MEETING RANJIT MAHARAJ

anjit Maharaj was born in Bombay on January 4th, 1913. At the age of 12, he met his master Siddharameshwar Maharaj, a great unknown master of the age. Ranjit Maharaj did not begin to teach until 1983 at the age of 70 when increasing numbers of seekers kept showing up at his door. His teaching is in the continuity of his master's, which emphasises simplicity and directeness in language.

The specificity of Maharaj's teaching is its radical stand and directness - All is illusion, the "I" is illusion, so whatever the "I" does is also illusion. Therefore, he does not give any method to improve that which is not, the illusion. Through knowledge and the rejection of all false identifications that one has taken upon oneself, the veils of ignorance are removed and we realise our true nature."To find out your true nature is the easiest thing since you are That." 

Knowledge is a mere remedy to cure the disease of ignorance, and once ignorance has vanished, knowledge has no more entity. "In Reality, there is neither knowledge nor ignorance. When I do not exist, when I am not, He only is and that is Reality, that is Ourselves without ourselves."

Ranjit Maharaj passed away on November 15th, 2000 at 6:16 PM at his residence in Bombay. Maharaj's words during his last few days were, "It is of no use now, this has to go".

In June of 1996, he visited Brittany, on the French Atlantic coast, and during his stay he met with visitors and answered their questions. The following selections are from this period.

REALITY

If you want to follow a practise, you have to follow someone who is realised. Methods are full of frustrations and give no real satisfaction. Reality has no method. Illusion has many methods, many problems and many concepts. To overcome illusion, or concepts, one should ask, "From where does all this thinking arise?" Thinking is always of other things. To know the thoughtless Reality, no thinking is required. It is where there is no thought. Whatever thing you think of doesn't exist. Everything is He only, and apart from Him there is nothing in the world. Whatever is thought of, makes Him something other than what He is. When thinking ends, what happens? You go to zero.

Awakening is nothing but a complete, thorough understanding. A clear cut understanding of a thing is awakening. Reality is not to be achieved, it is there. After this thorough understanding, nothing is required.

As long as the body is there, he acts. He calls his mother 'mother', and his wife 'wife'. But still he knows. If somebody asks him, "What is your name?", he gives his name, but he knows, "I am not this." That clear cut understanding is required. Complete understanding is called 'That'. Be in 'That'. Be like a lotus leaf - you are produced in water, you live in water , but you are not touched by water. Stay like that, nothing else. Once you know, "I am not this", then you become doubtless. My Master told me, "After understanding, if you want to stay, then stay. Stay in jail, but remember: "I am not a victim."" One cannot afford to leave the illusory so fast, so live there, but understand that , "I'm not the victim." Ego is such; in very many different shapes and different ways, he remains. So, one should always be aware, and then, once you are complete, there is nothing to worry about. What you see is illusion. If you understand that 'myself' is illusion, then where does everything remain? People don't understand that illusion is nothing. How can it block you? How can nothing block you?

What you see and perceive is in you and not outside. You are not the body, take it for granted. When the mind takes up any thought and gets attached to it, then everything is seen as 'other' than Him.

In human nature, fear is always there. Everyone has fear, because, they believe "I am the body." Mind creates this fear and is nothing but your own concept. Fear arises in the mind due to the unsteadiness of the world. Every minute is changing. If you go beyond darkness and knowledge, then there is no fear at all. For example, a screen has no fear of any picture because it is steady. So, that which is not steady always has fear. Your mind changes every moment and cannot remain steady by itself. If your mind knows its own source or its own beginning, then only it can be happy. As long as there is a body, there is fear. If you want to be fearless, be what is fearless, because that which is has no end. The final Reality has no end and no beginning, it is limitless. It is so subtle, that all thoughts and concepts stop. Duality contains fear, oneness has no fear.

Take out the thorn of the ego. Take out the name and the shape and there is nothing. You see by your own understanding that everything is illusion. Experience it! You don't want to see because the mind doesn't allow you to see. The mind is the only hurdle which keeps you away from you. The mind says, "It is true." Tell the mind, "It is not true." Understand the mind, and then it doesn't remain.

You can see the space, you can observe the space, you can feel the space, but Reality is beyond space. Space is zero, where there is no silence, no voice, no peace, no state. All these are conditional things. Silence is also not He, peace is not He. He has nothing. If anything would have been there, then that would have been Reality, and not He. Nothing can disturbs Him because it doesn't exist. Nothing is required for Reality, otherwise it would have disturbed that Reality.

Then, the aspirant may ask, "What should I do?" Do nothing! Words only go up to the space. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, "There, from where the words come, That is my Self." That is my Self. In the Bible, Christ also said the same thing: "Know thyself and you know the world." Go up to where thinking ends, go up to That, and there is the Self. So, I always call it, "Self without self". Self-realisation is Self without self. As long as 'realising' remains, self remains. The eyes have got the habit to see that which is not. The Master takes you up to That, up to the Reality and says, "Understand yourself." This is the position.

KNOWLEDGE AND IGNORANCE

Siddharameshwar Maharaj first gave knowledge, while our mythologists say that one should have renunciation first, then receive knowledge. He said that renunciation without knowledge is useless. It becomes a bondage of the mind. For example, a nice meal is prepared. There is a sweet smell and everybody wants to eat. But you tell the others, "Don't eat." They ask you, "Why not?" You then let them know that there is poison in the food. The knowledge of the poison leads to immediate renunciation. So, if at first there is knowledge, renunciation automatically must come.

First mental understanding is required and after that comes a practical understanding. Intellectual talent is the greatest thing. Without the intellect, one cannot understand. So, you have to understand with the full intellect and then, that knowledge, or that understanding will submerge, because knowledge is a thought. A good thought or a bad thought, both are thoughts. So, knowledge is a golden thorn, and ignorance is an ordinary thorn and both are bondage. Suppose your hands have been put in handcuffs. Maybe they're iron cuffs or maybe they're golden, but it's still bondage. So, both are thorns. One should understand and throw them away. It is very difficult to throw out the knowledge, because ego remains up till knowledge. Knowledge is the ego, nothing else. To erase that knowledge, one should say, "I know nothing." As Socrates said; "I know that I don't know."

There is no experience in Reality. What experience have you got when you sleep? That knowledge, or power is there and everything else is not. It is beyond ignorance and knowledge. For example, darkness and light go together. A light goes off and darkness is there, and if you turn on the light, darkness automatically goes away. They are one. In the same way, knowledge and ignorance are both one. In my Master's words, Siddharameshwar Maharaj, "Knowledge is the greatest ignorance." Through knowledge, we know That, which is nothing, and this is a trick, nothing else! One should know this trick.

What you know today, what you are going to know tomorrow, is all the same. In the same way, knowledge never changes. Due to ignorance, the effects differ. When you place a cover over the light, then there will be darkness, and when you take off the cover, light returns.

Remove the veil of ignorance which has come upon you. Take away the cloth in front of the light, and the light is there! In sleep one goes to this 'end'. Go to the "end" and find your Self. Finding out means forgetting your mind, your thoughts and your individuality.

Nothing needs to be demolished. Why demolish anything? What are these things? Things don't trouble you, but you go in and get troubles. This chair never says, "I am yours." You say, "It is my chair." So, who is at fault? Not the chair, but yourself. You have nothing to do with it. You should see the world that way.

You have to keep going. Hurdles must be there, but the hurdles should be overtaken. One should overcome the problems. A problem is a thought. From your childhood, you have accumulated many thoughts. Who has given you all those thoughts? Your father, your mother, your friends in your circle. Everything has come to you. They are all ignorant people, so what can they give you? What can darkness give to light? Tell me. Nothing, isn't it? What can you find in darkness? Nothing! All thoughts, all habits are not true. All have come to you due to ignorance. Go to the source from where they arise and they dissolve! All bondage is only a mental bondage which you have borrowed from someone else. Money that is borrowed is not yours. In the same way, you have borrowed the thoughts of others and have taken them as your own bondage. How can it be? Throw off that bondage! Who stops you? Give the money to the creditor, and you are free of all debt! You have to be free of debt.

MASTER

How can you know when you have found a Master? There is no test or statistics. What is written in the books of Knowledge by many saints and experienced persons, should be experienced by you. A Master says, "This is salt". Books also describe salt. Put it in your mouth and see for yourself if it is salty. What the Master says, you must experience. You can find out only by 'tasting'.

When the Master teaches you, you can get the experience. Nothing is impossible in the world. You are He, so what is impossible? You don't understand this, you don't take it to heart. Due to the identification with body and mind, you say that you are not perfect. Everything disappears in deep sleep, so why can you not go to the end of yourself? From where this power arises, find the source, and that is your Self. One can understand the final Reality if the Master gives you the right direction. If the address is wrong you cannot reach the destination. The Master should be perfect, only then he can show you the way to Reality.

All want to be a Master. Even between two boys, there is always one who will be the Master of the other. It is the nature of the power which is inside man. If you experience for yourself what the Master says, if you can put your own stamp on it, then it is true. Otherwise, separation between Master and aspirant remains. In truth there is no duality between them. So the question of fear does not exist. When that is fully satisfied and there is the feeling that nothing remains to be acquired in the world, then one feels completely at peace. That satisfaction comes to you. One should experience for himself and then speak, otherwise one should keep quiet.

Faith is required up till understanding, only. Afterwards, 'no faith' is also required. Suppose you have got 60 lakhs (6 million) francs in the bank, and I say, "Keep faith." Is there any meaning in it? You say, "No, I know I have got it." Once you understand, once the clear cut understanding comes, then even faith is not required. But to have faith, the ego should be surrendered. The small baby has so much faith in the mother, so the mother does everything for him. Before he cries, she gives him milk, and everything. Suppose the mother falls with her child. When she gets up, she first sees that her child is not hurt. In the same way, the Master is also that. When one has got the faith, He knows. All the aspirants' misunderstandings and doubts are cleared by Him. You have to know your Self only. You only represent or misrepresent yourself. If that understanding doesn't come then the ego will remain.

There is a saying in India, "With one piece of turmeric, one cannot open a grocer's shop." Many people talk of God even though they do not know God. Why? Because they are always moving in the opposite direction from Him. If you want to go to the mountains in the north, and you go to the south, how can you reach the mountains? Where is God and Who is God? One should know He is not outside, but within you! Thoughts are naturally directed to the outside; they should turn toward the Self with the help of the Master.

Find out, "Who you are." When all thoughts end, He is there. Forget everything that you have learned up till now, then He is there. In this way, one is at peace. Peace comes from within ourselves. Christ says: "Know thyself and you will know the world." When you go to the very end of yourself, the question of peace does not arise. Nothing remains; you are yourself.

DEATH

Understand for yourself that death is nothing. Know that, "I am birthless, I am deathless, I have never taken birth and I will never die." Take the poisonous tooth out of the serpent and play with him. You know it is not going to do any harm to you. Death is nothing. Everyday, when you sleep it is like a small death. Why to fear? Nothing is there. Everything is illusion. Keep your mind in that fearless state only. Just as the poisonous tooth is taken out, in the same way, play with the world, play with the illusion, there is no harm. It won't affect your mind. Live fearlessly; no death, no fear, knowing "I am that real Power." There is nothing! What will harm you?

I can tell you, but you have to take out the thorn. It doesn't exist, take it for granted. It doesn't exist, but you feel its existence. The difficulty is that you don't leave it alone. You are afraid of what will happen. Nothing else is going to happen. Nothing has happened up to now, and so what is going to happen now? So, to take out the thorn of the ego, always say: "I know nothing, I don't see, I don't hear, I don't eat, I don't sleep, I don't walk, I do nothing." Then, 'I' is not there and the ego must go.

One should be brave to truly live. When you are brave, fear does not remain. Be brave and have faith in the Master. Do what he says, because you and He are one. Throw off the veil. It is easy to leave that which is nothing, but difficult to see That which is present and which you have forgotten. There is an Indian custom in which sweets are distributed to all the relatives on the 13th day after death. What is the meaning of this? It is: The person is not dead, he never dies.

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SATSANG WITH RANJIT MAHARAJ

uestion: Would you say that Reality is silence reflecting Itself?

