Self-surrender and its meaning as revealed by Maha Guru Bhagwan Sri Ramana

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Devotees,

I feel that all of you are telling the same thing. There is nothing wrong when Sri Bhagwan makes a gradation of the different forms of sadhana. At the same time it does not mean that one should jump one to pursue the other. It happens of its own accord. As sadhana deepens, Grace is palpable, and takes the sadhka where he should be taken to reach the ultimate goal, i.e. Self-Realisation. He alone knows what is good for us.

Thank you,
   Anil

[Nagaraj]

Dear i,

It is best one continues with ones Swadharma and the traditions of prayers that one has been doing. Whether it is loudly, with all pomp and festivities, it is all ok. no need to change anything, it is best to continue as it is, we need not change anything externally, only the inner Bhava needs to be inculcated, and, externally, one need not bring in any change to ones swadharma.

All that is required from our part is SINCERITY alone. The rest, will follow accordingly, the progression of the internalization etc would happen of its own accord.

One may continue to chant mantras prayers loudly, but his mind would be deeply immersed from within.

The outer paraphernalia is less important. One may continue with all the pomp and festivities, but if one is sincere, his mind would still dwell deep within.

One need not change anything.

Stick to Swadharma, inculcate Bhava, and utter sincerity. No need to worry about whether we are doing it loudly, or inner meditation.

Salutations to Bhagavan

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Nagaraj,

Since self inquiry is a silent mental process, Sri Bhagavan insisted that even the previous steps should also be in silent mental
way. He does not decry Nama Sankirtan or loud Veda mantras. They are of a different group. Atma Vichara is not a loud process.
No one asks, Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? in a loud noise. If done, the neighbors would call him madcap.

Arunachala Siva.       

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Nagaraj,

Yes. Excellent. Thank you so much.

  Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

Ji. Yes. Self-enquiry or the Atma-Vichara is certainly not the japa of either 'Who am I?' or 'Whence am I?' It is diving deep within oneself, controlling sppech and breath, and seeking the the Source whence the aspiring ego springs, as Sri Bhagwan taught. Sri Bhagwan has taught that ceasing all talk of even 'I' and searching with inward diving mind whence the thought of 'I' sprouts is wisdom.

Thank you so much, sir.

Regards,
  Anil

[Nagaraj]

Since self inquiry is a silent mental process. Since self inquiry is a silent mental process, Sri Bhagavan insisted that even the previous steps should also be in silent mental way. He does not decry Nama Sankirtan or loud Veda mantras. They are of a different group. Atma Vichara is not a loud process. No one asks, Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? in a loud noise. If done, the neighbors would call him madcap.

Dear i,

your thoughts allowed me to further contemplate, and, i discern, silence is not that silence without words, silence is not absence of sound or noise, silence is not an inert silence. Silence is that which is within, the unwavering mind within, completely at peace, while the external bustling may go on as it is. Bhagavan has himself said at several occasions that ones work need not affect ones self enquiry.

i also discern, there are no separate groups, all are one, who ever what ever one does, that very sadhana done in its pristine purity, with absolute sincerity, itself is self enquiry. Self enquiry is not different from any other sadhanas.

It is not a different light that a Self enquirer sees from a person who does Nama Sankirthanam, or one who does Ritualistic worship with mantras. They all see the same light

They all culminate in the same common silence, Mauna.

Salutations to Bhagavan

[Nagaraj]

Dear i, in the above connection, i remembered one incident from Sri Chandrashekhara Bharathi swamigal of Sringeri. As a child, before sanyasa sweekaranam, one day, his mother gave him some money to buy groceries, and he had a habit of chanting Mooka Panchashati, he knew it by-heart, completely, he used to chant this loudly and kept walking towards groceries shop, and, he walked past the groceries shop, walked past the village limits, and, by the time he completed the entire shlokas, he would realise, that he had walked several distance away from the village. While his mouth was chanting Mooka Panchashati loudly, his mind was so complete absorbed in Self, he did not have body consciousness at all. And this happened several times at different instances. Salutations to Bhagavan

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Devotees,

Light is One. That Silence which transcends speech and silence is One. Goal is One. However, methods or forms of sadhanas to realise the Goal may be different for different seekers. We should not confuse methods with the Goal. Mount Everest is one, but paths to it are many. One may start from U.S.A. or Australia, from diametrically opposite directions, but in the end, reach the same destination, i.e. the Mount Everest. Sri Bhagwan says, ‘like a river when it joins the ocean’. Rivers are innumerable, but the ocean is one. There is one True ‘I’. i start with my ‘i’ to realise the True ’I’, he with his ‘i’, you with that of yours and so on. No two ‘i’s are at the same level of spiritual development. So, spiritual path of a seeker is unique. This is, in my view, the reason why it is said that there is no place for argument in the spiritual matter. For, everyone is right from his stand-point; only one need be sincere in one’s search for Truth.

Thank you,
  Anil     

[eranilkumarsinha]

“Forsaking me? Where have you hidden yourself?
Deep from within me comes the answer clear:
Here, in the Heart, your very Self I am I.”
                                                  From V. 396, Sri Ramana Anubhuti II

Dear Devotees,

There is no stress and strain in devotion. It is effortless and spontaneous. Lord does not command us to Love Him. So, we cannot escape love for Him. We cannot help it. Can we ? We are fortunate to be drawn to Sri Bhagwan in love. But nevertheless, we still yield unreservedly to the impulse for the worldly desires. It does not befit us. We should yield unreservedly only to the impulse that is for love of Him. At least we should bear unto Him that love which the rank ignorant bear to the means of transient pleasures in the world. Moreover, it should be free from bargaining. DEVOTION SHOULD NOT BE CONCEIVED AS A MEANS TO SOME END.

