact. The non-self also exists in the Self. It is the Self which speaks of the non-self because it has forgotten itself. Having lost hold of itself, it conceives something as non-self, which is after all nothing but itself.



Dear devotees, we will indeed do rather well if we shall keep contemplating over these profound Words of Grace!


Thanks very much.
Pranam,
 Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

Sri John Grimes:

A sage is like an awakened one who speaks to us in our dreams. Picture yourself at home in your bed asleep. Your father, who is awake, comes in and speaks to you. You may hear his words, but you will distort them. The closer you are to waking, the more precisely will you understand him. If you are fast asleep, you will hear nothing. A devotee of Sri Ramana put it wonderfully:


"Do you understand that you cannot ask a valid question about yourself because you do not know whom you are asking about. In the question, 'Who am I?' the 'I' is not known and the question can be worded as, "I do not know what I mean by 'I'." What you are, you must find out. I can only tell you what you are not. The world is not, you alone are. You create the world in your imagination like a dream. As you cannot separate the dream from yourself, so you cannot have an outer world independent of yourself. You are independent, not the world. Don't be afraid of a world you yourself have created. Cease from looking for happiness and reality in a dream and you will wake up. You need not know all the 'why' and 'how', there is no end to questions. Abandon all desires, keep you mind silent, and you shall discover."
Source: Ramana Maharshi, The Crown Jewel of Advaita




Dear Devotees,

Yes, this is indeed wonderful!  Only those who are closer to awakening will hear Guru's and Gita's Words of Grace. Initially, they are not clear in the feeble light of the mind and they are hardly sensible to start with. But as one gets closer to awakening due to Grace, Awareness goes on deepening and Divine Words are lighted, that is, go on acquiring deeper meaning with crystal-clear clarity. However, if one is fast asleep, one is not likely to hear anything, and even if one hears, meaning and import are blurred and distorted. This is why perhaps majority of the world population simply do not care!


Dear devotees, Sri Bhagwan has taught that our effort to get rid of this dream of the waking state and our effort to realize the awakening are all part of the dream. When we attain Jnana we see that that there was neither the dream during the sleep, nor the waking state, but only ourselves and our real state.
During dream, objects are external to oneself. However, when one wakes one knows that all dream objects were actually internal to oneself. Only on waking one realizes that dream objects which appeared external to the dreamer in the dream were actually internal. Likewise, Sri Bhagwan has pointed out that only upon Self-realization or True Awakening one realizes that the objects of the world which were perceived as external to oneself are really internal. As waking state negates all the dream objects and dream experiences, so also, Self-realization obliterates all dream objects and experiences of the dream of the waking state.

Dear devotees, I have always felt that those who are attracted to Sri Bhagwan and His Teaching of the Atma-vichara are not fast asleep, and therefore, we must be hearing Guru's Words of Grace. If we are hearing Guru's Words, we must be having at least the inkling and intuition that this mundane life is something like a dream.  Isn't it? Well then, duty is cast upon us to cease looking for happiness and reality in the dream of the waking state, and  we wake up, as Sri Bhagwan's Devotee said.     


Thanks very much.
Pranam,
  Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

Even in the state of sleep in which the body and the world that appear in the waking and dream states ceases to appear, you still survive bodilessly. After waking up, you say, 'I did not become non-existent (in sleep).' Through this mysterious but natural experience in which your truth shines, know that the utter destruction of the ego, whose form is the five sheaths, is the attainment of Atma-swarupa, the underlying reality of the ego.

V. 443, GVK, Sri David Godman     

[eranilkumarsinha]

Know that investigating inwardly through the enquiry "Who is the Existing  'I'?", into the truth of one's own indisputable and ever-present existence is alone the life-blood which permeates the many religions that teach redemption.
V. 339, GVK, Sri D. Godman

Dear devotees, the great poet and devotee, Sri Muruganar has himself commented upon the above verse thus:

Sri Muruganar: The enquiry 'Who am I?' alone exists as the energising power of religions. As there is no sadhana without the sadhaka, enquiry into the sadhaka is the inner significance of religions. To know the yogi in yoga, the devotee in devotion and the doer in karma, as they really are, is jnana-vichara.





Dear devotees, one's own indisputable and ever-present existence is the only certainty.  The greatness of the Enquiry lies also in the fact that Shri Bhagwan's Vichara begins from this indisputable truth, and those who take to this pure path are never derailed because the path itself goes on revealing to them its own UNCHALLENGEABLE  clarity and uniqueness as they make progress on the path. 
Pranam,
  Anil
   

[eranilkumarsinha]

Quote from  Sri Ravi:
"It is not as if it is Total unconsciousness during the state of sleep.If it were so,we cannot be woken up if we are called by name by someone.The Memory of having had a 'Good sleep' is there.The Ego thought as the 'Enjoyer'(Bhokta) continues and as the 'Doer'(karta) is dormant.(This is unlike a comatose state where one may not remember anything at all and may not respond at all.)"




Dear Sri Ravi,

Though at present I am not able to participate in any discussion in the forum, when I saw your post, I felt that I should respond to the above quote, under this topic itself, to express, share and affirm my insight, understanding and experience regarding the same.

Dear Sri Ravi bhai saheb, I feel that it is not correct at all to say that the 'ego thought' as the 'Enjoyer' (Bhokta) continues and as the 'Doer' (karta) is dormant. 
 
However, right now, I would like to draw your attention to following Words of Grace so that you may yourself be able to grasp what I mean to convey. Though I feel that it would be not much difficult to grasp for one who has practiced Sri Bhagwan's Atma-vichara and progressed, I am sure you too would not miss what is implied:

Sri Bhagwan: If there were no such activities as waking and dreaming thought, there would be no 'perception' or inference of a 'world'. In sleep there is no such activity and 'objects and world' do not exist for us in sleep. Hence 'reality of the world' may be created by the ego by its act of emergence from sleep; and that reality may be swallowed up or disappear by the soul resuming its nature in sleep. The emergence and disappearance of the world are like the spider producing a gossamer web and then withdrawing it.  THE  SPIDER  HERE  UNDERLIES  ALL  THE  THREE  STATES --WAKING,  DREAMING,  AND  SLEEP;  SUCH  A  SPIDER  IS  CALLED  ATMAN  (SELF).

Dear Sri Ravi,  following Words of Grace, in my view, clear all doubt as to how one is able to say that one existed and was happy during sleep.

Sri Bhagwan: Ask who has this perception and memory. From where does that 'I' that has perception and memory arise? Find out that. All perception, memory or any other experience only appears to that 'I'. You don't have such experiences during sleep, and yet you say that you existed during sleep. And you exist now too.  THAT  SHOWS  THAT  THE  'I'  CONTINUES  WHILE  OTHER  THINGS  COME  AND  GO.


Dear Sri Ravi, what, in your opinion, is the 'I' that continues while other things, including the three states come and go? In my view, we remember because we continue to exist all along, irrespective of the states which are mere thoughts.


Thanks very much, dear Sri Ravi.
Pranam,
  Anil