Ranjit Maharaj: You can see the space, you can observe the space, you can feel the space, but Reality is beyond space. Space is zero. No silence is there, no voice is there, no peace is there, no state is there. All these are conditional things. When you sleep, you feel happy, but here there is no happiness, take it for granted.

So silence is also not He (Reality), peace is not He. Action and reaction are opposite and equal, it is like that. He has got nothing. If anything would have been there, that would have been something other than Reality and not He. Nothing disturbs Him. Why doesn't It get disturbed? Because It doesn't exist. When you sleep, nothing exists. Then you feel peace there. Why? Because, for example, suppose a man is running in a race during the whole day. When he wins that race, he is sweating and breathing so much. But that is not the pleasure, winning is the pleasure. Nothing is required for Reality, otherwise that would have disturbed the Reality.

Q: Then, Reality is known by Itself only.

RM: That will do, at least. Otherwise, that is also not there. How can It see anything?

Q: It speaks for Itself.

RM: It doesn't speak also. Forget this point, it's easier. There's no experience in It. What experience have you got when you sleep? Is there is something there, some knowledge or some power? Everything goes off. So, nothing is there and neither is knowledge. It's beyond knowledge and beyond zero. It's beyond ignorance and knowledge. Knowledge is a concept, nothing else. Just yesterday I said, "Darkness and light go together." When a light goes off, then darkness is there. You have not to even call for that. And if you put on the light, darkness automatically goes off.

Ranjit Maharaj

You have not to say, "Please guy, go out", because they are one. In the same way, knowledge and ignorance are both one. In my master's words, Siddharameshwar Maharaj, "Knowledge is the greatest ignorance." By knowledge, we know that which is nothing, and that is a trick, nothing else. One should know the trick. A magician does many quick movements, and everything disappears all of a sudden. Here, it is also the same. Master only teaches you this trick. There's no master and no aspirant in the Reality. Both are not there, they cannot remain. How can duality be there when there is completeness? When there is duality, there is incompleteness. Only 'Oneness' is complete. We have to use the word, 'Oneness'. Why? Because you see so many things, so you have to use the word 'Oneness'. But in Reality, there is neither peace, nor any state. 'Peace', 'state', 'samadhi' are only methods. They are the real poison, because they take you away from It, and as a result your ego becomes stronger and stronger.

Then the question may arise from the aspirant, "What should I do?" Do nothing! Words only go up to the space. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, "There, from where the words come, that is my Self. That is my Self." The same thing was said by Christ also, in the Bible, "Know thyself and you know the world." Go up to that point where thinking ends, go up to That, and there is the Self. So, I always call it, "Self without self". So, Self realisation is Self without self. As long as realising remains, self remains. The eyes have got the habit to see that which is not. You say, "This is a chair", but it is not. The child will say, "This is water." His parents will say, "No, no, it's called an ocean." They pour more ignorance into him. On the contrary, he is right, it's nothing but water. He submits to their instructions. Ignorant people will always like ignorance and will not like knowledge. In the Hindi scripts it is written, "Mind has got the curse not to hear the master." Mind doesn't like it. All the people around you are just full of ignorance and they want to support their ignorance. They don't want to get rid of their ignorance. People don't like to go and see a saint and also don't like it when other people go because they're afraid to lose a person from their circle. The saint takes you up to That, up to the Reality and says, "Understand yourself." This is the position.

Q: But life springs out from Reality. Isn't life under the authority of Reality?

RM: The whole dream reflects from where? From zero. It doesn't reflect from Reality, it reflects from zero. In ignorance, you forget the Reality and then something comes up. In sleep we forget everything, but when we wake up, everything returns at once, in a fraction of a second. So, from where does it come? Not from Him. If it had come from There, it would have been the Reality and if so, then the world ends there.

Q: It could be a game for Reality to express itself in the manifestation.

RM: It's a trick. Here at zero, you can dream up whatever you wish, anything. You may never expect to get something, but still you may perhaps get it. It has not come from you - everything which is there has come out from this ignorance. Ignorance has come about by hearing. Now, you have to hear the master and follow what he says, and then all ignorance goes off. Go to the master and tell him, "Put my name on your record." You go to school and put the name of the boy in the school, no? And then, he has to go to the school and learn. It's the same way here, also. One should go to the master and what he says, accept it. If you accept it, then you can achieve the goal very fast, within a fraction of a second. Why not?

Q: I would like to know about death. I am not afraid of death myself, but I have some relatives who are. So, how am I to relate to them?

RM: Let them understand what they understand. You first understand yourself that death is nothing. If you teach them, they won't hear you. But still you will know yourself, "I am birthless, I am deathless. I have never taken a birth and I will never die." Keep that knowledge in your mind. If somebody you know is dying then tell them, "Don't fear. Don't fear. Die." (Laughs) You should say in your mind, "When you die, don't worry, because all fear also goes off." For example, a serpent is there. Take his poisonous tooth out and play with him. Then, he is not going to do anything with you, no? Let people say, "Oh, watch out, you are playing with a serpent!" You can say to them, "Okay, I'm playing. Do you want to play also?" They all won't do it, because they are in fear. You know that you have taken out the poisonous tooth of the serpent and so it's not going to do any harm to you. Death is nothing. Everyday, when you sleep it's like a small death, and you don't fear that death because you know that you will get up tomorrow. But suppose you die in the sleep, then what to do? Why to fear? Nothing is there. Everything is an illusion. Keep your mind in that fearless state only. Let others have fear. Just as the poisonous tooth is taken out, in the same way, play with the world, there is no harm. It won't affect your mind. Live fearlessly - no death, no fear, knowing that, "I am that real power."

Q: Is it your role to remove the thorn of ego, and if so, can you help me to remove this thorn?

RM.: "Take out the thorn". That is the help which I give. Otherwise, how can I help you? You have to take out your own things. I can tell you, but you have to take it out. It doesn't exist, take it for granted. It doesn't exist, but you feel its existence. You don't leave it, that's the difficulty. What to do? You have fear of what will happen. Nothing else is going to happen. Nothing has happened up to now, so what is going to happen now? So, to take out the ego, always say, "I know nothing. I don't see, I don't hear, I don't eat, I don't sleep, I don't walk. I do nothing." Ego must go. For example, the doctor gives you medicine. You cannot cure the disease unless you leave the disease. After some time, the doctor again comes to see if you are better and you say to him, "Oh, I'm still not well." What can he do if you don't take the medicine, tell me? So, to take out the ego say, "I do nothing. I don't sleep, I don't speak, I don't do anything. 'I' is not there." That is a practise. You can do it.

Q: In your bhajans (devotional singing), what concept do you worship, Maharaj?

RM: We worship That which is conceptless and thoughtless. The whole essence of worship is to make your mind stronger towards the side of Reality . My guru, Siddharameshwar Maharaj, and his master, Bhausaheb Maharaj from Karnataka, were gurus from Sholapur. Bhausaheb Maharaj started this lineage and has kept full wisdom in it, full understanding. There are many saints in India, and they've written so many things. So, he has gathered the highest thoughts about the Reality. You cannot understand it because it is in the Marathi language, so there is a difficulty. Otherwise, you would see that every word has got a very strong meaning of the Reality. When you see a movie, for example, and if you like a song in the movie, then after coming home you sing that song, over and over again. So, by singing the bhajans, you remain in that circle of Reality, nothing else. No concept. When a concept is known, how do you worship a concept? We keep Siddharameshwar Maharaj's photo only, but he is here (holding his chest) and not up there on the wall. People do things which they don't know. When you say, 'Christ', people cross themselves. This means that Christ is here and not there. What to do? But most feel He is there. That is ignorance. Knowing that, "I am not there", is the practise. For example, if you leave the room, then you are out of the room, otherwise, you remain in the room. So, you should leave the room. That's the only thing you have to do. It depends upon you. The master is there to guide you, nothing else.

Q: I live in fear and I do not dare to live my life. What should I do to overcome this fear?

RM.: Fear is in human nature, it is always there. Everybody has got fear, even the animals, because they understand that "I am the body". Body is always fearing and mind is the greatest factor in it. Mind is nothing but your own concept. A concept is knowledge also, so fear always comes into the mind due to the unsteadiness of the world. Every minute is changing. That which is not steady, the mind always has fear for that. Your own life is also nothing - it depends only on your own breathing. As long as you breathe everything is there. Breathing is nothing but wind and wind is never steady. Wind has got both power and knowledge. And so light is always in fear of darkness. Why fear darkness, because light and darkness both go together? Where there is light, there is darkness - if darkness is there, light is there , so they are not steady. Therefore, one always has fear, as you say. If you go beyond darkness or beyond knowledge, then there is no fear at all. For example, a cinema screen has no fear of any picture, because it is steady. So, that which is not steady, it always has fear. Your mind changes at every moment, no?

Human beings have got fear of even the smallest insects - insects, birds and germs. There are so many kinds of germs, bacteria. Also, all kinds of insects are there because power is life, nothing else. So, man always has got the fear of nothing but death. There are five elements in the world - sky, fire, water, earth, wind - all come from the sky. Still, all of them have got an exactly opposite entity - sky always traps the wind, wind always grabs fire, fire always grabs water, and water can dissolve earth at any moment. That which is transitory has always got the fear. Your thoughts and concepts are transitory, every moment you change your thoughts and concepts. So, one is always in fear. Body is made up of the five elements, nothing else, and one power is there, chetana. So they all work together, because the power is there. So, mind is nothing but that power in a subtle form, and the power is nothing but knowledge. It is automatic, so fear must be there. For example,there are so many insects, so many things in the world. You fear everybody, what can you do? Because you want your body to remain intact. Fear is always there, so to work on fear one should know his own Self. It is easy, and is called Self-realisation. So, one should not fear if he realises that, "I am beyond zero or sky".

Krishna says to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, who was his aspirant, "Oh Arjuna, all your actions limit you and are useless unless you know your Self." So to get out of the fear, you go to the church, pray to God, and the Hindus go to the temples and pray. Fear itself is the mind. Worshipping, reading many, many philosophical books, all these things make your mind more complicated, and that complication always brings more fear. So the mind cannot remain steady. If your mind knows its own source or its own beginning, only then can it be happy. So fear is that. So one can overcome fear, why not? When there is nothing, your fear is always more. For example, if you are in a lonely place, then you have lots of fear. Loneliness is nothing but space. So go beyond space by the grace of the master. Only by the understanding given by the master you can penetrate the sky and go beyond the sky, beyond the space. As long as body is there, fear has to be there, nothing else. If you want to be fearless, be what is fearless, because it has no end. Final Reality has no end and no beginning. That which has got a start or an end has some fear, but if It has no start, how can it have an end? It is limitless nothing else. It is so subtle that all thoughts and concepts stop there. They cannot enter there. So as I said before, the cinema screen has nothing to worry about. Let any pictures come - he shows them, he does everything, yet he is fearless. The screen does not get touched, therefore it is fearless. If you get touched, then fear comes. Suppose you see a rope in the darkness, and you take it for a serpent at once. Therefore, you are so afraid of it. If the light is turned on, then all the fear goes away when you see that it is only a rope. Understanding of the Self erases all fears, because it is all Oneness, so there is no duality in it. Duality has fear, oneness has no fear.

Q: It is difficult for me to have an aim, and to go to the end of my being. I feel empty, I have no energy and have no fixed aim in life.

