Bhagavan Ramana Teachings

[Nagaraj]

The best service to the guru is engaging in Self-Enquiry,
meditation, and other spiritual practices, with the purity
of body, speech, and mind.

(HG)

[Subramanian.R]

Vichara Sangraham - Sri Bhagavan to Gambhiram Seshayyar:

Devotee: What are the limbs of Yoga?

Maharshi:  Yama, Niyama, Asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and Samadhi.  Of these -

1. Yama - This stands for the cultivation of such principles of good conduct as non violence (ahimsa), truth (satya),
non stealiing (asteya), celibacy (brahmacharya) and no possession (apoari-graha).

2. Niyama: This stands for the observance of such rules of good conduct, (saucha), contentment (santosha), austerity
(tapas), study of sacred texts (svadhyaya) and devotion to God (Isvara pranidhana).

3. Asana - Of the different postures, eighty four are the main ones. Of these, again, four viz., simha, bhadra, padma and siddha
are said to be excellent.  Of these too, it is only siddha, that is most excellent.

4. Pranayama - According to the measures prescribed in the sacred texts, exhaling the vital air is rechaka, inhaling is puraka
and retaining it in the heart is kumbhaka.  As regards 'measure' some texts say that rechaka and puraka should be equal in
measures, and kumbhaka twice that measure, while other texts say that if rechaka is one measure, puraka should be of two
measures, and kumbhaka of four.  By measures what is meant is the time that would be taken for the utterance of Gayatri
Mantra once.  Thus pranayama consisting of rechaka, puraka and kumbhaka should be practiced daily according to ability,
slowly and gradually. Then, there would arise for the mind to desire to rest in happiness without moving.  After this, one should
practice pratyahara.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.             

[Subramanian.R]

At the Feet of Bhagavan:  T.K. Sundaresa Iyer:

The Essence of the Teaching:

In the course of a conversation with Sri Bhagavan, I once had an occasion to say that having spent a lifetime in contact
with Him, having imbibed His teachings, as given in numerous conversations and discussions with others, and having also
studied the works of Sri Bhagavan, I felt I could in a word summarize His teachings:

On being graciously ordered to do so, I said that all His teachings amounted to this -- that HE ALONE IS, and everything
else only seems to be but really is NOT. 

Sri Bhagavan smiled and, saying, 'Yes, yes, yes!'  left it there.

I quoted from His teachings:  'The fourth state (turiya) alone is; the appearance of the three states are naught.'

***

Arunachala Siva.   

[Nagaraj]

Without  upasana there cannot be attainment for him this is definite.

(Ramana Gita)

More later..

[Nagaraj]

To feed on you I came, O Arunachala, but I have
become your food and am now at peace.

(AAMM 28)

[Subramanian.R]

Vichara Sangraham:

continues...

5. Pratyahara - This is regulating the mind by preventing it from flowing outwards towards the external names and forms.
The mind, which had till then been distracted, now becomes controlled.  The aids in this respect are: 1. meditation on the
pranava, 2. fixing the attention betwixt the eyebrows, 3. looking at the tip of the nose, and  4. reflection of the nada.  The
mind that has thus become one pointed will be fit to stay in one place.  After this, dharana should be practiced.

6. Dharana - This is fixing the mind in a locus which is fit for meditation.  The loci that are eminently fit for meditation are the
heart and Brahmarandhra (aperture in the crown of the head).  One should think that in the middle of the eight petaled lotus
that is at this place there shines, like a flame, the Deity which is the Self i.e. Brahman, and fix the mind therein. After this one
should meditate.

7. Dhyana -  This is meditation, through the 'I am He' thought, that one is not different from the nature of the aforesaid flame.
Even, thus, if one makes the inquiry 'Who am I?', then, as the Scripture declares, 'The Brahman which is everywhere shines
in the heart of the Self that is the witness of the intellect', one should realize that is the Divine Self that shines in the Heart
asd 'I-I'.   This mode of reflection is the best meditation. 

8.  Samadhi - As a result of the fruition of the aforesaid meditation, the mind gets resolved in the object of meditation without
harboring the ideas 'I am such and such, I am doing this and this'.  This subtle state in which even the thought 'I-I' disappars
is Samadhi.

If one practices this everyday, seeing to it that sleep does not supervene, God will soon confer on one the supreme state of
quiescence of mind.

****

Arunachala Siva.     
 