Thank you,
  Anil   

[Ravi.N]

Anil,
Wonderful posts from you.Thanks very much.
Namaskar.

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Devotees,

A visitor comes to Sri Bhagwan and proceeds to explains certain verses from the Bhagavad Gita.
Visitor: There is much difference between the different interpretations. This confuses me and I am unable to decide which of these is the correct one.
Sri Bhagwan : You may be having this problem because you are mixing up unrelated thoughts. You must focus your attention on the context in which the Lord gave the advice and try to understand the verses yourself. Moving from one interpretation to another would lead only to confusion.

Continuing, Sri Bhagwan says that total surrender is a central theme in the Gita. Arjuna could grasp the true import of Sri Krishna’s message only after he placed complete faith in Him.
Sri Bhagwan says that many sincere seekers came to Him. But sometimes, people loaded with book knowledge came to Him and started putting relevant and irrelevant questions. A few tried to  test His knowledge. Sri Bhawan says that books are needed only up to a stage.                                                           
                                                                              Source : More Talks With Sri Ramana Maharshi.


Thank you,
  Anil

[Nagaraj]

Dear i,

yes, it is the case is most sadhakas, who, generally are more interested in what the commentators have got to say, over what the Lord himself really says  .

i avoid reading the extensive commentaries of any scriptures, at most, i read the basic translation of books, that also, i prefer word by word translation, and sometimes, i cross check the meanings of words if some doubt lingers about certain translations & interpretations of certain words used by the commentators which is basically used to suit their interpretations.

Salutations to Bhagavan

[Ravi.N]

Friends,
An excerpt from 'Tales and Parables of sri Ramakrishna':
THE PANDIT WHO COULD NOT SWIM
Once, several men were crossing the Ganges in a boat. One of them, a pandit, was making a greatdisplay of his erudition, saying that he had studied
various books—the Vedas, the Vedanta, and the  six systems of philosophy. He asked a fellowpassenger, "Do you know the Vedanta?" "No,
revered sir." "The Samkhya and the Patanjali yoga sutra?" "No, revered sir." "Have you read no philosophy whatsoever?" "No, revered sir." The pandit was
talking in this vain way and the passenger sitting in silence when a great storm arose and the boat was about to sink. The passenger said to the pandit,
"Sir, can you swim?" "No", replied the pandit. The passenger said, "I don't know Samkhya or the Patanjala, but I can swim."
What will a man gain by knowing many scriptures? The one thing needful is to know how to cross the river of the world. God alone is real, and all else is
illusory.
Namaskar.

[Ravi.N]

Friends,
An excerpt from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna:

Stories of the Bhagavata scholars

MASTER: "Listen to a story. There was a king who used daily to hear the Bhagavata
recited by a pundit. Every day, after explaining the sacred book, the pundit would say to the
king, 'O King, have you understood what I have said?' And every day the king would reply,
'You had better understand it first yourself.' The pundit would return home and think: 'Why
does the king talk to me that way day after day? I explain the texts to him so clearly, and he
says to me, "You had better understand it first yourself." What does he mean?' The pundit
used to practise spiritual discipline. A few days later he came to realize that God alone is
real and everything else-house, family, wealth, friends, name, and fame-illusory. Convinced
of the unreality of the world, he renounced it. As he left home he asked a man to take this
message to the king: 'O King, I now understand.'
Namaskar.

[Nagaraj]

Dear i,

this is a classic story, i grew up with! Evergreen! I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to Amar Chitra Katha comics which has truly been by Guru, throughout my childhood. Significant part of my well being is surely attributed to these comics.

here is an article from Wikipedia:

The idea behind starting a comicbook series devoted to Indian culture and history came to Pai from a quiz contest aired on Doordarshan in February 1967, in which participants could easily answer questions pertaining to Greek mythology, but were unable to reply to the question "In the Ramayana, who was Rama's mother?" He left his job and started Amar Chitra Katha the same year, with the help of late G. L. Mirchandani of India Book House, when most other publishers from Allied Publishers to Jaico had rejected the concept. Later, he took on the role of writer, editor and publisher. The series went on to become a publishing milestone for the Indian comic book scene, selling over 86 million copies of about 440 titles. The above is an oft-told story of how ACK was founded beginning with ‘Uncle Pai’, in Mumbai in 1967. However, Outlook Magazine has this article about the genesis of this popular comic series: The idea and proposal for Amar Chitra Katha was made by a Bangalore book salesman called G.K. Ananthram which led to the first Amar Chitra Katha comics being produced in 1965—in Kannada, not English. “The English ACK titles begin from number eleven because the first ten were in Kannada,” clarifies Ananthram. To Anathram’s satisfaction, the 1965 Kannada ACK venture was a great commercial success which lead to Mirchandani in the head office in Mumbai pursuing the Amar Chitra Katha idea in English diligently, and the rest is history. “They brought in Anant Pai” says Ananthram. “And he built a wonderful team and a great brand.” In 1969, Anant Pai founded Rang Rekha Features, India's first comic and cartoon syndicate, and started the children's magazine Tinkle in 1980. His involvement with the above, and the rapport he shared with his readers earned him the title "Uncle Pai".

Salutations to Bhagavan