RM: Aim is of the mind and you are not the mind. You are the power, so why can you not go up to the power? Aim and power are different things. One should not feel like this. You think you are the mind and the body, so therefore you say, "I am not capable of reaching Reality". It is not the case, they are both different. Like light and electricity, they are quite different. Electricity has no light, but because of such contrivances it gives light. So, mind is not perfect, thought is not perfect, but your Self, the power which is in you is completely perfect. Wherever it is, it is perfect, so why would it not be perfect in you? It is perfect in every place. Due to identity of the body and mind, you say that you are not perfect. Everything disappears in deep sleep, so why can you not go to the end of your Self? From where does this power start, find out the source, and that is your Self. There, there is no self. But if you say the 'body', then you have to say the 'self'. There is no self in It, there is no individuality in It, there is also no duality in It. So one can understand the final Reality through the guidance of the master. It depends upon the master, whether he gives you the right direction to understand. If the address is wrong, then you cannot reach the destination. The master should be perfect, then only can he give the real thoughts or points of that Reality. It is easy for one to understand, but it is very difficult to make others understand. So, one should not think in that way. For example, you always go to the end of yourself if you do not know what to do. As in sleep, you go to the end of your self. But you do not know, so you come back with ignorance. You then say, "I was in a void" or "I was in complete ignorance". Reality is already there but you do not know that due to the ignorance of the mind. It pervades everywhere and anywhere. Without Him nothing can be done. Everything is He. The starting point is the end, nothing else. From where you start, always go to that without any effort. For example, lava comes out from the center of the Earth, it covers the surface and finally it returns back to the center. So, Christ also said, "Thou art dust - you eat dust and you die in dust." Go beyond that. You are not an object, neither a body nor a mind, so go to the end of all these things, from where they arise and from where they end. Then one can understand, why not?

The owner of a house knows every corner of his house, so he has nothing to worry about. He knows where everything is. In the same way, one should go to the end, from where everything starts. Everybody is He. Apart from That, there is nothing. So one can understand, one must understand. Remove the screen of ignorance which has come upon you. Take away the veil of ignorance. Take off the cloth from in front of the light, and instantly the light is there! One can go to the end. Everyday, when you sleep, you go to the end. There you have to find out your Self. 'Finding out' means what? Forget your mind, forget your thoughts and forget your self. He is there.

Q: Does admitting that one is powerless help?

RM: Powerless? How can it be, because you are that real power? But ego is powerless, because it has no entity at all. If it has no entity, how can it have power? What can you write to one who has not taken the birth? You can't! Ego, having no entity, has no power. The moon doesn't produce light, but it gives light that comes from the sun. In the same way, ego also is just like the moon. The power which is inside the ego gives light to him and he (ego) says, "I am there, power is not at all there, it has no entity." So why cannot one shade out, erase the ego which has no entity? One who has not taken the birth, you can't take anything to him, no? In the same way, why worry about that which has no entity? Go to the end. One can. Only your ego does not allow you to go there. Ego knows that if you see your Self or the end of illusion, then it will never remain there and nobody will think of it. Don't think that you cannot go there! It's only the weakness of your mind that says, "I cannot understand Him". It's like a light bulb which shines light and says, "I produce the light". It cannot understand electricity. When you do not think that you are the light bulb, then the power is there. If one can go to the end, from where the light comes from, his entity will be nowhere. All the pictures which you see on the cinema screen and the sounds you hear - if you want to know from where they come, after, will the screen remain? So one can go, why not? Ignorance of mind says it cannot go. 'Mind' means thinking, and thinking cannot approach the thoughtless Reality. So therefore the mind says that it is impossible, doesn't it? Thinking goes off and He remains.

Q: You say it is through discrimination that one can destroy the mind. But what about blocked emotions, fears or emotional blocks which go back to childhood and of which we are not always aware? What should one do to free oneself from them?

RM: You have to keep going, hurdles must be there, but the hurdles should be overtaken. For example, a horse race is going on and there are many hurdles on the track. One should overcome the problems, why not? A problem is a thought. From your childhood, you must have had many thoughts, no? Who has given you those thoughts? Your father, your mother and then your circle of friends. All those thoughts have come upon you from ignorant people, so what can they give you? What can darkness give? Tell me. Nothing! What can you find out in darkness? Nothing! In the same way here, you have to discover that which is nothing. All your thoughts are an illusion, not at all true. All have come to you due to ignorance and now have become a habit. If you think about your thoughts, then the illusion remains. But if you go to the source from where the thoughts arise, the starting point, if you go up to that source then the thoughts dissolves! You never think of the Reality, the source, you always think of other things. You never think of your thoughts and from where do they come. All bondages are only mind bondages, and you have borrowed them. Money that is borrowed is not yours, isn't it? In the same way, you've borrowed the thoughts of others and taken them as your bondage, how can it be? Throw off that bondage, give the money back to the creditor, and then you are free of the debt. You have to be free of the debt, no? In the same way, you have taken the bondages of others on you. Throw that off! Who stops you? You do not want to throw them away, what to do?

Q: Because of fear.

RM: Fear is ignorance, what to do? Fear is nothing! Why do you have fear, tell me? Is it due to the ego, tell me? Are you afraid of what people will say?

Q: Fear of conflict. I'm afraid of opposing others.

RM: Then, you can't get the goal. Fear has no entity. If you take it for real, then how can you go to the thoughtless Reality? Everybody is naked under their clothes, everybody knows, no? Why to fear? I don't understand. If the master is real and what he says is true, then perhaps "fears can be liars, and hopes can be illusions". Fears can be liars, so how can they have any entity? Hopes also have no entity. What can harm you if you've got a strong master? And that master should be your mind!. In India, we have a saying in Hindi, "One who is fearless, even the Gods fear him." Even the Gods fear you, so why should you fear anything? Be naked! Throw off everything and then nothing can touch you, nothing can stop you. When the fears come in the way, throw them off! You are He, take it for granted.

Climb the 44 steps, and you must get to the room, no? If there are 44 steps to go up to the second floor, and you climb them all, then you must get to the second floor, no? Or if you take the lift, you will also get there, who can stop you? So, which fears can stop you? Fears are nothing. When the ego does not want to see his own Self, then the fears arise. So, the ego does not allow you, that's all. What you know today and what you are going to know tomorrow is always the same. Knowledge never changes. Due to ignorance, the effects differ. Just as I said before - keep the cover on the light, then there will be darkness. Take off the cover, and the light returns.

Q: Maharaj, is there a special technique to remove the veil? Or is it sufficient to have much courage and be brave in the face of these fears, so that they naturally disappear?

RM: One should be brave to live. When you are brave, then fear does not remain. Be brave and have faith in the master. What he says, do it. You can get it, because you are He. To get your Self, how much time does it take? If someone calls your name, you immediately put your hand up. How much time does it takes for you to respond? Instantly you do it. So, what you are, what you say is the final Reality, is you. How much time does it take? Throw off the apron (veil). You do not want to throw off the apron, what to do? Anyway, Reality cannot be seen, what to do? It is very easy to leave that which is nothing and it is very difficult to see that which is there. That you have forgotten and therefore you get troubles. In the same way, it is very easy, don't worry. One should have full faith himself. Here, the mind always asks questions. For example, in the army they say, "You should not ask any questions, you should not make any reply, but you should only do your duty and die". These are the orders for the military, and it's the same here also. (laughs) Master says, "Die! Experience your own death!" Saint Tukaram said, "I saw my death and I was very, very happy. That happiness I could not describe". One should see the end of his self, self is the mind. In India we have a custom - on the 13th day after someone dies, sweets are given to all the relatives. What is the meaning of it? There must be a meaning, no? It is - "He is not dead, he never dies". They do not understand this, but still the meaning is that, and they just follow the custom. So, why not give sweets to all? Because I am not dying, I am ever living, if you understand. When the body goes, only the body or ego has fear. So if it goes then give sweets to all!

A person in jail always counts how many days remain until he gets out. In the same way here also, people don't understand but when the first birthday comes, sweets are given. All birthdays are celebrated by giving sweets. They think that the time has come for the bondage to go away. Old age is sure to come and the bondage is going off, so one celebrates the birthdays. One year less to live from your life, but even so, you still celebrate because the bondage of the body is now ending. Some people enjoy birthdays. One year is short, but still it is one year less in the illusion. Suppose you are 25 years old and if your life is 100 years, then you only have 75 years remaining. When you see that you've lost 25 years, you should be happy and give sweets to all, because your bondage is going to end very fast! So, always live fearlessly and have your own pleasure.

Anything which you think of is always something which doesn't exist, because everything is He only. Except Him, there is nothing in the world. Whatever thought or concept you think of creates something other than what He is. When thinking ends, what happens? You go into zero. In the world, you spend your time only thinking of so many things, so many problems, whatever it may be. But still, when the minds sleeps, you forget everything. Thoughts continually come into the mind. For example, when 'I' stops seeing, then the space appears. Otherwise, there is no colour at all, even no sky colour. Once the vision ends, then only is there colour. So, what you see and perceive is in you and not outside of you. You are not the body, take it for granted. When the mind takes up a thought and gets attached to it, then everything is seen.

Reality prevails everywhere and apart from Reality there is nothing. It is there, everywhere and anywhere. The greatest saint in the last thousand years, Shankaracharya, has said, "There is Oneness. There is no duality in the world." For example, if someone drinks some alcohol, the effects must come to him, no? He then says anything he likes. And when the kick goes out, he then becomes sober again. Afterwards, if you ask him, "Did you say this?", he'll say, "Oh, I don't know anything." The kick of ignorance makes everything, brings everything. Take the kick out, then ignorance can not remain, why to worry?

The great saint, Ramdas Maharaj said, "What you say is there, has gone. That which is not, is always not. What is there to say about it?" So, that which has been has gone, and that which has not been has also gone. For example, someone feels some steel against his face. It's there, he feels something for a short time and then it's not there. Both have gone. Again, this is just like knowledge and ignorance. They are both there, then their absence has come, and after their absence, does anything remain? Nothing is there, but still He is there. You have to use so many words to explain this. It is so subtle. Little touches make all of consciousness come. Finally, you are That. Experience It in this way. Be That and remain like That only.

In the same way, this world is not at all there. You feel that it exists, what to do? Is anything here true? Nothing is! If you realise this, then nothing remains for you. It's all a big zero! The world comes from zero and ends in zero! The whole is ending in zero. When you sleep, does the world disappear or not? Sleeping means that you can't see the world. You have to close your eyes to fall asleep and then you have dreams. That is also imagination. In a dream, a poor man becomes a rich person and a rich person becomes the poorest person. For example, there was a king who became a beggar in the dream. So he cursed God, "What is this? Nobody gives me alms. Everybody abuses me and says bad things to me. What wrong have I done, I don't know?". God replies to him, "You came into this dream, that is the wrong thing which you have done. Also, you are dreaming wrong things which you feel are true". But when a master comes and says, "Oh, the one who is sleeping is a king", then he will play his part very nicely or not? Very nicely he will play his part. He tells the king that it's only a dream so that the king knows, "In the dream I am a beggar and when I awake from this dream, I will be a king". In the same way here also, master tells you that, "You are He", but you cannot accept this. But suppose if you dare to understand the master thoroughly, then? Then the world becomes heaven. For the one who understands, the world is heaven.

When something pleasant happens to someone who understand, he says, "Oh, very good". And when somebody dies, he says, "Oh, he's gone". He doesn't laugh, why? Because other people would be troubled by his laughter. But still, he knows that nothing has happened. The five elements return to the five elements and the power returns to the power, and then nothing remains! What is there? Who has gone? The one who came and who went away, his name is written on the tombstone. They write, "so-and-so died". He may have been 50 years old, or 80 years old or a 100 years old. If he was a 100 years old, you say, "Oh, it was his time to go". If he was only 30 years old then you too feel death, because you feel that death can come at any time. What to do? So dying can happen so easily, but one should not feel that they will die. When the body dies you don't die yourself. You feel that "I die," and then all those troubles come to you. But in fact, when one dies, all those troubles are going to end, no? No troubles remain for him, he's out of all troubles.

Q: So Maharaj, if you say it is not true, that means that you, in the body and the mind, are not true also.

RM: Oh yes! It is not true! What I think is also not true. "I don't think", is the main point in it. Why think about wrong things? Why think about things which don't even exist? People think because they are in ignorance. They think, "Oh, the world is going on now, what will happen to me?" A man is having his 70th birthday and he feels that if he dies tomorrow, what will happen? He dies and others continue to enjoy! All that depends upon your mind.

Q: So if it is not true, why think about it?

RM: If you think like that it's very good. Then you're out of the world. You are in the world but out of the world. That is the beauty of it. If you say this is not my house, then you have no troubles. You can put nails anywhere you like. But if you say,"It's my house", then you say "Oh, this wall has become bad. I should not put nails in it." You restrict yourself. Though it is wrong, still you restrict yourself. "Oh, how can I do it? It's my house". If you have no house then you can do anything here, because you know that nothing is going to happen. At the most, the walls might fall down. In this way understand. When you say it is mine then it troubles you. 'Me' and 'mine' is the trouble. M.I.N.E. - mine- That's called aham and mamata. So Kabir simply says, " Everything dies".