             

[Nagaraj]

Two or three years back a devotee who could freely approach Bhagavan came and told him five or six times that somebody had been abusing him. Bhagavan listened but said nothing. As there was no response from Bhagavan in spite of repeated and varied complaints and in a number of ways, this devotee could not contain himself any longer and so said, “When I am abused so much unnecessarily, I also get  angry. However much I try to restrain my anger I am not able to do so. What shall I do?” Bhagavan laughingly said, “What should you do? You too join him and abuse yourself; then it will be all right.” All laughed. One who abuses/ insults does us a favour far greater than our mother, in a certain aspect. The mother merely tidies us up physically whereas the one who abuses us cleanses our sins too!  Those who abuse us should be looked upon as our friends. It is good for us to be among such people. If you are among people who praise you, you get deceived.

[Subramanian.R]

At the Feet of Bhagavan: T.K. Sundaresa Iyer:

Mr. Noles, an Italian, not more than 30 years old, yet well read in philosophy, both Eastern and Western, and eager to imbibe
the spirit of Sri Maharshi's teachings, was at our Asramam once, and he had very many interesting talks with Sri Bhagavan.

One morning, Sri Bhagavan was telling the state of a jivanmukta.  How he is ever aware of the Self, the Witness-Consciousness,
transcending space and time and causation, the fullness of Being;  how he is the non-actor, non-enjoyer, and yet at the same
time the greatest of actors, the greatest of enjoyers, and so forth. 

Well, this was too much for Mr. Noles to digest.  He put a straight question to Sri Bhagavan: 'Are you, or are you not, now
talking to us?' By an answer to this question, he wanted to know how Sri Bhagavan expressed Himself consistently.  Others
around eagerly watched for what would fall from Sri Bhagavan's lips. 

Sri Bhagavan gave Mr. Noles a meaningful look and said in a most emphatic tone: 'No, 'I' am not talking to you.' 

In an ecstatic mood, Mr. Noles echoed:  'No. Sri Bhagavan is not talking to us; Sri Bhagavan SIMPLY IS.'

The devotees present greatly enjoyed this conversation.

*****

Arunachala Siva.             
   

[Nagaraj]

Unless intellectually known, how to practice it? Learn it intellectually first, then do not stop with that. Practise it. Maharshi then made certain remarks: “When you adhere to one philosophical system (siddhanta) you are obliged to condemn the others. That is the case with the heads of monasteries (matadhipatis)”.

All people cannot be expected to do the same kind of action. Each one acts according to his temperament and past lives. Wisdom, Devotion, Action (jnana, bhakti, karma) are all interlocked. Meditation on forms is according to one’s own mind. It is meant for ridding oneself of other forms and confining oneself to one form. It leads to the goal. It is impossible to fix the mind in the Heart to start with. So these aids are necessary. Krishna says that there is no birth (janma) to you, me, etc., and later says he was born before Aditya, etc. Arjuna  disputes it. Therefore it is certain that each one thinks of God according to his own degree of advancement.

You say you are the body in wakeful state; not the body in sleep. Bodies being several-fold for an individual, should not there be infinite capacities for God? Whichever method one follows, that method is encouraged by the Sages. For it leads to the goal like any other method.

(Talks)

[Subramanian.R]

Vichara Sangraham:

Devotee: What is the purport of the teaching that in pratyahara one should meditate on the pranava?

Maharshi:  The purport of prescribing meditation on the pranava is this.  The pranava is Omkara consisting of three and a
half matras viz. 'a' 'u' and 'm' and ardha matra.  Of these 'a' stands for the waking state, Visva Jiva, and the gross body;
'u' stands for the dream state, Taijasa jiva, and the subtle body; 'm' stands for the sleep state, Prajna jiva, and the causal body;
the ardha matra represents the Turiya, which is the 'self or 'I' nature.  And what is beyond that is the state of Turiyatita,
or Pure Bliss.   The fourth state which is the state of 'I'- nature was referred to in this section on meditation (dhyana).
This has been variously described as of the nature of amatra which includes the three matras, a u and m as maunakshara
(silence-syllable); as ajapa (as muttering without muttering) and as the Advaita Mantra which is the essence of all mantras
such as Panchakshara.  In order to get at this true significance, one should meditate on Pranava.  This is meditation which is
of the nature of devotion consisting in reflection on the truth of the Self.   The fruition of this process is Samadhi, which yields
release which is the state of unsurpassed bliss.  The revered Gurus also have said that release is to be gained only by devotion
which is of the nature of reflection on the truth of the Self.

****

Arunachala Siva.         