Q: Well, if I am not true, then death can't be true.

RM: Death is not true. Yes, yes.

Q: So, okay, that takes care of it all.

RM: Kabir says, " First, the mind dissolves. Then, the love for somebody ends. And, finally, all bodies disappear."

Q: So, that's freedom?

RM: Freedom. Exactly! The wish for a body, the strong desire for a body doesn't allow you to die. You then take another body. This body is going now, so what to do? So, you try to get another body. With that wish, you will die, and then you must get another body. Whatever body you get, it will get sick. Perhaps you may even become a mosquito or a bug. But he wants something, anyway. So, one should understand the beauty of the thoughts. The mind is a wonderful thing I tell you. It's so strong! It wants so many things. So you ask your mind, I always say, ask your mind, "What don't you want?" He says, "I want everything. I don't know what I don't want?". But the realised persons say, "I don't want anything because it's not true." When it is not true, why to take it? People are always running after things. For example, a deer runs after a mirage thinking it's water, no? If you say, "Oh, there is no water", the deer will think that you are a foolish person. "I can see the water, so what do you mean by that?", he says. He sees by his eyes that it's water, but it's a mirage. In the same way, people are running after their wish only. It's a desire, a strong desire of the mind. When you take birth, it's because you want to. So many births you have taken, gone there and come back again. That's called desire, a strong desire, or in our language it is called vasana. But if you understand that this world is not true, then every choice comes to you. Say it is not true. This is very difficult to say.

Q: It's easy to say, Maharaj, but it's difficult to practice.

RM: No, no! If you no longer want anything, then what is there to practice, tell me? You want something, so you are after it. When one doesn't want anything, then what remains for him, tell me? If you have child, a wife and everything, then some trouble comes to you. For me, for example, there's no trouble. I never ask anything to anybody. Why ask? Why beg? Let this body go to hell, I don't care! Every moment, you care for the body, what to do? Everybody cares for their body. If you don't care for the body, then the body becomes your slave. Then, whatever you want, the body will do it. "Come on!" It's really a very good thing if you understand this. Then, you are out of the clutch of the thoughts. When you're out of the clutch of the thoughts, then your power becomes so strong. Not to worry for anything. In Marathi there is a saying, " If I sleep on this cot, my God is there". He must give me everything to eat there. Everywhere is your power. Develop your power. If that power is there, then you no longer want anything. Why should you want?

Eyes want to see good things. Nose wants to smell very good things. "Oh, these are very fragrant flowers!" You want to eat many things, as well. "Oh, it's very tasty! One must eat." And all that makes more trouble for you. So, eat if you get it. Eat! Otherwise say, "I don't want anything". Don't be a slave. You become the slave of the thoughts, and the mind works and rules upon you. The mind is ruling you, always. So the best thing is to understand that one should practice against the mind. For example, the mind wants to drink something, brandy or whisky. Say, "No! I'm not going to drink". If the mind doesn't want to do anything, then say, "Come on, we're going to a party, or going walking". That is the practice you have to do. Then the mind becomes your slave in anything. Mind then says, "What I say you won't do it, so what is the use of it?" He agrees with you everywhere. And that is happiness or not? When the mind agrees, huh? The mind should agree, but he never wants to agree with anybody. So you have to think in this way and make your mind a slave. When it becomes a slave, then no thoughts come to you. What is the meaning of the thoughts? Due to the mind, thoughts come. It's better to say, "I don't want anything". If you don't want anything, then everybody forces you to have.

Mind is a wonderful factor. Try to understand your mind. When you understand it, it becomes a friend and finally dies itself giving you the Reality. Mind is the only factor that creates your bondage. I only want to say that if you understand that, "I don't exist," then everything is happiness. If you exist, then so many troubles come. What to do? Be out of it. Do everything! I don't say no. Do everything, but understand it's not true! Have that much courage. The mind has no value because it is not true. So why to worry? Say, it's not true. When the state of your mind changes, then trouble comes. Try to understand. Don't worry for anything. If the mind accepts this, then what remains? Nothing remains. People are unnecessarily worrying for the mind, but the mind doesn't care for you. If you understand in this way, then all questions are solved. You feel at ease. For example, if you have got a disease and you don't take your medicine, then are your troubles solved or not? Body will die. Let it die. Why care for it? All questions are solved then. The mind is a wonderful thing. Liberation and bondage are the mind's work. You are ever liberated and never in bondage.

Q: What happens, Maharaj, is that when it becomes clear to me that I don't exist, I instantly lose interest in everything. To me nothing seems important.

RM: And as long as you exist?

Q: Everything is important.

RM: Yes, yes, you feel interest in it. Say that, "I don't exist". Then all thoughts go off, they don't remain for a man with such a strong will. It takes a strong will, no? The main point in it is that everybody fears death. And when you fear death you want to do everything for your body. But one who doesn't fear death, then?

Q: Then the doing and not doing doesn't remain important to him, Maharaj.

RM: For him, it doesn't remain. It's okay! He doesn't go against the death thought. He doesn't care. He never cares for anybody. Why? Why care for anybody? People want to exist, no? What good is their existence, your existence?

Q: Maharaj, since the mind appears to be the cause of the world, one does not really have to marry and have children to have troubles. One can be without them and still have enough troubles.

RM: So there is the story where golden, wooden ladoos (sweets) are made and they have a very nice colour. Someone says, "Oh, if you eat them you will lose all your teeth". But still he says, "They're very attractive! I want to eat them." He knows they are made from wood, and that he might lose his teeth, but he can't help it. What to do? So one should understand. World is not true! One who understands, then it's okay. If you half understand, then you are lost in heaven. The mind is of a very different type. Try to understand. Understanding brings everything. If you understand, then nothing is true and nothing is false. So, someone who says that the world is true and someone who says that it's not true, in fact, both are wrong.

Q: This is interesting, Maharaj. Why are both wrong?

RM: Both are wrong. Why say anything about something that doesn't exist? Nothing is always nothing. Why even take any pride and say, "I've renounced the world, and I've done this and I've done that"? World itself is zero. Why should you say anything about zero? But still ego makes you say, "Oh, I know! World is not true, why should I worry?" Ego brings all this. Ego is a very wretched chap. It gets in the way. So many 'saints' are cheating themselves. What to do? They find nothing There. They come back and they teach wrong things to others. They say, "Do this and you'll get it". So people do this and do that. Their is a saying, "The saw of Kashi (Benares) cuts both ways". Worldly things are of the same way as the saw - if you don't want the world, it troubles you, and if you want the world, it also troubles you. What to do? Be neutral and say, " I don't want anything".

Q: Or be in it and be troubled, Maharaj.

RM: Yes. If there is a house, then the earthquake comes and it falls, and you have troubles. But if there is no house, then? Life is like gambling. What to do? One doesn't know anything. He's going to die tomorrow, or going to live for 100 years, nobody knows. So life is like gambling, no? He plays with his life. Play in such a way so that the dice don't remain. No dice, then no player.

Understanding should come. That's the main point. If you don't understand, then? So one who says that, "The world is not true", he's also false. And one who says that, " The world is true", he's also false. Both are wrong. Which is not, why to talk about it? Why to say anything about that? When you say, "Oh I know, the world is zero. I've renounced the world." What have you actually done? Nothing! So Siddharameshwar Maharaj told us, "Renounce the renouncing. Forget the renouncing. Renouncing is ego." Try to understand the master! Unless you understand the master, it's very difficult to go with Him. If the understanding comes, then everything is okay Without understanding, it's very difficult. Don't do anything.

Q: So Maharaj, you're saying that it doesn't exist, so therefore it can be neither true nor false. So be in it, and yet believe that it's neither true nor false. So eat, but understand you are not the eater.

RM: Yes. That's the main point. If you are not the eater, then who will be troubled? Body may get the trouble, what to do? Doing is worst. Know that, "I don't do anything." If you understand this, then you are free and by doing also you are free.

Q: Then all actions are equal?

RM: Equal. Nothing else. Doing and not doing, both are equal for Him.

Q: And doing this or that?

RM: It's not true! Both are wrong! So, Tukaram was asked, "Why do you do bad things to this woman?" He replied,"Oh, it's Brahman (God)". He used the word, "Vitthal (God)". But they asked, " But wasn't it you who has done this?" He again replied, "Vitthal." Then they said that this man is not liable for the prosecution. He says everything is Vitthal. But he [Tukaram] knew that the one who did wrong things to the woman is He himself, and the one who gives the evidence is also He himself. So both are wrong. So there's nothing else to say. Both don't exist. "I have not done and I have done also". Both are out of the question and when you are out of the question, then there is no examination and no result.

Q: Maharaj, can reflection replace meditation?

RM: It's better to go by the easiest way. Why go by the thorny way? You can meditate, even for twelve hours. You must get it, no harm. And then finally, you have to become your own master. Then meditation will submerge into Reality. So, why to go by the hard way? (Maharaj makes a gesture to touch his left ear by making his right hand wind around the back of his head, and then he brings his left hand to touch his left ear to show a more direct way). Meditation is just the beginning, in order to make the mind more subtle. When it becomes subtle, then nothing is required. Only thinking comes. If a man is lame, with one stick he can walk, but by using two sticks, he can walk even faster. So keep both and go ahead very fast!

Q: I want to ask if Maharaj has practised the mantra since he gives us one?

RM: (Laughs). Siddharameshwar Maharaj gave the mantra and I practised it, because it was his order. If master says one plus two is three, I have to believe it. In that way I was doing it and practise it still now. Before and now, but in different ways. Before understanding, you have to act according to the master's choice, and after understanding you have to act according to your choice. If one wants to become a doctor, he first studies and then he practises. After sometime, he becomes a master at it. So his practise is quite different then. Unless he kills a lot of patients he cannot be a good doctor. In the same way, experience brings many, many things. His grace is with you, He is with you. Master is with you, don't worry. One should have that much faith. So all this honour goes to him and not to me, take it for granted! What is there? What is practising? Understanding is practising, nothing else. Doctor says, "Take this dose of medicine", and if you practise, you will be okay the next day. If you don't take it, then what will happen? You put full faith in the doctor, no? Here also, full faith is required, nothing else.

Q: Instead of practising the mantra, can one contemplate the teachings? Is the benefit the same?

RM: You must meditate in the beginning. Then your caliber becomes very subtle, your caliber of understanding becomes very subtle. So, then you can practise nicely what the master says. He teaches you and you have to practise that. I agree. Having faith and practising meditation helps you very fast. Master says 12 plus 3 is 15. The boy has got a high caliber of understanding and shows different ways of arriving at 15. "19 minus 4 also can also equal 15", he says. In that way, you can think it over more and more. So, the mind should be subtle, therefore you have to meditate and keep your mind a little steady at that time, avoiding all these outside circumstances. Be in it only. And then your mind becomes automatically subtle. Before when one first said that one plus two is three, one had to cram up. No need for you to cram up, now. Your caliber of intelligence becomes subtle through understanding, one plus two is three, what is there? In the same way, when meditating you can understand what the master says in a very, very different way. There are many ways you can understand - there is 4 plus 5 is 9, and 8 plus 1 is also 9. In that way you can understand. What he says, and if you've got full faith in him, what wrong is there,? You can go very fast in it and you can meditate nicely also. Meditation is a step only, the first step, then you have to go ahead. You have not to only meditate your whole life. You can go ahead by thinking also, why not? So your mind should be sharpened, by meditation and you can understand by carrying on with the teachings. Thinking over it more and more, you will get more involved, you will penetrate into it, and that will be yours. In the beginning, both cramming and meditation is required, take it for granted.

Q: So, meditation is the repeating of the mantra?

RM: Exactly, one plus two is three, no? You have to cram up again and again. By chanting that in your mind, you can overcome the illusion, why not? By meditation also, one can achieve the Reality. Don't say that it's a very lengthy process. My master's master, Bhausaheb Maharaj, he was for meditation. Then Siddharameshwar Maharaj found out from his teaching that by thinking, one can also go. Life is very short, so at least find out the easiest way to go to It. By your own thinking you have become a 'man' or 'woman' or a 'human being' through ignorance. By understanding, by thinking you can correct that, why not? So in the scriptures, it is written that there are two ways - one is called the 'ant's' way and other is called 'bird's' way. An ant will take a very long time to go up a tree, perhaps even several births. Whereas a bird can fly from one tree to another very easily, in a fraction of a second. So by thinking one can go, it is very easy. But that which is very easy is also very hard. Here, a change of mind is required, nothing else. The mind should be changed, mind means thinking. Your father and mother have taught you to think through ignorance only. It is not your fault, you have just been given lessons like that. So the master says, "All this is wrong and what I say is correct" By thinking you have become a slave, and by thinking you can become the master. So my master was giving mantra and asking us to do meditation also and then he gave us lectures and sermons. So it was very easy for us. Don't try to escape the meditation! (laughs).

http://www.inner-quest.org/Ranjit_Satsang.htm

SELF ENQUIRY - (VICHARASANGRAHAM)

OF BHAGAVAN SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI

The present work in prose consists of forty questions with answers covering the entire range of spiritual disciplines required for the gaining of release (moksha). The questioner was Gambhiram Seshayya, one of the early devotees of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He was a Municipal Overseer at Tiruvannamalai about 1900. Besides being an ardent Ramabhakta (worshipper of Rama) he was interested in the study and practice of Yoga. He used to read Swami Vivekananda's lectures on the different yoga's as also an English translation of the Rama-gita. For resolving the difficulties which he came across while studying these books and in his spiritual practices, he approached Bhagavan Sri Ramana from time to time. Bhagavan, who was only twenty-one years old, was then living in Virupaksha cave on Arunachala Hill. As he was keeping silent at the time he wrote out his answers to Seshayya's questions on bits of paper. These writings over the period 1900-1902 were later copied in a note-book by Seshayya. The material thus gathered was published by Sri Ramanasramam under the little Vichara-sangraham which literally means 'A Compendium of Self-Enquiry.' A digest of the teaching contained in this work was later printed in English bearing the title 'Self-Enquiry'. In that English version, the questions were omitted and the substance of Bhagavan's teaching was given, classifying it in twelve short chapters with appropriate headings. The present English translation is of the entire original text Vichara-sangraham as it is in Tamil. The Vichara-sangraham has unique value in the sense that it constitutes the first set of instructions given by Bhagavan in his own handwriting.

INVOCATION:
Is there any way of adoring the Supreme which is all, except by abiding firmly as that!

1
Disciple: Master! What is the means to gain the state of eternal bliss, ever devoid of misery?

Master: Apart from the statement in the Veda that wherever there is body there is misery, this is also the direct experience of all people; therefore, one should enquire into one's true nature which is ever bodiless, and one should remain as such. This is the means to gaining that state.

2
Disciple: What is meant by saying that one should enquire into one's true nature and understand it?

Master: Experiences such as "I went; I came; I was; I did" come naturally to everyone. From these experiences, does it not appear that the consciousness "I" is the subject of those various acts? Enquiry into the true nature of that consciousness, and remaining as oneself is the way to understand, through enquiry, one's true nature.

3
Disciple: How is one to enquire: "Who am I?"

Ramana Maharshi

Master: Actions such as 'going' and 'coming' belong only to the body. And so, when one says "I went, I came", it amounts to saying that the body is "I". But, can the body be said to be the consciousness "I", since the body was not before it was born, is made up of the five elements, is non-existent in the state of deep sleep, and becomes a corpse when dead? Can this body which is inert like a log of wood be said to shine as "I" "I"? Therefore, the "I" consciousness which at first arises in respect of the body is referred to variously as self-conceit (tarbodham), egoity (ahankara), nescience (avidya), maya, impurity (mala), and individual soul (jiva) .

Can we remain without enquiring into this? Is it not for our redemption through enquiry that all the scriptures declare that the destruction of "self-conceit" is release (mukti)? Therefore, making the corpse-body remain as a corpse, and not even uttering the word "I", one should enquire keenly thus: "Now, what is it that rises as 'I'". Then, there would shine in the Heart a kind of wordless illumination of the form 'I' 'I'. That is, there would shine of its own accord the pure consciousness which is unlimited and one, the limited and the many thoughts having disappeared. If one remains quiescent without abandoning that (experience), the egoity, the individual sense, of the form 'I am the body' will be totally destroyed, and at the end the final thought, viz. the 'I'-form also will be quenched like the fire that burns camphor (without leaving any sediment). The great sages and scriptures declare that this alone is release.

4
Disciple: When one enquires into the root of 'self conceit' which is of the form 'I', all sorts of different thoughts without number seem to rise; and not any separate 'I' thought.

Master: Whether the nominative case, which is the first case, appears or not, the sentences in which the other cases appear have as their basis the first case; similarly, all the thoughts that appear in the heart have as their basis the egoity which is the first mental mode 'I', the cognition of the form 'I am the body'; thus, it is the rise of egoity that is the cause and source of the rise of all other thoughts; therefore, if the self-conceit of the form of egoity which is the root of the illusory tree of samsara (bondage consisting of transmigration) is destroyed, all other thoughts will perish completely like an uprooted tree. Whatever thoughts arise as obstacles to one's sadhana (spiritual discipline) - the mind should not be allowed to go in their direction, but should be made to rest in one's self which is the Atman; one should remain as witness to whatever happens, adopting the attitude 'Let whatever strange things happen, happen; let us see!' This should be one's practice. In other words, one should not identify oneself with appearances; one should never relinquish one's self.

This is the proper means for destruction of the mind (manonasa) which is of the nature of seeing the body as self, and which is the cause of all the aforesaid obstacles. This method which easily destroys egoity deserves to be called devotion (bhakti), meditation (dhyana), concentration (yoga), and knowledge (jnana). Because God remains of the nature of the Self, shining as 'I' in the heart, because the scriptures declare that thought itself is bondage, the best discipline is to stay quiescent without ever forgetting Him (God, the Self), after resolving in Him the mind which is of the form of the 'I'-thought, no matter by what means. This is the conclusive teaching of the Scriptures.

5
Disciple: Is enquiry only the means for removal of the false belief of selfhood in the gross body, or is it also the means for removal of the false belief of selfhood in the subtle and causal bodies?

Master: It is on the gross body that the other bodies subsist. In the false belief of the form "I am the body" are included all the three bodies consisting of the five sheaths. And destruction of the false belief of selfhood in the gross body is itself the destruction of the false belief of selfhood in the other bodies. So inquiry is the means to removal of the false belief of selfhood in all the three bodies.

6
Disciple: While there are different modifications of the internal organ, viz. manas (reflection), buddhi (intellect), chitta (memory) and ahankara (egoity), how can it be said that the destruction of the mind alone is release?

Master: In the books explaining the nature of the mind, it is thus stated: "The mind is formed by the concretion of the subtle portion of the food we eat; it grows with the passions such as attachment and aversion, desire and anger; being the aggregate of mind, intellect, memory and egoity, it receives the collective singular name 'mind', the characteristics that it bears are thinking, determining, etc.; since it is an object of consciousness (the self), it is what is seen, inert; even though inert, it appears as if conscious because of association with consciousness (like a red-hot iron ball); it is limited, non-eternal, partite, and changing like wax, gold, candle, etc.; it is of the nature of all elements (of phenomenal existence); its locus is the heart-lotus even as the loci of the sense of sight, etc., are the eyes, etc.; it is the adjunct of the individual soul thinking of an object, it transforms itself into a mode, and along with the knowledge that is in the brain, it flows through the five sense-channels, gets joined to objects by the brain (that is associated with knowledge), and thus knows and experiences objects and gains satisfaction. That substance is the mind". Even as one and the same person is called by different names according to the different functions he performs, so also one and the same mind is called by the different names: mind, intellect, memory, and egoity, on account of the difference in the modes - and not because of any real difference. The mind itself is of the form of all, i.e. of soul, God and world; when it becomes of the form of the Self through knowledge there is release, which is of the nature of Brahman: this is the teaching.

7
Disciple: If these four - mind, intellect, memory and egoity - are one and the same why are separate locations mentioned for them?

Master: It is true that the throat is stated to be the location of the mind, the face or the heart of the intellect, the navel of the memory, and the heart or sarvanga of the egoity; though differently stated thus yet, for the aggregate of these, that is the mind or internal organ, the location is the heart alone. This is conclusively declared in the Scriptures.

8
Disciple: Why is it said that only the mind which is the internal organ, shines as the form of all, that is of soul, God and world?

Master: As instruments for knowing the objects the sense organs are outside, and so they are called outer senses; and the mind is called the inner sense because it is inside. But the distinction between inner and outer is only with reference to the body; in truth, there is neither inner or outer. The mind's nature is to remain pure like ether. What is referred to as the heart or the mind is the collocation of the elements (of phenomenal existence) that appear as inner and outer. So there is no doubt that all phenomena consisting of names and forms are of the nature of mind alone. All that appear outside are in reality inside and not outside; it is in order to teach this that in the Vedas also all have been described as of the nature of the heart. What is called the heart is no other than Brahman.

9
Disciple: How can it be said that the heart is no other than Brahman?

Master: Although the self enjoys its experiences in the states of waking, dream, and deep sleep, residing respectively in the eyes, throat and heart, in reality, however, it never leaves its principal seat, the heart. In the heart-lotus which is of the nature of all, in other words in the mind-ether, the light of that self in the form 'I' shines. As it shines thus in everybody, this very self is referred to as the witness (sakshi) and the transcendent (turiya literally the fourth). The 'I'-less supreme Brahman which shines in all bodies as interior to the light in the form 'I' is the Self-ether (or knowledge-ether): that alone is the absolute Reality. This is the super-transcendent (turiyatita). Therefore, it is stated that what is called the heart is no other than Brahman. Moreover, for the reason that Brahman shines in the hearts of all souls as the Self, the name 'Heart' is given to Brahman*. The meaning of the word hridayam, when split thus 'hrit-ayam', is in fact Brahman. The adequate evidence for the fact that Brahman, which shines as the self, resides in the hearts of all is that all people indicate themselves by pointing to the chest when saying 'I'.

10
Disciple: If the entire universe is of the form of mind, then does it not follow that the universe is an illusion? If that be the case, why is the creation of the universe mentioned in the Veda?

Master: There is no doubt whatsoever that the universe is the merest illusion. The principal purport of the Veda is to make known the true Brahman, after showing the apparent universe to be false. It is for this purpose that the Vedas admit the creation of the world and not for any other reason. Moreover, for the less qualified persons creation is taught, that is the phased evolution of prakriti (primal nature), mahat-tattva (the great intellect), tanmatras (the subtle essences), bhutas (the gross elements), the world, the body, etc., from Brahman: while for the more qualified simultaneous creation is taught, that is, that this world arose like a dream on account of one's own thoughts induced by the defect of not knowing oneself as the Self. Thus, from the fact that the creation of the world has been described in different ways it is clear that the purport of the Vedas rests only in teaching the true nature of Brahman after showing somehow or other the illusory nature of the universe. That the world is illusory, every one can directly know in the state of realization which is in the form of experience of one's bliss-nature.