[Subramanian.R]

T.K. Sundaresa Iyer - At the Feet of Bhagavan:

The mantra 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya' fascinated me greatly in my early years.  It so delighted me that I had
always had a vision of Sri Krishna in my mind. I had a premonition that this body would pass away in its fortieth year,
and I wanted to have a darshan of the Lord Vasudeva before that time.  I fasted and practiced devotion to Vasudeva
incessantly.  I read Srimad Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam with great delight.  Then when I read in Gita, 'Jnani
tu atmaiva me matam'  - In my view, the Jnani is my own Self.  I was greatly delighted.  This line of thought came to me:
'While I have at hand Sri Bhagavan Sri Ramana, who is Himself Vasudeva, why should I worship Vasudeva separately?'

Be it noted that all this was in my early years before settling with Sri Bhagavan at His Asramam.  So wanted one single
mantra, a single worship (devata), and a single scripture, so that there might be no conflict of loyalties.  Sri Ramana
Paramatman became easily the God to worship, His Collected Works easily became the gospel.  As for the mantra,
it stuck me intuitively that Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya might be an excellent parallel to Om Namo Bhagavate
Vasudevaya. 

I counted the letters in this new mantra and was very happy to find it also contained twelve letters. I told this all to
Sri Bhagavan and He gave the mantra His approval.

Advanced practisers (sadhakas) and thinkers might laugh at this and say: 'Why do you need a mantra while the Ocean
of Bliss is there to be immersed into directly?'  I confess that in this I was trying to conform to the traditional method of
practice (upasana)  which forms one of the main elements in bhakti (devotion).

Sri Bhagavan has revealed His true nature as the All Witness. Yet there is the explicit injunction that Advaita must only be
in the attitude and never be interpreted in outer action. 

This is how the mantra first came out.

***

Arunachala Siva.                   

[Nagaraj]

D.: If the Self be always realised we should only keep still. Is that so?

 M.: If you can keep still without engaging in any other pursuits, it is very good. If that cannot be done, where is the use of being quiet so far as realisation is concerned? So long as one is obliged to be active, let him not give up the attempt to realise the Self.

[Nagaraj]

An aspirant must be equipped with three requisites: (1) Ichcha [?]; (2) Bhakti [?]; and (3) Sraddha.

Talks

[Nagaraj]

Swa swarupanusandhanam bhaktirityabhidheeyate (Reflection on one's own Self is called bhakti [?]).

[Subramanian.R]

T.K. Sundaresa Iyer.  At the Feet of Bhagavan:

Mr. and Mrs. S. were visitors from Peru to the Asramam.  They had heard of the Maharshi and His greatness, of how He was
accepted by Arunachala, and how He and Arunachala are one.  To the couple, Sri Maharshi's Presence on earth seemed the
second coming of the Christ Himself, so that they had longed for years to meet this God-Man once in their lives.

They were too poor to find the money for their passage to India.  But in their burning desire to see the God-Man in flesh and
blood, they laid by each week a few coins out of their small wages, and in a few years they had enough money to become deck-
passengers without the pleasant luxury of the higher classes on the ship.  So they sailed for several months, and at last reached
India and Tiruvannamalai. 

The couple narrated all their story to Sri Bhagavan, all the privations they had undergone to have a look at Sri Maharshi.
Sri Bhagavan was all kindness to them.  He heard their story with great concern, and then remarked:  'You need not have
taken all the trouble. You could well have thought of me from where you were, and so could have had all the consolation of a
private visit.'  This remark of Sri Bhagavan, they could not easily understand, nor did it give them any consolation as they
sat at His feet like Mary.  Sri Maharshi did not want to disturb their pleasure in being in His immediate vicinity, and so left them
at that.

Later in the evening, Sri Maharshi was inquiring about their day-to-day life, and incidentally their talk turned to Peru.

The couple began picturing the landscape of Peru and were describing the sea coast and the beach of their own town.
Just then Maharshi remarked: 'Is not the beach of your town paved with marble slabs, and are not coconut palms
planted in between them?  Are there not marble benches in rows facing the sea there and did you not often sit on the fifth
of those with your wife?'  This remark of Sri Maharshi created great astonishment in the couple.  How could Sri Bhagavan,
who had not gone out of Tiruvannamalai, know their own place?

Sri Maharshi only smiled and remarked: "It does not matter how I can tell.  Enough if you know that in the Self there is
no Space-Time.'

This confirmed in the minds of the couple Sri Maharshi's original statement that they could well have thought of Him even
at their own home and so obtained His blessings.

****

Arunachala Siva.