11
Disciple: Is Self-experience possible for the mind, whose nature is constant change?

Master: Since sattva-guna (the constituent of prakriti which makes for purity, intelligence, etc.) is the nature of mind, and since the mind is pure and undefiled like ether, what is called mind is, in truth, of the nature of knowledge. When it stays in that natural (i.e. pure) state, it has not even the name 'mind'. It is only the erroneous knowledge which mistakes one for another that is called mind. What was (originally) the pure sattva mind, of the nature of pure knowledge, forgets its knowledge-nature on account of nescience, gets transformed into the world under the influence of tamo-guna (i.e. the constituent of prakriti which makes for dullness, inertness, etc.), being under the influence of rajo-guna (i.e. the constituent of prakriti which makes for activity, passions, etc.), imagines "I am the body, etc.; the world is real", it acquires the consequent merit and demerit through attachment, aversion, etc., and, through the residual impressions (vasanas) thereof, attains birth and death. But the mind, which has got rid of its defilement (sin) through action without attachment performed in many past lives, listens to the teaching of scripture from a true guru, reflects on its meaning, and meditates in order to gain the natural state of the mental mode of the form of the Self, i.e. of the form 'I am Brahman' which is the result of the continued contemplation of Brahman. Thus will be removed the mind's transformation into the world in the aspect of tamo-guna, and its roving therein in the aspect of rajo-guna. When this removal takes place the mind becomes subtle and unmoving. It is only by the mind that is impure and is under the influence of rajas and tamas that Reality (i.e. the Self) which is very subtle and unchanging cannot be experienced; just as a piece of fine silk cloth cannot be stitched with a heavy crowbar, or as the details of subtle objects cannot be distinguished by the light of a lamp flame that flickers in the wind. But in the pure mind that has been rendered subtle and unmoving by the meditation described above, the Self-bliss (i.e. Brahman) will become manifest. As without mind there cannot be experience, it is possible for the purified mind endowed with the extremely subtle mode (vritti) to experience the Self-bliss, by remaining in that form (i.e. in the form of Brahman). Then, that one's self is of the nature of Brahman will be clearly experienced.

12
Disciple: Is the aforesaid Self-experience possible, even in the state of empirical existence, for the mind which has to perform functions in accordance with its prarabdha (the past karma which has begun to fructify)?

Master: A Brahmin may play various parts in a drama; yet the thought that he is a Brahmin does not leave his mind. Similarly, when one is engaged in various empirical acts there should be the firm conviction "I am the Self", without allowing the false idea "I am the body, etc." to rise. If the mind should stray away from its state, then immediately one should enquire, "Oh! Oh! We are not the body etc.! Who are we?" and thus one should reinstate the mind in that (pure) state. The enquiry "Who am I?" is the principal means to the removal of all misery and the attainment of the supreme bliss. When in this manner the mind becomes quiescent in its own state, Self-experience arises of its own accord, without any hindrance. Thereafter sensory pleasures and pains will not affect the mind. All (phenomena) will appear then, without attachment, like a dream. Never forgetting one's plenary Self-experience is real bhakti (devotion), yoga (mind-control), jnana (knowledge) and all other austerities. Thus say the sages.

13
Disciple: When there is activity in regard to works, we are neither the agents of those works nor their enjoyers. The activity is of the three instruments (i.e., the mind, speech, and body). Could we remain (unattached) thinking thus?

Master: After the mind has been made to stay in the Self which is its Deity, and has been rendered indifferent to empirical matters because it does not stray away from the Self, how can the mind think as mentioned above? Do not such thoughts constitute bondage? When such thoughts arise due to residual impressions (vasanas), one should restrain the mind from flowing that way, endeavour to retain it in the Self-state, and make it turn indifferent to empirical matters. One should not give room in the mind for such thoughts as: "Is this good? Or, is that good? Can this be done? Or, can that be done?" One should be vigilant even before such thoughts arise and make the mind stay in its native state. If any little room is given, such a (disturbed) mind will do harm to us while posing as our friend; like the foe appearing to be a friend, it will topple us down. Is it not because one forgets one's Self that such thoughts arise and cause more and more evil? While it is true that to think through discrimination, "I do not do anything; all actions are performed by the instruments", is a means to prevent the mind from flowing along thought vasanas, does it not also follow that only if the mind flows along thought vasanas that it must be restrained through discrimination as stated before? Can the mind that remains in the Self-state think as 'I' and as 'I behave empirically thus and thus'? In all manner of ways possible one should endeavour gradually not to forget one's (true) Self that is God. If that is accomplished, all will be accomplished. The mind should not be directed to any other matter. Even though one may perform, like a mad person, the actions that are the result of prarabdha-karma, one should retain the mind in the Self-state without letting the thought 'I do' arise. Have not countless bhaktas (devotees) performed their numerous empirical functions with an attitude of indifference?

14
Disciple: What is the real purpose of sannyasa (renunciation)?

Master: Sannyasa is only the renunciation of the 'I' thought, and not the rejection of the external objects. He who has renounced (the "I" thought) thus remains the same whether he is alone or in the midst of the extensive samsara (empirical world). Just as when the mind is concentrated on some object, it does not observe other things even though they may be proximate, so also, although the sage may perform any number of empirical acts, in reality he performs nothing, because he makes the mind rest in the Self without letting the 'I' thought arise. Even as in a dream one appears to fall head downwards, while in reality one is unmoving, so also the ignorant person, i.e., the person for whom the 'I' thought has not ceased, although he remains alone in constant meditation, is in fact one who performs all empirical actions. Thus the wise ones have said.

15
Disciple: The mind, sense-organs, etc., have the ability to perceive; yet why are they regarded as perceived objects?

Master:    Drik - (Knower)                                      Drisya - (Known object)
                      1. The seer                                            Pot (i.e. the seen object)
                                                              Further
                2. The eye organ                                     Body, Pot, etc.
                     3. The sense of sight                             The eye organ
                     4. The mind                                               The sense of sight
                     5. The individual soul                             The mind
                     6. Consciousness (the Self)                  The individual soul

As shown in the above scheme, since we, the consciousness, know all objects, we are said to be drik (knower). The categories ending with pot are the objects seen, since they are what are known. In the table of 'knowledge: ignorance (i.e. knower-known)' given above, among the knowers and objects of knowledge, it is seen that one is knower in relation to another; yet, since that one is object in relation to another, none of those categories is, in reality, the knower. Although we are said to be the 'knower' because we know all, and not the 'known' because we are not known by anything else, we are said to be the 'knower' only in relation to the known objects. In truth, however, what is called the 'known' is not apart from us. And so we are the Reality that transcends those two (the knower and the known). All the others fall within the knower-known categories.

16
Disciple: How do egoity, soul, self, and Brahman come to be identified?

Master:        The Example                             The Exemplified

                      1. The iron-ball                                       Egoity
                                                         
                2. The heated iron-ball                         The soul which appears as a superimposition on the Self

                     3. The fire that is in                            The light of consciousness, i.e. the immutable
                          the heated iron-ball                           Brahman, which shines in the soul in everybody

                     4. The flame of fire which                    The all pervading Brahman which remains as one
                          remains as one               

From the examples given above, it will be clear how egoity, soul, witness, and All-witness come to be identified.

Just as in the wax-lump that is with the smith numerous and varied metal-particles lie included and all of them appear to be one wax-lump, so also in deep sleep the gross and subtle bodies of all the individual souls are included in the cosmic maya which is nescience, of the nature of sheer darkness, and since the souls are resolved in the Self becoming one with it, they see everywhere darkness alone. From the darkness of sleep, the subtle body, viz. egoity, and from that (egoity) the gross body arise respectively. Even as the egoity arises, it appears superimposed on the nature of the Self, like the heated iron-ball. Thus, without the soul (jiva) which is the mind or egoity that is conjoined with the Consciousness-light, there is no witness of the soul, viz. the Self, and without the Self there is no Brahman that is the All-witness. Just as when the iron ball is beaten into various shapes by the smith, the fire that is in it does not change thereby in any manner, even so the soul may be involved in ever so many experiences and undergo pleasures and pains, and yet the Self-light that is in it does not change in the least thereby, and like the ether it is the all-pervasive pure knowledge that is one, and it shines in the heart as Brahman.

17
Disciple: How is one to know that in the heart the Self itself shines as Brahman?

Master: Just as the elemental ether within the flame of a lamp is known to fill without any difference and without any limit both the inside and the outside of the flame, so also the knowledge-ether that is within the Self-light in the heart, fills without any difference and without any limit both the inside and the outside of that Self-light. This is what is referred to as Brahman.

18
Disciple: How do the three states of experience, the three bodies, etc., which are imaginations, appear in the Self-light which is one, impartite and self-luminous? Even if they should appear, how is one to know that the Self alone remains ever unmoving?

Master:  The Example               The Exemplified

                 1. The Lamp                         The Self
                 2. The door                          Sleep
                 3. The door-step                 Mahat-tattva
                 4. The inner wall                 Nescience or the causal body
                 5. The mirror                 The egoity
                 6. The windows               The five cognitive sense-organs
                 7. The inner chamber          Deep sleep in which the causal body is manifest
                 8. The middle chamber        Dream in which the subtle body is manifest
                 9. The outer court              Waking state in which the gross
               
                                  body is manifest

The Self which is the lamp (1) shines of its own accord in the inner chamber, i.e., the causal body (7) that is endowed with nescience as the inner wall (4) and sleep as the door (2); when by the vital principle as conditioned by time, karma, etc., the sleep-door is opened, there occurs a reflection of the Self in the egoity-mirror (5) that is placed next to the door-step - Mahat-tattva; the egoity-mirror thus illumines the middle chamber, i.e., the dream state (8), and, through the windows which are the five cognitive sense-organs (6), the outer court, i.e., the waking state. When, again, by the vital principle as conditioned by time, karma, etc., the sleep-door gets shut, the egoity ceases along with waking and dream, and the Self alone ever shines. The example just given explains how the Self is unmoving, how there is difference between the Self and the egoity and how the three states of experience, the three bodies, etc., appear.

19
Disciple: Although I have listened to the explanation of the characteristics of enquiry in such great detail, my mind has not gained even a little peace. What is the reason for this?

Master: The reason is the absence of strength or one-pointedness of the mind.

20
Disciple: What is the reason for the absence of mental strength?

Master: The means that make one qualified for enquiry are meditation, yoga, etc. One should gain proficiency in these through graded practice, and thus secure a stream of mental modes that is natural and helpful. When the mind that has in this manner become ripe, listens to the present enquiry, it will at once realize its true nature which is the Self, and remain in perfect peace, without deviating from that state. To a mind which has not become ripe, immediate realization and peace are hard to gain through listening to enquiry. Yet, if one practices the means for mind-control for some time, peace of mind can be obtained eventually.

21
Disciple: Of the means for mind-control, which is the most important?

Master: Breath-control is the means for mind-control.

22
Disciple: How is breath to be controlled?

Master: Breath can be controlled either by absolute retention of breath (kevala-kumbhaka) or by regulation of breath (pranayama).

23
Disciple: What is absolute retention of breath?

Master: It is making the vital air stay firmly in the heart even without exhalation and inhalation. This is achieved through meditation on the vital principle, etc.

24
Disciple: What is regulation of breath?

Master: It is making the vital air stay firmly in the heart through exhalation, inhalation, and retention, according to the instructions given in the yoga texts.

25
Disciple: How is breath-control the means for mind-control?

Master: There is no doubt that breath-control is the means for mind-control, because the mind, like breath, is a part of air, because the nature of mobility is common to both, because the place of origin is the same for both, and because when one of them is controlled the other gets controlled.

26
Disciple: Since breath-control leads only to quiescence of the mind (manolaya) and not to its destruction (manonasa), how can it be said that breath-control is the means for enquiry which aims at the destruction of mind?

Master: The scriptures teach the means for gaining Self-realization in two modes - as the yoga with eight limbs (ashtanga-yoga) and as knowledge with eight limbs (ashtanga-jnana). By regulation of breath (pranayama) or by absolute retention thereof (kevala-kumbhaka), which is one of the limbs of yoga, the mind gets controlled. Without leaving the mind at that, if one practises the further discipline such as withdrawal of the mind from external objects (pratyahara), then at the end, Self-realization which is the fruit of enquiry will surely be gained.

27
Disciple: What are the limbs of yoga?

Master: 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-stealing (asteya), celibacy (brahmacharya), and non-possession (apari-graha).

(2) Niyama -- this stands for the observance of such rules of good conduct as purity (saucha), contentment (santosha), austerity (tapas), study of the 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 the most excellent. Thus the yoga-texts declare.

(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 measure, 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 'measure' what is meant is the time that would be taken for the utterance of the Gayatrimantra once. Thus pranayama consisting of rechaka, puraka, and kumbhaka, should be practised daily according to ability, slowly and gradually. Then, there would arise for the mind a desire to rest in happiness without moving. After this, one should practise pratyahara.

(5) Pratyahara -- This is regulating the mind by preventing it from flowing towards the external names and forms. The mind, which had been till then 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 on the nada. The mind that has thus become one-pointed will be fit to stay in one place. After this, dharana should be practised.

(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 Brahma-randhra (aperture in the crown of the head). One should think that in the middle of the eight-petalled 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 enquiry 'Who am I?', then, as the Scripture declares, "The Brahman which is everywhere shines in the heart as the Self that is the witness of the intellect", one would realize that is the Divine Self that shines in the heart as '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 harbouring the ideas 'I am such and such; I am doing this and this'. This subtle state in which even the thought 'I-I' disappears is samadhi. If one practises this every day, seeing to it that sleep does not supervene, God will soon confer on one the supreme state of quiescence of mind.

28
Disciple: What is the purport of the teaching that in pratyahara one should meditate on the pranava?

Master: The purport of prescribing meditation on the pranava is this. The pranava is Omkara consisting of three and a half matras, viz., a, u, 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, Prajnajiva 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 the 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 the 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.

29
Disciple: What is the purport of the teaching that one should meditate, through the 'I am He' thought, on the truth that one is not different from the self-luminous Reality that shines like a flame?

Master: (A) The purport of teaching that one should cultivate the idea that one is not different from the self-luminous Reality is this: Scripture defines meditation in these words, "In the middle of the eight-petalled heart-lotus which is of the nature of all, and which is referred to as Kailasa, Vaikundha, and Parama-pada, there is the Reality which is of the size of the thumb, which is dazzling like lightning and which shines like a flame. By meditating on it, a person gains immortality". From this we should know that by such meditation one avoids the defects of (1) the thought of difference, of the form 'I am different, and that is different', (2) the meditation on what is limited, (3) the idea that the real is limited, and (4) that it is confined to one place.

(B) The purport of teaching that one should meditate with the 'I am He' thought is this: sahaham: soham; sah the supreme Self, aham the Self that is manifest as 'I'. The jiva which is the Shiva-linga resides in the heart-lotus which is its seat situated in the body which is the city of Brahman; the mind which is of the nature of egoity, goes outward identifying itself with the body, etc. Now the mind should be resolved in the heart, i.e. the I-sense that is placed in the body, etc., should be got rid of; when thus one enquires 'Who am I?', remaining undisturbed, in that state the Self-nature becomes manifest in a subtle manner as 'I-I'; that self-nature is all and yet none, and is manifest as the supreme Self everywhere without the distinction of inner and outer; that shines like a flame, as was stated above, signifying the truth 'I am Brahman'. If, without meditating on that as being identical with oneself, one imagines it to be different, ignorance will not leave. Hence, the identity-meditation is prescribed.

If one meditates for a long time, without disturbance, on the Self ceaselessly, with the 'I am He' thought which is the technique of reflection on the Self, the darkness of ignorance which is in the heart and all the impediments which are but the effects of ignorance will he removed, and the plenary wisdom will be gained.

Thus, realizing the Reality in the heart-cave which is in the city (of Brahman), viz. the body, is the same as realizing the all-perfect God.

In the city with nine gates, which is the body, the wise one resides at ease.

The body is the temple; the jiva is God (Shiva). If one worships him with the 'I am He' thought, one will gain release.

The body which consists of the five sheaths is the cave, the supreme that resides there is the lord of the cave. Thus the scriptures declare.

Since the Self is the reality of all the gods, the meditation on the Self which is oneself is the greatest of all meditations. All other meditations are included in this. It is for gaining this that the other meditations are prescribed. So, if this is gained, the others are not necessary. Knowing one's Self is knowing God. Without knowing one's Self that meditates, imagining that there is a deity which is different and meditating on it, is compared by the great ones to the act of measuring with one's foot one's own shadow, and to the search for a trivial conch after throwing away a priceless gem that is already in one's possession.

30
Disciple: Even though the heart and the Brahmarandhra alone are the loci fit for meditation, could one meditate, if necessary, on the six mystic centres (adharas)?

Master: The six mystic centres, etc., which are said to be loci of meditation, are but products of imagination. All these are meant for beginners in yoga. With reference to meditation on the six centres, the Shiva-yogins say, "God, who is of the nature of the non-dual, plenary, consciousness-self, manifests, sustains and resolves us all. It is a great sin to spoil that Reality by superimposing on it various names and forms such as Ganapati, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Mahesvara, and Sadashiva", and the Vedantins declare, "All those are but imaginations of the mind". Therefore, if one knows one's Self which is of the nature of consciousness that knows everything, one knows everything. The great ones have also said: "When that One is known as it is in Itself, all that has not been known becomes known". If we who are endowed with various thoughts meditate on God that is the Self we would get rid of the plurality of thoughts by that one thought; and then even that one thought would vanish. This is what is meant by saying that knowing one's Self is knowing God. This knowledge is release.

31
Disciple: How is one to think of the Self?

Master: The Self is self-luminous without darkness and light, and is the reality which is self-manifest. Therefore, one should not think of it as this or as that. The very thought of thinking will end in bondage. The purport of meditation on the Self is to make the mind take the form of the Self. In the middle of the heart-cave the pure Brahman is directly manifest as the Self in the form 'I-I'. Can there be greater ignorance than to think of it in manifold ways, without knowing it as aforementioned?

32
Disciple: It was stated that Brahman is manifest as the Self in the form 'I-I', in the heart. To facilitate an understanding of this statement, can it be still further explained?

Master: Is it not within the experience of all that during deep sleep, swoon, etc., there is no knowledge whatsoever, i.e. neither self-knowledge nor other-knowledge? Afterwards, when there is experience of the form "I have woken up from sleep" or "I have recovered from swoon" - is that not a mode of specific knowledge that has arisen from the aforementioned distinctionless state? This specific knowledge is called vijnana. This vijnana becomes manifest only as pertaining to either the Self or the not-self, and not by itself. When it pertains to the Self, it is called true knowledge, knowledge in the form of that mental mode whose object is the Self, or knowledge which has for its content the impartite (Self); and when it relates to the not-self, it is called ignorance. The state of this vijnana, when it pertains to the Self and is manifest as of the form of the Self, is said to be the 'I'-manifestation. This manifestation cannot take place as apart from the Real (i.e. the Self). It is this manifestation that serves as the mark for the direct experience of the Real. Yet, this by itself cannot constitute the state of being the Real. That, depending on which this manifestation takes place is the basic reality which is also called prajnana. The Vedantic text "prajnanam brahma" teaches the same truth.

Know this as the purport of the scripture also. The Self which is self-luminous and the witness of everything manifests itself as residing in the vijnanakosa (sheath of the intellect). By the mental mode which is impartite, seize this Self as your goal and enjoy it as the Self.

33
Disciple: What is that which is called the inner worship or worship of the attributeless?

Master: In texts such as the Ribhu-gita, the worship of the attributeless has been elaborately explained (as a separate discipline). Yet, all disciplines such as sacrifice, charity, austerity, observance of vows, japa, yoga, and puja, are, in effect, modes of meditation of the form 'I am Brahman'. So, in all the modes of disciplines, one should see to it that one does not stray away from the thought 'I am Brahman'. This is the purport of the worship of the attributeless.

34
Disciple: What are the eight limbs of knowledge (jnana-ashtanga)?

Master: The eight limbs are those which have been already mentioned, viz., yama, niyama , etc. but differently defined. Of these -

(1) Yama -- This is controlling the aggregate of sense-organs, realizing the defects that are present in the world consisting of the body, etc.

(2) Niyama -- This is maintaining a stream of mental modes that relate to the Self and rejecting the contrary modes. In other words, it means love that arises uninterruptedly for the supreme Self.

(3) Asana -- That with the help of which constant meditation on Brahman is made possible with ease is asana.

(4) Pranayama -- Rechaka (exhalation) is removing the two unreal aspects of name and form from the objects constituting the world, the body etc., puraka (inhalation) is grasping the three real aspects, existence, consciousness and bliss, which are constant in those objects, and kumbhaka is retaining those aspects thus grasped.

(5) Pratyahara -- This is preventing name and form which have been removed from re-entering the mind.

(6) Dharana -- This is making the mind stay in the heart, without straying outward, and realizing that one is the Self itself which is existence-consciousness-bliss.

(7) Dhyana -- This is meditation of the form 'I am only pure consciousness'. That is, after leaving aside the body which consists of five sheaths, one enquires 'Who am I'?, and as a result of that, one stays as 'I' which shines as the Self.

(8) Samadhi -- When the 'I'-manifestation also ceases, there is (subtle) direct experience. This is samadhi.

For the pranayama, etc., detailed here, the disciplines such as asana, etc., mentioned in connection with yoga, are not necessary. The limbs of knowledge may be practised at all places and at all times. Of yoga and knowledge, one may follow whichever is pleasing to one, or both, according to circumstances. The great teachers say that forgetfulness is the root of all evil, and is death for those who seek release; so one should rest the mind in one's Self and should never forget the Self : this is the aim. If the mind is controlled, all else can be controlled. The distinction between yoga with eight limbs and knowledge with eight limbs has been set forth elaborately in the sacred texts; so only the substance of this teaching has been given here.

35
Disciple: Is it possible to practise at the same time the pranayama belonging to yoga and the pranayama pertaining to knowledge?

Master: So long as the mind has not been made to rest in the heart, either through absolute retention (kevala-kumbhaka) or through enquiry, rechaka, puraka, etc., are needed. Hence, the pranayama of yoga is to be practised during training, and the other pranayama may be practised always. Thus, both may be practised. It is enough if the yogic pranayama is practised till skill is gained in absolute retention.

36
Disciple: Why should the path to release be differently taught? Will it not create confusion in the minds of aspirants?

Master: Several paths are taught in the Vedas to suit the different grades of qualified aspirants. Yet, since release is but the destruction of mind, all efforts have for their aim the control of mind. Although the modes of meditation may appear to be different from one another, in the end all of them become one. There is no need to doubt this. One may adopt that path which suits the maturity of one's mind.

The control of prana which is yoga, and the control of mind which is jnana* - these are the two principal means for the destruction of mind. To some, the former may appear easy, and to others the latter. Yet, jnana is like subduing a turbulent bull by coaxing it with green grass, while yoga is like controlling through the use of force. Thus the wise ones say: of the three grades of qualified aspirants, the highest reach the goal by making the mind firm in the Self through determining the nature of the real by Vedantic enquiry and by looking upon one's self and all things as of the nature of the real; the mediocre by making the mind stay in the heart through kevala-kumbhaka and meditating for a long time on the real, and the lowest grade, by gaining that state in a gradual manner through breath-control, etc.

The mind should be made to rest in the heart till the destruction of the 'I'-thought which is of the form of ignorance, residing in the heart. This itself is jnana; this alone is dhyana also. The rest are a mere digression of words, digression of the texts. Thus the scriptures proclaim. Therefore, if one gains the skill of retaining the mind in one's Self through some means or other, one need not worry about other matters.

The great teachers also have taught that the devotee is greater than the yogins** and that the means to release is devotion, which is of the nature of reflection on one's own Self.

Thus, it is the path of realizing Brahman that is variously called Dahara-vidya, Brahma-vidya, Atma-vidya, etc. What more can be said than this? One should understand the rest by inference.

The Scriptures teach in different modes. After analysing all those modes the great ones declare this to be the shortest and the best means.

37
Disciple: By practising the disciplines taught above, one may get rid of the obstacles that are in the mind, viz. ignorance, doubt, error, etc., and thereby attain quiescence of mind. Yet, there is one last doubt. After the mind has been resolved in the heart, there is only consciousness shining as the plenary reality. When thus the mind has assumed the form of the Self, who is there to enquire? Such enquiry would result in self-worship. It would be like the story of the shepherd searching for the sheep that was all the time on his shoulders!

Master: The jiva itself is Shiva; Shiva Himself is the jiva. It is true that the jiva is no other than Shiva. When the grain is hidden inside the husk, it is called paddy; when it is de-husked, it is called rice. Similarly, so long as one is bound by karma one remains a jiva; when the bond of ignorance is broken, one shines as Shiva, the Deity. Thus declares a scriptural text. Accordingly, the jiva which is mind is in reality the pure Self; but, forgetting this truth, it imagines itself to be an individual soul and gets bound in the shape of mind. So its search for the Self, which is itself, is like the search for the sheep by the shepherd. But still, the jiva which has forgotten its self will not become the Self through mere mediate knowledge. By the impediment caused by the residual impressions gathered in previous births, the jiva forgets again and again its identity with the Self, and gets deceived, identifying itself with the body, etc. Will a person become a high officer by merely looking at him? Is it not by steady effort in that direction that he could become a highly placed officer? Similarly, the jiva, which is in bondage through mental identification with the body, etc., should put forth effort in the form of reflection on the Self, in a gradual and sustained manner; and when thus the mind gets destroyed, the jiva would become the Self.

The reflection on the Self which is thus practised constantly will destroy the mind, and thereafter will destroy itself like the stick that is used to kindle the cinders burning a corpse. It is this state that is called release.

38
Disciple: If the jiva is by nature identical with the Self, what is it that prevents the jiva from realizing its true nature?

Master: It is forgetfulness of the jiva's true nature; this is known as the power of veiling.

39
Disciple: If it is true that the jiva has forgotten itself, how does the 'I'-experience arise for all?

Master: The veil does not completely hide the jiva; it only hides the Self-nature of 'I' and projects the 'I am the body' notion; but it does not hide the Self's existence which is 'I', and which is real and eternal.

40
Disciple: What are the characteristics of the jivan-mukta (the liberated in life) and the videha-mukta (the liberated at death)?

Master: 'I am not the body; I am Brahman which is manifest as the Self. In me who am the plenary Reality*, the world consisting of bodies etc., are mere appearance, like the blue of the sky'. He who has realized the truth thus is a jivan-mukta. Yet so long as his mind has not been resolved, there may arise some misery for him because of relation to objects on account of prarabdha (karma which has begun to fructify and whose result is the present body), and as the movement of mind has not ceased there will not be also the experience of bliss. The experience of Self is possible only for the mind that has become subtle and unmoving as a result of prolonged meditation. He who is thus endowed with a mind that has become subtle, and who has the experience of the Self is called a jivan-mukta. It is the state of jivan-mukti that is referred to as the attributeless Brahman and as the Turiya. When even the subtle mind gets resolved, and experience of self ceases, and when one is immersed in the ocean of bliss and has become one with it without any differentiated existence, one is called a videha-mukta. It is the state of videha-mukti that is referred to as the transcendent attributeless Brahman and as the transcendent Turiya. This is the final goal. Because of the grades in misery and happiness, the released ones, the jivan-muktas and videha-muktas, may be spoken of as belonging to four categories - Brahmavid, - vara--variyan, and varishtha. But these distinctions are from the standpoint of the others who look at them; in reality, however, there are no distinctions in release gained through jnana.

http://www.inner-quest.org/Ramana_SE.htm

HERE and NOW
YOU ARE THAT

~Quotes~

Do not try to keep quiet,
do not make being quiet into a task to be performed.
Don't be restless about being quiet, miserable about being happy.
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~[

One 'believes' that there is bondage and therefore seeks liberation.
But the fact is that there is no bondage but only Liberation.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

The true Guru (honest person or pointer) will not estrange you from yourself.
He knows you need nothing, not even him, and is never tired of reminding you.

But the self-appointed Guru
is more concerned with himself than with his disciples...
All blessings come from within. Turn within. To that 'I' am you know.
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~

All that is required for Freedom is to understand what is being pointed to as Reality.
That is all, nothing else is necessary, no Guru at all, no teacher, no method and no practice.
The Self (consciousness) is not something to be acquired from others.
All that is necessary is to know its existence in you.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Here are few quotes from other people that have re-cognized their ordinary everyday true nature.
Only ignorance is the 'veil', nothing else is present but a cloud of acquired ignorance from others.
  Simply remove ignorance about yourself with understanding and voila!
You will only laugh at yourself because you will realize that you are and always been the Self.

The feeling that 'I' have not realised is the obstruction to realisation.
In fact it is already realised, there is nothing more to be realised.

Otherwise, the realisation will be new, it has not existed so far, it must take place hereafter.
What is born will also die. If realisation be not eternal it is not worth having.

Therefore what we seek is NOT that which must happen afresh.
It is only that which is eternal but not now known due to obstructions, it is that we seek.
All that we need do is to remove the obstruction.

That which is eternal is not known to be so
because of ignorance.

Ignorance is the obstruction.
Get over this ignorance and all will be well.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

To point to the simplicity of this timeless message of non-duality or no separation
and most of all, no becoming or reaching anything new whatsoever, nothing afresh or special,
but simply removing ignorance, nothing else and that is realizing that you are already Free,
you simply don't know it, understanding is realizing that you are already that.
You will only laugh at yourself, that is the only 'Realization'.

At one stage you will laugh at yourself for trying to discover the Self.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

No one can give you anything new for Freedom, because it is 'you'.
Being oneself naturally is always being 'Realized' and Free, aware of being present is IT.
To simply be aware of oneself is constant or unchanging consciousness and 'I' am.
One's unchanging being-ness or 'I' am-ness is at once being and consciousness.

The Guru cannot give you anything new, which you don’t have already.
Removal of the notion that we have not realised the Self is all that is required.
We are always the Self, only we don’t realise it.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Liberation is our very nature. We are that.
The very fact that we wish for liberation shows that freedom from all bondage is our real nature.
It is not to be freshly acquired. All that is necessary is to get rid of the false notion that we are bound.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Ignorant of this simple truth,
innumerable methods under different denominations, such as yoga, bhakti, karma,
each again with many modifications, are being taught with great skill and in intricate detail
only to entice the seekers and confuse their minds. So also are the religions and sects and dogmas.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

To find 'you' involves neither time nor means, the one who is dependent on seeking is veiled.
To seek 'you' is a remnant of separation and dispersion.
~ Abdullah Ansari ~
(11 th century)

Realisation is not the acquisition of anything new nor is it a new faculty.
It is only removal of all camouflage.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

There is no reaching the Self (consciousness). If the Self were to be reached,
it would mean that the Self is not here and now and that it is yet to be obtained.
What is got afresh will also be lost. So it will be impermanent.
What is not permanent is not worth striving for.

So I say the Self (consciousness) is not reached.
You are the Self, you are already that.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

You, being the Self (consciousness), want to know
how to attain the Self (consciousness).
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Make no effort, your effort is the bondage.
All that is required to realize the Self (consciousness) is to be still.
What can be easier than that?
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

No one denies one’s own existence
any more than one denies one’s eyes, although one cannot see them.
The trouble lies with your desire to objectify the Self (consciousness), in the same way 
as you objectify your eyes when you place a mirror before them.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

There is no goal to be reached. There is nothing to be attained.
You are the Self (consciousness).
You exist always.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Ego is not!
Otherwise do you admit of two selves?
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

If you seek the ego you will find, it does not exist.

That is the way to get rid of it.
Look for it and it will not be found.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Only remove ignorance. That is all there is to be done.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Be content with what you are sure of.
And the only thing you can be sure of is 'I' am. The only fact you are sure of is that you are.
The only clue you have is your certainty of being.
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~

Knowing the Self (consciousness) is being the Self, and being means existence,
one’s own existence. No one denies one’s own existence.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

The experience is here and now. One cannot deny one’s own self.
Existence is the same as happiness and happiness is the same as being.
Why should one seek it?
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

If you want to be free. Get to know your real self.
It (consciousness) has no form, no appearance, no root, no basis, no abode,
but is lively and buoyant. Therefore when you look for it, you become further from it.
When you seek it, you turn away from it all the more.
~ Linji ~
(Chinese 9 th century)

It is impossible for anyone to get what he has not got already.
Even if he gets any such thing, it will go as it came. What comes will also go.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

We are 'imagining' we are bound and are making various, strenuous attempts to become free.
We will be surprised that we were frantically trying to attain something,
which we have always been and are.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

The state we call Realisation is simply being oneself.
Not knowing anything or becoming anything.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

The state of self-realisation, as we call it, is not attaining something new
or reaching some goal which is far away, but simply being
that which you always are and which you always have been.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

You wander restlessly from forest to forest
while the Reality is within your own dwelling.
~ Kabir ~
(15th Century)

The Self (consciousness) you seek to know is truly yourself.
Your supposed ignorance causes you needless grief
like that of the ten foolish men who grieved
at the loss of the tenth man,
who was never lost.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Know the Truth!
That the 'I' is not different from the Lord (consciousness).
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Realisation is nothing to be gained afresh, it is already there.
All that is necessary is to get rid of the thought I have not realised.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

For whoever seeks God (consciousness) in some special way,
will gain the way and lose God who is hidden in the way.

But whoever seeks God without any special way,
finds Him as He really is... He (consciousness) is Life itself.
~ Meister Eckhart ~
(13th century)

Who am 'I'?
After all, the only fact you are sure of is that you are.
'I' am is certain.
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~

I cannot show you God (consciousness) or enable you to see God (consciousness)
because God (consciousness) is not an object that can be seen.
God (consciousness) is the subject. He (consciousness) is the seer.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Because you seek true (constant/unchanging) consciousness.
Where can you find it? Can you attain it outside yourself?
You have to find it internally. Therefore you are directed inward.
The heart is the seat of consciousness or
consciousness itself.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Call it by any name, God, Self, the heart or the seat of consciousness, it is all the same.
The point to be grasped is that this heart means the very core of one’s being.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Consciousness is indeed always with us.
Everybody knows 'I' am. No one can deny his own being.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

If you don't understand this consciousness itself, then you are in bondage
when you will understand what this (consciousness) is, then that is liberation.
Paradoxically you will realize that you are already liberated.
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~

The Self (consciousness) is God.
'I' am is God.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

All sentient (conscious) beings are essentially 'Buddhas'.
As with water and ice, there is no ice without water.
(No Life or existence without consciousness)
Not knowing how close the truth is, we seek it far away.
What a pity!
~ Hakuin Ekaku Zenji ~
( Japan 18th century)

Reality is at once being and consciousness.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

The Self (consciousness) is not something to be acquired from others.
All that is necessary is to know its existence in you.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

The Guru will say only what I am saying now.
It is impossible for anyone to get what he has not got already.
Even if he gets any such thing, it will go as it came. What comes will also go.
What always 'is' will alone remain.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

People want to see the Self (consciousness) as something new.
But it (consciousness) is eternal and remains the same all along.
They desire to see it as a blazing light etc.
How can it be so?
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Is there anyone who is not aware of himself?
Each one knows, but yet does not know the Self (consciousness).
A strange paradox!
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

There is no one that does not say 'I' am.
The wrong knowledge of 'I' am the body is the cause of all mischief.
This wrong knowledge must go.
That is the Realization.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

The Self (consciousness) is ever present. Each one wants to know the Self.
What kind of help does one require to know oneself?
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

He (consciousness) is the unseen seer, the unheard hearer, the unthought thinker.
There is no other seer but He. No other hearer but He.
No other thinker but He. No other knower but He.
He is yourself.
The inner controller, the immortal, the imperishable.
~ Brihadaranyaka Upanishad~
(approx. 3500 years old.)

To the ignorant the 'I' is the self limited to the body.
To the wise, the 'I' is the Infinite Self (consciousness).
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

On enquiry 'who' is bound?
The notion of bondage vanishes and so does that of Liberation.
The one eternally free alone remains self-revealed.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

It is pure awareness of being. It is that 'I' am you know so well.
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~

Simple changeless being is one's true nature.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

The state of pure being which is common to all and which is always
experienced directly by everybody is one's true nature.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

What have you to wait for when it is already here and now?
You have to only look & see. Look at your self, at your own being.

You know that you are and you like it. Abandon all imagining, that is all.
Do not rely on time, time is death, who waits dies. Life is now only!
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~

Sought-after Truth is found
by not seeking it.
~ Longchen-pa ~
(14 th century)

You are awareness.
Awareness is another name for you.
Since you are awareness, there is no need to attain or cultivate it.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

Just be aware that you are and remain aware.
You are aware anyhow, you need not try to be.
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~

'I' am is first hand and needs no proof.
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~

'I' am is the goal and final Reality.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

The best definition is 'I' am that 'I' am.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

What you need is to be aware of being aware.
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~

The ultimate Truth is so simple.
~ Ramana Maharshi ~

http://www.you-are-that.com/quotes.html